increased advantages that we must look to take the scientific position we have desired and do but sce afar off; and under these circumstances, the attitude of the older to the younger is one of paramount importance. I am reminded of a passage in one of Mr. Ruskin's books containing a powerful statement upon the duties of criticism and encouragement and guidance, which, though written of and for artists, hardly needs the alteration of a word to make it equally applicable to all who have intercourse with students in the early stages of their career. The mental condition in which right intellectual labour is accomplished is much the same whatever the object in hand; and I need scarcely apologise for quoting the paragraphs as they stand, although the introductory portion may not be exactly to our present purpose.

"What we mainly want, is a means of sufficient and unagitated employment: not holding out great prizes for which the young are to scramble; but furnishing all with adequate support, and opportunity to display such power as they possess without rejection or mortification. But a more important matter even than this of steady employment, is the kind of criticism with which you, the public, receive the works of the young men submitted to you. You may do much harm by indiscreet praise and by indiscreet blame; but remember, the chief harm is always done by blame. It stands to reason that a young man's work cannot be perfect. It must be more or less ignorant; it must be more or less feeble; it is likely that it may be more or less experimental, and if experimental, here and there mistaken. If, therefore, you allow yourself to launch out into sudden barking at the first faults you see, the probability is that you are abusing the youth for some defect naturally and inevitably belonging to that stage of his progress; and that you might just as rationally find fault with a child for not being as prudent as a privy councillor, or with a kitten for not being as grave as a cat. But there is one fault which you may be quite sure is unnecessary, and, therefore, a real and blamable fault: that is haste, involving negligence. Whenever you see that a young man's work is either bold or slovenly, then you may attack it firmly; sure of being right. If his work is bold, it is insolent; repress his insolence: if it is slovenly, it is indolent; spur his indolence. So long as he works in that dashing or impetuous way, the best hope for him is in your contempt and it is only by the fact of his seeming not to seek your approbation that you may conjecture he deserves it.

"But if he does deserve it, be sure that you give it him, else you not only run a chance of driving him from the right road by want

of encouragement, but you deprive yourselves of the happiest privilege you will ever have of rewarding his labour. For it is only the young who can receive much reward from men's praise: the old, when they are great, get too far beyond and above you to care what you think of them. You may urge them with sympathy, and surround them with acclamation; but they will doubt your pleasure, and despise your praise. You might have cheered them in their race through the asphodel meadows of their youth; you might have brought the proud, bright scarlet into their faces, if you had but cried once to them 'Well done,' as they dashed up to the first goal of their early ambition. But now, their pleasure is in memory, and their ambition is in heaven. They can be kind to you, but you never more can be kind to them. You may be fed with the fruit and fulness of their old age, but you were as a nipping blight to them in their blossoming, and your praise is only as the warm winds of autumn to the dying branches." *

I must now turn to matters which you will be disposed to remind me should have occupied a more prominent place in my discourse, but in reality the proceedings of the conference for the past year seem to call for little comment. The most notable point is doubtless the publication of the second "Year Book." This volume, issued with commendable promptitude after the last meeting, has long been in the possession of the members; it has been freely criticised by the scientific press, both at home and abroad, and so far as I have been able to gather has been received with unanimous favour. How much of its excellence is due to the gentlemen who constitute the committee of publication, how much to the able editor, it is needless to inquire. My office is rather to congratulate the conference on being enabled by their exertions to perform so great and so permanent a service to pharmacy, and to express a sense of obligation in which every member of the body will join, to editor and committee alike, for the spirit with which they have entered into and carried through a laborious undertaking.

We have again to acknowledge the thoughtful liberality of one of our members, who is ever ready to render material aid when the interests of pharmacy may be furthered thereby. Mr. Hill's last gift puts the conference in possession of funded property, yielding a permanent income similar in amount to the annual instalments of his previous benefaction. To what your executive committee has already said in this matter I need add little. The gift has been accepted on behalf of the conference, and with it the responsibility "Political Economy and Art," p. 34.

of its right application, conscious the while, that result rather than words would form the expression of thanks most congenial to the donor.

You will expect a few words from me on another topic of more personal nature. In fulfilment of a long-projected plan, I last year took a somewhat extended holiday in North America. The meeting of the American Pharmaceutical Association was the focus of my travels; and, as I held your commission to represent the conference as far as circumstances might admit at the St. Louis Convention, I am in some sort bound to report the reception accorded to me on that occasion. In doing so I need not occupy you at any great length; indeed, I can scarcely add to the little I have already said. in public without going into details of greater extent than seems desirable. The hospitality of the American people towards strangers -especially towards travelling Englishmen-is universally recognised, and their desire to stand well in the hearts and esteem of our countrymen exists everywhere, so far as I could find, except in their newspapers. But it needs more than this general acknowledgment of kindly feeling to explain the sort of welcome I received amongst their pharmacists and the attention they so liberally bestowed. That I was with them as your representative may be held to account for the rest. The most hearty reciprocation of your message of good will and friendship has dwelt in my mind whilst the horizon has been clouded by the political strife engendered by clumsy diplomacystrife which I am persuaded has no existence, save perhaps in moments of passing irritation, in the hearts of either people.

