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cut off from consultations, he can depend on his having theexperience and good management of the best advice thecountry can afford to secure. Prime ministers, lord chan-cellors, bishops and secretaries of state, peers and membersof parliament, all send their children to sea now-a-days.

I have wandered from my intention, however, and meantto say something upon the instances of gross treatment to the iassistant-surgeons noticed in THE LANCET for this year. At ’,page 133, your readers are told that an assistant-surgeon inthe Mediterranean had been " cobbed," i. e. flogged over thebuttocks, lowered down" by the head, so as to suffer fromconcussion of the brain, and pelted with potatoes and meat.Now, Sir, I beg to ask the secretary of the Admiralty if theseatrocities were perpetrated on board the Frolic sloop of warduring her present commission and if so, how such a dis-creditable state of ruffianism and anarchy could be toleratedon board one of her Majesty’s ships? I also ask the secre-tary of the Admiralty who the young men are who dared actin the way your correspondent represents, and what punish-ment has been inflicted upon them for these outrages ? Lastly,I ask, in what way the Admiralty has evinced its dissatis-faction with the captain and commanding officer of a shipwhere such a want of wholesome restraint could be so longpermitted to go unchecked ? tI shall, next week, with your kind indulgence, make a few

remarks upon the gagging in the Vanguard. and the nightsentry work of the assistant-surgeons in the Howe.

I am, Sir, your most obedient servant,ATTIS.

COURTESY OF DR. CHAMBERS.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SiR,-In your excellent memoir of Dr. Chambers you state,(p. 637,) that " no medical man evermet Dr. Chambers in con-sultation without being perfectly satisfied with him." I begto offer my testimony in support of the truth of this statement.About two years ago, I had the advantage of Dr. Chambers’sopinion upon a very hazardous case; the hour of the consulta-tion was fixed, but on proceeding to my patient’s residence, Iwas prevented from continuing my journey by sudden indis-position. When I reached the house, I was almost half anhour behind my time, and found that Dr. Chambers hadkindly waited for me, without any marks of impatience. I, ofcourse, stated the imperious reasons of my delay, and Dr.Chambers evinced his usual courtesy and consideration foryoung practitioners, in the consultation which followed. Isend my name and address, and remain,

Yours, obediently,June 4, 1850.

_________________

1B1. D.

Medical News.

ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS.ňňThe followinggentlemen having undergone the necessary examinations forthe diploma, were admitted members of the college at theRieeting of the Court of Examiners on the 31st ultimo:-

BERRY, JOHN, Leyland, Lancashire.BROMLEY, HENRY WiLLiAM, Rippingdale, Lincolnshire.FLEMING, ALBERT, Calcutta.JOHNSON, CHARLES, Dublin.KIRKPATRICK, GEORGE HENRY, Whitchurch, Salop.RAINEY, WiLLiAM BANES, Spilsby, Lincolnshire.8CATLIFF, ARTHUR, Sloane-square, Chelsea.STOATE, JAMES, Bristol.THOMAS, RYSE SAER, Narbeth, Pembrokeshire.

APOTHECARIES’ HALL.-Names of gentlemen whopassed their examination in the science and practice of medi-eine, and received certificates to practise, on

Thursday, May 30, 1850.ALDRED, HENRY ALLEN, Blackfriars-road. ,

HIGGs, THOMAS CoKE, St. George’s, Bermuda.BuLLOCK, CHARLES JOSEPH, Congleton.

FIRE AT ST. GEORGE’S HOSPITAL.-On Thursday,May 23, a fire broke out at the above hospital, which hasproved but partially destructive, but which might have re-sltlted in the total destruction of this noble building. It wouldappear that, at the southern extremity of a range of roomssituated in the vaulted portion of the house, the so-calledlaundry or drying room is situated. This store room is on a

