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THE COMING MEETING AT THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS.
THE MEDICAL COUNCIL AND DENTISTS.
932
sidered in what it implies, we feel the more need to be chai-3 accepting it. If dentists are to be conceded a special
in
representative, why not ophthalmic surgeons? Indeed, it is clear that as an eye is more than a tooth, so the claim oj the latter to special representation exceeds that of dentists, If a Midwives’ Bill should pass, are we to be told then that the midwives must have a seat in the Council ? Weshall not push this objection into the region of the ridiculous, but it might easily be so pressed. We have said enough to show that Mr. SMALE’S proposition is not to be accepted hastily. Specialism, it must be remembered, is a defect. It is an incompleteness. A dentist ministers only to a bit of the human body. It is not desirable to specialise in the General Medical Council. It would not even be good for dentists, whose best interests are served when they are kept up to full professional standards of knowledge and of conduct. The direct representation of the profession is already too slight to expect that the profession would give up one of its representatives to this specialty and another to that. Moreover, the law requires that direct representatives be registered medical practitioners. The only other source to which the dentists can look is the Crown. But its representation has been shorn already, and it is not very likely to initiate a representation of specialties which are best controlled by men who view special practice from the broader standpoints of medicine, surgery, and midwifery. Of course, there are men on the Dental Register who are also on the Medical Register eligible in point of law, and equally so in point of breadth of knowledge and of training. Bat they cannot feel themselves unrepresented in the existing Council; they are medical practitioners and dentists. And the more of such the better.
Annotations. "
preferring to express their views by deputation to the Council, the proceedings of which we notice elsewhere. In mixed meetings of the Fellows and Members it is not easy to obtain a hearing for matters which concern exclusively the Fellows of the College. The chief interest naturally centres on a burning question like the representation of the Members on the Council, and the time during which the patience of the assembly lasts is necessarily limited, ovring to pro. fessional engagements. We are not aware whether it is the intention of the new President (Mr. Thomas Bryant) to follow the excellent example set by his predecessor, Mr. Jonathan Hutchinson, and to review the topics with which the Report deals. If so, it will be singularly unfortunate if he adopts the optimistic attitude of Mr. Hutchinson, who deprecated the further discussion of the question of the representation of the Members of the College on the Council. Everything was perfect at the College-life and energy in all departments. Not a personal grievance ; not the shadow of an abuse; no need for change. "It was the earnest desire of the should Council that they be allowed to rest. They were in a state of prosperity, and they prayed for peace." No doubt the Council is perfectly satisfied with things as they are. But if peace is expected there will be no peace until the just claims of the Fellows and Members of the College are met by the Council and adjusted. If any expectation has been entertained by the Council that the dead weight of an official non possumus will wear out the advocates of reform, it will be disappointed. The men who have taken up the questions at issue on drafted any resolution,
means
of
a
the part of both the Fellows and Members are not to be daunted by any initial disappointments. The constitution of the College is an anachronism, and, however excellent may be the councillors who manage the affairs of the College, the system which they have to administer is objectionable in the highest degree. The Associations of Fellows and Members are ready and anxious to treat with the Council for peace, but they can have nothing to do with a peace which does not include substantial concessions from the Council to the just and reasonable demands of its great and utterly neglected constituency.
Ne quid nimis."
THE COMING MEETING AT THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS. WE would remind all the Fellows and Members of the College of Surgeons who are interested in securing a reform of its effete constitution that the annual general meeting will be held on Thursday, Nov. 6th, at 3 P.M. Our readers may recollect that last year the following resolution, proposed by Dr. Elliston of Ipswich, and seconded by Dr. Danford Thomas, was carried by a large majority : " That this meeting of Fellows and Members of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, having considered the Report of the Council, dated Oct. 17th, 1889, is of opinion that immediate steps should be taken to forward the introduction early in the next Parliamentary session of a Bill to amend the constitution of the College, so as to secure to the Members a just representation in and upon the governing body of the College." Of this resolution no notice whatever has been taken by the Council beyond its reception and entry upon the minutes. It is therefore intended to reaffirm the resolution at the meeting on Nov. 6th, with the addition of the following words : " This meeting further expresses its deep regret that the Council has as yet shown no disposition to meet the wishes of the Fellows and Members, in spite of their repeated protests." This resolution, which is promoted by the Association of Members, will be moved by Mr. Lawson Tait. The Fellows’ Association has not
DR. KOCH’S INVESTIGATIONS UPON THE TREATMENT OF TUBERCULOSIS. IT may be remembered that at the International Congress Professor R. Koch excited much laudable curiosity by detailing his experiments to discover a substance which when injected into the body should have the effect of destroying the bacillus of tubercle without injuring the animal operated upon. He stated that he had found various substances to be remedies which hinder the growth of tubercle bacilli in tube cultures : a number of ethereal oils-among the aromatic compounds &bgr;-napthylamin, paratoluidin xylidin; some of the so-called tar dyes-namely, fuchsin, gentian violet, methyl blue, clinolin yellow, aniline yellow, auramin ; among the metals mercury in the form of vapour, silver and gold compounds. The compounds of cyanogen and gold were especially conspicuous, their effects surpassing that of all other substances; even in a dilution of one or two millions they checked the growth of tubercle bacilli. But all these substances, though effective in tube cultures, were absolutely without effect if tried on tuberculous animals. But Dr. Koch was too far successful to be discouraged, and he thinks he has hit on a substance which has the power of preventing the growth of the tubercle bacillus, not only in a test tube, but in the body of Even guinea-pigs, which are extraordinarily an animal. to tuberculosis, if exposed to this substance susceptible
932
sidered in what it implies, we feel the more need to be chai-3 accepting it. If dentists are to be conceded a special
in
representative, why not ophthalmic surgeons? Indeed, it is clear that as an eye is more than a tooth, so the claim oj the latter to special representation exceeds that of dentists, If a Midwives’ Bill should pass, are we to be told then that the midwives must have a seat in the Council ? Weshall not push this objection into the region of the ridiculous, but it might easily be so pressed. We have said enough to show that Mr. SMALE’S proposition is not to be accepted hastily. Specialism, it must be remembered, is a defect. It is an incompleteness. A dentist ministers only to a bit of the human body. It is not desirable to specialise in the General Medical Council. It would not even be good for dentists, whose best interests are served when they are kept up to full professional standards of knowledge and of conduct. The direct representation of the profession is already too slight to expect that the profession would give up one of its representatives to this specialty and another to that. Moreover, the law requires that direct representatives be registered medical practitioners. The only other source to which the dentists can look is the Crown. But its representation has been shorn already, and it is not very likely to initiate a representation of specialties which are best controlled by men who view special practice from the broader standpoints of medicine, surgery, and midwifery. Of course, there are men on the Dental Register who are also on the Medical Register eligible in point of law, and equally so in point of breadth of knowledge and of training. Bat they cannot feel themselves unrepresented in the existing Council; they are medical practitioners and dentists. And the more of such the better.
