The Sun.
London, England, 1842-01-11 00:00:00

MORNING SUN

R)xburghsbire, to send their sons to De. Turnbull, who
waasuecessful with them both, one being a ease of con-
genital deafness. This eminent person, the President of
the loyal Society of Edinburgh, has, both in writing
a!ll by oral communication, expressed to us his full con-
viction of the power of Dr. Turnbull to effect extraordi-
lii, naary cures in this class of diseases.
fathersin-law of one of the individuals now ad-
- eala".;eag the, public has been deaf in his left ear fifty-
s yells's, in consequence of a cold from sleeping in a
aa.lp bal. W e saw this gentleman sit down in Dr.
tusibull's room with his left ear utterly deaf, and, in
las fire minutes,, after a process which will be afterwards
described, and the application of a 'liquid, we saw him
ris yin possession Ville hearing of that ear. In this gen-
laaPalaaa's case, all the efforts of many other aurists had
cOMpletely failed.
tai. Mr. Charles Hope, who lately retired from the situa-
oa ;lon of President of the Court of Session, was induced
a ear a friend-to resort to Dr. Turnbull last April, on ac-
count of impaired hearing. To quote a letter to (-gir-
ls,- 'elves, which the ex-President has placed at our dis-
rwaaal :---a Before* putting myself under Dr. Turn-
ar all's care I thought it right to inform him that I
fo "bald just care,
my 79th year, on which he at once
landidly said that he would not undertake to cure me,
sac, but that perhaps he might do me some good, if I
Iz
aaould allow him to examine my ears, which of course I
• iild• He told me it impossible that I could hear
t 9 - was
t 44 -web, for my ears were as dry as the mahogany table we
,s
,were sitting at as there was a total want of the se-
erstioa of wax. That, he said, he certainly could re-
atora Accordingly, after two or three applications, the
*S, 11:11x began to appear, and at the end of ten or twelve
aays became copious ; and I certainly found very consi-
., (-arable improvement in my hearing, which was sensible
my family and my colleagues. The secretion of wax
continues and my ears are now in their natural healthy
State, subject only to the effects of old-. age, which go-
- lierally blunts all the senses. * * * In short, Dr.
Turnbull did me all the good he ever pretended he could
do to my hearing, and that benefit-continues."
Three deaf-mute children, from ten to eleven years of
tge, who had been for some years receiving their educe—
!ion in the Day School for the Deaf and Dumb in Edin-
burgh, attended Dr. Turnbull in Aprillest, and-hard their
hearing established. Mr. Drysdale, the deaf-mutemasa
ter of the schoisl, has given distinct testimony to this-
fact in a document which we have perused ; and, at a
private personal interview when we asked categorically
If these childrerafornieras did not hear and now do so, he:
..a.,:,.swered as emphatically that such really was the case.
saw the three children more than once, and found
them able to hear very slight noises at the distance of-
several yards, and to pronoance words after any one
Speaking to them, these persons, it is important to: re-
finark, being stationed behind their backs. Their pro-
`a'l.2lllneiation, it may be noticed, waaimperfect, and some=
-:
.agailes the sound uttered by them was very unlike the
; but there could he no doubt of the existence;
• 'small the three, of both the power of hearing and of
!•
sPeakina,
• Per. Turnbull was in Aberdeen during September and
ste
toter -last, in consequence of an invitation from
a,f('-"a Jaek, Principal of King's College. He was there
I successful in a number of very interesting cases. A
girl named Mary Moir, from Waterside of Thornton,
near laawrencelsirk—born deaf and dumb—was enabled
t•
o hear perfectly in a- few minutes. Two young per-
Margaret and. Robert Stirling, of Aberdeen, deaf
jinn birth, were also, completely cured. Sophia Ro-
"ertson, of the Deaf and Dumb Institution of Aberdeen,
and John Scott, from Dufftown (a lad of twenty-
• tour), were other eases of ;complete cure. Dr. Keith,
surgeon to the Infirmary, and Mr. George Rainy,
"rgeon to the Ophthalmic and Annie Institution, both
r 4 Aberdeen, certify these. cures in documents before us.
htliZformer gentleman .gays; in a letter to Dr. 'rum-
" After repeated examinations of many of the
"kjects of -your care previously to anything being
cl°'lo, la satisfied myself that they were both deaf
alni dumb, a have witnessed the application of your
remedy •to . the ears, and bear testimony to their
ltaviage in my own presence, obtained the sense of
"ring ; and by my own tuition in a few minutes after-
Ijards, acquired the power of speech." The case of
