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be at the "discretion of the interested party," especiallyarmed (as we both suggest he should be) with an augmentedpower of ordering medical comforts. Who shall impugn inthis matter the authoritative dictum of the professional at-tendant ? I should think that not one of the whole Poor lawmedical body would desire his saiary to be deduced from abasis which might for ever subject him to a most mischievousand injurious imputation.

It having been hinted that the course I have lately pursuedis from antagonism to my friend, I am constrained in my own

justification to state, that, prioi to my last examination beforethe Select Committee, I made overtures of combination to Mr.Griffin, who felt compelled to decline them. Twice since

analagous overtures have been proffered and declined. I havenot, however, yet done.There are now virtually five schemes of remuneration before

the Select Committee ; and whereas this controversy has pro-minently brought out the real working bees, surely it is not

impracticable for a committee of advice to be formed, whoseeliminative recommendations from the present chaos would atonce obtain the confidence of the whole Poor law medicalbody, and not be too late to be of incalculable assistance to theeventual deliberations of the Select Committee.

I beg therefore to suggest that Mr. Griffin, Weymouth ; Mr.Bulmer, Leeds ; Mr. Wills, Crewkerne ; Mr. inleredith, Bath ;Mr. Lord, Hampstead ; Dr. Rogers, Strand ; Mr. Nicholas,Wandsworth; Dr. Ross, West London ; and myself, be con-stituted such a Committee (with or without power to add toour number), to watch over the interests of the Poor-lawmedical officers.

Tam. Sir vnilr ohedipnt. servant. ROBERT FOWLER, M.D. Edin.

Bishopsgate-street Without, June, 1862,

MR. BASTICK’S PREPARATIONS.

WM. BASTICK.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,-Lest it should be supposed by my silence that

acquiesced in the criticisms of the writer of an article on the Pharmaceutical and Chemical Products of the Exhibition irthe last number of THE LANCET, with reference to the combination of cod-liver oil with quinine, first devised by me, I beto state that his conclusions, so far as my preparations are conoerned, are based on erroneous assumptions.The writer in question states that " this is a preparatior

which is not always of the same strength," "for even whetprepared by the same process, it will not be always uniform irits composition." Now, Sir, I venture to assert that thesEcommen s are utterly destitute of foundation as regard:my combination of cod-liver oil with quinine. The write!then states that " in making it the oil is heated in contacwith the quinine, by which treatment the quality of the oil ii

injured, and that of the quinine is not improved." Here arEtwo purely gratuitous assump ions on the pa t of the criticI do not employ heat in the manufacture of this preparationfor the simple reason that heat is superfluous. This fact a.1on.involves a refutation of both assumptions ; but allow me furtheto add, in contradiction to the dicta of the writer, that a moderate heat will neither injure the oil nor damage the quinine.Trusting to your proverbial impartiality in giving insertioi

to these remarks,I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

Brook-street, June, 1862. WM. BASTICK.

THE PRIME MINISTER.To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,-In your last week’s issue you have favoured thepublic with an article headed ’ A Physiol,)gical View of thePremier," and it may not be uninteresting therefore to youto know what I once heard a very eminent man, and formercolleague of the Premier, say on the subject a little before hisdeath.The late Mr. John Wilson Croker, speaking of Lord Palmer-

ston, said that he had necessarily known him intimately fromtheir long services under the same Government, the one asSecretary to the Admiralty, and the other as Secretary-at-War ;that the period at which they had served the country togetherhad been, for the most part, one of great excitement andanxiety ; but that he did not think (such was Lord Palmerston’shappy temperament) that anything that had ever happened,even in the most difficult times, had interfered for a moment,in the slightest degree, either with his Lordship’s appetite orsleep.

Mr. Croker instanced the late Sir Robert Peel as a man of awholly opposite disposition, saying that whenever any matterof real importance was under consideration or in progress, hisanxiety was always painfully intense.

