938 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[May 24, 1873. 
lady behind a draper’s or silk-merchant’s counter-- 
Scries of “ question”). He contended lie was speaking to 
the question. 
Mr. Hampson said this was not the question. 
The President said, he thought a great deal of time 
would be saved if the discussion were confined to the 
question,—members or not members. All the other parts 
of the question, as to admission to lectures, and so on, 
had been already settled ; and if gentlemen would confine 
themselves to the real point of the resolution, it would 
simplify the matter very much. 
Mr. Pickering said, the regulations of the Society 
never contemplated admitting women to membership, and 
with that broad assertion, he was willing to leave the 
question in the hands of the meeting. He had intended 
to have gone at more length into the question, but he 
would simply say now that there were matters connected 
with pharmacy which it was not desirable that women 
should be connected with, matters which it was not deli¬ 
cate for them to listen to, and articles they would have 
to deal in which it was not fit that they should touch. 
That was especially so in the country trade. He there¬ 
fore hoped the resolution would be rejected. 
Mr. Frazer (Glasgow) said he intended to vote for Mr. 
Hampson’s motion, both on general principles and on the 
question of expediency. The general principle was this, 
that women were entitled by law, as was acknowledged, 
to have a field of labour, and he knew of no law restricting 
them to this trade or that; it was for the women them¬ 
selves to choose their own trade. Referring to the con¬ 
cluding remarks of the last speaker, he would only say 
that if there was _a particular description of work which 
ought not to be done by women, they knew who was to 
blame for it, and more the shame that it was so. They 
all knew that women were now employed to a large extent 
in the manufacture of articles which all chemists dealt in. 
Even within the last fortnight the President had visited 
one of the largest establishments in Scotland, where a 
woman was employed doing nothing else but manufac¬ 
turing suppositories and pessaries. They had no right 
to restrain women from taking up any occupation which 
they desired. Then as to the question of expediency 
—he held that these examinations, which were now being 
made more stringent, would restrict the supply of assist¬ 
ants. He himself had put a dozen advertisements in three 
Glasgow papers, and yet failed to get one apprentice, and 
the same thing was occurring elsewhere. Young men, in 
fact, were leaving the trade in all directions, and some 
one must be found to supply their places. It had been said 
that if the men could not pass the examinations, how could 
the women do it ? But the fact was, the young men could 
pass them, but they had so many other fields open to 
them that they did not think it worth while to spend the 
time and money which was required for these stringent 
examinations, and therefore he believed they would be 
driven to employ women who wanted a field for their 
labour; he should therefore have much pleasure in voting 
for the resolution. 
Mr. Booth said he should support the resolution. 
Mr. Randall said, a good many remarks which had 
been made were not strictly to the point. Some time ago 
the trade was divided between pharmaceutical chemists 
and chemists and druggists, and chemists and druggists 
claimed to be on the register. When that was conceded 
they said it was unfair, because they had only taken the 
first step, that they should be kept out from any share in 
the government of the Society, and then it was admitted 
that they must come in and be admitted to membership. 
At that time there was a little suspicion as to what might 
be the result, and it was asked whether they could insist 
upon coming in, or whether they might not be rejected by 
the Council by a sort of side-wind. He remembered very 
well that at that time it was stated as a legal opinion that 
though the Council might exclude individuals on account 
of some individual incapacity, they could not keep out a 
class or a large section, for that if they attempted to do so 
a mandamus would issue compelling them to elect. Now 
it appeared to him that women were exactly in that posi¬ 
tion ; they had been admitted as pharmaceutical chemists, 
and it was now too late to keep them out of the Society. 
He would ask the solicitor to say why, if he had correctly 
stated what passed on the previous occasion, a mandamus 
would not lie in the same way on the part of those women 
who were refused admission. It seemed to him simply a 
question whether they would do it spontaneously or be 
compelled to do it. 
Mr. Sandford, referring to Mr. Hampson’s objec¬ 
tion to the Journal having contained an article advo¬ 
cating certain opinions, said it was only fair that the 
Journal should admit all opinions. It had done so on this 
question, sometimes even admitting poetic effusions, some¬ 
times in favour of the ladies, and sometimes against them. 
He himself had written one or two letters on the subject, 
and as it was important that all should have a fair oppor¬ 
tunity of expressing their views, he could not go with 
Mr. Hampson in finding fault with the Editor on that 
score. With regard to Mr. Randall’s observations, he, Mr. 
Sandford, had most emphatically asserted that men, being 
eligible, would have a right to come into the Society ; but 
it was with a reservation that individual disqualifications 
might exist which would justify the Council in rejecting 
them. According to the principle laid down by Mr. 
Randall, they must elect anybody and everybody who was 
on the register. Mr. Hampson said that these women 
were qualified, and therefore eligible. Now, it was very 
true that there must be qualification before eligibility, 
but there might be a disqualification, and he thought in 
the case of women their sex was a disqualification. He 
could not help thinking'that Mr. Pickering was quite in 
order in the remarks he was making when interrupted, 
he was only stating his objections to admitting women to 
membership. There was no objection to any one employ¬ 
ing his wife, or any other woman if he thought proper, in 
his shop, but he did not wish the Society to encourage the 
employment of women in pharmacy. He was glad one 
gentlemen had reminded them of meeting the ladies that 
evening, and he should be delighted to do so on any such 
occasion; in fact it was out of respect to the ladies that he 
opposed this motion, and because he had the pleasure of 
the acquaintance of many women, some especially of the 
highest mental qualifications, who were utterly disgusted 
with the present movement. To show what change might 
be expected in women, he handed to the President the 
current number of Punch, representing Mrs. Dr. Man- 
dragora Nightshade calling on a physician, when the 
housemaid, in great dismay, described her as a man in 
woman’s clothes. 
_ Mr. Hampson said this was not dealing with the ques¬ 
tion before the meeting. 
Mr. Sandford said he was giving his reason for 
opposing the motion. He opposed it both on behalf 
of the Society and of the women themselves. Mr. Hamp¬ 
son referred to the scene at the Council Board when three 
ladies were proposed to be admitted as apprentices. He 
remembered that scene perfectly well, and could not see 
that there was anything very remarkable about it. A list 
was handed in containing twenty or thirty names, and 
amongst them were these three ladies ; when the list was 
first read over and the motion made, that the whole should 
be admitted, he moved that the three ladies should not 
be admitted, and then their names were taken out and 
put on a separate list by themselves. Therefore, the 
amendment was perfectly in order, and there was 
nothing extraordinary about it. It was quite open to 
these ladies, if they felt aggrieved, to go to the Court 
of Queen’s Bench, and get a mandamus , to try the ques¬ 
tion at once. The Council had not passed any resolu¬ 
tion that women should not be admitted, but certain 
names having been submitted, they had rejected them. 
In like manner, he remembered some few years ago, a 
Miss Leech applied to be admitted as a member. He 
believed she had been on the register, because her father 
