183 
TESTIMONIAL TO DR. EDWARDS AT LIVERPOOL. 
A considerable sum of money having been subscribed in Liverpool, and gentlemen in 
London and elsewhere with whom Dr. Edwards had been intimately associated, princi¬ 
pally in connection with the Pharmaceutical Society,—the Pharmaceutical Coufereuce 
and the British Association, having heard that some compliment to their friend and col¬ 
league was intended, at once requested to be allowed to join in the tribute of respect. 
The presentation took place on Tuesday evening, September 4th, at the Koyal Insti¬ 
tution, Colquitt Street, and the whole of the subscribers and their friends were invited 
on the occasion. Amongst those present were the Kev. C. D. Ginsburg, LL.D., Eev. E. 
Mellor, M.A., Dr. Nevins, Dr. Moore, Dr. Higginson, Messrs. J. A. Picton, J. Abraham, 
William Crosfield, jun., K. Sumner, A. Bedford, D. Wharrie, E. Davies, J. Shaw, M. 
Murphy, J. Dutton, S. Banner, G. Barber, W. J. Baker, D. Marples, etc. etc. The Eev. 
W. Banister, one of the honorary secretaries, was unavoidably absent. Tea, coffee, and 
other refreshments having been duly discussed, and conversational regrets and good 
wishes with the guest of the evening ended, the chair was taken by the Eev. Dr. 
Ginsburg, Vice-President of the Literary and Philosophical Society, who spoke as 
follows:— 
Gentlemen,—You all know the occasion which has brought us together this evening. 
We are to express to our friend Dr. Edwards our appreciation of his past services both here 
in this town and throughout the country, as well as to express our deep feeling at the loss 
which we are to sustain at his departure from Liverpool. Liverpool is the last place in 
England, I was going to say, as a large town, which can well afford losing a scientific 
and literary man like Dr. Edwards. We are not overcrowded with such scientific 
men as he is, and the few that exist we are sorry to find are diminishing gradually year 
after year. In addition to those who have lately left us, we are now about to sustain 
another loss in the person of Dr. Edwards. He is well known to us all, an^ requires no 
commendation from any one of us. But whilst we thus express to him our gratitude 
by the things which we are now to present to him, we, at the same time, cannot forget 
that we shall henceforth lose him from our midst. Eecent discoveries and achievements, 
however, make the local loss of a man not so great as otherwise it used to be. In Ca¬ 
nada he will be able to speak to ns in a minute or two, and I am sure he will not forget 
his Liverpool friends. I wish we in Liverpool had something permanent to detain literary 
and scientific men. If we had any institutions, scientific, literary, or artistic, whereby per¬ 
manent offices or other things might be assigned to these individuals, they would have, as 
it were, a place of fixture here. However, as it is, merchants in town make their money 
rapidly. With the increase of money there is an increase in the expense of living 
which scientific and literary.men cannot keep up or compete with. They therefore 
stand, in a town like Liverpool, pre-eminently at a disadvantage. Conventionalism in 
society has often succeeded in entrapping men of science and literature; and hence 
literary and scientific men, who cannot live upon their inventions and contrivances, but, 
like ordinary mortals, must live upon bread-and-cheese, are, like other men, driven to go 
to that part of the world where they can comfortably settle, rather than remain among 
those to whom they are allied by the ties of nature, and to whom they might look for 
consolation and comfort. These circumstances have driven from Liverpool several of 
those whom we looked up to as literary and scientific men, and whom we loved. I 
therefore trust that in future we shall try not simply to express our esteem for a man 
when he leaves, but to keep him if we can. If by any means our societies could asso¬ 
ciate and establish something permanent, whereby a few such men might be kept, the 
few would form a nucleus for more. As it is, every one here feels as a solitary planet 
and sometimes he becomes an erratic star, and takes his departure altogether. In 
expressing to Dr. Edwards our appreciation of his scientific and literary qualifications, 
and of his high moral character and other social qualities, we beg him to understand 
that we do not intend these expressions as a bait for others to go. We would rather 
increase them if you. Dr. Edwards, would remain. However, in a long letter you can often 
let us know what you are doing in the other part of the world, and thereby keep up 
your communication with us, and we shall be always only too glad to respond to any ex¬ 
pression of friendship or of sympathy from you whenever you make any communication 
to us. Our indefatigable secretary, Mr. Shaw, who has so distinguished himself in the 
matter of this memorial, will now read some letters which he has received. 
The first letter read was from the Eev. H. Stowell Brown, regretting his inability to 
be present on the occasion, and stating that he had long held Dr. Edwards in great 
