964 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS 
[.May 27,1S71- 
The Chairman then declared the Council and Auditors 
for the ensuing twelve months to consist of the following 
Members:— 
Council. 
Atherton, John Henry, Long Row, Nottingham. 
Betty, Samuel Chapman, 6, Park Street, Camden Town, 
London. 
Bottle, Alexander, 37, Town wall Street, Dover. 
Brown, William Scott, 113, Market Street, Man¬ 
chester. 
Carr, John, 171, High Holhorn, London. 
Edwards, George, Dartford. 
Frazer, Daniel, 113, Buchanan Street, Glasgow. 
Greenish, Thomas, 20, New Street, Dorset Square, 
London. 
Groves, Thomas Bennett, Weymouth. 
Haselden, Adolphus Frederick, 18, Conduit Street, 
Regent Street, London. 
Hills, Thomas Hyde, 338, Oxford Street, London. 
Mack ay, John, 119, George Street, Edinburgh. 
Reynolds, Richard, 13, Briggate, Leeds. 
Sandford, George Webr, 47, Piccadilly, London. 
Savage, William Dawson, 30, Upper Bedford Street, 
Brighton. 
Shaw, John, 24, Great George Place, Liverpool. 
Smith, Edward, 8, The Strand, Torquay. 
Stoddart, William Walter, 9, North Street, Bristol. 
Sutton, Francis, 9, Bank Plain, Norwich. 
Williams, John, 5, New Cavendish Street, London. 
Woolley, George Stephen, 69, Market Street, Man¬ 
chester. 
Auditors. 
Barron, Frederick, 2, Bush Lane, London. 
Bower, William, 96, Tottenham Court Road, London. 
Hodgkinson, William, 127, Aldersgate Street, London. 
Mackey, John Brunt, 2, Bouverio Street, London. 
Squire, William, 5, Coleman Street, London. 
The Scrutineers also handed to the President their 
report of the returns for the election of Local Secretaries. 
Votes of thanks were given to the Scrutineers and the 
Chairman, and the meeting separated. 
CoTttspntcnrc. 
*** No notice can he taken of anonymous communica¬ 
tions. Whatever is intended for insertion must he authenti¬ 
cated by the name and address of the writer ; not necessarily 
for publication, hut as a guarantee of good faith. 
The Benevolent Fund. 
Sir,—As one of the Local Secretaries, whose conduct Mr. 
Vizer seemed by implication to censure, I should like to ask 
that gentleman on what authority he made the statement on 
Wednesday last, that there were at least 1050 errors in the 
country Register. 
I feel sure he cannot find any in this district; and I ques¬ 
tion the extent of his allegation in others. I can easily un¬ 
derstand that in London 150 errors may creep in, because 
there are difficulties in obtaining information which do not 
exist in the country. Here, those on the Register often in¬ 
quire of me the position of others in respect to it. Besides 
this I am periodically stirred up to make the necessary in¬ 
quiries by a circular from our active Registrar. 
Ipsioich, Hay 20th, 1871. J. Wiggin. 
Sir,—In looking over the list of subscribers to the Benevo¬ 
lent Fund, I was struck with the poor figure the wholesale 
houses cut in the list. I should have thought gentlemen 
making their thousands a year could have at least subscribed 
their ten guineas yearly. The mistake has doubtless arisen 
more from want of thought than want of heart; I hope next 
year will see an amendment. Some, I am sorry to say, are 
conspicuous by their absence. 
Many of us are very poor, but there is not one of us, even 
if it cost a day’s fast, who could not subscribe at least a 
shilling a year. Out of 10,000 chemists you have, at a rough 
calculation, not above a thousand subscribers. I would sug¬ 
gest that the 9000 should be canvassed for at least a shilling- 
subscription, and as much more as they are able to give. I 
would suggest, moreover, that the publication of the names- 
should not be compulsory, as many men do not like to con¬ 
fess they are poor. The Secretary of the Fund should appoint 
a chemist in every parish in London, and in every town and 
village in the country, with authority to make the collection. 
