785

presumed to have an opinion on that score,but always left it to the better judgment ofmedical men. Mr. Brown says

" the per-spiration, which cannot in any way escape,must, of course, accumulate," &c. I an-swer, that provision has been made for theescape of perspiration. Mr. Brown alsosays,

" the heat too must be increased,"&c. The wreport before alluded to states," I was apprehensive from the volume ofinflation that heat might accumulate, andthus form an objection to the application,but in neither case has this occurred."

I am not competent to judge of the meritof the apparatus which Mr. Brown says hehas invented, but it appears that he has notdisdained the use of the " fracture bag,"and that he has also borrowed from othersto make his own perfect.

It may not be improper for me to state,that Mr. Brown, some twelve months since,held an appointment in the dock-yard inwhich I serve, that he now resides withina hundred yards of it, and that formerlywe had frequent communications on this

subject; and although, of course, I cannotobject to Mr. Brown, or any person, givingan opinion on this, or any other subject,still I must submit to your judgment, whe-ther a proper sense of courtesy and gentle-manly feeling, which ought to actuate everymember of the medical profession, when al-luding to any individual, however humble,would not have dictated some sort of com-munication, before he had published such asweeping condemnation of what he hadbefore so highly approved of.In conclusion, I must beg to observe that

I have not taken any steps towards makingthis apparatus public, except by exhibitingthem to those who have been desirous to haveand to see t’hemjudging that, if they possessed imerit, they would be sure to find their ownway, and if not, the least said about themthe better. I trust, Sir, you will do me thejustice to believe, that to suggest the ex-

periment to the medical public, and for thepurpose of promoting the cause of huma-nity, was my original motive ; and you willalso observe, that Mr. Brown has not failedto avail himself of it in his invention.

I will not presume to ask space in -yourcolumns for the testimonials that have beengiven of the usefulness of this " fracturebag," but they are forthcoming if theyshould be required. I am, Sir,

1 our obedient servant,JOHN Cow.

Dock-yard, Woolwich, March 8, 1833.JOHN COW.

THE LANCET.

London, Saturday, March 16, 1833.

REPORT FROM THE LONDON UNIVERSITY.

AT the conclusion of our remarks in the

last LANCET, on the truly prosperous in-

dications of the scholastic and pecuniaryaffairs of the LONDON UNIVERSITY, we

promised to furnish a few extracts from the

Report of the Council, This pledge wenow redeem, under feelings of increasedsatisfaction, because a further examinationof the details of the Report has tended

most forcibly to strengthen the convictionwhich we at first entertained, that the

UNIVERSITY is firmly established-that itsreceipts have proved that the public con-

fidence in the stability and utility of theestablishment has undergone no diminution,- and that when once the whole machineryof the University shall be set in motion, bythe- full completion of every essential ar-

, rangement of the original plan, the insti-

tution will from that hour continue to

confer benefits on the community, and ho-

nour on the national character, so long as1 the metropolis of England holds a high rank

among the cities of enlightened Europe.At first we felt strongly disposed to be-

lieve that an improper motive had been atwork in dictating the report of the Council,but the fairness which is manifest on the

face of the account,-the candour that isobserved in entering into all the details,-the full explanation which is furnished on

every point of legitimate inquiry, dispelevery such disagreeable impression, andextort from us an admiration of the inte-

grity of the reporter, at the very momentwhen we are most disposed to complain ofhis want of firmness and judgment. How-

ever much the impolicy of the writer maydeserve condemnation, we feel perfectlyassured that no charge of a want of honestyis imputable to him. Enthusiasm is not

remarkable for length of continuance, nor for

consistency; persons who are the most san-

786 OBJECTS AND PROGRESS OF, AND M18C6NCtVTIONS

guine, the most easily excited, are the firstto give way on the presentation of obstaclesto the full accomplishment of their expecta-tions. Many there were who believed,when the scheme of the University was first

propounded, that no sooner would the Pro-fessors take their chairs, than the bencheswould be overloaded with students. This

feeling even pervaded the members of thefirst Council, and influenced many of theirmovements. Impressed with such a notion,the Council instructed the architect to swell

out the theatres into enormous dimensions ;and in the early speeches of the promotersof the new undertaking, it was frequently’asked, "How shall we be enabled to findaccommodation for the thousands of students

