The Sun.
London, England, 1834-10-23 00:00:00

The Commissioners, pursuant to notice, met this morn-
ing at Guildhall, and divided themselves into four lists, at
which the investigation of four of the minor City Compa-
nies was fixed to be commenced. The Commissioners in
attendance were Sir FRANCIS PALGRAVE, Mr. ELLIS, Mr.
JARDINE, and Mr. DRINKWATER.
THE APOTHECARIES' COMPANY.
(Before Mr. Commissioner al.'s.)
The Masters, Wardens, and Court of Assistants of this
Company, which may be considered as one of the most im-
portant, connected as it is with examination of persons
exercising the profession of apothecaries throughout the
country, of the City Companies, have returned the most
full answers to the questions propounded to them by the
Commissioners ; and Mr. Field, the Deputy Master, and
Mr. Upton, the Clerk, attended to-day for the purpose of
giving every other information which might be required, re-
lative to the administration of its affairs.
The information furnished by the answers made by the
Company as well as by Mr. Field and Mr. Upton, is as fol-
lows :
The Charter granted to the Company constituted them
as Master, Wardens, and Society of the art and mystery of
apothecaries of London. The first call of the livery was in
1670. The number of the liverymen was originally fixed
at 150. It was a matter of doubt whether any attempt
had been made to increase the number. The ruling body
consisted of iinefr-Master, two Wardens, and 21 members of
the Court of Assistants. The Master and Wardens were
elected from the Court of Assistants, and no attempt had
been made either by an application to a Court of Law, or
in any other way to throw open the suffrage. At elections,
to fill up vacancies in the Court of Assistants, the livery
were summoned, and the names called over, until one was
come to who might be considered as eligible to serve ; and
the party was proposed by some member, and, if the nomi-
nation was seconded, a ballot immediately took place. If
the ballot was unsuccessful, further names were called over
until a liveryman was chosen. It did not often recur that
a second name was proposed. The election in the Court
of Assistants was for life ; but as there was no pecuniary
trust, neither the Master, Wardens, nor Court of Assist-
ants gave security. Religious principles were not consulted
in the elections—a Roman Catholic had been in the Court
of Assistants.
Mr. ELLIS asked if there was not a system of rotation ?
Mr. Field said to a certain degree a system of rotation
was followed. These was a right claimed by the King's
Apothecary to be placed on the Court of Assistants. The
claim had been in abqance for a great many years, and the
right was exercised on the appointment of the apothecary
at the commencement of the reign of George the Fourth.
It was in the re an or James the Second that the King's
Apothecary was first placed on the Court of Assistants.
The King's Apothecary must be a member of the Apothe-
caries' Company.
Mr. Upton said, by Act of Parliament, the Master and
Wardens had the power to appoint a Deputy Master and
Wardens. The 15th Geo. 111. gave this power. The im-
portant duty the Court of Assistants had to perform under
the Act of George 111., in appointing examiners to license
apothecaries, rendered the selection of persons to serve on
the Court of Assistants a matter of much more care than
previously, and none now were elected on the Court of As-
sistants unless they were engaged in business as apotheca-
ries, surgeons, or in any other branch of the art, or had re-
tired from similar professions. The Act of 50 Geo. 111.,
authorising the Apothecaries' Company to appoint a Court
of Examiners for licensing apothecaries, rendered it im-
portant that the parties selected for the purposes intended
should be every way qualified for the duty. The examina-
tions of parties applyinc, for a license to practise as an
apothecary were conducted with much more care and atten-
tion than formerly. It was absolutely necessary that the
candidates should have a knowledge of the Latin, and they
were called upon to translate Celsus and other authors. It
was not formerly the case that they were recommended to
have a knowledge of the dead languages. It was now
strongly recommended that applicants for licenses should
have such knowledge, as well as of the French language.
Mr. ELLIS asked if it was not absolutely necessary to
have a knowledge of French ? Was not the French Phar-
macopoeia in the language of that country ?
Mr. Field replied that the Pharmacopoeia of France, as
indeed of most foreign States, was compiled in the Latin
language. That, however, mattered little to the examina-
tion of the licentiates, as the Pharmacopoeia of London,
Edinburgh, and Glasgow were only attended to by the
practitioners here.
Mr. Upton said, as the privileges of the Apothecaries'
Company extended over the whole country, the exami-
nation of applicants for licenses were, consequently, nume-
rous, and it was important that licentiates should also be
fully prepared for the profession. It was, therefore, now
strongly recommended to students to obtain a knowledge
of the dead languages. The Warden examined the appli-
cants in the Latin language.
Mr. ELLIS—How many persons passed their examina-
tion yearly before the Court of Examiners ?
Mr. Upton said he could not state with accuracy. He
thought, however, they exceeded 400.
The evidence was proceeded with. The Court of Assist-
ants was always fully attended, as, independently of some of
its members who were of extreme old age, there were suffi-
cient to constitute a Court. Thirteen members were -a
quorum under the provisions of the Act. There was a fine
on the refusal of the members of the Court elected to serve
as Master. The fine was 50/. There were two dinners
during the year. The first was in July, called the Herba-
lizing Dinner, at which the livery and yeomen of the Com-
pany were invited ; the Stewards being allowed 2s. 6d. for
each person who attended, they making up the deficiency.
The other dinner was on Lord Mayor's Day, and was con
fined to the Livery.
Mr. ELLIS asked if the fine on the Stewards was not

