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It will be seen from the regulations for specialrecruitment, and other indications, that the future ofthe I.M.S. is still hanging in the balance. In anycase, however, the interests of suitable men joiningat the present time would presumably be properlysafeguarded, and reasonable security of tenure granted.with some short-term gratuity system (such as thatrecently offered) and proportionate pensions to fallback upon in case of need and after a certain timeof service. It appears that even in the presentcircumstances the service offers considerableattractions.

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AIR FORCE MEDICAL SERVICE.

THE Royal Air Force Medical Service offers a

career for medical men which should prove bothattractive and interesting. The rates of pay andallowances are good, and a new field of scientificinterest is opened up by the manifold problems whichthe circumstances of aviation produce. The physicaland mental fitness for, and reaction to, the variedconditions under which the flying personnel performtheir functions provide much scope for research. Aspromotion to the higher ranks of the Service is byselection from officers who are eligible by reason oflength of service, and as a certain proportion ofthe higher ranks will be reserved for purely scientific,as opposed to administrative, appointments, it willbe seen that there are excellent prospects for the youngmedical officer who exhibits ability and energy inscientific research, as well as for those who develop a italent for administration.The establishment will consist partly of permanent

and partly of short-service officers. An officer will onfirst entry be granted a short-service commission fora period of three years on the active list (which mayThe extended to five years at the discretion of theAir Council on the recommendation of the Director ofMedical Services), and of four years in the Reserve- of Air Force officers. Selections for permanentcommissions will be made from officers holding short-service commissions, and those who are not selected willbe transferred to the Reserve at the expiration oftheir period of service on the active list.

Short-service officers who are approved for per-manent commissions, but for whom there are notvacancies in the Royal Air Force Medical Service,may, under certain conditions, be considered fortransfer to the Royal Army Medical Corps, countingtheir time served in the Royal Air Force towards increments of pay and retired pay in the Royal IArmy Medical Corps.

Officers who have been selected for permanentcommissions may be permitted to attend for a periodnot exceeding nine months a post-graduate course ingeneral medicine and surgery, tropical and preventivemedicine, and other special subjects. Such permis-sion may be granted during the first six years ofpermanent service, and when attending these coursesofficers will receive full pay and allowances.New entrants for the Royal Air Force Medical

Service will be commissioned as Flying Officers(Medical) and will be eligible for promotion to therank of Flight Lieutenant (Medical) after two years’service. Officers selected for permanent commissionswill normally be promoted to the rank of SquadronLeader after 10 years’ total service. Acceleratedpromotion may be carried out, in a limited numberof cases, of officers who show exceptional abilityafter the completion of eight years’ service. Promo-tion within establishment to the rank of Wing Com-mander will be by selection at any period after16 years’ total service, and to that of Group Captainby selection at any period after 22 years’ service.

There will be no competitive examination on entry ;.candidates must be under 28 years of age, Britishsubjects, the sons of British subjects, and of pureEuropean descent, be nominated by the Dean of arecognised medical school or teaching hospital, and

will be interviewed personally by the Director ofMedical Services, Royal Air Force, before acceptance.Each candidate must produce-

1. Birth certificate.2. Medical registration certificate.3. A declaration containing the following inform,-

tion :-(a) Age and place of birth.(b) That he is a British subject and the son of British

subjects, and of pure European descent.(c) That he is ready to engage for general service at home

or abroad as required.(d) The qualifications he is possessed of, and what medical

or other appointments he has held (if any).(e) That he is willing to fly whenever called upon to do so.Each candidate will be required, before acceptance,

to pass a medical examination to ensure that helabours under no constitutional or mental disease ordiseases or weakness, nor any imperfection or disabilitywhich may interefere with the efficient discharge ofthe duties of a medical officer in any climate, in peaceor war.

An officer granted a short-service commission who,at the time of application for such commission held orwas about to hold a resident appointment in a recog-nised civil hospital, may be seconded for the periodnot exceeding one year from the date of the commissionduring which he shall hold such appointment. Whilstseconded he will not receive pay from Air Ministryfunds, but the period of secondment will otherwisecount as service in the Royal Air Force, provided thathe will be required to serve for a minimum period ofthree years on the active list from the date on whichhe ceases to be so seconded.

