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THE ABUSE OF HOSPITALS, DISPENSARIES, AND CLUBS.
182
THE ABUSE OF
HOSPITALS, DISPENSARIES,
is desirable argue that, however necessary it may have been in ruder ages for the body to be viewed, when deaths by violence or exposure were more common than happily they are to-day, and medical skill and science were not so readily procurable as evidence to lay before the jury, still, in these days of glaring publicity by means of the daily papers and the ubiquitous pressman, the view answers no useful purpose ; that the view may be of any other use than to demonstrate the existence of a dead body, the body must be examined by the jury, back, front, and sides, involving an indecent exposure of it that is most unbecoming, and in all cases of natural death the proceeding gives no information to the jury whatever. If death has been due to violence, as by accident in machinery or running over by a locomotive, and the body is much mangled, a medical man or a butcher may view it without abhorrence, but the ordinary juryman can learn nothing from the spectacle. Neither can he tell whether a person with a cut throat has been murdered or has committed suicide ; he has to rely on medical evidence as to the extent and direction of the wounds to enable him to form a judgment. So on the question of establishing identity. The view may have been useful in early days when people did not move far from home in a general way and the whole of the inhabitants of the locality above twelve years of age were required to attend the inquest. But now how are things changed. A jury is summoned to inquire into the death of a miner in a county hospital. He has bsen brought in from a colliery miles away; the jury live within a radius of half a mile from the hospital. How can the view help them ? It would seem reasonable, if a man has been killed by machinery, a fly wheel, or a revolving shaft, or what not, that the jury should view the scene of the accident, for then they could j judge of the degree of responsibility of the owner of the premises, but what can they learn from the body except its existence ? And still stronger is the argument against the view when death is due to natural causes and a post-mortem examination has to be made to ascertain the precise cause. Of course, the conditions under which inquests are held in different parts of the country may, and probably do, affect the opinion of In London, if I am not misinformed, the coroners coroners. hold their inquests in a suitably equipped ecurt, and the bodies lie in a mortuary conveniently near to the court, so that they may be viewed by both coroner and jury without trouble or loss of time. In Liverpool and Birmingham, and possibly other large towns, the coroner has a central court where the jury assemble and are taken thence in a coach from house to house where the bodies lie, in order that they may see them before hearing the verbal evidence. Imagine what this must mean in loss of time to a dozen or more jurymen, who, if they receive any remuneration at all, receive only an honorarium varying from 8d. to ls. In most smaller towns no coroner’s court is provided, and the mortuary accommodation is usually of a very limited description. Consequently, in order that the view may be performed, inquests are held in the public-house nearest to the house where the body is lying, and the jury and coroner have to parade in a body through the streets, followed by a crowd of curious children, or, maybe, in a pouring rain or driving snowstorm, oftentimes into a tiny cottage, up a dark and crooked staircase, to a small back room lighted with a tallow candle or small paraffin lamp, and with a floor which it is by no means certain will bear the weight of the party; then back, wet and ill-tempered, to the public-house, where the witnesses will be found either taking advantage of the hospitality of the house or huddled together on the stairhead outside the club-room, because there is no ante-room available wherein they can sit. But in the country districts how are things managed ? I prefer that some county coroner should, if he will, describe them. Country jurymen, I believe, usually have some remuneration paid to them for their time and service, but how far it exceeds an honorarium or is worth carrying away as cash from the inn where the inquest is held I cannot say. My position, therefore, is : relieve the jury from the obligation to view, except in cases where the coroner feels that they can gather some useful information from it, or where, after hearing the evidence, they themselves express a desire to see the body. A simple enactment, "It shall not henceforth be compulsory upon the is sufficient. But because I believe jury except, &c.," that the general public attach great value to the duty of the coroner, and would feel greater security and satisfaction if he remained under the obligation to view,
change
AND CLUBS.
