in persons residing in the West Ham district. In the week ending Feb. 13th there was a further satisfactory fall in the number of registered deaths to 37-a number actually 2 below the corrected decennial average for the particular week. Only one of these was in the person of an adult over twenty years of age. Mile-end Old Town and Camberwell had each four deaths credited to them, and the hospitals at the close of the week contained 877 diphtheria patients, the admissions in the week having been 104, as compared with 93, 116, and 95 in the three preceding weeks. In the outer ring there were 11 deaths registered, 3 being in West Ham district. In other words, there were 25 deaths in the suburbs of London in the fortnight, as compared with 49 in the thirty-two great towns of the Registrar-General outside London in the same period. Last week the deaths registered from diphtheria in London numbered 40-a number 5 in excess of the corrected decennial average for the seventh week. Camberwell area had 6 deaths credited to it, Lambeth and Greenwich each 4, and Wandsworth 3 deaths. Only one of the 40 deaths was of a person aged over twenty years, and 5 were of infants under one year of age. The admissions to hospital in the week were 104 in number and the cases remaining in hospital on Saturday last 853, against 881 at the same period of January. The deaths registered from diphtheria in the outer ring last week fell to 8, half of which were in the West Ham registration district. arliamentary Intelligence. NOTES ON CURRENT TOPIOS. THE House of Commons has re-appointed the Select Committee on the keeping, selling, using and conveying of petroleum and other inflammable liquids, and the precautions to be adopted for the prevention of accidents with petroleum lamps. The committee consists of Sir Thomas Carmichael, Mr. Jesse Collings, Mr. Alexander Cross, Mr. Fortescue Flannery, Sir Edward Hill, Mr. Wootton Isaacson, Mr. yon, Mr. McKillop, Mr. Mundella, Mr. Pollock, Mr. Harold Feckitt, Mr. Compton Rickett, Sir Benjamin Stone, Mr. Tully, and Mr. Ure. The Committee will meet at once, and it is hoped will very shortly complete its inquiry, which has already extended over two sessions. Medical Officers to Volunteer Corps. THURSDAY, FEB. 18TH. Pauper Children in London. Mr. Hazell asked the President of the Local Government Board whether the remanded children, who were one of the classes for whom it was proposed to establish the new Metropolitan Children's Asylums' Board, under the Local Government Board, were already under the Home Office and the London School Board; and whether, seeing that it was through the action of the School Board that many of them were first apprehended, and that they were subsequently placed under the Home Office, he would consider the advisability of leaving the temporary provision for them in the hands of one or other of the authorities which already had to deal with them.Mr. Chaplin replied that under the existing law the guardians, and the guardians alone, were responsible for the care and maintenance of children who, prior to the question of an order being made for removal to an industrial school being determined, were remanded to the workhouse. In many workhouses there was no suitable accommodation for these children, or only accommodation which did not properly provide for their being kept separate from other inmates. The provision of such accommodation for children of either sex in each of the thirty unions in the metropolis, with the necessary staff for supervision, would entail a very considerable expenditure-an expenditure greatly in excess of what would be entailed by separate provision for children of the class referred to. The total number of such children for which provision would be required would probably be not more than 100 or 120. FRIDAY, FEB. 19TH. The Payment of Medical Officers. Sir Walter Foster asked the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention had been called to the action of the West Bromwich Guardians in appointing a district medical officer at a fixed salary, which was to include payment for all those cases which the Consolidated Order of July 24th, 1847, expressly provided should be paid for as extras, and whether Articles 177 to 183 of this Order had been suspended as as regards the West Bromwich Union; if so, suspension still held good, seeing that the Local Government whether he would inquire if the reasons which justified the Board last year called special attention to the articles of the order which required that district medical officers should have Mr. T. W. Russell, on behalf of Mr. Chaplin, replied: The operation of extra remuneration for operations and certain other cases.the articles in the regulations relating to the payment of extra fees to medical officers in the West Bromwich Union was suspended in 1862 on the application of the guardians. The guardians stated that they proposed this arrangement