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day sees him located in a barrack-room, to-morrow sees himout of it, perhaps ; and each move "stirs him up from thebottom," as I have heard it expressed. How many of thesesaid moves are unnecessary and vexatious? Again, what arehis chances, if a good professional man, of fiuding himself atsome remote out-station attending rifle practice all day long ? ?Of course every fresh medical officer must have made ut) his

mind to expatriation ; hut what will be done for him if hereturns with his health damaged by the effects of climate ? Heis removed, probably, from a regiment to which he has becomemuch attached ; or he may (still worse) lead a genteel starva-tion life upon half pay, returning to full pay to find himself"nowhere" among the men waiting for promotion.The inquisitorial and inspectorial systems, have they not in-

creased ? Is not a system of checks, circulars, reports (confi-dential and otherwise)-adapted only to the most idle and

worst-disposed medical officers - applied equally to the bestmen at every turn of their duties ? What is the effect of those"confidential reports" (only a small part of which have, afterall, been made public) ? It is possible that a gentleman may,in the honest exercise of his judgment run counter to thewishes of his superior, with not only the best intentions, butthe very best reasons. If so, cannot the course be summarilyincluded in the expression, "of an impracticable temper"? andfifty stabs in the dark may be given under the cover of thesenewly-begotten confidential reports, than which nothing couldbe better calculated to destroy self-reliance and replace it bysupineness and toadyism.

I appeal to anyone conversant with the facts as to how far,after all the noise that has been made upon the diminution ofclerk work, such is the case; and whether the medical officer’is so much more " professional" in his duties than formerly.And what amount of difference in this respect does exist, howrapidly is it being cancelled !By the recent circulars upon "jelly," a medical officer is, for

certain vague and ambiguous reasons, permitted to give it tohis patients, but he must furnish a report of the case " to theDirector-General in transcript and full detail from the medicalcase-book." Whenever officials adopt a scientific theory, theyhave the ill-luck to discover its great importance just at a timewhen it no longer rests upon a secure basis. The first " jelly"circular rendered us ridiculous as a scientific body in this way.

I unhesitatingty assert that the most scientific men wouldbe lost in the service, and the early retirement of some of thebest men proves it. What amount of leave does a medicalofficer get compared with his combatant brethren? Underthis head I would remark upon the examinations now requiredof assistant-surgeons before promotion. Now, abstractedlyconsidered, the principle is quite right, but is often as unjustas the demand made upon the Hebrews of old to make brickswithout straw. What means have assistant-surgeons of keep-ing up their professional attainments, in too many instances?The Medical School is said to be for that purpose, but the diffi-culty and expense of getting there prevent men from going.The public had a perfect right, of course, to place the

administration of the Department in the hands of one sofacile to the Horse Guards, as opposed to the members of thatprofession over which he is temporally the head, as the presentDirector-General ; but it cannot be wondered at if the medicalofficers deem independence of character and a sympathy moreallied with the interests and difficulties of his professional sub-ordinates as important characteristics in a Director-General.As at present, we must look to our civil brethren for the sup-port which, under different auspices, we might have hoped forfrom the head of the Department.What I would say, then, to those who are thinking of the

competitive examination advertised for the 23rd of Februarynext is-Depend upon it, you will regret having entered theArmy Medical Department as it is at, present constituted.

I am, Sir, yours obediently,Dec. 1862. 0--,E WHO K--,ONVS THE DEPARTMENT.

THE BRITISH PHARMACOPŒIA.To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,-Since writing the letter which you did me the favourto insert in your journal of last week, my attention has beencalled to the Report of the Pharmaceutical Committee of theGeneral Medical Council, which appeared in THE LANCET ofMay 24th, signed by Dr. Christison. It appears that it is proposed to bring a Bill before Parliament to make the adoptionof the forthcoming work imperative; and secondly, to secure acopyright in the work, and to prevent its invasion, either wholly

or partially. On the first point I maintain that it is opposedto every principle of civil liberty, dear to Englishmen, to en-force by law in what particular form drugs shall be kept andsold by the vendors. Unless such an enactment is guarded inthe most careful manner, it wilt prove most injurious and vexa-tious to the chemist and druggist, and lead to endless increaseof secret remedies. As to the second, it must be borne in mindthat we have already paid pretty dearly for the maintenance ofthe Medical Council, who seem to consider the publication of aPharmacopoeia as intended for their own private benefit. Is itthe intention of the Medical Council to suppress that numerousand useful class of books -Dispensatories, Annotated Pharma-corpœias, &C. ? or to monopolize this branch of professionalliterature? Hitherto, to correct the errors, to supply the de-ficiencies, and supplement the scanty contents of phxrmacopoeiasby the doses and uses of drugs and preparations, a number ofworks were published embracing the whole of the matter sup-plied by the colleges as the basis for most valuable treatises.If the contemplated law should Le passed, what becomes of allthese ? Surely there are amongst us some who will not grudgethe time and trouble to defeat this hopeful project. W ell mightthe Home Secretary wonder what they will be at when he wascalled upon to give the Government assistance to this clique.All that is necessary to be done to defeat the attempt is to laythe facts first before that functionary, and if he has pledgedhimself to the Medical Council, to carry our objections to oneof the leading Conservative members of the llouse of Lords.Thp dominant idea which seems to possess the Medical Councilis that the ptofession is to be controlled, mulcted on all occa-sions, and shut up to a servile dependence on themselves. No

thought is ever given to protect us against irregular practice,or to benefit our status with the public.

