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dropping a little dilute acid in a saucerful of chloride of lime.To this I owe my own preservation when lodging in a housewith three of the worst cases of fever I ever saw, although Iwas in almost constant attendance on them. There are manyother points I should wish to have noticed, but a fear of in-truding too far on your valuable space prevents me.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,Ker..nington-roacl, Feb. 1858. LL. HALL E 4wvEZ, 1. D.R. HALL BAKEWELL, M.D.

THE MEDICAL PROFESSION AND THE SCOTCHREGISTRATION ACT.

To the Editor of THE LGCET.

SIR,—Will you be so obliging as to give insertion in the nextnumber of your valuable journal to the subjoined petition tothe House of Commons from the members of the medical pro-fession in this town, and to the accompanying correspondencewith Mr. Baxter, M. P., to whose care it has been entrusted.So far as I and my brethren here can learn, there exists a

widespread if not universal feeling of discontent, amountingalmost to rebellion, throughout the profession in Scotland atthe operation of the Registration Act; and after the recentexposé, by Sheriff Strathern, of the true character of the Act,we think the time has come for a general movement to throwoff the yoke which it has so unceremoniously imposed upon us.May I express a hope that you will aid in developing such a

movement, and lend your powerful advocacy to conduct it to asuccessful issue ?

I am, Sir, yours faithfully,Montrose, March 13th, 1858. _____

S. LAWRENCE, M.D.S. LAWRENCE, M.D.

[copy.] Montrose, March 9th, 1858.Montrose, March 9th, 1858.

SIR,—I have the honour to transmit to you, for presentationto the House of Commons, a petition, signed bv all the membersof the medical profession in Montrose, praying for a repeal ofSection 41st of the Scotch Registration Act; or, alternatively,for a just and adequate remuneration for the professional ser-vice which that clause of the said Act imposes upon them. Inthe terms of our petition, we feel it to be both " unjust andoppressive that valuable information should be mulcted fromus as to the cause of death, not only without any compensa-tion, but under the pains and penalties of law. It is frequentlyimpossible to give the required information without subjectingourselves to an amount of trouble which encroaches very seri-ously upon our time, and thus interferes with other duties. Inevery other case where medical testimony is deemed requisitefor the interests whether of individuals or of society, it is anacknowledged principle that it must be paid for; and we areunable to perceive any reason why this principle should bedeparted from in the case of the Registration Act.As an instance of the oppressive nature of this Act towards

the medical profession, I would take the liberty respectfully tocall your attention to THE LANCET of the 20th February last,pages 195-6; and I feel persuaded that after the perusal of thecase of Dr. M’Donald there detailed, with the accompanyingeditorial commentary, you will admit that the grievance ofwhich we complain is a very glaring one, and demands imme-diate redress.

I have the honour to be, Sir, your most obedient servant,W. r. Baxter, Esq., M.P. (Signed) S. LAWRENCE, M.D.S. LAWRENCE, M.D.

[MR. BAXTER’S REPLY.] ]Dundee, March 12th, 1858.

DEAR SIR, - Your favour of the 9th has been forwarded tome. I expect to be in London early next week, when I shallhave great pleasure in presenting your petition. My attentionhas been before called to the serious grievance of which themedical men complain, and I will consult with friends as tothe best steps wich ought to be taken to remedy it.

Believe me, dear Sir, sincerely yours,S. Lawrence, M.D. (Signed) W. E. BAXTER.W. E. BAXTER.

’Uiato the Honourable the Commons of Great Britain and Ire-laiid ira Parliament assembled.

