The Sun.
London, England, 1866-11-29 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THI7RSOAI EVENING, NOVEMBER 29, 1866.

BRITISH FOSSE

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LAW INTELLIGENCE.--This Day.

COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH.

(Sittings at Nisi Prins, before Lord Chief Justice Cockburn
and a Special Jury.)
HUNTER. V. SHARPE.

The hearing of this case was resumed this morning.

Mr. Coleridge, Q.C., Mr. Sergeant Par►y, and Mr. H.
Wiiliams, appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr. Karslake,
Q.C., and Mr. Quain, Q.C., for the defendant.
The case for the defendant, which commenced yesterday,
was proceeded with.
Mr. Quain, Q.C., read a long list of the London and pro-
vincial papers in which-the different advertisements of Dr.
Hunter's work appeared fro►o time to time.
Dr. C. J. Williams, one of the principal witnesses called,
was examined at great length. He said that he was a fel-
low of the Royal College of Physicians, and consulting
physician of the Brompton Hospital for the treatment of
consumption. He had been in practice in London since
1830, and had considerable practice in pulmonary diseases.
Ile had read the letters in Dr. Hunter's work.

Mr. Quain—ln page t 57 there is the following passage:
—" All known experience combines to prove that the root
of this disease (consumption) is in the .lungs, and that
tubercles result from imperfect respiration."

Witness —That statement was as far from truth as a
statement could possibly be. It was a remarkable fact,
known to the profession generally, that in cases of disease
in which respiration was most imperfect there was a singu-
lar freedom from tubercles. In fact, in some cases of
disease of the lungs tuberclet were found to be incompatible
with the existence of tubercles.

The Lord Chief Justice—May not imperfect respiration
in some cases produce tubercles ? •

Witness—Certainly not by itself. There is a number of
classes of disease of the heart in which, through the circu-
lation of the venous and artereal blood, there is imperfect
respiration, in which there is a remarkable absence of
tubercles. In cases of diseases of the spine imperfect re-
spiration occurred without the formation of tubercles, and
indeed it was the general opinion of the profession that
tubercular disease wrs not common in such cases.

The Chief Justice—Do you not suppose that imperfect
respiration proceeds from a derangement of the respiration ?

Witness—By no means.
Mr. Quain—Turn to the following passage : " Sherrer,
in his Analysis, says that 54 per cent. of the molli of tuber-
cles consisted of carbon, and was the true cause of tuber-
cles. Carbon was inimical to life."

Witness —That statement was contrary to truth as re-
garded the inference drawn from " Sherrer's Analysis."
Carbon was the same as charcoal, and was a remarkably
inert substance, and was occasionally used in large quan-
tities without any danger, and it had been known to lie in
the system for years without injury. It was, in fact, a
mechanical and not a medical agent. To say that carbon
was the true cause of tubercles was perfectly in-
consistent with medical experience-53 and a fraction
per cent. of carbon was certainly found in tubercles, and
the remaining parts consisted of oxygen, hydrogen, and
nitrogen; but carbon was found in other animal tissue to
a greater extent. (Here the witness read a portion of the
work of Sherrer to show that the opinion and deductions
of that writer in no way supported Dr. Hunter's on this
point.)
Mr. Quain drew the attention of the witness to a state-
ment of Dr. Hunter, that neglected catarrhs, colds, and
sore throats invariably led to consumption.
Witness—That statement might be taken as a gross
exaggeration of the fact. It could not be denied that
catarrhs and colas in persons predisposed to pulmonary
disease might develope consumption in its early stage. The
system of inhalation had been practised by him at the
Brompton Hospital and eight other physicians for
the last fifteen years, but it was quite cer-
tain that medicine could not reach the lungs as
administered in the ordinary way. The ingredients he
used for the purposes of inhalation were hemlock,
shamonum, and chloroform. Latterly he had not resorted
to inhalations as much as he had previously, because he
considered them too transient (in their effects, and were
only subordinate to the administration of medicine in the
usual way. The quantity of medicine that could reach
the lungs through inhalation was very small,
and there was an uncertainty as to the quantity that might
be used, in consequence of a difference of constitution in
patients. The practice ho resorted to in regard to inhala-
tion was to make the patient inhale tho medicine from a
jug of hot water, so covered as to prevent the escape of the
vapour. He had used an instrument. He did not know
what description of instrument Dr. Hunter used, and there
was nothing in his work to explain it. The witness ex-
pressed his dissent from different other portions of Dr. Hun-
ter's theory, and wassubjected to a long cross-examina-
tion.

Several other witnesses.were called, but the case was
not concluded when we wont to press.

COURT OF BANKRUPTCY.
(Before M r.'Registrar Pepys.
IN RE LEOPOLD REDPATR.
In this case, which has been before the court for some
ten years, the bankrupt is the notorious Leopold Redpath,
whose gigantic frauds and forgeries upon the Great
Northern Railway Company, in whose service he was a
clerk, created so much excitement at the time, and finally
led to his transportation for life. To-day a final dividend
was declared, there being a sum of £1,137 in hand.

SHERIFFS' COURT.
(Before Mr. Commissioner Kerr.)

THB ACTION AGAINST SIR ROBERT PEEL, BART., M.P.-

MILLINGTON V. SIR ROBERT PEEL.

This case, which has been before the court on many oc-
casions recently, was again set down for hearing on the
application of the defendant for a new trial. It was stated
that the debts and costs had been paid into court, and that
the matter could not be contested. Mr. Turner (rreshfield
and Newman), however, attended for the Baronet, though
no ono appeared for the plaintiff, the money paid in having
been accepted.

Mr. Turner produced a long bill of costs from plaintiff's
attorney, the total of which was £l4 Bs., and considered
that it was monstrous to send in such a bill to Sir Robert
Peel.

His Honour—l cannot tax the bill.
Mr. Turner—No, sir, but there may be some slight extra
costs to which plaintiff has been put, and we do not object
to pay those ; but to charge extra costs £l4 Bs. upon a
claim of less than .£4 is absurd.

His Honour—The plaintiff does not appear, and is, I
suppose, satisfied with the money paid in.
Mr. Turner—That may be so, sir, but I should like to
have the matter finally disposed of, as we do not wish to
bo brought to the Court upon this subject any more.
His Honour said he could only strike out the case, as
the plaintiff was absent.
The case was then struck out.