The New York Herald Newspaper, February 4, 1859, Page 2

2 THE PROBANG CONTROVERSY. Meeting of the Academy of Medicine—What Killed Mr, Whitney—Exciting Debate— Speeches of Drs. Green, Mott, Reese and ‘Watson—Resolution of the Academy Ex- culpating Dr. Horace Green—The Sanitary Condition of the City. Aregular meeting of the New York Academy of Me- dicine was held at the New York University on Wednes- day evening last, and was largely attended. The subject of the death of Mr. Whitney was taken up and discussed with much spirit until after eleven o'clock. Shortly after seven o'clock the President, Dr. John Watson, called the meeting to order. The minutes haying been read, the ques- tion was stated on their approval, when Dr. AusxaypEx Morr addressed the Academy as fol. lows:—If I am not mistaken, sir, there is one statement in the minutes which on my part call for a little explanation. The Preupent—Is it reported correctly? The question is in gly on the minutes. : Dr. Morr—It is in relation to my having stated to Dr. Green that I wished the post mortem withheld from the public. Itis true I wished the whole to be withheld from the public, everything kept out of the papers, and even out of the Academy if possible. I will only say that I did expre: that wish to Dr. Green at my hou He called upon me and req ‘tom, and forthwith, as soon as ple, I made ascerified copy. I ouly wish it to be understood by the Academy that I did make that request, and Dr. Grecn can answer for himself as to the fact, which be no doubt remembers. ‘The Preset here interrupted the speaker, and stated that the discussion was not yet in order, but would be directly. ‘The minutes having been approved, reports were re- ceived {rom the several sections. Dr. McNezry, from the committee appointed four years ago on the sanitary condition of the city, asked to be ex- cused from further serv: He stated that a report had been made to the Legisiature by a commission appointed by the Senate in referen nject, which report he ected to have bad ready for distribution that evening, A Dill was now before the Legisla- ect the improvement they had been or certain peculiar reasons he wished to be vcling any further, but would move that the increased for rpose of nursing that jn being asked to state the provisions of the bill, the Doctor did 50. Dr. Gkiscom, another member of the committe , stated that the bill did not emavate trom the Academy, and he doubted the expediency of advoc In answer to an inquiry whence it did emanate, be said, “It is my bill.’ ‘The Present reminded the society that it was an ob- jectionable vii 7 On subsequent motion the committee were discharged, | and a new one of tive appointed by the Chair. Dr. Morr then rose, 3 once to the death of Mr, Whitney, stated that he told Dr. Green that if any use was mae of the post mortem, or anything connected with the case, the Academy was the proper tribunal to go be- fore. He hud motive in making this request of Dr. Green, for he believed then, and believed still, that if no indiscretion bad been committed in reference to this dis- treasing in that respect silentio in the space of a few days. it would have passed sub | But so it was—it had | gotout. He (Dr. Mott) wished now, if it was in order, to | submit someting furtuer on the subject. | The Prestp Suggested that there wasa paper to be read by one of the members, which was accordingly sul- mitted, occupying about half an hour, after which, on motion, the subject of Mc. Whitney's death was taken up from the table for discussion, Dr. Morr then spoke as follows :—Mr. President—Inas- much as all verbal communications are apt to be misstated and sometimes misrepresented, I thought it would be bet. ter to commit to writing what I have to say on this di- tressing subject. I have endeavored through life to make it a rule of action to do unto others as I would that others should do untome. This, together with my personal es- teem for Dr. Green, with’ whom I have been on terms of most friendly intercourse and correspondence for years, will explain, and I trust excuse to the public, my unwil- lingness to give an opinion in the late Dr. Whitney’s case, other than would be inferred trom my post mortem state- ment read at the late meeting of the Academy. Nothing but a sense of justice to myself and others concerned in this melancholy aifair induces me now to give the Acade. my my entire and unbiassed view on the subject. At the saine time I avail myself of the opportunity to contradict the uptruth so industriously circulated by Dr. Green’s friends with regard to Dr. Beales and myself. Forbear- ance beyond a certain point ceases to be a virtue, and at this point 1 feel that we have arrived. It therefore be- comes my duty to defend my character against the unjust inferences drawn and the false assertions made by the parties above alluded to. In the first place, because Dr. Green was not called in to assist in the treatment of the patient during his iliness, or invited to witness the post mortem, it is in- ferred that Drs. Beales and Mott prevented it. And it is farthermore stated that one member of the family desired his presence. The inference anc assertion are ake un- true, as the accompanying letter will prove. The letter lies On the table; it is not necessary for me to read it. 4 You will take my word, probably, for it, in this as weil as in other things, whic I know will pass muster, ‘This letter is from the family, stating that they were per- fectiy satistied with Dr. Beales and myself, in every part and Circumstance connected with the case, and that on nu account could they have admitted Dr. Green to participate in avything connected with the case, and that on no account could they have admitted Dr. Green to participate in anything connected with hs illness or hisdeath. There it is, signed by the whole family. Therefore the statement in the public prints now floats lightly on the water. Tho excited, feelings of the family were such as to preclude the possibility of urging Dr. Green’s attendance. Nor can it for a moment be imagined that such a wish could have been entertained by one of the immodiate relatives of the man who, throughout His illness to the day of his death, persisted that he was suffering and dying from the proteesional treatment of Dr. Green. To say that acorrect diagnosis was not made is idle and ridiculous, and the assertion that had the abscess been opened his life might have been spared is equally absurd. It was evident that some lesion or injury did exist: that would account for the extensive empbysema. But where that wasno man could tell until his death. Tumefaction, from the ex- tensive diffusion of air through the cellular tissue, rendered apy satisfactory inspection of the throat within, or the neck without, utterly impracticable. Tae abscess, or rather cavity, contained very little pus at the post’ mortem; cnough only, bad the patient’s life been prolonged, to have aided in throwing off the large quantity of sloughy cellular membrane, which hung like wet tow in the cavity and with which it was mostly filled. This, with the lacerated opening into the pharynx, and the serious lesiou of te left lung, would lead to the beliet that some irritating sub- stance or fluid had been introduced. With regard to the jop of the abscess or cavity, again assert that it such as to forbid the idea to b: one connected with surgical might bave been seen within the mouth, or felt’ externally by the most careful manipulation upon the lips. Of these facts surely those who were in constant attendance 6n thé case ought to be the best judges. I feel as if the experience derived from {fifty-three years practice, together with my duties as professor of surgery during that time, ought at teast to entitle me to the confidence of the public under whose eye and in whose service my professional life has been spout, and Tam willing to leave it to that public to decide from their knowledge of me whether I am capable of drawing up a post mortem the principal object of which would be to heap censure upon Dr. Green or any other man. All that is required in @ post mortem is a plain, full statement of tue case, and such a statement I furnisied to the Aca- demy at the last meeting, and now add my solemn testi- mony to that truth. Tregret that more is called for, and that Lam compelied to give my own opinion also, whi is, that from the best of my belief Samuel Whitney di in consequence of the treatment to which he had been Subjected previous to the attendance of Dr, Beales and myself. (Slight attempt at applause followed by hisses for the purpose of suppressing it.) The letter, being called for, was read, as follows:— New Youx, Jan. 24, 1899, We hereby certify that we have carefully heard the state- menis mace by Drs. Mutt sod Beales remtive to the juness and death of the Inte Samuel S. Whitney. As far as we have re: ely seen and are capable of judging they are peri and faithful, aud furthermore that we have none of us ex any wish or desire that Dr. Green should be called in him. We also declare that we have the fullest eoafidence i Drs. Mott and Beales, and believe that they discharged their uty. doing everything that it was posalble to do. ed by the father, Stephen Whitney, 40 years of age; Fer- dinand suydam, Jane Dorr, Mary Whitney Fivid ull the fami exception of the mother, who Is too fech.c to sign 2, and one son. Dr. GREEN—Mr. President