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MEDICAL DEFENCE ASSOCIATION.

THE first annual general meeting of this Association washeld on Friday, June 27th, at the rooms of the MedicalSociety of London. Dr. B. W. Richardson, F.R.S., Pre-

tident, was in the chair, and there was a good attendanceof members.The report of the Council, which was read by the hon.

see., Mr. George Brown, showed that during the first yearof its existence the Association had done much useful work.

Eight provincial branches have been formed-viz., the EastAnglian (President, Dr. Copeman, of Norwich); the Northof England (President, Dr. Dennis Embleton) ; the Sunder-land (President, Mr. J. Davies); the Nottingham (President,Mr. Stanger, F.R.C.S.); the Shropshire and Mid Wales; theWest Cornwall ; the Accrington; and the Forest of Dean.The total number of members of the central association andbranches is nearly 400. During the year seven prosecu-tions have been conducted, all with success, by the Londonorganisation, and many unqualified persons have bpt n com-pelled to cease practising through the action of the Asso-ciation. The provincial branches have also institutedseveral successful prosecutions, and other cases are now

pending. The report referred to the action of the Chemists’Trade Association, and the claim which the chemists havenow distinctly made to the right to practise medicine, andexpressed the belief that the Council would be successfulin resisting the pretensions of the chemists, and that neitherthe administrators of the law nor the common sense of thecountry would allow the lives of the people to be tamperedwith by those who had received no medical education. Acommittee of the Council was appointed early in the yearto consider and report upon the Medical Act with a view toits amendment, and had produced a report which was sub-sequently adopted by the meeting. A memorial was alsoprepared and presented to the General Medical Council, anda deputation of the Association, consisting of the Presidentand seven members of council, waited on the Presidentand Executive Committee of the General Medical Council,urging them to take immediate steps for the amendmentof the 42nd section of the Medical Act, so that fines re-covered under that Act within the metropolitan area mightnot be retained by the police authorities, as is now the case.Financially the Association was shown to be in a satisfac-tory condition, there being a balance in hand of £22. Thewhole work of the Association had been done for an expendi-ture of less than £ 70. The report concluded by thankingthe editors of the medical journals for their support.After a few remarks by Mr. Mason and Mr. W. B.

Hemming, the President moved the adoption of the report,and in doing so said that he had never before seen voluntarywork done so earnestly as that of this Council. The cheap-ness of the work was also remarkable, and the Associationhad done nothing which had not had a successful issue.The cases prosecuted by no means represented all that hasbeen achieved. At the breath of the Association manyquacks had fled. With regard to the General MedicalCouncil the President was of opinion that what was wantedwas direct representation of the general practitioners of thecountry. As President also he thanked the editors of themedical journals for their support, and expressed a beliefthat there was a strong feeling among the general publicin favour of the Association.The report and balance-sheet were put and adopted.The report of the Medical Acts Committee having been

read and adopted, Dr. Danford Thomas moved, Dr. BpechJohnstone seconded, and it was resolved, "That the Pre-sident of the Medical Defence Association be requested tocommunicate with the President of the General MedicalCouncil with the view of bringing before him the variousclauses of the Medical Act, as amended by the Council ofthe Medical Defence Association, and adopted at the annualmeeting."Votes of thanks were then accorded to the retiring officers

and the solicitor of the Association.The officers for 1877-78 having been elected, and a vote

of thanks to the President carried by acclamation andacknowledged by him, the meeting separated.