I submit that this obligation should be retained. The is more or less adequately paid for his services, and must be content to take the disagreeables of the office with its sweets-he need not take either unless he likes ; but the jury are pressed into the service whether they will or not, and usually without anything but a nominal acknowledgment for their time, and therefore ought not to be required to undergo a disagreeable and practically useless ordeal, but for which they might be summoned toa suitable court, where the inquiry would be conducted with some show of decency and dignity instead of under such conditions as I do not care to describe in further detail. By such a course no possible advantage, so far as I can see, would be surrendered by the coroner, while a duty which at no time is a particularly pleasant one would be rendered less irksome to a multitude of people, and the office, therefore, would become more popular and secure. I am, Sirs, yours faithfully, CHAS. L. ROTHERA. Nottingham. coroner
*There are good arguments for and against the abolition of the procedure. It is clear that if the jury view the body, such view should take place under the most favourable circumstances ; say through a window, and certainly not under conditions likely to be of personal danger to. them. It is possible that the view may be required for purposes of identification, and the dispensing with the ceremony might complicate very much the position, for example, of the surgeon making the necropsy. A sudden death attended with no suspicious circumstances might, upon post-mortem examination, be found to be due to poisoning, and a charge of murder ensue. If the body has been viewed by thejury no difficulty can arise, as the necropsy has been performed upon a corpse which has been seen by the jury, and has been identified on sworn evidence before them to be the particular body. In the absence of the ceremony of viewing, the examining surgeon might be placed in a serious difficulty. But proofs of identity by trustworthy witnesses are generally forthcoming, and no one can desire to thrust upon the juryman without adequate motive, and with possible risk to his health, the presence of death in a repulsive form.-ED. L. SEA-SICKNESS. To the Editors of THE LANCET. SIRS.--May I enter a slight protest against the universally enthusiastic reports which have hitherto appeared on the action of chlorobrom in sea-sickness ? After some months’ trial of it I found the results quite as unsatisfactory as those from any of the other so-called specifics. Its action is certainly too depressant for use in very severe cases, especially in debilitated subjects, such as are sometimes met with returning from the East. I have found acetate of morpbia, give very fair results in most cases, administered in minute doses frequently repeated, care being taken that only the stimulant effect is produced. Minim or two-minim doses of dilute hydrocyanic acid may be added with advantage. Of more importance, however, I think, are other palliative measures, such as the removal of a patient to a wellventilated midship cabin, with the berth running fore and aft, and the removal of any articles which can swing or roll about with the motion of the vessel. In connexion with the latter precaution it is interesting to note that since fixed electric lamps have superseded the old-fashioned swinging oil-lamps in ships’ saloons much less discomfort is felt by indifferent sailors and fewer cases of sudden tetreat from the tab!e occur. I am, Sirs, yours faithfully, A. M. C. Dec. 12th, 1894.
THE ABUSE OF
HOSPITALS, DISPENSARIES, AND CLUBS.
To the Editors of THE LANCET. SIRS,--With the abuse of hospitals, dispensaiies, and clubs existing, is it not time that a table should be drawn up by some authoritative body and a minimum fee fixed? The struggle fcr existence is so severe that anything which takes
LIVERPOOL.-BIRMINGHAM.