a`ophia Robertson is certified by Mr. M. R. Burns, the
- niastee of the Deaf and Dumb Institution, an individual
?_f whose moral worth we happen to have personal
knowledge. " Sophia," he says, "lost her hearing from
s• in) fever. She could hear the clock striking when standing
iy it. But since she has been under your care she can
;leer a bell rung three pairs of stairs up, and easily the
s i'iging of the church &ells. In ma own experience it is
ta. ..mot less effectual, though less rapid. I feel my hearing
2;(l4lrogressing." Dr. Fleming, Professor of Natural Philo-
ala::1)113a and Dr. William Gregory, - Professor of - Che-
esal I'4'34:shave: likewise given favourable testimony, the
arm utter gentleman saying, amongst other things, with re-
sca rd te• the three Edinurgh children above-mentioned,
%the doubts which have been expressed (obviously
; ,Avithout.experimental grounds) of the .permanence of'
Your cures, must be in a great measure diseipated by- the,
state of these individuals, six months after treatment." -
Dr. Turnbull was in Glasgow at the beginning of the
by-past year, and in public administered to various deaf
and dumb persons. Happening to be acquaiuted with a;
gentleman who had taken an interest in what was then
• done-, he wrote to him, making particular inquiry into
the condition of two young persons whom we understood
to have received decided and permanent benefit. These-
Were deaf-mutes, named Jane Wilkie and Margaret Muir,
the one being about eight years of age, the other about
nineteen. Our friend answered (Dec. 2) as follows :—"I
tailed for both the girls to-day, and had the good luck to
"ad Wilkie at home. Her mother states freely that
she hears quite as well as the other children, and is at
ai_sehool conducted by a female; who seems to be bring-
her on very well, if I may judge from a specimen
'lit: her reading I witnessed to-day. Her articulation
has B,very perfect, considering the short time that she
to as d °eau at. school. They have no occasion now to speak
i to her, as she seems to understand quite well what
even when her back is turned. * * * I fciund
ntr's parents at home, but she herself was at work in the
eta°etten-mill. I put many questions to the parents, which
th_Y. answered very 'satisfactorily. They stated • that
.ie surprisina effects produced by Dr. Turnbull had not
s'eutasted the least degree, but, on the contrary, were
er increased. She hears whatever is said to her,
though she may be in another room with the door shut."
Mat
is el. • a common allegation respecting Dr. Turnbull's
aees, that, on the most favourable construction, they
tt)e little more than momentary ; and we are bound
ac±anhserve that we have heard of persons of impaired
atiroilla. relapsing after a time from the. improved con,.
° into which he had brought them.. But what is
es said of Mr. Hope, who has continued well for six
I) seven months ; of the three children of the Edinburgh
t4.-sellool for the Deaf and Dumb, who have main 7
itZ.l recovered hearing for an equal time ; and of Jane
toser le and Margaret Muir, who are better now than
' after nearly a twelvewonth .? By these cases, not'
tlEn of
of others of more recent date, the so-far perma-
of the remedy seems to us fully established.
ao-crkts, born deafness was never cured before, it may be
the n While to give a few particulars with respect to
144, sensations of the - patients on their first becoming
WsPed
a of the heretofore deficient sense: Miss
a_ :car states, in a letter before us, that she at first
veFiaielrielleed considerable annoyance from the noise of
ins" in the street. On attending church, the sing-
had gave her new and exquisite pleasure, though she
t 0 some enjoyed music in the manner peculiar
s,,l_ne deaf persons, through the effect of vibration
the general frame. - Another cured patient, who,
Tale._ ;I-has Walker, had previously acquired consider-
able knowledge of written language, has drawn up a
tiasper to enforce a hypothesis which has occurred to
r.mind, that sound and language are connected. A
Vri residing at Glasgow, who was cured in May, has
it
~ Ice acquired the sense or smell : when she discovered
a she held out a rose to her mother, and said her nose
't`:l,., spoken._ A married woman, residing in Edinburgh,
viteeatting
.homeh-efarron.icthe first experiment with reco-
tear hearing, . 'r children crying, but was not
some time ite ale that the sound had any connection
with their suffering. It would he obviously of import-
t4inees tot, have a fair opportunity of observing the effect of
14sou den acquirement of the sense of hearing on some
ar. n capable of recording Iris gradual
circumstances causing it.
perceptions of the
4rf:.----,4aeetlon of sound with the
