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SURGERY OF THE WAR. ANALYSIS OF MEDICAL EVIDENCE BEFORE THE SEBASTOPOL COMMITTEE

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350 -non-professional friends, and persisted for a length of time (offering to produce the correspondence) in submitting the par- ticulars of the case to me for my opinion. Against so improper a proceeding I repeatedly remonstrated, and peremptorily declined to go into it. His conduct at the time provoked the ’rebuke, that "however wrong Dr. Aikenhead may have been, he, Mr. Hatton, was still more reprehensible." Failing here, ’ the Medico-Ethical Association became the object of his de- -nunciation ; and this is what Mr. Hatton calls a "private con- versation." The word "publicly," in Dr. Aikenhead’s letter, I consider -perfectly correct, and its alleged influence on Mr. Hatton, inducing him to decline the arbitration, I regard as an unworthy evasion. This brings me to the subject of the date of my letter to Dr. Aikenhead. Now, I am not within an admission, Mr. Hatton is at liberty to make the most of it. On the evening of the 3rd instant, I met Dr. Aikenhead, at the Medico-Ethical convenssazione, and on that occasion I did inform him that Mr. Hatton had expressed his willingness to leave the case to any professional friend. Dr. Aikenhead was urged by his friends to make the proposal of arbitration as the only means of counteracting the effects of Mr. Hatton’s mis- chievous loquacity. Dr. Aikenhead determined on doing this, and requested that I would make the suggestion in writing; the communication to be used, if necessary, as the ground on which he resumed his - correspondence with Mr. Hatton. A letter was accordingly written, which by mere accident was erroneously dated. I now leave the affair to the dispassionate judgment of your readers. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, Didsbury, March 20th, 1855. RICHD. ALLEN. "f.’",,"" This correspondence was unavoidably excluded from our columns last week.-ED. L. SURGERY OF THE WAR. ANALYSIS OF MEDICAL EVIDENCE BEFORE THE SEBASTOPOL COMMITTEE. (Continued from p. 330.) WE give this week an analysis of the further evidence afforded to the Parliamentary Committee by Dr. Andrew ’Smith, Mr. Osborne, &c. It does not appear fair to our army surgeons that the evidence of mere amateurs should have that great preponderance in the public mind which it has gained during the last twelve months. Mr. S. G. Osborne describes himself as never having seen two doses of physic in his life; yet finds most heinous fault with all the arrangements at I Scutari, because the captain of a ferry-boat on the Bosphorus could not have confection of opium, and had to put up with ’, simple opium and chalk-mixture for diarrhoea. Splints also could not be had for a Russian prisoner’s leg; but it seemed he ’’, died a few hours afterof bad compound fracture, in which splints were not required. Again, as to the matter of lint, concerning which there was such an outcry, and several tons (!) sent from Paternoster-row, it now appears that there never was a want of lint at all. Miss Nightingale had asked for sheets and old linen, not lint, as the soldiers’ "packs" were lost. The notice in The Times was an error. Bedsteads were found idle; but it was discovered that the amateurs had sent beds twice too large. Dr. Reed and Dr. Garrett, from Scutari, in reports to "head- quarters," deny, in the most emphatic and flat manner, all the allegations brought against the army surgeons and hospital authorities. The evidence contains many interesting points, - such as the per-centage of hospital accommodation necessary for an army, which Dr. Smith conceived to be five per cent., or, in times of war or epidemics, ten per cent., or, as this expe- dition has shown, even something higher, and for which Dr. Smith made arrangements accordingly. It is said that Dr. Smith retires from his office; but we trust his successors may not have similar obstacles thrown in their way, and that the medical officers of the army may be independent of so many connicting authorities. The evidence before the parliamentary committee naturally divides itself into two parts: one, rela- tive to the army while on the Danube, where all the medical arrangements were perfect; the second, as might have been anticipated, after the army had forced the river Alma. Lord Cardigan but repeats the sad tale of the other witnesses -the Earl of Lucan, the Duke of Cambridge, &c. -when he says that after the Alma, and his short but not inglorious campaign, he lost 1000 men and 800 horses. The French, for the supply of medicines and medical comforts in the Crimea, had 10 principal pharmaciens, 45 full apothecaries, and 90 assistant-apothecaries, to arrange matters; we had one un- happy gentleman-as the result of our forty years’ peace-to whom was confided all the care of the purveying department! The French had 1087 medical men of various grades with their army, and the full requisites for two military hospitals always ready to begin with in case of war. The surgical staff formed by Dr. A. Smith, last February, was increased one-fourth in a similar emergency. Dr. Dumbreck, who was chief of the operating and inspecting department after the Alma and Inkermann, dilated at great length on the badness of our sys. tem for war, but its perfectness for times of peace. We had, in all, 469 medical officers, but no " infirmiers," like the French, no purveyors, &c. In the Freneh military hospitals, no one whatever is allowed to interfere; and the surgeons’ duties are all strictly confined to medical details. No scientific man is harassed with knap. sacks left behind, and soldiers covered with vermin. Miss Nightingale also would be at once shown à laporte. All these things are necessary to be taken into account in forming plans for the future. Mr. Roebuck would, on the other hand, throw everything on the surgeons. General Canrobert, aware of the medical arrangements of the army, used as much pre. vision and took as much care of his physicians and surgeons as of his sappers and miners, or artillery. We took occasion, last January, to say, that our surgeons were not to blame; and in defending them from aspersions in the papers, we separated two things-the skill and bravery of our army surgeons, quite equal to that of the French, from their "power of exerting that skill," hampered as they were in every way by inefficient purveyors, rotten tents, &c. Dr. Dumbreck, when examined on Wednesday, stated, that there was no surgical neglect at all; that whether the soldiers were sick or not, they would have died from the bad commissariat arrangements. The order against chloroform, he hinted, was countenanced by a suggestion of Mr. Guthrie. The evidence of Dr. Cumming and Mr. Menzies also, this week, shows we were not wrong. We said the climate was mild; but were answered that brandy had frozen at Sebastopol. We have now the mildness of the climate admitted. Mr. Layard stated, as a horrible thing, that one surgeon had only three medi- cines in the world; but as bleeding and leeches, mush. rooms, and Dalby’s carminative are now the fashionable specifics for dysentery at Balaklava, these three medi- cines — opium, quinine, blue-pill, or tartar emetic - with which Mr. Layard’s friend, in an emergency, could get on perhaps very well, are clearly superfluous. We have arrived, it need scarcely be said, at a most serious and critical juncture in the progress of the war. Some twenty or thirty India surgeons, now in England, have, like the navy assistant-surgeons, all re- fused to join Dr. Fuller and his Turkish contingent, at a guinea a day; and if our surgeons are to be cross-examined as we have seen them during the past week, it is probable that they are quite right in that refusal. Parliament must trust more to the good feeling and professional character of medical men. Young surgeons (third-year’s men) are now begged for at Guy’s and some other hospitals. The last Gazette gives us 9 majors-brother officers of our India surgeons, now in England on furlough- as raised to colonels; 17 captains, to majors; 37 lieutenants, to be captains-all with double pay, as joining Omar Pacha; but the India surgeons, on the same footing, are denied any step, and these fine old men, well acclimatised, are put on a level with surgeon’s assistants; but they have refused, as we said, as one man. Dr. ANDREW SMITH continued.-He had been forty years in the service, and during that time he was nursed in, or forced into, the idea, by successive Parliaments, that he was to save money, not spend it, on the Medical Department. When this war "broke out," and he found he had actually permission for the first time to spend money, it was months before he could arrange about it. Witness did not believe the reports of the press, as he received none whatever of a like kind. When asked a leading question, if they were "half" as bad as repre- sented, Dr. Smith observed, smilingly, he could not say, as "half as bad" was an indefinite sort of expression. His reports chiefly referred to the difficulties the medical officers had to con- tend with in the discharge of the medical duties, changing every day. The purveyor was the chief person to blame. As early as April of last year Dr. Smith wrote to the military secretary of Lord Raglan, directing bands of men to be sent to remove nuisances, which would be sure to accumulate in the hospitals. Dr. Smith could not be in two places at once; but if at Scutari
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-non-professional friends, and persisted for a length of time(offering to produce the correspondence) in submitting the par-ticulars of the case to me for my opinion. Against so impropera proceeding I repeatedly remonstrated, and peremptorilydeclined to go into it. His conduct at the time provoked the’rebuke, that "however wrong Dr. Aikenhead may have been,he, Mr. Hatton, was still more reprehensible." Failing here,’ the Medico-Ethical Association became the object of his de--nunciation ; and this is what Mr. Hatton calls a "private con-versation."

