834

THE LANCET.

London, Saturday, August 21, 1830.

NQN-MEDICAL CORONERS.

THE pages of this Journal literally groanunder the weight of accumulated facts and

arguments, all tending to prove, most indis-

putably, that non-medical men are unquali-fied for the due performance of the impor-tant functions connected with the office of

Coroner. It is not, therefore, for the pur-pose of adducing additional testimony in

proof of the incompetency of non-medicalcoroners that we resume the subject on thisoccasion, for we are of opinion, and be-

lieve that the profession and the publicfully agree with us, that there is no fact

better established, in morals or in physics,than that men, not having received a medi-cal education, being ignorant of the anatomyof the human body, and equally unskilled in..the laws of physiology, are utterly incapa-ble of conducting scientific investigationsinto the causes of death. How often does it

happen, that even the best-informed anato-mist, and the most profound physiologist,fails to discover, by a careful, minute, andlaborious post-mortem examination, the par-ticular lesion or alteration of structure,which has immediately led to the termina-tion of the functions of life! If this be ad-

mitted, and it cannot be denied by personswho have bestowed the least attention upon Ithe subject, how preposterous is the prac-tice of placing in the office of coroner, menWhose minds are not enlightened even byso much as the rudiments of a medical edu-cation ! If the folly of the system were theonly matter for consideration, it might wellbe passed over without much comment ; butwhen we look at its dreadful consequences,the subject becomes one of the deepest con-sti tutional importance. We have no desire, bymaking pointed allusions to particular occasions, to harass and distress the feelings of

well-meaning men, but we ask, Has not the

ignorance of non-medical coroners caused

years of unnecessary misery in hundreds offamilies ? Has it not led to the ruin of manymedical practitioners, by the destruction oftheir professional reputation ? and, worse

than all, has it not immured the guiltlessin the loathsome dungeons of a jail, and

dragged the hands of the innocent to the

felon’s bar ? If such deplorable evils as thesewere the absolute, the unalterable, the neces.

sary adjuvants of the functions of coroner,we might submit to them without repining,but, when it is known that they all resultfrom the disgraceful and thoughtless systemof electing unqualified persons, an affair of

such easy correction, one’s heart sickens

at the weakness and folly of human na-

ture. Great allowance, however, is to be

made for those whose duty it has been toelect coroners, their attention, until of

late years, not having been directed to the

appropriate and indisputable qualificationsof such officers, and rarely have theyenjoyed the advantage, in the appointmentof them, of selecting even from a choice

of evils for, with very few exceptions, theevil has been one, unmixed, unmitigated,and unqualified.-Attorneys, practising at.

torneys, have been the only candidates forthe office of Coroner. Scared by the talonsof these grasping legal vultures, the un-

assuming votaries of medical science haveshrunk from the encounter, and have

yielded up the field, which they alone havebeen qualified to occupy, without a contest.

Lawyers’ pretensions to office are reallypushed beyond ail bounds ; one might sup-pose, that the number of placc-s already al-

lotted to them in the state would satiate

even tlu:ir craving appetites ; we find, how-ever, that these are not sufficient, and that

their demands extend even to oiiees which

are strictly medical. It is not enough for

them that they are Chancellors, Viee-Clian-cellors, Masters of the Rolls, Speakers and

Deputy Speakers of the House of Lords-

Judges of the King’s Bench, Common

835NON.MEDICAL CORONERS.

Pleas, Exchequer, and half a thousand other who do not fail to discover, that the

Courts-Attorneys and Solicitors General, presiding officer of the Court does not

Stipendiary Police Magistrates, Masters in possess those requisites which could ena-

Chancery, Commissioners of Bankrupts, ble the jury to arrive at a just conclu-cum multis aliis :-these are not enough for sion. A lawyer and his jury, when calledthem, and, impelled by conceit and rapacity, upon to decide on a ease of death arisingthey invade the province of medicine, and from complicated injuries of the head, from

lay claim to an office, the duties of which obscure injuries to the viscera of the thoraxare utterly incompatible with their educa- and abdomen, from the effects of compound

.

