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    ^OTEMBEB j 3 1856.] THE LEAPEl, 104ff

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    PHARMACY REFORMS. We scarcely understand...

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    There is no learned maa but will confess...

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    ASSURANCE EOS ASSURERS. (To the Editor o...

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    ASSURANCE FOR ASSURERS. (To the Editor o...

• Transcript

  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

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    British Expedition Against Karrak. At Th...

    own dominions , defeated and disgraced . But ttis step was rendered inevitable by the landing of a small British force on the island of Karrak , in Hhe Persian Ghilf . Lieutenant-Colonel Shibriff , with 500 rank and file of the Bombay Native Army , and two ( 5-pounders , took possession of that islet on the 19 th of June , and thence threatened Bushire and the very heart of Persia . That island is , ' perhaps , at this moment again in the occupation of British troops , and with a

    similar object in view . We are told , indeed , that Herat ia an insignificant place , in the midst of sandy deserts , altogether : unworthy of notice from this country . Such , at least , was not 3 \ Ir . McjSTeiii ' s opinion , than whom no better judge exists of Eastern questions . Writing to Lord Palmuhstou after the siege had lasted seven months , he dwells upon the fact that , notwithstanding the Affghans had laid waste the surrounding

    country as fai' as possible , if was from the immediate viciuity the / Persian army had almost exclusively drawn its supplies . Count SraipNicn had travelled thither- ' in his private carriage from Teheran without inconvenience , and could , if he pleased , have continued his journey witli equal facility to Candahar . NV > physical difficulty intervenes between that important town and . the frontiers of Georgia . OBven then the Russian minister had guaranteed the secret treaty by which Mahommed Shah undertook to cede Herat

    to KoHUNDiii KiiAir , the ruler of Candabar , as a feudatory of Persia . Had the Persian monarch succeeded at that time , it is nearly certain that ho would have pushed his conquests further into Affghanistan , perhaps into Scinde , and thus nave come into collision with our influence , if not with our actual power , hi India . For these reasons , Mr . McNeil emphatically expressed his belief that " it may be of the very highest importance to preserve the

    independence of Herat , or at least to prevent its being incorporated with Persia , and that if the Shah should succeed in taking Herat , Ave shall have reason to regret not having interfered to prevent it . " Dost Mahommijed ' s agent at the Persian Court , at that time , was well aware of the real motive for the solicitude displayed by Count SiMONicn ia furthering the Shah ' s designs upon Herat . " The object of the ( Russian ) lElchee , " lie writes , "is to have a road to the English ( in India ) , and

    for this they are very anxious . " And ho reminds his master that 7 ie holds a turnpike lower , down " the road . " The Dost is now a feeble and aged man . Already the reins of power are falling from his hands . Powerful chieftains have asserted their independence in every part of his dominions . And he must , indeed , bo weak who now pays more than a nominal allegiance . At his death the bonds of union will be entirely snapped—an

    event that may happen this day or tomorrow , certainly within a very brief space of time . In the consequent confusion nothing would bo easier than for the Persian forces to inarch from Herat upon Candabar , and . thence upon Caiibul . Russian influence , Bussian money , . Russian officers , will not be wanting at such a conjuncture . And thus , ¦ while the British Government was pluming itself on its rigid observance of the doctrine of non-intervention , its moat formidable enemy -would bo virtually established on the

    connnes of our Indian Empire . To meet such . a ^ catastronhe , the relief , or recovery , of Herat is indispcnsablo , and to prevent the recurrence of those hostile demonstrationsexpensive in themselves and disquieting to other nations—the permanent occupation of & Jarrak 13 much to be desired . In conclusion , it is worthy of consideration another it would not bo both desirable and

    lust to confide our diplomatic relations with Persia to the discretion of the Gorernor-General in council . Desirable—because in the Hon . Company's service are men of great experience in the ways of Asiatic princes ; and just—because on that Government devolve the responsibility and expense of atoning for the blunders committed by "Western diplomatists .

    ^Otembeb J 3 1856.] The Leapel, 104ff

    ^ OTEMBEB j 3 1856 . ] THE LEAPEl , 104 ff

    Pharmacy Reforms. We Scarcely Understand...

    PHARMACY REFORMS . We scarcely understand the object of a circular which has reached us from the Council of tlie Pharmaceutical Society . It is stated to be . " to direct attention to the fact that the reformation which recent events have shown to be required , and towards which the force of public opinion is tending , was projected more than fifteen years ago by the society ; that great progress has already been made by its voluntary and unassisted agency , and that all that remains to be done may he effected by means of the society if armed with more extensive powers and assisted by the public . " The public , we imagine , ¦ will he glad to assist the society ; but if the council desire to secure a legal control over the entire trade in drugs , we think it will be difficult to reconcile the Legislature to that proposition . It would be necessary to demonstrate that no monopoly would be favoured by such a project , and that joint-stock companies would not be kept out of the field . "We are inclined to believe that the

    race of poisonous dispensers would be materially diminished by the establishment of * great companies , importing pure drugs , and selling them , certificated , at reasonable prices throughout the country . 'But the Pharmaceutical Society has undeniable claims to the public gratitude . More than fifteen years ago the chemists and druggists projected a