183
away many hundred pounds from the younger members of a few favoured medical charities had previously received, I know one while other institutions had received nothing at all from our profession should be closely criticised. and it is contended where gravely practised church or chapel collections. The total of the first Hospital public charity that the families of policemen and fire brigade men should Sunday collections reached .E4765, the total for 1872 being be attended free. I venture to suggest two points. Firstly, £6923; this upward tendency was maintained in the two, that all applicants for hospital, dispensary, or club treatment following yea) s, which produced £8124 and £8848 respectively. should state the total income of their families, which should Since then the tide of charity has ebbed and flowed. The, be entered on the usual card or letter. In this way we should average amount of the Sunday collections for the twentybe able to get at the income of those using our charities, if four years which have passed since Hospital Sunday was. nothing else. If applicants make false statements would it first established in Liverpool has been 6979, a sum which not be possible to prosecute (one or two for an example) for has fully realised the wishes of those who promoted this obtaining charity and medical treatment under false pre- means of raising money for the local medical charities. With, tences? If charities refused to carry out these rules it should the aid of Ilospital Satmday a sum of nearly a quarter of a has been raised in twenty-four years. Last Sunday be a bar to any participation in hospital funds &c. (Sunday, If should so far was the medical men themSaturday, &o.). forget twenty-fifth anniversary, or "silver wedding," selves as to support such a cbarity, ought they not to be of Hospital Sunday. A bitter north-east wind and a heavy blackballed Secondly, the following table is suggested for mantle of snow, though appropriate in one sense to a silverthe purpose of discussion : 1. To be eligible to all free wedding, was hardly conducive to large congregations. charities-(a) single applicants earning less than 18s. a Still, the date being always the same--the second Sunday week; (b) married applicants earning less than 25!. a week. of the New Year-there have been inclement Sundays. 2. Applicants with family earning less than 30s. a week to before, and when such a magnificent average can be shown, pay up to 3d. a week in any club or public dispensary. 3. one feds the full significance of the old saying, "Leave. Applicants with family earning less than 33s. a week to pay well alone." Perhaps, however, the change of date from up to 6d. a week in any club or public dispensary. 4. Appli- January to February may be practicable and profitable. cants with a family earning less than 36s. a week to pay up New Medica Magistrates. to 9d. a week in any club or public dispensary. 5. Applicants Dr. William Carter and Mr. Richard Williams have been; with a family earning less than 40s. a week to pay up to ls. a placed upon the Commission of the Peace for this city. Both. week in any club or public dispensary, and so en. of these gentlemen are well known and are highly respectei A public dispensary in each district, especially towns, to their brethren and by the public generally. by men which all medical residing in the district should be Jan. 13th.professional eligible, would be beneficial both to the public and the younger members of the profession. One medical man might be appointed to the dispensary for each ward of the district. BIRMINGHAM. The public dispensary to be controlled by an equal number OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) of medical men and members of the dispensary &c , the (FROM chairman to be a medical man. Details such as number of wards in district and election of medical men and committee Wholesale Poisoning. are minor details. I am, Sirs, yonrs faithfully, WHAT is now known as the "Wylde Green poisoning PHYSICIAN C. Jan, 14th, 1895. mystery," to which reference was made in the columns of THE LANCET last week, has been the subject of much discussion. The actual cause does not even yet appear to be To the Editors of THE LANCET. clear, in spite of the light brought to bear upon it. It seems. SIRS,-I consider that the letter appearing in your issue of that over 100 people partook of some soup prEpared by the last week does not appear too soon, and I hope not too late, landlady of a public house. Nearly all these persons wereto put intending candidates for the Pendleton Dispensary in subsequently seized with sickness, diarrhoea, and collapse in Manchester upon their guard. There is an advertisement in varying degrees of intensity. One woman aged forty-seven one of the daily papers to-day (Tuesday), which, of course, died. With regard to her case it is but fair to state that shegives no information to candidates of the conditions of the had been an invalid for some length of time, but that her appointments. The gentlemen who have resigned have for immediate end was brought about by this particular soup. the most part been engaged upon the staff during several years, At the inquest held upon her body it was shown that the have acquired large private practices, and are well known, meat from which the soup was made was what is known in thewho will oppose the dispensary to the utmost degree on its own trade as "stickings,"and that along with a number of other lines, and who have been positively driven to this course ; by pieces of the same kind it was kept at the butcher’s in a tub. their action at various times in the interests of the pro- of brine. The composition of this was sta,ted, and it was fession at large, and as a protest against unprincipled proved that other pieces from the same tub were sold without. interference on the part of lay committee men. I am injury following. Dr. liill, the borough analyst, had not, nor ever have been, in practice where these medical examined the soup, but found no poison. His opinion was men have resigned, so that I can write with more freedom. that the death and illness resulted from septic change in the I am reluctant to trespass upon your space too far at brine. The inquiry was adjourned for a post-mortem examipresent, for the indictment against the provident dispensary nation to be made, the coroner adding that an expeit should system is a long one, but wish to point out to those who be sent to assist the medical man in charge. desire to try their fortune the following points : (1) to Another Form oj Poisoning. insist upon a guaranteed minimum salary, otherwise they coroner for West Bromwich on the 7th inst. held an The may be told at the end of a quarter that they are entitled to half the subscriptions of a dozen members ; (2) not to bind inquest on a boy five years of age who had been eating themselves not to practise in the district; and (3) to see that tobacco. The medical man who made the necropsy attributed his death to this poison, and a verdict was given. the rules are strictly carried out in their favour. accordingly. There is no accounting for perversion of tastes, I am, Sirs, yours truly, but in an instance of this kind it can hardly be thought that. M.D. Jan, l5th, 1895. a small boy would eat tobacco from choice-certainly not ifanything more acceptable was at hand.
