88

THE LANCET.

LONDON: SATURDAY, JULY 20,1850.

THE BALLOTING-PAPERS.-THE TRIAL OF PATE.

SINCE the last number of THE LANCET issued from the press,the registration and scrutiny of the votes of the profession,recorded in the balloting-papers, have been steadily proceed-ing. A most complete analysis of the votes, by what classesOf practitioners given, and in what direction, is in process ofpreparation, but is yet by no means sufficiently complete tobe laid before the profession. We are enabled, however,this week, to announce the general result of an alphabeticalclassification of the second thousand votes. From a careful

enumeration, it appears that 836 of these are " in favour of

amending the Charter of the Royal College of Surgeons ofEngland," and 154 "in favour of incorporating the GeneralPractitioners in a distinct college." The relative numbers

here are almost exactly the same as were elicited by thescrutiny of the first thousand votes, amongst which, it will berecollected, 830 were found " in favour of amending theCharter of the Royal College of Surgeons," and 147 for

$’incorporating the general practitioners in a distinct col-

lege." Of the 2000 votes analyzed, 1665 are given for amend-ing the College Charter, and 302 are recorded for a new

incorporation,— the proportion of somewhat more than fiveand a half to one are given in favour of amending the Charterof the College of Surgeons.In the next number of this journal we purpose to announce

the result of the scrutiny of the remaining votes already re-ceived-they amount, we are led to believe, to nearly anotherthousand. A considerable number, therefore, of members ofthe profession have responded with becoming alacrity to theplan which we proposed to them for recording their opinions;but we feel that it is highly desirable to ascertain the

wishes of the largest possible number of legally-qualifiedpractitioners. We intend, accordingly, in a future numberof THE LANCET, to issue an additional quantity of balloting-papers, in the hope that the list of voters will thereby begreatly increased.

THE trial of PATE for the atrocious assault on her Majestycalls for a few observations. The grossness of the act,and the recollection of the maudlin sentimentalism which

led to the acquittal of OXFORD and some of his imitatorson the plea of insanity, have caused the conviction of the Irecent offender to be received, not only without question,but even with satisfaction. Judicial prudence has rushed from the Scylla of acquitting the notoriety-hunter, on the Iground of insanity, into the Charybdis of convicting andtransporting the insane; and public opinion, if it has not ledthe way, has certainly not lagged in the rear. A perusal ofthe evidence given on this trial, and of the observations of the

judge and the counsel for the Crown and the prisoner, havesatisfied us that prejudice has usurped the place of prudencein the present case, and that the course now adopted mustlead, if persisted in, to the establishment of principles directlyopposed to those of either mercy or justice. No one candoubt for a moment the fact of this unfortunate man’s in-

sanity. The history of his life from the period of his joininghis regiment, some nine years ago, up to the time of his com-mitting the act which has rendered him a convicted felon,exhibits a series of delusions and deeds which none but a man

of insane mind could entertain or perform. Need we remindthe reader of the belief entertained by this gentleman whenserving as an officer in a distinguished regiment, that themessman and the cook had conspired to poison him; of hiscomplaint to his commanding and brother officers, that hisstomach was filled with bricks and stones, which the surgeonwas unable to remove; of his delusion as to his being pursuedfrom place to place by strange individuals, and of his conse-quent flight without leave of absence from his regiment; andof the fact that the authorities,:satisfied of his irresponsibility,took no notice of this high breach of military discipline.Need we trace his subsequent career in London; his wildescapades, "hail, rain, snow, or blow," to Putney and Barnes

Commons; his extraordinary conduct in private and in public- conduct which led physicians, surgeons, clergymen, mem·

bers of Parliament, police inspectors, park-keepers, arcade-beadles, and cabmen, to testify equally to their conviction asto his being an insane man,The Attorney-general, in his reply for the Crown, admits

"that there was evidence to establish delusion;" whilst BaronALDERSON says, in passing sentence, " I believe you are asinsane as it is possible for a person to be who is capable of £

distinguishing between right and wrong." The distinction

thus finely drawn comprises the source from whence muchthat we complain of proceeds. The man is admitted to be of

unsound mind, and his excitement is traced by two witnessesup to almost the very moment of his committing the act forwhich he has been found guilty.

