1543VISIT OF BRITISH PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS TO PARIS.-BIRMINGHAM.

time for a single dull moment. Those among themwho could not speak French were allotted lady hostesseswho could speak English and were never left alone orwithout attention. Minute details were not neglected.From the first, and though strangers in a strange land,the British ladies were made to feel thoroughly at

home. With unfailing foresight and sisterly concern theirFrench hostesses saw to all their requirements and wereever in attendance ready to escort their British visitors

everywhere and at all moments. Then there were allmanner of pretty compliments and flowers and the delicatebonbons for which Paris is so renowned forthcomingat propitious moments. Altogether the British ladies whoparticipated in the visit to Paris and the subsequentexcursions find it difficult to express their appreciative grati-tude and have asked us to help them to give voice totheir feelings.Another private entertainment to which allusion may be

made was the lunch given on May 13th by Dr. R. Blondel inhonour of the medical press. On this occasion the Englishcustom of toasts was introduced and Dr. Blondel rose atdessert time to propose " The Representatives of the MedicalPress " which had so largely contributed to bring about theentente enrdiecle between France and England. He referredespecially to THE LANCET and the B’l’itish Medical Journaland regretted that the editors of those journals were un-fortunately unable to be present that evening. He desiredto thank them for having helped in the work of organisingthe International Association of the Medical Press. TheBritish medical press owed its strength to the fact that itconsisted of so few journals, whereas in other countries theinfluence of the medical press was weakened through beingscattered over so many and therefore necessarily smaller pub-lications. However, all had alike contributed to the work ofpeace. For this good cause they had welcomed in Paris theSovereign of England and the representatives of the sovereignscience. To-day, in his own house, he had the pleasure ofassembling distinguished journalists and authors who typifiedthe alliance of medical science with literary art. He there-fore raised his glass and drank to the medical press andto the long continuance of friendship between the twocountries. Mr. Adolphe Smith responded. He pointedout how in politics the cause of peace and in literaturethe cause of science were indebted to Dr. Blondel. To-

day much was said about the closer and more friendlyrelations existing between England and France; but Dr.Blondel was drawing together all the civilised nationsof the world by uniting in one vast organisation themedical press not only of England and France but of allcountries. By association a better understood and moregenerally accepted sense of what was right and honourablewould be engendered and cultivated. A very great debt ofgratitude, therefore, was due to Dr. Blondel for the initia-tive he had taken and also to Madame Blondel for theway in which she had helped in the good work, rendering herhusband’s task more easy by the gracious welcome which shegave to all his friends and co-workers. He therefore drankto Dr. Blondel, the general secretary of the InternationalAssociation of the Medical Press, and to Madame Blondel.

Dr. G. H. F. Nuttall, editor of the Journal of Hygiene,said a few words concerning the wonderfully hearty receptionwhich the British visitors had received. Then he alluded tothe forthcoming International Congress on Tuberculosis andexpressed the hope that there would be a strong Britishcontingent. He was pleased to think that the press hadhelped to bring about cordial friendship between the twopeoples.Mr. L. E. Creasy, editor of the Clinical Journal, and

Dr. Leonard Williams, editor of the Journal of Balneologyand Climatology, were also among the guests. SeveralFreneh authors and journalists were present to meet theirBritish colleagues, amongst them being Dr. Albert Robin,editor of the Bltlletin General de Thérapeutique; Dr. EmileBoix, editor of the Archives 6Iéné’l’ales de Médecine, a journal

Ithat is junior to THE LANCET by only two years ; Dr. F.Galezowski of the ReC1wil ’6’A<x<?Zo’ ; and MonsieurF. Alcan, the medical publisher. (.

BIRMINGHAM.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

U’l1ive’J’sity Intelligence.THE Lord Chancellor this year accepted the invitation of

the Guild of Undergraduates to become its warden. He

attended a fortnight ago to deliver his address which waslistened to by a large and distinguished audience, includingthe Chancellor of the University, the Chancellor of the

Exchequer, Lord Avebury (a past Warden), and Mr. Haldane,M.P. After paying a warm tribute to Mr. Chamberlain andafter saying how fortunate the University should consideritself in having so distinguished a man for its chancellor hereminded his audience that in early days the word " univer-sity " meant an exactly different thing from what it meantnow. What it then meant was a place where everyonemight go ; whereas Mr. Chamberlain’s definition ofa modern university was that it was a place where

everything was taught. The leading line taken in theaddress was that English universities must rival more

the continental universities in teaching the applicationof new discoveries to trade processes. He lamented, how-ever, the fact of there being no chair of Greek in the Uni-versity. Mr. Chamberlain, in proposing a vote of thanks tothe Lord Chancellor for his address, shared in his regretthat there was still no such chair but said that the chiefwork of their University was the teaching of science andthat the buildings now rising would, when completed,constitute opportunities for such work that no universityhas, or has had, in this country before and that they will beon a scale and of a quality unequalled by any university inAmerica or on the continent.-Dr. R. Saundby, professorof medicine in the University, began a short time ago acourse of four lectures to students and practitioners onMedical Ethics, a subject upon which he is an acknowledgedauthority. He pointed out that medical ethics went backfurther than the Hippocratic oath, that they were knownin the time of Hammurabi, King of Babylon, more than2000 years B.C. The relations of the medical man to his

patient, to the legal authorities, and to his fellow medicalmen have all been admirably and lucidly explained. Thelectures, two of which have still to be delivered, have beenattended by large and appreciative audiences.