million
Lectures on Diphtheria. The health committee having instituted a series of lectures. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) on the Laws of Health, the subject of Diphtheria was discussed by Dr. Line on the llth inst., Alderman Cook, the. Th Twenty.fifth Anniversary of Hospital Sunday. chairman of the committee, presiding. Mr. Cook contrasted ON Jan, 8tb, 1871, Hospital Sunday was first observed in the death-rate of Birmingham with other towns from this. and dwelt upon the precautions necessary to avoid; Liverpool, after a somewhat perilous launch, in which its cause such as cleanliness, isolation, ventilation, and this disease, were much THE assisted which had promoters LANCET, by for some time previously warmly advocated the cause as dry houses. Dr. Line’s address was listened to with much worthy of adoption throughout the length and breadth of the interest and attention. 1’he Weather, Sickness, and Work. kingdom, Those who urged its adoption gave £4000 as a probable result, instead of the paltry sum (less than £1000) which In spite of the severe weather in various forms of intensity
LIVERPOOL.
THE ABUSE OF
HOSPITALS, DISPENSARIES,
is desirable argue that, however necessary it may have been in ruder ages for the body to be viewed, when deaths by violence or exposure were more common than happily they are to-day, and medical skill and science were not so readily procurable as evidence to lay before the jury, still, in these days of glaring publicity by means of the daily papers and the ubiquitous pressman, the view answers no useful purpose ; that the view may be of any other use than to demonstrate the existence of a dead body, the body must be examined by the jury, back, front, and sides, involving an indecent exposure of it that is most unbecoming, and in all cases of natural death the proceeding gives no information to the jury whatever. If death has been due to violence, as by accident in machinery or running over by a locomotive, and the body is much mangled, a medical man or a butcher may view it without abhorrence, but the ordinary juryman can learn nothing from the spectacle. Neither can he tell whether a person with a cut throat has been murdered or has committed suicide ; he has to rely on medical evidence as to the extent and direction of the wounds to enable him to form a judgment. So on the question of establishing identity. The view may have been useful in early days when people did not move far from home in a general way and the whole of the inhabitants of the locality above twelve years of age were required to attend the inquest. But now how are things changed. A jury is summoned to inquire into the death of a miner in a county hospital. He has bsen brought in from a colliery miles away; the jury live within a radius of half a mile from the hospital. How can the view help them ? It would seem reasonable, if a man has been killed by machinery, a fly wheel, or a revolving shaft, or what not, that the jury should view the scene of the accident, for then they could j judge of the degree of responsibility of the owner of the premises, but what can they learn from the body except its existence ? And still stronger is the argument against the view when death is due to natural causes and a post-mortem examination has to be made to ascertain the precise cause. Of course, the conditions under which inquests are held in different parts of the country may, and probably do, affect the opinion of In London, if I am not misinformed, the coroners coroners. hold their inquests in a suitably equipped ecurt, and the bodies lie in a mortuary conveniently near to the court, so that they may be viewed by both coroner and jury without trouble or loss of time. In Liverpool and Birmingham, and possibly other large towns, the coroner has a central court where the jury assemble and are taken thence in a coach from house to house where the bodies lie, in order that they may see them before hearing the verbal evidence. Imagine what this must mean in loss of time to a dozen or more jurymen, who, if they receive any remuneration at all, receive only an honorarium varying from 8d. to ls. In most smaller towns no coroner’s court is provided, and the mortuary accommodation is usually of a very limited description. Consequently, in order that the view may be performed, inquests are held in the public-house nearest to the house where the body is lying, and the jury and coroner have to parade in a body through the streets, followed by a crowd of curious children, or, maybe, in a pouring rain or driving snowstorm, oftentimes into a tiny cottage, up a dark and crooked staircase, to a small back room lighted with a tallow candle or small paraffin lamp, and with a floor which it is by no means certain will