TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 145 



Dr. Bennett compared these results with those of other hospital physicians, in 

 •which various treatments had been practised in pneumonia, confining his remarks, 

 however, to such as were drawn from an equal or a larger munber than his own, 

 and from the whole inquiry derived the following conclusions* : 



" 1. That an extreme antiphlogistic treatment has always been attended with a 

 large mortality, amounting to 1 death in 3 cases ; but 'that when modified in 

 various ways — that is, by diminishing the amount of lowering remedies selectiuo- 

 cases, or by the cases being those of young and vigorous subjects— the 'mortality 

 varies from 1 death in 4*- to 1 death in 13 cases. When one-half the cases are 

 those of children, or persons below twenty years of age, and the lowering treat- 

 ment slight, the mortality diminishes to 1 death in 28 cases. 



" 2. That a treatment by large doses of tartar emetic has been accompanied by 

 a mortality varying from 1 death in 4} to 1 death in 9^ cases. 



" 3. That a dietetic or expectant treatment has been followed by a mortality 

 varying from 1 death in 7 l T to 1 death in 109 cases. In children, according to 

 Barthez, the mortality is almost nil. 



" 4. That the results of a mixed treatment, in which various remedies have been 

 employed, according to the nature of the case and the stage of the disease, are a 

 mortality varying from 1 death in 3} to 1 death in 13| cases. 



" 5. That a tonic treatment with iron and copper, according to Kissel, was at- 

 tended with a mortality of 1 death in 22 cases. 



" 6. That a treatment by stimulants, according to Todd, was followed by a mor- 

 tality of 1 death in 9 cases. 



" 7. That the restorative treatment of the author having been attended, in the 

 worst point of view, by a mortality of only 1 death in 32 £ cases, is the most satis- 

 factory yet published. But when it is considered that the 4 deaths resulted from 

 pathological complications unconnected with the pneumonia, it may be said to 

 render the mortality in true cases of pneumonia nil. 



" 8. That 105 uncomplicated cases, occurring consecutively in the clinical wards 

 of the Royal Infirmary when under my care, during a period of sixteen years, 

 should all have recovered, is a fact which can only be ascribed to the nature of the' 

 treatment, as is shown by contrasting that treatment with others in which a 

 lowering, expectant, mixed, or specific practice was tried. 

 _ " 9. That just in proportion as other treatments approach the restorative prin- 

 ciple, and avoid lowering the system, so much the greater is their success. It will 

 further be observed that although a direct lowering practice has been avoided, if 

 the diet had been restricted, or opium, digitalis, alcohol, or other drug largely 

 given, capable of weakening the system and diminishing appetite, no great advan- 

 tage has been arrived at. So that — 



" 10. The variations which appear to follow the same treatment by different 

 physicians are explicable by the amount of weakness in the patient, or circum- 

 stances favouring weakness in the treatment, such as low diet, bleeding tartar 

 emetic, &c. It follows that supporting and restoring (not stimulating) the nutri- 

 tive powers of the system, and avoiding all weakening remedies, aught to constitute 

 the practice in pneumonia." 



On the Statistics of Crime in Birmingham, as compared with other large Toivns. 

 By J. TfiACKRAY Bunce, F.S.S. 



For the sake of brevity the state of crime in Birmingham was given only at three 

 triennial periods— 1858, 1861, and 1864. The results of the examination were 

 given in seven Tables appended to the paper. The figures throughout were taken 

 from the official volume of ' Judicial Statistics.' 



Table I. showed the number of houses of bad character reported to the police. 

 • Table II. the number of the criminal classes, in their recognized divisions of 

 known thieves, receivers, prostitutes, suspected persons, and vagrants — as estimated 

 by the police. 



*_See the Restorative Treatment of Pneumonia, by J. Hughes Bennett. 8vo, Edinburgh 

 1865. 10 



