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riding with propriety upon horsehack, the truth of whichhorsemen recognise—namely, if a man make sure of keepinghis heels down, all things else in riding will be added: thatis to say, if the heels be right, all other excellences ofequestrian posture will take care of themselves.

I am, Sirs, yours faithfully,Birmingham, Dec. 29th, 1890. JAMES SAWYER.JAMES SAWYER.

THE FOUNDER OF "THE LANCET."

[THE early history of THE LANCET, the fierce conflicts inwhich it was used by its founder as the weapon by whichhe achieved successive victories over selfishness and wrong,and thus made comparatively smooth and easy the path forreformers in after years, form a subject which ought not tobe allowed to pass into oblivion. We have no hesitation,therefore, in allowing to appear in our columns the followingcommunication from the pen of a correspondent who is in aposition to appreciate the advantages to the professiongained by the indomitable energy and persistent efforts ofthe great medical reformer.—ED. L.]

I have recently had the curiosity to go through the filesof THE LANCET with the object of discovering and recordingif possible the tone and ainis of that journal from its incep-tion, and the enormous labour has been amply repaid by thediscovery of the rich mine of wealth which the volumescontain. I believe I have discovered the secret of theunparalleled success and the high reputation of the chieforgan of the medical profesf:ion. In one of the volumesI came across what may be called THE LANCET’S con-fession of faith. "THE LANCET will perpetuate thememory of Thomas Wakley-the founder of this journal-by cherishing after his death the principles to whichhe consecrated his life." The solemnity of expressionin the passage on the occasion of the death of thefounder led me to further inquire by what motives hehad been actuated, what such a memory and examplerequired of his successors, and how far the solemn promisehad been fulfilled by them. What had he to gain inrequiring that medical men should be adequately rewardedfor their labours ? "I have," said Mr. Wakley in a publicspeech-" I have foresworn medical practice. I use onlythe lancet, and that in the form of a quill." From thattime he became the champion of medical reform of allkinds. If we turn to The Times of 1827 we find thatat that early period THE LANCET gave the first blow"to cupidity and corruption by establishing a freemedical press, and rousing the profession to a sense ofits injuries and indignities, and to a spirit of resistance."Mr. Wakley’s great aim was always to uphold the rightsof the profession as a whole by the adoption of straight-forward courses of action. What has he gained for medicalmen? In former days, when scarcely a week passed withoutfuxnishing instances of imbecility and ignorance on thepart of coroners, and reports of insults borne by medicalmen who were, without fee or reward, compelled to attendthese ‘ worthless, expensive, and pernicious exhibitions,"he raised his voice with no uncertain sound against suchpalpable abuses,.and earned for himself no small share ofobloquy from those who considered themselves injuredby his fearless exposure of base principles. Unmistak-able deaths from poisoning were recorded by coroners’juries from time to time as "Deaths by the visita-tion of God." Abuses so apparent soon roused him tomost energetic action, resulting in his candidature andelection for the office of Coroner for the Western Divisionof Middlesex at the enormous cost to himself of manythousands of pounds. From that time THE LANCEThas consistently supported the appointment of medicalcoroners, and now scores of medical men occupy thatposition. The Coroners Act, allowing the appointmentof a permanent deputy coroner, and the Medical Wit-nesses Bill were introduced to Parliament on his instiga-tion and passed in consequence of his exertions. As adirect result of his personal patience. an inquiry intothe flogging to death of a soldier at Hounslow Barracksled to the abolition of flogging in the army. Hiskeenest shafts, however, were aimed at empiricism and cant,"the prima materia of the devil," as Carlyle called it.He hated shams, and loathed the feebleness which

succumbs to mere authority. He succeeded to ti great-.extent in rescuing the very institutions which were estab-lished to prevent quackery from the quagmire of empiricisminto which they themselves had fallen. His attack onthe faults and absurdities connected with medical educationshould render the medical student of to-day, perhaps more,than anyone else, grateful to the founder of THE LANCET,for it is through his instrumentality that every student hasnow secured to him able and earnest teachers, and the rightof using freely the opportunities which public hospitalsafford him for his improvement. The first great battle bywhich the rights of a free medical press were establishedwas won by Mr. Wakley on their behalf. Up to the year1825 no clinical lectures were delivered in the hospitals,and no reports of the cases which occurred in them werepublished. The famous action of Abernethy v. Wakleyestablished the right of the medical journals to print publiclectures, and was a triumph for the press, the influence ofwhich has been great and lasting. With regard to thedecision in the case of Bransby Cooper v. Wakley, Sir James.Scarlett, the opposing counsel, admitted " that the exampleof this proceeding has given to the periodical press a triumph.and an influence which it never had before."Mr. Wakley was one of the first to urge upon his medical

brethren the necessity for their being represented in Parlia-ment by members of their own profession ; and, ever readyto practise what he preached, he submitted himself as.