The American Pharmaceutical Association was accepted as a model when our conference was founded, and its proceedings, therefore, cannot be uninteresting to us.

Without legal status or recognised powers, the association exercises a sort of moral influence throughout the country, which is of great importance where there is no control emanating from a central authority-an influence which in ethical questions can scarcely be overvalued.

An illustrative case occurred last year at St. Louis. When the credentials of the various delegates to the convention were considered, the question was raised whether the kind of pharmaceutical instruction afforded by one of the bodies claiming to send a representative, and the nature of their examinations, were such as the association could approve and recognise, and it was eventually decided that the delegate from the body in question (the University of Michigan) could not be admitted in an official capacity, and he

was, therefore, debarred from exercising any representative functions.

Another case, showing similar care for the true interests and standing of the profession occurred a year or two ago, and will be in the recollection of many of you. An eminent pharmacist prepared and advertised largely an article which he termed "Sweet Quinine." The character of the man was sufficient to disarm suspicion, and an enormous sale for his nostrum was a practical certainty. Circumstances led to an examination of the medicine, and it was found to be a compound containing cinchonine only as an active ingredient. Neither the standing of the pharmaceutist, his activity as a member, his scientific attainments, nor his personal popularity amongst his associates, could save him from expulsion. He was one whose co-operation the body could ill afford to lose, but duty to themselves and the public was paramount.

The report of the meeting at St. Louis has already been published, and those who have seen it will hold me excused from making any detailed review of the proceedings, and will be content with the record of general impressions.

Notwithstanding the enormous distances from each other of the chief American cities, the gatherings of the association are very largely attended, and the number of members who participate actively in the business of the meetings is much greater than I anticipated, judging from our own experience; indeed the amount of scientific matter usually brought forward is such as we could not attempt to grapple with at these brief conferences. This scientific work consists in great measure of reports on subjects selected from the annually-published list of queries, and is, therefore, directed to points concerning which information is really wanted. The papers were much more satisfactory to my mind than the discussions they evoked, though the latter often made up in spirit what they lacked in order. The custom of reporting in full, and not always very correctly, mere conversational remarks, can hardly be regarded as a happy one.

Altogether, the meeting of the association is a larger affair than anything we attempt. The sessions extend over about four days, which are very fully occupied, the evenings being generally devoted to social gatherings in one form or other. The frequent presence of ladies at the sittings was a feature which struck me forcibly and favourably. Often when subjects of general rather than purely technical interest were under consideration, the aspect of the assembly was brightened by the absence of exclusive rule. I am sure I

need not add that no interruption to the course of business was thereby caused, or that the fairer were models of attention to the sterner portion of the assembly.

The fearful disaster at Chicago, which occurred just as I was leaving America, brought to the surface the deeper feeling of our countrymen. The opportunity afforded the pharmaceutists of this country to express in substantial form their sympathy with those of like profession in the far West was not disregarded. Distance is no barrier when common interests are concerned-interests are never more rightly felt to be in common than when one portion of the body is under the cloud of misfortune and suffering.

And now, gentlemen, it is time I released you to attend to the real business of the meeting. In the remarks which it has seemed to me a duty to make, I have spoken with equal freedom of our own body and of the society from which we sprang. There is no difference in the objects of the two institutions; they are and must be perfectly harmonious and complementary to each other. The particular methods open to them to attain the same end-the advancement of pharmacy-differ considerably, but only as different roads to one goal. Without the Pharmaceutical Society the conference could never have been; with the establishment of the Conference, the best day of the society dawned. The success of each must be the chief delight of the other. This is my defence, if it be needed, for the order in which I have placed my thoughts before

you. One word more. I have spoken of the conference and its duties, of the society and what I believe to be incumbent upon it, but le us bear in mind that society and conference alike are composed of members, and that no individual member of a body corporate is excused from his share of work. Let me put it rather in the words of Lord Bacon-“I hold every man to be a debtor to his profession; from the which, as men of course do seek to receive countenance and profit, so ought they of duty to endeavour themselves by way of amends to be a help and ornament thereunto."

Mr. SAVAGE Gentlemen, as a local member of the conference, a very pleasing duty devolves upon me. After the very able an d exhaustive address we have had from our president, I am sure any words from me would fall far short of the expression of feeling which has been manifest here to-day. Throughout it has been an admirable treatise. I have now a most gratifying task to perform. It is simply to move that a vote of thanks be accorded to H. B. Brady, Esq., for his very admirable address.