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considerable tenderness in the parts, andmeasures had been resorted to which hadthe effect of removing all traces of disease,excepting the bent condition of the limb, andan enlarged state of the joint, which, in fact,was the usual condition in which the partswere left after attacks, such as had hap-pened in this example. He took occasion ito caution the pupils against a practice ’,which had been recently brought under thenotice of the profession, that of Lauvrier, ofsuddenly stretching out the limb by ma-chinery, which lie (Mr. Fergusson) was ofopinion was likely to be as injurious to sur-gery, and the reputation of a practitioner, asit would be to the interests of the patient.He had not divided the hamstrings on bothsides, as some of the pupils had seen him doon a former occasion, as, in the example be-fore them, he thought there was necessityfor the greatest caution in extending thelimb. At a future period he might, possibly,use the knife again; meantime they wouldhave an opportunity of witnessing the effectof this proceeding, and what he intended todo in the course of a few days by meansof apparatus to bring about the desiredend.

28. The limb is somewhat improved in

shape, and a splint with an extending screwhas been placed behind it.

Nov. 25. Shortly after the last report, itwas found necessary to lay aside the splintfor extending the limb, in consequence of thepainful condition of the joint. Leeches andwarm fomentations were resorted to withmuch benefit ; but Mr. Fergusson never con-sidered himself justified in again resorting toextension, as on a careful examination of thejoint he could always detect a greater degreeof tenderness of the cartilage than he thoughtcompatible with such a.plan of treatment.The joint still continues in a similar con-

dition, and at the visit to-day, Mr. Fergus-son expressed his satisfaction that he did notproceed further with the division of the ham-strings or the extension of the limb ; for, inthe event of the occurrence of a similar, or,perhaps, a worse state, the method of exten-sion might, perhaps with justice, have beenblamed, and what had happened in this caseonly corroborated the opinion he had alreadyexpressed regarding any sudden attempt tomake the limb straight.

EXPOSURE TO THE FUMES OFSULPHUR IN A BATH.

QUESTION OF THE CAUSE OF DEATH. VERDICT

OF " MANSLAUGHTER" AGAINST THE SUR-

GEON.

A SURGEON of Bolton, Mr. Heap, has had averdict,-which the coroner, Mr. TAYLOR,pronounced to be one of manslaughter,—re-turned against him, at an inquest, at Bolton,

on Friday, December 3, on a charge of caus-ing the death of Margaret Heywood, aged43 years, at the Great Bolton workhouse,by placing her in a " sulphur-bath," on the16th of November last, whereby it wasrumoured that she had been poisoned, orthat she had acquired fatal inflammation ofthe lungs in going to the bath.The workhouse contains a room called the

lower hospital," which the Bolton FreePress describes as " a damp, ill-ventilatedplace, with a flagged floor, in which de-ceased was stripped, to undergo the opera-tion of fumigation by the sulphur-bath. Shehad then to walk, in a naked state, across aflagged lobby, within two or three yards ofthe door, and through the current of airwhich would enter at the door, to the roomin which the operation was performed. Theprocess of fumigation was explained to thejury :-The patient during the operation isseated on the skeleton of a chair, with thefour poles at the corners rising as high as aperson’s neck, when seated. The seat isformed of three bars of wood, with aperturesin them. The patient is naked, and thencovered with an oil-cloth cloak, made air-tight, buttoned close about the neck, with ahoop beneath, to keep the covering openabout the upper part of the person. Thehead and face are exposed to the ordinaryatmosphere. About half an ounce of brim-stone is then placed on an iron plate on theground, beneath the seat, and a hot ironapplied to it. The patient remains about aminute and a half, with the body surroundedbv the vanour. and is then released."Some of the jury were rather excited by

what they had seen. The deceased womanlived in a cottage near the workhouse, andhad been of weak intellect since childhood.A pauper in the workhouse testified that shehad " the operation of stoving performedupon her" on the 16th of November, whichhe thus described:ł" She was covered withan oil-case, which is air-proof. The coverbuttons round the neck. She had ahandker-chief outside, as an additional preventive ofthe sulphur getting to her face. The head-piece of the cover was intended for men, andrather too large for deceased. On removingthe cover I got as much of the sulphur asdeceased. She then went into a cottage, inthe yard where she lived. She remained inthe apparatus from first firing the sulphur totaking her out, a minute and a half. I

placed the better half of an ounce of brim-stone under the deceased, and placed a hotiron upon it. This was the first trial of thestoving system, and it has not been usedsince. When put in she had no cough, andwas as well as I have known her for years."She was sent home to her cottage after this,but became so ill there that she was ulti-mately removed to the hospital of the work-house. The witness continued, that "a afortnight after the stoving she was fever-

