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soldier. While, however, from these remarks you mayTeMgmse that I have the strongest sympathy with you, Iwant you to bear in mind that we, the Local Governmenti3oard, can only go so far as the law will allow us. Yourfirst demand is in the direction of having security of tenure.The law does not at present give you that position, and itwould require the passing of an Act of Parliament to give youthe security of tenure you desire. I do not see any prospectof time being at the disposal of the House of Commons forthe passing of such an Act during the present session. If,however, an amendment of the Public Health Acts is broughtforward at any time I shall do try best to support it andshall remember the arguments which have been so ablyplaced before me to-day. I have no doubt that in so doing Icould count on the support of Mr. Hayes Fisher and othermembers on that side of the House. I wish also to

say that, although up to the present time the Lca.1Government Board have been in the habit of recognising

appointments for one year only, we have done this on accounto the hitherto uncertain areas of local government in thiscountry; but now that the form of government has becomesettled and the country has been mapped out into more suit-able governing districts we shall be in a position to take adifferent attitude towards this question. The Board are pre-pared to use their influence (within all proper limits) with thevarious local authorities to do away with these short-periodappointments and to encourage local authorities everywhereto make these appointments for a term of years or, if pos-Gible, permanently, believing that, under such circumstances,the duties of sanitary inspectors would be discharged morefearlessly and with much more benefit to the public. TheBoard are prepared to go thus far without an Act of Parlia-ment, but in course of time I hope an Act will be passed tobring about the changes desired. With reference to thesalaries, I find that you are not as a body properly paid. Iand that in many cases the salaries are exceedingly small,and I must say that when you suggested 200 as a minimum! could not help contrasting it with the actual state ofaffairs. I find there are some sanitary inspectors receivingonly 5 a year, and some others, even where there is partrepayment by the county council, receiving salaries ofr10 a year. I fear that in many cases these salariesare not paid with a view to the discharge of onerous

duties, but are given for services which are supposed by thelocal authorities to be nominal, but which you very wellknow are not nominal and ought not to be. You may besure that we shall endeavour as far as possible to secure moreadequate remuneration for these posts. We have discouragedand raised objections in many instances to these inadequatesalaries. But you must remember that the Local GovernmentBoard cannot govern and control local matters to the extentwhich many of you seem to desire ; we can never become astrong central authority such as you would like. In theevolution of government in the country more and more powermust go to the local authorities ; the whole bent and bias ofmodern development is in that direction, and it is to localbodies, therefore, that you must primarily look for redress.This Board will be a guiding and sanctioning body ; it cannotbe a constantly interfering one ; but I can assure you thatyou will always have from the Local Government Board suchsympathy and help as they can give. The salaries must, ofcourse, to a large extent depend upon the local authorities,though in all cases the tendency of the Board will be toencourage proper and liberal, rather than inadequate, pay-ments for such valuable services as you render to the com-munity. As regards pensions, you must work that questionout for yourselves on the same basis as the Poor-law officersthroughout the country are now doing. There are Bills now3efore the House brought in by private members dealing withthe question. I direct your attention to them with a viewto your getting yourselves included in the scheme. There isa strong feeling against pensions, public opinion being morein favour of salaries being paid at such a rate as would lead’to the abolition of pensions ; but if the system is to be con-tinned I see no reason why it should not be extended tosanitary officers as well as to other officials. Lastly, withreference to the very hard case of Mr. Watson (for it must beadmitted that it is a very hard case), you must, I think,recognise that it is one of those cases in which the Board hasno real authority. The statute of 1894 enables local autho-rities to make these changes in the areas under their control,and gentlemen who are unfortunately in the position ofhaving their appointments renewed from year to year mayÓt dismissed by these authorities. But I should hope that

local authorities will not forget the faithful services renderedby these gentlemen, and that they will feel that such officershave a moral claim upon them, and that they will not on thesole ground of economy put these claims on one side and usetheir powers harshly."

Sir BENJAMIN RICHARDSON then thanked Sir W. Foster,and the deputation withdrew.

ALDERSHOT: THE SANITARY AND SOCIALCONDITIONS.

THERE have been so many rumours and reports concerningthe sanitary condition of Aldershot that it will tend torelieve unnecessary anxiety to show what is the actual stateof affairs. Briefly, it must be explained that there are twosystems of drainage-that of the town and that of the

camp. Of course, it would be much better to amalgamatethe two ; that is a point beyond dispute. The difficulty hasbeen to effect an arrangement between the civil and militaryauthorities and to settle how the expenses should be sharedbetween these two independent and widely different bodies.Aldershot as a town has very rapidly developed of late years.From a hamlet with a few hundred inhabitants it hasbecome a little town with a population of about 14,000.The town, under these circumstances, has the advantage ofbeing built on virgin soil, a soil which has never been con-taminated by old cesspools and where sewers were laid downas fast as houses were built. But difficulties have arisenwith regard to the disposal of the sewage thus collected.Some twenty years ago the town of Aldershot contractedwith a firm for the treatment and clarification of this sewagebefore its discharge into the river Black water ; but themethod of treatment was not satisfactory. Complaintswere made that the river was befouled, and a neigh-bouring authority lower down the stream entered an