Still Baron ALDERSON lays down the law, or rather adoptsthe precedent of a former dictum, that " an insane man upon"one subject, if he committed a crime relating to another"subject, was not, therefore, dispunishable, because his in-

" sanity had no relation to that which he committed." This

may be law, but it is utterly absurd, and would be ridiculous,but for the danger which it entails. Surely, if a man in hissenses can become mad on any subject, and commit a crimeconnected with the subject of his delusion, a man not in hissenses on many points can much more readily become thesubject of further delusion, leading to criminal acts.Baron ALDERSON should become a visitor at some well-con

ducted lunatic asylum, and there he would soon learn that itrequires the utmost vigilance, often vainly exercised, totect, even monomaniacs on subjects totally unconnected withviolence, against violence to themselves and others. If the

present dictum were universally adopted, Hanwell would re-quire an assistant judge for the punishment of offenderswithin its walls, and the non-restraint system is founded on adelusion. The fine distinction as to the capability, by a manof PATE’s disturbed fancies, of distinguishing between rightand wrong, cannot possibly be drawn. He was proved to bein a state of insanity up to almost the very instant whenhe committed the act for which he has been found guilty—an act for which he could assign no motive—" no more than

if it had been committed by another person," and which, withchildish simplicity, he sought to palliate by saying it was only"a light blow with a slight stick."

In our view of the case the man was insane, utterly

89THE PROGRESS OF QUACKERY.

incapable at the moment of appreciating all the conse-

quences of his act; and ought no more to be treated asa criminal who is responsible for his deeds than the brutewhich a few hours afterwards fatally threw its distinguishedrider. What then, it will be said, "do you propose ?" " That‘ our Queen, than whom no sovereign was ever more, or more41 deservedly, beloved, is to be a target for every madman’s" weapon I" Certainly not. The relatives of such individuals,

at least in cases like the present, should be made in some

degree responsible. It is quite true that the father of the

prisoner had consulted Dr. CONOLLY on the subject of restrain-ing his unfortunate son. This estimable physician advisedthat, as the presence of a sister had then exercised a soothinginfluence on his mind, a physician’s intervention had better bepostponed. This occurred in November last. Let the reader

be reminded that the celebrated dictum of the Chief Baron in

the NoTmzDaE case had been pronounced in the previous June,to the effect, not merely that persons such as PATE should notbe confined; but, as he said, addressing the Commissioners,’" you should liberate every person not dangerous." Thus, onthe one hand the Chief Baron says, open the doors of the

asylums for those " who are mad, but not dangerous;" Baron

ALDERsoN sentences to transportation the unconfined insane, whonever having been dangerous, cannot commit crimes, having noapparent connexion with the subjects of their delusions.

Verily, absurdity of this kind would, we repeat, be ridiculous,if the want of knowledge these judgments display were not.culpable.

Another view of the case has been put forward-viz., that ithe punishment of transportation for seven years as a criminal ’,is -less severe than imprisonment for life as a lunatic wouldbe. Indeed the Attorney-general adopted the view that apunishment of a less severe kind [than imprisonment withwhipping !] may be suited to a delusion short of insanity,whilst Baron ALDERSON was reluctant " to add to the disgraceof the prisoner’s family." With this punishment of con-venience, as it may be called, we have nothing to do; as aprinciple for adoption, it is certainly more agreeable thantorrect. We should, however, have passed the trial over in

silence, but for some observations made by the presidingjudge, reflecting on the medical profession in giving theiropinions on this and similar cases."Mad doctors"-as a class of men who have adopted the

