CHINA MEDICO-CHIRURGICAL SOCIETY
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Duggan and Francis Dill had died (the Dr. Dill mentioned in the last paragraph as present at the meeting on 5th January 1847 was R. Dill), Dr. Hobson was in England, and J. H. Young and Dr. Gilbert had resigned. At least nine members were not resident in Hong Kong, in addition to the two honorary members, the Earl of Auckland and Rutherford Alcock. Several of the remainder were naval or military men who had quite likely been posted elsewhere. In such circumstances it would indeed have been difficult to keep the society going.
The meetings recorded in the Transactions were held on the following dates:
1845. May 13. Preliminary meeting.
May 16. Committee meeting.
June 3. President's introductory address.
July 1. Business meeting, followed by Dr. Little's paper.
July 8. Special meeting on Dr. Hobson's proposal to establish a medical school.
July 15. Committee meeting.
Aug. 6. Dr. Dill's paper.
Sept. 9.
Oct. 7.
Nov. 4. Special meeting on a proposed building fund. Dr. Barton's paper on diseases of the liver. Various matters, including Alcock's letter, and clinical discussion.
Dec. 2. Letter from the Earl of Auckland, case studies and clinical discussion.
1846. Jan. 6. Dr. McGowan's letter on a Philosophical Society, and discussion of the analysis of the mineral waters from Foochow.
Feb. 6. Case studies by Dr. Dill,
Mar. 6. Dr. Barton's paper on Varolous.
April 7. Clinical discussion.
In the Friend of China, later meetings were announced for May 5, August 4 and Nov. 3, 1846. Thus the frequency dropped from the initial monthly (plus Committee and special meetings) to quarterly, so the statement in the "Journal of Proceedings" regarding the setting up of the "Philosophical Society of China" because of the difficulties of obtaining frequent meetings of the earlier society was justified. The successor society, on the other hand, was able to hold monthly meetings during its first year.