YORKSHIRE VETERINARY MEDICAL SOCIETY. 185 
not always to the swift, or the battle to the strong.” Let us 
keep our heads clear, by avoiding all excesses of a deleterious 
character, which only tend to dull the edge of wit, blunt the 
tenderness of humanity, make a mockery of science, dissipate 
all right motives, and scatter to the winds all pretensions 
of being a gentleman. If we wish to succeed and be 
respected, we must eschew all connections which involve a 
sacrifice of self-respect, for there is nothing so destructive in 
its consequences, and so difficult to recover from as this : 
the moral elements of man are the true conditions of his 
success. So long as good feeling spreads her banner over 
us, we need have no fear for the future. Let us maintain a 
sincere friendship towards each other, keeping our eyes fixed 
on the importance of our duties, and opening them to the 
brightness of the light of experimental science. 
With reference to veterinary jurisprudence, the late re¬ 
ported trials exhibit a melancholy state of this branch of our 
profession, and I cannot do better than give you an extract 
from the beautiful and excellent “ annual address ” of the 
editors of the Veterinarian for this month (January), in which 
they remark —“ The subjoined observations, taken from an 
address delivered by the Lord Chief Justice, at a meeting of 
the medical profession, may not be inapplicable to ours; 
whilst the truthfulness of the remarks, and the high source 
from whence they emanate, will give them due weight, and 
enforce their worth. The difference between the two profes¬ 
sions is one of degree rather than of principle. His Lord- 
ship observed, they might rely upon it that it was of the 
greatest possible importance in the elucidation of the truth 
that medical witnesses should understand the bearing of the 
evidence they were giving. They had all heard of the 
frequent contradictory nature of scientific evidence. One 
set of scientific witnesses were called to prove one side of a 
case, and another set of equally scientific witnesses were then 
called to contradict the first, and to give a completely 
different complexion to the facts. It frequently arose from 
the fact that, although not one gentleman could be found 
who would wilfully and deliberately enter a witness box to 
pervert the truth, or to state that which is not true, yet 
medical men were apt to identify themselves with the cases 
on which they were consulted, somewhat as lawyers did with 
their clients ; and although the medical man gave his opinion 
according to the best of his judgment to the person who 
first consulted him, he could not help feeling a sort of desire 
to carry that person through all subsequent proceedings. 
He thus, -without knowing it, became interested in maintain- 
