摘要:

INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. THE REPORT OF THE COUNCIL AND BALANCE SHEET FOR 1882, TOGETHER WITH THE ADDRESS OF THE RETIRING PRESIDENT, PROFESSOR ABEL, COB.,F,R,S., &c. S'olKbUll : PRINTED BY A. P. BLUNDELL & CO., 26, GARLICK HILL, E.C. -1883. LIST OF OFFICERS & (MJNCIL FOR 1883, PRESIDENT. W. ODLING, KA., KB., F.R.S., &c. VICE-PRESIDENTS, A. CRUJI BROWN, 3I.D., E.R.S., &c. hi. CAIZTEIGHE, F.C.S. C. GRAHAM, D.Sc., F.C.S. DAVID HOWARD, F.C.S. J. EMERSOR REYNOLDS, XD., F.R.S., &c, R. ANGUS SMITH, Ph.D., F.R.S., &c. TREASURER. C. R. ALDER WRIGHT, D.Sc., F.R.S. ORDINARY MEMBERS OF COUNCIL. F. A. ABEL, C.B., F.R.S., $c. J. MACTEAR, F.C.S. A. H. ALLEN, F.C.S. E.J. MILLS, D.Sc., F.R.S., &c. R. BBNNISTER, F.C.S. B. H. PAUL, Pli.D., F.C.S. JAIIES BELL, F.C.S. E. RILEY, F.C.S. G. E. DAVIS, F.C.S. W. C. ROBERTS, F.R.S., &c. W. F. DONKIN, MA., F.C.S. T. S'TEVEKSON, XI.D., F.C.S. A. DUPRE, Ph.D., F.R.S., &c. J. XIILLAR THOMSOX, F.C.S. E. FRANKLAND, Ph.D.,D.C.L., F.R.S. W. THORP, B.Sc., F.C.S. W. N. HARTLEY, F.R.S.E., F.C.S. W. A. TILDEN, D.Sc., F.R.S., &c, C. HEISCH, F.C.S. T. TYRER, F.C.S. D. B. HEWITT, M.D. W. WALLACE, Ph.D., F.R.S.E. ALFRED HILL, hI.D., F.C.S. R. WARRINGTON, F.C.S. J. F. HODGES, M.D., F.C.S. T. WAY, F.C.S. E. TV. T. JONES, F.C.S. SECRETARY. C. E. GROVES, F.C.S. INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, REPORT OF COUNCIL. AT the time of the last Annual General Meeting, there were on the Register 412 Fellows and 47 Bssoeiates, whilst at the present time there are 396 Fellows and 37 Associates, besides three Fellows who have been recently elected, but not yet formally admitted, making 436 Members in all.During the past year we have lost seven Members by death: Nr. Dugald Campbell, Mr. T. ,4. Collinge, Ah, 13. J. Grosjean, Mr. Sydney Jutsum, Ah. T. W. Iceates, chemist to the Metropolitan Board of Works, Professor Marreco of Nevi-castle, and Dr. G. A. Pearce ; whilst six Associates hare become Fellons. During the year a Conference has been held, at vhich the discussion of ‘‘ Certain Points in the Ethics of Professional Chemistry” wits continued, the subject having been introduced at a previous meeting by Dr.Franklaud. Besides this Con- ference, two Lectures have been given ; that by Mr. R. Warington, “ On Modern Nethods of Gas Analysis, and the Apparatus eni- ployed therein,” was the first of the series of experimental demonstrations in connection with Methods of Analysis men-tioned in last year’s Report. This has been followed by a Lecture “On Polarimeters and their Practical Application ,’, by Mr. C. O’Sullivaa, for the illustration of which important assistance was obligingly furnished by the President of the Royal Society. The Council are making arrangements for the delivery of other Lectures during thc ensuing Session, which id1 be duly an-nounced when the preliminaries are definitely settled.In October, a Meeting of tlie Fellows arid Associates took place at Birmingham and was largely attended. During their visit, the Members were enabled to inspect some of the most irn-portant works in the neighbourhood, more especially tlie Alkali Works and Glass Works of Jfessrs. Chance Brothers, Earl Dudley’s Iron Works at Round Oak, and the Corporation Gas Works, to the oxners and managers of which the Couiicil take this opportunity of returning thank:. The proceedings termi- nated by the Members dining together at the Great Kesterii Hotel in the evening. The Council has most carefully considered the present financial fitate of the Institute and its future prospects, with a view of ascertaining if it would be conducive to the interests of the Society to make some alteration in tlie amount which Members contribute, either by substituting a diniiiiislied composition fee for the annual subscription, or by reclticing the annual subscrip- tion.They find, however, that the former is quite impracticable, as the capital sum which would be secured, even if every Fellow Tere to pay the coinposition fee of twenty-five guineas fixed by the existing Articles of Association, would not, yield an adequate incorne. On the other hand, although an iucorne just sufficient 7 to corer the necessary expenses mould be raised if the subscription of Fellows were to be reduced from two guineas to one guinea per annurn, yet if there were any important dimunition in the num-ber of Fellows or increase in the expenditure, there would be a deficit every year, which would have to be met, either by voluntary subscription, or by drawing on the invested capital.Seeing that it is of primary importance that an Association of the character of‘the Institute of Chemistry should have the command of fun& available for purposes tending to advance the genera1 position and interests of the profession, such as incorporation