Paris-La Defence. Paris- Tarihi Aks Paris-La Defence: Urban Development.
PARIS
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476 contended, however, that the :E400 was a voluntary gift in no way induced by fraud or undue influence. Mrs. Bruce did not appear at the trial and was not represented. This was a pity since there was a novel point of law to be argued. The undue influence, resulting in the cheque for £ 400 being paid, was not exercised on Miss Marjorie Dodd who owned the money but on Miss Emmeline Dodd who was merely looking after her sister’s affairs at the time. The judge thought that, as a matter of principle, it would be wrong to water down the doctrine of undue influence and to limit it to those cases where the undue influence was directly exercised upon the actual owner. He further held that there was no considera- tion for the payment of :E400. Judgment was given for the plaintiffs with costs. Last Monday Mrs. Bruce appeared in court and asked for a new trial on the ground that she had been in Australia and had only now returned; she had been unaware that the case was coming on ; the notice of trial had apparently been sent to a solicitor who had ceased to act for her. - Mr. Justice Hallett, remarking that a defendant who went to Australia with a charge of fraud against her did not deserve much sympathy, ordered that the judgment should be set aside if Mrs. Bruce paid the costs of the action and of the present application within 14 days; otherwise the judgment would stand. The classic authority on this subject is Allcard v. Skinner (1887) where A was introduced by N, her spiritual director and confessor, to S, the lady superior of a sisterhood. A became an associate of the sister- hood, passed the grades of postulant and novice and eventually became a professed member, taking (amongst other vows) the vow of poverty. It was held that, although she had voluntarily and on independent advice entered the sisterhood with intent to leave all her money to it, yet, since at the time when she made the gifts she was subject to the influence of S and N, she would have been entitled to restitution on leaving the sisterhood. It is right and expedient, said Lord Justice Lindley, to save people from being victimised by others. Courts of equity do not set aside such gifts on the grounds of folly, imprudence or want of foresight, but to prevent people from being forced, tricked or misled. The equitable doctrine of undue influence was developed out of " the necessity of grappling with insidious forms of spiritual tyranny and the infinite varieties of fraud." In an earlier case of medical relationship, Dent v. Bennett (1839), a patient aged 85 agreed to pay his doctor :E25,000 a year for medical and surgical assistance for the rest of his life. The contract was set aside on the ground that the patient’s signature must have been obtained by fraud or undue influence. In Morley v. Loughnan (1893), the defendant, a man of no means, member of a religious sect known as Exclusive Brethren, was employed as travelling companion to Mr. Morley, an epileptic subject with a large fortune. Mr. Morley, being in a low and morbid state, allowed Loughnan to regulate his diet and medicine and placed nearly all his money at his companion’s disposal. Loughnan obtained from him some 140,000. The court recalled Lord Justice Bowen’s words in Allcard v. Skinner, that there was " a fetter on the giver’s conscience " which required a gift, even though in fact freely made, to be set aside on the ground of public policy. Though the degrees of dominion exercised by the dominant over the servient mind vary in all these cases, and though the relation. ship of doctor and patient or of solicitor and client introduces special opportunities and special condi- tions, the principle is always the same. The courts regard it as pedantry, not public policy, to object to trivial gifts ; yet circumstances trivial in them- selves-e.g., deafness or blindness-have been held to reinforce the presumption of undue influence. The position of doctors who benefit under their patient’s wills is, as is well known, another occasion where courts are inclined to inquire closely into all the circumstances. PARIS (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT) AGITATION AGAINST DIPHTHERIA VACCINATION IN the summer of 1938 vaccination against diph- theria with Ramon’s anatoxin was made compulsory in France by law. The comparatively peaceful passage of this legislation seemed to augur well for the future, but the rumblings of dissent have recently gathered force, and on the evening of Feb. 15 several thousand people collected in the Salle Wagram to listen to denunciations of Ramon and all his works. A sprinkling of doctors on the platform was a reminder of the old biological truth that all the sheep in a flock are not necessarily white. Some of the speakers took advantage of the occasion to abuse not