1099ST. ANDREWS UNIVERSITY ASSESSORSHIP.

trustworthy wholesale houses, employing responsible and ac-complished chemists, that the purchase or sale of adulterateddrugs should more frequently be punished by law, therebeing no reason, except a greed of illicit gain, for thesebeing found on any premises. Serious consequences have

recently followed the use of drugs supposed to be genuineby the local chemists, and in Scotland two of these gentle-men have paid heavy damages, apparently as the scape-goats of firms on whom they relied. It may be hoped thatthese cases will draw attention to an evil of wide extent,though Eeldom having such terrible results. The matter of

dosage, now so uncertain, should be reconsidered by com-petent men, and one or more of our active societies mighthere find a most profitable field for the labours of a committee.

Annotations.41 Ne quid nimis."

ST. ANDREWS UNIVERSITY ASSESSORSHIP.

Is it a sign of a Conservative reaction or of the speedyprospect of an appeal to the country that the election of anassessor to the General Council of the University of St.Andrews should have taken, for the first time, a seriouspolitical turn, and have attracted so much attention insome of the great organs of public opinion? The contestlooks like a skirmish before a Parliamentary battle. TheStandard takes up Sir Richard Cross’ candidature on

the Conservative side, and the Liberal organs Dr. Richard.son’s, as if a seat in the Legislature were at stakeinstead of a seat once or twice a year in the old sea-bound

University, with at most five other members of the Uni-versity Court, to transact the ordinary business connectedwith the superintendence of colleges, examinerships, andcommunications with the sister institutions. Whatever maybe the cause of so much interest in the election, we regretmuch that a distinct party politician, having no connexionwith the University, should have been put up as a candidatefor the office against a graduate and tried friend, whoseexperience of the duties, extending over many years, werenever more needed than at this moment, when any politicaldivision in its own pale is of all things the most hazardousto the fate of the University. In a letter to the Standard,the partisans of Sir R. Cross, seeing plainly the mistakeinto which they have fallen, try to explain it away by play- I,ing upon an accidental error of a newspaper in order to

insinuate, what was never the fact, that Dr. Richardsonhas changed his political opinions; by assigning to him,without the slightest authority, a political partisanship; andby accusing him of monopolising a post which, as he hasshown in reply, he has never coveted, and to which he hasalways been openly, honourably, and independently electedby the constituency. There may be institutions suffi-

ciently strong to bear such political manifestations as

these ; there may be institutions sufficiently feeble to begoverned by such manifestations. But St. Andrews Univer-

sity, not being strong enough nor weak enough for the trial,must, of necessity, like a house divided against itself, sufferfrom it. It will suffer from nothing so seriously as from avictory which may tend to transform it from a strong living organisation, deriving its strength from a large medical,scientific, and loyal constituency, into a mere central con-tral Conservative association, with which the large majorityof its graduates will be connected by no sympathy, and by notie except the nominal one of a titular distinction. We haveonly to conceive what the University of London itself wouldbe if its graduates had no voice in it, to foresee what the

University of St. Andrews will become if, by politicalstrategy, it be led away from the natural source of its

power, influence, and stability.

THE HOSPITAL SUNDAY FUND.

THE annual meetiog of the constituents of the HospitalSunday Fund was held at the Mansion House on Mondaylast under the presidency of the Lord Mayor. His lordshipafter a very hearty expression of feeling on behalf of thehospitals was obliged to leave, and requested Sir RiadonBennett to take the chair. Such is the confidence reposedby the public in the Council of the Metropolitan HospitalSunday Fund that the annual meeting of the constituentsgenerally passes off almost formally, with proposals for

continuing the rules of the constitution of the Fund, andmaking such changes in the council as the death or resigna-tion of membership may require. This year there was alittle diversion provided for the constituents by the friendsof the Hospital for Incurables in the form of an attempt toalter Rule 7, which says that, " No institution, to thebenefits of which admission can only be gained by electionfrom the general body of subscriber, shall be eligible forgrants from the Fund."

" The amendment was moved in a

very able speech by the Rev. J. W. Bennett, M.A. Hewas supported by various speakers, amongst others by Mr.Allcroft, who is both a member of the council of the Fundand officially connected with the Hospital for Incurables.The discussion was warm on both sides and good tempered.But it was felt that the rule of the Fund which hadwithstood similar attacks before should not be lightlyaltered, and it was finally agreed to dispose of the otherformal business and to take the decision of the constituentson the point raised at a subsequent meeting to be called forthe special purpose of discussing it.

GANGRENOUS SEPTICÆMIA.

THE researches of MM. Arloing and Chauveau have

rightly been estimated as of the highest value and import-ance in the field of experimental pathology. These observershave just published the results of some fresh investigationson the pathogeny and prophylaxis of ’’ gangrenous or gaseoussepticaemia of man," and we will praceed to point out thechief conclusions at which they have arrived. It is believedthat this disease is a surgical complication, of which theexclusive cause is the introduction of a specific bacteriuminto a wound. In man the bacterium exists in the connec-tive tissue which surrounds the wound, and in the serosityof bulle which may be developed in its neighbourhood.The organism is a short, thick, mobile rod, of homogeneousaspect, or else provided with one spore (rarely two) at one orother extremity. When the bacillus appears in the blood atthe end of the disease, and sometimes only after death, itslength is less than in the local lesion, and the organism maybe in the form of a micrococcus. This bacillus can be inocu.lated on several mammals (horse, ass, sheep, pig, dog, cat,guinea-pig, white rat, rabbit, duck, and fowl) ; but the rabbitis not very susceptible to this disease, in this respect present-ing a marked contrast with another form of septicaemia.The best method of inoculation is undoubtedly directlyinto the connective tissue with the aid of a syringe. Theminimum dose capable of causing death when injected intothe connective tissue never kills when injected into theveins or arteries or trachea; in the latter cases a rigor andtransient fever are all the phenomena observed. If the doseof the vascular injection be large enough, death ensues,with well-marked affection of the serous membranes. Itis difficult if not impossible to communicate the diseaseby way of the digestive tract. Attempts to inoculate ahealthy wound involving the skin, connective tissue, and

