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ness of such a nature, and of such duration, as to leave no excuse
for the neglect to call in medical assistance. The Coroner's Court is
a court of enquiry and record only, and the duty of the jury is simply
to ascertain the cause of death. When Parliament in its wisdom
shall have seen fit to create the office of a "public prosecutor," I venture
to anticipate it will not be found possible to restrict prosecutions
on the charge of "manslaughter" for the offence of not
calling in medical aid for the sick to the "peculiar people —the
offence being very common, and at present practically ignored,
excepting in the case of the above-named sect, who justify their
proceedings, to their own satisfaction at least, by conscientious,
however erroneous, appeal to Holy Writ.
Of the 142 inquests, 110 were held in the Town sub-district and
32 in Brompton.
The percentage of deaths to total deaths thus registered from the
certificate of the Coroner was 5.5 in Kensington (all London 6.4).
DEATHS " NOT CERTIFIED."
Twenty-seven deaths were returned as "not certified," i.e.,
the deceased had been attended during their last illness by unregistered
and, it must be assumed, unqualified practitioners of medicine.
A "medical" certificate is usually given in these cases by the
practitioner, and though the certificate, is "invalid" at law, the cause
of death is entered in the Register in accordance with the terms of
the certificate. At present the giving of such certificate is net an
offence under the Medical Act, any more than the irregular practice
of medicine by unqualified persons. The only offence
this Act recognises is the assumption of any title by which the
person falsely claims to be "registered" under the Act. Under the
Apothecaries' Act, however, it is an offence to practise medicine
without qualification, and the Act has been successfully put in force
many times. The sanction of the Company is necessary, believe, and
they are entitled to whatever penalties may be recovered: but so far
as I know they do not enforce their own Act. This it has been left
to private associations of members of the profession to do—an
unsatisfactory, however praiseworthy mode of proceeding. It may
perhaps be said that if people think fit to go to an unqualified man
they are at liberty to do so—as in this land of liberty, people are
allowed to do many other unwise things—but it may reasonably
be doubted whether many of the poor patients of the pseudodoctors
are acquainted with their un-qualification and they
are just the class who need protection. The actual number
of "not certified" deaths was 27, but it is impossible to say
how many more sick persons may have been attended to the
last by unqualified men, by whom, with a view to certification, a
qualified practitioner had been called in just before death. The