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charged at the Hammersmith Police Court. The facts of
all four cases were brought by your Vestry to the knowledge
of the Public Prosecutor, and by him they were submitted
to an eminent criminal lawyer who formed the opinion that
there was no ground for taking proceedings against the midwife.
The Public Prosecutor, therefore, refused to take up
the case, and when the midwife was charged, the conduct
of the prosecution was left in the hands of the police. The
Magistrate, however, having certified that it was a case in
which the police should have legal assistance, the Public
Prosecutor had no alternative but to intervene. The
"prosecution" was entrusted to the learned counsel who
had previously been consulted by the Public Prosecutor, and
had arrived at the conclusion that there was no case, and as
submitted, the Magistrate had no alternative but to dismiss
the charge. He, however, called counsel's attention pointedly
to the circumstance that, to all appearance, another of the
cases was much stronger and more suitable for prosecution,
and enquired whether the Public Prosecutor would
take it up? The learned counsel, in reply, only remarked
that that case was not then in question, and it was not heard
of again. The history of this sad affair was very fully set
out in several of my monthly reports, and in a special report,
(No. 6, May 21, page 45), I gave a summary of the proceedings
at the Police Court, &c. The only satisfactory result
of the proceedings, was, that the midwife, conscious of her
wrong doing, and fearing that further action might be taken ;
having, moreover, lost her business, owing to the strong
feeling excited against her among the married women in her
usual field of practice, quitted the parish.]
Class 2.—Parasitic Diseases.
Includes Thrush and other vegetable parasitic diseases;
6 deaths, 4 of them in the Town district, and 5 under 1 year
of age, and "Worms, Hydatids, and other animal parasitic