Page:The Medical School of the Melbourne University - an address delivered on the twenty fifth anniversary of the opening of the Medical School, in the Wilson Hall, March 23, 1887 (IA b22293346).pdf/13

13 that is to say, it is only eleven years old; and it is regarded by the Council, therefore, as a rather presumptuous department of the University. It is true that the fourth section of the statute, setting forth the functions of the Faculty, defines its duty to be "the considering, reporting to, and advising the Council upon all questions relating to the studies, lectures, and examinations for degrees in Medicine, and for selecting persons to be reccommended [sic] by the Faculty to the Council as qualified for appointment," and so on. Now the Faculty, in their official innocence, have regarded the instructions contained in this statute, as the guide of their conduct, and have, from time to time, "advised" the Council on matters connected with the School. But the Council have sometimes not taken the advice kindly. They have apparently regarded the advice as irreverent, and, to mark their sense of the liberty taken, they have, now and then, adopted a course, as it would seem, opposite to that pointed out to them, and I am not quite sure if the Faculty have fully recognised the salutariness of these inferential rebukes. Indeed, judging from the manner in which the rebukes have been received at the meetings of the Faculty, I am disposed to think that contrition under reproof is not a leading attribute in the corporate mind of the Faculty. Nevertheless, I discover no falling off in the Council's practice of asking for advice, and there are one or two very sanguine members of the Faculty who seriously believe that, some day, the Council will act upon it. With the utmost deference, not to say awe, when speaking to so potential a body as the Council of the University of Melbourne, I would venture to suggest that it would be more convenient, and certainly easier, to remit most medical questions to the Faculty, instead of appointing medical committees in the Council, which committees, for various reasons, may not deal with the matters so exhaustively as the Faculty would.

As may readily be supposed, the course of study pursued in the School, although originally framed with great care, has been, from time to time, modified as circumstances have made necessary. During last year, the curriculum underwent a complete revision, after experiencing close criticism. When, at last, it became the law of the University, it was acknowledged to be a complete scheme, for it included every branch of study, general and special, required to confer a thorough knowledge of Medicine. By some it