EDITORIAL. 
573 
as  difficult  and  just  as  important  as  his  employer  ;  that  on  his  side  he  must  ex- 
ercise consideration,  and  adopt  the  high  tone  of  feeling  which  characterizes 
the  English  gentleman,  and.  he  will  do  more  to  render  pharmacy  endurable, 
and  to  promote  its  social  welfare,  than  whole  reams  of  essays  written  on  the 
subject.  It  is*painful  to  recollect  that  those  identical  assistants  who  complain 
the  most  bitterly  about  long  hours,  close  confinement  and  other  ills  incident 
to  pharmacy,  are  sometimes,  when  once  in  business  on  their  own  account,  the 
very  men  to  perpetuate  and  extend  the  evil,  and  practically,  to  rivet  another 
link  to  that  chain  with  which  we  are  darkly  bound.  Solely  for  this  reason,  I 
have  no  faith  in  the  efforts  that  have  been  made  occasionally  with  regard  to 
early  closing.  The  ethics  have  been  invariably  on  one  side.  Once  the  king 
of  animals  was  asked  his  opinion  on  a  work  of  art.  The  painting  represented 
a  man  smiling  and  self-confident,  who,  with  the  most  perfect  equanimity,  was 
slaying  the  noble  beast. 
"  Wait  till  /  paint,"  said  the  lion. 
As  matters  stand,  masters  are  to  shut  up,  and  assistants  to  improve  their 
minds.  T  have  never  seen  my  way  out  of  this  question  (nor  has  any  one  else)  ; 
yet  I  believe  that  in  an  establishment  where  there  are  two  or  more  assistants, 
if  they  wonld  calmly  set  to  work  to  see  how  far  earlier  hours  could  be  adopted 
without  injuring  existing  business  ;  if,  in  so  doing,  they  on  their  part  would 
carefully  wTeigh  the  master's  interest,  and  be  as  ethical  towards  him  as  they 
wish  him  to  be  towards  them  ;  and  if,  instead  of  calling  him  hard  names  and 
making  excited  speeches  at  a  London  tavern,  they  would  bear  in  mind  that  he 
is  quite  as  much  interested  as  they;  I  guarantee  that  he  would  be  found  a 
willing  listener,  and  there  would  then  be  the  first  and  only  fair  chance  of 
which  I  know,  of  both  being  set  at  liberty  at  more  rational  hours  than  they 
are  at  present. 
Before  leavirg  the  shop  altogether,  may  I  press  upon  your  consideration  the 
desirability  of  calling  it  "  a  pharmacy."  The  word  is  English,  not  fanciful  ; 
it  is  used  in  the  same  sense  throughout  France  and  Belgium,  is  highly  ex- 
pressive, and  is  on  all  grounds  to  be  recommended." 
The  remainder  of  the  sitting  was  occupied  with  an  interesting  discussion 
of  topics,  embraced  in  the  paper  of  Mr.  Ince. 
The  third  sitting  commenced  on  Thursday,  Aug.  23d,  and  was  occupied 
in  reading  ten  papers  on  scientific  and  practical  subjects,  one  of  which,  on 
Plasma,  is  copied  into  this  Journal.  Reference  was  made  to  a  communica- 
tion from  Prof.  Parrish,  of  Philadelphia,  to  Mr.  Dymond,  of  Birmingham, 
accompanying  certain  specimens  sent  to  the  exhibition  from  Pharmaceu- 
tists in  the  United  States,  in  which  he  expresses  the  hope  that  the  Con- 
ference would  appoint  a  delegate  to  our  nsxt  Annual  Meeting.  The  Pre- 
sident remarked  that  the  Conference  was  under  great  obligations  to  Prof. 
Parrish,  but  believed  the  appointment  of  a  delegate  to  go  so  far  was  at- 
tended with  difficulties  nearly  insurmountable,  and  the  matter  was  left 
with  the  Executive  Committee  to  manage,  if  a  way  opened. 
The  fourth  and  concluding  sitting  did  not  occur  until  Wednesday  the 
29th;  Mr.  T.  B.  Groves  in  the  chair.  On  this  occasion  it  was  resolved 
that  the  next  Annual  Meeting,  be  held  at  Dundee,  in  Scotland.  The  re- 
ception of  the  Proceedings  of  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Association, 
from  Prof.  Maisch,  was  acknowledged,  and  the  election  of  officers  for  1866- 
67,  carried  out,  by  which  Prof.  Bentley,  was  re-elected  President,  Messrs. 
Deane,  Hanbury,  Stoddart  and  Ince,  as  Vice-Presidents,  and  Dr.  Attfield 
and  Mr.  Reynolds,  Secretaries. 
4 
