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Council at the meeting held on the 13th inst., as we

announced last week:-1. That it is not at present desirable that examinations in

chemistry, materia medica, medical botany, and pharmacybe instituted at the College.

2. That the extended examination in medicine, as pro-posed in the Second Report of the Committee, and approvedby the Council on Jan. 13th last, do come into force fromand after Jan. 1st, 1882.

3. That the four examiners in medicine be chosen fromthe Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians, and be electedat the quarterly council in July.

4. That the two examiners in midwifery be chosen eitherfrom the Fellows of the College or from the Fellows of theRoyal College of Physicians, and be elected at the quarterlycouncil in July.

5. That the examiners in medicine and in midwifery beelected by the Council after nomination by a committee.

6. That the examiners in medicine and in midwifery bepaid for their services by a capitation fee, and that the amountof such fee be hereafter determined by the Council.

7. That it be referred to this committee to confer with theexaminers in medicine and in midwifery, and, after discussionwith them, to determine the nature and extent of the exami-nations in medicine and midwifery respectively.

8. That it be at the same time referred to this committee,after such conference with the examiners, to advise theCouncil as to the amount of the capitation fee to be paid tothe examiners in medicine and in midwifery respectively.The committee also recommended to the Council the adop-

tion of the following resolution :-That a committee of even members of the Council, to be

called the Nomination Committee," be appointed to nominatecandidates for the several examinerships of the College, ex-cepting candidates for the Court of Examiners and for theCourt of Examiners’ section of the Dental Board, subject tosuch rules and regulations as the Council may hereafter enact.The committee again reserved to a future report the result

of their deliberations with respect to the curricula of pro-fessional education of this College as compared with those ofother institutions.

THE EXHIBITION OF THE ROYAL ACADEMYOF ARTS.

THERE is but little to interest us from a medical point ofview in the present Exhibition. Amongst the sculpture arebusts of the late Drs. Murchison and Leared, the former in-tended to be placed in St. Thomas’s Hospital. There is afair suggestion of Murchison’s massive head, but the like-ness, which we suppose is posthumous, is not striking. Mr.Bruce Joy exhibits the statue of Harvey, executed by himfor the Harvey Tercentenary Memorial at Folkestone.Amongst the paintings we would especially note Mrs.Butler’s (née Thompson) " Defence of Rorke’s Drift." This isa very powerful work. It contains portraits of Messrs.Chard and Bromhead, and of Surgeon-Major Reynolds, whois conspicuous amongst the defenders. There is some com-paratively new work of promise, and we would especiallyrefer to "Peace and War," by John R. Reid ; " St. Ann’sAlmshouses, Antwerp," by W. Logsdail. "AFrightfulStateof Things," by Gaetano Chievici, full of humour and admirablypainted, will, we predict, be one of the most popular picturesin the Exhibition. The feathered inhabitants of a farmyardhave penetrated into a cottage where a child has been leftalone, and its consternation at the intrusion of the unex-pected visitors, all of which are portrayed in a marvellouslytruthful and humorous way, is exceedingly funny. TheExhibition contains some good examples of Tadema, Leslie,Marks, Prinsep, Stone, Fildes, Hardy, and other favouritepainters. A good deal of interest attaches to a portrait ofthe late Earl of Beaconsfield, by Millais, which is placed ona screen in the large room. It is a striking painting, whichrepresents, we believe, the work of only three sittings. An

extraordinary idea of the wide range of subject traversed bythis remarkable painter is conveyed by turning from thefigure of the lovely young girl in the picture calledCinderella to this portrait. Mr. Propert sends a mezzotintetching, which is an effective rendering, in what is perhapsthe form of engraving most nearly allied to colour, of asubject which the artist has already treated with great

success in etching, "A Relic of the Past." There are alsosome clever etchings by Dr. Evershed, whose work is alwaystrue and good.

ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSIQUES.

A MEETING of the Fellows of this College was held onThursday, the 28th inst., under the presidency of Sir W.

Jenner, Bart., K.C.B.The following gentlemen were admitted to the Member-

ship of the College :-Bradshaw, James Dixon, M.B. Oxford.Haynes, Frederick Harry, M.D. London.McAlister, Donald, M.B. Cambridge.Meeres, Edward Evan, M.D. London.Moritz, Siegmund, M.D. Wurzburg.Nall, Samuel, M.B. Cambridge.Taylor, Seymour, M.B. Aberdeen.

And the following members nominated by the Councilwere duly elected to the Fellowship :-

James Lewis Siordet, M.B. London.John Wale Hicks, M.D. London.John Baptiste Potter, M.D. Edinburgh.James Watt Black, M.D. Edinburgh.Francis de Havilland Hall, M.D. London.William Ewart, M.B. Cambridge.David Bridge Lees, M.D. Cambridge.Francis Charlewood Turner, M.D. Cambridge.Joseph Ewart, M.D. St. Andrews.

