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THE EXTRA-LICENTIATES OF THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND THE PROJECTED CHARTER.
430
they produce precisely the same testimonials, and undergo made upon my mind during my intercourse with those gentleprecisely the same examination as the intra-licentiates; and men, but would only observe that the principal reason as. the only difference in the two is, that the one pays a few signed for this sweeping injustice, was the unprofessional pounds less than the other ? Such quibbling deserves not conduct of one or two of the body. One, for example, kept an open shop in Holborn ; another advertised his skill in refutation.-II am, refutation.— am. Sir, Sir, AN EXTRA-LICENTIATE, PRACTISING IN sexual diseases; a third practised as a general practitioner. No such objections were made to other classes of physicians, THE PROVINCES. March, 1848. as if the graduates of Scotch and Irish universities neither nor practised generally, and as if the whole body THE EXTRA-LICENTIATES OF THE COLLEGE OF kept shops licentiates were tainted with those evil doings.. of provincial PHYSICIANS AND THE PROJECTED CHARTER. It was vainly urged that the black sheep would never seek To the Editor of THE LANCET. admission into the College, and that consequently such unjust SIR,—I feel certain that the licentiates extra urbem will be grateful to you for your exposition and defence of their rights and position as English physicians. I am one of many who sought the college " letters testimonial" (for the document is not a licence) as a legal qualification to practise as an English physician. I placed considerable confidence in the honourable position of the College; I conceived that its authorities would assuredly be influenced by high moral principles (for Sir II. Halford was then the president) in the admission of candidates to the rights and privileges which a
means were not necessary for their exclusion; that the respectable portion of the body was not responsible for their conduct; that the punishment would really fall upon those who were practising honourably, and wished to associate with
their brethren, &c. No attention was given to these remonstrances, and it only remained for those who held their
honour and positionoppose the grant of a fiable a
worth contending for, to charter by every legal and justi-
something
as new
means.
aaav..wfam
Nevertheless, I
am inclined. to think that the provincial. statute of the realm authorized them to confer. Amid the’ licentiates will gladly avoid the exposure and expense of a. chaos of conflicting- jurisdictions, it did appear to me that the squabble before the public, (and very probably before the) Lords and Commons, if the Bill ever gets to its first Royal College of Physicians was that upon which I could Houses of most confidently rely for countenance and support in the reading in either,) and would meet the College in a conciliatory As to any investigation of the comparative merits ofpractice of my profession. Accordingly, after taking the spirit. of licentiates, or of the different classes of opinion of a member of the bar,- (now a colonial judge,) I the two classes of the United Kingdom, it is, I think, altogether presented myself for examination at the College, and received graduates letters testimonial of examination and approval. Having foreign to the question, which is one of legal position and. been previously admitted a licentiate of Apothecaries’ Hall, rights; and I apprehend that no one, with any pretension to and a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of London, good taste or right feeling, would propose such an investiga(not to mention my having obtained the diploma of a conti- tion. An inquiry into one class would necessitate an inquiry nental university of high repute, after residence and exami- into all, not excepting the fellows of the College. There can be no doubt that persons hold the College licence, or are nation,) I felt that in obtaining the letters testimonial I had British graduates, who ought not to be admitted; but the that no with the laws of my country, retrospecfully complied tive legislation could touch me, and that I might be at ease best plan to exclude them would be so to arrange the College amidst the changes soughtby the profession, or various sec- by-laws, that if they sought or demanded admission, theytions of it. I need not say how much I have been disappointed could be immediately expelled. Such unworthy individuals would then be most careful how they subjected themselves to in this reasonable hope. collegiate authority, when the only result would be a forfeiturePerhaps if I had relied upon my own judgment in this of fees and an ignominious expulsion. matter, or even upon counsel’s opinion, however eminent the is, in fact, simply one of money-payments. If counsel, I might have had less ground for complaint; but the it The can be demonstrated to me that the payment of £25 by acts and declarations of the College itself were those which most influenced my decision as to the line of education and each provincial physician will be of proportionate advantagelegal qualification I should adopt. The College has from to the section of the profession to which I belong, I, for one, time to time asserted, in officialdocuments, its authority to will pay it cheerfully; but as I have already paid one fee, I on this point, and wait for further information. It is grantletters testimonial, and the illegality, in England, of all hesitate true that the intra-urbem licentiates have paid a larger fee diplomas and licences, except those of Oxford and Cambridge, than the extra-urbem licentiates; but the Scottish graduates and of its own examining boards. Of late years, in particular, have paid no fees whatever. The fact is, that the less paya forth statement of its and "of the it has put means powers, which it possesses within itself of conferring the rank