tion and habits. The loss of the emoluments fractures, from the more remote effects ofof the office of Coroner is certainly not very accidents ; also on instances of death caused

severely felt by the members of the medical by poison, or supposed by poison, present, onprofession, but the loss of their reputation, most occasions, a very ludicrous spectacle ;so frequently attendant upon the proceed- altogether unbecoming the high, serious,ings of coroners’ inquests is severely, is bit- and exalted character of the jurisprudence ofterly felt by them. Deplorable, however, the country. As well might Sir Astleyas is this distressing consequence of official Cooper be appointed attorney-general, or

ignorance, it sinks into nothing when com- Sir James Scarlett, whose description of the

pared with the appalling fact, that, from the operation of lithotomy wili never be forgot-operation of the same cause, the brand of ten, be elected consulting-surgeon to Guy’sguilt is often stamped upon the brow of Hospital, as for a non-medical man to be

the innocent. The Coroner’s Court, in the placed in the office of Coroner.nature of its constitution, is one of the By the death of the late Mr. Unwin, thebest institutions of the country; it is cal- freeholders of Middlesex have now an op-

culated, and ought, to confer inestimable portunity presented to them for display-advantages upon the public. The greatest ing their independence and intelligence, byLaw authorities have ever spoken of this electing into the office of Coroner for their

Court in terms of high commendation, and county, a person competent to the dischargethe freedom of inquiry of which it admits, of its duties. If they do not elect a man

has always been deemed a source of great who has receivcd the advantages of a me.protection tothe subject. There are no tech- dical education, they will have no right tonicalities, there are no fettering, unreason- complain of inegicient, irregular, and use-able forms, the Court is opened by procla- less inquests ; neither can they demur at theniation, and there is an invitation to all who expenses which such proceedings would en-are acquainted with any circumstances re- tail upon them; they might, however, deep-lating to the matter under investigation, to ly regret having been instrl1mental in the in-come forward wilh their evidence. At the carceration of innocent and unoffending per-same time, those who are unwilling, are sons. By the election of a medical candi-compelled to appear, at the mandate of the date, these evils may all be obviated, and

chief officer, and the inquest, after having the advantages which the Coroner’s courtseen the body, may adjourn from day is so well calculated to confer upon the

to day, until the most searching and sa- community may be fully- realised. Attorneystisfactory inquiry has been instituted, are already in active canvass for the vacantSatisfactory it may be to the jury who office ; it rests with the freeholders to deter-

ge their verdict upon the- evidence ; mine whether these gentlemen possess thebut it is by no means satisfactory, in a requisite qualifications. Towatds them we

great number of instances, to the public, entertain no feelings of disrespect ; many of

836 HUNTERIAN AND HARVEIAN SOCIETIES.

the legal profession are gentlemen of highcharacter and great talents ; but we always sh’ive contended, and always shall contend,that thèyare utterly unfit to execute the

important functions attached to the office ofcoroner. No mediczal gentleman havinghitherto off",red himself, the Editor of this

Journal, at the pressing solicitations ofa nu-merous body of FREEHOLDERS, has been in-duced to stand forward as a CANDIDATE ; and

as the office is intimately connected withthe medical jurisprudence of the country,he relies on the members of the profession,in every part of the county, for their

zealous co-operation and support. The

cause is their own.

A GOLD medal is offered by the HUNTE-ITIAN SOCIETY for the best Essay on " TheNature and History of Tubercular Forma-

tions ;" it must be sent to the Secretarybefore the ist of December. The name of

the author, with a motto corresponding withthe one prefixed to the essay, must be

enclosed in a sealed packet. The rooms of

the Society are in Aldermanbury.

THE Harveian Society of Edinburgh hasdecided, that the best Essay offered last Iyear on

" The Diagnostic Properties of theStethoscope, illustrated by Dissections,"was written by Mr. Robert Spittal, of theRoyal Infirmary, who was, consequently,declared the successful competitor, and

awarded the medal.

The subject for the prize essay, for the

year 1831, is " The Proximate Cause, and

most appropriate Treatment, of Tetanus."

The Essay must be in the hands of the

Secretary before the 1st of January, 1831.Each Essay must have a motto, accom-

panied by a corresponding one, and the

name of the author, in a sealed letter.

! Edinburgh 31--dic(il and Surgical Journal.(Concluded.)

WE shall now apply a few cursory re-

marks to the original communicationuunoticed tn our last number. ln tha first

and most leugtfrened we find the stades ofCoodwia and B’Ghat dphating vehementlyabout the last act of life, and the I)recisemanner in which its termination is accom.

plished. Dr. Bostock interprets the post-humous controversy for the benefit of the

