610

THE LANCET.

LONDON: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1858.

MEDICAL REGISTRATION.

AT this important period, we feel it to be an imperativeduty to call the attention of the profession to its actual position,and we do so with hope and confidence.A new era has commenced. After many years of apparently

unproductive agitation, Parliament became at last awakenedto the necessity of legislating on the subject of medicine.

It has done so avowedly with the object of enabling the publicto distinguish between educated qualified practitioners, andimpudent unqualified pretenders. That this is not a mere

hypothesis, but a great fact, the preamble of the statute mostindisputably and pointedly proves. We quote it :-" Whereas" it is expedient that persons requiring medical aid should be"enabled to distinguish qualified from unqualified practi."tioners, be it therefore enacted," &c. A doubt, therefore,cannot exist on this point.As a chief instrument for working out the provisions of the

new law, a Medical Council has been created, consisting ofrepresentatives from the Universities and various medical and

surgical Colleges, and also of members appointed by the Crown.That important body held its first sitting on November 23rd.Its earliest duty was to elect a President; and heartily do wecongratulate the profession as to the manner in which thatduty was performed. Sir BENJAMIN BRODIE was the object ofthe unanimous choice of the members. Thus, in the appoint-ment of a member of our profession to the presidential chair ofthe new State Medical Council, the professional integrity of thatCouncil is insured, and the dignity of our profession is main-tained. It is now a purely professional Council, there not

being a single lay member at the board. Thus, under thisstatute the best possible position has been taken by our newgoverning body. We therefore confidently infer, from whathas already been done, that the new Council are prepared toact zealously and faithfully for the good of the profession andthe public.

But, with a view to enable them to exercise their functionswith the most powerful effect, it is absolutely necessary that

they should be supported and encouraged by the united effortsof the profession. The new Act, without question, hurls a

deadly blow at portions of the audacious and villltnous systemsof quackery which have been too long allowed to exist in thiscountry. But it is doubtful whether, with respect to the" counter-practice" of druggists -the most pernicious and mostfatal of all-the new law will materially diminish that mon-strous source of mischief and mortality. From the greatrespectability of druggists, as first class tradesmen, we donot desire to detract; but their invasion of the proper do-main of our profession-the practice of medicine-is fatal

to the lives of thousands. This is our firm conscientious

belief. We should, therefore, be morally guilty of a greatdereliction of duty if we did not endeavour, by everymeans in our power, and especially by calling upon our pro-fessional brethren to aid in the good work, to put a stopto proceedings which lead to such an awful slaughter of inno-

cent and helnless beings-for infants are the chief victims.

The injury to our profession, vast as it is, must be felt to bea secondary consideration; yet it cannot be denied that it is

most unjust that, after the expenses of a competent educationhave been incurred, and the mental toil and anxiety bestowed,by medical students with a view to acquire legal qualificationsto practise, mere pretenders should be enabled to step in andfraudulently obtain incomes which in equity, and as a right,belong to others.

Relying fully on the ability and good intentions of the newMedical Council, we beg to call the attention of the professionto the London Medical Registration Association, which hasbeen founded with a view to aid that body and the Registrarin the execution of their duties, and to collect the requisitematerials for further legislation at the earliest possible oppor-tunity in the direction already taken by the new Act. Unless

there be a great accumulation of facts, nothing further may bedone by the Legislature, and the General Medical Councilmay be destitute of that information which would enable it,with any chance of success, to apply to Parliament for fur-ther powers, or for new enactments destined to improve thecondition and prospects of the medical body.One of the objects contemplated in the establishment of

Registration Associations is, to obtain perfectly-authentic re-cords of the results of allowing uneducated unqualifiedpersons to practise medicine either in the shops of druggists, orelsewhere. For this purpose, it is anxiously hoped, that theprinted forms about to be issued by "The London Regis-tration Association" to its members, in which the particularsof such cases may be recorded, will speedily come into use fromone extremity of the kingdom to the other.The most urgent preliminary business having been trans-

acted, and the general scheme of action of the Medical Councillaid down, the meetings of the full Council are adjourned. To

carry on the ordinary business in London, an Executive Com-mittee has been appointed. The proceedings of this Committeewill be found in another part of our journal. One of its first

steps is to seek from the Home Secretary a local habitation.The pressure in the public offices for elbow-room has long beenfelt to be great, and probably some difficulty in providing

suitable apartments for the meetings of the General Counciland Executive Committee will be experienced. The Medical

Council must, however, be regarded as a recognised departmentof the State, and in this quality it is entitled to claim a recep--tion in a Government Office.

