mentioned, disapprove of that strict avoidance of leading questions which so strongly marks all judicial proceedings in England.*

The position of the medical witness in a criminal question is, however, altogether different from that of an ordinary witness to matters of fact. When consulted by the police in a case of assault, wounding, or poisoning, he is not, in the first place, a Witness; he is, like the police themselves, an active Agent in the inquiry. Can it be that each of the parties concerned in this inquiry is under obligation to pursue the search throughout, guided only by his own light, keeping all the others sedulously in the dark? When, later in the inquest, the evidence of the medical witness is called for, it is evident that, in nearly nine cases out of ten, he has to be questioned, not upon plain facts, but upon obscure points of opinion and judgment. He can have no motive for collusion; it is a Decision rather than an Evidence which the law demands of him; he is, in fact, the arbitrator of a most essential portion of the case: with him alone lies the determination of those leading portions of the inquiry which are set before him,-upon these he stands in judgment; and all attainable light must be thrown upon every point of difficulty which he may be called upon to weigh.

In short, medical jurists cannot be too conversant with the details of the judicial inquiries in which their opinions are called for; and all reserve in furnishing them with the information which they require involves an infraction of the law as established both in England and in India.

* "The Scottish lawyers regard with a sacred and scrupulous honor, every question so shaped by the counsel examining as to convey to a witness the least intimation of the nature of the answer which is desired of him. These scruples, though founded on an excellent principle, are sometimes carried to an absurd pitch of nicety, especially as it is generally easy for a lawyer, who has his wits about him, to elude the objection."-SIR W. SCOTT.

At the request of Mr. Ward, late Magistrate of Howrah, I, some months since, suggested the following Rules to be observed by Darogahs in sending dead bodies to the sudder station for examination. It must, however, be premised that, in this country, the approach and progress of decomposition. can be only in some degree retarded, whatever means we may adopt. Still, it is within our power to preserve the remains against the attacks of insects and vermin, and to provide that the advance of putrefaction shall not be unnecessarily accelerated.

"I would recommend that supplies of strong acetic acid, or of the solution of the chloride of zinc be sent to each thannah in the station. The free application of either of these fluids over a body will tend to delay somewhat the progress of decomposition externally; and will be very effectual in protecting the corpse against the destructive attacks. of insects and small animals. I find that the cost of either of these fluids will be three rupees per quart. Rather more than a pint of the acetic acid would be required for each body. The chloride of zinc would go considerably farther, but is somewhat objectionable, as it would soon destroy the cloths used for enveloping the bodies.

"I would, therefore, beg to recommend that, immediately upon the discovery or disinterment of a body, the Darogah, having carefully observed and made notes of its position, the state of its garments, the marks of injury, any appearances of blood, &c., on the ground, floor, walls, or furniture, &c., &c., should have it placed under a clean rattanbottomed charpoy (one of which might be supplied for that purpose, at small expense, to each police station,) and covered with a clean sheet.

"Care should be taken not to remove any traces of blood or mud, which may be found on the body. Any cord, &c., on the neck or limbs, or any grass or weed grasped in the hands should be allowed to remain untouched, as should also be the case with any weapon left sticking in the body. Should delay be likely to attend the first investigation, the body should be despatched at once, with a memorandum to the magistrate of the cause of death assigned, as well as of that which is suspected by the police, such as, 'Alleged to have been drowned; but supposed to

have been beaten with latthees.' The regular Sooruthal should follow as speedily as possible.

"When considerable delay is quite unavoidable, it will be necessary to envelope the corpse carefully in a sheet saturated with the acetic acid. Some of the acid should also be poured into the mouth, and a cloth soaked in it should be placed carefully over any wound that may

be present.

"Where it is possible to send the body to the medical officer within twelve hours after death, it should merely be enveloped in a dry sheet and despatched at once.

"As the present mode of sending bodies enveloped in mats and slung on a bamboo is, in many respects, objectionable, I would recommend that a wooden shell, with a closely fitting cover, protected above and at the sides and ends with thick sheets of sola* and furnished with poles for the bearers, should be kept at every thannah. For each shell should be supplied two sheets of very strong cotton cloth or thin canvas, and a quantity of charcoal broken up into small pieces could always be kept in the shell.

