346 
REPORT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE 
its members, was a disgrace to them as a profession; and concluded, 
after making some condemnatory remarks on the operation of the 
by-law of shoeing, and the issuing of certificates under its pro¬ 
visions. 
Mr. Cherry complained that he had not received an explanation 
relative to the accounts. He thought the Meeting ought to know 
why the balance appeared so contradictory. 
Mr. Field (the Treasurer) expressed his regret that any gentle¬ 
man should come to that Meeting and impugn the accounts, when 
he, by the position he filled, had the opportunity of inquiring and 
examining into the matter before the accounts were printed. 
Mr. Cherry said, as Mr. Field, the treasurer, had not in his 
answer stated the reason of what he wanted to know, he would 
again say that the balance in hand at the end of the year 1st May 
1848 was stated then to be £2*26, while in the present Report it 
was put as £ l93..16s..(M. He wished still to know why it 
was so. 
Mr. Gabriel (the Secretary) said the difference was occasioned 
by the fees for thirty diplomas not having yet been paid. 
Mr. Gowing said he had been applied to for a certificate under 
the shoeing by-law, and had refused to give it. 
Professor Spooner, at considerable length, commented on the 
different points of the Report, more particularly the statements that 
an attempt had been made by the London and Edinburgh schools 
to “ evade the scrutiny instituted by the Board of Examiners of 
the Royal College, by setting up spurious Boards of their own,” of 
which assertion he denied the truth. He condemned the letter 
which had been written to the Duke of Wellington, and contended 
that the answer of Lord Fitzroy Somerset clearly shewed that, in 
the opinion of the Commander-in-Chief, the diplomas termed in the 
Report “ spurious ” were not so considered. He would ask the 
whole of the members present at the Meeting whether the system 
of education adopted by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons 
had ever been enlarged. He denied that it had ever been enlarged 
[hear, hear /]. He also denied that they had any right to suspend 
the by-laws, and he contended that the suspensions that had been 
made were illegal. Sir Fitzroy Kelly, Mr. Peacock, and Mr. D. 
Hill, had been consulted in the matter, and they were all of opinion 
that the Council had arrogated to themselves powers that they did 
not possess [loud cries of “ Hear, hear /”]. The remainder of the 
Report was, he declared, replete with inaccuracies; and he con¬ 
cluded by saying that the Council were only endeavouring to in¬ 
crease their fees. 
Mr. Baker, in seconding the adoption of the Report, expressed 
the regret he felt at seeing a gentleman filling the high position 