only anti-diphtheria vaccination but also all the vaccines and sera fathered by the Pasteur Institute. The success of this emotional evening had been under- mined by the well-organised publicity recently given to the arguments in favour of anti-diphtheria vaccina- tion, and it is doubtful if the meeting achieved much more than a series of pleasant thrills. The wind had also been taken out of the protestants’ sails by a communique issued on Feb. 15 by the prime minister, M. Daladier, categorically denying rumours of deaths in the army and navy as a sequel to anti-diphtheria vaccination. CAMPAIGN AGAINST TROPICAL DISEASES The present tendency of Frenchmen to think in terms of Empire is illustrated by the appointment at the French Colonial Office of an advisory commission on trypanosomiasis. The commission is given a free hand to study and report on every aspect of the disease and to make proposals for combating it. It is to consist of the inspector-general of the colonial health service, the pharmacien-general of the colonial office, and twelve others to be chosen by the Société Exotique of Paris. The commission may also coopt members in a consultative capacity. PASTEUR ON NOMENCLATURE One of the obituary notices of Prof. Eugene Macé of the Faculty of Medicine of, Nancy, who died recently at the age of 82, quotes a letter written by Pasteur to Mace on the occasion of the publication of Mace’s book on bacteriology. " If you will allow me," wrote Pasteur, " I would express regret for your having adopted the word bacteriology. Do you not find it too special 1 Is there not need for a term more general, more comprehensive, to describe the young science which grows so quickly, which opens and reveals so many new horizons ? °l I must confess that I would much prefer the expression micro- biology and, still more, microbie. Would you not be satisfied with the title : Traite pratique de microbie ’! And then, the word is French. And that is some- thing. If I had known of your undertaking early enough, I would have done all I could to dissuade
Transcript of PARIS
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contended, however, that the :E400 was a voluntarygift in no way induced by fraud or undue influence.Mrs. Bruce did not appear at the trial and was notrepresented. This was a pity since there was a
novel point of law to be argued. The undue influence,resulting in the cheque for £ 400 being paid, was notexercised on Miss Marjorie Dodd who owned themoney but on Miss Emmeline Dodd who was merelylooking after her sister’s affairs at the time. Thejudge thought that, as a matter of principle, it wouldbe wrong to water down the doctrine of undueinfluence and to limit it to those cases where the undueinfluence was directly exercised upon the actualowner. He further held that there was no considera-tion for the payment of :E400. Judgment was givenfor the plaintiffs with costs. Last Monday Mrs. Bruceappeared in court and asked for a new trial on theground that she had been in Australia and had onlynow returned; she had been unaware that thecase was coming on ; the notice of trial had apparentlybeen sent to a solicitor who had ceased to act for her.
- Mr. Justice Hallett, remarking that a defendantwho went to Australia with a charge of fraud againsther did not deserve much sympathy, ordered that thejudgment should be set aside if Mrs. Bruce paid thecosts of the action and of the present applicationwithin 14 days; otherwise the judgment wouldstand.The classic authority on this subject is Allcard v.
Skinner (1887) where A was introduced by N, herspiritual director and confessor, to S, the lady superiorof a sisterhood. A became an associate of the sister-hood, passed the grades of postulant and noviceand eventually became a professed member, taking(amongst other vows) the vow of poverty. It washeld that, although she had voluntarily and onindependent advice entered the sisterhood withintent to leave all her money to it, yet, since at thetime when she made the gifts she was subject to theinfluence of S and N, she would have been entitledto restitution on leaving the sisterhood. It is rightand expedient, said Lord Justice Lindley, to savepeople from being victimised by others. Courts of
equity do not set aside such gifts on the grounds offolly, imprudence or want of foresight, but to preventpeople from being forced, tricked or misled. The
equitable doctrine of undue influence was developedout of " the necessity of grappling with insidiousforms of spiritual tyranny and the infinite varietiesof fraud." In an earlier case of medical relationship,Dent v. Bennett (1839), a patient aged 85 agreed topay his doctor :E25,000 a year for medical and surgicalassistance for the rest of his life. The contract wasset aside on the ground that the patient’s signaturemust have been obtained by fraud or undue influence.In Morley v. Loughnan (1893), the defendant, a
