654

THE LANCET.

London, Saturday, Jan. 31, 1835.

MR. LLOYD’S SEVEN YEARS’ WAR AGAINST

IN resuming the consideration of the Imedical affairs of Christ’s Hospital, we feel I

bound, in conformity with our promise oflast week, to present the public with afew extracts from the letters of Mr. LLOYD,

published by the Almoners in the Appen-dix to their Report.

Ivlr. ABERNETHY, one of the surgeonsof St. Bartholcmew’s Hospital, having re-

signed the office of surgeon in Christ’s

Hospital on the 22nd of February 1828, (

Mr. LLOYD, an assistant-surgeon of St.Bartholomew’s, was ehosen to fill the va- ‘cant office, on the 21st of March, in the lesame year,-seven years, within a fewweeks, from the period at which we are

writing.There is no report of Mr. LLOYD’S first

visit to Hertford, which took place, we find, from a note signed by three gover-nors, on the 31st of March, but in a letter, Iwritten three weeks afterwards, and dated21st of April, Mr. LLOYD was already ena-bled to announce to the Governors, with

regard to the ring-worm then prevailing in the establishment, and the treatment ofwhich had thus come under his care,-

that the disease had materially dimi-nihed, and that he should eventually suc-ceecl in completely eradicating it."—(Ap-pendix, page 17.)

In his letter to the Almoners, datedJune tlae 13th 1828, Mr. LLOYD stated-

" His firm belief that, eventually, thedisease would become completely eradi-

cated."—(Page 18.)In a letter read to the Committee on

the same day, but dated June the 12th, Mr.LLOYD said,-

" I shall do all in my power to eradicatethe complaint: ’-(Page 20.)On the 19th of December, 1828, the

Almoners state that Mr. LLOYD attended

,before them, and made a favourable re-port relative to the diminution of the dis-

ease, and it was therefore considered—" Unnecessary to call in any additional

professional advice, Mr. LLOYD having de-clared that he considered that every pro-per measure had been adopted for theeradication of the complaint."—(Page 21.)

In a communication dated the 27th ofFebruary 1829, Mr. LLOYD remarks,-

" I am still of opinion that we shall suc-ceed in completely eradicating the dis-ease: ’- (Page 24.)The promises of " eradication " so fully

occupied the minds of Mr. LLOYD and

the Almoners at this time, that the latterstated in their Report of the 22nd of May,1829, that certain measures should be

B "Forthwith carried into effect for eradi-catii2 the grievous ezisease from both esta-blishments."—(Page 27.)

Then comes a letter from THOMAS

WILBY, the clerk, dated the 17th of June,1829, in which it is observed, that

" With a view to thoroughly eradicatefrom the establishment the disease called‘ ring-worm,’ the Governors have comult-ed five of the most eminent of the facult3-."- (Page 28.)On the 22nd of July, 1829, Mr. LLOYD,

in a letter addressed to the treasurer, ob-

served, that since his last visit,-" He found that the number of children

who were affected with ring-worm in anactive state, had materially diminished,"and adds, " I feel convinced that we shallsucceed in completely eradicating the dis-ease from the eatablishment."— (Page 29.)

’ In a letter dated December the 2nd,1829, Mr. LLOYD informed the treasurer,that on his visit to Hertford on the pre-vious Sunday,

" He found everything going on verysatisfactory ;" and lie subsequently pre-dicts in the same letter, that " he feels asconfideut as ever that thev shall succeedin eradicating the disease."—(Page 31.)

Further on, in the last-mentioned letter,he suggests,-

" That no boy affectcd with ring-wormshall be perntted to be taken home, un-

655THE RING-WORM IN CHRIST’S HOSPITAL.

less a previous undertaking be given, thathe shall not be returned to the school un-til the disease be entirely eradicated."-(Page 32.)A capital device, this, for eradicating

the boys as well as the disease! Thus

two or three hundred young gentlemen,affected with ring-worm, were to be sentout of the Hospital at the holidays, andordered to remain with their friends until

surgeons in private practice should ac-

complish a cure which Mr. LLOYD felt

himself totally incapable of effecting inan establishment where the medical and

dietetic management of the children was

placed entirely under the control of thesurgeon and his professional and domesticassistants !

