ROYAL COLLEGE OF VETERINARY SURGEONS. 
287 
from them the discretionary power which they previously ex¬ 
ercised. He maintained that if anything at all were done in the 
matter an authority ought to be given to them either to reject 
or pass a student more from that one table than from any other 
table. 
Mr. Reynolds said that with regard to the first examination, 
he found the maximum and minimum in each subject was the 
same. It would probably meet Mr. Pritchard’s idea if, in the 
second examination, the anatomy of cattle were placed on an 
equal footing with the anatomy of the horse and physiology and 
histology, and the number of marks would be equal to those 
required for the first examination : and to show that this Council 
appreciated the subjects in the third examination more highly 
than the two former examinations if the two subjects in the Pass 
Examination were put at a maximum of thirty-six, they should 
all be made equal. If Professor Pritchard accepted that as an 
interpretation of his motion, he would second it. 
The President , in reply to Professor Pritchard remarked, that 
Professor Pritchard had said that in the third examination on 
the more important subjects, the examiners would be more strin¬ 
gent in their requirements. The more stringent they were, the 
less marks they would give, in all probability: therefore, on the 
easier subjects the student would get a fuller ratio of marks than 
if he were more stringently tested, and thus far there would be 
a disadvantage. The reason that cattle were put below horses 
was, that the diseases of cattle were less treated than those of 
horses. When a cow was ill, she was killed in an early stage of 
disease, because the flesh was valuable, but the horse was spared, 
because he was more valuable as a living animal. 
The question was then put to the vote, when six voted for the 
amendment and eight against it. The original motion was, there¬ 
fore, declared carried. 
The President said that a compromise had been brought to his 
notice which he thought highly of. It was to retain the same 
number of marks for all the subjects, but that in certain subjects 
the qualifying number should be placed higher than in other 
subjects. Suppose the total number of marks in each standard 
for the Pass Examination was taken at twenty-four ; for morbid 
anatomy it has been suggested to place the pass at twelve; but 
in practical surgery, both as regards cattle and horses, to place 
it at eighteen, or some such number, calling the attention of the 
students to the fact that that was a subject they must study, and 
in which they would require to be extra efficient. The idea was 
a good one, and on behalf of the Committee, he would be glad 
to adopt it. Eor the practical subjects, then, it would be twenty- 
four, “Very great credit” ; twenty-one,“ Great credit” ; “Pass,” 
eighteen; and “ Reject,” twelve. He moved that the Committee 
be requested to again meet to settle the question on the basis 
just laid down, and that the next examinations be conducted on 
that basis. 
