% HOUSE..... .....No. 71 MEMORIAL AND REMONSTRANCE RELATING TO THE MASSACHUSETTS MEDICAL SOCIETY. \(i March, 1839.] HOUSE—No. 71. 3 MEMORIAL. To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representa- tives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in Gene- ral Court assembled : The petition of John Stephen Bartlett, doctor of med- icine, of Marblehead, in the county of Essex, and Com- monwealth aforesaid, humbly sheweth,— 1st. That your petitioner did, on the twenty-third day of January, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and thirty-one, receive, after full and careful examination as by law provided, the degree of doctor of medicine, from the professors of Harvard University, appointed to confer such degree, in conformity with the various legis- lative acts of the Commonwealth aforesaid, empowering them so to do. 2d. That, as appears by the document marked No. 1, accompanying this memorial, "all the rights, honors, dig- nities, titles, immunities and privileges appertaining to said degree," as by law established, were, in virtue of the diploma testifying the reception of the degree aforesaid, inalienably vested in your petitioner. That, among the rights, dignities, immunities and priv- ileges conceded inalienably in manner aforesaid, were dis- tinctly specified " the right of consultation, and of exer- 4 MASS. MEDICAL SOCIETY. [March, cising, all and singular, those rights appertaining to the degree aforesaid. 3d. Your petitioner further humbly sheweth, that he, believing that a community of intercourse between mem- bers of a profession, the end of which is, to mitigate or remove human suffering and disease, would be of advan- tage to the members thereof, and to the community at large, was induced, by the knowledge of the fact that a certain corporate body, known as the Massachusetts Med- ical Society, assumed, in virtue of its charter, the ad- vancement of these desirable ends, to join said society, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and thirty- three, as appears by document maiked No. 2. 4th. That, in the year 1836, your petitioner was co- editor of a certain newspaper, printed in the city of Bos- ton, called the Boston Pilot; and that, on the twelfth day of March of the same year, your petitioner did write and cause to be printed, in said newspaper, a certain edi- torial article, over his own signature as editor, in which he stated the fact that one John Williams of England— an oculist by profession—had cured certain cases of blindness by means peculiar in their nature, and method of application, that he had witnessed said cures, and that he conceived said Williams to be a public benefactor; that, entertaining these sentiments, he could not hesitate to recommend said Williams to the notice of the commu- nity, in the belief that his skill was superior to that gen- erally possessed by the members of the medical profes- sion. Your petitioner farther proceeded to declare, in the editorial article aforesaid, that he had, from personal ob- servation, been painfully convinced, that quackery, (there- by signifying ignorant imposture,) existed, to a great ex- 1839.] HOUSE—No. 71. 5 tent, among those who were licenced members of the society above named; and on this head refers to docu- ment No. 3. 5th. Your petitioner would further show, that, in con- sequence of the publication of the sentiments aforesaid, he was consecutively summoned before the censors and counsellors of said society, and that finally, at the annual meeting of the said society, in May, A. D. 1836, he, after having been heard before that body in his own de- fence, was expelled from its fellowship, for having viola- ted the eighth article of its by-laws; as will appear, to your honorable body, from the documents marked 4 and 5. 6th. Your petitioner, having arranged the aforesaid documents in order for inspection, and also having those marked 6, 7, 8 and 9, in readiness for the examination of the Legislature, further humbly shevveth : 7th. That he explicitly declared, that in all which he said, or did, he was actuated solely by a regard " for morality and the general good of mankind." 8th. That he proved the facts, which he had stated, to be true, and declined retracting his avowal of these facts, from conscientious motives. 9th. That he had been induced to become a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society under the impres- sion that it was an institution calculated for the good of the human family, and not for the furtherance of private and selfish views 10th. That an official declaration was made by Abel L. Pierson, of Salem, a censor and counsellor of the so- ciety, at the annual meeting aforesaid, in the words in substance following, to wit : " That the laws of the Massachusetts Medical Society do not recognise the sentiment, that a regard for morality and the general 6 MASS. MEDICAL SOCIETY. [March, good of mankind is, in any wise, incumbent on its mem- bers; and that its members are bound to obey the by- laws of the society without reserve, even though the sacrifice of human life be the consequence. 11th. That the official announcement of the foregoing sentiment, was tacitly approved of by the society, in expelling your petitioner, as will appear by document No. 4, upon no other ground, than his inflexible adher- ence to the principle, that " morality and the general good of mankind" had induced him to violate a by-law of that body, by recommending to public favor, in his editorial capacity, an individual whom he had seen per- form cures of blindness, which were, and are, recorded on the books of the Massachusetts General Hospital, and on those of the Boston Eye and Ear Infirmary, under the head of " Discharged, Incurable." 