The word "publicly," in Dr. Aikenhead’s letter, I consider-perfectly correct, and its alleged influence on Mr. Hatton,inducing him to decline the arbitration, I regard as an unworthyevasion.

This brings me to the subject of the date of my letter to Dr.Aikenhead. Now, I am not within an admission, Mr. Hattonis at liberty to make the most of it.On the evening of the 3rd instant, I met Dr. Aikenhead, at

the Medico-Ethical convenssazione, and on that occasion I didinform him that Mr. Hatton had expressed his willingness toleave the case to any professional friend. Dr. Aikenhead wasurged by his friends to make the proposal of arbitration as theonly means of counteracting the effects of Mr. Hatton’s mis-chievous loquacity. Dr. Aikenhead determined on doing this, and requested that

I would make the suggestion in writing; the communication tobe used, if necessary, as the ground on which he resumed his- correspondence with Mr. Hatton. A letter was accordinglywritten, which by mere accident was erroneously dated.

I now leave the affair to the dispassionate judgment of yourreaders.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,Didsbury, March 20th, 1855. RICHD. ALLEN.

"f.’",,"" This correspondence was unavoidably excluded from ourcolumns last week.-ED. L.

SURGERY OF THE WAR.

ANALYSIS OF MEDICAL EVIDENCE BEFORE THESEBASTOPOL COMMITTEE.

(Continued from p. 330.)

