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ABSTRACT OF THE EVIDENCE OF

MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL COLLEGEOF SURGEONS IN LONDON,

TAKEN BEFORE THE

PARLIAMENTARY MEDICALCOMMITTEE IN 1834.

EVIDENCE OF SIR ASTLEY COOPER(Concluded).

I

THE first portion, of this witness’s evi- i,dence will be found at page 416. The partat which our abstract then concluded con-tained Sir Astley’s confession to the Com-mittee that the Examiners at the Collegeof Surgeons were constantly employed in" passing" their own pupils, and grantingto them the diploma of the College. Thegross impropriety of this system had al-

ready been admitted by the witness, whoused these words in condemning the prin-ciple on which he and his colleagues hadbeen acting for a long series of years." hold," said Sir Astley (paragraph 193),"that NO EXAMINER SHOULD BE A

TEACHER OF THE PROFESSION, AND THATIN SELECTING EXAMINERS, YOU OUGHTNOT TO CHOOSE ANY ONE WHO WAS AT

THE TIME A TEACHER." This is a me-morable sentence and must not be for-gotten.The chairman thus proceeded with his

inquiries where our extracts last closed :-

291. "Has any private teacher, not

being a surgeon to one of the large hospi-tals, ever been appointed one of your ex-aminers?"—" recollect one."

292. "Was not the effect of the regula-tions adopted by the College in 1824, toexclude from teaching anatomy or surgeryall members of the College, except thoseWho were HOSPITAL SURGEONS?"—" THATWAS THE INTENTION."

293. "Did not the rrajoi-ity of the ex-aminers who passed those regulations,themselves consist of HosPITAL SURGEONSor HOSPITAL LECTURERS ?"-"YES, THEYDID."

294. "Did not the Court thus delegatethe power of judging what teachers shouldbe’ recognised,’ to HOSPITAL PHYSICIANSand SURGEONS?’ =" YES."

295. "Under any new constitution ofthe Council, would such an arrangement ibe RIGHT ?"-" I certainly think that men I20 situated might be trusted with thatoffice:’

tution of29H. "And in the new constitution ofthe College would you really recommend

( that the hospital surgeons and the councilshould be elected out of those fifty menwhom you have before named ?" -" Yes ;and the teachers of anatomy and surgeryin London also, should be taken from thosefifty men only."

297. " Would not this restrict withintoo narrow limits the number of the elec-tors of the Council, and of the personseligible as councillors, teachers, and hos-pital surgeons?"—"I SHOULD THINK NOT."

298. "Would you extend this restric-tion also to the larger country hospitals ?"-"That is a subject upon which I havenot thought." ,

299. "What is the present expense ofhospital attendance in London ?" -" " Theapprentice usually pays 5001. or 600l., tobe boarded and lodged in the house of thehospital surgeon to whom he is attached." *The dresser pays 201. for the advantage ofdressing for twelve months. The pupilpays 261. 5s. to ba consideredas a perpetualpupil, but, in reality, to enter only fortwelve months; because it was thoughtright to hold over him, if he did not con-duct himself properly, the power of dis-posing of him at the end of the year."-To dispose of him does not mean to makeuse of his body in the dissection room,but to turn him out if he proves to be in-convenient in the hospital, that is, if heshould happen to ask too many questionsabout the irregular attendance of themedical officers and the want of clinicallectures, or should speak of the neglect ofpatients; or evince in any way an impres-sion that the chief planets and their satel-lites in the hospital do not move exactlyin the orbits of usefulness and diligence.

300. "Would the 5001. or 600l. includethe whole expense he would have to payfor the run of the hospital?" -" No; hehas to enter for the lectures of different

! kinds besides."301. What is the minimum of ex-

! pense incurred by a surgical student study-ing in London?’ =" As an apprentice itwould cost him 20001. for the six or sevenyears of education, before he could embarklinpractice. That is about the sum whichI a man ought to calculate that his son

would spend, if designed to be a surgeonof an hospital in London, and a lecturer.Thus, the board and lodging, paid for atonce upon his entrance, is 6001. The goingto Edinburgh would cost him a consider.able sum; and the going on the Continent,according to my system of education, afurther sum."

302. " Supposing him educated in Lon.

don for a general practitioner, what would

* "From one to two hundred pounds legs if he boarded and lodged himself."

