405

THE LANCET.

LONDON, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1849.

MILITARY AND NAVAL SURGEONS ŇHOMOEOPATHIC QUACKERY.

WE are happy to learn that some subscriptions have beenalready announced, towards the publication and distributionof the " Summary" of the claims of military and naval sur-geons to the honours and rewards of the naval and military pro-fessions. It is allowed on all hands that the Summary is amost important document, and one which sets forth theseclaims in a more clear, cogent, and comprehensive mannerthan had ever been done before. As such, its extensive pub-lication must be most interesting and useful to the medicalmen of our fleets and armies, the parties who are to be directlybenefited. The Summary has had the publicity afforded byour own pages; but we are, with its author, desirous of a stillmore extended publication, such as may carry on the cause ofnaval and military surgeons, and diffuse a knowledge of thereal state of their case in every quarter in which such know-

ledge can conduce to a successful result. Let this be done,and its effects cannot but be abundantly evident, when thesubject is next discussed in the House of Commons. To suc-

ceed in any difficult matter, no means of success can be

properly neglected.The entire public press should have the Summary placed

before them; it should be put into the hands of every memberof both Houses of Parliament; and it should be supplied tothose officials and officers of the two services, non - medi-cal, whose knowledge and feelings upon the subject mayhave any influence upon the result. One thousand copies ofthe Summary have been printed, and to defray the cost,together with the cost of distributing them by post andadvertisement, a subscription from medical officers of thearmy and navy is requisite. We are certain, that to say thiswill be sufficient to ensure a sum adequate to pay the neces-sary expenses. We shall be happy to receive any communi-cation relating to the subject, and to acknowledge any sub-scriptions which may be announced between the present dateand our next publication. Medical officers of the army and

navy owe some slight exertions in this matter both to theirown good cause-to the gallant officers who, like Sir HOWARDDouGLAs and Sir DE LACY EvANs, have urged their causewithin the walls of Parliament-to those who, like the authorof the Summary, bestow time, labour, and ability, upon thework-and, we will add, to ourselves, who have now incessantlykept the matter before the profession and the public for

several years; and we may add, that we do not intend to dis-continue our exertions until the whole matter has been

righted. We are convinced that there is hardly any morecertain manner of raising the rank of the profession in publicestimation, than in this of obtaining their just rank for navaland military surgeons and physicians.The following is one of the letters we have already received,

and which is from a gentleman high in the medical service ofthe Indian army. It gives us great satisfaction, and thoughthe distribution of the Summary may entail some trouble onourselves, we shall be happy to undertake it if we can therebypromote the claims which we think so eminently just.

"two the Editor of THE LANCET. I,," SiR,ŇI beg to inform you, with many thanks for your able

and consistent advocacy of the rights of military and naval

medical officers, that I shall be happy to subscribe twoguineas, to be applied, in any way you may think proper, to.the distribution of the excellent Summary which appeared inTHE LANCET of September 22, and I trust many others will,with myself, follow the example and suggestion of your corre-spondent, an officer of Six Clasps.’’ " am, Sir, your obedient servant,

A SURGEON OF THE BENGAL ARMY.’’

HoMCEOPATHS are by no means infinitesimal in the doses ofhumbug they administer to the public. Their whole systembeing a lie, it is not to be expected that they should be niceabout the truth, in particular instances. To dose the publicto gull the public, and to elevate the humbug (homoeopathy) byany means, fair or foul, is considered as lawful, in homceo-

pathic morality, as to sin for his order is in the ethics of the-follower of LOYOLA. We are led to these observations by the.

history of a case which has recently occurred at Halifax, andwhich is interesting in many points of view. It appears that

a Mr. RAMSBOTHAM, who was once practising as a surgeon at

Bradford, but with whom legitimate physic did not agree, andwho, consequently, took a situation as agent or steward on theFixby estates, and is now diligently engaged in the practice ofhomoeopathy, as well as stewardship, in the neighbourhood ofHuddersfield. Some time since, four men were bitten by arabid dog, and two of them were successively attacked with-

hydrophobia, and died; the first, almost without any medicaltreatment; the second, after the most strenuous exertions of Dr.

