HEALTH OF THE SAILORS IN THE RUSSIAN NAVY.

of Chester from the provisions of that Act, and also the Local and Personal Act, 3 Vict., c. 87, authorizing the appointment of additional Coroners for the County Palatine of Chester (except the 21st section of that Act, so far as regards the head. Coroners now in office for the three divisions into which that County is now divided), and also so much of the Act of the 33rd year of King Henry VIII., c. 13, as relates to Coroners for II. Polling at Elections for Coroner’s to continue for one day the Shire of are hereby repealed, and all the provisions only.-From and after the passing of this Act, so much of the of this Act, Chester, and of the Public General Act, 7 & 8 Vict., c. 92 Act 7 & 8 Vict., c. b2, as authorizes the polling at elections the said exemptior.) and all other Public General Acts, for Coroners to continue for two days shall be and the same is (except and laws, statutes, relating to Coroners for Counties, hereby repealed, and thenceforth such polling shall continue from time to time in usages from and after the passing of force, shall, for one day only. this Act, extend and apply to the County of Chester and the III. Provisions as to Remuneration of Coroners by Fees re- Coroners for the divisions into which that County is now or pealed.-From and after the 31st day of December, 1860, so hereafter may be divided. Provided always, that notwithmuch of any Act as provides for the remuneration of County standing such repeal the present divisions of the County of Coroners by fees, mileage, and allowances, shall be, and the Chester under the powers of the said Local and Personal Act, same is hereby repealed. 3 Vict., c. 87, shall continue, unless and until that County IV. County Coroners to be paid by Salary.-On and after shall be divided into other districts, under the powers of the the 1st day of January, 1861, there shall be paid to every said Public General Act, 7 & 8 Vict., c. 92, and the said present divisions shall be deemed to have been made under the County Coroner, in lieu of the fees, mileage, and allowances last-mentioned Act, without prejudice to the provisions conwhich, if this Act had not been passed, he would have been tained in the 21st section of the said Local and Personal Act entitled to receive, such an annual salary as shall be agreed so far as regards the present head Coroners of the said County; upon between him and the Justices in General or Quarter Sessions assembled for the county for which, or for some provided also, that such repeal shall not invalidate or affect the head Coroners for the said County, but election of the portion of which, such Coroner shall act; such salary, in (subject to any present future alteration or division of their the case of any person holding the ofiice of County Coroner districts under the Public General Act, 7 & 8 Vict., at the time of the passing of this Act, not being less than the divisions or c. 92) they shall continue in office as if such repeal had not and allowances amount of the fees, mileage, actually average . received by such Coroner and his predecessors, if any, for taken place. VIII. Interpretation of County.- The word" County," in the jive years immediately preceding the 31st day of Decemand and such be to such shall throughout this Act, shall be deemed and taken to in1859; ber, salary paid quarterly Coroner by the treasurer of the county out of the county rate; clude all Counties, Ridings, Divisions, Hundreds, Wards, and whenever, from death, removal, or any other cause what- Liberties, and other places, the Coroners whereof are paid out ever, any County Coroner shall not be entitled to a salary for of the county rates. the whole of a quarter, a proportionate part of the salary shall IX. Saving Rights of the Crozan, &c.-Nothing herein conbe paid to him, or in case of his death, to his personal repre- tained shall be construed to abridge or affect the Royal Presentatives. Provided always that in case any such Justices and rogative, or any right vested in any person or persons to any such County Coroner as aforesaid shall be unable to agree appoint by patent, or by election or otherwise, any Coroner for as to the amount of the salary to be paid to such Coroner, any city, borough, liberty, franchise, manor, or place, or the it shall be lawful for her Majesty’s principal Secretary of State authority of the Lord Chancellor, or to issue a writ de for the Home Department, and he is required upon the appli- Coronate eligendo. cation of such Coroner, to fix and determine the amount of X. Extent of Acts.-The said Act of 78 Vict., c. 92 (as such salary, having regard to such average as aforesaid, also varied by this Act), and this Act, shall extend only to that to the average number of inquests held by any such Coroner part of the United Kingdom called England and Wales. in the preceding five years as aforesaid, and also to the *** We extract the following paragraph from the Report of special circumstance of each case, and the general scale of salaries of County Coroners. Provided also, that after the lapse the Proceedings at the last Meeting of the Members of the of every successive period of five years, it shall be lawful Coroners’ Society :-for any such Justices and such Coroner as aforesaid to revise, " Your Committee feel that it would be unjust to issue this and thereby increase or diminish, any such salary, having re- Report without acknowledging that the proposal to relieve gard to the average number of inquests held by any such Coro- Coroners from the interference of Magistrates, by paying them ner in the five years immediately preceding, and subject, salaries subject to periodical revision, originated with Mr. in case of their disagreement, to such appeal to the Home Secre- WAKLEY, one of the Coroners for Middlesex." taryas before mentioned. Provided always that nothing herein contained shall in any manner take away, alter, or deprive any such Coroner of the right to be repaid out of the county HEALTH OF THE SAILORS IN THE rate the expenses and disbursements which may have been RUSSIAN NAVY. paid or made by him on the holding of any inquest, as provided bv the Act 1 Vict. c. 68.

