July 15,1871.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
53 
The Council of the Phar¬ 
maceutical Society may 
from time to time, by reso¬ 
lution approved by the 
Privy Council, revoke, alter 
and add to the regulations 
contained in the schedule 
to this Act, or made in pur¬ 
suance of this section, and 
make new regulations in 
their place; and such re¬ 
solution so approved shall, 
on coming into operation, 
have effect as if it were 
contained in the schedule 
to this Act. 
Every resolution so ap¬ 
proved shall be published 
in such manner as the Privy 
Council may direct, and 
shall come into operation 
at the date of such publica¬ 
tion, or such later date as 
may be specified in the re¬ 
solution. 
“Dear Sir,—The defeat of Mr. Forster’s effort to read 
the Amended Pharmacy Act the second time last Thurs¬ 
day night, speaks volumes in favour of the action which 
has been taken in opposing this obnoxious Bill. It has 
been observed by one fully conversant with the general 
routine of business in the House of Commons, that to 
find so many independent members remain till so late 
an hour, except on special occasions, is a most uncom¬ 
mon occiu’rence, and powerfully evinces the interest 
taken in the present subject. The thanks of the whole 
trade are due to these gentlemen for thus practically 
demonstrating to their constituencies that the numerous 
expressions of dissent to the Bill which had been re¬ 
ceived were not disregarded, but that their interests 
were considered and watched by their representatives. 
Would that we could extend the compliment to all 
our representatives at Bloomsbury Square! We should 
not then find ourselves in the anomalous position of 
having to protect ourselves by combined action against 
those who ought to be our protectors. 
u Having touched upon this subject, we cannot refrain 
from further expressing the feeling of regret which 
pervades the trade at seeing persons, whose election our 
two Associations supported, on the distinct avowal of j 
sympathy with our views, now systematically voting in 
opposition to those opinions. 
^ “ In consequence of the alterations proposed by Mr. 
I orster, and confidentially communicated to the Phar-! 
maceutical Council for consideration at the Meeting held 
Wednesday the 5th, a lengthy and earnest discussion - 
took place, resulting in the adoption of the following ; 
resolution :— ‘ That this Council has carefully consi- i 
dered the amendments to the Pharmacy Bill, introduced ; 
by the Right Hon. W. E. Forster, and regrets that it is ' 
unable to accept them as removing its strong objections 
to the Bill.’ The members voting as a majority in fa¬ 
vour of this resolution were,—Messrs. Atherton, of Not¬ 
tingham; Bottle, of Dover; Frazer, of Glasgow; Rey¬ 
nolds, of Leeds; Sutton, of Norwich; Woolley, of Man¬ 
chester ; Betty and Greenish, of London,—showing most 
distinctly that—if these gentlemen reflect the opinions of 
their constituencies,—all the large towns and centres 
of population continue firm in their opposition to the 
Amended Bill. 
“ Let us now for a moment consider the position in 
which these amendments place us. 
“ I n the first place, all open shops are now included. 
Does this satisfy us ? Are we to be silenced by the fact 
that others will be drawn into the net in which we arc 
threatened to be taken ? Assuredly not! In all our 
cil may themselves frame 
regulations as to the matters 
aforesaid. 
All regulations approved 
or framed by the Privy 
Council in pursuance of this 
section shall have the same 
effect as regulations pre¬ 
scribed in manner specified 
in the principal Act. 
personal interviews with members of Parliament we 
have been most careful, when exhibiting the anomaly 
of making laws applying to chemists, whilst others 
keeping open shops identical with our own were left un¬ 
fettered., to assert our distinct objection to the principle 
of Government interference in such matters of practical 
detail, and also the absence of any desire on our part to 
inflict on others burdens and penalties to which we so 
strongly object for ourselves. If Mr. Forster’s desire, 
however, is really the protection of the public, in order 
to be fully consistent therein he must of necessity in¬ 
clude not only surgeons with open shops, but hospitals, 
dispensaries, infirmaries, wholesale dealers, oil and 
colourmen, drysalters, and every place where poisons 
are prepared, kept, or supplied in any way for public 
use, otherwise his Bill will be but partial in its opera¬ 
tion, and unjust in its principle. 
“A second alteration is, the removal of the power of 
initiating regulations from the hands of the Privy Coun¬ 
cil into the hands of the Pharmaceutical Council, the 
effect of which would be to deprive the Society, in its 
corporate capacity, of the power it now possesses of 
accepting or rejecting such additional regulations, and 
transferring the entire authority and power into the 
hands of the Pharmaceutical Council. To this we also 
distinctly object. Our voices have hitherto been raised 
against the assumption of that power by the Privy 
Council, on the ground that members of that body are 
of necessity ignorant of the essential practical details ; 
we now, with equal distinctness, protest against the 
members of the Pharmaceutical Society being excluded, 
from the power of expressing an opinion upon questions 
which vary so considerably in different localities, re¬ 
membering that the representative character of that 
Council (as regards locality) may at any time, by cir¬ 
cumstances over which we can have no control, be- 
entirely destroyed, as illustrated only a few months- 
since, when the seven members of Council elected by 
‘ drawing of lots ’ were every one provincial men, leav¬ 
ing London entirely unrepresented. 
“ The third alteration is also one of great importance, 
appealing to every one of us in accents unmistakable, 
viz. the increase of penalty for omitting to carry out 
the prescribed regulations from five to ten pounds, for 
the second and subsequent offences against the law. 
Added to which, according to the 26th clause of the Act, 
1868, the Privy Council may direct the name of any 
person convicted of any offence against this Act to be 
erased from the register. 
“This we consider a most arbitrary exercise of power 
which in practice would-be highly prejudicial to our in¬ 
terests, and add very materially and unnecessarily to 
our anxiety in conducting business. 
“For the above reasons we feel satisfied you will feel 
it your duty to use every possible effort to prevent the 
passing of the Bill next Monday, the 17th inst.; to this 
end we would remind you that nothing carries more 
weight to the minds of your representatives in Parlia¬ 
ment than communications from their own constituents. 
We would venture therefore to press very earnestly 
upon you to write, without a day’s delay, to your mem¬ 
bers, showing them that the alterations, instead of re¬ 
moving objections, simply extend the ground of our dis¬ 
approval, and urging upon them to give the Bill their 
unqualified opposition. 
“ We would further suggest that any surgeons keep¬ 
ing open shops in your neighbourhood should at once 
be made aware of the alterations in the Bill, by which 
they will be brought under the control of the Council of 
the Pharmaceutical Society. 
“Wo arc, Sir, your obedient servants, 
“ Robt. Hampsox, lion. Sec. to the 
“ Chemist# Defence Association, Manchester. 
“Edwin B. Yizeii, Hon. Sec. to the 
“Metropolitan Chemists Defence Association.' 