in consequence of continual disputes in connexion with claims by the medical officers to fees. All the medical officers of the Union who bave been appointed since that time have been appointed at salaries inclusive of the extra fees. The Local Government Board have not received any suggestions from the guardians or the officers that the arrangement is not working satisfactorily. Death-bed Evidence. Sir Matthew White Ridley, replying to a question put to him by Mr. Pickersgill, said he had seen the newspaper reports of the trial of illegal operation. the case Regina v. Greatorex Sinith, an indictment for performing an It appeared from those that the learned judge decided that, under the circumstances, the statement made by a young woman when in a dying condition was inadmissible in evidence. That being so, it became, of course, a matter of regret that she should have been troubled upon her death-bed. He was satisfied, after careful inquiry, that the police inspector in reading over to the prisoner on his arrest a portion of the statement which the young woman had made, and, secondly, in taking the prisoner to the bedside of the dying woman and putting questions to her in his presence. did no more, under painful and difficult circumstances, than his duty in endeavouring to obtain the evidence of the young woman-the sole witness-by_the only means in his power. He could not admit that his conduct deserved censure. If he thought that it was a growing practice on the part of detective officers of the Metropolitan Police to attempt to get in as evidence statements which would otherwise be inadmissible by arranging that they should be made in the prisoner's presence or read over to him, he would certainly take action in the matter. MONDAY, FEB. 22nd. Vaccination in the Port Office Service. Mr. Channing asked the secretary to the treasury, as representing the Postmaster-General, whether the attention of the Post Office authorities had been called to the case of Miss Annie Jane Maxted, appointed six months ago as an assistant or clerk to the department, then pronounced healthy and strong, compelled as a condition to appointment to be re-vaccinated, suffered in consequence it is stated for six months, terminating in death on the 2nd instant; whether there was any authority by statute to enforce the above condition; whether it was ordered by the department assuming the power; and whether, while the recommendations of the Royal Commission were unconsidered by Parliament, the order would be continued.Mr. Hanbury: The attention of the Postmaster-General has been called to the case of Miss Maxted, but the facts are not as represented to the hon. Member. Miss Maxted was not pronounced healthy and strong six months ago; on the contrary, the medical officer who examined her reported that she was not strong and was suffering from an enlargement of the superficial cervical glands of the neck. The cause of her death is certified to have been lymphadenoma (Hodgkin's disease), and as a secondary cause dermato-melasma suprarenale (Addison's disease), and neither of these resulted from the revaccination. Re-vaccination as a condition of appointment in the Post Office is enforced, not by Statute, but by Post Office regulations. The regulation has been in force since 1863, and in view of the remarkable immunity from small-pox enjoyed by Post Office servants under this regulation it is not proposed to alter it. Metropolitan Pauper Children. Mr. Chaplin, replying to a question put by Dr. Farquharson, said he was informed by the managers of the Metropolitan Asylum District that during the year 1896 275 children suffering from scarlet fever and 15 from diphtheria were removed from Poor-law schools in the metropolis (including two certified schools) to asylums of the managers. There were no cases of small-pox. The schools from which children. were removed were the separate schools of Islington, Hackney, Strand, Holborn, Shoreditch, Bethnal Green, St. George-in-the-East, Lambeth, and Westminster, and the schools of the Kensington and Chelsea, Central London, Forest Gate, and North Surrey school districts. Children were also removed from the Exmouth training ship and from the North Hyde and St. Agnes Orphanage certified schools. The managers further informed him that it was not possible to state with precision what had been the cost of each patient per week, but that the including maintenance and common charges. average cost might be put at about 21s. per week per patient, this sum TUESDAY, FEB. 23RD. Mortality in India. Lord George Hamilton said, in reply to a question, that he had received the following information regarding mortality in the Central Provinces. The total number of deaths for the year 1895 was 349,137 and for 1896 it was 468,469. The latter year was exceptionally unhealthy, and it appeared that cholera deaths were 37,479 in excess of those in 1895; fever, 69.342; diarrhoea and