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the case of the poor man. At the discretion of the magis-trate, or other judicial authority, the person is given overinto the charge of those friends who undertake to be respon-sible for his proper care and treatment. "Two medical cer-tificates are forthwith obtained in this case. An order ismade by one of the friends for his reception into a privateasylum, or to one of the public asylums, and he is removedthere as an ordinary private patient, eligible for dischargeon his recovery, at any time this may occur.

I am, Sir, yours faithfully,West Malling, Kent, March 17th, 1884. JAMES ADAM, M.D.JAMES ADAM, M.D.

RECURRENCE OF MEASLES.To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—The prevalence of measles at the present timeinduces me to send you the following particulars as showingat what an early period the disease may recur.On December 10th S. H-, aged nine years, was suffer-

ing from headache and feverishness; on December 14th hehad all the characteristic symptoms of measles. He made a

good recovery, and on January 18th he went to stay at hisfather’s country house in Sussex. On February 5ch he re-turned home much benefited by the change. He was put tosleep in the same room which he had occupied during hisillness. This room had been thoroughly cleansed, venti-

lated, and disinfected by the daily use of terebene during hisabsence. All the necessary precautions had been taken withthe various articles of clothing and bedding which he hadused in his first attack. On February 24tb, nineteen daysafter his return home, and seventy-six days after the com-mencement of his first attack, he began to complain of notfeeling well. On the following day he had catarrhal sym-ptoms, and on the next day (February 27th) he began tocough. On the 28th he had a slight papular eruptionabout the forehead and cheeks, which by the 29th hadassumed the characteristic appearance of measles, with thesuffused eyes, coryza, and bronchial catarrh attendant uponit. This second attack has been less severe than the first.During the first illness neither his brothers nor his sisterswere attacked, but now his little sister, aged eleven years,has developed measles with very marked severity. To-day,she is thickly covered with the rash.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,S. H. BYAM.

Westbourne-place, Eaton-square, W., March llth, 1884.S. H. BYAM.

HEALTH AND EDUCATION.To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—When I proposed to the council of the health

department of the Social Science Congress at Huddersfieldthat the question of the alleged over-pressure in our

schools should form one of the subjects for discussion, Idid not anticipate that the country would so soon bearoused to its very great importance. The rapid ripeningof public opinion is due to the initiation of the Social ScienceAssociation, and affords another instance of the value of thisSociety in bringing to the front great social problems and inhelping on reforms. The time has now come for action andfor some practical suggestions as to the best method ofremedying the defects in our present educationary codes andmethods. I believe we may take it for granted, first, thatover-pressure does exist, pressing both on pupils andteachers; and, secondly, that the Education Acts should bealtered, especially in relation to grants and the method ofobtaining them. The following are a few points which, in myopinion, have not been sufficiently considered in the valuablepapers which have been published on the subject.

1. The school age in the Elementary Education Act isfixed at five years. Is this too early an age ? Is anythinggained by commencing so soon? The working classes haveto send their children to school at five years of age, other-wise the school-board officer interferes. This compulsoryattendance is not enforced in other classes of society. Isthis fair? Should it not be enforced? In discussing thisquestion we must bear in mind that it is often an advantageto mothers to have their children taken care of a certainnumber of hours during the day. It gives them time toattend to household work.

2. If five is too early an age, what should be the age ?

Seven appears to be the favourite age at which a largenumber of those who are outside the Education Acts com-mence the education of their children. There cannot be adoubt that at seven years the brain is stronger and morecapable of receiving impressions. Those who begin at sevenacquire more quickly and outstrip very soon children whohave commenced at five. This is the experience of a largenumber of parents to whom I have spoken on the subject.

3. The regulation of school hours. Are the hours too long,or what should be the hours ?

I might mention several other questions which ought toreceive attention whilst the subject of health and educationis under consideration. Should the proposed Society ofMedical Officers attached to Schools be formed, from the com-bined experience of these officers great good would result,and many of the health questions affecting education wouldreceive full discussion. I trust that by-and-by medical officerswill be attached to all our School Boards. The sanitaryaspects of the Education Acts will then be still better lookedafter. The aim of medical men is not to impede education, assome of our opponents imagine. Our sole desire is to placeit on a proper footing, so as to secure not immediate butremote advantages-to protect the weak, to conserve thestrong, so that in the future the advantages gained from asystem of education carried ou under sanitary regulationswill be all the more lasting and beneficial to the classes

interested and to their country.—Yours truly,Halifax, March 8th, 1884. T. M. DOLAN, M.D., &C.T. M. DOLAN, M.D., &c.

