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of the little person, and bitter were his reproaches, when theCommittee of the National Association refused to receive him

as one of four " representatives" from the Medical Protection

Assembly. The name of that individual was, and is, GEORGERoss.

In a number of the " TRANSACTIONS" of the National

Association just published, bearing date Saturday, Decemberthe 13th, this identical name appears as that of the "SECRE-TARY! " Desirous of being relieved from the onerous duties,and the, probably, not very pleasant visitations which theyhave recently experienced, the two "Honorary Secre-taries" woo the felicity of a little retirement, and seem to beanxious to abjure the care and responsibility of a publiclife. Accordingly, a Secretary is sought for, with befittingqualifications,-a renegade, of course, and a reviler of the au-thor of the medical-reform question. How many candi-

dates applied for the wretched office, how many miserablebeings, whose destitution forced them to seek for a tempo-rary shelter in so deplorable and disreputable a "refuge,"we have no means of ascertaining ; but it does appear thatone GEORGE Ross was an applicant for the place-theidentical GEORGE Ross, the Apothecary of Kennington, thesilly spouter of the Protection-Assembly, and the author ofa letter which we shall presently quote from THE LANCETof the 8th of March last, in which the said GEORGE de-

picted with tolerable accuracy the character of the men ofwhom he is now the hired servant. Whatever may happenas the result of the engagement between the employers andthe employed, in this instance, it cannot, with truth, bedeclared that they do not know one another. The followingletter is quoted, verbatim et literatim, from page 277 of THELANCET of March the 8th, 1845 :-

" To the Editor of THE LANCET." SIR,-My attention has been drawn to a letter from Mr.

Jerrard, of Honiton, published in this week’s LANCET, respectingthe expediency of the union of the two Metropolitan Associationsinto one body. ’

" On the part of the Medical Protection Assembly, I beg toremark, that this Association, in furtherance of the resolution

’’

adverted to by you in a note appended to the above letter, and anxious only for the establishment of those just and liberal prin-ciples lately published in your columns, and which they conceiveare necessary to an equitable adjustment of the conflicting claimsof their professional brethren, did apply, in a generous, candid, andhonourable spirit, to the °° Provisional Committee of the NationalAssociation," for the admission of four of the members of theAssembly to a seat in that committee, trusting that, by thismeans, a hearty co-operation might be secured, wise principlesadvocated, and the general good of the profession achieved.

" This offer of co-operation was refused. The fact needs no com-ment. The limits of a letter do not permit me to enter into anexposure of conduct at once evasive, illiberal, and self-condemn-ing. The men who were afraid to receive on their committeeold and staunch reformers are not the men to claim the confidenceof their professional brethren. ’

" This short and unvarnished statement is necessary, in justifica-tion of the Medical Protection Assembly. The time is now comewhen that Assembly must republish its principles, re-assert itsclaims on professional support, and defeat the projects of a secretself-constituted tribunal, whose acts are conceived in darkness, andwhen brought to light are the very types of mental abortion andlegislative deformity. " I remain, Sir, yours truly,

"Kennington, March 3rd, 1845." " GEORGE ROSS.

There! The author of that letter is now the recipient ofthe wages of that Committee! On the unhappy Apothecary itis not necessary that we should bestow another word. His

necessities may have compelled him to seek his bread in thedirty place where he now finds it. Nor is it requisite to cen-sure the Committee for making such a selection. The fact

itself speaks loudly and eloquently. The Committee know

their servant, and he, it appears, knows his masters. SNIPE

and SNEAK are provided with a suitable companion and anappropriate fellow-labourer in recording an account of " actsthat are conceived in darkness, and when brought to light arethe very types of mental abortion !" What a character has

the servant given of his masters ! In taking Ross into theiremployment they make a practical acknowledgment of itsaccuracy. Fortunate Committee!

HOSPITAL REPORTS.

QUEEN’S HOSPITAL, BIRMINGHAM.CONTUSION OF ABDOMEN.—RUPTURE OF KIDNEY WITHOUT EX-

TERNAL MARK OF INJURY.—RECOVERY.

(Reported by Mr. JOHN MOORE.)WILLIAM C-, blacksmith, aged 21, admitted into V.W. 1, at11 a.m., May 27th, 1844, under the care of Mr. Sands Cox; statesthat about half an hour since, whilst walking along the street, hewas kicked on the left side by a horse which was being ridden ;that he immediately became sick and faint, and was brought tothe hospital.

General symptoms.-11 a.m.: The patient is perfectly sensible,but disposed to somnolence; much general depression; extre-mities cold and clammy; pulse small, weak, and fluttering; coun-tenance pallid and anxious.

