pired, and the noble marquis was now de- conferred as an act of grace or favour on sirous to be enabled to give up to the the noble marquis himself, but which he public, for the remainder of his life, the had inherited from his father, to whom surplus of his official income beyond the it had been granted by way of compensum paid to the tellers more recently ap-sation for giving up the high and dignified pointed under Mr. Burke's bill. This appointment of chief justice of the Comsurplus, in years of peace, amounted to mon pleas, in order to enter into the poliabout 9,000l. a year. Doubts had arisen tical service of the country. whether this contribution would not be considered illegal as a benevolence, and whether, therefore, it could be accepted by the exchequer, unless it were authorised by parliament. Whether these doubts were or were not well founded, there was no question that the proceeding by an act of parliament was the more proper and more dignified way, and he had no doubt but that the House would receive the proposal with the honour and attention which so signal an instance of patriotic munificence merited at their hands. [Hear, hear!]. He then moved for leave to bring in a bill "to authorize the Receipt and Appropriation of certain Fees arising therefrom."

Lord Castlereagh observed, that his object in rising to second the motion of his right hon. friend, was simply to give expression to what he was sure must be the feeling that pervaded the House in contemplating this transaction. The extent and nature of the sacrifice made by the noble marquis had been already stated. It was right, however, that the House should be apprized, that during the three years previous to the peace of Amiens, he had sacrificed to the public no less a sum than 24,000!., which added to the sum of 18,5271. during the last two years of the war, and what had been since contributed on the reduced scale, raised the sum total already relinquished to 61,740. He made this great sacrifice, out of deference to the feeling with which, it appeared to him, the last unregulated office was regarded. The effect of this present offer was to surrender for the term of his future life, a sum which in time of war exceeded 18,000l. per annum, and was during peace not less than 9,000l. It was not claiming too much credit for such an act voluntarily performed under all the circumstances which attended it, to say, that a more splendid sacrifice of private right to the public service was never heard of in any state. As a patent office, it might fairly be considered a legal estate, and had been always so considered by that House. It should be remembered also, that it was an office which had not been

Mr. Tierney professed the most sincere satisfaction in contemplating the occasion which had been afforded for the present discussion. He had always felt, and frequently expressed, his regret, that the conduct of marquis Camden in this instance should be passed over with so little public observation. He could assure the House, that he wanted words to express his admiration of this princely sacrifice of private fortune. It was a magnificent donation to the country, made under circumstances which greatly enhanced its character of nobleness and generosity. The House had a few years since, on occasion of a motion brought forward by an hon. friend of his (Mr.. Creevey), recognized the principle, that the emoluments of the office in question were private property. To that principle he had given his support, conceiving it to be founded in reason and justice. Were he now to mention the nobleman who in his opinion stood the highest in this country, he should certainly name Lord Camden, whose attachment to his country must be truly strong, to induce him to abandon what had been earned for him by his illustrious father [Hear, hear]. He trusted that a motion would be made for placing some memorial on the journals of the House of so singular an example of disinterestedness. There were precedents for such a proceeding, and no occasion could be fitter for recording the sense of parliament than this great pecuniary sacrifice [Hear].

Lord Carhampton could not accede to the proposition, that the grants of the Crown were equivalent to fee-simple property, and could not be re-modelled by parliament. With regard to the case under consideration, he highly admired the generosity of the noble marquis.

Mr. Tierney explained. He had only meant to say, that there was a vested interest which could not be forfeited except by abuse of the office, and had never contended that to correct this was beyond the competency of parliament.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer concurred in the principle as laid down by

sioners under the care of sir W. Adams; | operating by a knife of his own invention

and for various other papers connected with the same subject.

The motion having been seconded, and the question put,

promises to be much more efficient, and to be more expeditious in accomplishing the cure, than that of Mr. Saunders, and likely to preserve the eyes of many indi viduals, which would otherwise have been lost." He also read extracts from the opinions of some of the other gentlemen alluded to, which were of a similar purport. Accordingly, the foundation of a new institution for the exclusive treatment of pensioners belonging to the several departments of the public service was resolved upon. But the new mode of treatment had been invariably opposed by the army medical practitioners, so that it was useless to think of associating Sir W. Adams with them; and the only way of rendering his system generally available was, to place himself at the head of the establishment.-In 1817, a part of York hospital was appropriated to the purpose with two medical officers assigned to act under sir W. Adams, and up to this time, the establishment had continued on this footing. The York hospital being found inconvenient, and moreover in the way of some improvements which lord Grosvenor, to whom the ground be longed, was about to make, an arrangement was made with an architect, who engaged to take a lease of some crown lands in the Marylebone fields, adjoining the Regent's park, and to build an hospi

