June 17,1871.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
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the public; and, representing the Society, I cannot take 
the responsibility of consenting to, or even of failing to 
the utmost of my ability to oppose, any delay in this 
matter, because so long as this case is undecided the 
defendant is holding himself out to the -world as possess¬ 
ing a statutory qualification to sell poisons ; and if by 
any accident any subject of her Majesty were to be seri¬ 
ously prejudiced through the sale of poisons by the de¬ 
fendant, I being charged with these proceedings, could 
not feel that I was free from blame in the matter. As 
to the case in the Court of Queen’s Bench being dis¬ 
posed of on Saturday or Monday, seeing that the term 
ends on Monday, I can hardly hope that, in the existing 
state of business, the rule can be argued before Novem¬ 
ber. So far as I am aware, there will not be any sittings 
after term at which a rule of this kind can be argued, 
and I have no hope of getting the matter disposed of be¬ 
fore Michaelmas Term unless it be accomplished on 
Monday. If it be not disposed of on Monday, the defen¬ 
dant will have an excuse for continuing to sell poisons to 
her Majesty’s subjects between this date and November. 
The Judge .—Is it limited to the case of selling poisons P 
Mr. Flux. —Certainly; ho can sell anything else, but 
he cannot call himself chemist and druggist, and he can¬ 
not sell certain poisons if he be not a duly qualified per¬ 
son. The issue as to whether he is a duly qualified per¬ 
son or not is one which I can approach with the utmost 
confidence. I put it to your Honour that I may pro¬ 
ceed with it at once. This question will hardly be dis¬ 
posed of by the Court of Queen’s Bench, because if the 
defendant be restored to the register he will none the 
loss have been in open violation to the law during the 
period covered by this plaint. He knows that ho is not 
on the register, and my case is plain that he is violating 
the law at this moment. Whether he can obtain the 
restoration of his name to the register is a matter which 
the Court of Queen’s Bench may deal with; but that he 
will get his name restored I, as the adviser of the So¬ 
ciety, cannot for a moment imagine. Your Honour will 
see that the gist of the defendant’s case in the Court of 
Queen’s Bench is, that before a given day in 18G8 he 
carried on the business of a chemist and druggist in 
open shop, in New Street, in this town. The place is 
within a few minutes’ walk of this, and although it is 
perhaps too much for me to suggest that your Honour 
should see the place yourself, I may venture to say that if 
some one deputed by your Honour were to go, he would 
be shocked at the appearance of the place. 
The Judge .—Was there no open shop ? 
Mr. Flux. —No, your Honour. 
Mr. Chandler .—These are facts which have to be de¬ 
cided on solemn affidavits in London. The defendant’s 
witnesses are not here now, and will not be here. The 
question which is now being tried is a sort of preliminary 
one, and may be used by us on Monday. Whiskcn was 
certainly at one time on the register, and during that 
time no harm occurred to any one; and to ask your 
Honour to put a stop to a business— 
The Judge .—Is he the farrier F 
Mr. Flux. —Yes, your Honour, and never was anything 
else. 
Mr. Chandler .—I am in no position to fight the case 
to-day. My agents gave the other side notice of my in¬ 
tention to apply for this postponement, and it has not 
been consented to. 
Mr. Flux .—My reply was, that if the defendant would 
cease to use the title “ chemist and druggist,” and would 
otherwise cease to violate the law during the interval, we 
would consent. 
The Judge (to Mr. Chandler).—One would have thought 
that you would have been willing to have foregone the 
selling of poisons. 
Mr. Chandler .—We have not violated the law, and 
why should a large society ride rough-shod over us F 
Acting under the advice of counsel, I would not give 
such an undertaking. Besides, there is in the defen¬ 
dant’s shop a member of the Pharmaceutical Society 
acting as his assistant; and no danger can therefore 
arise, and, even if it did, the Pharmaceutical Society 
would not be liable for it. Therefore, that argument is, 
I think, a somewhat far-fetched one. The case is before- 
your Honour, but I repeat that I am not prepared to 
proceed with it now. 
Mr. Flux. —I know nothing about there being any 
member of the Society in the defendant’s employ. 
The Judge. —I wall turn the matter over in my mind. 
Mr. Flux. —Respecting my friend’s statement as to this 
gentleman’s name having been on the register, I should 
like your Honour to note that it was placed on the re¬ 
gister on the strength of a certificate granted by a gen¬ 
tleman who is at present High Sheriff of the count}'; 
and that, upon a letter being addressed to that gentle¬ 
man by the Registrar of the Society (a most courteous 
letter, as your Honour will see), directing his attention 
to that which he had signed, as well as to the words of 
the statute,—that gentleman wrote a most courteous- 
reply, expressing his prior ignorance of the words of 
the statute, and withdrawing his certificate; and there¬ 
upon the Council of the Society erased the defendant’s 
name from the register. 
Mr. Chandler. —Although they had received further 
certificates. 
Mr. Flux. —No, they had not. 
The Judge.- —What I have to do is to make up my 
mind whether I shall direct this case to be adjourned or 
not, and I will consider the matter. 
At a later period of the day, the Judge, addressing tho- 
defendant’s attorney, said : The facts are admitted which 
render the defendant liable to the penalty, and you seek 
an adjournment only in consequence of the proceedings, 
in town F 
Mr. Chandler. —Yes, because we say that he ought to 
be on the register. 
The Judge. —I do not conceive that I have any power 
to abrogate any section of the Act of Parliament, or to 
add any words to it. Even admitting that it had been 
already decided that the Pharmaceutical Society were 
wrong in excluding the name of the defendant from the 
register, he would still, according to the Act of Parlia¬ 
ment, be liable to this penalty, and I should have no 
power, so far as I can at present see, to relieve him from 
it. I sit here to administer the law as I find it. 
Mr. Chandler. —Supposing that the Court of Queen’s 
Bench decides that the defendant is entitled to have his 
name upon the register, we shall obtain a judge’s order 
directing the Society to reinstate the name. 
The Judge .—That would not relieve him from the 
penalty; he was not on the register at the time when 
the act complained of was committed. 
Mr. Chandler .—Very true ; but if the judges order his 
name to be replaced, the Society will be obliged to com¬ 
ply with the order, and then they would not be able to 
sue him for a penalty. 
The Judge. —Still he would not have been on the- 
register during the past time, in respect of which this 
action is brought. 
Mr. Chandler. —Your Honour will see that the judges 
might find that it was wrong to remove his name. 
The Judge. —I do not know that they would have the- 
power to do so. They might grant a ride against me in 
enforcing the penalty against him under those circum¬ 
stances ; that, however, is not the case before me. Ac¬ 
cording to the Act of Parliament he is within the penal 
clause, and I do not think that I have any power to re¬ 
lieve him ; but what I can do is this, to say to.the repre¬ 
sentative of the Society; if it be decided against you in 
the Court of Queen’s Bench, I would suggest that you 
should undertake not to enforce the penalty. 
* We arc informed by the Registrar that the assistant is 
not a member of the Pharmaceutical Society, nor is he on the 
Register of Chemists and Druggists.—Ln. 1’haeii. JouiiX. 