by private Act of Parliament,-a measure which it is to be hoped may be carried into effect before long,-the Council deem it unadvisable that any change should be made at the present time in the contributions of Fellows and Associates to the funds of the Society. As applications for admission to the Institute have been made by several Chemists residing perinaneutly abroad, and for whom it is impossible to attend the prescribed practical examinations held in England, special arrangements have been made whereby these:candida#tes can be exam * ,,GI in practical Chemistry without corning to Eu&ind for that purpose.The Council have made arraugements for the appointment of Local Examiners in several of the more iiiiportaiit centres in the provinces, through whose exertions and influence it is hoped that a knowledge of the aim and objects of the Iiistitute may be more widely disseminated, especisllp with regnrd to the steps to be taken to promote the systematic training which is becoming more and more ~iecessary for students who are desirous of adopting Clieniistry as a Profession.Tlie prize of 325n.liich Dr. C. JIeyiuott Tidy has offered for the best original investigation on “Special Keactions of the All;aloids, and their sel!aratioii from Organic Nistures,” has not yet been 8 awarded. This prize is open, not only to Associates, but to a.11 persons, except Fellows of the Institute, who shall before the 31st December next, have qualified themselves for the Associateship in all respects, Bhort of passing the prescribed practical examination ; and the Council has decided to accept successful competition for this prize in place of such practical examination. The Institute is indebted to the President and Council of the Chemical Society for the use of their rooms during the past year.PAGES MISSING FROM 9 TO 10 11 striven to furnish this, at any rate to some sl-uall extent, wibliuut incurring sn amount of expenditure which would be suicidid to the ulterior objects of the Association ; and the success diich has attended the experiment of establishing a system of experimental demotistrations or lectures, of special character, has shown that these strirings have not been altogether frni tless. The proposal to issue some form of periodical publication for the information of the Fello~m n-as most anxiously considered by the Council, and it was only rejected because it was clearly mani- fest that it was inipossibile to produce a publication which sLIoulc1 be really useful to the IlIeriibers, and n-hich sliould not bring dis- credit upon the Institute, without expending by far the largest proportion of its income.The prudence and firmness of pour Councils in this matter have, I submit, entitled them to the grati- tude of the profession, if only for the 0720 reason that they have at any rate given strength, if they did not actually give rise, to the movement ~hich has resnlted in the creation of what bids fair to be one of the most iinportant, as it is already one of the most numerous, technical Associations in the country, and in the establistment of a periodical which, if it does not in all respects come up to the ideal of n-hat aprofessioml journal of the Institute of Chemistry, or a journal of reference for practising Cheiniste, should be, is certainly already little less valudble to the professional than it is to the technical C'hemist, and may in course of time meet inany existing requirements of the former.To all those Fellows of the Institute who do not also belong to the Society of Chemical Indimtry, this journal will speedily he sulq>lied,and thus the desire of the Fellows in this direction will, it is hoped, have been in sotile measure fulfilled without any wry serious deinarid upon the Society's resources, at any rate until sucli time as those resources, after the accomplishment of work to be presently mentioned, sldl warrant our undertwlciag the production of such a jouriial as woulcl be a valuable contribution to our periodical Clieinical literature, and of special use to practising Chemists.12 The Institute includes among its Fellows a nuniber of Members who joined tlie movement for its establishment purely in the interests of the Chemical profession generally, and with no thought of deriving either material or social benefit therefrom ; and some few of these have recently quitted the Institute, either because they believe that the object for tohich they gave their adherence to the proposal for its establishinent cannot be further promoted through their instrumentality, or because their views regarding the position Khich the Institute should fill have not been realised with the expedition which those might expect who are unacquainted with the difficulties to be surmounted. To the latter cause, combined with m hesitation to continue