130

THE LANCET.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 31,BEING

No. 5OF THIS JOURNAL FOR THE YEAR 1852.

THE COMMISSION OF INQUIRY IN THE CASE OF MRS. GUMMING.

THROUGHOUT the inquiry in the unparalleled case of Mrs.CuMMiNG, Sir F. THESIGER evinced the most bitter animosityagainst all the witnesses who appeared on the side of the allegedlunatic, which constantly betrayed him into conduct and ex-pressions exceeding even the usual bounds of forensic licence.So far, indeed, was he led by his eagerness to carry out his vin-dictive instructions, that he did not hesitate to charge oneof the opposing counsel with having given advice in someanterior proceedings connected with the case under the influ-ence of sinister motives. An attack more unscrupulous andmore indecorous has perhaps rarely been made. It is under-

stood that for his behaviour in this respect, he received awell-merited reproof from the Solicitor-General, to whom thecase was submitted.

The evidence of the medical witnesses in favour of Mrs.

CUMMING was based upon such ample opportunities of

acquiring a perfect knowledge, and was so eminently cal-culated to command attention, that it became impera-tive, in the eyes of the unscrupulous advocate, to weakenits force by every possible means. It will be familiar

to those of our readers who have had experience of the pro-ceedings in our courts, that the custom prevails, in cases whereit is considered desirable that the witnesses should not hear

each other’s evidence, to exclude the witnesses on both sidesfrom the court; but an exception is invariably made in favourof scientific and professional witnesses. The general witnessesare called to speak to facts, and it is often important for theends of justice, that no opportunity should be afforded to suchwitnesses, of shaping their testimony to corroborate or to

contradict the testimony of others. A broad distinction hashitherto been preserved with reference to the position of

scientific witnesses. These are called to aid the court and

the jury by bringing their professional skill to bear upon thecase in dispute, and thus to enable the jury to arrive at ajust estimate of questions which are beyond the sphere oftheir own knowledge. With this view, it has always beenheld to be essential to retain the professional witnesses in court,in order that they may be the better qualified to form a judg-ment upon the particular case in question, by informing them-selves more fully of the facts adduced in evidence. No one

will question the paramount importance of pursuing this coursein a case of alleged lunacy. Throughout the recent protractedinquiry, the medical witnesses had, up to a certain period, de-voted unremitting attention to the proceedings; and they had

frequently been able, by their suggestions to counsel, to lendmaterial aid in elucidating questions having immediate refer-ence to the sanity of the subject of the Commission. PossiblySir F. THESIGER found their presence inconvenient; certainlyhe feared the substantial character of the evidence they wereto pronounce in favour of Mrs. CUMMING. It was necessary for

his purpose to throw discredit upon that evidence; and it

seemed to him a ready way of casting a slur upon the medicalwitnesses by classing them with the ordinary witnesses in thecase. A general exclusion, by abrogating the distinction

hitherto recognised, would have the effect of detracting fromthe character of the professional witnesses. A pretext for sounusual a course was wanted. It was soon found; and thosewho are acquainted with the objectionable constitution of thejuries summoned upon these occasions; and those more

especially who had observed the strange influence Sir F.

THESIGER exercised over the proceedings of the court, wereaware that a frivolous one would do.

On the very day preceding that on which it was expectedthat the medical witnesses on behalf of Mrs. CUMMING would

be called, Sir F. THESIGER took occasion to allude to the

enormous expense attending the proceedings, and proposedthat the medical witnesses should leave the court, in older tosave the expense of their attending from day to day until theyshould be examined. The pretext was transparently false;the exclusion could not diminish the expense which had

already been incurred; and the probability that the medicalwitnesses would be called on the following day rendered theirattendance imperative. Whether they were in waiting insideor outside the court, could not affect the future expense. Andwho was the man who had the effrontery to urge this objec-tion ! An advocate who, in addition to a heavy sum with hisbrief, was insisting upon being paid fifty guineas every othernight, and who thus actually swallowed up more than a wholeyear’s income of the unfortunate object of the Commission!But absurd as was the excuse, it was held to be sufficient; andthe medical witnesses retired, with the exception of Dr.

CONOLLY, who expressed his intention to take no fees for hisattendance. The remaining medical witnesses immediatelysent in to the Commissioner presiding over the Commissinthe following remonstrance :-

Be Cumming.Eyre Arms, Jan. 17,1852.

