2 THE LAW AFFECTING ENGINEEES 



adopt this title. The driver of a locomotive is insulted if he 

 is not called " engineer " ; the wireman boasts the proud title 

 " electrical engineer " on his bill-heads. Indeed, he frequently 

 adds the word " consultant " as well. 



If the public are deceived by the use of these imposing 

 titles, they have only themselves to blame. 



There are no cases reported in the law reports which bear 

 very closely upon the right of a man to call himself an 

 engineer. 



In one old case (Evans v. Harlow, 5 Q. B. 624), the 

 plaintiff, who carried on the "trade" of an engineer, sold in 

 the way of his trade goods called " self-acting tallow syphons 

 or lubricators." The defendant published a statement alleg- 

 ing that the lubricator in question was not the subject of a 

 patent, and generally decrying it. The plaintiff sued for libel, 

 when it was held that this was not a libel upon him in the 

 way of his trade, but only a libel on the lubricators, and 

 therefore not actionable without proof of special damage. It 

 has been held, however, that to say of an architect employed 

 to build a church " he has no experience in church work " is 

 actionable as a libel (Botterill y. Whytehead, 41 L. T. 588). 

 (As to the negligence of an engineer, see Chap. Y., 2, post). 



2. The engineering profession compared with other learned 

 professions. Whatever the code of professional ethics may 

 prescribe, the statute book lays down no rules to guide 

 engineers or their clients. Touting and advertising offend 

 against no Act of Parliament ; and it is in this respect that, 

 for good or ill, there is a great difference between the brother- 

 hood of engineers and the other learned professions. 



The General Medical Council, for example, exercises 

 certain disciplinary powers over registered medical practi- 

 tioners. If a doctor is guilty of infamous conduct in a 

 professional respect, he may be deprived of the right to 

 practise. It has been held, moreover, that the powers of this 

 Council are not limited to matters which would be dealt with 

 in the law courts. Thus a doctor who advertises can be 

 struck off the register. 



Again, the State exercises control over those who practise 

 dentistry. A man who improperly assumes the title of 

 dentist may be struck off the register, while it has lately been 

 decided that anyone who adopts a title which is calculated to 



