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EDITORIAL. 
not  so  oppressive  as  this  proposed  measure.  "We  doubt  not  that  the 
pharmaceutical  body  of  Canada  need  improvement,  but  let  the  amelioration 
come  from  their  own  exertions,  in  their  own  way,  under  the  sanction  of  the 
Canadian  Parliament.  To  this  end  the  Canadian  apothecaries  should  bring 
forward  a  counter  bill,  undertake  to  educate  and  regulate  themselves  under 
the  direction  of  a  provincial  Society  of  Pharmacy,  and  by  its  means  raise 
their  status  and  accomplish  all  the  changes  considered  desirable  by  the 
College  of  Physicians. 
The  following  is  a  brief  view  of  the  Bill : 
1st.  Provides,  very  properly,  that  every  person  who  shall  practice  Phar- 
macy shall  be  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  shall  have  served  a  regular  ap- 
prenticeship of  three  years  to  the  business.  It  also  requires  that  he  shall 
have  a  diploma  from  the  College  of  Physicians,  certifying  to  his  examina- 
tion by  its  Board  of  Governors. 
2nd.  Every  such  practitioner  shall  have  had  a  sound  elementary  educa- 
tion, be  of  good  moral  character,  shall  have  attended  a  course  of  lectures 
on  medical  jurisprudence  and  two  courses  on  materia  medica  and  chemistry, 
each  of  six  months7  duration,  at  some  recognized  medical  college. 
3d.  Enacts  that  every  person  practising  pharmacy  for  gain,  without  a 
diploma,  shall  be  fined  five  pounds  for  the  first  offence,  ten  pounds  for  the 
second,  and  twenty  pounds  for  the  third  offence,  and,  on  conviction  by 
court,  imprisonment  in  jail. 
4th.  This  clause  enacts,  that  the  Board  of  Governors  of  the  College  shall 
regulate  the  fees  to  be  paid  by  all  candidates  for  license  to  practice  as 
apothecaries,  chemists  and  druggists,  provided  the  amount  of  such  fees 
shall  not  exceed  fifteen  dollars,  &c. 
5th.  Requires  every  licensed  apothecary  to  have  his  diploma  registered 
by  the  Registrar  of  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons, 
6th.  Enacts  that  every  apothecary  who  vends  an  adulterated  or  spurious 
medicine  shall  be  fined  five  pounds  for  the  first,  and  ten  pounds  for  the 
third  offence,  &c. 
7th.  This  clause  is  in  reference  to  the  sale  of  poisons,  requiring  each  sale 
to  be  preceded  by  a  certificate  from  a  physician,  clergyman,  or  justice  of 
the  peace,  addressed  to  the  vendor,  to  be  kept  in  evidence  ;  and  for  not  so 
complying,  the  apothecary  to  be  finable  two  pounds  currency  for  each 
offence. 
8th.  Provides  for  the  keeping  of  arsenic,  strychnia,  corrosive  sublimate, 
etc.,  in  "  a  private  and  safe  place,"  and  in  yellow  bottles,  legibly  labelled  ; 
and  inattention  to  it  to  be  met  by  a  penalty  of  five  pounds. 
9th.  Gives  the  Board  of  Governors  the  power  to  appoint  a  committee  of 
three  of  their  number  to  visit  the  shop  of  any  apothecary,  between  the 
hours  of  10  o'clock,  A.  M.,  and  3  o'clock  P.  M.,  to  see  if  the  above  require- 
ments are  attended  to,  and  each  refusal  to  admit  such  visitors  shall  incur 
a  penalty  of  five  pounds  on  conviction. 
10th.  Refers  to  the  manner  of  collecting  fines. 
