VETERINARY MEDICAL SOCIETY. 247 
Twenty-five veterinarians assembled, and some of them from 
distant parts of the kingdom, to consolidate and establish this 
new and promising institution. A few amendments were 
made in the proposed laws and regulations, and the meeting 
then proceeded to elect the proper officers.” 
While it had been the conviction of the originators of the 
society that much good must result to the profession from the 
establishment of a more frequent and friendly intercourse be¬ 
tween its members, and the free discussion of eveiy subject con¬ 
nected with veterinaiy science, it must have been evident that 
these objects could only be obtained by excluding, as far as 
possible, all party spirit. 
It was too well known to eveiy veterinarian that much pri¬ 
vate pique and rancorous feeling existed among some of our 
members. It was the object of the majority, at least, of the 
.originators of this society, to temiinate these disgraceful and in- 
jurious feuds, and to unite, if it could be effected, all parties 
in the pursuit of tmth. How was this to be accomplished? 
One thing was plain enough,—that the society must not, at its 
very commencement, assume a party character. 
Common courtesy required that the professor of the veteri-^ 
nary college should be, or should be solicited to become, the 
honoraiy president of the veterinary medical society. It was a 
compliment evidently due to the situation he held among us. If 
an inferior surgeon was appointed, it was declaring, too plainly 
to be misunderstood, that the professor was not deemed worthy 
to preside over this society. It was condemning him untried 
and unheard, and passing on him the severest censure which 
his most malignant enemies could desire. It was at once to 
characterize the society as hostile to the professor; depriving it 
of the co-operation of eveiy friend of his, and necessarily gene¬ 
rating a spirit destructive to friendly intercourse and valuable 
improvement. 
Common courtesy, we say, demanded that the professor of 
the veterinary college should be solicited to become president of 
the veterinary medical society. The office was honorary. 
The appointment of four vice-presidents to act in rotation 
sufficiently indicated this. It was an office complimentary to 
