234 VEGETARrANIM. -BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THOS. ROBEI:TSCT, ESQ., SURGEON R.N.

turtle and venison, well moistened with iced punch and

champagne, would enjoy much better health were he

to become a vegetarian for the nonce. Another class, whosehabits are usually sedentary, might be also included withinthis category-viz. legal gentlemen, of whom a writer in

the last number of the Law Review, when speaking of thegastronomic propensities of his own profession, acknow-

ledges; at page 364, " that few men eat more than lawyers,and among lawyers, judges usually eat more than barristers,and chancellors certainly more than judges." These, andvarious other gormandizing adepts living in this luxurious

over-grown metropolis, might judiciously become vicariouspupils during a day or two, to the graminivorous system; butfor the great mass of the British population, an opposite courseis highly desirable. In the agricultural districts of Englandthe labourers have by far too little animal food at meals; andmany seldom see beef or mutton. Again, in Scotland, everylover of his native country would wish the lower ranks wereable to add meat to the unvaried oatmeal porridge and brose,which often constitute their only sustenance. And lastly, in

potato-eating Ireland, already much more vegetarianism pre-vails than is salutary; not from choice, but absolute necessity.In truth, instead of recommending the labouring portion ofthe imperial community to eschew animal food, the constant

object of legislators, societies, and philanthropists, ought to berather to improve the quality, lower the price, and augmentthe quantity of the above necessary article of diet; by whichjudicious measures, whatever protectionists may say to the I!contrary, every class of persons might always have abundance efor their daily consumption.Amongst the innumerable conclusive reasons which could

be adduced against the adoption of vegetarian heresies, oneappears insuperable--namely, were mankind solely to usevegetable food, many persons must starve from sheer want,since field or garden ’produce could not then suffice for thehuman race, independent of birds or land and water creatures,that would, under these circumstances, become numerous aswell as powerful competitors in the general scramble for seedsand roots, or perhaps for blades of grass and the like produc-tions. The proposition is therefore so utterly inconsistentwith common sense, that further discussion is superfluous,seeing the entire framework of society must be shaken to itscentre wherever such practices prevail to any extent, whilstchaos would inevitably ensue. The idea is visionary, andnever could be realized; hence it merits, if not contempt, atleast oblivion. Nevertheless, should any affiliated leguminousscions again hold meetings, to disseminate anew their peculiartenets, or if neophytes may wish to enter the " sanctum,"—inorder to’prevent parties engaged in these ceremonies fromlaughing outright in each other’s faces, especially when theadvantages of living exclusively on fruits and vegetables areadvocated in eloquent harangues, we would seriously adviseevery adherent to carry in his pocket a juicy onion, cutthrough the middle, but wrapped in a handkerchief, so that,by putting this necessary appendage of dress slyly to the nose,all risible tendencies might be instantly arrested, and tearsmade to flow abundantly; whereby the uninitiated must sup-pose that members were lamenting over the inveterate

prejudices of those unbelievers who still consume fisb, flesh,fowl, or good red herring. To such sensible folk, we now say,in conclusion, remain stanch Carnivori.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OFTHOMAS ROBERTSON, ESQ., SURGEON R.N.[FROM A CORRESPONDENT.]

MB. ROBERTSON was born at Innerwick, in the East Lothiansof Scotland, in September, 1774, his father being a largefarmer in that farlied agricultural district He died at No. 12,Cross-street, Islington, from cholera of two days and a halfduration, on the 8th of August, 1851, aged seventy-sevenyears, being the senior surgeon but one on the Retired List ofthe Navy.He entered the service, as assistant-surgeon, on the 4th of £

December, 1793, after an apprenticeship of four years to Mr.Cunningham, his cousin, a naval surgeon practising at Tranent,near Edinburgh, during all which time he attended the classesof the University of Edinburgh, and then passed his examina-tion at Surgeons’ Hall, London. He also held a Bursary-asmall sum which is given in Scotland to certain students, andbeing something similar to the scholarship of the English col-leges.

In less than twelve months from entering the navy, he re-ceived the appointment of surgeon, owing to the excessivemortality that prevailed among the troops and the fleet atthe capture of Port au Prince, and the occupation of theisland of St. Domingo, and which forced the abandonment ofthat enterprise. On the West India station he served threeyears, in the following ships: Succesa, Europa,Flying Fish, andIphigenia.The following is a brief summary of his after-services in

the navy :-When attached to the Dccdaius, on the west coast of Africa

he was present at an unsuccessful attack on Goree, where theBritish were beaten off with loss: two killed and twenty woundedin Mr. Robertson’s ship. He served in the Intrepid in Chinaand the East Indies; in the Leopard, in the Red Sea. Hewas flag-surgeon to Admiral Blanket at Mocha, where heestablished the hospital on shore, capable of accommodating150 sick from the squadron. He had here some cases of

plague, from which the French, previous to their evacuation,had been great sufferers. He was present in the Sirius, be-longing to the Channel squadron, in Sir R. Calder’s action, atthe battle of Trafalgar, in a gallant fight with a Frenchflotilla off the Tiber, and capture of Bergere. He receivedthe following certificate from the captain :-These are to certify to the Right Honourable the Lords

Commissioners of the Admiralty, that Mr. Thomas Robertsonserved as Surgeon of H.M. ship Sirius, under my command,from the 7th of December, 1803, to the 19th of May, 1808,above four years and five months.