It was decided that the first Bradshaw lecture should bedelivered, in accordance with the terms of the bequest, on the18th of August next, the President being empowered tonominate the lecturer.

MEDICAL NOTES IN PARLIAMENT.

IN the House of Commons on Monday a petition for altera.tion of the Lunacy Laws was presented from Limerick. Apetition was presented from Lambeth in favour of a motionof which Mr. Reid has given notice for the prevention ofvivisection. The general abstract for 1880 of marriages,births, and deaths in Ireland was laid upon the table.Amongst other returns presented were the Charter of theRoyal University of Ireland, and a list of the members ofthe Senate. The Alkali Works Regulation Bill passedthrough Committee pro formâ. Earl Percy gave notice thathe would move to refer the Metropolitan Open Spaces Billto a Select Committee.On Wednesday, a Bill for better securing the purity of beer

was brought in by Colonel Barne, Mr. Storer, and Mr.

Hicks, and fixed for second reading on July 20th. Mr.Hopwood gave notice of a question for May 5th, as to theoperation of the Contagious Diseases Acts at Dover, and theattempted suicide of a girl named Elizabeth Burley, throughfear of the police officer appointed to carry out these Acts.

Non-Vaccination Penalties.

On Thursday, Mr. P. A. Taylor asked the President of theLocal Government Board whether it was true that Mr. JohnAbel, of Farringdon, has been prosecuted thirty-four timesfor refusing to have his children vaccinated ; and whetherhe proposed to bring in any measure to limit the amount ofpunishment inflicted for non-compliance with the Vaccina-tion Acts. Mr. Dodson said he believed the statement wascorrect, but the Local Government Board were not responsiblefor these repeated prosecutions. They had in more than onecircular advised boards of guardians to act with cautionand moderation. As to the last part of the question, look-ing to the scant encouragement which was given last year tohis Bill, limiting the number of prosecutions, he was notprepared to bring in another Bill this year.

Small-pox Hospitals.Mr. Pell asked the President of the Local Government

Board whether the Metropolitan Boards of Guardians andVestries had replied to the letters addressed to them bv theLocal Government Board on February 23rd, 1881 ; and ifhe could inform the House what extent of provision had beenor was being made for hospital treatment and isolation ofpauper and non-pauper cases of small-pox in the metropolis.Mr. Dodson said all the boards had replied. Fourteen

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Boards of Guardians had undertaken to provide some accom-modation for cases belonging to the pauper class, and four-teen district boards and vestries had given similar under-takings with regard to cases belonging to the non-pauperclass. He could not say the extent which that accommoda-tion would reach, but looking to the extent of the epidemiche feared it would be inadequate. The beds in the hospitalsunder the Asylums Board, numbering 968, were at presentfull.Colonel Makins gave notice that to-morrow he would ask

whether the authorities have cut off and annexed a portionof the public road leading from the Fulham-road to theRiver Thames, and are erecting upon it a temporary build-ing for the reception of small-pox patients, and whether it isthe intention to remove pauper patients to that buildingwithin the next twenty-four hours.

Correspondence.

THE OLD UNIVERSITIES AND THEIRMEDICAL DEGREES.

"Audi alteram partem."

To the Editor of THE LANCET.SIR,—Your leading article of this day on the medical

degrees of the old universities and Dr. Morgan’s pamphletrespecting them render it desirable that the case of the olduniversities in relation to their medical degrees should beclearly stated. You rightly say that a doctorate in medicine"ought to mean something more than a common minimumqualification," and that " nobody who has the reputation ofthe profession at heart wishes to see graduation made tooeasy." By this you doubtless mean that a higher standardof education, general, scientific, and professional, should berequired for a degree than for a minimum qualification, andthat if it were not so the degree would be no more worthhaving, no more an object of ambition, than the minimumqualification. In short, it will be admitted, I suppose, thaiTnp.die,,il degrees, like most other things. bear a, value some.what proportionate to the difficulty of obtaining them ; andthere is little doubt that the difficulty of obtaining thedegrees at the old universities, in time past, gave a prestigeto medical degrees generally, and so enhanced the value ofthe degrees which were obtained on easier terms in otherplaces. To maintain the character and high estimation oftheir degrees is therefore a duty which the old universitiesowe to the profession, to their graduates, and to themselves.They have done it hitherto, they do it now ; and you andothers will desire that they should continue to do it by theeducation required, as well as by the social benefits resultingfrom a residence in them, and from the free intermingling inthem of students preparing for the various higher walks ofprofessional, political, and other life.