Another question of very great importance in regard to theRegistration has been settled by the Executive Committee in amanner which, we trust, will work to the satisfaction of theprofession :-

" It was agreed that the Registrar be instructed to require,that in all cases in which applications for registration are madeby persons whose names do not appear in any of the certifiedlists referred to in Clause XV. of the Medical Act, and who donot produce the proper documents proving their qualifications,the applicant’s claim shall be attested by a declaration madebefore a magistrate, and by the signature of a pe2-son registeredicnder the Medical Act.

" And that the Registrar be permitted to require similarproof, even when the conditions above mentioned have beenfulfilled, should any doubt arise as to the identity of the appli-cant.

" That he be also authorized to require the same corrobo-rative proof of declarations made pursuant to Schedule B."

611

These instructions, if properly carried out, appear to offerexcellent securities against the admission of improper personson the Register. They place it in the power of the professionitself, especially through the Organization of the Medical

Registration Associations, to guard the Register from the in-trusion of impostors, by assisting the Registrar in a mode atonce effectual and official. We suggest it as a matter deservingthe immediate attention of each of the Societies referred to, thatit depute a particular member of its staff-say the secretary--to attend with the applicant before the magistrate, and to givethe required signature in attestation of qualification. If this

important duty be entrusted, in the various districts, to oneresponsible officer, all appearance of personal interference willbe avoided, much odium will be averted, and the most com-

plete security will be afforded. The secretary of an organizedSociety would most probably be in possession of all the ante-cedents of the applicants.

In the meantime we hope to see district Registration Societiesrapidly extend. No time should be lost in collecting completelists of all practitioners qualified and unqualified, in all partsof the country, so as to be prepared to execute effectually the

important duty we have pointed out.Since the foregoing remarks were penned, we have received

from Dr. HAWKINS, the Registrar under the Act, the followingofficial notice :-

"MEDICAL REGISTRATION."

-NOTICE,.

"Whereas it is provided by the Medical Act, 21 and 22Vict., Cap. 90, Sect. 32-That ’After the 1st day of January,1859, no person shall be entitled to recover any charge in anycourt of law for any medical or surgical advice, attendance, orfor the performance of any operation, or for any medicine whichhe shall have both prescribed and supplied, unless he shallprove upon the trial that he is registered under this Act.’"And by Sect. 34-‘ After the lst day of January, 1859,

the words "legally-qualined medical practitioner," or " duly-qualified medical practitioner," or any words importing a per-son recognised by law as a medical practitioner or member ofthe medical profession, when used in any Act of Parliament,shall be construed to mean a person registered under this Act.’"And by Sect. 36-‘ After the Ist day of January, 1859, no

person shall hold any appointment as a physician, surgeon, orother medical officer, either in the military or naval service, orin emigrant or other vessels, or in any hospital, infirmary, dis-pensary, or lying-in hospital, not supported wholly by volun-tary contributions, or in any lunatic asylum, gaol, penitentiary,house of industry, parochial or union workhouse or poorhouse,parish union, or other public establishment, body, or institu-tion, or to any friendly or other society for affording mutualrelief in sickness, infirmity, or old age, or as a medical officerof health, unless he be registered under this Act.’"And by Sect. 37- ’ After the 1st day of January, 1859, no

certificate required by any Act now in force, or that may here-after be passed, from any physician, surgeon, licentiate in

medicine and surgery, or other medical practitioner, shall bevalid, unless the person signing the same be registered underthis Act.’"And by Sect. 40-’ Any person who shall wilfully and

falsely pretend to be, or take or use the name or title of aphysician, doctor of medicine, licentiate in medicine and

surgery, bachelor of medicine, surgeon, general practitioner orapothecary, or any name, title, addition, or description im-plying that he is registered under this Act, or that he is

recognised by law as a physician, or surgeon, or licentiate inmedicine and Surgery or a pracititioner in medicine. or an