I enclose my card as a gnarantee of the authenticity ofthe anecdote, but shall subscribe myself here,June, 1862. A FREQUENT HEADER OF THE LANCET.

THE ASSISTANT REGISTRAR-GENERALON MEDICAL CORONERS.

WM. FARR.

THE following important letter from Dr. Farr was written toa freeholder :-

SIR,-I attach the greatest importance to the office ofCoroner, as, when properly filled, it prevents crime, dissipatessuspicion, and discovers the causes of death.

Medical knowledge is necessary--firstly, in judging fromthe preliminary information whether inquests shall be held;secondly, in conducting the inquiry ; thirdly, in decidingwhether medic J or scientific witnesses shall be called ; fourchly,in instructing the jury ; and fifchly, in returning the causes ofdeath under the Hegistration Act. Death is in some cases an

impenetrable mystery, and in nearly all cases its physiologicalcauses are entirely beyond the ken of non-medical Coroners,who thus are liable to mislead or to misdirect, or to fail in

aiding the juries to sift medical evidence, and to return intheir verdicts the true causes of death. The object of the officeis thus defeated. Inquests were held in England on 21,&01bodies, according to a recent return, and in only 482 cases wasthe verdict homicide. This shows how many of the inquestsare purely medical.The Coroner’s jury instituting only a preliminary inquiry,

the accused persons detected were tried by the judges of theland, and 109 were convicted. This part of the procedure isvery properly conducted by the highest judicial authorities.The duties of a Coroner are of a totally different character.

Dr. Lanktster, in my opinion, possesses all the knowledge ofmedicine and of jurisprudence which is required to enable himto fill the office creditably to his profession and usefully to thecountry. I hope to see him elected their Coroner by theenlightened freeholders of Middlesex.

I have the honour to be, Sir,Your obedient servant,

General Register Office, Somerset House, June, 1862. WM. FARR.

PARISIAN MEDICAL INTELLIGENCE.

(FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.)

AMONGST the various papers of interest communicated tothe Academy of Sciences on Monday last was a memoir rela-tive to the substitution of carbonic acid gas for chloroform asan anaesthetic agent. The author, M. Oztnam, four years agosuggested the employment of this gas in painful surgical opera-tions, and stated that it was in action as effectual as, and lessdangerous than, chloroform. The case which in the presentmemoir serves as a cheval de bataille, is that of a young maneffected with deeply-seated abscess in the lower aud innerpart of the thigh. As it was found necessary to divide a con-siderable thickness of tissue before exit could be afforded to the

pus, the patient was placed under the influence of an adoes-thetic-in this instance, carbonic acid gas. An india-rubber

bag was filled with a mixture consisting of three par s of gasand one of common air, which the patient was made to inhaleby means of a mouth-piece held at a short distance from theface, so that the proportion of atmospheric air might be con-siderably increased during the process. At the expiration oftwo minutes, during which time the breathing became morerapid and the face covered with perspiration, insensibility wascomplete, and the operation satisfactorily terminated, con-

sciousness returning the moment the anaesthetic inhalation wasdiscontinued. To those who have witnessed the well known

experiment on the dog in the " Grotta del Cane," at Agnano,near Naples, the insensihility will be no matter of wonder ;but the question of the applicability of carbonic acid in -a

general BB ay to surgery is quite another affair, and one thesolution of which has been left to the judgment of MM.Andral, Velpeau, and Cloquet.The abrupt termination of the late academical discussion on

the origin of vaccine and its pointless conclusions have been ill-

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received by the medical press, and with good reason. TheM’Clellan-like caution and cunctation which wait upon ouracademical deci&ions are fatal to that reputation for infallibilitywhich every branch of science has some right to share in

public opinion. I really believe that, if the learned bodytalked a little less, it might do a great deal more.