In a communication dated March the

ilth 1830, Mr. LLOYD alludes to a dis-covery that he has made relative to I

" Another most fertile source of the dis-ease, and, consequently, of difficulty in itseradication."-(Page 33.)And then he goes on to reason, with the

arithmetical precision of a "Cocker," that"If it were not for the occurrence of

fresh cases, and the occasional recurrenceof disease in other boys, they might fairlyexpect to have, in a very short time, thering-worm wholly eradicated from theschool."-(Page 34.)

This is very exact reasoning, and not

easily to be matched. If there were " no

fresh cases," and " no recurrence of thedisease" after none but healthy boys were

permitted to enter the Hospital at the

termination of the holidays, Mr. LLOYDcould indulge in the fair expectation, that

ring-worm would be "wholly eradicatedfrom the school." But ring-worm, after

all, seems to be neither an alarming nor an

annoying evil, as Mr. LLOYD, after al-

luding to certain precautionary measures, in the identical letter from which we have

just quoted, exclaims,-" Let these means" be adopted, and I feel convinced that

the education of the children, and the"extension of the disease, will be found

" perfectly compatible." (Page 34.) This

conviction of Mr. LLOYD ought not to as-sume the character of a prophecy, as his

experience in the Hospital ought at leastto have enabled him to state, most posi-tively, that the education of the childrenhad not been neglected at the time that

they were the subjects of ring.worm;otherwise, hundreds of children, accord-

ing to the statements before us, must

have been discharged from Christ’s Hos-

pital, within the last twenty years, with-out carrying with them even the rudi.

ments of that knowledge which they weresent there to acquire. In a word, if theeducation of the children could not pro-ceed while the ring-worm was in the

course of extension, the labours of the es-tahlishment must have been wholly exe-cuted by medical officers and their able as-sistants, the nurses,-and the masters andushers must have enjoyed sinecures.On the 12th of March, Mr. WILBY, the

clerk, acknowledges, by the direction ofthe treasurer, the receipt of Mr. LLOYD’S

letter of the same date, and states that,-

I " The governors have full confidence

in Mr. LLOYD’S exertions and skill for

eradicating the disease called ring--,vorm.": -(Page 35.)

" Called ring-worm," quoth Mr. WRLE --.The clerk had ev:dently become as sick

of the disease as the children.

On the 24th of September, 1830, Mr.LLOYD again addressed a letter to the

Committee, and this is the only episto-lary communication of his throughout theAppendix, in which the word " eradicate

"

or " eradication " does not occur. But

even in this short letter Mr. LLoyn

attempts to delight the governors by an-nouncing to them that " the source of

contagion has very much diminished," andthat- at his last Sunday trip to Hertford, he found the children going on " extremely; well,"which, properlyinterpreted, signifies,we presume, that the children were goingI home, to be placed under surgeons whocould relieve them from their maladies.

656 THE RING-WORM IN CHRIST’S HOSPITAL.

On the 29th of April, 1833, the treasurer,five years after the appointment of Mr.LLOYD, and five years after the promised" eradications," in a letter, addressed to thesteward at Hertford, deploringly remarked," I feel it quite sickening, after all the

pains which have been taken, that

*’ we have still this scourge hanging overthe establishment." ’ On the same dayMr. LLOYD expressed his regret that,

" There had broken out more fresh andsevere cases of ring-worm than had beenthe case for some time past," and added,that " it:grieved him that such an increasehad taken place after the excessive incon-venience he had been put to in endeavour-ing to eradicate the disease."-(Page 43.)A Committee of Almoners was then

held on the 10th of May, 1833, when Mr.LLOYD, being present, was informed thata special committee would be appointedon Tuesday the 14th, to take into consi-deration the state of the Hertford esta-

blishment. Accordingly, the almoners

assembled on that day, and, after acknow-ledging that the disease had baffled the

skill of the medical officers, resolved thata gratuity of three hundred guineas shouldbe paid to Mr. LLOYD, for his extra ser-vices and Sunday jaunts to Hertford. The

report goes on to state, that Mr. LLOYD,on being called in, returned the committeehis grateful thanks, and informed the go-vernors that,-

