The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-03-15 00:00:00

FROM THE JOHN BULL.

Lord Grey is in a happy state. Last Wednesday
week, as we stated, he told the King that he could not go
on, and, by the way, he told his Majesty something else,
which some day his lordship may hear of again ; and the
King, whose graciousness and patience are most marvel-
lous, bid him keep up his spirits. But no, the earl could
not stand it, and so what did he do, but write a letter to
the Duke of Portland to beg him to come and take the
helm; that every thing was at sixes and sevens, and that
he thought his Grace could secure him some of the waver-
ers and bolster him up. The duke, however, was not
quite so foolish as to listen to such a proposition as that,
and declined the offer. This we know,—because we
do not pretend to say who sent it about—a copious
extract from Lord Grey's epistle has been handed
about at half the clubs in town. What a satire upon
government—what a blot in poor Lord Grey's ministerial
character, to think that when he found the good ship
nearly wrecked, he should endeavour to save his own life
by running her bump upon the race of Portland. It
sometimes, but rarely, happens that weak men are diffi-
dent, and to this striking singularity in the present case
we are indebted for an escape.

THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.

It is gratifying to find the press so universally exerting
its powerful influence in behalf of the general practition-
ers of medicine and surgery, and endeavouring to place
this most useful and hitherto degraded class of men in
their proper situation in public estimation. The pure
physicians, and pure surgeons, may do what they can to
keep the present race of. general practitioners in the hum-
ble situation of the bye-gone apothecary, but they may
defy the best efforts of their pure brethren, whilst they
continue in that path of science which they now advance
in, and which was unknown to the race of men whom
they have superseded. We wish the term apothecary was
exploded, or retained only by the chemist and druggist,
to whom it more properly belongs, if the derivation of a
term adds any thing to its meaning. The word " apo-
thecary," we are induced to suppose, signifies only a
compounder, or putter together of medicines,—now every
one who reflects for an instant, must be convinced that
this forms but a very small and subordinate part of the
important duties of him to whom is confided the entire
responsibility attendant on the treatment of every dis-
ease which can afflict human nature. This term, how-
ever, is employed by those gentlemen who confine the
operation of their " enlarged Intellect" to the treatment
of a particular class of diseases, or one branch of the pro-
fession, to distinguish their brethren who have the know-
ledge, and the courage to combat disease in all its shapes
and varieties; because custom, or convenielve, induces
them to write their prescriptions at home, and send me-
dicines to their patients from their own dispensaries. We
sincerely hope, with the inappropriate term apothecary,
the degrading manner in which the general practitioner
has been hitherto compelled to seek compensation for his
arduous and important services, will soon be discon-
tinued, and instead of being compelled to pay himself by
obliging his patients to swallow wholesale quantities of
nauseous medicine, he will be legally authorized to ob-
tain remuneration, on the fair and honorable principle of
time and talent employed, labour and anxiety expended
in the practice of a liberal profession. With all our ad-
miration for the splendid talents and great attainments
of some individuals among the pure physicians and pure
surgeons of this country, we are induced to view the ge-
neral body of these men who assume such vast superiority
over their brethren, as only the pilots of the profession,
who, possessing a little local and peculiar knowledge,
may occasionally be consulted with some advantage by
those whose minds are capable of taking a more extended
range, and, consequently, may not always possess the
same degree of accurate information on a particular part
of their profession, as those who devote the whole of their
more feeble intellect to the acquirement of such know-
ledge exclusively. The mariner whose more varied and
extensive knowledge of his profession enables him to
navigate his vessel through every danger to every coast
of the habitable globe, gladly avails himself of the assist-
ance of the pilot, who has never travelled beyond his
own coast, and, consequently, having his mind continually
directed to the dangers which beset it, is often enabled
by this local and peculiar information to render essential
service to his brother of more "enlarged intellect" in
conducting the vessel safely into port. We think the
time is fast approaching, when the public will judge be-
tween the general practitioners of medicine and surgery
and the pure surgeon or physician, by a system of com-
parison somewhat similar to this.—Merle' 4, Weekly lie-
garter.