who will be sent to the University by thehundreds of thousands of inhabitants of this

metropolis ? " The framer of this reportwas possibly one of the orators who so spoke Ion those occasions. But disappointmentand vexation are ever to be the portions ofan individual so constituted, for it is evi-dent that his calculations are founded rather

upon what he hopes may happen, than onoccurrences which a sound judgment could

really consider as probable. To the man

of business-to the man acquainted withthe common affairs of life-to the man who

knows how powerful that battery must bewhich can wage war effectively against thecontinuance of political, hierarchical, and

squirarchical prejudices in this country-the brilliant success which, up to this hour,has attended the labours of the Professors

in the UNIVERSTTY of LONDON, must appearabsolutely astonishing. Why, the old

Universities have been proceeding in theirvocations from the day of ALFRED, and isit to be presumed that with such amazingwealth at their command,—with such

vigorously - constructed constitutions, -

with, too, such extraordinary out-door

influence as they have ever received fromthe Governments for the time being-that they have toiled to no end?—that in

demanding subscriptions to a forced belief,and the practice founded on this extorted con-

formity supported by almost open bribery,would have little or no effect upon the minds

of successive generations?-and further, thatthe prejudices springing out of such a sys-tem, could be as easily crushed as a first cropof fungi True, the University of Londonwas founded in the centre of the largestpopulation in Europe ; but what of that? Is

it not well-known, and must it not be ac-

knowledged, that this "largest population"had not been so educated as to require oreven desire " university" accomplishments.The gentry of London have fixed a longingeye on those Universities which have rich

Fellowships in bestowal ; they have notbeen unmindful of their family and politicalconnexions and influence. Amongst the

gentry we of course place the nobility.This entire class is moved by the same im-pulse,-all tainted by the same ancient ha-bits,-all considering that the many shouldlive for the few, and that the few have onlya right to enjoy the advantages of a goodeducation, in order that they may never failto profit from the ignorance of the swinishmultitude.

In discussing this branch of the subject,it is utterly impossible to forget what hasbeen the conduct of the English nobility inpower during the last hundred years, withrespect to their passive observance of thealmost entire misapplication of the funds

designed by the donors to educate the youthof this country. There is scarcely a townwhich has not its endowment for education;yet school there is none, instruction there is

none. The corporations have seized the

wealth, and distributed portions of it in

bribing into silence those men who were

appointed virtually to execute the most

sacred of duties. If only half the publicschools had been in active operation butten years before the first stone of the Uni-

versity was laid, we should have heard of

no lamentation as a consequence of a defi-

787RESPECTING, THE LONDON UNIVERSITY.

ciency of students. The fountain is now Iwithout feeding, the great lake has no

nourishing streamlets. The institution,however, of the University school has al-

ready shown not only what will be the ulti-mate effects of that one auxiliary establish-ment, but what really would have been theconsequences to the University, if the

youthful minds of this;metropolis had, dur-ing the last ten years, enjoyed, generally,the advantage of a rudimental education.Reserving an extract from the report, in

relation to the school, for insertion presently,we must here copy a passage which we have

read more than once with mingled feelingsof astonishment and sorrow :-" It is with"

great regret that the Council, after the" experience of above four years, are com-

" pelled to declare, that in so far as it was" contemplated by this establishment to

‘° afford, for the attainments of literary and" scientific education, opportunities which" did not previously exist, the University" has hitherto been much less successful

‘‘ than its founders anticipated." This is

candid, and presuming that the truth is

spoken as to what the founders of the

University expected, we shall not find faultwith the acknowledgment of disappoint-ment, though we must condemn those inju-dicious individuals who were sufficientlyunreasonable to " anticipate" a highershare of prosperity for the University thanit has already enjoyed. The passage justquoted, the reader will perceive, carrieswith it an immediate reference to the stu-

dents, and the writer deplores the non-

fulfilment of the " anticipations" of the

founders, as to the successful progress of

" literary and scientific education " withinthe walls of the new establishment. The

sentence which immediately follows the

foregoing, runs thus :-Those studies which are essential tc

" attaining success in lucrative arts ane" professions, will always find an adequate" number of skilful and industrious in

