May G, 1871.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
805 
Board of Examiners : The following gentlemen were 
proposed as members of the Board:—Messrs. H. C. 
Baildon, W. Aitken, D. R. Brown, J. R. Young, J. 
Buchanan, W. Ainslie, D. Kemp, W. Gilmour. 
Secretary : Mr. John Mackay. 
Library and Museum Committee : President and Vice- 
President; Messrs. Aitken, D. R. Brown and Mackay; 
Mr. D. R. Brown to be Convener. 
Curator of Museum : Mr. Paton. 
Honorary Secretary : Mr. John Mackay. 
At the close of the meeting a very special vote of 
thanks was proposed by Mr. Young to Mr. Mackay for 
-•all the labour and trouble he had taken during the past 
year as Honorary Secretary to the Society in Edinburgh : 
this was seconded by Mr. Gilmore, and was enthusias¬ 
tically carried. 
Mr. Mackay shortly replied, and the proceedings were 
brought to a close. 
The Annual Supper of the North British Branch 
of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain was 
held in the Cafe Royal Hotel. There were upwards of 
a hundred gentlemen present. The chair was occu¬ 
pied by Mr. H. C. Baildon, who was supported on the 
aright by Professor T. C. Archer, Dr. Angus Macdonald, 
Dr. Sidey, Mr. Davidson (Glasgow), Mr. Paton of the 
Industrial Museum, Mr. D. R. Brown and Mr. Ainslie; 
and on the left by Dr. Peel Ritchie, Mr. Aitken, Mr. 
Kinninmont (Glasgow), Mr. George Blanshard and Mr. 
D. Kemp (Portobello). 
The croupiers were Messrs. Buchanan and Mackay. 
They were supported by Messrs. J. R. Young, Gilmour, 
Leitch, Noble, James Aitken, Nisbet (Portobello), Con- 
nacher (of Markinch), and Dodwell (of London). 
After the usual loyal and complimentary toasts, the 
Chairman, in proposing “ The Pharmaceutical Society 
of Great Britain,” congratulated the company on the 
progress that had been made since the Society was insti¬ 
tuted by Mr. Jacob Bell. The position the Society had 
taken up .was now impregnable,—everything showing 
that it was prospering and likely to prosper. Among 
the other toasts were, “ The President and Council in 
London and Mr. Mackay,” by Mr. Aitken ; “ The 
Honorary Members of the Society, and Professor 
Archer,” by Mr. Buchanan; “The Royal College of 
Physicians and Surgeons and Dr. Angus Macdonald, 
by Mr. Leitch; “The Secretary, Mr. Mackay,” 
by Mr. Baildon; “Friends from a distance,” by Mr. 
Ainslie ; “ The Chairman,” by Mr. Kemp ; “ The 
Croupiers,” by Mr. Young. A number of songs and 
recitations were given in the course of the evening. 
VACANCIES AND APPOINTMENTS IN CONNEC¬ 
TION WITH PHARMACY. 
The Editor will he glad to receive early notice of any 
vacancies of pharmaceutical offices connected with public 
institutions, and likewise of appointments that are made ,— 
in order that they may be published regularly in the Iournal. 
appointment. 
Mr. Albert Ager has been appointed Dispenser to the 
Surrey Dispensary, in the room of the late Mr. Nathaniel 
Staddon, who held the office for forty-five years. 
MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. 
Tuesday 
May 9. 
Royal Institution, at 3 P.M.— “ On Force and 
Energy.” By Mr. C. Brooke. 
Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society, at 
8.30 p.m. 
Photographic Society, at 8 P.m. 
Wednesday ...Society of Arts, at 8 p.m. — “The Application 
May 10. of Steam to Canals.” By G. E. Harding, 
C.E. 
Microscopical Society, at 8 p.m. 
Thursday . Royal Society, at 8.30 p.m. 
May 11. Royal Institution, at 3 p.m. — “On Sound.” 
By Professor Tyndall. 
Friday . Royal Institution, at 9 p.m. 
May 12. Royal Botanic Society .—“ Economic Bo¬ 
tany.” By Professor Bentley. 
Quekett Club, at 8 P.M. 
Saturday . Royal Botanic Society, at 3.45 p.m. 
parlianmttarjr mh framiititp. 
Poisoning of Three Children by Carbolic Acid. 
An inquest was held last week in the Manchester 
workhouse, at Crumpsall, upon the bodies of three 
girls who had died in consequence of having carbolic 
acid administered to them in the place of a cough mix¬ 
ture. 
Mr. Richard Wharf, the master of the workhouse, 
said there was a cupboard in the workhouse that was 
under the sole charge of Miss Lees, the assistant-school- 
mistress, in which medicine and other stores were usually 
kept, and also carbolic acid, for use as a disinfectant. 
He could not say whether any caution had been given 
to Miss Lees as to the use of the carbolic acid. After 
the death of the first girl he had a conversation with 
Miss Lees, w r hen she said she thought she had adminis¬ 
tered the cough mixture. 
Mr. Brebner, the resident medical officer, said he be¬ 
lieved the bottle containing carbolic acid had been in 
the girls’ school about two years. There were in the 
cupboard mentioned a bottle, marked poison, containing 
carbolic acid; another with a cough mixture for the 
girls in the room; a third bottle contained tincture of 
iron, to be taken in cod-liver oil. It was astringent, but 
not hot like carbolic acid. Upon being called to see the 
children, he ordered brandy and an emetic. He could 
not tell from the symptoms by what cause they had 
been produced. He obtained other medical assistance, 
but the girls all died. A post-mortem examination showed 
that death had been caused by carbolic acid. The organs 
of the body were in a highly congested state, and there 
was the smell of carbolic acid in the stomach. 
After having been cautioned by the coroner, Elizabeth 
Lees said,—About ten minutes to eight o’clock on Satur¬ 
day the three girls who are dead came to me for their 
cough medicines. I invariably kept the carbolic acid at 
the back of the cupboard, in a corner along, with the 
Condy’s fluid, but, by some means or other which I can¬ 
not explain, the carbolic acid bottle had got to the front, 
and was standing side by side with Catherine Kearney s 
medicine bottle. Since Catherine Kearney had . been 
taking that medicine, I had frequently made a mistake 
in taking hold of the carbolic acid bottle, instead of the 
cough bottle, but I had found out the mistake by look¬ 
ing at the label. But on Saturday night, having been 
very unwell all day, I went to the cupboard, and on 
opening it the gaslight shone on the label of Catherine 
Kearney’s medicine, and I immediately put my hand on 
the next bottle, fully believing that it was the cough 
mixture, because I always kept them.together. I admi¬ 
nistered the contents to the girls, giving them a little 
over one teaspoonful each, and not quite two, that being 
the quantity of cough mixture I was ordered to give. 
There was another glass of medicine poured out, 
and, having had a bad cough, I was myself in the act 
of raising it to my lips to take some when Maria 
Hughes, a nurse, came in. She had previously com¬ 
plained of a cough during the day. I said, “ 'I ake this, 
Maria ; this will do you good.” As soon as she had 
taken it, she said, “ Oh, dear! how it burns my mouth . 
Being rather astonished, I turned round to the cup¬ 
board, and I saw the carbolic-acid-labelled bottle 
standing by the side of Catherine Kearney s. reeling 
