Am*ootu,ri89aarm'}    British  Pharmaceutical  Conference.  517 
purposes  that  is  obtained  from  a  source  polluted  by  sewage,  beyond 
that  which  would  be  allowable  in  a  drinking  water,  stream  or  pond, 
and  that  in  general  it  is  much  safer  to  use  for  drinking  water  and 
for  placing  in  contact  with  food  that  portion  of  the  ice  that  is  clear. 
— Ptiblic  Health. 
BRITISH  PHARMACEUTICAL  CONFERENCE.1 
On  Monday  evening,  September  1,  the  proceedings  of  the  British  Pharma- 
ceutical Conference,  at  Leeds,  commenced  with  a  very  numerously  attended 
reception,  held  by  the  President,  supported  by  other  officers  of  the  Conference 
in  the  Philosophical  Hall,  Park  Row.  After  a  short  interval,  during  which  the 
greetings  of  friends  and  new  introductions  were  interspersed  by  inspections  of 
the  many  interesting  objects  in  the  Museum  of  the  Institute,  supplemented  by 
special  exhibits  of  microscopes  and  electric  apparatus,  most  of  the  company 
adjourned  to  the  Lecture  Theatre.  There  an  entertainment  consisting  of  some 
capitally  executed  songs,  and  recitations  had  been  provided,  and  this  was 
followed  by  a  lantern  display  of  some  very  artistic  views  of  the  Wharfedale 
and  other  districts.  The  gathering  was  a  most  successful  one,  and  the  arrange- 
ments made  were  fully  appreciated  by  the  company. 
The  next  morning,  a  few  minutes  after  ten,  the  chair  was  taken  in  the  theatre 
of  the  Philosophical  Hall  by  the  President,  Mr.  Charles  Umney,  and  Mr. 
Richard  Reynolds,  in  a  few  well-chosen  words,  tendered  the  Conference  a 
hearty  Yorkshire  welcome  to  Leeds.  A  list  of  the  delegates  deputed  by  various 
associations  to  represent  them  at  the  sittings  of  the  Conference  was  read,  and 
after  reference  had  been  made  to  letters  of  apology  that  had  been  received 
from  Professor  Bentley,  Professor  Attfield  and  others,  the  ground  was  left  clear 
for  the  regular  business. 
The  President  then  called  upon  the  senior  Honorary  Secretary,  Mr.  W.  A.  H. 
Naylor,  to  read  the  report  of  the  Executive  Committee.  This  document  com- 
menced with  an  expression  of  satisfaction  at  the  maintenance  of  the  prestige 
of  the  Conference  and  its  continued  prosperity.  It  may  be  remarked,  however, 
that  neither  on  this  occasion,  nor  on  several  previous  ones,  has  the  Committee 
presented  any  statistics  to  show  the  numerical  relations  of  the  membership  to 
this  prosperity,  and  these  are  hardly  revealed  by  an  examination  of  the  Finan- 
cial Statement.  The  first  event  referred  to  in  the  report  was  the  resignation  by 
Dr.  J.  C.  Thresh,  in  November  last,  of  the  office  of  Honorary  General  Secre- 
tary, the  Committee  recording  its  sense  of  the  valuable  services  rendered  by 
him  during  the  five  years  he  had  held  the  office.  This  was  followed  by  the 
statement  that  Mr.  F.  Ransom,  F.C.S.,  had  been  selected  to  fill  the  vacancy. 
Allusion  was  also  made  to  the  death  of  Mr.  Smeeton,  a  Vice-President,  and 
the  consequent  changes.  Another  subject  was  the  publication  of  an  Addendum 
to  the  Unofficial  Formulary  in  January,  and  the  report  also  contained  some 
words  of  congratulation  upon  the  recent  appointment  of  a  committee  of  phar- 
macists to  assist  the  Pharmacopoeia  Committee  in  preparing  an  Addendum  to 
the  British  Pharmacopoeia.  As  this  Committee  has  been  appointed  by  the 
Council  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  at  the  instance  of  the  Medical  Council, 
1  From  The  Pharmaceutical  Journal  and  Transactions,  Sept.  6,  1890,  p.  281. 