Uniform and Equipment.Medical officers will be required to provide them-

selves with the uniform of their rank and with thedistinguishing badge of the Royal Air Force MedicalService. They will be required to provide themselveswith service dress and mess dress. The provision offull dress is entirely optional at present.An allowance towards the cost of uniform will be

made when the officer has been gazetted, as follows :-(a) If he has had no previous service as an officer in

H.M. Forces or if any such previous service wasterminated more than three years before the date ofjoining for duty, 50.

(b) If he is commissioned within three years of thetermination of any previous service as an officer inthe Royal Navy, Army, Indian Army, or RoyalMarines or any of the auxiliaries of those forces, butnot in the Royal Air Force or its auxiliaries, £25.

(c) If he is seconded from the Royal Navy, Army,Indian Army, or Royal Marines, £25.The rates of pay and allowances at present in force

are as shown in Table I.The standard scale of retired pay for Group Captains

and lower ranks is given in Table II.TABLE II.

* Limited to five years.

Group Captains retire at 55 ; maximum retired pay £900.Wing Commanders retire at 51 ; maximum retired pay 2600.Squadron Leaders retire at 48 ; maximum retired pay £500.

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There will be a minimum qualifying period for retired pay of 20 years.The rates of retired pay given above (including the

maximum rates) are standard rates which will besubject to revision as stated in paragraph 2 underTable 1. The revision will apply to all retired paywhich is being drawn at the date of revision as wellas to subsequent awards.

Gratuities.

Short-service officers will be eligible for gratuitieson passing to the Reserve on the scale of 2100 foreach of the first two complete years of service, and2150 for each of the third, fourth and fifth completeyears. These gratuities will not be payable to oiticersgranted permanent commissions, but the period ofservice under the short-service commission will countfor retired pay.

Medical officers holding permanent commissionsmay, at the discretion of the Air Council, be allowedto retire voluntarily from the Service after ten years’commissioned service with a gratuity of £1250 or after16 years with a gratuity of £2000 in lieu of retired

pay.

COLONIAL MEDICAL SERVICE.

IN the self-governing dominions, Canada, Australia,New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, and New-foundland, and territories under their control, such asPapua and the Cook Islands, medical appointmentsare made concerning which information can be obtainedfrom the High Commissioners or Agents-General inLondon ; appointments in Egypt and the Soudan areregulated from the Foreign Office ; in SouthernRhodesia the appointments are made by the localGovernment, but the British South Africa Company,London Wall Buildings, E.C., act as their agents inthis country; in North Borneo application shouldbe made to the British North Borneo Company, 37,Threadneedle-street, E.C., for appointments ; andthose in Sarawak are in the hands of H.H. the Rajah.Much valuable information will be found in the" Professional Handbook," Part II., issued by theOversea Settlement Office, 3 and 4, Clement’s Inn,Strand, London, W.C. 2, price 9d.As a general rule, each Colony or Protectorate has

its own public service distinct from that of everyother; and it is usually only the higher officers whoare transferred by the Secretary of State from oneColony to another. There are three exceptions tothis rule : (a) The West African Medical Staff, whichserves Nigeria, the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, and theGambia, is one service. (b) The East African MedicalService, which serves Kenya, Uganda, Zanzibar.Nyasaland, Somaliland, and the Tanganyika Terri-tory is one service. (c) In practice the medical ser-vices of the Straits Settlements and the Malay Statesmay be regarded as one, as the officers may be andfrequently are transferred from the Colony to theStates or vice versa.The Colonies, Protectorates, and Mandated Terri-

tories to which medical officers are appointed by theSecretary of State for the Colonies are (a) the WestAfrican-viz., Nigeria, the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone,and the Gambia; (b) the East African-viz., theKenya Colony and Protectorate, the Uganda, Nyasa-land, Somaliland, and Zanzibar Protectorates, theTanganyika Territory, and Northern Rhodesia ; (c)the Eastern-viz., Ceylon, the Straits Settlementsand Malay States, Hong Kong, Mauritius, andSeychelles; (d) the West Indian-viz., BritishGuiana, Jamaica, Trinidad, the Windward Islands,the Leeward Islands, Barbados, British Honduras,and the Bahamas ; (e) Fiji and the Western Pacific,Cyprus, Gibraltar, St. Helena, Bermuda, and theFalkland Islands ; and (f) Palestine.

