688 
COLL KG E AFFAIRS. 
little trouble, and almost no cost. Notice should be given that, at a certain 
hour every day, advice and medicines may be obtained gratis at the College 
by all those who are not able or not willing to pay for them. This would be 
a great boon to many a poor man, who, not able to pay a skilful veterinarian, 
must either trust to nature, or try the remedy of some smith or groom. In 
every large town there are plenty of men who would thankfully take advan- 
tage of the privilege. The plan is so obviously beneficial to the students, that 
I think its utility need not be much insisted on. The receipts of the College 
would not, in any degree, be diminished, and the cost for drugs and bandages 
would not amount to ten pounds a-year. If the professors could not afford 
that sum, they could raise the fees sufficiently to pay it. The drenchings and 
operations being all performed by the pupils, under superintendence, would 
render hired assistants unnecessary. 
If the Governors are really anxious to make the College an effective school 
of instruction, some plan of this kind will certainly be tried. But it seems 
all along to have been their aim to make the College an hospital more than a 
school; and, if they continue to do so, they ought, as conscientious men, to 
alter the notice prefixed to their list of subscribers. 
John Stewakt. 
Glasgow, Aug. 11, 1839. 
LETTER II. 
To the Members of the Royal Veterinary College. 
Gentlemen, — The events which have taken place during the last two 
months, and of which, I trust, you have not been unconcerned spectators, in- 
duce me, through the medium of this Journal, to direct your attention to one 
or two particulars. And I feel the more constrained to this duty from having 
had (in the brief review of “ The past and present State of Veterinary 
Science”) the pleasure of directing your attention to various points connected 
with the education of the veterinary surgeon. 
Anxious as, I trust, we all are for the proper and efficient education of the 
veterinary student, you cannot but hail with sincere and heart -felt joy those 
arrangements which have recently taken place within the walls of the Royal 
Veterinary College. But are there no regrets to mix with this joy ? Is it 
not with deep anxiety that we see arrangements made calculated to mar the 
prospects so beautifully opening upon us ? 
It is to these arrangements, and to the best mode of obtaining the removal 
of them, that I entreat your attention. I shall necessarily be very brief, as 
the points have been so ably handled in the last leader of this Journal. The 
points I allude to are : — The fact that no distinction is made between the 
educated apprentice or son of the veterinary surgeon and the groom, black- 
smith, &c. ; the injustice done to Mr. Dick's pupils ; the enormous duty 
laid upon the professors, and the smallness of the fees. Upon calm considera- 
tion, you will agree with the opinions expressed in this Journal, — that great 
injustice will be inflicted upon the profession at large if these plans are carried 
out. 
It appears to me requisite that the opinion of the profession at large 
should be expressed on this subject, and a memorial should be presented to 
the Governors, suggesting the following alterations : — That indentures from 
every student of his having spent three years in the pursuit of veterinary know- 
ledge be required at his examination. I make this remark, because I think 
it would be impolitic to suggest any plan which would make invidious dis- 
tinctions between the pupils at College. I am sure it will be thought by you 