bear the weight of the party; then back, wet and ill-tempered, to the public-house, where the witnesses will be found either taking advantage of the hospitality of the house or huddled together on the stairhead outside the club-room, because there is no ante-room available wherein they can sit. But in the country districts how are things managed ? I prefer that some county coroner should, if he will, describe them. Country jurymen, I believe, usually have some remuneration paid to them for their time and service, but how far it exceeds an honorarium or is worth carrying away as cash from the inn where the inquest is held I cannot say. My position, therefore, is : relieve the jury from the obligation to view, except in cases where the coroner feels that they can gather some useful information from it, or where, after hearing the evidence, they themselves express a desire to see the body. A simple enactment, "It shall not henceforth be compulsory upon the is sufficient. But because I believe jury except, &c.," that the general public attach great value to the duty of the coroner, and would feel greater security and satisfaction if he remained under the obligation to view,
change
AND CLUBS.
I submit that this obligation should be retained. The is more or less adequately paid for his services, and must be content to take the disagreeables of the office with its sweets-he need not take either unless he likes ; but the jury are pressed into the service whether they will or not, and usually without anything but a nominal acknowledgment for their time, and therefore ought not to be required to undergo a disagreeable and practically useless ordeal, but for which they might be summoned toa suitable court, where the inquiry would be conducted with some show of decency and dignity instead of under such conditions as I do not care to describe in further detail. By such a course no possible advantage, so far as I can see, would be surrendered by the coroner, while a duty which at no time is a particularly pleasant one would be rendered less irksome to a multitude of people, and the office, therefore, would become more popular and secure. I am, Sirs, yours faithfully, CHAS. L. ROTHERA. Nottingham. coroner
*There are good arguments for and against the abolition of the procedure. It is clear that if the jury view the body, such view should take place under the most favourable circumstances ; say through a window, and certainly not under conditions likely to be of personal danger to. them. It is possible that the view may be required for purposes of identification, and the dispensing with the ceremony might complicate very much the position, for example, of the surgeon making the necropsy. A sudden death attended with no suspicious circumstances might, upon post-mortem examination, be found to be due to poisoning, and a charge of murder ensue. If the body has been viewed by thejury no difficulty can arise, as the necropsy has been performed upon a corpse which has been seen by the jury, and has been identified on sworn evidence before them to be the particular body. In the absence of the ceremony of viewing, the examining surgeon might be placed in a serious difficulty. But proofs of identity by trustworthy witnesses are generally forthcoming, and no one can desire to thrust upon the juryman without adequate motive, and with possible risk to his health, the presence of death in a repulsive form.-ED. L. SEA-SICKNESS. To the Editors of THE LANCET. SIRS.--May I enter a slight protest against the universally enthusiastic reports which have hitherto appeared on the action of chlorobrom in sea-sickness ? After some months’ trial of it I found the results quite as unsatisfactory as those from any of the other so-called specifics. Its action is certainly too depressant for use in very severe cases, especially in debilitated subjects, such as are sometimes met with returning from the East. I have found acetate of morpbia, give very fair results in most cases, administered in minute doses frequently repeated, care being taken that only the stimulant effect is produced. Minim or two-minim doses of dilute hydrocyanic acid may be added with advantage. Of more importance, however, I think, are other palliative measures, such as the removal of a patient to a wellventilated midship cabin, with the berth running fore and aft, and the removal of any articles which can swing or roll about with the motion of the vessel. In connexion with the latter precaution it is interesting to note that since fixed electric lamps have superseded the old-fashioned swinging oil-lamps in ships’ saloons much less discomfort is felt by indifferent sailors and fewer cases of sudden tetreat from the tab!e occur. I am, Sirs, yours faithfully, A. M. C. Dec. 12th, 1894.