12th.'That while a member of the society aforesaid, your petitioner presented articles of impeachment against many of its members for gross, open, and flagrant viola- tions of its laws, greatly more aggravated in their charac- ter than that for which your petitioner had been im- peached; that he expostulated with the society, in a most respectful manner, in the document No. 5, after his expulsion, on the injustice done him,—that the reading of said expostulation was objected to by Abel L. Pierson, of Salem, aforesaid ; and that the redress of injury which your petitioner sought for, was in violation of all conven- tional rules of honor and justice, maliciously withheld. 13. Your petitioner farther declares, that, in direct violation of the pledge given him by Harvard University, he has been refused the rights of professional association, of consultation, and the other inalienable rights conceded, and granted to him during his natural life, by the Univer- 1839.] HOUSE—No. 71. 7 sity aforesaid, agreeably to the statutes of this Common- wealth, and that, in consequence thereof, he has been repeatedly subjected to great mortification and important pecuniary loss. 14th. Your petitioner farther declares, that, at no time, did the society, or its officers, bring any ground of im- peachment against him, other than that he unyieldingly maintained the doctrine that the health and welfare of his fellow creatures are paramount to any by-law of that corporation, or any other, when such by-laws contravene such principle:—That no charge of mal-practice or im- morality was ever preferred against him, and that the ex- pression of that sentiment was, as will be shown, the sole cause of the persecution from which he has suffered in very many and divers ways. 15th. Your petitioner furthermore would say, that, from disinclination to weary the patience of the Legisla- ture by a recapitulation of ail the facts illustrating the truth of the positions taken in this memorial, and which are contained in the documents referred to above, he has deemed it expedient to condense the subject-matter of his petition under the following heads, viz: 1st. That he is prepared to prove before a Committee of your Honorable body, that the charter of the Massa- chusetts Medical Society is null and void for the reasons that in the charter and by-laws are contained, articles incompatible with the provisions of the Constitution of this Commonwealth; and that they contravene the prior rights and privileges of Harvard University, by an- nulling under certain circumstances, the rights granted by its Faculty. 2d. That he is also prepared to prove, that its organ- ization is, and has been, for several years past, highly det- 8 MASS. MEDICAL SOCIETY. [March, rimental to the best interests of the community and of the profession ; and that the doctrine declared in section 10th of this petition is manifestly subversive of all that is good. 3d. That in consequence of the utter disregard of all humane and moral feeling, as stated in the last named section, endorsed, virtually, by the society, as above shown, there is reason to apprehend a moral dereliction among the rising members of the profession, who are, by a peculiar, imperceptible, yet real bond of thraldom, obliged, from the very necessity of the case, to continue a system at which their moral principle revolts, while the absolute exigencies of their situation, as young men, com- pel them to bear the yoke. 4th. That the effect of the foregoing state of things, in this Commonwealth, has been to increase to an alarming extent, dangerous quackery, and this fact your petitioner can abundantly demonstrate. 5th. Therefore, your petitioner humbly prays your honorable body to appoint a special Committee for the purpose of investigating the charges preferred against the Massachusetts Medical Society, contained in this memo- rial either directly, or by implication, and particularly that such Committee be empowered to send for persons and papers, touching the matter ; and your petitioner pledges himself, to produce before such Committee, if it shall be appointed, personal and documentary evidence, which shall prove to your honorable body, that the principles upon which the charter of the Massachusetts Medical Society was granted, have been violated, that their acts have been not only unjust and oppressive to members be- longing to it, but contrary to the laws of this Common- wealth. And he therefore prays that their charter may 1839.] HOUSE—No. 71. be declared void, and that he may obtain such redress his grievances as your honorable body alone can afford. And as in duty bound will ever pray. JOHN STEPHEN BARTLETT, M. D. *2 t 4 March, 1839.] HOUSE—No. 71. 11 REMONSTRANCE. To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representa- tives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in Gen- eral Court assembled: The remonstrance of A. L. Peirson, of Salem, against the petition, to annul the charter of the Massachusetts Medical Society, of John S. Bartlett, of Marblehead, re- spectfully represents:— That the name of your remonstrant having been set forth in the petition of Dr. Bartlett, connected with inju- rious and untrue statements, in regard to language used by him, before the Massachusetts Medical Society, at their annual meeting in 1836, your remonstrant deems it due to his own character, and that of the Fellows of the soci- ety present at said annual meeting, utterly and entirely to deny the expression of any such language, or any such sentiments, as those imputed to him by Dr. Bartlett; and to lay before your honorable body a brief statement of the occasion, and the language used, on which the injurious allegations of Dr. Bartlett are founded. Your remonstrant, with two other counsellors of the Medical Society, neither of them resident in Boston, of which city Dr. Bartl6tt was then, and had been