Blue Journal, but, taking into considerationthat both the disputants have passed therverof ghosts, it annoys us much to find how

little additional information on the subjectthey have been enabled to procure for their

physiological survivors. While Goodwinmaintains that death takes place becauseblack blood cannot excite the left ventnde

of the heart to its due contractile exertions,Bichat on the other hand asserts, that deathensues from the penetration of the substanceof the heart by venous blood conveyedthrough the clioiiary arteries. Such is

briefly the statement of the question; the

arguments on either side are re-arranged byGoodwin in the present communication; wesay re-arranged, because the author bringsforward no novel or additional fact in sup-

port of his opinions, but, after accusingBichat of mistatmg his doctrines, he thenproceeds to repeat them in more detail, andin their support lays his most emphatic stressupon an objection to Bichat’s theory, whichthe French anatomist with his usual saga-city foresaw, and with equal dexterity at-tempted to evade." If it be true, as Bichat asserts, that the

left auricle and ventricle cease to contractin asphyxia from suffocation, because theblack blood, carried by the coronary artenesto the muscular fibres of the heart, pene.trates and weakens these fibres, and thusrenders them unable to contract, it shouldfollow, that in order to renew these contrac-tions again, some florid blood must be sentinto these arteries to restore the lost strengthof these muscular fibres, and thus enablethem to contract again ; but the only mranswe have of sending blood into these coronaryarteries, is by the contraction of the lettventricle, which, on Biehat’s hypothesis, isnow not able to contract, and hence it mustappear, that when the contractions of theleft auricle and ventricle have ceased in the

asphyxia from suffocation, it will be impos.sible to renew them again."

837THE BLUE JOURNAL.

Now how does Bichat meet this objec-tion ?

" The florid blood," he says, " in thisexperiment, penetrates the fibres of theljeait,atid removes the weakness occasionedby the contact of black blood ;" and then adds," that he does not believe any person couldresuscitate the motions of the heart when

I!iey have once been destroyed by the con-tact of black blood: for in order that theflorid blood should vivify the heart, it must

penetrate its fibres, and if the auscultationhas ceased, how can this be brought about ?"

To any well-ordered and logical mind, thesophistry of this flimsy evasion must bepainfuHy manifest; how the egotism of con-trovery could so obscure Bichat’s memory, ias to render him forgetful of the mode ofresuscitating the apparently drowned, or ofthe phenomena he himself had so often wit- nessed in his experiments in restoringasphyxiated cats to the full exercise of re-

spiratioil and life, we are entirely unable tocomprehend. On the whole, though manydifficulties yet remain to be decided, Good-win has the upper hand in the present con- Btroversy; and though the paper, we havelittle doubt. will nrove nearlv as full of in-

terest to the majority of the readers of the" blue," as Paul Pry’s article in three co-lumns on an " enormous gooseberry,’’ yet ittends decidedly to prove, that faith and fa-

shion have contributed no trifling share to

the implicit confidence which Bichat’s doc-trines have so generally enjoyed.Two cases of hare-lip are next related by

illr. Dewar, of Dunfermline, doubly remark-able for their entire resemblance to each

other, and for the mother of the youngerchild, while pregnant, having constantlyheld in her mind’s eye the image of herneighbour’s deformed offspring. This

strange coincidence Mr. Dewar does not

pretend to unravel ; but he forgets to in-form us whether it is within the bounds of

possibility, that the rights of paternity maybe referable 11l both cases to the same indi-vidual. Such things will now and then hap-pen, and explain most naturally as myste-rious " coincidences" as that which Mr.Dewar describes.Dr. Corrigan contributes the 6th article,

onthe diseases and weatherof Dublin. WithLis usual correctness of manner, he makesthe most of a few trifling cases, none of

which are of sufficient interest to be trans-

ferred to our columns. The next communica-tion is from Dr. Renton on the effects of

acupuncture, in which he narrates manystriking cases of rheumatism cured by theoperation of this remedial agent. He speakswith great confidence of its powers, and ex-

presses his belief of its utter freedom from

danger as far as the operation is concerned.We must observe, however, that we have

seen acupuncture repeatedly fail, even incases strictly analogous to those Dr. Rentonmentions ; and with reference to the safetyof the operation, there is a case in Bartho-lomew’s at this moment, in which permanentcontraction of the biceps and flexors of theforearm and fingers, has supervened on thebreaking of a needle in the palm of thehand ; now, that such an accident may hap-pen during the operation of acupuncture,

cannot be denied ; and if it does not weighagainst the practice, it should at least in-fluence the degree of caution with which itsmanipulation should be conducted.

We have now noticed all the original ar-ticles, with the exception of two cases ofmalformation briefly described by Dr. Camp-bell, and a case of phlegmonous erysipelassuccessfully treated by the nitrate of silver,by Mr. Hodgson, of Carlisle, neither ofwhich demands either censure or approba-tion. We shall now proceed to the thirddivision of the work, noticing, as we pass,a precious fragment of medical criticismwhich occurs in the editorial review of therecent works by Tate and Addison on hys-teria, Blue Journal, p. 201.

