1785

more scientific subjects, the history, theory, and organisationof banking, of foreign trade, and of transport, life andmarine insurance, and the structure and organisation of someselected industry. The student might go through thiscourse by means of evening lectures, while working in abusiness house, thus obviating any delay in the opening ofhis career. As a start Professor Lees Smith asked for a sumsufficient to endow a chair of commerce (which, he explained,would not be occupied by himself), with a salary of .&500 or

L600 a year.The Late -D?,. Hugh Montgomerie.

On June 2nd there was a large gathering at the WestCornwall Infirmary, Penzance, when the Lord Mayor ofLondon unveiled a tablet, which had been placed over a bedendowed to the memory of the late Dr. Hugh Montgomerie,formerly honorary physician to the institution. The Lord

Mayor said that Dr. Montgomerie was a bright example ofmany members of the medical profession who labour greatlyamong the poor without fee or reward.

An Aotion for Libel.At the Hereford assizes on June llth, before Mr. Justice

Ridley, Dr. Harold Bertie Dickinson sued Mr. StephenBeeson, a veterinary surgeon, for slander and libel. Theevidence showed that acting upon information which hadbeen supplied to him, the defendant accused the plaintiff offailing to notify to the medical officer of health a case ofscarlet fever, and in his capacity as town councillor spoke of"this demon’s carelessness," "diabolical conduct," also

saying that "he ought to be drummed out of the town."The plaintiff stated that he did not notify the case earlierbecause he was not absolutely certain of his diagnosis. The

jury returned a verdict in favour of Dr. Dickinson for .6100,being 50 for the slander and E50 for the libel. The judgesaid that the defendant used very strong language and wasundoubtedly in the wrong. Police-court proceedings hadpreviously been taken by the sanitary committee against Dr.Dickinson for failing to notify earlier, and these had endedin his favour.

Longevity.On June 9th, when the Prince and Princess of Wales were

driving from Newquay (Cornwall) to the Royal CornwallShow, which was being held at St. Columb, Their RoyalHighnesses halted at St. Columb Minor to receive the

respectful homage of Mr. James Carne, who is now in his104th year. Mr. Carne enjoys good health and takes a dailywalk.-Mrs. Margaret Arthurs of Rowde House, Bath, cele-brated the 101st anniversary of her birthday on June 5th.Bath has another centenarian, Mrs. M. Henersley, who cele-brated the 103rd anniversary of her birthday last October.June 15th.

________________

BIRMINGHAM.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The Besignatio2 of Professnr Bennett May.Professor Bennett May has resigned his appointment as

professor of surgery, and in accepting his resignation theCouncil of the University expressed its regrets and gave toProfessor May its best thanks " for his valuable and dis-

tinguished services to the Birmingham Medical School duringa period of 33 years." It is quite certain that not only theCouncil but also his old colleagues and friends regret verymuch that the time has come when Professor May has feltthat he must sever his connexion with the active work of theUniversity. Those of the younger generation who have onlybeen associated with Professor May since the foundationof the University scarcely understand the debt the MedicalSchool owes to him, but his older colleagues, who know howhe worked and sacrificed himself and was true to the besttraditions of the school in the darker days when its fatewavered in the balance, appreciate to the full the work hedid-work which helped so materially to place the school inthe comparatively excellent position which it holds to-day.

The Ne7v Nursing Home for the General HospatcG.In opening the new nursing home in connexion with the

General Hospital, the Lord Mayor of Birmingham con-gratulated the board of management on the latest additionto the hospital, and said that ’’ no similar institution in thekingdom could claim to be more complete or perfect than

the General Hospital." The erection of the new home wasnecessitated by the continued increase in the numbers ofthe nursing staff. This has resulted, in great part, from thegrowth of the number of operations, which has increasedfrom 1496 in 1898 to 3975 last year. The new home, whichwill cost about J::.8000, is conveniently situated ; it contains43 bedrooms, a class-room for instruction in cookery for thesick, it is thoroughly well equipped, and it forms a verysatisfactory addition to the conveniences of the hospital.

The Hospital S1lnàay IJ1und.’ At the recent annual meeting of the Hospital Sunday Fundthe Lord Mayor was elected President for the coming year.In proposing his election, the Bishop of Birmingham expresseda fear that the uncertainty which prevails with regard to thefuture of our voluntarily supported medical charities mightinfluence the subscriptions, and he appealed to those whofavour the present conditions to do their utmost to sustainthem. Dr. Jowett, however, was not satisfied that the

problems suggested by the Bishop really had much influ-ence at present upon the bulk of the people who formedthe religious congregations, and he considered that if anendeavour were made to enlarge the general interest in hos-pital work increased support would be obtained. In accept-ing the appointment of President, the Lord Mayor said thatthose who believed that our medical relief agencies shouldbe maintained on the present basis had not much to fear, forlegislative changes which would throw the burden on thelocal communities would not be made till large majoritieswere in favour of the change.