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the expense then be?"—"300l. would qualified person. The fact is, that 7 havecover the wlwle, if he were a prudent man, been accused of putting into the two hos-including board and lodging."-Contrast pitals, St. Thomas’s and Guy’s, the menthese two statements and consider the no- who are at present the surgeons of thosetions which Sir Astley Cooper-who evi- hospitals. They were my pupils; and

dently estimates all matters of science by one of them was my relation when Ia money scale-must entertain of the great brought him into the profession. Two ofbulk of the profession. The following them married relatives of mine; the one,would be a very proper arithmetical ques- after he was an hospital surgeon, and the

‘

tion for him to work :—" If it costs 2000/. other soon after his apprenticeship, andto learn medicine well, how much know- there were only those whom Mr. Clineledge will a man get for 3001. ?" The and myself had educated, who could beanswer to which would be, "one seventh admitted surgeons of the hospital, accord-the quantity requisite to make a first-rate ing to the general rule stated. Then, frompractitioner," and Sir Astley would un- those pupils, the governors of the two hos-questionably add that "one seventh was pitals selected the present surgeons; butquite enough for subordinates who are to if other men had taken pupils, it wouldpractise on the mass of the community." not have appeared, as it might now appear

303. " Does the following rule prevail to the public, as if some other influencein any of the London hospitals; that none were exerted in the elections : which, I dobut such as have been pupils or appren- assure the Committee, with respect to St.tices at any hospital, shall be eligible as Thomas’s and Guy’s, never was the casephysicians or surgeons to that hospital?" I should have lost my situation if I had- I am glad to have an opportunity of attempted to interfere in the elections,speaking on that point. I have a personal further than to give letters of recommen-feeling about it. The rule in the borough dation."-Reader, observe that proviso in(for I do not pretend to know the rules of line 4,-" if he does his duty." How closeother hospitals) is, that apprentices shall to a precipice do all the witnesses for thehave the preference. But that rule is not present system place their opinions ! Aabsolute, and the treasurer of Guy’s Hos- breath topples them over. Some of thempital has been heard to say, ‘As to the are like ships about to be lannched, withapprentices, if I do not find one that is every shore struck away but one; thatwell informed amongst them, or that I one breaking down of its own accord.think an efficient person, I shall certainly Others remind us of the difficult questionsend for Mr. Grainger or some other man which used to be discussed by the oldwhom I believe to be so."’ schoolmen ; " How many angels can

3J4. " Has it ever happened at Guy’s or dance on the point of a needle at onceSt. Thomas’s Hospital, that a surgeon who without jostling one another ?" Sir Astleyhad distinguished himself in a country Cooper first draws a needle, and then a.

hospital or infirmary has been chosen score of angels on the top of it, and thensurgeon to one of those hospitals ?’ =" No; exclaims " Oh ! see ; twenty can danceI do not know of any instance." thereon !" One of the most important

305. "Do you approve of confining the questions in medical government is underchoice to pupils of the hospital?"—"I think deliberation—the principle on which medi-it very wise. The fact is, that the trea- cal officers should be appointed to thesurer of an hospital, if he does his duty, great national medical charities,-involv-knows extremely well all those men who ing a score at least of most serious mat-have been apprentices. He learns their ters for consideration; the whole of whichcharacters from what he sees and hears of Sir Astley coolly assures us can safelytheir talents and of their attention. They quiver on that one point, fine as the pointare therefore not strangers at the time of of a needle,-the duty of a treasurer,-one -

the election, and he selects from them. who is not a medical man,-a man liableIf the men had not been educated at the to be influenced by a thousand corrupthospital, they might have brought tes- considerations, besides the influences oftimonials from various situations in this his own self-will,-often an irresponsibletown, or from the country; but how could man, always an incompetent man, and,-he then have formed a judgment of their first and last matter of all,-a man whocharacters ? Those testimonials are very does and can know no part of the dutyoften surreptitiously obtained, or they are involved in the choice of medical officers.perhaps not correct. Therefore I think How considerate was the witness whenthe system is an excellent one, and I went he made the exception "if!" But Sir Ast.myself to the London Hospital, very lately, ley wandered most lunatically as he pro-to vote for the assistant-surgeon at that ceeded. First, he talked of the duty of thehospital, because I was quite sure that the treasurer; then he spoke of the knowledgecommittee must know whether he was a of a committee; then he E6dverted to himsev

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as an organ of appointment, and finally tothe governors as the selectors of medicalofficers ! What a mess does he make ofthis defence of himself and the system!

