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that not a pupil in this class could haveacted so unkindly, so ungenerously, and sodastardly, as to have written to me upon thesubject. I know the party who has done it,but I shall not defile my lips by hinting at

his name. His degradation is complete.He has attempted to injure the fame of thisschool, and as I alone was found, like Achil-les’ heel, to be vulnerable, he has attemptedto wound it through me. I now take myrevenge of the party ; I have no feel.ing for them but that of pity, for your ap-plauses have inspired me with other feelingsthan I experienced when I first came intothis theatre. I felt acutely then. Now Ifeel nothing but joy and triumph at the fail-ure of their endeavours. Let them go hometo their employer, and tell him the result,and the reception which a large and respect-able class has given me, and how a man ofhonour and integrity like myself has turnedthe accusations brought against him. Thereis one man,—(Turn him out," from thelecturers, one of whose party endeavouredto rush across the table to get at the pupilreferred to, but was stopped by Dr. W il- jliams).

The student rose to reply.Mr. KEY. " You sha’n’t attack me."THE STUDENT. " When a promise is

made"—Mr. BRANSBY CoopER, (with great vehe-

mence) °° The officer of the hospital shallturn you out, Sir."

Cries of "Turn him out," from the lee-tarers and their friends, and" Shame, shame ;infamous, Mr. Cooper, shame," arose on allsides, and the uproar became deafening.Not a person, however, ventured to touch thepupil, whose conduct throughout the wholeof the evening was most gentlemanly, quiet,and unobtrusive. Ile again made an effortto reply to the question of Mr. Key, " ofwhat was he accused?"Mr. KEY. " While I occupy the chair of

this school, not a word shall be uttered im-pugning my conduct."Mr. UnANSBY CUOPER once more inter-

fered. " Have I a right, Sir, to request,that this pupil may be turned out of

thetheatre ? " (Uproar, and cries of shame.) BEvery possible instigation having now

been made to obtain the ejection of the stu-dent, without eflect, llr. Bransby Cooperhimself, without the shadow of cause or im-puise, but that of unbounded passion, seized ldthe student by the throat and collar, and,with the fury of a bull-dog, dragged himfrom his seat. The pupil made an effort to

punish with his fist the impudent assault,but in an instant several fellows, whohad waited the signal, seized his arms, andassisted in the attempt to t-ject him. Theeffort, however, was abortive. The fellow.

pupils of the itudent assembled around him,

and defeated the intention. The scene now

drew near its close. Mr. Bransby Cooperdesisted the moment that he saw the prof. fered opposition, and turning to excuse him.self, said, in the same breath with Mr. Key," Let him stay ; don’t turn him out."Mr. KEY. " Let him remain, and feel

his conduct !!!"Mr. COOPER. "Will you be quiet and

hold your tongue, if we let you remain?"One more trial only was made. JamesBrowell, the steward of the hospital, cameforward to the table, and proclaimed to the

student, " If the lecture be not allowed toproceed without any further interruption, Ishall feel it my duty to call in some personto turn you out of the theatre."

But the student, whose conduct appearedto have been instigated alone by a sense of jus-tice to himself and his fellows, and whose be.haviour throughout was without a blemish,was wedged into a seat again ; the lecturers

retired ; the coteries of Mr. Bransby Cooper

sat and made grimaces at the gentlemanwhom they had failed to remove ; the dis-contents jabbered; and Mr. Key commencedhis lecture, from which, in about ten minutes,the whole of the audience were staring andgaping in all directions about the theatre,It is sufficient for us to say in conclusion,that IBfr Key did not promise another sur.

gical prize to the class ; and Mr. BransbyCooper came to his senses sufficiently to

apologise to the students (amidst hisses andcries of

" trimming ") for the outrage bywhich lie had attempted to ’° uphold thecharacter of the school."

BRITISH COLLEGE OF SURGEONS

" FIRST GENERAL MEETING."

