Chapter 46

112. This prophesy, like many others, was the cause of its own fulfilment, as will be seen in the sequel. LordKenyonin DoctorStanger’scase took occasion to lament that it had been made.

113. At the conclusion of all these arguments LordMansfieldwas at great pains to impress upon the College the propriety of enlarging their rules for admission; some alterations consequently were made; but it is more than doubtful whether they have yet satisfied the views of those who would have placed all the colleges of the empire on the same footing as the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, in respect of their prior claims to the honours of the College of Physicians.

114. For some controversial observations on this case see DoctorWells’letter to LordKenyonin his published works.

115. This class was very properly introduced to place the bachelors of Oxford and Cambridge on an equal footing, in certain respects, with the doctors of foreign universities. At Edinburgh a doctor’s degree may be attained in three years, while in England the bachelor’s degree requires five, and the Doctor’s twelve years standing.We have purposely avoided any discussion on the subject of the Pharmacopœias which have from time to time been published by the authority of the College; the propriety of forming one standard for medical preparations cannot be doubted, and it is equally indisputable that the College have, both by Charter and acts of Parliament, full power to enforce their regulations; in order to give greater publicity to which, His late Majesty in Council was pleased to issue a Royal Proclamation (for which see Appendix) commanding all persons to observe and obey the directions contained in thePharmacopœia Londinensisof 1819. Technical objections from time to time have been raised against some of the directions of this work; as it would not fall within our limits or intention to canvass these questions, we shall content ourselves for the present with hinting that an extension rather than a diminution of this power is to be wished, and that the three kingdoms should be united in one general form of medical practice.

We have purposely avoided any discussion on the subject of the Pharmacopœias which have from time to time been published by the authority of the College; the propriety of forming one standard for medical preparations cannot be doubted, and it is equally indisputable that the College have, both by Charter and acts of Parliament, full power to enforce their regulations; in order to give greater publicity to which, His late Majesty in Council was pleased to issue a Royal Proclamation (for which see Appendix) commanding all persons to observe and obey the directions contained in thePharmacopœia Londinensisof 1819. Technical objections from time to time have been raised against some of the directions of this work; as it would not fall within our limits or intention to canvass these questions, we shall content ourselves for the present with hinting that an extension rather than a diminution of this power is to be wished, and that the three kingdoms should be united in one general form of medical practice.

116.Vide Post.p. 72.

117. The Statute of 32ndHen.8.c.42. continues in force as to the Barbers, notwithstanding that of 18Geo.2.c.15. which separates them from the Surgeons. SeeSharpe qui tam agst. Law4.Burr.2133.

118. This prohibition under the Letters Patent could have no force till confirmed by Act of Parliament.

119. The munificence of Parliament has been displayed towards this Corporation in the purchase and grant of the Hunterian Collection at the price of £15,000; and in the vote of £25,000 more towards the building of the College and Museum in Lincoln’s-inn-fields.

120. The reader will find much curious and learned research upon the origin and history of Apothecaries, inBeckmann’s History of Inventions,vol.2. p. 127.The wordApothecaryoriginally signified any proprietor, or keeper of store, magazine, or warehouse, (απο τίθημι,to put off.) SeeGlossarium Manuale,vol.1. p. 298. From the wordApotheca, the Italians have madeBoteca, and the FrenchBoutique. It would therefore be a great error to consider the termApothecarius, as it is met with in the writings of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, as denoting a character similar to the Apothecary of the present day. As we learn from the writings of Hippocrates, Theophrastus, Galen, and other authors, that the Greek and Roman Physicians prepared their own medicines, it is evident that in those times the office of the Apothecary was quite unnecessary; the medicinal herbs were purchased of dealers, who after a time very naturally professed a knowledge of the medical properties of the articles which they sold, and accordingly began to deal in compound remedies, and to boast of various nostrums; such were thePigmentarii,Seplasiarii,Pharmacopolæ, andMedicamentarii, of whom we read in ancient authors. That the Pigmentarii dealt in medicines is proved by the law which established a punishment for such as sold poison, to any person, through mistake, viz. “Alio Senatus consulto effectum est, utPigmentarii, si cui temere Cicutam, Salamandram, Aconitum —— —— —— et id quod lustramenti causa dederint Cantharidas pœna teneantur hujus legis.” Digest. Lib. xlviii. Tit. 8.33. These Seplasiarii appear to have latterly assumed the office of Apothecary, for Pliny (Lib. xxxiv. c. 11.) reproaches the Physicians for not making up their own medicines instead of trusting to these persons. That thePharmacopolæcarried on the same trade appears evident from their name; but no one seems to have placed any confidence in them; on the contrary, they were despised for their impudent boasting, and theextravagant praise which they bestowed upon their commodities. Μειμειταὶ που καὶ φαρμακοπωλης ἰατρον. “Pharmacopola imitatur Medicum, Sophista Philosophum, Sycophanta Oratorem.” (Maximus Tyrius, Dissert. x.p. 121.) and again, “Itaque auditis, non auscultatis, tanquam Pharmacopolam; nam ejus verba audiuntur, verum ei se nemo committit, si æger est.” (Cato in Aulum Gellium,Lib.1.c.15.) From these words it appears that thePharmacopolæ, even in those days, attempted to practise Physic. Dr. Mohsen, quoting from Anderson (Geschichte des Handelsii. p. 365.) says, that king Edward III. in the year 1345, gave a pension of Sixpence per diem, to one Coursus de Gangeland, an Apothecary in London,for taking care of, and attending his Majesty, during his illness in Scotland, and this is the first mention of an Apothecary in the Fœdera. The first legal establishment, however, of such a class as Apothecaries, may be dated from the well known Medicine Edict (seeLindenbrogii Codex Legum Antiquarum.Francof.1613.Fol.p. 809.) of the Emperor Frederic II, issued for the kingdom of Naples, by which it is required that theConfectionariishould take an oath to keep by them fresh and sufficient drugs, and to make up medicines according to the prescriptions of the Physicians.