The petition of the undersigned Medical Practitioners inMontrose, hnmbly showeth,-That whereas by an Act passed in the 17th and 18th years

of the reign of her present Majesty, intituled "An Act to pro-vide for the better Registration of Birth?, Deaths, and Mar-riages in Scotland medical practitioners " who shall have

been in attendance during the last illness and until the deathof any person, shall, within fourteen days after the death ofsuch person, and under a penalty not exceeding 40s. in case offailure, transmit to the registrar a certificate of such death;"and no compensation is provided by the Act for such profes-sional service; and whereas such unremunerated service undersuch penalty is felt by your petitioners to be both unjust and

oppressive,-May it therefore please your honourable House to repeal so

much of the said Act as compulsorily exacts such service frommedical practitioners, or to enact that they shall henceforth beentitled to receive a just and adequate remuneration for thesame. And your petitioners will ever may.

HENRY HOILK, M.R.C.S.DAVID JOHNSTON, M.D., L. R. C. S. Ed.S. LAWRENCE, M.D., L.R.C.S. Ed.JOHN BURNESS, M.D.A. M. OFFICER, M.D.JAMES C. HOWDEN, M.D.JOHN A. Ross, L. R. C. S. Ed.GEORGE STEELE, M.D.

CASE OF TRANSFUSION FOLLOWED BYDROPSY.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.SIR,—Many of your readers will probably recollect an in

teresting case of transfusion, which appeared in your journaon the 3rd Oct., 1857, and which ultimately came under thecare of Dr. Mackinder, with whom I am assistant. Th

patient, Mrs. W-, not recovering her usual state of healt]so quickly as desired, was anxious to place herself under thmedical attendant of her family, and consequently came t,

visit her mother at Gainsborough for that purpose. On th

4th of February, 1858, Dr. Mackinder, in conjunction witmyself, first visited her, and found her in a state of greai anaemia, with ascites and anasarca of the whole body. We prescribed the most nourishing and stimulating diet, under whiclshe at first slightly rallied; but on the 17th, being threatenedwith suffocation from a greater distension of the abdomen, wwere compelled to perform paracentesis abdominis, drawing oithirty-four pints of limpid fluid. From this operation shnever recovered, but sank two days after, in spite of all ouendeavours to save her. The above case is interesting in;

physiological point of view. It becomes questionable whethe

the dropsy was dependant upon the transiusion or was an idicpathic affection. Perhaps some of your readers will have th kindness to enlighten me upon this subject.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,Gainsborough, March, 1858. H.B.SMALLMAN,M.R.C.S.E.H. B. SMALLMAN. M.R.C.S.E.

PERTUSSAL GLUCOSURIA.! To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—In your valuable number for Saturday, January 30th,under the head of " Clinical Records," a short article occurs,which speaks of the discovery by Dr. Gibb in 1855 of sugar inthe urine of pertussis, and also draws attention to the wonder-ful rapidity and efficacy with which nitric acid removes thatmorbid product from the urine. Previously to reading thatarticle, I was not aware that any writer had taken notice ofthis pathological state of the urine. Dr. Gibb, in his work onHooping-Cough, published in 1854, gives not the slightest hintof sugar in his analysis of the urine, although he strongly re-commends in that work the nitric acid as a certain cure for the

complaint, and explains its modus operandi—" by its supplyingnitrogen to the blood, to remove or neutralize the excess ofi fibrine existing in that fluid, one of the dangerous elements ofthe disease, and so destroy the poisonous principle combinedwith it, which is the primary cause of this affection." At thesame time he mentions that Dr. Arnoldi used nitric acid as aremedy in pertussis, in order that it might introduce theelements of the atmosphere into the blood by the process ofgastric digestion, and so enable the lungs to outstand the stageof temporary asphyxia, which is induced by a severe paroxysm.’

