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ment of criminals is a subject far, as yet, from having beenworked out, and it should occasion no surprise if in this, asin other matters, we have to pick our way by slow anddevious steps to a full understanding of the subject. That

progress is likely to be of this character we have very

specific warning in these pages from a prison chaplainwhose observations are quoted in the Commissioners’

report and who remarks that "there is an overlappingof labour in rescue effort which is acting very per-niciously to the work generally and to the interest of thefallen woman individually. With such contentions forher case and with such notice as she is at present receiving,she is beginning to look upon herself not as a penitent, but asa person of a certain value for philanthropic advertisement."Errors so palpable as this will no doubt be soon corrected.The important point to be gained is that the problem of sup-pressing crime should be identified with that of reclaimingthe criminal, and that mere sentiment, whether of indigna-tion’at the crime or compassion for the criminal, shouldcome to be regarded as irrelevant in this connexion-as irrelevant as in the discussion of figures or of facts.How much may be learnt by mere observation carefullyand systematically carried out is suggested, and to someextent illustrated, by the brief but significant remark whichthe Commissioners make that " Idleness is the offence whichmost commonly leads to punishment while in prison, as it isprobably the cause of most of the offenders being there at all. "Another inquiry of no less importance which is suggested andto some small extent perhaps advanced by the present reportis that into the obscure and intricate relation between drinkand crime. Many people are convinced that the relation is asimple one-that, namely, of cause and effect ; but this hasnever yet been proved. Drunkenness and crime g hand inhand, but the very interesting diagrams which this reportcontains of the growth and prevalence of these two forms ofvice over a series of years cannot fail to suggest to those whostudy them that the true relation between drink and crime isat the present time a matter to be investigated rather than tobe explained.

THE FIFTH CONGRESS OF ITALIANMEDICINE.

UNLIKE its predecessors, this gathering had a specialsignificance, that of being in some measure a rehearsal ofthe great International Congress which will meet in Romeon Sept. 24th, 1893. Dr. Baccelli opened the proceedings inthe Aula Magna of the Roman University, and his short

address was to the following effect :-"Next year, as you all know, Rome will be the seat of the

Eleventh International Congress of Medicine and Surgery.This fact obliges us more than ever to close up the ranksand to perfect the discipline of our medical forces, in orderthat the sittings of that Congress may issue honourably andbe of good omen for the Italian name. The question whichdominates every other is of a clinico-hygienic character-thestudy, to wit, of infectious maladies and the best means ofcombating them. Of many of these diseases the nosographicwork is almost complete, of several the nosogenic work is welladvanced, while there is wanting to all the posology’ ofinfections or the determination and action of the toxic sub-stances which are bred in human organisms by the actionof pathogenic micro-organisms or by the reaction of theelements that compose the tissues. Arduous is the under-taking beyond all precedent. But here also the inductionsof the clinical ward precede the studies of the laboratoryand yield us a measure of moral certainty, while the irre-fragable proof, which is always that by experimentation, willbe furnished us if we sedulously labour in observance of therubric of the ancient academy of research- testing and re-testing.’ The clinique and the laboratory ought to marchhand in hand with perfect harmony. The one represents thetreasury of the experience of centuries, the other the conquestsof to-day. It is only error which we ought to combat, but wehave no right to demolish or to substitute at will for thesake of novelty. We must know profoundly the history, thecircumstances and the arduous progress of the medical idea.We must be just with all, and above all we must be logical.Conceding the honours of the day to the study of infec-tious diseases, we must not lose sight of the scientific and pro-fessional (artistica) ground already gained. Nay, we must

perfect it with time and ever maintain burning the sacred fireof research. Not every Italian study, honourably known to.history and to fame, is adequately appreciated by our brethrenbeyond the Alps and beyond the seas. It is our duty,to diffuse the knowledge of such and to redomesticate’it, if credited to another, by opportune vindication.Let us never lose sight of the fact that if science can<