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ish, had pain in her chest, and coughed, and in the afternoon she complained of a pain inhad headach. Mr. Heap, on 23rd Novem- her side. On Wednesday morning when sheber, visited her, and gave her a cough mix- made spittle she had a difficulty, and whatture. Some men in the workhouse required she spat was of a thick yellow nature; shestoving quite as much as the deceased. They then said, It’s the brimstone ;’ and we thenhave not been stoved. She was a perfectly asked her what had been done to her ? and

healthy woman. I removed her to the hos- she described the stoving. She was very ill

pital on the Monday. On that day she until her removal into the hospital on Mon-grew worse. On the following day she was day last."insensible, and had a kind of stoppage in the The inquest was adjourned for an exami-breast. The persons present at the stoving nation of the body, when the witness, thewere Mr. Heap, 1Blr. Cooper, a guardian, male pauper, was accused of having exagge-myself, and the hospital nurse. She died rated the facts, because there was said nowabout half-past four on Wednesday morn- to have been a fire in the room during theing." stoving, and an allowance of clogs to the

Oddly enough, it is no where stated in the naked feet of deceased in walking to "thereport on what account she was "stoved," bath." The evidence of the surgeon is thusbut from the circumstance that her brother, given in the report :-a baker in the town, as well as several other " Mr. J. M. ROBINSON had opened and

witnesses, stating to the jury that she was made an examination of the body of Marga-in perfect health, excepting so far as the im- ret Heywood. Saw no evidence of the dis-perfection in her mind was concerned (which ease which had been attributed to her, andwas not contradicted), that" before she went for which the operation had been performed ;to the workhouse she had no such disease as at least there was nothing of the kind tothat for which it is said the sulphur-bath was attract his attention on the body, which wasused, and that she was negligent of personal that of a healthy and fleshy woman. Openedcleanliness, if not stirred up to it by her the chest and abdomen ; both were in a

mother," it might be presumed that the healthy state ; the contents of the abdomen" stoving" was a new experiment to rid the particularly so. The lungs on both sides ofbody of vermin. the chest were in a high state of inflamma-The evidence of another witness is also tion, which had led to effusion of water in

thus given. Margaret Plows, a pauper of the chest. He also found bands of adhesionthe workhouse, who lived in the next cottage, between the membrane which lines the ribsand saw deceased go and return from the and covers the substance of the lungs, calledprocess" On the Thursday night after she the pleurA ; it was also inflamed, and thewas stoved, I saw the governor, and said to appearances in both satisfied him that therehim, You have got a nice plan to kill poor had been previous disease in both those

folk; you cannot plague us ill enough by parts. The disease was some of it of old,keeping us in, but you must get a stove to and a portion of it of recent formation. There

kill us ; I believe you have done for Marga- was quite sufficient to account for death inret’ (meaning deceased). The governor the inflammation of the lungs and the effusionsaid, Well, I cannot help it, I was not of water in the chest. Inflammation of thethere.’ There is a man in the workhouse lungs might arise from many causes, such aswho is similarly afflicted with vermin to de- the colds which are common at this period ofceased. They have a practice of putting the the year : it might be occasioned by the sud-filthy clothes in the oven, after the bread has den exposure of the body from great heat tobeen baked, to kill the vermin, but that does cold, and a moist atmosphere. There was anot destroy the nits." little redness of the abdomen. An irritant,The testimony of the same witness tended such as heat, or a defective state of the

to show that deceased was decoyed from the secretion of water, might produce it.cottage to the "lower hospital" by the hos- " By lllr, plLnp-If that had been causedpital nurse, under persuasion that she was by external heat, I should have expected togoing to have a present, outside. " Come, find the redness externally, but there wasPeggy," the witness stated that the nurse none. An external irritant would havesaid to her on the 9th instant, " you must go affected the outward parts, but they were notand see your brother ; lie is waiting for you affected. Death might have been occasionedat the gates, and has brought some snuff for without the application of any external heatyou." She went, and returned in about ten or irritant. Surgeons do not commonly keepminutes, and then shook and shivered. I the sulphur-bath, but I know it is in generalsaid, Are you cold?’ and she said Yes.’ use among all classes, both for the disease toWe said, What is to do with your mouth which it has been applied in this instance,that you keep it lapped (covered) up?’ She and for others, and it is not considered dan-said, My teeth are all loose,’ and held her gerous. I have seen the apparatus at theapron to her mouth, and would not go to her workhouse. It seems to me to be a verydinner, saying, that she could eat none.’ good imitation of one for which a patent hasShe had on other occasions been stupid, and been obtained, and is well adapted for therefused to go to dinner. About five o’clock purpose. I consider its application to be

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beneficial in every way to a person labouringunder such a disease. Any heat whichwould arise from below could not injure theperson.