apothecary, shall, upon a summary conviction for any such

offence, pay a sum not exceeding £20.’" And whereas it is provided by Sect. 15 of the Act, that

it shall be lawful for the Registrar to enter in the Register thepersons mentioned in the certitiecllists of the several collegesand bodies mentioned in Schedule A, on payment of .62, noticeis hereby given, that as soon as the certified lists shall havebeen received, of which further notice shall be published, all per-sons requiring to be registered, may apply, personally or byletter, to the Registrar, at No. 18, Bolton-street, Piccadilly,London, W., between the hours of eleven A.M., and four P.M.Those who apply by letter must state their names, places ofresidence, and the qualifications in respect of which they desireto be registered, and transmit to the Registrar the fee of £2.And those who do not produce or send their diplomas orlicences, must furnish clear statements of their qualifications,and of the times at which they were granted, in order thatthese may be compared with the certified lists.""This notice, we are informed, is to appear in the Govern-

ment Gazette of the present week. Although it is quite clear,notwithstanding the utmost vigilance and energy on the partof the Registrar, that not any large number of practitionerswill be enabled to get their names on the Register before the1st of January next, yet it will be incumbent upon all quali.fied practitioners to become registered as soon thereafter asthey conveniently can-at all events before the Register isprinted and published-in order to protect themselves fromthe disabilities and penalties imposed by the Act.Now, then, that the work preliminary to Registration has com-

menced, and the Registrar has buckled on his armour with aview to fight the battle of the profession effectually, the neces-sity that exists for the formation of Registration Associationsthroughout the kingdom has become more apparent than

ever, and without their aid it is all but impossible that theRegistrar can execute the great task assigned to him in a satis-factory manner. We are informed that there are thousands

who are in practice, and who pretend to be qualified, yetwho in reality are not so. It is stated that many are prac-

tising under the names of deceased persons, or under the

names of individuals who for a long time have left the country.It is also reported, that a numerous batch will apply for regis-tration on the ground that they are " 1815 men." Others, it

is said, have shielded themselves behind purchased, and, insome instances, purloined diplomas. How, then, is the Regis-trar to exercise his functions satisfactorily to himself or so asto afford protection to the profession and the public, unless he isfurnished with the antecedents and the actual status of such

fraudulent claimants ?

Again, then, we would exhort the legally-qualified practi-tioners of every important town and district in the kingdomto organize Registration Societies in places where they are notalready in existence. A secretary being appointed, he shouldinstantly place himself in communication with Dr. L-DD, Hon.Secretary to the London Medical Registration Association,from whom he would receive the requisite instructions for pro-ceeding with his labours. By concentrating the work, it willbe more effectually performed than if it be left to a diversityof hands. This is a subject which should now, for the nextfew weeks, almost exclusively engage the attention of the pro-fession. In saying this, we do not of course, for an instant,lose sight of the conflict between the Members and the Councilof the Royal College of Surgeons. In the one case, however,we may find a powerful battery in a court of law; in the

612

UNPROFESSIONAL LETTERS.-GOVERNMENT PARSIMONY.

other, the profession have to rely in great measure on theirown exertions. Wherever, then, men are practising medicineillegally, under whatever title or under whatever name, let allparticulars regarding them be forwarded to the Secretary ofthe London Medical Registration Association, Committee-room,British Coffee - house, 27, Cockspur - street, Charing - cross ;where, at an early period, they will be arranged and classified,and submitted to the Registrar in the most suitable form; andwe feel confident that Dr. HAWKINS, who has entered uponhis duties in the best possible spirit, will be grateful for everytittle of reliable information he may receive.

DR. CHARLES WiTT, of Spring-gardens, has addressed twoletters to The T-imes newspaper, recommending the employ-ment of sesquicarbonate of ammonia in all cases of scarlet feverand measles. He has, moreover, laid down certain rules forthe administration of this remedy. That a practitioner in sorespectable a position as Dr. WITT should have committed sogrievous an outrage on professional propriety, and promulgatedadvice calculated to inflict so serious an injury upon the public,must be deeply regretted by all who know him. It is, there-

fore, the more incumbent upon us to enter our strongest protestagainst the proceeding. Dr. WiTT well knows, or ought toknow, that the remedy which he takes credit to himself for

recommending was employed very many years since, and insome cases no doubt with benefit, whilst in others it was foundto be positively injurious. How few cases of either scarlet

