MEDICINE AND THE LAW.
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949 SPECIAL ARTICLES MEDICINE AND THE LAW. Sale of Herbal Remedies : a Prosecution. ’I" NEARLY 400 years ago Parliament passed an Act to protect " divers honest persons, as well men as I z women, whom God hath endued with the knowledge I of the nature, kind and operation of certain herbs, roots and waters." The Act declared that these persons were taking nothing for their pains or cunning but had ministered to poor people " only for neighbourhood and God’s sake out of pity and charity " ; yet they were being sued, troubled, and vexed by the Company and Fellowship of Surgeons of London who were making the most of a recent .statute which restricted the practice of physic and surgery to persons approved and admitted by prescribed authority. Parliament consequently enacted that for the future everybody having this knowledge and experience of herbs, roots, and waters either by speculation or by practice may use his - skill in ministering to " any outward sore, uncome, wound, apostemations, outward swelling or disease " ..any " herbs, ointments, baths, pultes and emplaisters " without being sued, vexed, or troubled by the Company of Surgeons. This old Act (33 and 34 Henry VIII., ch. 8) still .stands upon the statute book unrepealed. The herbalists may cite it as their charter, though anyone who, owing to his ignorance of the properties and .scientific application of dangerous drugs, administers .an improper dose, may be found criminally liable. Such restrictions upon herbalists’ remedies as modern law contains are mostly provisions enacted in the interests of the revenue. Under these the Society of Herbalists, Ltd., was fined at Westminster police- court on April 19th, upon a series of charges under three heads. First it was complained by the Commissioners of Customs and Excise that ’*the defendant Society was selling medicines without - complying with the stamp duty, though warned - last July that the law was being ignored. Secondly, the Society was charged with selling on unlicensed premises ; it had always had a licence in respect of its Baker-street premises but it had none for its other establishments. The licence fee is only 5s., but here again the law was being ignored. Thirdly, the Society was charged with selling a herbal mixture -for smoking, contrary to Section 8 of the Tobacco Act, 1842, which forbids anyone to " cut, grind, pound, colour, stain, dye, or manufacture any leaves or any herb, or plant, moss or weed, or any wood, chicory, commings or roots of malt or any other I vegetable or other matter or materials to imitate I, or resemble tobacco or snuff." It is an offence under this section to prepare any such materials for mixture with tobacco or snuff, or to have them in possession for this purpose. The penalties under these various provisions are substantial. The magistrate did not find that the Society had made any deliberate attempt to evade payment of duties, but he - thought there had been great carelessness. He inflicted a series of fines which, with costs, amounted to f:l47 11s. The proceedings under the Tobacco Act were dismissed without conviction on payment of f5 5s. costs. Possibly the magistrate thought this ninety-year-old statute an indifferent engine of the law. Our legisla- tion about the sale of medicines, indeed, might also well be modernised. Septicaemia and Accident Insurance. Many fatal cases of septicaemia are the sequel2e of an accident. The King’s Bench Division has had to consider whether a fatal case of septicaemia, apparently originating from a pimple at the junction of the nostril and lip, could properly be described as a death due to accident. The deceased had insured himself at Lloyd’s under a policy entitling his legal representatives to about 83,000 if (within the period covered) his death should be directly due to bodily injury by accident. The policy expressly stipulated that it was not to cover either death directly or indirectly caused or contributed to by disease or natural causes, or death directly or indirectly resulting from medical or surgical treatment. The widow and executors, in claiming under the policy, had therefore to show that the death was due to accident. The deceased had died while on a trip round the world in a liner with his wife and a friend. The friend had endeavoured to help him by squeezing the pimple. The underwriters, resisting the claim, argued that death was due to natural causes ; they did not need, it seems, to rely on the argument that the amateur assistance given by the friend amounted to " medical or surgical treatment " within the wording of the policy. The evidence of the ship’s doctor, taken on commission, was read at the trial ; but it threw little light on the origin of the septicaemia. The friend who had treated the pimple described what had occurred. The deceased seems to have been subject to boils and pimples which had been similarly treated before. On this particular occasion, it was said, a probe was used, but no pus was brought away in the squeezing. The plaintiffs relied on this fact as establishing an accident causing death, because the pus, they said, was driven inwards and the infection, up to that time superficial, entered the deeper tissues with fatal consequences. Mr. Justice Roche was unable to see that the treatment, if applied as described, had the effect suggested. It was doubtful, he said, whether the friend’s treatment did any mischief; he found himself unable to see that what was done could have caused injury. The plaintiffs had failed to establish that there was any accident or accidental injury giving rise to the furuncle. There was no evidence that the pimple was due to an insect bite ; Sir Bernard Spilsbury’s evidence had shown that it was probably due to acne lesions which are the result of natural disease and natural infection. The fact that death was caused by "bodily injury by accident" was not proved; judgment was therefore given for the defendants with costs. Private Cars and Conveyance of 11 goods or Burden." A curious situation has arisen under the law relating to the taxation of motor vehicles. Vehicles " constructed or adapted for use and used for the ! conveyance of goods or burden of any description, whether in the course of trade or otherwise," pay mechanically propelled vehicles duty at a higher rate than ordinary private motor-cars. The revenue is protected by clauses which inter alia impose a fine if a vehicle is unlawfully used for a purpose to which a higher rate of duty applies. Under this provision a greengrocer and florist was fined at Cardiff for using a 16 h.p. motor-car of the ordinary saloon type to carry vegetables, fruit, and flowers.