" The Sirius, during the above period, was employed in theblockades of Brest, Toulon, and Cadiz, &c. &c.; participatedin the battles of Cape Finisterre and Trafalgar; many minorengagements; and particularly in a severe action with aFrench squadron off the Tiber.

’

’ " Mr. Robertson’s regular good conduct, professional skill,and assiduous attention to the many sick, wounded, and hurt,during so long’ a period of constant sea-service, I had ampleopportunities of observing.

" I feel it due to Mr. Robertson, and have much satisfactionin granting this certificate, in the hope it may prove a recom-mendation to him for promotion.

" W. PROwsE, Captain."He was in the Norge at the siege of Cadiz, and off Corunna

during the battle, which he witnessed from his ship. Someof the wounded from the army were afterwards embarked,and received under his care.On his return home, he was appointed to the Batavier hos·

pital ship, at Woolwich, there being no hospital on shore forseamen and marines. He served four years and seven monthsin this ship, and was again appointed to it when it was madeby the Admiralty receiving-ship for foreign distressed seamen.He here caught the fever that prevailed, and nearly lost hislife.He was ordered by the Admiralty to join without a

moment’s delay, and instructed to proceed on board theHelder, off the Tower, without even waiting for his warrantfrom the Transport Board.On arriving at the Helder receiving-ship, he found a

collection of foreign seamen, collected from the streets ofLondon, and sent on board by the Civil power, without theslightest precaution, and who were in a state of the greatestdestitution, disease, and filth, and among whom a malignantfever was then extensively raging, from their having beenover-crowded in their neglected condition.

235

Number of Borezgn Seamen sent on Board of the Helder betweenDec. 15, 1816, and May 1,1817.

Removed to Batavier hospital-ship during that time-Sick, 282, most of them labouring under fever. Mortality,ten per cent. The surgeon, assistant-surgeon, and three offi-cers of the ship, were attacked by the fever.A subscription was now raised by a committee of the mer-

chants of London for the relief of our own distressed seamen,when, through Mr. Robertson’s recommendation and repre-sentations, an application was made to the Admiralty for theuse of an hospital ship. He also at that time addressed thecommittee by letter, and pointed out the deplorable consequencesthat had resulted among the foreign distressed seamen, and themode of preventing it in future. The Dromedary was selectedfor the purpose of a receiving-ship, and removed up toGreenwich, being the first seamen’s hospital-ship in the riverThames supported by voluntary contributions, and which atlast led to the establishment of the Dreadnought. The dif-ferent results that followed when a medical superintendentwas appointed, and proper precaution taken in receiving thedistressed objects, were very striking. Between Jan. 24,1817,and March 30, 1818, though upwards of 5000 seamen weretaken on board the receiving-ship, the number admitted intohospital was only 372; whereas among foreign distressed

seamen, where no precautions were taken in the first instance,and no medical superintendent, in little more than four months,out of 603, 282 were admitted into hospital, and the mortalitywas ten per cent.These fifteen months’ services to our own distressed

seamen were not allowed to count for naval retirementby the Admiralty. At the conclusion of these services, hereceived the thanks of the committee, and was rewarded witha pecuniary gratuity, an unusual thing, by Lord ViscountSidmouth, the then Secretary of State for the Home Depart-ment. During these services and after, for short periods, hewas surgeon to the Nassau prison-ship at Chatham, and theordinary at Sheerness.

The following letter from Commissioner Cunninghamhas reference to his services towards the foreign distressedseamen:-

Woolwich Dockyard, 26th July, 1817.My LORD,—Having received the enclosed letter from Mr.

Robertson, late surgeon of the Helder and Batavier, settingforth the circumstances attending his services amongst theforeign seamen on board those ships, I take the liberty offorwarding the same for your lordship’s perusal; and, in justiceto Mr. Robertson, I must bear testimony to his perseveringattention to this duty; the many distressing cases of diseasewere perhaps never before witnessed in one ship, and un-equalled for malignity and extent; to his indefatigable zealand professional skill, with the means your lordship waspleased to put into my power for the accommodation of thesick, may be attributed the suppression of a disease which, atthe time I first visited the Helder, threatened the most seriousconsequences to the country. The attack of the fever whichMr. Robertson experienced in the execution of this dutyappeared to me at one time to threaten his dissolution, theeffects of which, as he states, must still be felt by him. Thewhole of Mr. Robertson’s conduct during the time he hasacted under my notice, entitles him to my warmest com-mendation, and I beg to recommend him to your lordship’snotice.

