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Your medical referee for this town is sufficiently competentto afford you unassisted information, without seeking the un-requited and extraneous services of the medical attendant ofthe person seeking to insure. Has it not occurred to yourdirectors how nefarious an expectation it is of them to requesta medical attendant to frustrate the hopes, and grattutouslyruin the prospects, of his patient, and mayhap his friend, bygiving secret replies adverse to his interest.Whenever I am called upon to render such information, it is

my invariable custom to read my replies to the applicant beforeremitting them to the insurance office, considering it my dutyto both, to be open, candid, honourable, and above-board.When the fee is promised to be paid by you, and not to beexacted from the applicant, I will serve you faithfully in thetransaction between us.

I have the pleasure to subscribe myselfYour obedient servant,

W. W. MORGAN.

N.B.-Were I to ask you for information respecting thevalue of a life, however brief or simple it might be, you wouldcharge me one guinea. I have been obliged to pay that fee toan actuary.—W. W. M.

W. W. MORGAN.

QUEEN’S COLLEGE, BIRMINGHAM, AND THE NAVALMEDICAL SERVICE.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.SIR,—Excuse my expressing an opinion that your strictures

on the conduct of the Council of Queen’s College, Birmingham,contained in THE LANCET of last week, are unmerited by thatbody. The Council of the Queen’s College applied to the respectiveproper authorities for assistant-surgeoncies in the army, navy,and East India Company’s service, to be placed within reachof deserving students of their College. In doing so they merelyfollowed the example set them by the London College ofSurgeons, who made a similar application some years ago,when the naval medical service was even worse than it is atpresent.

I really cannot see how this application can be a " gratuitoushumiliation," or inconsistent with the dignity of the CollegeCouncil, since, when the naval assistant-surgeons obtain theirrights, the power of recommendation possessed by the Councilwill be a real boon to their students, and until then, theiralmnn’i may please themselves about applying for the post. At

present, I believe, the Council are not likely to be troubledwith any applications from qualified candidates.

I would add, that it would be impossible to act upon yoursuggestion of holding out the nomination as a prize for " lazi-ness, ignorance, and worthlessness," inasmuch as not a singlestudent of the Queen’s College possess those qualifications.

I am, Sir, your very obedient servant,June, 1854. A QUEEN’S COLLEGE STUDENT.

** We have no doubt that the opinion we expressed as tothe proceeding of the authorities of Queen’s College is sharedby the whole body of the profession. We may remark thatthe College of Surgeons have not always set an example worthyof imitation, and certainly not in this instance. It would havebeen quite time enough to apply for this nomination when theassistant-surgeons in the navy have their rights given to them.To apply now, is to aid and abet the official opponents of thisimportant branch of the service in their unjust course. In thecase of a debate in the House of Commons, the Lords of theAdmiralty will not fail to cite this application of the Birming-ham College as a proof of the high estimation in which theservice is held. We are rejoiced to learn from " A Queen’:,:College Student" that the College does not at present contain astudent possessing the necessary qualifications of " laziness,ignorance, and worthlessness," for the degrading service. Aman must be bad indeed to deserve such a fate.-ED. L.

INFLUENCE OF MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS ONTHE FŒTUS.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—A paper that lately appeared in THE LANCET, on thesubject of maternal emotions on the fcetus in utero, induces meto send you the following account:— was in attendance on awoman in labour. As soon as the child was born she became very

anxious and inquisitive about the shape of its legs. Un myasking her why she was so, she replied, "Because when I wasearly in the family way, I trod on a large frog, and smashedhis legs off, and I have been afraid the child would nut be allright." The boy was born with a well-shaped stump, as if