Previously to reading your short notice, I had flatteredmyself that I was the first to notice this pathological state;but as Dr. Gibb made it known in 1855, I can now only bearmy corroborative testimony to it, which I do with great plea-sure. At the same time, however, I must make a few remarksto show that it is not peculiar to hooping-cough, and cannot beconsidered as the cause of it, but only an effect. During thesummer of 1856, I read with great pleasure the results of the

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very interesting experiments mado by M. Claude Bernard, and Iwhich are so graphically detailed in his " Leçons de PhysiologieExpérimentale Appliquee à la Medecine," in which he showsthat sugar can be produced at any time in the urine of anyanimal by slight continued irritation of the medulla oblongata. These experiments, coupled with the fact mentioned by Dr. Copland in his " Dictionary of Practical Medicine," that in thenumerous post-mortem examinations which he made in cases ofpertussis, he found irritation, if not inflammation, of themedulla oblongata the most regular pathological appearance,being well marked in nearly every case, were the premisesfrom which I was led to predicate the probable appearance ofsugar in the urine of pertussis. I proceeded to test the urineof all such cases that came under my notice, intending to pub-lish them in detail at some future period, when I had reducedthe results into practical order. I found sugar in greater orless quantities in nearly every case, the urine in general, butnot always, of a high specific gravity, and in general accom-panied with a large amount of phosphates. The results showthat sugar is not present in the first stage, but makes its ap-pearance in the second or spasmodic, and continues, but in aless marked degree, through a third or convalescent. It ismost abundant in those cases in which the pharynx and stomachseem more especially to participate in the attack. It is easilyshown by means of the liquor potassæ, but much more so bythe chromate of potash test.Having made a number of experiments on hooping-cough, I

was led to extend them to the urine of some cases of hysteria,and the results have been equally interesting. I have twoladies at the present time under treatment for atonic aphonia.The eldest, aged thirty-seven, occasionally regains her voice fora few weeks ; she suffers from a severe spasmodic cough when-ever she has occasion to speak to a stranger, or when anyfriend meets her unexpectedly.. After any attack of this kind,her urine shows a larger quantity of sugar than when she is per-fectly quiet ; specific gravity reaches 1034. The younger lady,aged nineteen, also has occasionally regained her voice duringthe past twelve months, but not so well as in the precedingcase. She, however, has no spasmodic cough; the hystericalsymptoms are not so well developed as in the preceding case,but the sugar is more abundant. I should remark that thesetwo ladies, though not related, are intimate friends, and theyounger became affected a short time after the elder lost hervoice.

I have hastily put these few facts together, thinking thatthey might be of interest; at the same time I promise myself,when I have more leisure, to fill up the blanks, and give thefullest details of a number of cases of pure hysteria in whichthis state of the urine is found.

I remain, Sir, yours, &c.,l’irmingham, February, 1858. JAS. JOHNSTON, M.B. Lond.JAS. JOHNSTON, M.B. Lond.

THE INFLAMMATION AND BLOODLETTINGCONTROVERSY.

To tlte Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—I am sure you will grant me a short space to enableme to say, how much I regret to find that I misunderstoodDr. Sanderson’s words. The misconception, however, was oneinto which Mr. Syme also fell, and into which all who readthe words will, I think, equally fall. Dr. Sanderson wrote, inyour journal of Feb. 27th :-" Mr. Syme uses mercury, anddirects us how to use it in his book. The Professor of Surgeryteaches us, that for syphilis there is no remedy equal tomercury."’ It is only now that I gather from Dr. Sanderson’sletter in THE LANCET of last week, that Mr. Syme and theProfessor of Surgery are not the same person. It is not there-fore Mr. Syme, but Mr. Millar, who makes the assertionabout the excellence of mercury.The contretemps is every way very annoying. Dr. Sander-

son is naturally ill pleased at what I wrote, and we have bothbeen occupying your space in vain, and troubling your readerswith a shadow. One word, however, I would add. ThatMr. Syme uses mercury in syphilitic diseases is true; but heuses it only as a purgative or an alterative, exactly as he usesit in numerous other diseases. He does not use it to producemercurialization. In the accepted sense of the twna, therefore,he does not use mercury in syphilis. He abhors its use, on thecontrary. That the practice of Mr. Syme is the general prac-tice in Scotland, I firmly believe. This is all I said, and thisis strictly correct.—I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

C&rges-etreet, March, 1858. W. 0. MARKHAM, M.D. iW. O. MARKHAM, M.D.

