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aorta felt rather rough, and the mitral valves were unequalat their edges, with some slight rugosity: on dividing theirbase, the tissue was hard, and made a grating noise under thescalpel.Abdomen.-The omentum wasloaded with fat; stomach not

distended by gases; liver preternaturally enlarged, and ex-tending upwards in a line between the third and fourth ribs;it was of a pale brownish colour, and in some parts almostapproaching to a dirty white; this was particularly observablein the Spigelian lobe, where the fatty degenerescence wasvery evident; there appeared to be no other change of struc-ture. It weighed eight pounds. The other organs of theabdomen were healthy.** We shall make a few remarks on this subject next

week.-ED. L.

DEATH FROM SUPPOSED UNWHOLESOME FOOD,

ON Monday last, an inquest was held by Mr. WAKLEY, atthe Swan, George-street, Foley-place, St. Marylebone, on thebody of CHARLOTTE STUCK.MARIA STUCK, daughter of the deceased person, deposed

that her mother was the widow of a coachman; that she wassixty-seven years of age; and that she had died on the pre-vious Friday; that she was subject to relaxation of the

bowels; that yesterday week she began to complain of herbowels; and that Mr. Webb, surgeon, was sent for to attendher in the evening. Witness did not at that time suspectthat anything had made her ill, but now believes that it wasowing to her partaking of some stewed giblets. The landladyof the house, Mrs. Wright, had been so kind as to give hersome stewed giblets, and the deceased and six other personshad partaken of them-five at the lodgings-and a portionhad been sent in a basin out of the house to a nephew, in anadjoining street. A small quantity that was left had beengiven to the cat, which animal also became extremely ill.The deceased was the only person who had died; but aservant of Mrs. Wright, the nephew, and the child, had notyet quite recovered. When the stew was brought upstairs,witness thought that it smelt rather high; it was then cold,and formed a jelly. In that state it was eaten by deceasedand the others, with the exception of Mrs. Wright and theservant, who had partaken of it previously. They were alltaken ill in the course of Saturday night and Sunday.ELIZABETH F. WRIGHT, wife of a managing clerk to a

solicitor, deposed that the deceased person lodged in herhouse. As deceased was poor, she was in the habit of givingher some trifles to assist her. On Friday se’nnight gave herthe remains of some giblets; they had been stewed in asaucepan; it was not a copper or brass saucepan, but iron.(The coroner required that it should be produced, and thestatement of the witness proved to be correct.) The stewconsisted of nothing but giblets, water, and salt. Witnesshad bought them at the poulterer’s, as usual; they were boughtlying on the shop-counter; that she stewed them the sameevening, partook of them, and became ill on the following,day. Was ill previously, butgot worse; was sick,and herbowelswere affected. First sent for the doctor on Sunday. Hadno poison in the house to kill rats, or for any other purpose.Did not consider that the giblets were smelling strongly orhigh when she purchased them; stewed them on the sameevening, when, for the most part, they were converted into ajelly.

CHARLES WEBB, surgeon and L.S.A., on being sworn, statedthat he had attended deceased from Sunday, the 25th ult., tothe period of her death. He was at a loss to discover thecause of her illness; but it was evident that she was sufferingfrom a violent irritation of the bowels, and he treated heraccordingly. Since her decease he had made a careful exa-mination of the body; it was inspected thirty-six hours afterdeath. Found the stomach slightly inflamed towards thepylorus, and that the intestines were inflamed throughouttheir whole extent; that there were no ecchymosed spots,no softening of the mucous membrane; that he had boiled aconsiderable portion of the intestines, and had made a careful,analysis of the liquid, but he could discover no trace of poisonof any description. No analysis was made of the blood.When he heard that so many persons had been taken ill

immediately after eating of the giblet-stew, lie entertained asuspicion that it might be owing to something deleteriouswhich had been then taken. That the inflammation of theintestines had been the cause of death he was confident; therecould be no doubt on the subject; but he was incapable ofreferring that inflammation to any precise cause.

