May 24, 1873.] 
929 
THE PH ARM ACE U TIC AL 
JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
“ That the Report now read he received and adopted, 
and published in the Jouraal and Transactions of the 
Society.” 
The Report speaks for itself, and I have very great 
pleasure, therefore, in moving this resolution. 
Mr. F. M. Rimmington (Bradford.): I have great 
pleasure in seconding the resolution that has been pro¬ 
posed. 
Mr. Atkinson Pickering (Hull) : Whilst I am willing 
to admit that the Report, financially, is a success, I feel 
that, educationally, it is not so. Whilst I feel that we are 
indebted to the Council, and especially to the Parliamen¬ 
tary Committee, for their action with regard to exempt¬ 
ing chemists from attendance on juries, and also with 
regard to the alterations which they have succeeded in 
getting inserted in the Adulteration of Food Act, clauses 
which might have been made very useful in the interests 
of trade, still there are subjects mentioned in this report 
which do not altogether accord with my way of thinking, 
and as a member of the Pharmaceutical Society, I feel 
that I should not be doing my duty if I did not state those 
points on which I dissent from the Report of the Council. 
In the first place, the financial statement is not to my 
satisfaction. I consider it too concise ; and I cannot 
make out, from the statement which I have in my hand, 
what surplus income you have now in your possession. I 
see what surplus you possess on the year’s statement; but 
comparing this annual statement with those of previous 
years, I apprehend that the sum stated here does not 
fairly represent the total sum that you have in your 
hands as surplus income. I see that daring the past year 
you have again invested £2000 in the Three per Cents. 
You are aware, Mr. President, that last year I stated my 
dissent from the investment of money in this way, either 
with regard to the general funds of the Society or with 
regard to the funds of the Benevolent Fund. I consider 
it is a waste of money investing them in Consols, bringing 
in something less than three-and-a-quarter per cent., when 
you can invest in real securities, and securities quite as 
safe as Consols, which could be obtained, bringing in an 
income of four-and-a-half per cent. Were the money of 
the Benevolent Fund invested in a different way it would 
produce a much larger income. I think I might appeal 
to the members present whether they would invest their 
surplus earnings at three-and-a-quarter per cent., and 
whether they would be satisfied with such a percentage. 
I apprehend there is nothing to prevent the money be¬ 
longing to the Benevolent Fund, and the money belonging 
to the General Fund, from being invested in real securi¬ 
ties ; and I apprehend in this large city there could be no 
difficulty in finding securities bringing in that amount of 
income. It is a source of pleasure to me to see that the 
laboratory has been conducted so successfully. The labo¬ 
ratory and many other things in connection with the 
Society are exceedingly creditable to it; but with regard 
to the lectures there appears to me to be something 
wrong, and something radically wrong. Of the ability of 
the lecturers I have no doubt whatever,—there cannot be 
two opinions as to their ability; but I see the fees 
amounted to £193 4s., whilst the cost of the lectures was 
£649 9s. 5d. I cannot make out exactly from this state¬ 
ment the number of students who have contributed these 
fees ; but I feel persuaded, from the smallness of the 
amount that has been received, that they cannot be a 
very numerous body ; and yet I find, on turning to the 
report, there have been a larger number who have passed 
both the Minor examinations, the Modified examinations, 
and the Major examinations. Now these must have been 
prepared from some source or other, doubtless some by 
private study alone. But how is it that we see so many 
people advertising in the Journal offering to prepare 
young men to pass these examinations in so short a space 
of time ? And how is it (that is what I should like to 
know) that young men give their preference to going to 
those — I do not use the word disrespectfully — who 
“grind?” Why is it they prefer going to those “grinders” 
to prepare themselves for examination when they have here 
everything which is calculated to give them a thorough 
scientific knowledge cf their business ? The lectures appear 
to me not to be a success. I regret that such is the case, 
and I should be glad if some explanation could be afforded 
to the members of the Society why it is so. It does not 
appear to be so with regard to the laboratory. Why 
should not the lectures be equally as successful as the 
laboratory ? There is another subject, too, which is a sore 
point with me. Out of an income of £10,000 a year, I 
see the magnanimous sum of £10 granted towards fur¬ 
thering provincial education. Now I believe I am correct 
in stating that the country members of the trade contri¬ 
bute the larger proportion of the income of the Society ; 
and when there is so large a surplus income as there is, I 
think the Council might, with this large surplus income, 
do more for the advancement of the trade than by invest¬ 
ing it in Consols at 3 per cent. I apprehend that the 
founders of the Pharmaceutical Society had specially in 
view, judging from the first clause of its charter, the edu¬ 
cation of those who practise pharmacy and chemistry. I 
believe the very first clause in the charter states this ; and 
yet we find there is less money annually granted for the 
furtherance of that object than there was twenty years 
ago, when Jacob Bell was living. I think the country 
members of the Trade are entitled to their fair share of 
the income of the Society. The Pharmaceutical Society, 
I can assure you, is not popular with the country members 
of the trade, and I will tell you why it is not so. They 
say you compel their young men to undergo three exami¬ 
nations, and that you give them nothing in return. A ou 
yourself, Sir—and I agree very much indeed with what 
fell from you in your opening remarks—have stated the 
desirability that the prices of drugs should be increased. 
How can you reasonably expect such a thing, when the 
next-door neighbour to a chemist can sell everything the 
chemist sells except poisons, and nine out of ten do nut 
thank you for the trade of them ? Dispensing, in the 
present position of pharmacy, occupies a very small por¬ 
tion of a country chemist’s business. If I were to exempt 
twenty businesses in the country, I believe there are not 
more than twenty that could make a living by dispensing 
alone. I do not find fault ■with the education you are 
giving to the young men of the present generation ; but 
it is quite possible so far to educate a young man as to 
give him in the country a distaste for the sale of those 
things, and the dealing in those things, by which he muse 
get a living. I should have been better satisfied with the 
Pharmaceutical Society myself had I seen their anxiety to 
secure for the trade the entire sale of those things on 
which it compels men to pass an examination ; and I 
think there would be no very great difficulty in obtaining 
an Act of Parliament for that purpose. If a young man 
be compelled to pass an examination here in all the articles 
mentioned in the British Pharmacopoeia, surely, having 
been compelled to pass the examination in these things, it 
is not right that his next-door neighbour should be allowed 
to deal in the same things and undersell him. If articles 
of food in the British Pharmacopoeia,—raisins, for in 
stance, and similar things that might be mentioned,—-were 
to be exempted, there could be no difficulty in obtaining 
an Act of Parliament that would confine to the educated 
man the sale of and the dealing in those things which he 
is compelled to pass an examination for. Yv ere this 
done you would find the Pharmaceutical Society would 
occupy a far higher position in regard to the country 
members of the trade. I trust, Mr. President, that the 
incoming Council of the Pharmaceutical Society will en¬ 
deavour to secure pharmacy for pharmacists alone. I 
trust the day is not far distant when the medical pro¬ 
fession will be comprised within two classes, the prescriber 
and the dispenser. It is so on the Continent of Europe, 
and I do not see any reason why it should not be so in 
this country as well. I think I have stated reasons why 
this should be the case. In the present position of t;ie 
trade, the country members find very r great difficulty m 
