Surgeon, in a large station and in full practice, a charge jail, (administrative and professional,) of a lunatic asylum, and dispensary, besides the charge of outposts, no one, -who has not witnessed it, can tell the amount of work" which he has to perform. The local civil officers? the Inspector-General of Prisons, the Deputy Inspector-General of Hospitals, the local Sanatory Commissioner?one or more expect the usual periodical reports (some of them in duplicate), and information must be furnished, whenever called for, at any time, by any of the above-mentioned authorities. Civil Surgeons are the back-bone of the service. They supply the pabulum for the reports which represent the health and sickness and sanatory requirements of the country; but their energies are over-taxed ; and they are crying aloud for help ! We understand that an application has been submitted to the Bengal Government for a writer to be allowed to the office of Civil Surgeon. We earnestly trust that the request will be a favorably received, and that the boon will be granted, not for Bengal only, but for all India. We have used the term office somewhat prematurely?for Civil Surgeons have none. Yet, they should have one, together with a library stocked with every official document which is of use as a "Where

has the

a

Civil

of

"

record and work of reference.

The medical government of the country in the civil department is now assuming considerable importance : and the days are past when it was sufficient for a Civil Surgeon to keep copies of circulars in his book of country paper,?this constituting the extent of his official library! We heard, the other day, of a Civil Surgeon applying for a copy of Dr. Mouat's "Annual Jail Report," and receiving the reply that he did not require the work, as he had no office ! We venture earnestly to urge upon those in authority the necessity for providing civil medical officers with an office and a

writer. Le moulin

ne

moult pas

The mill does not

CIVIL SURGEONS IN INDIA. of the Indian Medical

Service, work, like that of Sisyphus, seems never to come to an end. Keport succeeds report; replies are required to queries unexpectedly put forth, first by one official enquirer, then by another; duties, professional, administrative, and scientific?those of the physician, jailor, and meteorological reporter combined?must be performed, giving little or no time for study or rest; out-stations must be visited; vaccination in the district encouraged and stimulated, by personal exertion; and clerical correspondence, in the shape of endless letters and memos to some half-a-dozen authorities, must bo

The most laborious members at

the present

time,

are

Civil

Surgeons.

Their

maintained! And the Civil

Surgeon

his official labors ! cf

a

has

no

office! No writer

He is his own amanuensis.

friend in another

profession,

helps him in enquired

We once

whose duties seemed to be of

a

very multifarious nature, how much he had to do. His reply was, " Come and live with me for a week." We would make this

proposition to those who doubt the statement that a Civil Surgeon's duties are heavyr, and who think that a little management might give relief;?we would say, Go and live with one," "

sans

1'eau.

grind without water.