fever or measles are uncomplicated with other diseases tendingto a fatal termination ! Any practitioner who trusted simplyto the sesquicarbonate of ammonia in such cases, then, would not

only render himself liable to the charge of gross malpractice,but endanger the lives of his patients. But what is to be said,when the remedy is recommended to be administered byunprofessional persons? Really, this is too serious a matter

to contemplate except with the strongest feelings of regretand annoyance. Did Dr. WITT, when he penned his unpro-fessional letters for a public journal, pause for a moment to re-flect upon the grave responsibility which he incurred ? Had

he consulted the records of the Coroner’s Court, or the reportsof the Registrar-General, he would have found that scarlet Ifever and measles are fatal in the direct ratio to the neglectwhich the patients have experienced. By " neglect," we meanthe delay of calling in proper medical assistance in the early stages of these diseases. Dr. WiTT could scarcely suppose any I

practitioner in this kingdom to be unacquainted with theoccasional value of the sesquicarbonate of ammonia, judiciouslyemployed. Such a supposition would be a libel upon the pro-fession.

We have no wish to attribute improper motives to Dr. WITT,but his conduct in relation to this matter must be condemned,both on behalf of the public and the profession-on behalf of thepublic because it is calculated to increase the already fearful

mortality attendant upon the diseases for which he professes tohave found a " remedy;" and on behalf of the profession, in-asmuch as it lays them open to the charge of being ignorant ofthe use of a medicine which is as old as the hills. The prac-tice of medicine by quacks and prescribing druggists is fraughtwith incalculable mischief; but this will be as nothing in com-parison with the evils which must ensue if respectable prac-titioners promulgate opinions on the treatment of disease

through the medium of the public journals-opinions foundedin error, and, consequently, fraught with the most imminent

danger. Dr. WiTT may, doubtless, obtain a temporary noto-

riety by his ill-judged conduct; but we feel assured that uponcalm reflection he will deeply regret the dissemination of anerror calculated to inflict the most serious injury upon the

community, and to cause the immolation of hundreds of in-fant lives.

" PARSIMONIA magnum vectigal :" so think the Lords Com-missioners of her Majesty’s Treasury; and having made uptheir mind to retrench the gratuitous distribution of publicdocuments, they are not to be moved from their purpose byapplications, however urgent. The claims of the medical pro.fession to receive copies of the Registrar-General’s Returns,which are, in fact, compiled from materials furnished by them,would appear to be unusually strong. Nevertheless, they arenot admitted.

Dr. PICKFORD, of Brighton, has addressed a letter to theEarl of DERBY on this subject, which has evoked a lengthyreply from Mr. HAMILTON, intended to be laid before the pro-fession, through the medium of THE LANCET.The courtesy of Mr. HAMILTON has, however, induced him

to enter into protracted statements, of which the gist hasalready been made known. We extract, therefore, a partonly of this letter, which we append, with the observationthat thanks are due to Dr. PICKFORD for his expressing veryably, in his formal application to Lord DERBY, the groundsupon which the claim of the profession is founded; and thatthose who are not convinced by the arguments of Mr. HAMIL-TON, must at least feel indebted to his urbanity, and cannotfail to admire the clearness of his style. Mr. HAMILTON de.

clares,-that my Lords would greatly regret if they were

supposed to be wanting in a just appreciation of the public-spirited co-operation of the members of the medical professionwith the Registrar-General, but they feel persuaded that the

change which has been made in rendering the Reports of thatofficer available to the profession and to the public, will not beconsidered unreasonable nor ungracious when the whole ofthe circumstances are known.

The different public departments had of late years adoptedthe practice of making a gratuitous distribution, without anyfixed limit, of their Reports and other printed documents; andthis habit had grown to such an extent as to cause in the

aggregate a serious expenditure of public money, without anysecurity being afforded that the documents would come intothe hands of those who would duly appreciate them. This

profuse and to a great extent wasteful distribution was de-fended by one common argument-that the Reports were sentto those who were supposed to be specially interested in therespective subjects, or as an acknowledgment of assistance

rendered in furnishing the matter of them. It was determined,therefore, that the publications which had previously beendistributed should be sold to those who wanted them, at a verylow, fixed price, equal only to the expense of the paper and

printing. This small payment furnishes a security that theReports will be valued and made use of, which is entirelywanting while they may be had for the trouble of asking, or

they are sent, as is frequently the case, without their beingasked for.