for the purposes of such Act ; and every election of a Coroner for a county not so divided as aforesaid which may have taken place previous to the passing of this Act shall be, and the same is hereby declared to be, as legal and valid to all intents and purposes whatsoever as if such election had taken place subsequent to the passing of this Act.

,

I

respective

’

V. If Coroner refuse to hold Inquest, application may be made to a Judge for a rule to show cause.-If any Coroner shall refuse or neglect to hold an inquest in any case when such inquest ought to be held, it shall be lawful for her Majesty’s Attorney-General to apply to the Court of Queen’s Bench, or during vacation to a Judge of any one of her Majesty’s superior courts of law at Westminster, for a rule calling on such Coroner to show cause why he should not hold such inquest; and if, after due service of such rule, good cause shall not be shown against it, it shall be lawful for the Judge to make such rule absolute, with or without payment of costs, as to such Judge shall seem meet; and the Coroner upon being served with such rule absolute shall obey the same and hold such inquest, upon pain of being liable to an attachment in case of refusal or neglect. VI. Po2cer to remove Coroner.-It shall be lawful for the Lord Chancellor, if he shall think fit, to remove for inability or misbehaviour in his office any such Coroner already elected or appointed, or hereafter to be elected or appointed.

FROM the

Registrar-General’sreturn for 1859, it appears that complement of men in the Russian service 24,818

out of the full

entered in the returns, of which 23,260 Cholera was most rife at Cronstadt, and out of 153 cases the number of fatal terminations was 87. The total number of cases amounted to 323, and out of these 174 were deadly; and it further appears that all cholera cases were characterized by either a total absence, or the weakfits of cramp, and were accompanied with great ’, ness, of prostration, followed by tardy and feeble reaction. The total number of sick suffering from fevers of a typhoid character was 503, and of these 85 died. Intermittent fevers partook during the spring of a tertian type, and during the summer and autumn of the quartan character; the number of cases amounted to 1334, of which 2 bad a fatal termination. Scurvy, we are told, presents a satisfactory total, but 965 cases occurred, and of these no less than 755 were treated at Cronstadt, being four times as many cases as were entered in the books at this port the previous year, and accounted for by the return of many vessels from long cruizes. Syphilis was on the decrease, and VII. County of Chester to be henceforth subject to the General the majority of cases were primary; the total number being Law.-From and after the passing of this Act, so much of the 1793, of which 1 case died. The surgical operations are mentioned as beaming a most Public General Act, 7 & 8 Vict., c. 92, as exempts the County cases

of sickness

were

recovered, and 916 died.

the

247

-

with former years, and the for comparison with the results obtained by other naval or hospital surgeons. The operations were performed principally at -Cronstadt and St. Petersburg, and consisted of-

his narrow-minded and ignorant questions, neither would he subject himself to the ridicule of his contemporaries, nor to the I think it is exceedingly fortunate sneers of the junior pupils. that the student of this kind seldom finds his way into the wards of the hospital; for if the time of the assiduous pupil is to be occupied by listening to the teacher vainly endeavouring to drive the most common-place subject into a fool who recollects nothing of what has been told him, I fear the number of students accompanying the physician in his round would become very small. What is the use, I would ask, of explaining any point to the idle, never-reading pupil ? The answer is, none at all; for what he hears goes in at one ear and out at the other; and he is just as likely to ask the same question the following week, and is as likely to know as much about it. My firm belief is that students are not half enough dependent upon themselves. The idler thinks that a three-months’ grind will so superficially, or, as he supposes, permanently, polish him as to fit him to undertake the charge of the lives of his fellow-creatures, and is, therefore, led to imagine that he is at The year 1859 was not distinguished by the prevalence of liberty to chatter at lecture, to crack jokes during the hospital and to pick about with a scalpel and a pair of forceps any widely-spread epidemic. Cholera alone became more fre- visit, under the vague impression that he is dissecting. quent at St. Petersburg, Cronstadt, and Astrakhan. RheuI would, therefore, say to intending students, Work for matic fevers occurred in some places, and scurvy prevailed to if you cannot understand what you read, read yourselves; a greater extent at Cronstadt this year than during the former one. Inflammations of separate organs were the most nume- until you do; and only apply to your teacher as a last resource, and I am quite sure that, under such circumstances, every inrous of all the complaints during the year, and occasioned will only too gladly be given. I can safely say that amongst the class of acute disorders the greatest mortality; formation the largest number of cases occurred during the winter and when I was a student, the teachers never turned a deaf ear to nor did they ever answer my inquiries in a slurring or in autumn, and the total number of cases amounted to 2543, of me, an impatient manner. Nevertheless, I think it quite sufficient Which 117 died to make a teacher disgusted when he finds a man asking quesWILLIAM D. SLYMAN, M.R.C.S., &C. tions the answers to which the pupil might easily get at by the least observation and the smallest amount of reading. By pursuing a course of steady, but careful, study, the student will find that he is adding much to his store of general knowledge, and is teaching himself, during his college curriculum, what he will inevitably have to put into practice in after life; that "Audi alteram

