MISCELLANEA. 
631 
cattle plague the veterinary surgeons had been placed in a difficult position. They had 
had to treat a disease which was novel in this country,—at least it had not appeared in 
this country for 100 years. The College was perfectly informed of the nature of the 
disease from the researches and investigations of Professors Simonds and Spooner, and 
they had done everything in their power to prepare the profession for the dangers they 
had to encounter, and also to warn the public. But the profession was in this position, 
that they were bound not to discourage any attempt to find a remedy. At the same 
time he was bound to say, that those attempts had not been successful, and although, 
from the nature of the disease, mistakes had invariably arisen, yet there could be no 
doubt that veterinary surgeons had been of great service to the country. 
Mr. Bruce said it was not his intention to oppose this stage of the bill, but it would 
be necessary to make some amendments in it in Committee. He agreed it was going too 
far to say that any man who used the name of veterinary surgeon should subject himself 
to a penalty. If, however, he assumed that he was a member of a college when he was 
not, that might render such a person liable to penalties. In the case of the chemists 
and druggists and the Pharmaceutical Chemists, it was made an offence to assume the 
name of Pharmaceutical Chemist, and if with regard to veterinary surgeons they added 
something to the title, such as Koyal College, etc,, it might form a reasonaole. proposi¬ 
tion that for the infringement of the title the person so offending should be liable to a 
penalty. He thought the veterinary surgeons were not a sufficiently large body of men 
to be entrusted with the monopoly of issuing diplomas. He believed a great many 
diplomas had been given to men whose knowledge of their profession did not entitle 
them to that distinction. 
The Bill was then read a second time. 
This Bill was appointed for Committee on May 30th. 
MISCELLATTEA. 
Accidental Poisoning by Xsaudanum. —An inquest has lately been held at Lee 
Moor a few miles from Yfakefield, respecting the death of a widow woman named 
Learoyd. It appeared that a little girl, aged nine years, was sent to the adjoining 
villao-e of Lofthouse, to fetch some tincture of rhubarb from the shop of a general 
dealer, named Thompson. The shop was in the charge of a woman Frances Snowden, 
who was unable to read very well, and the little girl pointed to a bottle labelled I met. 
Opii,” as containing tincture of rhubarb. Unfortunately the woman took it for granted 
that the child was right, and proceeded to measure out an ounce of laudanum; na t o 
which was given to the poor woman, who, in spite of medical aid, died the next morn¬ 
ing. The jury returned a verdict of “Manslaughter against Frances Snowden, who 
was committed for trial. Bail, however, was accepted for her appearance. 
Poisoning by Methylated Spirit.—Hr. Lankester has lately held an inquest in 
St. Giles’s on the body of a man who had habitually, for the last two years, intoxicated 
himself with methylated spirit. This he used to purchase at a chemist s shop at the 
rate of three quarterns for three-halfpence. He was also in the habit of eating opium, 
and had been seen to bite off a large piece of the drug and eat it like an apple. One 
morning the deceased arose from his bed in a maddened condition, and, on Ihe piomise 
of getting him methylated spirit, was induced to walk m the direction of bt. Giles s 
Workhouse. On his way he dropped down dead. The medical evidence showed that 
the deceased died from pulmonary apoplexy and effusion of serum on the brain, caused 
by excessive drinking of methylated spirit. The coroner remarked that the Government 
allowed this spirit to be imported free of duty, believing no one could drink it, but here 
the revenue had certainly been cheated. A verdict in accordance with the medical evi¬ 
dence was returned. 