for some 12 MASS. MEDICAL SOCIETY. [March, time an inhabitant, was appointed, at a meeting of the counsellors of said society, May 13th, 1836, to act as a committee for prosecuting certain charges against Dr. Bartlett, as a Fellow of the Massachusetts Medical Soci- ety, at their annual meeting, May 26th, 1836, Dr. Bart- lett having been, some days previously, officially notified in writing that these charges were to be preferred against him at this time. The principal of these charges was the having confederated with a certain irregular practitioner to impose upon and deceive sundry citizens of the Common- wealth, by pretending to cure incurable blindness, which confederation is in violation of a by-law of the society, prohibiting such intercourse. These charges were proved and admitted to their full extent by Dr. Bartlett, who, instead of expressing his regret for numerous aggravated breaches of this by-law, which he had given his promise, deliberately, in writing to obey, defied the authority of the society, and declared his intention to persist in his re- volt against the wholesome restraint which the society has always exercised upon the professional intercourse of its Fellows. The expulsion of Dr. Bartlett was the ne- cessary consequence of his persisting in this course, and took place on this occasion, after the society had extended to him the utmost indulgence, in hearing his statements and reasons. One of the distinct heads of Dr. Bartlett's defence was the legality of his proceeding. To support this, he quoted from what he mistook to be the by-laws of the society, the following passage : " Every man who enters into a fraternity engages by a tacit compact not only to submit to the laws, but to promote the honor and in- terest of the association, so far as they are consistent with morality and the general good of mankind ;" to which 1839.] HOUSE—No. 71. 13 reasoning, your remonstrant replied as follows : " The gentleman has altogether misapprehended the matter; the clause upon which he founds his argument is not in our books ; there is no such article in our by-laws, and it does not relate, in the least, to our affairs. It is an ex- tract from Percival or Gregory, or some writer on medical ethics, who furnishes many admirable precepts, and some of which the gentleman would find to be excellent rules for his own conduct; but we have nothing to do with it. It is a part of the ' Boston Code of Medical Police/ and has no relation to the Massachusetts Medical Society." The obvious meaning of which is, that Dr. Bartlett, hav- ing mistaken the code of police of the Medical Associa- tion of the city of Boston, for the by-laws of the Medical Society of the State of Massachusetts, (which two insti- tutions have no connexion with each other,) had no right to found his defence on that document, which did not pertain to said society, and who had, therefore, nothing to do with said document. Dr. Bartlett has confirmed on oath the fact, that on these passages, and on these alone, he has based the monstrous assumption, that your remon- strant did officially assert, " that the laws of the Massa- chusetts Medical Society do not recognise the sentiment, that a regard for morality and the general good of man- kind is in any way incumbent on its members, and that its members are bound to obey the by-laws of the soci- ety without reserve, even though the sacrifice of human life be the consequence ;" which statement is a manifest and malicious distortion of the language and senti- ments which your remonstrant did utter, and a totally false and unfounded addition of words and ideas, to which he gave no utterance, and which, if spoken at that time, would have subjected the speaker to the indignant rebuke 14 MASS. MEDICAL SOCIETY. [March, of the large number, amounting to one hundred and twenty- six members of the society, who were present. No such rebuke was made by Dr. Bartlett on the occasion of his re- ply to remarks of your remonstrant, nor was the utter- ance of any such language or sentiments alluded to during a long discussion, which, subsequently to their pretended utterance, preceded the expulsion of Dr. Bartlett. Your remonstrant further respectfully states, that he does not request any redress from your honorable body, for the intended injury of Dr. Bartlett's petition, and that he is content to bear, in common with the rest, the foul slanders of Dr. Bartlett against the members of the Medical Society, comprising nearly the whole of the educated portion of the medical profession in the State, who have hitherto retained the universal respect of the community, as a learned, laborious, useful and patriotic class of citizens. But your remonstrant respectfully re- quests that the select Committee appointed upon the pe- tition of Dr. Bartlett's may be directed to examine into the proofs of Dr. Bartlett's allegations, and if they shall find them, as your remonstrant maintains them to be, to- tally nugatory, to pronounce these charges untrue, and without foundation. Your remonstrant would further set forth, that the mode by which Dr. Bartlett has succeeded in bringing his private injuries and professional jealousies before the Legislature and the public, is one, which, if counte- nanced by your honorable body, will enable every ill- designing and unworthy person in society to level abuse and direct malice against individuals and communities, by asking for a repeal of any civil, literary or religious corpo- ration, on the ground of their being responsible for the opinions expressed by an individual of their number, 1839.] HOUSE—No. 71. 15 thereby erecting a tribunal for alleged offences, without a trial by jury, or a bench of judicature of persons learned in the law. All of which is most respectfully submitted, by A. L. PEIRSON, M. D., of Salem, Mass.