In a work lately published by M. Gastineau entitled " LaComedie Sociale au Dix Neuvième Slècle," there is a curiousstatistical account of suicides in France. " It has been calcu-lated," he says, "that the number of suicides committed inFrance since the beginning of this century is not less than300,000 ; and this estimation falls perhaps short of the truth,as no exact account had been kept previously to the year 1.36.From 1836 to ib52, that is to say in seventeen years, no lessthan 52,126 suicides occurred, giving an average of 3066 eachyear. In 858, 3903 took place, 853 being women and 3050men ; and, according to the last statistics, during the year185&, 3-99 persons killed themselves, of whom 3057 were men,and 842 women.Although the verdict given at the Brompton Hospital rela.

tive to the utility of the hypophosphites in phthisis was of auunfavourahle character, a fact has come to my knowledge whichdemonstrates that our Transatlantic brethren are very fa.r fromparticipating in the opinions or prejudices which the professionhere and in England have more or less adopted since the periodat which those experiments occurred. I am informed byM. Swann, the chemist, who seems to enjoy a sort of specialmonopoly in the manufacture of these drugs, that his houseyearly sends many hundredweight of these formerly neglectedpreparations to the American markets, where they meet wihready sale. To use an expression common "on ’Change,""Hypophosphites are brisk." Whilst on the question of rela-tion between demand and supply, let me note the importantfact, that whereas, at one time, the increasing rage for mineralhydrotherapy in France bid fair to exhaust our existing re-sources, the praiseworthy efforts of landowners all over thecountry have dispelled any such gloomy apprehensions. Hand-bills, circulars, newspapers, and gigantic placards daily an-aiounce to the suffering public the recent discovery of some St.Ronan’s well or other, the healing virtues of which are as bound-less and comprehensive as are the attributes of the " vegetablepill." Thus late in the day, like a duck of slowly developed in-stincts. quackery has taken to water. Hardly a single parish,from the Vosges to the Pyrenees, but possesses its own n niiracu-lous spring. The haudbills and circulars above referred to, ojwhich I might form a curious album, are for the most partworded in the same furmula, and illustrated according to thisame model. The sanguine artist depicts in flaming colour !the portrait of the établissement. The favourite style of architecture appears to be a combination of the florid cottage chale1order, tempered with a dash of Grecian. A portico witlstuccoed columns, flanked and overshadowed by a manygabled roof, with an accompaniment of latticed windows ancopen balconies, mostly characterizes these temples of HygeiaThe pleasure grounds, or jardins Anglais, are neatly laid out akitchen gardens, and between the rows of tastefully dispose(cabbages, groups of elegantly dressed and gratified valetudinarians are seen gracefully to beckon the sceptical sufferer to a participation in their hygienic privileges.

Paris, June 17th, 1862.

THE FUNERAL OF THE LATE MR. WAKLEY

ON Saturday last the earthly frame of Thomas Wakley wasconsigned to the grave. He was stricken by the hand ofdeath on the very spot where he had sought restoration tohealth, and at the moment that he was about to return withthe semblance of renewed vigour. The body was embalmed andconveyed to this country. The funeral took place at Kensal-green Cemetery. In accordance with the last wishes of thistrue-hearted and unostentatious man, his obsequies were strictlyprivate, and attendance was confined to the members of hisfamily and a few of his most intimate and valued friends.

ADMISSION OF WOMEN TO ACADEMICAL DEGREES.-At Ia recent meeting of the Senate of the University of London, a Iyoung lady petitioned to be admitted as a candidate for a ’,medical degree. Un a subsequent meeting, the Vice- Chancellor,Mr. G. Grote, moved a resolution to that effect. The voteswere equal for and against the motion, but on the Chancellorgiving his vote for the "noes" it was lost.