WE give this week an analysis of the further evidenceafforded to the Parliamentary Committee by Dr. Andrew’Smith, Mr. Osborne, &c. It does not appear fair to our armysurgeons that the evidence of mere amateurs should have thatgreat preponderance in the public mind which it has gainedduring the last twelve months. Mr. S. G. Osborne describeshimself as never having seen two doses of physic in his life;yet finds most heinous fault with all the arrangements at IScutari, because the captain of a ferry-boat on the Bosphoruscould not have confection of opium, and had to put up with ’,simple opium and chalk-mixture for diarrhoea. Splints alsocould not be had for a Russian prisoner’s leg; but it seemed he ’’,died a few hours afterof bad compound fracture, in which splintswere not required. Again, as to the matter of lint, concerningwhich there was such an outcry, and several tons (!) sent fromPaternoster-row, it now appears that there never was a wantof lint at all. Miss Nightingale had asked for sheets and old

linen, not lint, as the soldiers’ "packs" were lost. The noticein The Times was an error. Bedsteads were found idle; but itwas discovered that the amateurs had sent beds twice too large.Dr. Reed and Dr. Garrett, from Scutari, in reports to "head-quarters," deny, in the most emphatic and flat manner, all theallegations brought against the army surgeons and hospitalauthorities. The evidence contains many interesting points,

- such as the per-centage of hospital accommodation necessaryfor an army, which Dr. Smith conceived to be five per cent.,or, in times of war or epidemics, ten per cent., or, as this expe-dition has shown, even something higher, and for which Dr.Smith made arrangements accordingly. It is said thatDr. Smith retires from his office; but we trust his successorsmay not have similar obstacles thrown in their way, and thatthe medical officers of the army may be independent of so manyconnicting authorities. The evidence before the parliamentarycommittee naturally divides itself into two parts: one, rela-tive to the army while on the Danube, where all the medicalarrangements were perfect; the second, as might have beenanticipated, after the army had forced the river Alma. LordCardigan but repeats the sad tale of the other witnesses-the Earl of Lucan, the Duke of Cambridge, &c. -when

he says that after the Alma, and his short but not ingloriouscampaign, he lost 1000 men and 800 horses. The French, forthe supply of medicines and medical comforts in the Crimea,had 10 principal pharmaciens, 45 full apothecaries, and 90assistant-apothecaries, to arrange matters; we had one un-happy gentleman-as the result of our forty years’ peace-towhom was confided all the care of the purveying department!The French had 1087 medical men of various grades with theirarmy, and the full requisites for two military hospitals alwaysready to begin with in case of war. The surgical staff formedby Dr. A. Smith, last February, was increased one-fourth in asimilar emergency. Dr. Dumbreck, who was chief of theoperating and inspecting department after the Alma andInkermann, dilated at great length on the badness of our sys.tem for war, but its perfectness for times of peace. We had,in all, 469 medical officers, but no " infirmiers," like theFrench, no purveyors, &c.

In the Freneh military hospitals, no one whatever is allowedto interfere; and the surgeons’ duties are all strictly confinedto medical details. No scientific man is harassed with knap.sacks left behind, and soldiers covered with vermin. MissNightingale also would be at once shown à laporte. All thesethings are necessary to be taken into account in forming plansfor the future. Mr. Roebuck would, on the other hand, throweverything on the surgeons. General Canrobert, aware ofthe medical arrangements of the army, used as much pre.vision and took as much care of his physicians and surgeonsas of his sappers and miners, or artillery. We tookoccasion, last January, to say, that our surgeons were notto blame; and in defending them from aspersions in thepapers, we separated two things-the skill and bravery of ourarmy surgeons, quite equal to that of the French, from their"power of exerting that skill," hampered as they were inevery way by inefficient purveyors, rotten tents, &c. Dr.Dumbreck, when examined on Wednesday, stated, that therewas no surgical neglect at all; that whether the soldiers weresick or not, they would have died from the bad commissariatarrangements. The order against chloroform, he hinted, wascountenanced by a suggestion of Mr. Guthrie. The evidenceof Dr. Cumming and Mr. Menzies also, this week, shows wewere not wrong. We said the climate was mild; but wereanswered that brandy had frozen at Sebastopol. We have nowthe mildness of the climate admitted. Mr. Layard stated,as a horrible thing, that one surgeon had only three medi-cines in the world; but as bleeding and leeches, mush.rooms, and Dalby’s carminative are now the fashionablespecifics for dysentery at Balaklava, these three medi-cines — opium, quinine, blue-pill, or tartar emetic - withwhich Mr. Layard’s friend, in an emergency, could get onperhaps very well, are clearly superfluous. We have arrived,it need scarcely be said, at a most serious and critical juncturein the progress of the war. Some twenty or thirty India surgeons,now in England, have, like the navy assistant-surgeons, all re-fused to join Dr. Fuller and his Turkish contingent, at a guineaa day; and if our surgeons are to be cross-examined as we haveseen them during the past week, it is probable that they arequite right in that refusal. Parliament must trust more to thegood feeling and professional character of medical men. Youngsurgeons (third-year’s men) are now begged for at Guy’s and someother hospitals. The last Gazette gives us 9 majors-brotherofficers of our India surgeons, now in England on furlough-as raised to colonels; 17 captains, to majors; 37 lieutenants, tobe captains-all with double pay, as joining Omar Pacha; butthe India surgeons, on the same footing, are denied any step,and these fine old men, well acclimatised, are put on a levelwith surgeon’s assistants; but they have refused, as we said,as one man.

