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instead, and many thousands of unfortunate girls would bethrown on to the street.Mr. Davis, on behalf of 1200 organised shop assistants of

Wales, of which one-sixth were women, said he did notapprove of Mr. Provand’s Bill.Mr. Mathers, M. P. : " Then you all agree in condemn-

ing Mr. Provand’s Bill ?" At which there were some.cries of dissent, one delegate rising to protest that, thoughthe Bill was incomplete, insufficient, and unjust in its special treatment of women, still he would prefer such a Bill to no legislation at all. Several delegates seemed toagree with this opinion. The Conference then unanimouslyadopted the resolution introduced by Mr. Williams,,as mentioned above, which suggests the amendmentsnecessary to render Mr. Provand’s Bill satisfactory, togetherwith another resolution, to the effect" that all employsin these industries shall come within the jurisdiction ofthis Act, without distinction of age or sex."Mr. Rowe of Manchester then read a paper on the

living-in System. For motive of economy, convenience,and discipline shop assistants were made to board onthe premises. By this means they were disfranchised,as Parliamentary voters, and were kept under an ironrule. They were harassed by any number of petty regu-

lations, had no sense or enj oymen of home; the sanitationwas vile, the table a snare and a delusion. The food wascoarse; they were constantly disturbed at their meals toGerve customers. It was a survival of the truck systemtin its worst form. What employers called plain fare meantworkhouse rations, and the assistants were always obliged to be in by 10.30 P.M. No body of workmen would consentto be thus handed over body and soul to their employers,particularly as the acuteness of competition was renderingthe employers more and more inhuman. The rate of wageswas calculated on the basis of bare subsistence for a singleman. Consequently, if a shop assistant wished to marry,the was discharged from his employ. The speaker protestedthat celibacy was contrary to the scheme of nature, andclaimed for the shop assistants their natural right to marry.Sir Bartle Frere had raised the indignation of the Britishpublic by relating that the Zaiu warriors lived in enforcedcelibacy. The British public were now invited to con-

sider the condition of the assistants who worked in shops,which, in consequence of the enforced celibacy, had becomehotbeds of immorality. He would not insist, he woulddraw the veil over this question ; but if our social con-ditions were such as to render vice so attractive and’virtue, so repulsive, nature would surely take her revenge.Shop assistants were no worse than any other class, but,like others, had to yield to the force of surrounding in-fluences. If these influences were exceptionally bad, theresult would be evil in due ratio. Why also did it happenthat there were so few elderly men among the shopassistants ? The fact was that old men were flung out to swellthe army of the unemployed. Members of Parliament knewlittle or nothing of their position ; this was proved by theTeceat debates. Shop assistants had no votes, nor did their<case present features out of which party cries could be con-trived. But with the abolition of the living-in system theywould acquire votes, and then redemption would draw nigh.Legislation must come; it was inevitable; the only ques-tion of doubt was how many more generations of shop.assistants it would be necessary to kill off before such legis-lation became effective.

Mr. Davis was anxious the Conference should recognisethat, if their interests had been neglected in some quarters,-the press, in any case, had done a great deal to help theshop assistants.

Mr. Lomax of Loughborough had worked in a shopwhere during four years he never had an opportunity ofputting on either his coat or his hat, except on Sundays.He left this place because he could not eat rotten potatoes.He had offered to eat half these potatoes if the employerwould eat the other half, but this challenge was notaccepted. At another shop he had good food, but not- enough, so that his health broke down, and he wentto work in the provinces. There, in one house, hefound the food "was only fib for manure." One of thefemale assistants died, and, after her death, a bill wasbrought in for the food she had been obliged to purchaseoutside.

Mr. Almgilt of Barnsley related that at one of the mostimportant shops in Sunderland, out of fifty assistants,only twenty were able to eat! the food provided ; they

had to send out for food at their own expense. Andthe sleeping accommodation reminded him of what thethird-class railway carriages used to be fifty yearsago. At Hull he had found matters worse, There,after working for six months, he was so ill that hehad to lie up for four months; net result, two months’profits. At Leeds he was also badly treated, but at barnsleyhe had found a place where he had been able to build uphis health again. But even here he had just lost a goodcompanion, a fellow shop assistant, aged twenty-six, whohad been dismissed for no other reason than that he wasabout to marry.Mr. Macpherson (East London) thought that if male and

female assistants were allowed to marry, they would becomemore settled and take a greater interest in the business.As it was, in many shops male and female assistants weredismissed if they were known to be in each other’s company.

