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THE MORALITY OF AN EPIDEMIC.
lieved from the necessity of lifting his limb with his hands." But soon the difficulties arising from this marvellous cure of the spirits commenced. It was necessary that he should clothe himself, but on putting on his pants he found the right leg of this garment too short for him. The power which had lengthened the leg had stopped short of lengthening the trousers, and had taken away the doctor’s work only to find the tailor in employment. Then the deep-heeled boot was out of place ; it made the right leg now two inches and five-eighths longer than its neighbour. These difficulties were overcome, and the patient has since mainly employed his time in jumping down flights of stairs and off high board fences. This case, it is stated, ’’ has made quite a stir." Of course, everyone will believe it,-indeed, it is far easier of belief than some other revelations in this "journal of progress,"-and it is really a cure worthy of Holloway’s ointment, which, on inquiry, we think it will probably be found that the spirits employed in the treatment.
THE MORALITY OF AN EPIDEMIC.
being anxious that the public mind should, without be disabused of the unfair statements therein contained, and 1 trust to your sense of justice to insert the same in your valuable journal. Mr. Acton states that " in the course of a fortnight he began to be annoyed by foul effluvia from the drains, from which his children and servants severely suffered ;" that " he immediately wrote to the agent, warning him of the responsibility he incurred in again letting the house, and that he received the stereotyped answer,’Ihave made every inquiry into the state of the drains and water-closets, and find them unobjec-
paper,
delay,
tionable.’ " The truth is
plaint to
me or
as follows :-Mr. Acton never made any comat my office until he had left the house, after
the agreed eight weeks’ tenancy, when, on forwarding a cheque for the rent, he complained of the state of the drains. On receipt of his letter, I went immediately to the house, taking the owner with me, and found the drains and water-closets in a perfectly satisfactory state; I therefore wrote to him as follows :—’’Iregret to hear of the illness of your family, but I am quite satisfied that your occupancy of No. 11 had nothing to do with it; I have made every inquiry into the state of the drains and water-closets, and find them unobjectionable. In addition to this, no complaint was made by yourself or your family; and Mrs. (the owner) informs me that you repeatedly expressed yourself as perfectly satisfied with the house, and even spoke of occupying it next year." I may add that, in consequence of an opportunity of letting the house on better terms than those on which Mr. Acton held it, the owner offered him X30 to quit, which Mr. Acton declined. As far, therefore, as Mr. Acton’s letter has reference to the house which I let to him, it is simply a misrepresentation of facts; while his sneering allusion to my reply as the " stereotyped answer" is wilfully unjust. In the same dishonourable spirit is his statement respecting the mortality at Brighton, for he not only names the most densely populated partof thetown, but selects, from a return two years old, the only quarter in the last four years in which the deaths exceed the births. The house has been let since the 29th of October, without a. I arn. Sir. vour most obedient servant. complaint. P. R. WILKINSON. -
A. QUESTION has been lately raised by the Belfast Board of Guardians as to the power of the medical officers to send into the hospital, patients labouring under contagious diseases. The Hospital Committee made a report upon the subject to the following effect :" The Hospital Committee having had the question of the admission of contagious diseases into the workhouse hospital submitted to them by the report of the Board of Guardians, consider that the medical officers of the dispensary districts should be ex-officio guardians as far as regards contagious diseases only, and advise that the Board should appoint them, subject to the approval of the Poor-law Commissioners, exofficio wardens accordingly; and they advise that, for this purpose, they shall be supplied with the annexed form to facilitate the admission of persons labouring under contagious diseases."