give us great and ardently longed-for satisfactions, practice is.what, in the social order, diffuses the prestige of our service.Between a true remedy and a conquest of science, suffer-ing humanity will give the palm to the former. The solitary-satisfaction of the soul belongs to pure mathematics ; we can;always keep ourselves mindful of the fact that nisi utile est.quod facimus, stulta est gloria’ (unless our work be useful,the glory of it is foolish). Gentlemen, an illustrious clinician,a noble intellect, endowed with varied and profound culture,Cesare Federici, is no more. To him be the honour and the-regrets which are his due. But the most fervid and sincere-prayers are invoked for our Arnaldo Cantani, that his loftyintellect and profound goodness of heart may soon be restoredlto him, and through him to us, so that he may live to be one"of the strenuous champions in these encounters of the Italianprofessional arena. There is one in Italy who is always fore-most wherever a disaster or a joy saddens or exhilarates the-heart of the nation. This one has authorised me to announceto you that he will inaugurate in person the International!Congress.’ To him be, therefore, our gratitude. Let a newomen of scientific and professional greatness be the name of’Humbert. "The discourse, delivered with characteristic brio, was loudly-

applauded, after which the Congress settled down to the-

agenda paper. Professor Forlanini read his "Velazione " on

aerotherapy, which occupied the rest of the forenoon ; and inthe afternoon Dr. Baccelli commented on some peculiarities ofthe blood and urine of malarious subjects, followed by amelaborate memoir of Professor Maragliano of Genoa entitledSull’ Azione Alterante del Siero del Sangue Patologico"sulle Emazie " (ailLaTlat). The subsequent sittings of the.-

Congress included papers and discussions, such as those ofProfessor Lombroso on the Character of Born Delinquents.or Moral Maniacs and on their Analogies with Epileptics ;.of Professor Rummo on Paraplegia Spastica Congenitalis z.of Professor Riva on Rheumatic Infection ; and of well-known clinicians and consultants such as Ferletti, Cavallero,Castellino, Sansoni, Masini, Borgherini, Caffarelli, Giuffr6,Lipari, Spallicci and others. The proceedings terminated’.with a banquet, at which Dr. Baccelli took the chair ; while-the scientific outcome of the Congress will be found officiallyembodied in the ’’ Atti,’’ as revised by the authors of the-several papers and by the critics who followed.Rome, Nov. lst.

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BOLINGBROKE HOUSE.

ON the llth inst., at St. Mark’s Vestry Hall, Battersea.Rise, a meeting was held for the purpose of calling public:attention to the financial difficulties of the above institution,and to make better known the objects of the hospital. Boling-broke House will afford" a home in sickness for those who-need the advantages of hospital treatment and nursing and areable to pay wholly or partially for the same. " Lord Battersea,.who presided, said he was surprised that the hospital was so.

little known. There were many people who could not affordto have operations performed at their own homes and who.did not care to be the recipients of hospital charity, willing:to pay the sum of two or three guineas per week if they onlyknew of the existence of such an institution as Bolingbroke-House. This was practically the first hospital to adopt the’system of "paying patients," which had been adopted bymany other institutions ; but Bolingbroke House suppliedluxuries and comforts which could not be obtained elsewhere.He hoped that the public would freely subscribe to the good-work that was being done, and that the work would not bestopped for the want of a few pounds.

Sir Henry Peek, Bart., proposed the following resolution,which was seconded by Mr. Oram, who emphasised the factthat the institution was in reality not a hospital, but a"home": "That the work which has been done at Boling-broke House in the past twelve years, during which time-1200 patients have been received in addition to muchassistance given in emergency cases, has been a great public.

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benefit, especially to this neighbourhood, and shows the

urgent necessity for the maintenance and development of the’hospital. "

The Hon. Conrad Dillon, in submitting a resolution to theeffect that, "although those patients who have paid only aproportion of their cost have contributed according to theirmeans, the receipts have fallen short of the expenditure andprevented the hospital from being self-supporting, and there-fore it is expedient that a sum of at least E2000 should beraised forthwith to prevent its being closed," spoke of theenergetic labours of Canon Erskine Clarke, who had foundedthe hospital and who had for the past twelve years suppliedthe funds. He said that the finances were now in such astate that if the hospital were to cease its work to-morrowthey would be exactly solvent.

