away his life. And again, he can quote another greater than Moses, who came after him, the Man-God. His words were: “I say unto you, not an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth; but whosoever shall strike you upon the right cheek, turn to him the other also." And again when raised upon the CROSS, His last appeal to His Father was: "Forgive them, for they know not what they do." Surely, gentlemen, God knew what man was. He knew his mental organization. He knew that CAIN inherited his mental organization from his parents, who showed they had in them the criminal neurosis by breaking God's commandment. Knowing these scientific truths, gentlemen, we medical scientists need not fear to step forward boldly before the world and state that man is governed hy his mental organization.

Gentlemen, there is a certain subject to which I wish to take this opportunity of drawing your attention as medical scientists, in the hope that, for the sake of morality, you may set your faces against it. I allude to the public exposure in the Press of those guilty of breaches of the moral law; breaches disgusting to every man, with even an ordinary mental organizationyet, gentlemen, breaches, if we believe history, that have been committed since the earliest ages of man. Their exposure always tends to evil and not to good. Society derives no benefit for having these crimes exposed, and besides the exposure of them is a great breach of charity. If, gentlemen, every man's crimes were written upon his forehead, I fear there are but few of us that would not "wear our hats over our eyes." Every man knows his own weak point morally as well as physically; and we should not expose it to the gaze of the world. It is not an object to strengthen the mental organization of the observer, besides we know enough of evil without telling us more. as Pope said there are men, who—

"Compound for sins they are inclined to,

By damning those they have no mind to."

But

Gentlemen, I look upon the Press as the great power of the age, for good or evil. I love liberty too much myself to ever

NO. LXXVI.

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even appear to sanction any attempt to gag the press. But I think, as scientists, we have the right to respectfully point out to the writers on the press, as we do to the teachers of religion, that for the sake of morality there are some things better not made public. Better to take the advice of "UNCLE TOBY," So gravely given to the fastidious lady, when she spoke of her child's possible action if allowed into the parlour: "I would cover it up, Ma'am, and say nothing about it."

Gentlemen, I owe you an apology. I said I would not speak on science. Well, gentlemen, my intention was good, but you know the force of habit. What I have said I maintain, that there is no calling in life, no profession' more high or more honourable than is that of the Medical profession. And as your chosen President and for the honour of that profession, I call upon each and all of you, to so work this year that we have entered upon, that at the close of it when I come to give a resume of the work that has been done, I can congratulate you and myself on the result; and that we will all know that we are wiser and better men.

Before concluding, I beg to inform you that, when an opportunity offered, I did not forget to point out to those in authority the necessity there was to have appointed in the city an Inspector of Anatomy, who would see that the Anatomy law was carried out in its integrity. I represented in the strongest terms the injustice from which the Medical schools were suffering; and I received the strongest assurance that care would be taken, in the future, that the medical schools should be justly dealt with. There is one difficulty, however, to overcome. The law, it appears, most absurdly provides that the Inspector of Anatomy shall be an employee of the city corporation. Knowing, however, that where there is a will there is, generally, a way, and that the will is not wanting in the present instance, I trust that the Provincial Government will get over this difficulty, and find the right man for the right place.

Gentlemen, I congratulate you on the success of our society up to the present. I congratulate you that in the past such able men have filled the Presidential chair; I congratulate the old

members that they have added to their number so many young and talented men, who have already shown that they, in their time, will do their parts manfully to maintain the high position that has been attained by the Montreal Medico-chirurgical Society. I congratulate you that you have so much power in your hands, and that you will always use it for good-good first for society at large, by advancing science and thereby civilization-good, secondly, by elevating the medical profession to the highest intellectual and moral standard. Good, lastly, to yourselves, by doing your duty fearlessly and faithfully through life, so that when you come to the close of your labour, and take off your armour, you may have that which no man can deprive you of, a peaceful conscience and self-respect.

Again, gentlemen, I thank you for the high honour you have conferred upon me, and, believe me I shall do my best, and no man can do more, to faithfully discharge the duties you have so kindly imposed upon me. I thank you for giving me such intelligent and energetic assistants, who, I feel sure, will take pleasure in aiding me, so that the society shall lose nothing by the choice you have made.

Hospital Reports.