" structors,without any support beyond the fees of the pupils." It is not our busi-

ness, on this occasion, to criticise the

grammar of the composition now before us,but we ask what is the meaning of the

author 1 , Studies find instructors, without

any support, beyond the fees of pupils’"!But let us take the next sentence :—" Jt israther for another class of sciences, the

" knowledge of which is not profitable to" the possessor in a pecuniary point of view,but which exert a great influence on the

"well-being of society, that such ail insti-"tution was required." Well, on reading; this sentence, we made a long pause, at the, same time exerting all our ingenuity to formsome conjecture as to what branch of

. knowledge the author could refer to - in

short, as to what class of science is not

included in an university scheme of a

"literary and scientific education." Un-

able to satisfy our excited curiosity by anyother means, we referred to another part of

the report for a quotation from the pro-

spectus and deed of settlement, cited ex-

pressly by the author to show the object forwhich the University was established. Butwe must copy the passage, without altera-

tion of word or syllable :-" The object, as stated in the original

" prospectus and in the deed of settlement,"

was, that this institution was established

" for the advancement and promotion of

" literature and science, by affording to

"

young men residing in, or resorting to," the cities of London and Westminster," the borough of Southwark, and counties

adjoining to either of the cities, or to thesaid borough, adequate opportunities for" obtaining literary and scientific education" at a moderate expense." The object,therefore, of founding the University, wasto afford literary and scientific educa-

tion at a moderate expense. How, then,is the writer justified in his implied cen-sure of the public for their not runningafter "another class of sciences? " though

788 PROSPECTS OF THE LONDON UNIVERSITY.

we should like to be informed of the namesof those sciences which a " scientific educa-

tion "would exclude. However, we must

follow the writer, and take the sentence nextto the one last quoted. Here we are let

into the secret of the author’s views-here

we have the " other" class of sciences :-"An accurate comprehension" (we shall

copy each word as we find it) " of the phe-"nomena of the human mind-of the in-" struments by which knowledge is ac-

" quired and communicated-of the scienceof government-of the principles upon" which laws should be made and justice" administered-of the rules which governthe creation and the distribution of" wealth-in a word, an accurate compre-" hension of all those various and intricate" sciences which are closely connected with" the moral and political condition of man-kind, stood high amongst the objects" sought to be obtained by this institution;°’ and scarcely second among them was

’’ the higher branches of mathematics, of" natural philosophy, and of many of thosesciences which consist of the laws and" properties of natural objects."

There ! this is a quotation, is it, from a

report written by the Council of the Lon-don University ? It is quite clear that theProfessors of this Institution have had

other difficulties to contend against than

those which they have found in their classrooms. Why a Council, consisting of headsresembling that possessed by the writer ofthis report, would be hallucinating enoughin their speculations to convert any uni-

versity in Europe into a Lunatic Asylum.The evidence of the indistinctness of the

knowledge of the great purposes for whichthe Institution was founded,-the markedconfusion of ideas,-the wildness of con-

jecture,-the folly of the anticipations,-the extreme, incurable, absurdity of thEnotions concerning the phenomena of thEhuman mind,-the " production of stud)by teaching,"-and all the other nonde.

script rigmarole,—indisputably prove thatthe reporter is eminently qualified to engagein literary pursuits in far-famed Utopia—certainly in no place else. How greatlyposterity would have benefited if Sir

THOMAS MORE could have commanded the

invaluable services of such a peculiar hero !In Utopia then we must leave the halluci.nator-the longer after " other sciences not

included in a scientific education,"—whilewe insert the promised extract relating tothe junior school, and while we offer, inconclusion, some half dozen words on the

immediate institution of a hospital.’ Junior School.

The number of boys attending the

« school at the end of itsfirst term, or im-mediately before the Easter holidays, was« about eighty. At the end of the seecad

term, in August 1832, they were one hun- dred andforty. At Christmas the num-"ber of pupils was one hundred and ninety-‘ two, and those who are entered for the

present term amount to two hundred and

"forty-nine."—Report, p. 9.