Dr. ANDREW SMITH continued.-He had been forty years inthe service, and during that time he was nursed in, or forced into,the idea, by successive Parliaments, that he was to save money,not spend it, on the Medical Department. When this war"broke out," and he found he had actually permission for thefirst time to spend money, it was months before he couldarrange about it. Witness did not believe the reports of thepress, as he received none whatever of a like kind. Whenasked a leading question, if they were "half" as bad as repre-sented, Dr. Smith observed, smilingly, he could not say, as"half as bad" was an indefinite sort of expression. His reportschiefly referred to the difficulties the medical officers had to con-tend with in the discharge of the medical duties, changing everyday. The purveyor was the chief person to blame. As earlyas April of last year Dr. Smith wrote to the military secretaryof Lord Raglan, directing bands of men to be sent to removenuisances, which would be sure to accumulate in the hospitals.Dr. Smith could not be in two places at once; but if at Scutari

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he could not do more. His letters, being medical, were forts at Smyrna, which he continues to supply. The hospitaldisregarded. is now established; it was represented to him as an exceed-On the second day of his examination, it appeared from the ingly healthy place-particularly favourable, in fact, for the

evidence of Dr. Smith, that there never was a want of lint; healing of wounds, and free from epidemics, except a littleand from his statements on this day, as well as on the previous intermittent fever about September. Two German physiciansone, it was shown that he had opposed, instead of suggested, the in particular represented it to the War-office as desirable in abroken-down pensioners being sent out; but Colonel Tulloch sanitary point of view......529 medical officers were sent outand Colonel Maule had so partaken of Mr. Hume’s economic with the army; of these, 28 had died; 58 were disabled orviews, that they forced him to have the old pensioners. The invalided; and there are now 469 with the troops in the East.want of medicines after the flank march was partly due to the Of medical purveyors there were six or seven in the Crimea.medicines being left behind in Turkey, at Varna, like the ambu- That is enough. Sometimes the War Office appoints the pur-lance carts. In answer to a question as to the conveyance of veyors; sometimes Dr. A. Smith. This department was, inthe sick, witness read specific directions sent by him on the fact, abolished as a matter of "economy," in the year 1830;llth of May, in which it was ordered that two ships should be so that when the war broke out we had to take any of the oldfitted up for the sick, which was accordingly done. The Severn men of the Peninsular war that we could procure. The pur-was one of the ships; one was arranged to be sailing forward veyors in the colonies-in Malta, and at Corfu-were also allto Balaklava, while the other was sailing back from Scutari. suppressed; and simple regimental hospitals established in--The Chairman of the Committee, who seemed particularly stead. Dr. Hall first went to Scutari to examine into theanxious to find fault with everything bearing on the doctors or hospital after the battle of Alma. He reported that there weresurgeons, here suggested that many of the medical officers were great difficulties, as Scutari was only a large barrack; but, con-unfitted by their age from adequately performing their duties; sidering everything, the hospitals were in a satisfactory state.many objections were made previously by the committee as (Dr. Hall’s report was here given in to the committee.) As toto want of experience. Dr. Smith, in common, it would Dr. Hall’s order to the army surgeons, relative to chloroform,seem, with the general public in the committee-room, thought Dr. Smith would have done exactly the same, as he thought athat the objection was as to youth and want of experience, and man severely wounded might sink under the additional de-asked if it was "too young" Mr. Roebuck intended, who re- pression of chloroform. The medicines, he continued, wereplied, laughing, "no, too old!" Dr. Smith said that all his supplied partly by Apothecaries’ Hall, and partly by twomedical officers but two were under fifty, four were thirty-nine, druggists. No place could be suggested at first for a medicaland as he was proceeding to go down to thirty, he was abruptly depot, as it was all uncertain what would be the scene of actionstopped. Mr. Ward, a purveyor or apothecary, was certainly of the army; but when it was no longer a secret that the Crimea.older; but he was appointed under very peculiar circum- was the spot, he fixed at once on Scutari for a general depot.stances; they could get no one else who had the least expe- That was done in September last. The medicines, of course,rience of organizing a medicine department or " druggist’s were under the care of the chief apothecary ; and the medicalshop," and, as Mr. Ward had been in the Peninsula in the comforts in charge of the purveyors. Dr. Hall reported thatcapacity of apothecary, he was appointed. He was subse- packages of medicine were lying on the beach. The vessel whichquently, like everyone else, over-worked, but Lord Raglan brought them went to Varna in a hurry, and they were left un--thought it unkind to dismiss him. The military authority is claimed, but were all safe, and taken to the Commissariat Office,the superior authority; so as Lord Raglan did not order him In answer to various other questions, Dr. A. Smith said, thehome, Dr. A. Smith had no power to do so. With respect to Ordnance was responsible for this. The medicines were sup-rations for the troops, Dr. Smith had recommended the coffee plied quite correctly by the druggists, and were examined into be first roasted or "burned," and not given green; but was London by a medical officer of his department, usually engagedoverruled by Mr. Sidney Herbert. Dr. Smith also recom- in that manner. Next, as to the nature of cholera, in whichmended porter, ale, preserved vegetables, and lime-juice Mr. Layard seemed to possess considerable " smattering," Dr.against scurvy; also large quantities of tea, as more exhilara- A. Smith did not think, in answer to various questions, thatting and manageable for the troops than coffee; but he was the reports of the London Board of Health, on that subject, ofoverruled in these also, as more " economy" in medical articles, any use. Next, as to the ambulance carts, he designed themhe was told, should be observed. As to the statements in the himself. Mr. Guthrie’s carts were never in the Crimea at all :