Both resolutions being carried, Mr. T. Bryant, Presidentof the Royal College of Surgeons, testified to the excellenceof the hospital arrangements. In all nearly 200 large opera-tions had been performed with very little mortality, andthis he attributed to the airy wards, good nursing and goodfood.The meeting having recorded its appreciation of the

services of the committee of management and the staff incarrying on the institution, a vote of thanks to LordBattersea terminated the proceedings.

VITAL STATISTICS.

HEALTH OF ENGLISH TOWNS.

IN thirty-three of the largest English towns 6375 births and3817 deaths were registered during the week ending Nov. 12th.The annual rate of mortality in these towns, which hadincreased from 17 3 to 19 6 per 1000 in the preceding fourweeks, declined to 19 last week. In London the death-rate was 18 ’8 per 1000, while it averaged 20 ’1 in the thirty-*two provincial towns. The lowest rates in these towns were13 -0 in Leicester, 13’1 in Wolverhampton, 152 in Norwich,and 16’1 in Derby ; the highest rates were 25 1 in Bolton,26-7 in Hull, 28 0 in Salford, and 29 6 in Preston. The3817 deaths included 434 which were referred to the

principal zymotic diseases, against 407 and 434 in the pre-ceding two weeks; of these, 139 resulted from measles,81 from diphtheria, 74 from scarlet fever, 55 from

whooping-cough, 46 from diarrhoea, 34 from "fever" (prin-cipally enteric), and five from small-pox. These diseasescaused the lowest death-rates last week in Derby, Halifaxand Norwich, and the highest rates in Plymouth, Hull,Croydon, Preston and Salford. The greatest mortality frommeasles occurred in West Ham, Oldham, Brighton, Croydon,Portsmouth, Hull and Salford ; from scarlet fever in Croydon,Cardiff, Plymouth, Salford and Preston ; from whooping-cough in Croydon, Salford and Preston ; from "fever" inPortsmouth, Birkenhead and Wolverhampton ; and fromdiarrhoea in Preston, Leicester and Oldham. The 81 deathsf!rom diphtheria included 51 in London, 4 in Sheffield, 3 inCardiff, 3 in Manchester and 3 in Leeds. Three fatalcases of small-pox were registered in Sheffield, one

in Halifax and one in Huddersfield, but not one inLondon or in any other of the thirty-three large towns ;3 cases of this disease were under treatment in the MetropolitanAsylum Hospitals and 2 in the Highgate Small-pox Hospitalon Saturday last. The number of scarlet fever patients inthe Metropolitan Asylum Hospitals and in the LondonFever Hospital at the end of the week was 4063,against 3936, 4012 and 4067 on the preceding three Satur-days ; 403 new cases were admitted during the week,against 410 and 462 in the preceding two weeks. The deathsreferred to diseases of the respiratory organs in London,which had been 267, 296 and 319 in the preceding threeweeks, further rose last week to 357, but were 39 belowthe corrected average. The causes of 75, or 2’0 per cent.,of the deaths in the thirty-three towns were not certifiedeither by a registered medical practitioner or by a coroner.All the causes of death were duly certified in Portsmouth,Cardiff, Bolton, Preston, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and in nineother smaller towns ; the largest proportions of uncertifieddeaths were registered in West Ham, Birmingham, Leicester,Liverpool and Sheffield.

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HEALTH OF SCOTCH TOWNS.