and gentlemen of the Acade my, I regret exceedingly that Dr. Mott should b. made that last declaration. The high respect—the love whic I have had for him as an elder member of the surgical pro- fession in New York—has impelled my fecliugs from the beginning to the end in his tavor, and I have been dete mined not to bring anything up, so far as [ was able should bave a tendency in any way to injure his fe or bring discredit upon the has pursued regret that he should have m ent, beoau has not been, and cannot be, substantiated, that my ment was the cause of Mr. Whitney's death. (Applause fand hisses.) Inasmuch ag Dr. Mott has alluded wo a pri: ‘vate conversation, I ehall take the liberty t which I had with him, which, until this moment withheld. On Sunday evening, two day: the paticnt’s death, Dr. Mott visited me at my house. He stated to me that he had heard these and rumors, and he knew they would affect my feelings, and he said he would do by me as ho would wish to be done by. He then requested of me a statement of what I bad done in regard to the patient, saying that it had ‘been emphatically declared to him by the attending phy fician, as well as by the patient and his friends, taat in operating upon him T had used an instrument which bad punctured his windpipe, and beuce the emphysema and other symptoms. related to Dr. Mott, fame words that I employed before this Academy as nearly as I can recollect, the course of treatunent, ant then referred tom to Dr. Boyle, who was present at tae last operation. Dr. Mott said, “He that is 80, it is. impossi- ble this injury could have been produced by a sponge probang;”’ and furthermore, he aaid thatthe emplysom, which been very extensive, had almost entirely dis appeared, 80 that the patient's countenance presented its natural appearance. I thanked bim for his kindpess, and walked hotne with him. Various suppositions ero sug. gested to account for the emphysema. it was suggested that there might have been an edema of the lottis, but the respiration did not account for fat Dr. Mott said, therefore, that ue could not account for the impossibility of deglutition and great difficulty of respiration, and thus wo left it. In my Interview in reference to the post mortem Ir. Mott is Correct, with this exception: fe never stated to mo that there was any opening whatever in the pharynx; th @ gubsequent fact which came to my knowiodg mortem. Why he should have omitte that fact, if ft existed, I cannot say. I will now, wich leave, Mr. President, proceed to lay before the Acidemy some fur ther facts and statements which I hve in my possession, agd which have an important bearing upon this In the first place, Mr. Prosilont, I desire to ea! th ‘of the Academy to the ground upon which I 6 mely, that in the management of M my treatment wis based upra th abject atten | varia NEW YORK, HERALD, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1859. presence of tubercular disease of the lungs, compli- Frere gutenlae auinss ne tae use ‘ast teed sent state of medical science, was legitimate and ap- ropriate; and, furthermore, that whatever lesions may we been revealed by the partial post mortem, insti- tuted by the physicians t, none of these could by apy possibility have resulted from any operation of mine. A plain history of this treatment, precisely as it occurred, together with the indications upon which it was founded, was laid before the members at a former meeting of the Academy, At the last. meeting of the Academy I exhibit- ed to you, gentlemen, the identical instrument with which the operation was performed; and Dr. Foy, who was pre- sent at the meeting, and who stood by the patient and ob- served the operation, corro! my statements, and declared that ‘the irritation caused by the introduction of the instrument was not greater than he himself had expe- rienced when having his thorax touched with nitrate of silver.” It was also shown that although the patient re- mained some time after the operation, clearing his throat and expectorating, yet pot a particle of blood was seen ip the sputa. And yet Dr, Beales comes forward, and in this open Academy declares that the evidence is irresistible that by this ‘unfortunate operation on the 1 of December, the pharynx was accidentally lacerated oy the probang, and that this was evidently the immod at: cause of the death of the patient.” Sir, I deny this 1a founded accusation, and I shall now proceed to show y facts that the occurrence of such an accident is simply im- possible, Before the last meeting of this Academy, Dr. D. S. Conant, Professor of Surgery in the University of Ver- mont, Demonstrator of Anatomy in the New York Metical College—one whose ability as an anatomist and patholo gist nove will dispute—made some important experiments on the cadaver, which afford undeniable proof—if proof were still necessary—that the accident to which Dr. Beales refers could not by any possibility have occurred, In answer to an inquiry made on this subject Dr. Conant writes:— Thave very recently made several experiments in regard to the sponge-armed probang, the unarmed probang aad we ordi- nary tude for operations within the air passages, and, thus far, » have found no one of we abovenamed instruments strong ‘enough to ve pushed through the trachea with all the force that ould be brought to bear upoa such an instrament, I sul equently made small opening tn the trachea about the ize of the whalebone, and then attempted to force the ponge-armed instrument through the same opening by lace. ating the borders of the punctured membrane. Here { found that the instrument was not strong enough to produce the Blighteat percepuble Imccration “Indeed, [believe the onge woul! be torn from the staf before tte mem brane would give way. I thea tied the tube, and algo failed to produce the slightest effect pou the tra- chea, On dissecting down on the bronchial tubes, I found that T “could at pleasure direct the tube into either the right or lef bronchus.” it 1s proper to state th while tryivy to perforate the trachea, [had astrong Mga ture applied to the organ at the point just opposite the upper end ef the ster After trying the above experl- ments, [turned my atteation to tue pharynx, and found the Sponge-armet prcbang inewpnble of produciog the slightest abrasion o( the mucous membrane. [experienced much dill chity in uslog any great force on the saterior wall fof the ps. Ty, a8 there is io pout Upon which the instrument coud be miade to catch with ing iuto the laryax. But upon the sides and posterior wall of tie pharyax { used all the force the an. strument would bear, without Xt all breaking the mucous mem- brane, My experiments were made upon the female as well as the mae trachea and puarynx, and {am fully satiefled that it i@ absolutely impossible to Jerforate either the trachea, or the mucous membrang of the pharynx or larynx, with the ordinary sponge-armed probang, or the tracheal tube. D. S$, CONANT. All this was well known before, Mr. President, that ander the circum: such a lesion as it is stated in the post mortem was found in the pharynx could not haye been caused by my instrument. You, as a surgeon, know, sir, and every anatomist and surgeon in this room are awar that neither the lining membrane of the larynx or pha rypx could have been thus ruptured, No, sir, the Al- mighty Artist, in his wisdom, never lined thoge important life tubes with tissue paper, to be easily and fatally torn. Lhave one other tact to answer to the charge made by Dr. Beales, that a “slough or eschar was formed at the apex of the lung, involving the pleura, by the injection of a solu- tion of nitrate of silver.” Without referring to the anatomical impossibility of the fluid reaching this portion of tne lung, or commenting om the incongruity between the statement made in the post mortem, that this cavity was ‘‘just at the root, or at the commencement of the bronchial ramifications,” and the assertion made by Dr. Beales, before this Acade- my, that it was ‘‘a scooping out of the actual apex, or superfices of the lung” (two positions nearly six inches apart); without, I say, stopping to comment upon these incongruities, I shall only state one fact, furnished by Dr. Beales himself. It is this, that on the 12th of December, six days after this injection into the bronchi was made, the patient drove over to Long Island, and spent the di in riding about, dined with friends, and returned to the city at night, feeling and appearing better, as the Doctor himself atiirmed, than he had tor several weeks be- fore. And all this when, according to the Doctor's “opinion,’’ acute inflammation and sloughing of the lung was going on, from the elfects of this] injection. Dr. Beales confesses in one breath that he is “ignorant of the effects of nitrate of silver on the substance of the lungs,” and in the’ very next “he does not hesitate to express his conviction that it is at all times attended with extreme peril and risk of the patient's life.” Why, sir, has he not known of its ‘effucts” in disease? ir’ would not regard the experience and published observations of Americans on its use and ef- fects, why has he not attended to the many favorable publications on this subject from distinguished physicians of bis own country? Many important works have been published recently in Europe on the topical treatment of. disease, or in which this method is discussed. Among