SiR,—We, the undersigned medical witnesses, who have re-ceived subpoenas to give evidence as to the alleged lunacy ofMrs. Cumming, have learned with surprise that an objectionhas been made to the further presence of the medical witnessesin court. We desire respectfully to call your attention to thefacts-that the medical witnesses called in support of theCommission were present throughout the whole of the pro-ceedings up to the time of their examination, and also that itis the invariable custom to permit the medical witnesses to bepresent at any trial in which their evidence is required. Werespectfully submit that it is an indignity to the profession toexclude us.

W. H. HODDING. G. SiMPSON.F. WINSLOW, M.D. H. S. CALDWELL, M.D.W. J. BRYANT. ROBERT BARNES, M.D.

R. J. HALE, M.D."

The Commissioner communicated, through Dr. CONOLLY,some general expressions to the effect that lie was sorry for

the exclusion, but that he had no authority to prevent it. The

gentlemen who signed that remonstrance could not remainsatisfied with such an answer. The course objected to was

utterly at variance with the practice of the courts at West-minster,-and they conceived, further, that the presiding judgewas the ruler in his own court, and not bound to assent to everyobjection that counsel might see fit to make. They, therefore,with a decision which deserves the thanks of their professionalbrethren, on the following day addressed a second letter to the

Commissioner, which we subjoin.

131THE HOSPITAL FOR WOMEN.

"Re Cumming.Eyre Arms, Jan. 19, 1852.

SiR,—We beg respectfully to address you, in your capacityof Presiding Judge in this court, for the purpose of inquiringwhether the exclusion of the medical witnesses is still persistedin. We feel it incumbent upon us, as a duty to our profes-sion, as well as to ourselves, to remonstrate against a step alikeoffensive and, as we believe, unprecedented. With this feel-ing we again beg to press this question upon your serious at-tention, in the confident hope that you will exercise yourauthority in such a manner as to obviate the future inconve-nience and animadversion which would inevitably result ifthe medical witnesses in this case should remain excludedfrom the court.

We are, &c.,W. J. BRYANT. W. H. HODDING.R. J. HALE, M.D. ROBERT BARNES, M.D.G. SIMPSON. H. S. CALDWELL, M.D.(Dr. WINSLOW is not present this morning.)

To Mr. Commissioner Barlow."

Dr. HALE was called in, and Mr. Commissioner BARLOW re-

peated to him some such explanation as he had previouslygiven to Dr. CONOLLY. We agree with those gentlemen whohave so honourably endeavoured to vindicate the slighteddignity of our profession, that that explanation is not satisfac-tory. The matter cannot rest here. It will be well for Mr.

Commissioner BARLOW, if, in the course of the revisal to whichthe proceedings over which he has presided will be shortlysubjected, he shall be able to justify his conduct in this matter.No official censure, of course, can reach the advocate who was

hired to defame the character of others, and to degrade aprofession more honourable than his own. A custom pregnantwith danger to society permits an unbridled licence and legalimpunity to the robed traducer. Public reprobation, the

scorn of every honest man may be pointed at him-" Populus me sibilat,

At mihi plaudo ipse domi, simul ac nummos contemplor in arcâ."

His "brief" is his ample guerdon.

AT the Court of Common Council, last week, an attemptwas made to obtain a donation to the funds of the Hospitalfor Women, in Red-lion-square. The application, however,was rejected, one of the opponents to the grant observing,that institutions of the kind were too frequently establishedto serve the private interests of individuals. Without goinginto the question of how far the Hospital for Women is liableto be classed amongst such institutions, we cannot refrain from

expressing our gratification at the course taken by the CommonCouncil. Far be it from us to say, that the well-conducted

charities of this great metropolis should not receive pecuniaryaid, when needed,from the wealthy corporation of the City; butsuch charities should have previously shown some claims to beso assisted, either by their contributions to the cause of medical

science, or by satisfactory proofs of their having conferred be-nefit upon those really standing in need of it. What has the

Hospital for Women done in either of these particulars ? Itis not for a moment to be asserted that the trashy, hypocritical11 Report" of the " Institution," which last year was com-mented upon in the pages of THE LANCET, has any claimto be regarded as a contribution to medical science. It

would be an insult to the profession of medicine to regard it

in the light of a medical Report at all ! It was made up o:

conceit and cant, and was so offensive to the consulting physicians of the " Charity," that they instantly resigned thei

offices. What claims, then, has the " Hospital for Women al

a medical institution, on the City of London ? It can hardly benecessary to answer this question-How does the " Report"show that the really necessitous and deserving poor have beenrelieved in the place in Red-lion-square ? Is it by the publica-tion of donations of £5 from " A grateful patient"-" A mitefrom a Christian patient," &c. ? If patients are really ableto contribute such sums, the authorities have no right to callon the Common Council for extraordinary aid.

