Whatever may have been the origin of the bishop’s license, his jurisdiction does not appear to have been sanctioned by the law. “If there be a suit in the Spiritual Court against a woman for exercising the trade of a midwife without license of the Ordinary, against the Canons, a prohibition lieth: for this is not any spiritual function, of which they have cognisance. _Buskin_ and _Cripes_, Tr. 9, Ch. BR and a prohibition was granted accordingly.” (2 _Roll Abr._ 286. 2 _Burn, Ecc. Law, Tit. Midwife_.) In the reign of Charles the first, a Doctor of Physic attempted a project to procure the sole and absolute power, either to license or approve of all the midwives practising in and about _London_, before their admittance; they presented a petition to the President and College of Physicians, (for which see Goodall’s Pro. 463,) in which it appears that a petition on the same subject having been presented to the King, his Majesty referred the same to the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop of London, in whose jurisdictions and by whose authority, it is stated, that they had always been licensed; the object of the petition to the College, was to obtain their certificate of the competent skill of the petitioners, for which purpose they alleged that other practisers in midwifery had been examined upon the like occasion, by command from King James; the physicians by their answer, (_for which see Appendix_) discouraged the scheme of the would-be licencer, and the matter thereupon appears to have been dropped. We have before noticed, that there is some probability that both the College of Physicians and the College of Surgeons will decline all future interference with this branch; if so, it will be necessary that some new authority should be instituted for the purpose of examining and licensing candidates for practice; the duty to be performed is by far too dangerous and delicate to be left to the hands of any who would assume it; yet such is at present the case, and not without fatal examples of the errors and imperfections of our lego-medical system. We do not of course include in this censure, the private Institutions for the instruction of midwives, in which the want of a public provision is endeavoured to be compensated; but the operation of such societies must be of necessity very limited and utterly inadequate, not only to the demands of the empire, but to the magnitude of the metropolis. OF THE PRESERVATION OF PUBLIC HEALTH.