Then I think that R.’s proposal to send a private message through your President to the Duke of Richmond still more objectionable. “Openly we agree, but we come to inform you privately that you will please us by striking out the provision.” This is really what you propose to do! This, coupled with the petition from Liverpool and the opposition and jealousy of other Medical Schools, may suffice to so mutilate our Charter that it won’t be worth having.
Do see what can be done to dissuade your people from sending any such message to the Duke.
The private message above referred to was not sent. At the same time Dr. Heaton’s views, backed up as they were by the action of the College of Surgeons and British Medical Association, and a great number of the leading hospital surgeons and teachers in London and elsewhere, prevailed, and the application for power to grant degrees in medicine and surgery was, for the time at least, withdrawn, in the expectation that legislative action on the general question of medical education and qualification was contemplated. As no such action was taken, a supplementary charter removing the restriction was granted on April 20, 1883.
The next letter, under date February 14, 1880, shows a further stage in the progress of the application. By a then recent Act it had to be laid before both Houses of Parliament for thirty days before any report on the subject could be submitted to the Sovereign.
…
By the way, you know, of course, that the Charter (unaltered) is now lying on the table of both Houses, and if we can only keep everybody quiet it will be law in less than thirty days!
When are you coming over?
The Charter was granted by the Queen in Council on April 6th, and was finally ratified on April 20, 1880.
The next letter (March 30, 1880) shows that this event was to be celebrated, as a matter of course, in the customary British method.