MEDICAL AND SURGICAL CASES OCCURRING IN THE PRACTICE OF THE MONTREAL GENERAL HOSPITAL.

Conminuted Fracture of the Fifth Cervical Vertebra. Under care of DR. RODDICK. Reported by JAMES BELL, M.D., Assistant House Surgeon, Montreal General Hospital.

J. S., was brought to the Hospital on the 27th of August, 1878, by the police, having been picked up by them in a powerless condition, after falling from the revetment wall to the ground below a distance of fifteen feet. He was quite conscious on admission, and could speak well, but could not move hand or foot. He admitted being drunk, and stated that he was sitting on a plank propped up on a couple of stones on the edge of the wall, and thinks he must have been dozing when he fell backwards to the road below, striking his head and inflicting a severe

scalp wound just in front of the junction of the coronal and sagittal sutures. He was stunned for a moment, but recovered consciousness almost immediately, and was then conveyed to the Hospital. He was a large, finely-proportioned man, aged 40. He was a laborer of Irish descent, over six feet high, and weighing 200 lbs. When undressed and examined there was found to be complete paralysis of motion from the neck down. The intercostal muscles were paralyzed, and the breathing purely abdominal. There was also paralysis of the bladder and sphincter ani. He could feel the prick of a pin over the shoulders and on the front of the chest as low as the third rib. Below this there was complete loss of sensation. He could move his hands backwards or forwards, and from side to side, (on the axis), and did not complain much of pain. He could swallow well, but could not cough. As there was paralysis of all the nerves arising in the brochocial plexus, and yet good diaphlegmatic breathing, the lesion of the cord was thought to be situated in the region of the fifth cervical vertebra. Dr. Roddick endeavoured to relieve the symtoms by stretching the neck by means of Sayre's suspensory apparatus and manipulation, but without success. The neck was pretty movable, but the crepitus was discovered. He was ordered an ice-bag to the back of the neck, and the bladder and bowels attended to.

Next morning the temperature was 100° F. Pulse 100. He complained of some pain about the middle of the sternum and in the back of the neck. The abdomen became distended with gas, he could not cough nor expectorate, and he gradually sank and died on the morning of the first of September, having lived about four days and a half after the accident.

He had always been very healthy, but a notorious drunkard. Family history good.

Post mortem 32 hours after death.-Body that of a large and powerfully built man. A scalp wound is seen just behind the margin of the hair over the centre of the forehead. The wound is three or four inches long and encloses a large triangu lar portion of the scalp. No emaciation. On raising the

sternum a transverse fracture is seen separating the first and second portions of the bone.

Thorax and Abdomen.-Position and appearance of organs normal. Lungs sodden and filled with bloody serum. Bronchial tubes filled with frothy mucus.

Throat, covered with a thick layer of fat. The arch of the aorta is dilated into a large pouch. The cavities of the heart all contain dark blood. The orifices are all very large, but the valves and heart substance are normal. On opening the aorta large patches of atheroma are seen. Some of these are becoming calcified, but most of them are quite soft. There is great dilatation of the arch, especially the ascending and transverse portions, at the junction of which smaller pouchings exist, where the coats of the artery are so thin as to be quite translu cent. Liver somewhat enlarged and fatty. All the other organs normal. On removing the cervical portion of the spinal column the body of the fifth vertebra is found to be broken into five or six fragments, and to leave almost completely severed the cord at this point.

Case of Strangulated Oblique Inguinal Hernia.- Operation. Successful result.-Under the care of DR. FENWICK.Reported by MR. THOMAS GRAY.

H. St. C., t. 27 years, was admitted into the Montreal General Hospital on the 26th September, 1878, suffering from symptoms of strangulated oblique inguinal hernia of the right side. He is a strong, robust and muscular man. About six years ago he noticed that the right side of the scrotum was enlarged and hard, but he cannot assign any cause for this condition; he is a farm labourer, but is not sensible of ever having produced the hernial protrusion during any extra exertion. He has been accustomed to heavy work, and the swelling of the scrotum never gave him any uneasiness excepting during violent exertion, when it became enlarged and painful, he also suffered pain when exposed to cold. From the time he first noticed it to within a year ago, it gradually augmented in size, when it appeared to be stationary for a time, and would frequently go