action against the Aldershot authorities. They gainedtheir point. Judgment against Aldershot was obtained,and injanctions to restrain from polluting were given.Under these distressful circumstances, the town tookthe sewage works out of the hands of the contractor,who fortunately made no resistance, but seemed, on the con-trary, glad to escape from all the difficulties that had arisen.The town authorities now tried various processes of purifica-tion, and discovered that, probably in consequence of thelarge number of horses at Aldershot, their sewage was strongerthan that of most towns, and methods of purification whichgave satisfaction elsewhere did not act with sufficientenergy at Aldershot. Also there was the fact that not onlywas the sewage stronger, but that the river is small. Thus anaffluent was produced by a lime process which if thrown intoa large river would cause no trouble. It was clear, free fromcolour, and looked pure, but still contained organic elementsin solution. A large volume of water and a rapid currentwould have oxidised this small quantity of remainingimpurity, but in the comparatively stagnant waters of theBlackwater a secondary decomposition set in. Lower down,in bends of the river, black deposits were formed which,under the heat of the summer sun, soon became obnoxious.The local authorities, after taking advice, abandoned lime asa precipitant, and have since utilised Gibb’s alumina. Cakesof this precipitant are placed at the bottom of a trough andthe sewage is pumped up through them. After the precipita-tion is over the water is thrown on to land. So that thefiltration may be more perfect some thirty more acres of landhave been purchased. The land slopes ; the clarified sewageis discharged on the soil at the highest point, and is collectedagain at the lowest point in a trench dug some 5 ft. deepnear the river bank. On the grounds some root cropsand rye grass are grown. In rainy weather as manyas a million gallons of sewage have been treated and pumpedupon this ground in the twenty-four hours. The average out-fall of sewage is from 600,000 to 650,000 gallons per day, andthis for a civil population of some 15,000 persons. In spiteof these improvements in the treatment of their sewage, sometwelve months ago the Aldershot authorities were againconvicted by the County Court for polluting the river.Feeling that, under the altered circumstances, this was not afair judgment, the Aldershot authorities carried the casebefore the Court of Appeal in London and here they weresuccessful. The Court of Appeal decided that the Aldershotauthorities were using the best available means and gave

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judgment in their favour with costs. Indeed, according toanalyses, the result seems very good. For instance, theanalysis made by Professor John Attfield on Jan. 25th lastshows that per gallon there were 41’0 grains total solids,1’68 grains of free ammonia, 0’09 grain albuminoid ammonia,and 5’7 grains of chlorine in chlorides. Professor Attfieldadds the following comment : "This sample is in a mostexcellent condition. Such an affluent may safely be admittedinto any stream."

Such, briefly, is the history of the town drainage, so far,at least, as the treatment of the sewage is concerned. When,in the time of the Crimean War, the camp was first builtthere was no town of Aldershot, no sewage, and no sewagetreatment. The military authorities, therefore, had to takethis matter in their own hands, and they selected a spotwhich was to be made into a sewage farm. But the

knowledge of such questions in those days was not verygreat; in any case a most unsuitable site was selected.Instead of a sandy, porous soil, which can act as a

natural filter, it is a low peaty deposit, which cannotabsorb the large volume of camp sewage it receives. Asa consequence a good deal of the sewage is not treated atall, but allowed to escape in any condition. This campsewage farm has been the great caue of complaint for manyyears, and it certainly ought to be abolished. For this

purpose, and at the instigation of the camp medical officer,the town approached the War Department and suggestedthat experts appointed by the War Office should meet

experts appointed by the town and see if some means couldnot be devised for united action between the civil and militaryauthorities to drain both camp and town together. This

meeting was ultimately held, but the course of action thenrecommended was not adopted. Nevertheless, the need ofsome agreement was very pressing and became particularlyacute when the old wooden huts were pulled down andreplaced by handsome red brick barracks. Negotiationswere resumed, but the great difficulty rested in the factthat the military authorities were not ratepayers. Theycertainly subscribed of their own free will a certain smallannual sum towards the town expense?, but the camp isnot rated, and if the town authorities undertook to drainthe camp they would have to deal with double the amount ofsewage. The town authorities stood fast to the principlethat they were quite willing to drain the camp if the campwould pay rates ; otherwise they must leave the camp to itsown devices. This led to interminable negotiations with theTreasury, particularly as it is absolutely impossib] e to estimatethe rateable value of a camp. Rateable value is generallyestimated at what rent would be paid to occupy the propertyin question if it was vacant. But if the 14 000 or more soldierswho live in the camp buildings were all taken away not onlywould it be impossible to find tenants for their barracks, butthe town of Aldershot itself would very soon dwindle and losethe greater part of its inhabitants. However, in spite of allthese obstacles a sum has at last been fixed acceptable toboth parties, and this annual sum or rate being paid by theWar Department to the Aldershot Local Board, the latterauthority will take over the drainage of the camp. We mayhope, therefore. that the abominations of the camp sewagefarm will soon disappear, and there will be no further causefor anxiety on this head. The sewage of the camp will beas carefully clarified as is that of the town. We propose todeal with the subject of Venereal Disease at Aldershot in afuture number.

