400 
THE COUNCIL OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF 
VETERINARY SURGEONS. 
Sitting of June 3, 1846. 
Present the President, the Secretary, Messrs. Braby, 
Cherry, W. Arthur Cherry, Ernes, Henderson, May- 
hew, and James Turner. 
Mr. Braby’s motion on finance produced a long discussion upon 
the position in which the Veterinary Committee now stood. It 
appeared that the Veterinary Committee which had been appointed 
to obtain the Charter of Incorporation, had, after its attainment, 
handed it over to the thereby newly created corporate body. At 
the same time, a surplus of the funds which the Veterinary Com- 
mittee had raised was placed in Messrs. Drummonds, the bankers, 
hands, in the name of the “Royal College of Veterinary Sur- 
geons,” and consequently could only be withdrawn by the authority 
of that body. But at the time of this handing over the Charter 
and the surplus funds, the Veterinary Committee had not entered 
into any arrangement with the new body by which the Committee 
were relieved of the liabilities which the members of that Com- 
mittee, individually and collectively, had incurred, by the raising of 
a loan to carry out the obtainment of the Charter. The Veteri- 
nary Committee had called two meetings of its members since the 
transfer ; at the last of which it was strongly urged by some of its 
members, that, as a committee, it had ceased to exist so soon as 
the object for which they had been appointed was obtained. In 
consequence, the meeting was dissolved without proceeding to any 
further business, and the present motion was brought before the 
Council to set the matter at rest. 
Mr. Ernes strongly urged that the Council were bound to take 
upon itself the liabilities of the Veterinary Committee, as he con- 
tended that the Committee had, as a body, de facto ceased to exist 
so soon as the Charter for which they had laboured was accepted 
by the profession, and that the question could not under any cir- 
cumstances be entertained. Mr. Cherry took similar views. 
Mr. May hew contended that the question was one of paramount 
importance, and required great care in its settlement, as the Council 
were not met there to decide any question as mere individuals. As 
a representative body, they had to render an account of their acts ; 
therefore they could only do that which was strictly legal. That 
generosity was totally out of the question in the management of 
the affairs of a public body ; that justice, and justice only, must 
