Case of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in relation to the medical Bills now before Parliament.

  • Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Date:
1857
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Case of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in relation to the medical Bills now before Parliament. 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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    sary for procuring a practicable amount of uniformity of quali- fication, in order to reciprocity and unfettered liberty of practice in the three divisions of the United Kingdom, and for the re- gistration of all duly qualified and licensed practitioners. By the provisions of Mr. Headlaiu’s Bill, the governing Council consists of representatives of all the bodies. Corporations and Universities, which have hitherto regulated and are best fitted to direct the education and qualifications of probationers for the medical profession. Mr. Headlamps Bill leaves the power of granting licenses upon proof of qualification to the corporate bodies, and this upon the valid ground, that from their metro- politan position and mode of constitution they have at their command the selection of the most competent Examiners in practical medicine and surgery, who are members of the cor- porations, and who are not likely, otherwise than as such, to in- terest themselves in public examinations. And Mr. Headlamps Bill, in assigning to the corporate bodies the fair share of self- government and independent action which they have hitherto enjoyed and rightly exercise as representatives of the needs and interests of the profession, provides also an adequate protection for the public interests if at any time they might conflict with those of the educational and licensing bodies, by the power given to the Crown of nominating a part of the Council. On the other hand, the Bill of Lord Elcho aims at insti- tuting a Council which is to consist wholly of nominees of the Crown, and of which the Chairman is to be a subordinate official of the existing Government. The Council will be appointed without any reference to the judgment of the profession, and without any guarantee of the members being entitled to the confidence of the professional public in the management of their affairs. The Bill of Lord Elcho, in truth, institutes a new corporation, unconnected with the profession over which it is to rule, without its promoters having assigned any grounds for its necessity or expediency, and without having even intimated a charge of mismanagement or inefficiency against the corporate bodies now in existence. It institutes a Corporation which would have all the faults that have been alleged against corporate government, aggravated by the almost absolute and irresponsible powers with which it would be invested. The only explanation which suggests itself of this ill-con- sidered attempt at legislative interference with the Medical Profession, is that Lord Elcho’s Bill proceeds upon ignorance, or total misapprehension, of the objects and motives which have in the present day produced the desire for medical legislation. It revives and founds itself tacitly on the antiquated charge of abuses and corrupt practices which were supposed to prcVail in the Medical Corporations. And though the want of correct