First and second reports from the Select Committee on Medical Registration and Medical Law Amendment : together with the minutes of evidence and appendix.

  • Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Select Committee on Medical Registration and Medical Law Amendment.
Date:
1848
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: First and second reports from the Select Committee on Medical Registration and Medical Law Amendment : together with the minutes of evidence and appendix. 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.

    17/146 page 13
    Presbyterian, or any thing else except a Protestant—to subscribe to the 39 Articles, and, therefore, cannot become a Bachelor of Arts, though he possesses every other qualification to be one, he cannot become a Fellow of the College of Surgeons, unless he undergoes two things ; the first is, that he must study surgery for a year more, so that, having studied the quantity of surgery necessary°for him if he had been a Bachelor of Arts, he must study surgery for another year, which is a very great hardship upon a gentleman, and particularly an officer so situated ; and not only that, he must be examined by two professors, who will inflict upon him, particularly if we get one from Cambridge and the other from Oxford, a much more severe examination than he would have had to undergo at either of the universities if he had belonged to one, and, in addition to the year’s study, he has to learn French. That appears to me to be the hardest thing in the world, that a man, because he cannot subscribe to the 39 Articles, shall be bound to undergo an extra year’s study in surgery, and that he shall learn French. 72. Chairman.] Which is not required from those who have passed through the Universities, and have obtained honours there ?—No; under these ciicum- stances, I am of opinion that in any arrangements which may be made as to future legislation, the charter of the College of Surgeons should be directed to undergo revision, and that any of those points which appear to require altera- tion should be altered, more particularly because there are now certain propo- sitions making on the part of different persons to legislate after a fashion, which perhaps may not be better than the legislation which has hitherto taken place; and whilst a charter is proposed to be granted to the general practitioner, to which I have not the slightest objection, it is not proposed, I believe, that the charter of the College of Surgeons shall be revised or altered in any way, so as to remove the grievances I have mentioned. Gentlemen in civil life, I dare say, will take care of themselves ; all I propose is, that as far as this charter affects the officers of the public service, the grievances which they complain of should be redressed. 73. Mr. Grogan.'] With respect to the bye-law as to the additional year of study, and learning French, did not it emanate from your own Council in the first instance ?—Yes. 74. Then it was an act of the Council itself, confirmed by the Secretary of State?—Certainly ; all bye-laws must emanate from the Council. 75. Sir R. H. Inglis.j In reference to the general question of the medical profession in this country, do you desire that the examination for each grade of that profession should be conducted separately by those respectively belonging to each, or would you advise that the examination for the whole, in its three or its four classes, should be conducted by one central board ?—If the University of London had been appointed for the purpose of conducting the examinations of the whole profession, there would have been no difficulty in its being done by one board of that kind ; the Council of the College of Surgeons would not, I believe, have objected to that being done some years ago, if the Minister had thought right to do it; we were prepared, if the Premier had treated us with a little degree of reasonable attention, to have yielded all our privileges for the public good, if it had been so considered. 76. What is your opinion upon the propriety of the two systems?—I think that, properly constituted, one central board might be sufficient; but it must be a board of high authority, divided into different departments. In all the Universities of Europe, in Paris particularly, one board generally does all the business ; but then it is composed of different professors, who each inquires into his own particular subject; if that had been thought right, there would have been no objection to it. 77. Is not the distinction to which you have now called the attention of the Committee, one of words only, and not of things, inasmuch as you state that the Council in Paris is divided into different sections, each examining the young men who are candidates for practice in their own particular subjects?— No; the Professor of Anatomy examines in anatomy, the Professor of Physic in physic, the Professor of Chemistry in chemistry, and the Professor of Mid- wifery in midwifery ; when they have all completed their examinations, can- didates are pronounced to be competent or otherwise to perform the various offices they desire to attain. 210. 33 G. J. Guthrie, Esq. f. a. s. 29 February 1848 78. What
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3