these is the excellent work on consumption by Dr. Cotton, of London; also Dr. Jobn Hastings’ work on “Diseases of the Larynx and Trachea, and their ‘Treatment by the I Applications of 'Caustics.”” The work of Dr. Scott Allison, of London, on the ‘* Medication of the Larynx and Trachea,” of Professor Watson, of the University of Glasgow, on Topical Medi- cation,’ and that of ProfeesorI Hughes Bennett, of Ed- inburg, on “ Tuberculosis,” and on the “ Local Medication of the Larynx and Trachea; these, or many of these must be known to the members of the Academy. I wil! claim your induigence for afew minutes, wile I allude brieily to the opinion ot two or three of these authors. Dr. Cotton, one of the physicians of Brompton Hospital, in speaking of topical medication in chronic laryngitis and laryngeal phthisis, admits bis previous unbeliet ia, and changed views with regard to the practicability or propriety of the topical medication of the respiratory Passages. He observes:— I should here remark, that my own views upon this subject differ from those I formerly held, aud have even expressed, and that Lowe this change to the labors of Dr. Horace Green of New York, who has convinced myselt and others not only of the possivility, but of the safety and usefulness of the prac tice. For some months past I have emplo; this treatment ex- tensively in exses of chronic lary fis whether idiopathic or tubercular, and very frequently with marked success, Atcommencement of the laryngeal aymploma, a solution of the crysta’s of the nitrate of silver, varying in strength from ten grains to half“ drachm to the ouuuce of distilled water, passed by means of the insirament recommended by Dr, Green, into the opening of the larynx, is often productive of grestrelie!. Ihave kcown the vowe regatned, the ffritable Cough removed, and the teudergess and dilieuity of swallow. ing dissipated entirely by it; indeed, I think we might almost speak of ts curative effects,’ 80 far, at least, as the larynx is concerned, in some very early cages. In Prof. Bennett’s work on Consumption he expresses a decided opinion in favor of the topical use of nitrate of silver in the treatment of tuberculosis. He says:— In all cases of tubercular deposit there occurs in the imme. vicinity of the exudation more or less of an inflammatory action, ia which all the aljucent structures are involved. The bronchial membrane and the pulmouary parenehyma become tonce congested, aud sbseyuenuy inflamed. Lhe terminal e bronchi, says Prof. Bennett, ‘are amon; rat structures ailected; ahd, asthe tuberculosis procee. f£ chroule bronchitis geing on in the progress Aa, tue greit problem ia the treata of pulmo berculosis is, tat while, on the one hand it We. dis: ease of diminished nutrition and weakness, and consequently requires a general invigorailng a porting system of treat- ment, on the other, it is accompanied by local excitement, whieh demands an antiphlogistic and lowering yractiee. (Up citat., p. 0%) isto meet this last indication, to subdue the local lamtmatory action in the immediate vicinity of the ex continued, wilt not oaly effe gration and absorption of the mass already formed, but which will tend to augment the mass—that applications of the nitrate of silver folntion to th 1 intlamed membrane, are advised in ear advauced tuberculosis, Dr, Hastings say! Ino the treatment of acute laryngit of a solution of the nitrate of sifve ployed with great advantage; indeed, unaided, it will not aafte. quently remove the disease. Motitis ia the chronic form of lncyngitis that this treatment is remarkably useful. Many such cases Improve rapidly uoder local treatment applied to the larynx aud trackes, which, {f neglected for months, or tt may be for years, not unfrequently lead to permanent changes. In this connection Dr, Hastings relates some most in- teresting cases of chronic laryngitis attended with hoarse. hess, cough, emaciation, “expectoration streaked with bioou,’’ difficulty of )reathing, night sweats, and most of the ordinary symptoms of ‘phthisis—all of which he says were promptly and permanently relieved by a solu. tion of nitrate of silver, of the ordinary strength, applied to the jarynx and trache With regard to the treacment of tubercular laryngitis, Dr. Hastings remarks: — I know of no meavs #0 capable of arresting and remoying 1t as sponging the windpipe with a suluuon of ‘Miurate of aller (up. cltat., pp. 79, 0, BL.) Professor Watson, of the University of Glasgow, bia work en ‘Topical Medication :"— In the treatment of chronic disease of the laryngeal mucous membrane, I place my eblet reliance on topicsl applications to the parts affected. And in the employment of local treatment in tuberculo- nag recorded several most instructive cases, in which the larynx has been advantageously treated’ by topical means, in both jacipient and advaueed pulmonary phthisis. In combination with, or to be followed by ap- propriate general remedies, Dr..Watson urges the import- ance of the use of applicationg of nitrate of silver to the larynx in all thore inctpient eases of phthisis in which the cough ié caused by actual laryngitis, by the irritation produced by the paskage of bloody spurtum, or by se- condary nervous irritation of the larynx. He says:— It treating the larynx, with a view of diminishing the cough, the phyatcian '@ not t> be looked tipo ae terationale but, OB Bs contrary, a8 aiming his remedial measures at the very source of much of the distress of the patient i of the disease. Ww patient and of the fatal progresa No unprejudiced person can read the testimony embo- died in the cases reported by Dr, Watson without having the conviction forced upou him that in many of these instances of carly tuberculosis an arrestment of the pul- monary digoake was brought avout by the measures adopt- ed. He remarks:— Undoubtedly the tendenoy to tubercular disease still in the consulution, though ita local mautintiadon hea scoot te exist. Formerly ‘there was positive evidence of au actu consiimption ere is no such evidence, but, on the con rary, athe ‘signs nad symptoms of pertect health’ (Op, cliat, PP. Dr. Scott Allison, in iis work on the “ Medication of the Larynx and Trachea,” says:— a ay AL MANY remedies eficacions when applica fmmedintely ts the part eiferted, OF to ite vieinity, than at 1 was glad to learn that its Ly, it 0 warn the all he topical application ay sometimes be em ys in treatment of local disease Ly with @ soltttion of nitrate of silver, and afficed could, not only without injury, but with manifest age ‘passed through the glottis an’ larynx, down into the trachea, (Up. ola, p. 2%) In obronic inflammations of the larynx, and of the ipper portion of the trachea the solu tion of tie nitrate of sliver, bas, in my bands, as in otners, been very waetntin bringing the disease to aconolnelo ‘where that has not been xcoumpliahag by reason o: its dr | gon monrablé diaease of the lungs, It has almont ia- afforded vary eon ho rulter, by rendering the cough leas violent and frequent, and removing mush of tam (ckiiag and tineasy senaeions At the upper pordoas o laryux this treatment, adopted in accordance with the pre- | Dr. Allison is decidedly in favor of the employment of the nitrate of silver in treatment of that cough and irritation of the glottis, which are dependent upon the presence of tubercles in the lungs. He says ‘uch comfort and benefit have been derived from its uses, val ‘when the tubercles have been crude, and when they have become softened. The presence of undoubted cavities In the 1 reaking down of tubercles and the expulsion of theirdebria, bave not prevented this application from ap) decidedly usetul,—(Op, eltat., p. 8.) tro JRowert BD Todd, "Physician to King’s College Hospital, London, who has had much experience in the treatment of laryngeal, bronchial, and pulmonary diseases, by’ topical has embodied in his ‘Clinical Lectures,” recently published in the London Medical Times and Gazette, some of his views, and recorded his experience in relation to this subject. In the treatment of these affections he employs and re- commends the local application of a solution of nitrate of silver (half a drachm to the ounce of water), by means of a probang thrust behind the epiglottis down to the glottis, on the plan of Dr. Horace Greed, of New York. Dr. Todd says:— Tcould tell of numerous instances of coughs of the m «! troublesome kind, and of long duration, that hed " the ordinary cough medicines, aud which bad inaed ePiaron or four applications of the nitrate of . oat fines ond Geet Hon ae ee ee And finaliy Prof. Bennett closes his valuable work on the pathology and treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis by i ipo igees practieal conclusions :— . That not unirequently diseases entirel; in ix or Jaryhx are mistaken for prele iineettates 2. ‘That even when tuberculosis exists many of the urgent symptoms are not ao much owing to disease in the luny# as to the pharyngeal and lar; ‘complications 3. Tha’ local treatment may no! these complications, but that, mn co: n with general reme- cies, it tends in a marked manner to induce arrestment of the pulmonary disease.