papers with regard to Dr. Lawson, Dr. Smith thought that he they were of no use, as they continually upset with the poorwould be compromising the service, or rather the confidence soldiers! General Torrens, who was himself carried woundedwhich existed between himself and Dr. Hall, Dr. Law-son, and from the field of Inkermann to Balaklava, spoke very highlyother doctors, by reading letters strictly confidential. Mr. in favour of Dr. Smith’s ambulances. Objections, in fact, ap-Roebuck said quite sharply, however, he should give them all peared from people in the public press who knew nothing atup; there was nothing the committee should not have if they all about the matter. It was said that they were too narrow;wished it. To this Dr. A. Smith doubtingly assented. but to put a soldier badly wounded, with compound fractures,In this day’s examination, also, Dr. Smith said that it was into a cart large enough to roll about in, would kill him. You

n-ever made out who applied, if any body ever did apply, to the cannot stow several men into any fancy cart of small size. HisFrench for the loan of lint. The committee, too, seemed evi- ambulances are the size of omnibuses; and several surgeons indently to think a letter he read from Mr. Read, second-class the field had sent reports, which he could furnish the committeestaff-surgeon, in care of the hospital at Scutari, quite refuted the with, speaking highly of them: 40 lighter ones, and 60 carts, arewritings of Mr. Stafford and Mr. Macdonald who had stated the going out; 100 pair of litters, and 100 pair of chairs, after the,contrary. The witness here went into a statement of the medi- French pattern, were ordered. Some conversation ensued as tocal stores left behind in Turkey; representations, he believed, transport ships, of no immediate medical importance, but where,had been made to the Admiralty, but he could only address as usual, the " authorities" and the contractors for ships, inthat board th1’Ough the Com71wncler-in-Chiej. All surgical spite of the surgeons, did as they pleased. The duty of pro-appointments, he next said, were made by Dr. Hall, subject to viding blankets, for neglect of which Dr. A. Smith was cen-the approval of Lord Raglan. If a senior medical officer arrived, sured, was not his duty at all, but the business of the purveyor,the junior would be deposed; clearly so, as otherwise there As to the matter of "orderlies" for the hospitals, witness re-could be no discipline or inducement in the way of promotion commended Mr. Sidney Herbert to procure 400, but only 100in the army. This partly explained also why so many officers were obtained ; all that could be got as volunteers were sentwere coming and going, as represented by the dilettaute tourists out by him to the hospitals, in December. He also advisedin the public press. A medical commission was sent out for that a regular corps of orderlies (or " infirmiers," as suggestedthe purpose of inquiry in October or November last. Mr. in THE LANCET) should be permanently embodied: this wasSidney Herbert did not allow Dr. Smith to direct them or now doing, and all the preliminaries arranged. In answer to a-draw up medical instructions; he saw some such directions, question by Mr. Layard, as to Dr. Smith’s opinion of the mis-but that was all. Mr. Arnott was to have gone out, but, after sion of Miss Nightingale, he said he had no hesitation in be-some inquiry, he disliked so troublesome a business. Dr. Smith lieving it was highly beneficial, as in laundry-work, cooking,suggested that civilian surgeons should be sent to Smyrna. &c. ; women would discover numerous things that might escapeHe thought Smyrna as healthy a place, " taken altogether," as military men. Next, as to disinfectants; charcoal, he said,could be decided on; but as his suggestions of one superior was procurable in abundance, and chlorides of lime, soda, &c.,military medical officer over the establishment, in place of Dr. were all sent out in large quantities early in the campaign. OfMeyer, was not followed, he asked Mr. Herbert permission course, disinfectants alone could not change the state of thingsto give up all further responsibility in the matter. A described by Mr. Stafford, as the "necessaries" or water-closetsdivided and irresponsible authority could not but work mis- were all rotten. (The French procured much better placerchief. All he finally arranged to do was to provide, for the from the Sultan ; in fact, one witness said the Sultan was quitetime being, a sufficient supply of medicines and medical com- passive in the hands of the French, who had the " pick and

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choice" of everything.) The " Commandant" and the " Pur-veyors" were the responsible persons ; the poor surgeons them-selves cried out as much as anybody else as to the state of the"privies." ’

Dr. Smith, in continuation, said he had no reason to considerthe Apothecaries’ department at Scutari as not efficient. Asto want of winter clothing, every effort was made to procurefur coats, fur caps, trousers lined with flannel, &c., but theycould not be got up in time. Dr. Hall stated that, even afterwarm clothing was sent out, it could not be got up to theeamp froin Balaklava, or it might have saved many lives.From the state of political movements at the time, and LordAberdeen’s peace policy, Dr. Hall was led to believe the troopswould not remain at all, during the winter, in the Crimea be-fore Sebastopol. Dr. A. Smith was next examined as to theproportion of medical men sent out with the army, comparedto the numbers in previous wars, and replied that the numberwas more than double. Some of the most romantic plans-india-rubber cushions, &c.-were suggested to him, while thepatients were lying in the mud, more dead than alive, only re-quiring common assistance. As to a reorganization of themedical service, Dr. Smith had received hints, but he wishedto be allowed to retire, as he could not hold the place with themixed organization that was contemplated. Again, as to thehospital at Scutari, he said he could not believe it was so badas represented. The moment shirts were wanted, in conse-quence of the kits" being left behind, 50,000 were ordered;they were lost in knapsacks : in fact, Lord Stratford gave themedical officers everything they might require. As to thetreatment of dysentery, a great deal of communication tookplace between our medical men and the native Turkish doctors.The Duke of Newcastle did not inform him the army wouldtake the field at all. An ambulance corps of Turks was sug-gested, but it was thought they would run away when theyheard the firing. The medicines, instruments, &c., for the lastyear had cost =640,000, an immense sum, but the medicineswere mislaid and lost by the Commissariat.