In answer to a question from Mr. Roby, M.P., Mr. Davisexplained that in the provinces shopkeepers calculated thevalue of board and lodgings at 10s. a week; but he feltconvinced that the board generally provided did not costmore than from 4s. 6d. to 7s. 6d. per head per week.Mr. Jones described a firm which employed 200 assistants

and only allowed their housekeeper 9d. per head per dayfor the food supplied. Was it possible that full- grown men,working hard all day, could be kept in a wholesome manneron 9d. per day ?The Congress then carried unanimously a resolution to

he effect that" the living-in system should be abolished."This concluded the business, and after the usual votes ofthanks the Conference adjourned.

It will be seen by the opinions expressed and by the evidenceincidentally given in the course of the speeches briefly sum-marised that the views expressed and the facts describedin the Reports of our Special Commission are fully borne out.The long hours, the want of freedom, the bad food, the badsanitation-these are the main grievances. Legislativeinterference on behalf of the men as well as the women isconsidered the only means by which the moral, the material,the sanitary, and the social condition of the shop assistantscan beimproved.Manchester, April 19th.

BIRMINGHAM.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Medical Appointments.AT a meeting of the board of guardians, held on the

20th inst., Drs. T. S. Shorb, J. 0. W. Barratt, and A. H.Carter were elected visiting physicians to the infirmary.Some interest has attached itself to these appointments, sinceit was with a view to permitting their officers to apply thatthe rules of the General Hospital were lately altered. Awider range of choice is thus given to the guardians, alongwith the opportunity of securing the services of the bestcandidates. The first of the above-named gentlemen is atpresent assistant physician to the General Hospital, thesecond holds no hospital appointment, and the third issenior physician to the Queen’s Hospital. The contest forthe appointment of physician to the General Hospital,owing to the resignation of Dr. Wade, promises to be aclose one, and is giving rie to some excitement. Theelection will take place on May 4th, and the elective bodyconsists of the committee, plus fifty subscribers chosen byballot. Dr. Foxweil, physician to the Queen’s Hospital,and Dr. Wilson and Dr. Short, assistant physicians to theGeneral Hospital, are at present the only candidates.Various interests are brought to bear in support of theclaims of each, and the voting promises to be close.

The Workhouse Water-supply.The special committee appointed to deal with the water-

supply have issued their report. It states that they decidedto invite specifications and tenders from practical well-sinkers for securing a daily supply of 150,000 gallons ofwater. In February it was reported that 70,000 gallonswere obtained from the well sunk, and in addition 40,000gallons from the corporation. It was recommended thatanother borehole should be put on at the bottom of thepresent well, at a cost of &pound; 500 or &pound; 600. The committee didnot advise this, preferring to give the present arrangementa fair trial, as the quantity was increasing. The corpora-

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tion charged 6d. per 1000 gallons, the amounb used being130,000 gallons a day; so in was expected that a savingwould be effected by the present) plan of obtaining the supply.

Singular Deaths.An inquest was lately held on the body of a man agec

fifry.six, whose death was said to have been aggravated b)taking large quantities of chlorodyne. He began by takinga few drops, and lately took a whole bottleful at once. Hewas found unconscious, and died soon afterwards. Theheart was found to be fatty and atrophied. The secondcase was that of a child aged four years, who died from in-flimmation of the brain, caused by the presence of a bean inthe ear. Attempts had been made to extricate this withoutsuccess, once under chloroform. Some censure was ad-ministered to the father of the child for not keeping thedeceased under medical care, after having been told to do so.Birmingham, April 20th.

LIVERPOOL.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

the Assizes.THOUGH the number of prisoners was large, and the

nature of the crimes with which they were charged wasgrave, this last assizes has passed without any death sen-tence. The most serious feature in the calendar was thelarge number of criminal assaults upon women and children,in some instances by several men acting in company. Verysevere sentences were passed upon those who were con-victed, and it is to be hoped that these will have an effectin deterring others from committing such crimes.

A Drunkard’s Tercentenary.A woman whose name betokened her Irish nationality

was brought before the magistrate on the 16th inst. for the299bh time ! She was fined 10s. and costs, or ten days’imprisonment. It is almost certain that the wretchedwoman will complete what has been ironically termed hertercentenary. It is to be lamented that there is not somemore satisfactory method of dealing with this and similar icases.

The Weather and the Easter Holidays.In Liverpool, as elsewhere, the weather which prevailed

on Easter Monday was wintry in the extreme, in spite ofwhich there were a large number of cheap trippers whobraved the miseries of a ferry passage under such inclementauspices. Although there was a falling off in the totalnumber from that of last year, it was still very large, and itis satisfactory to learn that there have been no casualties.April 20th.