and ment by the extra-urbem licentiates arises partly from the privileges of physicians;" as also of its determination to regard circumstance, that they are a privileged class so far as regards in the same light, and address by the same appellation, all who the stamp-duties, from which, as existing under a statute, obtained its diploma, whether they have graduated elsewhere they are exempt, and partly because they are exempt from Official communications from Dr. Hawkins, the re- the corporate jurisdiction of the College, which is limited to or not. gistrar, left no doubt on the minds of many that the provincial London, like that of the other corporate bodies of the metrolicentiates were included in this statement, and of late years, polis. in consequence, a considerable number of gentlemen have - If the College be re-constructed as "The College of Phyproceeded to London, and have obtained the letters testimo- sicians of England," then it will be a new institution, and the nial of the Collegiate examining board, and have paid about provincial physicians of all classes should only be called upon to pay their proportion of the expenses incurred in obtaining X4000 sterling in the form of fees. the Charter. I believe it is against all precedent that a tax Such boine’ the state of things, the College proposed to the Government tlrat certain xnodifications of its charter shouic of £15 should be levied upon each person, thus incorporated, be made, and its collegiate authority be extended beyond thE in the shape of a stamp-duty, and it should be strenuously this is only a minor point upon which the present limits of London, and within seven miles thereof, ovel resisted. of But the whole of England. It would be a reasonable ’expecta- sagacity those who have arranged the terms of the Charter tion to suppose that the College would not be unmindful of has been at fault.-I am, Sir, your faithful servant, T. T. LAYCOCK, M.D. York, April 8th, 1848. its previous acts and declarations, and of the statute rights of the licentiates extra urbem, and that these rights would be P.S.-The association of extra-urbem licentiates still conrecognised by incorporating the latter at once with their tinues in activity, and licentiates are invited to join it. metropolitan brethren as associates or members. But a proposition entirely opposed to this was made, and the College, THE STUDENTS OF UNIVERSITY COLLEGE unmindful of what was due to its own honour, and tothe AND MR. SYME. rights and feelings of the provincial licentiates, proposed that the latter should only be admitted into association with other A DEPUTATION of students of medicine in Univergentlemen; classes on being again examined and approved, and on paying sity waited upon Mr. Syme, at his residence in College, lately a further fee to the College and a tax to Government, or, as a .Bruton-street, for the purpose of presenting to that gentleman great favour, to continue in practice as physicians, but on no a congratulatory address on the occasion of his settlement account to be associated with their professional brethren in a among them as Professor of Clinical Surgery. The following corporate capacity. a copy of the address, and also of Mr. Syme’s answer. An association of Licentiates was immediately formed, for the purpose of resisting this proposition, and, as secretary to Copy of the Congratulatory Memorial to Mr. ,S’yne. that body, I had an interview with the president and other the undersigned students of medicine in Univer-Sir,-We, official persons. I need not state the painful impressions sity College, embrace with pleasure an opportunity of present’
,....
question
Government that certain modifications of itscharter should
is
they produce precisely the same testimonials, and undergo made upon my mind during my intercourse with those gentleprecisely the same examination as the intra-licentiates; and men, but would only observe that the principal reason as. the only difference in the two is, that the one pays a few signed for this sweeping injustice, was the unprofessional pounds less than the other ? Such quibbling deserves not conduct of one or two of the body. One, for example, kept an open shop in Holborn ; another advertised his skill in refutation.-II am, refutation.— am. Sir, Sir, AN EXTRA-LICENTIATE, PRACTISING IN sexual diseases; a third practised as a general practitioner. No such objections were made to other classes of physicians, THE PROVINCES. March, 1848. as if the graduates of Scotch and Irish universities neither nor practised generally, and as if the whole body THE EXTRA-LICENTIATES OF THE COLLEGE OF kept shops licentiates were tainted with those evil doings.. of provincial PHYSICIANS AND THE PROJECTED CHARTER. It was vainly urged that the black sheep would never seek To the Editor of THE LANCET. admission into the College, and that consequently such unjust SIR,—I feel certain that the licentiates extra urbem will be grateful to you for your exposition and defence of their rights and position as English physicians. I am one of many who sought the college " letters testimonial" (for the document is not a licence) as a legal qualification to practise as an English physician. I placed considerable confidence in the honourable position of the College; I conceived that its authorities would assuredly be influenced by high moral principles (for Sir II. Halford was then the president) in the admission of candidates to the rights and privileges which a
means were not necessary for their exclusion; that the respectable portion of the body was not responsible for their conduct; that the punishment would really fall upon those who were practising honourably, and wished to associate with
their brethren, &c. No attention was given to these remonstrances, and it only remained for those who held their
honour and positionoppose the grant of a fiable a
worth contending for, to charter by every legal and justi-
something
as new
means.
