Tidd Pratt has been received, to forward to each Member a copy of the proposed bye-laws. On entering upon the consideration of this important and rather intricate subject it should be borne in mind that it is the object of the bye-laws to carry out in detail the principles laid down in the Charter of Incorporation and the Pharmacy Act-to fix the rate of subscription and the amount of fees—to define so far as may be deemed necessary, the duties of the several officers of the Society, the regulations respecting the examinations, the holding of meetings, and in general terms the mode in which the business of the Society is to be conducted. The bye-laws must not be in any respect repugnant to the principles of the Charter or the Act-they can confer no additional powers, but may limit and define the powers given or implied in the Act or Charter, such limitation and definition being consistent with the general scope of the law which the bye-laws are designed to elucidate and expound. When passed and duly confirmed, the bye-laws are as binding upon those whom they concern, as the Act or Charter under which they were framed. It is, therefore, inexpedient unnecessarily to tie the hands of the executive by entering too minutely into minor details which might safely be left to the discretion of the Council to be regulated as from time to time they may think right. It is policy to invest in the managers for the time being, ample powers for conducting the affairs of the Society with vigour and promptitude, and at the same time to define the method of proceeding in such a manner as to ensure consistency and regularity in the transaction of the business of the Society. In drawing this line the exercise of sound judgement is required, hence the importance of the provision in the Pharmacy Act, which subjects the bye-laws to two ordeals for confirmation after they have been framed and adopted by the Council. According to this provision three controlling powers are brought into requisition in passing a bye-law, all equally concerned in promoting the welfare of the Society, but each viewing it under a different aspect. The Members naturally consider their own individual interest-the Council the interest of the Societythe Secretary of State the interest of the public. These interests are mutually dependent on each other, and each being specially represented, the equilibrium is likely to be preserved. For example, a proposal to reduce the subscriptions fifty per cent. might prima facie be popular among the Members, but the Council would first calculate the effect of such a measure on the stability of the Society, and would not assent to it unless convinced that it could safely be adopted. Other measures might be considered politic and desirable by the Council as well as the Members at large, but objected to by the Secretary of State on some public grounds. The Council, whose duty it is in the first instance to frame the bye-laws, knowing the ordeals through which they will have to pass, are obliged to weigh carefully the chances of approval or dissent on either side, and thus the salutary 'check afforded by the two subsequent confirmations, operates indirectly from the time the Council enter upon the subject, and we may state that during the deliberations of the Committee, several questions have arisen in which these considerations have influenced the decision. In framing a code of laws for the regulation of a Society, it is difficult to arrive at unanimity among all the parties concerned. Slight differences of opinion may arise on questions of minor importance, or with regard to the phraseology, and a mutual concession is necessary by way of compromise. Even on questions involving a principle, opinions may differ; and in this case the advocates on each side should advance calmly and dispassionately the arguments on which their opinions are founded; and if it should be necessary to put the question to the vote, the minority should bow to the decision of the majority. It is of the greatest importance that we should agree among ourselves before application is made to the Secretary of State for the confirmation of the result, and whatever may have been the prejudices or bias of individual Members during the discussion these should merge in the decision of the collective body. These remarks apply especially to the present occasion as the question before us is an extensive and complicated one, involving as it does an entire code of bye-laws; and it is particularly desirable that the Society should come forward with an earnest and harmonious appeal to the government for support in the important step of bringing the Pharmacy Act into complete and effective operation. 66 It will be observed that in the first section of the bye-laws, under the head Qualification, Admission of Members, Subscriptions, and Fees," some complication exists in reference to the several classes of Members, according to the period of their admission. This is unavoidable on account of the proposed change in the mode of levying contributions for the support of the Society. It is necessary to frame any new regulations on this subject in such a manner as not to interfere with the existing rights and privileges of those who have already joined the Society. Those who have been admitted under certain conditions, might have reason to complain of a breach of faith if called upon to subscribe to new regulations at variance with the understanding with which they originally entered. This is further explained in the following remarks on THE FINANCIAL RESOURCES OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY. THE Pharmaceutical Society was originally supported almost entirely by annual subscriptions, for although the Members had the option of compounding for Life Membership on the usual terms-namely, ten years' purchase—a very small number availed themselves of this regulation. An income dependent on voluntary annual subscriptions is in all societies precarious and liable to fluctuation. In the case of the Pharmaceutical Society it was objectionable on other grounds, and although it was adopted in the first instance as a matter of necessity, we have always looked forward to the time when it might be found practicable to substitute