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by compounding their own medicine? Seventhly. Howis it that surgeons in the army and navy, not licentiatesof the hall, are allowed to compound medicines, while inthe service, although they cannot do so with impunityin the capacity of general practitioners ? The same lawholds good in the case of dispensary surgeons and physi-cians. Eighthly. How is it that neither the Society ofApothecaries nor the College of Surgeons can protectgeneral practitioners from being deeply injured by the toofrequent practice of prescribing over the counter by a setof ignorant druggists, a practice which, above all others,is most calculated to undermine the interests of the formerclass.

Here, then, is a series of the most monstrous abuses,not to be equalled in any other profession; and how arethey to be remedied save by amalgamating the hall andcollege, together with suppressing the dangerous medicalpractice by druggists -tampering with the lives of so

many thousands ? How any government can for amoment sanction such a class of wholesale dealers inhuman life is to me extraordinary. Leaving the consi-deration of these all-important matters to Sir JamesGraham, to you, Sir, and other active medical reformers,I remain yours respectfully,

A SURGEON.Aprili, 1844.

CLASS EXAMINATIONS IN EDINBURGH.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.SIR,—I beg through the medium of your valuable

journal respectfully to suggest to the professors of Uni-versity College that the following rule, from the word"but" to the end, be at once repealed :-" Frequent examinations are held in every class.

Medals and certificates of honour are given in every classat the end of the term ; but those pupils only who haveregularly attended the examinations will be admitted tocontend for them."

This was not adhered to last session, nor is it this ; I

am, therefore, bound to conclude that the rule is a bad

one, and consequently the sooner it is struck out thebetter. Were the rule, however, adhered to, a studentwould have an opportunity of judging, from the answersin the weekly examinations, of the proficiency of hisopponents and of his own chance of success. He is now

quite unable to do so, and of course cannot form an esti-mate of his own relative proficiency in any class. Muchvaluable time may thus be thrown away.While, however, the rule exists, I consider that any

student who has acted up to it is at perfect liberty toprotest against a prize being awarded to another who hasfailed to do so. But this I will leave to those gentlemenwho place a higher value on such rewards for merit thanI do, and will content myself with calling the attentionof the professors and students to the subject. If youcould find room for this in next week’s LANCET you wouldmuch oblie’e. Sir, your obedient servant,

JOHN ELLIOTT WOOD.

University College, March 23, t844.

ANATOMICAL OVERCHARGES IN THEUNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH.

"Oh for a whip in every honest hand,To lash the rascals naked through the world.!"

To the Editor of THE LANCET.Six,-The fearless independence of principle evinced in

the pages of THE LANCET, with its proverbial anxiety toforward the interests of medical students, and exposeevery imposition to which they may be subjected in thepursuit of their studies, induce me to call your attentionand that of the medical faculty of this university to thefollowing fact :-The fee for the anatomical demonstrations and dissec-

tions in this university was, until the two last wintersessions, invariably rated at two guineas ; now, at thebefore-mentioned period, the extra-academical teachersof anatomy, by a mutual agreement, raised their fees tofour guineas ; this they were, of course, at liberty to do,

but the university demonstrator, with 11 genuine Yankeecalculation," conceived that he also had the power ofraising his fee, although, by so doing, he well knew thathe was acting in direct violation of the universitystatutes. We have thus been compelled by this Shylockfor the two last winter sessions to pay double the moneycharged in any of the preceding ones. But upon ourtalented professor of clinical surgery being this sessionappointed dean of the medical faculty, he directed hisattention to this glaring imposition, and gave the worthydemonstrator to understand that the overplus should bereturned to the oppressed students, which he, kindcreatul’e, at the time very faithfully promised should bedone. Now comes the cream of the jest; from some causeor other, which I have been unable to fathom, the matterhas been hushed up, and he has not yet in a singleinstance " opened his pouch ;" on the contrary, this"just man" still continues unblushingly to receive hissuperfluous fees whenever they drop in, and this, too, indirect defiance of the dean’s request to the contrary. Asthe season is now drawing to a close we feel anxious tohave that which (in right) is ours refunded, and trust youwill do us the justice to insert this letter in your Journal,so that such juggling chicanery may receive the exposureit so justly merits. Trusting that the gentle dose I haveadministered will act on the refunding part of his system.I subscribe myself, Sir, yours obliged,

TARTAR EMETIC.Edinburgh, March 13, 1844.

MEDICAL INFLUENCE IN THE ELECTION OFGUARDIANS.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—Will you allow me, as a constant reader of THELANCET, to make one or two observations on the letter of an" Old General Practitioner." I am well aware that medi-cal men long established in practice have great influencein the neighbourhoods in which they reside, but I amfearful it would not be sufficient to influence the electionof proper guardians to the extent hinted at by an old-established practitioner. I know many guardians whoare individually very liberal men, but take them as abody they are complete screus, and will continue so as

long as they have it in their power. If an old-established

practitioner has not seen Mr. Guthrie’s letter publishedin THE LANCET and other medical journals, 23rd of Decem-ber last, I would recommend him to refer to it. I am

glad to find that Lord Ashley has succeeded in getting acommittee to inquire into medical remuneration.Medical men have been treated by the guardians much

worse than butchers, bakers, or chandlers; they haveworked for nothing, and given away their drugs, and nowis the time to take the power out of the hands of theseoppressors, not by electing proper guardians, but by statingour grievances to the committee. I am, Sir, yours, &c.