pany for thilicense.
Mr. Field said there were some persons connected with
the Company who were not apothecaries ; but all the mem-
bers of the Court of Assistants were now members of the
profession. All complaints of an infringement of the Apo-
thecaries' Act were brought before the Court.
The evidence was resumed—There is a Standing Com-
mittee for the management of the botanic garden, and two
courses of lectures on botany are given in each year. The
Society's by-laws were submitted formerly to the Lord
Chancellor and Judges for approbation. The last by-laws
had not been submitted to the Lord Chancellor through
the expense, amounting to about 801. The by-laws were
dated in the month of April, 1824. The members of the
Company had made no complaints relative to the conduct
of the Court of Assistants, and no applications for a man-
damus had ever been made to a Court of Justice by either
the liverymen or freemen against the Court of Assistants.
Power was given to the Company by charter to examine
the drugs in the apothecaries' shops throughout the country.
Before the admission of parties into the Company was al-
lowed, they were examined according to the Act of 1814.
Power was also vested in the Company to destroy drugs
ascertained to be of bad quality by the examiners-; but this
was seldom done, as the owners of drugs were informed of
the examiners' report, and contrived to get rid of the spu-
rious commodities. The Apothecaries' Company were
granted their charter in the 14th of James I. Before this
the Company alluded to and the Grocers' Company were
united under one Charter. The Company were prevented
by want of funds from enforcing the powers to the
full extent, as allowed by Charter and Act of Par-
liament. There is but little property in the posses-
sion of the Company. The ground on which the Hall
stands, as well as some land near it, belonged to the
Company, and from the Corporation of London they have
also a lease of a piece of ground extending to the bank of
the river from their own premises, which was granted in
1667 for 999 years, on condition of raising an embank-
ment opposite the ground. On a part of this ground some
of the houses in Chatham-place are erected. The Hall
was destroyed in the great fire of London, and was again
erected by subscription made by Members of the Company.
Towards defraying the expenses of the botanical garden a
fee of half a guinea is required from each Member of the
Company, though this sum is not often exacted. Last year
the income of the Company was 1461. from the garden,
121/. for fees on admission to the Livery, and 1341. for
fines on grants of freedom. No persons have been per-
mitted to take up their freedom by redemption for the last
seven years. The only charitable fund at the disposal of
the Company was a subscription for poor widows. The
chief expenses of the Company are the salaries paid to the
clerks, beadles, lecturers, &c., and the charge for the bo-
tanical excursions. The accounts are kept in the names of
the Master and 'Wardens, who are responsible to the Court
of Assistants. There are two classes of persons allowed
to join in the trading concerns of the Company—the one
class is limited to 120, and the other to 240 members.
The junior class are only allowed to possess an amount of
capital equivalent to one-seventh of that held by the senior
class. There is a Committee of Proprietors annually ap-
pointed for managing the trading concerns of the Company.
Mr. Woodthorpe said that he had found several cases
in the books of the Corporation, in which it appeared that
the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen had exercised a
control in the affairs of the Apothecaries' Company. In
one case in particular, in 1661, Walter Penning and two
other liverymen of the Company made a complaint to the
Court of Aldermen, that the assistants of the Apothecaries'
Company had appointed two junior liverymen to the Court,
and had passed over their names. The Court of Aldermen
determined that the livery ought to be appointed by seniority
to the Court, unless good reason was given for acting con-
trarily, and therefore directed the Company to admit the
parties complaining.
Mr. Field said that, generally speaking, persons were
admitted to the Court by seniority. An exception was
always made in the case of the King's apothecary. Since
the passing of the Act in 1814, it had become necessary
that none but prudent and discreet persons should be ad-
mitted to the Court, as they had to examine candidates for
admission as apothecaries.
Mr. &A.'s said that the fullest information had been fur-
nished respecting the Company.
It was stated, during the inquiry, that the members of
the Apothecaries' Company were more numerous than any
other Company in the city, and that an unlimited number
might be made.
The proceedings were conducted rather in a conversational
tone, which rendered it extremely difficult to catch, with
accuracy, facts stated to the Commissioners.