a more satisfactory arrangement. Experience has shown, that with regard to the future Members of the Society this has become absolutely necessary, and must be provided for in the new byelaws, which will shortly be submitted to the Members for approval. An original Member, whose qualifications have been taken for granted, on the ground of his previous standing in the business, and who has been admitted to the rank of membership on the condition of his contributing his quota to the funds of the Society, can only retain this rank upon the condition on which he was admitted. But a Member who has been admitted by examination has acquired a rank founded on mental qualification which cannot be taken from him even if he should fail to pay his subscription. He may forfeit the personal privileges of membership, but his status rests chiefly on the certificate of the Board of Examiners. When an original Member secedes, the Society merely loses his pecuniary contribution. In the other case it loses in addition the influence derivable from superior qualification in its Members. While, therefore, the original Members are more and more interested in retaining their connexion with the Society as it rises in character and importance, the examined Members are held by a less obvious tie, as their certificate of examination gives them a rank equivalent, or nearly so, to that conferred by a certificate of membership. But it is necessary, in order to secure the permanence of the Society, that all should contribute to its funds; and it is especially important that those who have been examined should continue on the list of Members, and by their superior qualification raise the character of the body to which they belong. To secure this object it is proposed in future to substitute registration fees for the annual subscription, as follows: Registration Fee on passing the Classical Examination On passing the Major Examination, and Registration as a Phar- On admission as a Life Member... Total sum payable by a Life Member .£15 15 This scale of fees is applicable to future Members who join the Society in the manner defined in the 10th clause of the Pharmacy Act, but it will not apply to those who have already joined it on the terms prescribed in the present bye-laws. The terms for Members admitted before the next Annual Meeting in May, are as at present, one guinea* annually, subject to the option of paying a composition of ten guineas for Life Membership. Associates and Registered Apprentices of the present time, will, on becoming Members, be subject to the same regulations; and Members admitted under the new bye-laws, will in addition pay an entrance fee of two guineas. Associates and Apprentices of the present time will continue their annual subscription of half-a-guinea. Those admitted after the new bye-laws have come in force, will pay the fees above stated, in lieu of the annual subscription. This scale of fees and subscriptions has been adopted by the Council after much deliberation, and with a desire to reduce the amount as low as possible without placing in jeopardy the stability of the Society. It is impossible to form a correct estimate of the future income of the Society under the proposed arrangement, as this will be influenced by several contingencies-such as, for example, the number of Members who compound for Life Membership by the payment of ten guineas; the number of deaths and secessions from the Society; the number who will pass the several examinations in the course of the year, &c., on which subjects we have no data enabling us to found a calculation. We are not apprehensive of the secession of Members to any considerable extent, but if a large proportion of those now in the Society should become Life Members, this would reduce the income from that source about 70 per cent., as the annual subscriptions of 100 Members are 100 guineas, while the interest on 1000 guineas (the amount of the composition) is about 30 guineas. We must be prepared for a gradual reduction of the income from annual subscriptions, and an increase of the income from fees, and it being expedient that a certain proportion of the latter should be added to capital, it will be necessary to consider maturely what amount can be spared for this purpose, leaving a balance sufficient for current expenses. On the supposition that all the present Members will continue their connexion with the Society, that not more than half the number will become Life Members, and that the number who pass the several examinations will not be less than it has been during the past year, we have every reason to expect that the income of the Society will be such as to admit of the investment of a large proportion of the amount of the examination fees. It would not, however, in our opinion, be safe to reduce the scale of fees and subscriptions below that which is now proposed, as prudenec demands that provision should be made for securing a permanent fund, and that in the estimate of ways and means a discount should be taken off the apparent assets to allow for casualties. A Society crippled in its finances, involved in debt, and with an income insufficient to maintain its position, possesses no attraction and can enjoy but little vitality. By parsimony and retrenchment its dissolution may be averted for a time, but the sphere of its usefulness is contracted, its Members are * It is proposed to equalize the Subcription of London and Country Members. ashamed of it, and it contains within itself the elements of decay. But let it be known that a Society is rich-that it has a large funded capital, a flourishing income, and a well-appointed establishment that its operations are conducted with spirit, and that its Members are united in the determination to sustain its character and extend its influence-such a Society is an object of attraction. Its Members feel an honest pride in promoting its prosperity, and fresh supporters flock round it, eager to participate in the credit and advantages of being identified with so thriving an institution. In this latter position we hope to see the Pharmaceutical Society in the course of a few years. The early difficulties attending its establishment are surmounted, the opposition from without is