study and practice of one of the most interesting, as it is oneof the most responsible departments of our profession, aresometimes called-have perhaps gone occasionally too farin their opinions and views; still that is not a justification ofthe severe, and not by any means courteous, remarks made byBaron ALDERSON on an answer of Dr. MONRO. This gentle-man, in reply to a question of the prisoner’s counsel, havingpreviously stated his views, founded on the results of severalinterviews, says, " I have heard all the evidence given in thiscase. I should say my opinion decidedly is, judging fromwhat I have heard, that he is insane." Whereupon the Judgesays : " Please to remember, Dr. MONRO, that you are neither‘° the judge nor the jury in this case." Dr. MoNno, as a gentle-man, replies, " thought I was merely answering the questionof the counsel," and such was the fact. Mr. COCKBURN, and notDr. Mortso, was the person to whom the Judge’s remark shouldhave been addressed. We refer to this point because it corre-sponds with the other inconsistencies of this remarkable trial.

The medical witness is summoned for the purpose of givinghis opinion as to the prisoner’s sanity or insanity. This

opinion could only be founded, as the opinion of the natureof physical disease is, on the history of the case. How much

more satisfactory, then, is that history when given on oath,that when a mere unrestricted recital of incidents is served

up. Surely Baron ALDERSON will allow that a physician, intracing the history of a case of obscure disease, would derivemore certain information from the deliberate evidence of a

witness, than from the hearsay to which he is often compelledto listen. As such, the sworn facts would aid Dr. MoNROin forming his conclusion as to the state of the prisoner’smind. It is on these facts, and on his own examination ofthe prisoner, that he has to form his conclusion. We thinkthat medical men would in future act judiciously if they atonce and boldly stated in the first instance that the individualin question is either of sane or insane mind. If required to statethe grounds for this conclusion, it can then be done. If the system of brow-beating medical witnesses in these cases, and of

sneering at their "delusions" continues, it will perhaps beadvisable to let blinded Justice take her course, unguided bytheir experience, until public opinion discovers the result,and comes to their support.

WE chance to have an unhappy non-medical acquaintancewhose tendencies towards quackery are so strong and invin-cible that we are always able to use him as a kind of test orbarometer to indicate the intensity of the last new form ofempiricism. We well remember the time when he first beganto devote himself to quackery. He commenced with easy

stages, letting himself down by BucHAN’s " Domestic Medi-cine ;" COMBE’S " Physiology of Health," the " Domestic Ma-nagement of Infants," and other similar works in popularphysic, the aim of which is to make "every man his owndoctor." At this stage of his mental malady, his first childwas destroyed by a " domestic" dose of poppy syrup! Nothingdaunted by this, he began to see truth, and wonder, and uni-versal health, in the vagaries of mesmerism, and swallowedeverything relating to it up to clairvoyance and phreno-mesmerism. The teetotallers now converted him, and hewho, had erst enjoyed his port and claret, became for a time,rabid against every variety of stimulating drink. From this,the step to hydropathy was very facile, and was very quicklymade. His house and grounds became a miniature copyof Graefenberg, and his aqueous ingurgitations and lava-

tions were the wonder of his friends. When hydropathypalled upon his appetite, he took to homoeopathy, and becamea perfect devotee of Hahnemann and his globules. Here he

rested long, keeping up, meantime, his old flirtation with hisformer loves, though in a faint and faded degree. The lastwe heard of him was, that he had become a Vegetarian, andintended to become a Methuselah upon tarts and potage. If

anything more novel in the way of quackery should spring up,we doubt not he will be among the very first to embrace it.