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muscles were unsuccessful. On the contrary, the virusfinds a very favourable soil in dead tissues (tissits mortifiés)not exposed to the air. If the poison injected into the bloodis confined to an organ separated from the general circulatorysystem, or if it escapes into the connective tissue in conse-quence of ruptures of vessels, considerable local mischiefresults. Hence there is a possibility of infection of woundsindirectly from without. Protection from the disease isafforded (sheep and dog) by the successive injection of twoor three moderate doses of virus into the blood circulation.Inoculation into the connective tissue of protected animalsgives rise to a simple circumscribed phlegmon which runsits course in eight days. The pus from such a localisation

may contain the specific microbe, and may act as the

original virus. Gangrenous septicfcmia may be transmittedfrom the mother to the foetus. The virus in the fresh stateoffers great resistance to the action of antiseptic agents, at atemperature of 15° C. Nascent sulphurous acid alone isable to destroy it after twenty-four hours’ contact. Alcoholicsolution of eucalyptol (1 in 10), of permanganate of potash(1 in 50), of nitrate of silver (1 in 500), and vapours of bromineeffect a simple attenuation of its activity after forty-eighthours’ contact, and then the effects are not constant. Butat a temperature of 38° C., carbolic acid in solution of 3 to 5per cent. kills the microbe. Heat alone at 90° to 100° C.

destroys the bacterium in a quarter of an hour. In thedried state the virus is extremely resistant. However, itcan be destroyed after immersion in a hot bath (120° C.) infrom ten to fifteen minutes. It results from all this thatthere are very few chances of successfully preventing theextension of the disease in the tissues. The vast import-ance of thoroughly disinfecting all the dressings and instru.ments employed in surgery is thoroughly established. Heatoffers itself as the most efficacious means for attaining theseends.

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THE DIFFICULTIES OF DROWNING.

ONE of the most popular methods of voluntarily quittingthis world is becoming daily more and more difficult, at

least so far as our neighbours are concerned. The veryelaborate precautions taken in Paris to prevent personscommitting suicide by drowning themselves in the Seinehave produced encouraging and remarkable results. Theyare due, in a great measure, to the initiative of Dr. A. Voisin,of the Salpétrière. It is under his direction that stations, atshort distances one from the other have been increased innumber and supplied with improved material. There is

notably in each station or pavilion a table of stout woodwith a ledge for the patient’s feet, while the opposite halfof the board can be raised, so as to lift the head andshoulders. The table itself can be warmed, and there is abath and hot blankets close at hand. On the walls are

hung clearly written instructions that anyone can understandand carry out, while a telegraphic wire, connecting each ofthese stations with a central post will bring medical assist-ance in the course of a few minutes. From 1875 to 1877there were but three stations thus organised on the banksof the Seine, but these sufficed to give succour to 91 cases,and out of this number only four died. From 1878 to 1880there were five stations, and no less than 276 cases werebrought in, out of which 15 only terminated fatally. The

following year the number of pavilions had been increasedto eight, and these received in the year 160 cases, followedby only 4 deaths. Basing his arguments on this experience,Dr. Voisin concludes that, though formerly it was difficult to save the life of a person who had been more than three minutes under the water, we are now absolutely certain ofrestoring those who are submerged for five minutes. Somecases of complete asphyxia have been cured, and the detailsare_ given concerning "patients who have recovered after

remaining a quarter of an hour in the water. As the numberof suicides is constantly increasing in Paris, these facts andfigures should discourage those who seek to drown theirsorrows in the waters of the Seine. They are also a strongproof of what skill and patience, when allied with scien.tific knowledge, can accomplish.

I THE HEALTH EXHIBITION AND THE CITY GUILDS.IT is satisfactory to find that the great city companies

are showing a disposition to take an active part in theHealth Exhibition of next year. It would be strange,indeed, were they not to do so, and to manifest no eager-ness to seize upon an opportunity of showing that among therevivals of the present age must be counted a revival of thesense of duty among the great guilds whose function it

nominally is, and actually was, to control the leading indus-tries of the country. Food, dress, the dwelling, the work.shop, and education, are all subjects in which the greatcompanies are interested. A great deal of the food of

Europe comes into London before it is distributed, and itis only proper that the guilds should concern themselvesin a show which cannot be without its influence on thetrade of the country. The subject of dress affords a

great opportunity to the Merchant Tailors and the en-

lightened guild of Cloth workers, whose efforts to improvea technical knowledge of woollen manufactures is wellknown in Bradford and other parts of Yorkshire, andwho will now have a chance of proving to the citizens ofLondon that they have a raison cl’ctre. Seeing that agreat proportion of the population is groaning beneath thegrievous yoke of the plumber, it is to be hoped that theworshipful company which is supposed to interest itself inplumbing will really try to make the exhibits in this im-portant branch of sanitary work of substantial use to work-men. Nearly all the companies are interested in education.Are they not the trustees of Gresham College, and of

many charities and other schools throughout the country,and will they fight shy of this opportunity of giving publicaccount of their stewardship? The idea of forming a specialcity subcommittee is a very good one ; and there can be nodoubt that the City of London will stand next year as

fcccile princeps among the great centres of industry whichwill compete for honours at South Kensington.