AN UNION MEDICAL MAN.March 20,1844.

ON THE MEANING OF THE WORD AFFINITY.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—It is important that any defective illustrationused by Professor Liebig to elucidate the true meaning ofthe leading terms recognised or used by him in his

"Lectures on Organic Chemistry," should be made! known, that no error, however otherwise unimportant,; may arise in consequence. In the number of THE LANCETof the 30th ult., page 32, he says, " This chemical powerhas been styled affinity, in total defiance of the vernacularacceptation of the word." "This term (affinity) is de-cidedly wrong if it be intended to convey the meaningthat such substances are related to each other." Theterm qfflnity in general use, as it is opposed to consangui-nity, admits of but one definition, which is, that it is thetie arising from marriage betwixt the husband and theblood-relations of the wife; and betwixt the wife and theblood-relations of the husband. The word, therefore,appears to admit of the same construction in its commonas it is in its chemical acceptation ; parties connected bybirth and consanguinity are related in their properties,

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but they have no attraction for each other as to inducemarriages between them. On the other hand, the tiebetween parties related only by affinity, without anymutuality or participation of the properties inherent inkindred by blood, have, we find, a powerful tendency toproduce that attraction, and consequently more intimateconnection, whereby 11 a new body is invariably formed."This is fully proved from the frequent marriages we arecontinually hearing of between parties related by affinity,notwithstanding such marriages are opposed to the rubricand the law. I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

Portishead, April 1, 1844. J. G.

MEWS OF THE WEEK.DR. LITTLE has resigned his appointment at the Orthopaedic

Institution. Mr. William Lawrence has been appointed consultingsurgeon to the charity. What next ?

WITH the view of preventing a repetition of the occurrenceswhich took place some time since at the Westminster Hospital,the committee of that institution have lately passed a by-law tothe effect that in the event of any medical officer remaining absentfrom his duties for a period exceeding one month, without theespecial permission of the committee, that his office will bedeclared vacant, and means taken immediately to fill up thedeclared vacancy.IN the account of the condition of Bethlem Hospital, lately pub-

lished in the newspapers, the report states that various improve-ments will be carried out when there are sufficient funds for thatpurpose. This assumption of poverty in this enormously-endowedestablishment may be estimated at its true worth from the fact ofthe governing body having a surplus of between five and six thou-sand a year, and that they are, at the present moment, layingout four thousand pounds in the building of a, new chapel.IN the government estimate of the expenses of this University

from April 1, 1844, to March 31, 18-15, the following items occur inthe sum of 4588t, which sum is named to Parliament as the totalamount of the expenses:-- Salaries of Examiners : One in chemis-try (arts), 50t; two in medicine, 1751 each; two in surgery, 1751each; two in anatomy and physiology, 1751 each; one in physio-logy and comparative anatomy, 100l; one in midwifery and the dis-eases of women and infants, 1001; one in materia medica and pharmaceutical chemistry’ 1001; in chemistry (medicine), 100l; in botany,5Ot. Amongst the estimates for Exhibitions, Scholarships, Medals,&c., there are named-three exhibitions in medicine, 1842, 30t each ;three ditto, 1843, 30t each ; three ditto, 1844, 301 each; one univer-sity medical scholarship, 1842, 50l; three ditto, 1843, 1501; threeditto, 1844, 50l; three gold medals at M.A. degree, 1844, 201 each;twenty gold medals in medicine, 1844, 51 each; one gold medal inmedicine, 1844 (thesis), 101.

MORTALITY TABLE.THE deaths in the metropolis for the week ending April 6th,

1844, are 923 (vice 1080). The weekly average of the last fiveyears is 946, of the last five winters 1009.Diseases of the lungs ............................ 257—&ngr;. 294

Epidemic and contagious diseases................ 195—&ngr;. 208Diseases of the nervous system .................. 166—&ngr;. 193

Dropsy, cancer, and diseases of uncertain seat.. 90-v. 129Diseases of the stomach and other digestive organs 56-v. 57Old age .......................................... 54-v. 60

Violence, privation, &c ........................... 25--v. 74Diseases of the heart and blood vessels .......... 39—&ngr;. 27Childbirth and diseases of uterus ................ 12-v. 8Diseases of the kidneys, &c....................... 11—&ngr;. 8

Rheumatism, diseases of the bones, &c........... 7-v. 9

Causes uot specified .............................. 12-v. 0

Total................ 923 1080

APOTHECARIES’ HALL, LONDON.NAMES of gentlemen who obtained certificates of qualification to

practise as apothecaries on Thursday, April 4th, 1844 :-DavidCole Noel, Jersey; James Horton, London ; John Lewis Williams,Carmarthen; Nicholas Smith Glazebrook, Liverpool; BenjaminLancaster Jemmett, Grenada, West Indies; Thomas Gaskell,Knutsford, Cheshire.