Meanwhile, his wife, and children, and himself, are an oddspectacle of afamily reared up on a mixture of popular medical,

. mesmeric, teetotal, hydropathic, homoeopathic, and vegetarian

. principles. We believe they have also the benefit of a mix-’ ture of several religious creeds.. We have made these observations for the sake of drawing

90 QUACKERY, AND THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN MEDICAL REVIEW.

a parallel. The course of the British and Foreign MedicalReview has been nearly that of our unhappy acquaintance.The British and Foreign has had its flirtations with PopularPhysic, Teetotalism, Hydropathy, Mesmerism, and Homœo-

pathy. A month ago, our empirical barometer pointed to

Vegetarianism, and straightway, in the July number of theQuarterly, came forth a full-fledged and serious article aboutthe last new humbug-namely, Vegetarianism. This any one

might have safely predicted. We could have sworn it, beforethe article appeared.In one article, called an ethical article, and published in the

April number, the British and Foreign bestowed its grave con-sideration upon the three most prominent of its laches, mes-

merism, hydropathy, and homoeopathy, and evidently gavethe preference to these gaudy DALILAHS over "the presentroutinism and medication, or treatment by drugs," as it politelycalls the ordinary practice of physic. We condemned thisenormity in unmeasured terms, and we have been agreeablyreviled for the good deed. We therefore publish, seriatim, allthe extracts from the infamous article in question, which bearupon the conviction of that journal in the eyes of the profes-sion. We say infamous, advisedly, because we will not permita writer to shelter himself from the consequences of a grossand dishonest attack upon his professional brethren, by sayingthat though he has vilified the profession of medicine in somepassages, he has given it maudlin and faint praise in others.’Ve despise his praise as we contemn his censure. The

passages we quote are sufficient, in number and extent, to showOur readers the real animus of the journal in question.

Quackery and Quacks to be let alone." We freely and fearlessly assert, that the attempts made

by the profession from time to time to put down quackery, Iwhether by vilification or more direct persecution, have donemore to encourage and promote it than any effort whateveron the part of the practisers. We have, in fact, given thequacks the ’vantage-ground of moral dignity; the sole circum-stance of being thought a worthy object of attack by a dig-nified profession has elevated them in the public eye to thelevel of the profession; they have gained their spurs ofknighthood by the mere acts of challenge and combat-and ofa combat in which they have nothing to gain and much tolose. The slightest persecution or vilification has been trans-muted into a crown of martyrdom; and they have stoodbefore the public as the valiant, enduring champions of truthor of political freedom, and the victims of a professional ran-cour, excited solely by a regard for pecuniary interests. Wesubjoin a homoeopathic example.-p. 303.

The Praise of Homceopat7ty.- The homœopathic system threatens far more grievous de-triment to all classes of practitioners than vaccination couldever have done. The greatest part of the emoluments of me-dical men of the old school arises from the imperfections oftheir practice. Whether they have the wisdom, as many,especially the more experienced of them, profess, to do verylittle, and let Nature take her own way ; or with the impa-tience of youth and inexperience, deal pill and potion rightand left, cut, burn, blister, bleed, and purge, in abundantpennyworths for their fees; their patients lie long on theirhands for the most part, and the attendance is profitable in.proportion. Homoeopathy, by curing recent diseases morepromptly; and, besides, curing more certainly, demandingless frequent visits to those labouring under the more pro-tracted, cannot fail to make deep inroads into professional in-comes, and to lessen very much the number of practitionersthat shall be needed to meet the altered circumstances of thepublic.’ "-p. 304.

Quacks a Godsend to regular Practitioners.It is the more lamentable that the profession should de-

mand protection against quacks from the legislature, when itis, we believe, a fact now admitted by those who have looked

at the subject in all its bearings, that everyform of empiricismadvances the nzateriad interests of the profession, [the italics be-long to the reviewer,] and that this (paradoxical as it mayappear) is the true and most powerful argument for secularinterference. Quacks, next to a defective system of publicand private hygiene, constitute the best friends of the profes-sion, so that all those timid souls who fear the rival dispensingdruggist or homeeopatliist, may be at ease as to their pecu-niary interests, provided they remain true to themselves:’-p.304.

Laisser-aller.