POISONING THE ENEMY.

. THE charge of mixing poison with wine, as brought againstthe Rev. Mr. Shaw in the Madagascar incident, is no newone in the experience of the French army. An almost

parallel case occurred during the Peninsular war. In June,1808, Murat, the French commander, left Madrid for thebaths of Bareges, having suffered from colic, followed by anintermittent fever; at the same time it happened thatseveral French soldiers died at Madrid after exhibiting whatwere considered symptoms of poisoning. Immediatelysuspicion fell on the wine-shops, and the wine from differentventas was collected. The French commander, however,on this occasion acted with greater prudence than didAdmiral Pierre, for, instead of acting on his own suspicion,and so creating a panic, he referred the wineto Baron Larrey,who was head of the medical staff. The wine was analysed,and found to contain a certain quantity of laurel.water,which is used to flavour and strengthen Spanish wines, aslitharge is to correct acidity in the lighter wines of France.But this laurel-water was not found in more than usualquantity, so Baron Larrey dismissed the idea of deliberateintent at poisoning, and came to the conclusion that whilstthe natives being accustomed to its use, and moreover beingin the habit of mixing it with water, and perhaps drinkingit in smaller quantities, since they were called upon to pay,

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the French, who were not habituated to laurel-water, anddid not dilute the wine with water, and moreover drank

freely as they did not pay, were really affected by it. The

Freneh, as soldiers, have the character of being the mostdistinguished requisitionists among European troops, but the remembrance of the Madrid affair and the Madagascar iicident ought to teach them to examine before tasting.Should they be called upon to make a campaign in China,tiey will doubtless come across many strange viands andèoubtflll drinks, and if they do not exercise the caution thebove lessons impress they are likely again to find that whatis "one man’s meat is often another man’s poison."

DEATH OF A SURGEON FROM THE VIOLENT IGALE.

OUR Manchester correspondent sends us the followingparticulars of the melancholy death of Mr. Carruthers :-Among the several fatal accidents that occurred as the resultof the violent storm on the night of the llth inst. none wasmore sad than that which happened to a member of our ownprofession, the late Mr. R. Carruthers. On that nighthe was in attendance on a patient, Mrs. Unsworth,whose thigh had been broken by the falling of a

chimney stack into the bedroom where she was sleeping,and whilst engaged in setting the fracture a second stackfell, burying both doctor and patient; when they were extri-cated it was found that Mr. Carruthers was suffering froman injury similar to, but more severe than, that of his patient-viz., a compound double fracture of the upper third ofthe thigh. Both patient and surgeon were at once removedto the Royal Infirmary. Up to Friday Mr. Carruthers ap-peared to be going on well, but on that day the wound wasfound to be sloughy, and a gangrenous condition of the partsrapidly set in with some indefinite septicæmic symptoms,and he rapidly sank on Saturday and Sunday, dying lateon Sunday evening. The post-mortem revealed no otherinjury of any importance but that to the thigh; several

ecchymoses were found beneath the serous membranes of thepleura and heart. Mr. Carruthers had but recently com-menced practice as a surgeon, qualifying only during lastyear. He had been an industrious student of the infirmary,and had been exceedingly successful during the time he hadbeen in practice. He leaves a widow and three youngchildren, who are unfortunately but very ill provided for,and a public subscription has been opened on their behalf.

CAUSES OF PAUPERISM.

IN the report of THE LANCET Commission, 1880, on

the new sick asylums, the fact that sickness, and theworking of the Poor Law were the chief factors in theincrease of pauperism that had taken place of late years,was especially insisted on. In spite of the beneficialeffects of higher wages, cheaper food, and many other advan-tages which Mr. Giffen has ably pointed out, the pauperclass, or, to speak more accurately, the class that hangs onthe borderland of pauperism, the residuum, or, as some

have called it, the "sunken sixth," has terribly increased.The distress has at times been more severe than now ; butwith the reappearance of prosperity the spasm has passed.Now, without any appearance of acute diminution of nationalprosperity, the evil seems to have become chronic, and tobe daily increasing. The fact is we are feeling the evileffects of the Poor-law system. The many thousandsof children brought up under the shadow of the work-house system, without self-respect, since they are stigma-tised as paupers, with no habits of thrift inculcated, andever ready to. return to their only home, at present form aconsiderable proportion of the population. Though, by therecent establishment of schools apart from the workhouse and

under more humane influences, the "pauper" childrenof some parishes make a better start in life, stillit must be many years before the old workhouse breeddies out, and the pauper child ceases to recruit the vagrantand vicious circles of our large towns. But another indict-ment must be preferred against the Poor-law system-that of pauperising respectable families by placing difficul-ties in the way of giving relief in times of sicknesswhen a little help would have enabled them to tide overtheir difficulty. An attempt to remedy this state of thingshas been made by the establishment of sick asylums apartfrom the workhouse, where the artisan can be promptlyattended to. Unfortunately, this system does not work sosatisfactorily, in this direction, as it was hoped. True, theasylums are full, but the proportion of chronic cases exceedthe acute; and the bad name attaching to anything con-nected with Poor-law relief deters many who wish to bestill considere,l " respectable " from applying for admis-sion till it is too late for treatment to effect a permanentrecovery. How many working men are there now hauntingthe out-patient rooms of the hospitals who are losing fleshand have more or less pulmonary catarrh, who, with alittle timely rest in a warm atmosphere and some cod-liver oil, would soon be set up and at work again,but who, failing to get it, struggle on at their employ-ment till the bronchial catarrh becomes pneumonic, andfinally the poor wretch dies of consumption, and hiswhole family most likely becomes pauperised. These cases,and many others of a like nature, in their earlier stages, canonly be treated as out-patients at our large hospitals ; butthis is of little service, since rest and seclusion from incle-ment weather are imperatively required. What is wantedis a system of relief that will deal with distress andsickness most thoroughly in their incipient stage, with.out in any way degrading the recipient, and also towin back the confidence of the "respectable" classes

