A letter to the Right Hon. Sir Henry Hardinge, on the effects of solitary confinement, on the health of soldiers, in warm climates / by John Grant Malcolmson.

Date:
1837
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A letter to the Right Hon. Sir Henry Hardinge, on the effects of solitary confinement, on the health of soldiers, in warm climates / by John Grant Malcolmson. 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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    the attention of Colonel Campbell, C.B. of H.M. 46th regiment, at that time commanding the Hyderabad Subsidiary Force, by whom I was called upon, to report whether solitary confinement on bread and water, had, in my experience, produced any ill effects. In reply, I stated that a full report of what I had observed, had been submitted to the Medical Board, and that I was not then prepared to state positively, that the system was injurious, although circumstances had occurred, which showed the necessity of very closely watching its effects. Not long after, however, unequivocal evidence was afforded, in the occurrence of decided scurvy along with other remarkable symptoms, in men who had enjoyed robust health previous to their sentence to lengthened periods of solitary confinement. These and other corroborative facts, which came to my knowledge during the following two years, relieved me from all hesitation in expressing a decided opinion, when requested by Colonel Conway, C. B. Adjutant-general of the Madras army, to furnish him with a memorandum on the subject, with a view to a report on solitary confinement required by the law commission of India. As far as the distinguished officer I have just mentioned, has power and influence, I have no doubt that the interest of the soldier will find'a strenuous advocate. But this is not a question of mere local importance,
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