an annual contribution of two guineas without receiving an equivalent in money value, must also probably be ascribed the secession from the Society of a few Fellovs to whom, in course of time, the title and position of Fellow of the Institute might become of substantial advantage.That an undercurrent of discontent, at any rate, has arisen from these causes therc appears no doubt, and the Council haTe been in cordial synipathy with those Fellows of the Institute who have strong feelings on the subject of the nature and amount of contribution, which, according to existing arrangements, they are called upon to make to the Funds of the Society. The Council’s Report has iiiiorined the Society of the results of their deliberations on the subject of a possible reduction of the annual subscriptions or dteration in the nature of payment to be made by Fellows and Associates.Although it has been possible to accumulate a reserve Fund of SE3,OOO during the first five years of our existence, vhile, inoreo\’er, the Council now to be elected will at once be able, as the Balance Sheet indicates, to add substantially to that Fund, the financial condition of the Institute does not yet sllow of the introduction of the reform in the nature of contributions to be made by Fellows and Associatcs ~hicli the Council wished to have been able to recommend, namely, the 13 completion, once for all, of payments, by those admitted to tlic Institute, upon their attaining the position of Fellow, arid the payment by existing Fellows of a moderate composition in lieu of the future annual payment of subscriptions.It is hoped that the present financial condition of the Institute is such as to marrant the next Council in taking steps with as little delay as possible for securing the incorporation of the Institute by an Act of Parliament ; but the considerable outlay which t,his must entail unavoidably delays the possibility of introduciiig any radical alteration in the nature and amount of contributions paid by Members ; a delay which the proposed course of action Kill doubt- less justify to all who desire that the Institute of Chemistry, as representing the Chemical profession, should in time occupy a public and official position as thoroughly recognised and secured as those of the representative Corporations of other learned professions.Your President and Council have been watchful of opportunities to bring the Institute and its representative character to the notice of State Officials or Public Bodies. In illustration of this I may refer to the circumstance that, when the Secretary of State for the Home Department announced in the House of Commons last March that he had called upon the Presidents of the Royal College of Surgeons and Royal College of Physicians to suggest experts duly qualified to act as Government Referees in cases of suspected poisoning, the ClounciI authorised me to address the Home Secretary, directing his attention to the existence and nature of the Institute, and submitting that, as the Referees to be appointed must be Chemists having special attainments and experience, the President of this representative Association of professional Chemists ought at least to be associated with the Presidents of the two medical bodies in this matter.It was obvious that the Official arrangements had already been com-pleted, so as not t,o be susceptible of modification, when their nature was anuounced in Parliament, and the communication to the Home Secretary simply received a formal acknowledgnient ; but while the Members of the Institute cannot be otherwise thau thoroughly satisfied with the choice, which in the present instance was made, by the Presidents of the Medical Corporations, of two eminent Members of our Body, it will, no doubt, be considered important by those who mill in future direct the affairs of the Society, to take prompt and proper nieasures for asserting its claims to being officially consulted in this matter, and in other cases where consultation is resorted to in reference to questions which directly concern the clieniical profession.The Members will be glad to learn that the adL-ice of the Institute was sought by the Home Secretary in another matter, namely, in reference to the :mendnzent of the law relating to the sale of poisons ; and, in compliance with the request for a report as to any suggestions which the Institute niiglit ofkr, seyeral recom- meuclations were snlomitted, these being the result of a careful consideration of the subject by a special Committee. Iu one matter of primary iniportance connected with the objects of the Institute, your Council has not been idle during the past year.With the view to encourage youiig men who are prepariiig for the cheiiiical profession, or some kindred vocation, to eubinit themselves