Transcript of MEDICINE AND THE LAW.
949
SPECIAL ARTICLES
MEDICINE AND THE LAW.
Sale of Herbal Remedies : a Prosecution. ’I"NEARLY 400 years ago Parliament passed anAct to protect " divers honest persons, as well men as I zwomen, whom God hath endued with the knowledge Iof the nature, kind and operation of certain herbs,roots and waters." The Act declared that these
persons were taking nothing for their pains or
cunning but had ministered to poor people " onlyfor neighbourhood and God’s sake out of pity andcharity " ; yet they were being sued, troubled, andvexed by the Company and Fellowship of Surgeonsof London who were making the most of a recent.statute which restricted the practice of physic andsurgery to persons approved and admitted byprescribed authority. Parliament consequentlyenacted that for the future everybody having thisknowledge and experience of herbs, roots, and waterseither by speculation or by practice may use his- skill in ministering to " any outward sore, uncome,wound, apostemations, outward swelling or disease "..any
"
herbs, ointments, baths, pultes and emplaisters "
without being sued, vexed, or troubled by the Companyof Surgeons.
This old Act (33 and 34 Henry VIII., ch. 8) still.stands upon the statute book unrepealed. Theherbalists may cite it as their charter, though anyonewho, owing to his ignorance of the properties and.scientific application of dangerous drugs, administers.an improper dose, may be found criminally liable.Such restrictions upon herbalists’ remedies as modernlaw contains are mostly provisions enacted in theinterests of the revenue. Under these the Societyof Herbalists, Ltd., was fined at Westminster police-court on April 19th, upon a series of charges underthree heads. First it was complained by theCommissioners of Customs and Excise that ’*thedefendant Society was selling medicines without- complying with the stamp duty, though warned- last July that the law was being ignored. Secondly,the Society was charged with selling on unlicensedpremises ; it had always had a licence in respect ofits Baker-street premises but it had none for itsother establishments. The licence fee is only 5s.,but here again the law was being ignored. Thirdly,the Society was charged with selling a herbal mixture-for smoking, contrary to Section 8 of the TobaccoAct, 1842, which forbids anyone to " cut, grind,pound, colour, stain, dye, or manufacture any leavesor any herb, or plant, moss or weed, or any wood,chicory, commings or roots of malt or any other Ivegetable or other matter or materials to imitate I,or resemble tobacco or snuff." It is an offence underthis section to prepare any such materials for mixturewith tobacco or snuff, or to have them in possessionfor this purpose.The penalties under these various provisions
are substantial. The magistrate did not find thatthe Society had made any deliberate attempt toevade payment of duties, but he - thought therehad been great carelessness. He inflicted a seriesof fines which, with costs, amounted to f:l47 11s. The
proceedings under the Tobacco Act were dismissedwithout conviction on payment of f5 5s. costs.
Possibly the magistrate thought this ninety-year-oldstatute an indifferent engine of the law. Our legisla-tion about the sale of medicines, indeed, might alsowell be modernised.