" By the CORONER—I could not say thatthere was sufficient cause of death in the dis-eased state of the lungs of old formation, butthat would increase the susceptibility to in-flammation, and render it more likely toprove dangerous. A sudden change of tem-perature might bring on inflammation. Thefact of walking barefoot on stones, and thesubsequent exposure to the air in the yard,might have occasioned it at any time. Itmight be occasioned by walking out of ahot room to a cold one, at this season of theyear.

" The CORONER then said, the surgeon’sevidence was conclusive, both as to the causeof death and the manner in which it might beoccasioned. That evidence settled the case,and, satisfied with it, their verdict would bethat death had resulted from natural disease."But the jury requested to have further evi-dence before them, in order to be better in-formed whether the illness of deceased ex-

pressly dated from the day and hour of thestoving.MARY DAVENPORT, the hospital nurse, said,

" Deceased did not seem much affected bythe bath ; she was quite sensible, dressed

herself, asked her for a pin, and went out ofthe hospital alone. She coughed, and wit-ness coughed, and they all coughed, becausethey all got some of the vapour, and as muchas deceased did.

"DOROTHY JONATHAN—Deceased told wit-ness they had put brimstone under her feet,and had stripped her naked, and put her agreat cloak on. She said she had a badtaste in her mouth. Could not say whattime she went to bed. She complained towitness of soreness about her seat, and ofpain in her left side. She gasped when shebreathed as if there was something whichstopped up her breast. She complainedevery day, and spat nasty spittle. Witnesshad never heard her complain, nor seen herspit in that manner before she was taken tothe bath. She said the stuff she spat tastedlike brimstone. She complained every timeshe went to the pot after the stoving, and atlast became so ill, that she passed her excre-ments under her and upon her clothes as shelay. From the day on which the stuvingtook place to her death, she was neverwell."SARAH CARROLL, who slept in the same

room with deceased, confirmed parts of theevidence of the witness Jonathan.

" The CORONER then repeated his advice,that they could come to no legal verdict, ex-cepting on the evidence of the surgeon."The jury deliberated for an hour, and

then returned a verdict that the deceased hadmet her death in consequence of being placed

the sulphur .bath.

« The CORONER said that the verdictamounted to one of manslaughter, and thejurors then said that such was their opinion.They had weighed the evidence very care-fully, and thought, to say the least of it,there had been great neglect in not visitingthe deceased, this being an experiment."

This remark had reference to certain state-ments of the witnesses to the effect that nomedical care had been bestowed on the de-ceased after the " stoving," until she was soill as to be obliged to be removed from herroom in the cottage to the workhouse. Mrs.CARROLL stated in her evidence, that she had" not seen James Hughes (a pauper in theworkhouse, who appears to have been thesurgeon’s male nurse,) from the stoving tothe Friday before, the 25th ult. Witnesstold Hughes, on the Saturday night after thestoving, to come in and look at the deceased,for she was very poorly. Deceased inquiredfor Hughes often. Witness asked Hughesfor some medicine for her, and he repliedthat the doctor said nothing ailed her. Hebrought the doctor to deceased on Sundaylast."

It appears, that pending some dispute be-tween the coroners resident in that locality,respecting their several jurisdictions, a

second inquest was held on the body, atwhich another kind of verdict was returned;for the Bolton newspaper contains the fol-

lowing paragraph :-" SECOND INQUEST.—A second inquest was

held at the same place, on Saturday, beforeMr. RUTTER, the county coroner. James

Hughes, and Mr. Robinson, surgeon, werethe only witnesses examined. The coronersaid it was entirely useless to call furtherevidence, as the testimony of the surgeonshowed sufficient cause for death, and that ithad been occasioned by natural disease. Averdict to that effect was returned. Mr.Holden appeared on behalf of Mr. Heap.None of the jurors asked a single question. On Monday morning last, Mr. Heap,

attended by his friends, appeared at the

Borough Court, and put in bail for his ap-pearance at the spring assizes."

LIFE-ASSURANCE MEDICAL FEES.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—In reference to this subject, the

point at issue (namely, who is to pay, the

company or the assured) is, in my opinion,not of the least importance, provided medi-cal men do get paid for their certificates,and that is deserving of their serious atten-tion. But, before entering into details, Iwould ask, Why does such an influential

body as the British Medical Association 6ndit requisite to adopt this potent resolution,- that they will not reply to inquiries fromthe companies’ offices unless accompanied