120. The reader will find much curious and learned research upon the origin and history of Apothecaries, inBeckmann’s History of Inventions,vol.2. p. 127.

The wordApothecaryoriginally signified any proprietor, or keeper of store, magazine, or warehouse, (απο τίθημι,to put off.) SeeGlossarium Manuale,vol.1. p. 298. From the wordApotheca, the Italians have madeBoteca, and the FrenchBoutique. It would therefore be a great error to consider the termApothecarius, as it is met with in the writings of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, as denoting a character similar to the Apothecary of the present day. As we learn from the writings of Hippocrates, Theophrastus, Galen, and other authors, that the Greek and Roman Physicians prepared their own medicines, it is evident that in those times the office of the Apothecary was quite unnecessary; the medicinal herbs were purchased of dealers, who after a time very naturally professed a knowledge of the medical properties of the articles which they sold, and accordingly began to deal in compound remedies, and to boast of various nostrums; such were thePigmentarii,Seplasiarii,Pharmacopolæ, andMedicamentarii, of whom we read in ancient authors. That the Pigmentarii dealt in medicines is proved by the law which established a punishment for such as sold poison, to any person, through mistake, viz. “Alio Senatus consulto effectum est, utPigmentarii, si cui temere Cicutam, Salamandram, Aconitum —— —— —— et id quod lustramenti causa dederint Cantharidas pœna teneantur hujus legis.” Digest. Lib. xlviii. Tit. 8.33. These Seplasiarii appear to have latterly assumed the office of Apothecary, for Pliny (Lib. xxxiv. c. 11.) reproaches the Physicians for not making up their own medicines instead of trusting to these persons. That thePharmacopolæcarried on the same trade appears evident from their name; but no one seems to have placed any confidence in them; on the contrary, they were despised for their impudent boasting, and theextravagant praise which they bestowed upon their commodities. Μειμειταὶ που καὶ φαρμακοπωλης ἰατρον. “Pharmacopola imitatur Medicum, Sophista Philosophum, Sycophanta Oratorem.” (Maximus Tyrius, Dissert. x.p. 121.) and again, “Itaque auditis, non auscultatis, tanquam Pharmacopolam; nam ejus verba audiuntur, verum ei se nemo committit, si æger est.” (Cato in Aulum Gellium,Lib.1.c.15.) From these words it appears that thePharmacopolæ, even in those days, attempted to practise Physic. Dr. Mohsen, quoting from Anderson (Geschichte des Handelsii. p. 365.) says, that king Edward III. in the year 1345, gave a pension of Sixpence per diem, to one Coursus de Gangeland, an Apothecary in London,for taking care of, and attending his Majesty, during his illness in Scotland, and this is the first mention of an Apothecary in the Fœdera. The first legal establishment, however, of such a class as Apothecaries, may be dated from the well known Medicine Edict (seeLindenbrogii Codex Legum Antiquarum.Francof.1613.Fol.p. 809.) of the Emperor Frederic II, issued for the kingdom of Naples, by which it is required that theConfectionariishould take an oath to keep by them fresh and sufficient drugs, and to make up medicines according to the prescriptions of the Physicians.

121. This Charter is stated in the preamble of the 55thGeo3, c. 194, to have been in the 15th ofJames.

122. As are also 114 persons who were the first members.

123. SeeGoodall, 439. 466.

124. This proviso was not necessary, for the Charter could in no way alter the authority given by an Act of Parliament.Certain Apothecaries, and with some reason, object to this power; for as the Apothecaries Company have erected an extensive establishment for the sale and preparation of drugs and medicines, the private Apothecaries deem it unjust, that their competitors in Trade should be made the judges of the quality of the very articles in which both deal; the public, on the contrary, derive considerable benefit from the circumstance, as the lynx-eyed jealousy of rivals is added to other inducements of the public body to do its duty, and of the private individuals to expose their errors if they deviate from it: under such circumstances however the Society of Apothecaries ought not to have an absolute power of condemnation; an appeal should be allowed to the Censors of the College of Physicians, or some other authority competent to the decision of such cases.

