ON PRELIMINARY AND PRACTICAL EXAMINATIONS. 30 7 
member of Council put forth an opinion “ That there was 
not a chance of having them, there were so many difficulties 
in the way, he did not think they could be carried out.” But 
when this test is demanded by the advancing spirit of modern 
intelligence, he must not shrink from any apparent difficulties, 
or the dread of encountering facts which may militate against 
his prepossessions, or may seem unfavorable to the desired 
conclusions ; he cannot shut his eyes to the accumulation of 
evidence on all sides, and on the result of the investigation 
the independent inquirer will with equal fearlessness use his 
own judgment. 
The fact is, it is one of the simplest, easiest, and most 
practical things in the world to carry out — the thing is done 
every day without the slightest difficulty ; in short, there is 
no difficulty, only that which exists in the imaginations of 
the objectors, and which they themselves create ; if only 
there was the disposition, every difficulty which they repre- 
sent as being so formidable would at once vanish into thin 
air. The opinion of many at the last annual meeting was 
that this member of Council was tainted with one of the 
heresies of Thomas a Didymus; he made himself the subject 
of incredulity and even ridicule; his logic appeared as futile 
as the finger of a child on the spoke of an engine's driving 
wheel. The declaration will appear to men of modern 
tempers more and more incredible the longer and more 
minutely it is dwelt upon. Why hug the delusion any 
longer ? The Council and their President are only worthy 
of esteem and honour as they know what is just and proper 
to be done and dare to do it; at the present time the meet- 
ings of Council appear to be more numerously attended, and 
the reports given of its doings are much more extensive than 
have ever been given before ; and it also appears there are a 
greater number of members who entertain the opinion that 
it is indispensable to carry these two measures to their final 
completion ; these measures have made more real progress 
of late, and have arrived at a point nearer to a satisfactory 
settlement than they ever attained before. The members of 
Council appear more united than they ever were before : let 
them take courage and set their hearts with a firm resolve to 
carry these two important measures ; they are measures that 
are demanded by society, and let the Council feel assured 
they are backed by the great body of the profession in the 
provinces, and recollect the trite saying of the late Mr. Litt, 
that the veterinary surgeons of the provinces are the back- 
bone of the profession. 
I believe I am right in my opinion, viz., that now the 
