Volume 1

Examination of the president and examiners of the Royal College of Physicians of London ... : with an analysis of the evidence given before the Select Committee of the House of Commons; and suggestions for an improved system of medical government / [Edwards Crisp].

  • Crisp, Edwards, 1806-1882.
Date:
1849
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Examination of the president and examiners of the Royal College of Physicians of London ... : with an analysis of the evidence given before the Select Committee of the House of Commons; and suggestions for an improved system of medical government / [Edwards Crisp]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    5/60 (page 3)
    But wlio are these men that arrogate to themselves the right of dictating to the majority of their brethren? Are they properly educated ? Have they the knowledge that a well-qualified practitioner should possess ? I fearlessly assert that many of them have not. They are like the parish beadle; they assume the same amount of authority, and are as badly dressed; for, if you strip them of their gilt and livery, you will find them deficient in one important garment,—they are only half clad. In conclusion, I beg the reader to weigh well the plan I have advocated, and ask himself whether there is any insurmountable difficulty in its accomplishment, and whether rotten and time-worn Corporations ought to retard the progress of medical science and the general good of mankind ? Should he agree with me, I would urge him to lay aside all self-interest, apathy, and indifference, and unite with those who reject with iudignation and scorn the assertion, that a body of intelligent and enlightened men are not competent to govern themselves ; we must remember that a Bill is about to be introduced into Parhament, that the crisis is important, and the victory ours, if we exert ourselves to wm it. The fight is a noble one! not for the shedding of blood, but for the preservation of human life. The Government, if we show ourselves united, will not dare to pass a Bill in opposition to the wishes of the great majority of the profession; but should we remain lukewarm and in¬ different, a measure will again be smuggled through the House of Commons, like the present charter of the College of Surgeons, which, should it become the law of the land, will obtain our execration, although it may be too late to amend it. The following account of the proceedings of the College of Surgeons in 1796, by Mr. Lawrence, the late President, should teach us a useful lesson:—“ In July, 1796, by the death of one of “ the Governors, and the illness of another, a sufficient number could not “ be obtained to constitute a legal Court for the election of Officers for “ the ensuing year, and it was said that the Corporation, owing to this “ circumstance, became dissolved. This appears to have been merely a “ pretence; for, in the next session of Parliament, a bill was introduced “ to get indemnity for the past, to erect the said deceased Corporation “ into a College with greatly increased power and authority, and to obtain