The Sun.
London, England, 1841-12-28 00:00:00

THE APOTHECARIES' ACT.

The crying sin of this Act is the well known, oft-
quoted, often praised, but oftener abused clause 15—
enacting that " no person shall be admitted to examina-
tion for a certificate to practise as an apothecary, unloss
he shall have served an apprenticeship of not less than
five years to an apothecary." In the Apothecaries' Act
Amendment Act (6th George IV. cap. 143), passed in
July 1825, it was, among other things, provided, that
apprentices to surgeons as well as to apothecaries, might
be admitted to examination ; but such is not the pre-
sent law of the land. This, however, is a trifle. The
real question at issue is, should there be any appren-
ticeship at all? Instruction in pharmacy there ought
to be—there must be ; but should this instruction he
received after a certain deed of indenture, with its red
wax and green ferret, its stamps, fees to solicitors, &c.,
&c., or may it not much more profitably, and far more
economically, be received without the aid and assistance
of the lawyer ? Why should a deed of indenture be
required when the youth is studying practical phar-
macy, and be unnecessary when he studies the higher
branches of his art ? Excuses may be offered in sup-
port of the system of apprenticeship. The lawyers will
uphold it, and doctors innumerable, for they profit by
it ; but, in truth, the system is bad, and must, ere long,
give way to a better. Young men are we know encou-
raged to study during the five years of their municipal
servitude, and some humane masters allow their appren-
tices to attend lectures during the term of their appren-
ticeship ; but these palliatives only show the more
clearly the actual amount of the evil.
Let us ask ourselves what is the actual amount of
knowledge which the apprentice gains in that capacity.
Is it more than a lad of common attainments can ac-
quire in six months, or a quick lad in three ? How is
the remainder of his five years passed ? It may be, by
a few, in useful study ; but we fear that, in the majority
of se, that time
passed in tying up phials, weigh-
ing out s
powders, heating pill masses, preparing day by
catitde trimi,
day sundry infusions of rosebuds, orange chips, and
senna leaves, to the manifest advantage of the master,
but without the smallest perceptible amount of profit to
the apprentice.

Let us sec how the law works
apprentice fee is often a large one I n another way,
(two or three', The
hun-
dred pounds), and constitutes a very large portion of
rge
that sum which the parent is able to bestow on the pro-
fessional advancement of his son. Were this source of
expense reduced, he could afford to keep his son longer
at school, to
chase for hint more books, and to lengthen the period
sojourn of his give him a better general education, to pur-
chase
amidst hospitals and dissecting-rooms.
Let
us pry still deeper into the working of this clause of
Apothecaries' Act.
the A young man applies for exa-
mination who has been bred in a colony where the law
of apprenticeship exists not. He applies in vain. Clause
NO. 13 is imperative. No apprenticeship no ex-
amination ! A well-educated but unsuccessful physician
is content to pocket his diploma and his dignity, and to
enter the arena of general practice. An insuperable
bar stands between him and the object of his wishes.
Be his education ever so good, his skill ever so
1 e
great, he cannot be examined for his license
to practice as an apothecary—because, he has
not been an apprentice. We hope and trust
that the Legislature will, ere long, open their eyes
to the evils of the apprenticeship system as applied to
medicine, that they will expunge this part of clause 15
from the Act, and simply direct "that no person shall in
future be admitted to examination fora licence to practise
as an apothecary, unless he shall produce testimonials, to
the satisfaction of the said Court of Examiners,
in should
pbar.
be
of hav-
ing diligently attended to practical pharmacy in the
shop of some apothecary, chemist, or druggist, and ac-
quired competent knowledge thereof." It would then
be for the
duration
rati o
n e
Court off
sueb Examinerseleme elementary
ry determine
instruction
what
macy.—illedical Gazette.

lIOME-MADE CONS. AND FAR-WESTERS.
1. Why is a lady's boa dropped in the street like a
blind devil ? Give it up ?—Because it is a loose fir
(Lucifer) with the i (eye) out.
0. Why is an old dog like a shipwrecked mariner ?
Because he has Lot kis bark.
3. SOMNSNBULISM FOlt BROTHER J oNATna N.—There
is a man in London now who once walked so far in his
sleep, that when he waked he could not find himself any-
where. _

4. A friend of ours lately caught such a cold that be
sneezed himself away till there was nothing left of him
but his snuff-box and pocket-handkerchief.
5. A man in the Strand wore his trousers so large, that
he fa into his own pocket, and did not drag himself out
till he had been dead some time,
G. There is a finger-post at Egham that not only
points you the way, but walks by your side till you get
there, and pulls oil its hat to make a bow. _ _

7. A drover, going to Smithfield:ran so fast after a
cow, that he kept before her all the way, and they reached
Smithfield together.
8. The mutual hostility of wild and domesticated ani-
mals was strangely exemplified in the late inundations,
when, if we are to believe the papers, thousands of love
rats were drowned by the tied (tide).—Literary Gazette.