Annotations. "
preferring to express their views by deputation to the Council, the proceedings of which we notice elsewhere. In mixed meetings of the Fellows and Members it is not easy to obtain a hearing for matters which concern exclusively the Fellows of the College. The chief interest naturally centres on a burning question like the representation of the Members on the Council, and the time during which the patience of the assembly lasts is necessarily limited, ovring to pro. fessional engagements. We are not aware whether it is the intention of the new President (Mr. Thomas Bryant) to follow the excellent example set by his predecessor, Mr. Jonathan Hutchinson, and to review the topics with which the Report deals. If so, it will be singularly unfortunate if he adopts the optimistic attitude of Mr. Hutchinson, who deprecated the further discussion of the question of the representation of the Members of the College on the Council. Everything was perfect at the College-life and energy in all departments. Not a personal grievance ; not the shadow of an abuse; no need for change. "It was the earnest desire of the should Council that they be allowed to rest. They were in a state of prosperity, and they prayed for peace." No doubt the Council is perfectly satisfied with things as they are. But if peace is expected there will be no peace until the just claims of the Fellows and Members of the College are met by the Council and adjusted. If any expectation has been entertained by the Council that the dead weight of an official non possumus will wear out the advocates of reform, it will be disappointed. The men who have taken up the questions at issue on drafted any resolution,
means
of
a
the part of both the Fellows and Members are not to be daunted by any initial disappointments. The constitution of the College is an anachronism, and, however excellent may be the councillors who manage the affairs of the College, the system which they have to administer is objectionable in the highest degree. The Associations of Fellows and Members are ready and anxious to treat with the Council for peace, but they can have nothing to do with a peace which does not include substantial concessions from the Council to the just and reasonable demands of its great and utterly neglected constituency.
Ne quid nimis."
THE COMING MEETING AT THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS. WE would remind all the Fellows and Members of the College of Surgeons who are interested in securing a reform of its effete constitution that the annual general meeting will be held on Thursday, Nov. 6th, at 3 P.M. Our readers may recollect that last year the following resolution, proposed by Dr. Elliston of Ipswich, and seconded by Dr. Danford Thomas, was carried by a large majority : " That this meeting of Fellows and Members of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, having considered the Report of the Council, dated Oct. 17th, 1889, is of opinion that immediate steps should be taken to forward the introduction early in the next Parliamentary session of a Bill to amend the constitution of the College, so as to secure to the Members a just representation in and upon the governing body of the College." Of this resolution no notice whatever has been taken by the Council beyond its reception and entry upon the minutes. It is therefore intended to reaffirm the resolution at the meeting on Nov. 6th, with the addition of the following words : " This meeting further expresses its deep regret that the Council has as yet shown no disposition to meet the wishes of the Fellows and Members, in spite of their repeated protests." This resolution, which is promoted by the Association of Members, will be moved by Mr. Lawson Tait. The Fellows’ Association has not
DR. KOCH’S INVESTIGATIONS UPON THE TREATMENT OF TUBERCULOSIS. IT may be remembered that at the International Congress Professor R. Koch excited much laudable curiosity by detailing his experiments to discover a substance which when injected into the body should have the effect of destroying the bacillus of tubercle without injuring the animal operated upon. He stated that he had found various substances to be remedies which hinder the growth of tubercle bacilli in tube cultures : a number of ethereal oils-among the aromatic compounds &bgr;-napthylamin, paratoluidin xylidin; some of the so-called tar dyes-namely, fuchsin, gentian violet, methyl blue, clinolin yellow, aniline yellow, auramin ; among the metals mercury in the form of vapour, silver and gold compounds. The compounds of cyanogen and gold were especially conspicuous, their effects surpassing that of all other substances; even in a dilution of one or two millions they checked the growth of tubercle bacilli. But all these substances, though effective in tube cultures, were absolutely without effect if tried on tuberculous animals. But Dr. Koch was too far successful to be discouraged, and he thinks he has hit on a substance which has the power of preventing the growth of the tubercle bacillus, not only in a test tube, but in the body of Even guinea-pigs, which are extraordinarily an animal. to tuberculosis, if exposed to this substance susceptible