408 
MINUTES  OF  THE 
E.  Parrish,  of  Philadelphia,  J.  F.  Moore,  of  Baltimore,  W.  J.  M. 
Gordon,  of  Cincinnati,  S.  M.  Colcord,  of  Boston,  T.  S.  Wiegand, 
of  Philadelphia,  by  the  delegations.    Frederick  Stearns,  of  De- 
troit, Charles  A.  Tufts  and  E.  W.  Sackrider,  by  the  President. 
The  President  now  read  his  annual  address. 
To  the  Members  of  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Association  : 
Gentlemen, —  We  feel  highly  privileged  in  meeting  again  in  this  beau- 
tiful city,  the  centre  of  learning  and  refinement,  where  we  have  always 
been  welcomed*  with  so  much  cordiality  and  genuine  hospitality.  We  re- 
joice to  meet  within  her  classic  and  historic  walls,  feeling  that  when  we 
return  to  our  distant  homes,  we  shall  feel  that  it  was  good  for  us  that  we 
had  been  there. 
We  meet  this  year  under  circumstances  of  no  ordinary  importance  and 
significance,  both  as  regards  the  time  and  the  place. 
Since  our  last  assembling,  in  the  Queen  City  of  the  West,  the  direful 
sounds  of  desolating  war  have  ceased  ;  the  honor  of  the  flag  of  our  coun- 
try has  been  vindicated  ;  peace  and  union  once  more  reign  throughout 
the  length  and  breadth  of  our  land. 
You  will  not  consider  me  an  enthusiast  when  I  say  that  we  ought  to 
bless  and  praise  our  God  with  all  our  hearts,  for  His  great  mercies  to  us 
as  a  nation  ;  we  ought  to  show  forth  ,our  gratitude  for  His  goodness  to  us, 
with  the  best  power  we  possess.  Allow  me  to  congratulate  you  upon 
this  most  auspicious  event,  of  such  vast  moment  not  only  to  our  country, 
but  also  to  our  honored  Association.  May  the  gates  of  the  temple  of 
Janus,  which  have  been  open  during  the  last  four  eventful  years  in  the 
history  of  our  country,  and  are  now  to  mark  the  return  of  peace,  remain 
closed  forever.  May  the  God  of  nations  so  rule  the  destinies  of  our  great 
and  glorious  republic,  that  our  citizens  may  never  again  be  summoned 
from  the  walks  of  peace  and  usefulness  to  learn  the  art  of  war,  and  pour 
forth  in  seas  of  blood  their  precious  lives, — thus  carrying  desolation  and 
bereavement  to  the  hearts  and  hearths  of  their  once  happy  homes. 
As  members  of  a  scientific  Association,  having  for  its  main  object  the 
advancement  of  the  members  of  our  calling,  in  elevating  and  useful 
knowledge,  we  have,  as  a  matter  of  course,  nothing  whatever  to  do  with 
politics  ;  our  boast  is  that  we  meet  on  the  common  ground  of  a  brother- 
hood which  interferes  not  with  the  religion  or  politics  of  any  of  its  mem- 
bers. W'e  feel,  therefore,  that  we  have  nothing  to  do  as  a  Convention, 
assembled  for  such  purposes  as  I  have  indicated,  with  the  war,  (which  is 
now  happily  closed,)  other  than  to  deplore  its  necessity,  to  mourn  over 
tl  e  separation  it  has  caused  us,  for  the  time  being,  from  many  of  our 
brethren  ;  to  regret  the  hindrance  it  has  been  to  the  advancement  of  our 
cause,  and  to  rejoice  (which  we  do  most  heartily)  in  its  termination. 
Many  of  our  members,  particularly  in  the  Southern  States,  have  been 
