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Page 1: SUICIDE BY A POOR-LAW UNION SURGEON

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and in every climate; the respective num-ber of cases of each particular disease, theirduration, and termination: the number ofcases terminating in death, or recovery, be.tween the 0-5th day, the 5th—10th days,&c. ; and the effects of the different modes

.of treatment employed, in diminishing themortality and duration of cases. It might, I

also, comprehend a great variety of other ! facts for the solution of the most important problems in Medical Science. The statis-

tics of the Naval Hospitals and MarineInfirmaries should be thrown into a proper

form, and the expenditure should be placed.in juxta-position with the average dailynumber of patients. At present the sala-

ries, wages, cost of provisions, and miscel-laneous items are scattered all over the Go-

vernment Estimate.The Physician-General’s Naval Report

should, as was before suggested, include

several particulars respecting seamen in theMerchant’s Service, in order to avert the pre-sent reckless sacrifice of life in the Com-

mercial Marine. This would increase the

labour of drawing up the report; but we dotzot think that this officer could complain, ifhe had proper assistance, and if his salarywere placed on the same footing as the

salary of the Director General of the ArmyMedical Board.

SUICIDE BY A POOR-LAW UNIONSURGEON.

MR. IV. L. CASWELL, surgeon of Hunt-spill, committed suicide on Friday last, bydividing his carotid artery with a razor.A report of the inquest has been forwardedto us, from which it appears that the de.ceased laboured under temporary insanityat the moment of committing the act of self-destruction.We are sorry to add that a rumour has

gone abroad, that the conduct of the Bridge-water Board of Guardians towards the de-ceased was the main, if not the sole causeof producing the state of mind under whichMr. Caswell laboured for several hours pre-viously to his death. How far such reportmay be true we cannot presume to say

without additional evidence; in the mean

time we extract the following remarks fromthe " Dorset Chronicle" of the 17th May."The deceased was one of the medical

gentlemen, whose cases we have alluded toin some recent numbers, who were refusedpayment by the Board of Guardians oi the

Bridgwater Union of their bills for at-tendance on the poor, and it was his billwhich was left for decision to a committeeof the hoard as stated by us a fortnightsince. Our informant, who was with thedeceased the evening preceding his death,assures us that the unfortunate gentlemanappeared highly excited at the manner inwhich he considered himself to have beentreated by the board, entering with muchwarmth into a detail of the whole proceed-ings. Deceased said that his bill for medi.cal attendance on the paupers in his districtduring the period that he attended them asprivate patients, amounted to 901. ; that thenumber of sick at that time exceeded 40,besides several cases of fracture, and thathis charges did not amount to the sumwhich many respectable practitioners wouldhave charged for similar services; that hisorders for attendance, &.c., had been exa.mined by a committee of the board, to whomhis case was left, and that one of that com-mittee had offered him 501. in lieu of thewhole amount. This offer he indignantlyrefused, when he was told he might e,o tolaw and the hoard was determined to resisthis claim by every means in their power.He was ultimately awarded 40?. only, andour informant says that the manner in whichhe spoke of the treatment, and the anxietyhe expressed to know what the world wouldthink of his accepting so small a sum insteadof his whole bill, seemed to pourtray muchinward apprehension that an opinion pre-judicial to his standing in the professionwould be entertained of him. The deceasedremarked that the board was aware of hisstraitened circumstances which would notallow him further to prosecute his claim,and that had led them so to oppress him, Wedeem it due to the deceased to add that theclergymen of the various parishes in hisdistrict all bear testimony to his very hu-mane and kind treatment of the paupers,and that not only were his highly-giftedprofessional talents exerted in their behalfbut his private bounty, even when himselfin narrow circumstances, often tended to

lighten their distresses. He was a remark-ably fine grown man about 34 years of age,and has left a widow and three children."

ULCERS.—Ulceration of the small intes-tine is a lesion peculiar to two diseases, onechronic, viz. pulmonary consumption ; theother acute, viz. typhus fever. The sameremark applies to ulceration of the oesopha-gus.—Louis,

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