A letter to Dr. James Gregory of Edinburgh in consequence of certain printed papers intituled, "The viper and file"; "There is wisdom in silence"; "An old story"; &c., which have lately been distributed by him / by Andrew Duncan senior, M.D. & P. and senior censor of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh.

  • Duncan, Andrew, 1744-1828.
Date:
1811
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A letter to Dr. James Gregory of Edinburgh in consequence of certain printed papers intituled, "The viper and file"; "There is wisdom in silence"; "An old story"; &c., which have lately been distributed by him / by Andrew Duncan senior, M.D. & P. and senior censor of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    tives. Let us then take it for granted, as Dr Wright now asserts, that there he stopt. In that case, Dr Gre- gory’s whole defence is now rested on his never having been informed, that the College had declared Dr Spens to have acted in the most honourable manner. In my opinion, Mr President, it is a matter of no con- sequence whatever, whether this last part of the vote of approbation was communicated to him or not. It is now proved and admitted, that Dr Wright informed Dr Gre- gory of the unanimous declaration of the College, that, in their opinion, Dr Spens had acted from the purest motives. Dr Gregory, however, in his Censorian Let- ter, had accused Dr Spens of acting from the basest and meanest motives. If Dr Gregory’s assertions be true, what could be more base than Dr Spens’s motive for ap- pointing a packed Committee ? or than his motive for ftppointing a revisal of the Laws, merely as a blind, to accomplish a favourite object in a clandestine manner ? In the action itself, of appointing a Committee to revise the Laws, there was nothing dishonourable. It became dishonourable only if the motive was a base one. Dr Gregory boasts, in his Censorian Letter, that he has proved every thing he has said from our own records. I will confidently venture to assert, Mr President, that every one particular act which he has proved from our minutes, is in itself perfectly innocent, if not meritorious. The acts to which he refers are only culpable, if they proceeded from bad motives. In short, Mr President, m throughout