" We advise, then, that quacks and quackery be let alone.Society must rid itself from them as from other nuisances.It may be an act of great self-denial; it was in our own case;for a friend attacked by cerebral congestion, previously alwaysrelieved by a free bleeding, snored his life away in the handsof a homoeopathic physician. Now, an inquest might havebeen readily had in this case, and the system fully exposed;but perhaps the result would have been for the empiric acrown of martyrdom, and increased gains - for society, afurther loss of life; whereas, let alone, with the fact of theman dying for want of bleeding, plainly stated to his friends,and in society generally, as a result of the system, withoutvilification or abuse of the practice, he was more likely to sinkinto merited neglect."-p. 304.

Ernpirics to be respected."The doctrines, as well as practices, of empirics should also

be allowed to pass without public notice or imputation, andfor the same reasons. Controversy before the public has thesame effect as persecution, and should there be aught of valuein them, the tribunal appealed to by the empiric is not thatby which the question in litigation can be decided. If theempirical opponent be duly authorized to practise, let him berequired to bring the matter before his peers; if not so autho-rized, let him be treated with dignified silence. If an opinionbe asked by laymen, it may be given, but with an absence ofall obloquy and abuse."-p. 304.

The Right of heterodox Practice.The treatment of the empirical, yet duly authorized,

practitioner involves more questions of ethics than that of thethorough quack. We apprehend that every man, duly autho-rized, has the undoubted moral right to practise his art to thebest of his judgment; and if he decide to practise homœopathi-cally, or hydropathically, or mesmerically, we do not see onwhat grounds he should be prevented."-p. 304.

A laudatory Lamentation."If that fallen man (Elliotson) had undertaken the Inves-

tigation of mesmeric phenomena with a due regard to thedignity of his profession, and in a spirit of sound philosophy,medicine might by this time have been enriched with not onlya new and most valuable curative agent, but with large addi-tions to one of its most defective departments-the physiologyof the cerebrum; and Dr. Elliotson would have been honouredand esteemed."-p. 305.

Much to be learnedfi-om Empirics." We are certain that all experiments on health and life,

by whomsoever made-all facts or phenomena likely to eluci-date science, or add to the art of medicine-nay, all thingshaving relation thereto, deserve a calm investigation by theprofession................ Much experience is to be gained fromthe proceedings of all these empirics; and a practitioner isnot justified in abandoning his patient, if one of the class becalled in; he may therefore still continue his attendance, and.watch the progress of the case. Should he, indeed, apprehendthe proposed empirical treatment will shorten his patient’slife, or be otherwise injurious to him, the practitioner is.bound, we think, by ethical considerations, to continue suchsupervision."-p. 307.

An Apology for Mesmerism."We trust the profession at large will adopt this practice,

of carefully watching the progress of all their cases that maycome under the treatment of any empiric whatever. Verymuch and very valuable experience may thereby be gained.But let them undertake their task as unprejudiced, philo-sophical observers; let them discard from their mind anynotions as to what is ’humbug,’ or ’a farce,’ or imposture.Many of the phenomena of mesmerism are as real as the phe-nomena of ordinary sleep. A priori, there is no reason whyan intermittent, monotonous, or equably continuous action on

DECLINE OF THE ROYAL MEDICAL AND CHIRURGICAL SOCIETY.

the visual nerves should not produce sleep and its results, aswell as the same kind of action on the auditory nerve. Andwe might extend this principle even to the tactile nerves.That the sleep so produced should differ in its nature fromordinary, is almost a necessary result; but what a field forneurological observation is hereby opened out? So, if, aftermany months of mesmeric labour, absorption should be ex-cited in an opaque cornea (and this is quite possible), we maygladly add the experiment to our heap of facts, and from itand others be able, ultimately, to determine the nature of theinfluence which imagination or faith, acting through the brainand along the nerves, exercise upon a part to which it isdirected; for that both can change the physical condition of distant parts is notorious; and thus a curative method may beadded to medical experience, available when the wild andvisionary hypotheses of the mesmerists themselves shall havefollowed their authors into oblivion."-p. 308.