dysentery, 9566; small-pox, 1103; other causes, 11,842. This mortality gave for the whole year a death-rate of 36 03 per 1000 in 1895 and of 49 03 per 1000 in 1896 on the present population. Appointments. Successful applicants for Vacancies, Secretaries of Public Institutions, and others possessing information suitable for this column, are invited to forward it to THE LANCET Office, directed to the SubEditor, not later than 9 o'clock on the Thursday morning of each week for publication in the next number. BELI., F. O., M.B., C.M. Edin., has been appointed Medical Officer for the Workhouse and the Second Sanitary Wareham District of the Wareham and Purbeck Union. COPEMAN, A. H., L.R.O.P. Lond., M.R.C.S., has been appointed Medical COWIE, GEO., M.B., C.M. Aberd., has been appointed an Assistant FAGGE, A. W., M.R.C.S., has been appointed a House Surgeon to the FLETCHER, D., L.R.C.P., L.R.C.S. Edin., L.F.P.S. Glasg., has been appointed Medical Officer for Applecross, Ross. FOULERTON, A. G. R., F.R.C.S., has been appointed Pathologist to the Chelsea Hospital for Women, Fulham-road. Fox, E. J., M.B, C.M. Edin., has been appointed a House Surgeon to the Manchester Royal Infirmary. Fox, G. M., L.R.C.P. LoLd., M.K.C.S., has been appointed Medical HAWLEY, ARTHUR, L.R.O.P. Lond., M.R.C.S., has been appointed an HERBERT, W., M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., has been appointed Assistant House MONTGOMERY, R. J., M.A., M.B.T.C.D., F.R.C.S. Irel., has been appointed Assistant Surgeon to the St. Mark's Ophthalmic Hospital, Dublin. PARE, J. W., M.D., C.M. Edin., L.D.S. Eng., has been appointed Dental Surgeon to the North-Eastern Hospital for Sick Children, Hackneyroad, Shoreditch. PAYNE, G. S., M.R.O.S., bas been re-appointed Medical Officer of POMFRET, H. W., M.D.Vict,, Ch. B., L.R.C.P. Lond., F.R.C.S., has been YARROW, G. E., M.D. Heidelb., L.R.C.P. Lond., M.R.C.S., D.P.H., has been re-appointed a Medical Officer for the City of London Lyingin Hospital. Vacancies. For further information regarding each vacancy reference should be maae to the advertisement (see Index). ANCOATS HOSPITAL, Manchester.-Resident Junior House Surgeon. BRENTFORD UNION.-Medical Officer and Public Vaccinator for the CANCER HOSPITAL (FREE), Fulham-road, S.W.-House Surgeon for six months. Salary at the rate of £50 per annum, with board and residence. CHELSEA, BROMPTON, AND BELGRAVE Dispensary, 41, Sloane-square, S.W.-House Surgeon and Secretary. Salary £95 per annum, with furnished rooms in the Dispensary House, an allowance of £20 for coals and candies, and a further allowance for a housekeeper. CHELSEA HOSPITAL FOR WOMEN, Fulbam-road, S.W.-Clinical Assistant for three months. CITY OF LONDON HOSPITAL FOR DISEASES OF THE CHEST, Victoriapark, E.-House Physician, for six months. Salary at the rate of 230 per annum, and board and residence provided, FAST London HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN, Glamis-road, Shadwell, E.House Surgeon. Board, lodging, &c., provided. No salary. EVRLINA HOSPITAL FOR SICK CHILDREN, Southwark-bridge-road, S.E.Junior Resident Medical Officer. Salary £50. GENERAL INFIRMARY, Northampton.-Assistant House Surgeon, unmarried. Salary £100 per annum, with furnished apartments, board, attendance, and washing. HULL ROYAL INFIRMARY.-Honorary Assistant Surgeon for the outpatient department, for five years. LIVERPOOL ROYAL INFIRMARY.-Honorary Physician. LONDON HOSPITAL MEDICAL COLLEGE, Mile-end, E.-Demonstrator of Physiology. Salary £100 a year. Also Assistant Demonstrator of Anatomy. Salary £90 a year. PARISH OF WESTRAY, Orkney.-Medical Officer and Public Vaccinator. Salary as Medical Officer £90 sterling per annum. Applications to Mr. Jas. Sinclair, Clerk, Parish Council, Westray. ROYAL SURREY COUNTY HOSPITAL, Guildford. Resident House Surgeon. Salary £80, with board, lodging, and laundry. SHEFFIELD PUBLIC HOSPITAL FOR DISEASES OF THE EAR, THROAT, AND SKIN.-Honorary Physician for the out-patients. Also Honorary Physician for the out patient department for Diseases of the Throat. STAMFORD HILL AND STOKE NEWINGTON DISPENSARY, 189, Highstreet, Stoke Newington, N.-Junior Resident Medical Officer. Salary for the first three months at the rate of £50 per annum, and afterwards at the rate of £75 per annum, with board and residence in each case. ST. LUKE'S HOSPITAL, LONDON, S.E.-Clinical Assistant for six months. Board and residence provided. ST. THOMAS'S HOSPITAL, Westminster-bridge. - Resident Assistant. Physician. UNIVERSITY COLLEGE Of South WaLES AND MONMOUTHSHIRE. -Professor of Anatomy. Applications to the Secretary and Registrar, University College, Cardiff. WARWICK COUNTY LUNATIC ASYLUM, Hatton.-Second Assistant. Medical Officer. Salary £130, rising to £150, with full board. WIST LONDON HOSPITAL, Hammersmith-road, W.