THE promoters of this institution, ofwhom Mr. Sleigh, surgeon of the WesternHospital, is the principal, have taken cham.bers in Leicester Place, Leicester Square,attached to which is a commodious theatrefor public assemblies. In this place, thefirst general meeting of the friends of theestablishment was held on blonday eveninglast, at which Mr. Geore Wilkins, of YorkPlace, City Road, a member of the LondonCollege of Surgeons, presided. A series ofresolutions, eighteen in number, embodyingthe principles upon which the new collegeis proposed to be founded, was read, andafterwards submitted to the consideration ofa " provisional committee," which was ulti-mately formed in the room, with the under-stauding, that after undergoing revision,this, or some similar declaration of the ob-jects of the members, should be publishedto the profession. As they stand at pre-

95

sent, it would be useless for us to printthem ; if not altered in spirit, they maybe otherwise materially changed before finaladoption. Their general tenor, however,was as follows : that a new college of sur-geons has become necessary, to be called" The British College of Surgeons in Lon-don ;" the suffrage to be universal, andproxies allowed ; the members to be formedinto three classes,—those who enrol theirnames before the ensuing year, subscribingone guinea annually, with a donation on en-tering or not,-those " who have been pub-liclv and duly examined by the council for adiploma," paying some stipulated fee,-andhonorary members ; (whether any or all ofthe first class of members were requiredalready to be members of the existing col-lege, or in any other way connected withthe profession, the resolutions did not state;)the election of officers to be annual; thecouncil to consist of twelve members, withproper power, and to act as examiners thefirst year; unrestricted knowledge alone toqualify for the diploma ; neitlier hospitals norschools to be connected with the College ;examinations to be public ; power of expul-sion to lie with the members; a college" fund" to be established ; the committeenow elected to last until January next, when ’,the first council is to be elected ; the com-mittee to prepare against the next meeting,a petition to the king and parliament, for an ;act of incorporation, &c.Mr. Wilkins took the chair, on the mo-

tion of Mr. John Thomas and Dr. Epps, theduties of which he prefaced, by stating thathe had been a member of the Royal Collegeof Surgeons, London, for thirty-seven years,without having derived any advantage there-from, " in mind, body, or estate." The pur-poses of the meeting were then developed byMr. Sleigh, and arranged under three heads.First, Is reform in the present Collegeneeded? Secondlv, Is the establishment of anetv college the best mode of proceeding?Thirdly, If it be, is the plan of the proposed i" British College," the best that can be

adopted ? The remarks of IBlr. Sleigh were Idirected with great earnestness against theregulations of the College of Surgeons, and ;the system of self-election.The most remarkable, however, of his

statements, was to the following effect ;-,after denying that his course had been in-8tigated by the refusal of the College to re- icoguise the practice of the Western Hospi-tat, he said it was impossible he could havebeen itifluenced by it, for the College hadmade an overture to him on the subject,with which he could have closed if he hadchosen. " I was told," said the speaker,"

a week after the prospectus of the BritishCollege of Surgeons was issued, that if I would keep quiet’ for two or three weeks,

the Western Hospital should be recognised,This communication was made to me from

one of the most influential members of theCouncil, through the medium of a third

person."The chairman called upon Mr. Sleigh to

name the communicant. After some de-

liberation, Mr. Sleigh stated that it was Dr.Scudamore.Mr. Sleigh closed his remarks by de-

claring that he would accept of no officewhatever in the institution, during one yearat least from its formation, and read lettersfrom Colchester, Gosport, Oxford, Bristol,Cardiff, &c., the writers of which had seen

the prospectus of the proposed college inTHE LANCET.

Dr. Epps followed, and suggested the

propriety of deliberating on the resolutions.Mr. Thomson, in a fluent and ingenious

speech, opposed the proceedings as beingbased on too narrow principles, and ex-

pressed his anxiety to extend reform to the

whole of medicine and surgery. Severalother medical gentlemen also addressed the

meeting.Au irregular discussion ensued on the ap-pointment of a committee. It was proposedon one side that it should consist of every’ person present, which, had the motion beencarried, would have included some partiesseated in the pit of the theatre who gaveostensible evidence that the respectabilityof the committee would not thus have beenvery scrupulously consulted. It was ulti-

mately decided, that every person presentwho chose to do so, should enrol his nameas a member, and be at liberty to act onthe committee. Several gentlemen availedthemselves of the proposal, and the meeting,the proceedings of which were throughoutattended to with very great interest, sepa-rated. Nearly a hundred persons were pre-sen t

LONDON MEDICAL SOCIETY.

Mr. CALLAWAY, President.

Monday, September 28th, 1899.

(First Meeting of the Session.)

! THE President opened the Session by afew brief remarks on the objects of thesociety, and dwelt forcibly on the advan-

tage which would result from the practice ofcommitting the cases brought before thesociety to paper. Much time, which is nowfrittered away in collecting those particularswhich are omitted in the opening remarks,would probably be saved by the generaladoption of this plan, and more satisfactoryresults obtained, than sometimes ensue.