306. " You think if any accusation ismade of the prevalence of nepotism in theLondon hospitals, such accusation is un-

, founded?"-(Readtheanswerofathoroughhumbug) :-"I dare say that many of thosewho have been the medical men of hos-

pitals, have been anxious to bring theirfamilies into the same profession; and itis most likely that they would obtain agood medical education; because, fromthe very beginning, they are placed undera father’s eye, who is capable of judgingwhether in the study of the professionthey attend properly or not."

307. "Mr. Guthrie has stated, that heblamed the Council for recognising theWestminster Hospital, of which he wassurgeon, that hospital containing fewerbeds than, according to the regulations ofthe Council, would entitle it to recogni-tion. Were not complaints made that theCouncil had, in this instance, broken

through their own rule?"--" I do notknow."

308. " Do not the certificates of attend-ance produced by the candidates for yourdiploma afford very unsatisfactory evi-dence of the lectures and hospitals havingactually been attended ?"-" There is greatdanger of certificates being occasionallyforged, as indeed they have been."

309. The following is Sir - Astley’s de-scription of King Benjamin Harrison, -at once king and despot at Guy’s Hospital.The medical officers, as Dr. Blundell inthe moments of his independence said, areobliged to take off their hats in his presence.This Dr. Blundell refused to do, and theplace was ultimately made too hot to holdhim.-" Has the treasurer of Guy’s everbeen requested to have a roll-call of thestudents made at the classes of that hos-pital?"-" I do not know; I never inter-fere in the government of the hospital ;and if I were, there would be nothingso offensive to the treasurer. From thetreasurer being a man of integrity, and ofgreat zeal for the welfare of the hospital,the governors have an unbounded confi-dence in him. They leave, therefore, agreat deal to his discretion, and he is ex-tremely anxious that the hospital shouldbe raised to as high a character as possi-ble."-They leave all to his discretion.But we expect to hear of his deposition erelong. It will not be borne in the days ofreform, that such an institution as Guy’sHospital shall continue under the " dis-cretion " of any one man. By-the-by thewitness does not by the words " as high acharacter as possible," allude to the me-

I dical reputation of the hospital as a placeof resort and able treatment for patients,but as a walking hospital for students.

310. " Would not junior men of supe-rior acquirements, who have completedtheir 25th year, if associated with someof the seniors, form a very competentboard to examine the applicants for thediploma ? "-" The juniors would be com-petent examiners; but I would not choosethem as examiners immediately. * * *

I think it would be a very good measure;but the difficulty is in preserving impar-tiality."

311. "Why should a junior be moreliable to partiality than a senior ?"-" Because he is intimate with the personsthat come to be examined: he is livingin habits of friendship with them."

312. " Is not a difference even of a veryfew years sufficient to separate a man fromthe students as a class, and to preventthose habits of friendship and intimacy,out of which you think partiality mightarise ? "- (We have had a vast number ofevasive answers to awkward questions torecord, but the like of the following as areply to the query of the chairman, wethink has not yet been equalled, certainlynot surpassed.)-" I think there ought tobe other grades in the profession, besidesthose I have mentioned. I think a manshould be an assistant-surgeon at an hos-pital, after he had finished his education,and undergone his examinations: that inevery hospital there should be assistant-surgeons. The advantage of having assist-ant-surgeons is, that the assistant is learn-ing his profession in the best possiblemanner, and that the patients in the hos-pital are extremely well attended. One,if not all, of those assistants, but one ofthem at least, should live close to thewalls of the hospital, so as to be at thecall of the surgery-man of the hospital, atthe moment that an accident was broughtin, or a necessity for his attendance arose."313. " If no partiality should be found

to have attended the admission of juniorsto examine at Dublin or at Paris, mightnot such admission deserve considera-tion ?"-" I have mentioned the want ofimpartiality as one evil. I think there isanother, that there would be contests aris.ing between the juniors and the seniors;and that those contests would lead to thepupil not having a very high opinion ofeither; for whenever a matter is disputed,you may rest assured that the pupil’s vene-ration is at an end."