man of no means, member of a religious sect knownas Exclusive Brethren, was employed as travellingcompanion to Mr. Morley, an epileptic subject witha large fortune. Mr. Morley, being in a low andmorbid state, allowed Loughnan to regulate hisdiet and medicine and placed nearly all his moneyat his companion’s disposal. Loughnan obtainedfrom him some 140,000.The court recalled Lord Justice Bowen’s words in
Allcard v. Skinner, that there was " a fetter on thegiver’s conscience " which required a gift, even
though in fact freely made, to be set aside on theground of public policy. Though the degrees ofdominion exercised by the dominant over the servientmind vary in all these cases, and though the relation.ship of doctor and patient or of solicitor and clientintroduces special opportunities and special condi-
tions, the principle is always the same. The courts
regard it as pedantry, not public policy, to objectto trivial gifts ; yet circumstances trivial in them-selves-e.g., deafness or blindness-have been heldto reinforce the presumption of undue influence. Theposition of doctors who benefit under their patient’swills is, as is well known, another occasion wherecourts are inclined to inquire closely into all thecircumstances. -
PARIS
(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT)
AGITATION AGAINST DIPHTHERIA VACCINATION
IN the summer of 1938 vaccination against diph-theria with Ramon’s anatoxin was made compulsoryin France by law. The comparatively peacefulpassage of this legislation seemed to augur well forthe future, but the rumblings of dissent have recentlygathered force, and on the evening of Feb. 15 severalthousand people collected in the Salle Wagram tolisten to denunciations of Ramon and all his works.A sprinkling of doctors on the platform was a reminderof the old biological truth that all the sheep in aflock are not necessarily white. Some of the speakerstook advantage of the occasion to abuse not onlyanti-diphtheria vaccination but also all the vaccinesand sera fathered by the Pasteur Institute. Thesuccess of this emotional evening had been under-mined by the well-organised publicity recently givento the arguments in favour of anti-diphtheria vaccina-tion, and it is doubtful if the meeting achieved muchmore than a series of pleasant thrills. The wind hadalso been taken out of the protestants’ sails by acommunique issued on Feb. 15 by the prime minister,M. Daladier, categorically denying rumours of deathsin the army and navy as a sequel to anti-diphtheriavaccination.
CAMPAIGN AGAINST TROPICAL DISEASES
The present tendency of Frenchmen to think interms of Empire is illustrated by the appointment atthe French Colonial Office of an advisory commissionon trypanosomiasis. The commission is given a freehand to study and report on every aspect of thedisease and to make proposals for combating it. Itis to consist of the inspector-general of the colonialhealth service, the pharmacien-general of the colonialoffice, and twelve others to be chosen by the SociétéExotique of Paris. The commission may also cooptmembers in a consultative capacity.
PASTEUR ON NOMENCLATURE
One of the obituary notices of Prof. Eugene Macéof the Faculty of Medicine of, Nancy, who diedrecently at the age of 82, quotes a letter written byPasteur to Mace on the occasion of the publicationof Mace’s book on bacteriology. " If you will allowme," wrote Pasteur, " I would express regret foryour having adopted the word bacteriology. Do younot find it too special 1 Is there not need for a termmore general, more comprehensive, to describe theyoung science which grows so quickly, which opensand reveals so many new horizons ? °l I must confessthat I would much prefer the expression micro-biology and, still more, microbie. Would you not besatisfied with the title : Traite pratique de microbie ’!And then, the word is French. And that is some-thing. If I had known of your undertaking earlyenough, I would have done all I could to dissuade
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you from adopting the term bacteriology which issuitable rather for a chapter of microbie than formicrobie itself in its entirety."
A.R.P.
On Feb. 4 the Third National Congress of PassiveDefence was held in Paris under the auspices ofseveral national organisations, including the NationalUnion of Officers of the Reserve and the French RedCross. In the morning a film was shown entitledLa protection contre les bombardements aeriens.In the afternoon the eight commissions of the congresssat in various lecture halls in the Sorbonne, anddiscussed such subjects as the protection of buildings,fire-fighting organisation, police control and healthand evacuation services. Representatives of A.R.P.organisations in Great Britain and Belgium presentedreports on the measures being taken in their respec-tive countries, a long account was given by GeneralNiesel of A.R.P. in Germany, and General Petainaddressed the meeting on national defence.
