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arose, and declared that the present planworked very well, and that he would notabide by the decision. The gentleman wasexpostulated with for this strange and insult-ing declaration, and Mr. Dermott especiallypointed out the impropriety of the conduct,declaring his determination to leave no

proper means unemployed to accomplishthe object to which the representative ofKing’s College, and the two other gen-tlemen (whose names we could not learn),were thus unjustly opposed. It may be aswell to observe here, that the dissent of

any party who could, and was disposed to,use subtle and corrupt means with the selectvestry and workhouse gentry, to obtain anundue share of the unfortunate dead, wouldtend to render nugatory the efforts of all theremaining teachers to equalize the distri-bution of unclaimed subiects.

After some time, Mr. DERMOTT proposeda resolution to the effect, that the majorityon the question should form a deputation tothe various parochial authorities, and ex--

press their desire that an apportionmentof a fair share of bodies to each schoolshould be immediately commenced. Butthis proposal was slyly superseded by onefrom Mr. Mayo, who drew up a documentto the following effect, to be lithographed,and sent to the parish officers :-" That theteachers of anatomy, collectively, feel

gratej’ttl to the parochial authorities for thesupply of subjects which have been alreadyafforded, and express a hope that as eaoly ascircumstances will admit, measures will beadopted for an equal distribution of sub.jects." What a farce is such a proceedingwhile Mr. Mayo and his two or three sup-porters are not bound by the majority torefrain from using secret and undue in-fluence to obtain a greater number of bodiesthan would be otherwise awarded them !However, all the teachers present, with

one exception (Mr. Dermott), signed thiscircular, and agreed to meet again in amonth,-when the anatomv season will behalf over, the back-door influence of themonopolising professors operating all thewhile to the inevitable injury of thoseschools which have now reason to complainof the system which " works so well" forMayo and Co.Amongst other curious suggestions was

one from Mr. LuxE of the London Hospital,- that if an equal distribution of bodieswere agreed to by the representatives of thepublic schools, a catalogue of equal pricesshould be established among the teachers,- those of the private schools being, accord-ing to this scheme, required to raise their

charges as high as those made for bad ana-tomy in the hospitals! What will theysay in the country, of the wisdom and jus-tice of our metropolitan lecturers 1

MONOPOLY OF DEAD BODIES.

"JOHN MAHONEY,Chairman."

MEETING Of STUDENTS.

A MEETING of the students of the Ana.tomical Theatre, Gerrard.street, Soho, washeld on Wednesday, Nov. 21st, JOHN MA-HONEY, Esq., in the chair, when the follow-ing resolutions were unanimously passed:-

1. " That some public expression be madeof the surprise and indignation with whichthe students now assembled view the pre-sent unequal distribution of subjects foranatomical purposes.

2. " That this feeling, so natural on theirpart, is increased by the reflection, thatwhen the Government has been induced toexert itself on behalf of medical students,and at a moment when popular prejudicesare fast giving way, the chief resistancemet with in their anatomical pursuits, isfound in the conduct of some selfish and

jealous teachers of anatomy, who have co-operated with certain parochial authorities,with a view to obtain a supply of subjectsexclusively for their own schools.

3. " That the students of the Gerrard-street School are determined to supporttheir talented and indefatigable teacher Mr.DERMOTT, in whatever measures he mayengage in on their behalf to relieve themfrom the difficulties complained of on thepresent occasion. ,

’ 4. That the Editor of THE LANCET berequested to insert these resolutions in hishighly useful journal.

(Signed) "JOHN Mnliovev,Chairman."

THE TEACHERS OF ANATOMY AT THE

LONDON HOSPITALS.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.SIR,—I find, from some observations in

your able article on the Anatomy Bill, thatmy last letter was not sufficiently explicit,and in justice to the anatomy teachers ofthis hospital, I must solicit a small spacein your next number for the present letter.

I can assure you that Mr. Andrews is byno means entitled to the commendations vouhave bestowed upon him, and to prove thisI need onlv tell you that in the committee-room he told Dr. Davies that " if he werea lecturer, he should certainlv have saidnothing about the money received for sub-jects." This remark has caused consider-able merriment in the hospital, for althougha member of the ° Board of Extortion," thepupils are wicked enough to think that itwould be a fine treat to hear him describe

even the frontal bone!

