The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-06-01 00:00:00

LONDON OPHTHALMIC INFIRMARY.

The annisursary of this Institution was commemorated yesterday
at the Albino Tavern. Aldersgate-street. At seven o'clock Wm.
Mellish, Esq. took the I:hair, supported by J.l3vng. Esq. M.P. on
hit right, and S. C. Whitbread, Esq. M.P. on his left. There were
also present many of the first practitioners in medicine as well as
surgery. The dinner having been admirably served, and the
cloths and the corks drawn, " Benetiictus" was most ably given by
the musical gentlemen present. The health of the King, the Duke
of York and the Rnyal Family, and the Army and Navy, haring
b"n given sad received with the most lively testimonies of affcc •
ticia a cad gratification,
FARRF, the S,artiry, addressed the company at some length
in commenting up in the Report. It appeared from that dotumen.,
that since the formation or the Institution in 1804, there had been
co-tributed for general purposes 15,816/., and for tLe building and
r dowment fund 8,0011/., making together the sum of 21,8241. Th
aunt bad been expended, with a trifling exception, in relieving
60,256 out.patients, of whom ;10,592 were estimated to have been
cured. It also appeared that there had been 5.2.1 in-patients during
that period, who had been cured of cataract or closed pupil, includ-
ing las who ha,l been born blind. The Report further stated that
a call had been made on the public, in order to obtain an endow.
melt of the charity; but whirh i.sd not as yet been effected, from,
the unexampled commercial distress of the country during the last I
year. Nevertheless, the means of meeting the expenditure of the
year had been rendered so as to leave a balance of 3001.9 per Cents.,
and 1211!. 4s. I Id. was in the hands of the bankers to the Institution,
independently of a considerable number of annual Governors.
In order to show the great utility of the Institution, it was stated
that a successful result had attended the opetmion on cataract of
:17 cases out of 40; and that the number of out-patients hail in.
creased. during the last year, to 43711. The Report went on to
state, that the pupils educated at the Infirmary amounted in num-
ber to 1138, the benefit of whose exertions were felt over every port
of the British empire—That in India, particularly, its benefits
were felt and acknowledged, where a subscriition of 8,000 pagodas'
had been made, for he purpose of raising a monument to the
memory of Mr. Richardson, the distinguished superintendent of
the Eye Infirmary at Madras; which was most gratifying to the
feelings of the Governors, inasmuch as it testified the expression of
public gratitude in that remote region of the British dominions to
Om memory of a pupil of the London Ophthalmic Institution. The
Secretary t.ten stated the returns of the institution fur the last year
to be as follow :

Out-patients admitted from the Ist of January to 31st
-
Becember,lB2s . . 4678
riut-patlents cured during that period - . 3423
-
I.i.patients fur the same period . . 61
1 tie toasts of the City of London, and its Trade, the County
31embees, the Chairman, and the Officers, were then given and
received with the usual demonstrations or respect.
Messrs. Kny rot, Atkins, and 0 oulden, with Masters Bailey and
Nicholls, charmed the company with some delightful songs and
glees, and the company separated at a late hour, alter an evening
spent in much intellectual enjoytueut.