ANNUAL MEETING. 
447 
At the meeting of the Council in January last, Mr. Ernes, 
in introducing the subject, referred to the insufficiency of the 
test in the following words : 
On looking at the bye-law which regulates the present 
examinations, i find that if only one question were asked on 
each subject therein enumerated and multiplied by the dif¬ 
ferent orders of our domestic animals (to which the bye-law 
refers) there would be on an average about sixty questions 
crowded into one hour, the time now allotted to the examina¬ 
tion, which, moreover, is held in the evening, when the 
mind, after the fatigue of the day, requires rest. 
“ Therefore it is self-evident that, however highly qualified 
the examiners may be for the office, the system of examina¬ 
tion cannot be considered a test of competency, being insuf¬ 
ficient, incomplete, and fraught with injustice to the can¬ 
didate, and injury to the public. 
“ I w'ould suggest, in the first place, that the examinations 
be oral, written, and practical; the latter to he held not only 
on the dead subject, but also on the living; that they should 
be divided into three periods, at more or less distance from 
each other, and that they should be limited to once a-year. 
All special examinations to be at the expense of the candi¬ 
dates. 
‘‘ First examination to be on anatomy, physiology, patho¬ 
logy (including morbid anatomy of all domestic animals). 
‘‘Sndly. Hygiene, symtomology, diagnosis, prognosis, thera¬ 
peutics, surgery, the principles of shoeing, and veterinary 
jurisprudence. 
“ Srdly. Chemistry, materia medica, pharmacy, botany, 
and microscopy. 
“It is also worthy of your consideration, whether part or 
the whole of the medical members of the Board of Examiners 
could not he dispensed with ; they might, however, he of great 
service at the physiology and chemistry table, where it would, 
perhaps, be difficult to replace them with members of our 
own profession. Neither should the members be elected for 
life. The remarks the late Sir William Lawrence made on 
this subject to the College of Surgeons might be equally 
applied to us, viz.—‘ The examiners being appointed for life, 
it must often happen, as it frequently has, that the duties of 
the Court, which, if properly performed, would require men 
in the active period of life and the full vigour of their facul¬ 
ties, have been executed by persons nearly approaching or 
actually arrived at the extreme verge of existence. 
“ ‘ In an imperfect and progressive science like surgery such 
individuals must be far behind the actual state of knowledge. 