EMMA BALLARD deposed that she was in the habit of workingfor Mrs. Wright; that she dined off the giblet on the Saturday;that she ate heartily, and took nothing but bread besides.There was nothing disagreeable in its taste, or offensive inthe smell; that she was taken ill in the night in her bowels,and on the following day became sick. She had suffered agood deal in the stomach and bowels, but was now nearlyrecovered.

R. J. STUCK deposed that a small dishfull of the giblets hadbeen sent to him by his aunt on the Saturday night; that heate nearly the whole, and gave the remainder to the cat; thatsoon after eating them he felt an " internal agitation," andthat he was seized soon afterwards with pains in the bowels,which compelled him to go frequently to the water-closet; thathe was sick, and vomited slightly; that he was in the habit ofeating stewed giblets; that he tasted nothing unusual in thosewhich he had eaten on Saturday night, and that there wasnothing offensive or disagreeable in their smell. He had beenvery ill, but had now nearly recovered. The cat had eaten aportion of the giblets, and also became violently ill.The CORONER summed up the evidence at considerable

length, and remarked that the case was exceedingly curiousand interesting, and in conclusion recommended the jury toreturn a verdict in conformity with the evidence of the medicalwitness,—" That the death had been produced by inflamma.tion of the intestines; but that there was no evidence to proveby what means that inflammation had been caused." Thejury returned a verdict exactly to that effect, and the inquiryterminated.

NAVAL ASSISTANT-SURGEONS.THE Times of Tuesday last, July 4th, contained the follow.

ing leading article on this subject :-A short time ago Mr. Hume took occasion, in the House of

Commons, to interpose a few remarks upon the regulations towhich the assistant-surgeons of her Majesty’s navy are atpresent subjected. His observations were based upon thevery significant fact, that at the moment he was speakingthere was actually not one applicant on the Admiralty listsfor admission to the rank in question, though the pay is equalto that of a lieutenant of the line, the service deservedlypopular, and the profession abundantly stocked. That someradical vice must needs exist in the administration of theservice, when an honourable post in the Royal Navy cancreate none of that competition which even the stipend andservitude of a poor-law union are found to command, is aninference requiring no particular substantiation. Fortunately,the grievance is not only very well known, but, though prac-tically so serious in its operation, it admits of a very simpleremedy; and that such remedy should be applied withoutdelay is what we think our readers will unanimously allow,after perusing a plain statement of the case.One of our naval novelists has recorded his anxious mis.

givings as to the effect which may be produced on the serviceby the introduction of silver forks into the midshipmen’smess; and it is, perhaps, upon the principle implied in suchapprehensions, that the Admiralty have resolved on perpetu-ating the ancient spirit of the medical department, by pre.serving the assistant-surgeon in that historical position whichwas illustrated by the adventures of " Roderic Random :’Whatever may be the education, the duties, or the devotionwhich an advanced state of science, and an increased care forour seamen, entail upon the medical officers of the presentcentury, these functionaries are still but mere boys in theeyes of the Admiralty. An assistant-surgeon may be, asmany, and indeed most of them are, a graduate in the highestclass of his faculty; he may be an experienced physician, apractised surgeon, an intelligent naturalist, or a scientificchemist; he may be ten years older than the captain, andcompetent to amuse or enlighten all the ship’s officers, uponsubjects to which his attention has been more exclusivelydirected than theirs. All this, however, avails him nothing.He is an assistant-surgeon, and an assistant-surgeon alwaysranks with the midshipmen. So say the traditions of theAdmiralty; and the unfortunate M.D. is accordingly usheredinto the company of the " young gentlemen" in whose livelyand sparkling society he is henceforth to pass his time. Hehas no cabin, wherein to keep or use a book or an instrument.All his studies, his preparations, and his reflections upon thecases actually under his care must be conducted, matured,and systematized in this agreeable and enlivening atmosphereof juvenile exhilaration-his everlasting companions beingsuch a selection of his own sex and species, as, for the com-bined developments of age, profession, temper, and oppor-