It will be obvious that, if the principle of sale, at a low,

613

THE SURGEONS OF LUCKNOW.-THE COLLEGE OF SI;PGEOV.S.

fixed price, be adopted, it must be uniformly applied; for thereasons which are urged for a gratuitous distribution are of souniform a kind, that if a concession be made in any quarter,the entire system is likely to be broken down, from the im-possibility of drawing a line between different classes of cases.My Lords hope this explanation will be accepted as satis-

factory, and that the rule established by the Minute of the31st of May last will be acquiesced in by the medical profes-sion, without depriving the public of the valuable assistance

they have been in the habit of affording to the Registrar-General.

FROM equal dangers and like exertions similar rewards shouldflow. Everyone must feel how unjust it is, and how invidious,that men who have stood shoulder to shoulder amid the perilsof war-who have been praised by their commander for acommon devotion and general zeal, should be rewarded on a

glaringly capricious and unequal scale. Such, however, hasbeen the history of the rewards distributed to the surgeons ofLucknow. There were present throughout the siege severalmedical officers of Her Majesty’s and the Hon. East India

Company’s Service. Brigadier INGLIS, in his despatch to Go-vernment, on the relief of the garrison, recommended a certainnumber of these officers, in strong terms of approbation, as

having performed good service. The medical officers recom-

mended in the despatch were:-H. M. 32nd Regt.; SurgeonScoTT, Assistant-Surgeon BOYD. Hon. E.I. Co.’s Service : Sur-

geon BRYDON, 71st Regt. N.I. ; Surgeon CAMPBELL, 2ndCavalry; Surgeon OGILVIE, Inspector of Gaols ; Assistant-

Surgeon FAYRER, Residency, and Civil Surgeon; Assistant-Sur-geon PARTRIDGE, Irregular Cavalry; Assistant-Surgeon GREEN-HOW, Irregular Cavalry; Assistant-Surgeon BIRD, Artillery;Assistant-Surgeon DARBY, (since killed;) Apothecary THOMP-SON, Warrant Medical Officer. Of these medical officers, it

will be seen, two belonged to Her Majesty’s Service, the re-mainder to the Hon. East India Company’s Service.In the course of time, the surgeon, Dr. ScoTT, and the

Assistant-Surgeon, Dr. BOYD, of Her Majesty’s Service, ap-

peared in the Gazette as having been promoted for distinguishedservices during the siege of Lucknow, and subsequently Dr.SCOTT has been made a C.B.

The Gazette of the 16th October, announces that all the three

surgeons-BRYDON, CAMPBELL, and OGILVIE-have been made

Companions of the Bath. But not one of the assistant-sur-

geons of the Hon. East India Company has received promotionor acknowledgment of any kind; although the assistant-sur-geon of her Majesty’s service has been promoted.We trust that this is but an oversight, and, if made known,

may yet be remedied, for they surely have the same claim asthe other medical officers, having been mentioned in the sameparagraph, and in the same terms, as the more fortunate

officers who have been promoted or decorated; or, if too late,or impossible now, it might be recorded that they should re-ceive the same decoration when they attain the next step in

military rank.In the case of Dr. FAYRER, we think it is particularly hard,

for he was the senior assistant-surgeon in the garrison, andheld a most responsible office, for he was residency and civilsurgeon, and had medical charge of the Chief Commissionerand his staff; it was he who attended Sir H. LAWRENCE when

wounded, and it was in his house, one of the principal out-posts, that that lamented officer died. The appointment hadbeen conferred on him by the Governor-General speciallyfor services in the field in the Burmese war. The appoint-ment, which was worth S1500 a year, Dr. FAYRER lost in themeantime. He has returned to Europe now that his healthhas been most seriously impaired from exposure and hardshipsduring the siege and after it, and all his property sacrificed.Under these circumstances, it is hard that others, and amongstthem juniors, should be promoted for the same services, and onthe strength of the same official recommendation as that whichincludes Dr. FAYRER’S name with other equally, in this respect,unfortunate assistant-surgeons of the Hon. East India Com-pany’s Service, whilst they are passed over.The present time seems a favourable one for hope of improve-

ment in the application of the new Warrant to the claims ofthe assistant-surgeons, and we trust, through thus calling theattention of the authorities to it, that the opportunity will notbe lost.

