PHTHISIS ON SHIPBOARD.
1
1448 conferred for the North-Western Frontier Campaign. It will be remembered that a very large and compre- hensive medical and hospital service had to be organised for that expedition, that the medical officers had very laborious and trying work, and that the results accom- plished were eminently satisfactory. It was very natural, therefore, for the members of both the medical services in India to have expected that their labours would have been fully recognised, but we cannot say that such has been the case and a very general feeling prevails that the medical officers of the expedition have not received that amount of recognition to which they were justly entitled. The vast amount of responsibility and labour which must have de- volved upon the Surgeon-General of Her Majesty’s forces and upon the Principal Medical Officer of India, for example, does not seem to have been recognised or taken into account in the distribution of rewards and honours. PHTHISIS ON SHIPBOARD. TRAVELLERS are indebted to a gentleman who recently made the voyage from South Africa to England for a timely and important suggestion which appeared in the pages of a contemporary. Shortly after leaving the Cape he discovered that his fellow passenger in the same cabin was advanced in phthisis. Naturally and very properly he suggested that he might be provided with a berth elsewhere, but was informed that the existing arrangement could not be altered. He was consequently obliged to sleep in the saloon. He afterwards found that two other passengers were also phthisical. Under the circumstances it is not surprising that he makes some very pertinent observa- tions respecting the duty of shipping companies with regard to isolation and disinfection in similar cases. There cannot indeed be any question as to the danger to others which these entail. It is true that phthisis is not infectious after the same manner or in the same degree as the exan- themata. It would be unreasonable, even cruel, to refuse a sufferer from this disease that opportunity of transit over sea which perhaps affords him his only chance of recovery. But, on the other hand, we now know that the spread of tuberculous disease is largely attributable to the inhala- tion of particles of dried sputum distributed in the atmo- sphere, and it is easily conceivable that phthisical persons are not always careful about the disposal of their expectora- tion. Such being the existing conditions a measure of sani- tary precaution is no more than necessary, and it ought, if it is to be effectual, to include the medical examination of intending passengers by the ship’s surgeon, the separate accommodation of any who are phthisical, the regular use and disinfection of special spittoons, the disinfection of handkerchiefs and soiled bed-linen, and a final sanitary cleansing of the cabins occupied during the voyage when it is over. A certain amount of method and some personal exertion would be needed to carry out these arrangements, but there should be little or no monetary loss to the shipping companies, while there would certainly result a gain in security and an increase of confidence on the part of the travelling public. - , THE Cavendish Lecture of the West London Medico- Chirurgical Society will be delivered before the society on Friday, June 16th, at 8.30 P.M., in the Town Hall, Hammer- smith, W., by Dr. William Osler, F.R.C.P. Lond., F.R.S., Professor of Medicine in Baltimore, who has taken as his subject " Cerebro-spinal Fever." THE Committee of the Brompton Hospital for Consump- tion and Diseases of the Chest have received a donation of .R2500 from Sir Theodore Martin, K.C.B., in order to dedicate a ward in memory of Lady Martin, better known to the- world as Helen Faucit. ___ THE formal opening of the International Congress for the- Prevention and Cure of Tuberculosis took place in Berlin, on Wednesday, May 24th. The proceedings were inaugurated at the Reichstag in the presence of the Empress of Germany. A CRITICISM ON THE DECISION IN HUNTER v. CLARE. BY JAMES WILSON, BARRISTER-AT-LAW. [THE great importance of the issues raised in the case of Hunter v. Clare will make the following legal criticism on. the recent decision of the Divisional Court interesting to our readers. It will be seen that Mr. James Wilson does not. wholly commend the interpretation of the law as laid down by Mr. Justice Lawrance and Mr. Justice Channell. There is no doubt that the matter bristles with difficulty, but we hope that our readers will consider the case strictly on its merits and will not allow any prejudice either for or against the Society of Apothecaries to influence their opinion either- of the action of the General Medical Council or of the justice of the decision of the Divisional Court.] ] The recent decision of a Divisional Court (Lawrance and Channell, JJ.) in the case of Hunter v. Clare cannot, it i& submitted, be accepted as a final determination of the law in respect to the use of medical titles by duly registered practitioners under the Medical Act of 1886. The court was. asked in this case to decide whether a Licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries of London, being duly registered on the Medical Register as such in accordance with the pro- visions of the Medical Act of 1886, could be convicted under- Section 40 of the Medical Act of 1858 for styling himself a physician." The point being raised for the first time in respect to a, Licentiate of the Apothecaries’ Society registered under the 1886 Act there was no direct authority bearing on the question to guide the court. In the absence of authority judges not