Thus this school is already yielding theUniversity nearly one thousand poundsprofit annually, and that profit must go onrapidly and certainly increasing, because

it is quite clear that the general classes ofthe University will annually receive a verylarge accession of students from the senior

boys, as they successively quit the juniorestablishment. This school will, in the

course of a few years, prove the great, natu-

ral, certain, feeder of all the classes in the

higher walks of literature and science in theUniversity. Nothing can be more cheeringthan the prospect which the rapid advance-ment of the junior school holds out; it

must ever prove one of the main pillars ofthe institution. Let it be encouraged, there-fore, by every possible means, and let not- the Council consider that the fee of admis-

sion already charged is fixed at too low a

rate ; for such a supposition, if it were to

furnish a ground for altering it, would provea fatal error.

789APPROACHING CONCOURS IN PARIS.

Another main support of the Universitywill always be furnished by the medical

school-that is, if its professors shall beelected so as to give confidence to the pub-

I

lic, and provided they always exercise those Icommanding abilities now so assiduouslydisplayed by the gentlemen who occupy thechairs in that department. With one ex-

ception, which it would be invidious to

name here, we question whether the seatsof the professors could be more beneficiallyoccupied than they are at present. But is

the medical school complete ? Far from it.

As Professor ELLIOTSON candidly acknow-ledged at the commencement of the session,It is no medical school, because it is des-

"titute of an hospital." Yet, under a draw-back thus truly injurious and embarrassingthat school included two hundred and eighty.three students on the ist of last FebruaryWhat would be the number, in this department alone, if there were a well-conducted,

properly-constituted, University Hospital,to which the pupils could daily resort for

practical medical instruction ? Unques-tionably the number of pupils would bedoubled in less than three years from the

opening of such an establishment.

Let us then tell the proprietors that everydevice which cunning, envy, malignity,hypocrisy, and avarice, can set in motion,will be employed to prevent the erection ofan University Hospital. But an oppositionof such a character must prove the natural

stimulus to men whose actions are governedby good feelings and sound judgment. The

proprietors see it stated in the Report, that3500l. have been received as fees in all the

classes of the University. What will be

their reflections when we state that upwardsof 90001. have been paid within the lastyear, in students’ fees, into the medical

school of one London hospital, and that

hospital St. Bartholomew’s? On the an.

nouncement of such an astounding faet as

this, will not a few of the reasons be ren.dered apparent why the opposition to this

erection of an University Hospital is notwholly disinterested ! The enemies of the

University desired not the completion of themedical department. Let the Council feel

differently, and resolutely determine to

connect with the medical professorships, an: institution which shall furnish, at a very. moderate expense, practical instruction in> medicine at the bedsides of the sick. There

is no time to be lost; the building shouldr be commenced instcenter, and thrown opens to the public at the earliest possible moment.Delay can only prove injurious by strength-ening the hands of the intriguing, selfish,1, monopolists, who desire nothing so much asto see the ruin of that institution, the pre-- sent success of which excites their malice,;, and elicits their calumnies.

APPROACHING CONCOURS IN PARIS.TnE public concours for the vacant chair

of Clinical Medicine in the University ofParis, is postponed from the llth to the

14th instant. Since the celebrated occasion

when 1B1. DUPUYTREN won the professor-ship of clinical surgery in a splendid con-test with MM. Roux, MARJORLIN, and

TARTRA, no concours has excited such uni.

versal attention as that which is on the eveof commencing already begins to create.

Having made arrangements in Paris for ob-

taining special reports of the daily progressof the struggle, even before the French

weekly medical journals containing themcan reach London, we deem it desirable to

preface the series of reports by a few ro-marks on the history of the concours in

I Paris, and a glance at the pei-sonned and

probabilities of that now approaching.When a transitory peace permitted NA

roLEON to turn his ever-active spirit to the

urgent claims of the French nation for ame-

lioration in the sources of public instruc-tion, the Faculty of Medicine of Paris was

- among the earliest institutions that engageds his remodelling mind, and the concours was

790 CHARACTERS OF THE JURY AND CANDIDATES

one of the first changes he introduced intoits constitution. From CHAPTAL and CoR.