314. " Would you leave it to each ex-aminer to determine for himself about his

resigning when he had got too old to ex-amine ?"-" As a man sometimes gets intoage without having made himself entirely

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independent, there should be a certainsum devoted to prevent his age from beingan age of poverty, and that he should thenbe expected to resign. I have known exam-iners to whom the sum which they re-ceived as examiners was a great object."-The witness here probably alludes to Mr.Lawrence, whose avarice has become pro-verbial in the profession, and who eventakes a fee from a patient in the wards ofSt: Bartholomew’s Hospital.

315. " Are ten examiners more than

enough?"-" No; when I first became anexaminer, the examination was conductedby two men at one part of the table, andby two men at another, and in this waythey got through their business faster.But it gave an opportunity for excessivepartiality. For, as only two individualswere employed in each examination, itled to persons writing to those individuals,saying-‘ I wish you would examine suchand such a man: The examinations arenow made by and before the whole tenexaminers, and are conducted in such amanner as to render such interference

impossible."—We have direct evidence tothe contrary of this latter fact,-evidenceproving that each examination is still, inthe main, conducted by one or two in-dividuals,—in the statement contained inparagraph 64, to which it is worth whileto refer.

316. " The examinations in Dublin areopen to all members of the College. Wouldnot such publicity as this be one of thebest securities that could be devised againstany partiality to candidates ?"-" I shouldthink there would be 2-to objection to makeit public, but it would be desirable to con-fine the aiaclieaace to fifty men."

317. " Would not publicity to graduatesor members be an excellent check againstpartiality ?’ =°‘ Yes ; and it would be anadmirable mode of forcing those who werebecoming indolent, to keep up their know-ledge as examiners."

318. " You have recommended thoseonly as surgeons to London hospitals, whohave been educated as pupils or appren-tices at that hospital. Would not such a Irule have the effect of excluding fromLondon hospitals such men as the lateMr. Hey of Leeds, or Mr. White of lylan-chester; and could a rule that would pre-vent the choice of men so eminent, ope-rate, in the long run, beneficially for thehospitals or the public ?"-" Mr. White ofManchester I knew, and I do not thinkthat any great evil would have arisen fromhis exclusion; Mr. Hey I also knew, butif I am asked whether Mr. Hey was fit tobe an examiner at the College of Sur-geons, I should say he was not. He wasa good practical surgeon, and he was an

ingenious man; but he had not thatfoundation in anatomy which fits a man.for the highest scientific views of his pro.fession."

319. " Do your principles of exclusioncarry you so far as to propose to prohibitdruggists from selling medicine and giv-ing advice ?’ =" I have known chemists.who are equal to it. There was a man inthe Borough, a very sensible man, whomI should consider as a person who mightprescribe with safety; but the prescriptionsof a. great number of chemists would beentirely without principle, and would bevery dangerous."

320. "Again, below the druggists, andfar more ignorant than they, come theworm and water doctors, bone-setters andothers, whose name is Legion. The Col·lege of Physicians was engaged between,two and three centuries in endeavouringto put down these and other interlopers onwhat it considered its own peculiar pro-vince of practice; but all to no purpose,and at last it abandoned the attempt..Would any powers enable you effectuallyto put those down ?"-" I acknowledgethat it would be extremely difficult. Thepublic object to any kind of control ; butI think that if you had good physicians,good surgeons, and good apothecaries, inevery country town, and the people wereinformed that they were persons of educa-tion, they would go to them in the firstinstance. But there are cases in whichan honest professional man can no longersupport the hopes of his patient, andunder those circumstances, as a man seizesa straw to save him from drowning, thepatient will seek assistance from anybodythat will profess to cure him, though theyhave not the power to realize their pro-mise."

321. "Would you require druggists toundergo any course of study and of exa-mination?"—"I think they shottld be allmade apothecaries."—Where Sir Astley isto be matched as a legislator for the pro-fession, we candidly confess we know not,- out of the Board of Examiners in Lin-coln’s-inn-fields.

322. "Has the College ever erased fromits list any one of its members for mala-praxis or quackery ?’ =" Yes, it has, but Ido not know of more than one instance.It was that of a man who assumed hisability to cure incurable diseases."