" So long as ring-worm prevailed allover the country, and the boys were per-mitted to mix with their friends, therewould be fresh cases intrude on the esta-blishment, on which account he was com-pelled to say, that to wholly eradicate:thedisease, was, at present, quite out of thequestion."-(Page 44.)On the same day Mr. LLOYD addressed

a long letter to the Treasurer, in whichhe makes use of almost precisely thesame expression, observing that,-

" As fresh cases could not be preventedfrom being introduced into the Hospital,he was compelled to say, that to whollyeradicate it was at present quite out of thequestion."—(Page 45.)B ,

Another meeting of the Committee washeld on the 24th of May, 1833, pursuantto adjournment from the last meeting,when they were assembled to take into

consideration the state of the medical de-

partment of the establishment at Hert-

ford. The Treasurer, on this occasion,having informed the Committee that hehad received a letter from Mr. LLOYD,

" containing a very favourable account ofthe boys now labouring under this dis-

ease " (page 46), it was agreed to defer afurther consideration of the subject to theGeneral Visitation to Hertford, appointedto be held on the 18th of June next

ensuing.Immediately following the brief notice

of the proceedings of the above meeting,we find the following note addressed bythe " eradicating" Mr. LLO Yn to the Trea-

surer, dated May 21st 1833, so that, in all

probability, this was the letter to which

the Treasurer referred when he alluded to

the " very favourable account of the boys "

which Mr. LLOYD had recently rendered.This note is too good to admit of abbre-

viation, and we shall not, therefore, makethe slightest alteration in it, either in

word or point, with the exception of plac-ing a few of the words in italics and

capitals :--

" To Thomas Poynder, Jun. Esq., Treasurer,Christ’s Hospital.

" DEAR SIR,—I visited the Hospital atHertford on Sunday last, and 1 am happyto have it in my power to inform you, thatI found things in a much better state thanat my former visit. The condition of thechildren generally was much more satis-factory, and in particular all the newcases of Ring-ieorm, which was so bad,had very materially improved. The casesin Ward No. 9 would really be of verylittle consequence, except that there arein it nine or ten boys who have been re-moved thither from the infirmary, duringthe last month. The having Ward No. nfor the reception of boys when first re-

moved from the 7M/?yMM)’y, wiH, I feel

confident, contribute greatly to prerent thespreading of the disease, and, consequently,to keep it within the narrowest bounds. I

657CHAIR OF MIDWIFERY AT DUBLIN.

trust I may he allowed to say, that, in my ;

opinion, if the Committee have patience, .

only for a short time, they will not deemit necessary to have recourse to any moreextraordinary measures with a view toERADICATE the disease. I am, dear Sir,your very faithful servant,

" EuSEBIUS ARTHUR LLOYD." Bedford Row, Tuesday,

May 21st, 1833."

In conformity with the previous ar-

rangement, the General Visitation of

Governors was held at Hertford on the

18th of June, 1833, twenty- eight days sub-

sequent to the date of the foregoing notefrom Mr. LLOYD, when, amongst the re-solutions adopted by the Governors, wefind the following, - a rather smart re-

ply to the petition of Mr. LLOYD for " a

little more patience " on the part of the i

Committee, and for " a short time"wherein he might continue his endea-

vours to " eradicate the disease." Alack

a day’ The silly Almoners had no pre-dilection for a second vote of three hundred

guineas for seventy-five additional Sundayjaunts to Hertfor<l:-

" That the monthly visits from the sur-geon in London be no longer required, and

that Mr. colbeck, the surgeon at Hertford,have the active management and responsi-bility of these patients."- (Page 47.)