BIRMINGHAM.(From our own Correspondent.) )

PAGE V. HARRISON.

THE above case, recently tried before Mr. JusticeHawkins, was one in which a medical practitioner of Soli-hull, near Birmingham, sued an accountant for slander.The case presented features which made it regrettable thatit should have come into a court of law, and that the

privacy of domestic relations should be held up to the

public gaze. A verdict was given for the plaintiff, thedamages being £150. Certain costs, however, were dis-allowed. It sems that, if a verdict were recorded on this sideat all, the damages very inadequately represented the griev-ance complained of, and will be more than absorbed in theexpensive litigation the suit entailed. It is necessary forsociety to have protection, but it is also essential that thepractice of the profession should be guarded against care-less aspersions or observations thrown broadcast acrossthe path of the practitioner. In this instance we have anillustration of the trouble and difficulties involved in appealsto the law, and the scant satisfaction from a pecuniary pointof view that even success involves.

THE QUEEN’S HOSPITAL.The annual meeting of the governors of this institution

was held on the 10th inst. The report showed a condition ofactivity, in so far that there were nearly 2000 more cases treatedthan in the previous year; the aggregate being-in-patients1812, out-patients 18,172, or nearly 20,000. The financialstate of the hospital, unfortunately, is not so flourishing,doubtless owing to the general depression in trade, whichaffects more or less most charitable institutions throughoutthe country. The accounts showed an excess of expenditureover income for the year of above £1394, bringing the de-ficiancy at the present time up to over 92943. It is anoteworthy fact that of the year’s income, £1600 wasderived from the working classes-namely, in the form ofHospital Saturday collections and registration fees, the latteramounting to JE676. It is an open question how far a hos-pital must be considered as free which imposes a protectionduty in the way of registration fees, though this is perhapsa less objectionable mode of raising money than that recentlyadopted at a large metropolitan hospital ; at any rate, ityields a substantial amount towards the working expenses,and could hardly be dispensed with in the present state ofthe funds.

THE CHARGES AGAINST BIRMINGHAM PARISHMEDICAL OFFICERS.

The official inquiry into the allegations against districtmedical officers of the parish of Birmingham, with regard to

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discrepancies in the returns relating to out-door pauperlunatics, will commence in the board-room at the parishoffices on Monday next, the 24th inst., at 10 A.M., beforeMr. Henley, Local Government Board inspector.

NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE.(From our own Correspondent.)

SUNDERLAND PROVIDENT DISPENSARY.

THIS appears to be a very popular and successful institu-tion. It was established in 1879. The first year its incomewas about £700, while last year it reached nearly £1140. In1879 the medical staff only received £156, while last yearthe amount was £588; this was stated to be due to the

rapid increase of members and more economical manage-ment. A statement as to the amount of work done byeach member of the medical staff, and the scale of re-

muneration for it, would have been satisfactory, but itdoes not appear to have been mentioned in the report,at least in that published in the newspapers. The paymentsfor admission are-for an adult Is. 9d. and 4d. per month ;for a man, his wife, and family, 2s. 5d. (no matter howmany children), and a monthly payment of Is., the ageof the children being limited to fourteen. Masters or

mistresses may enter their servants ex officio on paymentof 5s. per year, a change of servants not rendering member.ship invalid. In the constitution of the committee theinfirmary and the medical staff appear to be well represented.

" HEALTHY HOMES " AT SUNDERLAND.Our townsman, Dr. Drummond, has been lecturing at

Sunderland on " Healthy Homes. " The lecture has beengiven under the auspices of the Ladies’ Sanitary Institution.The subject was ably treated by Dr. Drummond, and waswell illustrated by diagrams. He very strongly condemned"made ground" as a fruitful source of impurity and disease.In one respect Sunderland is a fortunate town, as it hasenjoyed almost simultaneously two courses of sanitary lec-tures, the one promoted by the medical officer of health, andthe other by the Ladies’ Sanitary Institution. These lecturesmay be considered opportune, seeing that the town issuffering from an epidemic of small-pox at the presenttime; at least, the last report gives ninety-two fresh casesas having occurred in the last fortnight, with fourteendeaths; likewise three deaths in one family from diphtheria..A lay writer in one of the Sunderland papers, while admittingthe value of lectures on sanitary subjects, especially at atime like the present, very properly points out that thecorporation, which is notoriously a very inert body asregards health matters, might do something by a dailyflushing of the town sewers with lime and water, both ofwhich are abundant in the place.

SURGEONS AND POLICE CASES.