VISART, especially, does it seem that NAPO-LEON derived the information and sugges.tions on which he proceeded. The first trial ofthe new mode of election occurred in 1810,

when DUPUYTREN gained the professorshipof clinical surgery; the second, when Drs-ORMEAUX was the successful competitorfor that of midwifery. From this period I

until 1814, no vacancy occurred. To use the

expressive figure of a lively French carica-turist, " The eagle then flew away from thePalace oftheTuileries, as the geese waddledin at the gate ;" and a natural consequenceof the gabbling restoration was, the aboli-tion of the concours, and the return to the

olden blessedness of ministerial presenta-tions. Thus matters remained until the

events of July once more sent the " geese"on their travels. The school of medicine was

then remodelled, and some professorshipsbecame vacant, in consequence of the re-

fusal of the holders to swear fealty to the

dynasty of July ; some were created anew,and others were given up from circum-stances which have not obtained publicity.The chairs of physiology, medical physics,external pathology, clinical medicine at LaCharite, and botany, were accordingly opento concours, and won successively byMM. Berard, Pelletan, Jules Cloquet, Mar.

jolin, Bouillaud, and Richard, all men

whose anterior reputation was sufficientlyhigh to preclude the excitement of the least

surprise at their nomination.

It is unnecessary for us to enter into anyspecial details respecting the various alter-ations introduced into the practical exerciseof the concours, either according to the

special chair under competition, the capriceof the Minister of Public Instruction, or

the growing experience of the Faculty of

Medicine. It is sufficient here to describe

the nature of the ordeal to which the candi-

dates are, on the present occasion, to be

subjected. We shall also notice the com-

position of the jury, and some other point:incidental to the subject.The "proofs," as they are termed, are to be

four in number :-1 st, the appreciation of theanterior " titles," such as the works, fugitiveessays, lectures, hospital-service, &c., of

the candidates for the vacant professorship.This part of the concours is privately de-liberated by the jury. The 9and and 3rd

proofs consist of two clinical lectures. The

14th, the argumentation of a thesis. After

each proof the judges retire, and class the

candidates by a scale of proportion gradu-ated according’ to their number. Thus in

the present concours there are 1i. The first,then, will be represented by the cipher 15,the last by one. The same operation is re-

peated on each trial, and at the end the

points are all added up, and he who has thegreater number is declared elected. Of

these proofs, the consideration of the an-terior titles is a new modification proposedby the Faculty of Medicine, and is by manyconsidered as a departure from the true

principle of the concours,-as an avenue tothe exercise of favouritism, and as an ap.

proach to the old mode of nominating pro-fessors according to public repute. We re-

serve our remarks on this point for anotheroccasion.

Let us now look at the candidates them.

selves. They are 15 in number, and arethus ranked, according to their order of in-scription :-MM. Cayol. MM. Casimir Brous-

Rochoux. sais.Trousseau. Martin Solon.Gendrin. Sandras.Rostan. Chauffert (d’Av-Favert (of Mar- ignon).seilles). Gauttier de

Piorry. Claubry.Norgeu. Gibert, and

Dalmas.

These gentlemen may be divided into twoclasses, founded on rather a whimsical dis

tinction ; viz. those who have a chance of

success, and those who have none whatever.

As fortune sometimes oddly wills it, the

first class includes t e seven who lead our

791AT THE APPROACHING CONCOURS. IN PARIS.

list, and the remaining eight occupy thesecond. In the first class, again, by anothercurious coincidence, the first name inscribed 1

is generally considered that which re-unitesthe greatest number of probabilities. M.

CAYOL was Professor of Clinical Medicine

before the revolution of July. - He is a

physician of the Hippocratic type, a goodpractitioner, but an indifferent, uninteresting,unattended lecturer. He is a philosopher, aman of learning, and a clear and energeticwriter. But he is, moreover, in this com-

petition the favourite of fortune. The ma-

jority of his judges have been his former

colleagues, his competitors have been almostall his pupils. In the balloting for the sup- .plementary part of the j ury at the Academy, ’;the names of MM. RECAMIER, LANDRE BEA u-

]

VAIS, FERNES, PETIT, and JADIOUX, came *

from the urn. The first of these gentlemen (

resigned his professorship in deference to ]

his Carlist principles, and all the others areof the same political dye. When we add,then, that M. CAYOL is a Carlist, too, wesee that he joins the chances of party to hisother pretensions. The second of the fa-

vourites is M. RosTAN, a brilliant lecturer,an eclectic and successful author, ten years a

private teacher, ever followed by a numerousclass, and one of ,the best contributors to

the Dictionnaire de 316deci?ie. The third is M.