—Op. Citat., p, 142, But, . President, this is nota tithe of the facts and observations in favor of topical medication that might 0. fathered from the profession elsewhere, in this cou tr end in Europe. Ihave spoken before the Academy of ts employment in France, altogether more extensively han in this country, and of the eiforts of such mon as Valpeau, Priory, De Paul and others of the Imperial Academy, to find some member of the profession in France, for whom they might justly claim the honor of priority in this matter. But failing in this, they have, as many of you know, in the words of M. Trousseau before the Paris Academy, generally awarded this ho- bor to a member of your own body. But how, Mr. President, has that award been received by this Acade- my, and what consideration has topical medication re- ived at its hands? Its advocates stigmatized year after year for adopting a treatmont, and claim- ing to perform operations whose practicability and great usefulness (although here denied) are now admitted among the scientific of the profession in every country in Europe, now stands accused by one of your body of em ploying a treatment—this same treatment—which he, Dr. Beales, does not hesitate to declare “is at all times at- tended with extreme peril and risk of the paticnt’s life.’’ And, more than this, sir,he has accused me openly in this Academy of having been by this treatment “ the im mediate cause of the death of his patient.’ Sir, I deny this—utterly and absolutely deny it; aud I here arraiga before this tribunal, and that of the professional world, its author, for having uttered against a Fellow of this Academy a calumnious charge—one which he has not, and which he cannot substantiate, I bave no desire tore- criminate—I only seek for truth, and demand justice at your hands. But this I wili say, in the words of the im- mortal Hufeland—* Would to God that the minds of all my medical brethren could be as forcibly penetrated with the truism as Tam, that he who degrades a fellow prac- titioner degrades himeelf and his art."” (Loud applause. ) Sir, I will not recriminate, for if my cause, if the prac: tice which I advocate cannot be sustained in truth and in science, without sophistry or misrepresentation, then let ie finish, and its author be forgotton. (Applause and BES Dr. Brags then addressed the meeting as follows: Mr. President and gentlemen, Ionty regret that [ have not come prepared with something written, as my feliows have done, in order to avvid being misunderstood. I did not expect to be called upon to speak again to-night, after having given my opinions frankly at the last meeting; but im consequence of the remarks of Dr. Green I feel it due to myself and my colleagues, as well as to the Academy, to answer some of them. First, with respect to the tubercles, I assert that there was not the slightest physical sign of tubercalization about the patient. Tho cavity of the apex of tho lungs in my opinion was not of a tuberculous character. And Dr. Green is mistaken in saying that there was a slough found there. I said no such thing. I ssid it ap- ared, we all thought, as though a slough had separated Kom that part. We did not protend to tind it, nor did T say 80, It was not a cavity—it was scooped out, as I said before. It contained no kind of fluid, and no portion of false membrane. I have taken the pains since the last meetin, to read the standard authorities upon this subject, and assert that this was not a tubercular cavity, as described by them. In this Tam confident that Dr. Mott and myself agree, although Ihave notasked him. Igo further and say that every writer on the subject of phthisis states it ag a rare and exceptional case to find a single cavity with no other eigns of tubercles, so rare that t! ure seldom confined to one lung. I stated that I would not say that this disease of the lungs was caused by uitrate of silver, because I confess my ignorance of its effect upon the lungs. Dr. Green has accused me of being ignorant of the writers of my own country, Ihave read them all, and these doctors have not mentioned a single instance in which they speak of applications to the larynx and to the lungs, it is ali to the larynx and trachea, Iam aware that it has been applied to the lungs in Paris; but we do not know the results. The Doctor says that the nitrate of silver could not have caused any injury, because it could not have reached the lungs. Why, ttren, did he inject it? Dr. Greex—I have given the reasons. Dr. Beates—With respect to the injury by the probang, I will repeat the simple facts of the case:—That a man has cone a thing a hundred times or a thousand, without acci- ent, is certainly not proof that it will not happen. bere let me correct another trifling mistake. Neither the atiept nor myself said that the tube had been passed cown his throat on the day of the accident, but the patient ‘aid it was dove a few days before. He spoke of the in- +trument, (by which I understood the probang,) and he said it had only been passed once—six days before, I think. ‘The patient breakfaated at home, weat to market, attended to his affairs, and then went to Dr. Green's, where this operation with the sponge and probang was performed. He said that the Doctor fuit some obstruction which he was forced to overcome or remove; that he immediately felt everything give way, and he told the Doctor that it hurt him. When I saw the patient, he kept his throat grasped with his hand, saying that there he was injured. The exclamations of Mr. Whitney that appeared in the papers were stricken out of my manuscript before I handed it over to the reporters. i ut it in because I wished to make an exact statement, ir. Whitney not only made that exclamation once, but probably forty or fifty times within eighteen hours of his death. He said to his sister, “I am a dying man. a horrible thing 't is to be sent out of the world murdered in this manner!” It was the testimony of a man con- scious that he was dy Here we have the strongest moral evidence that this injury did occur. No oue ac- cuses Dr. Green of doing it purposely. Neither Dr. Mott nor myself wished to inculpate him. Icould bring evi- dence to show that I did everything in my power to the contrary, Therefore his eloquent statement that one pro fessional man ought not to injure another, does not fall In the post mortem we found a lace- rated openin; pharynx precisely in the spot where the patient suid it was. Is that evidence or not? I repeat what I eaid on the first day, that that laceration caused ali the choking and other symptoms for three or four days. There obstruction commenced; foreign bodies were forced into the cavity, which prevented th: epiglottis from closing, prevented deglutition and respira. tion, gradually suffocating the patient. That could not have been diagnosed, and had it been there was no possi- bility for a surgeon to have opened it under the circum- stances, nor would it have helped the patient if it could have been done. Every one figures to himself an abscess with a large collection of pus: it was filled with extraneous substances, but more especially with large masses of slough, partly loose and partly hanging like wet tow, as stated by Dr. Mott. Task you, aa surgeons, if an opening would have saved the patient? Therefore, [am perfectly justified in saying that the death of the patient resulted from that treatment, Dr. Grexy, in reply, said that he did not locate the abscess or cavity in the lungs but some distance from them. In reference to the practice of injection into the lungs he had not deemed it necessary to cite the case of Professor Bennett, of Edinburg, who had used injection with great advantage, And they were using it constantly in Paris at this time. Troursesu had done it. Recently a case of incurable croup was reported in the Boston Journal, where Dre. Bowdich, Gay and others, finding the Patient almost dead, commenced tracheotomy. The child died apparently unde tion. They then poured into the trachw half a teaspoonful of nitrate of silver, 20 grains to the ounce (he himeelf only used 16 grains to the ounce); the child gazped, coughed’ and drove outa pieco of false membrane two and a half inches in jength. The; followed it up every two hours, and the elild recovered. Now what would bave become of that ehild if the lesion produced intlammation and a scooping out of the top of the lung? He had n heard of an instance where injection ta upon the lungs, though the practice wos known in thie country and France. If z ovourred that night, nor had taken place within Possibic that Mr. Whitney could all he did, lived as weil, and been as hearty wotil he came to have the probang application, at which ¢ he deciared himself better? And, furthermore, he spoke several times of the beneilt he received from the «pplication made to the epiglottis and larynx. He (the Hoctor) would be ashamed of his practice if, after treating « patient two montha, he had left only remove or alleviate am the epigiottis, larynx and iea as those gentlemen found them when they examined the ease, Dr. Mort said he was surprised if, as Dr. Greon stated when be was asked for information relative to the post mortem, he did not speak of this cavity in the anterior and left lateral part of the pharynx, becauge that was a main feature in the case, Dr, Greex—You mentioned the abscess Dr. Mort—Perbaps I should have been a little more nice and critical, if I had known all this hoity-toity was arise. He supposed he knew what an abs was; an} thing that contained pus imight have an absceas. There Was a little pus in the cavity, but it wag literally a cavity. What made that cavity deponent