Dispraise of Treatment by Drugs.Not less fruitful in experience will homœopathy be found.

Much remains to be investigated as to the modus operandi ofdrugs-much more to be established before we attain to theperfection of medical art-the most certain and the easiestcure of diseases. On these points, the experiments of homeeo-pathy may be made rich in results; and we may establish,practically at least, this point-that many diseases may becured, in the present state of our knowledge, without anymedication whatever. We may also watch the course ofdiseases, in persons placed under favourable circumstances, asto diet and regimen, uninterrupted by the action of the so-

called remedies; or, in other words, we may acquire an im-proved natural history of disease. And one thing everypractitioner is bound to study-namely, to what extent thepresent routinism and medication, or treatment by drugs, isnecessary or unnecessary: and whether much suffering, causedby over-active medication, might not be altogether avoided.This knowledge, we assert, the true practitioner must seekafter; and the result of homoeopathic practice presents himwith the crude materials ready to hand. If, then, he will notand cannot conscientiously practise homceopathically, let himinvestigate the doings of those who can and will. To ignorethe facts altogether is high treason against orthodox medicine;it is to inflict a great injury on his art, and on the body towhich he belongs."-p. 308.

Flourish in favour of Hydrpathy.91 The same remarks apply to hydropathy. Although ob-

viously empirical, and although founded by a charlatan, yetthere is much in the experience it supplies which may beturned to valuable uses. If it were even more thoroughlyempirical than it is, or its founders and practisers the mostimpudent and ignorant of quacks, still the orthodox practi-tioner must select the grain from the chaff, and use it as theinstrument of orthodox science and art. The use of water inthe treatment of disease is no new thing in medicine; and toleave so potent and valuable a remedy in the hands of empi-rics is as impolitic as it is unwise. Physicians with reputa-tions beyond a suspicion of empiricism, (?) recommend someof the various methods used by the hydropathists (as the wetsheet) for the cure of disease; and we know those who usethem successfully. Glad to be able to treat disease by expe-rience gathered from any source, why should they hesitate toextend the discoveries of medical art by experience gatheredfrom the doings of the hydropathic empiric. The rationalpractitioner, surveying, with a calm, dispassionate spirit, thelabours of the empirical therapeutists around him, and test-ing their experience by science, finds as much of good in thedoings of the hydropathist, as in those of the unconscientious,unthinking routinist."-p. 309.After perusing these quotations carefully, there can be but

one opinion that a vile attempt is being made to pervert theliterature of the profession to the advancement of quackeryrather than legitimate science. In every sentence, quackeryis petted, and legitimate medicine is treated with contempt.But while the Quarterly has done all these things to degrade

the science and practice of our Art, what has it done to fosterand defend those who, of late years, have done the most to ad-vance it? We do not hesitate to say, that while the quackerieshave been thus tickled as gentle foibles, the great discoveries anddiscoverers of our time have alike been treated with arrogant

harshness and opposition. Those who have hailed MESMER,and PREissNiTz, and HAHNEMANN, as the " heroes of theoretical

renown," have been the same who attacked LIEBIG; who have

disgracefully opposed PROUT; who have misrepresented Louis;who have invariably shown their bitter hostility to MARSHALLHALL and his discoveries; who have tried to overthrow Dr.ROBERT LEE’s anatomical investigations; and who, in numerousminor instances, have followed the same plan of detractingfrom the merits, and damaging the fame, of the really scientificspirits of our age and profession.

All points of progress, whether in chemistry, anatomy, phy-siology, or medicine, have been carped and reviled at, insteadof illuminated or cheered. With such a history, what butruin, disgrace, and desertion by the profession, can befal theworkers of such mischief ? When this Review changed its namewe hoped for better things, and we were willing to havegiven it our humble support. But we are now bound to de-

clare that it has preserved nothing but the weaknesses anderrors of both its predecessors, without indicating any of theirenergy and ability.

