^> >^^ O. \^-^ w % ^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // {/ A C/u 1.0 I.I 1.25 *- illllM ■^ ll 2.2 ^ lis lilllM \A III 1.6 V] <^ /M ^;. '* ^^Sfe^^s* -(^ ^».? .. /^^ '»?'>/ .^ % '/ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN S' :fEET WEBSTER, NY. 14S80 (716) 872-4S03 iV ^ {^ wW ^ A \ !^ ^ "% V y> ^_ >. ^1} c^.^ 1? % .%^ t/^ f CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut canadien de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked baiow. D Coloured covers/ Couverture de coulaur I I Covers damaged/ Couverture endommagee Covers restored and/or 'aminated/ Couverture restaur^e at/ou pelliculde Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manqu<" Coloured maps/ Cartes giographiques en cotiieur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre da couleur (i.e. autre que bieue ou noire) Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ ReliA avec d'autres documents n n D Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ Lareliure serree peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distorsion le long de la marge interieure Blank leaves added du'ing restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possibi^, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajouties lors dune restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela dtait possible, ces pages n'ont pas iti film^es. 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The following diagrams illustrate tho method: Les images suivantes ont iti reproduites avec le (.ius grand soin. compte tenu de la condition at da la nettet* de l'exemplaire film«, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Las exemplaeres originaux dont la couverture en papier eat imprimee sont film^s en commen^ant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la dernlAre page qui comporte une empreints d'impression ou d 'illustration, soit par le second plat, selon le caa. Tous les autres exemplaires origiriatu sont filmte en commenqant par la premidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la derniire page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un dea symboles suivants apparaitra sur la domiire image de cheque microfiche, selon le caa: le symbols — ^signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifie "FiN". Les cartea. planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre filmte A des taux de rMuctior diff^rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cHuhA. il est fUmi A partir de Tangle supirieur gauche, de gauche d droite, at de haut en baa. en prenant le nombre d'imagas n^cessaire. Las diagrammas suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 Eqmntcd from the Montreal Medical Journal, June, 1892. 0y THE MEDICAL ASPECT OF THE CORONER'S OFFICE. The memorial recently presented to the Quebec Government by the Medico-Chirurgical Society of Montreal deserves careful consideration from the medical profession throughout Canada, as the state of affairs now complained of in Montreal probably exists to a greater or less extent in other parts of the Dominion. A recent amendment to the Quebec statute, which, with a view to economy, limits the coroner to the investigation of those cases where a sworn deposition of foul play, etc., has been made, can scarcely be said to improve matters. If the coroner is constantly made to feel that he is more likely to be blamed for holding an inquest, than for allowing a suspicious death to pass unchal- lenged because those in possession of the facts, (who may pos- sibly know more than they care to admit) do not come forward with sworn evidence, the whole object of the coroner's court is defeated. That a Crown officer in the regular performance of his duty should have to choose between being censured by the Department for extravagance or criticised by the public for neglect of duty, is a state of affairs which can scarcely be said to conduce to that calm or judicial frame of mind which we have a right to look for in an officer charged with such responsible duties. In Montreal, there is no complaint of too many inquests hav- ing been made, but a striking feature of the average coroner's inquest has been the totally inadequate nature of the medi- cal evidence adduced. This is less the fault of individuals ► n than the natural result of a bad system. It is not every phy- sician who can perform a medico-legal autopsy properly, and- even a skilled pathologist could hardly feel himself competent to undertake a diflScult case if he had not an extensive experi- ence in medico-legal work. No one can predict which cases will be easy and which difficult, and the plan of allowing the coroners to select at random physicians who may or may not have any special fitness for the work is likely to defeat the ends of justice. The evil results of this oif-hand selection of a physician are two-fold. First, coroner's autopsies are done by those who had better have left them alone ; and, second, those who might with practice become experts do not get opportuni- ties to acquire special skill The idea that by appointing a physician to the post of coroner he would be able to save the expense of autopsies in many cases is a fallacious one. A coroner cannot legally perform his own autopsies, and if he could, it would distract his attention from the judicial side of his duties. There is no more need of medical coroners than there is of medical judges or medical magistrates. The coroner has to decide, not on the medical^ but on the forensic aspect of the medical evidence, and the plan of encour- aging coroners to daoble in medical matters proper is most un- desirable. That the coroner should be part doctor and part lawyer is impossible in practice, however fine it may seem in theory, as no one man could have a thorough grasp of the details of both medical and legal work. If he were a good lawyer he would probably be a poor physician, and vice versd. The recommendation made by the Medico Chirurgical Society of Montreal seems to be the best way out of the difficulty in the case of large cities, and by ensuring that the medical work in coroners' inquests is carefully done in all cases, the duties of the coroner would be purely judicial. The autopsy forms the most urgent part of a coroner's inquest, and should not be omitted in any case where there exist grounds for holding an inquest at all. The practice of endeavouring to induce physicians to make positive statements as to the cause of death when no autopsy has been performed is the cause of at A ► n 8 least three-fourths of those absurd and inconsistent deductions on this head which so often make the findings of coroners' juries the laughing-stock of the public. The practice of allowing juries to decide that an autopsy is unnecessary is most inju- dicious, as, later on, facts may come to light which give a new aspect to the case, and unless an autopsy is made a few hours after death the results obtained are usually unreliable and worth- less. The Department should clearly understand that a jury is not in a position to decide that an autopsy is unnecessary, and it is far wiser to make ten autopsies which might be dispensed with than to omit one which should have been done. By employing a specially qualified expert as coroner's phy- sician, as recommended in the memorial of the Medico-Chirur- gical Society, the Government would be adopting a practice which has now become universal in large cities in nearly all civilized countries, particularly in France, Germany and the United States, and one which has hitherto given most satisfactory results. A matter which is worthy of mention in this connection is that our statutes regarding the holding of inquests give no instructions as to the technique of autopsies. In France and Ger- many the directions on this head are made so clear and explicit that without wilful negligence it is almost impossible for an in- telligent physician to make a serious error in procedure or to omit any point of great importance. We hope that while dealing with this question the Government will prepare a statute by which the duties of the physician in doing autopsies shall be explained with the same care and pre- cision as in France and Germany. By having an authorized system of technique to guide them, the physicians called upon to perform autopsies would be in a position to do better work. A RESOLUTION REGARDING CORONER'S PHYSICIAN. On Wednesday, the 8th inst., a deputation representing tho Medico-Chirurgical Society of Montreal waited upon the Attorney-General of the Province of Quebec and presented following memorial on liohulf oC the momboi's of the the Society : — •' At the rcgiilHi- nioetinwing resolution embodying these views was moved by Dr. T. G. lioddick, seconded by Dr. VV. II. Kingston, and carried unanir.iously : — " Whereas, the city of Montreal is without a properly quali- fied expert to perform autopsies for medico-legal purposes ; and " Whereas, the present system of allotting coroner's autop- sies to the physician most readily accessible at the time is such that it is impossible for any one physician to acquire the experience necessary to become an expert ; and '' Whereas, the system adopted in European and most American cities allotting all medico-legal autopsies to a spe- cially qualitied coroner's physician has proved highly satis- f "actoi'y ; " iiesolved, — ThattheGovernmont of the Province of Quebec be, and hereby is, petitioned to appoint some capable physician thoroughly skilled in post-mortem work to act as coroner's physician for this city, and to perform all autopsies for medico- legal purposes within the city and district of Montreal. " F. BuLLER, President. " Kenneth] Cameron, Secretary."