So that the governors, without promisesor predictions, " eradicated " Mr. LLOYDfrom the institution at Hertford, althoughMr. LLOYD could not succeed in " eradi-

cating" the ring-worm.We are determined not to diminish the

effect of this disgusting, but most instrue-tive picture, by adding a single word ofcommentary, we therefore postpone anyfurther remarks on the subject to the nextLANCET, when we shall offer some obser-vations on the recent scandalous decision

of the almoners in entrusting the childrenof their establishment to the superintend-ence of three officers of St. Bartholomew’s

Hospital,&mdash;all of whom have, at any rate,the reputation of knowing nothing of thediseases of the skin,&mdash;instead of appoint-

ing a gentleman to reside in the establish-ment, whose every moment, and every

faculty, might be occupied in a well-di-rected effort to relieve the suffering chil-dren from the infliction and torment of an

odious disease. Christ’s Hospital is fast

becoming, if it be not already, a pesthouse and a public nuisance, and it is hightime that popular opinion should exer-

cise some influence in controlling its modeof government.

A MEETING Of the Dublin College of Sur-

geons was held on Monday week to re-

ceive the resignation of Mr. JOHNSTON,

Professor of Midwifery in that institution.The resignation of Mr. JOHNSTON wouldbe a matter of no importance, were it not

connected with circumstances which throwlight on the opeiation of that system inour Colleges and Companies, to which the" spontaneous reformers " of these daysof political ambiguity cannot allude with-out regret and alarm, even while admit-

ting the necessity of a reformation of the

system. How long Mr. JOHNSTON hasbeen the nominal Professor of the Dub-

lin College we do not exactly recollect;but we know that the time is consider.

able, and that during the whole periodof his professorship he seldom gave a

dozen lectures in a season ; at any rate the

average amount of his didactic labours

reaches no higher ; and how he has con-trived to quiet his pupils, or to keep his

place in the College under this breach ofhis duties, nothing but the " ticket-sys-

tem" could help us to explain. Upon whatrule, however, either of right or wrong,the College can defend itself ‘&middot;om a chargeof scandalous criminality in suffering anyindividual thus to enjoy the reputation

’ and advantages of a professorship withoutthe fulfilment of those obligations which; the holding of the office imposes, we are

. utterly at a loss to guess. Moreover, the

658 CHAIR OF MIDWIFERY AT DUBLIN.

impropriety of tolerating this abuse is

much aggravated by the reflection, thatsome other person, willing and fully equalto the duties of the situation, has been all

along excluded from their performance,solely to serve the purposes of one who

really did nothing.Such is a fair specimen of the dog-in-

the-manger spirit of all our medical cor-

porations, which, sooner than violate a

single " vested interest" of their tribe, willretain in the public service, men whoseindolence or incapability is complete.But a strong feature in the affair is, we e

suspect from the information we have

received, yet to be exhibited. The con-

duct of the College, we hear, is not likelyto be atoned for by a more prudent and honourable course in the appointment of a successor. Consistency in its usual policywill be preserved on this occasion, andMr. JOHNSTON might as well have re-

signed last season as now; but he was

otherwise instructed. The object, indeed,of the delay is obvious. Had he quittedthe professorship last year, the election ofhis successor would have come on at a

time when the Court of Censors who elect

the professors of the College, being some-what more independent than the partieswho are now in office, would have been

hampered in their choice. The moment,

however, that the Court of Censors is depu-rated from these intractable spirits, andthe machine of corruption is brought into

working order, Mr. JOHNSTON’s resigna-tion is laid before the College, and his

successor s forthwith to be nominated.

One short month only has elapsed sincethe " restoration " of the representativesof the College School to power ; and in

twenty-eight days more the first job ofthe season will be completed, the timelyresignation of Mr. JOHNSTON being the

prelude thereto.These preliminaries having been so

&’ ’oitly managed, the subsequent steps

in the process doubtless will be appro-

priate to their end. Little question canthere be that the new professor is

fixed on. The chances of an election

will not be trusted. Report, only, can

guide our impressions in this respect,as personal canvassing for professor-ships is forbidden by the laws of the