amputation had been performed about the trochanter, exceptthat there was on the face of it a moving fleshy appendage, aslarge as one’s thumb, the rudiment of an abortive thigh andleg, the opposite foot was turned outwards, and the child andman (for he grew up, and was married) always wore a bootwith iron and straps, to enable him to get about with a crutch.Now for the sequel. This woman, with her baby, came intomy kitchen one day ; my wife, then in an early stage of preg-nancy, happened to go in also, and, knowing all the circum-stances about this woman and child, put her hands up to hereyes, turned away under strong emotion of fear, and let thematter dwell much on her thoughts during the remainder ofher pregnancy, never telling me of her impressions, fearing andknowing that I should only laugh at her. When the childwas born, she hoped its eyes were all right, of which I assuredher, as there was then no visible defect ; but the child, wholived five years, never gave any evidence of seeing. The

eyes assumed the rolling movements which one sees in con-

genital cataracts (which did not exist), and had more of thevacant amaurotic expression. Educated when nervous com-munication between the mother was not taught, I was for

many years of my professional life a sceptic about it ; but nowthat the nerves of the uterus have been demonstrated andhaving seen many other analogous cases to those recordedabove, I have lost much of my scepticism, though I do notpretend to explain the modus operandi..

I remain, yours, &c.May, 1854. SENEX.

THE GENERAL PRACTITIONER AND THE PUREPHYSICIAN.

M. D., EDIN.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.SIR,—I am very glad to find that there is a chance of a new

Medical Reform Bill coming forward, the scheme of which Ihave read. and I think it is the best that has appeared. Thereis one thing I should like to see added, that is, that nouniversity shall be recognised, unless a residence is requiredprevious to granting a degree, and that the degree of M.D.shall not be granted to any general practitioner unless hemeans to practise as a physician only, as I think a differenceought to be made between a pure physician and a general prac-titioner. An attorney cannot practise, or a barrister withoutfirst giving up altogether, for some time, the practice of anattorney, and that is the reason the legal profession has beenkept so respectable.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,Bristol, June 13, 1854. M. D., EDIN.

COURT OF QUEEN’S BENCH,WESTMINSTER HALL,

TUESDAY, JUNE 20TH, 1854.

WAKLEY v. TYLER AND OTHERS.

Before the Lord Chief Justice, and a Special Jury.

THOMAS CHAMBERS, Esq., M.P., opened the pleadings.The ATTORNEY GENERAL:—May it please your lordship and

gentlemen of the jury, I have the honour to appear before youon behalf of a very old and tried servant of the public, Mr.Wakley, one of the coroners for Middlesex. He complains inthis action of a very cruel, unprovoked, and malignant libelpublished against him in a publication, of which the defendantsare the registered proprietors and publishers, called the MedicalTimes. Gentlemen, before I read the article in question, itwill be necessary to make a few observations, in order that youmay understand its bearing. Mr. Wakley, whom we have allknown for a great many years, more than thirty years agohad the misfortune to be involved in a transaction which atthat time occasioned him some trouble and annoyance. It maybe in the knowledge of some of you-y ou may have heard ofit, that Mr. AVakley had the misfortune to have his houseburned down. It happened under somewhat remarkable, andI may say, almost romantic circumstances ; and the insurancecompany in which he had insured his house were sufficiehtly

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ill-advised to resist his claim, imputing to him that he hadbeen the means of causing his own house to be destroyed. Mr.

Wakley came forward at once, and brought his action; and,after a thorough investigation of the circumstances, he receiveda verdict at the hands of the jury for the amount which heclaimed. No attempt was made on the part of the office todisturb that verdict; they paid the damages, and there was anend of it. Mr. Wakley embarked in public life, and hasfigured before us for a very long time as a reformer of everydescription of abuse, and, above all, of abuses which he believedto exist in the medical profession. He was the editor of a

periodical, very much distinguished, called THE LANCET, de-voted to medical subjects; and he never hesitated to expresshis opinion upon matters which he thought to be of public mo-ment. He had taken a part in the political events of the day, aswe all know ; he had represented one of the largest and principalpolitical constituencies of the empire, and he never scrupledto expose every abuse which required correction. I think I