by the promise that they will be treated with care

and consideration if they seek refuge within the establish.ments opened for their relief. To effect this we ought inthe first place to select our relieving officers from a classsuperior to that from which they are now drawn, whilst wethink the efficient administration of the Poor Law generallywould be best carried out under Imperial rather than as atpresent under purely local administration. One thing, how-ever, is certain : if we wish to control the growing tide ofpauperism, an inquiry must be instituted into the workingof the present system of relief, and its abuses amended, forof the factors at work producing the present state of affairsinefficient, Poor-law relief is one of the most potent.

NOTIFICATION OF DISEASE IN LIVERPOOL.

IT is a great pity that some means cannot be devised forpreventing the weekly disputes in Liverpool about infectiousdiseases and their notification. The statements of Dr. Taylorto which we alluded a few weeks ago as to the effects of- non-notification in certain instances, have led to unseemlydifferences in the Health Committee between the medicalofficer of health on the one hand and the medical men inattendance on the other. Even matters of fact are variouslystated. Thus, according to the official records, thirteen casesand five deaths have occurred as the result of infection fromthree cases of a malignant kind of scarlet fever in Reynolds-street, in the house of a milk dealer. The patients were a mother,her child, and a niece. The mother died. There was no notifi-cation to the sanitary authorities. The medical practitioneron the other hand, Dr. Smith, denied that more than one ofthe customers of the milk-seller had scarlet fever in his house.

Though admitting that he had not given any sign to themedical officer of health, he said he had sent a certificate tothe School Board. We repeat such differences are unseemly,

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and in the face of so much disease and misery should be ad-justed. It certainly is not permissible that the milk businessshould be carried on in small premises, where the milk isstored in a room communicating by a staircase with the room

. n which three cases of scarlet fever are being treated, downwhich staircase everything from the aick room had to becarried.

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A CASE OF LARGE ILIAC ANEURISM CUREDBY OPERATION.

DR. LA.NGE, of New York, recently showed to the SurgicalSociety of .that city a man thirty-seven years old who hadbeen under his care in Bellevue Hospital. On his admissionhe presented a tumour with all the characters of an aneurism,almost filling the left iliac fossa, and bulging the abdominalwall just above the fold of the groin. The upper boundaryof the tumour was one inch below the umbilicus. There wasno pulsation to be detected in the femoral artery, and thewhole limb was colder than its fellow, blue, weak and

painful along the front of the thigh. In view of the rapidgrowth of the tumour, it was determined to ligature the common iliac artery, and as the tumour so filled the iliacfossa the usual operation was deemed impracticable. Ac-

cordingly, on July 26th of this year, Dr. Lange opened the ab-domen by a median incision six inches long, beginning an inchand a half above the umbilicus ; the small intestines weredrawn out from the pelvis and wrapped in warm flat spongesoutside the abdomen. The artery was then tied with silk, theends of the ligature being cut short. The operation is statedto have been performed antiseptically. The patient re-

covered, and left the hospital five weeks after the operation.When exhibited to the New York Surgical Society (Nov.13th) the tumour had shrunk to the size ot a largeorange. There was no pain or numbness of the limb, butthere was still an absence of pulsation in the femoral artery,and the limb was a little colder, paler, and less well-nourishedthan the opposite one.

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SANITARY CONDITION OF THE INNER TEMPLE.

A REPORT has reached us of a case of typhoid fever in theInner Temple, and since the conditions of life in the sets ofchambers there are somewhat peculiar, a word of cautionmay not be inopportune. A word of caution seems themore necessary as doubtless many of the sanitary fittingsare of an archaic type, or perhaps modern fittings have beenput into dwellings which were never designed for their

reception. With common soil-pipes running through everyfloor of a building, with the waste-pipes of cisterns andlavatories communicating directly with these common soil-pipes, and possibly with a common supply of water for

drinking and for closet flushing, it is evident that the fellow-lodgers of a case of typhoid would run some considerablerisk, and we trust the Benchers will take the sanitary con-dition of their property into serious consideration.

CREMATION.

THE great difficulty about cremation and the principalobstacle to its general adoption is the danger of affordingfacilities for the commission of murder by poison. Wouldit not be possible to organise a system of post-mortemexaminations in every case of intended cremation so as to

get rid of the difficulty? Beyond question it would be a goodsocial policy, so far as health is concerned, to burn bodiesinstead of burying them; but it will not be possible to adoptcremation as a general practice until society has safeguardsagainst the terrible danger to life which cremation un-

doubtedly creates. Such hideous crimes as those committed

by Smethurst, Pritchard, and other notorious poisoners wouldnever have been discovered if cremation had been in vogue.

CHRISTMAS KINDNESS.