Medical News.ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS OF LONDON.-At the

Comitia Majora held on the 14th inst., the following gentle-men, having undergone tl:e necessary examination, and satisfiedthe College of their proficiency in the Science and Practice ofMedicine and Midwifery, were dttly admitted to practise Physioas Licentiates of the College :-

Alworthy, Chirles, Bishop Auckland.Atweil, Gregory Hniues, Campden-hiil Villas, gensington.Carpenter, Robert Henrv Spencer, Durham.Cotton, Thomas, M.I)., Spalding.Garstang, walker, M.D., Blackburn.Lloyd, W Nathaniel Helilings, Tiverton, Devon.Moore. Edward, Chartcs-terrace, Victoria-park.Newcombe, James, M.D.Pridham, John Williams, Ringwood.Stevenson, Thomas, IL;iiutot:, Yorkshire.Worthington, Francis Samue:, Lowestoft.

The following gentleman passed the First Part of the Pro-fessional Examination for the Licence on the 6th inst. :-

Harley, Edward, King’s College.On the retirement of Dr. Mayo from the office of President

of the Royal College of Physicians of London, the followingresolution was unanimously agreed to by the Fellows : -" That the sincere and cordial thanks of the College be returnedto Dr. Mayo, the late President, for the indefatigable zeal andentire devotion, the never-failing courtesy, and the dignitywith which he has presided over the College during upwardsof five years, and especially for his great and disinterestedservices in promoting and carrying into effect, during hisperiod of office, important changes in the state and constitutionof the College."ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF ENGLAND.-The

following gentlemen, having undergone the necessary exami-nations for the diploma, were admitted Members of the Collegeat a meeting of the Court of Examiners on the 12th inst. :-

Braine, Robert Speir, Nova Scotia.Cann, Thomas Martyn, Virginstowe Rectory, Devon.Carter, Jabez, Bedford.Eitison, Samuel Kttehing, Poplar.Freeman, Alfred, Kennington.Lawrence, George Richard, Faccombe, Hants.Manook, Stt phen Joseph, Calcutta.Moss, Charles Philip, St. Helena.Mulock, George Berry, Dublin.

NEW FELLOWS. - The following Members of the College,having undergone the necessary examination, were admittedFellows, at a meeting of the Council on the 13th inst. :-

Bankart, James, Guy’s Hospital; diploma of Membership dated Dec. 23,1858.

Barratt, Joseph Gillman, Cleveland-gardens, Hyde-park; May 31,1841.Catt, Alfred, Brighton; July 15, 1859.Chester, Arthur, Assistant-Surgeon of the 74th Regt.; April 28,1856.Cousins, Edward, Camden-road Viiias, Camden-town; July 11, 1845.Ferguson, George, Giltspur-street, City; May 4, 1867.Fletcher, James Ogden, Lever-street, Manchester; Oct. 6,1848.Streatfeild, John Fnmlyn, U) per Brook-st., Grosvenor-sq.; June 11,1852.Wordsworth, John Cawood, Queen Anne-street, Cavendish-square; April

11, 1845.The following Members of the College, having been elected

Fellows at previous meetings of the Council, were admitted assucii on the 13th inst.:-

Dale, George Cornelius, Adelaide-terrace, Bayswater; diploma of Member-ship dated March 14, 1823.

Pritchard, Thomas, Park-gate, Essex; April 23,1830.Sadler, Samuel Campernowne, Purtor, Wilts; Aprii 6, 1832.Sherwin, William, Sydney; July 7,1826.Thimbleby, John, Spilsby; April 22, 1840.

. APOTHECARIES’ HALL.-The following gentlemen passedtheir examination in the Science and. Practice of Medicine, and

’ received certificates to practise, on the 12th inst. :-Davies, William, London Hospital.Morgan, Kdward, Middlesex Hospital.Procter, James, University of Edinburgh.

As an Assistant:-Jones, Watkin William, Cardigan.

, The following gentlemen also on the same day passed theirfirst examination :-

Grewcock John Baily, University College.Purvi-, John Prior, St. Thomas’s Hospital.

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY, JUNE 12TH.—Sherlock Wills,M.D., of Magdalen College, Oxford, was admitted ad eundem.OXFORD UNIVERSITY. JUNE 7TH.—Baines Wood, of

Trinity College, received a degree of M.D.- VERMIFUGE.-The Areca nut is a valuable vermifugefor the dog.