691
Some Defects in a Criminal Code medical corps, and thus in the Calas case the expert selected was the execu
time it comprises all the branches of the science of medicine. Thus, in the first
tioner. I would also add, that the old Faculty of Medicine of Paris was far
place it was only based on anatomical
more occupied in maintaining its rights
entered for a large share, particularly in toxicology. The important branch of
than in contributing to the progress of science, and consequently ofiered no course of instruction in legal medicine.
knowledge,
but
later on chemistry
mental disease was developed by the magnificent work of Pinel, Esquirol, and
But towards the end of the eighteenth
their successors. Later on forensic medi
century, a series of occurrences of a. legislation and resulted in the introduc
cine came into possession of new arms— we refer to the microscope and spectro scope, which developed the almost cer
tion of a great many things favoring the
tain detection and the nature of spots
development of forensic medicine. The abolition, by Louis XVI, of the prepara
and stains-and finally thanatology made its appearance. In 1821, Orfila
tory question in 1773, and of torture on May 13, 1778, was the premonitory sign of a change which would take place in
contributed very greatly to the progress
political and social order changed the
of toxicology by his experiments and judicious criticism, while Devergie (1798
the criminal legislation in France, and
1876), by the precision of his researches
it is well known that the Revolution
made a great step towards certainty in the practice of forensic medicine. From
precipitated the event. In 1797, Fodéré published the first treatise on forensic medicine which ap peared in France. This book, which was at the same time both philosophical and practical, was the foundation of
modern legal medicine in France, just
as the work by Zacchias had been in Germany the starting point of the de velopment of this science. With the advent of Fodéré, forensic medicine be came definitely engaged in a scientific direction, and at the same time com pleted and extended its domain, passing
by successive phases until at the present
1818 to 1879 the great Tardieu developed a large number of medico-legal questions, and his teachings had an immense influ ence on the development of medico-legal studies throughout the world. These have been continued and developed in
Germany by Casper, Machska, Eulen berg, Liman, and Kraft-Ebing; by Hoff mann of Vienna‘, in England by Thomp
son, Guy, Taylor and Christison, while
prominent in the modern Italian school I would particularly recall the names of Cresshio, Tamassia, Morselli, Tamburini, Zinc and the regretted Lornbroso.
Boston, Mass.
Some Defects in a Criminal Code T the annual meeting of the Missouri Bar Association held last July, North T. Gen try of Columbia, Mo., read an able paper on "Some Defects in Our Criminal Code and How to Remedy Them." The following extracts are given:— “First. The first defect to which I would
call your attention is that of requiring in dictments, especially in cases of homicide, to be so lengthy. . . . Our courts have often held that the probata must agree with the allegata, and many have been the cases where
reversals have been had because there was no such agreement. Yet no one ever heard