W E are approaching that season when if a Christian

man has a hungry enemy he would wish to feed him,and, if cold, to warm him. How much stronger mustbe these benevolent sentiments towards hungry and nakdchildren who have no enemies but those of circumstanceand misfortune ? In common with our contemporaries, mehave pleasure in commending all schemes for giving tlepinched and the poor a little help at this season. Mrs.Austin, 44, Finsbury-pavement, pleads for a Wednesdaydinner of Irish stew for the London Cottage Missior,Salmon’s-lane, Limehouse; Mr. A. A. Knight, of Knights-ville, Amersham-park, for funds for a Christmas dinner atthe Hackney Juvenile Mission and Ragged Schools; R. J.Moser, Esq., 45, Bedford-square, Treasurer of Cheque-alley Schools, B anhill- row, is guarantee for the same to manyhungry children on Christmas day, as he has been for manyyears past. The East London Mission, represented by theHon. Superintendent, Mr. G. Hopkins, 263, Cable-street, St.George’s, E., and, if last, certainly not least, Mr. GeorgeFuller, of the Sermon-lane Mission, also deserve specialmention. We need not multiply instances. Oar object isto stimulate that charity which devises liberal things. Ifwe have to be critical, let us defer our criticism till after thecold days of Christmas; meantime, charity is the immediateduty.

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THE SUSPENSION OF DR. ROGERS.

WE are glad to hear that Dr. Joseph Rogers has been reoinstated by the Local Government Board in’his position in thePoland-street Workhouse. The tone of the letter in whichthe removal of his suspension was announced we will notattempt to criticise ; suffice it to say that before reading itwe should have refused to believe that such a productioncould emanate from the department of which Sir CharlesDilke is president. This is the second time that Dr. Rogershas incurred the wrath of the Poor-law authorities, and oneach occasion he;has received the hearty support and sympathyof his professional brethren, and of the public generally.We have noted Dr. Rogers’ action in his official capacityfor some years, and we can confidently affirm that in theperformance of his duties the principle of economy to theratepayers and offair treatment to the poor has been his guide.We congratulate Dr. Rogers on having regained his posi.tion, and the Local Government Board on having decided,somewhat tardily it is true, not to relinquish its claim onthe services of an old and faithful servant.

WESTON’S WALK.

WE have much pleasure in publishing the followinginteresting notes of Mr. Weston’s progress in his pedestrianillustration of what can be done without alcohol. They showthe indomitable pluck and perseverance which have alwayscharacterised him. He is to rest on the Christmas Day,which, following close on the rest of the Sunday, which healways studiously observes, will, we trust, invigorate himfor a triumphant finish. On Wednesday night, Dec. 19th,1883, Westou, at Bedford, completed 1250 miles. Everyday, except Sundays, he has walked his allotted fifty miles.When he started, shortly after midnight, from WestminsterBridge, on Nov. 28th, he had a bad cold, was hoarse, andslightly feverish. In a week, on very bad roads and invery severe weather, he walked off this malaise. On thethird day a blister developed on the left heel, which brokeout a second time in a week, and was so troublesome thatone afternoon, all the time he was walking, the wound wasraw and bleeding. A week ago it was much better, andnow is almost well. He has never failed on any day notonly to walk at least fifty miles, but also to deliver an

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aadress afterwards, even, on one occasion, as late as 11 P.M.Be generally starts about 4 A.M., and finishes about 8 P.M.,taking an hour and a half to dinner and fifteen minutes tobreakfast, besides a few minutes to drink a cup of tea earlyin the evening. At the end of his 1075th mile, on beingweighed, he was found to have lost 15 lb. since he leftlondon. He is in good health and spirits, and feels confidentof success. On several occasions, soon after setting out intie morning, he has been overcome by drowsiness, but ahalf-hour’s nap has refreshed him so that he has been able

vigorously to resume his task. At first he walks slowly,steadily improving his pace as the day goes on.

THE HAFFENDEN-HARDIE CASE.

WITH the trial and acquittal of Mrs. Hardie at the CentralCriminal Court the curtain has dropped on the last act of thedrama, in which the Public Prosecutor played a conspicuousand unenviable part. It will be remembered that the defend-ant was charged with having procured her own miscarriage byillegal means, and with the aid of the late Mr. Haffenden,her medical attendant. The latter, crushed by the weightof the unfounded accusation made against him, soughtdelivery from his trouble by taking his own life. We have

fully commented in these columns on the fla.grant abuse oflegal power that helped to hurry a highly respected pro-fessional brother to his doom. It was practically a foregoneconclusion that the female defendant would obtain herrelease when the jury came to record their verdict. Dr.

Barnes, in his evidence, stated that the treatment and con-duct of the case were such as any medical man would have

adopted under the circumstances. It is a matter of regretthat this evidence was not in the police-court depositions,for then in all probability the grand jury would have ignoredthe bill, and the unfortunate woman would not have beensubjected to the pain and humiliation of standing in thefelon’s dock. Look at the case from whatever standpointwe may, we find that if ordinary care and foresight had beenused, the Public Prosecutor would never have taken thefatal step of directing a criminal investigation. This func-

tionary has been far from happy of late in the exercise ofhis discretion-or indiscretions,-and the issue of the recenttrial ought to serve as a warning to him for the future.

THE RELATIONS OF THE OPTIC NERVES.

IT has been shown by Knies and Horner, by injections ofPrussian blue in dead bodies, that there is a direct communica-tion between the two retinm by the way of the optic nervesand chiasma. Pfluger has corroborated these assertions bymaking injections in dogs with a few drops of a saturatedsolution of fluorescine. This fluid is forced into the opticnerve, so that it passes not only into the subarachnoid butalso into the subdural space. Two minutes after the injec-tion both eyes showed a fluorescence of the retina, whichpersisted for five weeks. A small quantity injected intothe orbital cellular tissue gave no result.

LONDON DUSTBINS.