(To be continued.)

PROVISION FOR YOUNG IMBECILES.

AT the quarterly meeting of the Lancashire AsylumsBoard, held in the county hall at Preston on Feb. 28th, itwas announced that the Local Government Board hadsanctioned the borrowing of ;E26,582 for additions and com-pletions at Lancaster, Prestwich, and Whittingham Asylums.It is agreeable to note that a vote of congratulation waspassed to Dr. Wiglesworth of Rainhill Asylum upon his restore -tion to health after a serious attack by a lunatic namedHoran, who was afterwards removed to Broadni,)or as a

criminal lunatic. The ohairmar, the Rev. T. C. Royds,stated that the West Derby board of guardians bad passed aresolution in favour of special provision at the new;x6ylum atWinwick or elsewhere for young persons and children of

weak intellect. Mr. H. P. Cleaver, on behalf of a com-bined deputation of guardians, explained that they had’come on behalf of an unfortunate class of the populationunable to plead their own cause, and for whom no adequateprovision was made in the north of England. TheRoyal Albert Asylum at Lancaster was practically useless sofar as the pauper class was concerned. Neglect of thesecases was costly and it was a disgrace to the community thatno provision had been made for epileptics. Mr. Cleaverfurther stated that there were 214 cases in the workhouses ofyoung people requiring special treatment, and it would be.impossible to say how many more were kept at their ownhomes-at least treble the 214. he should estimate. Mr. A.Grey of Lancaster said his recollection was that the,seven northern counties contained about 7000 cases, of whichover 2000 were in Lancashire. The Royal Albert Asylum pro.vided for about 600 out of the whole seven counties. Therewere 136 cases in the Lancashire workhouses, and nearly 20,in county lunatic asylums. The chairman said the deputationhad made out a very good case for the careful considerationof the Board. Experience showed that only a small per.centage of imbeciles and idiots were curable, and hedid not think the ratepayers were prepared to spenaas a start at least 250,000 for an institution for weak.minded children, besides the cost of maintenance of suchaninstitution. His suggestion as a temporary measure, to supple.ment the private benevolence, would be that the juvenile,idiots in workhouses should be medically examined, and wherethere was thought to be a prospect of improvement that,they should be sent for a probationary period, at the costof the ratepayers, to the Royal Albert Asylum. Children notfavourably reported upon, or returned unimproved, should bekept in isolated wards of the workhouses, with separateairing grounds, so that the other inmates might not beafflicted by their presence and the imbeciles might not learnrough habits. Dr. J. M. Rhodes (Chorlton) said census

returns were of no value on this subject, as by personalinquiry in pronounced cases known to himself he had foundthat not 20 per cent. were returned as weak-minded. The

Royal Albert Asylum rightly refused cases of epilepsy, becausenon-epileptics deteriorated in the presence of epileptics. Hewould remind the Board that many of these children forwhom the deputation had pleaded were girls unfit to resistthe temptation of any scoundrel, with results costly to theratepayers and sadly deteriorating the population.

THE OBSTETRICAL SOCIETY OF LONDONAND ITS "DIPLOMA."

THE following is a specimen of the document in fullasgiven by the Obstetrical Society to midwives who pass theirexamination.

[COPY.]OBSTETRICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.

We hereby certify that ......................................... has passed to oursatisfaction the examination instituted by the Obstetrical Society ofLondon, and that she is in our opinion a skilled midwife competent toattend natural labour.

G. ERNEST HERMAN, M.B., President,F. H. CHAMPNEYS, M.D., Chairman.JOHN PHILIPS, M.D.,

}AMAND ROUTH, M.D., Examinerg.M. HANDFIELD-JONES, M.D.,WILLIAM DUNCAN, M.D., honoraryWM. DAKIN, M.D., j Secretaries.

I undertake to abide by all the rules and regulations of the ObstetricalSociety with regard to all the duties and conduct of midwives, andtssubmit to the jurisdiction of its council in the decision of all mattersrelating to my conduct as a midwife. I further agree that in easelshall be hereafter convicted of any criminal offence or be guilty of anyact or conduct which in the opinion of the council renders me unfit n."

unworthy to hold its diploma, the same may be forfeited by a resolutionof the council, in which case I will, on receiving notice in writing otsuch resolution, to be served either personally or by having the same à;

my then present or last-named place of abode in the United Kingdomforthwith give up such diploma to the President or to one of the secre’taries for the time being of the societv, and I agree that my name Pi3vbe removed from the Register of Midwives kept by the society, aud 1promise henceforth to desist from the use of any designation or titbimplying possession of such diploma. [Seal]

At its recent meeting the Executive Committee of the, General Medical Council, replying to a letter from tha. hon. secretary of the Obstetrical Society asking tube General’ Medical Council to point out in what respect the certificate