[Form annexed.] Some opposition was made to the confirmation of this report, ON WHAT IS COMMONLY CALLED RIGIDITY on the ground that no epidemic actually existed. To this it OF THE OS UTERI. was answered that the committee wish to prevent the spread To the Editor of THE LANCET. of contagious disease when such occurred, and so diminish the SIR,-Doubtless many of your readers have been equally as chances of an epidemic. The report was recommended on the as myself at the communication on the above subject surprised principle that prevention of disease is more desirable than its with which Dr. Arnott favoured you, published in THE LANCET’ An excitable guardian, however, opposed this view, ofNov. cure. 17th, p. 484; for he has either been so fortunate in his and wound up a highly original exposition of his sanitary midwifery practice as not to meet with any case of rigidity of views by declaring that " It was a mean, low thing to threaten the os uteri, or has failed to recognise it when it may have the town with an epidemic; it was a disgrace to the doctors, occurred to him. obstetricians and obstetric writers would certainly ignore and they should be ashamed of themselves." No doubt he of a rigid os, and would, doubtless, inform him his description shares with his children the opinion that "it is a shame ever the class of cases, of which he cites one, could be found to make them take medicine, and should assist them to throw that a different headingin their works-viz., pendulous ab-
All under
the measles out of the window." Dr. Brown, on whose motion the report was adopted, summed up the whole argument in a few sentences of his manly speech :" For the benefit of the people of Belfast and the poor, no person will say, that if an epidemic should arise,-which I hope and pray may be far distant,-the proper course to take would not be to givethe duties into the hands of those best qualified to exercise them. Point me out a single warden who will follow me when cholera prevails, and I will say that I am wrong-when scarlet fever prevails, and I will say I am "
wrong.
Correspondence. " Audi alteram
partem."
THE DRAINS OF BRIGHTON. To the Bdito1’ of THE LANCET.
SIR,-In your
last week’s
impression
you inserted
a
letter
from Mr. William Acton, of Queen Anne-street, heaclecl "Death-Drains of Brighton." This was copied into The Times. As the acrent who let him the house, I at once replied in that
domen,or anteversion of the uterus; and if’Dr. Arnott will takethe trouble to refer to Ramsbotham, Rigby, Cazeaux, or Naegele, he will find that his description of a case of antethe uterus is pretty accurate. But when he states version that, 6‘ in the great majority of cases, the os is in reality dilat-
of
able enough," and accuses authors of classing all such cases under the of rigid os, he should simply and politely beinformed that he is in error; for the essential feature in a case of rigid os is, that it should be tense and unyielding. It may be so under different circumstances: first, the os may be tenseg thin, dry, unyielding, and not much thicker than common brown paper; secondly, it may possess these characters, barring the thinness, instead of which it is thick, and its lips rounded. It is not to be wondered at that Dr. Arnott denounces in such an ad c
head
547
THE MORALITY OF AN EPIDEMIC.
being anxious that the public mind should, without be disabused of the unfair statements therein contained, and 1 trust to your sense of justice to insert the same in your valuable journal. Mr. Acton states that " in the course of a fortnight he began to be annoyed by foul effluvia from the drains, from which his children and servants severely suffered ;" that " he immediately wrote to the agent, warning him of the responsibility he incurred in again letting the house, and that he received the stereotyped answer,’Ihave made every inquiry into the state of the drains and water-closets, and find them unobjec-
paper,
delay,
tionable.’ " The truth is
plaint to
me or
as follows :-Mr. Acton never made any comat my office until he had left the house, after
the agreed eight weeks’ tenancy, when, on forwarding a cheque for the rent, he complained of the state of the drains. On receipt of his letter, I went immediately to the house, taking the owner with me, and found the drains and water-closets in a perfectly satisfactory state; I therefore wrote to him as follows :—’’Iregret to hear of the illness of your family, but I am quite satisfied that your occupancy of No. 11 had nothing to do with it; I have made every inquiry into the state of the drains and water-closets, and find them unobjectionable. In addition to this, no complaint was made by yourself or your family; and Mrs. (the owner) informs me that you repeatedly expressed yourself as perfectly satisfied with the house, and even spoke of occupying it next year." I may add that, in consequence of an opportunity of letting the house on better terms than those on which Mr. Acton held it, the owner offered him X30 to quit, which Mr. Acton declined. As far, therefore, as Mr. Acton’s letter has reference to the house which I let to him, it is simply a misrepresentation of facts; while his sneering allusion to my reply as the " stereotyped answer" is wilfully unjust. In the same dishonourable spirit is his statement respecting the mortality at Brighton, for he not only names the most densely populated partof thetown, but selects, from a return two years old, the only quarter in the last four years in which the deaths exceed the births. The house has been let since the 29th of October, without a. I arn. Sir. vour most obedient servant. complaint. P. R. WILKINSON. -
A. QUESTION has been lately raised by the Belfast Board of Guardians as to the power of the medical officers to send into the hospital, patients labouring under contagious diseases. The Hospital Committee made a report upon the subject to the following effect :" The Hospital Committee having had the question of the admission of contagious diseases into the workhouse hospital submitted to them by the report of the Board of Guardians, consider that the medical officers of the dispensary districts should be ex-officio guardians as far as regards contagious diseases only, and advise that the Board should appoint them, subject to the approval of the Poor-law Commissioners, exofficio wardens accordingly; and they advise that, for this purpose, they shall be supplied with the annexed form to facilitate the admission of persons labouring under contagious diseases."
