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Should this instrument be brought forward, " Mat’’ will blush.The standard of qualification which woald content me, is not theblushes of " Mat," but such a measure of tutoring as would

satisfy the public and the consciences of the promoters of the NewMedical Bill. Without this proviso, it will he next to impossibleto carry the Bill, for right dealing will not be the base of thesuperstructure to be raised. With this proviso, I believe weshould quickly see salaries of assistants increased from £15 to

,;(150 per annum. The poor-law authorities would not then beable to take advantage of the competition now existing betweenprofessional men; charitable institutions would be compelledequitably to remunerate the talent they employ, and to distributemedical out-door relief with a more provident hand.

I am, Sir, yours faithfully,Camberwell, Dec. 1852. J. W. EDMONDS.J. W. EDMONDS.

THE MEDICAL PROFESSION AND LIFE ASSURANCEOFFICES.

H. EVANS.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—My experience of the last week enables me to assureyour readers, that " The Royal Naval Military East IndiaService," and " The Caledonian" Insurance Companies may be(if not already) classed among the non-paying offices. In both in-stances the required information was not furnished.

Yours obediently,Blackfriars-road, Dec. 17, 1852. H. Ev ARB.

THE NEW MEDICAL REFORM BILL.

THOMAS KERRY.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.SIR,—In reference to the New Medical Reform Bill, Mr. Keith,

in your number for Dec. 11, suggests an amendment on ClauseXXIII. I beg to submit a still further amendment, referring espe-cially to the oppressed Poor-law medical officers. Surely, Sir,some fair scale of remuneration ought to be insisted upon, insteadof leaving us entirely to the merciful consideration of theGuardians, who, like attorneys, referred to by Mr. Keith, wisein their generation, carefully take into their consideration only£ s. d., and not the amount of work required. The scale of paybeing always below the chaplain, the lawyer, and the relieving-officer. Yours truly,

Lidgate, Dec. 1852. THOMAS KERRY.

MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS AT THE DIGGINGS. To tlee Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—My nephew went out to Australia last year ; I send youan extract from a letter I have just received from him ; it maybe interesting to some of your readers who are assistants in themedical profession. After detailing matters, he goes on to say :-

" If you do find out Mr. S-, tell him how pleased I shall beif he will join us here ; he is sure of first-rate remuneration, evenas a medical assistant ; remind him of that arrangement madebefore I left England. King is with Dr. Vip’bnd, at a salary of£100 per annum, and apartments and servants, who are Chinese;he has light work in his profession; indeed, a medical man findsbusiness in this delightful country a pleasant pastime; King,however, means to turn his attention to stock-farming veryshortly, and wants me to join him.-I have met with two personshere whom I knew in Sunderland ; one of them is just returnedto Melbourne, rich from the diggings. I think, if assistants knewthe good chances they have of doing well here, in so many ways,they would not be slow to give up their drudgery at home. Ihave kuown a young fellow refuse £180 a year for his services asan assistant, besides board and lodging, at Sydney, and that onlya week or two before I left."

I am, Sir, your very obedient servant,Shields, Dec. lSJ2. A RETIRED NAVAL SURGEON.

DEATH FROM THE ADMINISTRATION OFCHLOROFORM.

A PERSON named Henry Hollingworth, a factory operativefrom Newton-moor, near Hyde, has fallen a victim, at the Man-chester Royal Infirmary, to the use of chloroform, administeredto nullify the pain consequent upon a severe operation. An

inquest was held on view of the body by Mr. Herford, coronerfor the borough, when the following evidence was given :-Mr. John Wright Baker, house-surgeon at the Royal Infirmary,

said the deceased was admitted on the 16th Dec., on account ofa malignant tumour on the right thigh, to remove which anoperation was performed, as it was looked upon as a cancerous

tumour, though enveloped in much doubt, as those tumours oftenare. He was in a bad state of health when admitted, and every-thing was done to improve his health previous to the operation.A consultation, as I understood, had been held previous to hisadmission, and it had then been determined that the operationshould be performed, of course with the consent of the patient.The consultation was of all the medical men of the innrmary.The deceased the day before the operation said he was ready forit, but wished to have chloroform. Almost every patient takesit. I said he should have it if he wished it, and that he wouldfeel no pain, and that I would do all I could to support his strength.I did not give him any caution. We have given chloroform fre-quently, and never had a fatal case before. At eleven o’clock onFridav, the 24th Dec. the operation took place. There were presentMr. Jordan, as the operator, Mr. Beever, as his assistant in the

operation, Mr. Wilson, Dr. Renaud, and Dr. Wilkinson (allmembers of the honorary medical staff of the infirmary), and myself.Mr. Frederick Heath, a qualified surgeon, administered the chloro-form. The man was very much excited, struggled, and talkedfast. The chloroform was administered slowly, and every pre-caution was taken to prevent any danger; and the medical menremarked two or three times how very long it was in takingeffect. He at last became insensible in about seven minutes atleast. Mr. Jordan commenced the operation by an incision intothe skin covering the tumour. I was assisting the surgeon whenMr. Heath directed my attention to the patient’s face. This wasabout five minutes after the operation had commenced. I thenobserved congestion about the face, but there was no stertorous