124. This proviso was not necessary, for the Charter could in no way alter the authority given by an Act of Parliament.

Certain Apothecaries, and with some reason, object to this power; for as the Apothecaries Company have erected an extensive establishment for the sale and preparation of drugs and medicines, the private Apothecaries deem it unjust, that their competitors in Trade should be made the judges of the quality of the very articles in which both deal; the public, on the contrary, derive considerable benefit from the circumstance, as the lynx-eyed jealousy of rivals is added to other inducements of the public body to do its duty, and of the private individuals to expose their errors if they deviate from it: under such circumstances however the Society of Apothecaries ought not to have an absolute power of condemnation; an appeal should be allowed to the Censors of the College of Physicians, or some other authority competent to the decision of such cases.

125. The words, or party agrieved, might have been properly inserted: as the act stands the patient has no remedy, if the Physician refuse to complain.

126. The latitude of the conclusion as to renewal of certificates, in some degree cures and compensates the otherwise extreme severity of this clause, yet the jurisdiction might have been better given than to any Justice of the Peace; how such Magistrate, ignorant of medicine or chemistry, is to judge of the improper mixing or compounding of medicines, we do not pretend to anticipate, still less how he is to determine what shall be taken as a satisfactory reason, excuse, or justification. The most probable offence, to be committed in the country against this clause, will be, by substitution of cheap for expensive drugs; this is a very ordinary mal-practice which ought to be checked, but if the apothecary have not the expensive drug by some excusable accident, and then substitute another of equal efficacy, he would be held excusable in a case of emergency, by any medical authority competent to judge of the merits of the case; this an ordinary Justice of the Peace evidently cannot be.

127. Quakers to affirm.

128. Query whether the better policy would not have been, to have subjectedallpersons to examination; a lad may be very stupid and dangerously ignorant even after five years practice in a remote village.

129. These five should also have had the power of searching drugs, &c. under certain restriction, as calling to their assistance one member at least of the College of Physicians, or any Licentiate or regular Graduate being a justice of the peace. It is in the country that the worst drugs, &c. are most likely to be found.

130. An appeal to the President and Censors of the College of Physicians might have been a salutary check on this power of rejection.

131. We do not understand the policy of the exemption: it is surely as necessary to defend the public from unwholesome drugs, &c. whether sold by wholesale or retail, whether bought of a chemist or an apothecary. The censors of the college of physicians may search chemists and druggists wares in London, but as they have no power in the country, this point requires future consideration; for as prescriptions are now very generally prepared by persons who are nominally chemists, though in fact they exercise the ancient business of apothecaries, the public are as deeply interested in the goodness of the drugs kept by the one as by the other.

132. “Memoirs historical and illustrative of the botanic garden at Chelsea, belonging to the Society of Apothecaries of London.”—London, 1820. This memoir was printed at the expense of the society, for distribution amongst its members.

133. The most important covenants contained in this conveyance, are the following, viz.The release is dated on the 20th of February, 1721, and is made between the Honorable Sir Hans Sloane Baronet, President of the Royal College of Physicians, on the one part, and the Master, Wardens and Society of the art and mystery of Apothecaries of the City of London, on the other part. It recites the original lease from Lord Cheyne, and also the great expense which the society had incurred, in furnishing and carrying on the garden, as a physic garden, ever since that lease was granted. It states, that the fee and inheritance of the ground and premises were then vested in Sir Hans Sloane and his heirs. It further declares, that to the end the said garden may at all times hereafter be continued as a physic garden, and for the better encouraging and enabling the said Society to support the charge thereof, for the manifestation of the power, wisdom, and glory of God in the works of the creation, and that their apprentices and others may better distinguish good and useful plants, from those that bear resemblance to them, yet are hurtful, and other the like good purposes; the said Sir Hans Sloane, grants, releases and confirms unto the said Master, Wardens and Society, and their successors, all that piece or parcel of arable and pasture ground, situate at Chelsea in the County of Middlesex, at that time in their possession, containing three acres, one rood, and thirty-five perches, with the green-house, stores, barge-houses, and other erections thereon, to have and to hold the same for ever, paying to Sir Hans Sloane, his heirs and assigns, the yearly rent of £5, and rendering yearly to the President, Council and Fellows of the Royal Society of London, fifty specimens of distinct plants, well dried and preserved, which grew in their garden the same year, with their names or reputed names; and those presented in each year to be specifically different from every former year, until the number of two thousand shall have been delivered.[134]It is further provided, that if these conditions be not fulfilled, or if the society shall at any time convert the garden into buildings for habitations, or to any other uses, save such as are necessary for a physic garden, for the culture, planting and preserving of trees, plants and flowers, and such like purposes; then it shall be lawful for Sir Hans Sloane, his heirs and assigns, to enter upon the premises, and to hold the same for the use and benefit, and in trust for the said President, Council, and Fellows of the Royal Society, subject to the same rent, and to the delivery of specimens of plants, as above mentioned to the President of the College, or Commonalty or Faculty of Physic in London; and in case the Royal Society shall refuse to comply with these conditions, then in trust for the President and College of Physicians of London, subject to the same conditions as the Society of Apothecaries were originally charged with.Power is also reserved for the President, or Vice President of the Royal College of Physicians, once or oftener in every year, to visit the said garden, and examine if the conditions above specified are duly observed and complied with.

