1156

demand for the carrying out of an Act of Parliament;and (2) whether, if such insuperable difficultiesreally exist, resignation and not statute-tinkeringis not the only honourable course for persons-especially if salaried-to whom impossible dutieshave been assigned; and to maintain that thebreach of agreements on such a plea cannot destroythe right to damages. Under this particular Actit was hoped to establish that no apportionmentof money for a year could be an adequatesubstitute for assignment of patients, but that,if it were the only alternative available, it hadto be done by no "pro rata " rule of thumb-asinequitable a method as could well be conceived-but on the same principles of doing the best forpatients and equalising the remuneration of doctorsas would have guided common-sense persons in thelegal distribution; and to claim that, taking theoriginal date without power of alteration, every manthen on the panel had his right both to a voice and to ashare. Mr. Justice Darling suggested a compromise,which I did not accept, to my personal detriment,because it would have compromised my position asfighting for principles for all and not for mere cashfor myself.

I was defeated, apparently, on the extraordinarycontention, upheld by the judge in spite of my.protests, that the doctors’ complying with everydetail the Committee might choose to demand,although it could not be found either in the Act orthe Regulations, was a condition precedent to theobligation of the Committee to carry out the

assignment of the doctorless persons, and that atthe same time the gross errors in the doctors’ listswhich the Committee have made by the thousandwere of little or no import, though they largely con-tributed to the difficulty of the assignment. I havesucceeded, therefore-if this is left where it standsand where I, unaided, must leave it, I regret to say-only in showing that it is as useless for doctorsto invoke the aid of our Courts of Justice as it is forthem to trust to the word of honour of InsuranceCommittees or to the sense of equity of the Commis-sioners or to the pledges of the Government.

I am, Sir, yours faithfully,HENRY BAZETT.

St. Mary’s-terrace, Paddington, May 21st, 1915.HENRY BAZETT.

" DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS, PRESENTEDTHROUGH AN ANALYSIS OF CASES."

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,-In the review of Dr. R. C. Cabot’s bookwith this title, which appears in THE LANCET ofMay 22nd, attention has been called to the factthat in the first volume the diagnosis is definitelystated at the conclusion of the consideration ofeach case, but that the same plan is not adopted inthe second volume. In Vol. II. the diagnosis isgiven in the table of contents against the numberof the case which appears in the body of the book.This change was made deliberately at the expressrequest of a large number of subscribers toVol. I., who pointed out that with the diagnosisprinted at the end of the case and frequentlycatching the ’eye it deprived the reader of themental training in diagnosis obtained by logicalreasoning and led to the solving of the problemwith the answer as a basis.

We are, Sir, yours faithfully,W. B. SAUNDERS COMPANY.

Henrietta-street, W.C., May 21st, 1915.

THE BELGIAN DOCTORS’ ANDPHARMACISTS’ RELIEF FUND.

THE subscriptions received during the weekinclude a cheque for .t250 from the Agent-General forSouth Australia, on behalf of the South AustralianBelgian Relief Fund. The continuance of open-handed support from the Colonies is a most

gratifying feature, and accords thoroughly with thenoble national spirit which the outlying parts ofthe Empire have displayed in every regard sincethe war began.A handsome donation has been sent by the

doctors and pharmacists of the city and county ofCork. The local committee spent a little moneyin judicious advertisement, and the cheque receivedamounted to X116 lls. 10d.

THE WEEK’S SUBSCRIPTIONS.

The subscriptions received by Dr. Des Vceuxup to Tuesday evening last, in addition to thosepreviously acknowledged, are as follows :-

2 s. d. ___,

s. d.