on, who formally placed before them the
plans for "engrafting upon the College the well-known and respectable
Medical Institution" as already indicated in the report above. The
scheme was acceptable to the Governors and the Montreal Medical
Institution became part of McGill University. The Governors' Minutes of
the meeting contains the following entry:

"The public business having been closed, the Governors of the
Corporation held an interview with the members of the Montreal Medical
Institution, who had been requested to attend the meeting for that
purpose. During this interview it was resolved by the Governors of the
Corporation that the members of the Montreal Medical Institution (Dr.
Caldwell, Dr. Stephenson, Dr. Robertson, Dr. Holmes) be engrafted upon
the College as its Medical Faculty, it being understood and agreed upon
by and between the said contracting parties that until the powers of the
Charter would be altered, one of their number only should be a
university professor and the others lecturers; that they should
immediately enter upon the duties of their offices. All of which
arrangements were agreed to."

[Illustration: _Andrew Fernando Holmes, M.D., LL.D._ 1798-1850]

The Montreal Medical Institution owed its origin to the Medical Staff of
the Montreal General Hospital, which was opened to patients in May,
1822. At that time there were no opportunities in Canada for the
obtaining of medical education. Realising the existing and urgent need
for such training, certain members of the Hospital Staff gave courses of
lectures to students during the winter of 1822-1823. Later, a memorial
was forwarded to the Lieutenant-Governor setting forth the necessity for
the foundation of a permanent school of medical education, and outlining
plans for the establishment and incorporation of the proposed Medical
Institution. The reply to this memorial stated that an endeavour would
be made to give assistance to a Medical School, and as a result the
Montreal Medical Institution was organised. It was opened in October,
1824. Efforts were then made to secure its incorporation, and in 1826 a
Charter was drawn up and forwarded through the Lieutenant-Governor to
the Solicitor-General for opinion or approval. A delay of several months
followed, and it was not until 1828 that a reply was received. The reply
was not favourable to the Institution. The Charter was refused for the
reasons that the School was not connected with any Semi