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THE PETITION OF THE MEDICAL OFFICERS OF THE BURY POOR-LAW UNION.
624 cil simply
by virtue of seniority. Merit only should
confer that
honour, and it would be infinitely better to black-ball several
candidates one after the other, than to select unfit men for that high distinction. It is the duty of the fellows, by every means, to inquire beforehand what are the claims of the gentlemen standing next in order ? Either by correspondence, or by a public meeting, let the fellows ascertain what the candidates have done. What works of superior talent have they written! To what public hospitals or dispensaries or institutions do these candidates belong ? Are they known to fame or science! Country fellows especially should be guarded against the pretensions of the numerous herd of book-makers. There are some who have written the veriest trash,-some have made Tip books from other men’s works, and surreptitiously passed them off as their own, while many intelligent, experienced, and sagacious practitioners have, perhaps, never put pen to paper, nor recorded their knowledge. Of the candidates who will be proposed for your choice, Mr. Hodgson stands pre-eminent. This distinguished surgeon was for twenty-five years surgeon to the Birmingham Hospital; his reputation extended far and wide. Amongst the provincial surgeons of England, no name stood higher than that of Mr. Hodgson; he was universally esteemed by all the enlightened and foremost men of the neighbouring counties, and on retiring from his arduous duties at the hospital, a public - dinner, presided at by Sir Robert Peel, commemorated the event, and Mr. Hodgson received from the statesman who occupied the chair, and from the whole company, the applause due to his talents and character. His work on the Diseases of the Arteries and Veins has been a standard work, and has won an European reputation for its author. Mr. Hodgson is appointed to be the chairman of the fellows’ dinner on the anniversary of the election. It will be the duty and privilege of the fellows to place this eminent surgeon on the council of the College before they sit down to the banquet. Let us now review the succeeding gentlemen on the list, in the order in which they stand:—Messrs. Wormald, Pilcher,
Bishop,Perry, Simpson, Mackmurdo, Kiernan, Gulliver, Tuson, and Professor Owen. A fair and legitimate inquiry as to the position and acquirements of these gentlemen is no doubt the especial obligation of the fellows in the discharge of .a public function, nor ought it to be alleged that there is any deficiency of courtesy, if the judgment of the fellows seems rigorous towards some of them. Mr. Wormald is an assistantsurgeon to Bartholomew’s Hospital, whose position certainly gives him the means of becoming a good surgeon; Mr. Pilcher ds a very respectable aurist; Mr. Bishop has written some good Mr. papers on various subjects-on motion, on the voice, &c.; - Perry is Medical Inspector of Prisons; Mr. Simpson seems to have contrived some mechanical papier-mache means of teaching anatomy to natives of India. But most of these gentlemen are nearly unknown in the temple of Fame, and probably the country fellows know as little of them as the -London fellows do. Mr. Mackmurdo is, doubtless, well known zas Surgeon to St. Thomas’s Hospital; to the Eye Infirmary, in Moorfields, and to Newgate; of course his pretensions cannot be disputed. Of Mr. Kiernan it is sufficient to say, that he is Examiner in Surgery at the London University, and that he has contributed largely to physiology, and is a man of eminence. Mr. Gulliver is a surgeon in the Guards, and atands deservedly high for his scientific and physiological investigations. As for Mr. Tuson, his day is evidently gone by. The next name is that of Richard Owen, Curator of the Museum: to speak of him is a matter of supererogation; his abilities are acknowledged throughout Europe, and the Coun.cil would be honoured by the association of his name with them; but as Mr. Owen does not practise surgery, he is precluded from the dignity of a councillor. Having glanced at the pretensions of the list, it will be for the fellows to do honour to the Council by electing those individuals only who really are eminent, and have achieved something for their profession, for something more than a respect.able mediocrity is demanded. Without favour or affection the decision should be made, and many names must be passed silently over, if they fall short of that high standard which the College has a right to expect. For the dignity of that College, for the honour of the medical profession, the fellows must perform perhaps even a painful duty. The names most entitled to our consideration are, Messrs. Mackmurdo, Kiernan, ’and Gulliver. These gentlemen haveearned their reputation, and with all possible respect and courtesy to the others, there .cannot be a shadow of doubt that these three mentioned gentlemen are the best qualified to supply the vacant places in
the Council.
R. W.
THE PETITION OF THE MEDICAL OFFICERS OF THE BURY POOR-LAW UNION. To the Hooourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Brilain and Ireland, in Parliament assembled. The humble petition of the Medical Officers of the Bury Poor-law Union showeth, That we, the undersigned medical officers of the Bury Union, having long deeply felt the evils of the present defective system of poor-law medical relief, and now suffering therefrom, beg respectfully to petition your honourable House to the end that the numerous grievances operating severely upon your petitioners may be redressed by your honourable House, in accordance with the principles of justice and an
enlightened policy. Your petitioners believe that the petition agreed to at a public meeting of poor-law medical officers, presided over by Lord Ashley, on the 19th of February last, and presented by his lordship to your honourable House, sets forth the general grievances under which your petitioners suffer, and suggests measures which are best adapted to secure the redress sought for by union surgeons, on behalf of themselves and the sick paupers. Your petitioners therefore further pray that your honourable House, having fully examined into their case through parliamentary inquiry so long ago as 1844, may be pleased to embody the principles contained in the said petition in an Act of the legislature with as little delay as possible. And
vour
Detitioners will
ever Drav.