sayeth not,.because it was impossible for him t say; he had only been com polled reluctantly to give bis opinion, That cavity was all jut filled, but with no more pus than mature threw out ‘The sloughing of cellular membrane was extensive, ant the opening from this cavity into the pharynx was as large as two fingers. ile at first said it was as lazge as one; he would amplify upon the frst statement. The abscess had discharged matter several times before his death; it was, in truth, an empty cavity, with the excep tion of a little remnant of pus at the lowor part, at the commencement of the exophagus, It was filled with ila mentous dead tirsue. On that part of the neck would be found, upon dissection, a large amount of tut tissae, and that was about being separated, The idea tout thaten croached upon the trachea or pharynx at the time of his death was preposterous. It was a large cavity, not filled with matter, as had been bruited Boat the city. would say, for Perhaps the last time, that it war impoasi- ble to bave reached that abscess by sound surgery. It it had been as big as an egg no surgeon could have detectod it under the otnphysema and tumef&ction. Dr. Green had said that the other qavities ought to have bveu ex amined, In the post mortem it was stated that all the other parts were sound, Tuey did examine every part of the lungs. Perhaps it would be guid by some that they were b the times, becan they did not take a alice of the lungs and examine it with amicroecope, He was satiefot, wih what he gould gos y- With his naked eyes, that he could teil what tuberculation Dr. Gren gaid that there was no opening in the abscess paring to him be a ote, h the abscess was. = cut into al an od out. le Could not reconsito the two statements ot Dr. Morr saw no discrepancy. As they cut a little mat- ter made its appearance; it was a very little, Dr. Green replied that if it contained no pus and mast have before, how was it that it produced the eect = of by Dr. Beales—keeping the epigiottis back? . Beales stated that the opening was as large as one or two fingers into which food entered with eating and other agents employed. Did they find any food ia that abscess ? Dr. Brates—There was nothing but a smali portion of Maula food taken, and just before his death scarcely any atall. Dr. Green was willing to leave the question of tubercu- lous affection; he would leave it with the scientiflc autho- rities, A motion was made to refer the whole subject to the ection on the Theory and Practice of Medicine. To this bogie tages was Fred teal: bl corse bd ye ve been brought against Dr. Green, 0 Fellow of this char; ‘Academy, which have not been substantiated by sia, pom mortem examination or any evidence brought be- fore A y—therefore, Resolved, That in the judgment of this Academy Dr. Green should be exonerated from any censure or malpractice iu the case of Mr. Whitney, and that the subject be dismissed, Dr. Morr protested against the fact of any charge having been made by any member. He was sure he had made none. The resolution would imply consure of Dr. Greea. No donbt the operation had been prudently done. Tae language that he (Dr. Mott) held up to the family was that the death was the result of accident, Saykg desired Dr. Mott to read the last few lines of his statement. Dr. Mort—It is merely an opinion. Laughter.) Dr. Sayre said they wanted no subterfuge: plain Eng- lish language had a meaning. The opinion of Dr. Mott weighed with the world more than that uf many others. He did not bekeve that to be the opinion of the Academy. He bad listened attentively to the whole discussion and carefully analyzed the post mortem, and that was not his opinion. In the course of some further remarks, having insinuated that the abscess might have been made at the post mortem, Dr. Morr said—That is not fair; do me reasonable justice. You could not make such an opening with an lastrument. Dr. Sayre spoke of the readiness with which diseased tissues could be torn, and this was called a morbid speci- men, which could sometimes be torn without a kuife. He would, however, change the word charges” to “opin- ions.’” Dr. Rewse followed with a long speech, defending Dr. Green, The implication that Dr. Green was the cause of the death of Whitney deserved only contempt, especial: as based on the authofity of the patient himself. Such allegations from patients and their friends were a very common thing; and was every member of the Acatomy to be brought up because the relatives charged him witl killing? Inthe course of the geutleman’s observations he drew forth a remurk from Dr. Mott that this was the largest larynx and trechea he ever saw. Then the protru- sion (said Dr. Reese) was only an enlarged protraction, Dr, Morr—That is all. Dr. Reese—That will not save the gentleman, because this man was choked to death—he could neither swallow nor breathe, (Laughter.) His breathing was performed very imperfectly, they eaid, and deglutition was impossi- bie. If they could not find out what was the matter while he was living, they scarcely ought to when he was dead. Dr. R. continued at considerable length. He was once called to order by the chair for charging prevarication, and at length was reminded that it was very late. During the subsequent discussion Dr. Green stuted that neither himself nor his friends had brought this matter before the Academy, nor the public through the press. Dr. Francis opposed the resolution of Dr. Sayre as an implied censure of Drs. Mott and Beales. Dr. Watson (the President) left the chair to make a fow remarks. He stated that the patient nad been in the habit of drinking to excess all his life. Alcohol, it was known, would produce disease in the blood vessels, inter- fering with the circulation, and will occasionally cause gangrene in the extremities of the arteries. Whitney had been sick a year withacough. Was it a consumptive cough? Certainly not. Constant drinking prevents tu- berculous disease in constitutions predisposed to it, Whit- ney lost some brothers by it. By drinking he changed his diathesis and produced another tendency. Such a cough as that was invariably attended with foul breath. He had been told that Whitney was remarkable for a foul breath. Upon these data what would be the inference? Circumseribed gangrene of the lungs. Tnat was in all probability this man’s case. He coughed off gangrenous matter which left a cavity. He had seen nearly the whole of one lung thus sloughed off; sometimes it was entirely 8. The cavity left would take on a cicatrizing process, presenting granulations on the surface. Whitney proba: bly for many months had diseased lungs produced by in- toxicating drinks. That would explain the diagnosis that Dr. Green made when he was first called. It would be very easy to infer where there was such a cavity that it was produced by tuberculous disease; ninety-nine in a hundred would say so. As regards the treatment of Dr. Green he had only this to say: if in introducing this in- strument the mucous membrame or the muscular fabric of the larynx was abraded, what of it? In a healthy man it would heal up. But Whitney having a broken down constitution the result might have been different. It might have been an accident, and all medical men were subject to them. Dr. Gaxpyer moved the following amendment, which was accepted as a substitute, by Dr. Sayre:— ‘ Whereas, various statements by the public press and other wise have reflected on the reputation of Dr. Green and Drs. Mott and Beales, as having conduced by their treatment to the death of Mr. Whitney, tnerefore we, the Academy of Mediclae, after a full examination of the reports in the case and the post mortem examination, do consider that his death wae in no wise the consequence of aby improper treatment, but was au wna voldable result of a complication of diseases. ‘The amendment was adopted, and the meeting adjourned at balf past cleven. Story of the Girl Who Was Burned to Death ia Cincinnatl. HER SECOND BURIAL. ‘We never read a story more sad than that of Josephine Ellison. A few months ago, she was a beautiful, lovely girl, the pet of an honorable family in a Missouri village. A wretch seduced her, and persuaded her to elope with him to Cincinnati, where he soon deserted her, After vainly sgeking other modes of iife, she entered a house of sin. But her soul revolted at the Memphian darkness of such a life. She was too disconsolate to please her visi- ters, too cheerless to make friends with her heartless com- panions, At length, last week, she unburthened her heart to one of the inmates of the house,who sympathized with her. By her advice, she resolved to return to her deserted home, bow for repentance before her outraged parents, and atone by a life of merit for months of shame. An omnibus driver was directed to califor her, and her trunk leftatthe office. That night the house took fire from a heater in the cellar. All the inmates escaped butone. In the morning the firemen took from the ruins the charred body of Josephine Ellison. Just as she was being borne away, an ommibus was driven up, with her neatly lettered trank on board—but the contemplated passenger had taken aa- other journey. Josephine was buried in the city lot. An itinerant minister performed the services. Four professed followers of that Jesus who said to the weeping Magita- len, “Woman, thy sins are forgiven thee,’ were asked to do it, but refused. They felt, I am holier than thou art.”