133. The most important covenants contained in this conveyance, are the following, viz.

The release is dated on the 20th of February, 1721, and is made between the Honorable Sir Hans Sloane Baronet, President of the Royal College of Physicians, on the one part, and the Master, Wardens and Society of the art and mystery of Apothecaries of the City of London, on the other part. It recites the original lease from Lord Cheyne, and also the great expense which the society had incurred, in furnishing and carrying on the garden, as a physic garden, ever since that lease was granted. It states, that the fee and inheritance of the ground and premises were then vested in Sir Hans Sloane and his heirs. It further declares, that to the end the said garden may at all times hereafter be continued as a physic garden, and for the better encouraging and enabling the said Society to support the charge thereof, for the manifestation of the power, wisdom, and glory of God in the works of the creation, and that their apprentices and others may better distinguish good and useful plants, from those that bear resemblance to them, yet are hurtful, and other the like good purposes; the said Sir Hans Sloane, grants, releases and confirms unto the said Master, Wardens and Society, and their successors, all that piece or parcel of arable and pasture ground, situate at Chelsea in the County of Middlesex, at that time in their possession, containing three acres, one rood, and thirty-five perches, with the green-house, stores, barge-houses, and other erections thereon, to have and to hold the same for ever, paying to Sir Hans Sloane, his heirs and assigns, the yearly rent of £5, and rendering yearly to the President, Council and Fellows of the Royal Society of London, fifty specimens of distinct plants, well dried and preserved, which grew in their garden the same year, with their names or reputed names; and those presented in each year to be specifically different from every former year, until the number of two thousand shall have been delivered.[134]It is further provided, that if these conditions be not fulfilled, or if the society shall at any time convert the garden into buildings for habitations, or to any other uses, save such as are necessary for a physic garden, for the culture, planting and preserving of trees, plants and flowers, and such like purposes; then it shall be lawful for Sir Hans Sloane, his heirs and assigns, to enter upon the premises, and to hold the same for the use and benefit, and in trust for the said President, Council, and Fellows of the Royal Society, subject to the same rent, and to the delivery of specimens of plants, as above mentioned to the President of the College, or Commonalty or Faculty of Physic in London; and in case the Royal Society shall refuse to comply with these conditions, then in trust for the President and College of Physicians of London, subject to the same conditions as the Society of Apothecaries were originally charged with.

Power is also reserved for the President, or Vice President of the Royal College of Physicians, once or oftener in every year, to visit the said garden, and examine if the conditions above specified are duly observed and complied with.

134. This condition has been long since fulfilled. By an extract from the minutes of the Royal Society, it would appear that the last presentation of Plants took place on the 17th of February, 1774, being the 51st annual presentation, amounting in all to 2550 plants.

135. If however a gentleman of quality, or a physician, officer, &c. be chosen constable, where there are sufficient persons beside, and no special custom concerning it; it is said such person may be relieved in B. R. 2Hawk. P. C.100.Jac. L. Dict. tit.Constable. As to Surgeons seeThe King v. Pond. Comyns R.312: 2Kebl.578. 1Syd.431: 1Mod.22.

136. But a Physician in the country, though a Fellow of the College, may be chosen, 2Keb.578; 1Mod., 22.; 1Keb.439; 2Hawk.100; 1Sid.431; 2Keb.578; 2Hale100;Com. Dig. tit.Physician. For Surgeons see 18Geo.2.c.15. §. 10; 2Hawk. Pl.101; 5Hen.8.c.6; 1Burn.387. For Apothecaries 6Will.3.c.4; 9Geo.1.c.8. §. 1. See also the Charters.ComynsRep. 312.

137. In one point counsel have an advantage over physicians in respect of their fees; the attorney or solicitor who can recover his costs at law, is an intermediate agent and he is held professionally liable to the counsel for their payment; and if the attorney have received his costs from his client (including fees) it would appear that the counsel might recover in an action for money had and received to his use. It is to the honor of the profession that we should find no decided case on the subject.

138. A barrister cannot maintain an action for his fees. Chan. Rep. 38.

139. 3 Bl. Com. 28. Taciti An. 1. 11.

140. SeeLawv.Hodgson, 2Camp.147.Johnson and othersv.Hudson, 11East180, and cases cited there. The unprofessional reader must observe that there is considerable difference between the authority of cases determined atNisi Prius, which are decided by a single Judge, and those argued in banco, which are resolved by all the four Justices of that Court in which the action may have been brought.

141. So also if a Farrier kills a horse or pricks him in shoeing; or if he refuse to shoe him whereby he is lamed,Bull. N. P.73, and of trades generally, as, action against a Barber for barbing the plaintiff,negligenter et inartificialiter. 2Bulst.333; IDanv. Ab.177; see also 2Bl. Com.163.

142. This case is recent, but we believe not reported. The plaintiff was a respectable artisan, and had been employed as engineer and brass-founder in a large manufactory in the city, and by his industry was enabled to earn about four guineas per week; the plaintiff’s right arm was dislocated by a fall from a gig. Mr.Pettigrew, the defendant, was sent for, but being unable to attend from illness, his assistant undertook the case, but conducted it so unskilfully, that the plaintiff lost the use of his arm—Damages£800.