THE need for an improved system of refuse disposal andremoval in the metropolis has long been felt, and theNational Health Society have made inquiry as to whatcould be done in the matter. According to their report itappears that they have arrived at a conclusion that thedifficulties in the way of the adoption of a uniform systemare too great to be at present met. They further allege thatthe best efforts of the vestries are often frustrated by theaction of householders, and that no plan will be thoroughlyefficient unless the householders will help in the matter.The remedies they at present suggest are that all vegetable

and animal refuse should in the first instance be dried underthe grate and then burnt; and that by the adoption ofmovable metal tubs instead of the ordinary dustbins, suchfacilities for frequent scavenging will be afforded that theservants of the sanitary authorities or of the contractors willnot object to call much more frequently than hitherto.Both points are of importance, and we are certain that thefailure on the part of many householders to burn all organicrefuse has mainly been due to the offensiveness of the

process, a matter which will be entirely overcome if the

simple plan of first drying such matters in the ash traybeneath the fire be adopted.

MR. GAY.

THE profession generally will share the deep regret ofthemembers of the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons ofEngland at the retirement of Mr. Gay from the Council.Mr. Gay has been forced to take this step not so much fromany sudden or serious failure of health as from a prudent desire to relieve his over-taxed strength from some of itstoo many burdens. During the twelve years he has sat inthe Council no one has been more devoted to the bestinterests of the College, more zealous for its dignity andusefulness, or more mindful of the ties that bind the Fellowsand Members to their College. In his retirement Mr. Gaymay rely upon the continued respect and good-will of hisprofessional brethren, the esteem and affection of his

colleagues and friends. -

FREE LIBRARIES.’ THE institution of free libraries is a feature of our timewhich carries with it a promise of important benefits. It isthe fitting accompaniment of that enlightened policy whichfounded the system of State education, and as the influenceof that system extends and deepens, the need of a free litera-ture will be increasingly felt, for what the dictionary is inlanguage the library is in education. The advantages ofwell chosen reading will be admitted alike by the man ofsentiment and by the pure utilitarian. If we regard it as anamusement it may be said to hold that place in mentalrecreation which is occupied by walking among physicalexercises. The mind in the one case, the body in the other,is engaged in a regular, varied, and, as a rule, familiarmovement, such as must confer pleasure and does not entailmuch fatigue. On this principle the diversion of lightreading has often been found to relieve the weary close of atedious working day. Again, study in some degree is nowindispensable to almost anyone who would keep himselfabreast of his fellows even in the most ordinary affairsThe handicraftsman is no exception. Much of the informa-tion necessary for his work may, it is true, be obtained, andis even best obtained, elsewhere than in books, but therestill remains a moiety, theoretical but important, whichexists in printed form, and which is essential for even prac-tical excellence. On all grounds it is to be hoped, and it isnot vain to hope, that the free library, that boon to theintelligent poor man, may at no very distant date becomeas national in reality, if not in official cast, as the free school.

REMARKABLE SUICIDAL INJURY.

IN Dr. Ringer’s report on the Health of Amoy, publishedin the Imperial Maritime Customs, an account of a most de.termined case of suicide is given, which is remarkable for theoccurrence of an extraordinary accident. The man, after

having attempted self-murder in many various ways, at lastseized the opportunity of choking himself by thrusting thelong handle of a feather broom down his throat. After greatdifficulty the greater part of the rattan handle was with.drawn, but, to the dismay of Dr. Ringer, it was found that a

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considerable portion was wanting. In a few days the patientdied from exhaustion. At the autopsy a laceration on theleft side of the pharynx communicated with an abscess,which again opened into the right pleural sac. In the puru-lent offensive fluid of the right pleura a piece of rattau,5j1ü inches long, was found floating.

THE CARE OF EPILEPTICS.

IT is very seldom indeed that an epileptic dies acci-

dentally. This reflects the greatest credit on the managersand attendants of asylum?, in which large numbers ofthese poor people are crowded together. The very fact oftheir beiog together is a measure of safety. It is interestingto see how they help each other; and as, after a fit, the uncoii-scious victim is often rapidly " himself again " and obliviousof what has happened to him, he takes a kindly and not onthe whole distressful interest in those around him, whom hegenerally regards as much worse than himself. " Accidentswill happen," but it is well that when an epileptic does diein a fit there should be a very close scrutiny of the circum-stances under which so untoward a misadventure hasoccurred. Obviously no such death can happen without somedegree of neglect or carelessness on the part of those who arecharged with the care of the afflicted.

TEMPORARY LIGATURE OF ARTERIES.

MR. ARTHUR NEVE, of the Mission Hospital, Kashmir,has recently had to treat many cases of very vascular goitre.He has found that in these cases the superior thyroid arterieswere specially enlarged, and his treatment has been to

ligature these vessels. Finding that in some cases a verytroublesome dissection was required to isolate these arteriesfrom their companion veins and the surrounding tissue, hehas been led to pass a curved needle, armed with catgut,into the tumour beneath the pulsating vessel, and tie theends of the ligature over a piece of cork laid on the skin abovethe vessel. This he has allowed to remain for from four toseven days, and in each of four cases in which he has doneit he has found the arteries to become permanently occludedand great and rapid diminution in the size of the tumourto follow.

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SHUTER MEMORIAL.

AT a meeting of the latn Mr. Shuter’s friends, held atSt. Bartholomew’s Hospital on Nov. 12th, it was decided tocollect subscriptions towards a memorial to the late Mr.James Shuter. Mr. Bruce Clark (46, Harley-street), andMr. A. C. Fletcher (12A, Charterhouse-square, E. C.), wereappointed honorary secretaries, and Dr. Robert Martin aand Mr. Luther Holden treasurers of the fund. Either ofthese four gentlemen will be glad to receive subscriptions.The form the memorial shall take has been left open for the

present. -------

PSYCHICAL RESEARCH.