„..:;'l'.o proceed to report what has been stated to us, and
Vitt we have witnessed, respecting the ex clients used
pss 'll.-)1*. Turnbull for the cure of deafness.Pe
tthe. course of general practice in 1834, he had two
u,elits. afflicted with tic doloureux, extend along the
'411!)11'"Ples and forehead, and producing partialiilindess in
)5. ';fort'.‘ e- of each patient. Ba the application of veratria
as Out four weeks, the tic was removed, and at the,
'asat"e time the sight restored. This latter circumstance
qerlielt his mind forcibly, and he thought it might be well
HtlisQ'tr'Y'the effect of some of the new alkaloids upon eye-
' getes• Obtaining permission to experiment in St.
4aist istiecaZ Workhouse, he found a patient in an old para-
Aid ontan who wanted seeing and hearing on one
411' e With ,d,‘ the fo_ a view to the cure of the eye only,
(lays Zaead of this woman was rubbed daily for four
taen,_
eith an extract of capsicum, when her vision
Stilt completely restored ; and next, day—a re-
seria °tell had not been, in the faintest degree,
• taeaTad, she also regained hei hearing 1 He
La With -similar experiments, but in no other ease met
',uch very extraordinary results. His attention was
fce..,‘'ans"weaer, powerfully- attracted to ear diseases. Be-
- eky
_verting to lfis further -progress in that walk, we
Profe'se‘Fntion that he succeeded in establishing with the
eathe e:r1°11 generally the powerful effects of veratria in
ilea other fti
e of c-doloureux, rheumatism, gout, and all
forms of neuralgic disease.
:teata4'raPe., riment in time showed that, in cases of deafness 190 210
• ea og from 1011,
the
_a nervous energy, a class to which nearly Talaa ses of the deaf and dumb belong, the organ his exhibited a sad picture of commercial distress, and
showed how deeply shopkeepers and all other classes
w_e_l,laore or less successfully treated by applying to were interested in the prosperity of linen, the great
aeautoeaa alkaloid. This he rubs gently upon the tym- staple trade of the town. Mr. Baxter adverted to
leathee °Y means of an instrument tipped with skamois the bounty on linen ; which, when proposed to be dis-
a. laws*, and generally in ten minutes the effects are et,est. continued, same deprecated as attended with danger,
the but in which fears he did not concur. Now, the year
41:2 trtit„ greater number of diseases of the ear arise after these bounties were abolished, the shipments ttea
,;:,•43ideproducing acute and chronic imflammation, linen increased 30,000 pieces, which showed how little
W 'Lltnitushing or altogether obstructing the flow of real benefit trade derives from such protection ; and he
Wax Who h
"titer -remy the tympanum and other parts of the believed the same good results would arise from leaving
a had ear, from being
.exposed. to the air, are thickened, agriculture to its own native energies.—(Cheers.)
" deprived of sensibility. Cold also produces in- Sir J. OGILvY, a landowner, but allied with the ma-
ss Aathaatici
aessaa_ ll and consequent accumulation of mucus in the nufacturers by opinion, recommended moderation and the
aatiazte called the Eustachian tube, which cons- use of reason.
tep„',.tes,. between the internal ear and the baele of the Mr. 1). BAXTER moved the first resolution :—" That
t,i_!-u aiding cured persons relapse in consequence the manufacturing interests of this district are, and have
itsallehd•farect of wax, Dr. Turnbull was prompted to been, for some years, in a state of great distress." He
. ttleheaus -ocillrisistq4y.inin endeavouring to discover a would read to them a statement showing the number
at the a 1. that secretion. He reflected, of persons out of employment, the rate of wages. as
a. kosher, PP ication of the mouth of the child to its ! compared ‘lith former years, and the effect of the high
breast, by removing the. pressure of the at- ' 'price of provisions on the industrious classes of the corn-
tre es ;
ta I 05...; Causes the milk immediately to flow, and munity.
aesasaleved that a similar result might follow with Factory Weavers.—Total number of looms, 3,131 ;
•seita.44-teet tq tho laza of the ear', if he could by any of which in employment, 1,232; partially employed, 554;
tta remove the the atmosphere 1
priwaire from unemployed, 1,345 ; total of persons employed, 1,319
stlt external parts. For, this, ealtr4o2 Le, at first used partially employed, 554; unempleyed, 1,468 ; starchers
44aise with au Indian rubLer t:::i441.4 £tted employed, 87 ; unemployed, 113 ; total, 3,331. Of those
aperture of the ear. The plan was -slacce§ifq; employed[ 360 are working Government sailcloth, the
-vesselsl4ood
resumed a freq circulation and thg flow ' h • • ; copITACO ire masa. NJ;
- •