THE ABUSE OF
HOSPITALS, DISPENSARIES, AND CLUBS.
To the Editors of THE LANCET. SIRS,--With the abuse of hospitals, dispensaiies, and clubs existing, is it not time that a table should be drawn up by some authoritative body and a minimum fee fixed? The struggle fcr existence is so severe that anything which takes
LIVERPOOL.-BIRMINGHAM.
183
away many hundred pounds from the younger members of a few favoured medical charities had previously received, I know one while other institutions had received nothing at all from our profession should be closely criticised. and it is contended where gravely practised church or chapel collections. The total of the first Hospital public charity that the families of policemen and fire brigade men should Sunday collections reached .E4765, the total for 1872 being be attended free. I venture to suggest two points. Firstly, £6923; this upward tendency was maintained in the two, that all applicants for hospital, dispensary, or club treatment following yea) s, which produced £8124 and £8848 respectively. should state the total income of their families, which should Since then the tide of charity has ebbed and flowed. The, be entered on the usual card or letter. In this way we should average amount of the Sunday collections for the twentybe able to get at the income of those using our charities, if four years which have passed since Hospital Sunday was. nothing else. If applicants make false statements would it first established in Liverpool has been 6979, a sum which not be possible to prosecute (one or two for an example) for has fully realised the wishes of those who promoted this obtaining charity and medical treatment under false pre- means of raising money for the local medical charities. With, tences? If charities refused to carry out these rules it should the aid of Ilospital Satmday a sum of nearly a quarter of a has been raised in twenty-four years. Last Sunday be a bar to any participation in hospital funds &c. (Sunday, If should so far was the medical men themSaturday, &o.). forget twenty-fifth anniversary, or "silver wedding," selves as to support such a cbarity, ought they not to be of Hospital Sunday. A bitter north-east wind and a heavy blackballed Secondly, the following table is suggested for mantle of snow, though appropriate in one sense to a silverthe purpose of discussion : 1. To be eligible to all free wedding, was hardly conducive to large congregations. charities-(a) single applicants earning less than 18s. a Still, the date being always the same--the second Sunday week; (b) married applicants earning less than 25!. a week. of the New Year-there have been inclement Sundays. 2. Applicants with family earning less than 30s. a week to before, and when such a magnificent average can be shown, pay up to 3d. a week in any club or public dispensary. 3. one feds the full significance of the old saying, "Leave. Applicants with family earning less than 33s. a week to pay well alone." Perhaps, however, the change of date from up to 6d. a week in any club or public dispensary. 4. Appli- January to February may be practicable and profitable. cants with a family earning less than 36s. a week to pay up New Medica Magistrates. to 9d. a week in any club or public dispensary. 5. Applicants Dr. William Carter and Mr. Richard Williams have been; with a family earning less than 40s. a week to pay up to ls. a placed upon the Commission of the Peace for this city. Both. week in any club or public dispensary, and so en. of these gentlemen are well known and are highly respectei A public dispensary in each district, especially towns, to their brethren and by the public generally. by men which all medical residing in the district should be Jan. 13th.professional eligible, would be beneficial both to the public and the younger members of the profession. One medical man might be appointed to the dispensary for each ward of the district. BIRMINGHAM. The public dispensary to be controlled by an equal number OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) of medical men and members of the dispensary &c , the (FROM chairman to be a medical man. Details such as number of wards in district and election of medical men and committee Wholesale Poisoning. are minor details. I am, Sirs, yonrs faithfully, WHAT is now known as the "Wylde Green poisoning PHYSICIAN C. Jan, 14th, 1895. mystery," to which reference was made in the