The following is the list of officf’rs for the year :-President : Dr. B. W. Richardson. vice-Presidents: Mr.W. Bowman, Dr. Alfred Carpenter, Dr. E. Copeman,Dr. Andrew Clark, Dr. Embleton, Mr. J. R. Lane, Dr.Meadows, Dr. J. H. Paul, Dr. Sansom, Mr. Spencer Wataon,Dr. C. J. White. Honorary Treasurer: Mr. SpencerWatson. Council: Mr. H. Adcock, Mr. F. H. Alderson, Mr.J. E. Brooks, Mr. G. H. Blackmore, Dr. H. Cuolahan, Mr. T.Cooke, Mr. W. H. Drew, Mr. S. Gardner, Mr. W. B. Hem-ming, Dr.W. Bepch Johnstone, Mr. C. P. Langford, Dr. N. C.Maclean, Mr. J. Wallis Mason, Mr. M. R-id, Dr. W. S.Riding, Dr. C. Royston, Mr. W. Smith, Dr. J. Stevenson,Dr. G. D. Thomas, Dr. H. W. Williams. Honorary Sec-rftaries: Mr. George Brown, 12, Cole brooke-row, N.; and.Mr. W. Douglas Hemming, 36, Ladbroke.road, W.

POOR-LAW MEDICAL OFFICERS’ ASSOCIATION.

ON Tuesday afternoon the annual general meeting of thisAssociation took place at the offices, Bolt-court, E.C., Dr.Joseph Rogers presiding. There were also present -Messrs.Harris, Redruth ; Copeland, Bardoc; Elliot Porter, Lin-field ; Cornwall, Fairford ; Lilley, Kensington; Snell, Bar-rowden ; Wallis, Brentwood; Bnlding, Royston; Flower,Warminster; and Frost, Thomas, Birohell, Fenton, Yarrow,and Kelly, London. Lftiers were read from Messrs. R.

Weston, Sloman, Pearce, Jones, Perry, J M. Quicke, Jepson,Hazard, Loveless, Jay, Bligh, Milward, Giles, Keswick,Gamble, A. M. McLean, Packman, Hubbard, Croeker,Higginbotham, Pemberton, Evans, Clarke, Garland, Hinds,Wesley, Norton, Stear, Davison, Baldwin, Clouting, Stewart,Mallett, Bramwell, H. McLean, Boyle, T. F. Frankland,Crowfoot, Moreton, and Lush, stating that they were

unable to attend the meeting.The Chairman opened the proceedings by commenting

upon the work of the Association during the past year. Hesaid that at the last general meeting it was announced thatDr. Lush had moved for a return of the supply of expensivemedicines; that return showed that, of a total of 620 pro-vincial unions in England and Wales, 290 had compliedwith the recommendation of the Select Committee, 177 hadfailed to do so, 73 find cod-liver oil and quinine only, 2quinine; 85 unions in England and 8 in Wales find medicinesentirely. It might be said that the Association had done nogood. He admitted that they had done none in 177 unions,but they had in others. The cost of the medicines theresupplied was £17,000 a year, making a clear gain to theprofession of that sum. Then, again, they had secured thepassage of the Superannuation Act, which, permissive as itwas, had been the means of putting hundred of poundsyearly into the pockets of their aged medical brethren.They had succeeded in inducing the Horsham guardians torefrain from passing a resolution rescinding one by whichmedicines were supplied. The Association in Decemberassisted Dr. Fenton to oppose the attempts that were

made to interfere with him in the due dischargeof his duty in the Westminster Union. In Februarylast, it coming to the knowledge of the Association thatLord Chief Justice Coleridge, at the Durham Assizes,had thought fit to censure, and report to theLocal Government Board, Mr. Taylor, a Poor-lawmedical officer of Sunderland, they by a series of articles,which were copied into the north country journals, power-fully aided him by evoking public sympathy in the townand neighbourhood where he had practised for over thirtyyears. In regard to the differences between Mr. Ashburner,of Horsham, and the medical officer of health, they memo-rialised the Local Government Board, and the result wasthat a letter was sent to the guardians defining their re-spective positions. In Gravesend they had succeeded inobtaining an increase in the salaries of the two medicalofficers. In addition to this, not a week passes withoutletters coming to hand not only from England, but Irelandand Scotland, in some shape or other requesting the assist-ance of the Council. A correspondence had been carriedon with the Local Government Board on the question ofthe revision of the scale of extras. He then drew the