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BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL COI^FERENCE. 
to bis business, and more or less well educated for any purposes ; tbe other was tbe 
grocer, buckster, and tbe baberdasber, wbo rusbed into a business of wbicb be knew 
nothing at all, nor was likely to. lie might say a good deal upon the other points 
raised in tbe paper, but be would content himself with obseiwing that they were points 
upon wbicb be bad felt very strongly for a number of years. 
Mr. Stoddart rose to speak with some diffidence, because of the superior experience 
of Mr. Deane, Avbo had many more opportunities for observation than himself; but there 
was one thing in regard to assistants, not mentioned in Mr. Ince’s excellent paper, 
which to bis mind was the cause of the antagonistic feeling towards the employer alluded 
to by the last speaker. Dor many years past he had acted upon a rule founded upon 
his own impressions, and had found it to operate exceedingly well; in fact, he did not 
remember a single assistant wdio had exhibited the slightest antagonism to himself. His 
acquaintance Avith the business of a chemist and druggist had shown him that there was 
an impression among assistants that they were not what their name implied, but a kind 
of slave; the master himself did not do the Avork, but simply left it for the assistant to 
do. The proper duty of the assistant, hoAvever, Avas to assist the master. He thought, 
if that fact were more borne in mind by masters, they Avould find less of the spirit of 
antagonism among assistants. With regard to the early closing of shops, it was always 
a source of great pleasure to him to act Avith those in his own business; but he must 
tell them that it would be a very difficult thing for him to fall in Avith the movement. 
He had even gone so far as to close his shop at seven in the evening; but he was 
obliged to give it up, and he had no doubt that Mr. Giles, Mr. Schacht, and others living 
at Clifton, Avould bear him out as to the necessity of keeping open longer. Both at 
Clifton and at Bristol, the better class of customers did not come into toAAm till late in the 
afternoon, and if they closed their shops entirely, the inference draAA'n Avould be that they 
did not care about their patronage. 
Mr. Halliday said, that in Manchester the principal shops had adopted a little better 
habit, closing about eight o’clock as"a rule. The question of closing at seven or eight 
Avas simply one of neighbourhood. He thought, too, that it was quite as possible to get 
shops closed on Saturday as on Sunday, if they cared to make the effort. Shops in other 
trades continued to carry out the system, and he saw no difficulty Avhatever Avhy the 
druggists should not follow their example. He thought that it was a question worth 
consideration, if shopping after business hours could not be discouraged by making a 
small extra charge for everything supplied. This would be of no consequence to those 
really requiring medicines, and Avould lessen other demands. 
Mr. Schacht, after eulogizing the manner in which Mr. Ince had dealt with the Avhole 
subject of pharmaceutical ethics, said there were two points upon which his personal 
experience might be considered, perhaps, to give him a right to say a fcAV words. The 
first was the practice preA^ailing more or less among them of dispensing for medical men. 
Noav, when he went into business, he inherited an arrangement made betivcen his pre¬ 
decessor and a certain medical firm; that alliance had lasted upivards of twenty years, 
but he Avas happy to tell them that it Avas now at an end. At first sight, there appeared 
much to be said in favour of such arrangements. Many chemists thought they were 
profitable, and brought business. That Avas, no doubt, a very debatable point; but so 
far as his experience Avent, he was inclined to think that these arrangements Avere not 
invariably profitable. The prices Avhicli he received Avere liberal, and the connection 
had ahvays been very agreeable; but after calm consideration he came to the conclusion 
t hat the person dispensed for and the person dispensing were placed in false positions. 
Upon the dispenser rested all the responsibility; to him, and not to the medical maiq 
attached the blame and discredit of sending a late bottle of medicine, and how much 
people thought of such a thing! It gave the appearance of carelessness and inattention, 
and faults much Avorse than those Avere often insinuated; but they all knew that late¬ 
ness in sending out medicine might be due to lateness on the part of the principal in 
issuing the prescription. Another point to which he Avished to refer Avas the fact that 
many medical men would not send their prescriptions to dispensers known to be under 
arrangements Avith other medical men, for fear of being betrayed. He had, therefore, 
deliberately come to the conclusion never to enter into such a compact again; and he 
had ahvays been careful to avoid a repetition of the mistake of his predecessor. There 
Avas one more topic in Mr. luce’s paper to which he should like to allude, and in respect 
to Avhich he had been made an illustration oMlie author’s position, viz., the obligation 