to the tests of general training and chemical kno\Tledge afforded by our examinations, and, with a view to accelerate the general recognition throughout the kingdom of the grade of Associate as a guarantee of qualification, it has been decided that caudid:ttcs mlio are studying or employed in or near any of the most iniportaiit provincial centres, m:~yavoid the cost and loss of time entailed by presenting tlieinselres for examination in London, their attainments being attested by a Local Examiner, at the centre most convenient to them.In asking Fellows of the Institute to iuidertake the oKice of Local Exanliner, the Council desire, at the same tiiiic, to secure a11 Oficial Referee at the par- ticular locality where he consents to act, froin whom information regarding the Institute, the ternis and conditions of admission, kc., may be obtained on the spot, and who may also inform or assist the Council in respect to any matters of local nature which may have to be dealt with by the Institute. It will be acknowledged that by securing the assistance of Professor Mills, in Glasgon., Professor Hartley, in Dublin, and Professor Tilden, in Rirming-ham, as Local Examiners and Referees, the Council made a very good beginning in carrying out this arrangement, as it -could be inipossible to select from among our Fellows any who have the interests of the Institute more warmly at heart than these three eminent chemists.The Council's first success in this direction has already been follo-sed up by the acceptance of the posts of Examiners in Bristol and in Manchester by Dr. Ramsay and Mr. Watson Smith, and we may, therefore, regard this subject of your late Council's efforts as in course of very successful development. Much useful work, in the consideration of important subjects affecting the affairs of the Institute and the interests of the pro-fession, has been done by Committees appointed by the Council ; work not the less important because it is not of a nature to produce results which can be dealt with in the Report of the Council ; but I may just refer, in illustration of it, to the labours of a Committee on Professional Charges, which will resunie important deliberations after the appointment of the new Council, and will probably be so modified in character as to enable it to advise the Council on some subjects intimately connected with, and vitally affecting, tlie public status of the practising Chemist, and on very delicate questions relating to the niaintenance of proper professional eti- quette and dignity, which lies at the root of our position, prosperity and power, as a profession.The vital importance, to these, of harinouy aud good fellowship among all Branches of the Profession has been strongly felt by 16 your President and Council, and the beneficial effects of occasional social intercourse of Fellow Professionals residing in different parts of the kingdom, which it has been their endeavour to promote, have been well illustrated by the good fellowship among ourselves, and between us and our Sister Societies, which was displayed at the gathering at Sydenham last March, for acconiplishing which Dr. Roscoe and I were rewarded by the heartiest recognition of our labour of love from all three Societies7-and at our smaller, but certainly not less successful autumn meeting at Birmingham, which was made so interesting to us through the kindness of Members of the Society of Chemical Industry.In concluding these few observations, with which I quit this Chair, let me first thank the successive Councils with whom I have laboured, for the invaluable support and aid which one and all have afforded me, and let me thank the Members of the In- stitute generally for the indulgence with which they have received the efforts on my part to advance its interests and promote the attainment of its objects. Although the results of those efforts may be small, let me at least hope that they may have contributed to the secure foundation of a permanent Association, whose benefits to the Chemical profession and to the Public will rapidly develop and speedily receive general recognition.Lastly, let me give expression to my confident belief that the exertions of those to whom you have hitherto entrusted the direction and the interests of the Society have paved the way for more important work than it has bean in their power to accom- plish, but which mill be successfully grappled with by their successors, and that the appointment of your new Council and, as President, of one of the brightest ornaments of the Profession, whose brilliant talents and eloquence are equalled by his sagacity, mill mark a new departure in the usefulness and prosperity of the Institute of Chemistry.

ISSN:0368-3958    

DOI:10.1039/PG883070B001

出版商:RSC    

年代:1883

数据来源: RSC