may say this of Mr. Wakley, whom I have known for someyears in public life, that in the course of the whole of the pro-fessional and political contests in which he has been involved,he is a man who has cautiously and carefully abstained fromanything like attacks on private character ; and I believe thata better-dispositioned or more amiable man than Mr. Wakleydoes not exist anywhere. If he has taken a part in public life,he has never done it at the expense of private character orpublic fame. Mr. Wakley has not met with a like return. Hehas, on more than one occasion, had thrown into his teeth theoccurrence relating to the fire at his house, which took placemore than thirty years ago. On every such occasion he hascome forward to meet that accusation like a man. In amedical publication, some years ago, he was assailed inrespect to that occurrence; and he brought an action, andrecovered ample damages to vindicate his character. He wasafterwards assailed in the House of Commons; he brought itforward immediately, and he received a full and ample apology;and I recollect the late Sir Robert Peel, in his place in Parlia-ment, declared that Mr. Wakley had removed every possibleimputation against him. I very much regret to state, after allthis has taken place, and after so many cruel attacks on thisgentleman, that the defendants, who are connected with thepublication, which is a rival publication to that of the plain-tiff’s, should, because there has been some casual, some littlediscussion amongst them upon medical subjects-I presume,because they got the worst of it in the argument, perhaps-should have had recourse to such an attack as I am about tocall your attention to. You know there is nothing like dis-agreement of opinions upon this sort of professional subjects toirritate the passions of men; and whether it is theological ormedical polemics which are the subject of the discussion, theman who gets the worst in the discussion is too apt, or at leastmany men are, to turn round and see if they cannot rightthemselves and gain an advantage, it may be by some allusionto something foreign to the subject, but which may be a sortof knock-down argument in the matter, and silence him bysome personal imputation. It seems there had been some me-dical discussion between those two parties, in which the twowriters took opposite sides, and it seems, not these defendants,I believe, but the gentleman who has the writing of this paper,imagined that some allusion that had been made by somebodywho had written in Mr. Wakley’s paper affected him. I willnot discuss how it arose; the gentleman who writes in this

paper is, I understand, a gentleman of the name of Wells ; andupon the other side, the gentleman who wrote in Mr. Wakley’spaper made, as some people would call it, a bad pun, by alludingto him as "muddy Wells ;" it was a very bad joke, and hadmuch better have been left alone; but it was certainly nothingwhich could justify such an article as this to which I am about tocall your attention. In the next number of the Medical Timesthere comes out this article, under the head of "Notices toCorrespondents ;" this is in answer, I suppose, to some onewho had written a letter signed "Oh, oh," for it begins, initalics, "Oh, oh," who is the correspondent to whom the an-swer is given :-" If such low vulgarity could be noticed, itwould be easy to retaliate by allusions to the fiery Wakley."If it had stopped there, if the one joke was a bad one, this wasa bitter one, and worse than its predecessor; but now comesthe part to which I am about to call your attention.

" Da-mocles," an allusion that you will understand-a man with adrawn sword over his head. " The case was tried in a civil,not in a criminal, court. The jury awarded the sum claimed,but the company obtained fresh evidence after the trial. Thepresent Lord Truro was counsel for the company, and on thestrength of the new evidence, called upon the gainer of the

cause witn tne money in one nand and a natter in tne .