" The hypothesis now stated, ’nevertlie-less, is not free from objection ; Mr. Tate,for instance, finds the dorsal vertebræ teii-

der on pressure, or the use of the hot sponge,and seems to infer, for we are not permittedto say that he does infer, like Mr. Teale,that this indicates irritation of the spinal! nerves and their origins. Now though wedid not choose to object to Mr. 1’eale, thathe could not recognise the state of the spinalchord through the spinal muscles, the bones,and the membranes, and though the testnow alluded to can only indicate the state

of the periosteum and the outer part of thespinal plates, we must now say to both

authors, that this method is totally inade-quate to ascertain the condition of the spi-nal chord and its nerves ; and whatever suc-cess may have attended the remedies em-ployed (namely, the friction of the tender

portion of the spine with tartar-emetic oint-

838 THE BLUE JOURNAL.

ment), the result cannot be admitted as a

proof of the accuracy of the diagnosis."There is not in the entire Journal so fla-

grant a display of ignorance of the practicalart of medicine, as is contained in the pas-sage above quoted. We will not ask thereviewer whether he ever read Abercromhieor Lallemand, for this we take for granted,at the same time allowing him the credit offorgetting all that was interesting in the

works of these celebrated authorities on

cerebro-spinal disease ; but is it possiblethat he is unacquainted with the fact, thatcircumscribed and continued tenderness ofthe scalp is one of the most certain indica-tions of organic cerebral disease. Of this

we have ourselfes seen numerous examples,and we may refer the Editors to the reportof one of Dr. Graham’s clinical lectures foran instance of the same kind. We have

also witnessed the symptoms alluded to ina case of paralysis of the lower extremities,depending on disease of the spinal chord,and totally unconnected with the bones,muscles, periosteum &c., as was proved bythe post-mortem examination. Really, be-fore the reviewer started his objections, heshould, for his own reputation, have exam.ined the subject with rather more attention.We now turn to the third division, of

which we shall only examine that part whichrelates to medical jurisprudence. The firstitem under this head is a report of a trial

in Paris, for attempt to murder by adminis-tering nitric acid, extracted from the Ar-chives Gen. de Medecine, and commente:’on by the Editors. The evidence of cir-

cumstances, as unravelled and eluciclated bvMM. Olivier and Chevalier, procured the

prisoner’s condemnation. The principalpoint, however, we wish to advert to, is thechemical analysis by which the attempc wasmade to particularise the acid employed.

" The stains on the clothes were analysedin the following manner :-Litmus paperwas strongly reddened by them. When aportion ot the slained cloth was immersedin daritted water, the water became acid,and when this was neutralised with thebicarbonate of potash and concentrated, a

piece of paper immersed in the solution anddried, burnt with a sparkling redness likematch-paper. Another poition of the liquidevaporated to dryness, and projected on

burning charcoal caused deflagration. Thestains on the skin and hair were submittedto the same process, and gave the same

results. A portion of the yellow stain, when

treated with caustic potash, became reddisb-veHow. These experiments left no doubtthat the stains on the body and clothes werecaused by nitric acid."

We have here ample evidence of the

application of a corrosive acid, but what

that acid was, the experiments did not de-

termine, for there are many acids besidesthe nitric, which form with potash a neutralsalt, which deflagrates when heated with

combustible matter ; and as for the indica.tions afforded by the fumes produced on theeffusion of sulphuric acid, it was utterlyvalueless, since these fumes where submittedto no examination as to their chemicalnature. With reference to this subject wemay direct the attention of our readers toDr. O’Shaughnessy’s papers in Nos. 353

and 35.5 of this Journal, and to a commuui-cation from him we insert in this day’spublication.The following notice is so extremely in.

teresting that we shall quote it at length ; itexemplifies admirably the valuable assist-

ance which chemistry affords in the de.

velopment of medico-legal investigations.Had the accident occurred before Orfilareduced toxicology to a science, it is morettran probable, that the unfortunate pastry.cook would have been condemned as a feloa

and sent to the guillotine. The statement

of the case and the chemical evidence areworthy of tile deepest consideration, andafford to the medical world a practical les-son of the most valuable kind.

ON THE POISONOUS EFFECTS OF CERTAIN

’ SPOILED ARTICLES OF FOOD.

IT is well known that certain articles offood have been frequently observed on theContinent to acquire poisonous qualitiesof a peculiar kind, and in a way whichchemists and physicians have not hithertobeen able to explain very satisfactorily.Among these articles the most frequent area peculiar variety of sausage, and particularkind of cheese used in Germany ; but both inFrance and Germany, bacon and ham harebeen also several times found to 1Icq!JIrepoisonous qualities analogous to those whichcharacterise the sausage-poison and cheese-poison. A very elaborate inquiry into anaccident supposed to have ansen from

spoiled ham has just been published by 111.Ullivier in the Archives Generales deMédecine. His investigations set com-

pletely at rest the common notion that suchcases arise from the accidental impreg.

