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horrid, awkward, disagreeable thing to men who have notkept up their scientific acquirements-a stringent examina-tion.The graduates of the University of London are willing that

the College of Physicians, being simply a licensing body,should thus throw open its doors, but believe me, they willraise every obstacle in their power to the admission of mento the University of London who have not proved themselvesworthy to be associated with that honourable body.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,P. X., AND A GRADUATE OF THE

_____ UNIVERSITY OF LONDON.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.SIR,—In a letter signed ° X. P.," in THE LANCET of the 4th

of November, respecting medical reform, and the incorpora-tion of all those who hold the double qualification, and then-ranking as M.B. in the University of London, I most highlyapplaud the suggestion as one fraught with many advantages;and as the subject of medical legislation and reform has nowoccupied and filled the minds of the profession for a long timewith deep interest and anxiety, and whose hopes and fearsseem almost to be blighted, anything of a feasible naturemust be looked upon with pleasure; and the placing the pro-fession on a more lasting and sure foundation, and at thesame time raising it to that station which its members oughtto occupy, must be the theme of all who are in any way con-nected with the important duties of relieving bodily affliction.But while your correspondent advocates the rights of thoseholding the double qualification, he has entirely overlookedthose who only are possessed of one; and many there are who,at the present day, are either members of the College only,or licentiates of the Hall-men who are generally quite asable to treat disease, and perform the duties of the operatingsurgeon, as those who are doubly qualified. And why shouldthe door of the University be shut against such ? Again:many there are, and some I know personally, who have fol-lowed the duties of their profession with ardour and zeal, andare in some instances ornaments of medical skill, who havebeen in practice upwards of thirty years, but who hold noqualification, because when they commenced practice nonewas required; and are these, when the hoar-frost of years hasencircled their heads-are these grey heads to go down insorrow to the grave, because the finger of scorn and ridicule ispointed at them for not being recognised as legal practitioners,and looked upon by the younger brothers with contempt,where, as formerly, their opinion and advice used to be lookedup to, prized, and respected ?-Are these, I would ask, toadvance to the portals of the University, and find the doorbolted against them ? Surely not. Should such a law comeinto force, let all be admitted who were in practice prior to1815, or who hold a single qualification.To guard against empiricism is what is most required, but

do not debar the qualified from the rights they now hold. Nolaw should be retrospective, in which it would in the leastaffect the interests of even one individual; but in the proposedplan it would touch, and that roughly, and seriously affectmany-many who are ornaments in the profession, courted andsought by the affluent and learned.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,ONE WHO HOLDS THE W.M. DOUBLE

QUALIFICATION.

DR. SOUTHWOOD SMITH AND THE FEVERHOSPITAL.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SiR,-In your leader of last week an attack is made on-Lord Carlisle for appointing Dr. Southwood Smith to theoffice of medical member of the General Board of Health,under the provisions of the Contagious Diseases PreventionAct, and on Dr. Southwood Smith himself, on the ground ofdisqualification for the office, as proved by his conduct withxeference to the erection of a fever hospital in Islington.

The question as to whether fever hospitals should be erectedin populous localities is one deserving of investigation, but asfever is still permitted to be extensively generated in London,and as there is but little provision for cases of fever in ourgeneral hospitals, the necessity of fever hospitals in Londonseems to be settled, unless, indeed, it be determined to over-come the apparently insuperable difficulty of transportingfever cases from their houses to a distance, and thus greatlyadding to the excessive mortality of the disease.The question of Dr. Southwood Smith’s eligibility to the

office cannot be made to depend on the solution of this de-batable point. A long lifetime, devoted to the promotion ofthe public health, and services which rank him among thebenefactors of his country, prove his competency.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant, H. G.

THE CHOLERA, AND ITS TREATMENT BYCHLOROFORM.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—I beg to send you a short statement of the cases ofcholera which have occurred in this Asylum, and which I shallfeel obliged by your inserting, if possible, in your next number.In a few days I shall forward a more detailed statement, in

a tabular form, comprising the date of attack, name, (initialsonly,) sex, age, occupation, previous habits, bodily condition,remedies employed, and results.At present, however, I am desirous of the enclosed appear-

ing as soon as possible, in consequence of the numerous lettersI receive from the profession relative to the progress of themalady, and, in particular, to the treatment by chloroform.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,Peckham House Asylum, lAmES HILL, M.D.,

Nov. 13, 1848. Resident Medical Superintendent.JAMES HILL, M.D.,

Resident Medical Superintendent.

Memoranda of Cases of Clolera in Peclclaam flouse Asylum,treated by Messrs. HILL & FERGUSON.

Two of these, however, were dying before the chloroformwas thought of as a remedy.

All of the cases were undoubtedly of confirmed malignantcholera, and, with scarcely an exception, presented the wholeof the following symptoms-viz., vomiting, purging, cramps,and collapse; while in many the characteristic blueness ofcountenance and extremities was well marked.The great object in the treatment is to get the patient

under the influence of the chloroform before the collapse isextreme, and the system has been drained by excessive dis-charges, in which cases the amendment has appeared to bemerely temporary. Many of our cases have been struck downlifeless, as it were, from the very first, and in such, I fear, noremedy will ever be found of much avail.

In addition to the above malignant cases, we have hadnearly sixty instances in which the following premonitorysymptoms occurred-namely, nausea, diarrhoea., pains in thebowels, shivering, and coldness of the extremities, but whichfor the most part readily yielded to ordinary treatment,although it is not improbable that many of them would haverelapsed into a more severe form unless checked at the onset.These, of course, are not taken into account in our statisticsof the disease.

_______

DR. AYRE’S TREATMENT OF CHOLERA.To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—My attention has been arrested by two deeply in-teresting and very valuable papers on the subject of cholera,recently contributed to your journal by Dr. Ayre, of Hull. Ihave not the happiness to know Dr. Ayre personally, but Ishould be unjust to him, and, as I conceive, false to the bestinterests of humanity, if I did not now declare the amount ofsuccess which I have met with in the treatment of Asiaticcholera, by following the plan recommended by him.

I trust you will consider the following facts worthy ofinsertion in your columns: and should they, as I hope theywill, secure the extension of Dr. Ayre’s method of treatment,in the event of this fearful disease becoming more prevalent,I shall rejoice in the conviction that I have contributed, how-ever humbly, to diminish the mortality which has hitherto,under every other system of treatment, been so uniformlygreat.At the time of the appearance of the disease in this town

in 1834, I was resident surgeon at the dispensary, and duringits prevalence I directed, or rather personally conducted,the treatment of thirty-three cases. Of this number three casesonly were saved-these, I have no hesitation in saying, were