of wax recommenced. It strikes us that we.have rarely
known a more beautiful instance of a simple natural
principle being taken advantage of by human ingenuity,
for a humane end.

The clearing of the Eustachian tube, for which no
means formerly existed but the application of medi-
cines to the bowels, or the dangerous use of a catheter,
was effected by Dr. Turnbull by the same simple means.
For producing exhaustion, however, either in this or
the above case, he does not
_use a syringe, but a very
elegant application of the air-pump, suggested to hini by
Sir John Robison of Edinburgh. This he calls a Pneu-
matic Extractor. A common air-pmnp operates in ex
bausting a tall bell-saped receiver, in the interior of
which is a mercurial guage, to indicate the degree of ex,
haustion. Erom the plate of the pump'proceeds a flexible
air-tight pipe, baring a stopcock near its junction. On
the farther end of this pipe, the experimenter can fit on
either an oval glass cup made to contain the outer ear,
and fit close to the head by means of a little soft wax or
putty—or a slightly-bent tube of the same material, 3-8 ths
of an inch in diameter, with its mouth a little evasated,
or turned outwards. On this tube being introduced into
the mouth of the patient, and applied to the orifice of
the Eustachian passage, communication is opened be-
tween the previously rarefied air in the receiver, and the
orifice, from which a discharge of mucus is soon made
into the tube, which is then withdrawn. The rarefac-
tion which effects this best is equal to from five td eight
inches of the mercurial column. It may be remarked,
that engorgement of the Eustachian tube and the inner
cavities of the ear, are conditions which prove a fre-
quent cause of deafness. The air, it must be obServed,
is the proper conductor of sound ; and there must be
a free passage between the inner ear and the outer
air, in order to allow of the tympanum performing
the vibrations which give hearing. All that tends,
as engorgement does, to impede the free vibrations of
the tympanum, must of course produce deafness. We
thus clearly see of what importance must be every means
by which engorgement can be readily reduced.
As we are only anxious on the present occasion to
show the grounds we have for an opinion subversive
of the ,injurious notices formerly inserted in this work,
we do not propose to say more respecting the various
depreciatory remarks which have been made respect-
ing:Dr-. 'Turnbull, apart from his practice, than that
we have seen .and heard enough to satisfy us that they-
are, on. a liberal construction of. circumstances, ill-
founded. We leave him to pursue his way, freed at
least from any obstruction which may be supposed to
have been thrown in it by this Journal. That he has,
by patience and ingenuity, obtained a grasp of certain
new medicaments and methods calculated to cure cases
of deafness, such as were never cured before, we have no
doubt ;* and we consequently believe that, if he perse-
veres in his course, he will -speedily be able to come.be-
fore the profession with claims for an unequivocally high
place in its annals.
.The past history of his experiments—for, strictly
speaking, he is as yet only experimenting—supplies.
some curious. matter:for reflection. Aural surgery pro-
ceeds for ages with a small measure of "success, and;
though in a vast proportion of _eases no benefit is expe-
rienced, no one ..thinks of venting complaint or remon-
strance on the subject. Failures numberless are over-
looked and excused, as only what is to be expected from
the defective state of medical science. At -length, a
man of some originality appears, who apparently de-
tects -the true -and direct means of curing deafness in
many of its forms, and heis successful in a very consider-
rable number of cases. What is the receptiOn he meets
with ? The medical profession are instantly in arms
against him. The public treats him as one rather pro-'
posing to injure than to benefit it. The keepers of in-
stitutions for the deaf and dumb, with scarcely an excep-
tion, present bayonets at his approach. The evidence of:
his cure is disputed. Cases of failure, though they occur •
in a small proportion compared with what could be
reckoned formerly, are fastened upon, magnified, and made
a pretext for doubting cases of proved success. Men are
heard with one breath denying his cures altogether—
with the next alleging that they last only for a few days.
Everything that -can be heard of to his prejudice is
gathered together and flung in. his teeth. Every
quirk, and quibble, and dexterous" evasion that can be
devised, are brought to bear on his public exhibitions, so
as to ensure his failure, or at least bring discredit on
his operations. In short, the whole world seems in
somewhat the same mind with the Irishman who laid
a bet that his friend would not carry him to the top
of a house in his hod, withouNetting him fall, and who
had great hopes from a trip about the third storey. It
seems out of its senses with eagerness to discover that
the whole of this attempt to benefit it should prove
to be an imposition. Accordingly, the experimenter
appears in exactly the same predicament with those
who brought bad news to Athens. He stands with a
rope about his neck, which the angry public seem every
moment abeitt to draw tight—despised, ridiculed, mis-
Called, hustled, badgered, and reviled. It is scarcely
necessary to remark -how his fortune prospers during
this pleaSant probation. While alleged to be robbing
'rich and poor, and accumulating an enormous hoard
i)fwealth; he is in reality curing the poor without any
`kind of charge, and has lost most of even that moderate
income which he formerly drew from common practice.
" Everything but trodden out of existence" Is; in one
word, the fate of the individual who has been the first
merely human being to cause the deaf to hear. After such
a history; it must be owned that the' temptations to leave
the quiet chininey-corner of commonplace and common
error,-are not great, or, whatever they are, that the warn-
ings On'ihe other side are such as only a Very brave class
Of minds would disregard.