Septicaemia and Accident Insurance.Many fatal cases of septicaemia are the sequel2e
of an accident. The King’s Bench Division has hadto consider whether a fatal case of septicaemia,apparently originating from a pimple at the junctionof the nostril and lip, could properly be describedas a death due to accident. The deceased hadinsured himself at Lloyd’s under a policy entitlinghis legal representatives to about 83,000 if (withinthe period covered) his death should be directlydue to bodily injury by accident. The policy expresslystipulated that it was not to cover either deathdirectly or indirectly caused or contributed to bydisease or natural causes, or death directly or indirectlyresulting from medical or surgical treatment. Thewidow and executors, in claiming under the policy,had therefore to show that the death was due toaccident. The deceased had died while on a tripround the world in a liner with his wife and a friend.The friend had endeavoured to help him by squeezingthe pimple. The underwriters, resisting the claim,argued that death was due to natural causes ; theydid not need, it seems, to rely on the argument thatthe amateur assistance given by the friend amountedto " medical or surgical treatment " within the
wording of the policy.The evidence of the ship’s doctor, taken on
commission, was read at the trial ; but it threwlittle light on the origin of the septicaemia. Thefriend who had treated the pimple described whathad occurred. The deceased seems to have beensubject to boils and pimples which had been similarlytreated before. On this particular occasion, itwas said, a probe was used, but no pus was broughtaway in the squeezing. The plaintiffs relied on
this fact as establishing an accident causing death,because the pus, they said, was driven inwards and theinfection, up to that time superficial, entered the
deeper tissues with fatal consequences. Mr. JusticeRoche was unable to see that the treatment, if
applied as described, had the effect suggested. Itwas doubtful, he said, whether the friend’s treatmentdid any mischief; he found himself unable to seethat what was done could have caused injury. The
plaintiffs had failed to establish that there was anyaccident or accidental injury giving rise to thefuruncle. There was no evidence that the pimplewas due to an insect bite ; Sir Bernard Spilsbury’sevidence had shown that it was probably due toacne lesions which are the result of natural diseaseand natural infection. The fact that death wascaused by "bodily injury by accident" was notproved; judgment was therefore given for thedefendants with costs.
Private Cars and Conveyance of 11 goodsor Burden."
A curious situation has arisen under the law
relating to the taxation of motor vehicles. Vehicles" constructed or adapted for use and used for the
! conveyance of goods or burden of any description,whether in the course of trade or otherwise," paymechanically propelled vehicles duty at a higherrate than ordinary private motor-cars. The revenue
is protected by clauses which inter alia impose afine if a vehicle is unlawfully used for a purposeto which a higher rate of duty applies. Under thisprovision a greengrocer and florist was fined atCardiff for using a 16 h.p. motor-car of the ordinarysaloon type to carry vegetables, fruit, and flowers.
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The car had two seats for passengers ; it was not" constructed or adapted for use" or in any wayaltered so as to convey goods ; but it was in factbeing " used for the conveyance of goods or burden."The Cardiff stipendiary magistrate convicted theowner of the car, and the King’s Bench Division
(Mr. Justice Macnaghten dissenting) has upheld theconviction. The result is that a motorist carryinghis own luggage or a surgeon carrying his instrumentsmay technically be guilty of an offence ; converselythe owner of a high-powered motor-car may, byclaiming to be conveying goods or burden by virtueof fitting a luggage carrier, show some ground forbeing taxed at a lower rate. The police presumablywill exercise discretion in instituting prosecutionswhile the law remains in this condition. Theembarrassment of the situation was not allowed toaffect the majority decision last week. The result,observed Mr. Justice Avory, may be far-reaching andmay produce what the ordinary public will call anabsurdity ; but all that this Court has to do is toconstrue the statute.
A Spiritualist’s Libel Action.The libel action brought against the Daily Mail
by Mrs. Meurig Morris ended in a verdict whichseemed to embody a compromise. Mrs. Morris
complained of a contents bill which said " TranceMedium Found Out " and of comments which
suggested that her spiritualistic experiences were
fraudulent. The defendants pleaded justificationand fair comment on a matter of public interest.The verdict was a finding for the defendants on theplea of fair comment, but the jury added that theydid not consider that the allegations of fraud or
dishonesty had been proved. Mr. Justice McCardiethereupon gave judgment for the defendants butallowed Mrs. Morris to set off against the generalcosts of the action the costs to which she had beenput by the defendants’ unsuccessful plea ofjustification.