INGLIS, and Mr. FAWTHORp, surgeon, of Halifax. Shortlyafter-wards, a third man, named HOPKINSON, was reported to havebeen seized with hydrophobia. Before this time, Mr. RAMS-BOTHAM had industriously circulated the report, that homoeo-pathy had cured, and could cure, hydrophobia; and he was.accordingly called in to the case. On his arrival, though itappears he had never seen a case of the disease, he, withoutconsultation, pronounced the man to be suffering from hydro-phobia, and began treating him with homoeopathic doses ofthe tincture of lachesis. The man, after some hours of infini-

tesimal treatment, grew somewhat better, and by this timethe rumour of the case came to the knowledge of Messrs.INGLIS and FAWTHORp, and other medical men of the neighbour-hood. These gentlemen at once pronounced the case to benot one of hydrophobia. There were no spasms, no disturb-

ance of the wound, nor any symptoms, in fact, which might notreadily have arisen from the man’s having been drunk,anxious, and excessively fatigued, previous to the seizure.

Dr. INGLis staked his reputation upon the case not being oneof hydrophobia; and the man, in justification of his diagnosis,rapidly recovered, without a single hydrophobic symptom.The fourth man has not had any ailment, we believe, sincethe date of the bite of the dog. Of course, it was very morti-

fying to Mr. RAMSBOTHAM to be interfered with in this unce-remonious manner, but very fortunate for the public and thecause of truth that he was so disturbed, as he had alreadybegun to vaunt the miraculous powers of his lachesis.The dupes of homoeopathy, in the neighbourhood of Hud-

dersfield, are furious at having such a case wrested from the

disciple of HAHNEMANN, and persist in declaring it to havebeen an infinitesimal cure. Mr. RAMSBOTHAM appears to have

been willing enough that this supposition should have beenentertained; but Dr. INGLIS, like a good man and true, ad-dressed the public press, detailing the simple facts of the case,and showing that there was no hydrophobia, and consequently-

406 THR DISCOVERY OF BBS. BMTTAN AND- 9WAIM]g.

no merit* whatever to hømaeopathy in this instance. But for

this, the train was laid; the public would have been terrifiedwith the idea of prevalent hydrophobia; the man himselfmight have been frightened to death, (indeed, it is almost a

wonder that the announcement of hydrophobia did not killthe poor fellow with fright;) the fourth bitten person wouldhave been doomed, almost without hope of escape, to an at-tack of canine madness; and all as a ministration to the inor-dinate vanity of one silly renegade from the profession, andthe glorification of the homoeopathic folly. In the corre-

Ispondence which ensued upon the case, Mr. BAHSBOTHAM

did not pretend but that he was perfectly mistaken, content-ing himself with denying that he intended to practise anywilful deception. Nevertheless, one of the brazen and un-blushing organs of homceopathie lying, in London, has theeffrontery to say-" In the annals of medicine there is not re-corded a clearer case, or one which admits of less doubt as to

its character. That the man HOPKINSON was cured of rabies,under the able treatment of Dr. RAJlISBOTHAlII, must be evi-dent to every individual capable of adapting his judgmentto the simplest question." That homoeopathies can adapttheir judgments in the most convenient manner is a point onwhich we have long been enlightened; but here the deceptionwhich would, doubtless, have been practised if possible, washappily exposed; and we rejoice to say, that in this the me-

dical men met the candid support of the Halifax Guardian,the journal in which the discussion on the case has been pub-lished.We refer to the matter in question, in order to exhibit to

the profession the tricks and tactics of homceopathists. In

other places, as well as in Halifax, honest medical men shouldbe on their guard against the practices common to thesepeople. Whenever they come before the public, and can beexposed and refuted, they should be exposed, and that

thoroughly; and we only wish, that on all occasions in whichlegitimate medicine needs to be defended, and quackeryattacked, the champion may be equal to Dr. INGLIS in tact,temper, and courage. We should then not have our provincialcities and towns overrun, as they now are, by a vagrant packof homceopathists and mesmerists.