ANTI-CORN•LAW DEMONSTRA-
TION.

THE LINEN TRADE-MEETING OF DEPUTIES.

• (Abridged from the _Dundee Advertiser.)
A public Meeting of the members of the Dundee Anti-
Corn-law Association, and Deputies from the various
Anti-Corn4aw and-Free-trade Associations in Forfar-
shire, Fifeshire, and the neighbouring counties, connected
with the flax and linen-trade, was held in Bell-street
Chapel, on Thursday, for the purpose of diffusing infor-
mation relative to the depressed state of trade, and the
baneful effects of the Corn and Provision-laws on the con-
dition of the:people, and to memorialise her Majesty and
petition Parliament for the total repeal of these laws and
other restrictions on commerce.

Edward Baxter, Esq., President of the Dundee Anti-
Corn-law Association, took the chair, and Messrs. Law
and Wighton were appointed Joint Clerks.
The platform was crowded. Amongst others we no-
ticed about fifty Deputies from the towns and villages
of Forfarshire, Fifeshire, and Perthshire, comprising a
number of Magistrates, merchants, manufacturers, and
tradesmen, the greater part of whom were connected more
or less, with the linen trade, in their respective districts.
The CHAIRMAN read letters from Lord Panmure, and
George Duncan, Esq., M.P., for the Borough, excusing
their absence, but expressing cordial concurrence in the
objects of the meeting.
The CHAIRMAN, stated the object of the meeting, and
thanked. the Deputies, who had come to attend the
meeting, for their prompt attention to the call of the
Dundee Anti-Corn-law Association. He (Mr. Baxter)
admitted that all the distress did not arise
from the restrictive laws alone,—there was a
severe pressure on the productive classes, from un-
equal taxation. But the taxes on food, and the pro-
hibitory duties on foreign productions, were the great
cause of the present distress. They considered freedom
of trade to be the inalineable right of freemen, and they
would not cease remonstrating until the foreign was as
free as the home trade. Mr. Baxter gave a history 'of
the effects of the Corn-laws, and showed that they im-
peded the home trade more than the foreign. The trade-
of Dundee exemplified this statement. From 1827 to
1834, omitting the .speculative years of 1835 and 1836,
the shipments of linen to the home and foreign markets
increased at the rate of 29,605 pieces annually. Omitting
these years of speculation, the 'year of distress 1837, we
find the export of linens to all parts from Dundee for the
year ending June 1839 to amount to 717,070 pieces.
.Unlike the periods referred to, the exports fell in June
1840 to 695,459 pieces, and in June 1841 they were
.697,295 pieces. Since then, the last six months ending
30th November 1841 shows a farther decline of 29,457'
pieces compared with the shipments during the same
period of 1840. In what articles was this deficiency
shown ? In Osnaburg, of 8,560 pieces, and in dowlas
of 3,658 pieces. These fabrics are chiefly shipped
to foreign markets. But, has the home market im-
proved ? It has fallen off in a greater ratio. In sack-
ing used at home, chiefly by farmers and others, there is
a decrease of 13,754 pieces, and of narrow bagging and
. Hessians of 9,097 pieces. But there is an increase in
cotton bagging of 7,311 pieces ; and perhaps Sir Ro-
bert Peel would point to this as a proof of our prospe-
rity ; but he should be glad to hand over to Sir Robert
7,000 pieces which he had in the United States unsold.
It appears, therefore, trade in linens is declining ; but
he ought to mention that there is an increase in yarns
exported of 107,845 cwt. in 1840 to 122,064 cwt.. in 1841,
and that the increase during the last six months com-
pared with the corresponding period in 1840 has been
13,606 cwt. The number of bankruptcies during the
last five years is as follosss 1836-7. 1838-41.
Merchants (Dundee trade)
Manufacturers (ditto) 99
Flax-spinners (ditto) l 2
Bleachers (ditto) 2

152 95
Founders and machine-makers 5
Shopkeepers, dealers, and other •
trades