The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-04-19

full of witnesses who know all about
it, and can tell it all from the begin
ing to the end. The Physician is or-
dered by the Coroner to examine the
body. He looks at the body and sees
the wounds, he has heard all Of the
evidence of the witnesses. What
must he say? What can he say?
Upon his say.so depends the innocence
or guilt Of human being. and per-
haps his life. IF there are more than
one wound he cannot say which wound
caused the death-he cannot say if
any Of them caused the death-for
how can he know without careful
examination and dissection Of the
body. Right here the law steps in
and puts stop to his work.
' The law now says dissection shall
not take place unless requested by the
jury. IF the learned and skilled Ply
sician cannot tell the cause Of the
death, how can we expect jury of
men, however intelligent they may be,
who are unskilled in the profession OF
medicine to say when a dissection
shall or shall not take place. The
Physician is requested to give his
opinion without the dissection, and if
/ he does it he does it at his peril.
| To-day. my professional brethren, l
raise my voice in solemn warning
| against this loose and careless manner
of conducting q post mortem examina-
tion at q Coroner's Inquest. 1t has
on nore than one occasion let the
guilty criminal escape from just and
I.wei,-ncz;ted punishment, and allowed
him to again roam about free and un-
!tramelled, except from the stings Of q
t guilty conscience; and again some
!! times an innocent party is unjustly
] $50 = 7.
! convicted for the same cause. The
| question is often asked who is to
T blame? Is. it the iuries, the judge,
or the lawyers? / answer no-not
) always. Its well for us to examine
into this matter more closely, and it
may be that sometimes the blame can
be laid very closely to our own doors.
What, then, is the duty Of the Ply
sician at the Coroner's Inquest. Let
me speak plainly on this subject, so that
we can be put right before the jury of
Inquest, right before the Courts Of our
country, and right before our people.
"a Physician, when called upon to
make an examination Of a dead body
before Coroner Inquest, becomes
the friend Of the Court Of inquiry, he
lis the hired servant Of the State for
the time being, he is in position OF a
Judge, his opinion is to be relied on
by the whole State at large, and the
strong arm Of the law is thrown around
him to protect him from harm. It
is not the paltry sum Of few dollars
! that he is paid that is to be considered
in the matter; that is mere nothing
compared to the responsibility Of his
position. Therefore, the Physician
should feel not only the delicacy Of
his position, but should remember and
maintain the dignity Of his profession.
His diploma and examination by the
State Board gives him the right to
practice and also protects him in his
calling. It, therefore, demands and
expects Of him to serve the common
wealth whenever called on to the best
Of his ability;;it is for this reason
that the State, through her Coroner,
called him to assist with his skill at
the Coroner's Inquest. tits presum-
ed that Physician called upon to
make an examination before a Coroner
and his jury, must not be connected
il any way with the cause Of the death
Of the deceased. That he must be
fully competent to perform the task
assigned him, and if he is 1ot he
should say so at once, SO that another
Physician could take his place that
will give his opinion as to the cause
of the death without fear or favor to
any party. This is not only good law
but common sense.
When Physician is summoned by
the Coroner to examine the body of q
dead perscn, he should answer the
summons promptly and cheerfully.
He should always take with him his
dissecting case Of Instruments, and
such disinfectants as he may choose,
(also note book for use as reference
afterwards When he goes into the
Coroner's Court let him take his seat
quietly and listen carefully to the
testimony Of the witnesses but make
mn con,upnfs whatever. Be careful to