Dr. Beattie the other day did good service in drawingattention to a custom that would appear rather prevalent inSunderland. He was called in to a case of suicide by poison-ing with carbolic acid; he attended for several hours, andwas surprised to find himself quite superseded by the policesurgeon. Dr. Beattie complains that, if a surgeon hesitatesto go to a poisoning case, he lays himself open to a charge ofinhumanity and a "censure" from the coroner’s jury-apractice rather indulged in at Sunderland inquests; while, ifhe attends, he finds the bare mention of his services, not tosay "honour" of attending, wrested from him. I fear, how-ever, that surgeons in other towns can sympathise withDr. Beattie in his complaint.

FRIENDLY SOCIETIES’ SPECIAL SERVICE.A very important movement has taken place among the re-

presentatives of the various Friendly Societies of Sunderlandwith a view to promote a special service for the workingclasses, with collections after the manner of Hospital Sun-day, to be devoted to the Sunderland Infirmary and theSick Children’s Hospital. The mayor is expected to presideat the first service, at which special addresses are to bedelivered by eminent ministers and laymen. Its scope, how-ever, might well be enlarged by taking in the Eye Hospital.

DEATH FROM LEAD-POISONING AT JARROW.

At Jarrow, the other day, an inquest was held upon thebody of a female lead-worker, and a verdict of " Death from

chronic lead-poisoning " was returned. The coroner saidthat the Government inspector had pointed out to him that,while the employers were not to blame, a great advantagewould be derived by the women employed in the factories ifthey underwent at different intervals of time an examination,in order to determine whether or not they were in a fit stateto continue at work.Newcastle-upon-Tyne, March 17th, 1884.

SCOTTISH NOTES.(From our own Correspondent.j

UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH TERCENTENARY,

THERE seems to be considerable irritation among thestudents of the Edinburgh University, and a feeling thattheir claims to participate in the tercentenary celebrationsare likely to be slighted by the authorities. It would be

very undesirable that any such feeling should be possible onthe occasion of such an interesting fete. There is nodoubt that the students are the backbone of the University,and it would be a great mistake to turn the ceremonial intoa glorification of the professors and their distinguishedguests, regardless of the very evident rights of the students,They are, indeed, according to the "provisional programme"now issued, to be allowed to provide amusements for themagnates-to give a ball, a concert, a dramatic entertain-ment, and a torchlight procession; but it would appear thatthey are only to be allowed a share in a "limited number of,tickets, along with ladies and others," for the honorarygraduation ceremonial, which will be the central event ofthe celebration. It is to be hoped that the framers of the" provisional programme " will lose no time in altering thismanifest injustice.

ABERDEEN ROYAL INFIRMARY.

At the quarterly meeting of the governors of this insti-tution, held a few days ago, besides the intimation that theinfirmary had now been provided with two ambulances,chiefly through the exertions of Dr. Urquhart, there wereone or two items of interest in the programme of business.Professor Struthers made a motion in favour of competitiveexamination for the position of physicians’ and surgeonsassistants. Dr. Struthers had evidently noticed that thecurrent of feeling was entirely against the proposed change,and he offered to substitute a suggestion that the mattershould be considered by the medical officers. For one reasonor another little countenance was given to the suggestion,and happily the over-examined students will be thusrelieved of another day of horrors. For many years theseyoung men have been selected from the cream of the school,and the existing arrangement works admirably. Notwith.standing the exertions made during the past year to increasethe permanent revenue of the institution, the directors haveagain to intimate a deficiency in the year’s accounts of 660.This question becomes of serious interest not only to theinfirmary, but to the medical school, as all who wish well tothe latter are anxious to see an extension of hospitalaccommodation, with further room for the separation ofcases, and these reforms cannot be brought about withouta largely increased expenditure. With a view to futureeconomy, it has been agreed to remit to the committee ofmanagement to inquire into the cause of the increasingexpenditure beyond the income of the hospital, and how thiscan be prevented in the future, and to report not later thannext quarterly court.

PERTH WATER-SUPPLY.

Dr. Andrew Wilson, in one of his recent health lecturesto the people of Perth, strongly condemned the existingwater-supply of their city. He pointed out the evident dis-advantages of drinking water taken from the river into whichthe sewage of the city had previously been poured, and themixture twice daily floated back over the filter beds by theaction of the tides. The medical men of Perth have beenat last heard for their much speaking, and now somethingis to be done. The abuse that has been diligently heapedupon them in the past will count for nothing if they cansecure for their patients and themselves a drinking waterthat is above suspicion, as every potable water ought to be.[The gentleman who, in the Scottish Notes of the 1st

inst., was spoken of as being likely to command the votes of