breathing. His pupils appeared almost to have ceased to act.His breathing was become exceedingly slow, and he seemed to besinking fast. I directed the attention of the operator andother medical men to these symptoms. The operation wasthen suspended, and means resorted to for restoring animation,but the pupils had ceased to act, and had become fixed almostimmediately. He gave one strong gasp, and then to all appear-ance was dead. In administering the chloroform successive doseswere given until it took effect. Every dose consisted of a drachm,taken at intervals in an inhaler. Constitutions differ with regardto the effect produced by chloroform, but we use every precautionto prevent injury ; and I am satisfied that the surgeons did theirduty in the administration of the chloroform and in the operation.

Mr. Jordan was examined, and stated, in corroboration of Mr.Baker’s evidence, that more time elapsed than usual before in-sensibility was produced, and then it was not complete, for afterthe incision was made, the man, more than once, said a cat wasscratching him. Chloroform was generally administered in casesof operation, unless there were circumstances which, in the opinionof the surgeons, rendered it undesirable. Mr. Heath was a com-petent person to administer chloroform. The post-mortem exami-nation showed that asphyxia, caused by chloroform, produced thedeath. There was a congestion both of the brain and lungs.

Verdict-" Died from the effects of chloroform."It is, we understand, the determination of the medical staff in

all cases requiring the use of this deadly though valuable agent,to have one person to administer it and another to scrutinize the

.

effects upon the patients, in order to avoid a second fatality ofthe kind.

Medical News.

DR. HECTOR GAVIN AT BAHAMA.—It is with muchsatisfaction that we announce the arrival of Dr. Hector Gavin,Medical Inspector West India Colonies, by the last packet. Itmay be well to remind our readers that this gentleman, alongwith two other physicians, was appointed on the 15t January,

1851, by Earl Grey, in compliance with the urgent solicitationsof the merchants and capitalists connected with the West Indies,for additional aid and assistance against the ravages of cholera,which at that time was devastating the neighbouring colony ofJamaica. Dr. Milroy, the colleague of Dr. Gavin, returned aftera short stay in Jamaica, while Dr. Laidlaw, his remaining col-league, died lately in London, after protracted disease. Dr. Gavinis, therefore, the only medical inspector now in the West Indiesengaged in this special service. The chief duty with which, webelieve, the medical inspector is charged, are those of preventing,or diminishing, as far as practicable, the loss of life which, every-

. where, sad experience has proved to attend this pestilence where’ it has developed itself, and of proposing new and efficient sanitary

enactments. The colony is indebted to Dr. Gavin for the, i promptitude with which he has hastened hither in the midst ofhis important duties in Trinidad, and we look forward with somel hope in our affliction, to the effect which may be produced byhis labours among us.—Bahama Herald.

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RovAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS.—At the quarterlymeeting of the Comitia Majora, held on Wednesday, Dec. I22nd, the following gentlemen, having undergone the neces-sary examinations for diploma, were admitted Members ofthe College :-

DR. SNOW BECK, 9, Langham-plac?.DR. ROBINSON, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.DR. WHITLEY, 33, King-street, Borough.

.Also-DR. POWELL, The Mauritius,

was admitted an Extra-Licentiate.

APOTHECARIES’ HALL.—Names of gentlemen whopassed their examination in the science and practice of medi-cine, and received certificates to practise, on

Thursday, December 23rd, 1852.BAILEY, JOHN LocCK, Cambridre.BARNES, JOHN WICKHAM, Bath.BULLOCK, HENRY, Reading.DAVISON, JOHN, Wolsingham.DODD, JAMES SHERWOOD.FOLKER, WILLIAM HENRY, Oxford.PINYON, PETER, Ashburnham, Snssex.SOMMERS, JOHN AUGUSTUS, Liverpool.TERRY, GEORGE, Northampton.WILD, THOMAS, Ramsbottom, Lancashire.

ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS.—The additionserected upon the site of Alderman Copeland’s extensive premisesare all but completed, and will soon be ready for the use of themembers. By these improvements the Library and the Museumof Anatomy will be greatly enlarged.

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SOCIETY.—At the ordinarymeeting, to be held on Monday, January 3rd, 1853, at the houseof the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society, 53, Berners-street,at half-past eight P.M., a paper " On the Relations of Vaccinationand Inoculation to Small-pox," by Dr. Waller Lewis, will be read.THE MEDICAL STAFF OF MARYLEBONE WORK- I

