559 
THE APPRENTICESHIP CLAUSE IN THE BY-LAWS 
CONSIDERED. 
By John Dunsford, M.R.C.V.S., London. 
Having just heard that the Council of the Royal College of 
Veterinary Surgeons have under consideration the repeal of (in 
my estimation, and I think it will be found in that of the profes- 
sion generally) one of the most important of their by-laws, viz. 
The Apprenticeship, No. 2, Sec. II, I shall feel obliged by your 
calling the attention of the body to this subject. There can 
be no question but that much of selfishness exists in human 
nature ; and this fact, self-evident as it is, calls for a calm con- 
sideration of the motives which give rise to every important ac- 
tion : and where a few individuals are entrusted with the interest 
of a large body, it behoves them to take enlarged and comprehen- 
sive views of what will most extensively and permanently add to 
its present and future prosperity. There should be no compromise 
of great principles to meet private interests or parting views. The 
one great question with such a body should be, Will it advance 
the general good! Let us see the effect of the supposed alteration 
on the character of the future members. Does our elevation as a 
profession depend principally upon the superior knowledge which 
is and shall be possessed by its members 1 If so, it would be well 
for us seriously to inquire, whether it is possible for students to 
obtain, in the limited time our'schools require, that amount of in- 
struction and practical knowledge which will qualify them satis- 
factorily to appear before a discerning public. A few, by untiring 
perseverance and industry, with the possession of superior mental 
powers, may obtain those first principles which lay the foundation 
for future observation and research; but much of that which is ever 
common-place, and upon which the public generally estimates a 
man’s ability, must, of necessity, remain for future opportunities. 
When we come to consider cattle practice, where is the oppor- 
tunity for attaining it] Not at the London school. True, there 
is the Professor, and willing he is to do that which his circum- 
stances will enable him to accomplish; but diseased cattle find not 
their way to St. Pancras : and should a sheep or a pig enter its 
domains, they would excite some curiosity. What estimate, then, 
shall be put upon that practitioner who, for the first time, is called 
in to an obscure case, relying principally upon his theoretical ac- 
quirements 1 Do not these circumstances require the continuance 
of the salutary law under consideration] 