49

tunities, is not to be matched in the universe. If our readerscan conceive the impressions of a quiet and respectable person,already possessed of some knowledge, and anxious for more,at the prospect of being eternally shut up in a room with sixboys, and those boys midshipmen, they will probably cease towonder at the fact, that there are few aspirants to so delight-ful a destiny.The prayer of these ill-used officers is confined mainly to a

request, that they may be treated, not only as gentlemen, butas adults, and that they may be admitted, in common withtheir equals, to seats at the ward-room mess. This is the onegreat concession which would at once mend their position byidentifying them with the full-grown and responsible officersof the service, and by removing them from a sphere in whichthey are deprived both of the comforts and opportimities dueto their standing and their avocation. It would, of course, behighly desirable that they should be indulged also with theconvenience of a cabin, for those multifarious purposes whichtheir daily duties suggest; but no discontent would be felt atthe absence of this accommodation, in any case where it wasclearly inconsistent with the expedient arrangements of thevessel. What is felt as a grievance by these officers is, notthe inevitable inconvenience of sea-going practice, but thesystematic refusal, in their cases alone, of that considerationwhich the nature of the service does permit, and which theirrank and their duties fairly claim. All the alleviation of theirdiscomforts, which they at present enjoy, is derived from theaccidental and unauthorized civilities of any particular cap-tain who may be good enough to connive at the assistant-surgeon’s sleeping in the sick berth, and washing in the dis-pensary ; and we have reason to believe, that even such slightand interrupted accommodations as these have been of nosmall avail in preventing a general abandonment of so need-lessly uncomfortable a service.

It should be observed, that an acquiescence in these mostreasonable requests would be attended with no kind of ex-pense to the country. The pay of the assistant-surgeons-.6127 15s. per annum, increasing after three years’ service to.6136—is already amply sufficient to support the cost of theward-room mess; which, indeed, is open to officers of smallerprofessional emolument. They merely desire the privilege ofsuiting their daily life more appropriately to their daily payand their daily duties. As a matter of fact, it is notorious I

that the provision of a private cabin would often be foundreally practicable, as was shown some time ago, when, uponthe occasion of a third-lieutenant being added to certainvessels of inferior rates, no difficulty was ever experienced inputting up the extra cabin required for his accommodation.But this, as we have said, is not the main point of the peti-tion, which prays only for a due recognition of rank andstanding, for an admission to corresponding social advantages,and for such subsequent conveniences only as circumstancesloay be found to suggest or admit.There are few occasions on which the duties of a public

journalist can be discharged more opportunely or more satis-torily than on such as this. The officers of the army and navyare deprived, by the restrictions inseparable from their posi-tion, of many of those resources to which, when aggrieved orannoyed, their fellow-subjects betake themselves. They can-not cabal, or combine, or remonstrate. They can form noctubs, or leagues, or confederations. They are circumscribedby the necessary discipline of the service, to distant and res-pectful representations of their desires, addressed, probably,to some functionary overwhelmed with weightier communi-cations, and but little anxious to increase the work of hisdepartment by ever so small an innovation. Even such peti-tions as these, perhaps, are not despatched without some ap-prehensions of the sentiments excited by a troublesome inter-ruption. There is, consequently, no resource open to them,except the influence of public opinion, and even to this theyare not enabled to make a direct appeal. It is what thishonourable and patriotic class are thus debarred from doingof themselves that we address ourselves on the present occa-sion to do for them, with the full conviction that so simple andinexpensive a remedy will not be long withheld from so pal-pable and serious an evil.

Correspondence.

WHAT ARE THE REMEDIES FOR CHOLERA ?To flu!. Edito-r of THE LANCET.

