THE PRESENTATION OF 
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rinary surgeons for unskilful or negligent conduct, and, in my 
opinion, they were unjustly brought in both these cases. The 
confidence of the public was difficult to obtain at first; the 
young practitioner from the College had many prejudices to con¬ 
tend against; but that confidence has been gradually gained, and 
it will now be your own faults, gentlemen, if you do not obtain a 
fair share of employment, and live in society with comfort and re¬ 
putation. It was imagined a few years ago that you were multiply¬ 
ing too fast, that you were elbowing each other too closely, and 
that the number of the students must necessarily decrease. I do 
not know how that came to be thought of; but however that may 
be, the number of my pupils, and the number of veterinary 
surgeons sent into the world, has been larger and larger every 
year ; and I have heard of very few of them not doing compara¬ 
tively well, without the failure being clearly attributable to 
themselves. Some of them I know have made, or are making, 
large fortunes. 
Not only is the number of students from the college school 
increasing, but the number of schools is increasing too. There 
are now four veterinary schools,—two in London, one in Edin¬ 
burgh, and one in Glasgow. Did I ever object to this? No. 
I have uniformly asserted, that if these schools are honourably 
conducted, in proportion as able teachers are multiplied truth is 
likely to be elicited. Discussion, friendly and candid discussion, 
always does good : both disputants cannot be right, and it will 
sometimes happen that both will be proved to be in the wrong. 
“ My old apprentice and assistant, Mr. Sewell, with whom I have 
lived five-and-thirty years, without one serious difference—differ¬ 
ence of opinion there has often been—and why not ? I like dis¬ 
cussion ; it is the only way in which truth can be discovered or 
confirmed. There has, however, been no difference which could 
impair friendship or mutual esteem. He has urged me once 
more to become an author. May I ask him why he has not 
himself favoured the public with one of those valuable works to 
which he alludes? If, however, he has not done this, he has the 
strongest claim to the public gratitude for introducing, at least for 
establishing, an operation—I mean the excision of the nerves of 