THE profession has now before it the chief data respectingthe discovery of the fungous bodies which are believed to bepeculiar to the cholera evacuations. Drs. BRITTAN and

SwAYNB, in the first instance, simply observed the peculiarcells they have described, and ascertained them to be, as faras their investigations extended, peculiar to the evacuationsin cholera. Dr. BRITTAN next-on the suggestion, we believe,of Dr. BERNARD-condensed the air of rooms in which cholera

patients had died, and detected similar or identical bodies inthe cholera atmosphere. Dr. BUDD also detected similar cells

ill, the water of infected localities. Dr. THOMAS WILLIHIS had

also been engaged in the microscopical examination of cholerastools, and has published confirmatory results.Thus far everything tends to the confirmation of the im-

portance of the primary discovery of Drs. BRITTAN and

SWAYNE. It now appears, however, that similar bodies hadbeen seen by Mr. QUECKETT in the urine of a cholera patient,though his observations were not made public. Dr. COR1.IACKaJso states that other microscopists have discovered the spe-cial organisms in the urine. By a communication from Dr.

COWDELL, of Dorchester, it appears as though they had alsobeen discovered in the sweat of cholera subjects. Accordingto our present knowledge, these facts militate in some mea-sure against the cholera, fungi being considered the cause ofthe disease, unless we can account for the translation of

the sporules from the intestines to the bladder and to theskin, or unless there be some fallacy in the examinationswhich have been made of the urinary and cutaneous fluids.

It may be premature to make any estimate of the value ofthis discovery, or to award the different degrees of merit tothose who have participated in it. We may, however, state,as our opinion, that the first fact is the really- important fact,and for the discovery of that, there can be no doubt we areindebted to the joint investigation of Drs. BRITTAN andSWAYNE. The first perception of the peculiar cells was thegreat fact. The subsequent discovery of cells in the atmo-sphere and in water, however interesting, are altogethersecondary, and convey no merit similar to that which con.nects itself with the firstdiscovery. They, in fact, naturallyenough arose out of the first observation. We make these

remarks in a spirit of perfect fairness, because we see that-insome papers Dr. BUDD’s name is mentioned alone, and inothers, as in the series of articles in the Morning Chronicle,the name of Dr. SWAYNE is studiously suppressed. We trustthat Drs. SwAYNE, BRITTAN, and BUDD, and many others, willcontinue their investigations laboriously and successfully: butthis can in nowise diminish the value of the first discovery,which rests with perfect equality with both Drs. SwAYjM

and BRITTAN.

In this case it was remarkable that theory had anticipatedfact and observation. Not to mention previous writers, Dr.CowDELL, of Dorchester, had in this country published a veryable volume on the Fungoid Origin of Cholera ; and Dr.MITCHELL, of Philadelphia, had, subsequently to the appear-ance of Dr. CowBBU/s work, published a volume on theCryptogamous Origin of Malarious and Epidemic Fevers, in-cluding Malignant Cholera.

Drs. SWAYNE and BRITTAN have kept pretty closely to theirfacts. Dr. BUDD, in his letter to The Times, and in ,his

pamphlet, has indulged in some clever but uncertain spectt-la.tions, based upon the detection of the fungoid bodies. Hebelieves these bodies to be undoubtedly the local cause ofcho-

lera, and that in their growth they abstract the fluid parts ofthe blood to themselves, and thus cause the rice-water evacUS6-tions. Their special habitat he believes to be the human. in-testine, and water their chief mode of diffusion.However these points and even the original microscopical

observations may be, the whole profession is roused upon the

subject, and the truth can hardly elude the thousand eyesof the profession, all anxious to arrive at the real facts.