323. "In the army do not surgeonspractise pharmacy as well as surgery?"-" They all prescribe, but I do not knowthat they make up their medicines. Thefact is that we are all physician-surgeons:for as to practising surgery without physic,it is absolutely impossible."

324. "If any army surgeon were to

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practise pharmacy as well as surgery, in of degradation which it has been the con.private practice, would he be considered stant effort of the Council of the Collegedisqualified for admission into the Coun- of Surgeons to enforce by usage.cil ?’ =" Certainly, he must not practise 330 (). If the four boards which you have

pharmacy." suggested,-a surgeon’s, a physician’s, an325. Was it not generally believed apothecary’s, and a midwife’s,-were ap-

that Mr. Abernethy dispensed medicine pointed to examine, would it be essentialto his own patients ?"-" I believe, at that that they should co-operate together, sotime, it was a common occurrence for sur- as to reduce as far as possible the expenseeons to give pills to their patients; and to the students ?"-" Certainly not so as toI have heard that Mr. Abernethy had a reduce the expense below the present level,drawer full of them, and that he used to which would be the greatest possible evildip his hand in, and give a handful to per- to the profession.";sons who came to consult him. There is 331. " How would a reduction in theno reason, however, why persons should expense of education be productive ofnot be allowed to indulge in harmless evil to the profession ?’ =" You wouldwbims." have persons of all descriptions coming

326. " You think then that that affords into the profession, and it would be ex-no valid reason for excluding a man from ceedingly degraded. You would not havethe Council ?’ =" The exclusion arises gentlemen’s sons enter it, as you havefrom the belief that it is incompatible now, or any of the better orders of society.with the perfection of surgery that a man One of the higher orders, a nobleman,should be engaged during the greater part said to me, I have a number of children; Iof the day in the practice of pharmacy." avisla to bring one into the Church ; I be-

327. " But if so large a portion of a lieve I shall bring one into the laiv; as tosurgeon’s time is occupied in treating your profession, it is out of the question.’medical cases, might not a person contend, And why should it be out of the question?by parity of reasoning and with eq2taljus- It is only because the profession is nottice, that this medical practice was incom- sufficiently educated and scientific to

patible with the perfection of surgery ?"- maintain the dignity which it deserves for" There is a vast difference; if a surgeon its usefulness."attends a medical case, he prescribes for 332. " If you could diminish the ex-the patient, but he does not make up the pense of good medical education, would itmedicines:’-These incessant equivoca- not enable regularly-educated men totions -they are not answers—are perfectly compete with the uneducated ; which theydisgusting. cannot now do ?’ =" I know the conse-

328. " You have proposed that exami- quence of gratuitous education. It hasnations 1n midwifery should not be in- happened to me, repeatedly, to have antrusted to the Apothecaries’ Company, opportunity of introducing into the pro-but to examiners connected with the Col- fession the sons of persons who were in alege of Surgeons ?"-" I think the best- lower sphere of life. They have beenconstructed board would be derived from generally bad sons, and very bad sub-those men who practise midwifery almost jects; they despise their parents, they willexclusively. I have heard of such hor- not mix with their family, and the systemrors from ignorance in midwifery as would destroys the best feelings of the heart.harrow up your souls, if I were to repeat Besides which, you never can make thethem." profession what it ought to be, a gentle-

329. " If the midwives were made a man’s profession."-How came Sir Astleyseparate board, would it not be necessary Cooper to make this extraordinary state-to take care that the expense to students ment, while it was not improbable thatwas not increased ?"—" Certainly, I should Mr. Balderson, the- honest son of hisbe very sorry to see the expense of the time-worn footman, was at that very mo-general practitioners’ education increased. ment sitting in the baronet’s consultationThey are extremely ill paid. They have chair in Conduit-street, prescribing fornot a proper remuneration."-Did Sir patients in the name, and as the confi-

Astley ever help to get them a better; or dential surgical assistant, of Sir Astleyis there a single suggestion in the whole Cooper ?of his evidence to which he can point and 333. 11 Is it not a necessary conse-

say with truth, " If that proposal be car- quence, that the more you lessen the ex-ried into effect, it will increase the remu- pense of good medical education, theneration and the rank in life of the gene- more nearly do you enable the educatedral practitioner" ? Alas, there is not one ! practitioner to compete on equal termsOn the contrary, his plan of medical edu- with the uneducated one ?" - "Therecation and practice would, if carried into should be no uneducated practitioners."-effect, actually confirm by law that state This was another equivocationr so the

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Chairman pursued the witness with yetanother question on the same subject.

