An exposition of the laws which relate to the medical profession in England : containing a brief account of the various ordinances, charters, and Acts of Parliament, under which the practice of medicine in England has been governed from the earliest period of its history down to the present time : with an appendix, containing an ample analysis of Sir James Graham's Bill for the better regulation of medical practice throughout the United Kingdom / by John Davies.

  • Davies, John, 1796-1872.
Date:
1844
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An exposition of the laws which relate to the medical profession in England : containing a brief account of the various ordinances, charters, and Acts of Parliament, under which the practice of medicine in England has been governed from the earliest period of its history down to the present time : with an appendix, containing an ample analysis of Sir James Graham's Bill for the better regulation of medical practice throughout the United Kingdom / by John Davies. 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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    persons to sell medicines in London, and within seven miles ; and also to search shops, and examine drugs, within that distance. As this charter did not receive the sanction of an Act of Parliament, the chemists and druggists became too strong to be managed under it; for they have continued to exercise their calling down to the present time, without the licence of the apothecaries. We may remark, generally, that down to the period of the Act which we are next going to con- sider, namely, 55 George III (1815), with the ex- ception of the original statute relating to the College of Physicians, no laws were ever enacted for the protection of country practitioners. The Act of 14 and 15 Henry VIII. makes it a misdemeanor to practise physic in any part of England without Letters Testimonial from the College of Physicians; but all the statutes and charters granted since that period, whether to the physicians, surgeons, or apothecaries, either have only applied to London, and seven miles round, or else have been pei'missive merely of the free exercise of their profession by persons duly qualified. Several years previous to 1815, the apothecaries of London began to agitate for medical reform, and, after a time, they procured the aid of some of the country practitioners. If we look pretty closely into the matter, we may be able to discover an efficient cause for their great stir in favour of protection to the public against the ravages committed by ignorant pretenders in medicine. The truth is, that the chemists and druggists were becoming an important body in the City of London and suburbs, and were, as compounders, pressing hard upon the interests of the apothecaries; as the latter had, at a former period, been encroaching upon the privileges of the physicians. This was a