MEDICAL ARRANGEMENTS AT WIMBLEDON.

104 Wimbledon meeting, I enclose a letter on the subject ad. dressed by me to the Secretary of State for War.* There has been no wish on the part of the National Rifle Association to cast the slightest slur upon the Volunteer Medical Department, neither have we in any way done so. In each of the at Wimbledon we have one responsible head, and THE annual meeting of this Association was held at the departments we thought it desirable to adopt the same system as regards Royal College of Physicians on the 13th inst., Dr. Wood being our medical arrangements. the president of the year. It was resolved that the place of Under these circumstances, as our medical staff was to conmeeting for the next year should be Edinburgh; and Dr. sist of an army and a volunteer assistant-surgeon, with a super. senior surgeon or surgeon-major, the rules of the Browne, one of the Commissioners in Lunacy for Scotland, intending service necessitated his being selected from the medical dewas unanimously elected president. The other officers of the partment of the regular army. This is the only change made Society were reappointed: Dr. Robertson and Dr. Maudsley, in the last year’s arrangements. the editors of the Journal; Dr. Paul, the Treasurer; and Dr. I must now request you to give publicity, in the next number of the Fifteen members hon. new yourjournal, to this letter and enclosure; and at the same time Harrington Tuke, secretary. I must express my surprise that an article, commenting hostilely were admitted; and the following gentlemen were elected upon our supposed medical arrangements, should have appeared honorary members: Drs. Lasegue, Jules Falret, and Legrand in THE LANCET of Saturday last, when Mr. Wakley had been du Saulle, of Paris ; Dr. Biffi, of Milan; Drs. Schlager and informed by myself on the Wednesday previous as personally Leidesdorf, of Vienna; Dr. Bulckens, of Gheel; John Blake, to what our actual arrangements were. Esq., M.P.; and W. H. Wyatt, Esq., J.P., chairman of the 1 remain, Sir, your obedient servant, committee of Colney Hatch Asylum. Camp, Wimbledon, July 10th, 1865. ELCHO. The reports of two committees, one on the question of the dated the 10th of this communication July, Superannuation Allowance to Medical Officers of County Asy- wasz* Although only delivered by Lord Elcho’s camp messenger on Thurslums, the other on the Statistics of Asylums, were presented and adopted. The former strongly recommended that every day evening, July 13th-too late for insertion. effort should be made to obtain the abolition of that objectionLet us briefly notice the circumstances which the volunteer able clause in the Act of Parliament by which it is now misunderstood." They are the following :enacted that the retiring pension of an officer in a county surgeons " An announcement in the f’olunteer Gazette of the 1st lst. asylum shall be determined, not by the committee of visiting justices who have the control of the asylum, but by the whole inst., that "this year the military authorities have offered to body of the magistrates of the county at quarter sessions. take the medical arrangements under their superintendence, The report on statistics recommended a uniform plan of taking and to provide a regular military hospital on the ground, them, and presented appropriate tables. under a surgeon-major aided by two assistant-surgeons of the On the motion of Dr. Maudsley, it was unanimously remedical staff." Although two numbers of the journal solved that the name of the Association should be changed to army ’’the official organ of the volunteer force," have since quoted, and it was that of the "Medico-Psychological Association;" provided in a code of revised rules adopted that any legally appeared, its columns have contained no contradiction of a. qualified medical practitioner should henceforth be eligible as statement which Lord Elcho declared at the meeting to be " a member. erroneous," and not to have emanated from the Council. An important discussion on the insane in workhouses folThe " official organ," therefore, is allowed to perpetuate by lowed ; the meeting finally adopting unanimously a resolution, its silence an erroneous announcement which it had made by Dr. Boyd, ’’ that the treatment of the insane now proposed without authority. in workhouses is not satisfactory, and that it is desirable to have the care of all the insane poor of the counties transferred 2nd. Dr. Westmacott had been informed late in June by to the visitors and superintendents of the county asylums."" executive officer of the Council, that his services Dr. Robertson then read a paper " On a Recent Attempt Captain Page, would not be required on this occasion at Wimbledon. His at the Comparative Statistics of Bethlehem Hospital and of letters to Lord Elcho upon the subject remained unanswered the English County Asylums,"in which he pointed out how fallacious were the statistics with regard to the number of till the evening of Saturday, July 8th, when the camp had been recoveries and the rate of mortality at Bethlehem as given formed and the hospital was on the ground. On the following in the last report of the hospital, and how erroneous were the morning only did he receive a proposal from Lord Elcho to take conclusions attempted to be drawn from them. at Wimbledon. A meeting of volunteer surgeons had A lively discussion ensued, the general result of which was duty meantime been publicly announced for the Monday. It is to show how little reliance can be placed on asylum statistics as they are at present made out, and to confirm Dr. Robertsatisfactory to find that these proceedings represent "no wish son’s special strictures. on the part of the National Rifle Association to cast the Dr. Davey showed the model of a bed which he believed to slightest slur upon the Volunteer Medical Department," and be most suitable for paralytic and helpless cases; and Dr. we have much in giving publicity to Lord Elcho’s Maudsley exhibited, on behalf of Dr. Willett, an ingenious explanation. Atpleasure the same time we cannot help a feeling of instrument for administering nourishment to those insane who complete bewilderment upon one point. If such be the method persistently refuse food. A paper by Dr. Belgrave " On the Remarkable Effects of adopted by the Council for indicating satisfaction, how do Bromide of Potassium in Lowering the Pulse and Allaying they proceed when it is necessary to express an opposite Maniacal Excitement" closed the business of the day. feeling ? In the evening the members and their friends dined together With regard to the latter portion of Lord Elcho’s letter Mr. at the Langham Hotel. Amongst the visitors were Dr. Jenner, Dr. Sieveking, Dr. Garrod, Mr. Erichsen, Dr. Radcliffe, and Wakley’s remarks upon the subject have already appeared in our issue of last week.-ED. L. Dr. Webster.

THE

ASSOCIATION OF MEDICAL OFFICERS OF ASYLUMS AND HOSPITALS FOR THE INSANE.

Correspondence.

THE LEGAL VIEW OF INSANITY.

of THE LANCET. SiK,—At Winchester, on July 16th, George Broomfield was "Audi alteram partem." found guilty of murder. He was ably defended by Mr. Coleridge, Q.C., on the ground of insanity. It was proved in MEDICAL ARRANGEMENTS AT WIMBLEDON. evidence that two years previously he had been shot in the head, and had since been a "changed man;" that he had To the Editor of THE LANCET. delusions and suicidal impulses ; and that at this moment he SiR,-As much misunderstanding appears to prevail as to This letter appeared in the report of the proceedings at the Meeting of what has been done by the Council of the National Rifle Volunteer Surgeons which was published in THE LAjfCM of last week.Association in the matter of the medical arrangements for ED. L. ,

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the

To the Editor