-House Physician and House Surgeon, for six months. Board and lodging provided. WHITECHAPEL UNION INFIRMARY, Vallance-rcad, E. — Resident Assistant Medical Officer. Salary £120 per annum, in addition to rations,. furnished apartments, coal, gas, and washing. Applications to the Clerk to the Guardians, Union Offices, Vallance-road, Whitechapel, E. WOLVERHAMPTON EYE INFIRMARY.-House Surgeon, for twelve months. Salary £60 per annum, with rooms, board, and washing. Births, Marriages, and Deaths. BIRTHS. ALEXANDER.-On Feb. 17th, at Mayhurst, Paignton, the wife of James Alexander, M.D., of a son. MORRIS. On Feb. 16tb. at Gordon Lodge, Charlton-road, Blackheath, the wife of Clarke K. Morris, M.R.C.S.E., of a daughter. SHERRINGTON.-On Feb. 21st, at Grove-park, Liverpool. the wife of of C. S. Sherrington, M.D., F.R.S., of a son. SOULBY-At Grimsby, on Feb. 17th, 1897, the wife of C. Ernest Soulby, M.D. Brux., M.R.C.S. Eng., of a daughter. TRACEY.-On Feb. 19th, at The Gables, Willand, Cullompton, Devon, the wife of H. Eugene Tracey, M.B., of a son. WARDE. On Feb. 18tli, at Knowsley, Prescot, the wife of Wilfrid B. Warde, M.B., of a daughter. MARRIAGES. BOTT-RICHARDSON.-On Feb. 23rd, at the Chapel Royal, Savoy, by the HENSLEY-Low.-On Feb. 24th, at the Priory Church, St. Bartholomew DEATHS. CRAIGIE. On or about Feb. 3rd, at Pietermaritzburg, Natal, John Oraigie, M.D., aged 54 years. CRAWFORD. On Feb. 14th, suddenly, William Smyth Crawford, B.A., F R.C.S. Edin., of Mount Pleasant, Liverpool, in his 38th year. Gossi.-On Dec. 29th, at Wallaroo, South Australia, Joan Gosse, M.R O.S. Eng., in his 51st year. HUTCHINGS.-On Feb. 12th, at Young, New South Wales, Arthur Carey Hutchings, M.D., in his 46th year. MOORE.-On Feb. 15th, at Chardwar, Bourton-on-the-Water, John Moore, M. R C.S., aged 76 years. POWER. On Feb. 17th, at Iloe-park-terrace, I'lymouth, Surgeon-Major Edward Richard Power, late Army Medical Staff, aged 42 years. N.B.—A fcc of 58, is charged for the insertion of Notices of Births, Marriages, and Deaths. Medical Diary for the ensuing Week. OPERATIONS. METROPOLITAN HOSPITALS. MONDAY (1st).-London (2 P.M.), St. Bartholomew's (1.30 P.M.), St. Thomas's (3.30 P.M.), St. George's (2 P.M., Ophthalmic 1.16 P.M.), St. Mary's (2.30 P.M.), Middlesex (1.30 P.M.), St. Mark's (2 P.M.), Chelsea (2 P.M.), Samaritan (Gynecological, by Physicians, 2 P.M.), Soho-square (2 P.M.), Royal Orthopædio (2 P.M.). City Orthopedic (4 P.M.), Gt. Northern Central (2.30 P.M.), West London (2.30 p.m.), Westminster (2 P.M.). TUESDAY (2nd).—London (2 P.M.), St. Bartholomew's (1.30 P.M.), Guy's (1.30 P.M.), St. Thomas's (3.30 P.M.), Middlesex (1.30 P.M.), Westminster (2 P.M.), West London (2.30 P.M.), University College (2 P.M.), St. George's (1 P.M.), St. Mary's (2 P.M.), St. Mark's (2.30 P.M.), Cancer (2 P.M.). WEDNESDAY (3rd).—St. Bartholomew's (1.30 P.M.), University College (2 P.M.), Royal Free (2 P.M.), Middlesex (1.30 P.M.), Charing-cross (3P.M.), St. Thomas's (2 P.M.), London (2 P.M.), King's College (2 P.M.), St. Mary's (2P.M.), National Orthopaedic (10 A.M.), St. Peter's (2 P.M.), Samaritan (2.30 P.M.). Gt. Ormond-street (9.30 A.M.), Gt. Northern Central (2.30 P.M.), Westminster (2 P.M.). THURSDAY (4th).-St. Bartholomew's (1.30 P.M.), St. Thomas's (3.30 P.M.), University College (2 P.M.), Charing-cross (3 P.M.). St. George's (1 P.M.), London (2 P.M.), King's College (2 P.M.), Middlesex (1.30 P.M.), St. Mary's (2.30 P.M.), Soho-square (2 P.M.), North-West London (2 P.M.), Chelsea (2 P.M.), Gt. Northern Central (Gynæcological, 2.30 P.M.) FRIDAY (5th).—London (2 P.M.), St. Bartholomew's (1.30 P.M.), St. Thomas's (3.30 P.M.), Guy's (1.30 P.M.), Middlesex (1.30 P.M.), Charingcross (3 P.M.), St. George's (1 P.M.), King's College (2 P.M.), St. Mary's (2 P.M., Ophthalmic 10 A.M.), Cancer (2 P.M.), Chelsea (2 P.M.), &t. Northern Central (2.30 p.m.), West London (2.30 p.m.). CATURDAY (6th).-Royal Free (9 A.M. and 2 P.M.), Middlesex (1.30 P.M.), St. Thomas's (2 P.M.), London (2 P.M.), University College (9.15 A.M.), Charing-cross (3 P.M.), St. George's (1 P.M.), St. Mary's (10 P.M.), Cancer (2 P.M.). At the Royal Eye Hospital (2 P.M.), the Royal London Ophthalmic (10 A.M.), the Royal Westminster Ophthalmic (1.30 P.M.), and the Central London Ophthalmic Hospitals operations are performed daily. MONDAY (1st). SOCIETIES. MEDICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.-8.30 P.M. TUESDAY (2nd). - PATHOLOGICAL SOCIETY THURSDAY (4th).-NEUROLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.-8.30 p.m. HARVEIAN SOCIETY.-Clinical Evening. WEST KENT MEDICO-CHIRURGICAL SOCIETY (Royal Kent Dispensary, Greenwich-road, S.E.).—8.15 P.M. Discussion on Anemia. FRIDAY (5th).-WEST LONDON MEDICO-CHIRURGICAL SOCIETY (West London Hospital, W.).—8 P.M. Clinical Evening. The following cases will be shown:-Mr. Keetley: (1) Congenital Dislocation of Hip after Operation; (2) Sarcoma of Male Breast.-Mr. Bidwell: (1) Operation for Extensive Epithelioma; (2) Gastro-jejunostomy.Dr. S. Taylor: (1) Congenital Spastic Paraplegia; (2) Bell's Palsy ina Child; (3) Hydrocephalus surviving to Puberty.