320 LIFE OF PROFESSOR HUXLEY CHAP. XIII 



case the new examination deprecated by the general 

 voice of the profession will be added, and any 

 real difference between the plan proposed and the 

 ' State examination ' scheme will vanish." 



The compensation proposed, too, would chiefly 

 fall to the discredited bodies s who had neglected 

 their duties. 



The scheme (he writes in his report), which I ventured 

 to suggest is of extreme simplicity ; and while I cannot 

 but think that it would prove thoroughly efficient, it 

 interferes with no fair vested interest in such a manner 

 as to give a claim for compensation, and it inflicts no 

 burden either in the way of taxation or extra examina- 

 tion on the medical profession. 



This proposal is, that if any examining body satisfies 

 the Medical Council (or other State authority), that it 

 requires full and efficient instruction and examination in 

 the three branches of medicine, surgery, and midwifery ; 

 and if it admits a certain number of coadjutor examiners 

 appointed by the State authority, the certificate of that 

 authority shall give admission to the Medical Register. 



I submit that while the adopting this proposal would 

 secure a practically uniform minimum standard of ex- 

 amination, it would leave free play to the individuality 

 of the various existing or future universities and medical 

 corporations ; that the revenues of such bodies derived 

 from medical examinations would thenceforth increase 

 or diminish in the ratio of their deserts ; that a really 

 efficient inspection of the examinations would be secured, 

 and that no one could come upon the register without a 

 complete qualification. 



That there was no difficulty in this scheme was 

 shown by the experience of the Scotch Universities ; 