&c.
WILLIAM RAYNER.
JAMES TAYLOR.
THOMAS BOTT. H. I. HINXMAN, M.D.
GEORGE HOLMES. RICHARD PRESTON.
Correspondence. "Audi alteram partem."
ON THE USE OF GLYCERINE IN THE TREATMENT OF DEAFNESS. To the Editor of THE LANCET. SIR,—I have felt it to be necessary to send the following letter to the Editor of the Medical Gazette, and I should feel obliged if you would give it a place in THE LANCET. T ar» Cir
Guildford-street,
your
June 1849.
obedient servant.
THOMAS H. WAKLEY.
June 5, 1849.
To the Editor of the Medical Gazette. have read in your journal of last Saturday, a letter SIR,—I signed " A. Turnbull." In that letter the writer refers to the use of glycerine in the treatment of affections of the ear. I therefore think it right to state thatglycerine" as a remedy for deafness has been used by me upwards of twelve months. I obtained the preparation from Mr. Lloyd Bullock, of Conduit-street, who was so obliging as to manufacture it specially for me. Many months since I stated, that I had successfully employed glycerine to Mr. ERASMUS WILSON, Mr. GAY, Mr. WEEDON COOKE, and others ; amongst the latter was Dr. Turnbull himself, on whose letter, therefore, any comment is unnecessary. As I have found glycerine to be a valuable remedy in the treatment of many cases of deafness; and as I have employed it on a great number of occasions, I thought it to be a duty, about a month since, to send a paper for publication to THE LANCET, which contained reports of some of the cases which I had treated with glycerine, and also a description of the chemical composition of that preparation. I shall feel much pleasure in sending to you a copy of that paper for publication in the Gazette. I have the honour to remain, Sir, your obedient servant, THOMAS H. WAKLEY. Guilford-street, Russell-square, June 5, 1849
MEDICAL HONOURS. To the Editor of THE LANCET. SIR,—On reading, in THE LANCET of the 2nd of June, the letter of your correspondent, 11 Libertasi" in answer to Mr. Ozanne, the words of the Latin poet at first occurred to me, "
Non nostrum inter
lites," but when I thought of my old fellow student, Ozanne, being called an illegal practitioner, from a technical deficiency in vos
tantas componere
by virtue of seniority. Merit only should
confer that
honour, and it would be infinitely better to black-ball several
candidates one after the other, than to select unfit men for that high distinction. It is the duty of the fellows, by every means, to inquire beforehand what are the claims of the gentlemen standing next in order ? Either by correspondence, or by a public meeting, let the fellows ascertain what the candidates have done. What works of superior talent have they written! To what public hospitals or dispensaries or institutions do these candidates belong ? Are they known to fame or science! Country fellows especially should be guarded against the pretensions of the numerous herd of book-makers. There are some who have written the veriest trash,-some have made Tip books from other men’s works, and surreptitiously passed them off as their own, while many intelligent, experienced, and sagacious practitioners have, perhaps, never put pen to paper, nor recorded their knowledge. Of the candidates who will be proposed for your choice, Mr. Hodgson stands pre-eminent. This distinguished surgeon was for twenty-five years surgeon to the Birmingham Hospital; his reputation extended far and wide. Amongst the provincial surgeons of England, no name stood higher than that of Mr. Hodgson; he was universally esteemed by all the enlightened and foremost men of the neighbouring counties, and on retiring from his arduous duties at the hospital, a public - dinner, presided at by Sir Robert Peel, commemorated the event, and Mr. Hodgson received from the statesman who occupied the chair, and from the whole company, the applause due to his talents and character. His work on the Diseases of the Arteries and Veins has been a standard work, and has won an European reputation for its author. Mr. Hodgson is appointed to be the chairman of the fellows’ dinner on the anniversary of the election. It will be the duty and privilege of the fellows to place this eminent surgeon on the council of the College before they sit down to the banquet. Let us now review the succeeding gentlemen on the list, in the order in which they stand:—Messrs. Wormald, Pilcher,
Bishop,Perry, Simpson, Mackmurdo, Kiernan, Gulliver, Tuson, and Professor Owen. A fair and legitimate inquiry as to the position and acquirements of these gentlemen is no doubt the especial obligation of the fellows in the discharge of .a public function, nor ought it to be alleged that there is any deficiency of courtesy, if the judgment of the fellows seems rigorous towards some of them. Mr. Wormald is an assistantsurgeon to Bartholomew’s Hospital, whose position certainly gives him the means of becoming a good surgeon; Mr. Pilcher ds a very respectable aurist; Mr. Bishop has written some good Mr. papers on various subjects-on motion, on the voice, &c.; - Perry is Medical Inspector of Prisons; Mr. Simpson seems to have contrived some mechanical papier-mache means of teaching anatomy to natives of India. But most of these gentlemen are nearly unknown in the temple of Fame, and probably the country fellows know as little of them as the -London fellows do. Mr. Mackmurdo is, doubtless, well known