But, Sir, our lecturers have no interest

in the sale of bodies, as the pupils have themfor the sum they cost, and one of theteachers stated the other day what I knowto be true, thatjees to parish officers, a shell.and other expenses, amount to nearly fivepounds, and that it is with great difficultythat they can be procured from some of thesurrounding parishes even at that price.

I have the honour to be, Sir, your obe-dient servant, JUNIUS.London Hospital, Nov. 20, 1832.

CHANGES IN THE LONDON HOSPITALS.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.SIR—The great changes which have

taken place in the condition of the medicalprofession must be to you a source of thegreatest satisfaction, but as the student ofthe present day may not be fully informedof the contrast of his situation with that offormer days, permit me, as a matter of his-tory, to recall circumstances of 15 yearsback.

Everything in our profession is the re-sult of monopoly, whether it be education,practice, honours, or riches; the race isnot to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.Tell me the name of the successful indivi-dual, and I will tell you who his uncle was.In fact we have been governed by a systemof nepotism.

It is true that education was not confinedto one school ; yet this apparent freedom ofchoice was a fallacy, for such is the perfectunion among these different institutions,that when I entered one of the largestschools then in the metropolis, I found thatthe surgeons nowhere considered it neces-

sary to honour the pupils or patients withmore than two visits per week. Except,therefore, a dressership was purchased witha large sum of money, or an exorbitant sumwas paid for an apprenticeship, the de-luded pupil might indeed be said to enjoythe privilege of walking the hospitals. Theother branches of medicine, except anatomy,were then taught by two weekly lessons incourses, of three months duration. Thesame lectures were repeated over and overagain, and could not fail to be duly im-pressed on our minds. Nay, these verylectures were, in some instances, so highlyprized, that they have been read by fourgenerations with exactly the same numberof jokes (arid filthy they were) and anti-quated facts, as if medicine had advancedas little as the mind of the lecturer, or, moreproperly, the reader; but then this veryreader got his reward, for if he had noother merit he had at least an uncle.To atone in some measure for the imper-

fections of our education, the examiners at

Lincoln’s-inn were wont to redouble theirproofs of attachment to us at our examina-tion ; for, honest men, they, to suit ourconvenience, no doubt, used to sit in pairs,and unless it were that some poor devil ofan annual pupil presented himself, our con.versation used to be of the most agreeablenature ; for, be it recollected, that in thosedays the court was fortified for its arduousduties by a dinner and much wine, at theexpense of the poor students.

I sicken even now at the thought of thescenes which were enacted in former days,but as the hand of death has not been sparingamong the actors let us not farther alludeto them.

This was the situation of the medicalstudent when THE LANCET appeared. You,at the very commencement of your career,exposed the system of despotism, the cu-pidity of our teachers, and the insufficiencyof our education, and immediately all thebirds of prey resolved to devour you.Vain creatures ! They actually fancied, too,that your success depended upon the pub-lication of their lectures. Honest John

Abernethy was compelled by the clique to

attempt to ruin you, if possible, in the Courtof Chancery. Defeated and disgraced,they were resolved that their want of talentshould be supplied by a hireling, who, forcertain considerations, should traduce youweekly, and yet insert in his production thesame lectures which they supposed pro-duced for your work such proofs of pro-fessional esteem.Our hospital surgeons finding, at length,

that your vigour was only increased bytheir opposition, resolved to crush you andall who might be supposed favourableto you. They accordingly established a

CL.B, expecting by eating and drinkingexclusively with BATS, to put downTHE LANCET. The names of Earle and

Mayo, Titus Berry, Travers, Stanley, &c.,were to be the attraction for a club, theavowed object of which was to devise meansfor knocking up THE LANCET ! But youhave survived all this; and let studentsmark the consequences. The surgeons inalmost every hospital now give daily at-tendance to the cases (negligently, however,as they treat them), and actually give, orprofess to give, "clinical instruction," wordsperfectly new until late years. Alreadyhas the monopoly of lecturing been de-

stroyed ; new institutions have arisen ; theclique are in danger on all sides, and nowthey declare that teaching is becoming abore, though this discovery was not madeuntil entire success attended the effortsmade at the London Univerity. To besure they hoped to have crushed this in-stitution by means of its rival in Strand-lane, but the attempt was exposed, and that