The Bagnall AS’rrzallwox Hospital. 11.

Suggestions are being made that the Bagnall Small-poxHospital should be utilised as a sanatorium or convalescenthome. If the change could be made it might result in a con-siderable saving to the rate-payers, for at present the hospitalcosts Z900 a year for upkeep, and for several years therehave been no patients. On the other hand, if the hospitalwas not available and an epidemic occurred, the NorthStaffordshire district might be in a deplorable condition. Theauthorities will no doubt carefully consider all sides of thequestion before they deprive themselves of what might at anymoment prove a vital necessity. And possibly a way may befound to make use of the hospital for some purpose whichwill not alter its general character and which will not

prevent its use for its initial purpose should the necessityarise.

Lymphatism and Chloroform.At an inquest held recently in Wolverhampton to inquire

into the cause of death of a girl who was being operatedupon in the Wolverhampton Hospital, it was explained thatthe patient, who was undergoing an operation upon a de-formed foot, was apparently a healthy girl. According to thestatement of the house surgeon, the patient began " to comeround " before the operation was completed and then

suddenly stopped breathing. Artificial respiration was

resorted to and breathing recommenced. The operationwas then proceeded with, and in a few minutes the breath-ing again stopped and all attempts to resuscitate the patientfailed. At the post-mortem examination an enlarged thymuswas discovered. The death was attributed to lymphatism,and the jury found a verdict in accordance with the medicalevidence.

The Past and Presett Sanitary COlld-ltion of DudZey.In his annual report Dr. J. H. Wilkinson, the medical

officer of health of Dudley, makes an interesting comparisonbetween the sanitary condition of the town in 1853-54, whenthe first report was presented by the late Dr. J. H. Houghton,and the state of affairs which prevails to-day. The death-rate varied from 32 to 36 per 1000 ; 150 people died fromscarlet fever, 65 from cholera, and typhus fever was veryprevalent. In certain districts there were about 6000 peoplewith practically no water-supply and the general water-supply was very defective. Last year the general death-rate was 15’ 28 per 1000 ; the zymotic death-rate 1 ; therewas no epidemic of zymotic disease, and there were very fewhouses which were not supplied with water. The contrast

displays in a most effective way the improvement of publichealth which can be obtained by continued work on goodlines.

lnnicul Health Report of King’s 4’orton.Dr. R. Green’s annual report, as medical officer of health,

1786

upon the King’s Norton and Northfield urban district showshow rapid the growth of the population has been in a com-paratively short period, the total estimated population in1907 being 75,508, and by the middle of 1908 it hadincreased to 78,608, whilst the total number of births overdeaths was 1081. The immigration which has taken placehas no doubt been largely due to the provision of trams andcheap houses, a combination of circumstances which hasresulted in the migration of many people from the poorerparts of Birmingham, and which has made Dr. Greenanxious to establish in the interest of his district some pro-vision for the practical education of the mothers. He isanxious to keep down the infantile mortality rate, for, ashe points out, though the births exceeded the deaths andthe number of births was considerably greater in 1908 thanin 1907, still the birth-rate (25 - 54 per 1000) was the lowestrecorded, and the death-rate was 10’ 78 per 1000 as in1907. Dr. Green notes that the male births greatly exceededthe female births, 1015 to 914, and that 76 - 1 per cent. ofthe children were vaccinated, that being 7 per cent. less thanin 1907.June 15th.

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MANCHESTER.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Post-mortem Exa1ninat-ions in Wt7rkhoqtses.SOME discussion, animated if not angry, took place at a

meeting of the Chorlton guardians held on June llth respect-ing a post-mortem examination made a few days beforeon a patient who had died in the Withington workhouse.The patient died, it is stated, from pneumonia acceleratedby delirium tremens," but after his death one of themedical officers suspected typhoid fever, and his col-

league made a post-mortem examination. Before doingso he asked the consent of the patient’s widow, ’’ twodetermine whether typhoid was present or not, as it was aserious matter in a large workhouse." According to thewidow and a sister they were told that unless they consentedto a post-mortem examination there might be a difficultyin regard to the death certificate, and that the coroner

would probably order one to be made. In answer to thecoroner as to why he was named, the medical man in

question said he did it 11 accidentally and in the interestsof the institution," as he thought it ought to be known

definitely whether typhoid fever had been present or not,and, while regretting his action, disclaimed the intention thecoroner had suggested of an attempt to frighten the widow.The coroner said that the proceeding was "not merelyindiscreet but most improper; the case was one whichnever would have come before him," and he required anassurance that such a thing would not occur again. It is aserious thing to question any of the dicta of a constitu-tional authority, but it may be conceived possible thatthe coroner, usually so judicial, may have been undulyangry at something which the medical man did not intend.It is curious that no mention was made at the inquestof the question of typhoid fever, for in that case to theverdict, "Death from natural causes," the jury would nothave added their view that’’ the doctor should be censured." "

