The Sun.
London, England, 1844-10-26 00:00:00

MEDICAL REFORM.

A public address on medical reform was deliverei on
Thursday by Mr. Hines, surgeon, at the Western Lite-
rary Institution, in Leicester-square. The object of the
address was to call the attention of the public, as well
as of the profession, to the injurious effects likely to re-
sult from Sir James Graham's Bill. Hr. Hilles com-
menced by observing that the profession did not require
a monopoly. They were willing to throw open the
compounding of medicines, and even the privilege of
practising ; but what they contended for was, that there
should be a marked distinction between the qualified and
unqualified practitioner, so that the public might not he
misled. They objected, therefore, to allowing pretenders
to medical science to assume the titles of " surgeon," or
" doctor," and desired to limit such titles to those who
had attained the distinction by a regular education. The
plats of registration was, he thought, a very inadequate
protection ; and, as there was little inducement to prac-
titioners to register their names, but, on the contrary,
there would be an annual charge attending it, the fact
would be that many of the most distinguished surgeons
would not care to register, and whilst their names
were not to be found on list, the unqualified man
would also pretend that he might register himself if he
would, but that he considered it a disgrace to do so.
Mr. Hines pointed out many other parts of the Bill that
would be injurious to the respectable practitioners, and
he declared his conviction that the sole object of Sir
James Graham was to establish a medical poor-law
commission. It had been found that the surgeons would
not now so readily compete for the appointments in
poor-law unions, and by making a free trade of medical
science it was hoped to increase competition for those
situations. The lecturer inveighed strongly against the
heavy duties and miserable remuneration of surgeons in
poor-law unions, and he asserted that, as the avowed
object of the New Poor-law was to throw the poor on
their own resources, so the object of the present Medical
Reform Bill was to throw the medical practitioners on
the poor, and to compel them to eke out a miserable
living by extracting the last shilling from their dying
patients. Mr. Hilles advocated the adoption of a repro.
sentative system by the medical profession. He pro-
posed that the twen‘y-five thousand members of which
that body is composed should elect representatives to
protect their interests, and to protect the public also
from becoming dupes of the outcasts of the profession.
The lecture was very scantily attended.
Thursday a meeting of the Medical and Surgical As-
sociation of the borough of St. Marylebone took place,
for the purpose of considering and agreeing to a mani-
festo to be presented to Sir J. Graham, deprecating the
Bill lately introduced into Parliament, as not effectively
excluding quacks from practice, as erroneously opening
the field of practice to chemists and druggists, and as
prescribing an improper scheme of professional educa
tion. The Association also advocates the institution of a
college of general practioners, with an elective council
and court of examiners, in order to secure uniformity of
education for the general practitioners throughout the
United Kingdom. Mr. R. Pennington (Senior Fellow of
the College of Surgeons) was in the chair, and after some
discussion, in which Mr. Cooper, Mr. Ancel, Mr. Gird-
wood, Mr. Gray, Mr. Davies, and Mr. Michele took part,
the manifesto was adopted. Thanks were voted to the
chairman, and the meeting separated.