aaav..wfam
Nevertheless, I
am inclined. to think that the provincial. statute of the realm authorized them to confer. Amid the’ licentiates will gladly avoid the exposure and expense of a. chaos of conflicting- jurisdictions, it did appear to me that the squabble before the public, (and very probably before the) Lords and Commons, if the Bill ever gets to its first Royal College of Physicians was that upon which I could Houses of most confidently rely for countenance and support in the reading in either,) and would meet the College in a conciliatory As to any investigation of the comparative merits ofpractice of my profession. Accordingly, after taking the spirit. of licentiates, or of the different classes of opinion of a member of the bar,- (now a colonial judge,) I the two classes of the United Kingdom, it is, I think, altogether presented myself for examination at the College, and received graduates letters testimonial of examination and approval. Having foreign to the question, which is one of legal position and. been previously admitted a licentiate of Apothecaries’ Hall, rights; and I apprehend that no one, with any pretension to and a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of London, good taste or right feeling, would propose such an investiga(not to mention my having obtained the diploma of a conti- tion. An inquiry into one class would necessitate an inquiry nental university of high repute, after residence and exami- into all, not excepting the fellows of the College. There can be no doubt that persons hold the College licence, or are nation,) I felt that in obtaining the letters testimonial I had British graduates, who ought not to be admitted; but the that no with the laws of my country, retrospecfully complied tive legislation could touch me, and that I might be at ease best plan to exclude them would be so to arrange the College amidst the changes soughtby the profession, or various sec- by-laws, that if they sought or demanded admission, theytions of it. I need not say how much I have been disappointed could be immediately expelled. Such unworthy individuals would then be most careful how they subjected themselves to in this reasonable hope. collegiate authority, when the only result would be a forfeiturePerhaps if I had relied upon my own judgment in this of fees and an ignominious expulsion. matter, or even upon counsel’s opinion, however eminent the is, in fact, simply one of money-payments. If counsel, I might have had less ground for complaint; but the it The can be demonstrated to me that the payment of £25 by acts and declarations of the College itself were those which most influenced my decision as to the line of education and each provincial physician will be of proportionate advantagelegal qualification I should adopt. The College has from to the section of the profession to which I belong, I, for one, time to time asserted, in officialdocuments, its authority to will pay it cheerfully; but as I have already paid one fee, I on this point, and wait for further information. It is grantletters testimonial, and the illegality, in England, of all hesitate true that the intra-urbem licentiates have paid a larger fee diplomas and licences, except those of Oxford and Cambridge, than the extra-urbem licentiates; but the Scottish graduates and of its own examining boards. Of late years, in particular, have paid no fees whatever. The fact is, that the less paya forth statement of its and "of the it has put means powers, which it possesses within itself of conferring the rank and ment by the extra-urbem licentiates arises partly from the privileges of physicians;" as also of its determination to regard circumstance, that they are a privileged class so far as regards in the same light, and address by the same appellation, all who the stamp-duties, from which, as existing under a statute, obtained its diploma, whether they have graduated elsewhere they are exempt, and partly because they are exempt from Official communications from Dr. Hawkins, the re- the corporate jurisdiction of the College, which is limited to or not. gistrar, left no doubt on the minds of many that the provincial London, like that of the other corporate bodies of the metrolicentiates were included in this statement, and of late years, polis. in consequence, a considerable number of gentlemen have - If the College be re-constructed as "The College of Phyproceeded to London, and have obtained the letters testimo- sicians of England," then it will be a new institution, and the nial of the Collegiate examining board, and have paid about provincial physicians of all classes should only be called upon to pay their proportion of the expenses incurred in obtaining X4000 sterling in the form of fees. the Charter. I believe it is against all precedent that a tax Such boine’ the state of things, the College proposed to the Government tlrat certain xnodifications of its charter shouic of £15 should be levied upon each person, thus incorporated, be made, and its collegiate authority be extended beyond thE in the shape of a stamp-duty, and it should be strenuously this is only a minor point upon which the present limits of London, and within seven miles thereof, ovel resisted. of But the whole of England. It would be a reasonable ’expecta- sagacity those who have arranged the terms of the Charter tion to suppose that the College would not be unmindful of has been at fault.-I am, Sir, your faithful servant, T. T. LAYCOCK, M.D. York, April 8th, 1848. its previous acts and declarations, and of the statute rights of the licentiates extra urbem, and that these rights would be P.S.-The association of extra-urbem licentiates still conrecognised by incorporating the latter at once with their tinues in activity, and licentiates are invited to join it. metropolitan brethren as associates or members. But a proposition entirely opposed to this was made, and the College, THE STUDENTS OF UNIVERSITY COLLEGE unmindful of what was due to its own honour, and tothe AND MR. SYME. rights and feelings of the provincial licentiates, proposed that the latter should only be admitted into association with other A DEPUTATION of students of medicine in Univergentlemen; classes on being again examined and approved, and on paying sity waited upon Mr. Syme, at his residence in College, lately a further fee to the College and a tax to Government, or, as a .Bruton-street, for the purpose of presenting to that gentleman great favour, to continue in practice as physicians, but on no a congratulatory address on the occasion of his settlement account to be associated with their professional brethren in a among them as Professor of Clinical Surgery. The following corporate capacity. a copy of the address, and also of Mr. Syme’s answer. An association of Licentiates was immediately formed, for the purpose of resisting this proposition, and, as secretary to Copy of the Congratulatory Memorial to Mr. ,S’yne. that body, I had an interview with the president and other the undersigned students of medicine in Univer-Sir,-We, official persons. I need not state the painful impressions sity College, embrace with pleasure an opportunity of present’
,....
question
Government that certain modifications of itscharter should
is