Thomas Trotter, M. D / by Sir Humphry Rolleston.

  • Humphry Rolleston
Date:
[1919?]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Thomas Trotter, M. D / by Sir Humphry Rolleston. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    low spirits and gout,” provides solid reading. He finds that the eighteenth century was remarkable for the increase of nervous diseases and that whereas in the “ English Malady ” (1733) George Cheyne, of Bath and London, estimated that one-third of the upper classes were thus affected, Trotter says that nervous diseases constitute two-thirds of all the disorders of civilized society, attack the poor as well as the rich and are tending rapidly to abridge the physical strength and mental capacities of the human race. The remedy is a return to the simple life. The appearance in 1805 of his pamphlet of 47 pages, “ A Proposal for destroying the Eire and Ghoak-damp in Coal-mines v by fumigation and water at 40° E. run in by a fire-engine was followed by a wordy warfare; in 1806, “ A Eriend to Rational Improvement ” attacked Trotter in a brochure of 46 pages, and almost at the same time H. Dewar, M.D., Honorary Physician to the Manchester Infirmary (1804-6), poured out 53 pages of chemical and other strictures on Trotter’s proposals. To these Trotter at once replied, but the “Friend to Rational Improvement” had the last word in August, 1806. These five polemic exercises are bound up in one volume in the Library of the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh; but they have long been buried in oblivion as in 1815 Sir Humphry Davy brought out his safety lamp for miners, which also raised a small storm for priority with George Stephenson, the future pioneer of railway enterprise, and in its turn was largely superseded by the electric light. “ The practicable Plan for Manning the Royal Navy and preserving our maritime Supremacy without Impressment ” (1819) is not without interest in connexion with recent events, for it gives an account of the general mutiny in the Royal Navy in 1797 for increase of pay and rations, of which Trotter as serving under Admiral Lord Howe must have had first-hand experience. He uses the mutiny as an obvious argument against the press-gang system, which naturally led to discontent and favoured the occurrence of such disturbances, and advocates a voluntary system based on Pitt’s emergency Bill of Requisition in 1795. This paper also reiterates the suggestion of a uniform for sailors which, however, did not become established until about 1857 ; before that date the captain of each ship determined the style of clothes or “slops”—often somewhat piratical—of the crew. As far back as 1774 Lind1 * 3 had suggested that the seamen of His Majesty’s service should be put into a uniform sea habit with some little movable badges to show their ship, and urged this with a view of preventing the spread of infection by filthy clothing. This was supported by Blane and elaborated by Trotter,5 who proposed that the uniform, manufactured of a particular form of cloth, should consist of a blue jacket, with a sleeve and cape of the same, and lined with thin white flannel; a waistcoat of white cloth, trimmed with blue tape ; blue trousers, or pantaloons, of the same cloth as the jacket, for winter ; and linen or cotton trousers, either striped blue and white or all white for summer. A button of metal, or horn less liable to tarnish, with the letters R.N. upon it. The hat small and round, waterproof, with a narrow belt on which should be printed the name of the ship, which could be conveniently shifted when a man turned over to another ship. It would appear that after the decent interval of sixty years Trotter’s suggestions were largely adopted. He argued that in addition to the sanitary advantages the adoption of this uniform would be considered an honourable distinction, engender esprit dc corps, and render desertion less easy. 1 Lind, “ On the most effectual Means of preserving the Health of Seamen,” p. 7, 3d Edit., 1774, London. 3 Trotter, “ Medicina Nautica,” 1797# I, 48*
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