334. " But since, after all that you cando, there will still be uneducated practi-tioners, whom you cannot put down, asyou have admitted, does not it follow thatthe more you reduce the expense of medi-cal education, the better you enable theeducated practitioner to compete uponequal terms with the uneducated one ?"-" I cannot see the solidity of that opinion.I think if a man is from the lower sphereof life, he is nearer the society of the per-son who is destroying the profession bywant of character. The chairman has

expressly stipulated in this question, aswell as in all the preceding questions,that the practitioners to whom he referredwere to be well-educated men. Yet Sir

Astley will not answer the question, asthough any such stipulation had been made.All that Sir Astley requires is, that thepractitioner shall have spent a great dealof money. And why? Because under thecertificate system so much of it goes tohim and his colleagues.

335. " Are you aware that the exami-ners of the College of Surgeons of Edin-burgh are annually elected by the mem-bers of the whole College; and that no

. inconvenience has hitherto resulted fromsuch mode of election ?"-" I2cas not awareof it."—Oh ignorance’

336. " And that the effect has been tointroduce into the College, as examiners,men whose talents are in their full vigour ?"—"I am glad to hear it" !-Oh hypocrisy !

337. " Are you aware that practitionersin midwifery are not excluded from theCourt of Examiners of the College of Sur-geons at Dublin ? "-" I did not know that."Oh ignorance, in additional manifesta-tion !

338. "Do not a number of young Irishstudents come over to this country tobe examined by the London College ?"-" Yes, but why I do not know."

339. " Is this migration of students tobe attributed to the examinations beingless extensive and strict than those of theDublin College?’ =" I do not know; butI believe the examination at our College iscarried far enough. With regard to sur-gery, we do not expect candidates to behighly informed; but we believe it is ne-cessary that they should understand theprinciples upon which their practice is tobe founded ; and when we find that a manhas obtained those principles, we shouldnot reject him because he had not seencertain accidents or diseases. If a manhas a-wound upon his finger, he knowsthat if he turns a thread around it, theparts will be brought together, and unite ;and it is not necessary that he should

have seen every wound in the body, toapply that principle to each."

340. " At what should you estimate theexpense of a collection of preparations,the smallest that would be adequate forteaching anatomy, physiology, and sur-

gcry, in a proper manner?’=" I shouldthink 10001."

341. The following is a most strangeanswer after all that the witness has saidabout education, diplomas, and practice.Already advocating FOUR BOARDS, each togrant a license to practise to every prac-titioner, this medley-minded legislatorwould now have a fifth board to grant de-grees. However, the medical-degree andlicensing board is the only board whicheither the profession or the public needs.-" Should you approve of appointing abody in London, ot some kind or another,empowered to confer medical degrees ? "-" I think it would be a great advantage tothis vast city, which is a place for everything that is scientific."

342. " Would it be desirable that theBoard appointed to judge of the fitness ofcandidates for a medical degree, should beentirely unconnected with the teachers ofany particular school ?"-" They shouldhave ceased to teach before they begin toexamine."

343. " Ought the general practitionerto be remunerated by charging for hismedicines, or for his attendance ?"-" Iknow no other remedy than a combina-tion of the two methods, charging for at-tendance a certain sum, and charging formedicine."

344. " Would not many of the most re-spectable practitioners feel their professionraised in character, were they enabled tocharge for attendance ? "-" I think so ;some of them fear that they should not beproperly remunerated; but I am quitesure there are others who would be de-lighted to find any mode of being certainlyremunerated, without sending in an un-necessary quantity of medicine. There isthis to be said ; that if an apothecary benot paid immediately, his bill is generallydisputed; the disease which occasionedthe necessity for attendance is forgotten.Accipe dum tlolet is an old axiom."

345. " Is there any other point whichyou wish to state to the Committee ?"-"Nothing but the necessity of enforcingexaminations. If examinations are not

enforced, the profession will never be a

profession of much usefulness. The Apo-thecaries’ Company have done infiniteservice to this country, by getting theirBill enacted. I do not mean to say, thatthere may not be faults in the bill. I

scarcely know it further than by its

effects."