line with the lecture room and the museum, and generallycontains a considerable quantity of bed and other linen. Inthe centre of it a stove is placed, the smoke of which escapesby an ordinary tube, which communicates with the chimneyflue. Sheets were being dried upon wooden rods runningacross the room, and it it supposed that one of these came incontact, either with the stove or the tube, and one or both ofthese being probably strongly heated, the sheet had ignitedand the fire had soon reached the greater part of the linen inthe room. Attention was first attracted by the smoke andflames issuing through the window; some students at Mr.Lane’s school, situated at the back of the hospital, saw them,and most of these young men repaired to the hospital in greathaste. The precaution was taken to keep the door shut, andthe water was plentifully thrown upon the fire through thebroken windows. Mr. Ta’tersall’l:! men were very active inlending assistance; but though there was no lack of zeal, par-ticularly on the part of the students, water and buckets wereat first extremely scarce. The difficulty was, however, soonovercome by ntling the baths, and obtaining the water fromthe tubs. By the combined and praiseworthy exertions ofMr. Tattersall’s men, and the students, the fire was extin-guished in about half an hour, but the amount of linen con-sumed was somewhat considerable. Just above the laundrythe Oxford ward is situated: the patients here became verymuch alarmed, and it was thought prudent to remove thebeds into the passages on the ground-floor ; this was done withgreat coolness and regularity, whilst every exertion was usedto lessen the alarm felt by many of the patients in other partsof the house. The fire was completely extinguished when theengines arrived, and it would appear from this luckily unim-portant accident, that the precaution of having a set of bucketsand a small engine in each hospital should not be neglected.There are always plenty of hands and water in nosocomialestablishments, but these means of assistance should be ren-dered very effective by having constantly ready the objectswe just pointed out.THE CHOLERA. - By the last accounts from

Havannah, the cliolera was raging so violently that the deathswere sixty per diem. It was also reported that the diseasehad again appeared on the Mississippi.THE PARIs BOARD OF HEALTH have just ordered

the general cleansing of sewers, the continuous length ofwhich is no less than 270 miles.

HEALTH OF LONDON DURING THE WEEK, endingJune 1.ňThe public health, as indicated by unusual lightnessof the bills of mortality, bears at the present time a favourableappearance. The mortality is low, not as compared with thatwhich prevails in places of better sanitary condition, but withwhat has been commonly observed in London at the sameperiod of former years. The deaths registered in the weekending last Saturday, (May 25,) were 736; in the twenty-second week of the ten years 1840-9, they rose from 760, whichwas the lowest number, and occurred in 1842, to 960 in 1847;the average was 860, or if corrected for increase of population,938, the present decrease on which therefore amounts to 202.The deaths from diseases of the respiratory organs, exclusiveof consumption, were only 105, against 138 in the previousweek; the average is 113. Consumption carried off 103persons, the corrected average being 153, and the lowestnumber in any corresponding week having been 118. Thedeaths enumerated in the class of zymotic or epidemic diseaseswere only 130, against 156 of the week previous; the correctedaverage of ten corresponding weeks is 190. Six children diedof small-pox ; 11 children and a private of the GrenadierGuards, aged 23 years, of measles; 17 children of scarlatina,28 of hooping-cough, and 26 persons of typhus, all of theseepidemics showing a decrease, especially the three first men-tioned. Diarrhaea was fatal to 15 persons, 9 of whom werechildren, the average being 10; this is the only epidemicamongst those that frequently prevail to a considerable extent,which does not show a decrease on the returns of corre-

sponding weeks. Two persons died of influenza, and two,both adults, of purpura. At 11, Brown’s-place, Shacklewell,the son of a plasterer, aged 3 years, died of "scarlet fever,aggravated by effluvia from certain cesspools which they wereemptying." An inquest was held on this case, the child havinghad no medical attendance. Mr. Martin, the registrar forSt. James’s, Bermondsey, states that " he never knew his lo-cality so healthy as at present; the mortality has been verylow for several months; no zymotic diseases prevail; thedrainage is improved, the pavements in excellent condition,and cleansing has not been interrupted. But the tidal ditch

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is the great plague-spot of the district, and last week menhave been casting the decayed vegetable matter and surfacemud on the banks, from which arises effluvium the most dis-gusting, and especially dangerous under the temperaturewhich prevails at the present time. The process cannot becompleted for some weeks; persons residing on the banks arealready suffering, and it is intended to cart the noxious slimeto a dust-heap nearer the City." A cowkeeper, aged 47 years,died of " delirium tremens (10 days), convulsions from arach-nitis (6 days)." It is stated that this person was habituallyintemperate, and frequently drank a quart of spirits in a day.A woman about 50 years of age also died of apoplexy, when in-toxicated. On the 28th of May, in Princes-street, St. Anne,Westminster, the daughter of a watch-case maker, aged 13years, died of 11 cliorea!’ The death of a woman of 63 years,who suffered from disease of the thorax, and defective circu-lation, is stated to have been accelerated by an execution forrent. It is further reported that a man of 36 years, who haddisease of the heart, was fishing in the New River, and cap-tured " a jack;" and that the excitement attending his success,caused a fit of apoplexy, from which he never recovered. Theclassification of deaths in public institutions shows that thedeaths of 85 persons were registered in the workhouses, 46 inhospitals, 11 in lunatic asylums, and 8 in the Royal Hospital,Greenwich. The mean daily reading of the barometer at theRoyal Observatory, Greenwich, was above 30 in. on Wednes-day, Friday, and Saturday, on which last day it was 30’179 in.;the mean of the week was 29’895. The mean temperature inthe week was 580 2’, rather higher than in the same week onan average of seven years. Ou Thursday it was lower thanthe average, and on the two following days it was respectively50 and 2° above it.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

THE Balloting-Papers published this week in the body ofTHE LANCET are not numbered, and are intended for re-moval from the journal.