College. It is generally supposed, how-ever, that a Mr. BEATTIE, who professesto teach " medical jurisprudence" in theCollege School, is destined to fill the va-

cant chair; and f his claims to promo-tion be considered according to the usualrules, his prospect of success is, certainly,very feasible, though a correspondentin Dublin who is a competent judge inthese matters, has enumerated ten mem-

bers of the College whose standing, at-tainments, and practical experience as

accoucheurs, entitle them to the prefer-ence which is most probably reserved

for Mr. BEATTIE.* But considerations

of such a kind have little influence with

the College. Mr. BEATTIE has that with-

in him which surpasseth a show of quali-fications. He has been a faithful voter

art all the meetings of the College, whenits "interests " were threatened by re-

form. He is a proficient in the gameof "blaclc-balling " whenever an obnoxi-ous character is to be excluded or an

unruly licentiate is to be chastised. He

has a solemn conviction that no ap-

pointment to the surgeoncy of Steven’s

Hospital should be regulated by a consi-deration of the talents of the candidate, or

by a sense of propriety and disinterest-edness of feeling. He firmly believes thatno colleague would, even to make Mr..KiRBY a professor in the College, or toshut up the Peter-street School, violate hisofficial veracity; and he as firmly main-tains that the funds of the College were

* A Mr. MURPHY, of the Lying-In Hospital, hasbeen named to us as a good specimen of this class ofgentlemen, and as one who has paid very great at-tention to the obstetric branch of the profession.

659THE INSPECTOR OF ANATOMY.

never more rationally expended than onthe anti-reform deputations to London. In

fine, he is a true believer in the complexcreed of the College school, and is qua-lified to fill the vacant chair hy the pos-session of a license to practise midwifery,obtained two years ago ! There will be

other candidates, men of extensive prac- tice and approved teachers, but that does Inot affect Mr. BEATTIE’S case. The Col- Ilege has to decide, and 1Blr. BEATTE pos-sesses precisely those claims on its favour,which excite the sympathies and enlist the

suffrages of a medical corporation. He ap-pears, indeed, to have had some presenti-ment of this kind himself. He was, we

believe, one of the "Doctors" of the Bag-yot-street Hospital, but perceiving the

turn which the tide of affairs was likelyto take on that coast and on the Collegeshores, he "sold out" ; and opened a" maternity shop in Frederick-street, on" his own account." This may have been

merely coincidental with the resignation of Mr. JOHNSTON ; but the simultaneous-ness of the movements looks like design.A distant expectation that the maternityhouse and the College professorship wouldbe mutual acquisitions,&mdash;necessary to eachother,&mdash;was not unreasonable. We are in-

formed that there is some intention of

disturbing these arrangements by the dis-cussion of a question of which notice was

given by Dr. EVANSON at a former

meeting of the College, relative to the

institution of " Probationary Lectures"in the College, previous to the appoint-ment of Professors. But will Dr. EVAN-SON precipitate its discussion by callingspecial meetings for the purpose, to the

prejudice of one who belongs to the partywith whom Dr. EVANSON invariably acts,and will the members of the College sanc-tion a motion which leads to a real reiorm ?We doubt both events, but, in charity,suspend a further expression of opinionon the subject, until facts shrll render allspeculation unnecessary.

IN THE LANCET of January the 3rd,we noticed, very briefly, an inquiry whichhad been instituted by certain partiesconnected with the College of Surgeons,relative to the distribution of subjectsfor dissection to the schools of anatomy

and their alleged scarcity. The professedobject of the inquiry was to confer benefiton the medical schools, by providing thestudents with adequate materials for cul-

tivating the chief branch of the science of

medicine. The 1’eaZ object of the inquirywas, to vilify the character of the: inspec-

tor, Dr. SOMERVILLE, and to secure to theschools connected with the chief hospitals,an absolute monopoly of the subjects.

If the readers of this Journal were in

the habit of wasting their time in readingthe trashy and malignant journal calledthe " Medical Gazette," they would knowthat attempts have repeatedly been madeto prove that the Inspector of Anatomyhad uniformly favoured the school of theLondon University, to the great prejudiceof the other establishments, -a chargewhich was repeated, in terms equally un-equivocal, in the more respectable columnsof the Morning Post.