NORTHERN COUNTIES NOTES.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Durham Colliery Doctors ancl the Strike.A DURHAM "Colliery Docbor writes a strong letter

to one of our local papers, in which he shows very clearlythe heavy loss which is sustained by the colliery surgeons,owing to the loss of the miners’ fortnightly subscriptions,which are deducted at the office, when working, from theirpay. It is computed, he says, that 70,000 men are on strike,whose subscriptions to the doctors amount to X1750 perfortnight. To this must be added losses from non-paymentfor confinements, vaccination, &c., and further non-paymentby small tradesmen and others dependent on the men ; sothat the total loss to the doctors cannot fall short of &pound; 2500per fortnight. The worst of it is, the doctor is expectedand does attend all these people at present free, andhas besides to keep up his usual expenses of assistants,drugs, servants, and horses just the same as if he wasbeing paid. "A Colliery Doctor," as a remedy, sug-gests that the men may be asked to pay up the arrearsoy degrees when they get to work, which arrears, with theirconsent, might be stopped ab the office as before. Hebelieves that this is a fair proposition to make to the men,and he believes that they will accede to it. He further asksfor a meeting of colliery doctors to be held in Durham next

i

week to bring this importanb matter before the men. Healso fears that there is much work before the collierydoctors in the coming season, owing to the insanitary con-dition of the colliery villages from over flowing of asbpits,the effects of inferior food, insufficient clothing, &c. Ak

bearing this statement out, I see that the medical officerof health for Willington has reported an outbreak ofscarlatina there, and reports that the ashpits in the

colliery rows were overcrowded with refuse. At the,Durham School Board meeting, too, a serious out-break of measles is reported; one of the schools was closedtill May 1st, about seventy of the scholars being ill.

North Riding Infirmary, Middlesbrough.The annual report of the North Riding Infirmary at!

Middlesbrough has been presented to the meeting ofgovernors, and it shows that 614 new patients had beenadmitted, making a total of 663 who had received treat-ment. The revenue fell short owing to the decrease inworkmen’s subscriptions, consequent on closing of works.Reference is made to the loss the infirmary sustained throughthe deaths of Drs. Ketchen and McCuaig. The late Dakeof Devonshire had also proved himself a friend of theinstitution.

Death of the late Treasurer of the Cumberland Infirmary.The death of Mr. William Parker, J.P., of Careton-hill,

is announced. Mr. Parker, who was about seventy-five,died rather suddenly from cerebral haemorrhage after twodays’ illness. He was until recently treasurer of the Cum.berland Infirmary at Carlisle, and entirely through hisefforts the iubilee fund of f:2500 was collected for the insti-tution. Mr. Parker was a great favourite in Cumberland;he was a thorough sportsman, and a good shot-in fact, a.

type of the fine old English county gentleman.Newcastle City Lunatic Asylum Extension.

The competitive plans for the important extensions ofthe City Lunatic Asylum, which will practically make ita new building when carried out, have been exhibited forsome days in our Town Ball, and have attracted manyvisitors. The plans of Mr. J. W. Dyson of Newcastle havereceived the nrst premium, and will be adopted for thebuildings.

Seaside Summer Camp for Poor Boys.The annual report of this most deserving association,

which provides a seaside holiday for poor boys everysummer, has been issued. Ib shows than 209 poor boys,bailing in about equal proportions from Newcastle andGateshead, were afforded a pleasurable and health-givingholiday in the camp on Hartley Links, which was openduring the last season for 133 days. There had been no,serious sickness in the camp, and there were only six casesof flagrant disobedience and insubordination entailingdismissal.

Ambulance Work in the North.At Jesmond the Mayor and Mayoress of Newcastle have

presented certificates to the members of the ambulanceclass who have passed the examination in first aid, underthe auspices of the Sb. Jobn Ambulance Association. Dr.Aitchison, the instructor, at the came time received a.presentation from the classes.-At Hartlepool, the Mayoresshas presented the certificates and medallions to the success-ful members. Dr. Ainsley, the instructor, was highly eom-plimented on his work.-At Gainford, Durham, Dr. Ellertonof Middlesbrough examined and passed fifty-two candidatesfor the St. John certificates of efficiency, and a vote ofthanks was given to Dr. Hickey for his kindness in givingthe lectures, and the painstaking way in which he hadinstructed the classes.

Sudden Death of a Middlesbrough Cyclist.On Saturday morning a young man aged twenty-two

died at a hotel at Great Ayton in Cleveland from syncopebrought about by over-exertion and cold. He was taken illthe previous night after a ride of forty miles. Two localmedical men were sent for, and remained with him allnight until his death.Mr. Page’s case cf pyloroplasty, or Mikulicz’s opera-

tion, at the Royal Infirmary, which I noted in this letter onMarch 15th, has done well, and the man has gainedtwo stones in weight.Newcastle on-Tyne, April 20th.