A VERDICT has been returned in the case of Mrs. CUMMING,which, we venture to assert, will have taken by surprise alarge majority of the public who have derived their informa-tion from the imperfect reports in the daily papers. Had

they enjoyed the opportunity of reading the examination ofthe unhappy object of the Commission herself, their astonish-ment would undoubtedly have been greater still. To those

who have directed their attention to the strange proceedingswhich have attended this lengthened and important inquiry,it will have been obvious that another question, altogetherdistinct from the real object of the Commission, has beenlaboriously interwoven with it. Incredible pains have beentaken to show that the solicitors to whom Mrs. Cumnamu has

entrusted her affairs, have been guilty of every kind of mal-versation, for the purpose of proving inferentially that shemust have been of deficient capacity to have been the victimof such conduct. It may be true that the solicitors referred

to are open to that charge; but it is quite certain that thesanity of a client cannot be tested by the extent of the losseshe may have sustained at the hands of his solicitors. This sort

of evidence may have satisfied the jury in this case ; butmedical jurists require proof of another kind. They requireto be convinced that a marked alienation of the mental facul.

ties exists, amounting to disease. It is, of course, superfluousto dwell much upon the indications of insanity advanced bythe counsel upon these occasions. Their doctrines are taken

up and laid aside solely with reference to their bearing uponthe particular case they may happen to have in hand; andthey cannot be expected to be based upon any scientific patho-logical knowledge of mental disease. Thus one of the counsel

for the petitioners adopted for his definition of insanity theexploded doctrine of LOCKE, and Serjeant WILKINS was equallyready to accept that definition, and to try Mrs. CUMMING’Smind by the standard proposed by his adversary. Some more

fixed and definite principles we might indeed expect from thelearned Commissioner who presided. From a not very lucid

summing-up, at least as reported in the Times, we gather thatin his directions to the jury, he adopted the views of LordELDON. " Lord ELDON," he said, " had decided that a Comrnis-" sion might issue when a person was incapable of managmg‘ his affairs, whether from insanity or from imbeciliity." " He

continued: " Although incapacity for managing property wasa subject for an inquiry of the present description, slightincapacity would not justify a jury in coming to the decision" that there was actual unsoundness of mind; a total incapacity" would, however, justify such a conclusion."The verdict of the jury was in the following terms; we

quote it here, as we shall have future occasion to advert to it." The jury have taken this case into grave consideration,

and we come into Court now to give our verdict, which is,.

that the jury are unanimously of opinion that CatherineCumming is of unsound mind, and incapable of managing her-

132 VERDICT IN MRS. CUMMING’S CASE.-THE ANALYTICAL SANITARY COMMISSION.

self and her property, and that she has been so from the lst dayof May, 1846."From the following opinion of Mrs. CUMMING’S counsel,

extracted from the daily papers, it becomes a question of

serious doubt whether that verdict of the jury was not mainlythe result of their adherence to the maxim of Lord ELDON,recommended to them by the Commissioner. Whether, inshort, they have not deduced "unsoundness of mind," whichshould be the antecedent, out of relative incapacity to manageaffairs, which should be traced as springing out of the ante-cedent. The opinions of Mrs. CUMMING’S counsel will certainlyfind many adherents. It is as follows :-

" It having been intimated to us that Mrs. Cumming isdesirous of reversing the decision of the jury, finding her to -be insane since the lst of May, 1846, we are of opinion thatthe verdict given by the jury is so manifestly against the evi-dence, that she is fully justified in instituting all necessaryproceedings to traverse the inquisition, and submit the case toanother jury. "EDWIN JAMES, Q.C.

"CHARLES WTLKINS, S.L."THOMAS SOUTHGATE."

The solicitors of Mrs. CUMMING have accordingly intimatedthat it is her intention to traverse the inquisition.

Altogether the evidence given by the medical men calledfor the defence of Mrs. CUMMING, was perhaps the strongestand most unhesitating ever given in a case of lunacy wherea verdict of insanity was returned. Dr. CONOLLY, Dr. FORBESWINSLOW, Dr. HALE, Dr. BARNES, and Mr. WALTER BRYANT,had all ample opportunities of forming a sound opinion.Every prolonged ingenuity which the practised and reck-less advocate could exert, was applied by Sir F. TsEsiGER to shake the evidence of Dr. FORBES WINSLOW, but in

vain. He had formed a strong opinion upon strong grounds,after a most careful examination, and nothing could shakehim. The lawyer retired before the physician, and con-fessed he had met with more than his match. We must

record one circumstance highly illustrative of the feeling withwhich the medical men entered upon the case. When, onthe specious pretence of expense, Sir F. THESiGER obtained theexclusion of the medical witnesses for the defence, Dr.

