Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Medical women. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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![In the case of the recently founded Victoria University the ex- clusion of women from medical degrees is the more indefensible, as this university professes to examine candidates of both sexes on equal terms, and in fact does so in the non-medical faculties ; but it requires that all students taking its degrees shall have studied in one of its affiliated colleges, at Manchester or Liverpool, and yet allows women to be excluded from the medical departments of both these colleges. It is quite clear that either such exclusion should cease, or that women students of medicine should be admitted to examination after studying elsewhere. The case of the Scottish universities is, however, the one that most urgently demands public attention, and it was a very great disappointment to all those interested in the matter to find that in the Scottish L^niversities Bill recently introduced by the Government, no provision whatever was made for securing justice to women, even in view of the largely increased subsidies of public money to be drawn from the pockets of ratepayers of both sexes. It is stated in a parliamentary return just issued that no less than 315,330Z. has been paid to the four Scottish Universities within the last ten years,”* and the recent Bill would considerably increase that amount. Even if it is maintained that one-half of the community have no claim upon ancient endowments for educational purposes—and in Italy, on the contrary, it has been held that every Italian of either sex is alike entitled to the benefits of the national universities—it seems at least difficult to maintain that a parliament, in whose election women have no share, is entitled to vote increasing sums of money from the taxation imposed on female as well as male ratepayers, for purposes of education, from all the advantages of which all women are excluded. The point seems worthy of the attention of those who maintain that all the true interests of women are safe in spite of their disfranchisement; and it is at least to be hoped that no future charter will be granted to any university without absolute security that students of both sexes shall receive justice at its hands. At the present moment not one penny of public money is avail- able in any shape for the medical education of women. Since the foundation of the London School in 1874, and the opening of the Koyal Free Hospital in 1877, an excellent curriculum has been open to women, but it has been secured entirely by private effort and by the aid of private beneficence. About 5,8001. was contributed by friends for the purposes of the school during the first six years of its existence, the students’ fees for the same period amounting to about 3,900Z. A few legacies also have been received, but these have been mainly invested for the permanent advantage of the school. Now that its numbers have so greatly increased—there are this winter seventy-five students as against twenty-three during the ^ 77wci’, August 22, 1887. .VoL. XXII.—No. 129. ]>](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22468080_0009.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