satisfactory

result when

following table

compared

must be

interesting

-

’

Correspondence. partem."

"He can, who thinks he can. Self-confidence And Self-reliance are twin Anakim; Strange Thaumaturgi both. Possessed of these, All things are possible-few difficult. Man steps from hindrance on to hindrance As a boy crosses, on the stones, the stream. E’en obstacles themselves are but the rungs That form the ladder of success."

CLINICAL INSTRUCTION IN THE METROPOLITAN SCHOOLS. To the

Editor

of

THE LANCET.

SIR,-I see in your number of the 1st inst., a letter from " Cantab.," containing some hints to the intending students in the forthcoming October. Perhaps you will allow me space to make a few remarks upon it. " Cantab." seems to be perfectly aware of the value of the estimable quality of self- dependence, but I think does not attach to it all the importance it demands. I have myself been a teacher in one of the metropolitan schools for some time, and have come to the conclusion that the students who ask questions of their teachers are of two kinds: -1st. The hardworking, diligent student, who, after having read his subject with care, cannot understand some point, and, therefore, really asks for information. 2ndly. The idle student, who asks, not because he is anxious to make himself proficient, but because, as he sees the diligent student doing the same, he thinks it looks well, and, at all events, brings him somewhat in contact with his teacher. Hence the absurd questions which all must occahave heard these gentlemen put to their professors. sionally " Cantab."says "it is discouraging to the student to find his inquiries answered in a slurring and impatient manner." So it may be; but I maintain that it is more discouraging to the teacher who finds the idlers" of his class asking questions of a most ridiculous and simple kind. I can well recollect an instance of this. When a student, I remember upon one occasion attending the medical visit with the physician and the class; and there happened to be a case of tape-worm under treatment. It will hardly be credited, but a third-year’s man (I cannot call him a student), in the face of all the junior pupils, had the audacity to ask the physician " how many different kinds of worms infested the human body." I say audacity, because, although the teacher was good enough to go into the

minutely with the gentleman, I consider there slightest necessity for it. Why could not this ignoramus go to his chambers and read up the subject of worms?" and then, if he found any difficulty in his search after knowledge, let him do as the intelligent and hardworking student would-seek the assistance of his teacher. By so doing he would be employing his time usefully, and most not the

subject was "

would not be wasting that of the class during the visit with

248

And should he be disheartened by the distance of the goal to which he is travelling, let him remember on his journey, that " Success Will be the sweeter, though it come but late, Because unaided thou hast carved it out, And hewn, thyself, thy fortune to a shape :’

I am,

September,

1860.

Sir,

your obedient servant,

GANGLION.

VERSION WITHOUT INSERTING THE HAND IN THE UTERUS. To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,-The two communications of Dr. Braxton Hicks, pub. lished in THE LANCET of the 14th and 21st July, descriptive and illustrative of " a new method of version in abnormal labour," induce me to send you the details of the following case:-

On the 28th of January, I was summoned to attend Mrs. , a farmer’s wife, in her third confinement. On my arrival, I ascertained she had been in labour for several hours. The pains were strong, and occurring at regular intervals ; the os I found dilated sufficiently to admit the forefinger; the membranes were entire. The presenting part I had little difficulty in making out to be the left shoulder, in what I considered the first position. The slightest pressure on it with the finger caused the child to recede considerably, showing the liquor amnii to be abundant. Having now determined that the case could not with safety be left to nature, I resolved upon having recourse to the operation of turning; but as the time for its performance had not yet arrived, I was content to remain some time longer passive, at the same time avoiding giving a direct answer to my patient’s earnest inquiry if all were right, for I knew I should encounter many difficulties were she apprized of the abnormal position of the child. On again making an examination, I found matters as I had previously left them, with exception of the os, which had expanded to the size of a

-

the