The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1883-04-14

An article appeared recently in the Lon
don Medic u JOuTR i entitled the coffee
of Coroner" InquisitionS into the causes
of uncertitied deaths, deaths where there is
Il suspicion of nOn-natural causes, and the
like, are matters which are worthy of seri-
Gus consideration. The Journal says, that
whenever the question of an alteration of
the existing law (in England does come to
the fore, there will no doubt be a contest
between the legal and medical professions
as to the hands into which the new coroner
ships, or whatever the name of the office
may be-shall fall. . > . "Indeed there
is much to be said on the lawyers side of
the question. The post of coroner is semi
judicial one; legal Is almost as requisite as
medical knowledge on the part of the caro-
Her. 1t is doubtful which is the more de-
plOrable spectacle in an inquiry of import
ance-a legal coroner destitute of medical
knowledge; or a medical coroner all at sea
for want of the necessary legal knowledge
to conduct a case with dignity. In this
Kingdom, it is the duty, according to the
law for the Marshal, Sheriff, or District JUS
tice to act as Coroner. AS it is not incum-
bent on any OF these parties to possess a pro-
found knowledge of the law, or to have in
cluded the study of medicine in the course
of their education, it may be said, that in
the matter Of coronerS we differ somewhat
from other countries, Certainly, in this
age of progress, our self Sufficiency ought
not to prevent us from looking abroad, and
observing what is done in other countries.
The courses pursued i'm the United States
and England are very much alike, while
France and have systems of in
QUESTIONS of their own, which are said to
be, not in all respects, adapted to the habits
of the two first named countries. The
French system of inquests is said to be
thoroughly effective. " Whilst the direct
ing and presiding officer is a lawyer, medi-
cal testimony is obligatory in every
case; and the interests of the pub
lie and of the medical profession are
sufficiently cared for. Medical testimony
* Df once mt into formal shane and that
offered at the inquest forms part of the eX-
hibits at the trial at assiZe of an accused
person. There is, moreover, concert, and
not clashing, between the representatives
of the medical and legal professions"
Throughout the whole thirteen sections of
oar Civil Code relating to Inquests, there is
no mention made about medical testimony.
1t cannot be denied that, where available,
the services Of Il medical gentleman are in
variably called into requisition, but it is
not compulsory according to the existing
law.
The practice, cOmmOn among certain con
tempOrarics OF Z" calling names and using
hard epithets when anything is found that
meets with d~iSapproVal, Is perhaps, one of
the most ungentlemanly, repulsive and use
less forms of d~enOuncing a person or an act.
1t is we'll enough to use severe terms when
it is shown that they are merited with rea-
son, or necessary to guard against some
emergency, but when they are hurled in
Discriminatory ut everything which eXcites
envy or begets jealous hate in small, mean
breasts, then harsh words sound more
like the blasphemy and frenzy than
expressions of Christian and rational
tongues. In the United States it is a
noteworthy fact that those journals
which have the most weight and carry
the pre~ponderance of favor with the re-
spectacle masses, are uniformly calm, dig
nified and not given to mere abuse, even
under the most provoking circumstances.
Even in the excitement of a political cam
paign when most of the prominent journals
of that country usually espOuse the cause
of one party in opposition to all others, it
has been found that extreme and violent
terms of denunciatiOn are most harmful to
those who utter them. 1t is no rare thing
to notice a public journal cautiously avoid
ing even the appearance of severity and APP
preaching an enemy with bland courtesy,
as if it were desirable to spare all personal
acrimOny and even to cultivate personal
friendliness amidst political warfare. This
seems sensible. There can be no cOntin-
geucy of circumstances which j~ustities the
extension of political opposition from the
arena of partisan faith into that degree of
universal bitterness which would terminate
perhaps in murder or other personal ViO-
lence.
SEAT OF III PARASITES IN LEPROsY OR
ELEPHANTIASIS GRECORUM.-'M. NJ.
Corni and Suchard Onion Uedicale, Sep
TENDER %, ISL have published the results
of their researches in regard to the charac-
ter and seat of the parasite upOn which the
pathological processes constituting elephan-
tiasis depend. Their Investigations We're
made upon specimens taken from living
leprous patients, and examined before de-
composition had begun. They found the
leprous tubercles to consist OF an %infiltra-
ton of the papillae and of the cults vera
with very abundant round, spheroidal, or
leuticular bodies, that were hypetrophied
white blood-corpuscles. In the middle of
the tubercles the papillae were indistinct,
while the sweat-glands and hair-follicles
were greatly atrophied. The epidermis was
thinned and smooth. The vascular walls. I
were hypertrophied, particularly in thar