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48
latter class were to "be treated like the members of the sect above
named, the scandal would be soon diminished, if not removed.
DEATHS "NOT CERTIFIED."
Forty-five deaths were returned as "not certified," i.e., the deceased
had been attended in their last illness by unregistered practitioners.
All but a very few of the deceased were the patients of one practitioner
who upon the production of a diploma of a foreign University, was lately
admitted to a "modified" examination by one of the licensing bodies,
and having "passed" is now a "duly registered medical practitioner."
In two instances, the return made was "no medical attendant,"
these cases, of course, being irrespective of those in which, because there
had been no medical attendant, inquests were held. In 9 cases of
infants who died, some of them at so late after birth as one month, a
midwife was the only professional attendant, and this happened in more
than one case under circumstances in which the neglect to obtain
proper medical assistance was really almost inexcusable. Two children
died from want of proper attention at birth. All included, the deaths
were 58, which were either "not certified," or where there was "no
medical attendant," or no other professional attendant than the midwife.
GLANDERS.
A death from this terrible malady occurred in March (1879) at a
stable in Colville Mews, the victim being a child aged 15 months. A
sister of the deceased, a young woman of eighteen, contracted the
malady, was removed to St. Mary's Hospital, in Paddington parish,
and died there.
On investigating the circumstances of the first death I found that
glanders had existed for many weeks at two out of three stables occupied
by a cab-proprietor in the above-named "private" mews. Ten
horses had been removed from the stables, some of them had died, others
had been killed, and the remainder had been conveyed alive through
the streets to the knacker's. There were two or three ill at the date of
my visit, one of them suffering from farcy. The construction of all the
premises was found to be bad, for the living rooms are approached
through the stable (which, practically, is unventilated) by an open