? ‘The night after the burial the police caught three mon coming from the graveyard, carrying a heavy bag, and pur: Sued ther. ‘They dropped the bag andran. On being taken to the office of the Mayor, it was found to contain the black ened remains of the lost pariah, to whom even in death repose was denied. The resurrectionists were arrested. Several of the frail sisters of the unfortunate girl, says the Cincinnati Enquirer, baving determined, as has been stated, to bury the poor girl a second time, the Rev. G. T. Flanders, of the First Universalist church, in a trne Chrietian spirit offered to preach the funerai service, which took place at that edifice, on Plum street. Although no public notice had been given of the event, the charc was ne#rly full before the appointed time, and when the hour arrived it was difficult to obtain a seat. The com pany, as may be supposed, was miscellaneous and singular in its character—composed of true Christian men and wo- men, idlers, courtesans, gamblers, gentlemen proili- gates and philanthropists, all deeply impressed with the solemnity of the occasion. To judge of the service by a hurried glance, a stranger might have thought ita fashion- able wedding, perhaps, ag he perceived carriage after car- riage drive up and deliver their elegantly dressed inmates in front of tt edifice. Observation, how ever, discovered by the sad faces and the sor rowing eyes that it was no occasion of joy. Tue Rev. Mr. Flanders’ sermon was eloquent and wuchiug, from its simple truthfulness, and sank into every heart. God, he said, was ail love;’ that he had destined every human creature for Heaven, and none had reason w despair. He alluded to the antecedents of the poor girl, and to the miserable life she muet have led since hor false step had brought ineffable affliction to her goal. As he spoke, many persons wept, and we saw strong men bend their heads to hide the starting tears; while tho poor wo. men, to whom his words were alive with trath, sobbed like Children. We have rarely witnessed a more impres- sive scene, All appeared to be held in sympathy, and the erring daughters of shame to be re-created for the time, and to have repented of their sins. Their hearts were purified, doubtless, in that hour, and tho tablets of their souls washed clean with atoning grief. Alns! if some good angel could have held them in this mood, and spoken in a voice not to be disobeyed: “Go back no more !’? Those women, doomed to a life of misory and reokleas gaiety, wore’a spectacle and study, aa their tears ran throngh their delicately-gloved and richly-jewelled fingers, and their breasts heaved with the first genuine and sacred etotions they had known for months, it may be for years. Some of them were gaily attired,and their cheeks blazed with rouge, and some looked #in steeped aud hardeved; bat the most of them were plainly attired, and their features bore the subdued expression that sorrow ever yields. A number were young and very handsome, and he who had been ignorant of their profession would not have dreamed of their frailty. The collin, of solid rosewood, with silver mountings, was exposed’ near the altar, and the under- taker removed the lid, that thoss who wished might gazo upoa the dead. Many’ of the vulgarly curious rushed for: ward, but the lorettes moved not. ey only wept the more, and in a few momenta followed the corpse silently and with new gushing tearg. The coffin was placed in the eplendid hearse, and ag the inanimate clay of another Marie du Pieseis moved forward tw its second tomb, the crowd stared for a minute and 89) The sexton closed the doors of the church, sun looked down brightly upon the cortege and even upon the coffin of the poor girl—betrayed, burned, dead, buried and exhumed— and the funeral of the poor loretto was over. Two New York Lawyers iN CHARvesto, Hi. T. Averill, Eaq., who claims to be a member of the New York var, but who has been in the custody of the Sheriff for the Tost few days, was on Saturday released Mr. Averill was arrested by deputy sheriff Hondricks aud detective police officer Schouboe, upon information re ceived through telegraphic deepsiches, signed by John Livi A |.) aleo a member of the New York bar, chat oe Averill with fraud and larceny. Lettera to many of our citizens were produced by Averill, and able counsel were engaged to take up the case, He was brought before his Honor Judge Munro on a writ of Wabeas corpus, and remanded for a further examination, On the arrival of Mr. Livingston the counsel of Avorill got out « bail writ to the amonnt of 26,000, tw hola I ingston to answer to a charge of libel,’ The order was set aside by the Judge, on the ground that the prosecutor was eptitied to the protection of tue Court. On Saturday Mr. Livingston withdrew his cliarger ant the Attorney-Gene- ral dismiased the case. It is now eaid that both Averill and Livingston will return to Yow York as amicable qayelling gompanlous—Charlaton Mercury, Jai. She Our Washington Correspondence. ‘Wasnncton, Jan. 29, 1859. Another Account of the Senatorial Democratic Caucus— Full Report of What was Said and Done—The Meeting Breaks Up ina Ko, ke. The caucus of democratic senators held in the retiring room at the Capitol was the occasion of much excitement, | and its proceedings are full of significant points. Mr. Hunter offered a resolution that it was inexpedient tochange the tariff during the present session. Mr. B. offered, as a substitute for Mr, H.’s resolution, another: That the revenue being insufficient to meet the uavoida- ble expenditures of the government, it is wise and expe- dient to increase impost duties 80 as to meet the deficit and pay the outstanding debts. These propositions were debated at great length, and with much spirit, by Messrs. Hunter, Tombs, Benjamin, Bigler, Iverson, Douglas, Gwin, Brown, Green, Allen and Fitch. Mr. Hunter maintained | i | | the tariff of 1857 had not had/a fair trial, expressing the | opinion that if business revived ag rapidiy as was untici- pated, it would yield revenue sufficient within two years to ov et all the wants of the government; that it was im- porsi Ie to revise the tariff properly during tho remaining part of the session, Mr Toombs said be would go for the resolution. He doubv d whetber the resources would be increased by an sed rate of duties. He gaid he had always been for c duties as far as thoy are applicavle, aud preferred m still, and said he was determined the treasury d be Sustained by cutting down the expenses rather nerease the resources; that we could never have onc my with a full treasury. Mr. Brown, of Miss., was against everything like the idea of protection; said he was in favor of raising postage on jevers, and of changing the mail service. Mr. Gwin was against the tariifand against specidc and in favor of high postage. Mr.’ Bigler said the present debt of the government was | $64,000,000, und expressed the opinion that unless the ‘rates of duty were raised, _ the debt would be nearly $10,000,000 by tho 30th of June, 1860, to say nothing about the thirty mil- | lion doliars to be placed at the disposition of the President to purchase Cuba. of peace, and wanted the incidents of a proper tariff to aia the great industrial interests of the country. Mr. Green was in favor of tariif for revenue, bat noth. ing more. He did not like the tariff of 1857 as well a3 1856, and thought it more protective. Mr. Beojamin was partial to specific duties, and ¢enied that they must necessarily be protective; but was op posed to taking up the subject during the preseut ses. sion. Mr. Douglas maintained that as we were rapidly ap- Proaching important elections, it was necessary to decide on the party platform whether it should be specic or ad. valorem duties. Messrs. Bigler, Fitch and others replied that the party was for a tariif for revenue; that that was the party plat- form; that the rates of duty, and whether they should be charged on the bulk or quantity, or by per centage on the value of the various articles, had never been a party test, but that prior to 1846 duties had always been charged’ specifically as well ag ad valorem, aud that there were democrats long before that date, Mr. Allen expressed the opinion that a reaction would not be 80 complete as was anticipated by t the Treasury, and thought the deticieucy would be greater than was estimated by that functionary, Mr. Iverson said everybody knew tbat he was a free trade man; he preferred direct taxation, but his policy could not be adopted—tnat he did not believe the revenues would be sufficient under the present tariff. He was for changing it. He thought we owed Pennsyivania a great deal, and he would ever go fér 30 per cent‘on tron, ‘Mr. Bigler’s amendment was then voted down by a very large majority, and that of Mr. Hunter adopted. Mr. Slidell ‘offered a resolution, which was adopted, to the effect that Congress direct its attention to the reduc- tion of the expenditures of the government rather thau to the increase of its revenues. The caucus broke up in the midst of great coufusion. Goy. Allen, Messrs. Bayard, Thomson, Bigier and others denouncing the proceedings as inexpodicnt and unwise in every particular, and declaring their determination to dis- regard its decisions in every respect. Wasuinaton, Jan. 30, 1859, The Contested Seat of General Mandeville in the New York State Senate—Evidence