64

INQUEST ON MR. BOUTALL. LETTERFROM MR. WEEDON.

WM. WEEDON.

Tu the Editor of THE LANCET.SIR :-Iu the report of an inquest held

upon the late Mr. John Boutall, a veterinarysurgeon, published in your Journal of the9th instant, there appears a statement alleg- ed to have been made by a witness of the name of Alexauder Hartley, deeply reflect- ing upon my character, and purporting thatthe embarrassments and the death of Mr.Boutall were caused by me ; and this state-ment is accompanied by a remark of theKditur, that I was one of the jurymen uponthe first inquest.’

I was not present at either of the in-

quests, nor was I aware of them until afterthey were so held ; and as to the statementof Mr. Bartley, I have only to call yourattention to the following letter of Mr. Bou-ta)l, sent to me on the Sunday previous tohis death, to show that no foundation ex-isted fur it :-

’ DEVR WEDON :—Put in the warrant ofattorney tomorrow morning the first thin;pray do not delay ; this will secure youand fur God’s sake do not lose sight of mydear children, who I have, through misfor-tuxe, reduced to beggary, (tod bless youMrs. W . and Betsy. Nearly mad. Yours, ingreat distress,

" JNO. BOUTALL."I certainly did Lold, and still do, ajudg-

meut under a cognovit for 3000l., and I ama creditor for a much larger sum, but I couldnot, for the xake of his family, put the exe-cution in furce, as requested by the aboveletter.

I would submit to you that these expartestatements, published and circulated beforethe person against whom they are levelledhas an opportunity of contradicting them,a-e pregnant with mischief against the cha-rater of any person, and I therefore trustthat you will, by an insertion of this letter,do me that justice I think I am entitledto at your hands. I am, Sir, yours obe-diently, WM. WEDON.

Church-street, Blackfriars-road,March 22, 1839.

We agree with Mr. Weedon in thinkingthat exparte statements of the kind alludedto were altogether irrelevant, but therewas a disposition manifested by several

persons at the inquest holclen on Mr. Bou-tall (fur reasons best known to themselves)to pry iutu and elieit infurmation respectingthe pecuniary ail’airs of the deceased. Thisdisposition was evidently enconraged bythe coroner and his legal adviser. With

respect tu the circumstance of Mr. Weedonhaving served uu the first jury, our reporterobtained his information from a respectableperson, who said that he was present at theinquest.—ED. L.

REST ON THE SUNDAY,

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR:—Having read in a paragraph ofyour widely-circulated Journal, respectingthe due observance of the Sabbath amongstdruggists’ assistants, allow me to offer a fewremarks about opening the shops at all onthat day. In the printed hills which werecirculated the druggists pledged themselvesto attend to supply medicines in cases ofnecessity ; but this supply would extend tohair-oil, scents, and unnecessaries, and ifthe assistant is obliged to be in attendanceat all on that day, of what utility would theregulation be to him? The Sabbath wasmade a day of rest, and its freedom fromlabour ought to be the assistant’s right, lethim spend it how he may. I am, Sir, yourobedient servant,

A SURGEON’S ASSISTANT.

Surgery, Sunday, March 24, 1839.

GOVERNMENT OF THE ENDOWED METROPO-LITAN HOSPITALS.—A miserable chamber,situated amid the noise and bustle of theRoyal Exchange of London, has long beenconsidered by its corrupt managers as a fitand proper substitute for the spacious collegeof which the pmblic was robbed in the reignof Geo. III., in order to build an ExciseOffice. The present Trusteesof the Exchangewill amend this abuse. In the same reign, thecitizens of Londonwere iniquitously deprivedof the following endowments, which weremade over by an Act of the Legislature tothe self-elected, irresponsible bodies whohave since that time perverted and abusedthem:-St. Bartholomew’s Hospital; Christ’!fHospital ; St. Thomas’s Hoepital ; BridewellHospital and Bethlehem Hospital. TheCommon Council for the year 1782 betrayedtheir duty to their fellow-citizens by sanc-tioning this act of spoliation,—bartering theright of general control for a share of patron-age which was to be arbitrarily exercised bya few.—Letter by Mr. Richard Taytor, F.S.A.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

LETTERS have been received from lllr.

Brady, Mr. Smith, Mr. Bloxham, Mr. Daris,and A General Pructitioner.A. Z. We have been, long ago, acquaint-

ed with the circumstances which gave riseto the jobbing appointment of an inspectorof anatomy for the city of Cork. An in-

spector for less than two dozen of pupils is,as our correspondent justly remarks, a freshexample of Whig humbug.