ACCOUNT OF THE DINNER. 
305 
to the different provisions which that Memorial contained! — far 
from it. It was the means, gentlemen, of bringing your wishes 
and the wants of many hundred members of our profession to 
one point; it was the means of shewing that there was a mighty 
spirit at work within the profession; that there was a nucleus 
around which all of us could unite ; that there was a mighty 
feeling prevailing, which could no longer be restrained ; and all 
this for the noblest of purposes — the advancement of veterinary 
science. It is owing to the manner in which you expressed your- 
selves, — it is owing to the generous and warm-hearted support 
you yielded on that occasion, that what we are now met to cele- 
brate, has in part been accomplished. If it had not been for the 
feelings you manifested, you never would have had a veterinary 
committee appointed to watch over your interests, nor would you 
have found any committee so zealous in endeavouring to carry 
out your views. 
My connexion, as the secretary of this committee, which you, sir, 
have in so kind and flattering a manner alluded to, I shall ever con- 
sider as one of the happiest periods of my life. Brought into imme- 
diate contact with those whom it is my privilege to know and esteem, 
I have been the servant of a committee, the harmony of whose pro- 
ceedings have never but once been disturbed, and whose resolutions, 
with a single exception, have been carried unanimously. With 
you, sir, my connexion is one of unalloyed pleasure, and will be 
remembered with unceasing satisfaction. During upwards of three 
years, amidst difficulties and obstructions which would have de- 
terred any other man, you have never shrunk (even at great per- 
sonal inconvenience) in the performance of your duty, and have 
endeavoured to the utmost of your power to promote the honour 
and welfare of our profession. 
Gentlemen, you all recollect that the veterinary committee were 
elected for the express purpose of obtaining a Royal Charter of 
Incorporation upon some such plan and constitution — I am quoting 
the words of the resolution — as the then College of Surgeons en- 
joyed. I use the word then , because it is my belief that a charter 
upon the constitution of the present College of Surgeons would 
have been perfectly useless. 
