The Sun.
London, England, 1830-05-27 00:00:00

No. 11,764.

THE KING'S HEALTII.

(From the Lancet.)
Upon reading the Bulletins, one is naturally led to in-
quire for what purpose they have been issued ; because
they are utterly and entirely destitute of information, not
only as to the state of danger to which the KING has been
exposed, and of the degree of suffering which his MAJESTY
has endured, but there is a total silence upon the nature,
or even of the supposed name, of the disease from which
our SOVEREIGN has suffered so severe an attack. As to the
" bilious " attack, the expression is so vague and old-
womanish, that nothing can be inferred from it, unless we
assume that there was a wilful attempt to delude or deceive
on the part of the writer. But his MAJESTY has suffered
considerably from "embarrassment in his breathing."
Embarrassment in breathing is only the symptom of a
disease ; yet not a word is mentioned of the complaint
by which this sign has been produced. Embarrassment
in breathing may result from a diseased brain, a diseased
spine, a diseased throat, a diseased heart, diseased lungs, a
diseased liver, and, in fact, fi om severe disease in any part
of the body. Indeed, "embarrassment in breathing "is
one of the last, and, but too frequently, one of• the worst
and surest signs of approaching dissolution. Thus, whilst
it is commonly the immediate precursor of death, it is a
no less frequent attendant upon the most trifling aberrations
from health, and often follows an indulgence in the luxuries
of the table. Inflammation of the heart, and too abundant
a meal, will, alike, therefore, produce "embarrassment in
breathing." What then, can we learn from the language
of the Bulletins ? Nothing. .It being uniaarselfiy sicknow-
•ladged that infe-se documents are issued for the purpose of
conveying to the people of England information respecting
the nature and danger of the KING'S malady, we are forced
to conclude that the persons who dictated them are either
incapable of communicating that information, or that it has
been wilfully withheld. In either case, such persons, we
should think, are not the most proper to surround the
person of the Soveuxtusr, especially at a moment when
the Royal mind may be in a state bordering upon inca-
pacity from the tortures of bodily disease. If his MAJESTY'S
physicians be not incompetent to convey the information
which the public have a right to expect, and even to de-
mand, by whose orders, or front what influence, do they
systematically attempt to delude or mystify? The KING
has a right, undoubtedly, to select the medical officers by
whom he will be attended. His MAJESTY has a right to
choose his Ministers of State, and they are responsible to
the nation for their conduct. But here there are other con-
siderations besides the right to select. First, we know of
no tribunal to which the medical officers are amenable, for
their incapacity; and secondly, is a man, when enduring
the agonies of disease, in a condition of mind best cal-
culated for making the most judicious selection? Of
the incompetency of Sir HENRY HALFORD and Sir
MATTHEW TIERNEY, we do not speak, for we will not be
so uncharitable as to decide upon their medical attainments
from the terms of their Bulletins. Sir H. HALFORD is,
unquestionably, a very respectable gentleman ; but we
have yet to learn that he has found a position amongst the
scientific physicians of Europe. Of Sir M. TIERNEY we
know nothing ; be may have contributed to the stock of
medical knowledge; lie may have been successful in the
career of private practice; but upon each of these points
we are equally in the dark. Laying aside, then, for the
moment, the consideration of superior medical attain-
ments, may we not infer that these physicians were capable
of recording a plain statement of facts ? and, giving them
credit for this, if it can be shown that they have refrained
from alluding to highly important circumstances con-
nected with his MAJESTY'S disease, and with which, it is
self-evident, they were well acquainted,—if, we say, it can
be proved that they have wilfully withheld very important
information upon one point, may we not fairly conclude
that they have done so upon many others, or, in-
deed, upon all? For the Bulletins are destitute of
even a particle of medical statement that is worth re-
cording. That one very important piece of information
has :been withheld there can be no doubt, as the
legs of the Royal sufferer were punctured, in order
to allow the escape of a dropsical effusion. Not a
word of this in the Bulletins. No mention even of swel-