143. For other provisions see the act itself. See also two reports from the Select Committee of the House of Commons, on the state of disease and condition of the labouring poor in Ireland. May 17 and June 7, 1819.

144. There is among theSloanemanuscripts in the British Museum, a complaint or remonstrance that the buildings had been appropriated to other purposes than those intended by their pious and benevolent founder.

145. For the regulations in the time of the Plague during the reign ofElizabeth, see 2Stowe b.5.p.450.

146. The case of theKing v. Taunton, in the King’s Bench, was to this effect. Mr.Tauntonvaccinated his own children, was one of the first subscribers to the London Vaccine Institution, and has been constantly on the Board of Managers of that charity. At the same time he felt it his duty to inoculate such for the Smallpox, who through prejudice, or otherwise, refused vaccination. Many of the poor who applied for gratuitous advice, applied also for inoculation for the Cowpox, and some for the Smallpox.On the 19th June, Mr.Tauntonwas arrested on the Lord Chief Justice’s warrant. He gave bail, and directed his attorneys to defend the cause, which was to have been tried on Friday, December 8th, in the Court of King’s Bench, where Mr.Tauntonattended with his witnesses. SirWilliam Garrow, the Attorney General, and counsel for the plaintiff, stated to the Court, that he should not proceed in the present case, as he learnt that the defendant had given notice, with every inoculation, not to expose their children while the disease was out.“God forbid,” said he, “that those who have the Smallpox should not be attended in their own houses by any person they choose; but they must not be carried about the street to the destruction of others.”Mr.Justice Bayley.—“I hope it is sufficiently notorious, that the causing persons to pass through the streets, who may have that disorder upon them, although they are going for medical advice to some person in whom they may have confidence, is an indictable offence; and if that person, instead of attending them at their own houses, as he might do, chooses to direct that they shall, from time to time, be brought, or come to him, there is no question that he is liable to an indictment.”Mr.Attorney General.—“The few sentences that your lordship has pronounced now, are of the last importance to the community.”Mr.Justice Bayley.—“Mr.Tauntonshould intimate that he is ready to attend those persons at their own houses.”Mr.Pollock.—“I understand that is part of the notice, that he is willing to attend such patients at their own houses.”

On the 19th June, Mr.Tauntonwas arrested on the Lord Chief Justice’s warrant. He gave bail, and directed his attorneys to defend the cause, which was to have been tried on Friday, December 8th, in the Court of King’s Bench, where Mr.Tauntonattended with his witnesses. SirWilliam Garrow, the Attorney General, and counsel for the plaintiff, stated to the Court, that he should not proceed in the present case, as he learnt that the defendant had given notice, with every inoculation, not to expose their children while the disease was out.

“God forbid,” said he, “that those who have the Smallpox should not be attended in their own houses by any person they choose; but they must not be carried about the street to the destruction of others.”

Mr.Justice Bayley.—“I hope it is sufficiently notorious, that the causing persons to pass through the streets, who may have that disorder upon them, although they are going for medical advice to some person in whom they may have confidence, is an indictable offence; and if that person, instead of attending them at their own houses, as he might do, chooses to direct that they shall, from time to time, be brought, or come to him, there is no question that he is liable to an indictment.”

Mr.Attorney General.—“The few sentences that your lordship has pronounced now, are of the last importance to the community.”

Mr.Justice Bayley.—“Mr.Tauntonshould intimate that he is ready to attend those persons at their own houses.”

Mr.Pollock.—“I understand that is part of the notice, that he is willing to attend such patients at their own houses.”

147. The rise, progress, decline, and cessation, of particular diseases, forms a curious and useful study to the medical jurist: since the laws and habits of mankind will thereby be found to possess more considerable influence on the health and physical strength of a people, than is generally supposed. SeeObservations on the Increase and Decrease of different Diseases, by W. Heberden, jun. M.D. F.R.S. London1801. The gradual decline of the Dysentery in this country is a remarkable proof of the benefits which have ensued from our improvements with respect to diet, cleanliness, and ventilation.The long list of chronic diseases with which our nosology abounds is totally unknown to barbarous nations, and seem to be the natural consequences of arts and civilization; as these again shoot up into luxury and intemperance, their effects may well be expected to become proportionally more conspicuous. Dr.Rushof Philadelphia has reported, with respect to the uncultivated nations of North America, that Fevers, Inflammations, and Dysenteries make up the sum of their complaints, and he remarks, in particular, that after much inquiry, he had not been able to find a single instance of madness, melancholy, or fatuity among them. (Medical Enquiries and Observations by B. M. Rush, vol. 1. p. 25.) In a subsequent part of his work, the same author, speaking of the pulmonary consumption, declares it to be unknown among the Indians of North America (vol. 1. p. 159). Mr.Park, in his account of the interior of Africa, says, that notwithstanding longevity is uncommon among the Negroes, their diseases appear to be but few; fever and fluxes being the most common, and the most fatal.

