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his medicines whether he will or not, andto do so, at all times, whether paid ornot."

In consequence of the extended dis-

cussion of this and other clauses, thebringing in of the Bill was postponeduntil the next session, when, on the10th of January, 1815, the Apothe-caries’ Act, which we published in the108th Number of this Journal, passedthe Legislature. After this period it

would seem from the third clause of their" Rules and Regulations," that the intel-lectual labours of the " Associated Apo-thecaries" assumed a new aspect, not we

think of the most pleasing or honourable

description ; they stated that their futureobjects would be "To endeavour to pre-vent ignorant and unqualified personsfrom practising medicine, by watching overthe operations of the Apothecaries’ Act,and communicating to the Society of Apo-thecaries all cases in which it shall be dis-

covered, that the regulations of that Acthad been infringed." But from the fol-

lowing paragraph, which occurs at page92, we perceive that the Association wasdissatisfied with the Act:

" The great immediate object of theAssociation then is, to obtain from theLegislature the rescinding of certain in-congruities in the Apothecaries Act."

And with a view to the accomplishmentof which, it will now be clearly perceivedwere the late meetings held at the Crownand Anchor Tavern. Having now broughtthe history of these proceedings to a con-clusion, we shall in our next enter on a

discussion as to their propriety, and en-deavour to exhibit to the medical publicthe essential difference that exists in the

objects of those who have been instru-mental in saddling the community withthat Legislative humbug the Apotheca-ries Act,and those who are striving to pro-cure a NEW COLLEGE CHARTER.

MEDICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.MAY 1st, 1826.

Debate on Transfusion.,

After the minutes of the precedingmeeting had been read, a discussion tookplace on intns-susception.Mr. Field (the Registrar) then begged

to call the attention of the Society, toanother most important part oftheoii-

’, notes ; he alluded to the case of trans.

fusion, related by Mr. Doubleday. He(Mr. F.) hardly need observe, that, thereport of this case contained in THELANCET was not furnished by him !!More was stated in that report than hadbeen mentioned at the Society.Mr. Doubleday, in reply, snbstantiated

the truth of the report given in onr lastnllmber, He then entered again into thei-,i-lation of the case. In reply to a ques-tion, he said he had seen four cases of

transfusion, and that it had failed in oneonly ; and which he attributed to thegreat loss of time and bad supply ofblood.

’ Dr. Davis begged to observe, he knewnothing of the operation practically ; what. he had heat d of it, was from the publishedr acconnts of the cases, and the reports ofthe meetings of this society. He washappy to concur with those gentlemen who

. ad vocated transfusion, in the belief thatit would he found an operation which

’ might be resorted to with great ad-vantage, in these truly alarming cases,He (Dr. D.) mnst confess, he was not

’ satisfied with the arguments which had’ been urged against the operation. It had.been said that the operation was an oldone. It might be so. He did not carewhether it was or was not an old opera-tion. He saw no reason why an operation which had failed in the hands ofpractitioners a hundred years ago shouldnot, in the present improved state of themedical profession, be found to succeed.Another argument, which had been

brought against the operation, was, thatif a woman survived six hours after thecessation of uterine haemorrhage, she-might then be considered as free fromdanger, (at least from this cause,) and,therefore, that in those cases in which theoperation of transfusion had been per-formed, the chances were more than pro-bable, that the women would have rt-

covered if nothing had been done. Nowhe (Dr. D.) begged to say, that a womanwas not out of danger even when severaldays had elapsed. Very lately he hadbeen consulted in a case of uterine has.morrhage which did not terminate fatally

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till the fifth day after the cessation of thehsemoiThage. Every one must allow thatthe transfusing of blood was a remedy ofgreat importance ; and the first thingto be looked to, was, whether it.is freefrom danger. If it was, why not employit ? What objection could be made againstit? He felt pleasure in believing fromall that he had read and heard on the

suhject that it had, already, been pro-dnctive of great benefit, and if fur-ther trials should confirm the perfectsafety of the practice, it was his (Dr. D.’s)opinion, that it should be resorted to inall desperate cases of uterine haemor,rhage, as a remedy of great power,which, as far as has been hitherto proved,tends greatly to the advantage of the pa-tient ; removing her at once from a stateof extreme danger to one of comparativesafety. And he looked forward with

great hopes, that the operation wouldeventually be found to answer all the ex-pectations which had been formed of it ;at least, if not all, very nearly so.Dr. Shearman then asked, from whence

the haemorrhage arose?-Mr. Doubledayanswered, by saying it was from a par-tial separation of the placenta.