PIOR,RY, the provisional lecturer on clinicalmedicine at LaCharite, an industrious, able,and observant man ; a prolific, but too dif- fuse writer; an impresssive, but over-lo-quacious lecturer ;-in short, possessing allthe materials for making an excellent pro-fessor, and only needing retrenchment oftongue, and his supply of paper, pens, andink, restricted within certain limits. The

fourth, M. TROUSSEAU, the companion uf

Louis and Sir DAVID BARRY, at Gibral-

tar, possesses every necessary, solid, ac-

quirement, most enviable previous titles,

high reputation, and good physical qualifi-cations for a lecturer ; in short, before

another jury, if formed in the mode we shall

suggest before we dismiss the subject, hewould prove a formidable opponent to thebest of the contending lances.

M. GENDRIN, the physician to the Ho-pital Cochin, comes next. This is a man

of great experience and ability ; the authorof several works; a successful practitioner;an accurate pathologist; and the writer ofthe best monograph yet published on thecholera of Paris: but he enjoys the horriddistinction of being odious to all his. medi-cal brethren, and is so abhorred by the stu-

dents, that it is doubted whether he can

appear with safety, even as a candidate, inthe amphitheatre. In a fatal hour, on the7th of June 1832, he tarnished the lustre of

manymeritorious years by raking out of thearchives of French tyranny the abominableordonnance of Dec. 1666, which com

mands practitioners to report to the policethe names and dwellings of their wounded

patients, with the cause and circumstancesof the wounds. With this acceptable pre-sent he paid his court to the hungry har-pies who are glutting on the revolution ofJuly, and with proportionate readiness hereturned the name and other particulars ofthe first patient that he himself received.Happily, however, this treason against

professional dignity and manly feeling, ex-cited the disgust of the whole of the prac-titioners of Paris, and Louis PHILIPPE

and M. GENDRIN were completely foiled

in their unworthy manoeuvres.MM. ROCHOUX and FAVART are the last

of the first class. The former is well and

favourably known to the profession; thesecond is said to be a man of distinguishedmerit, but deficient in anterior titles. He

labours under the disadvantage, too, of

living in the provinces (at Marseilles)wbich, in Paris, as it would be in London,

, is considered by the aristocracy of medi-cine to be a serious drawback on his pre-tensions.

With respect to the second class, or those

792 THE MEDICAL CONCOURS IN ENGLAND.

who have no chance of success, it is need.

less to enter into any details. It embraces

some distinguished individuals, such as M.DALMAs and M. CASIMIR, but who are,nevertheless, supposed by good judges,to have no prospect of being elected. Theremainder are either comparatively un-known, or are dunces of the last degree.

So much for the personnel. Let us now

take a glance at the Jury.Setting aside the more than proportionate

mixture of " Carlism" which it exhibits, wefind that the separate sects in the medical

polemics of France are equally representedin its composition. As chance made M.

CAYOL a Carlist, and gave him MM.

RECAMIER, JADIOUX, PETIT, and LAHORE

BEAUVAIS, so it has also made him a

"vitalist" in medicine, therein coincidingwith the opinions of the jurors just cited.The "physiologists" are represented in theJury by M. BOUILLAUD ; in the lists byCASIMIR BROUSSAIS, the son of the patri-arch of the tribe. MM. ALIBERT, AN-

DRAL, BERARD, CHOMEL, DUMERIL, andFOUQUIER, represent, efficiently, the re-

maining doctrines of the various medicalcontroversialists. Neither are these cham-

pions wanting in ability to sustain all

the doctrines which the discussion mayinvolve.

Such are the more prominent featuresto which the attention of our readers maywith advantage be called previous to anexamination of the reports which we shall

promptly lay before them in subsequentnumbers of THE LANCET. In publishingthese reports in the English tongue, wehave many objects in view, of which thechief is that of giving the British medical

profession an opportunity of forming apractical judgment on the great question ofestablishing the " concours " in their ownmedical institutions. How warmly we haveever advocated the principle of this im-portant measure, need not now be declared.