Lord Palmerston rose and said, he was far from being sorry that this opportunity had been afforded to him for explaining the nature of the Ophthalmic institution; and he hoped, he should be able, before he sat down, to convince the House that it was not one undeserving the support of the government. During the war, the ophthalmia had made an alarming progress in the army; an hospital for the treatment of the disease had, in consequence, been established; but the practice there certainly did not turn out so successful as could have been wished. He said this without meaning at all to reflect on the head of that establishment (Dr. Vetch), from whom, he believed, the hon. gentleman had received most of his information on this subject, and who, he understood, had been of opinion, that he ought to have been made the superintendant of the new establishment, instead of sir W. Adams. It was the anxious wish of his royal highness the commander in chief to ascertain the best mode of treating ophthalmia. Sir W. Adams was said to have introduced a new and improved system. To make a certain trial of its effects, a number of pensioners afflicted with the dis-tal at his own expense, on condition that order were placed under his care, and the the public should rent it for seven years, result was, that a rapid and important The rent then of the building was the improvement was observed to take place only expense that would fall on the among them. The treatment of these public, while a tenant was secured till the poor people gave the highest satisfaction. expiration of the lease. It was due to Sir W. Adams succeeded in rescuing sir Wm. Adams to state, that he stipu many of them from a state of utter hope- lated for no compensation whatever for lessness and misery, and enabling them his services; that he had been on the to become useful to themselves and to establishment now for a year and a half, society [Hear! hear!]. This was not all, attending with the utmost zeal and assi for in 1814, sir William's practice re- duity, without having received any remuceived the decided sanction and approba-neration whatever; leaving that to the tion of a number of medical gentlemen expressly appointed by government to examine its merits. To show the weight to which their opinions were entitled, he had only to mention the names of Sir H. Halford, Dr. Baillie, and Messrs. Home, Cline, A. Cooper, and Abernethy. The noble lord then quoted the following passages from the opinion of Dr. Baillie: "I think he has the merit of introducing a practice which is likely to be highly useful in a particular chronic state of ophthalmia." And again—” His mode of

consideration of government, to be esti mated according to the success of his system. What he had now said was in part an answer to the objection on the score of expense, because, if any military man had been appointed to preside over the new institution, he would have ex pected to be paid in proportion to his trouble and responsibility; and therefore the proposition being assumed, that an hospital for the treatment of ophthalmia and its effects, ought to have been erected, his statement showed, that, as to expense

on his admission, could only distinguish light from darkness. He was admitted in July, 1818, and discharged in Jan. 1819, being able to walk any where with perfect ease and security, read small print, and tell the hour by a watch. Another pensioner, who had been 30 years afflicted with disease in his eyes, and describing himself as unable to distinguish one object from another, left the hospital in a condition to resume his trade as a goldsmith.-He begged pardon for going into these details, and should mention but one case more. It was that of John Silver, a soldier of the 89th regiment, who was forty-eight

for medical assistance, it had been esta-gers at arm's length; he was discharged blished on the most saving plan. It in January last, at which period he could would be tedious to go through the read very small print, write, and work at various objections successively raised his trade of a shoemaker, having, in fact, against sir William Adams's practice. worked several weeks at the hospital preFirst, it was said not to have been suc-vious to his discharge. Gavine Young, cessful-but that objection was overcome by the success attendant on repeated public experiments. Then it was alleged that the ophthalmia had been eradicated; while it appeared, on incontrovertible evidence, that at the very time whole regiments were labouring under a most severe inflammation in the eyes, which, let it be called what it might, terminated in blindness. Next it was urged, that if the disease were not extinguished, the surgeons of the army were as competent to cure it as sir W. Adams. To which the latter replied, "it may be so, but your competency appears five years after you have availed yourself of the improve-years of age, and who for the preceding ments which I introduced." [Hear, hear.] -This indeed was the fact, for sir W. Adams had cured many persons who had been under the care of the army surgeons without obtaining any benefit. He (lord Palmerston) had himself inspected a number of the cases treated in the new institution, and he could assure the House, that never in the course of his life had he enjoyed a greater gratification. He had found that, in various instances, relief had been afforded to the patients to a degree that he could not have thought possible. [Hear.] He should not trespass much longer on the time of the House-but he should beg leave to describe one or two of the cases with which he was acquainted from his own personal knowledge. Wm. Hill, a soldier in the 63rd regiment, was admitted into the hospital in July, 1817; his eye-lids were villous with opacity and vascularity of both cornea; Hill himself described his state of vision at that time to be such, that he could not distinguish a post or a tree. He was discharged in January last, the villosity of the lids and opacity and vascularity of the cornea having been removed, and the opacity of the left cornea nearly so. With the right eye Hill could read the smallest print of a newspaper fluently; with his left he could read moderately sized print, tell the minute and second marks on a watch-dial; and he said he could, on a clear day, discern large objects at the distance of a mile. Charles Smith said, that on his admission in June, 1818, he could not see his fin

seventeen years, was so much afflicted, as to be able merely to distinguish light from darkness. This man, within less than four months, after being placed under the care of sir W. Adams, could walk any where alone, and by the assistance of a glass, could tell the hour by a watch. Having himself examined this as well as the other cases, he could testify to the facts he had stated, and to the accuracy of the late report from the Ophthalmic hospital. Nothing could exceed the delight and gratitude with which these poor soldiers described the benefits they had received from sir Wm. Adams's treatment; and it was one of the most pleasing sights that had ever fallen to his lot, to witness the gratifying effects of that treatment.-He had already stated, that there was a great opposition and prejudice against sir W. Adams among the medical gentlemen of the army. He should now produce a remarkable instance of it, but was unwilling to mention names. Two men of the 64th regiment were taken from Chatham and put under the care of sir W. Adams in the Ophthalmic institution. After undergoing treatment there, they were inspected by the Staff surgeon of York hospital, and considered so far recovered as to be reported to be fit for foreign service, and they were ordered, as a preparatory step, to the Isle of Wight. The surgeon at that place disagreed with the Staff-surgeon, and pronounced the men unfit for foreign service. Accordingly they were kept at the York hospital, doing garrison duty