THE unjustifiable and surreptitious effort of the Council ofthe Royal College of Surgeons to ride rough-shod over the generalbody of medical practitioners will, we hope, be frustrated. The

preliminary meeting of Members and Fellows of the College,recorded in our columns of this week, fully manifests the latentspirit of indignation which may be roused amongst the medical

practitioners of England, whenever their rights and privilegesare threatened to be usurped. The Council of the Royal Col-

lege of Surgeons have ever been opposed to the interests of theMembers. Under the guise of protecting their interests, theCouncil have succeeded in establishing a tyrannous oligarchy.But the days of their monopoly are numbered. The General

Medical Council have already declined to acknowledge one actof the Council of the College, and have delivered over thatbody to the Members, to deal with it as they like. They shallhave a fair and impartial trial in the Court of Queen’s Bench.Meanwhile, we would only observe, that the College Councilimply, by their recent exclusive election, that the generalbody of practitioners should be unrepresented. The self-con-

stituted authorities of the College are, moreover, about to spendthe money of the Members, to exclude them from the benefitsof State representation, and to usurp the legal rights of theentire corporation. Let not the College Council console them-selves with the reflection that, being a corporate body, they arepersonally irresponsible.

IT has often been matter of surprise that amongst the manysocieties of this metropolis devoted to the cultivation of medi-cal science, there has been no society particularly addressingitself to the obstetric department. We do not look uponobstetrics as a speciality, but as one of the great divisions of

medicine and surgery. It has long been our opinion that thisbranch receives less attention than it merits, and we are gladto learn that steps have been taken towards the inaugurationof an Obstetrical Society of London. The Society will be com-menced under favourable circumstances, and can hardly fail ofbeing successful. If such cities as Dublin, Edinburgh, Berlin,and Wurtzburg, can sustain Obstetrical Societies, surely Lon.don, with its millions of population and its host of teachers

. and practitioners, can do the same. We regard the proposed.

614

THE MEETINGS OF THE NEW MEDICAL COUNCIL.

Society as likely to be of especial service to the general prac-titioner. He can escape in some degree from the responsibili-ties of medical and surgical practice; but the emergencies of

midwifery are so sudden and continual, that he has too oftento bear them unaided. We understand that Sir CHARLES

LococK and a large number of the obstetric teachers and prac-titioners, both in London and in the provinces, have alreadyjoined the undertaking.

-

TYPHUS, that haunts the squalid alleys of London, has madea sudden descent upon the courtly precincts of Windsor.

Quitting for awhile taberncts pauperum-the cellars of the poor- it takes flight to the turres regum-the castles of Royalty.The town of Windsor is, it would seem, subject to the dan-

gerous influence of the emanations from sewers, ill-ventilated

and insufficiently flushed. The arrangements for the removalof refuse are imperfect, and nuisances abound from the con-dition of pig-styes and slaughter-houses. There is a terrible

impartiality in the action and progress of pestilential disease:and the consequence of all this has been, that several cases ofa serious, and many of a fatal, nature have occurred withinthe precincts of the Castle, extending to the families of mem-bers of the QUEEN’S household. sir JAMES CLARK, Mr. SIMON,Professor TAYLOR, and Mr. AuSTEN, were called to give theaid of their advice to the-local Board of Health. Of course, an

alderman expressed his opinion that the defects in sanitarycondition which were pointed out had no influence upon the

epidemic. It is certain, however, that his opinion will notbe allowed to obstruct the course of the necessary hygienicimprovements, and that the inhabitants of the Castle will asspeedily as possible be freed from a danger the vicinity ofwhich cannot be viewed without serious alarm. Her Majestyhas left for Osborne, with her family. The boys at Eton,nearly 800 in number, were dismissed a fortnight before theusual holidays, on account of the prevalence of disease in theschool.