zas Surgeon to St. Thomas’s Hospital; to the Eye Infirmary, in Moorfields, and to Newgate; of course his pretensions cannot be disputed. Of Mr. Kiernan it is sufficient to say, that he is Examiner in Surgery at the London University, and that he has contributed largely to physiology, and is a man of eminence. Mr. Gulliver is a surgeon in the Guards, and atands deservedly high for his scientific and physiological investigations. As for Mr. Tuson, his day is evidently gone by. The next name is that of Richard Owen, Curator of the Museum: to speak of him is a matter of supererogation; his abilities are acknowledged throughout Europe, and the Coun.cil would be honoured by the association of his name with them; but as Mr. Owen does not practise surgery, he is precluded from the dignity of a councillor. Having glanced at the pretensions of the list, it will be for the fellows to do honour to the Council by electing those individuals only who really are eminent, and have achieved something for their profession, for something more than a respect.able mediocrity is demanded. Without favour or affection the decision should be made, and many names must be passed silently over, if they fall short of that high standard which the College has a right to expect. For the dignity of that College, for the honour of the medical profession, the fellows must perform perhaps even a painful duty. The names most entitled to our consideration are, Messrs. Mackmurdo, Kiernan, ’and Gulliver. These gentlemen haveearned their reputation, and with all possible respect and courtesy to the others, there .cannot be a shadow of doubt that these three mentioned gentlemen are the best qualified to supply the vacant places in
the Council.
R. W.
THE PETITION OF THE MEDICAL OFFICERS OF THE BURY POOR-LAW UNION. To the Hooourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Brilain and Ireland, in Parliament assembled. The humble petition of the Medical Officers of the Bury Poor-law Union showeth, That we, the undersigned medical officers of the Bury Union, having long deeply felt the evils of the present defective system of poor-law medical relief, and now suffering therefrom, beg respectfully to petition your honourable House to the end that the numerous grievances operating severely upon your petitioners may be redressed by your honourable House, in accordance with the principles of justice and an
enlightened policy. Your petitioners believe that the petition agreed to at a public meeting of poor-law medical officers, presided over by Lord Ashley, on the 19th of February last, and presented by his lordship to your honourable House, sets forth the general grievances under which your petitioners suffer, and suggests measures which are best adapted to secure the redress sought for by union surgeons, on behalf of themselves and the sick paupers. Your petitioners therefore further pray that your honourable House, having fully examined into their case through parliamentary inquiry so long ago as 1844, may be pleased to embody the principles contained in the said petition in an Act of the legislature with as little delay as possible. And
vour
Detitioners will
ever Drav.
&c.
WILLIAM RAYNER.
JAMES TAYLOR.
THOMAS BOTT. H. I. HINXMAN, M.D.
GEORGE HOLMES. RICHARD PRESTON.
Correspondence. "Audi alteram partem."
ON THE USE OF GLYCERINE IN THE TREATMENT OF DEAFNESS. To the Editor of THE LANCET. SIR,—I have felt it to be necessary to send the following letter to the Editor of the Medical Gazette, and I should feel obliged if you would give it a place in THE LANCET. T ar» Cir
Guildford-street,
your
June 1849.
obedient servant.
THOMAS H. WAKLEY.
June 5, 1849.
To the Editor of the Medical Gazette. have read in your journal of last Saturday, a letter SIR,—I signed " A. Turnbull." In that letter the writer refers to the use of glycerine in the treatment of affections of the ear. I therefore think it right to state thatglycerine" as a remedy for deafness has been used by me upwards of twelve months. I obtained the preparation from Mr. Lloyd Bullock, of Conduit-street, who was so obliging as to manufacture it specially for me. Many months since I stated, that I had successfully employed glycerine to Mr. ERASMUS WILSON, Mr. GAY, Mr. WEEDON COOKE, and others ; amongst the latter was Dr. Turnbull himself, on whose letter, therefore, any comment is unnecessary. As I have found glycerine to be a valuable remedy in the treatment of many cases of deafness; and as I have employed it on a great number of occasions, I thought it to be a duty, about a month since, to send a paper for publication to THE LANCET, which contained reports of some of the cases which I had treated with glycerine, and also a description of the chemical composition of that preparation. I shall feel much pleasure in sending to you a copy of that paper for publication in the Gazette. I have the honour to remain, Sir, your obedient servant, THOMAS H. WAKLEY. Guilford-street, Russell-square, June 5, 1849
MEDICAL HONOURS. To the Editor of THE LANCET. SIR,—On reading, in THE LANCET of the 2nd of June, the letter of your correspondent, 11 Libertasi" in answer to Mr. Ozanne, the words of the Latin poet at first occurred to me, "
Non nostrum inter
lites," but when I thought of my old fellow student, Ozanne, being called an illegal practitioner, from a technical deficiency in vos
tantas componere