I am, b-ir, your obedient servant,December, 1862. G.

DR. TWEEDIE AND DR. MURCHISON.To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,-In reference to certain remarks in two of your contem-poraries on the recent works on Fever by Dr. Tweedie andmyself respectively, permit me to state that I have deemed itdue to’myself to call the attention of the President and Censors’Board of the Royal College of Physicians to the exceptionableterms in which Dr. Tweedie has thought fit to attribute mo-tives to me, and to submit the whole matter to the considera-tion of the Board. I am. Sir. vour obedient servant.

CHARLES MURCHISON, M.D.Wimpole-street, Dec. 1863.

ALLEGED NEGLECT OF DUTY BY A MEDICALOFFICER.

O.r Tuesday, the 23rd ult., an inquiry was held by JohnMainwaring, Esq., an inspector from the Poor-law Board, atthe Board Room of the West Derby Workhouse, on a chargeof neglect by Dr. Lodge, one of the medical officers of theUnion, in reference to the death of a man named WilliamSaxon. It appeared that Saxon visited his sister on Thursday,the 13th of November, and being taken ill was unable to returnto his own home, only about a quarter of a mile distant ; hewas therefore provided with a bed in her room. On Mondaymorning, as he was no better, his sister went to the workhouseto the relieving officer, in order to procure the advice of a medi-cal man, and an order was given her to apply to Dr. Lodge.She took the order to his house, but he was not at home. In theevening, about seven o’clock, she saw Dr. Lodge, who then hadthe order, and said, ...Who is this William Saxon? I shall notsee him to-night." She told him the case was " urgent," buthe still refused to attend, and said that " all those who wantparish relief must have their notes signed before nine o’clock inthe morning." The man died at half past ten on Tuesdaymorning, having received no medical assistance. Dr. Lodge,however, called about oee o’clock on that day, and finding theman dead, expressed himself willing to give a certificate of hisdeath, which he did. The inquiry was conducted at greatlength, but the chief point that presented itself for notice isthat the relieving officer to whom the sister of the deceasedapplied for the order would not in the order describe the caseas

" nrgent," and Dr. Lodge would not act without it. It fur-ther appeared th,t the relieving officer bad for some time ceasedto describe cases as "urgent," in consequence of an under-standing which he said he had come to with Dr. Lodge, asmany cases had been represented as " urgent " which, in his

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opinion, were not so. This understanding was however denied.In his explanation, Dr. Lodge said that" There is a generalimpression amongst the profession not to attach any importanceto the opinion of poor patients, and in the absence of the re-lieving oilicer’s statement of urgency, they exercise their owndiscretion as to whether they should attend or not."The Commissioner. -Then you mean to tell me that if the

friends of a patient bring you an order and tell you that theman is very bad you are not bound to go?

Dr. Lodge. -These cases are of daily occurrence, and we donot feel bound to attend to such.The Commissioner said he would lay the case before the Poor-

law Board, and their decision would be duly communicated.We think it is to be regretted that the relieving officer did

not, upon the representation of the applicant, state that the casewas one of urgency. Union medical officers are bound to actupon the instructions of the Poor-law Board, but these instruc-tions should be carried out in other quarters also. In this in-

quiry, which was conducted on the part of the Commissionerwith much patience and impartiality, we offer no opinion. Itis one fairly open to comment, and will no doubt tend to goodresults.

MEDICAL TRIALS.

HALIFAX COUNTY COURT.—(Before J. STANSFELD, ESQ.)TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10TH, 1862.

PUGH v. WELLSMAN.

THIS was an action brought by plaintiff, a surgeon residing atBrighouse, against the defendant, a plumber of the same place,to recover X13 17s. 6d. for medical aid and attendance from Mayto July last. Payment was disputed on the ground of impropertreatment; the defendant, however, admitted part of the debtand paid .67 10s. into court. The case for the plaintiff was ablyconducted by Mr. Fairless Barber, of Brighouse. During theperiod named, there were two illnesses. the plaintiff attendeddefendant in the first instance, and as the case was a seriousone, he consulted with Dr. Kenny. The result was that thepatient recovered, and plaintiff’s visits ceased on the 28th ofJune. It appeared, however, that the defendant went toAskern, and having there indulged too freely, was arJain at-tacked with the former complaint, inflammation of the bowels.The plaintiff again attended him on the 23rd of July, but relin-quished his charge of the case, in consequence, as is stated, of Dr.Kenny telling the defendant that he had been wrongly treatedby the plaintiff in his first attack. The result of the trial wasthat the defendant was ordered to pay the balance of theaccount in a month. It appeared in evidence that the defen-dant had expressed no dissatisfaction with the plaintiff untilhis bill had been delivered. We notice this case in consequenceof the use which was made of Dr. Kenny’s name by the defen-dant. If Dr. Kenny had really used the words which wereattributed to him, why was he not called on the defence ? Itwas clearly not the duty of the plaintiff to place him in thewitness box. Mr. Barber exercised a wise discretion in restinghis case on its simple merits ; he would not have been justifiedin assuming that Dr. Kenny had animadverted on the conductof a professional brother in so extraordinary a manner. UntilDr. Kenny gives a denial to the statement which was made, wefeel it our duty to acquit him of so grave a departure from pro-fessional decorum-a course of conduct which becomes, if true,the more reprehensible from the fact of his having been origin-ally called into consultation by the plaintiff. It is to be re-

gretted that actions of this kind should arise under any circum-stances, but much more so if they are instigated by the un-guarded comments of a professional man.