REGISTRATION OF THE ELECTORS OF THE

BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK.

The barristers appointed to revise the lists of voters for
the borough of Southwark (Mr. V. KNox and Mr. C. B.
LENNARD) opened their respective Courts yesterday at the
Town-hall, St. Margaret's-hill.
(Before Mr. KNox.)
The lists of the parishes of Christchurch, St. George-in-
the-Fields, and St. Saviour's, came under revision.
Mr. Meymott, the vestry-clerk of the parish of Christ-
church, stated that, in his lists were contained the names of
several gentlemen who had compounded for the , rates
charged upon houses their property, but not in any case
occupied by them. He therefore, on the ground of a want
of occupation, submitted to the revising barrister that all
such names must be expunged from the lists.
Mr. KNox said that making this statement now before
him was not sufficient to put the individuals situated as had
been stated off the register. The names of these parties
ought never to be put upon the lists by the overseers, who
had not the same power of objecting to borough voters as
was vested in them by the Reform Act with respect to
county voters. Whether the objection was good or bad,
these names must, in the absence of any objection taken
by third parties (themselves electors),remain upon the lists.

large ?
Mr. Field said the Stewards elected eat their way up to
the appointment. They could not be called upon to act
until they were near 50 years of age, and before that time
they must have had a great many dinners.
The quarterage paid by the freemen of 10s. 6d. a year
was appropriated to maintaining the Botanic Garden at
Chelsea. The freedom of the Company was obtained by
patrimony, servitude, and redemption ; females were en-
titled to be free by patrimony, but they could not transmit
the right by marriage. The redemption now cost 105/.
The form of admission.to the Company as a freeman was
similar to that in other Companies. A breach of the inden-
tures by marriage vitiated the right of the apprentice to be
admitted to the freedom of the Company.
Mr. ELLis—But such instances frequently occur.
Mr. Field did not consider that it happened often. He
thought persons who were studying for the medical profes-
sion did not marry as soon generally as those in other pro-
fessions. He had, however, never thought of inquiring
upon this point. If apprentices married they could not
faithfully perform their articles of apprenticeship. In reply
to other questions, he stated that voluminous evidence had
been given before the Commons' Committee on the Medi-
cal Profession, connected with matters, among others, re-
lating to the Apothecaries' Company. That evidence ex-
tended to many folio volumes, and would be published soon.
Mr. Upton stated that there was no penalty on binding
any person as a freeman of the Company, unless it was done
at the Hall.
Mr. Ews said the Apothecaries' Company appeared to
be distinct from any other, having specific powers, and was
a trading Company.
Mr. Upton said that was the case. There was only one
case of freedom having been conferred by gift. In 1704,
the fine for making a freeman was 25/. • but in 1754, on a
particular occasion, it was 11/. It had been gradually raised
to 1051. in 1833. By the Charter, the Company had the
power of examining persons practising within seven miles
of London ; and the old right was exercised, but, practically
speaking, the examination of all persons to practise as apo-
thecaries had its date from the passing of the Act 25th of
Geo. 111. There were no instances of disfranchisement,
except upon application made by freemen who were desirous
of becoming licentiates of the Royal College of Physicians.
Such disfranchisement was required by the College of Phy-
sicians. There were many of the freemen of the Company
who were not free of the City.
Mr. Woodthorpe said it was the- duty of the lesser Guilds
to make a return to the Chamberlain's-office of such mem-
bers of the Companies who were not free of the City. By
the Charter of Edward the Third, parties who were not free
could not keep open their shops in the City.
Mr. Ews said that there were Corporations who tran-
sacted business in the City without being free of it.
Mr. Woodthorpe—Yes, there is the Bank of England,
the Directors of which are great money-dealers ;—the East
India Company ;—but these were regulated by Acts of
Parliament. Thre were also private bankers, who were
also retail money-dealers. The Apothecaries' Company,

