P H Y S I 
faid City, any kind of lands and tenements whatever, not 
exceeding the annual value of twelve pounds, notwith- 
ftanding the fiatute of alienation in mortmain. And that 
they, by the name of the Prefident of the College or 
Commonalty of the Faculty of.Medicine in London, may 
iue and be fued, before any of our judges, in every kind 
of adion, and in every court. And that the faid Prefi¬ 
dent, College, or Commonalty, and their fuccefi'ors, may 
lawfully and fafely have, at fuch times and in fuch man¬ 
ner as occaiion may require, lawful and honed meetings, 
ftatutes, and ordinances, for the well-governing, fuper- 
vifing, and regulating, of the affairs of the College or 
Commonalty of the laid Phyficians, and of all perfons 
exercifing the fame faculty in the faid City, or within fe- 
ven miles around the fame, without hindrance from us, 
our heirs or fuccefi'ors, juftices, IherifFs, or other bailiffs 
or magiftrates, of our heirs or fuccefi'ors- whomfoever. 
We have alfo granted to the faid Prefident and College 
or Commonalty, and their fuccefi'ors, that no one (hail 
exercife the laid faculty in the laid City, or within feven 
sniles round the fame, unlefs he be admitted fo to do by 
the faid Prefident and Commonalty, or their fuccefi'ors, 
for the time being, by letters of the faid Prefident and 
College, figned by their common feal, under the penalty 
of five pounds for each month which they have fo prac- 
tifed without having been admitted : one half to be given 
to Ourfelves and our heirs, the other half to be applied 
to the ufe of the Prefident and College. 
We moreover will and grant, for ourfelves and fuccef- 
fors as far as in us lies, that four perfons be yearly chofen 
by the Prefident and College of the (aid Commonalty for 
the time being, and their fuccefi'ors for ever, who (hall 
have the fuperintendance, fcrutiny, correction, and go¬ 
vernment, of all -and every Phyfician of the faid City, 
exercifing the faculty of Medicine in the faid City, and 
of all other Phylicians not members of this Commonalty, 
who in any wife pradife the profefiion of Medicine 
within the laid city, fuburbs, and feven miles thereof; 
and alfe fhnll have the punifhment of fuch perfons for 
their faults in not duly exercifing, performing, and prac- 
tifing, it; and alfo the fuperintendance and fcrutiny of 
medicines of every kind, and the receipts for compound¬ 
ing the fame, which may be given, applied, and ufed, by 
the faid Phylicians, or any one of them, to our liege fub- 
jeds, in the curing their complaints and infirmities, as 
often as and, whenfoever there may be occaiion for the 
utility and advantage of our faid liege fubjeds: fo that 
punifhment of fuch Phyficians exercifing the faculty of 
Medicine, who fnall fo offend, be inflided by fines, amer¬ 
ciaments, and imprifonments of their bodies, and by 
other reai'onable and fuitabie means. 
We alfo will and permit, for ourfelves, our heirs, and 
fuccefi’ors, as far as in 11s lies, that neither the Prefident, 
nor any one of the faid College of Phyficians, nor their 
fucceffors, nor any one of them, in any way exercifing the 
faculty of medicine in future within our City and the 
fuburbs thereof, or in any place, be fummoned or put, 
nor (hall, any be fummoned or put, on any afiizes, juries, 
inquefts, inquifitions, attaints, or other recognitions, 
within the (aid City and its fuburbs, before the Mayor or 
Sheriffs, or Coroners, of our faid City for the time being, 
to be hereafter taken, or by any officer oraffiftant, or of¬ 
ficers or affiftants, of theirs, to be fummoned, notwith¬ 
standing the Laid juries, inquifitions, or recognitions, 
may have been fummoned upon our or our fuccefi'ors’ writ 
or writs of right; but that the faid Mafters or Gover¬ 
nors and Commonalty of the before-mentioned faculty, 
and their fuccefi'ors, and every one of them exercifing the 
faid faculty, be thereof quit and forever exempt, by thefe 
prefents, as towards us, our heirs and fuccelfors, and to¬ 
wards the Mayor and Sheriffs of the faid City for the time 
being, and their officers and affiftants whomfoever. 
