of  disease  from  want  of  speedj  treatment.     These  were  some  ot
the  inevitable  results  of  a  system  which  could  not  escape   the
condemnation  of  just  and  thoughtful  men.      Mr.  Mathews  then
instanced  the  following  hospitals,  well  managed,  where   the  pri-
Tileged  system  prevailed,  and  showed  the  amount  of  their  incomes
to    be   small : — ^Westminster    Hospital,    £1,300  ;    King's    College
Hospital,  £1,800  ;   and  the  Royal  Infirmary  of  Glasgow,  with   a
subscription  list  of  under  £4,000.    The  latter  gave  privileges  only
to  subscribers  of  a  guinea  and  upwards,  and  had  not  one  single
subscription  under  that  amount.     The  Free  Infirmary  of  Edinbnrgh,
admitting  no  pauper,  giving  no  privilege,  situated  in  a  city  which,
whatever   its  advantages,    is  in    wealQi,    extent,  and    population
altogether  inconsiderable  compared  to  Glasgow,  had  a  subecription
list  of  £7,000  a  year,  of  which  £4,000  was  contributed  in  sums  at
and  under  half  a  guinea.    All  unfit  persons  might  be  rejected  from
our  hospitals.     They  might  teem  with  medical  talent ;  they  might
be  models  of  economical  administration;   but,  judged  by  the  high
standard    of    hospital    necessities    and    mondity,    they   would  be
miserable  failures  until  they  breathed  the  spirit  of  fr^dom,  and
the  whole  of  their  monstrous  fabric  of  privilege  was  shattered  to  its
base.     Among  the  more  important  improvements  needed  in  hospital
administration  was  the  manner  of   the  election    of  the  medical
officers.    The  system  commonly  in  vogue  gave  rise  to  some  curious
reflections.      A  vacancy  occurred,  let  them  say,  in  the   ofiice  of
physician  or  surgeon  to  the  Birmingham  Greneral  HospitaL      The
moment  the  vacancy  was  announced — sometimes  in  anticipation  of
it — a  canvass   began  of  over    1,300  voters   (scattered    all    over
England),  involving  the  turmoil,  expense,  and  excitement  of  an
ordinary  Parliamentary  election.    What  was  the  inevitable  result?
No  stranger,  however  eminent,  had  a  chance  in  the  competition.
