358 WEST OF SCOTLAND VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
benefit the public nor ourselves, by tendering our services at less than their 
value. But, it may be asked, what is their value, pecuniarily expressed. 
I should not like to appraise them. It is a matter so far of conscience with 
each member of the profession, and of policy with the body collectively ; 
but, under any circumstances, surely a sum considerably greater than is 
asked and obtained by a city porter for carrying a parcel, say the same 
distance from our places of business, as we make a professional call. 
Yet we all know that there are persons in our profession who travel 
about, and charge fees, sometimes less than a city porter. I would be 
the last to advocate a policy which would press hard upon our clients, but 
by all means let us charge a fee becoming a professional man in all cases 
where our clients can afford to pay, and where they cannot from poverty, 
let us bestow our services ungrudgingly and without a fee. I am 
not given to charge high for my services, nor do I put stress upon my 
position, and frequently I have a cheque for a larger amount than my 
account enclosed to me ; nor do I refer to the subject of charges, 
because I have felt the pressure of such upon my business, not at all; 
but I have heard others deplore it, and moreover, I have seen its bad 
effects. It has yet to be proven that a reasonable charge is counter 
to the interests of our employers and the welfare of our patients, 
for services poorly requited, as a general rule, are grudgingly performed 
and imperfectly discharged. It is a question, however, how far societies 
formed for the sole and direct purpose of fixing fees to be charged for 
services rendered have been productive of good, either to the individuals 
themselves, or the public at large. Indeed, I incline to the opinion that 
they have done more harm than good ; nor do I wish this society to 
infer that I desire that its members should fix a scale of fees to be 
charged for their services. In this and similar matters the society can 
only appeal to the feelings and honour of each of its members, and sug¬ 
gest the urgent necessity there exists for its members being more inti¬ 
mately linked and acquainted with each other. As professional men, we 
do not cling sufficiently to each other ; the chain which binds us is not 
sufficiently strong. By periodically calling you together, and thus 
affording an opportunity for drawing out the sympathies of brotherly 
love, which we in common, in a greater or less degree, possess; and by 
guardedly exercising a spirit of charity towards each other in our inter¬ 
course, this association is eminently suited to advance the pecuniary 
interests of the profession and elevate its status. 
And now let me direct your attention to the second aspect of the 
subject, or proposition, viz. the power or influence this society may 
exert in advancing our knowledge of veterinary science and art. The 
science which we profess, as all of you are well aware, belongs to the 
class termed Inexact , as distinguished from the Exact, it has also its art 
as well as its science. These relations are frequently but ill-defined in 
the mind of the practitioner, and, as a consequence, in practice and 
other ways they are confounded. If this society is to assist in ad¬ 
vancing the studies of our profession, inquiries must be conducted on a 
liberal basis, and with due regard to all conditions. It will not do to 
ignore theory at the dictum of practice, as some minds in the past his¬ 
tory of this society have unsparingly done. 
1 do not anticipate that this society, or others of a similar character, 
will revolutionise the theory and practice of veterinary medicine; 
inquiries tending to such results are more within the province of our 
colleges; but, as the teaching institutions are imperfect in many re¬ 
spects, and unable, from pecuniary and other causes, to conduct experi¬ 
ments and researches on a sufficiently extensive scale, it is wonderful 