Hitherto, little has been said about the remedial measureswhich the discovery of the cholera fungus would suggest.Next to the observation of the cells, the second great pointwould be their destruction either before or after their recep-tion into the living body. The only plan hitherto suggestedis that of Dr. BUDD, of receiving the evacuations of cholera.patients in chloride of zinc, or some other solution fatal to thefungous growth ; but it is obvious that no chemical mode ofdestroying them has hitherto been found, otherwise theywould have been destroyed in the course of the thousand andone remedies administered for cholera. An ingenious Cor-respondent, indeed, suggests that as all chemical remedies-

407APPOINTMENT OF DR. PEACOCK.-MANSLAUGHTER BY HOMCEOPATHY.

have hitherto failed, it would be well to try the internal ex-hibition of fluid containing quantities of animalcules which, itis well known, destroy minute fungi with the greatest ra-

pidity. Our correspondent supports this suggestion with a

variety of arguments; but the matter is so simple, that we donot doubt some of our readers will carry the suggestion outinto practice. There is a lull in the fierceness of the malady,but as it is extremely probable that it will return in the spring,with more or less severity, every means of arresting it, how-ever novel, that may be suggested with safety, should betried.

Tian governors of the Royal Free Hospital have announcedtwo vacancies in the Physicians’ department of that institu-tion. One of the vacant places has been caused by the ap-pointment of Dr. PEACOCK to the office lately rendered vacantin St. Thomas’s Hospital, in consequence of the lamenteddeath of Dr. BURTON. This appointment reflects equal crediton Dr. PEACOCK and the governors of St. Thomas’s

Hospital; it is one of those very rare and gratifyingoccasions when individual merit obtains a just reward.

The field of observation at the Royal Free Hospital is

one of the most extensive and fruitful kind, and Dr. PEA-CocK has pursued his labours there with extraordinaryassiduity and singular success. It is due to the governorsof the Royal Free Hospital to state that they were thefirst to discover Dr. PEACOCK’S claims to distinction; andhis appointment by them, as now by the governors of St.Thomas’s Hospital, was caused alone by the solid claims ofDr. PEACOCK, and the desire of the managers of both institu-tions to make the best selection in their power, with a view

to the advantage of the suffering inmates of both hospitals.We say to them all, mack tua virtute.One of the rewards which Dr. PEACOCK will obtain from

his new appointment will be, a degree of repose after his latesevere labours, which generally only falls to the lot of phy-sicians of more advanced years. While, however, the burdenof Dr. PEACOCK’S public duties is lessened, we doubt not,owing to the additional time which he will be able to devoteto them, that his private and more profitable labours will bemuch increased.

We confidently believe that the appointment., about to bemade, of two physicians at the Royal Free Hospital, will beguided by the purest public motives, and that the candidateswho have the strongest claims to distinction will be elected -tothe vacant places. The Royal Free Hospital, although it

contains 140 beds, and admits for treatment upwards of 2000patients weekly, is supported almost entirely by voluntarycontributions. The opportunities which that institution affordsto enterprising physicians and surgeons of genius and industryare almost unequalled in this metropolis, and the governors,in consequence of the increasing demands for admission, areabout to add to their already large building.a new wing, andalso a theatre, wherein are to be performed the operationsin surgery.

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HOMŒOPATHY AND MANSLAUGHTER.

(From The Sun of Oct. 10.)LAST evening, at five o’clock, Mr. Meiobary Wakley, deputy-coroner for Middlese-x, and a jury of inhabitants of St. Pancras,assembled for the-third time at the Perseveraace Tavern,