This might be called a rider to the verdict, to which the coronerseems to have offered no objection. At a meeting of theChorlton guardians on June llth the matter led to a longdiscussion, one or two of the guardians saying that intimida-tion had been used, that a record ought to be kept of suchcases, and that the medical men held this examinationin their own interest. Another guardian, a woman, saidthat far too many post-mortem examinations were madeat Withington, and no one benefited by this one butthe medical man who made it. "The hospital shouldnot be a practising ground for young doctors." Thechairman protested against such charges being made.Another guardian said that they were absolutely withoutfoundation ; permission was given prior to the name of thecoroner being mentioned but there were objections, andthe medical man explained that if the case went to thecoroner there would probably be an examination. Anyonewho has seen much of workhouse practice will be pre-pared for some discrepancy in the statements of relativesat different times, but it is a pity to see guardians,

presumably of some education, using such wild words ofcondemnation as were indulged in by some of the members,of the board. It is not likely that a medical man, evenif young, would undertake something so unpleasant as a,

post-mortem examination unless he believed that some

increase of knowledge might result which would probablybenefit his fellow men.

Whisky and Saffron in Measles.At an inquest held yesterday by the Manchester coroner,

Mr. Gibson, on the death of a child from pneumonia duringmeasles, the mother said that when she found the child hadmeasles she gave it saffron and whisky. This is a common

proceeding in a certain stratum of the community, and Mr.Gibson told the jury that 99 out of 100 parents gave saffronand whisky and such like things when children had measles.This is a remarkable testimony to the quality of the com-pulsory education bestowed on the children of the nation formore than 30 years. The coroner expressed the hope thatsooner or later people would be educated up to the fact thatmeasles is a particularly fatal disease and that they wouldpay more attention to their children and call in a medicalman when they have this disease. Is this a vain hope, ormay we look in the future for more common sense beinginfused into the education of the coming generation ?

Electrical Dangers.The dangers of our present arrangements for making use

of electricity were alluded to quite recently, but may againbe illustrated by the occurrence in Manchester of a seriousexplosion early yesterday morning. Happily it took placeabout 2.30 A.M., and though sufficiently disastrous, therewas no loss of life. A policeman saw a cloud of black smokecoming from the main entrance of the Victoria Arcade.Before he could get there a heavy report took place, followedby a blinding flash and a sheet of flame which was said to be20 feet high. Simultaneously, the huge revolving iron shutterswhich bar the entrance to the Arcade, and which were closed,were blown out bodily, and a large portion of them wascarried right across the street. Hundreds of windows werewrecked, offices were dismantled, solid concrete from the

pavement was hurled in every direction, and a brick brokethrough a plate-glass window on the opposite side of the road.The whole of the front of a bank was forced out, the floortorn up, and books scattered all over the place. Other

premises were also much injured, the windows wrecked, andfittings badly damaged. Inside the Arcade hundreds of panes.of the lofty glass roof were shattered. The explosion alsowrecked the gas and water mains, and at the entrance "ahole was made fully six yards deep, 14 yards long, and fiveyards wide." The damage, which cannot as yet be accuratelydetermined, is estimated at £5000. If the explosion hadoccurred in the day-time the fatalities would probably havebeen numerous. It was said that the fault occurred at a

point where the service wires laid into the Arcade are joinedon to the distributing cables along St. Mary’s Gate under thefoot-path. The defective joining, which was the primary causeof the disaster, was old, dating from 1896. These old joiningsare being rapidly replaced by improved ones, but unfortu-nately not in time to prevent accident. The first indi-cations of mischief were almost like the precursors of an

earthquake. At 1.45 A.M. the recording instruments pointedto a slight disturbance near Deansgate. The " standby’"men were sent out but could find nothing wrong. About2 A.M. complaints were made from the Victoria Hotel and,several printing offices, but the standby men sent out againcould still find nothing wrong. This little story shows whata terrible power we are using and the absolute need there isfor keeping it under control. We hear far too much of fusedtwires.June 16th.

LIVERPOOL.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Liverpool S’chool of Tropical Medicine; the Expeditions andtheir Work ; Complimentary Dinner.

WITHIN the last few months there have arrived in

Liverpool a number of scientific gentlemen who had beensent out, under various expeditions, to the tropics by theLiverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Their succesful