MISMANAGEMENT of the affairs of a Society, as well as of anindividual, must tell sooner or later. The spendthrift of

health may laugh at the advice of his sober friends, and thespendthrift of fortune may scorn to listen to the warningvoice of the future. But the day of reckoning comes. Wetook occasion some time since to warn the Council of the

Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society and their cliquishabettors that the system of election pursued in that corpora-tion must be most detrimental to the Society. That warningwas unheeded, and the result was a trial of strength betweenthe opposing parties in the Society-the Council and theprotectors of abuses and of a vicious system being ranged onthe one side; the independent fellows and reformers on theother. The Council list of candidates was carried by so pitifula majority, that it amounted to a defeat; it was renderedthe more humiliating by the well-known fact, that the ques-tionable victory was obtained by the lukewarmness of thereformers. But the Council have been defeated lately ona point which, if they are wise, will have the effect of makingthem change their plan of action. On the llth a specialgeneral meeting of the fellows was held, to take into con-sideration a recommendation of the Councilto enlarge the meet-ing room, and to make other alterations, which would involvethe expenditure of about £1900. It is needless to enter into

the discussion which took place on the subject; but some ofthe facts adduced show that the prosperity of the Society ison the wane. The handwriting upon the wall was not a moreconvincing sign. It was stated by Dr. WEBSTER, in one ofthose temperate and masterly speeches which have identifiedhis name with reform in the Society:—" Formerly the average" annual admission was above thirty, but in the last three years"the numbers had greatly diminished. Thus, in the session" 1847 and ’48, the new fellows elected were twenty-eight; in" 1848 and ’49, the number was twenty-five; whereas during"the entire session just terminated there were only elevennew admissions! This was a most important fact, as it- "showed a diminution of X119 14s. in the sum received as

; "entrance-money : that sum added to the X160 from the

L "cessation of payment by old members, and the diminishedb interest of funded property, as stated in the Council’s Report,

92 TESTIMONIAL TO MR. G. A. WALKER.-OUR " MIRROR."

"would make a total decrease of X280 in the year’s receipts."Such is one of the first fruits of the vicious system pursued bythe governing body of this Society. It may be said that there

has been an indisposition during the past year to enter tosocieties; but this assertion may be met by the fact, that duringthe last session eighty-three new fellows joined the West-minster Medical Society. The enlargement of the meetingroom of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society will be quiteunnecessary if the ensuing sessions are to be like the last inthe number of entries: it will, under such circumstances, soonbe too large for the audience. We think the opposition partydid well in defeating the proposition of the Council. It is an

evidence that, united, the independent party is invincible,andthe Council and its friends powerless for evil. It is remark-

able that even the proposition to refer the subject to a specialcommittee was regarded by the Council as an interferencewith, and an infringement of, their rights. Why, this is

tyranny with a vengeance ! Surely the Council must forgetthat they are merely the servants of the Society, and owe theirposition to the fellows. If not, it is time that men should beelected office-bearers who understand the nature and extent

of a delegated authority. It is quite clear, however, that the- Council are not now in a position to set at defiance the wishesof a large and increasing majority of independent fellows.

IT is to a member of the medical profession that the solehonour is due of having commenced, and carried on success-fully, the righteous agitation against that most pestiferous ofnuisances—interment in large towns. Mr. G. A. WALKER

commenced his labours in this cause single-handed and alone,and at a time when he had giant prejudices to contend with,and almost every kind of authority against him. Undeterred

by difficulties which would have damped the ardour of mostmen, and undaunted by the real dangers to health and lifewhich he daily encountered, he pursued his courageous andhonourable career. By the bed-side of the patient, sufferingfrom the low infectious fever consequent upon grave-yardmalaria,-in the most wretched hovels of the poor,-in thegrave-yard of a crowded neighbourhood surrounded bymyriads of living beings affected by its atmosphere,—in thedanger-vaults of such foci of pollution and disease as werefound beneath Enon Chapel, and similar burial-holes, was tobe found the indefatigable philanthropist. The results of his

