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posals respecting a medical contract, forproviding medicines and attendance for thesick poor, the terms of which your petition-ers do most firmly believe, are altogetherinsufficient to furnish a proper provision forthese objects, and that the plan adopted bythe board of guardians is wholly unjust inprinciple, and calculated to inflict great suf-fering and misery on a large portion of theindustrious poor and destitute populationresiding within the union. Your petitionerstherefore earnestly pray that the House willinterpose its authority, and make such analteration in the existing law, as will pro-vide effectually against the recurrence ofthe grievance of which they complain. Andyour petitioners will ever pray, &c. ’

J. Theodorick ValeJames DixonW. J. EllisJ. Ellison GorstWilliam NisbittRichard InmanJ. A. Day

W. StephensonJ. HalladayF. H. CasslesJerome SmithJ. W. BanksP. Young

MEDICAL WITNESSES BILL.

R. LANYON, M.D., F.A.S.

Joseph Hamley, surgeon, and co-roner for the eastern division ofCornwall.

T. D. Martyn, St. ColumbE. West, CamelfordT. S. Tickell, WadebridgeH. Pethick, LauncestonG. Jewel, St. ColumbRobert Rundell, Wadebridge

Richard Lanyon, LostwithielHenry Mudge, BodminJ. F. Smith, LauncestonW. Broad, PadstowT. Good, Hicks MillJ. Fry, WadebridgeW. G. Lander, St. ColumbThomas West, BodminW. Moorman, jun., St. ColnmbW. Mitchell, M. B., BodminRichard Hingston, LiskeardW. Pearce, LauncestonP. Brendon, Launceston

To the Editor of THE LANCET.SIR:—It gives me much pleasure to be

deputed to send to you a copy of a petitionto the Commons, in favour of the MedicalWitnesses Bill, which has been forwardedto Sir W. S. Trelawny, Bart., for presenta-tion. Another copy has been sent to JamesCornish, Esq., of Falmouth, requesting himto procure a petition from the medicalpractitioners of the Western Division. M7eare late in the field it is true, notwithstand-ing which, I am sure I am at perfectliberty to state on behalf of those gentle-men who signed the petition, that they willever be ready to afiord all the assistancein their power in ameliorating the presentdegraded state of the profession. I am,Sir. vours respectfullv.

Lostwithiel, July, 1836.

The petition was signed by the fol-lowing medical practitioners residing in theeastern division of the county of Cornwall,assembled at Bodmin. Their exertions withthe other branch of Parliament, now thatthe bill is in the House of Lords, should beused to ensure to the progress of the mea-sure a success similar to that which itobtained in the House of Commons.—ED. L.

[On Tuesday last this Bill was read asecond time in the House of Lords, on themotion of Lord WHARNCLIFFE, seconded bythe Duke of RICHMOND, who have takencharge of the measure. On Wednesday it

passed the Committee.

UTERINE APOPLEXY.

THE following remarks should be addedto the observations under this head, by Dr.CtEXNARS, contained in our last Number, atpage 652-3, taken from the Observ. Medico.,reaching us through the Gaz. Med. de Paris,No. 27:—

The uterus is easily emptied when thedisease comes on in the course of labour.The hand is pressed gently into the cavityof the organ, the membranes ruptured, andthe child extracted by the feet. Shouldlabour be more advanced, and the headlodged in the cavity of the pelvis, the forcepsmust be employed; the child is thus ex-tracted living, and the mother soon recovers.When attempts at extraction are made to-wards the end of the second period, or duringthe third period, that is to say, when thefoetus lies in a state of complete apoplexy,interrupted only by some convulsive move-ments, the foetus is dead, and, in a majorityof cases, the operation fails to save themother’s life.

It often happens, soon after the extractionof the foetus and placenta, that the mothergradually recovers the use of her senses,becomes calm, and the disease terminatesin a fortunate manner; but in many othercases several hours elapse before this de-sired result is obtained; the epileptic symp-toms continue to alternate with the apoplec-tic ones, and the disease passes away gra-dually : this usually takes place when theoperation is performed at a late period.The most efficacious means of dissipatingthe accidents which remain, are baths andmusc. As it is impossible to introduce this,or any other medicine, by the mouth, it isthrown up the rectum. The musc seems

equally beneficial in the uterine apoplexywhich supervenes after delivery, and whichis the more dangerous, from being beyondall surgical resource. A general bleeding

686

should always precede the administrationof the musc, which may be aided by baths.