other. The risk of exhibiting at N ewgate was too great,and the money was not accepted, and has never been paid."Everybody will understand the meaning of those accusations-everybody will understand the fatal blow which they wouldinflict upon Mr. Wakley’s character, and the pain and anguishwhich they must have occasioned to his feelings, after hebelieved that he had fally, by more than one proceeding in acourt of justice, before juries of his country, established hisperfect innocence with respect to the imputations that hadbeen once cast upon him; after he had received a completeand triumphant vindication of that character before the Houseof Commons, of whicii he was a member; now, after a numberof years, upon the occasion of a foolish joke, which ought notto have amounted to a provocation, that such an article asthat should be published, must have fixed upon him a notonly personal pain, but, unless at once met by an action in acourt of justice, might inflict a most grievous and fatal injuryupon his personal reputation. Gentlemen, there is not oneword of truth in it. It is not true that the company obtainedfresh evidence after the trial; they never sought to disturbthe verdict, and there never was even an application made tothe court for a new trial. It is not true that the presentLord Truro was ever counsel for the company at all; it isnot true that, upon the strength of the new evidence, theycalled upon the gainer of the cause, offering him, on theone hand, to take the money at the risk of a prosecutionror, upon the other, proposing to abstain from the prosecu-tion if he would forego his verdict-there is not a single wordof truth in it. It is not true that the money was notaccepted in due course; it was paid immediately after theverdict, and the whole of the statement, from beginning to end,is utterly without foundation. Now, I am bound to say I donot believe that the parties whom we have been constrained tomake defendants-namely, the parties who are responsible _

legally for the insertion of that article in the newspaper-in-serted that article with any knowledge of it. I believe it wasthe ill-disposed and ill-conditioned man who took umbrage atthe trifling joke to which I have referred, to launch forth, aftera week of consideration and deliberation, this bitter and ma-lignant article against Mr. Wakley. ’I cannot believe, I amready to say so, I do not believe, those gentlemen knew of it;and I do sincerely hope that Mr. Tyler and Mr. Churchill, whoare the responsible parties for this newspaper, deeply regretthe course that has been pursued by the person who wrote thisarticle, but it has left Mr. Wakley no alternative but again tocome before a jury of his countrymen, prepared to vindicate hischaracter from these aspersions, which, if necessary, he can do.And, gentlemen, the defendants have not put any justificationupon the record-they do not allege the truth of the mattersthey have stated; on the contrary, they now, after having hadfull opportunity of inquiry into these allegations, find that theyare totally unfounded and entirely groundless. Gentlemen, ifit be necessary to proceed with the cause to a conclusion, I amsatisfied you will feel it is one calling for abundant damages,but I am bound to say that Mr. Wakley does not come here inorder to put one shilling into his pocket-it is entirely foreignto his disposition, and entirely foreign to his desire on the pre-sent occasion-and that I have communicated to my learnedfriend before, but I thought it necessary to state these facts,that Mr. Wakley may receive that vindication of his characterwhich the exigency of the case requires, and which would notbe satisfied without this proceeding. I have communicatedwith my learned friend, and I am prepared, if he will at onceopenly and in an unqualified manner retract every word of thecharge, and say that the parties whom he represents regret theunfounded charge, to say that Mr. Wakley does not ask thosedamages which, if he did ask, I am satisfied you would havefelt the justice of the case requires-you would give him suchan amount of damages as would teach those persons who comeforward with aspersions of this kind, that they cannot do sowith impunity.Mr. MONTAGUE CHAMBERS.—I am excessively desirous, at

the earliest possible moment, of stating who the defendantsare, and their deep anxiety to do what they consider an act ofbare justice. Gentlemen, the defendants are the printer andthe publisher of the Medical Times ; you can well understand,

therefore, that they have little or nothing to do with theperusal of articles which are inserted in that publication. Theyhave done more, perhaps, than my learned friend has stated toyou they actually did, as soon as it came to their knowledgethat this article had been inserted. I pass over any provoca-tion that might have been given, because willing am I to saythat, with reference to any such statement as this, no provoca-