Singly and alone, for years, as medical

ijournalists, have we contended that it

’ should be the leading feature in the great! medical and surgical reformation, by the

’ accomplishment of which our unweariedlabours are, we feel assured, on the eve of

being rewarded. The concours, properlyconducted, gives the victory to the compe-tent philosopher, over the puny protege ofnepotism, intrigue, monopoly, and avarice.The Institution has in one or two instances

worked imperfectly in Paris, and the palmhas, on such occasions, been won by thosewho deserved it less than their defeated

competitors. The fault, however, does notreside in the principle of the concours, butin the machinery by which it is worked.

Ill-constructed wheels may, in fact, em-barrass or falsify the movements of en-gines otherwise the most perfect both in

conception and execution, and may beas readily removed as the mischievous

circle which some knavish workman has

introduced into the chronometer or the

steam-engine. In the concours as hithertopractised in Paris, two great defects haveprevailed. The one relates to the characterof the "proofs" required; the other to the

composition of the Jury. The former re-

quires a separate article for its due dis-

cussion, and when we again advert to it,we shall have no difficulty in proving, thatin this respect, the working of the concoursis susceptible of such a degree of improve-ment, as would nullify every possible ob.jection that could be raised against it, even

by its most captious opponent. Relative

to the mode’of appointing a jury, we shallhere offer a few brief remarks.

To decide correctly in a contest of this

description, the jury should, in the first

place, be composed of persons of a specialand perfect knowledge of the branch to be

taught from the contested chair. Secondly,the jurors should be divested of every localprejudice, whether of doctrine, of friend-ship, or of opinion. They should limit

their judgment to the facts presented at

793CROWDS AT ANDRAL’S LECTURES.

the concours; for if they step beyond them, i sthe whole competition is a mere mockery. ]Looking, however, at the composition ofthe Parisian jury, we are compelled to ask,how it is possible that a body so consti-tuted can arrive at conclusions which

have been perfectly uninfluenced by pre- judices derived from beyond the pale of theamphitheatre. Can we for a momentsuppose that the provincial candidates willreceive due consideration from their me-

tropolitan judges ? It is admitted on all

hands that they will not. Can we supposeit probable that old friends and colleagueswill in a moment dismiss from the jury-box all the reminiscences of former asso-

ciations ; or, retaining them, is it in accord-ance with the known weakness of human

nature that these should not’re-act on the

decision ? In short, to obtain a jury freefrom prejudice and local recollections, it

should be composed of individuals broughttogether,jor tlae occasion, from various anddistant quarters. The community of scienceis too populous to render a scarcity of ju-rors possible. Had this system been pur-sued, the illustrious Louis would not haveheld back from the present concours, as henow does, to the disappointment of all

who are acquainted with his transcendentmerits.

A word more, and we leave the subjectfor the present. The enemies of the con-

cours have appealed triumphantly to thefollowing anecdote. When Austria reco-

vered its Italian possessions, the Universityof Pavia underwent numerous changes;some of the professorships were suppressed,and the concours was introduced to deter-

mine the appointments to those merely Isuspended. Professor SCARPA, the gloryof the school, refused to enter the lists,and was, accordingly, reinstated without

competition. The conclusion is not, how-

ever, legitimate, (as Dr. VALENTIN* would

* See "Voyage en Italie, par Louis Valentin," p.309,

persuade us,) that SCARPA repudiated theprinciple of the concours. Were public ap-pointments always virtuously bestowed, theconcours would cease to be necessary.ScARpa was an illustration of his time. He

was the pride of Italy. He was respectedand admired wherever medicine was culti-vated. Where was there to be found a

juror fit to preside at his trial ? Where a

competitor presumptuous enough to opposehim? He felt all this, and acted in ac-cordance with the sentiment. The Aus.

trian was at once compelled to do him the

justice of acknowledging that a concourswas, in his case, at once difficult and su.

perfluous. We have treated of this import-ant subject at some length, but the time is

come when the medical profession of Great; Britain must collect materials for a prompt; decision on the question before them.

WE rejoice to note how rapidly the medi-cal monomania of Brqussais is abating, A

proof of this gratifying fact, equally sig-nificant with that which is derived from M.