A BODY calling itself "The Society for Psychical Re-search " is addressing a series of what must surely be serio-comic interrogatories to the public in relation to "hallucina-tions " and " dreams. " An invitation is thrown out to all theweak-minded people who think they have seen "ghosts " or" spectres," or been " touched " by mysterious shades, andto all the dreamers who dream dreams of the nature of

"coincidences," to state their experiences. Here is a grandopportunity for the mad folk outside Bedlam. If it werenot for the trouble involved, we should like to peruse the massof "communications" these invitations will be certain tocall forth. There are, however, two preliminary questionswhich ought to be asked. First, has any " society " of pre-

sumably sane men a moral right to instigate the crazypublic to formulate its "mysterious" experiences? Weknow that the most disastrous consequences sometimes ensneto weak brains from dwelling too intently on sabjects ofthe nature of "lixed ideas." It is, therefore, doubthlwhether this sort of thing ought to be allowed. No sober.minded person can doubt that all impressions of seeing, orhearing, or feeling spiritual manifestations must be morbid.Such things exist only in the imaginations of the persons whoare subject to them. -

THE HOSPITALS AND CHRISTMAS.

IN the present impecuniosity of the London hospitals, weshall be forgiven if we remind the kind and the liberal that nocause can have stronger claims upon them than these in-stitutions have. If, in addition to the f30,000 which theHospital Sunday Fund gathers for the hospitals in Mid-

summer, Christmas charity would give them £ 30,000 in

midwinter, an immensely larger amount of suffering wouldbe relieved, and a great hurden of care lifted off the shouldersof the benevolent men who administer them.

THE OPHTHALMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

THE Council, of the Ophthalmological Society at their lastmeeting appointed a committee to take steps to form acollection of books, instruments, drawings, &c., relating toophthalmic medicine and surgery. The committee will be

glad to receive any present of the above, whether frommembers of the Society or others. Communications shouldbe addressed to the secretaries of the Society, at 11, Chandos.street.

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ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S HOSPITAL.

MR. BRUCE CLARKE was, on Thursday last, elected, by amajority of two to one over his opponent, Mr. Macready,assistant-surgeon to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, in place ofMr. Shuter.

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THE GRAND JUNCTION CANAL BASIN.

WE are glad to hear that the directors of the GrandJunction Company have undertaken to clean out the Pad-dington basin four times a year, and to lay down a firm anddurable basement. These steps will no doubt lead to amarked improvement in the hygienic condition of the neigh-bourhood.

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IN the lecture arrangements before Easter at the RoyalInstitution of Great Britain, Professor J. G. M’Kendrick isannounced to deliver five lectures on Animal Heat, its

Origin, Distribution, and Regulation ; and Professor Tyndallwill deliver six lectures on the Older Electricity, its Pheno-mena and Investigators. The Friday evening meetings beginon Jan. 18th, at which, amongst other addresses, Mr. J. N.Langley will deal with the Physiological Aspect of Mesmer-ism, and Professor 0. Reynolds with the Two Manners ofMotion of Water shown by Experiment.

WiTll the new prospectus of the department of Hygieneand Public Health at University College, Professor Corfieldissues a list of the pupils of the hygienic laboratory whohave gained public offices or distinctions. Amongst themwe ob3erve the name of Dr. Parkes, who has just gained thecertificate of Sanitary Science at the University of London.

MR. FREDERIC S. EvE, F.R.C,S., Pathological Curatorand Erasmus Wilson Lecturer at the Royal College of Sur-geons, has been elected Assistant-Surgeon to the Royal FreeHospital, in the room of Mr. Shuter, F. R. C. S., deceased.

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OrR excellent contemporary, Punch, is so uniformlypolite to the medical profession, and appreciative of its aimsand services, that we cannot possibly complain of anyharmless banter in which he may occasionally indulge. It

is, however, a little alarming to be told that there are tobe effigies in wax of the " writers in THE LANCET " at theforthcoming Health Exhibition. We should like to see

our contemporary’s idea of a LANCET writer. Perhapsone of Punch’s clever caricaturists will favour us with asketch of the idea ?

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ON Sunday, December 16th, in St. Jude’s Church, Peck-ham, was unveiled a stained glass window, which has beenerected by numerous friends and patients as a memorial toFrederick Smith, Esq., M.R.C.S. and L.S.A., late of 730,Old Kent-road, who was for many years churchwarden of St.Jude’s Church, and one of the treasurers of the buildingfund. The window illustrates three parables selected fromSt. Luke’s Gospel.

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MESSRS. CROOKES, ODLING, and TIDY, in their report onthe composition and quality of daily samples of the watersupplied to London during the month ending Nov. 30th,state that the supply during the month has continued to baof excellent quality, and, in particular, the proportions oforganic carbon, and consequently of organic matter, thoughin excess of the very smalt amounts recorded for severalmonths past, have been low for the season of the year.

ON the 12th inst. a public meeting was held at Bagshot forthepurpose of taking into consideration therecent report madeas to the insanitary state of the village. It was unanimouslyresolved that a system of drainage in the village was unne-cessary ! but that the sanitary inspector should make a house-to-house inspection of the parish, and that the Board takesteps to compel all owners to put their property into aproper sanitary condition. -

AT a meeting of the Medical Committee of the DentalHospital, held on the 13th instant, Mr. Morton Smale,M.R.C.S., L.D.S., was unanimously elected Dean of theSchool, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr.F. K. Underwood. Mr. Smale has for several years held theoffice of medical tutor to the institution. The appointmentwas duly confirmed by the Managing Committee at theirmeeting held on the 17th inst.