Provided always, that our letters, nor any thing therein 
contained, be not to the prejudice of our City of London, 
or its liberties : and thele without fine or fee for the pre- 
Vql. XX. No. 1370. 
C I A N. 317 
mium aforefaid, or the fealing of tnefe prefent letters; 
any ftatute, ordination, or ad, hitherto made to the con¬ 
trary, in any wife notwithftanding. In teftimony of 
which, we have caufed thefe our letters to be made pa¬ 
tent. Witnefs Ourfelf at Weftminiter, on the twenty- 
third day of September, in the tenth year of our reign, 
1519. Tunstall. 
It does not appear that the profefiors of phyfic were in 
any way claffed or incorporated, in England, until the 
above date; although we learn, from the preamble of the 
charter, as well as from the petition of the 9th of Henry 
V. that other countries had long before that period efta- 
blifiled medical colleges, having confidered luch a mea- 
fure not only as necelfary for the encouragement of 1'ci- 
ence, but as highly politic for the prel'ervation of the 
public health. 
The hall of the College of Phyficians has been lately 
removed from Warwick-lane (fee the article London, 
vol. xiii. p. 499.) to a place affigned them by his majefty 
among the new buildings, near the palace, called Pall 
Mall Ealt: and his majefty, by an order in council, has 
been pleafed to dired, that the Prefident of the College, 
for the time being, lhall always be one of his phyficians 
inordinary; and a certain coltume is affigned him, to 
be worn, as we fuppofe, only when in attendance upon 
royalty; for, fhould it become a cuftom to wear Inch a ha¬ 
bit in common, other phyficians will foon adopt fomething 
like it, and the faculty will then be known, at all times 
and in all places, as formerly they were, by their drel's. 
The Edinburgh College of Phyficians was ereded on 
the 26th November, 1681. The delign of this inftitu- 
tion was, to prevent the abufes daily committed by fo¬ 
reign and illiterate impoftors, quacks, &c. For this rea- 
fon, his majefty, at the time above-mentioned, granted 
letters patent to ered into a body corporate and politic, 
certain phyficians in Edinburgh and their fuccefi'ors, by 
the title of “ the Prefident and Royal College of Phyfi¬ 
cians at Edinburgh,” with power to choofe annually a 
council of feven, one whereof to be prefident : thefe are 
to eled a treafurer, clerk, and other officers; to have a 
common feal; to fue and be fued ; to make laws for pro¬ 
moting the art of phyfic,- and regulating the practice 
thereof within the city of Edinburgh, town of Leith, and 
diftridsof the Canongate, Weftport, Pleafance, and Por¬ 
ter-row ; through all which the jurifdidion of the college 
extends. Throughout this jurifdidion, no perfon is al¬ 
lowed to prndife phyfic, without a warrant from the col¬ 
lege, under the penalty of 5I. fterling the firlt month, to 
be doubled monthly afterwards, while the offence is con¬ 
tinued ; one half the money arifing from fuch fines to go 
to the poor, the other to the ufe of the college. They 
are alfo empowered to punilh all- licentiates in phyfic, 
within the above-mentioned bounds, for faults commit¬ 
ted againft the inllitutions of the college ; and to fine 
them in fums not exceeding 40s. On fuch occafionr, 
however, they mull have one of the bailies of the city 
to fit in judgment along with them, otherwife their fen- 
tence will not be valid. They are alfo empowered to 
fearch and infped all medicines within their jurifdidion, 
and throw out into the llreet fuch as are bad or unwhole- 
fome. That they may the better attend their patients, 
they are exempted from watching, warding, and ferving 
on juries. They are, however, retrained from ereding 
fchools for teaching the art of phyfic, or conferring de¬ 
grees on any perfon qualified for the office of a phyfician; 
but are obliged to licenfe all fuch as have taken their de¬ 
grees in any other univerfity, and to admit as honorary 
members all the profeffors of phyfic in the reft of the uni- 
verfities of Scotland. Thel'e privileges and immunities 
are not, however, to interfere with the rights and privi¬ 
leges of the apothecary-furgeons, in their praftice of cu¬ 
ring wounds, contufions, fradures, and other external 
operations. 
England, although deftined to take the lead in refearch 
and difcovery at a later period, was in the fixteenth ceu- 
4,M tury 