The Ed1wation Rate.

The education rate, which has been steadily rising andwhich of late years has increased with astonishing rapidity,is occasioning considerable anxiety. This year the totalsum asked for was 209, 710 but upon its being sent back forrevision the demand was reduced to .6204,901&mdash;a rise, how-ever, of 31,000 over that of the previous year. The in-crease in expenditure is attributed to payments made by thecommittee to the University, to its being responsible for thetechnical school expenditure, to the foundation of specialschools for the blind, deaf, cripples, and feeble-minded, andto the increased salaries which are now being paid toteachers.

The J/’eeble-rninded.

A site-Monyhull Hall, King’s Heath-has been purchasedby the joint committee of the Birmingham, Aston, and King’sNorton Poor-law authorities for the accommodation andtreatment of feeble-minded and sane epileptics. It occupies128 acres and has cost .613,500. The importance of foundingcolonies for such unfortunates where they may be perma-nently looked after was well evidenced in the annual reportof the Birmingham Laundry and Homes of Industry forFeeble-minded Young Women. It was there stated that ofthe 52 girls who had left and whose " after history wastraced only two or three seemed to be doing well and earningtheir own living.

Lunatic Asylums Committee.Some dissatisfaction has arisen over the communication

from the lunatic asylums committee to the local boards ofguardians giving notice that from July lst the charge forpatients chargeable to the boards will be increased from10s. 6d. to 11s. ld. a week per patient. The cause of the riseis said to be the expenditure of Hollymoor Asylum.

The Health of Birmingham.The report of the medical officer of health for the first

quarter of the present year has just been issued. It showsa low birth-rate of 31’ 6 per 1000, as compared with 33’ 5for the first quarter of 1904. The death-rate of 16’ 8 per1000 is the lowest on record. For the same period last yearthe rate was 21’ 4. Eight cases of small-pox were notified ;they were all traceable to one lodger, so that there has onlybeen one importation. Small-pox has again reappeared inthe city after a brief freedom from it. There are at presentfour patients suffering from it in the isolation hospital.May 30th.

1544 LIVERPOOL.-LEEDS.

LIVERPOOL.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

.Tlte Re-housing Problem : He,alth of Liverpool.Mr. F. H. Tulloch, Local Government Board inspector,

attended at the municipal offices on May 23rd to examinethe Liverpool corporation’s schemes for the erection of newartisans’ dwellings in four Liverpool streets. Mr. Cripps,assistant solicitor to the corporation, explained that theschemes submitted were for fulfilling the obligations of thecorporation under the several housing clauses and pro-visional orders. The policy of the corporation had beennot to pull down any buildings before erecting othersfor the dispossessed tenants. Some houses were demolishedin Christian-street without a scheme for re-housing beingsubmitted to the Local Government Board. As thiswas an oversight, and although thereby the corpora-tion was liable to considerable penalty, he asked theBoard to exculpate it because a street improvementhad been effected and there were plenty of vacant houseseven at the present time in the half-mile radius. Out of1720 dwellings built by the corporation 180 were vacant. Areturn prepared at the beginning of the year by the headconstable showed 4293 vacant houses in the city, of which1145 were houses of 5s. a week rent and under. This was tobe explained by the fact that the electric tram system andcheap fares attracted the labouring class to reside in thesuburbs. During the last four years over 2000 of the

working-class houses had been built chiefly on the outskirtsof the city. The corporation surveyor explained thecharacter of the dwellings proposed to be built in thestreets previouslv mentioned. Dr. A. A. Mussen, theassistant medical officer of health, gave a census returnof the vacant houses in the localities in which theschemes were to be carried out. The remarkable factwas that during the past few years the number of commonlodging-houses in the city had decreased by 50 per cent.The inspector will in due course report to the Local Govern-ment Board, who will decide on the number of dwellings tobe erected to re-house dispossessed tenants.-During the pastweek 511 births and 240 deaths were registered in Liverpool,representing a birth-rate of 36’ 3 per 1000 and a mortality of17 per 1000. In the corresponding week of last year thedeath-rate was 18’ 4 per 1000. Of 652 cases in the corpora-tion infectious hospitals 488 patients were suffering fromscarlet fever and seven from typhus fever. The chairman ofthe health committee referred at the meeting with satisfac-tion to the prevailing low death-rate.Winwick Asyltcnt Acute and Dangeroos Types of Lunacy.A recommendation that a further sum, not exceeding

