LORD KENYON. 317 



concern, and was consequently not to be de- 

 cided upon before it had undergone much se- 

 rious consideration ? In the midst of your in- 

 dignation against such conduct in a body of 

 men, formerly styled by your Lordship, the 

 sanctuary of honour and good faith, it must yet 

 afford you some consolation to know, that many 

 of the members were free from its guilt ; and 

 that when a motion was made to get rid of Dr, 

 Pitcairn's proposal, by what is termed the pre- 

 vious question, out of twenty-three, the whole 

 number at the meeting, ten voted against it. 



Few men are so lost to shame, as not to de- 

 sire that their most iniquitous acts should wear 

 an appearance of justice. It is not, therefore, 

 wonderful, that the college of Physicians should 

 have attempted to palliate the conduct which 

 has been mentioned. With this view they 

 maintained, that proper notice had not been 

 given of the intended proposal by Dr. Pitcairn. 

 But no such notice was either required by the 

 by-law which authorised that proposal, or had 

 been established by custom. What end indeed 

 would the giving of notice in the case before 

 them have served? Not surely to afford time 

 for their considering, whether they were to re- 

 ceive what they were bound to receive. If it 

 were to have relation to the character of the 

 person to be proposed, all that could be well 