[Form annexed.] Some opposition was made to the confirmation of this report, ON WHAT IS COMMONLY CALLED RIGIDITY on the ground that no epidemic actually existed. To this it OF THE OS UTERI. was answered that the committee wish to prevent the spread To the Editor of THE LANCET. of contagious disease when such occurred, and so diminish the SIR,-Doubtless many of your readers have been equally as chances of an epidemic. The report was recommended on the as myself at the communication on the above subject surprised principle that prevention of disease is more desirable than its with which Dr. Arnott favoured you, published in THE LANCET’ An excitable guardian, however, opposed this view, ofNov. cure. 17th, p. 484; for he has either been so fortunate in his and wound up a highly original exposition of his sanitary midwifery practice as not to meet with any case of rigidity of views by declaring that " It was a mean, low thing to threaten the os uteri, or has failed to recognise it when it may have the town with an epidemic; it was a disgrace to the doctors, occurred to him. obstetricians and obstetric writers would certainly ignore and they should be ashamed of themselves." No doubt he of a rigid os, and would, doubtless, inform him his description shares with his children the opinion that "it is a shame ever the class of cases, of which he cites one, could be found to make them take medicine, and should assist them to throw that a different headingin their works-viz., pendulous ab-
All under
the measles out of the window." Dr. Brown, on whose motion the report was adopted, summed up the whole argument in a few sentences of his manly speech :" For the benefit of the people of Belfast and the poor, no person will say, that if an epidemic should arise,-which I hope and pray may be far distant,-the proper course to take would not be to givethe duties into the hands of those best qualified to exercise them. Point me out a single warden who will follow me when cholera prevails, and I will say that I am wrong-when scarlet fever prevails, and I will say I am "
wrong.
Correspondence. " Audi alteram
partem."
THE DRAINS OF BRIGHTON. To the Bdito1’ of THE LANCET.
SIR,-In your
last week’s
impression
you inserted
a
letter
from Mr. William Acton, of Queen Anne-street, heaclecl "Death-Drains of Brighton." This was copied into The Times. As the acrent who let him the house, I at once replied in that
domen,or anteversion of the uterus; and if’Dr. Arnott will takethe trouble to refer to Ramsbotham, Rigby, Cazeaux, or Naegele, he will find that his description of a case of antethe uterus is pretty accurate. But when he states version that, 6‘ in the great majority of cases, the os is in reality dilat-
of
able enough," and accuses authors of classing all such cases under the of rigid os, he should simply and politely beinformed that he is in error; for the essential feature in a case of rigid os is, that it should be tense and unyielding. It may be so under different circumstances: first, the os may be tenseg thin, dry, unyielding, and not much thicker than common brown paper; secondly, it may possess these characters, barring the thinness, instead of which it is thick, and its lips rounded. It is not to be wondered at that Dr. Arnott denounces in such an ad c
head
547