Page:Introductory Address on the General Medical Council, its Powers and its Work.djvu/10

 professional or a non-professional paper that touches upon medical matters without finding evidence of these misconceptions. Sins of commission—more often sins of omission—are freely laid to the Council's account, of which, from its very nature and constitution, it cannot be otherwise than guiltless. It is scolded for doing what the law says it shall do. It is bitterly reproached for leaving undone what the law gives it neither power nor means to do. It is spoken of at one time as the parliament of the profession; yet it has no authority to legislate for anybody, and it cannot make even a by-law for any but its own proceedings. At another time it is scornfully described as a "doctors' trade union"; yet it cannot legally levy an annual subscription, or say a word on the matter of rates of pay, or hours of work, or disputes with employers; it offers no pecuniary benefits or strike-pay, and it can be sued in the courts like any other corporation. I venture to think that such a "union" would hardly be thought to deserve the name by the energetic organizers of Lancashire and Cheshire trades.

The Council is, in fact, neither a parliament for making professional laws nor a union for protecting professional interests. It may surprise some of you to learn that when the Council was created, nearly fifty years ago, the declared purpose of the Legislature was not to promote the welfare of professional men or professional corporations it was not to "put down quackery," or even to advance medical science. The object in view was simply the interest of the public. The preamble of the Act of 1858 consists of two lines only:—

"Whereas it is expedient that persons requiring medical aid should be enabled to distinguish qualified from unqualified practitioners: Be it therefore enacted &hellip;"

The preamble, as you see, recognizes two kinds of practitioners, the "qualified" and the "unqualified." Up to that time no easily-understood line was drawn between the two, and when the public desired to make a choice, they were frequently at a loss. The Act set up machinery