Dr. A. Smith was again examined on the 26th inst. Aftersome preliminary observations as to his not being madeacquainted with the division of the "War" department intotwo, last year, and his not knowing whether he was to addressthe Duke of Newcastle or Mr. Sidney Herbert, it appeared,amongst other changes, he did not recommend a "general"hospital, because that followed only as a matter of course whenan army takes the field. He described again the difficulty offinding a proper purveyor, and Mr. Wrefford, who was sixty-four years of age, was the only one to succeed Mr. Ward, buthe was very efficient. [Dr. A. Smith here very properly ob-jected to giving up " private" letters between himself andLord Raglan, but was overruled by Mr. Roebuck. ] Theevidence was next very desultory as to the character of thewine sent out, but it seemed the War Office had been deceived.Specimens of the wine were procured and tested by a medicalboard in London, and reported to be good. Next, as to bedding:he had ordered 14,000 beds, which were sent out by theOrdnance; he had a proper person " down at the ships all day,"to see them properly embarked, as well as the various medicalcomforts. Next, as to ships: he had one to leave this countryconcurrently with one leaving Constantinople; but at this timeall was confusion in the political world, not knowing where thetroops were to be next sent to. As to lime-juice, which, it wassaid, was neglected, 40,000 gallons were sent out as early asNovember; it was used all through the winter, after the battleof Inkermann, amongst the troops. Witness believed, also,there was quite enough of linen and lint for operations. Hewas next asked by the Committee as to splints, when Dr. A.Smith gave the following most extraordinary opinion, but,we believe, too true: " Almost every medical officer andsurgeon in the army has his own specific idea about splints.Nothing but novelty will now go down: one surgeon will saythe splints ought to be eleven inches long; another thinksthirteen; another twelve. I sent out 400 sets of splints of allsizes ! which ought to last an army six years; but when theyarrived, even, every man had his own new-fangled notion."As to the cleanliness of the hospital, that is entirely non-medical, or in the purveyor’s department, as the surgeons inan hospital to-day may be hundreds of miles off in a week.5000 hospital dresses (trousers, waistcoats, and flannel jackets)were sent out by Dr. Smith, but the chief difficulty, as he ex-plained, arose from the army being ordered from Malta toGallipoli, then Scutari, then Varna, and back again to Scutari.However, as soon as the Crimea was decided on, that, as hesaid before, was fixed on as "head-quarters." " In the returnsfrom Scutari, showing the washing in December to be 14,000, inNovember, 5000, sheets, shirts, &c., were put in. There were

no complaints of the cooking made in the reports sent tohim. His information from Scutari led him to think that therewere sufficient surgeons there. Once or twice it was said thesurgeons were very much over-worked, when he was inducedto send out more surgeons. Next, as to the principle of privatecontributions to military hospitals, and whether authorityshould be divided amongst various persons, Dr. A. Smith said,Decidedly not; and that Miss Nightingale was not allowed,and very properly, any control over the medicines. Asto medical appointments, six or seven applicants offeredto go out, but their services were not thought of value.One offered his services yratuitou,ly! He (witness) offeredyoung surgeons ten shillings a day salary, three shillings forrations, and X40 for outfit, and he got from the commence.-ment 150 to 200. He has since received most favourablereports of their conduct. Some discussion next ensued as to awant of quinine, (which we urged in this place as the chief thingwanted in the East,) and also as to a letter by a Dr. Burrowswith respect to the medical head-quarters being establishedfor the future at Scutari, with some other matters not ofmedical interest. Dr. Smith, amongst other inaccuracies ofwriters, also protested against a mis-statement of Mr.Osborne, that Dr. Spence, drowned in the Pri,r2ce, was hisson-in-law. Dr. Gordon, Assistant-Surgeon Browne, Dr.Taylor, Dr. M’Dermott, on the contrary-all strangers-werepromoted by him for good conduct. Next as to "panniers:"one was sent with every regiment, and twenty or thirty tospare; so the French are not singular in this matter. Thewitness, before withdrawing, stated he should probably havesome other observations to make, on another day, as to mis-statements like those relative to Dr. Spence, who was no rela-tion whatever of his. Dr. A. Smith’s evidence, on both days,gave very general satisfaction.