YELLOW FEVER AT ST. THOMAS’S.DEATH OF DAVID L. FINLAY, ESQ., SURGEON.

(FROM A CORRESPONDENT.)IT was but at the commencement of the present year that

the attention of your readers was directed to the flagrant in-justice exercised by the directors of the Royal Mail Steam-packet Company towards their medical staff, and to the in-adequate remuneration offered to those whose post is one ofgreat risk and responsibility. To show the risk, we need onlyrefer to the number of lives sacrificed in the service, and to thestill greater number of those who, after a time, have beenforced to leave it on account of ruined constitution. I have anow to communicate the sacrifice of another victim to the.mammon of this rich but badly-paying company.The Parana has just returned to this country from the

West Indies, after an absence of six weeks; but this brief

period has sufficed for the surgeon of that ship, Mr. Finlay, to.contract yellow fever, to which he has succumbed, at the earlyage of twenty-seven. Mr. Finlay left Southampton with his’ship, in perfect health, Jan. lith. He had recently married a.young lady in Jamaica, whom he brought to England, and atthe time his ship arrived home she was hourly expecting herconfinement. She heard that before he left St. Thomas’s-the Plata had arrived there, by which he had received herletter; that he appeared to be in perfect health and spirits,and went down to dinner, towards the latter end of whichhe felt a headache, of which he made light, and went to liedown. But from that bed he never rose; for unmistakable

symptoms of yellow fever speedily supervened, and in a fewdays he breathed his last.Your readers are not to suppose that yellow fever is the only

pestilence that the surgeons of these ships have to contendwith; for there is Panama, Chagres, and a host of other feversof fatal results, besides the almost continual presence of cholera.On the perils and discomforts of the sea, on shipwreck, fire,and mutiny, it is needless to expatiate, for they will readilysuggest themselves to the minds of all.Now, as to the responsibility: the surgeon is held account-

able for the health of the ship. Before the commencement of’each voyage, he has to be present at the signature of the arti-cles, to see that none but healthy hands are shipped, and hehas always to exercise the utmost vigilance to prevent, as faras possible, the invasion of disease; he has to encounter andremedy, single-handed, the most serious accidents and epi-demics ; and often to drag himself, as has been frequently seen,from his own sick-bed, and, may be, death-bed, to minister tothe wants of others. It will be said that, with all this, hemost probably has a large amount of pay; that there is a goodprovision for him in case of sickness, disablement, or old age;and that his widow has an ample pension. Oh, no ! there arenone of these; if lie be sick, or disabled, or superannuated, hemust support himself, or go to the hospital or poor-house, andhis widow is ignored and uncared-for. During his time of-active service he has eight pounds per month; that is to say,scarcely three per cent. on the money expended on his profes-sional education. It is easy enough to invest money, safely, atsuch a rate of interest, and to realise it at any given moment;but this is sunk and gone. This very Company pays sevenper cent. on invested capital, always realisable; so that if, in-stead of losing his capital altogether, undergoing the toil ofacquiring his professional knowledge, and afterwards incurringthe risk, anxiety, and responsibility of his office, one were sim-ply to invest this same capital in the shares of this Company,he would not only find it available on any emergency, but, inthe mean time, he would get more than double the interest forit, whilst he sat quietly at home by his fireside. Whilst these

gentlemen are thus ground down, the commanders in thesesame ships are actually receiving from £1200 to X1500 a year.After this, the directors expect the best services and zeal oftheir medical officers !

In connexion with the lamented death of Mr. Finlay, I havegreat pleasure in stating that during his illness he was attendedby one of the most experienced practitioners, who had had un-usual facilities for acquiring a knowledge of the treatment ofthe deadly malady in question,-viz., Mr. Murphy, surgeonE.X., who for seven years studied and treated the disease atthe Jamaica Hospital