A report of the trial of Cooper v. Wakley, for an alleged libel, taken by shorthand writers employed expressly for the occasion : with an engraving of the instruments, and the position of the patient / together with B. Cooper's "Prefatory remarks" on the evidence, and a copious explanatory appendix, by Thomas Wakley.

Date:
1829
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A report of the trial of Cooper v. Wakley, for an alleged libel, taken by shorthand writers employed expressly for the occasion : with an engraving of the instruments, and the position of the patient / together with B. Cooper's "Prefatory remarks" on the evidence, and a copious explanatory appendix, by Thomas Wakley. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    number of young gentlemen present; had they all sif^ned it, their united opinion of llie skill,'dexterily, and self-ptissession, exhibited by Mr. BiiANsnv Coover on this occasioi), is not lilccly to influence the judjj;meiit of the piolession, whatever it may eftect with the public. Tlie question to which the manner in which the late opera- tion was performed is calculated to icive rise, is not a question between Mr. Bransby Cooper and his pupils, but it is a question between a surf^eon, hoidin-j a hiph and responsible situation in Guy's Hospital, and the public. Of Mr. Bkanshy Cooper's amenity of manners, and kindness of disposition, we entertain no doubt; and the letter in question may be rej!;arded as a testimonial of the estimation in which a good- natured lecturer is held by the young gentlemen who attend his class. But the ques- tion is not, wiiether Mr. Bhansby Cooper is popular among his pupils, but whether he performed the late operation with that degree of skill, which the public has a right to expect from a surgeon of Guy's Hos|)ital ; whether, in siiort, the case presented such difficulties as no degree of skill could have surmounted in less_ time, or with less disastrous consequences ; or whether the unfortunate patient lost his life, not be- cause his case was really one of extraordinary difficulty, butbecause it was the turn of a surgeon to operate, who is indebted for his elevation to the influence of a corrupt sys- tem, and who, whatever may be his private virtues, would never have been placed in a situation of such deep responsibility as that which he now occupies, had he not been the nephew of Sir Astley Cooper. This is the question, the only question, in which the public IS interested ; and if Mr. Bransby Cooper is desirous of bringing this question to an issue in a court of justice, it will be for Mr. Harrison, the treasurer of Guy s Hospital, to enlighten the minds of the jury as to the circumstances under vvhich the nephew of Sir Astley Cooper was elevated to his present situation. In the event of an action, we shall most unquestionably call upon Mr. Harrison to disclose these circumstances to the jury. In the mean time, we do not aiUicipate the dec.sion of this question by positively impugning Mr. Bransby Cooper s skill;, but we contena, as we have repeatedly contended on former occasions, that the inevitable tendency ot making the patronage of hospital surgeoncies an affair of family influence, jobbing, and intrigue, is to occasion a cruel and wanton augmentation of human suffering, and to render frequent such heart-rendu.g spectacles as that which was lately exhibited Guv's Hospital. , , . . ... . r-'^u We repeat, that there may, by possibility, have been difficulties m this case, which no de'i-ree of sur?ical skill could have surmounted in less time, or with greater ability, than Mr Bransb~y Cooper exhibited; and it remains tube seen, whether such diffi- culties can be shown to have existed. At present, not a single material fact in our report is denied, though its general accuracy is vaguely questioned by the operator s pupils It is not denied that nearly one hour elapsed before Mr. Bransby Cooper ex- tracteil the stone. It is not denied that the operator had recourse to the muliipliciiy of instruments enumerated in our report. It is not denied that the patient vyas sub- jected to extraordinary suffering-sutleriog which could scarcely fail to terminate m death • but no attempt has been made to show that this was a case of extraordinary Sculty. U is scafcely worth while to allude seriously to the document which has been put forth by Mr. Bransby Cooper's select pupils. But as these are the only pa- ne'vrFsU the operator has hitherto procured, we will put a case, which may enable le pu i c to esKmate the vaiue of their approbation. Suppose it jad been stated that nstead of en', oying fifty-five minutes in extracting the stone, Mr. Bransby Cooper had Srformc the operation in the usual time-say four or five minutes. Suppose it Sad Len stated that,'instead of manifesting great perplexity and ^.^ Buansuy Cooper had exhibited the utmost coolness and selt-possession ; that the • ?LnpnrPd to suffer very slightly during the operation, and was removed KnriL Eti^w th eve y pros'^.ect !f a fovourable issue'to the case. Let us suppose I le e am s u lar^^^^^^^^ to have been made in this Journal; and we will these, an sumuuy 1 .rentlemen, friendly as their feelings are towards a ask «»^tl er aiiy of ^^J^^ | '^^'^^^[ „„tc,riety than his science, and interested teacher, f S^.^^;//^^^^^^^^^ ^.d his certificates to enable then, to pass their as they are f f''^n,^?,^-^^^^^^^^^ . uncle,' who is the president of that benighted examinations a ^he Co^^^^^^^^^ gentlemen, some of wh<,m did, and