ROYAL COLLEGE OF VETERINARY SURGEONS. 353 
to him which had been bestowed upon their honourable guest, 
he should think the labour of a long life in the pursuit of his 
own profession had been well repaid. (Cheers.) 
The next toast was that of “Prosperity to the Royal College 
of Veterinary Surgeons.” 
Mr. Gabriel said, that it was with pride and pleasure he 
returned thanks for having his name coupled with the toast of 
the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons ; that he did trust the 
profession was now taking its proper position in society, and that 
it was not altogether unworthy of the great boon it had received 
in the obtainment of the Royal Charter of Incorporation; that 
both in science and in individual worth it was rapidly progress¬ 
ing, and that that progress had not been unnoticed and unvalued 
was proved by the presence among them that day of indivi¬ 
duals who would have graced the celebration of any of the most 
liberal and enlightened institutions of the day; and he hoped, 
with this earnest of the reward before them, they should not be 
found unworthy of receiving it. Then, as to the Royal Veteri¬ 
nary College and the Professors, he must say, that it was from the 
labours of that institution, and that institution alone, that they had 
been enabled to claim the gratifying position they now occupied ; 
that the labours of the earlier professors, though of a more general 
and diffused character, had laid the foundation on which the 
more defined courses of study at present pursued had been 
founded. Nor were the energies of the professors of the several 
branches lightly taxed to keep up with the rapid march of 
science in the present day; for it was not mere vague and 
general ideas that could be now tolerated, but well-defined prin¬ 
ciples, and their strict application to practice alone could satisfy 
those who had to pursue their profession, and to secure that 
patronage of which such honourable proof had this evening been 
given ; and, in the sanguine belief that in their untiring exer¬ 
tion to secure, ay, and even to improve, the position they held 
they would not be found behind any profession extant, he pro¬ 
posed their healths. 
Other toasts were successively proposed and responded to, 
and amongsUhem was that of “ The Royal Veterinary College, 
and its Professors.” 
Mr, Spooner returned thanks, observing that he had been for 
twenty-three years a teacher in his profession, and therefore it 
would be believed that the deep interest he felt in the science 
was accompanied by a knowledge of its practical operations and 
usefulness. The College had been established for more than 
half a century; but it was not until 1843 that its members were 
formed into a corporate body, and from that time it had gradu¬ 
ally advanced in public esteem and in the general scale of scho- 
vol. xxv. 3 B 