’

Local symptoms.-No abrasion of cuticle; no discoloration ofinteguments; no swelling of abdomen. The abdominal musclesgenerally spasmodically contracted, (especially the " recti," whichhave a "knotty" feel;) great tenderness of left lumbar and hy-pogastric regions. Has not passed any urine since the accident.Sixteen leeches to the seat of pain, to be followed by hot fomen-tation. Hot tea administered.Noon.-The patient has voided about six ounces of bloody

urine, (the blood and urine intimately mixed;) pain and tender-ness of left side continue; still great depression.-7 p.m.: Painand tenderness somewhat lessened since the application of theleeches; surface warm; pulse quick and irritable. Calomel, twograins ; powdered opium, one-sixth of a grain; conserve of roses,to form a pill to be taken every third hour ; to take with eachpill a draught containing one-sixth of a grain of tartar emetic;hot fomentations to be continued.-10 p.m. : Has suffered fromvomiting of bilious matter since last report; still much pain andexquisite tenderness of left side; tongue covered with a whitefur; skin hot and dry; pulse quick and hard. Continue themedicines; bloodletting from the arm to twelve ounces.

28th, 9 a.m.-Temperature of surface reduced; tongue coatedwith brownish fur, but moist; pulse 80 to 90, easily compressed;the bowels, which are habitually costive, have not acted for somedays ; the urine passed is of dark-brown colour; it contains nodeposit, innumerable blood discs are perceptible in a drop placedin the field of the microscope. To omit the pills and the mixture,and take immediately half an ounce of castor-oil.-1 p.m.: Thestomach has rejected two consecutive doses of the oil ; there arenow great tenseness, pain, and tenderness of the abdomen gene-rally. To have administered an enema of castor-oil and gruel;hot fomentations.-10 p.m.: A large "lumbricus" has beenejected by the mouth; nausea remains ; abdominal pain undi-minished ; the bowels have not acted. The enema to be repeated;a dose of effervescing saline mixture, with tincture of cardamoms,to be taken every three hours.

29th, 10 a.m.-No alteration in symptoms; the bowels have notacted; the urine is of dark-brown colour, and of muddy appear-ance. To have a hot-bath; to continue the effervescing mixture;to take directly a powder containing four grains of calomel; theenema to be repeated.-7 p.m.: The bowels have acted copiously,-secretion natural; pain and tenderness still severe, but morelocalized, being referred only to the seat of the injury; generalsymptoms improved. Eight leeches to be applied to the lefthypogastric region.

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30th, 9 a.m.-Has passed a comfortable night; sickness muchrelieved ; local tenderness continues ; hectic flush upon cheeks;pulse quick and weak; tongue slightly coated, but moist. Repeatthe hot bath; the calomel powder at bed-time; the effervescingmixture ; to take half an ounce of castor oil the first thing in themorning.

31st, a.m.-Feels much better, and is anxious for food; ten-derness diminished ; tongue nearly clean, and moist; pulse re-gular, easily compressible. The bowels have acted twice healthilysince last report. The dark-brown colour of the urine stillevidences the presence of blood.June lst.-General and local symptoms improved; allowed

broth diet.From this time the patient rapidly improved ; the hypogastric

tenderness disappeared; the urine gradually acquired its healthyappearance; he was allowed meat diet on the 7th, and dischargedcured on the 12th of June. No blood discs could be discoveredin the urine by the microscope at the time of his discharge.

CASE IL- Contusion of abdomen; no external mark of injury; ’

collapse; temporary improvement; relapse; death. Post-mortem

examination ; laceration of mesentery ; extensive haemorrhage; ;complete division of the right kidney.

(Reported bullIr. JOHN MOORE.)

JAMES S , iron castor, aged forty-nine, admitted into V.W. 1,at 10 a.m., under the care of Mr. Sands Cox, February 4th,1845. This patient was brought in by a carman, who statedthat, about a quarter of an hour previous, he was driving roundthe corner of Bromsgrove-street, when perceiving Scrossing immediately before his horse’s head, he hailed him, butas he (S.) took no heed, he was thrown on his back across theroad, with his right side towards the car, the fore-wheel ofwhich passed on to his abdomen, and, as he (the carman) wasin the act of pulling up at the time, rested for some seconds uponS--’s right side. Having rescued the man from his situation,and finding him faint, he led him into a public house, and gavehim a glass of brandy, but as his faintness increased, he broughthim immediately to the hospital.The patient, who is deaf, and of weak, relaxed frame, complains

only of pain in his shoulder. His countenance is ghastly, andhis surface cold and clammy; his pulse nearly imperceptible; heis extremely restless, and asks to go home. He was immediatelygot into bed; mustard plasters were applied to the feet, a bag ofhot salt over the chest, and an sether draught administered.No injury to either shoulder could be discovered; nor upon

minute examination could the slightest lesion of the abdominalparietes be detected; neither was there apparent tenderness ofany portion.

For about the space of an hour the patient slightly rallied,(but still evidenced no abdominal tenderness;) he again relapsed;his eyes were now glassy; his countenance expressive of thedeepest anxiety; his surface cold, and pulse scarcely perceptible.Brandy and water was constantly exhibited.

3, p.m.-The patient is now scarcely conscious ; stimulants arewith the greatest difficulty administered; he has just passeda small quantity of bloody urine, blood and urine thoroughlymixed.At 3, 50 p.m., having again passed some bloody urine, in

which were present several small clots, he expired.EXAMINATION OF BODY.

