May 31, 1873.] 
HE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
967 
*** No notice can be taken of anonymous communica¬ 
tions. Whatever is intended for insertion must be authenti¬ 
cated by the name and address of the writer; not necessarily 
for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. 
Pharmaceutical Progress. 
Sir,—Sometimes those stationed at a little distance from 
a battle-field can tell better bow the fight is going than 
those immediately engaged in it; those on the look-out at 
sea generally mark the distant breakers or a coming storm 
before those guiding the ship’s course. It is from this 
point of view that I trouble you with a few remarks on the 
position of the Pharmaceutical Society at the present time. 
On opening a recent number of the Journal I was 
sorry to find that “ the admission of women as members 
of the Society ” was to form a prominent subject of dis¬ 
cussion at the approaching General Meeting. That our 
“ potent, grave, and reverend seigniors ” should. have no 
better subject than this to talk about, or that it should 
occupy any considerable portion of their time, seems to me 
a woful pity, when there are so many urgent practical 
questions affecting the interests of chemists pressing for 
solution. Without any disrespect for the ladies, I think 
questions of this nature are best dealt with somewhat after 
the method recommended to “ Little Bo-Peep ” in the old 
nursery ditty for recovering his missing flock,— 
“ Let them alone, and they’ll come home 
And bring their tails behind them.” 
If, as a matter of business, “the admission of women” 
must be brought forward, by all means let it be disposed 
of as speedily as possible. Women may, doubtless, make 
good dispensers, but that is no reason why they should be 
admitted to the Society so as to hold office and rank with 
men, which, on the face of it, is absurd. Nominally, in 
order that, as in the case of widows, they may carry on 
businesses by the help of a qualified assistant, there is, of 
course, no objection to membership. As to ladies joining 
the Society with the view of competing with men in business 
—carrying on business except by proxy,—the thing is a 
chimera. Two or three will be sacrificed and be left as 
scarecrows to frighten away the rest. 
The “Correspondence” columns of the Journal teem 
with matters of far greater interest and importance to the 
trade in general than that above mentioned. Besides the 
sale of drugs by hucksters, the cooperative store grievance, 
the unsatisfactory state of the patent medicine licence and 
stamp duties, and the oppressive operation of the excise, 
there is the Benevolent Fund and the general constitution 
of the Society, in addition to a host of minor subjects “ too 
numerous to mention,” all of which more or less demand 
the attention of the executive, assisted by the general 
expression of opinion on the part of the members. Not to 
trespass too much on your space, permit me to say a few 
words on two of the topics here alluded to, viz., the 
Benevolent Fund and the constitution of the Society. 
The Benevolent Fund has been pressed upon the notice 
of the members lately (I believe with good effect), and 
quite rightly so. More money ought to be contributed for 
this object, and more also distributed on account of it. 
In the Journal for April 19, J. B. B. ironically congratu¬ 
lates the trade on the presumption that “ there are only 
thirteen needy druggists or druggists’ widows.” Alas, alas ! 
who does not know that many who never come before the 
Society as annuitants, are yet only dragging out a strug¬ 
gling existence behind the counter ? The number of an- 
x)uitants is no criterion of the actual state of trade 
amongst us. Many doubtless contribute to the Fund be- 
cause°others do, whose “ small returns ” barely warrant it, 
and who ought almost to be recipients rather than contri¬ 
butors. Might not some means be devised of rendering 
this Fund more generally available for those who, through 
illness or misfortune, had become so depressed as to have 
no hope of again rising into that commercial independence 
which perhaps they once enjoyed, and yet who had too 
much delicacy of feeling, and were not precisely in the 
condition, to come before the Society in formd pauperis ? 
Are there not cases in which seasonable and needed help 
might be thus quietly rendered without the appearance or 
sense of gratuity ? If the annuitants are no criterion of 
our prosperity, certainly the number of subscribers to the 
Benevolent Fund is no index to our generosity. If many 
give who barely can, many more do not give who long to 
and dare not. Were the annual subscription (as I shall 
presently suggest) done away with, we should all have 
more for benevolent purposes. 