DR. W. B. CARPENTER, in a letter signifying his willing-ness to become an honorary vice-president of the CarlisleMicroscopical Society, suggests that the life history of theyeast plant should be studied. Dr. Carpenter states thathe has always been a believer in the great polymorphism ofthe" saprophytic" fungi, and alludes to a paper which herecently read at Southport on "Disease Germs from theNatural History Point of View."

A SOCIETY has been organised by the officers of the ArmyMedical Department at Woolwich for the discussion ofmedical and scientific subjects. The first meeting took placeon Friday, the 14th inst., Sir James Hanbury, K.C.B.,President, in the chair. Surgeon-Major Davy read a paperon the "Present System of Training Recruits," which wasfollowed by a discussion. -

MM. STRAUS and Roux, both companions of the lamentedDr. Thuillier, have been proposed as Chevaliers de la Legiond’Honneur, presumably for their services on the commissionappointed to inquire into the cause of cholera in Egypt.

THE death is announced of M. Carriere, for some yearsphysician to the late Comte de Chambord.

VITAL STATISTICS.

HEALTH OF ENGLISH TOWNS.

In twenty-eight of the largest English towns, 5562 birthsand 3735 deaths were registered during the week ending the15th inst. The annual death-rate in these towns, whichhad been 23’0 and 21 per 1000 in the two preceding weeks,rose again last week to 22’G. During the first eleven weeksof the current quarter the death-rate in these towns averaged21’1 per 1000, against 21’0 and 21’2 in the correspondingperiods of 1881 and 1882. The lowest rates in these towns lastweek were 13-9 in Port-mouth, 15’4 in Bristol, 16-1 iu Brad-ford, and 16’2 in Wolverhampton. The rates in the othertowns ranged upwards to 25 3 in Liverpool, 26’8 in Salford,27 v in Preston, and 29 2 in Manchester. The deathsreferred to the principal zymotic diseases in the twenty-eight towns, which had been 467 and 449 in the two previousweeks, were 455 last week; they included 125 from measles,105 from scarlet fever, 80 from whooping-cotlgh, 59 from"fever" (principally enteric), 40 from diphtheria, 33 fromdiarrhoea, and 13 from small-pox. No death from any ofthese diseases was registered last week either in Wolver-hampton or Halifax; they caused the highest death-ratesin Manchester and Salford. Measles caused the highestdeath-rates in Salford, Derby, and Manchester; scarletfever in Newcastle.upon-Tyne, Leeds, and Manchester;whooping-cough in Huddersfield and Plymouth ; and" fever in Blackburn. The 40 deaths from diphtheriain the twenty-eight towns included 24 in London, 3 inLeeds, and 3 in Sunderland. Small-pox caused 7 deathsin London, 2 in Birmingham, 2 in Liverpool, and 2 inSunderland. The number of small-pox patients in themetropolitan asylum hospitals, which had been 49 and 74 onthe two preceding Saturdays, further rose to 90 at the end oflast week, a higher number than has been under treatmentsince the beginning of April last; 29 new caes were

admitted t these hospitals during the week, against 8, 11,and 29 in the two previous weeks. The Higbgate Small-pox Hospital contained 6 patients on Saturday last, no

new case having been admitted during the week. Thedeaths referred to diseases of the respiratory organs inLondon, which had been 493, 453, and 448 in the three pre-ceding weeks, rose again last week to 471 ; these were, bow-ever, 95 below the coirected weekly average. The causes of 98,or 2’4 per cent., of the deaths in the twenty-eight townslast week were not certified either by a registered medicalpractitioner or by a coroner. All the causes of deathwere duly certified in Norwich, Plymouth, Derby, Bolton,and Cardiff. The proportions of un certified deaths werelargest in Salford, Oldham, Hull, and Halifax.

HEALTH OF SCOTCH TOWNS.

The annual rate of mortality in the eight Scotch towns,which had been equal to 25-1, 22-7, and 21’7 per 1000 in thethree previous weeks, rose again to 22 ’4 in the week endingthe 15th inst.; this rate was 02 below the mean rate duringthe same week in the twenty-eight large English towns.The rates in the Scotch towns ranged from 15’8 in Dundeeto 26’2 and 29 0 in Glasgow and Paisley. The deaths inthe eight towns included but 64 which were referred to theprincipal zymotic diseases, against 97, 79, and 70 in thethree preceding weeks ; 18 resulted from whooping-cough,12 from scarlet fever, 10 from diphtheria, 10 from diarrhoea,8 from measles, 6 from "fever" (principally enteric), and notone from small-pox. These 64 deaths were equal to an annualrate of 2 7 per 1000, which was O’l below the mean rate fromthe same diseases in the large English towns. The rates fromthese diseases in the Scotch towns ranged last week from07 in Greenock to 34 aid 35 in Perth and Edinburgh. Thefatal cases of whooping-cough, which had been 13 and 16 inthe two previous weeks, further rose to 18 last week, ofwhich no fewer than 13 occurred in Glasgow. The 12 deathsfrom scarlet fever also exceeded the number in the previousweek by 2, and included 9 in Glasgow and 2 in Edinburgh.Of the 10 fatal cases of diphtheria, showing a decline of 6from the number returned in each of the two previousweeks, 4 occurred in Dundee and 3 both in Glasgow andEdinburgh. Five of the 8 fatal cases of measles (corre.sponding with the number in the previous week) occurred inGlasgow. Of the 6 deaths referred to "fever," 3 werereturned in Glasgow and 3 in Edinburgh. The 107 deathsreferred to acute diseases of the respiration organs in the