that he is not Qualified—Lelter from the Postmaster General—A Point for the Lawyers. The contesting of Gen. Mandeville’s right toa seat in the State Senate of New York has brought here several republicans and democrats, who have been rumaging the Postmaster General’s office for the last two weeks! ‘The republicans claim thatGeneral Mandeville accepted the “order to act,” and hence is disqualified to hold his seat. Their argument is based upon Art. 3, sec. 8, of the State constitution, which is as follows:— No person being a member of Congress, or holding any judi- cial or military oflice under the United Suites, shall hold a seat in the Legislature. And if any person shall, ‘after his elecion asa member of the Lexislature, be elected to Congress, or ap- Botnied to any office, cavil or military, und nverninent of United States, his acceptance thereot ahall vacate his seat. The following certified letter trom the Postmaster Gen- eral, which is to appear as evidence in this case at Albany, will’show whether General Mandeville is disqualidied to his seat or not. It will prove a knotty point for the law- yers. Ww. 9, 135 GxntLEMeN—In the matter of the appointment of William G. Mandeville: On the 26th of June, 1868, on the petition of nine patrons of the office, and the recommendation of the Post- Master at Hudson, the Postmas: neral ordered that Wm, G, Mandeville be appotuted as Postmaster at Stuyvesant Falls, N. Y., and therefore the usual lever of appointusent and blank bond and oath were returned to the department by said Man- deville, executed; thereafter, and befure any farther action in the case wae taken by the department, said Mandeville duly notified the department that he “declined” and was unwilling to accept sa'd appointment; and that {a consequence of thia notification no commission was ever issued by the department to said Mandeville, under or by virtue of the above proceed- ings, a Postmaster at Stuyvesant Falls, N. Y., nor uatil such commistion should have been issued has he, or could be ever have bad any authority to act as Postmaster there. HORATIO KING, First Aas’t Postinaster General. Thereby certify that the foeeening, ia a truestatement of facts and of the proceedings of this department, as appears by its records and files, in relation to the appointment of Wm. G. Mandeville as Postmaster at Stuyvesant Falls, N.Y. Witness my hand and seal of said department, at ihe city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, the day and year last above written. HORATIO KING, First Asa’t Postmaster General. ‘Wasninotoy, Jan. 31, 1859: * The Sugar Crop of Louisiana—Errors in Mr. Branch’s Sugar Statistics in his Report to the Senate—Important Corrections of Facts and Figures. In the statement of Mr. Branch, in bis report to the House, the Louisiana production of sugar for the year 1857 is set down at $7,360,000 lbs, This isa mistake. The crop of 1856, which is set down at 81,373,000 Ibs., was aimost a total failure, That, however, is the only re- markable failure of the sugar crop since 1835—a period of over twenty yeas. The crop of 1857, in Louisiana, amounted to 279,697 hogsheads, or about 307,665,700 Ibs. as shown by Champomicr’s report of the crop grown and manufactured in 1857, instead of 87,360,000 Ibs., as set down in Mr. Branch’s report. The error of the report was not, I suppose, the error of Mr. Branch, but of the commercial tables which he followed, and to which he refers. The injury which may result to Louisiana from this error, when the tariff question is under consideration, wil’ be apparent if it 18 taken in connection with the remark made in the report, and in a great degree based upon it, to the effect that “of late years serious apprehensions have been entertained that it—the sugar cane of Louisi- ana—is about to be blighted, “‘and that, perhaps, in a few years our whole supply of sugar from that source may be cut off from uncontrollable natural causes.’ Now, sir, whatever apprehensions of the kind spoken of in the report may be entertained elsewhere, I can aay from personal knowledge that none such are entertained in Louisiana, and that in point of fact no such apprehe: sion is warranted by the statistics of the sagar culture in that State, from its origin to the present day. It is tru that the sugar cane, like every otnor agricultural produ tion, is exposed to injury, very great injury, in unpropi- tious eeasons. But it is also true that there bave been but two extraordinary failures of the sugar crop of Louisiana in a period of thirty years—one in 1835, and the otuer in 1856—and that the failure of (he crop in 1825 was follow- ed by a series of remarkably productive years, and that the two y following 1856 have been quite as favorabie as the years following 1835. Prior to 1835 the largest crop of sugar ever made in Louisiana only reacted 100,000 hogsheads. Owing to the great proportion of cane required for seed the increase is necessarily gradual after an extraordinary failare of a crop; 80 that after the fail ure of 1836 it took four years to reach the former produc: tion, as will appear from the crops of the succeeding years, which were as follows: 1836, : + see shogsboads 70,000 ++ da, 65,900 do, 70,000 do. 115,000 ‘The failure of 1856 will in all probability be retrieved quite as soen, for the crop of 1857 exceeded 300,000,000 ibs., and that of the past year will, undonbtedly, exceed 350,000 bogebeads, and that, too, notwithstanding the in- undation of a part of lower Louisiana, which destroyed at Joast 60,000 hogsheads, and that thore was @ killing frost at an earlier day than has beeu known for many years, which greatly diminished the portion of the crop not af- fected by the inundation, Wasmatox, Fob. 1, 1869. Objections to the Homestead Bill—Shali the Governmen Giveaway ils Land ? ‘The following are some of the objections to the passage of the Homestead bill now before Congress, and which has just passed the House:— ry 1. The public domain has been paid for under the vari- ‘ous treatieg with the different tribes of Indians. Besides, the oxpenses incurred by the government in surveying the bli ds and open several Surveyor Generals’ Pines, with a ly of clerks, and tho payment of the numerous officers throuchout the inion, must amount to a large sum of money. 2. It is unjust, after many thousand residents in tho ‘West and Southwest have paid $1 26 por cro, that those who may tow come into the country shall receive public Jand without paying anything therefor, ang that, too, after the carlier paying settlers have improved the value of the and adjoining them, and that they may be entered on free of charge by a new comer, 3. If the homestead ‘ill should pass, the thousands who paid for their land would certainly ask the govern- und them the $1 25 por acro, which, with in lerest. would amount to many millions of collars, 4, Besides, the homestead bill would, on account of its Injustice to thoge who bad paid for their land, make the men who supported the measure very unpopulur, 6, Because |) would virtually repeal the wct granting He was against creating a debt in time | Jand to the soldiers of the war of 1812, asfar are concerned, who usually sell their 7 rants, as they cannot go out West and svttle upon them. \ 6. And because every acre land nor held by the government in Michigan, Blivo Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, and other new States, h cost the government $1 26 ceuts per acre, when ite and other expenscs are added, aud if this be doutted io the Land Officer be ca:led upon to report on this sabjeo Under this view of the subject the Homestead bil is absurdity, The government, even at $1 25 per acre, no gives away its Jand, as that sum does not cover all the ex] penses thereon, Let the friends of the measure ansver th objections presented in this letter, They are, in uy judgment, enough to scout the bill out of Congress. But there is stil one more objection to the Homestead bill, and that is the pauper character of the proprition| A man should purchase his freehold, and especially wh he can get land warrants at eighty cents the acre} which is less than what the land cost the governmant. Wasuinaton, Feb. 2, 1859. The Survey of Sonora Nearly Completed—Sketch of the D ings of the Commission—Ezpenses— Opposition of the ican Government—Some Account of the Country—The O; pression of the People—Emigration to Arizona— Friend ness to Americans, Le. The scientific commission organized under Capt Ch P. Stone for the exploration, survey and measurement o the public domain of the State of Sonora, in the republil of Mexico, has during the past year, in the face of most determined opposition on the part of the existin State government, nearly completed the survey and recon noisance of the entire coast line of the State, with a portion of the interior, The portion completed include the greater part of the valuable lands of the ri Yaqui, Mayo aud Fuerte, Tiburn Island, and all the land adjacent to the river Colorado and Pinecate or Adair’ Bay. ‘The expenses of the survey are paid by a per centage the public lands of the State ceded by the supreme gd vernment to the house of J. B, Jecker &Co.