CORRESPONDENTS.In reply to the question of Dr. J. G. H. we beg to state that

a,ny qualified medical gentleman may become a. member of theMedical Protection Assembly by addressing his application, alongwith one shilling, to the secretary of the Assembly at the Com-mittee-room, Crown and Anchor Tavern, Strand.We cannot insert the letter of si?r. W., in its present form,

owing to the unusual manner in which his really valuable data arepresented. IfMr. W. will write a paper on the subject, illustratinghis scientific views by his own practice, we shall be most happy topublish it. Were we to insert his letter in its present state itwould scarcely be looked upon by the profession as a scientificcommunication, and could not fail to do Mr. W. harm in the opi-nion of his medical brethren.We feel much obliged to Dr. Ma7itell for his suggestions ; we

certainly shall devote, as opportunities may offer, a portion of our

additional space to the highly interesting purposes of the micro-scope.We have not received the copy of the letter to which Mr. Den-

ham referred in his note.We should have inserted the letter of Mr. J. W. Smith had we

thought that by so doing we should be likely to elicit any reallyvaluable information from our readers respecting the case. But suchis not our opinion. The question first to be decided is whether theeruption be really of a syphilitic character or not. Unless thispoint be settled all discussion is nugatory. From the non-successof the treatment resorted to we should be inclined to doubt itssyphilitic nature.We are much obliged to Chirurgus Militaris for his suggestions,

and shall, in all probability, adopt them.Dr. Robert Lee’s letter shall be published next week.In reply to the question of Dr. Vaughan we beg to state that the

stamped LANCET is always posted in London on Friday afternoon,and that it, consequently, arrives in Dublin on the Sunday morn-ing. If Dr. V. does not receive it until Wednesday, there mustbe some error on the part of the bookseller or news-agent throughwhom he receives it, and to whom we advise him to apply.

I A Constant Sitbscriber.-It was printed in the 11 Dublin MedicalPress," a month or six weeks since. The work is stamped, and acopy of the number may be obtained on application to the pub-lishers, Dublin.We shall comply with the request of Mr. A. Illing?vorth.Quœstor.—The oil of melisse is an essential oil, distilled from the

melissa officinalis, a plant of the family of labiatae. It is admittedinto the French pharmacopaeia, but not into the British, and con-sequently is only, we suppose, to be obtained from a laboratory inFrance.The letter from Manchester, respecting Dr. Clay, is inadmissible

in our columns. Our correspondent appears to be worthy of en-countering higher game than the person whom he has attacked.An Observer.&mdash;The proposition of supplying ‘< medical relief

orders" to the poor, which the possessors might take to practi-tioners of their own selection, was made by Mr. Wakley, in theHouse of Commons, on the 28th of September, 1841.

-31’r. Henry Charles Johnson, of Saville-row, has requested us tostate that he is not a member of the committee of the MedicalProtection Assembly.The communications of Dr. Chambers, Dr. Hartwig, Dr. Beding-

field, Dr. Williams, Mr. Waller Wood, Dr. Watt, Dr. D. Thom-son, Dr. Mackin, and Mr. Eves, will be published in the forth-.coming numbers of THE LANCET.Communications have been received from Mr. Dunn, Dr.

Barnes, Dr. Julius Holland, Dr. Epps, Dr. ill. Milligan, Mr. W.rYiorgazx, Mr. Wiliiiot Jones, A General Practitioner (Birmingham,Bristol, and Knightsbridge), A Critic, Mr. Chippendale, Dr. J. H.Davis, Dr. Dangerfield, Sir G. Lefevre, Mr. J. H. Horne, Dr. J. O.Hall, Dubliniensis, Mr. M. Ryan, A Student, Mr. J. l’. Horne,Mr. Henry Clark, Dr. G. L. Wilson, Mr. John Pearce, Mr. G. R.Gorham, and Mr. L. Hawksworth.

NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS.The NEW SERIES of THE LANCET, commenced 23rd March,

will be supplied on the following terms :-Subscription, Twelve Months.....&pound;1 10} Stamped forDitto, Six Months.......... 0 15 Free Postage.

THE LA6NCET OFFICE.COMPLAINTS having been repeatedly made to us of the uncer.

tainty which has attended the endeavours of our correspondentsto obtain interviews with some person who could exercise authorityin the editorial department of this Journal, we may state that, infuture,DR. HENRY BENNET, SUB-EDITOR OF THE LANCET,

WILL ATTEND AT THE OFFICE, PRINCES-STREET,

On Mondays and Wednesdays,From the hours of ONE to THREE o’clock.

It is particularly requested that all communications and articleswhich are forwarded for publication in THE LANCET, be sent to theEDITOR, at the OFFICE ; and that letters of a private or personalnature, which may refer, in any manner, to the proceedings of theJournal, be addressed to the EDITOR, at his residence, in BEDFORD-SQUARE.