Surgery in Bengal : an address to the Bengal branch of the British Medical Association : at the annual general meeting, 14th February 1865.
- Fayrer, Joseph, Sir, 1824-1907.
- Date:
- 1865
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Surgery in Bengal : an address to the Bengal branch of the British Medical Association : at the annual general meeting, 14th February 1865. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.
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![and free discussion of their experiences. The Association is interesting- to us all^ butj if any thing-, it should be of surpass- ing- interest to them, as an indication of rapidly advancing enlightenment, a prominent bulwark against traditional super- stition and ignorance. I most sincerely trust that it will become a worthy rival of its sister branches in Europe, and that in all matters pertaining to Indian Medicine, Surgery, Pathology, and Sanitation, its voice may be heard and respect- fully regarded. Before alluding to the present state of Surgical Science, it is right to refer to what it was, say less than half a century ago. Of this an admirable picture has been given by Dr. Chucker- butty in his address to the Association last year. He says, ‘^such was the state of the Medical profession immediately ]U’ior to the foundation of the Calcutta Medical College. The Native members of it were all unqualified men, totally ignorant of the modern sciences, and, if learned at all, it was merely in the ancient lore of the Hindu and Mahomedau schools, which taught no human anatomy, physiology, or che- mistry, and were replete with errors and fanciful views of all kinds in their pathology and therapeutics. The European members of it almost all belonged to the Government service, and wrote and spoke in a foreign tongue, which, from the number of technical terms they made use of, presented formi- dable difficulties to all uninstructed persons.” And to this I would refer you, for it shows plainly the rapid strides that have been made during the past thirty years, or, I may say, since the foundation of the Medical College, an Institution which has, I^ believe, done more real good, and more truly advanced the interests of the people generally, than any other branch of secular education that we have introduced. And yet it is not more due to the devotion and energy of the British Surgeons who originated and developed the School and Medical education to what we now see them, than to the enlightened native gentlemen who have had the courage and good sense to avail themselves of the intellectual benefits thereby offered, that the present widely spread knowledo-e of medicine and surgery has been attained. Much has bera, and, as I believe, much is being done towards further progress; and I trust the time is not far distant when we shall see the results in the productions of original thought and research.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28520245_0007.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