The long list of chronic diseases with which our nosology abounds is totally unknown to barbarous nations, and seem to be the natural consequences of arts and civilization; as these again shoot up into luxury and intemperance, their effects may well be expected to become proportionally more conspicuous. Dr.Rushof Philadelphia has reported, with respect to the uncultivated nations of North America, that Fevers, Inflammations, and Dysenteries make up the sum of their complaints, and he remarks, in particular, that after much inquiry, he had not been able to find a single instance of madness, melancholy, or fatuity among them. (Medical Enquiries and Observations by B. M. Rush, vol. 1. p. 25.) In a subsequent part of his work, the same author, speaking of the pulmonary consumption, declares it to be unknown among the Indians of North America (vol. 1. p. 159). Mr.Park, in his account of the interior of Africa, says, that notwithstanding longevity is uncommon among the Negroes, their diseases appear to be but few; fever and fluxes being the most common, and the most fatal.

148. The curious reader will not be at a loss to trace the ancient patronage and jurisdiction of the Bishop of Winchester; suppressed among other ecclesiastical establishments, byHenrythe 8th.

149.See part 3.No sufficient provision is yet made for the speedy removal of prisoners from infected jails; the case hereafter quoted shows that the Crown has an authority on this subject.

150. During the progress of this work we have seen a fatal instance of a child sacrificed to the dirty and penurious system of one of theverycheap schools of the north of England. The author was called in to his assistance on the child’s arrival in town, but he expired a few hours afterwards.

151. Case of the Salt Duties with proofs and illustrations, bySir Thomas Bernard, Bart. London, 1817.

152. In examining the history of Burial in remote ages, we shall find that both among the Jews and Heathens,the place of interment was usually without the city. Such was the case with the Athenians, the Smyrnæans, the Sicyonians, the Corinthians, and the Syracusans. The examples ofNumaandServius Tullusprove, that the Romans deposited their deadwithoutthe city before the introduction of the twelve tables, which prohibitedburningas well asburialwithin its precincts. TheLacedæmoniansafford an exception to this general custom; it had been a notion universally prevalent, that the touch of a dead body conveyed pollution; andLycurgus, the legislator of Sparta, being anxious to remove the prejudice, introduced the custom of burial within the city. Among the primitive Christians, burying in cities and churches was not allowed for several centuries, andTheodosius, after the triumph and establishment of Christianity, renewed the prohibition upon the old and reasonable ground that graveswithinthe city were detrimental to the health of the living, and it was ordered that any person who should disobey this law was to forfeit the third part of his patrimony; and that the undertaker who directed a funeral contrary to the prohibition was to be fined forty pounds in gold. The learnedBingham, in hisAntiquities of the Church, has traced the gradual introduction the odious custom of burying in churches. It was from the idea of the protection which would be afforded by consecrated ground, baptized bells, and relics, that bodies were first interred in the vicinity of the church: to this superstition we may ascribe the origin of church-yards, which took place in the eighth century. The reason alleged byGregorythe Great for burying in churches, or in places adjoining to them, was that their relations and friends, remembering those whose sepulchres they beheld, might thereby be led to offer up prayers for them; and this reason was afterwards transferred into the body of the canon law. The practice thus introduced into the Romish church byGregory, was brought over here byCuthbert, Archbishop of Canterbury, about the year 750: and the practice of erecting vaults in chancels and under the altars was begun byLanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, when he had rebuilt the cathedral about 1075. Since this period many enactments have been made in different countries to abolish so foul a custom.

153. It is notorious that there are many church-yards in which the soil has been raised several feet above the level of the adjoining street, by the accumulated remains of mortality; and there are others, in which the ground is actually probed with a borer before a grave is opened. The Commissioners for the improvements in Westminster, reported to Parliament in 1814, that St. Margaret’s church-yard could not consistently with the health of theneighbourhood be used much longer as a burial ground, “for that it was with the greatest difficulty a vacant place could at any time be found for strangers; that the family graves generally would not admit of more than one interment, and that many of them were then too full for the reception of any member of the family to which they belonged.”Many examples might be adduced of overloaded church-yards and burial grounds, which have become if not serious nuisances to the health of their neighbourhood, at least highly offensive to comfort and decency. There is one instance in our sister kingdom so flagrant, that we cannot omit noticing it, in the hope that attention may be drawn to this and similar inconveniencies. There is a burial ground at the back of Kilmainham hospital (and consequently under the immediate view of the Commander and Adjutant-General of the Forces), so disproportioned to the number interred in it, that the older coffins are frequently broken and the undecomposed limbs constantly thrown on the surface, to make room for new tenants of this human soil; yet after heavy showers, the earth being washed away, the lids of coffins may be plainly discerned, so slight is the covering which can be afforded them. Immediately below the rising ground on which thiscemetery is situated are the Island Bridge Barracks for the Artillery, the wells of which must of necessity be filled with the filtrations from the putrid mass above them. One at least of the principal Tanks at Gibraltar was similarly situated. The present Lieutenant Governor, Sir GeorgeDon, among the numerous improvements in the regulation of cleanliness and ventilation which he has introduced on the rock, has converted the burial ground into a public garden; to this, among his other measures, the garrison may owe some future exemptions from the diseases which have so often afflicted them.

