PHARMACY    IN    GREAT    BRITAIN.  387 
the  House,  Mr.  Lacy,  attempted  to  impede  its  passage  by  offer- 
ing a  motion,  that  it  be  made  the  Jaw  of  the  land,  that  all 
medicines  vended  by  apothecaries  and  druggists  for  external  use, 
and  all  poisonous  liquids,  like  laudanum,,  for  either  external  or  in- 
ternal use,  be  sold  only  in  square  or  polygonal-sided  bottles,  whilst 
internal  medicines,  not  poisons,  should  be  vended  in  round  or  oval 
bottles.  The  proposition  to  insert  this  clause  called  out  the  action 
of  the  Council  of  the  Society,  who  opposed  it  as  injudicious  and 
destructive  of  its  own  object.  Some  of  the  strongest  opposition 
to  the  bill  arose  from  the  idea  that  the  chemists  and  druggists 
were  aiming  secretly  at  medical  practice,  so  as  to  conflict  wTith 
apothecaries  or  general  practitioners;  whilst,  on  the  other  hand, 
opposition  was  manifested  by  members  of  Parliament,  on  the 
ground  that  the  bill  was  striking  at  free  trade  in  drugs  and  medi- 
cines by  creating  a  trading  monopoly.  The  Royal  College  of  Sur- 
geons of  Glasgow,  and  the  Faculty  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons 
of  Edinburgh,  sent  petitions  opposed  to  the  bill,  on  the  ground  of 
interference  with  their  rights  of  licensing  in  Scotland,  and  asking 
Parliament  to  confer  the  same  licensing  power,  asked  for  in  the 
bill,  on  their  bodies,  that  they  might  individually  examine  the 
chemists  and  druggists  in  Scotland. 
On  the  12th  of  February,  1852,  Mr.  Bell  again  moved  the  con- 
sideration of  a  Pharmacy  Bill,  which  he  stated  was  similar  to 
the  one  brought  forward  at  the  last  session,  with  some  alterations 
to  meet  the  objections  of  some  of  its  opponents,  which  was  read, 
and  its  second  reading  fixed  for  the  25th  of  February.  A  change 
of  Ministry  having  occurred,  the  second  reading  was  postponed 
till  March  17th,  when  Mr.  Bell  presented  petitions  from  the  Royal 
Colleges  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  in  its  favor,  and  a  petition 
signed  by  150  eminent  medical  practitioners  in  London,  and 
numerous  others  over  the  country.  He  then  stated  the  merits  of 
the  bill  as  then  proposed,  explained  the  clauses  on  which  doubts 
were  offered,  and  finally  moved  its  second  reading,  which,  after 
some  opposition,  was  agreed  to,  and  the  bill  referred  to  a  select 
committee,  consisting  of  Jacob  Bell,  chairman,  Mr.  Ewart,  Mr. 
Bouverie,  Sir  William  Gibson  Craig,  Sir  Henry  Willoughby,  Mr. 
Wakley,  Mr.  Deedes,  Mr.  Hindley,  Mr.  Jackson,  Mr.  Farrar,  Mr. 
Wyld,  and  Lord  Burghley. 
This  committee  met  on  the  30th  of  March,  on  the  2d,  22d,26th, 
