"^""  ocriSr™'}        Iiiternational  Pharmaceutical  Congress.  525 
SIXTH  INTERN ATIOISTAL  PHARMACEUTICAL 
CONGRESS. 
On  the  afternoon  of  Monday,  August  31st,  a  seance  solennelle  was  held 
in  the  Palais  des  Academies,  in  Brussels,  and  the  Congress  was  forinally 
opened  by  Prince  Caraman-Chiniay,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  acting  on 
behalf  of  the  King  of  Belgium,  in  the  presence  of  various  representatives 
of  the  State  and  of  the  city.  About  twenty  countries  were  represented  by 
■delegates.  Mr.  Van  Bastelaer,  the  President  of  the  Provisional  Commit- 
tee, addressed  the  Congress,  and  the  Secretary,  Mr.  Van  de  Vyvere,  after 
reading  the  names  of  honorary  officers  and  honorary  members  of  the  Con- 
gress, gave  an  account  of  the  preliminary  work  accomplished.  On  motion 
of  Dr.  Mehu,  of  Paris,  the  Provisional  Committee  was  elected  the  execu- 
tive body  of  the  Congress.  Vice-Presidents  were  selected  from  the  different 
nationalities.  Secretaries  for  the  four  sections  were  appointed,  and  the  gen- 
■eral  regulations  for  the  conduct  of  business  were  approved.  In  the  even- 
ing an  official  reception  by  the  municipal  authorities  at  the  Hotel  de  Ville 
•was  tendered  to  the  members  and  their  ladies. 
^  Tuesday  morning,  September  1st,  was  devoted  to  work  in  the  sections. 
In  the  first  section,  Mr.  Verhassel  presiding,  Mr.  Berquier  reported  on 
veterinary  pharmacy^  and  a  resolution  was  adopted  declaring  that  the  dis- 
pensing of  veterinary  medicines,  for  which  the  most  powerful  drugs  are 
employed,  should  be  regulated  by  legislative  enactments.  Dr.  Quinlan 
read  a  paper  on  the  necessity  for  an  International  PharmacopeEia  from  a 
medical  point  of  view,  which  was  ordered  to  be  published.  Reports  on 
Pharmaceutical  Apprenticeship  were  read  by  Mr.  Heger  for  the  Vienna 
Pharmaceutical  Society,  and  by  Mr.  Patrouillard,  of  Gisors.  Mr.  Bertault 
■discussed  the  subject  of  Assurance  Societies  by  Pharmacists. 
Mr.  Cornells  presided  over  the  second  section,  in  which  jDapers  were  re;id 
by  Mr.  Bottger,  of  Bunzlau,  on  the  sale  of  pateyit  ^ne.dicines ;  by  Dr.  Mehu 
on  the  solubility  of  mercuric  iodide  in  fats,  and  by  Mr.  Zanni,  of  Constan- 
tinople, on  p^ar?7zaceit^icaZ  specia^/^ies.  This  subject  created  an  animated 
-discussion,  but  its  consideration,  like  that  introduced  by  Mr.  Bottger,  was 
finally  postponed. 
The  third  section,  under  the  presidency  of  Mr.  Belval,  was  devoted  to 
sanitary  subjects.  The  danger  attending  the  use  of  lead  pipes  for  ivater 
■supply  introduced  by  Mr.  Hanion,  of  Boulogne,  lead  to  considerable  dis- 
cussion, involving  also  the  effects  of  poisonous  metals  and  salts  when  used 
for  domestic  purposes.  It  was  deemed  proper  that  the  use  of  lead  pipes 
should  be  prohibited,  in  case  the  composition  of  the  potable  water  should 
be  of  such  a  nature  as  to  dissolve  lead  ;  and  that  caution  should  be  exer- 
cised in  the  use  of  lead-glazed  pots,  in  the  cleaning  of  bottles  by  means  of 
shot,  and  in  the  coloring  of  articles  of  food  by  copper  pigments,  etc. 
In  the  fourth  section,  presided  over  by  Van  Bastelaer,  Mr.  Madden,  of 
-Copenhagen,  spoke  on  the  restrictions  for  lessening  the  evils  of  the  immod- 
erate use  of  opium.,  contending  that  the  sale  of  opiat<  s  should  be  restricted 
to  pharmacies,  and  that  prescriptions  containing  morphine  should  not  be 
renewed.   The  subject  was  postponed  for  the  present,  wlien  Mr.  Patrouii- 