-Dr. Clippingdale: Congenital Icthyosis.-Dr. Chapman: Thoracic Aneurysm.Dr. Potter: Tumour of the Upper Jaw.-Mr. McA. Eccles : Patient after Removal of Tumour of Upper Jaw. SATURDAY (6th).—MEDICAL SOCIETY OF London.-7 P. M. Anniversary Dinner at the Whitehall Rooms, Hôtel Métropole. LECTURES, ADDRESSES, DEMONSTRATIONS, &o. THE SANITARY INSTITUTE (Parkes Museum, Margaret-street, W.).- TUESDAY (2nd).—LONDON POST-GRADUATE COURSE.-Bethlem Hos- CENTRAL LONDON THROAT, Nose, and HaR HOSPITAL,-4 P.M. Dr. D. Grant: The Diagnosis and Treatment of the forms of Tinnitus Aurium. ROYAL INSTITUTION.-3 P.M. Prof. A. D. Waller: Animal Electricity. SOCIETY OF ARTS.-8 P.M. Mr. M. Webb: Gesso. WEDNESDAY (3rd).—ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS.-5 P.M. Mr. W.G. Spencer: The Pathology of Lymphadenoid_Structures (Spleen, Lymphatic Glands, Bone Marrow). (Erasmus Wilson Lecture.) LONDON POST-graduate CouRSE.--Parkes Museum, Margaret-street, W., 4.30 P.M., Prof. A. Wynter Blyth: House Drainage, HOSPITAL FOR CONSUMPTION, &c., (Brompton).-4 P.M. Dr. H. Mackenzie: Bronchiectasis. THE SANITARY INSTITUTE (Parkes Museum, Margaret-street, W.).3 P.M. Mr. F. Ruddle (conducted by): Inspection and Demonstration at L.C.C. Common Lodging House, Parker-street, Drury-lane (number limited). SOCIETY OF ARTS.-8 P.M. Mr. G. Gordon: English Orchards. THURSDAY (4th).-LONDON POST-GRADUATE COURSE.-Brit. Inst. of Preventive Medicine, Gt. Russell-st., W.C., 3.30 P.M., Dr. Allan Macfadyen and Mr. A. G. Foulerton: Separation of Proteid Substances occurring in Urine.-Central London Sick Asylum, Cleveland-st., W., 5.30 P.M., Dr. C. T. Williams: Clinical Lecture. SOCIETY OF ARTS.-8 P.M. Prof. J. A. Ewing: The Mechanical Production of Cold. (Howard Lecture) THE SANITARY INSTITUTE (Parkes Museum, Margaret-street, W.).— 8 P.M. Dr. J. F. J. Sykes: Objects and Methods of Inspection. ROYAL INSTITUTION.-3 P.M. Prof. P. Gardner: Greek History and Extant Monuments. WEST LONDON POST-GRADUATE COURSE (West London Hospital, W.).5 P.M. Mr. Cheatle: Organisms which Infect Wounds. FRIDAY (5th).-ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS.-5 P.M. Mr. W. G. Spencer: The Pathology of Lymphadenoid Structures (Spleen, Lymphatic Glands, Bone Marrow). (Erasmus Wilson Lecture.) LONDON POST-GRADUATE COURSE.-King's College, 3 to 5 P.M., Prof. Crookshank: Anthrax and Malignant Edema. NATIONAL HOSPITAL FOR THE PARALYSED AND EPILEPTIC (Bloomsbury).—3.30 P.M. Mr. Gunn: Lecture. THE CANCER HOSPITAL (FREE) (Fulham-road, Brompton, S.W.).- SATURDAY (6th). - ROYAL INSTITUTION.-3 P.M. Right Hon. Lord THE SANITARY INSTITUTE (Parkes Museum, Margaret-street, W.).— 3P M. Mr. C. J. Kilgallin (conducted by): Inspection and Demonstration at the Marylebone Stoneyard, Richmond-street, Edgwareroad, W. During the week marked copies of the following newspapers have been received:-Bury Guardian, Oban Times, St. Andrews Citizen, Scotsman, Bath Journal, East Anglian Daily Times, Sheffield Telegraph, Eastern Morning News, South Wales Daily News, Halifax Guardian, Darlington Times, Blackburn Standard, Bournemouth Directory, Times of India, Cambs. Times, Pioneer Mail, Lowestoft Standard, Dereham Standard, Cromer Post, Birmingham Post, Leeds Mercury, Luton Reporter, Sussex Daily News Rugby Advertiser, Hampshire Post, Worcestershire Chronicle, Leicester Post, Bristol Mercury, Architeci, Craven Herald, Exeter Flying Post, Builder, Liverpool Daily Post, Maryport News, Warwick Times, Leigh Chronicle, Barnsley Independent, Grimsby News, Manchester Courier, Wiltshire Mirror, Loughborough Monitor, Devon Weekly Times, Warwick Advertiser, Yorkshire Post, Worcester Journal, Western Morning News, Leamington Advertiser, Reading Mercury, Stockkeeper and Fanciers' Chronicle, City Press, Weekly Free Press and Aberdeen Herald, Local Government Chronicle, Hertfordshire Mercury, Glasgow Magazine, Surrey Advertiser, Hong-Kong Weekly Press, Le Courrier de la Presse, Midland Free Press, Mining Journal Liverpool Courier, Sunderland Daily Echo, Sanitary Record, Erening Express, Liverpool, Stalybridge Reporter, West Middle ex Herald, Tenby and County News, Isle of Wight Herald, Great Harwood Post, Local Government Journal, &c. ALL sensible people will sympathise with the sentiments of an admirable letter which appeared recently in the Belfast News from the pen of Mr. John Jellie of Carrickfergus. His contention that nowadays "men and women of ordinary intelligence have less excuse for swallowing quack prescriptions in the indiscriminate way of their ancestors of fifty years ago" is excellently written and supported. Puzzled.