The constitution of the Pharmaceutical Society is a 
topic of vital interest to all the members, and indeed to 
the trade generally. A short time since Mr. Sandford 
(whose remarks are always worth listening to), speaking,. 
I believe, on this very subject,—the admission of women 9 
—observed that our Society was a “ private society.” In 
saying this I think he.hit unintentionally its main defect. 
It is a “ private society,” and as such has done good ser¬ 
vice, but it ought to be such no longer. The time is come, 
or at least approaches, when it should expand into a public 
body, a national corporation, similar to the medical facul¬ 
ties, the colleges of physicians, surgeons, etc. Allow me 
briefly to indicate one or two changes and some advantages 
which, presuming this transformation possible, would 
thereupon ensue. First, we should have a change of 
name. Instead of “Pharmaceutical Society of Great 
Britain” (Royal or British or—) “ College of Pharmacists 
or Pharmaceutists” (not “of Pharmacy,” which, with all 
due deference to our American cousins, is a misnomer). 
Then, in lieu of being a joint examining and educational 
body, the Society would become simply an examining and 
protective one, the educational part being left to private 
enterprise, or, if carried on by a society, officially discon¬ 
nected from the examining body. The basis of member¬ 
ship, again, instead of resting on due payment of subscrip¬ 
tion plus examination, would rest on examination alone, 
the fees being so regulated as to cover the working, par¬ 
liamentary, and other outgoings, which, with no educational 
expenses, would be considerably reduced. Conjointly with 
these changes some modification of the present legal status 
might seem desirable. For example, the present Major 
qualification (M.R. [or B.] C.Ph.) should be compulsory in 
cities and larger towns; the Minor qualification (A.R.C.Ph.), 
in order to meet the requirements of country places, being 
sufficient for smaller towns and villages. A higher optional 
status of “Fellow” might be created, and the present 
scholarships and medals retained, with such modifications as 
would render them consistent with a purely examining body. 
I have no room left to enumerate the advantages which 
might result from such a change. Many disadvantages 
of the present state of things would, at any rate, disappear. 
The educational department would no longer fetter the 
resources of the Society, whose whole energies would then 
be directed solely to the registration of duly qualified 
pharmacists, and to the protection of their professional 
interests. A “ College,” being a national and public body, 
would obtain a general recognition, and possess a par¬ 
liamentary influence which no “ private society ” ever can. 
Thirty or forty years ago education was a necessary part 
of the Society’s operations, but of late the facilities for 
acquiring knowledge have so much increased, that this 
may safely be left to private enterprise, or form a distinct 
social one. On the other hand, the requirements of exa¬ 
mination, protection, benevolence, and so forth, have also 
increased, so that these may now well form an object in 
themselves. The examinations would, in such case, doubt¬ 
less rise in public estimation; there could be no suspicion 
of partiality, cramming might be better guarded against, 
and a somewhat higher standard introduced. With no 
educational duties (on the whole, I believe, rather a loss 
than a profit to the Society) and with compulsory examina¬ 
tions, probably little, if any, increase on the present scale 
of examination fees would be needed to meet the expenses 
of an examining and protective body, especially if the 
number of Major candidates were increased. The discon¬ 
tinuance of the subscription would be a boon which requires 
no comment, its natural influence on the Benevolent Fund 
is self-evident. A further advantage arising from this 
change in the organization of the Society, would consist in 
opportunities for exerting influence in Parliament. The 
Society has done, and is doing, much in this way. Could 
it not do more ? Has it reached the limit, the ultima¬ 
tum, of its power in this direction ? Would Jacob Bell say 
so if he were now amongst us P Would it not be.possible, 
under a superior organization, to exert a greatly increased 
pressure on the Legislature in the interests of our body 
