499 
THE TWO SOCIETIES, FROM WHICH TIIE BILLS FOR RE¬ 
GULATING THE QUALIFICATIONS OF CHEMISTS AND 
DRUGGISTS HAVE EMANATED. 
The two Bills now Before Parliament for regulating the qualifications of 
Chemists and Druggists have emanated from, and are promoted by, two in¬ 
dependent associations or Societies, both of which claim to represent in this 
matter the prevailing opinion of the members of the trade to which the Bills 
relate. Statements have been made with reference to this point, by persons 
representing each of these Societies, which statements are greatly at variance 
with each other, and some of which are calculated to convey a very errone¬ 
ous impression of the real facts of the case. The Government and the Legis- « 
lature are very naturally desirous of knowing the feelings of those who would 
be most directly and materially affected by the proposed alteration of the 
law. They expect in such cases to have application made to them in the 
shape of solicitation or remonstrance, by deputation, petition or otherwise, 
and the value attached to such communications is influenced in a great mea¬ 
sure by the number, position, and character of those by whom they are 
made. 
The Chemists and Druggists Bill No. 1 is the result of long and mature 
deliberation of the Council and Members of the Pharmaceutical Society, by 
whom it is recommended for support to the body of Chemists and Druggists 
throughout the country. A deputation from this Societj r having appealed to 
the Secretary of State in favour of the measure, was asked for some tangible 
indication of the general feeling of the trade with reference to it, and they 
accordingly applied through their Local Secretaries to all the Chemists and 
Druggists in the principal towns for a declaration in favour of this Bill, which 
was responded to with a remarkable amount of unanimity. In most of the 
great centres of commerce and intelligence, not only a real but an over¬ 
whelming majority of Chemists and Druggists of every grade willingly 
signed the declaration, and in a great many instances every individual joined 
in this expression of approbation. The result of this application was commu¬ 
nicated to Sir George Grey, and, founded upon it, the representatives of this 
Society claimed for themselves the character in this matter of representatives 
of the trade. 
But, meanwhile, the Chemists and Druggists Bill No. 2 was being pro¬ 
duced as a rival measure emanating from a rival Society, “The United 
Society of Chemists and Druggists,” who appear to claim that they represent 
all the Chemists and Druggists not belonging to the Pharmaceutical Society. 
This Bill No. 2, although aiming at similar objects to those contemplated by 
Bill No. 1, proposes to carry them out in a different way, as we have explained 
in the preceding article. Its promoters having personal interest in the result 
have made strenuous efforts to promote their own object by throwing discredit, . 
not only upon the means resorted to, but upon the very character and position 
of their competitors. Some of the statements that have been thus made w r c 
have alluded to elsewhere ; those we wish now to deal with relate to the re¬ 
lative numerical strength, position, and character of the tw^o Societies. 
It has been stated, and positively asserted over and over again, that not only 
does the United Society more fully and really represent the body of Chemists 
and Druggists than the Pharmaceutical Society does, but that it also com¬ 
prises a larger number of members, and therefore that its position and cha¬ 
racter are such as to claim at least equal consideration, while its influence is 
far greater than that of the Pharmaceutical Society. 
