Whenever a special kind of knowledge is essential to the proper conduct of a particular profession, denying that a man possesses such special knowledge will be actionable if he belongs to that particular profession, but not otherwise. Thus to say of a physician, “Thou art a drunken fool and an ass. Thou wert never a scholar, nor even able to speak like a scholar,” is actionable, because no man can be a good physician unless he be a scholar [341]. Although one may with impunity say of a Justice of the Peace, “He is a fool, an ass and a beetle headed justice” [342]. So to say, of a midwife, “Many have perished for her want of skill;” or, “She is an ignorant woman, and of small practice and very unfortunate in her way; there are few she goes to but lie desperately ill, or die under her hands;” is actionable [343]. Or of an apothecary, “He is not an apothecary; he has not passed any examination. Several have died that he had attended, and there have been inquests held upon them” [344]. Although one may safely say of a Justice of the Peace, “He is a blood sucker, and sucketh blood.” |131| It is actionable to say of a person in his professional character, “He is no doctor; he bought his diploma for $50” [345]. Any words imputing to a practising medical man, misconduct or incapacity in the discharge of his professional duties, are actionable _per se_. Thus, it is actionable, without proof of special damage, to accuse one of having caused the death of any patient through his ignorance or culpable negligence, as to say of a physician, “He killed my child by giving it too much calomel,” or, “He hath killed J. S. with physic, which physic was a pill;” or, “He was the death of J. P.; he has killed his patient with physic; it is a world of blood he has to answer for in this town through his ignorance; he did kill a woman and two children at Southampton; he did kill J. P. at Petersfield;” or, as an American did, “Dr. S. killed my children; he gave them teaspoonful doses of calomel, and it killed them. They did not live long after they took it. They died right off the same day” [346]. So it is to say of an apothecary, “He poisoned my uncle; I will have him digged up again, and hang him,” or, “He killed my child; it was the saline injection that did it;” or, “I was told he had given my child too much mercury, and poisoned it; otherwise, it would have got well” [347].