839SPILLAN’S SUPPLEMENT TO THE PHARMACOPŒIAS.

nation of the meat with metallic poisons;but he has not succeeded in discovering- thereal cause.

In the instance which gave rise to his

investigation, the master of a family pur-chased a ham-pie at a pastry-coolc’s in

Paris, and the whole family ate the meat ofthe pie the same day, and the crust on thefollowing day. Three hours after dinnerthe master of the house was seized with

general uneasiness, followed by cold sweats,shivering, violent pain in the stomach, andfrequent vomiting; then with burningthirst, extreme tenderness of the belly, sothat the weight of the bed-clothes couldscarcely be borne, profuse purging, and colicof extieme violence. His daughter, twenty-seven years of age, and a child nine yearsold, were similarly attacked. A physician,who was called to their assistance soon afterthey were taken ill, drew up a minute re-port of the symptoms in each of his patients,and declared that they had a violent in-flammation of the stomach, which iie wasinehaed to ascribe to natural verdigris, orthe carbonate of copper having’ been com-municated bv the pastry-cook’s rnoulds. In

a tew days all the three individuals recoveredunder an antiphlogistic treatment. Aboutthe same period several accidents of the likenature occurred among the customers of thisuastrv-cook: and. in conseciuetice. a indicial

investigation was ordered. The shop beingproperly insppcted, it was found that everyoperation was conducted with due attentionto cleanliness. MM. Oilivier and Barruelwere appointed to analyse the remains ofthe meat which produced the cases firstmentioned, as well as the alvine dischargesof the child.The alvine discharges had a leek-green

colour, and were not fetid, but of a soursmell. Sulphuretted hydrogen did not in-duce any change in colour, neither was anychange of colour produced by the same re-agent after the fluid was filtered. Theremains of the pie had become mouldy. Themeat and paste were separately examined.The contact of sulphuretted hydrogen didnot produce any change of colour in either.When they were incinerated in a crucible,and the residue treated with diluted nitricacid, the filtered liquid on being neutralisedwith ammonia did not give any precipitatewith ferrocyanate of potass, or with sul-

phuretted hydrogen, and did not becomeblue with ammonia. Another portion ofthe remains of the pie was treated withalcohol and a few drops of acetic acid, andthe alcoholic solutions were evaporated tothe volume of half a drachm. The residuewas agitated with ibur times its volume ofdistilled water, filtered and evaporated, anddissolved again in water. This solution wasnot affected by sulphuretted hydrogen or

by nitric acid. These experiments furnishample proof that the pie did not contain a

trace of arsenic, copper, antimony, or leadThe ouly conclusion, therefore, which M.Olhvier conceived it possible to draw was,that the ham had, in some way or another,acquired the poisonous properties sometimesremarked in German sausages, cheese, andham.—Archives Generecfes de !i?edecaree,Fevrie1’ 1830.

With these extracts we are compelled toclose our observations. With the Journal andits contributors, it may be seen, we have

dealt with an equitable hand, neither haveing spared deserved censure, nor lavishedunmerited applause. From this abstract,given as it is with the utmost impartiality,our readers will be enabled to form an ade-

quate opinion of the present character ofthe Journal, and they will, perhaps, be in-clined to agree with us in the belief, that ithas lost much of the vigorous and scientifictone by which it was distinguished under itsformer directors.

A Supplement to the London, Edinburgh,and Dublin Pharmacopœias, &c. &c.

By D. SPILLAN, M.D., &c., &c., Dublin,Hodges and Smith, 1830. 12mo. pages218.

THIS work consists of three entirely dis-tinct parts, 1st, An Exposition of the AtomicTheory; 2nd, An Account of the Methodof Preparing certain Medicines recently in-troduced in France ; and lastly, A Treatiseon the Action of Medicinal Substances onthe Living System," with som e observationson the Art of Prescribing, and a List ofMedical Prescriptions. The first of these,as we have already hadeccasion to observe,when speaking of another somewhat similarwork, appears to us to be rather out of placein any but a professed system of chemistry ;for, as, on the one hand, the Theory ofChemical Equivalents must be unintel-

ligible to any one unacquainted with che-mistry, so, on the other, it is very impro-bable that one who is even moderately in-structed in the science, will require to seekfor information on so important a part of it,in a work like this. Besides this objection,the " Exposition " is liable to another veryserious one, that of being less simple andintelligible than any which we have metwith, so that we are convinced that, to the