WE are literally overwhelmed by the number of communications on hand.

IThe mountain of unpublished papers still increases, and the labourers Iwho are so generously and industriously adding to the enormous pileoccupy the very first positions in the scientific ranks of our exalted pro-fession. Deeply do we regret that we are compelled, week after week, towithhold from our readers a great number of papers, the perusal of which Iwould afford them much gratification; but notwithstanding the frequentaddition of sixteen columns to the ordinary size of our journal, to thatdisagreeable necessity are we often exposed. It is exceedingly per-plexing to be obliged to postpone communications which exhibit all theindications of great mental power and zealous scientific research. If

we could only succeed in convincing our esteemed contributors that Iit is not the longest communications that are always the best, and that Ithose papers which contain the greatest number of useful facts clothedin the smallest number of words are the most highly appreciated by theprofession, much of the anxiety to which we are now exposed would beabated.

CORRESPONDENTS who may kindly forward newspapers and other printeddocuments for reference are earnestly requested to attach some slightmark to the passages to which they wish to direct our attention.

ADVERTISEMENTS intended for publication in THE LANCET in any statedweek, if sent by post, must arrive at the Office, 423, Strand, on or beforethe Thursday morning of that week. Although THE LANCET is dated

Saturday, the peiiod of its publication actually commences at ten o’clockevery Friday morning.

.F..R.C..S..E.ŃThe Council of the Institute are in favour of a new incorpo-ration. Mr. Clifton; of Islington, is the president. The Associated ISurgeons, represented by Mr. Bottomtey ; the Provincial Medical andSurgical Association, represented by Dr. Hastings ; the Reform Associa- Ition of Shropshire and North Wales, represented by Mr. Cattwright, of i

Oswestry; that of Manchester, by Mr. Southam ; and that of Essex, by ’,Mr. Philbrick, (the secretaries of the deputation that waited on Sir G.

’’

Grey on May 2, 1850,) declared in favour of amending the Charter of theCollege of Surgeons, so as to admit surgeons in general practice to seatsin the council.

Mr. H.-Yes, he can; for we regret to state that there is no law to preventsuch a worthless fellow from placing the lives of lying-in women indanger.

Z. Z.-A warm climate in such a case is the best.J. H.-The letter, with enclosure, has been received.A Tatler.-Yes, and Dr. B., in speaking of the celebrity of the late Mr.Weiss, the surgical instrument maker, in the Strand, who was a German,and the proper pronunciation of whose name was Vice, stated that he wasvery much surprised at his success, as there existed in London a Societyconstituted expressly for the " suppression of Vice."

A Surgeon -Such a name is not to be found in the list of qualified medicalpractitioners in this country. We have a rod in concentrated pickle forthe asinine gentleman, which we believe will touch him, at no distantday, with some severity. He has earned his castigation, and he will notgo unrewarded. He will bring the punishment upon himself by a repeti,tion of his misconduct.

’

Philo-Veritas.-The statement is perfectly correct in all its details.IN consequence of the issue of the balloting-papers, it would be useless topublish in this number the abstract of the petition to Sir George Greyfrom the medical practitioners of Dorking, forwarded to us by Mr. Chal-decott. That gentleman and his friends will doubtless make the returnof their votes as early as possible.

ON APOTHECARIES TAKING THE TITLE OF SURGEONS.To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,-" Mere licentiates" of the Hall often twit the M.R.C.S. with illegallypractising as a general practitioner ! Are these mere licentiates" justifiedin styling themselves "surgeons"? The Hall curriculum requires noattendance upon surgical lectures or practice, nor does the examinationbear upon surgical subjects. Let the " mere apothecary" be satisfied withhis title, and not foist himself upon the public wi’h 11 brazes front" as aqualified 11 surgeon." I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

E. GYLLES CROOEE, M.D.E.,Leyland, June 5, 1850. M.R.C.S.Ed., & L.A.C.

Humanitas.—It is not an easy task to select appropriate mottos for pub-lic institutions. Dr. B., on being asked what would be a good inscriptionfor the front of the Lock Hospital, answered, "We have done those thingswhich we ought not to have done, and there is no health in us."

