178 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
August 31,1872. 
I hare confidence in the ultimate future of pharma¬ 
ceutical education, and this confidence is mainly based 
upon an improving national and scientific education; 
the controlling influence of the legal tests required 
under the Pharmacy Act; and a more just recognition 
of pharmacy on the part of the medical profession and 
the public. 
ariraratarg anil fa to fwmiimgs. 
Important Decision against a Medical Man. 
At the Sheffield County Court the Judge (T. Ellison, 
Esq.,) has delivered a decision of considerable import- 
nace to medical men. A surgeon in the town had en¬ 
tered about forty cases, and when the first, which was to 
recover the sum of 12s., was called on, his Honour asked 
him whether he was a surgeon or an apothecary, or both. 
The plaintiff replied that he was a surgeon only. His 
Honour then asked him whether he claimed the 12s. for 
surgical operations or for medicine. The plaintiff replied 
that the claim was for medicine, and not for surgical as¬ 
sistance. His Honour told him that he had no qualifi¬ 
cation as an apothecary to supply medicines, and the 
Act of Parliament said he could only sue according to 
his qualification. He held the qualification of a surgeon, 
and he could sue for nothing but what came within his 
surgical practice. The plaintiff said if that were so he 
would withdraw the case. In going through his list of 
plaints he withdrew all those for medicine supplied; and 
where the plaint was for surgical assistance and for 
medicines, he had to abandon the latter. Another medi¬ 
cal practitioner was in court who only held a diploma as 
an apothecary, but in his case no questions were asked, 
and he was allowed to prove his claims. 
Accidental Poisoning by Laudanum. 
On Wednesday, August 21st, an inquest was held 
by Mr. J. Makinson, the deputy coroner for Man¬ 
chester, touching the death of Oscar Henry Cutler, 
the infant son of an ironmonger living in Oldham 
Boad. A servant of the deceased’s parents, named 
. Tarratt, said that the deceased was unwell on Sun¬ 
day morning, and she gave it, by mistake, a dose of 
audanum. She thought the bottle contained paregoric, 
<vhich was the deceased’s proper medicine. A sister of 
the deceased said that shortly after the deceased had taken 
the laudanum, Barratt said to her, “ See what I have 
done; I have given the child laudanum. Don’t tell 
your mother; I will let her know when she comes 
down.” Witness’s mother did not come down till about 
an hour and a quarter afterwards, when the deceased, 
who went to the bottom of the stairs to meet her, seemed 
sleepy. Barratt then told her mistress what had hap¬ 
pened, and the deceased was taken to a doctor. He 
appeared to be recovering from the effects of the poison, 
but on Monday evening was seized with fits and died. 
A verdict of accidental death was returned; and the 
jury censured Barratt for not immediately mentioning 
the mistake she had made to her mistress .—Manchester 
Guardian. 
Suspected Poisoning by Arsenic. 
On Saturday, August 24th, Mary Ann Cotton was 
brought up at the Bishop Auckland Police-court, charged 
with the wilful murder of Charles Edward Cotton, her 
step-son, at West Auckland, on the 12th of July last. 
Mr. Thomas Scattergood, of Leeds, surgeon (lecturer 
on forensic medicine and toxicology at the Leeds School 
of Medicine), said : On the 26th of July last I received 
from my pupil, Mr. Lockwood, six jars and two paper 
parcels. They were all well secured and labelled. The 
bottles were numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7, and beneath the 
seal of each was a slip of paper with the name of W. B. 
Kilbum written on it. One of the paper parcels was 
numbered 6, and securely sealed and labelled, and se¬ 
cured to the bottle. The other parcel was also sealed 
and labelled, but not numbered. The jar No. 1 con¬ 
tained some fluid drachms of a liquid purporting to be 
part of the contents of the stomach of the late Charles 
Edward Cotton. The jars numbered 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7, 
contained the stomach and part of the bowels, the spleen, 
kidneys, heart, and portions of the lungs and liver pur¬ 
porting to be those of the late Charles Edward Cotton. 
The parcel numbered 6 contained a napkin purporting 
to have on it the last evacuation from the bowels of the 
late Charles Edward Cotton. I have analyzed these, and. 
found the stomach and upper portion of the smaller 
bowel for the length of 18 or 20 inches presented marks 
of inflammation of such a kind as are produced by art 
irritant poison. The redness was in patches, and in one 
or two places there was blood effused beneath the mucus 
membranes. I carefully examined the small intestine- 
to see if there were any of those appearances which are 
met with in cases of enteric fever, but there were no 
such appearances. The stomach and small intestine- 
were well preserved, so that the appearances of inflam¬ 
mation were quite distinct. I found arsenic in the con¬ 
tents of the stomach and in the contents of the bowels, 
in the substance of the stomach and of the bowels„ 
in the liver, the lungs, the heart, and the kidney*e 
I did not find any in the spleen. There were brown 
stains of faeces on the napkin, and on it also I found 
arsenic. The amount contained in the nine fluid 
drachms of stomach contents was rather more than half ' 
a grain of white arsenic or arsenious acid. The amount 
contained in the other parts submitted to me I estimated 
at about one-fifth of a grain. I found no morphia in 
the contents of the stomach, but I found traces of bis¬ 
muth. The remaining parcel, purporting to contains, 
articles found in prisoner’s house by the police, contained,, 
first, a paper of arrowroot; second, a powder wrapped. 
up as by a surgeon or chemist, which weighed above two- 
grains, and consisted chiefly of borax, with a little mor¬ 
phia, and a little oily matter which might have been 
dropped on the outside of the paper cover; third, a tin 
canister containing a quantity of red lead; and, fourth, 
a box of pills. None of these articles contained any 
arsenic. After hearing the evidence of Dr. Kilbum and. 
Mr. Chalmers, and taking into account the appearances- 
I observed in the stomach and bowels, and the result of 
my analysis, I am of opinion that death resulted from 
poison by arsenic. The prisoner was formally committed 
for trial at the next assizes at Durham on a charge of 
wilful murder .—Leeds Mercury. 
Poisoning by a Preparation of Cantharides. 
Mr. "William Emsley, the deputy-coroner of the- 
borough of Leeds, held on Saturday afternoon an inquiry 
respecting the death of Charlotte Lavinia Bee, two years. 
of age, the daughter of a labourer. It appeared that 
on Friday morning Mrs. Bee went to Holbeck to assisft 
the wife of Mr. Clough, and took with her the deceased. 
Shortly after ten o’clock, while engaged in playing, the 
child ran into an outhouse, and taking up from the floor 
a bottle containing a preparation of oil of cantharides, 
drank a portion of the corrosive liquid. She was badly 
blistered about the face and mouth, and suffered very 
much. Mr. Mann, surgeon was summoned, and after a. 
remedy had been applied, the child was, by his advice,. 
removed to the infirmary. She remained in an insen¬ 
sible condition throughout the day, and her death. 
occurred in the evening. It seemed that the occupants: 
of the premises were ignorant of the bottle and its con¬ 
tents, but it transpired that the liquid had been obtained 
some years ago for the purpose of blistering horses. Ther- 
verdict was “ Accidentally poisoned.” 