In Ceylon, Mauritius, Jamaica, Barbados, theBahamas, and Bermuda vacancies are practicallyalways filled locally by the appointment of qualified

native candidates, or-in the case of some of thehigher posts-by transfer from other Colonies.Appointments in Malta are all filled locally. Vacanciesoccur most regularly and frequently in the WestAfrican Medical Staff, the East African MedicalService, and the Straits Settlements and MalayStates.

All applicants for medical appointments in the giftof the Secretary of State for the Colonies should bebetween the ages of 23 and 35,1 and must be doublyqualified ; preference will be given to those who haveheld hospital appointments as house physicians andhouse surgeons ; testimonials to character and pro-fessional competence will be required, and everyofficer before being definitely appointed will bemedically examined by one of the consultingphysicians of the Colonial Office : Sir William Prout,C.M.G., O.B.E., and Dr. A. E. Horn, C.M.G., 79,Harley-street, London, W. 1 ; Sir J. Hawtrey Benson,57, Fitzwilliam-square, Dublin ; Dr. Foster Coates,9, Shaftesbury-square, Belfast ; Lieut.-Colonel GlenListon, C.LE., I.M.S., 33, Comely Bank, Edinburgh ;and Dr. R. H. Kennan, 2, St. James’s-road,Liverpool. Applications for such appointmentsmust be addressed to the Private Secretary (Appoint-ments), Colonial Office, Downing-street, S.W. 1.

EAST AFRICAN MEDICAL SERVICE.The Medical staffs of the Kenya Colony and

Protectorate, the Uganda, Nyasaland, Somaliland,and Zanzibar Protectorates, and the TanganyikaTerritory form one service, the members of whichare liable to be posted to any of the Dependenciesas the exigencies of the service may require. Thepreferences of individual officers are, however, takeninto consideration as far as possible. ,

Selected candidates are appointed as medicalofficers on probation in the first instance for twoyears, at the end of which period their appoint-ments are made permanent if their service hasbeen satisfactory. Unless the Secretary of Statedirects to the contrary, they are required toattend a course of instruction at the Londonor Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine beforetaking up their appointments. If such a course

is not taken before proceeding to East Africa, theyare required to take it during their first leave ofabsence. Medical officers (but not sanitation officers)are permitted to take private practice at some

stations, on the understanding that they give pre-cedence to their official duties. It must be understoodthat additions to their income from this source arenot likely to be substantial.The currency in different Dependencies in East

Africa varies. In Kenya, Uganda, and the Tangan-yika Territory, an East African shilling (one-twentiethof a pound sterling) is the standard coin. Salariesand sterling allowances are issued locally in respect ofresident service at a fixed rate of 20 shillings to thepound sterling. A special local allowance, averaging15 per cent. of sterling salaries and allowances is atpresent issued in respect of resident service. Thequestion of the continuance or otherwise of theallowance will be subject to review on Dec. 31st,1925. In Zanzibar and Somaliland the Indian rupeeis the standard coin, and for the present sterlingsalaries and allowances are issued at a fixed rate of15 rupees to the pound. No local allowance is paid.In Nyasaland sterling currency is used, and no localallowance is paid.

Officers are provided with quarters free of rent(but not of rates or other similar outgoings), ifquarters are available; if quarters are not available,the Government may provide temporary accommoda-tion or alternatively, at the discretion of the Govern-ment, an allowance in lieu of quarters calculated at15 per cent. of the initial salary of an officer’s appoint-ment may be paid. The salary of a medical orsanitation officer is fi600 per annum, rising by annual

1 In the case of East Africa, preference will be given to candi-dates who are over 25 years of age. In the case of Fiji and theWestern Pacific, preference will be given to candidates who areunder 30.