Mr. Humepresented a Petition from certain Medical Professors in Edinburgh, complaining of the appointments made by the Government in that University. They set forth that they had many hundred pupils, and yet they were excluded from the chairs of the University. He knew that several of the persons who signed this petition were most respectable people, and would not come before the House unless there was good ground for complaint.
Mr. Lambsaid, that if this petition were received without observation, there would never be any appointment of some out of a number of candidates, that would not give rise to petitions of a similar nature from the disappointed candidates. He meant to speak without any disrespect towards these petitioners, but he believed they were of that class of persons whom he had mentioned. Without assuming great merit for having done so, he could assure the House, that the only object of the Govern- 671 ment in the selection of the candidates, had been to select those who were best fitted for the task they undertook. He had, since receiving notice of this petition, met, by accident, the Lord Provost himself, and had spoken on the subject of this petition to that gentleman, who had given him authority to say, that the late appointments were such as to give full satisfaction on account of the merits of the professors appointed.
The Lord Advocateknew that the petitioners were most respectable persons, but he would take on himself to say, positively, that in the appointments about which he, on account of his connexion with Edinburgh, had been consulted, there had been an unmixed desire on the part of the Government to give the appointment to the person best qualified.
§ Petition to be printed.