The Pendleton Provident Dispensary

value of any new substance which may be proposed, as compared with those in genieral use. Unless deaths from chloroform had been published, we should all at this moment probably be using it instead of cther; and, so fav as can be judged by statistics of many hundreds of thousands of cases, the miortality would be much larger than it is now. It would, perhaps, be better not to use the expression "death from an. sthetics ;" anid, in my recent report, I have generally used the expression " dluring the administration of ether or chloroform." But Dr. Sheen would seem to inmply that the anisethetic has little to do with the cause of deatlh. In certain cases, indeed, such as I have noticed in the report, it was only one of a number of factors ; but, considering the large number of cases where a healthy subject succumbs to the effect of an anesthetic given for some trivial operation, such as the extraction of a tooth or the removal of a small tumour, we can hardly acquit the anaesthetic of frequelntly being the sole cause. I have certainly formed the opinion that ether is a safer agent than chloroform, from a fairly large experience and the examination of a large number of statistics; and, on examining lists of accidents during the use of ether and chloroform respectively, it is remarkable what a much larger number of comparatively trivial operations appear under the list of chloroform accidents than in the case of ether. There are many cases in the last reportedl list which I do not consider to be due mainly to the anTsthetic ; but, for the general information of the professioni, I thiilk the circumstances of tllese should he recorded, as having occurred durinc the periodl of narcosis. With regard to publishing lists o? deaths from other causes, as "amputation of the thighl," to which Dr. Sheen refers, I may observe that these are published in connection with the surgical statistics of every large hospital, and there is no difficulty in obtaining any inforimation oni the subject. During the last year or two, onie or two hospitals halve beguni to publislh lists of casualties from anesthetics but the total amount of information, as yet, is but smiall. WVere these reports universally the rule, therc would be no need of the papers on the subject which I have bken in the habit of sending to your columnis.-I am, etc., ERNEST H. JACOD. Leeds.