Dr. S. then stated an objection whichhad been made by him on a former even-ing, namely, how the introduction ofvenous. blood into the right side of theheart, (already gorged with blood,) couldinfluence the arterial system ? "Thereis," said Dr. S., " no shutting one’s eyesto facts, but I wish for a physiologicalexplanation."Mr. Doubleday said, whatever might be

the objection urged against the operation, Ithe facts of the cases were before theSociety. He (Mr. D.) believed, that ifthe vital spark was very nearly extinct,and blood was transfused too quickly,,that it would be immediatelv fatal. Hewas led to this belief from experimentsmade upon horses. In the last case oftransfusion, which he had laid before theSociety, this supposition had been actedupon, and the injection of five syringefutsof blood had occupied an hour.Dr. Davis (in reply to Dr. Shearman)observed, that when the operation oftransfusion was performed, the circula-tion was not at a stand-still, as Dr. S. hadpresumed. If it were, then undoubtedly theoperation would be worse than useless.

Mr. Lloyd contended, that the opera-tion was not free from danger. Hequoted the opinions of the late Dr. Clarke,and the present Mr. Clarke, that no wo-man would die from uterine hæmorrhage,if she had survived six hours after its ces-sation. This was the case with h2p-mor-

rhages from other parts of the, body.

Dr. Davis in reply stated, he knew amidwifery lecturer who for many yearstaught, that no woman would die fromuterine haemorrhage, if proper means

were resorted to; yet this gentleman losthis wife from this cause. He (Dr. D.)would pnt his (Dr. D.’s) opinion in com-petition with any man’s, and he beggedto say, he thought the space of twentydays was not necessarily a safeguard fromdeath after uterine haemorriiage. Thecases of uterine haemorrhage which provedfatal, were not those in which the pulsewas only 50 or 60 ; these cases, in gene-ral, did well, although the woman mightappear to be in a very fainting state. Itwas in those cases in which the pulse wasso very quick, so hurried, that danger wasto be apprehended.Mr. Scott has performed some experi-

ments on this subject, which we will com-municate in our next.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.Hawarden, April, 26, 1826.

SiR,-I presume to trouble you withthe following case, in tlte hope that, fromits singularity, you will not deem it

unworthy of being noticed in your mostuseful and widely circulated journal.Being unacquainted with any similarcircumstance in so young a subject, Iflatter myself that it will not be thoughtan unnecessary intrusion on your co-

lumns.I have the honour to remain, Sir,

Yours very respectfully,FREDERIC L’OSTE PROBART,

Member of the Royal College of Surgeonsand Licentiate of Apothecaries’ Hall,

London.

In April, 1825, William Fennah, a

stout healthy boy, about four years ofage; was brought to have my opinion ona tumour about the size of a nutmeg,situated on the tip of the tongue.The mother informed me that she first

perceived it about two months prior tothis period, and that it had gradually, butrapidly increased. It presented a pe-culiar granulated appearance, very muchresembling a mulberry half ripened,feeling hard, and was free from pain.I prescribed the application of argent.nitrat. gr. viij: aqua. destill. 3j. ter die:and directed him to take hydr. c. creta

gr. x : ommi noct. and pulv. rhei. gr. vj.sodm gr. x. ter die. These he persistedin for three weeks, the disease being stillon the advance, until at length it beganto assume a very formidable aspect. Irifive weeks, from the period 1 first saw the

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tttmonr, it had increased to the size of ahen’s-egg, protruding nearly two inchesbeyond the lips, which were separatedwidely by it, preventing the little patienttaking any thing but spoon meat, andthat with diffictiliv.

