About a twelvemonth after the Act was in operation I appealed, through the medical journals, to my brethren in the provinces as to the arrangements that had been made in their respective localities. A large number of letters from all parts of England and Wales were sent to me, and with the information thus furnished I prepared a paper which I called "Chaos," in which I turned into ridicule the arrangements that had been made, showing that the Department, faithful to its traditions, had made a complete mess of the administrative arrangements. This paper, read at the meeting of the British Medical Association at Sheffield, attracted a good deal of attention both in the medical and general Press. It materially acted in evolving order out of the chaos into which the subject had drifted, owing to the indifference and incompetence of those who had drafted the measure. In the spring of 1872 I was informed that the alterations and enlargement of the old Workhouse of St. James's, commenced at the time when the Westminster Union was formed, were complete, and that Mr. French, who had been the medical officer of the workhouse and parish of St. James's for upwards of forty years, was about to retire on a superannuation allowance of £200 a year. I was told that the Chairman of the Board, a Mr. Bonthron, a Scotch baker living in Regent Street, had selected a fellow Scotchman, one Dr. S., as Mr. French's successor, and as Mr. Bonthron claimed to be omnipotent at the Board, this gentleman's appointment to the vacancy was considered to be certain. In the course of a few days I heard that a formidable opponent to Dr. S. had appeared in the person of Dr. M., who was also a Scotchman. In due course the election took place, when Dr. M. was elected. This resulted from a protest on the part of certain members of the Board who resented the predominance of Mr. Bonthron. When apprised of the result of the election, I remarked that Dr. M. could not take the office as he did not possess the necessary legal qualifications. On the following Saturday morning a member of the Board told me that a letter had been read at the meeting of the Guardians, held the previous evening, announcing that the election of Dr. M. was null and void, as he held no surgical qualifications. As his election had surprised all the Guardians, because it proved that the Chairman had not the influence he claimed, my informant advised me to apply for the office. At first I hesitated, but upon being urged again I assented. The same evening I called on Dr. M., told him of my intention, and asked him for the support of his friends. To my utter astonishment he told me he had made up his mind to try again. "Nonsense," I said; "how can you get a diploma from the College of Surgeons?" "Oh," he replied, "I have arranged all that; I have a splendid memory, and I remember all my anatomy and surgery." As I had every ground for the belief that he had never attended lectures on