Chirurgus.—The attack will be continued until such a pernicious system isutterly annihilated.

IF the address of C. 0. be forwarded to us, a private note shall be sent.Questor.-On one condition only, and that one need notbe desc1ibed. All

the other proposals would be sternly rej ected.ON QUACKERY.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.SIR,-A man of Dr. Dick’s abilities pays homoeopathy (it is not worth a

capital) far too high a compliment in the offer lie makes in the last numberof THE LANCET. The offer would readily be undertaken by any one, eventhough possessed of but an infinitesimal proportion of Dr. Dick’s commonsense. Dr. Dick is a man of some credit to the profession, and I should besorry to hear that he had been exposed to the knavery of any one. Let meimpress upon him the necessity of having the preparation of the doses hemay take superintended by himself, or the two allopathic practitioners whoare to watch the effect. That the homoeopathists are such only in name, isnow unquestioned, and it behoves all who, to convince those who are notworth convincing, offer to swallow a large quantity of the so-called homœo-pathic medicines, to make themselves sure that these medicines are such asthey are pretended to be. I am, Sir, yours obediently,Manchester, June4, 1850. ANTi-HUMBUG.

T. P. W. will find the information he requires in the Students’ Number ofTHE LANCET for 1849.

Inquirer.—The office is not yet occupied. We hear that a gentleman whowas educated at the Institution will receive the appointment.

An Under Graduate, (Cambridge.)-The Royal Commission will doubtlessinquire into the system of medical education pursued at Cambridge.

C.-The next examination for the degree of M.D., at Aberdeen, takesplace the first week in August.

Quiz.-It was the late Sydney Smith who said that ‘° it was all Lococko-

lo?-un2jig in the Palace when a prince was born."L. (of Bath) writes to us relative to the " audacity" of A. E. Matcham, inpresuming to make any offensive remarks concerning so respectable apractitioner as Mr. George, and thinks it one of the wonders of the agethat a " tiger" should be suddenly transformed into a " doctor," and that"Mr. Bootn" should become a guardian of the public health. L. thinksthat such miraculous transformations should attract the attention of the

profession, as they indicate to that body how disgraceful is the presentcondition of medical law, and how imperatively necessary it is that thequestion of medical legislation should be pressed on the attention of thelegislature with energy and unabating perseverance and resolution.

Crichton.-The time is not distant. All the parties interested are notagreed upon the course that should be adopted.

lIIr.:A. 7)f. Champz2eys is in equity decidedly entitled to his fee. At law he

certainly cannot recover it, as he was not summoned in conformity withthe provisions of the Act of Parliament.

Mr. Merton.—The Apothecaries’ Society is disinclined to relinquish thepowers which the Court of Examiners can exercise under the provisions ofthe 55th Geo. III.

ERRATUM.—IN the letter of Dr. W. Philpott Brookes, addressed to Sir-George Grey, and published in the last number of THE LANCET, p. 676,1st column, 26th line from the bottom, instead of "endeavour to pre-serve a satisfactory reform, of the existing Colleges," read " endeavour toprocure a satisfactory reform, &c."

COMMUNICATIONS, LETTERS, &c., have been received from-A Student;Dr. J. C. Thomas, (Battim&re, Maryland;) Mr. Chaldecott, (Dorking;)Mr. Dalrymple, (Norwich;) An Inquirer; Mr. J. H. Lilley, (Wisbeach;)Mr. J Hubbard ; Mr. W. Evans, (Mold, Flintshire D. N., (Birming-ham ;) Dr. Savage; Chirnrgus; Mr. George Gibson, (Birtley, Gateshead;)Mr. Wright, (Dublin ;) Dr. Protheroe Smith; C. 0.; Anti-Humbug; Dr.Marris Wilson; Cambrensis; 1,. A. C.; Questor; Dr. Murphy; Mr. Ste-venson, (Sidmouth;) Mr. Featherstonhaugh, (Newcastle-upon-Tyne;) A.Tatler; An Under - Graduate, (Cambridge;) Dr. Jones; An AberdeenM.D.; Dr. W. J. Merriman; Dr. Baddeley, (Chelmsford;) Quiz; Mr.Champneys ; L., (Bath;) ;) Mr. Merton ; Crichton ; Humanitas ; Philo-

B’eritas; Mr. H., (Maidstone;) D. N.; Aristophanes; Dr. E. Williams.