The Sun. — 1828-04-22 (London, England)

COLLEGE OF SURGEONS.  Mr. PEEL presented a petition from the President and Counsel of the Royal College of Surgeons in London, stating the difficulties which existed in procuring a sufficient supply of subjects for anatomical purposes, and praying that an enquiry upon the matter might be instituted. He should, for the present abstain from offering any observations, but should reserve himself until the discussion which would take place to-morrow upon the subject. Mr. Secretary PEEL presented similar petitions from the surgeons of Leeds. Sir JOSEPH YORKE suggested, that it might be very advantageous for anatomical purposes, that the bodies of persons who died by suicide should be given up for surgical dissection. He did not mean the bodies of persons who perished by suicide under delicate circumstances..-but those whose bodies were unclaimed. He thought much advantage would follow from the investigation of the brains of persons dying in that way. The petition was then brought up. Mr. HUME said he hoped that seine Hon. Member would be able to suggest to the Committee some measure of supplying the anatomical schools, without at all offending the prejudices of the people. He hoped, therefore, that the Hon. Member opposite would suspend his judgment until the Bill should have gone into a committee. Mr. Secretary PEEL presented a similar petition from Huddersfield, in Yorkshire, and took the opportunity of adverting to what had fallen from his Gallant Friend behind him (Sir Joseph Yo,rke). It might be true that the supply of anatomical subjects would be increased by the means lie had mentioned; but he much doubted if it would not eventually prove injurious, as tending to keep alive the prejudice of the public against the dissection of the bodies of their deceased relatives.  The petitions were then ordered to be laid on the table. Sir JAMES MACKINTOSH presented a petition from the Medical Society of Edinburgh, complaining of the impediments which stood in the way of the study of anatomy, and praying that the House would take the matter into their consideration, and endeavour to obviate the same. He was disposed to protect and venerate the rights of sepulture ; but it was of the utmost importance to the country, that the useful and noble science of anatomy should he cultivated. Without doing anything inconsistent with the interests of humanity, he thought more encouragement might be given to that science than it at present enjoyed. He did not anticipate much advantage to that science from the proposition of the Gallant Admiral (Sir J. Yorke), that the bodies of persons perishing by suicide should be given for dissection. That would be a very trivial increase to relieve the dearth at present complained of. It would be seen, on inquiry, that there were far fewer suicides in London—the capital city, he might say, of Europe— than in any other city of Europe, in proportion to its inhabitants. In Paris, with only half the population, there Were, three times as many suicides, The number of ezecu tions for murder in Eng Lind and Wale:, furnished a very insufficient number of subjects fur anatomy. They did not exceed- fourteen annually, on an average, which was not core than an execution of one in 1,850,000 persons. He had looked into the report of the number of persons executed for murder in 1733, in Middlesex and London, and compared it with the number of executions for the last seven years, and it appeared, on comparison, that in 1733 one in 10,000 persons, and during the last seven years, one in a population of 70,000 was executed for murder, being a sevenfold diminution since the former period. He thought, therefore, that if the surgical profession were to be dependent upon those who were executed, the supply of bodies would be very scanty indeed. The Right Hon: and Learned Gentleman deprecated any legislative measure which added to the punishment of death, and congratulated the country on having the subject at present under discussion referred to a Committee, from which he anticipated the most beneficial results.