ST. GEORGE-IN-THE-FIELDS.

Mr. KNox, on looking over the list of this parish, ob-
served that the Christian names (and especially in cases
where parties had a second) were stated merely by initials.
He should require to be furnished with such information as
would enable him to fill up these blanks.
Mr. Fitch, the Vestry-Clerk, said that in all these cases
letters had been addressed by him to the parties themselves
requesting them to furnish the requisite information. These
had in some instances met attention, but in the majority of
cases, the replies had been most insolent, refusing alto-
gether to supply accurately the Christian names.
Mr. Smith, the vestry-clerk of St. Saviour's remarked
that the determination not to give their Christian names
might easily be accounted for. The parties had dis Covered
that the register had been very useful in supplying the
Christian names of parties whom they were employed to

sue, and hence it was that many persons were cautious in
giving that information which, one day or other, might be
employed against themselves.
The list, which contained neither objection nor new
claims, was then revised, and the omission in Christian names
supplied by the overseers and officers in attendance.
The list of the parish of St. Saviour presented no ob-
jections, nor had there been any notices of claim served
upon the parochial authorities. On closing these lists,
Mr. KNOX said that the great accuracy and general cor-
rectness with which. the lists had been prepared reflected
the highest credit upon the parties charged with the dis-
charge of these duties.
Mr. Fitch said the expense to him had been at least 251.,
and it was h hardship upon him that there was no provision
in the statute either for his reimbursement or remunerating
him for his trouble.
Mr. KNOX admitted the hardship, but stated he had no
power to make any order for payment. He could not avoid
complimenting the authorities upon the admirable manner
in which the lists had been prepared. The result was, that
the revision of the lists, comprising nearly 5,000 electors,
had been completed in two hours and a half, and without
the necessity of an adjournment. In the list of St. Sa-
viour's, he must add (a list containing upwards of 700
names), there was not a single error, nor had he one cor-
rection to make. It was highly creditable to all parties
concerned.
Mr. LENNARD expressed his entire concurrence in what
had fallen from his learned colleague, and added, that he
should have been happy if he could have extended his ap-
probation to the country lists of county voters.
(Before Mr. C. B. LENNARD.)
The parishes whose lists came before Mr. LENNARD
were those of St. Thomas, St. Olave, St. John, St. Mary,
Bermondsey, and Rotherhithe, In none Qf these were