jBow, bearing in mind tiie iact tnat iugner educationnecessitates longer time, and therefore proportionately moreexpense, and that every father who wishes to give his sonthe advantage of a university education and a universitydegree must be prepared to incur somewhat greater expensethan if he were content with a minimum qualification, thequestions we have to answer are these. Do the old uni-versities offer reasonable facilities for obtaining their degreesby intelligent and industrious men-the men, that is, whoought to have them ? Do they in any way discourage suchmen who seek the medical degrees ? or do they hold out awelcoming and assisting hand to them ?At Cambridge, and. speak of this university only, the

case is as follows : The student must undergo a test of hisgeneral education, which he may do at the " PreviousExamination" " in his first term of residence, or, which isbetter, before he comes into residence through the LocalExaminations." The "Higher Local Examinations," or the"Oxford and Cambridge Schools Board Examinations."The real difficulty lies in this matter of general education ;and considerable experience, as teacher, examiner, andmember of the Medical Council, convinces me that not verymuch progress will be made in improving medical educationtill an improvement in the early school teaching of our boyshas been effected. To make them more apt and intelligent asmedical studentstheymusthavebettermentaltrainingin their

school work. The Cambridge student must reside three yearsin the university ; but, if he has had sufficiently good schooltraining to enable him to satisfy the requirements at one ofthe examinations above-mentioned, he may devote his wholetime in the university to the scientific and practical studyof medicine, may obtain the B.A. degree through theNatural Sciences Tripos, and have completed his botanical,physical, chemical, anatomical, and physiological studies,as well as have made some progress in clinical study at thehospital, before the expiration of these three years. That isto say, he will have advanced himself in his medical courseduring the three years at Cambridge as much as he wouldhave done during the same period at any other place, or nearlyso. I say or nearly so because the examinations in these subjectshere are somewhat more difficult and take a somewhat widerrange, and therefore need somewhat longer time for prepara-tion, than do the corresponding examinations for the ordinaryqualification. The standard of the examinations ought notto be lower than it is, and the time spent in preparation forthem ought not to be less. But the facilities for the studyof these subjects are as great and as good in Cambridge asthev are elsewhere : and a vouth who is readv to come to Cam-bridge, as evinced by the fact that his general education willmeet the requirements I have mentioned, will find that threewell spent years in Cambridge will carry him to the point inhis professional course which I have denoted. Naturally, ifhe has not been able to give the required proofs of generaleducation before he comes, or in his first term, his univer-sity period will be partly occupied in work which ought tohave been done at school, and a longer time will be requiredbefore he can pass the medical examinations. The properproceeding, which I hope ere long will be the general pro-ceeding, is to satisfy the requirements in school educationthrough the " local" or " higher local" or the " Oxford and

, Cambridge Schools Board" Examinations before coming toCambridge, so as to be able at once, on coming here, to com-

’ mence medical study and continue it steadily through the

l whole neriod of residence.With regard to expense, £150 a year is a fair average esti-mate for those who belong to a college, and who have theadvantages, supposed or real, of college life, superintendence,and associations. Some spend more, and some, not a few,spend less. The non-coliegiate students, who can regulatetheir mode of life as they please, spend, in many instances,not more, in some less, than JE80 or £90 a year. At Caven-dish College, which has been instituted for the purpose ofenabling students to come to the university at an earlier agethan they could otherwise do, and at less cost, which isunder excellent management, and which already contains

several medical students, the entire sum, including univer-sity, lecture, and other fees, is £80 a year. Selwyn Collegeis growing up for a similar purpose, and, by a simple mode ofliving, expects to limit the whole charge for tuition, roomrent, board, and attendance, to about ;E80 per annum.

1 do not take into account the great number of scholar-ships, exhibitions, and prizes which are scattered amongthose whose school education is somewhat above the average,and which fail to produce the effect they long ere this oughtto have had upon school teaching. These are open to menwho intend to pursue medical study as well as to others, anda good many are given for natural science, but I am neveranxious to hold them out as a bait, and I never particularlydesire to divert them, to any great extent, into being re-wards for medical study. The purer and less money-seekingwe can keep that study the better, relying upon the genuineinterest of the work, and the stimulus afforded by the hopeof future success in the profession.The University looks with no unfriendly eye upon the

natural science and medical students, supplies the means ofteaching them with liberality, and regards its growingmedical school with interest and satisfaction. There aregood laboratories, museums, dissecting-rooms, lecture-rooms,&c., a good hospital, and a staff of able earnest teachers.The fees required of the students are small in consequenceof the stipends of the teachers being paid, in part, out ofthe university chest; and the teaching and work are not, asin former times, restricted to the terms, but are continued inthe vacations.

It is not to be expected that the medical and surgicaldegrees, with qualification to practise, can be obtained inless than five years of medical study. Of these, as I havesaid, the first three may be spent in Cambridge. Somestudents remain longer; but I think it will be generallyagreed that in the case of this and other non-metropolitan