Dr. MENZiES, Deputy-Inspector of Hospitals, was next exa-mined.-He had had an hospital in India of 150 beds under hiscare. Went as first-class staff-surgeon to the East-to Scutari,last April. He was general superintendent of the BarrackHospital, supplementary to the General Hospital; both wereunder him; the former was a "make shift," and even thelatter was defective from the day they entered it. He reportedto the " commandant," for the information of Dr. A. Smithand Dr. Hall. He told Major Sillery the rooms were in a filthystate; that was in August. From June to January he had theentire charge of the two hospitals at Scutari; then (before thebattle of Alma) the privies were cleaned out, and the wardswhitewashed. He had at that time 200 patients in the GeneralHospital. He had a hulk hospital like the Dreadnought for500 more convalescents. He had twenty-one staff-surgeons;he considered one surgeon could attend fifty or even eightyslight cases. Witness here read a letter recapitulating manyof the facts we have already noted in THE LANCET, as to Mr.Ward, &c. Bedding was daily expected at Scutari from Varna,but did not come, and he had to borrow 200 boards andtrestles from the Turkish authorities. It happened just atthis time that Lord Redcliffe arrived to inspect the hospital,and observed this want of beds. He took Turkish sur.

geons into his employ after the battle of Alma. He sewedsheets together, and filled them with straw, for beds, afterthe battle of Inkermann. He reported this to Dr. Hall. Dr.Menzies stated that his ’own duties were overwelming-inhospital all day, and frequently up the whole night; plenty ofwriting also to do, so that inspection of other hospitals was outof the question. A s to clean linen of the hospitals, the pur-veyor had persons, he said, cleaning it; but after the battle ofInkermann these people would never do anything. Sick arrivedin hundreds, and the surgeons were overwhelmed. The Bar-rack Hospital soon became more filthy; the purveyor lived inthe hospital; but the accounts in the public press were allover-drawn. He never saw faeces at all on the floor-this waaquite a mistake. He was next examined, or rather cross-exa.mined, as to whether, as the men’s pay was stopped while inhospital, they got the value of it in medicines and medicalcomforts; to which he made the sensible answer, "they all gotsuch supplies as the medical officers considered necessary; butif a patient was labouring under bad inflammation, it wouldbe improper to give him the full value in wine or brandy,for which he would ask." One man might have been mis.taken for another in some one solitary instance as to the num-ber of his bed; but this was the fault of the purveyor living inthe hospital, not the surgeons’; sucu a thing never came to hisknowledge. The Commission of Inquiry came out on the4th of November; they are going over matters yet. MÎ8øNightingale proposed to see to the washing, but he toldher it was the purveyor’s business. During all Novemberwe had plenty of medicines; during the entire time he was

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there he found no deficiency of medicine. The witness wasasked several other questions as to the landing of the sick,which was done as well as could be under all the circumstances.

Mr. W. H. FLOWER, surgeon of the 63rd Regiment, wasexamined on the 27th, and corroborated many of the pointsalready published. The strength of his regiment was 980 men.The medicine-chest was left at Varna for want of transport;the opium, though supplied in large quantities, was soon ex-hausted from the dysentery and diarrhoea amongst the troops;iu fact, purgative medicines were left on hand ; they never re-gained their medicines from Varna! His regiment had ten istretchers and two ambulance wagons; the men’s "packs" Iwere left on board when they landed in the Crimea, of whichthey complained very much; but this was a strategic move ofLord Raglan’s. After Alma he had sixty sick and wounded aday. Operations were done "out of doors," and under everypossible disadvantage ; even the new hospital tents were sup-plied rotten, and let in the wet; the sick came in wet; all wasdamp and dreary. Medicines were deficient at Balaklava.The knapsacks were not given to the men, but it was a " regu-lation of the service." As to chloroform, he disapproved ofDr. Hall’s order, and used it.

Dr. MENziES was here recalled, and explained some pointsof no immediate medical interest. He said he employed sevenTurkish physicians, and in August thought all was right.

Medical News.RoyAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS.-The following gentle-men having undergone the necessary examinations for thediploma, were admitted Members of the College at the meetingof the Court of Examiners on the 23rd inst. :-

BURFORD, ROBERT VVILLIAM, Camden Villas.- CATTLE, WILLIAM DRUCE, Army.

DONE, JAMES, Manchester.KEHOE, DANIEL, Hoxton.RAYNER, THOMAS, Manchester.RiCHARDSON, JOHN, Caledonian-road.TURTON, JOSEPH, Manchester. !WHITTLE, EDWARD HENRY, Brenchley, Kent. !

The following gentlemen were admitted Members on the 28thinstant:—

8 ’

CATES, WILLIAM EDWARD, H.E.I.Co.’s Service.CLAREMONT, CLAUDE CLARKE, Camden-town.CLEMENT, JOSEPH, Gateshead.CoLLYNS, GEORGE NELSON, Dulverton, Somerset.EVISON, HANSON, Hull.HOOKE, BENJAMIN, H.E.I.Co.’s Service, Bengal.HorsoN, STEPHEN MOULTON, Army.

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KILROY, ALEXANDER ROBERT, Army.MANTELL, RIVERS, Bitton, near Bristol.TEALE, THOMAS PRIDGIN, Leeds.

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TERRY, JOHN NETTLETON, Bradford, Yorkshire.TRISTRAIL, WILLIAM MICHELL, Army.WALSTON, CHRISTOPHER, Arm.

APOTHECARIES’ HALL.—Names of gentlemen who passedtheir examination in the science and practice of Medicine, andreceived certificates to practise, on- .

Thursday, March 22nd, 1855.BYRNE, OSCAR.CLOUGH, CHARLES FREDERICK.JONES, JOHN, Dyffryn, Merionethshire.SAYER, WILLIAM, Liverpool.SMITH, THOMAS, Tunbridge.WALKER, JOHN SWIFT, Sheerness, Kent.

