August 19, 1871.] THE pharmaceutical journal and transactions. 
157 
speak of pathological processes as curative efforts of 
Nature, “is a mode of looking at the phenomena of dis¬ 
ease always susjjiciously cross-examined at the present 
day.” 
But surely there is, a priori , good reason to believe 
that in the curative process of Nature there is an orderly 
method of procedure, of which, by a diligent search, we 
may gain some useful knowledge. 
"We are all too apt to forget that disease is a natural, 
although an abnormal condition of the body; that pa¬ 
thology is, in fact, a department of physiology, and 
that the phenomena of disease result from the action of 
the normal structures and forces only modified by mor¬ 
bid conditions. 
I Dr. Johnson then instanced some very obvious and 
well-known phenomena as examples of morbid processes 
having a conservative or curative tendency, and ex- 
pressed an opinion that, as practitioners of medicine, 
they had something more to do than to watch the phe¬ 
nomena of disease as passive spectators, and that in their 
endeavour to prevent, to mitigate, and to cure disease, 
they had a better guide than mere empiricism. 
He concluded by saying, I have suggested that a belief 
in the power of Nature to cure all curable diseases is in¬ 
consistent with a disbelief in the existence of morbid pro¬ 
cesses having a conservative or curative tendency. I have 
indicated various pathological phenomena the conserva¬ 
tive tendency of which appears to me indisputable ; and 
I have endeavoured to show that, by a careful study of 
the functional and structural changes which result from 
disease, we mav obtain most valuable indications for 
treatment,—learning thereby both to do that which may 
aid Nature and to avoid such means as may tend to 
thwart and hinder the natural curative processes. 
Again, I have intimated that it is difficult, and, as it 
.seems to me, impossible, to reconcile a disbelief in the 
elimination of morbid poisons with a belief in the spread 
of disease by contagion. Confirmatory evidence as to 
the elimination of morbid poisons is afforded by the dis¬ 
astrous results of repressive methods of treatment. To 
take all possible precautions to exclude the cholera- 
poison from the system, and then, when once it has 
gained an entrance, to endeavour to retain it there by 
opiates and astringents, are practical modes of procedure 
utterly inconsistent with each other; unless, indeed, the 
object of this repressive treatment be to sacrifice the 
individual for the public good—to prevent the patient, 
at the peril of his own life, from scattering the seeds of 
disease and death among the community. 
I believe that the success of our attempts to cure and 
to prevent disease depends mainly upon an exact diagnosis 
and discrimination of the various forms and shades and 
stages of disease; upon a coiTect interpretation of pa¬ 
thological processes and symptoms; a careful avoidance 
of erroneous and misleading theories; and, lastly, upon 
a prompt recognition of the exciting causes of disease, 
some of which may be avoided, some removed, while the 
influence of others may be in a greater or less degree 
counteracted by the timely employment of suitable 
means. 
HOUSE OF COMMONS. 
Petroleum Bill. —The Petroleum Bill was read a 
second time on Thursday, August 10 ; passed through 
committee on Tuesday, August 15; and was read a 
third time and passed on Wednesday, August 16. 
Poisoning by Carbonic Oxide. 
On Saturday, August 29, a labourer, named John 
Howie, employed in the iron foundry of Messrs. Law 
.and Co., Glasgow, was found dead under circumstances 
that have led to the conclusion that he was poisoned by 
carbonic oxide. It is supposed that on Friday, Howie, 
to prevent interruption while at dinner, had shut himself 
up in a spare room, and was not missed until the follow¬ 
ing morning. He was then found dead. His face, the 
front of the left side of his breast, shoulder, and the 
front of the upper part of his left arm, were red, and 
appeared to have been scorched, and the cuticle was 
peeling off. There were no other marks on the body. 
In the apartment in which the body was found there was 
a very strong, rapidly-sickening smell, which appeared 
to be caused by some chemical gas. The medical man 
called in was of opinion that the scorched appearance 
upon the face, shoulder, and arm might have been caused 
by the chemical action of such gas, or by heat from a 
fire. 
This suspicion of air-poisoning was strengthened by 
the fact that on the previous day several of the employes 
of the Messrs. Law were seized with retching and vomit¬ 
ing, from which they recovered under medical treatment. 
In the afternoon an investigation was entered upon by 
Dr. T. E. Thorpe, Professor of Chemistry in Anderson's 
University. The works of the Messrs. Law are entered 
by a gateway carried under the front building. On one 
side of this entrance, and inside the gateway, is the 
office, in which several of the employes were seized with 
illness on Friday. Adjoining this office is the little room 
in which Howie was found. Beyond the office, and 
separated from it by a brick wall, is a large smith’s shop, 
also connected with the works. In this smithy some of 
the men working near the dividing wall complained of 
the prevailing sickness, while others who were further 
removed from the office appeared to escape. Passing- 
through the entrance gateway the centre of the works 
is reached, a considerable unroofed area, surrounding 
which are several buildings, in which the various de¬ 
partments of the works are carried on. One of these 
is a small erection containing a blasting apparatus, which, 
by means of earthenware pipes carried underground, 
acts upon a furnace at the further end of the yard. 
Standing nearly midway between the blast and the fur¬ 
nace is a heating-room, in which articles are prepared 
for the “ dressers” by being subjected to an intense heat, 
and while in this state are placed on the floor to cool. 
The heat is communicated to the floor, which is of iron, 
and at times it is said to have become red-hot. The 
greater portion of the site on which the works are erected 
is forced earth, the product of what is known as a “ free 
coup,” and contains a large quantity of cinders. It is 
therefore of an open, porous nature, and peculiarly liable 
to the action of heat. 
In the room in which the body of Howie was found, 
nothing particular was at first observed. In the course 
of previous inquiry, the window-panes had been broken 
and the door thrown open, in order to promote the 
escape of foul air from the apartment. To restore the 
room as far as possible to its former condition, the door 
-was closed, the place of the broken window-panes was 
supplied with straw and the blast was set in operation. 
A short time having elapsed, Dr. Thorpe entered the 
room, and in two or three minutes was seized with head¬ 
ache and a feeling of giddiness and oppression about the 
head. The smell wais of a peculiar kind. It was ap¬ 
parent, therefore, that the poisonous influence, whatever 
it might be, was specially present in this room. A 
pigeon was thrown into the room and the door shut, and 
in forty-five seconds it was found to be dead. A dog 
was next shut up. In about half a minute the animal be¬ 
gan to moan—at first loudly and then less audibly—and 
m two minutes and a quarter it also was found to have 
succumbed. Pushing his inquiries further, Dr. Thorpe 
caused the soil in the neighbourhood of the heating-room 
to be upturned, and here it was found that a layer ot 
earth, principally cinders, had ignited and gave out a 
whitish smoke. It also appeared that the underground 
pipes, through which the blast operated upon the fur- 