4There n n made/ (except those
which arose on finding initials put for Christian names), save
( in the list of St. John's, in which a case arose as to the
RIGHTS OF SCOT AND LOT VOTERS.
' ln this case Mr. Goddard (whose name had not been in.:
•
serted by the overseers) claimed to be inserted, on the
• groand that he was a scot and lot voter.
• `" Mr. Doughney, the vestry-clerk, objected—first, on the
ground that if Mr.-Goddard claimed under the Reform Act
as the occupier of a house of 10/. a year, he had not com-
MMO plied with the conditions of the Act, which required that
the assessed taxes due on the 6th of April should be paid
PRICE 71). on or before the 20th of July ; that objection would at
once be fatal to his claim to vote under the Act. But he
also objected to his claim as a scot and lot voter, on the
ground that he had not complied with the conditions which
the law as it stood before the passing of the Reform Act
(and which in this respect was still in force) annexed to a
scot and lot vote—namely, that the party claiming to vote
should have paid up all poor-rates made and demanded of
him before the day of election.
Mr. Goddard produced a receipt which showed that he
had paid before the 20th of July all the poor-rates made
up to the 6th of April, and he contended that that was
sufficient. He had not, it was true, paid his assessed taxes,
but it was not necessary that he should do so to support his
,claim as a scot and lot voter. He also contended, that
while the Reform Act gave many privileges as to the right
of voting, it did not take away any of those which had al-
ready existed. He had his privilege as a scot and lot voter,
and in addition, he considered that he had also a right to
the benefits conferred by the new Act ; otherwise, of what
use was the passing of that act to him ? He had paid the
poor-rates up to April ; that, he maintained, was all that the
law required of him.
Mr. Doughney observed that this was Mr. Goddard's
mistake. In claiming as a scot and lot voter he must com-
ply with the conditions which would have been required of
him if the Reform Act had not passed.
Mr. LENNARD said that the claimant might make his
claim either under the new Act or under the old law as a
scot and lot voter ; but it was clear that in whichever cha-
racter he claimed he must comply with the conditions an-
nexed to his vote in either.
Mr. Doughney said it was quite clear that by the law as
it stood before the Reform Ac- the claimant of the right to
vote by scot and lot was bound to pay.all poor-rates made
and demanded of him up to the day before the election. In
Orme's work on the election law, page 2-12-3, it appeared
that in the Bridgewater case, a voter who had refused to
pay his rate the day before the election, made a tender of it
to the collector on the day of the election, and even left the
amount on the table, but tl-e returning officei• refused his
vote, and the refusal was he'd good. Now, the Reform Act
fixed the day of registration in the place of,that of the
election, and the scot and lot voter was now bound to pay
his poor-rates, if demanded, before the registration, as he
would formerly have been bound before the day of election.
Not having done so, the present claiMant had, he contended,
no right to have his name placed on the list. •
Mr. LENNARD, who went into the other court to consult
with Mr. Knox, returned in a few Minutes, accompanied by
that gentleman.
Mr. KNox said, that having heard the case, he had no
doubt whatever that the complainant had not complied with
the conditions of the. Act, so as to entitle him to have his
name placed on the list. The•case came within the 32d
section of the Reform Act, which enacted, " That every
person who would have been entitled to vote in the elec-
tion of a member or members to serve in any future Par-
liament for any city or borough not included in schedule
A, either as a burgess or freeman,.or in the city of London
as a freeman or liveryman, if this Act had not been passed,
shall be entitled to vote in such election, provided such
person shall be duly registered according to the provisions
hereinafter contained ; but that no such person shall be so
registered in any year unless he shall, on the last day of
July in such year, be qualified in such manner as would
entitle him then to vote, if such day were the day of elec-
tion." It was beyond all doubt that under the old system
the claimant would have been and was still bound to pay
the poor-rates demanded of him before the election-day,
and not having done so on the 30th of July, which the Re-
form Act had put, instead of the election-day, he lost his
right to have his name placed on the list.
Mr. LENNARD took the same view of the case as his
learned colleague. He asked whether• a demand had been
made on the claimant to pay the poor-rates due before the
20th day of July.
Mr. Goddard denied that what he considered a legal de-
mand had been made on him.
The collector was then sworn, and proved that he had
left the usual printed notice of the rate and of the amount
which Mr. Goddard had to pay.
Mr. Goddard said, that he considered that only as a notice
that a rate had been made,- and not a demand for payment.
The collector said, that he had called more than once after,
and saw Mr. Goddard's daughter, and demanded the rate.
Mr. LENNARD held this to be a sufficient demand within
the Act, and looking at all the circumstances, stated that
he must reject the claim.
Mr. Doughney said he was sorry Mr. Goddard had lost
his vote, but he felt it his duty, acting for the parish, to
enter an objection to what he considered a bad claim. He
had on a former occasion objected to twelve claimants, under
nearly the same circumstances, and they were all rejected.
It was right that the claimants should know what the law
was, and they must be continued in error, if claims without
good grounds were allowed to pass without objection. To
show that all due diligence had been used to put the pa-
rishioners right as to the course they were to take in mak-
ing claims or objections to the claims of others, or in cases
where objections were made against them, he produced a
large placard, 1,000 copies of which were circulated through
the parish, in which all the necessary information on these
points was clearly given.
Mr. Goddard's claim having been dismissed, that gentle-
man retired, evidently much dissatisfied that the barristers'
construction of the Reform Act was so different from the
views which he had taken of it. The other lists were then
gone through, with only such alterations as were necessary
in cases of death, or in suppling Christian names in full,
where Qnly initials had been given. Indeed the lists of the
parishes in the borough were so accurately made out, as to
require no other corrections.--Adjourned.

