76 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[July 22, 1871. 
Our colleague Professor von Giesebrecht, in liis ad¬ 
dress as rector of tho university, lias dwelt upon the 
part which the German universities had in fostering the 
national idea of unity among the German races; he 
showed how the national feeling, long a glowing spark, 
kept alive in legends, and then roused and reared by 
German poets, at last ripened at the centres of German 
science. 
"VVe are proud that our king was the first German 
prince to give expression to the national idea of a Ger¬ 
man empire, and this deed will remain a brilliant monu¬ 
ment for him in history. 
It may not be out of place to state publicly, on behalf 
of our academy, that a hatred of races between the Ger¬ 
man and Latin nations does not and cannot exist. We 
look upon the heavy misery which Germany has suffered 
in former times from the Trench as upon an illness, the 
pains of which are soon forgotten on recovery. 
The peculiar disposition of the German, his knowledge 
of languages, his reading of foreign characters, the cul¬ 
ture of his mind, render him just to other nations, often 
to the extreme of being unjust to himself; and thus 
we do not forget how much we owe the great French 
philosophers, mathematicians and workers in natural 
sciences, who have been in many branches our teachers 
and our prototypes. 
Forty years ago, when I went to Paris to study che¬ 
mistry, accident drew Alexander von Humboldt’s atten¬ 
tion upon me, and a recommending word of his induced 
Gay-Lussac, one of the greatest chemists and physicists 
of his time, to propose to me, a youth of twenty, to con¬ 
tinue and to complete, under his assistance, an investi¬ 
gation of mine; he placed me in his private laboratory 
as pupil and assistant; the whole course of my life was 
thereby decided. 
Never shall I forget the kindness with which Arago, 
Dulong and Thenard met the German student; and 
how many of my German compatriots might I name 
who, like myself, thankfully recollect the active assist¬ 
ance in the pursuit of their scientific studies, given to 
them by French savants ! Warm sympathy for every¬ 
thing great and noble, and disinterested hospitality are 
among the finest traits of the French character; they 
will revive and become active again on the neutral 
ground of science on which the best minds of both na¬ 
tions must meet in the pursuit of the high common ob¬ 
ject, and thus the indissoluble fraternization, on scientific 
ground, will gradually assist in softening down the 
bitterness which animates the French national feeling 
towards Germany, the consequence of a war forced 
upon us. 
aitir Sato 
HOUSE OF COMMONS. 
Pharmacy Act (1868) Amendment Bill. —July 13.— 
Petitions against this Bill were presented from— 
Cambridge, by Mr. W. M. Torrens. 
Chatham and Brompton, by Mr. Otway. 
July 17.—Petitions against the Bill were presented 
from— 
Hastings and St. Leonard’s, by Mr. Brassev. 
Wath-on-Dearne, Mexborough, etc., by Mr. H. F. 
Beaumont. 
July 17*A, 1871. 
The Pharmacy Bill. 
Mr. Gladstone in the course of remarks on the busi¬ 
ness of the House said,—There is the Pharmacy Bill, 
which is in charge of my Right Honourable friend tho 
Vice-President of the Council, but it cannot be expected 
to pass without a great deal of discussion, and therefore 
we think it desirable to withdraw it. 
The Bill was afterwards withdrawn. 
Child Poisoned with “ Soothing Cordial.” 
On Thursday afternoon, July 13, a child named Mary 
Wood, aged one year and nine months, residing with its 
parents on Silkstone Common, died under the following 
circumstances. It appears that about half-past six on the- 
morning of the above day the deceased took from a 
chair by its mother’s bedside a bottle containing sooth¬ 
ing cordial, supplied by an unqualified practitioner at 
Thurlstone, and drank off a considerable portion of its 
contents. Some time afterwards, the symptoms -which 
usually follow the taking of narcotic poison began to 
manifest themselves, and these getting more and more- 
aggravated, Mr. C. 0. Rowley, surgeon, was called in soon 
after midday. He at once pronounced the child to be- 
suffering from the effects of poison. The usual counter¬ 
acting remedies were adopted, but without effect, death 
taking place at about half-past four. The facts have 
been communicated to the coroner, who will hold am 
inquest. 
Poisoning by Oil of Vitriol. 
On Tuesday last the child of a puddler, living near 
West Hartlepool, died from the effects of oil of vitriol 
administered to it by its mother. Upon his return from 
work the man was met by his wife, who told him she had 
poisoned one of the children. A medical man was im¬ 
mediately sent for, who found that tho little boy, agetL 
about eight months, had been dead about two hours,, 
evidently from poisoning by oil of vitriol, the tongue- 
being partially consumed, and the lips, throat, and chest 
dreadfully burnt, as also were his hands, which appeared 
to have been stretched out to push away the burning 
draught. It appears that in an outhouse, to which the 
husband and wife alone had access, the former kept a- 
quantity of chemicals for use in experiments connected 
with his trade, and that a 2 oz. bottle of oil of vitriol 
missing therefrom was found in the house by the police* 
near the bed of the murdered child. Tho woman replied* 
on being charged at the police station, that she had. 
done it. 
Companion to the last Edition of the British 
Pharmacopoeia ; with Practical Hints on Prescribing. 
By Peter Squire, F.L.S., Chemist on the establish¬ 
ment of the Queen; Chemist in Ordinary to the Prince 
of Wales; late President of the PharmaceuticaL 
Society; Member of the British Pharmacopoeia Com¬ 
mittee. Eighth Edition. London. J. and A. 
Churchill. 
Squire’s useful and popular ‘ Companion’ is already 
well and favourably known to our readers. This edition* 
the eighth, contains, according to the preface, “ the new 
medicines that have been introduced since the publica¬ 
tion of the seventh edition, and much additional practical 
information for the prescriber and dispenser.” 
The new medicines noticed are :— 
Chloroformum aconiti, made with the root of the same 
strength, and by the same process as the officinal lini¬ 
ment of aconite, recommended for the relief of neuralgia 
by external application on spongio-piline. 
" The carbolic acid blaster, of the University College 
Hospital Pharmacopoeia. 
Chlor-Alum. 
ApoMORruiA, the discoverers’ names not mentioned. 
Ferri chloroxydi liquor. 
Ferri hypopiiosphitis syrupus. 
Chloral hydrate. 
Malate of iron wine. 
Mustard leaves. 
The additional practical information comprises mainly 
the strength of the solutions for hypodermic injection of 