inquiries were published in his work, entitled, " Gatheringsfrom Grave-yards." The public, at first, were inclined to lookupon the statements in that remarkable work as highly ex-aggerated, and painfully over-drawn. They could scarcelybelieve that some of the grave-yards of London were so over-crowded, that the very place of worship was but a den of in-

fection, and that men were struck dead as if by lightning bythe effluvium from an open grave. The terrible catalogue ofevils, however, soon received additions, to which the attentionof the entire metropolis was painfully drawn;—the catastrophein Aldgate Churchyard;-the melancholy story connectedwith St. Margaret’s, Westminster, under the very nose ofParliament-startled and alarmed even the most hardy andsceptical. Then it was, after years of solitary labour, that thecause identified with the name of Mr. WALKER was discussedat public meetings, formed the subject of coroners’ inquests,And began to be agitated in Parliament. At length, like a

river having its origin in a solitary mountain-rill, gathering, asit pursued its course, fresh force from other tributary streams,it became irresistible, and bore down the mighty barrierswhich resisted its course. Such, to use a metaphor, has beenthe progress of the sanitary movement in favour of extra-mural burial. We need not refer to the discussions on this

subject in Parliament, to the opposition of interested parties’to the introduction of a Bill by the Government, and thevirtual overthrow of the system. With that Bill, and itsgrave and numerous faults, Mr. WALKER has had nothing todo; but let it not be forgotten that to him, and to him only, isdue the entire merit of having directed public attention tothe matter. Had he fallen a victim to his philanthropic zealin the early days of his inquiries, it is probable that he mighthave been remembered only in his private circle. Few, in.deed, are the rewards which Government offers to the medicalman. Exposed to a foe more deadly than the enemy in thefield of battle, and more insidious than the midnight assassin;

fighting with death in the dark corners of poverty, he hasnevertheless nothing to look forward to as a reward, exceptthe mens conscia recti, and the satisfaction of having done hisduty. . In free and enlightened England, so profuse in herdecorations to warriors, the great soldier of medicine has nochance of reward, not even a Cross of the Legion of Honour,which he would have obtained had he been a Frenchman, or thedignity of the civic crown had he been born a Roman citizen.We are not surprised then, though we are disgusted, with theingratitude of the Government, when we find that Mr .WALKERhas as yet had no notice taken of his labours. Almost the

credit has been snatched from him of having originated themovement. But the gratitude of his fellow-countrymen willnot be stained with so dark a blot as to allow him to go unre-

warded. We are delighted to perceive by the newspapersthat a public meeting has been held, at which was a numerousattendance of members of Parliament and persons of influence,for the purpose of forming a fund to present Mr. WALKERwith "a testimonial of the public sense entertained by thecommunity of his energetic, unwearied, and successful labours"in the cause of sanitary reform, and of the removal of the"dead from the centre of the homes of the living." The namesof the committee formed at that meeting sufficiently gua-rantee that the testimonial will be a noble one; and sincerelyshall we rejoice to see the valuable labours of a member ofour own profession appropriately and honourably rewarded.

A MirrorOF THE PRACTICE OF

MEDICINE AND SURGERYIN THE

HOSPITALS OF LONDON.

GUY’S HOSPITAL.

Lithotomy; Phlebitis; Death.(Under the care of MR. BRANSBY COOPER.)

WE witnessed, some time ago, the operation of lithotomy per-formed by Mr. Bransby Cooper, on a patient whose temperament,occupation, and regular habits, held out the fairest hopes of asuccessful issue. Unfortunately, this operation took place at time when phlebitis was beginning to reign epidemically at Guy’sHospital; and though the patient went on remarkably well,during the fortnight which followed the extraction of the stone