After the extraction of the foetus and pla-centa, want of sufficient contractile powerin the uterus, produced by the apoplecticstate, may give rise to severe haemorrhage,but this we have always seen arrested bythe usual means.

Finally : after the disappearance of theconvulaions, the woman is often subject toacute febrile symptoms, which continue fora week, or fifteen days. The fever is gene-rally benign, and yields to the use of baths.

DR. INGLIS’S CASE OF PERFECT UNIONOF DOUBLE FRACTURE OF THE FEMURIN TWELVE DAYS, TREATED WITHOUTSPLINTS OR TIGHT BANDAGING.

JAMES INGLIS, M. D.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR:—Allow me once more a portion ofyour journal, that I may convince your cor-respondent that my last reply was not over-confident. In addition to my own testimony,that of others can be brought forward on thisoccasion. ’On the 1st of March, the femur was found

fractured in two places. At one of them,splintered pieces of bone were felt. On the9th day from that time, cne fracture was sofar united that the broken extremities of thebone were immoveable. On that day, asregards the greater surface, the upper frac-ture was in a similar state ; but a little mani-pulation detected that the splinters aroundthat fracture could be rubbed against each.other, those pieces not being yet sutizcientlyimpacted by the surrounding parts. But onthe 12th day (or, as the Irish surgeon makesit, in two days from tll!’ ninth day, which,by-the-by, on calculating, he should havecalled three days), the encasement of thesesplinters was suflicient to prevent this cre-pitus from being heard. And why shouldthis surprise us ? Not only its "probability,"but its " possibility," can be proved by myfriend Dr. Colvin, of the Bengal Establish-ment, who is now in your neighbourhood,and who will call on you and personallyconfirm the fact, as he then was here, andwitnessed the treatment. * * * * * *

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

Castle-Douglas, July 19, 1836.

It is unnecessary to lengthen this

plain and convincing’ detail, h publishingthe arguments added by Dr. Inglis, in replyto the objections urged by " M. R. C. S. I.’The facts recorded are highly valuable, andare calculated to derange much elaboratetreatment, and some formal doctrines of thepathology of osseous union. Dr. Colvin has

done us the honour, according to the wishexpressed by Dr. Inglis, of personally testi-fying to the entire correctness of the state-ments made by his friend.

To the Editor

A. W. WARDER.

To the Editor.—Having seen in yourjour.nal of the 30th July a communication, signed’" A DRUGGIST’S ASSISTANT," in which thewriter gives an analysis of, and form for mak-ing, the specific solution of copaiba, I beg tosay that I attempted to prepare some, andexpected, by minutely adhering to his direc-tions, to obtain a similar result, but was dis-appointed. Vour correspondent says, thatafter boilingthe balsam with the liq. potass.and aq. distil. for about ten minutes, themixture should be let to cool to 140 deg.,then adding the sp. aether, nitr., when, "af-ter a short time, about five drachms of undis-solved fluid, more like tanc oil than balsam,will separate and float on the surface;" butafter the boiling, &c., exactly according tothe directions, instead of 11 five drachms ofundissolved fluid," the whole of the balsamrose to the surface unchanged, leaving a li-quid, having a very slight odour, but not theslightest perceptible taste, of copaiba. I re-

main, Sir, your obedient servant,

Little Chelsea, Aug. 10, 1836.

NORTH LONDON HOSPITAL.

ENCEPHALOID CARCINOMA—COMPLETE OBLITE-

RATION OF THE SUPERIOR VENA CAVA.-

EFFECTS OF IODINE AND THE HYDRIODATE OF

POTASH.

JOHN STARKS was admitted. May 14, underthe care of Dr. ELLIOTSON. He is a marriedman, of dark complexion, and of temperatehabits, and had always enjoyed good healthuntil the present attack. He is by trade aplasterer, and has been ill for eight weeks.He has lately worked in a swampy part ofthe country, and caught cold; since then hehas had a running’ from the eyes, which havealways been tender since: he had measlesduring childhood. At the same time hisface, hands, and arms began to swell, espe-cially on the right side; the swelling waslivid, neither hot nor painful; and his hands,the tips of his ears, and his nose, were blue,so that the men with whom he worked usedto tell him that he had not washed them.His right shoulder was painful, but waseasy when lying on it at night; he sleptvery well; he felt very weak. A short timeafter this the ankles began to swell towardsthe evening, and pitted on pressure, and hewas obliged to leave off work, and for thelast month he has been confined to his bed.He was attended by a physicau, who con-