LANCASHIRE DISTRESS MEDICAL FUND.

IN pursuance of the plan adopted by the Committee to invitethe co-operation of their medical brethren in the distressed dis-tricts in the distribution of the funds collected, sums amount-ing to X90 have been directed to be placed in the hands ofseveral practitioners in Manchester, Ashton-under Lyne, andTodmorden. At their next meeting, the Committee will be ina position to forward further sums. They look with muchsatisfaction to the plan adopted, feeling sure that it is the bes

calculated to reach much distress that would otherwise be

passed by.The following gentlemen have consented to act upon the

Committee :-Dr. Barnes, Chairman ; Richard Barwell, Esq. ;George Critchett, Esq. ; Ernest Hart, Esq. ; Dr. Webster ; Dr.Forbes Winslow.

Medical News.APOTHECARIES’ HALL.-The following gentlemen passed

their examination in the Science and Practice of Medicine, andreceived certificates to practise, on the 24th ult.:-,

Cass, William Leonard, Goole, Yorkshire.Lindsay, James Murray, Queen’s-rond, Grove-lane, Camberwell.Martin, Adam Rae, Ruchester, Kent.Peacock, Albeit, Louis, Huntingdon. Swales, Peter, Hemsely, Yorkshire.Young, Francis,’Carlton-road.

CHOLERA AT JEDDO is reported to have abated.ELECTION OF A MEDICAL CORONER FOR SHREWSBURY.-

Mr. John Sides Davies, surgeon, has been elected coroner forthe borough of Shrewsbury. The election is in the hands ofthe Town Council.

PROPORTION OF BIRTHS TO DEATHS. - In the firstthree quarters of the past year, the excess of births over deathsin Great Britain was 2i-’,5.37, a natural increase greater by16,063 than in the corresponding portion of 1861.HONOURS TO MEDICAL MEN.-Statues in honour of

M.M. Lapeyronie and Barthez are about to be placed at theend of the bridge that leads to the School of Medicine inParis.M. Louis PASTEUR, the eminent chemist, has been

elected member of the Academy of Sciences in Paris, in place ofthe late M. Senarmont. M. Pasteur has recently added toour knowledge of the phenomena of fermentation by a seriesof elaborate researches.

THE LOUGHBOROUGH DISPENSARY, built at the costof Miss Herrick, is now nearly completed. It contains two

large rooms intended for men’s sick wards, on the ground floor,as well as two similar women’s wards on the upper floor, withconvenient patients’ waiting rooms, consulting-rooms, &c.

DEADLY RIFLE BALL.-There is in use in the Federalarmy a Minie ball so manufactured that when it enters the bodyit divides, and there is danger of a small ring of zinc being leftunextracted, which is said to account for a large proportion ofthe wounded being attacked by erysipelas.HALL VERSUS SEMPLE.-We understand that a fund is

being raised to relieve Dr. Semple and his family from theliabilities incurred by him in the late action. The treasurersof the fund are Dr. Waller Lewis, General Post Office, London,E.C., and Dr. Forbes Winslow, 23, Cavendish square, Lon-don, W.EXTRAORDINARY SELF-MUTILATION.-A woman, named

Jane Brickland, of York street, Camden Town, in a fit ofdrunkenness, deliberately chopped off her hand at the wrist.She immediately went to University College Hospital, wherethe arm was shortly afterwards operated on by Mr. Quain.She is in a fair way of recovery.KING’S COLLEGE HOSPITAL.-Upon Mr. Bowman’s re-

tirement from the hospital, twelve beds were at the disposalof the committee. Six of these have been transferred to themedical side of the house, the others being retained by thesurgeons, which Mr. Fergusson and Mr. Partridge, with a liber-ality worthy of imitation in similar institutions, have placedat the disposal of the two assistant- surgeons, Messrs. JohnWood and Henry Smith.HOSPITAL CHANGES DURING THE YEAR 1862.-The

last year has witnessed many changes in the personnel of themedical and surgical offices of the hospitals of the metropolis,that foremost and most zealous band of workers on whose

energy and ability so much of the progress of British medicinerests. An excellent principle, which we have long urged, weat last see recognised and fruitful in good : the retirementfrom office of those veterans of the profession who, havingheld for long years appointments at the hospitals, find thattheir many private engagements and advancing years precludetheir extended attention to the onerous duties of an hospitalappointment. Thus Mr. Luke has retired from the active