A letter to the right honourable and honourable the directors of Greenwich Hospital, containing an exposure of the measures resorted to by the medical officers of the London Eye Infirmary, for the purpose of retarding the adoption and execution of plans for the extermination of the Egyptian ophthalmia, from the army and from the kingdom / submitted for the approval of government by Sir William Adams.

  • Adams, William, Sir, 1783-1827.
Date:
1817
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A letter to the right honourable and honourable the directors of Greenwich Hospital, containing an exposure of the measures resorted to by the medical officers of the London Eye Infirmary, for the purpose of retarding the adoption and execution of plans for the extermination of the Egyptian ophthalmia, from the army and from the kingdom / submitted for the approval of government by Sir William Adams. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    Having, as already stated, put Doctor Farre (and, through him, the medical officers of the London Eye Infirmary) in possession of the above documents, as well as of the knowledge of my practice and conduct, I trusted that his sense of justice, would so far have operated, as to secure me from the continuance of any hostile attacks, from the medical officers of that insti- tution. But my hopes were soon disappointed: the very letter and documents which I sent to him, and which I had supposed would ensure my future tran- quillity, were exultingly employed* as the ground>work of a renewed and more formal attack. The former accusation of having demanded a grant, and the in- sinuations of illiberal conduct towards Mr. Saunders's widow, were now necessarily abandoned. 1 hey had been proved notoriously false, and were left to redound to the disgrace of those, who had invented, and propa- gated them. These gentlemen had, however, now ascertained, by my letter to Sir David Dundas, the real* nature of my communication to Government, and that I had pro- posed the establishment of an Ophthalmic Hospital for the cure of the numerous blind army pensioners. They determined, from what motives of alarm, I shall not pretend to suggest, by every means in their power, to defeat an object, which was obviously pointed out by every principle, of humanity and sound policy. The three medical officers of the infirmary being, as I say, resolved, if possible, to prevent the ex- pected establishment of the Ophthalmic Hospital by • The gentleman who formerly admonished me of the intended attack oi^9 Surgeons, has since mentioned to me that it was said, if I had not replied to Mr. Battley'H letter, the Medical Officers of the London Eye Infirmary eould not have attacked me. 13