Since there appeared no hope of anyabatement of the disease, by perseverancein palliative means, I proposed the am-putation of the part, to which the parentsreluctantly acquiesced. For this purpose,to command the li2emorrliage, of whichI was apprehensive from the enlargedvessels supplying the tumour, I had madetwo flat pieces of steel, about four inchesin length, and half an inch in breadth, per-forated at each end for the admission ofscrews. The child’s head being firmlyheld, I now plunged a hook into thecentre of the tumour, and thos drawingout the tongue as far as practicable, hadit firmly held in that position, while I

placed the steel plates above and beneaththat organ, posterior to the diseasedmass ; then closing each end with screws,I effectually compressed the vessels, andwith a sweep of my scalpel separatedthe part, leaving about one fourth of thetongue in a sound state. On slackeningthe screws, a profuse bleeding took place.from innumerable vessels, which I foundevery application short of the actual

cautery totally inadequate to suppress.With this, however, I succeeded; and, Iam happy to add, the boy was speedilyrestored to health, without any untowardcircumstance : the wounded part beingquite healed in the space of a fortnight,articulation being gradually restored ;and up to the present time, the littlefellow is in the enjoyment of perfecthealth.

GLASGOW RESURRECTION-MEN.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.SIR,-In No. 138 of THE LANCET, is in-

serted a letter from Edinburgh, under thesignature A Constant Reader," in whichare found these words : " Subjects are

more expensive in Edinburgh than inGlasgow ;" the reason assigned for thisand which it may be remaiked is givenat second hand, is, " that it is customaryamong the students there (in Glasgow)to go out with the men employed in Iprocuring them." To this sweeping aver-ment not a few who have been in Glas -glow can give an unqualified denial. Idissected in the University of Glasgowthe two winter courses preceding theone now near its termination; duringwhich time, subjects were given to allstudents applying for them, at four guineaseach. Students paying the above sum

are not required to go out, or to assist inany way in the procuring of subjects.That there are students in Glasgow who

do go out with the resurrection-men Ihave no wish to deny, but mark the con.sequence of their so doing. The anatomical lectures are given to them gratis. Theyhave also their dissecting free of charge,as a recompense for their aid in cfmtribttt.ing to the snppty of subjects given tothose who pay for them.The stigma so generally attached to

those men, who derive their living bysupplying dissectors, makes them carefulof concealment, and thus in Glasgow itbecomes no easy matter for junior stu.dents to point them out. It is not, Mr,Editor, the majority of our northern dis.secting students who, regarding an in.tercourse with resurrection-nien, (wereit unavoidable, which it is not,) will befound to join in the exclamation ofA Constant Reader, " Is there a fatherwho would not with pleasure pay a fewguineas additional, to preserve his son

from such an exposure ?"A well-stored purse gives sometimes a

peculiar buoyancy to the mind.A Constant Reader soars in a region

far beyond my ken, he will not descendi to that " contaminating region, dau-

gerous to life, detrimental to morals,"to gather a few plain facts which couldprove only an encumbrance in his airyflight.

In Glasgow, the going out of stndentawith resurrection-men is attended with anadvantage to the latter class, deserving no.tice. Between them and lecturers the ne-cessary connexion is more closely drawn,and, hence, in more than one instance, aprofessor has been known to step for-ward, and exert his influence, not in vain,to rescue from durance vile the violatersof a law the observance of which, whenrigidly exacted, is as impolitic as itis in.

jurious to science and to human lite.Permit me, Mr. Editor, to express my

hearty approval of the very able com-ment given by one of your correspond-ents on the fearfuiiy severe sentence tateiypassed on a resurrection-man, by Mr.Justice Burrough. This comment ap.pearing on the same page, and e-jincinga very different spirit from the Ediu-burgh letter which immediately precedesit, is figurative (as affecting resurrection-men) of the banetnl potion quickly fol-lowed by its antidote.Of this brief defence of resurrection-

men, make what nse you please, and 1,your constant reader, feeling no reltic-tance to affix my designation,

I remain, Mr. Editor,A WOULD-BE RESURRECTIONIST,