This, it is maintained, is precisely what the Association's new
scheme proposes shall be done; and, indeed, the whole attitude of the Association to the friendly societies has undoubtedly undergone a considerable change since the pledge was signed. This fact, among others, was forcibly pointed out in the state- ment issued by the six dissentient members of the Council of the Association, whose resignation was announced in Tuesday's papers. These prominent doctors declare their view to be that the Government's terms are satisfactory, and that the Associa- tion's new scheme, depending as it does upon the co-operation of the friendly societies, is in contradiction of one of the original " cardinal points." But, it may be argued in reply, the pledge, as originally signed, did not merely commit the doctors to the policy of the British Medical Association. It expressly stated that they would not accept terms unless they were satisfactory to the medical profession, and the signatories further bound themselves not to enter into an agreement for service under the Act " except through a local medical committee." Moreover, as is shown in two able letters from doctors in Friday's Manchester Guardian, the Association's objection to the statutory control of medical benefits by friendly societies remains unchanged.
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