John Lizars, Esq, surgeon, against James Syme, Esq., surgeon, Monday, 26th July 1852 : (before the Lord Justice-General and a Jury).

Date:
[1852]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: John Lizars, Esq, surgeon, against James Syme, Esq., surgeon, Monday, 26th July 1852 : (before the Lord Justice-General and a Jury). Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    especially after the warning which he received from the Editor of the London periodical—but he did so, and he has his letter contain- ing the libellous passage which had been rejected by the London Editor, published in another periodical, called the Monthly Journal of Medical Science, in the August number of 1851, one of the conductors of which, I see from the title page, is the defender, Mr. Syme. Here you have the whole letter set forth as it is in the Issue before you, and allow me to read it along with you. It being admitted that there was printed and published in the 'Monthly Journal of Medical Science' for August, 1851, the following article or statement, viz.— ' The London Medical Gazette. — One of the conductors of this ' Journal lately felt it necessary to address a letter of remonstrance ' to the Editor of the ' London Medical Gazette,' who published ' it in an imperfect form, under the pretext that the matter ex- ' eluded would have been subject to the English law of libel. Two ' results have followed : in the first place, the letter is rendered ' meaningless; and secondly, the author is made to appear having ' used libellous language. In order that our readers may judge ' how far this conduct was warranted, we now place before them ' the letter in its original form—the omitted portion being en- ' closed within brackets. ' Edinburgh, June 26, 1851. ' Sir—I have only to-day happened to see your journal of May ' 16th, which contains some statements that certainly should not * have remained so long unnoticed, if they had been known to me ' sooner. ' You say ' a fierce paper war has arisen between the two Edin- ' ' burgh professors — Syme and Lizars;' but you must, or at least ' ought to know, that I have not addressed a single word upon the ' subject in question to the so-called ' professor,' [regarding him as ' long placed beyond the pale of professional respect and courtesy. ' In estimating the value of my operation, you proceed upon the ' supposition that the allegations of Mr. Lizars and his assistant ' Dr. Muller are well founded ; but in fairness to your readers, if ' not to myself, should have mentioned, that the statements of ' these persons, in so far as they attribute bad effects to the ope- ' rations which I have performed for the remedy of Stricture by * division, have been declared by me to be all utterly devoid of ' truth.]