infrequently find safety in a narrow interpre- tation of the law and so it seems to have happened here. It is an elementary rule of construction that words and phrases in a statute are to be taken as used in their technical meaning if they have acquired one and in their popular meaning if they have not, with this qualification, however, that technical words in statutes dealing with matters relating to the general public are to be construed 1lti loquitur vulg1ls-that is, according to the common under- standing and acceptation of the terms. Mr. Justice Channen narrowed down the question which the court had to decide to one of determining whether the word "physician" was used in a technical sense or in a popular sense in Section 40) of the Medical Act of 1858. " If physician there means," said the learned judge, " simply a person who is duly qualified in law to practise in physic then it seems to me this appellant is a physician within that meaning of the word, because although it was not so at one time he is now by being a Licentiate of the Society of Apothe- caries entitled to practise medicine and surgery, and if the word physician’ in Section 40 is used in a popular sense I think one would be bound to say that he is entitled to> practise in physic in a popular sense at any rate. Even if there be in any sense a distinction between physic’ and ’medicine’ I do not think there is any such distinction in the popular sense. Consequently, if physician’ in Section 40 means-I do not say medical practitioner’ as that expression, too, has a sort of technical sense-a person who is legally entitled to act as doctor, using the word ’doctor’ in the popular sense and not in the technical sense of doctor of medicine, then I think the appellant by the quali- fication he has got would be entitled to call himself a phy- sician. Prior to the passing of this Act of 1858 1 physician’ was commonly used as applying to what was the highest grade of medical practitioners and having regard to that fact I think it was so used in this Act and if we look through the Act we find confirmation of that view. There is some confirmation of it in the fact that most of the words used
Transcript of PHTHISIS ON SHIPBOARD.
1448
conferred for the North-Western Frontier Campaign. Itwill be remembered that a very large and compre-hensive medical and hospital service had to be organisedfor that expedition, that the medical officers had
very laborious and trying work, and that the results accom-plished were eminently satisfactory. It was very natural,therefore, for the members of both the medical services inIndia to have expected that their labours would have beenfully recognised, but we cannot say that such has been thecase and a very general feeling prevails that the medical
officers of the expedition have not received that amount ofrecognition to which they were justly entitled. The vast
amount of responsibility and labour which must have de-volved upon the Surgeon-General of Her Majesty’s forces andupon the Principal Medical Officer of India, for example, doesnot seem to have been recognised or taken into account inthe distribution of rewards and honours.
PHTHISIS ON SHIPBOARD.
TRAVELLERS are indebted to a gentleman who recentlymade the voyage from South Africa to England for a timelyand important suggestion which appeared in the pages of acontemporary. Shortly after leaving the Cape he discoveredthat his fellow passenger in the same cabin was advanced in
phthisis. Naturally and very properly he suggested thathe might be provided with a berth elsewhere, but was
informed that the existing arrangement could not be
altered. He was consequently obliged to sleep in thesaloon. He afterwards found that two other passengerswere also phthisical. Under the circumstances it is
not surprising that he makes some very pertinent observa-tions respecting the duty of shipping companies with
regard to isolation and disinfection in similar cases. There
cannot indeed be any question as to the danger to otherswhich these entail. It is true that phthisis is not infectiousafter the same manner or in the same degree as the exan-themata. It would be unreasonable, even cruel, to refusea sufferer from this disease that opportunity of transit oversea which perhaps affords him his only chance of recovery.But, on the other hand, we now know that the spread oftuberculous disease is largely attributable to the inhala-tion of particles of dried sputum distributed in the atmo-sphere, and it is easily conceivable that phthisical personsare not always careful about the disposal of their expectora-tion. Such being the existing conditions a measure of sani-tary precaution is no more than necessary, and it ought, ifit is to be effectual, to include the medical examination ofintending passengers by the ship’s surgeon, the separateaccommodation of any who are phthisical, the regularuse and disinfection of special spittoons, the disinfection ofhandkerchiefs and soiled bed-linen, and a final sanitarycleansing of the cabins occupied during the voyage when itis over. A certain amount of method and some personalexertion would be needed to carry out these arrangements,but there should be little or no monetary loss to the
shipping companies, while there would certainly result a
gain in security and an increase of confidence on the part ofthe travelling public. - ,
THE Cavendish Lecture of the West London Medico-
Chirurgical Society will be delivered before the society onFriday, June 16th, at 8.30 P.M., in the Town Hall, Hammer-smith, W., by Dr. William Osler, F.R.C.P. Lond., F.R.S.,Professor of Medicine in Baltimore, who has taken as hissubject " Cerebro-spinal Fever."