CoNOLLT declared he would remain without payment, and hedid remain. After hearing the entire evidence, he gave hisown opinions in the most unreserved manner as to the sanityof Mrs. CUMMING. Subsequently to the conclusion of the trial,he penned the following note, which we lay before our readers.It speaks volumes :-

" Hanwell, Jan. 24th, 1852. ’,

"DEAR SiRS,—On receiving your letter this morning I wentto the Eyre Arms, but found the Court closed. ," I hear the verdict is against Mrs. Cumming. If so, a more

ignorant and unjust verdict was never given by a jury. ,

" If she is again to be dragged into a lunatic asylum, I hopemeasures will be taken to effect her discharge by Habeas ’,Corpus. Any services that I can render to this most per- secuted lady will always be at her command.

"I remain, dear Sirs, very truly,"Your obedient servant,

41 Messrs. Robinson and Haynes." " JOHN CONOLLT.

Inasmuch as further discussion must have the effect of

tending to adjust some of the many vexed qU3stions relating to the medical jurisprudence of insanity, the issue of thistrial will be looked for with unusual interest.

AT the Annual Court of the Governors of the Royal FreeHospital, on Tuesday last, it was resolved, " that in considera-tion of their laborious and indefatigable exertions, one

hundred guineas be presented to each of the physicians andsurgeons of the Hospital, and that for the future they shallreceive each one hundred guineas per annum." This is an

example worthy of being followed.

THE

ANALYTICAL SANITARYCOMMISSION.

RECORDS OF THE RESULTS OF

MICROSCOPICAL AND CHEMICAL ANALYSESOF THE

SOLIDS AND FLUIDSCONSUMED BY ALL CLASSES OF THE PUBLIC.

PICKLES,AND THEIR

ADULTERATIONS.

To persons unacquainted with the subject, the title of thisreport----, Pickles and their Adulterations," may appear some-what singular ; and they may be disposed to ask-Are notthe girkins, cabbages, beans, &c., which we see in the bottles,what they appear to be ? And are other vegetables thanthose commonly known to us mixed with the ordinary kinds ? To these questions we thus reply :-‘° Girkins," on closeexamination, often turn out to be but shrivelled or slicedcucumbers ; the " young tender beans" to be old and tough ;the " cauliflowers" to have run to seed ; and the " red cab-bage" to be nothing more than white cabbage turned into redby colouring matter, as a dyer would change the colour ofa dress ; further, that amongst the vegetables not unfrequentlyemployed for the purpose of pickle-making, are some whichdo not enter into the calculation of the epicure, as vegetablemarrows,-which,when cut into pieces, form a very respectableimitation of cucumbers,-and sliced turnips, the identificationof which would be apt to puzzle even a botanist, as well ascertainly all those who are uninitiated in the secrets of api ckle -manufactory.But the adulterations to which we more especially allude,

and to the consideration of which our attention will be par-ticularly directed in the following remarks, are those whichrefer to the quality and composition of the vinegar used forpickling, as well as to the means employed for preservingand heightening the colour of green pickles.InAccum’s celebrated work, "Death in the Pot," under the

head POISONOUS PICKLES, we obtain the following informationin relation to the " greening" of pickles :-

" Vegetable substances preserved in the state called picklesby means of the antiseptic power of vinegar, whose salefrequently depends greatly upon a fine lively green colour,and the consumption of which, by seafaring people in parti-cular, is prodigious, are sometimes intentionally coloured bymeans of copper. Girkins, French beans, samphires, thegreen pods of capsicum, and many other pickled vegetablesubstances, oftener than is perhaps expected, are met withimpregnated with this metal. Numerous fatal consequencesare known to have ensued from the use of these stimulants tothe palate, to which the fresh and pleasing hue has beenimparted according to the deadly formulœ laid down in somemodern cookery books ; such as boiling the pickle with half-pence, or suffering them to stand for a considerable period inbrazen vessels."

" Dr. Percival (Medical Transactions, vol. iv. p. 80) has givenan account of " a young lady who amused herself while herhair was dressing with eating samphire pickles impregnatedwith copper. She soon complained of pain in the stomach,and in five days vomiting commenced, which was incessant fortwo days. After this her stomach became prodigiously dis-tended, and in nine days after eating the pickles, death re-lieved her from her suffering."Among many recipes which modern authors of cookery

books have given for imparting a green colour to pickles,the following are particularly deserving of censure ; and it is