overcome, the Society is recognized and invested with important powers, and its future fate is in the hands of the Members. There are some persons who are endeavouring to persuade the Members that, having been registered as Pharmaceutical Chemists under the Pharmacy Act, they need not continue their subscriptions. If all the Members were to follow this advice, the Society would cease to exist for want of funds, and registration in the books of a defunct Society would be a mockery. But it is not the fact that the obligation to contribute to the Society ceases with the registration. The Council is empowered to make such registers as may be required for giving effect to the bye-laws of the Society and to the provisions of the Act. The Charter and the Act lay down the principle that the privileges of membership and registration shall be conditional upon the payment of such fees or subscriptions as shall be fixed by the bye-laws. These payments are made either in one sum or in annual subscriptions. In the former case the name of the Member is placed on the permanent register; in the latter, on the annual register, which is in force during the current year, and renewable on the renewal of the annual fee or subscription. It is only fair, that all who enjoy privileges under a Society should contribute to its finances. This position is not disputed, but it has been asserted, that for want of a specific provision in the Act in reference to defaulters, the Council does not possess the power to erase from the register, or omit from future registers, the name of a person once registered as a Pharmaceutical Chemist. The new bye-laws will regulate this as well as other matters of detail, in a manner consistent with the principles of the Charter and the Act, and the powers therein contained, and we do not believe for a moment that the Members will be misled by the sophistry of the arguments advanced in favour of the discontinuance of their connexion with the Society. A similar evasion of a just payment has been attempted occasionally by persons who have joined the Society solely for the purpose of obtaining the Certificate of Membership, which they have retained in defiance of the byelaws, and continued illegally to exhibit it after they had ceased to be Members. The Council had no remedy but a court of law, to which they did not deem it expedient to resort under the then existing circumstances of the Society; but the 16th clause of the Pharmacy Act provides an easy remedy by summary process, as it enacts that every person so offending shall be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor. THE ADMISSION OF MEMBERS. WE take this opportunity of reminding the local secretaries, and those who may desire to join the Pharmaceutical Society under the new bye-laws, that the applications for admission must be forwarded to the Secretary not later than the 1st of May. MEMORIALS TO THE LATE DR. PEREIRA. In our last number we inserted the Prospectus and Report of a committee appointed for the purpose of raising subscriptions for a bust of Dr. Pereira, to be placed in the London Hospital, and a portrait to be distributed among the subscribers. At the time the committee was formed it was supposed that the Members and Associates of the Pharmaceutical Society would naturally feel interested in promoting the object, and accordingly Dr. Letheby and Mr. Redwood were appointed joint treasurers. It was, however, ascertained that the Members and Associates desired to have some memento of their late Professor, in connection with the Pharmaceutical Society, in addition to the above, which had originated in the London Hospital. At a meeting of the committee held at the London Hospital, on Friday, the 4th of March, this additional proposition was submitted for consideration, and after some discussion it was decided that the prospectus of the proposed memorial having been settled and published, it was inexpedient to re-open the question; and that any proceedings of the Members and Associates of the Pharmaceutical Society, in furtherance of the object they desired, should be distinct from the proceedings of that committee. A sub-committee was appointed to take into consideration the selection of a sculptor to execute the bust, and to report to the committee at the next meeting. At a meeting of the committee held at the London Hospital, on Friday, March 11th, the sub-committee presented their report, and recommended the appointment of Mr. Macdowall, R.A., as the sculptor to execute the bust, which recommendation was adopted by the committee. The sub-committee was empowered to carry the resolution into effect, and also to consider as to the selection of an artist and the style of the engraving, which subject was postponed until a future meeting of the committee. The subject of the Pereira Memorial was referred to at a meeting of the Phytological Club, held March the 7th, and also at the Pharmaceutical Meeting on March the 9th; and a very general desire having been expressed in favour of a MEMORIAL TO THE LATE DR. PEREIRA IN CONNEXION WITH THE A preliminary meeting was held on the 21st of March, Mr. JACOB BELL in the Chair, At which it was Resolved, "1. That a Subscription be commenced for the purpose of obtaining the Die of a Medal to be awarded as a Prize for researches or proficiency in Materia Medica, under such regulations as the Council of the Pharmaceutical Society may deem expedient; and that it is desirable to raise a sufficient sum to endow the Medal. "2. That in the event of a sufficient amount being collected, a proof im pression of a Portrait of Dr. Pereira be given to each Subscriber of not less than One Guinea, and an ordinary impression to each Subscriber of Half-a-Guinea. "3. That the following Gentlemen be constituted a Committee, with power to add to their number. (The Names are included in the subjoined List.) "4. That the Members of the Council of the Pharmaceutical Society be requested to allow their names to be on the Committee. "5. That Mr. REDWOOD and Mr. BENTLEY be requested to act as Treasurers, and Mr. GREAVES as Secretary." A circular has been issued containing a copy of the above resolutions, and announcing that communications may be addressed to the treasurers, Professor |