columns of THE LANCET last week, has been the subject of much discussion. The actual cause does not even yet appear to be To the Editors of THE LANCET. clear, in spite of the light brought to bear upon it. It seems. SIRS,-I consider that the letter appearing in your issue of that over 100 people partook of some soup prEpared by the last week does not appear too soon, and I hope not too late, landlady of a public house. Nearly all these persons wereto put intending candidates for the Pendleton Dispensary in subsequently seized with sickness, diarrhoea, and collapse in Manchester upon their guard. There is an advertisement in varying degrees of intensity. One woman aged forty-seven one of the daily papers to-day (Tuesday), which, of course, died. With regard to her case it is but fair to state that shegives no information to candidates of the conditions of the had been an invalid for some length of time, but that her appointments. The gentlemen who have resigned have for immediate end was brought about by this particular soup. the most part been engaged upon the staff during several years, At the inquest held upon her body it was shown that the have acquired large private practices, and are well known, meat from which the soup was made was what is known in thewho will oppose the dispensary to the utmost degree on its own trade as "stickings,"and that along with a number of other lines, and who have been positively driven to this course ; by pieces of the same kind it was kept at the butcher’s in a tub. their action at various times in the interests of the pro- of brine. The composition of this was sta,ted, and it was fession at large, and as a protest against unprincipled proved that other pieces from the same tub were sold without. interference on the part of lay committee men. I am injury following. Dr. liill, the borough analyst, had not, nor ever have been, in practice where these medical examined the soup, but found no poison. His opinion was men have resigned, so that I can write with more freedom. that the death and illness resulted from septic change in the I am reluctant to trespass upon your space too far at brine. The inquiry was adjourned for a post-mortem examipresent, for the indictment against the provident dispensary nation to be made, the coroner adding that an expeit should system is a long one, but wish to point out to those who be sent to assist the medical man in charge. desire to try their fortune the following points : (1) to Another Form oj Poisoning. insist upon a guaranteed minimum salary, otherwise they coroner for West Bromwich on the 7th inst. held an The may be told at the end of a quarter that they are entitled to half the subscriptions of a dozen members ; (2) not to bind inquest on a boy five years of age who had been eating themselves not to practise in the district; and (3) to see that tobacco. The medical man who made the necropsy attributed his death to this poison, and a verdict was given. the rules are strictly carried out in their favour. accordingly. There is no accounting for perversion of tastes, I am, Sirs, yours truly, but in an instance of this kind it can hardly be thought that. M.D. Jan, l5th, 1895. a small boy would eat tobacco from choice-certainly not ifanything more acceptable was at hand.
million
Lectures on Diphtheria. The health committee having instituted a series of lectures. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) on the Laws of Health, the subject of Diphtheria was discussed by Dr. Line on the llth inst., Alderman Cook, the. Th Twenty.fifth Anniversary of Hospital Sunday. chairman of the committee, presiding. Mr. Cook contrasted ON Jan, 8tb, 1871, Hospital Sunday was first observed in the death-rate of Birmingham with other towns from this. and dwelt upon the precautions necessary to avoid; Liverpool, after a somewhat perilous launch, in which its cause such as cleanliness, isolation, ventilation, and this disease, were much THE assisted which had promoters LANCET, by for some time previously warmly advocated the cause as dry houses. Dr. Line’s address was listened to with much worthy of adoption throughout the length and breadth of the interest and attention. 1’he Weather, Sickness, and Work. kingdom, Those who urged its adoption gave £4000 as a probable result, instead of the paltry sum (less than £1000) which In spite of the severe weather in various forms of intensity
LIVERPOOL.