-There is nothing whatever to be said against the institution. The members are allowed to employ any medical man they choose at terms which seem to us quite reasonable, having regard to the class of people who would join as beneficiares. The medical man is thus neither sweated nor pitted in unfair competition against his professional brethren. THE RESURRECTION OF A NEEDLE. To the Editors of THE LANCET. SIRS, -On the 18th inst. a very stout man, aged thirty-five years, complained of a pricking sensation in the lower part of the abdomen. On examination a long, thin substance was felt under the skin lying transversely three inches above the pubes and one inch to the left of the middle line. Under chloroform this was easily removed, and proved to be an entire needle, molerately thick, and one and a half inch long. It was quite black and rusty in patches. The only history available was that when the patient was twelve years old he was sa d to have swallowed either a needle or a pin. Is it possible that such a foreign substance could have remained in the soft parts of the body for twenty-three years without causing any inconvenience? I am, Sirs, yours faithfully, EDGAR ELLIOTT, M.R.C.S. Eng., L.R.C.P. Edin. Wolverhampton, Feb. 21st, 1897. Inquirens.-A retired medical man is not generally charged by his medical attendant, and the same courtesy is usually extended to his family residing with him. But a point of etiquette may be too much insisted upon, and where the attendant is a poorer man than his retired brother professional, or where much medical attendance is required, it is our feeling that fees-some fees, if not full fees-should be paid. There is no obligation whatever upon the medical man to attend a curate gratuitously, though many practitioners are happy to do so. J. B.-We can quite understand our correspondent's feelings, but we do not think it would be advisable to open our columns to possible correspondence upon matters of so personal a nature. A SCOTTISH DULCAMARA. A CASE with a most wholesome result was heard before the sheriff of Glasgow upon Feb. 18th. John Sutherland, calling himself a physician and surgeon, pleaded guilty to having during the months of October, November, and December, 1896, and January, 1897, in Glasgow or elsewhere in Scotland, wilfully and falsely pretended to be a physician, &c. Mr. R. P. Lamond, writer, who, appeared for the prosecutors (and to whom we are indebted for an account of the proceedings), the Scottish Branch of the General Medical Council, said the complaint was one brought firstly, under the Medical Act of 1858 against a man who pretended to be a doctor of medicine, a surgeon, and a qualified medical practitioner, or alternatively at at common law, falsely and wilfully impersonated his deceased uncle, Daniel Sutherland, who was at one time a registered medical practitioner, and who was struck off the roll by order of the Medical Council for conduct disgraceful under the Medical Act. Respondent, he might add, both published pamphlets and advertiɛed to the effect that he was Dr. Daniel Sutherland, whereas his name was John. In reply to some innocent party who communicated with him he wrote, upon paper of his deceased uncle: "October, 1895. Dear Sir,-Your favour to hand and I am much obliged. I herewith forward to you a copy of my little pamphlet. I will be very happy to take you under my professional care, aud from my extensive experience in all private complaints you may rely upon being perfectly and permanently cured in a very short time. "With best wishes, I am, "D. SUTHERLAND.” The agent for respondent stated that the late Dr. Daniel Sutherland came to Glasgow from Edinburgh some sixteen or seventeen years ago to practise the profession there. His nephew, John Sutherland, was his assistant for about fourteen years prior to his death. He became executor to the estate after his uncle's death, and thought there would be no harm if he continued to carry on the business in the same manner. "The sheriff characterised the offence as a very serious one. Respondent had had no medical training or medical education. He knew nothing about the matter except what he might have picked up in the course of assisting Dr. Daniel Sutherland. It was bad for him to say he was Dr. Sutherland, but it was a great deal worse for a person in his position, who probably knew nothing about medicine or medical matters, to take advantage of the weakness and folly of individuals, and profess to deal with diseases of a serious character. He had no hesitation in imposing a penalty of £15 15s. and £10 as the expenses of the prosecution." These remarks of the sheriff are eminently just and satisfactory, but we cannot help thinking that the penalty for frauds of this description is not half heavy enough. The man who pretends to be in possession of degrees or qualifications implying that he has undergone a definite course of instruction, and who by this implication deludes people into the belief that he knows how to treat diseases, is neither more nor less than a potential murderer. So also is the adulterator of food and the seller or consigner of bad meat. People of this description make enormous profits, and, if fined at all, should be mulcted in