The address in medicine, delivered at the annual meeting of the British Medical Association at Sheffield / by Edward H. Sieveking.

  • Sieveking, Edward H. (Edward Henry), 1816-1904.
Date:
1876
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The address in medicine, delivered at the annual meeting of the British Medical Association at Sheffield / by Edward H. Sieveking. 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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    Transactions, and subsequently, in 1840, in the Provincial Medical and Surgical Journal, edited for the Association by Drs. Hennis Green and Streeter. In the meantime, the interest in the Association had spread to the metropolis, and the particularism, to use a favourite continental term, which very properly belonged to the Association at its outset, was abandoned; the jealousy between the provinces and London yielded to the imperative feeling of brotherhood which unites us all; and, in 1853, according to a resolution adopted at the meeting held in Oxford in the previous July, the Provincial Medical and Surgical Journal appeared, under the editorship of Dr. (now Sir John) Cormack, as the Association Medical Journal. This was now placed in the hands of the subscribers every week, instead of, as previously, once a fortnight. The change was effected, not without some opposition on the part of those who, fearing too radical changes, doubted the soundness of the Oxford decision; but, as the editor observes in his opening remarks to the new series, it was “a strong declaration of the necessity which the progress of events has imposed on the Association of pursuing that line of duty which had hitherto been acted upon with that augmented vigour which a wider sphere of action required—a vigour which could only be effectively developed by greater frequency of publication, and by the possession of a literary and scientific centre in London, where editorial resources are more abundant, more varied, and more easily available than in any other city in the world”. From that time, the arterial pulses that beat throughout the kingdom, acted synchronously and rhythmically with the heart; a sympathetic centre had been found, which tranquillised or warded off local disturb- ances in the circulation; and our body politic insured a renewal of life, which, “ Broadening down from precedent to precedent”, promised, as it still promises, ever richer and more abundant fruit. There may and must be differences of opinion as to many of the ques- tions that have agitated the Association during the last twenty-three years, and will continue to do so, unless the worst of all events—stag- nation—were to ensue; but whatever the shortcomings may be that can fairly be laid to our charge, I question whether any profession has ever done more in so brief a space of time to regenerate itself, to show a more healthful activity, or to produce more beneficial and enduring results. Those results, whether we refer to the expansion, the increased and unselfish energy of our corporations, to the Act of 1858, with the consequent formation of the Medical Council, the publication of a national Pharmacopoeia, and the recognition of State Medicine, to speak only of a few salient features, take their root essentially in our Associa- tion. Their very mention refutes the accusation which has been heard from time to time, that medical men showed some of the worst features of trades-unionism. The great leaders to whom we have given our willing adhesion have universally looked to the improved education of the profession, the diffusion of its benefits among our countrymen, the prevention of disease, and the physical and moral advancement of the nation, as their guiding principles. They have put a Christian inter- pretation upon the Hippocratic oath, and have not hesitated to make personal and corporate sacrifices where the good of the community appeared to demand them. There has even been a tendency to self- depreciation occasionally, which was not justified by the circumstances, as it was incompatible with that healthy frame of mind which should urge on to higher achievements. But those who have a personal expe- rience of things as they were thirty years ago, can scarcely hesitate to