THE CASE OF DR. AMUR [To the Editor of the
SPECTATOR.] Slli;—NO one will, I think, disagree with the medical law which forbids a qualified man to " cover," i.e., assist or pro- fessionally associate with an unqualified practitioner ; but any one, I believe, will admit that allowances should be made under extraordinarily exceptional circumstances. For example -- and this argument was publicly used by Dr. Axhamn years ago, when he justified his conduct in giving anaesthetics to Sir Herbert Barker's patients1--suppose a layman were to discover an indisputable cure for some hitherto incurable disease, or a means undeniably more efficacious than any known for the alleviation of a painful malady, and that the remedy could only be applied by the discoverer with the assistance of a qualified medical man—say, to administer an anaesthetic. Who can deny the possibility of such a situation arising, and how are the regulations of the General Medical Council to meet it ? Would they strike off the Register, as guilty of- infamous conduct, the doctor who placed the relief of suffering before every other consideration and did his first duty as a medical Practitioner ? This is the case of Dr. Axham.—I am,
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