July 8,1871.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
31 
realization of the hope expressed by the British 
Medical Journal, and re-echoed by the Lancet, that 
a clause should be inserted to provide for the in¬ 
spection of druggists’ shops. 
Certainly the general reception of the Bill in the 
House tliis morning did not appear to bear out the 
announcement in the Lancet last week, that the 
Government was prepared to carry it, without re¬ 
gard to the objections of those most interested ; and 
the prediction ventured this week that a few hours 
would probably decide the fate of the Bill was strik¬ 
ingly negatived at the very moment when that 
prediction was passing through the press. 
UNIVERSITY NOTES. 
At the recent Examinations of the University of 
London, Mr. William Augustus Tilden, Demon¬ 
strator in the Laboratory of the Pharmaceutical 
Society, passed the D.Sc. examination. We see 
from the official report that a strange mistake has 
been made in the account given of Dr. Tilden ’s 
scientific education, inasmuch as he is stated to have 
been a student of the Hoyal College of Chemistry. 
This was not the case, and as Dr. Tilden is one of 
the most distinguished students of the School of 
Pharmacy, we cannot, in justice to the Society, do 
otherwise than correct the error of the official report 
of the University of London by stating that he merely 
attended some of Professor Hofmann’s lectures at 
the Royal College of Chemistry, and that with the 
exception of private study he received his scientific 
education in the laboratory of the Pharmaceutical 
Society at the time when Mr. Allchin occupied the 
position now held by Dr. Tilden. 
The duties of the Vice-Chancellor’s office in the 
University of London, vacated by the death of Mr. 
Grote, will for the present, it is understood, be dis¬ 
charged by Sir Edward Ryan. The President’s 
chair at University College, vacant from the same 
cause, is to be filled by Lord Belper. Notwith¬ 
standing the alleged increased severity of the matri¬ 
culation examination at this University, and the 
large number who have failed in recent years, the 
number of candidates presenting themselves on the 
last occasion was larger than in any previous year, 
being over six hundred. 
An offer of £2000 has been made towards the 
proposed establishment of a chair of applied physics 
in the Andersonian University at Glasgow, and five 
scholarsliips of the yearly value of P'50 each, are to 
be founded in connection with the recently-added 
chair of technical chemistry. A college of techno¬ 
logy, also, is contemplated in Glasgow. 
It is announced that upwards of <£22,000 of the 
sum estimated to be required for the College of Phy¬ 
sical Science at Newcastle has already been sub¬ 
scribed. 
ILLEGAL SALE OF POISONS. 
Though we think it desirable that steps should bo 
taken to enforce the provisions of the Pharmacy Act 
in regard to the sale of poisons, and that persons 
who persist in disregarding those provisions should 
be prosecuted in conformity with the Act, it is at the 
same time highly desirable to avoid any appearance 
of oppressive application of the law, and that any 
steps taken with the object stated should be taken upon 
unquestionably good grounds. We fear that in the 
case reported at p/38 this has not been done; for it 
appears to us more than doubtful whether prussiate 
of potash comes within the scope of the words “ all 
metallic cyanides.” In the first place, this salt is- 
not a cyanide, but a ferrocyanide; then again,— 
what is still more important,—it is, de facto , not a 
poison any more than cream of tartar is. For this 
latter reason alone, it should not be comprised by the- 
terms of the schedule; and if those terms be held 
to include it, it seems equally clear that the sche¬ 
dule needs revision. 
A CONFERENCE QUESTION. 
The letter published with this title at p. 40, re¬ 
lates to a point which we tliink should receive atten¬ 
tion ; and, while we have for that reason suggested 
to our correspondent that he should communicate 
with the Local Secretary in Edinburgh, it may not 
be out of place to express the opinion that the oppor¬ 
tunity of promoting “friendly intercourse among 
those engaged in pharmacy,” which is afforded by 
having a common place of meeting together in the 
evenings during the Conference meeting, is one of 
the most valuable features of tliis annual gathering. 
We believe also that, quite apart from the agreeable 
nature of those evening meetings, many members of 
the Conference share with us the opinion expressed 
as to their higher utility. 
In a recent number of the Lancet an opinion is 
expressed that social gatherings, like the Conversa¬ 
zione of the College of Physicians, the Royal Society, 
the Pharmaceutical Society, the Society of Arts, etc.,, 
might be multiplied with great advantage ; and that 
if professional and scientific men could be more fre¬ 
quently brought together for the purpose of pleasant 
mutual intercourse,—to examine the latest inventions- 
in science and the latest novelties in connection with 
their calling, or to chat about politics and things 
in general affecting them,—jealousies would be 
softened down, and a wider spirit of charity would 
grow up amongst them. The Editor of the Lancet 
thinks that tliis course would be of special service to 
the medical profession, and we believe it would be 
equally serviceable to pharmacists. 
Since visitors to the Conference will have to reach 
Edinburgh on the Monday, and will not participate- 
in the advantage given to members of the British 
Association, as regards the extension of the usual 
limits of return tickets, we may mention that 
tourists’ return tickets, available for a month, can be 
obtained at any time. The charges for these tickets- 
are £6. 3 s. first-class, and £2. 10 s. third-class. 