&pound;30,000, as may be necessary for extras and to complete theasylum buildings at Winwick should be granted out of theasylums fund was contained in the report of the finance com-mittee and laid before the Lancashire Asylums Board at itsmeeting at Preston. Certain things were left out in con-nexion with the building operations which had to be doneto make the building satisfactory to the committee. The Ichairman said that the whole cost of the asylum would beabout f.45,000, which did not appear to be excessive. Aletter was read from the Commissioners in Lunacy with refer-ence to allowing Winwick Asylum to be used for acute cases.It stated : " That having regard to the very large number oftroublesome, turbulent, and dangerous cases that were foundin the asylum at the annual visit in February last, theCommissioners felt unable to withstand any longer thewishes of the board that the asylum should not any longerbe reserved for chronic cases." In connexion with thismatter the chairman said that it had been agreed that itwould be desirable to build an asylum on the villa systemand on a cheaper scale something like a workhouse, wherechronic cases who were unable to take care of themselvesand who were unable to work but did not require the sameskilled medical care as acute cases which went to the

asylums, should be lodged. It was for the board to con-sider whether it could not devise a scheme for building acheaper class of asylum where such patients could be main-tained at a much less cost to the ratepayers. Eventually amotion was carried to the effect-That as the restriction as to the using of Winwick Asylum for

chronic cases only has now been removed it will be desirable to con-sider the advisability o utilising the proposed site at Whalley for an

asylum of cheap construction to accommodate cases other than of theacute and dangerous types.It was also decided to empower the Whalley committee tocommunicate with the various boards of guardians on thesubject.

Hospital Saturday Fund.The honorary treasurer has issued the first list of the

, contributions from the employes of a number of workshops,&c., to the Hospital Saturday Fund, which amounted to&pound;5390 6s. 7d. The second list will be published on July 3rd.

, May 30th. ________________

LEEDS.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The University of Leeds : Commemoration of theInauguration.

BY request of the council of the University of Leeds aspecial number of the Gryphon, which is the journal of theUniversity, has been issued in commemoration of the

inauguration which took place last October. The specialcommittee which was charged with the responsibility of

editorship is to be congratulated on having produced whatall will regard as a worthy memorial of a great and

important event. In the letterpress we find the address ofthe Chancellor, Lord Ripon, at the first meeting of theUniversity Court which lays down a high ideal of the workwhich should be aimed at ; following this is a brief accountof the first congregation, on which occasion the first honorarydegrees were conferred, and the orations delivered by thosepresenting the graduates are given in abstract. The speechof the Duke of Devonshire, though, as His Grace remarked,"to some extent a departure from the ordinary course ofacademic procedure, deserves to be given in full as it is. Fromthis speech I quote the following passages : " I observe thatin your new constitution as defined by your charter and yourstatutes a remarkable and exceptional share of the govern-ment of this University has been entrusted to the repre-sentatives of local authorities in Yorkshire. I believe thatin this a wise course has been taken, because it is of thefirst importance that from the outset a wide popular interestshould be taken in the studies and work of this infant Uni-versity. And I am at the same time sure that the goodcommon-sense which distinguishes Yorkshiremen will leadthem to entrust a great share of the direction of the studiesand work of this University to those who have qualifiedthemselves for that direction by educational work. Ifeel sure that they will not desire that the trainingto be given here shall be of too exclusively a utili-tarian character." A brief paper by Professor Miallon the beginnings of the Yorkshire College reminds us

that in 1868 a circular was issued by the YorkshireCouncil of Education announcing that a college of sciencewas projected. The three first professors were Rucker,Thorpe, and Green. " Such men as these," says ProfessorMiall, " would make any place of learning thrive." In 1878the addition of arts professors was followed by a change ofname and the Yorkshire College was inaugurated. TheLeeds School of Medicine, founded by William Hey in 1831and for many years a flourishing institution, was in 1884amalgamated with the college, which was soon afterwardsincorporated with the Victoria University. From the pen ofMr. C. G. Wheelhouse, one of the honorary graduates, wehave a short paper on medical student life in Leeds 60 yearsago. It may be the case that, as he quotes as a headingfor his reminiscences, "Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamurin illis," but Mr. Wheelhouse seems to possess thesecret of preserving a youthfulness of mind whichmust be the envy of all. When we read that Mr. Wheel-house could fill a volume with memories of thosehappy and pleasant days " we must echo the feelings ofall who know him when we say, "Cur non?" Illustratedas it is by views of the University buildings, including, ofcourse, the medical school, and by reproductions of photo-graphs of the chancellor, pro-chancellor, vice-chancellor,dean of the Faculty of Medicine, honorary graduates,members of the Senate, and others, this special numberwill appeal to all former students of the college and to allwho are interested in the future of the University. Succeed-ing the title page is the following poem from the pen ofMr. Alfred Austin, in whom, as the vice-chancellor saidwhen presenting him for the degree of LL.D., "we delight