hundreds, not in tens. WE bave received a specimen of a large poster which is being exhibited in Brighton under the auspices of the local centre of the St. John Ambulance Association. In a prominent place are the names of the executive committee, with their addresses, and among them we notice those of four local medical men, three of whom have their qualifications appended as well. We do not think it desirable that medical men should have even their names and qualifications placarded like this, but the addition of the addresses is unpardonable. Doubtless the poster was issued without the knowledge of the gentlemen in question, but, at any rate, we appeal to their sense of what is fitting for members of the medical profession to stop such an. unseemly display. A NORTHERN DogBERRY. MR. BEILBY is a superintendent of the North Riding Constabulary and he also gave evidence upon Feb. 23rd before the Royal Commission on the Liquor Laws. He said that the bond-fide traveller in his district caused the police a great deal of trouble, which we can well believe, and he was of opinion that the "traveller clause" ought to be expunged from the licensing laws. IIe did not think that the "traveller" evil would be diminished by increasing the three mile limit to seven or eight miles: the only thing for it was abolition or the adoption of a plan of this kind-"that a person going into the country on a Sunday should present himself at police headquarters, state his destination, and obtain an official permit to obtain refreshment. Of course, the police would discriminate between respectable persons and parties who presented themselves in red handkerchiefs and clogs, and were accompanied by terrier dogs." This plan, we think, would give the police an infinity of trouble. and we do not how it would work. There is nothing to to prevent any publican from serving a man who had not got a ticket except by having a corps of agents provocateurs, and that system is not regarded with favour by the majority of the British people. It has always seemed to us that the real way to lessen drinking is to increase the punishment for it. If a man gets so drunk as to be a nuisance to his neighbours or has to be taken to a hospital to be revived he should be heavily punished. At present, unless he commits an assault, he can give infinite trouble to numbers of people and get off scot free. People will drink and no one can prevent them, but the consequences of getting drunk should be made as disagreeable as possible. see Permit me to say that this was taken from an old edition of my work on Midwifery, published eleven years ago, and that there is not one of them which I should recommend now as a thoroughly reliable antiseptic. The more recent experience of lying-in hospitals has conclusively shown, I think, that the only antiseptic to be thoroughly relied on for the purification of the hands is a 1 in 1000 solution of perchloride. This, however, is too strong for vaginal injections, or for ablutions of the genitals. For these purposes, I think, the best antiseptic is a solution of creoline in water, which can be conveniently carried in a concentrated liquid in the obstetric bag in the form of Jeyes' " "Liquor Antisepticus." The perchloride solution is also injurious to forceps and other metallic instruments, They can best be purified by boiling, or by thorough heating in the flame of a spirit lamp, and subsequent immersion in the creoline solution, which also acts as a lubricant. Tincture of iodine, dropped into water, still finds a useful application in the exceptional cases in which it is found to be necessary to wash out the uterine cavity. I am, Sirs, yours faithfully, Grosvenor-street, W., Feb. 18th. 1897. W. S. PLAYFAIR. C. G. H.-1. It has been hitherto a general rule, but it is a matter of feeling rather than of etiquette. There is, of course, no legal obligation. If the interests of the profession and those of nursing become antagonistic the rule may fall into disuse. 2. If the rule is to be generally obeyed it should cover most special cases, and the fact that the patient is not resident in the town should make no difference. 3. If the rule is not generally obeyed a special excep.ion might well be made in favour of those resident in town. Such atter dance, we think, hould be given gratis. " Transfer.