May 24, 1873.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
921 
THE ANNUAL DINNER. 
The Second Annual Dinner of the Members and 
Friends of the Pharmaceutical Society took place on 
Tuesday evening at the Crystal Palace. The chair was 
taken by Mr. A. F. Haselden, F.L.S., the President. 
The President, in proposing the first toast, said it was 
one which always was, and he doubted not always would 
be, responded to most heartily in all assemblies of English¬ 
men—“ The Health of Her Majesty the Queen.” Having 
spoken so freely and fully on a previous occasion of the 
virtues which adorn Her Most Gracious Majesty, he would 
not detain his audience by recapitulating them, but would 
simply ask all present to drink in a bumper, “ Health and 
Happiness to Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen.” 
The toast having been drunk in the usual loyal manner, 
The President briefly but forcibly proposed “ The 
Health of the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the rest 
of the Royal Family,” with the hope that it would be 
many years before the Prince was called upon to assume 
the cares and dignity of royalty. 
Mr. W. Scott Brown, Vice-President, in proposing 
the toast of ‘ £ The Medical Profession,” referred to the 
attendance, so numerous as to give the assurance of a 
continuation of the annual gatherings so happily inau¬ 
gurated twelve months since. At that period a dark 
cloud which had for a time overshadowed the whole 
nation was just passing away; and it had served to render 
more than ordinarily apparent the bright light of medical 
skill and devotion. Happily, during the past year and 
now, there was no dark background to give increased 
lustre; but the lamp of medical science burnt steadily, and 
needed not to be made apparent to those who were able 
to appreciate the benefits conferred on the sick and suffer¬ 
ing. If, as had been said, gratitude consisted in “ a lively 
expectation of favours to come,” in no assembly could the 
toast which had been entrusted to him meet with a more 
ready or hearty reception than in that which he was 
addressing. Years ago a certain William Shakespeare 
described, in language which probably was familiar to 
all, a certain very useful body of’men, and no doubt his 
words were appropriate at the time; but certainly, looking 
around him, he did not think they were quite so apt in 
the nineteenth century. Their obligations to the medical 
profession began with the earliest period of their exist¬ 
ence, and in after years few, indeed, were so fortunate 
as not to be in a position to recall circumstances in 
which some member of the medical profession had inter¬ 
posed between them and the king of terrors a shield 
which, at any rate for a time, turned aside his darts ; and 
when the last inevitable time arrived, it was one of the 
solaces of human existence to know that we should then 
receive all the alleviation of our condition which medical 
skill and benevolence could bestow. Yes, the medical pro¬ 
fession was a truly noble one, and well had it maintained its 
character in this country. He need not recapitulate the 
great names which had adorned its annals in the past, and 
it would be invidious to mention only a few of those who 
adorned the present era, nor was it necessary to do so, as 
they were especially familiar to such an audience. During 
the past year a great deal had been heard about medical 
charities and their abuses, and this one fact spoke volumes 
for the medical profession, that, knowing as its members 
must have done of the abuses connected with the admi¬ 
nistration of many of these noble charities, which, abuses 
notwithstanding, were the pride of Englishmen, they still 
continued to render to them services of a priceless cha¬ 
racter, for which they could never be compensated except 
by the knowledge that they received the most cordial 
good wishes of every member of the community. Efforts 
were now being made to redress these abuses, and he 
hoped before long some well-devised scheme would be 
prepared, which, while preserving those noble foundations, 
would prevent the misapplications of them which were 
in reality unfair both to the medical profession and to 
their own body. Speaking as a country member of the 
Council, he was proud to be able to say that every year 
Third Series. No. 152. 
showed that a better and more cordial understanding was 
springing up between the medical profession and that 
body to which he had for many years had the honour to 
belong. He sincerely hoped that such cordiality would 
continue to increase, and that it would be fostered and en¬ 
couraged by such meetings as the present. He begged to 
couple with the toast the name of Dr. Quain. 
Dr. Quain, in returning thanks, said he felt it difficult 
to adequately acknowledge the very cordial welcome 
which the toast so eloquently proposed by Mr. Brown 
had secured. He rejoiced to think that the feeling of 
jealousy that once existed between their bodies was passing 
away. This he attributed to a better understanding of 
the functions and duties of the members of those bodies, 
and to a better and higher education, both of the members 
of the medical profession and of pharmacists. It was not 
difficult to remember the time when the practice of 
medicine consisted of the study of a few symptoms, of 
feeling the pulse, looking at the tongue, and prescribing 
a certain quantity of physic, more profitable, perhaps, to 
the practitioner than to the patient. Now, however, by 
the aid of physical science, the phenomena of life in 
health and disease were closely scrutinized. The stetho¬ 
scope, the ophthalmoscope, the laryngoscope, the test glass, 
and the crucible were made use of, and thus an accuracy 
of diagnosis never previously dreamt of was obtained. 
So, too, with regard to pathology; by the aid of the 
microscope and its appliances, an immense advance in our 
knowledge of the nature of diseased processes had been 
made. There was still one branch in which there was 
great room for progress, viz., the treatment of disease. 
We want a better knowledge of therapeutics; and as 
therapeutical success must depend on the character of the 
agents used, we must look to pharmacists for help in 
this respect. This is the return we must ask for the 
favours to which Mr. Brown had alluded. He rejoiced 
to see the successful efforts which had been made in the 
promotion of education by the pharmaceutical body. 
These efforts may be traced in the character of their 
Preliminary, their Minor and Major examinations, and 
the result may be recognized in the published proceedings 
of their Council, their evening and other meetings, which 
afforded evidence of rare judgment, intelligence, and 
scientific knowledge. In wishing prosperity to the Phar¬ 
maceutical Society, he begged to connect the toast with 
the name of their present President, Mr. Haselden, the 
last of a list of distinguished names. He referred to the 
names of William Allen, Jacob Bell, John Savory, Peter 
Squire, Henry Deane, Thomas Morson, George Sandford, 
and others, who had rendered, each in his own way, 
valuable service to the Society and to pharmaceutical 
science,—of these gentlemen the present President was a 
worthy and successful follower. He saw a great future 
for the Society, for he saw in so large a body of educated 
men throughout the country, valuable allies of the medical 
profession, and he wished them all success. 
The President begged to thank Dr. Quain, personally 
and on behalf of the Society, for the kind manner in 
which he had proposed the toast, and the company for the 
wav in which they had received it. He was also gratefui 
to the medical profession for the support which had been 
accorded by it thirty years ago, in the early days of the 
Society, not only morally but practically, by giving lec¬ 
tures freely and spontaneously, for which the Society had 
at that time made no settled provision. The advantages 
of the Society, of the education it bestowed, of the evening 
meetings, of the conferences, of such social gatherings as 
the present, and the conversazione, were obvious to all, 
and did not require to be more especially mentioned. Two 
years ago, in 1871, the first attempt was made ao an 
annual dinner. There were at the same time tv o annual 
dinners going on. a small cloud being present which threat¬ 
ened to burst over us; it did not burst, but was quietly 
and gradually dispersed. So that in 18/2 there vas but 
one annual dinner, and that at the Crystal Palace, \v Inch 
was a success ; and again, now, a repetition of the dinner, 