The labours of the impartial investiga-tors having terminated, a report of their

proceedings has, we understand, been

forwarded to the Home Office, and in

consequence of the facts contained in

this Report, the conductor of the " Medi-cal Gazette" has been directed by his

masters to eat up his accusations againstthe Inspector of Anatomy in the followingwords : -

" ANATOMY.&mdash;We understand that areport has been made to the Home Officeby those members of the Council of theCollege of Surgeons who undertook to in-quire into the causes of the late scarcityin the supply of subjects for anatomicalpurposes. The report is said to be highlyfavourable to the Inspector, and to recom-mend that matters shoull remain muchon

the same footing as heretofore; anydirect or official interference with the

660 SHEFFIELD SCHOOL.--SIR H. HALFORD’S

parish authorities being thought likely todo harm. It would appear that the chiefdifficulties have originated in the actualdecrease of deaths during the last threemonths of 1834, and the mutual jealousiesof each other among the teachers."-Jan.26th.

With respect to the concluding sen-tence of this degrading confession, we

may observe that if it be true that there

has been a decrease of deaths in the

quarter ending the 1st of January 1834over the corresponding quarters of 1832and 1833, it is equally true that more sub-

jects have been supplied to the schools

during the last quarter than in corre-

sponding quarters of the two previousyears. The impartiality of the distribu-tion, and the consequent aid to the medi-cal department of the London Universityand the private schools, are the real causeof annoyance to the rapacious BATS.

Turn London papers of Thursday con-tain an account of the " destruction of the

Sheffield Medical School," and all its fur-niture, on Monday last, by an assemblageof persons whose feelings had been excitedby some cause against the establishment.The particulars are derived from the

Sheffield Iri8, but they are most imperfectand unsatisfactory, and we refrain, there-fore, from transferring them to our co-lumns. The report states that the riot

began in drunkenness, was fanned bythe diffusion of " foolish accounts of

what the first persons saw who broke

into the school," was momentarily checkedby the police, revived next day, extendedto the complete destruction of the build-ing by fire, rendered the aid of a party ofsolcliers necessary in the town, and wasnot finally subdued until an attack hadalso been made on a house in Surrey-street,called the " Medical Hall." The distur-bance appears to have been a verywrathful and serious one. An explicitaccount and explanation of the excitingcause of the riot will doubtless be made

public in a day or two.

SIR HENRY HALFORD’S GRANDDINNER AND TEA PARTY.

! THIS worthy Baronet and chief Fellowof the College of Physicians, gave hisannual grand dinner, preparatory to theperiodical conversaziones at the RoyalCollege, on Monday last, the 26th inst., athis mansion in Curzon-street, and on thatoccasion had the gratification of enter-taining the illustrious ARTHUR, Duke ofWELLINGTON, the Right Rev. Father inGod the ARCHBISHOP of CANTERBURY,the Bishop of London, the Lord HighCHANCELLOR of England, the PRIMEMINISTER of Great Britain and Ireland,several judges of the realm, and many otherdistinguished guests.The Duke of WELLINGTON arrived in

his state carriage precisely at seven

o’clock, and was soon followed by theother illustrious personages. A most

sumptuous and elegant entertainment wasprepared in the banqueting room, whichwas richly decorated for the occasion.The health of her Most Gracious Ma-

jesty was drunk, as the first toast, withrapturous applause.

Sir HENRY then proposed "the healthof the great Captain of the age, the Dukeof Wellington, and may he long live toenjoy the innumerable honours which thisgreat nation has heaped upon him, and tocontinue to bless the country with hiscouncils."The DuKE rose amidst deafening cheers,

and returned thanks for the complimentSir Henry had paid him. He was happyto take this opportunity of expressinghis satisfaction at seeing the heads of themedical profession represented by so ac-complished and so talented a physician asthe worthy baronet. He had himselfbenefited from Sir Henry’s abilities in moreways than one, and he considered Sir

Henry’s powers to be as useful in thecabinet, as in the sick room. He hadheard a great deal too much lately aboutRefornz, and if he was to judge of the stateof the medical profession from the sump-tuous dinner and the delicious wines onthis table, he would venture to give itas his opinion, with all due deferenceto Sir Henry’s superior knowledge, thatthe medical profession wanted Mo reform.He now intended to propose " The healthof the President of the Royal College ofPhysicians, and may he never require anyother medicine than such as he has admi.nistered to his guests on this occasion."

Sir HE.NRY returned thanks. Hisillus-trious friend, the Duke, had said so muchin his praise, and with such excellent