Many examples might be adduced of overloaded church-yards and burial grounds, which have become if not serious nuisances to the health of their neighbourhood, at least highly offensive to comfort and decency. There is one instance in our sister kingdom so flagrant, that we cannot omit noticing it, in the hope that attention may be drawn to this and similar inconveniencies. There is a burial ground at the back of Kilmainham hospital (and consequently under the immediate view of the Commander and Adjutant-General of the Forces), so disproportioned to the number interred in it, that the older coffins are frequently broken and the undecomposed limbs constantly thrown on the surface, to make room for new tenants of this human soil; yet after heavy showers, the earth being washed away, the lids of coffins may be plainly discerned, so slight is the covering which can be afforded them. Immediately below the rising ground on which thiscemetery is situated are the Island Bridge Barracks for the Artillery, the wells of which must of necessity be filled with the filtrations from the putrid mass above them. One at least of the principal Tanks at Gibraltar was similarly situated. The present Lieutenant Governor, Sir GeorgeDon, among the numerous improvements in the regulation of cleanliness and ventilation which he has introduced on the rock, has converted the burial ground into a public garden; to this, among his other measures, the garrison may owe some future exemptions from the diseases which have so often afflicted them.

154. We learn fromCicero(De Leg.ii. 22), that of the various modes of disposing of the dead body,inhumationwas the most ancient:burningand inclosing the remains in urns, were perhaps never found expedient until national animosities had given rise to inhuman treatment of the dead. The Egyptians, as they held it unlawful to expose the bodies of the dead to animals, embalmed them, lest after interment they might become the prey of worms (Herod. Thalia, xvi.); and their mummies remain to this day a lasting satire upon that folly which “contends against corruption, and will not allow the grave its victory.” The custom ofburningthe dead is of higher antiquity than we may have at first been led to suppose;Saulwas burnt at Jabesh, and his bones afterwards buried; andAsawas burnt in the bed which he had made for himself, filled with sweet odours, and divers kinds of spices: but this custom must of necessity have been limited by the quantity of fuel required for the purpose. It may be worthy notice, that according to Mr.Ward, the Missionary, who had opportunities of ascertaining the fact in India, the smallest quantity of wood which is sufficient to consume a human body is about three hundred weight.

155.Tractatus de Peste, Lib.i.cap.viii.p.41.

156.An Essay on the Disease calledYellow Fever. London 1811.

157. In less than 30 years, more than 90,000 corpses had been deposited here by the last grave digger!

158. SeeMémoires de la Société Royale de Médecine, tomviiip.242; alsoAnnales de Chimie, tom v p. 158.

159.Journal de Physique, 1791 p. 253.

160. SeeAnnales de Chimie, vol. iii, p. 120-v, 154-vii, 146-viii, 17; alsoPhil. Trans.vol. lxxxiv. p. 169.

161. The gases produced by putrefaction, are Carbonic acid, Carburetted Hydrogen, Sulphuretted and Phosphuretted Hydrogen, and Ammonia; the most deleterious of which are the compound gases of Hydrogen.

162.Chaptal’s Elem. of Chem.vol. iii.

163.On Lazarettos, p. 25.

164. SeeBurns’s Ecclesiastical Law.Tit. Burial. Watson’s Clergyman’s Law—Gibson—Lindwood.

165. A popular fallacy has long existed upon this point, and it certainly receives a sanction from the usages of antiquity. At Athens those who died in debt had no right to human burial, until satisfaction was made; their bodies belonged to their creditors, whence it is said thatCimonhad no other method to redeem the body of his fatherMiltiades, but by taking his debts and fetters upon himself.—Potter’s Antiq.

166. The peculiar gas to which this destructive quality is owing, is generallySulphuretted Hydrogen, sometimes existing in combination with Ammonia (Hydro-Sulphuret of Ammonia).M. Dupuytrenhas also shewn that thePlombis sometimes occasioned byNitrogen gas.Halléin his work entitled “Recherches sur le Mephitisme des Fosses d’Aisances” has proposed various methods for securing thenightmenfrom the dreadful effects of this gas, as byventilationandfumigation.M. Dupuytren, however, has satisfactorily proved that Chlorine, by decomposing it, is its true antidote, by whichHydro-Choloricacid (Muriatic,) is produced, andSulphurdeposited.In some cases the Sulphuretted Hydrogen has accumulated to such an extent, that explosions have occurred in privies on the introduction of a light. We have heard that dreadful ones have happened in theFosses d’Aisancesin the Rue St. Antoine, and in those of Gross Caillou, and Petit Bourbon; and very lately in that of the House of Correction at Clermont-oise, in which many lives were lost. A similar accident has happened in London; we copy the following paragraph from theMorning Advertiser of Friday Feb. 5, 1819.—“Singular Explosion,—A few evenings ago, at the Two Brewers Tavern, Redcross-street, Southwark, a person took a candle into the privy, and laid it upon the seat, the air confined underneath caught fire from the candle, and immediately exploded, the seat was forced up, and the person was burned considerably, but not dangerously.”