The names of gentlemen who passed the preliminary exami-nation in classics and mathematics, on-

Friday and Saturday, March 23rd and 2-ltTt, 1855.ATKINSON, F. H., Corn-hill, Lincoln.BALLARD, CHARLES, King-street, Maidstone.BAMFIELD, SAMUEL, Falmouth.BROwNE, CHARLES W.. Kew-green.CALVERT, GEORGE, Derby.CASE, GEORGE HENRY, Fareham, Hants.COATES, MATTHEW, Clifton, Bristol.CROWFOOT, WILLIAM MILLER, Beccles, Suffolk.EDGER, WILLIAM, Barnstaple.HALL, AUGUSTUS R., Verney-place, Exeter.HARRIS, WiLLiAM JoIIN, Worthing, Sussex.

HARRIS, GEORGE HARMAN, The Forbury, Reading.HAWKINS, THOMAS HENRY, Prospect-terrace, Reading.HELM, GEORGE FREDERICK, Addenbrookes’ Hospital,

Cambridge.HEWLETT, RICHARD WHITFIELD, Harrow.HILL, JOHN DANIEL, Lincoln.JEFFCOAT, JAMES HENRY, Portman-street.JESSETT, FREDERICK BOUNEMAN, Harley-street, Caven-

dish-square.JONES, J. LLOYD, Strefford, Salop.KEELE, CHARLES F., Eaton Villas South.LANGDON, JOHN, Yeovil.MANNING, FREDERICK NORTON, Piccadilly.MAYOR, THOMAS 0., Bristol.MIALL, PHILIP EDWARD, Banbury.MYERS, ARTHUR B. R., Plymouth.RENDLE, CHARLES B., Plymouth.REYNOLDS, EDWARD W., Thame, Oxon.RINGROSE, ERNEST, Potter’s Bar, Herts.RYOTT, FREDERIC ELLIOTT, Northbrook-street, Newbury.SLATER, T. J. W., Winchcomb-street, Cheltenham.SMITH, WILLIAM JOHN, Odiham, Hants.STABB, ARTHUR E., Ilfracombe.STEVENSON, JAMES, Plymouth.THOMPSON, HERBERT, Westerham, Kent.VINES, FREDERICK CASTELL, Friar-street, Reading.TYaNE, RICHARD S., Barnstaple.WATTS, FREDERICK HASE, Haverstock-terrace, Hampstead.WILLIAMS, JOHN BEVAN, High-street, Cardigan.YouNG, EDWARD PARKER, Hart-street, Henley-on-Thames.

ADULTERATION OF FOOD.—A very important meetingof that most useful body, the Dublin Chemical Society, washeld in Dublin a few days since. The President, Sir JamesMurray, in his anniversary address, brought prominentlyunder the notice of the Society, the subject of Adulteration,and expressed his sense of the great value and importance ofthe labours of THE LANCET, and of Dr. Hassall, his formerpupil, in connexion with that subject. Several of the speakers,especially Dr. Neligan and Mr. Saunders, who subsequentlyaddressed the Society, likewise dwelt upon the natural import-ance of the subject, and expressed the hope that it would soonbe dealt with as it deserved by the Legislature. Dr. Neligan,in the course of his observations, remarked-" There wasnothing they ate or drank which did not undergo more or lessadulteration, whereby a wholesome and nutritious article wasoften made more or less poisonous. The subject to which hereferred had been brought before the Legislature, by which ithad been too much neglected ; but he trusted the labours ofthat Society would do much towards putting an end to thosefrauds, and thus affording a further security for the health ofthe public." Another speaker, Mr. Saunders, observed-" There had been a want of paternal affection towards thepeople on the part of the Government, in not providing somemethod of detecting the frauds that were committed in the pre-paration of almost every article of food and clothing that wasin use. Everything that the hand of fraud could touch wastampered with, and Societies like that would do well to de-vote their energies to the exposure of such doings." Themeeting was a highly influential one, and included many of thefirst names in the ranks of science in Ireland, as well as severalnoblemen, as Lord Talbot de Malahide, the Lord Chancellor, &c.

TENTH ANNIVERSARY DINNER OF THE GERMAN HOS-PITAL, DALSTON.—On the 22nd inst., the tenth anniversarydinner of this excellent charity took place at the LondonTavern. His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge presided,supported by Count Kielmansegge, Hanoverian Ambassador;Count Bernstorff, Prussian Ambassador; the Rev. ArchdeaconRobinson, Mr. Twining, Mr. Meinertzhagen, &c. The Dukeof Cambridge was received with the greatest enthusiasm, thehearty and thundering cheers being inspired both by themilitary deeds and the benevolent exertions of the illustriouschairman. It was shown by the address of the Duke of Cam-bridge that the German Hospital has now, after ten years’existence, (having been founded under the immediate patronageof his late father,) become an important institution, and a greatboon to the poor population of the north-eastern suburbs of themetropolis. It was not sufficiently known that all those whosought relief for accidental bodily injury were at once admitted,without any regard to nationality, the persons thus relievedbeing mostly British subjects. The number of people, belong-ing to the extensive parishes of Kingsland, Dalston, Hackney,Shacklewell, and Clapton, who daily obtained advice and medi-cine at the hospital dispensary, was also very large. In fact,this charity might be numbered amongst those which - have:.


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