BENEVOLENT FUND DINNEIJ. 
525 
Iiacl been to a certain extent satisfactory, a large amount having been raised from that 
source. They had now, he was happy to say, an invested capital of £7000, which 
amount was yearly increasing. As was to be expected, the claims on the fund were 
more numerous than at first, and, as the Society got older the age of members increased, 
they must expect the claims to increase in proportion. During the past month the appli¬ 
cants for casual relief were so great, that they gave away as much as £90. When 
the fund was established, it was contemplaled that annuities should be granted as well 
as casual and ordinary relief, so soon as they had an invested sum of £10,000. The fund, 
however, had not, unfortunately, reached that amount. The fund had gone on very slowly 
at first, but in 18G5, although they had only between £6000 and £7000, the Society, insti¬ 
gated by some of its more active members, and among them he could not help specially 
naming Mr. Orridge, granted two annuities of £30 each ; it was his privilege, as President 
of the Society, to hand it to the recipients, and he should always remember it with great 
pleasure. Since then they had granted two others, and were now paying £120 per annum 
in annuities, with an income only of £200 from the invested sum, leaving a balance in 
favour of the Society to the extent of about £80. He w'as of opinion that it was 
prudent, and he hoped he should not be considered uncharitable in saying so, that they 
ought to be exceedingly cautious, and not grant annuities up to or beyond tbe amount 
of their invested capital, because if they were to make grants beyond the positive means 
of the Society to pay, they would be defaulters, morally speaking, to the annuitants 
whose trustees they were. He thought therefore that it was their bounden duty to 
raise the fund to £10.000 at once,—no great sura considering they had at present about 
£7000 invested. They had now many applications for relief,—one, the widow of a 
man who under peculiar circumstances fell into difficulties, and since his death his wife 
had had to support herself by her needle. She had in consequence of her sad reverse of 
fortune been obliged to apply to the Society for casual relief,—and from the circum¬ 
stances connected with the case, the Society would only be too happy could they grant 
the poor widow an annuity. He therefore hoped that when they considered the amount 
of distress that unhappily prevailed, and how small a sum was required of each per¬ 
son to afford relief, that they would liberally respond to the appeal that was now made 
to them, and would not only make up the fund to £10,000, but go forward in the same 
course. It had been suggested that other benefits might be conferred on the trade by this 
Society, such for instance as endowed schools, but that was a very large question, at pre¬ 
sent quite beyond their means of accomplishing; and another suggestion was the esta¬ 
blishment of residences for the pensioners ; some member had gone so far as to send them 
in an estimate for the building. There was also a matter which they could entertain, 
and at that time,—a proposition that £2000 should be raised by a certain number of gen¬ 
tlemen by instalments. He considered it a very good suggestion, and he had thrown it 
out for their consideration. It should be borne in mind that great advantages might 
and must result to members by aiding this fund, for it very often happened unfortu¬ 
nately that prosperity in youth did not continue in old age. The fund as at present es¬ 
tablished was only applicable to Pharmaceutical Chemists, and in distributing the fund 
the Council had occasionally felt great difficulty, and had wished that they could have 
applied some to members of the general body of chemists and druggists, but he hoped 
the time would shortly come when they would all be of one body, and when all their 
unfortunate brethren would have a claim on this fund. He regretted to find that one 
of their old familiar friends, and a staunch supporter of the Society, was absent on 
that occasion, viz. Mr. Waugh. He had been one of the warmest supporters of the So¬ 
ciety, he was a large-hearted, liberal man ; and he was sure he need not inform them 
that it was domestic affliction, and not any want of interest in the fund, that kept 
Mr. Waugh away. That could not be better shown than in stating that Mr. Waugh 
had sent a check for tvventy guineas, and his son one for five. He proposed the toast 
of the evening—The Benevolent Fund of the Pharmaceutical Society, with three times 
three. 
Song—“ And doth not a meeting like this make amends ?” by W. Young. 
Mr. Vanderbyl, M.P., in proposing the toast of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great 
Britain, said it was a society which, though only twenty-six years old, had assumed a 
position and had acquired for its members a station of which they might well be proud. 
When he was invited to partake of their hospitality he visited their house in Blooms¬ 
bury Square, and he had the pleasure of meeting there Professor Bentley, who was indeed 