HOUSE.—The medical officers and the guardians of this workhouseare at " daggers drawn." A short time since, an application wasmade to Mr. Wakley to hold an inquest upon the body of a Mrs.Higgins, who died in Stephen-street, Lisson-grove, during herconfinement, from (as her friends would have it believed) brutaland cruel neglect, amounting to murder on the part of the medicalattendant. Mr. Wakley, however, upon making full inquiry intothe case, was so fully satisfied that the woman had every properattention, and that her death was purely the result of naturalcauses, that he refused to hold an inquest. Still the guardiansappointed a medical committee to inquire into the case, who cameto the same conclusion with Mr. Wakley, and exonerated themedical officers from all blame. After all this, two of the guar-dians, listening to a tale from two women, who stated that Mr.Squire, the senior surgeon, and Mr. Sedgwick, the district sur-

geon, kidnapped and prevented them giving evidence before thecommittee, moved the dismissal of those two gentlemen,which proposition was repudiated by every other memberof the Board. If medical men are thus snubbed and insulted byguardians, it will be soon found difficult to induce gentlemen toaccept the office of parish surgeon. At the last election theBoard of Guardians of Marylebone had no trifling trouble tosecure a fully qualified man to fill the office of senior surgeon tothe workhouse. We strongly recommend these gentry to act

upon the wise old adage ne sutor- ultra crepidam." Since

writing the above, we have been informed that a second com-mittee sat on Monday to re-investigate the charges spoken of, theresult of which will be publicly stated at the next Board day.The factious crusade by the few guardians against the medicalofficers, has created great excitement throughout the parish.

LIVERPOOL FRIENDLY SOCIETY.—TESTIMONIAL OF

RESPECT TO DR. J. B. HYAMS.—This gentleman, who has re-signed his appointment to this society, in consequence of illhealth and his intention to proceed to Australia, was recently,in the Board-room of the Savings Bank, Bold-street, pre-sented with an address, by his medical colleagues, with whom hehad laboured during his connexion with the society, now upwardsof sixteen years. The address, which was highly eulogistic ofhis character as a gentleman and a medical practitioner, was pre-sented by W. T. Callou, Esq., of Islington, consulting surgeon tothe society, ard was signed by him and his colleagues, Messrs.Garthside, Sniff, and Cripps. Dr. Hyams acknowledged thecompliment conferred upoa him in an appropriate speech.--Liverpool Courier.

DR. R. D. THOMSON.—GLASGOW Town COUNCIL,DECEMBER 23, 1852.-A recommendation was submitted fromthe Committee on the Churches, to the effect that the Councilshould pass a vote of thanks to Dr. R. D. Thomson, for the im-portant services he had rendered to the public, in having beenthe original projector of the Record of Births, Marriages, Deaths,and Causes of Deaths in Glasgow, and having furnished, withconsiderable trouble to himself, meteorological observations to bepublished with the reports. The recommendation was veryheartily adopted.

APPOINTMENTS.—Dr. Wadham, Physician to theSt. Marylebone General Dispensary, was elected, on the 23rdDec.,Assistant-Physician to the Hospital for Consumption and Diseasesof the Chest.-R. F. Foote, M.D., Assistant-Physician to theWilts County Lunatic Asylum, has been appointed ResidentPhysician to the Norfolk County Lunatic Asylum.YELLOW FEVER IN THE WEST INDIES.-The screw

ships, Dauntless, 33, Captain Halsted, and -Uig7?flyer, 24, CaptainMatson, have been ordered home from the West Indies, in con-

sequence of the outbreak of yellow fever on board those vessels.It is supposed that they will be declared unfit for service forsome time.

OBITUARY.- Samuel Barwick Bruce, M.D., ofRipon, Yorkshire, many years Surgeon to the Forces, died

suddenly, at his residence, Victoria-square, Grosvenor-place, inhis sixty-seventh year.HEALTH OF LONDON DURING THE WEEK ENDING

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 25.-In the week that ended last Saturdaythe number of deaths registered in the metropolis was only 871.In the previous week it was 1041; the present Return thereforeshows a decrease of 170. In the ten corresponding weeks of theyears 1842-51 the average number of deaths was 1138, which, ifa correction is made for increase of population, gives a mortalityof 1252 for the present time. The mortality was lower last weekthan in any of the corresponding weeks; and so far as a conclusioncan be drawn from former experience, the present state of thepublic health must be considered satisfactory. Fatal cases arisingfrom epidemic diseases declined from 211 in the preceding weekto 162 in the last; those from diseases of the respiratory organsfell in the same time from 161 to 130. The corrected averagefor the former class is 255, that for the latter 254; hence it

appears that a great diminution has recently occurred in themortality of both. Last week small-pox was fatal only in 3cases, measles in 11, hooping-cough in 23, croup in 5 ; scarlatinadeclined to 50, typhus to 39, diarrhcea to 12. Influenza carriedoff 3 children, 3 persons between 15 and 60 years, and one person80 years old.

Last week the births of 708 boys and 643 girls, in all 1351children, were registered in London. In the seven correspondingweeks of 1845-51 the average number was 1255.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Philanthropos.—The letter displays so much ignorance and malevolence,that it cannot be published in THE LANCET. The surgeons in general

practice throughout the country districts of Engjand are men of educa-tion, and, with very few exceptions, an honour to the profession of medi.cine.Navalis is thanked for his communication; but we think it would be better,before noticing the case, to await the expected narration of it by Dr. Fox

t Smith.