A letter to the Provost of Oriel, on university extension / by Charles Daubeny.

  • Daubeny, Charles Giles Bridle, 1795-1867.
Date:
1865
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A letter to the Provost of Oriel, on university extension / by Charles Daubeny. 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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    ] 8 The fact however still remains, that under the existing system the scientific education regarded as preparatory to the strictly professional courses, commences at the same period at which the student repairs to London for the pur- pose of acquiring a knowledge of the theory and practice of Medicine. Indeed it cannot be otherwise, except in those rare cases where the apprentice resides in a large city in which lectures are delivered on scientific subjects. It may indeed be true, that the regulations with regard to medical apprenticeships are so far relaxed, that a ymung man is not precluded in consequence from entering upon the former class of studies before he resorts to the metropolis ; but where in the ordinary course of things, I may ask, is he to obtain the requisite means of doing so, except it be by resort- ing to one or other of our Universities? And unless he goes there, where is he to spend the three years, or thereabouts, which intervene in the life of most students, between the time of his leaving school, and that at which he is considered old enough to go up to London, ex- cept it be in the house of an apothecary or general prac- titioner, who receives him on the footing of an apprentice, and employs him chiefly in compounding his medicines ? Accordingly it is not too much to say, that a length of time sufficient for obtaining an Oxford degree is in the majority of cases consumed in discharging the mechanical duties of- an apprentice, and that the premium required for the privilege of acting in that capacity will be nearly as great as that which would carry him through the Univer- sity at a frugal rate of living. It appears from a pamphlet put forth by the Principal of St. Mary Hall, that the class of Undergraduates under his superintendence, consisting of youths who consent to live upon the economical plan which he has introduced into his Hall, are lodged, boarded, and maintained, at a sum not ex- ceeding £80 per annum, including all necessary expenses, excepting clothes, books, and journey's. The only class of Medical Students, therefore, which can hope, at a much smaller outlay than this, to reach that stage in their medical education, which commences in London, is the one whose parents or guardians are themselves Medical Practitioners. They, of course, living at home, may be gainers, in point of economy at least, by adhering to the present system, but others, who have to look out for board and lodging elsewhere, might find their account in resorting during Term to a frugal Hail at Oxford, and by prosecuting the routine of their duties