’William-street, Hampstead-road, to conclude their inquiryconcerning the death of Mr. RICHARD DAVID PEARCE, agedthirty-four, an upholsterer, late of No. 86, Mary-street, allegedto have been starved to death whilst under the homceopathictreatment for cholera, adopted by his brother, Mr. CHARLESTHOMAS PEARCE, an unqualified homoeopathic practitioner, re-siding at No. 3, Taunton-place, Regent’s-park.The accused was present throughout the proceedings, ac-

companied by Mr. Dowding, his solicitor, and the inquiry ex-cited a great deal of interest, especially amongst the medicalprofession. The following is an epitome of the evidence.Mrs. JANE PEARCE, widow of the deceased, deposed that he

was taken ill with diarrhoea and spasms of the stomach, onSaturday, the 8th ultimo. On Sunday morning, the 9th, Mr.Harris, surgeon, of Gower-street, was sent for, and on arriving,pronounced deceased to be labouring under cholera. Mr.Harris saw him three times that day, and gave him medicine,and Mr. Charles Thomas Pearce, the accused, came the sameevening. When he came, he said he should take deceasedunder his own care, and she believed he dismissed Mr. Harris.He told her he had taken his brother out of Mr. Harris’shands, and he then gave him a powder, giving her strict in-junctions not on any account to give deceased anything to eator drink excepting ice-water and the medicines he sent. Thedeceased was under his treatment for ten days previous to hisdeath, which took place on the 18th September. During thewhole of that period, Mr. Pearce, the accused, refused to allowhim to have anything to eat. Deceased continually cravedfor food, and when she appealed to the brother about it, hesaid if she gave him food she would kill him, and thereforeshe was afraid to do so. Deceased was continually crying forfood, and complained that he was being starved to death. Shesent for Mr. Davis, another surgeon, on the evening of the17th, because her husband became much worse. She did givehim some beef-tea and some arrow-root, and the day beforehe died, some toast. He was sick more than three times. Hedid not get any better under his brother’s treatment.Mr. JAMES DAVIS, surgeon, of Ampthill-square, deposed that

he was called to see deceased on the evening of the 17th ult.and found him in a very low and exhausted condition, appa-rently for want of nourishment. Deceased was sensible,and told him he had been starved to death by the homœo-pathic system of medical treatment. He ordered him somebrandy-and-water, and sent him medicine, and when he sawhim on the following morning, the 18th,he was dying. Couldnot say that he considered him labouring under cholera whenhe first saw deceased. On examining the body he found itmuch emaciated. The liver, kidneys, lungs, and right sideof the heart were congested. The stomach was healthy, butall that was found in it was a small quantity of liquid matterof a brown colour, which on being tested, proved to contain aslight portion of arsenic. In witness’s opinion the cause ofdeceased’s death was exhaustion from want of food. Wasinformed that all deceased had had in the shape of food wasalittle beef-tea and some arrow-root. Considered such treat-ment enough to exhaust and kill any man.The inquiry was ultimately adjourned till last evening, Mr.

Harris, who first attended the deceased, being out of town;and on the re-assembling .of the jury,Mr. HARRIS was sworn. Finding that the brother of de-

ceased professed the doctrine of homoeopathy, and that hewished deceased to be treated under that system, he told himhe could not act in concert with him, and, at his request, hethen gave the care of the deceased over to him. He couldnot say that deceased died of Asiatic cholera. He had cho-lera when he (Mr. Harris) saw him, and he treated him for it.He did not give up the case because it was hopeless. Havingheard the whole of the evidence read over, Mr. Harris said hecertainly considered the deceased had not had sufficient foodto sustain life. On the contrary, he (witness) ordered strongbeef-tea, arrow-root, brandy.and-water, and solids, if he couldtake them.Mr. DoWLiNG, on the part of the accused, proposed to call

Dr. Epps, Dr. Kelsall, and other professors of the honaves-pathic system, who were present, and who, he said, wouldprove that the treatment of the deceased was skilful andproper.

Dr. KELSALL was sworn. He said he was a professor ofhomoeopathy, and had formerly been a surgeon in the navy.He had had many cases of Asiatic cholera under his care, andhe considered the treatment pursued by the accused proper.It was his firm conviction that it was highly improper to givefood in cases of cholera. No food whatever should be givenfrom the moment of attack-until the patient is convalescent. Hehad -had patients under his own care without food for a longer