Medical evidence, offered in proof of Mrs. Morris’ssincerity, described her going into a trance. Beforeshe did so, she was sensitive to the slightest pin-prick ; her pulse was 86 and her temperature wasnormal. She then passed her hands across herface and became pale ; her eyes closed; her lefthand and the left side of her face became colderthan the right; she was insensitive to pin-pricks,and her pulse went up to 130. In the trance stateshe rose from her chair, spoke in a man’s bass voice,seemed to acquire a dominating personality, andheld her dress where the lapels of a man’s coat wouldbe. Mrs. Morris herself gave evidence of the controlsor discarnate spirits which spoke through her. Ontwo occasions during the trial she manifested strongemotion in a dramatic manner. Once, while in thewitness-box, she declared that she saw a vision ofChrist standing close to her. During the judge’ssumming-up, she rose, seized the lapels of her coatand said in a deep voice " Thou, who art a brotherjudge, hearken unto my voice." On each of theseoccasions Mr. Justice McCardie adjourned the courtfor a short period until Mrs. Morris recovered hernormal calm and the proceedings could continue ina less emotional atmosphere.
Sir Oliver Lodge and other witnesses testifiedto the plaintiff’s honesty ; she did not use her giftsto make money. The defendants, on the other hand,while unsuccessful in producing any proof of fraud,attributed to her the power of simulation and pretence ;they said that the sermons which she purported to
preach contained nothing new; they commented-on the happy punctuality with which "Power"and the other controls appeared when required atpublic meetings ; they hinted that something likerehearsals had been overheard before these public-performances. Between these two widely differentviews the trial, long as it was, has not helped the-public to decide. Those who already believed in
spiritualism and the revelations of mediums willbelieve in them still. Those who disbelieved willnot have been converted. Comparatively little useseems to have been made of the opportunity toinform the court of the symptoms and conditions ofhysteria.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
(FROM AN OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT.)
PUBLIC HEALTH REFORM IN NEW YORK STATE.
THE final report of the Special Health Commission.of New York State has now been published witha long foreword by Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt.As favourite candidate for the presidential nominationon the Democratic ticket the attitude of GovernorRoosevelt to public health is of national interest.In a newspaper interview given on April 6th GovernorRoosevelt is even more frank than in his foreword.Our present town and village system of local healthadministration is, he says, as wasteful of lives as ofmoney. Only the indifference of local governmentcan explain the continuance of diphtheria in somemunicipalities after it has been stamped out in others.The recommendations of the Commission are describedas
" a broadly conceived, long range plan ... practical
and easy to follow." Governor Roosevelt thenannounced that on April 22nd he would call aconference of health leaders to discuss the immediate
steps to be taken towards establishment of the newhealth programme. He concludes: " The experttechnical knowledge, the administrative experiencein public health, and the sound judgment of theCommission members which has found expression inthis report, will, I hope, be translated promptly intolaw and transmitted by practice into the lives of thepeople."
THE PAPER ROLL FILM.
The economics of roentgenography are becoming ofurgent importance to American physicians. It is
agreed that we must be able to diagnose tuberculosisin its childhood stage, and that for this purpose thesymptoms and signs upon which our fathers reliedare of little account. Most cases in childhood willnot even show malnutrition, the family history is
regarded as being of small importance, and eventhe tuberculin test is of limited value. The one andonly measure which gives satisfactory insight to themodern clinician is the X ray. But routine X rayexamination of thousands of school-children (andliterally thousands are concerned, even though theexamination be limited to tuberculin-positive cases)becomes a matter of such great expense that eventhe richer communities of the Eastern states hesitateto avail themselves of the new method. Fluoroscopyhas economic advantages, but is unsatisfactory bynot revealing sufficient detail. At the Bellevue-Yorkville health centre in New York Dr. MargaretBarnard has been experimenting with paper rollfilm. The developed paper film which she has usedgives an opaque positive which is read by direct
1 Public Health in New York State, Albany, N.Y. TheState Department of Health. 1932. Pp. 504.
