Daily national Republican. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1862-1866, 1865-08-18

PROFESSIONAL DEcoRUM The most ex-
traordlnary instan &c Of professional delics-
cy, in declining to interfere between ply
stefan and his patient, has been ELECTED
In the case OF the Pritchard murder. II
beats every thing which satire has alleged
against the medical profession, from Aristo-
phsnes to Dickens. DR.. Pritchard, of
Glasgow, poisoned his wife and her moth
er. A DIR. Paterson who was called In
while his brother practitioner was engaged
in these murders, suspects the nature of
his occupation, but Is prevented ny the
etiquette OF his profession from interfering.
Here IL the case as condensed in the New
York Tribune:
DR.. Paterson was called In February to
see Mrs. Taylor, the mother, and found
her dying, as he believed, from a power
full narcotic. In the same bed with Mrs.
Taylor, lay her daughter, Mrs. Pritchsrd,
and DR.. Paterson testihes he then was
convinced she was under the influence Of
anthony. He goes away and says moth
ing. A week later, heis called TO see Mrs.
Pritchard, and finds Mrs. Taylor already
dead from the poison under which he had
before seen her suffering. He Is reused
to one act OF ordinary intelligence-he re-
fuses to certify TO the cause of Mrs. Tsy-
lor's death, and writes to the Registrar
that her death was Sudden, unexpected,
and mysterious. Had the Registrar In
that letter ordered post norton exami-
nation of Mrs Taylor, It would undoubted-
ly hsve saved Mrs. Pritchard's life, but
the Registrar does nothing, and 81 DR. q.
Paterson does nothing. Oh the stand and In
q letter he has since written, he admitted
he believed that Dr. Pritchard had poison
cd Mrs. Taylor, and was poisoning his
wife, but he did nothing beyond write TO
the Registrar, for two reasons-it might
not have been safe, and It was clearly
against etiquette for him TO interfere! Dr.
Pritchard, was physician; his wife was
under his care; as he did not choose TO send
for DR. Paterson again, DIR. Paterson saw
no occasion 10 Interfere with any intent ion
he might have of poisoning wife aud wits's
mother both. The statement may read
like q sneer or satire-it Is a literal truth;
II is DR.. Paterson's explanations of the
reasons which induced him to look on TIVE
murders without raising his hand 10 stay
them.
Worse still, DR.. Paterson alllrms he held
a consultation with one or two other ply
sicians of Glasgow, and they agreed with
him that professional decorum would not
allow him TO interpose between DR.. Pritch-
ard and DR.. Pritcnard's wife whom he was
poisoning. lie was sent for again on the
l1Ih Of March, and found the wife's symp-
toms the same, but terribly aggravated. .
ehe was clearly dying from poison. He
Preecnpea Tor her, went away, and neither
returneu nor denounced her murderer. He
says explicitly 81 did not go back be-
Ssa nS S none Of my business. She
! had discharged my duv!n His "dn,yn
being, In his view, to let this woman IA
he had already let her mother, be murder.
cd! we confess we are utterly at loss
to understand why Dr.. Paterson has no,
been arrested and tried as an accessory hc'
fore the fact to the double murder. Th.
Judge who tried Prlchard clearly had no
doubt Of Patterson's guilt, In morals, III not
ia law, for he declared; "There Is rule of
life "a confederation higher than rule
= dnty which every rlght-minded mau
owed 10 his neIghbor TO prevent the de
struction of human life, and In that duty
] cannot hut see thai Dr.. Paterson faIled.'