ling in the legs, much less of effusion in the extremities,
arising from organic disease in the —. It is known,
however, that his MAJESTY has submitted to the dange-
rous, and often fatal, operation of " puncturing" for the
removal of fluid effused in the legs and feet. Yet no men-
tion is made in the Bulletins of there having been a surgeon
in attendance. In truth there is not the slightest allu-
sion to the operation ; and bad not the vanity of the ope-
rator conquered his discretion, the fact of the " punctur-
ing" would, probably, hare been unknown to the public
even to the present hour. A surgical operation then—
even a dangerous surgical operation, for mortification is
often the result—has been performed. Yet the name of a
surgeon has not been attached to either of the Bulletins.—
The secrecy is deep, but what are the motives? The his-
tory of the magical tactics of the great magician may one
day furnish an explanation. The extraordinary benefit,
both medical and surgical, rendered to the late Duke of
Yoas by his MAJESTY'S Sergeant-Surgeon, Sir ASTLEY
COOPER, is well kno.vn to the members of the medical
profession, and even to a large portion of the public. 'Yet
" the conjurer" en this occasion directed his wand to an-
other quarter, and summoned to his aid a more convenient
spirit; one that could be concealed or exhibited, as the
changes of the disease, and the " turns" of the Consol
market, might seem to require.
If we mistake not, a " stock account," to be found in the
books of a certain confidential broker, is always the surest
guide to the state of his MasesTv's health. It fluctuates
with the variations of the Royal pulse. Here we shall
stop for the present ; but the while affair is one of vast

importance to the country, and demands a scrutinizing in-
vestigation in Parliament.
It affords us great satisfaction to lie enabled to state, that
the health of his MAJESTY is much improved. Unhappily,
however, there are still the evidences of danger.

Sir ROBERT PEEL commenced his speech
on the Forgery Question by saying, that if he had expected
to find that question treated as a party one, such an im-
pression would have been removed by the encomiums la-
vished on his exertions by Sir JAMES
" But he entered the House with no such impression,
knowing that the time was come when," &c. &c. Now,
the Motion for the Abolition of Capital Punishment in
Cases of Forgery, was lost in a House of nearly 250 Mem-
bers, by a majority of fifteen only ; and it is very material
to inquire, for the purpose of ascertaining the real state of
public opinion on this great subject, whether this majority
was a mere Ministerial majority, or the prevailing senti-
ment of a House of Commons wholly uninfluenced by
party considerations, as the Minister represents it. The
fact, then, we take leave to state, that the Treasury sum-
mons sent round to all the retainers of Government in the
accustomed manner, requiring their attendance on Monday
night, was worded in the most pressing and emphatic man-
ner : that it was headed " certain divisions ;" and that
the Forgery Bill was the first subject of debate mentioned
as fixed for discussion. It is not for us to reconcile such
a summons of all his good men and true with the Right
Hon. Secretary's canting protestation, that he approached
the question as one entirely unconnected with party po-
litics. But sure we are, that if there had been no ,uch
gathering of the Train-bands of Government, Sir R.
PEEL'S Forgery Bill would have been lost.---Morning
Chronicle.

BONAPARTE held the liberty of the press in
the greatest horror; and so violent was his passion when
any thing was urged in its favour, that be seemed to labour
under a nervous attack. Great man as he was, he was
sorely afraid of little paragraphs.—Bourrienne.

A certain Lecturer on Intemperance, who
has attained to "celebrity" in his vocation, lately waited
on the minister of a populous parish, not 100 miles from
Perth, and requested the use of his church to deliver a
lecture to the people. The minister stated his determina-
tion, and his reasons for declining to grant this for any
other than purposes purely religious—but to shesv the ap-
plicant that he had no personal grudge towards him, he
proposed to give him the " fashion o' the hoose." A case
of bottles was produced, containing various liquors, and
the lecturer was desired to choose and help himself, his
host setting the example. The former could not be pre-
vailed.upon to taste or handle, but lie drank of no less
than three full tumblers of water pure from the spring,_
upon which the reverend sexagenarian shrewdly observed,
" My certie, lad ; gin ye hadna been at something stronger
than water last night, its my opinion ye wadna ha'e been
fashed wi' sic a lowin' drouth this mornin."--A Corres-
pondent of Pert/s Courier.