"I would also recommend that, if possible, four dome bearers should be encouraged to live in the neighbourhood of every thannah for the speedy conveyance of bodies. Upon repairing to the spot at which a suspicious death had occurred, the Darogah could be accompanied by these men with the shell, charcoal, cloths, and a bottle of acid.

evenly over the edge.

"Before placing the body in the shell, the charcoal should be emptied out upon one of the sheets spread on the floor. The other sheet should then be placed at the bottom of the shell, with its ends hanging out Upon this sheet, the body, enveloped in its winding sheet saturated with acetic acid, should be placed within the shell. The other sheet, with a portion of the charcoal still should then be placed evenly over the body with its ends also hanging over the edge of the shell. The shell should then be filled to the edge with charcoal and the lid fitted on.

upon it,

The spongy wood of the Eschynomene Paludosa,—a great non-conductor of heat, from which " rice paper" is manufactured.

D

"By this arrangement, we should be enabled to lift off the whole of the charcoal in the upper sheet, finding the body unsoiled beneath it, The body could then be lifted from the shell, for inspection, by grasping the corners of the lower sheet.

"The charcoal needs not be used again, but it should be the duty of the domes to clean the shell, and to wash the sheets before taking them back to the thannah.

"If possible, the bodies should be brought from thannah to thannah, or along tracks where additional bearers may be obtained. The above plan, although it would be attended with some outlay at first, would not, in all probability, be more expensive, ultimately, than the use of bamboos and mats, which are never employed a second time.

"Should it be found impossible to abandon the present plan of conveying bodies, the corpse should be enveloped-1st, in the sheet saturated with acid, as already directed-2ndly, in a mat of close texture— 3rdly, it should be placed on a coarse mat spread with a thick layer of charcoal, broken small. The coarse mat should then be closed over, the space between the mats being first closely packed with charcoal, and the whole carefully bound round with split rattans."

UNCERTAINTY OF GENERAL EVIDENCE IN INDIA.

Supposing all attainable information to have been furnished by the police, the medical jurist in this country has to contend with a cause of embarrassment which is almost unknown at home. In England, it may be taken as a general rule, that all information, contributed in aid of a medicolegal inquiry, contains nothing that can be regarded as wilful misrepresentation, unless emanating from the criminal or his direct abettors. There, all men combine, with earnest purpose and sharpened faculties, to reveal the hidden guilt. In India, however, the deceit inherent in the character of the lower class of natives surrounds all judicial investigations with an atmosphere of obscurity. Whenever the case has involved loss of life, the friends of the deceased are, not

unnaturally, prone to give, to say the least, an exaggerated coloring to their statements. Other witnesses, less personally concerned in the issue, either speak under intimidation or for a price, or do not hesitate to endeavour to gain credit by asserting more than they know.

The extortion of confession by intimidation, and even by torture, is a practice often attributed to the police of this Presidency, and occasionally brought home to them in extreme cases ;* and, in certain instances, Darogahs and their subordinates have been under strong suspicion of fabricating cases, and of suborning witnesses.†

A single case will sufficiently illustrate the character of the uncertainties which may present themselves to the medical jurist in this country. In the cold season of 1850, I received a small fragment of recent bone with an official letter from the Magistrate of the district in which I was then stationed. The bone was evidently a portion of the shaft of the humerus or femur of a young child; it was nearly two inches long, and weighed about three drachms. It had formed less than half of the circumference of the shaft, and had evidently been broken out by a jackal, the dent of a small canine tooth being impressed distinctly on its edge. I was informed that a little native girl, about four years old, had been taken away from her home, by one Tofan Alee, who was some time afterwards seized by the police, in attempting to cross the river.

Decisions of the Nizamut Adawlut N. W. P., vol. iv. p. 54, "a tehseeldar and two chupprassces convicted of cruel torture" ("with a view apparently, of obtaining information regarding a robbery") and sentenced to imprisonment for four and two years respectively, January 21st 1854. See also N. A. Reports, vol. iv., p. 508, April 1854, &c.

† See Reports of Nizamut Adawlut, vol. iii., part 1 of 1853, p. 259; and part 2, p. 130. Report on the State of the Police in the Lower Provinces for 1845, p. 64;-for 1846, p. 35.