It must be observed that these reasons turn on the policy and not on the law of the question, and would have been better addressed to the House of Peers in their legislative, than in their judicial capacity; the hardship of depriving the Apothecaries of all practice, and the inexpediency of too strictly enforcing the statute of _Henry_ 8th, might have justified an application to the Legislature for an alteration of the law, but they could not warrant even the highest tribunal in the land in departing from the law established by Act of Parliament, and gravely decided by the judges; we must therefore conclude that some better arguments were adduced on the hearing than have been handed down to us by the reporters; for if seeing the patient, judging of the complaint, and administering the proper remedies for it, be not a practising of Physic within the meaning of the statute, we must confess ourselves utterly at a loss to define the practice which is. It is a futile and unworthy subterfuge to allege that no fee is taken for advice, and that the sum charged is only the price of the drugs, for the contrary is evident; the poacher might as well pretend (as has been done) that he sells the basket at his own price, and throws the hare into the bargain, as a compliment to the purchaser,—or the vender of nostrums might attempt to avoid the stamp duty by selling the bottles and giving the physic. We are very far indeed from wishing to put unfair restraints on trade, or to deprive any class of men of the free exercise of their professional abilities, but as the Legislature has deemed it necessary to guard the corporeal health of the people, by enacting that only persons who on examination by a competent authority have been found of sufficient ability shall practise, we have thought it our duty to point out the law as it stands, and if in doing so we are occasionally obliged to hint at defects, we do it in the hope that by drawing abler attention to a neglected subject, we may incidentally give rise to some improvements, beneficial not only to the public at large, but ultimately profitable to those who, at the first glance might think themselves injuriously affected by them.