1040 
[June 28, ] 8”3. 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
never come ! But we know that in His inscru¬ 
table Providence adversity does fall to the lot of 
some ; and we know, too, that although He sees 
good to afflict, it is acceptable to Him that we en¬ 
deavour to relieve each other in the afflictions cast 
upon us. Can we fairly say we have done this to 
the utmost of our ability, or even to the extent of 
our duty, when we find that the Council, on in¬ 
vestigating the cases of distress brought before them, 
have marked five in which it is desirable to give 
permanent assistance, and the funds at their dis¬ 
posal permit only of that assistance being given to 
one. 
THE SHOP HOURS’ REGULATION BILL. 
At this advanced period of the Parliamentary ses¬ 
sion repeated postponement of the consideration of a 
Bill may fairly be regarded as indicative of failure or 
abandonment. Especially under present conditions 
may this be inferred, and as regards the particular 
measure now referred to, perhaps there could not be 
a more appropriate fate. In another part of the pre¬ 
sent number we print a petition presented to the 
House of Commons last Tuesday, praying the House 
to reject the Bill. This petition is signed on behalf 
of the Pharmaceutical Society by the President, Mr. 
T. H. Hills, and it sets forth in support of its prayer 
several grounds which appear to be unanswerable so 
far as the Bill affects chemists and druggists. 
The report on a previous page of the meeting at 
Norwich serves to show what is the opinion as to this 
Bill on the part of the trading community, and we 
trust the opinions expressed in the resolutions passed 
at that meeting will be appreciated by the promoters 
of this measure so far as to prevent any repetition of 
similar efforts of hyper-legislation. 
While thoroughly admiring the good service al¬ 
ready rendered by Sir John Lubbock in securing 
for the hard-worked classes of clerks and shopmen 
some addition to their opportunities for relaxation 
and enjoyment, we cannot shut our eyes to the fact 
that there is a wide difference between setting apart 
certain days in the year as general holidays and 
shortening the hours of employment in shops and 
offices. Both objects may be highly desirable in the 
abstract, but they require different means for their 
attainment. To establish a bank holiday, indepen¬ 
dent individual action would probably be of little 
avail, and a legislative enactment is almost a neces¬ 
sity. On the contrary, individual action is in the 
other case precisely the influence which is most likely 
to be effectual. If a few persons in the drug trade 
resolutely persevere in closing their shops at an earlier 
hour than has been the custom, the result will be 
not only to educate public opinion into a recognition 
of the propriety of such a course, but also to convince 
those who keep late hours that they are rather losers 
than gainers by adhering to the old plan. 
Such influences have been successful in making the 
Saturday half-holiday almost as much an institution 
as the Bank Holiday. And for some time past a 
similar course has been pursued in regard to the 
early closing of druggists’ shops, as we have from 
time to time had occasion to point out in these 
columns. 
In the interest of the efforts thus being made we 
heartily wish for the total abandonment of Sir John 
Lubbock’s present Bill, as being the course most 
likely to bring about the very desirable objects 
which we have no doubt he had in view when he in¬ 
troduced the measure into Parliament. 
A DISHONEST DIPSOMANIAC. 
It frequently falls to the lot of pharmacists to be 
under the disagreeable necessity of rising from their 
beds to supply an urgent call for drugs for the relief 
of some poor sufferer, and as a rule the duty is per¬ 
formed with as much cheerfulness as could be ex¬ 
pected under the circumstances. But the letters 
printed on page 1048 show that some circumspection is 
required, even in yielding to the dictates of humanity, 
for several pharmacists at the West End have suffered 
inconvenience through an impostor availing himself 
of their kindness to satisfy his abnormal cravings. 
We hope the publication of these letters will have 
the effect of putting the members of the trade on 
their guard, so that the next time he attempts to 
repeat the fraud he may meet the reception he merits. 
ACCIDENTAL POISONING AT A HOSPITAL. 
At page 1046 will be found the report of a case of 
accidental poisoning, in which the dispenser at the 
Royal Berks Hospital at Reading substituted hydro¬ 
cyanic acid for hydrate of chloral. 
The Birmingham Daily Mail , in reporting this 
case, says an overworked official has just misadven- 
turously slain a patient, adding that it came out in 
evidence that the dispenser—a steady, well-conducted, 
efficient man—had to make up more than two hun¬ 
dred prescriptions a-day, and that to discourage such 
miserable economy the verdict should have been 
“Killed by the niggardliness of the Hospital Board.” 
EXPORT OF CINCHONA BARK FROM COLUMBIA. 
There was a large increase in the export of cin¬ 
chona in 1871 from Santa Martha over the previous 
year. The official returns give a total of 3,415,149 
ibs. in 1871, valued at <£133,791, against 1,846,643 
lbs., valued at <£63,770, in 1870. Shipments of this 
article have latterly been on a largely increasing 
scale for the United States. For the five years 
1865-69 the average annual quantity sent to New 
York was below 300 serous, whilst the shipments to 
that port in 1870 reached over 2000 serons, and rose 
to 8500 in 1871. The following were the shipments 
to other countries,—to Great Britain 11,100 serons 
in 1870, and 14,400 in 1871 ; to France 1100 serons 
in 1870, and 2100 in 1871 ; to Germany 660 serons 
in 1871. 
