240 



of the profession not engaged in teaching, or otherwise interested 

 in such institutions. 



"Resolved, That the number of boards for granting licenses in the 

 several States, should be as limited as would comport with the con- 

 venience of examiners and candidates in each State. 



"Resolved, That it would conduce to the elevation and usefulness 

 of the profession, that the regular and respectable members of it 

 should form themselves into county or district societies, and that 

 those societies should be represented in a State Medical Society, in 

 such ratio to the whole number of each society as may be agreed 

 upon as most proper — that each State society should appoint such a 

 number of boards for examining and licensing candidates as may be 

 thought advisable, according to the size and population of the 

 State. 



"Resolved, That when a college or colleges of medicine exist in a 

 State, it be recommended to such colleges to invite a delegation 

 from the State Society to be present at the time of the examinations 

 for the admission of candidates for degrees, not for the purpose of 

 embarrassing the faculty or candidates, but to satisfy the wishes of 

 some portions of the profession, and relieve the institutions them- 

 selves from the imputations to which some of them seem to be at 

 the present time exposed." 



Although your committee cordially approve of most of the spe- 

 cific recommendations embodied in these resolutions, yet it appears 

 to them that, as a whole, the method prescribed for removing the 

 alleged deficiencies or abuses is too complex to be available, in the 

 present condition of the profession. It involves the necessity of 

 improvements so general and extensive as, it is feared, to render it 

 for a long time impracticable. 



In regard to the general object towards which the foregoing re- 

 solutions were directed, the views of this committee may be very 

 briefly expressed. 



The medical colleges are invested with the power of conferring 

 degrees, and it cannot be expected that they will, at present, relin- 

 quish it, even if that were the general wish of the profession. It 

 is, however, expected, for causes heretofore fully presented to the 

 Association, that the several medical faculties will make every rea- 

 sonable sacrifice to the sentiments of their fellows; that such medi- 

 cal faculties as are amenable to these objections will consent to such 

 modification of the present method of examination, as will effectu- 

 ally remove the sources of dissatisfaction, which have hitherto ex- 