Breschet’s experience, recorded at page781 of our Number this week, is to be ob-served every day in the amphitheatre ofthe Paris Faculty of Medicine. M. BROUS-SAIS lectures at two; 1B1. ANDRAL, whosecourse of lectures delivering at this momentTHE LANCET is now publishing, commencesat three p.m. From two to half-past two, 1B1.BROUSSAJS grins and growls at an audience

composed of from fifty to a hundred strag-glers, scattered over the benches of the im-mense amphitheatre. From this time to

three o’clock the scene changes. The tide

begins to return, the doors are banged openevery moment, the students jump over thebenches, and in their eagerness to secure

places for ANDRAL, the champion of " phy-siologism" is completely inaudible. Bythree, when he makes his exit, every benchis crowded to repletion, and the attentiveobserver will recognise the same faces, day

794 ANTWERP CLINIC.—EPIDEMICS.—DR. LEE.

after day, in the usaal places. Far different

is it with BsoussA.is. Half of his audience

are mere passing strangers, present only tostare at his buffoonery, and never desirousto return. These facts speak as strongly asa bulletin in the Moniteur, in proof of theincreasing rationality in the medical pro-fession of France. The public health willsoon experience the benefit of this happyreaction.

OuR readers will remember, that some

numbers since, we noticed a memoir on this

subject, by M. PAILLIARD, who visited thebesieging army forty-eight liours before thecapitulation. lie has since inserted in the

French journals memoirs equivalent to a

thick octavo volume, containing the result ofhis observations. Expecting to find some-thing new in them, we promised our

readers an analysis; but on careful perusalwe find nothing more than the notes of M.

Dupuytren’s lectures on the wounded ofJune, and an analysis of Baron Larrey’scompaigns, dramatized by M. Pailliard,under the taking title of "The Siege of Ant-werp," the dramatts persona being merelythe characters of Larrey, Dupuytren, andMr. Guthrie, with modern names. This modeof writing history is more deserving of no-tice than the history itself is worth inser-tion or analysis in the pages of any medicaljournal.We intended also to have inserted some

curious medico-legal circumstances relativeto an attempt at the assassination ofM. TAR-

DJFF, a young magistrate of Paris. Some

evidence obtained since then has rendered

the matter so clear, that it deprives it com-pletely of the medico-legal interest it pos-sessed when we wrote. It is right to add,that M. TARDIFF’S character has arisen un-

stained from the imputations to which somesingular circumstances at first subjectedhim.

SECRET CAUSES OF EPIDEMICS.

’ Several papers have recently been pub-lisbed, and several more will appear, fromthe eloquent pen of Baron Alibert, the phy-sician of St. Louis, on the secret causes ofepidemics. He proves by the most inde.fatigable research amid the treasures of

ancient and modern medical literature, bythe results of his own experience, and byreasoning of the most conclusive descrip-tion, that no intelligible cause for the oc.

currence of epidemics has ever been dis-covered. Our readers are aware that thisidea is not a new one, but justice obliges usto say, that no writer has ever given it suchdevelopment, or discussed it with such suc.cess, as M. Alibert. His papers deserve to

be read by every admirer ot literary tasteand medical science.

WESTMINSTER MEDICAL SOCIETY.

Saturday, March 9th, 1833.Dr. COPLAND in the Chair.

REPLY OF ’DR. ROBERT LEE TO THE STATE.

MENTS OF DR. GRANVILLE, AS REPORTEDIN THE LANCET OF LAST WEEK.

[Dr. Lee’s reply appears in full below.Its length renders it impossible for usto findroom for more than a skeleton of what pass-ed during the long debate that followed.]

Dr. LEE attended the meeting this even.ing. Many of his friends also were specially present. As. soon as the minutes of lastevening had been read, he rose, and thusaddressed the assembly from a written papewhich he held throughout in his hand:-Mr. President and Gentlemen,-At thelast meeting of the Society, Dr. Granvillamade two accusations against me, the one,that I had obtained my ideas respecting theplacenta from his lectures, the other that Ihave borrowed them from Dr. Lauth, a pro-fessor at Strasburg-that, in fact, Dr. L.’s spaper is an anticipated translation of mine..With regard to the first accusation, permitme to say that it is my firm conviction, aftera careful examination of dates, that I nevercould have been present at any lecture de-livered by Dr. Granville on the human

placenta, and its connexions with theuterus ; and that in 1826, when he per-

formed the experiment of injecting theumbilical vessels with ink, and raising the

"membrana propria," I was not in Lon-