ON EXAMINATIONS FOR A VETERINARY DIPLOMA. 83 
success foot diseases, as well as affections of other organs, he has no 
claim to the title of being the reliever of the sufferings to which 
the horse is liable. 
The many controversies on horse warranty, of which the courts 
of justice in this country are so frequently the scene, obviously de- 
monstrate how great should be the importance attached to veteri- 
nary jurisprudence. But so far from this being the case, not only 
are the examiners commonly silent on the subject, but even the 
veterinary professors do not include it in their courses of lectures. 
Veterinary jurisprudence is certainly an uncultivated branch of our 
science ; but if those men do not engage in its cultivation who are 
expressly selected and adequately paid as teachers, is each pri- 
vate practitioner supposed to dedicate his time and talent to the 
task] The veterinary profession is said to be in its infancy ; and 
so it is likely to remain, unless its professors endeavour so to edu- 
cate their pupils as may enable them to confer increased benefits 
on the public, and by talent and real merit raise the science they 
profess to a level with other branches of human knowledge. 
Reviewing the preceding observations, we may arrange them 
under two heads: 1st, we respectfully direct the attention of the 
Council of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons to the pro- 
priety of extending the system of examination ; 2dly, we call on 
the professors of veterinary science to lend their valuable co- 
operation in reforming that grand basis to which every science 
must look as the criterion of its future prosperity, “Education.” 
With reference to the former point, the Council would reap direct 
advantages from the proposed reform. They would give to the 
public the most ample proof that the powers vested in them were 
exercised in the best manner calculated to insure the welfare of the 
veterinary profession ; and by abolishing all prohibitory laws of 
entrance on the career of a veterinary student, and establishing 
stringent measures to regulate the admission of members in the 
veterinary profession, they would obviate all dispute in reference 
to that part of the Charter which refers to the “ Curriculum of 
Study at the Colleges.” Even admitting that the Council have no 
right to interfere on this point, they certainly have a right to exer- 
cise their prerogative in testing the abilities of the men educated 
at those colleges, when presenting themselves as candidates for a 
diploma. The institution of a fair system of examination would, 
moreover, preclude the chance of another Board of Examiners being 
called upon to grant diplomas to practise ; because the public would 
soon become aware that the distinctive characteristic of members of 
the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons was that of having 
undergone such an examination as guaranteed beyond all suspicion 
their talent and practical skill. 
With reference to the second point, painful it is to admit that 
