§ LORD ROBERT GROSVENORsaid, he begged to ask the right hon. President of the Board of Health, whether forms were issued to the legally qualified medical practitioners of the metropolis last year, inviting them to fill them up, in order to exhibit the result of the various methods adopted by them for the treatment of cholera? Whether, when those forms were returned, the Medical Council of the Board of Health refused to take cognisance of any of them, or of any returns of a like nature made by the legally qualified medical officers of any hospital, and, if so, for what reason? And if any correspondence had taken place between the general Board of Health and any persons complaining of omissions in the report issued by the Board as to the results of cholera treatment, and, if so, whether he had any objection to lay it upon the table of the House?
§ SIR BENJAMIN HALLsaid, almost immediately after he took office ho appointed a medical council to assist him during the time of the cholera. That body met first on the 6th of September, and soon after they issued certain forms which were sent to every regularly qualified practitioner of medicine whose name appeared in The Medical Directory. Many of these forms were filled up and returned by the parties, and a report was based upon them, which had been laid on the table of the House. Subsequently, complaints had reached him that the medical council had not paid any attention to some of these returns, and he had asked the reason. The forms bad been sent to all regularly qualified practitioners as their names appeared in The Medical Directory, and they were sent therefore to homœopathic as well as to allopathic practitioners. His (Sir B. Hall's) inquiry why no attention had been paid to the homœopathic practitioners' return, was answered by a resolution of the Council of Health, to the effect that by noticing these returns they would derogate from the value of the Report, and be giving their sanction to a system of which they could not approve. 558 This answer was contained in a letter from Dr. Paris, President of the Royal College of Physicians and President of the Council of Health, and he (Sir B. Hall) had no objection to lay all the papers on the subject before the House.