—See "Form of Deed for the Assignment of a Medical Practice in Chapter ii. of "Medical Partnerships, Transfers, and Assistantships," by Mr. William Barnard and Mr. G. Bertram Stocker (Stevens and Sons, 119 and 120, Chancery-lane, London). The Form of Deed in its various developments occupies sixteen pages in this book. The stamp duty would probably be per cent, or £3 15s. for £750. Sister Julia Tudor - No amount of contradiction would alter so prejudiced a person's views. He has not the special knowledge to enable him to understand wholly the scientific side of the things he writes. about, and those who do understand such matters prefer to let him alone. He has not described what he saw so much as what he thinks he saw. FOOTLIGHT PHYSIOLOGY. VEGETARIANS have hitherto been regarded as the most self-denying of mortals in the matter of food, but a new prophet has arisen and it behoves them to look to their laurels. The immortal Hiya, or She who-must-be-obeyed, enunciated the aphorism, "Fruit is the only true food for man"; and now we have Miss Loie Fuller, the danseuse, declaring, through the medium of an illustrated paper, that the sole way to prolong life like the patriarchs of old to a hundred years or more is by becoming strictly frugivorous. Skirt-dancing is scarcely an occupation calculated to develop or foster asceticism in any form, but the fact remains that one of the most talented exponents of the pastime has made her appearance as an uncompromising denouncer, not only of animal food in general, but even of edibles containing starch. "We are governed by custom, whereas we ought to be led by the promptings of nature," cries this fervent disciple of Plato in her exordium, and then with some inconsistency proceeds to the solemn warning, "We are slaves to the palate, let us strive to become its master." That Miss Fuller's physiology is as novel as it is ingenious the following example will show: "The sugar in the sweet fruits serves the same end as starch in other things. Starchy substances must change first into dextrine and then into glucose ere they reach the stage dates and figs have already attained. The ripening process. has brought them to the condition whereto starch is reduced in the human body. On this development nerve force is exhausted, and the tissues are gradually weakened, all which may be avoided by replacing In fact, the entire starchy foods with naturally sweetened ones." article is brimming over with learning, but, alas! that we should have to say so, it is the kind of learning against which Pope warns us. Enquirer.-Alterations having recently been made in the Canadian medical curriculum we think that our correspondent's wisest course would be to communicate directly with the authorities in the colony. It would be best to graduate at the McGill University, Montreal, or Toronto University. Details concerning the fees to be paid and the dates of the examinations can be obtained from the deans of the medical schools at either institution. A RARE CASE. To the Editors of THE LANCET. SIRS,-The following case is of interest owing to its rarity. In several hundred midwifery cases, with their endless variety, I have never met with, nor can I find, a similar one on record. On Feb. 8th I was called to attend Mrs. a young primipara, who had been in labour about nine hours. Digital examination discovered a large, soft mass on the external genitals. I at first thought this was an abnormally large bunch of varicose veins, but on inspection found it to be anasarca extending on both sides of the vulva, from the pubes to the anus, being over three inches in breadth and so deep that the index finger was completely covered before it could enter the vagina, and this was only accomplished with considerable pressure. The anasarca entirely disappeared in eight days. The patient had no sign of any oedema elsewhere and her urine was free from albumin. I am, Sirs, yours truly, A. E. PETERS. Midhurst, Feb. 22nd, 1837. W. B. G. writes as follows:-"W. H., farmer and carrier, club patient, paying 3s. 6d. per year, under my care six months, case purely surgical, inflamed bone and abзcesses, visited seventy-five times, travelling 300 miles, had two consultations over the case. Am I entitled to fee for consultations? W. H. refuses to pay?"—We fear our correspondent has no remedy. The patient, of course, should not be a club patient. But being one, and accepted as such, he has contracted himself out of all his honourable obligations and can claim any amount of our correspondent's attendance that he may require. A MODERN MINERVA, THE following verses have been sent us by a correspondent, who does not say whence he obtained them: "She is fair in form aud feature, quite an airy, fairy creature, and of art a leading teacher; she can talk and play and sing, too, in a manner quite divine. "She contributes to THE LANCET, can survey with chain and transit, name a dance and she can dance it, and in golf and tennis playing she is always first in line. "She can act as well as Sarah, that dramatic'avis rara,' she is what all folk declare a very wonderful young lady who has wisdom without stint. "She is versed in Greek and Latin, paints on canvas, plaques, and satin; quoting poetry she's pat in; but she cannot bake a biscuit that is half as soft as flint." We appear to have been entertaining an angel unawares. Sceptical. No such name as H. S. Schultess-Young, M.D., appears in the current Medical Register. COMMUNICATIONS not noticed in our present issue will receive attention in our next. |