SiR,ńAs the cholera is once more making its tour over theeastern continent, and will in all probability make that of

this continent also, and recollecting the horrors of its lastvisit to this country, there is a good deal of alarm in anti-cipation of that event. We naturally begin to look aroundus for proper means to combat it on its advent. We havelooked in vain to the European journals, and most especiallyto THE LANCET, for information on the subject. From yourproximity to the seat of its ravages, I presume you must havebecome acquainted with some of the remedies found to bemost successful. I hope I do not presume too much in askingfor such information on this subject as you may have beenable to gather, and also as to the character of the presentepidemicńits type-whether it is more or less mild-in short,whatever you may be able to impart concerning it.And allow me to take this opportunity of expressing the

gratification which I derive monthly from your valuableperiodical. I rejoice to see the effort which pervades, as itwere, each number to exalt the standard of our beloved pro-fession. In no country is such an effort more loudly calledfor than in this-it is literally a matter of dollars and cents.This is certainly the age of nostrums. I sincerely trust youmay be successful in opening the eyes of physicians to thetrue position which our profession ought to occupy, and pre-vail on them to insist on taking it, even at the risk of somepecuniary loss.-With the highest respect and esteem, I am,your obedient servant,New Orleans, February 15th, 1848. H. W. M-R.

THE SURGEONS OF ESSEX: THEIR CIRCULARAND PETITION TO PARLIAMENT.

(CIRCULAR.)Witham, Essex, June 30th, 1848.

SiR,-A public meeting of the members of the Royal Col-lege of Surgeons of England, residing in Essex, was held atColchester, on the 9th of June, at which petitions to Parlia.ment were agreed to. That to the House of Commons hassubsequently been presented by Sir George Grey.At the same meeting a resolution was passed to the effect,

That all the members of Parliament connected with thiscounty should be requested to support the same :’With the view of carrying out this resolution, I forward

you a copy of the petition, and venture to request your espe-cial attention to it on behalf of the meeting, the more parti-cularly as the matter most probably will very speedily comeunder your notice in the course of your parliamentary duties.You will, I trust, excuse me for urging the following points:-

Previously to the year 1843, the Royal College of Surgeonsof England possessed the power, granted them by charter, toadmit as members certain parties who complied with certainrequisites. In that year the council of the college, (till thenself-elected,) without any converse with its members, obtaineda new charter, by which, first 300, afterwards 150, from nearly10,000 members, were erected into an elective body, under thetitle of fellows, in a capricious manner, without any additionaleducation or examination, or any reference whatever to supe-riority of acquirements. The members naturally look uponsuch charter, and its working, as the perpetration of injusticetowards their whole body, since, previously to its existence,they were all upon equality.

’ Recently, a conclave, self-constituted, consisting of thepresidents of the Royal Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons,the master of the Apothecaries’ Company, and a gentleman,named Pennington, the president of a small body of practi-tioners of all descriptions, have agreed upon certain 11 prim-ciples" upon which to found future medical legislation. Bythese, the Apothecaries’ Company, who have hitherto beenthe licensing body for the mass of general practitionersthroughout this country, as well as the only body who couldafford them any protection from the competition of uneducatedand unlicensed persons, is to relinquish its functions, and anew corporation is to be established, under the title of "RoyalCollege of General Practitioners," to which the members ofthe College of Surgeons maust belong, in order to enable themto recover remuneration for their services; by which act theymust relinquish the title of surgeon, which they at presenthold by law, or failing to join which, they entirely lose mostof their present privileges.The members of the Royal College of Surgeons in Essex

repudiate all idea of any connexion with any new medicalcorporation whatever, more especially one by which they willbe degraded in rank and title. They hold that the presentexisting bodies of that kind are fully equal to the wants of theprofession, and that a multiplication of licensing bodies willbe but a multiplication of the evils under which the professionof physic at present labours. If the Apothecaries’ Company