He should have a printed card given him, and_the necessary- 
safeguards taken against peculation. 
A hundred years hence, it is possible, a Benevolent'Fund,. 
through better social arrangements, will be almost super¬ 
fluous, but till that “good time” arrives each must give his- 
mite. 
May 10th, 1871. _ “Left Hand.” 
The Recommendations for the Keeping, Dispensing- 
and Selling of Poisons. 
Sir,—I should be obliged by your allowing me space in the- 
Journal for the following statement, which I intended to have- 
laid before'the Meeting on the 17th, but into which, owing 
to the length to which the discussion had already extended 
when I rose to move my amendment, I abstained from going, 
as also many other arguments, with wffiich I was prepared to* 
prove the unsatisfactory nature of the “ recommendations ” 
submitted to the trade for adoption; but this statement is 
such conclusive evidence of the absence of any grounds calling; 
for compulsory enforcement of regulations, that I hope you 
will excuse my troubling you with it. 
Having carefully gone through the Pharmaceutical Journals 
of the last ten years, the following is the summary of deaths 
from accidental poisoning as reported therein:— 
Errors in dispensing by chemists .... 5 
„ „ surgeons .... 6 
Errors in retail.7 
Errors by nurses, etc., mistaking bottles . . 3 
Omitting those by surgeons, the total deaths per annum* 
would be one and a half. 
When we take into consideration the tens of thousands of 
prescriptions annually dispensed, and the innumerable sales- 
of poisons, would any regulations, however carefully they 
might be framed, and however stringently enforced, apart 
from absolute perfection, reduce this infinitesimally small 
percentage ? Could any Government with reason go to Par¬ 
liament for power to bind a large and intelligent body of men* 
upon such grounds ? Edwin B. Yizer. 
63, Lupus Street, Belgravia South, S.W. 
Sir,—In the course of the discussion upon the poison re¬ 
gulations, I have been somewhat amused to find that many 
members of the Council, through the opposition manifested 
throughout the country, have withdrawn their support from 
Mr. Sandford, although their opinions still agreed with his. 
Now, I maintain that when we members vote for gentlemen 
to represent us upon the Council, we expect them, after pro¬ 
per consideration, to vote always in the way they themselves 
shall at the time being judge to be for the best interests of 
the Pharmaceutical Society, quite irrespective of the opinions 
of those outside or around them. Were our representatives 
to do this, we should always respect them, if we could not 
agree with them. I think Mr. Sandford alone in this affair has 
acted altogether consistently. The actions of some of the 
others would almost indicate their wish for office (did I not 
know the honourable character of those I am alluding to). I 
can only suppose, therefore, that they have been influenced 
by the idea that their duty is to carry out the wishes of the 
majority of those who send them there instead of being free 
to exercise their own judgment. 
May 20th, 1871. M. P. S. 
Communications, Letters, etc., have been received from 
Mr. F. Yincer, Mr. R. Sheppard, Mr. J. Wiggin, Mr. J- 
Schweitzer, Mr. J. II. Gostling, Mr. S. Maskery, Mr. Paton, 
Mr. W. W. Jones, Mr. Harry Leach, Mr. J. W. Williams,. 
Mr. J. R. Jackson, the Secretary of the Liverpool Chemists’ 
Association, the Secretary of the Norwich Chemists’ Assist¬ 
ants’ Association, M. P. S., R. G. H., X. Y. Z., J. H., T. H.,. 
H. B., “Lover of Truth,” “Capsicum,” “Henricus,” “A 
Country Chemist,” “Give and Take,” “Obfera,” “Quoero,” 
“ Aquila.” 
In consequence of the great pressure upon our space caused 
by the report of the proceedings at the Annual Meeting, we 
are compelled to defer the publication of several communica¬ 
tions. 