Parliamentary candidate for Finsbury. Twice he went tothe poll, and twice was he defeated. Undaunted, hewent again to the poll at the next election and wasreturned by an overwhelming majority. Before he hadbeen many weeks in the House he began to manifest hiscare for the interests of the profession by asking ques-tions of the greatest importance to its members, andthroughout the whole of his Parliamentary career oftwenty-four years was he the staunch champion of medical’men, influencing the House to appoint select committeesto inquire into abuses, introducing Bills, moving amend-ments, and in many other ways acting in their interests.He established a life assurance office for the purpose ofenforcing the payment by the various oflices of the fees forthe medical examination of their clients, urging that, as.medical reports were given in the interests of the ottices,payment of the fees should therefore be made by them.What is the direct result of this action at the presentday e Every office now pays the medical fees, and Iobserved in a recent issue of THK LANCET that duringthe past year one oilice had paid as much as £50,000in recognition of the services of medical officers. Inhis threefold capacity of Member of Parliament for Fins-bury, Coroner for West Middlesex, and Editor of THE.LANCET, he wielded a power unequalled by any other manin the profession, and was not slow to use it for theadvancement of its interests and welfare. Perhaps one ofthe most important public functions performed on behalfof the poor by Mr. Wakley was the establishment of an.Analytical Commission which exposed the adulteration offood and converted the press into an instrument of policeby establishing in THE LANCET the precedent of publishing,fearless of all legal conseqnences, the name and address of-the establishment where adulteration was carried on. Inmany cases he would add : " This is the third article whichwe have found adulterated-the public should avoid this-shop." As a result, legal actions bristled around him, butsuch was the genuineness of his work that in not a singleinstance was an unfavourable verdict recorded against him.Some years after the establishment of his Analytical Com-mission an Act of Parliament was passed requiring theappointment of public analysts throughout every district ofthe country. The public benefits resulting from this workcannot, indeed, be overrated.What did he gain by the exertion of his indomitable

courage on behalf of his professional brethren ? Either asplaintiff or as defendant in the law courts Mr. Wakleymust have fought some twenty-five or thirty actions, con-testing in his own person with some of the leading barristersof that day over matters connected with the advancementof the profession at so great a personal expense that onseveral occasions the very existence of THE LANCET wasimperilled. He lent his aid in reforming the Lunacy Laws,and was always the defender of the rights and privilegesof the medical officers of the united services and pf the-Poor-law administration. He was the champion of theFellows and Members of the Royal College of Surgeons,.

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who were unfairly treated by a Council then wholly irre- sponsible and self-elective. In regard to this body he rnain-tained that when a few individuals were appointed to watch over the interests of a large body of men, it wasquite necessary, in order to secure upright conduct on theirpart, that the interests of those few should be identifiedwith those of the many. To this end he laboured, exposingand denouncing the procedure of the " minacious oligarchyof our mismanaged temple," as he called the Council, andcharacterising certain of the by-laws then in force as "in-struments of corporate iniquity." To attack abuses uncom-promisingly wherever they existed, to spare no effort, toil,or trouble to effect reforms wherever they were required, toraise the profession as a whole from the lowly position itthen occupied to such a level as it has now attained inpublic esteem, were some of the labours of a life remarkableat once for uprightness and disinterestedness of purpose.

" I’ve heard of hearts unkind,Kind doeds with cold returning.Alas ! the gratitude of menHath oftener left me mourning."

The memory of Thomas Wakley should be written in lettersof gold on the mind of every medical man. Examples andprinciples such as these are surely those which.all should beproud to follow and adopt, for even now necessity :forfurther reform in each and all of the directions I haveindicated is not wanting. I earnestly hope and believethat you, the successors of so worthy an ancestor, willpersist in the noble endeavour to carry out the promisemade at the time when he ceased to labour among us, andin so doing-though you may easily fall short of the rareexcellence which he at all times displayed -neverthe-less you will have adopted a course which shall be honour-able alike to yourselves and of the highest utility to thenoble profession you have the honour to represent.

BIRMINGHAM.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) Ii

Hospital Siozclay Collection.THE accounts of this collection for the present year have

been made up, and give a total of £4712 3s. 2d, whichgoes to the Queen’s Hospital. The institution is in need offunds, and the authorities will hail this liberal contributionwith much satisfaction.