THE Committee of the Brompton Hospital for Consump-tion and Diseases of the Chest have received a donation of.R2500 from Sir Theodore Martin, K.C.B., in order to dedicate
a ward in memory of Lady Martin, better known to the-world as Helen Faucit.
___
THE formal opening of the International Congress for the-Prevention and Cure of Tuberculosis took place in Berlin,on Wednesday, May 24th. The proceedings were inauguratedat the Reichstag in the presence of the Empress of Germany.
A CRITICISM ON THE DECISION INHUNTER v. CLARE.
BY JAMES WILSON, BARRISTER-AT-LAW.
[THE great importance of the issues raised in the case ofHunter v. Clare will make the following legal criticism on.the recent decision of the Divisional Court interesting toour readers. It will be seen that Mr. James Wilson does not.
wholly commend the interpretation of the law as laid downby Mr. Justice Lawrance and Mr. Justice Channell. Thereis no doubt that the matter bristles with difficulty, but wehope that our readers will consider the case strictly on itsmerits and will not allow any prejudice either for or againstthe Society of Apothecaries to influence their opinion either-of the action of the General Medical Council or of the
justice of the decision of the Divisional Court.] ]The recent decision of a Divisional Court (Lawrance and
Channell, JJ.) in the case of Hunter v. Clare cannot, it i&submitted, be accepted as a final determination of the lawin respect to the use of medical titles by duly registeredpractitioners under the Medical Act of 1886. The court was.asked in this case to decide whether a Licentiate of theSociety of Apothecaries of London, being duly registered onthe Medical Register as such in accordance with the pro-visions of the Medical Act of 1886, could be convicted under-Section 40 of the Medical Act of 1858 for styling himself aphysician."
The point being raised for the first time in respect to a,Licentiate of the Apothecaries’ Society registered under the1886 Act there was no direct authority bearing on thequestion to guide the court. In the absence of authorityjudges not infrequently find safety in a narrow interpre-tation of the law and so it seems to have happened here.It is an elementary rule of construction that words and
phrases in a statute are to be taken as used in theirtechnical meaning if they have acquired one and in their
popular meaning if they have not, with this qualification,however, that technical words in statutes dealing withmatters relating to the general public are to be construed1lti loquitur vulg1ls-that is, according to the common under-standing and acceptation of the terms. Mr. Justice Channennarrowed down the question which the court had to decideto one of determining whether the word "physician" wasused in a technical sense or in a popular sense in Section 40)of the Medical Act of 1858. " If physician there means,"said the learned judge, " simply a person who is duly qualifiedin law to practise in physic then it seems to me this
appellant is a physician within that meaning of theword, because although it was not so at one time heis now by being a Licentiate of the Society of Apothe-caries entitled to practise medicine and surgery, and if theword physician’ in Section 40 is used in a popular senseI think one would be bound to say that he is entitled to>
practise in physic in a popular sense at any rate. Even ifthere be in any sense a distinction between physic’ and’medicine’ I do not think there is any such distinctionin the popular sense. Consequently, if physician’ inSection 40 means-I do not say medical practitioner’ asthat expression, too, has a sort of technical sense-a personwho is legally entitled to act as doctor, using the word’doctor’ in the popular sense and not in the technical senseof doctor of medicine, then I think the appellant by the quali-fication he has got would be entitled to call himself a phy-sician. Prior to the passing of this Act of 1858 1 physician’ wascommonly used as applying to what was the highest gradeof medical practitioners and having regard to that fact Ithink it was so used in this Act and if we look through theAct we find confirmation of that view. There is someconfirmation of it in the fact that most of the words used