I have, &c.,C. CUNNINGHAM,

Lord Viscount Melville, &c. Commissioner, Woolwich Dockyard.

Between 1818 and 1829 he served in the Bulwark-, 74 guns;Gloucester, 74, and Prince Regent, 120 guns, as flag surgeon toAdmirals Sir Benjamin Hallowell and Sir Robert Moorsom,the Commanders in Chief at Chatham; and also in the Un-daunted, Sir Augustus Clifford, and Gloucester, Captain Stuart.In 1829, after more than thirty-one years’ almost continuous

service in ships, he retired on the pay of fifteen shillings perdiem. By so doing he lost the advantages in rank and emolu-ments which were soon after bestowed, by the creation ofinspectors and deputy-inspectors of hospitals and fleets, and,latterly, the Order of the Bath, which has been so justlybestowed upon naval medical officers, and which has fallen tothe good fortune of officers with much less war service.After his retirement he acted as a director and auditor of the

Naval Medical Supplemental Fund, in which he took a warminterest, and endeavoured to bring about a better system of £management, by the publication of some letters in the UnitedService Gazette, &c., in which his views were ably supportedby the editor of that journal, and which were calculated tolead to a more careful system for the future.He was married to Elizabeth, the daughter of the Rev.

John Harvie, minister of the parish " Innerwick," in which hewas born; and has left three sons and two daughters: one,Lieutenant Robertson, R.N., of the Steam Department, Wool-wich Dockyard, of twenty-three years’ constant service in thenavy-seven years a mate, and eleven years a lieutenant; a.

second son a clerk in the Seamen’s Registration Office, CustomHouse, London, under the Board of Privy Council for Trade;third son a settler and farmer, in Upper Canada; and twodaughters unmarried.

REMUNERATION OF POOR-LAW SURGEONS.To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—I beg you will permit me to draw your attention tothe accompanying copy of a letter addressed to the Board ofGuardians of the Halifax Union. A copy was also forwardedto the Poor-law Board, and I append their reply.

I am. Sir. your obedient servant,FREDERICK SMITH GARLICK.

[COPY.]To the Board of Guardians of the Halifax Union.

GENTLEMEN,—In the year 1850 I had occasion, in justice tomyself, to make application to the board for some extra remu,neration for very long attendance, and large supplies of medi-cines, in the case of Betty Wilson. The attendance compriseda period of two years and nine months, until the death of thepatient, which took place on the 22nd of February, 1850. Thiscase was laid formally before the board, and no extra remune-ration was granted. So that it fell to my lot to treat a pauperof the Halifax Union, through a long and severe surgical case,for the average sum of two shillings and threepence ! Itshould be remarked that this case was not laid before theboard until after the death of the pauper, and not onlv was allextra remuneration absolutely refused, but it was intimated tome that I should not have continued to attend a patient for solong a period without bringing the case specially, and withoutdelay, before the guardians. In this case, therefore, it appearedI erred, but I erred in total ignorance of any such regulation.In order that the same intimation may not be necessary againfrom any omission on my part, I beg to lay the following casesbefore the Board, and, though I must necessarily be ratherlengthy, yet I crave the indulgence of the Board.

1. Sarah Spencer, Lister-lane.—On the 7th of March, 1851,this woman happened to meet with a severe accident by beingcrushed against the wall of her own house by the backing of acart laden with coals. On arrival at the house, and on exami-nation of the patient, I found two serious injuries; the firstwas, fracture of the jaw-bone; the second,fracture of the breast-bone. This woman was confined to bed eight weeks, anddemanded very great care and attention. She required alsoconstant supplies of medicine. She ultimately recovered, con-trary to the expectation of every one who knew her, and isnow moving about as usual. For the treatment of this case,gentlemen, I think I ought not to be permitted to receive theusual average of 2s. 6d., 3s., or even 4s. I leave the Board todecide.

2. John Blackburn, Tr afalgar.-This is a case of contractionof the right arm occurring in a boy. Some years ago he wasseverely burnt, and, in the healing of the wound, the arm be-came so much contracted as to be useless for any ordinaryemployment. This boy could not be employed in any manuallabour, and therefore it was likely he would be a constantburden on the rates if some operative procedure were notadopted.

I determined to pursue this course, and on the 29th April,1851, I proceeded to operate, with the intention of making his.arm once more a useful member, and so that he might b&enabled to obtain his living by his own exertions. I continuedto treat this case for seven weeks, up to the 18th June, and Ihave little hesitation in saying that he will no longer be aburden from physical disability.For the treatment of this case also, gentlemen, I think I

ought not to be permitted to receive the usual average of2s. 6d., 3s., or even 4s. I leave the Board to decide.