Deatla of Mr. Thomas Taylor.On Dec. 30th died the oldest member of the medical

profesion in the Midlands, at the ripe age of ninety-five years. Though for some years past he has not,as might be expected from his age, taken an active partin life, he still preserved an interest in professionalmatters. Of sound knowledge, firm faith, and a characterunsullied by any dark spots, he maintained to the last hisreputation as a high-minded and honourable man. His loveof literature was constant, and he took the greatest pridein the preservation and intimate acquaintance with thebooks he possessed. His habits were active even to hisown hurt, for he rcfused to be conveyed by train or bycarriage if ever there was a possibility of walking to hisdestination. Of him it is said that he had no enemies,and it is hardly possible to picture a more merited orworthy distinction. Quiet and gentle in manners, of thegreatest probity in all transactions, he hs left a namewhich remains untarnished by the long lapse of years.

Christmas at the Hospitals.As usual, the annual festivities of the season find

expressions of happiness and hope amid the surroundings ofdisease and suffering. The different hospitals have viedwith each other in making bright and cheerful the interiorsand the wards. Captious critics have even questioned thepropriety of nurses devoting their time to decorations, andhave hinted that someone must suffer in consequence. It

would be ill to deprive them of the pleasure it evidentlygives, and he would be a morose and gloomy man whcsought to deny to the sick and suffering the gleam of hopeand comfort which such associations afford, and the pass-ing interest which tends to cast self into oblivion, if everfor the short space of Christmas time.

NIl1’ses’ Responsibilities.An inquest was held on Dec. 30th on the body of a

pauper lunatic, who met her death under circumstance:

which gave rise to a verdict of manslaughter against thenurse in charge. The patient, it appeared from the evi-dence, was carried from bed into the bath-room, placed ina bath of very hot water, and died a few hours afterwards.It is a rule of the asylum that no patient must be placedin a bath with the taps turned on while the water is still

running in. There is another rule, also, that the attendantmust previously ascertain the temperature with a thermo-meter, and that it must not exceed 98° F. Unfortunatelyboth these wise rules appear to have been violated.

Resignation of Sir Walter Foster.The Committee of the General Hospital, at their meeting

on Jan. 2nd, will proceed to fill up the vacancy caused bythe resignation of Sir Walter Foster. Dr. Simon, who hasbeen assistant physician for eight years, is considered tohave a good claim to the succession, but no doubt it willbe declared open and the appointment given to the bestcandidate who applies.Birmingham, Dec. 30th.

LIVERPOOL.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Cliri8tmas Hot-_pots &c. for the Poor.SOME years ago Sir David Radcliffe, when mayor of ’this

city, conceived the happy idea of sending a large numberof hot-pots, each containing a sufficient quantity of meatand potatoes to serve as dinner for a family of deservingpoor persons. The custom has been followed by each suc-cessive mayor, aided by the liberality of the public, and.Sir David Radcliffe’s generous conception has now becomea hardy annual. Like other generous acts, it has expanded,and by the generosity of some leading firms each recipientof a hot-pot also has a packet of tea and a jar of preserve.In addition to these, a large number of the poor are pro-vided with free breakfasts on Christmas morning. The re-cipients are carefully selected by ministers of religion, carebeing taken to select the most deserving. This year thedistribution was even more generous than usual, and alarge number of the hungry were filled with good things.

The Weather : Accide-lats and Fatalities.

During the present month the weather has been intenselysevere, the thermometer registering 22° of frost in oneof the suburbs, and even 10° in the city. On the 19ththere was a very heavy fall of snow, with dense fogs andhard frost. Hence many accidents and fatalities fromfalls in the frozen streets. The practice of salting thestreets, though justified by the authorities on accountof the ease with which it melts the snow, is much con-demned by the public for the injury it causes to boots,and the cruel suffering it causes to horses, dogs, and cattleby the intense cold it causes. On Saturday, the 27th inst.,six patients were taken to the Northern Hospital in thehorse ambulance, three of whom were carters. One wassuffering from a fractured leg and crushed band, the secondfrom a fractured leg, and the third from wounds in the chest,neck, and thigh, by stabs from an assailant, who has beenarrested. An elderly women died soon after admission fromthe effects of burns, as did also a man who fell into the firewhile under the influence of drink. The sixth case wasthat of a man sixty years of age, who was found in anapoplectic fit.

The Bolton Murderer.The young man, Macdonald, who murdered the school-

mistre, near Bolton, was hanged to-day within the walls ofH.M. Prison, Kirkdale. But for the confession of theprisoner the evidence would have been purely circum-stantial, and there might have been some difficulty in

, securing a conviction. There has been an entire absence ofthat mawkish sentiment which was displayed towards thenotorious Mrs. Maybrick, the Crewe, and the New Brighton

. murderers. Macdonald’s crime was so atrocious that no, attempt was made to secuye any remission of the capital sentence. A new gallows has been erected, and was used. for the first time. It is in accordance with recommendations

of the committee appointed by the Government, and has alength of chain to which the rope is affixed.

Strikes, Elecmosynary Relief, and Fever Epidemics.t In a former letter allusion was made to the great hard-s ships inflicted by strikes, which mean hunger and even