Thorax.-Upon opening this cavity, the lungs were found muchcollapsed, and of dark colour: there was extensive interlobularemphysema of both; numerous black carbonaceous masses (ofabout the size of peas) occupy the interspaces of the variousbronchial bifurcations, and the pulmonary tissue generally wasextensively infiltrated with carbonaceous matter. The heart wasrather small; the aortic arch much dilated, and lined by osseousplates of varying size and consistence; ossific deposit had com-menced in the aortic valves; the remaining valves were

healthy.Upon opening the abdomen, a large quantity of mixed serum

and urine was first seen, and this being removed, a large clot ofblood of about a pound weight was found to occupy the rightlumbar and iliac regions, as well as part of the umbilical; themesentery, near to its attachment to the vertebrse, was lacerated,and the superior mesenteric artery divided at about an inch fromits origin; there was some blood extravasated between the layersof the mesentery. The upper third of the right kidney was com-pletely separated from the remaining two-thirds, and lay loose inthe abdominal cavity; the bladder was perfect and contracted.No other lesion was perceptible.

THE PARISIAN CONGRESS AND THE "SECRETCOMMITTEE."

To the Editor of THE LANCET.SIR,-I cannot refrain from adding my humble mite of praise tothe universal expression of admiration that has (very properly)been lavished upon the labours of the Medical Congress inFrance, together with the inimitable address of M. D. Salvandy.

Contrasted with the pusillanimous and narrow-minded conductof the Secret Committee in Hanover-square, the picture it pre-sents to the medical profession in this country is indeed refresh-ing ; but how lamentably do we suffer by the depreciating com-parison !The profession in the two kingdoms seem to have taken direc-

tions diametrically opposed to each other. The grand aim andobject of the Parisian Congress seems to have been to exalt theprofession in the estimation of the public, and contribute to en-large its general utility ; and it appears to me that the mostimportant result of its deliberations was a fixed determination taabolish the officiers de sante, or third and inferior grade of medi-cal practitioners.The labours of the Committee of our National Association, on

the contrary, have been directed solely to the one object of per-manently establishing an inferior grade of practitioners in thiscountry ; and unless the great body of surgeons unite to defeatits efforts, this destructive and degrading result will surely beobtained. Can we feel surprise or astonishment at the decisionsof a Committee so unworthily constituted, or that the interests ofthe profession have been sacrificed to the paltry and narrow-minded principles that have continued to govern its deliberations.There was too much of the old leaven of the Pharisee engraftedinto its councils to augur much benefit from its labours. Someof the spirit of the old and corrupt corporations was infused intoits component parts, and from that moment its baneful influencewas manifested-its vigour and strength began to decline. If anymovement is hereafter to be made for the benefit of the prac-titioners of this country, the whole of that Committee must beremodelled, and I think we should act wisely in adopting thetone and spirit of the resolutions submitted to Government byour Continental brethren.

Perhaps our motto ought to be, ’ Non comparo Virgilium cumHomero ;" but it is impossible to read the admirable speech ofthe Minister of Public Instruction before the French MedicalCongress, and not be struck with the contrast it displays to thatof the English Minister upon the introduction of the MedicalBills to Parliament. How deplorably deficient in information isthat of the latter, and how regardless does it seem of the greatand paramount interests of the community! The Congress inParis (with a marked determination to support the interests andfeelings of the profession) have embraced, in their resolutions,the whole subject of quackery, and provided for its destruction.Our Government, on the contrary, are too much interested in itssuccess to provide for its removal, and the Minister, therefore,declared it would not be practicable or judicious to provide aremedy for the evil, as it would deprive the public, in this coun-try, of a prolific source of pleasure and amusement.With many apologies for intruding so soon again upon your

valuable columns, I remain, Sir, yours obediently,Lambeth, Dec. 15th, 1845. J. L. I’ON, M.R.C.S.E.

THE COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONOF GENERAL PRACTITIONERS.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—Your strictures on the secretaries of this Association whenyou should have attacked the whole herd, has left you open tothe attack of those that you considered " honourable men"-andthey have attacked you, for the purpose of showing a "demon-stration" to Sir James. The whole Committee were embarkedin the same boat with the secretaries, like the " conscriptfathers," and in your endeavours to swamp the vessel, it wasclearly your proper plan to try and drown the whole.

" Qui swim away non potuerunt."You may call a portion of the Committee what you like-honour--able men, if you will-but the plain English of the matter is this :-No man can be honourable who endeavours, for a shortsightedand purely selfish purpose, to degrade and bring contumely onthe profession of which he is a member. The Committee of theNational Association have endeavoured to bring contumely onthe medical profession ; nay, have absolutely sold the generalpractitioners of England ; and I say that no man of that Com-mittee who has so acted can be honourable-quoad this distincttransaction. In fact, the Committee seem to be without a soul-a body so blinded by their own little interests that they suffer