In some cases the Sulphuretted Hydrogen has accumulated to such an extent, that explosions have occurred in privies on the introduction of a light. We have heard that dreadful ones have happened in theFosses d’Aisancesin the Rue St. Antoine, and in those of Gross Caillou, and Petit Bourbon; and very lately in that of the House of Correction at Clermont-oise, in which many lives were lost. A similar accident has happened in London; we copy the following paragraph from theMorning Advertiser of Friday Feb. 5, 1819.—“Singular Explosion,—A few evenings ago, at the Two Brewers Tavern, Redcross-street, Southwark, a person took a candle into the privy, and laid it upon the seat, the air confined underneath caught fire from the candle, and immediately exploded, the seat was forced up, and the person was burned considerably, but not dangerously.”

167. The writings of Portal, Gériel, Laborie, Parmentier, Alibert, Dupuytren, Cadet de Vaux, and Hallé, contain ample illustrations of this subject. The reader is also particularly directed to an Essay by Dr. Gerand, entitled “Essai sur la suppression des Fosses d’Aisances. Paris, 1786.” See alsoDictionnaire de Police—Art. “Latrine.”

168. In the year 1809 a decree was passed in Paris, containing numerous rules to be observed in the future construction of privies, and which fixed upon the householder a very heavy expense. In 1819 the French King issued a Royal Ordinance relative to this subject; it contains thirty-four clauses or articles, thirty of which revivein their full strictness, all the statutes by which housekeepers are compelled to undertake most expensive and troublesome building, or repairs of privies. To relieve them, however, from vexatious costs, the 31st article was framed upon the recommendation of the Privy Council, and which liberates those from the obligation, who shall substitute their old privies by a new apparatus invented byM. Cazeneuve, entitledMessrs. Fauche-Borel’s Patent Moveable Inodorous Conveniences, of whose advantages almost all the learned Societies of Europe have reported most favourably. We have noticed this decree in order to shew our reader what a degree of importance the French Government attaches to the subject. And upon this occasion it is impossible to withhold the expression of those feelings of national pride and exultation which the contemplation of this subject must afford us; we have in our metropolis no less than 200,000 privies, of which 10,000 only are water closets. In Paris the number does not exceed 70,000, and yet with all the cumbrous enactments which that government has passed for their regulation, how far inferior they are in cleanliness, and how far greater are the effects of their effluvia, when compared with similar establishments in our city. The truth is, that the most elaborate system of medical police will never be so effective as the spirit of cleanliness which is so characteristic of this great and free people; and in this truth, so forcibly illustrated by the subject under discussion, we are to seek for the real explanation of that fact which has been so frequently commented upon by medical writers—The apparent indifference of our government to the subject of Public Health.

169. SeeCalis on Sewers.

170. Dr. Ratcliffe being asked the difference between a contagious and epidemic disease, attempted to explain it by the following illustration: “If you and I are exposed to the rain we shall both get wet, but it does not follow that we shall wet one another.”

171. SeeRees’sCyclopædia, articleContagion.

172. Dr.Wilson Phillip’s Treatise on Febrile Diseases, vol. i. p. 433.

173. Researches into the Laws and Phenomena of Pestilence. London, 1821.

174. SeeRees’s Cyclopædia, article Plague.Hancock on the Laws of Pestilence, London, 1821.Mercurialis on the Plague of Venice, in 1576.Diemerbroeck on the Plague of Nimeguen, in 1636.Mertens on the Plague of Moscow, in 1771.Chenot on that of Transylvania, in 1756.Riverii Praxis Medica, vol. 2. p. 98.Glocenius de Peste, 1611.Mead on the Plague of London, 1744.Russel on the Plague, London, 1791.This learned Physician practised at Aleppo during the Plague of 1760-1-2, and his work contains a minute account of the disease with respect to its origin, progress, and decline: it is considered the best medical account of any individual Plague extant.A History of all the most remarkable Plagues upon record, by Noah Webster, of New York.Considerations on the nature of Pestilence, published as periodical papers, by the Freethinker, 1721.The City Remembrancer, compiled from the best sources, chiefly from the Papers of Gideon Harvey.This is the best account of the Plague of London.Kephale’s Medela Pestilentiæ, 1665.Echar’s History of Plagues.Gaetan Sotira, Mem. sur la Peste, observée en Egypt.Pappon’s Epoques memorables de la Peste, 1801.

175.CullendefinesPestisto be “Typhus maxime contagiosa, cum summa debilitate—Incerto morbi die eruptio Bubonum vel Anthracum.”Nosolog. Method. Gen.30.

176. Op. citat.

177. SeeSir Arthur Brooke Faulkener’s Treasise on the Plague. The remarkable fact, mentioned by Dr.Samoilowitz, that all the assistant Surgeons in the hospitals at Moscow took the Plague, while the Physicians who only walked among the sick, but carefully avoided contact, generally escaped, affords a strong proof of the greater facility with whichactual contactcommunicates the infection. This work of Dr.Samoilowitz(sur la Peste) has more than a hundred pages filled with proofs of itscontagiousinfluence; Dr. Granville also, in his examination before the Committee of the House of Commons, gave some very interesting instances, in which the poison could only have been conveyed bytouch.

178.Fomites, or substances imbued with the contagion from the bodies of the sick, are supposed to retain their infectious quality an indefinite length of time, and even to communicate the disease more readily than the persons of the infected.

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