—a mode q defraying the expenses of public surveys which, it is b lieved, will be found much more economical thax adopted by the United States government. The right o the republic of Mexico so to cede its public lands, unde the constitution acknowledged by the present govemmen| of the State of Sonora, is as unquestionable as would b the right of the United States government to make : simigg lar contract under similar circumstances. To dem thi position would be to question the validity of every privat tte to lands that has originated since Mexican indpew ence, for ince that time they have all emanated fran th supreme government. ‘The commission organized in accordance with the srovil sions of said contract, celebrated between the swrem government of Mexico and the house of J. B. Jecker& Co. commenced ii labors in the latter part of the year 1857 shordy after the inhuman massacre of Crabb ad hit iN-fated party, at a time when public sentiment wi exceedingly hostile to everything American. In spite of this feeling, and notwithstanding the reeip of weil authenticated information to the effect thai P » chiera, refusing to obey positive orders received fron very government he pretends to uphold, had threaene, to welcome the commission with the fate so treachepusl awarded Crabb, well armed parties, under instrwtion from the chief of the commission, landed at different point on the coast, and, wherever practicable, penctrated int the interior. The system of surveys used resembles thal adopted by the United States General Land Offloe, th work being connected by range, township and sictio lines. Of couree a survey thus made cannot be expected t afford results equal to these attained under the admeab! and extensive system adopted by the United States Co Survey; nevertheless one of the most accurate coast gurl veys that has ever been made by actual measuremen has been thus effected by the commission for the strve; of Sonora. The beadquarters of the commission were establishe from the first at Guaymas, where the company’s bri Manuel Payne, with two niue pounders and a well arme crew, rendered cflicient service in preventing threatened violence. ‘The uifficulties to be met and overcome were not coal fined to the often perilous igation of the Gulf or Sea o Cortez It was an American commission, and owing the filibuster movements of Walker and others, aud to thi treatment which Sonorans had received in Californi the people were prepared to receive anything American 1 an unfriendly manner, Moreover, all thoee accused o being concerned in inviting Crabb to the country en dcuvored to disseminate the idea that it was a flubuste movement, and, there is reagon to believe, incited the In dians to hostility—while another hostile elemeut was th’ fraudulency of many of the land titles, As far as these open enemies were congerned, the com mission, never hoping’to gain their friendship, cared onl] to enforce their respect, and in this have been completel: successful. In no instance has avy member of the commis} sion, officially or otherwise, received any but the most cour} teous and respectful treatment, even at times when ope} hostilities were hourly expected. As regards the feelin of the large majority of the people, such a change ba| taken place that, to be known as a member of Capt. Stone’ commission, is a passport to friendly treatment in any p of the State. Up toa very late date there was reason to fear fron Peschiera and his officials the open violence which he ha repeatedly threatened and even ordered put in execution and which would doubtless have been attempted but fo the opportune arrival of the sloop-of-war St. Marys, anc the determined steps so promptly taken by Capt. Davis enforce reepect to the American flag and name. Peschier has now lost all of the popularity which he had gained a an Indian fighter, and most of his power in Sonora, by bi late ambitious attempt to subjugate the neighboring Sta of Sinaloa—the withdrawal of his troops having left hi| own State defenceless and open to the ravages of th 4 es. ha people throughout the country, deceived, over taxed rob and oppressed in every way by this one mat despotism, and completely at the mercy of the hordes o Apaches who, unchecked and almost unresisted, range the State from Guaymas to the Gadsden line, are now waiting with anxiety the action of the United States goverumen | as their last and only hope. Those who have obtained their information concerning the political condition of Sonora from the official organ o Peschicra, and place reliance in it, will very naturally | discredit the above statement, the more so because it uff unexpected and unhoped for.’ The writer of this artici has, however, means of knowiug und proving the certain | ty of what he states. Nor is it atall surprising, when i is recollected that the subject of the acquisition of Sonor: by purchase bas been under discussion for two years o1 more, and that its ultimate Americanization in one way o1 another is regarded every where a8 a certainty, Merchants whose business is at o stand still, land holders whose ranchos are depopulated, stock owner: robbed of their stock, and laborers driven from mininj and other kinds of employment, acquainted as they now are with tbe practical workings of our government, anc the protection it affords to life, property and tiberty o: conscience, all unite in desiring American protection. Anc were it not for the military desputisin, in the power o| which, notwithstanding its weakness, their lives aud pro perty are at stake, this feeling would long since have beer more publicly avowed. | Almost daily Mexicans are leaving Sonora for Arizona and California, simply to place themselves under the Americat flag. And, strange as it may scem, before the arrival of the President’ question was openly asked mc, by @ Mexic ** Why does not the United Stater government settle this matter ut once by taking the States | of Sonora and Chihuahua for reprisals, with the uudery| standing that when affairs become settled in Mexico they. should treat with the successful government for the pur} chase of said States? Why do they waitto throw their influence in favor of a purty who in this State are their enemies?”’ Does it not seem that humanity, and 1 had almost saic &@ moral necessity, demands the immediate occupation of this unfortunate country, either in this manner or in th way recommehded by the President, Situated as Sonora” now is, politically powertes, the abject prey to Indian aggression on the part of savages living in our Tersitocy. and for the time at peace with us—savages who daily carry off their stock, murdering in cold blood the mer J) women and male children, and ‘ing the female chil dren into captivity; threatened with invasion by au in- creasing border population, rapidly collecting in Arizona whose war cry will be “ Crabb and Cavorca,” in common humanity it ‘would seem that our governmont is moraily and politically bound to grant them protection. Should they fail to do so at once, there is little doubt that before six months have the spectacle will be presented to the world of a weak, defenceless peo. ple, who have asked protection of our government, over | run, it may be, aad put to the sword by lawlers bands of adventurers who will enter the State, invited only by its weakness and its wealth. This result i$ looked upon as w ‘matter of certainty by those who know the feelings of the je in Arizona and California in reference to the fate of ‘abb, whose high moral worth, unstained political and) Private reputation and great fn nag popularity stil keep his memory sacred in the hearts of all who knew ‘im. ‘The Oregon Indian wars are long since over, and | am informed that there are now on the Pacific coast voar: ly four thousand United States soldiers ready for active service, One thousand men under the sanction of the United States government can enter and garrison the: country without @ struggle; but at least twenty-five hun- dred will be needed to overawe the scattered tribes of Indians and afford protection to innocent Mexican citizens, And here let me pay a deserved tribute to the character and disposition of the much abused people of Sonora, 1 presume no one entertains the idea that Mexicans are naturally friendly to Americans in a political point off view. In every instance it can, I: think, be shown that iheir friendship may be traced to interest or necessity, and that it is always the party not in power who are fi vorably dispoved. Hence we seo that in the contest: pow being waged for the supremacy in Mexico tho constitution. | al party (so calied) are expected to favor American inte- rests; whereas in Sonora and tho adjoining States the con- vervative party are, as a general thing, these who ‘vor annexation. Nevertheless it ia universally acknowledgart that the people of Sonora, as individuals, bowh ri art poor, have invariably shown themsclves hospitable, kina, | | and even friendly, to all respectable Americans whom , they did not regard as filibusters, ‘ ] — A Boy Carniep Over rie Panis or NIAGARA. A sad accident occurred at Niagara Falls‘on Saturday. An adopted son of Mr. Gibbs, foreman of the paper mills, ac- eldently fell into the river and was carried over the Amo- rican Fall, We understand that the lad wagon the ice, near the mills, where mon had been running the drift ie from tho flume, and accidently fell into the swift stream. Ite ‘Was not seen to fall, but was seen some distance sows Loe river, in the rapide, when beyond the reach of hu and Ppeciily passed over, of cnurke to Ase no mor + The child was twelve years old, and a tad of muc! miee—Kogheter Union, Jan. 8.