DISCREPANCY OF PROFESSIONAL OPINION. 
701 
light by men alone who have made the profession their study—so 
long will there be given in evidence opinions—if “ opinions” such 
trash is to be called—which no professional man can for a moment 
entertain. At first sight, it might seem a very easy matter to get 
rid of such evidence as this, by disqualifying every person as a vete¬ 
rinary witness who was not a regularly educated veterinary surgeon; 
or, in other words, who could not in court produce his diploma. 
Such a prohibition, however, though it might please us as vete¬ 
rinarians, would tread heavily upon the toes of some practitioners 
in farriery of the old school;—men who are known to be well in¬ 
formed, much experienced, and much respected in the practice of 
their art, and, for that reason, could not be regarded even by our¬ 
selves but as a measure severe and unfair. The only equitable and 
at all satisfactory mode, as it appears to us, in which this difficulty 
could be overcome, would be to draw a line, back to some agreed- 
on period of time, and enact that practitioners in farriery in practice 
before that time should be admitted as qualified evidence ; but that, 
from and after the said date, every person appearing in court to 
give evidence on veterinary matters should be required to produce 
a diploma of qualification from one or other of the veterinary 
colleges. 
But Mr. Gregory’s letter runs—“ Discrepancy of opinion reign¬ 
ing among veterinary surgeons." This is another affair; one that 
comes nearer home—one that reflects directly upon our own body. 
Nobody acquainted with the history of veterinary science in Britain 
will be surprised at there being occasional “discrepancy of opinion” 
between what we, at the present day, may fairly designate the old 
and the new school. In days when a man could leave the forge- 
fire, and, whether he could manage to “ write his own name” or 
not, obtain a diploma as veterinary surgeon; and when another 
person, clever at reading and writing, and who knew a little Latin 
besides, could obtain the same certificate of qualification in a few 
months; in days such as these, we repeat, when veterinary sur¬ 
geons were manufactured, who, when they came to be summoned 
into court as professional evidence, could hardly appear to any 
greater advantage than the “ignorant” farrier or pretender to 
science, “discrepancy of opinion” was likely to “reign.” Be¬ 
tween veterinary surgeons such as these, and others who entered 
VOL. XXII. 5 A 
