MEDICAL GRADUATES (UNIVERSITY OF LONDON) BILL. (Hansard, 25 July 1854)

§ LORD MONTEAGLE,
in moving the second reading of this Bill, explained that its object was to extend to the Graduates and Bachelors and Doctors of Medicine of the 691 University of London the same right to practise in virtue of their degrees as is enjoyed by the graduates in medicine of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. This was no more than was the intention at the time the Charter was originally conferred on the London University. The second clause of the Bill was rendered necessary by the circumstance that two Acts had been passed during the last Session of Parliament—the Vaccination Act and the Lunacy Act—under which, on account of an oversight on the part of its authors in omitting the London University from its provisions, certain penalties had been incurred by medical practitioners who had graduated there, and from which they would be indemnified by this Bill.

THE DUKE OF ARGYLL
said, there was some difficulty in the way of dealing with the Bill in its present form; but he should be sorry to oppose its principle, for he thought the University of London ought to be placed on an equality in the matter of granting medical degrees with the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, as was originally proposed. In the first place the Bill touched upon a subject of much controversy in the medical profession, namely, whether the licence for general practice should be given by the old licensing bodies, or whether the University degrees should carry with them the right to practise medicine. His own inclination was, he admitted, in favour of the principle that, under certain restrictions, the great Universities of the kingdom should have the power of granting licences to practise to medical graduates concurrently with giving them their degrees. So far he agreed with the Bill; but if the Bill passed now, it would settle the question of controversy only in a partial manner. A medical degree conferred by the London University doubtless implied a high amount of proficiency; but he contended that it would be unjust to extend the monopoly enjoyed by Oxford and Cambridge to the graduates at the London and Durham Universities, to the exclusion of the Universities in the North. He apprehended that, if those who were now so anxious to break up the existing monopoly were once admitted to a participation in that monopoly, they would not hereafter be so eager to put an end to it in favour of their Scotch and Irish brethren; and he thought it would be extremely unfair to give the privilege to the one and refuse it to the other. In his opinion the 692 Bill ought to be limited to the second clause, exempting graduates of the Universities of London and Durham from the pains and penalties they had incurred under the Lunacy and Vaccination Acts of last Session, and that in that form their Lordships might agree to the measure.

LORD CAMPBELL
said, he had contemplated moving in Committee the insertion of a clause to extend the provisions of the Bill to graduates of the Scotch and Irish Universities; he was willing, however, to accept the compromise of the noble Duke (the Duke of Argyll). The Scotch Universities did not wish to have any superiority over those of London and Durham, but, at the same time, they did not wish to be degraded below them. The effect of the present Bill would be to place the latter in a higher position, which was not fair to the Scotch Universities.

LORD BROUGHAM
considered that there was no ground for not extending to the Scotch Universities the same rights and privileges which were proposed to be conferred upon the London University. He was surprised to find Durham University inserted at all in the Bill, which, though most excellently adapted for teaching all the other branches of knowledge, was totally unfitted for the teaching of medicine. The hospital practice at Durham must necessarily be very inadequate, and where there was not hospital practice, there could not be effective medical instruction. If Durham was inserted in the Bill, the Scotch Universities had ten times the claim to that distinction.

§ LORD MONTEAGLE
briefly replied, and urged upon their Lordships the adoption of the Bill.