    system for the education of dispensers . It had been abundantly proved that the physician might prescribe in vain , if the apothecary made up for the patient a dose of adulterated drugs , put Torture , into a composing draught and Death into a pill ; or , to be satisfied with a less extreme illustration , sold medicines so stale as to be useless or so mixed

    as to be niore deleterious than beneficial . Moreover , one dispenser might vend a particular drug of a quality so different from that vended by another as to render a different proportion necessary in its administratiou . It was known , before the society ex > isted , that the most ignorant persons were accustomed to deal in deadly acids , salts , and essences ; but it never was and never will be known how many murders resulted . la 1 S 41 , therefore , tho association was

    set on foot , with a board of examiners , and began at once to apply educational tests to individuals soliciting the privileges of membership . Two years afterwards a royal charter was obtained , tho subjects of examination being chemistry , pharmacy , materia medica , and botany , including the practical manipulations of the laboratory and the dispensing counter , the modes of ascertaining tho strength and purity of drugs , the tests and antidotes for poisons , the doses ot ordinary medicines , and an acquaintance

    wrfcn prescriptions , A school of Pharmacy was founded in Bloomsbury-squaro "; and professorships were established . In 1851 an attempt was made by a parliamentary enactment to bring the entire profession under the influence of the society , but this failed , though an Act was passed in 1 S 53 recognizing tho Pharmaceutical Society as a voluntary association for the examination and registration of pharmaceutical chemistry , and conforring upon persons so registered tho exclusive right to assume or use tho title of Pharmaceutical Chemist , Pharmaceutist , or any

    other same , title , or sign , implying that they are registered , or members of the society . The Act does not interfere with the sale of drugs and the dispensing of prescriptions by incompetent persons ; but it cannot be too widely known , that , in every neighbourhood , the public should seek out the " Pharmaceutical Chemist , * ' or * ' Pharmaceutist , " and buy of him . There is a qualified class , and it should be supported .

    u . he Pharmaceutical Society iias a right 'to this public recognition . We scarcely think it can . work in any other way "than it has worked , or that it can . be vested with compulsory powers . The public will gradually acknowledge its usefulness , and avail itself of the protection offered . It is time that we should hear no more of poison being Bold in pennyworths to children , or of persons in a state of frenzy being furnished with the means of suicide for the sake of ihe retailer ' s profit .

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    There Is No Learned Maa But Will Confess...

    There is no learned maa but will confess he liath muck profited by readiag controversies , his senses awakened , and his judgment sharpened . Jf , then , it be profitable for him . to read , why should it not , at le ast , b e tolerable for bis adversary to write 1—Mitioir .

    Assurance Eos Assurers. (To The Editor O...

    ASSURANCE EOS ASSURERS . ( To the Editor ofthe Leader . } Sib , — "An Investigator" criticizes your article , " Assurance for Assurers , " by suggesting several questions which he fails to answer . What , then , is the insurable number of lives in Great -Britain ? I affirm that they who cannot afford to tfnswpe iform a very small class ; that the poverty and distress existing only prove the urgency and the value » f assurance ; that in this calculation females ought not to be left out of si ght any more than males ; that of infants , not of an insurable -age , a large proportion will reach that age ; and that those whose means place them above the requirements of assurance are very few . From personal knowledge I am able to say that the average of insured lives among the middle classes is remarkably- small ; and that of those who stand aloof , the majority do not reject the assurance system because they are too young , or too poor , or too rich , or too unhealthy , but because they are ignorant of its advantages , or insensible to them . As to Friendly Societies , of which there exist thousands of an unprofitable and illegal character , I trust the day may come when the young societies , adapting their rates to the requirements of the poor , will induce them to select more certain and beneficial investments . A sort of Conservatism prevails among the older offices , many of which were originally established for the rich , and the rich alone . It ie little to the point to urge that certain companies are doing little business , and that their shares are depreciated in the market . Can " An Investigator" indicate a single healthily-constituted and skilfully-managed assurance society which has failed ? You , I presume , referred to societies of this class , as you specially excepted the bubble concerns got up for tho benefit of managers , solicitors , and chairmen . Moreover , you did not suggest , nor do I aTgue , that the business at present done by assurance companies might be divided amongst three times the number ; but the field of action may , and , I believe , will , be extended within " the next half century" to a degree of which "An Investigator" has no conception . A great increase has taken place during the last ten years . New principles have been developed ; new methods of benefiting the policy-holders , while living , have been discovered . Yet , as is remarked by tho eminent Economist to whom , you refer , few existing companies " seek to do business with the industrious classes or the smaller class of tradesmen . ' * I am your obedient servant , An Economist .

    Assurance For Assurers. (To The Editor O...

    ASSURANCE FOR ASSURERS . ( To the Editor of the Leader } Sm , —Permit me to remark on the increasing capacity of the population in connexion with assurance . As the number increases daily of those who read , of those who travel , of those who live out of town , & c , so will the numbers of those increase who assure their lives for the benefit of their families , purchase endowments for their children , & c . This is nn element in tho calculation which should not 1 ) 0 omitted . An Actuary .

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 1, 1856, page 15, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_01111856/page/15/