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tion could justify it. Gentlemen, I should state precisely whattnv learned friend has stated, that, with reference to thesepublications, there had been in THE LANCET certain observa-tions which led to the composition of this article that has beenreferred to, of " Oh ! oh !" making use of the expression " fieryWakley," in answer to some observation that he made withregard to some gentleman of the name of Wells connected withthe Medical Times. Gentlemen, as soon as this appeared,the defendants were anxious to take off the effect of any evil

impression which might have been created by it, and theyadopted the most prudent course. Sometimes in proposing tomake an apology for a slanderous imputation, slander is re-

peated, and the injury becomes much more severe, and there-fore in the succeeding number, that which they did was this,-they did not mention Mr. Wakley’s name, but they stateddistinctly, under the head "Damocles,"—"We are sorry tofind that in the reply to our correspondent ’Damocles,’ in ourlast number, we have stated circumstances which turn out tobe incorrect ; the damages awarded by the jury in the case re-ferred to were paid and accepted in the ordinary course, andno such interview between the plaintiff’s and the defendant’scounsel as is mentioned in our notice, took place, nor was anysuch threat used as is there stated." Gentlemen, I think thatyou will concur with me in the observation I have made withreference to that correction, and with reference to that atone-ment-it was prudent, and discreet, and considerate, and

placed before the public with proper feeling, for Mr. Wakley’sname was not mentioned. But, gentlemen, the defendants arenow prepared, through me, to make this further atonement,and to state to you, as they have stated from the first, thatthere is not the slightest foundation for the serious imputationsconveyed by that paragraph-they express their deep regret.They are respectable tradesmen, and they think that theyshow their respectability much more effectually by an earlyatonement, and making a public atonement for the error intowhich they may have fallen in their situation. They do so inthe most ample and the most unequivocal manner; if an

apology is made, it always should be made in that spirit, andthey consent to such a verdict with the greatest possible satis-faction, because their respectability is involved in such amatter as well as that of Mr. Wakley-they consent to such avat-diet as shall carry costs, it being thoroughly understood thatthey have ever been deeply anxious, upon the discovery thatthe matter was put in the publication-of course, with nofoundation for it-to make the atonement which now, throughme, the defendants publicly make.The ATTORNEY-GENERAL.—I am quite satisfied with the

statement made by my learned friend, but I cannot helpmaking this observation on that which my learned friend has in-troduced with reference to the subject of the alleged correction- it was not made until after the action had been brought; and,upon th other hand, I am bound to say that Mr. Wakleylost not an instant of time in directing his solicitor to com-mence proceedings. I cannot help saying that if this correc-

tion had contained what my friend has so candidly and hand-somely expressed—regret and sorrow at having published suchan attack as that which they have done-if that had takenplace in the article, perhaps nothing more would have beenheard of it. This is merely the correction of a mistake, with-out any expression of sorrow.Lord CAMPBELL.—What is the amount of damages ?Mr. M. CHAMBERS.—Forty shillings, and if any certificate

is required your lordship will grant it.Lord CAMPBELL.—The verdict must be entered.Mr. M. CHAMBERS.—My lord, forty shillings will carry

costs.Lord CAMPBELL.—I think we are bound to consider this a

satisfactory arrangement. You will find your verdict for thesum of forty shillings.The ATTORNEY-GENERAL.—Your lordship will give a certifi-

cate for a special jury.Lord CAMPBELL.—Yes, certainly.

HOSPITAL FOR CONSUMPTION, BROMPTON. —HOSPITAL FOR CONSUMPTION, BROMPTON.— Her Ma-jesty’s Commissioners for the Exhibition of 1851 have grantedthe use of Gore House, Kensington, and its beautiful grounds,for a grand bazaar, under Royal patronage, for the benefit ofthe Consumptive Hospital, Brompton, the governors of whichinstitution are making active endeavours to ensure the successof the undertaking, which promises to be on a magnificentscale of splendour. Numerous donations in the shape of fancy-work, minerals, &c., have already been received, and the

bazaar, it is expected, will take place at the beginning of nextweek, continuing three days.

THE WAR.

MEDICAL INTELLIGENCE.

THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH TROOPS AT GALLIPOLI.—Thefollowing is an extract from a private letter sent by an English-officer who is at present quartered at Gallipoli, and bears dateMay 15th:—

" Do not believe a word of what the - says in the Houseabout things at Gallipoli. Xothing can be worse than thewhole arrangements here; in fact, we have nothing but whatwe can get for ourselves, and the invalids and sick have not a.

bed or a mat to lie down upon, and what is worse, there islittle or no medicine to give them. An officer was sick, andthe doctors told him that they could do nothing more for him,not having the proper medicines. Everything else is in thesame way. With the French everything is perfect, and theircomforts are even provided for. All their departments arearranged with the most perfect order."YARMOUTH LUNATIC ASYLUM has been converted into an

hospital for sailors wounded in the Baltic.SCUTARI.—The military hospital at Scutari has been con-

verted into a chief hospital for severe cases, or those who arelikely to require a lengthened course of medical treatment.Obstinate or difficult complaints will be sent down to it fromVarna, and there will be, in addition, large field hospitals toreceive special cases from the immediate scene of militaryoperations. It is also stated that English, French, and Turkswill all be hospitalled at Scutari together, and attended bynurses of their respective countries. The interchange of ex-pressive barrack-room phrases, which the two former know sowell how to use, will astonish the sons of Islam, when theycome to understand their meaning, and the guard-rooms ofthe respective armies will be enriched by a strong and newmilitary vocabulary altogether unimagined at home.

APPOINTMENTS.—The following staff assistant-surgeons havebeen changed, as under:—Mr. Popplewell proceeds to Athlone;Mr. Rutter and Mr. Walker to Limerick; Mr. Skipton toBelfast; Mr. Macartney to Stockport; Mr. Eamir to Water-ford ; Mr. Ancell to Winchester; and Mr. Loughman to

Woolwich, the latter gentleman to embark with the troops forTurkey.-E. L. Hifferman to be assistant-surgeon, vice Peille,who retires.To the Hospital Staff : H. J. Rogers, J. Tarrant, A. Croker,

A. Hooper, and G. Grey, M.D., to be assistant-surgeons tothe forces. Staff Assistant-surgeon J. S. Heron has been per-mitted to resign his commission.The number of medical officers attached to the expeditionary

army from the general medical departments, independent ofregimental officers, are :-First-class staff-surgeons, 3 ; second-class staff-surgeons, 10; staff-assistant-surgeons, 10; assistant-surgeons, 29; apothecaries, 1; clerks, 5; dispensers of medi-cine, 3; surgical cutlers, 2; total, 75.

HEALTH OF LONDON DURING THE WEEK ENDINGSATURDAY, JUNE 17.—In the week that ended last Saturday,HEALTH OF LONDON DURING THE WEEK ENDING

SATURDAY, JuNE 17.—In the week that ended last Saturday,the number of deaths registered in London was 1085. In theten corresponding weeks of the years 1844-53, the averagenumber was 892, which, if raised in proportion to increase ofpopulation becomes 981. The facts indicate a rather highmortality; they show that about a hundred persons died lastweek above what is usual at this the healthiest period of theyear. The present Return, however, shows a small decreaseon that of the preceding week, when the number was 1110.Zymotic diseases in the aggregate also exhibit a decrease, thecases in which these were fatal having been in the previousweek 306, in the last 278. The deaths from scarlatina declinedfrom 68 to 47 ; those from hooping-cough fell from 63 to 51.Small-pox was fatal in the two weeks in 11 and 6 cases,measles in 31 and 39, typhus in 64 and 61; diarrhcea was fatalto the same extent in both weeks ; the number referred to itis 31. Five persons were carried off by influenza ; 3, of whom2 were children, by purpura.

Last week the births of 824 boys, and 828 girls, in all 1652children, were registered in London. In nine correspondingweeks of the years 1845-53 the average number was 1311.At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean reading of

the barometer in the week was 29 ’558 in. The reading was29’81 in. at the beginning of the week, and it was 29’64 in. bv9 h. P.M. on the 15th. The mean temperature of the weekwas 55.1°, which is 3’9° below the average of the same week in38 years.