506

346. " It is fflr that reason that you pro-pose, that the examinations be extendedfrom one to four?"-"Yes, to medicine,surgery, pharmacy, and midwifery:’-Sothat the highly-bepraised Company havereally done so little good, compared withwhat a reputable and efficient scientificFaculty of Medicine might have effected,that Sir Astley, in his wisdom, proposesthat three more boards be established even,after which education will be onlv raisedto the miserable point which the baronetcontemplates for one class of medical men.For by the rule of three,-" If four boardsmake one subordinate medical man, howmuch of a subordinate will one make?"And that one, according to Sir Astley, themeanest of the lot!

347. " It is said that there are certain’teachers called grinders, who make ittheir business, by inquiring of newly-ex-amined candidates, to discover the turnof mind of the different examiners, andthe character of the questions they usually Iput to candidates ; and who, according asthis or that examiner may put questions,prepare their pupils to answer accord-

ingly. Is this the case ; and if so, is itinjurious to the student, by diverting hismind from the study of the solid princi-ples of science to that of the peculiaritiesof the individual examiners ?"-" Thatthere are grinders we all know. I hearda man say to another, ’What are you get-ting up ?’ And this was not to be by at-tendance at an hospital, or a dissecting-room, but by grinding at home. Butnothing is so easily detected. A mancomes before us, who has been ground.You say, Sir, such a muscle being raised,what muscle will you see underneath it?’If he has been ground, he may knowthe first muscle; and if he were askedwhat that muscle was, he would tell

you its origin and its insertion; but di-

rectly you begin to unfold the body, andto display anything that is situated inte-riorly, he is entirely at a loss ; and in thateasy way you may detect those who havebeen crammed."—The best of this is, that(as we have already stated) four-sixths ofthe London students do actually grind fortheir examinations, and are " passed."Amongst the witnesses who attended thisCommittee, was one gentleman who veryfreely, candidly, and honourably, let outthe whole art and mystery of the grindingdepartment of medical education, foundinghis statements on personal knowledge de-rived during extensive employment as aprivate teacher of medical students. The

College and Hall will have the benefit ofhis evidence in print before long.

348. " If the candidate were required todemonstrate actually upon a subject the

anatomical or surgical doctrine that he isbeing questioned upon, would it not beimpossible in such a case that a man whowas merely ground could pass his exami-nation ?"-" It would be impossible."

349. Is that ever done by your Courtof Examiners, in examining upon the dryparts, as they are called ?"-" No, I neverknew it; but it ought to be done."

With this memorable confession the

evidence of’Sir Astley Cooper closes.

ERINENSIS TO DR. JOHNSON.

To JAMES JOHNSON, Esq., M.D.----- "erunt etiam altera bella."

My DEAR DOCTOR,—In resuming ourcorrespondence I regret the necessity ofcommencing with a hostile motto. Wehave had, it is true, some sharp skirmish-ing of old; but I had indulged the hopethat as the cause of our differences seemedto be removed, they would not only nothave been renewed, but that they wouldhave been mutually forgotten. In thisagreeable anticipation I was confirm-ed by your repudiation of the errors oftoryism, and your recovery from the delu-sions of dyspepsy. From these salutarycrises in the state of your health andopinions, I am weak enough to confessthat I expected a retnrn to the paths ofpeace and reason; and I confidently be-lieved, that as you had become a convertto liberalism, your opposition to its ad-vocates would have been discontinued.It was, therefore, with much surprise anddisappointment that I found, on perusingthe last number of your journal, that inembracing the doctrines of the liberal

philosophy, you omitted the resolution ofobserving its practice. In this species ofsemi-conversion you are by no means

singular. Faith does not always lead togood works, the theorist in politics andin morals being an extremely common

character. It certainly gives me somepain thus to intimate your place in aclassification of mankind founded on theseprinciples ; but you must recollect, that inbreaking through a solemn truce withoutthe slightest provocation, and in defianceof your own professions, you have left meno other alternative. " If you tread uponthe worm," you know, my dear Doctor," it will turn;" and I am sure you will notcomplain of my exercise of a somewhatsimilar privilege. But before proceedingto adjust the small difference between usat present, I must premise that I had nointention of reviving the discussion of the