IRELAND
(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT)
RETIREMENT AT SIXTY-FIVE
THE Minister for Local Government and PublicHealth was recently asked if it were still his intentionthat pensionable officers employed by local authoritiesshould resign their positions at the age of sixty-five, and, if so, whether he would state the actionalready taken or in contemplation to secure com-
pliance in the matter. The Minister replied to thefirst part of the question in the affirmative. Thematter, he added, had been brought to the attentionof local bodies some time ago. It would be embodiedin legislation when a suitable occasion should arise.As the Minister stated, a circular was issued some
years ago by his department to local authorities
advising them that employment of pensionableofficers should cease at the age of sixty-five,and some authorities, regarding the circular as
mandatory, demanded the resignation of officersabove that age. Very few resigned, as it becameclear that neither the local authorities nor theMinister had power to compel officers to resign merelyon account of their age, unless such power was
explicitly expressed in their terms of appointment.It was admitted by the Minister that he had at thetime no compulsory power in the matter. If heshould now or in the future take steps to obtain powerby legislative means, the interests of existing medicalofficers as well as the conditions of future entranceto the local medical services will require graveconsideration.
DINNER OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS
The charter day dinner of the Royal College ofSurgeons in Ireland was held last Saturday in thehall of the college, with Mr. William Doolin, thepresident, in the chair. Before the dinner Mr. HenryWade of Edinburgh was admitted an honoraryfellow of the college, being introduced by Mr. HenryStokes, vice-president of the Irish college. Some120 fellows of the college and their guests sat downto dinner, and a pleasant evening was spent. Amongthose who spoke were Mr. Henry Wade, Dr. T. G.Moorhead, Dr. T. P. C. Kirkpatrick, and thePresident.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS)
PROJECTED HEALTH LEGISLATION
ON Jan. 30 the Hon. Robert F. Wagner, senator-from the state of New York, made a radio speechwhich was broadcast over the nation-wide networkof the National Broadcasting Company. Afterreviewing the evidence of the need for the extensionof medical care Senator Wagner announced that heis now drafting legislation to make the " broad-gauged plan " of the President’s interdepartmentalcommittee " a national reality." " Under no circum-stances," he said, " will the Federal Governmentgo into the business of furnishing medical care, orinterfere with the states in the licensing of medicalor other practitioners. State plans would be establishedonly after consultation with the medical professionswho would also be fully represented on advisorycouncils."
Meeting the criticism that 850,000,000 dollars isan excessive charge on the national treasury SenatorWagner assured his hearers that in the first yearauthorisation for grants in aid will not exceed90,000,000 dollars. Matching formuloa will takeinto account the special health needs and financialresources of the several states.
The states will be free to establish compulsoryhealth insurance if they choose to do so. " Thebill will not impose a Federal strait jacket upon thedevelopment of state plans." The senator recognisedthat millions of consumers of medical services want
compulsory health insurance but that the medicalprofession is divided as to the wisdom of compulsoryfeatures. He himself considers that insurance formedical care is entirely compatible with Americanconcepts: ".. in the history of our own country thereare ample precedents for health insurance itself.The very first step taken by the Federal Governmentin the field of health was to create in effect a com-pulsory health insurance system for seamen in theAmerican merchant. marine." He quoted at lengthBritish experience with national health insuranceand concluded his speech with a reference to therecommendations made ten months ago by theBritish Medical Association.
"... it is well known from numerous exampleshow a more or less intimate contact between differenthuman societies can lead to a gradual fusion of traditions,giving birth to a quite new culture. The importance inthis respect of the mixing of populations through emigra-tion or conquest for the advancement of human civilisa-tion need hardly be recalled. It is, indeed, perhaps thegreatest prospect of humanistic studies, to contributethrough an increasing knowledge of the history of culturaldevelopment to that gradual removal of prejudices whichis the common aim of all science.-Prof. NIELS BOHR,For. Mem. R.S., Nature, Lond. Feb. 18, 1939, p. 271.
"... Of course I may be wrong. I am open toconviction, but one thing I do urge. Before another setof Regulations as to training and qualifications of healthofficers comes, and before a single other misguided personlike myself gets up and talks about it, let those concernedput their heads together and decide what type of personthey do want for health visiting, the educationist or thenurse ; then, and then only, may it be possible to standardisea rational training for health visitors."-J. GREENWOODWILSON at a meeting of the Society of Medical Officersof Health, Feb. 17.