The annual rate of mortality in eight of the largest Scotchowns, which had increased from 19’0 to 22 9 per 1000 in the

preceding three weeks, declined again to 20-6 during theweek ending Nov. 12th, but exceeded by 1-1 per 1000 themean rate during the same period in the thirty-three largeEnglish towns. The rates in the eight Scotch towns rangedfrom 14-5 in Paisley and 14-9 in Greenock to 224 in Glasgowand 26 ’0 in Leith. The 574 deaths in these towns included61 which were referred to measles, 19 to scarlet fever,9 to whooping-cough, 9 to "fever," 6 to diarrhoea, 5 to

diphtheria, and one to small-pox. In all, 110 deathsresulted from these principal zymotic diseases, against 80and 108 in the preceding two weeks. These 110 deathswere equal to an annual rate of 4’0 per 1000, which exceededby 1’8 the mean rate last week from the same diseasesin the thirty-three large English towns. The fatal cases ofmeasles, which had increased in the preceding seven weeksfrom 12 to 69, declined last week to 61, of which 23occurred in Edinburgh, 19’ in Aberdeen, 11 in Leith,and 7 in Glasgow. The deaths referred to scarlet fever,which had been 14 and 13 in the preceding two weeks, roseagain last week to 19, and included 14 in Glasgow, 3 inEdinburgh, and 2 in Leith. The 9 fatal cases of whooping-cough exceeded by 4 the number in the preceding week, andincluded 8 in Glasgow. The deaths referred to differentforms of "fever " which had been 2 and 5 in the previoustwo weeks, further rose to 9 last week, of which 6 occurredin Glasgow. The 5 fatal cases of diphtheria showed a markedfurther decline from those recorded in recent weeks, and in-cluded 2 in Edinburgh and 2 in Glasgow. The death fromsmall-pox was registered in Glasgow. The deaths referred todiseases of the respiratory organs in these towns, which hadbeen 138 and 142 in the preceding two weeks, were again 142last week, and were 120 below the number in the corre-sponding period of last year. The causes of 63, or nearly11 per cent., of the deaths in the eight towns last week werenot certified.

HEALTH OF DUBLIN.

The death-rate in Dublin, which had increased from 194to 28 ’5 per 1000 in the preceding three weeks, declined againto 23’9 during the week ending Nov. 12th. During the firstsix weeks of the current quarter the death-rate in the cityaveraged 23’1 per 1000, against 17’8 in London and 21’6 inEdinburgh. The 160 deaths in Dublin during the weekunder notice included 5 which were referred to different formsof " fever," 2 to measles, 2 to diarrhoea., and not one

either to small-pox, scarlet fever, diphtheria or whooping-cough. In all, 9 deaths resulted from these principalzymotic diseases, equal to an annual rate of 1’3 per1000, the zymotic death-rate during the same period being1’8 in London and 5’7 in Edinburgh. The deaths referredto different forms of "fever," which had increased from 2 to10 in the preceding three weeks, declined again to 5 duringthe week under notice. The 2 fatal cases of measles ex-ceeded the number recorded in any recent week. The 160deaths registered in Dublin last week included 25 of infantsunder one year of age and 45 of persons aged upwardsof sixty years ; the deaths of infants showed a markeddecline, while those of elderly persons showed a further in-crease upon those recorded in recent weeks. Six inquestcases and 4 deaths from violence were registered; and 41,or rather more than a fourth of the defths, occurred in publicinstitutions. The causes of 19, or nearly 12 per cent., ofthe deaths in the city last week were not certified.

THE SERVICES.

MOVEMENTS OF MEDICAL STAFF.SURGEON-COLONEL JAMESON has re-embarked for Egypt

on return from sick leave of absence. Brigade-Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel Comerford has arrived in Bermuda andassumed the duties of Senior Medical Officer. Brigade-Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel Scott has embarked for India ona tour of foreign service, and Brigade-Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel Barrett, whose promotion was recently gazetted, hasarrived home in the Tamar on completion of a tour.

Surgeon-Captains Lynden Bell and Gubbin have arrived atBermuda for duty, and Surgeon-Captain Reilley has obtainedleave from there. The following officers have embarked forIndia in the Cyccoa!:&mdash;Surgeon-Captains Tate, Watson,Mumby, Brogden, Birch and Kelly. Surgeon-Captain Carrhas arrived home in the Serapis. Surgeon-Captain Risk has