WEST OF SCOTLAND VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 997 
certain amount of money for tlie benefit of their widows and 
orphans. The society was divided into a mutual defence and 
benevolent association. Personally speaking he took no interest 
in the mutual defence department ; for the reason that he was 
debarred from deriving its privileges. He could, however, say 
that this department conferred a great boon to the young practi- 
tioner, who probably went into a peculiar district of the country 
— a district, the people of which might pooh-pooh veterinary 
science, sometimes causing deaths that ought not to be. (Hear, 
hear.) A friend of his (Mr. Malcolm) was a recipient of the 
benefits of the association. Mr. Greaves was inspector on this 
particular occasion. Mr. Malcolm saved his reputation but lost 
his client, and was able to maintain that position in the district 
that every qualified veterinarian ought to hold. The Croupier 
coupled the toast with the name of Mr. Greaves. 
Mr. Greaves said in reply: — The National Veterinary 
Benevolent Society is a society that has branched out of the 
Veterinary Mutual Defence Society. Its object is to collect a 
fund sufficiently large to enable its promoters to hold out a helping 
hand to any of its unfortunate members. There are occasionally 
cases in which a husband and lather is suddenly snatched away 
from amongst us, leaving no provision whatever for those who 
were dependent upon him in life. Is there any higher or nobler 
sentiment which can be cherished in the human breast than the 
desire of soothing the sorrows, alleviating the wants, and mitigating 
the afflictions of the fatherless. The officers of this society are 
struggling hard and constantly to raise this fund. They spare 
neither trouble nor time for this purpose ; they are frequently 
travelling immense distances at very serious inconvenience to 
themselves, never making one shilling charge for the expenses thus 
incurred, so anxious are they to husband the resources and increase 
the fund. The fund in the bank at last balance to the credit of 
the Benevolent Society was £297 4s. 9d., and to that of the Defence 
Society £326 14s. 3d. I having been elected treasurer to the Society 
feel it to be my duty on all occasions to solicit subscriptions and 
donations. I appeal to you now, believing as I do most sincerely 
that instances will occur in which some of the sorrows and suffer- 
ings of those in adversity and want will be in some measure 
mitigated by what I am doing in this good cause. I do wish 
I could enlist the sympathies of every member of my pro- 
fession in its behalf. Gentlemen, when I remember how much 
sympathy and support we have received from the heads of the 
profession in Scotland ; when I remember that that noble-minded 
lady who bears the honoured name of Dick, sister to the founder 
of veterinary science in Scotland, has bequeathed £100 to our 
fund ; when I remember, also, that the principal of the Edinburgh 
College, and four of his late co-professors, were members of this 
Society, and also that the principal of the Glasgow College and 
two of his late co-professors were members — I say, when I think 
of this, I feel proud that I now staud on Scottish ground. Be- 