WE desire to draw the attention of our readers to the im-

portant Address to the Medical Profession, published at p. 615of the present number of THE LANCET, at the request of theLondon Medical Registration Association. That assemblageof practitioners has proceeded slowly and cautiously in its

organization, and in maturing the plans on which it proposesto found its operations. It now appeals to the whole profes-sion throughout the metropolis and its suburban districts toaid it in its wholesome endeavours. We trust that the

Address will be responded to by all the legally qualifiedpractitioners in the metropolitan counties, and that they willunite to form an Association of overwhelming power to stemand drive back the torrent of unqualified medical practicewhich now literally preys upon the vitals of the community.

IT gives us great pleasure to quote the following remarksfrom an influential paper, the Brighton Gazette. They arewritten with good sound sense, and in a spirit of great libe-

rality towards our profession..We believe that medical prac-titioners may depend on the support of all the most enlightenedorgans of the public press in their present attempt to obtainnolitical emanninatinn ·-

"We learn from THE LANCET that the eminent surgeon,Sir Benjamin Brodie, is about to be created a peer. We can

only say that we hope it may be true. It is not, however, onSir Benjamin’s own account that we give expression to thishope, although we believe that he is a most estimable gentle-man, and deservedly popular in his profession. Our rejoicingin the prospect of his advancement in honours rests more uponpublic than upon private grounds. In the first place we wishto see mental qualifications as highly thought of as personalprowess, and in the next we think it but fair and right thatthe medical profession should have as hearty a drink at thefountain of honour as the church or the bar. When Lord

Macaulay received his peerage, we stated the views which wenow repeat; and when we then spoke of the increased respectand dignity which would accrue to the medical profession,were Her Majesty to make a judicious selection of its distin-

guished professors and confer upon them nobility, we went sofar as to point out Sir Benjamin Brodie as one well deservingof such honour. What the medical profession, now that thereis a Medical Reform Act in operation, wants, is to have itsranks swelled by an in-fiood of gentlemen of learning and oftalent ; and such will be the case, if they can see in a success-ful professional career not merely the accumulation of fees, buta prospect of distinction similar to that which now attractsthem almost solely to the bar. Were the ranks of the pro-fession so recruited, as the vulgar and ignorant quacks, whonow crowd them, dropped away, the surgeon and the physicianwould be thought as highly of in this country as in France andother Continental States. This would be not only a medicalbut also a social reform, and is one to the accomplishment ofwhich we shall always look forward with the liveliest hope."

THE NEW MEDICAL ACT.

BRANCH COUNCIL FOR ENGLAND, ANDEXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.

MINUTES OF MEETING OF 29TH NOVEMBER.

Present-

Sir James Clark, Bart.Dr. Watson.Dr. Bond.Dr. Storrar.Mr. Nussey.

., in the Chair.Sir Charles Hastings.Mr. Green.Mr. Lawrence.Dr. Embleton.

1. On the motion of Sir CHAS. HASTINGS, seconded by Mr.GREEN, it was resolved,-That the salary to be given to a clerkbe £150 per annum.

2. On the motion of Sir Crias. HASTINGS, seconded by Dr.STORRAR,-Mr. Hardy was elected Clerk.

3. Resolved, on the motion of Dr. STORRAR, seconded byDr. BOND,-That the Registrar be authorized to obtain what-ever additional temporary assistance he may require, at suchremuneration as he may think proper, and report thereupon tothe executive committee.

4. Resolved, on the motion of Mr. GREEN, seconded by SirCHARLES HASTINGS,-That three be the quorum of the BranchCouncil for England.

5. Resolved, on the motion of Mr. GREEN, seconded by Dr.STORRAR,-That Sir James dark, Dr. Watson, and Mr. Law-rence be a deputation, to wait upon the Secretary of State forthe Home Department, to carry into effect the instruction ofthe General Council-viz., to apply for apartments for themeetings of the General Council and Executive Committee.

6. The memorial was read of certain licentiates of the LondonSociety of Apothecaries, residing in North and South Shields,stating that, by Clause XXX. of the Medical Act, they will beunable to recover for surgical aid and appliances; and, byClause XXXIX., they will be liable to a penalty should theycontinue to use the title of Surgeon.The Registrar was directed to reply that the Council have

no power to interfere with the provisions of the Medical Act.7. It was agreed that the Registrar be instructed to require,

that in all cases in which applications for registration are madeby persons whose names do not appear in any of the certifiedlists referred to in Clause XV. of the Medical Act, and who do