DESPERATE HIGHWAY ROBBERY AND AT-
TEMPTED MURDER AT WHETSTONE.

The following is a more full app ani,l precise account of the
deperate attempt at murder an'j highway robbery upon the
persons of an elderly man named James Giff Thursby, be-
tween Whetstone and ;carnet, on the evening of Monday
week last. The unfortunate sufferer, however, is not dead
as stated, but still remains in a most deplorable and preca-
rious condition in Barnet workhouse. The statement of
his having died on Monday night of the injuries he received
arose from such a report having reached the constabulary
of Finchley. on Tuesday, but on personal inquiry at Barnet
workhouse yesterday (Wednesday) Thursby was still alive,
although his dissolution was momentarily expected.
It appears that the old man, who is in his 63d year, was
recommended to a gentleman named Crawley, residing at
East Barnet, as a proper person to take charge of a large
dwelling at Whetstone, the property of the same person, for
the purpose of showing it to palties who might be desirous
of renting it. The house is situated a little out of the
Main road, being surrounded by a paddock and garden.
It contained no furniture, with the exception of one room
occupied by Thursby. On the evening of Monday week
last the old man left the house, accompanied by a dog, for
the purpose of delivering a message from his employer,
Mr. Crawley, at a neighbouring residence. Having done
so, be was on his return home, when he was accosted by five
men, who in the first instance stripped him of his hat and
wig, and struck him over the shins and hands with their
sticks. The victim of their attack fled for refuge into a
beer-shop, which is lonely situated on the road side, and
kept by a poor woman named Grinds. The five ruffians
gained ingress into the shop by jumping through the win-
dows, and by menaces obtained a quantity of beer : the
woman being without any protection could not prevent the
robbery. In the beer-shop the villains beat the old man
Thursby severely, and as there was no hope of succour for
him, he fled backwards into a field, for the purpose of en-
deavouring to reach his home, which was absut .500 or 600
yards distant. The, whole of the villains pursued their
helpless victim, and having overtaken him knocked him
down, and beat him, about the head with their bludgeons,
as well as kicked him violently. Having robbed him of
the little property he had about him, which was a few shil-
lings, and some other trifles, they left him for dead. In
this condition he was discovered, weltering in his blood, by
Buckthorp, overseer of East Barnet, aneAbingdon, a con-
stable of the same place : these persons, with the assistance
of Collard, one of the Bow-street mounted police, who
came up shortly afterwards., removed the sufferer to the
room which he occupied in Mr. Crawley's house ; and Mr.
Morrison, a medical gentleman residing at Barnet, promptly
attended, and dre,ssed the wounds on the old man's head,
which were a most dangerous and extensive nature. He
had also; received severe injuries of the spine and other parts
of the body. Collard, the patrol, succeeded in apprehend-
ing two of the men the same evening at Barnet, of the
names of Peat and Abraham Banks alias Hamshanks.
They are two of a most desperate gang who infest and are
the terror of Whetstone, Barnet, and adjacent places.
Two days after the outrage they underwent an examination
before Dr. Loudon, the magistrate of Totteridge, when
Thursby, the victim of their brutality, identified them as
two of the five men who had treated him in the manner de..
scribed. They subsequently underwent at► examination be-
fore the magistrates at St. Alban's, hnd are now in Hert-
ford gaol. No hopes are entertailied of the ultimate reco-
very of Thursby, from thc so?;ere injuries he has received.
—Morning Paper,