February 4,18-1.] THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS 
G29 
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1S71. 
Communications for this Journal, and bool's for review, etc., 
should be addressed to the Editor, 17, Bloomsbury Square. 
Instructions from Members and Associates respecting the 
transmission of the Journal should be sent to Elias Brem- 
ridge, Secretary, 17, Bloomsbury Square, W.C. 
Advertisements to Messrs. Churchill, New Burlington 
Street, London, TV. Envelopes indorsed “ Pharm. Jour/i.” 
THE BETTS SUITS. 
The present number contains a report of the pro¬ 
ceedings before the Lord Chancellor upon the Ap¬ 
peal presented by Mr. Betts for a reversal of the 
decision given by Vice-Chancellor James. Mr. Betts 
has again failed, and it may now, we hope, be anti¬ 
cipated that the last has been heard of his remark¬ 
able pretensions. 
As upon the former occasion the case was not 
■disposed of upon the general question whether if 
Mr. Betts had proved an infinitesimal and innocent 
infringement, he would have been entitled to an in¬ 
junction and damages, or in short would have been 
justified in filing his twen^-five Bills. The Plain¬ 
tiff’s counsel, in fact, failed to establish any case of 
infringement, and the Lord Chancellor upon that 
ground rejected the application. It will be well for 
the result of the case not to he misunderstood in 
these respects, because nothing has happened in the 
course of the proceedings to encourage a retailer in 
knowingly dealing in, or using even to the most 
limited extent, any article made in infringement of 
patent or other protected rights. 
The judgment of the Vice-Chancellor (Third 
Series, Vol. I. p. 32) evidently discouraged suits 
against innocent persons until after reasonable warn¬ 
ing given to them, followed by continued infringe¬ 
ment of rights; the judgment of the Lord Chan¬ 
cellor is not at variance with those views, and, in¬ 
deed, remarks (not reported) made by liis Lordship 
dining the arguments were in accord with the Vice- 
Chancellor’s expressions on the subject. 
The course of the contest illustrates the advantage 
resulting from mutual help ; it is impossible to keep 
cut of view the probabilities that a wealthy experi¬ 
enced and resolute litigant such as Mr. Betts might 
have had an easy victory against the twenty-five 
(and possibly more) Defendants, had each been left 
unaided. Upon the actual result we may once more 
congratulate the Defence Committee and all parties 
interested. 
Some light was thrown upon a development of the 
pernicious system of “ coaching,” adopted by some 
teachers in preparing pupils for certain examinations, 
by a case that came before the magistrate at Bow 
Street on Friday last. Charles Gerrard, described 
as a teacher, living in Lincoln's Inn Fields, together 
with another man, were charged with inciting a per¬ 
son in the employ of Messrs. Hivington, the printers, 
to steal an early proof of one of the examination pa¬ 
pers of the Apothecaries Hall. It appeared that the 
prisoners had been for some time trying to obtain a 
copy, and at length, by arrangement with the police, 
the proof-puller was allowed to supply them with 
two copies, for which he received ten pounds. A 
detective then immediately arrested the prisoners, 
while the proofs were in their hands. They were 
both committed for trial. 
It is announced by the Committee of Publication 
of the American Journal of Pharmacy that an Index 
to the forty-two published volumes of that journal is 
being prepared, and that it will be published if a 
sufficient number of subscribers can be obtained 
within six months. 
Mr. Jarez Hogg has been appointed Surgeon to 
the Royal Westminster Ophthalmic Hospital, in 
succession to Mr. Hancock, Vice-President and 
Examiner of the Royal College of Surgeons. 
The Catalogue of the Class of the Philadelphia 
College of Pharmacy for the Forty-ninth Session, 
1870-71, numbers one hundred and ninety-eight 
names. 
It is interesting to note that in a recent case the 
use of a poison label nearly contributed to produce 
the result it was intended to avert. A woman, 
wishing to commit suicide, drank a considerable 
quantity of a lotion from a bottle which was labelled 
poison, in the hope of effecting her object. As it 
happened, however, the lotion was a very harmless 
one, a quart of which would not have hurt her, and 
so the desired result was not obtained. 
At a meeting of the Executive Committee of the 
British Pharmaceutical Conference, the Secretaries 
stated that the financial position of the Conference 
was such as to warrant them in providing for the 
production of a Year-Book for 1871. The Committee 
of Publication were accordingly instructed to make 
arrangements for its issue. Mr. Charles H. Wood, 
F.C.S., was elected Editor. A vote of thanks was 
ordered to be conveyed to Mr. Joseph Ince for his 
services in editing, at a short notice and much per¬ 
sonal inconvenience, the Year-Book for 1870. 
