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The PRESIDENT drew attention to the fact that Sir WilliamS. Church, as President of the College, had been a memberof, and chairman of, the Cancer Research Committee and inretiring from the position of President thereby was no longera member of that committee. It was therefore resolved to

request Sir William Church to continue a member of theCancer Research Committee.

Sir WILLIAM CHURCH thanked the College for the resolu-tion and acceded to the wishes of the Fellows.The report of the Committee on the Care and Control of

the Feeble-Minded was received and adopted.The following gentlemen having passed the required

examination were admitted as Members of the College :Arthur John Jex-Blake, M.A., M.B. Oxon. ; Frank EdwardTaylor, M.A. Vict., M.B. Lond., L.R.C.P. ; George WilliamWatson, M.D. Lond., L.R.C.P. ; and William Henry Wynn,M.D. Lond., L. R. C. P.The following Members were elected as Fellows of the

College: Duncan Burgess, M.B. Cantab. ; Thomas WattsEden, M.D. Edin. ; Wilfred John Harris, M.D. Cantab. ; Bed-ford Pierce, M.D. Lond. ; Leonard Roger<" M.D. Lond., I M.S.;James William Russell, M.D. Cantab. ; James Harry Sequeira,M.D. Lond. ; Harold Batty Shaw, M.D. Lond. ; EdmundIvens Spriggs, M.D. Lond. ; William Barnett Warrington,M.D. Lond.; Arthur Whitfield, M.D. Lond. ; and RobertArthur Young, M.D. Lond.The following communications were received : 1. From

the secretary of the Royal College of Surgeons of England,reporting certain proceedings of the Council on April 13th.2. From the executors of the late Mrs. Begley, announcing abequest of E500 to the College.

Dr. P. H. Pye-Smith was re-elected the representative ofthe College on the Senate of the University of London.On the recommendation of the Council the Baly medal was

awarded to Professor Pavlov of St. Petersburg, as havingpre-eminently distinguished himself in the science of

physiology.The quarterly report, dated April 7tb, of the College

finance committee was received and adopted.A report, dated Feb. 6th, was received from the committee

of management. Amongst other matters it was recom-mended that the Swansea General and Eye Hospital shouldbe added to the list of general hospitals recognised by theExamining Board in England and that the Willesden Dis-trict Isolation Hospital should be added to the list of feverhospitals recognised by the Examining Board in England.A report, dated Jan. 27th, was received from the labora-

tories committee.A report was received from Dr. Pye-Smith on the history

and the work of the laboratories of the Royal Collegessince heir opening in January, 1890. A vote of thanks wasaccorded to Dr. Pye-Smith for the report.A report was received from Sir William Church and Sir

Lauder Brunton on the conference of the Royal SanitaryInstitute on School Hygiene, held from Feb. 7th to 10th,1905.Dr. NORMAN MOORE proposed the following motionThat a generous offer of the Worshipful Company of Barbers, con-

veyed in a letter to one of the Censors, to restore to the College anInspeximus Charter of Charles II., now in possession of the Com-pany, be accepted.This was seconded by the SECOND CENSOR (Dr. W. H.

ALLCHIN) and carried. Dr. Norman Moore was requestedto receive the charter.A list of books and other publications presented to the

library during the past quarter was received and thankswere returned to the donors.The PRESIDENT then dissolved the Comitia.

EGYPT IN 1904.

THE Earl of Cromer’s report on the Finances, Adminis-tration, and the Condition of Egypt and the Soudan in 1904is a lengthy document covering about 150 pages of foolscapsize but the contents, generally speaking, are full of interestand many subjects are dealt with that appeal specially tothe sanitarian. The Nile flood of 1904 was but little betterthan that of 1902, which was the lowest but one of thoserecorded, but notwithstanding this serious drawback, whicha few years ago would have entailed great scarcity, if notactually a famine, Lord Cromer is able in his concluding

paragraphs to state that the past year was one ofunexampled prosperity in Egypt in spite of the ravagesof the cattle plague and the fact that the cotton crop was apartial failure. Elsewhere he writes that the situation wassaved by the works constructed during recent years and bythe zeal and ability of the irrigation staff ; and he furtherexpresses the opinion that the whole population of Egyptowe a deep debt of gratitude both to these officials and totheir predecessors.The revenue of Egypt in 1904 amounted to RE.13,906,152,

being no less than RE.2,406,152 in excess of the estimate.As, however, the expenditure was also largely in excess

of previsions the actual surplus only amounted to

ZE. 1, 205,820. For the current year the estimatedrevenue is RE.12,255,000 and the estimated expenditureRE. 11,755,000, the anticipated surplus consequently amount-ing to .6E.500.000, a sum which we believe to be by far thelargest that has ever appeared under this heading. LordCromer considers it to be highly satisfactory that whilst.maintaining the policy of slow progress and low taxation ithas been found pcssible to increase the administrative ex-penditure by no less, in round figures, than RE.630,000. Ofthis sum the lion’s share is absorbed by the public worksdepartment, less than a tenth of the whole being distri-buted between the police, the prisons, and the sanitaryservices. " I am prepared to admit," continues LordCromer, " that it might have been possible, without seriousrisk of disturbing financial equilibrium, to go somewhatfurther in the direction of either reducing taxation or ofincreasing expenditure. But I repeat that, after full

consideration, it was thought wiser to move tentativelyand cautiously in the inauguration of the new systemand to contemplate the possibility that either by reasonof a heavy fall in the price of cotton or from othercauses the rapidly growing prosperity of the countrymight receive a check." Under the "new system" offinancial control which has become possible since the

signature of the Anglo-French Agreement in April, 1904, theassets of the General Reserve Fund on Jan. 1st last amountedto RE.13,376,146. Of this large sum RE.7,529,074 havebeen hypothecated in various ways, but there still remainsa balance of RE. 5,847,072 which is available for capitalexpenditure of various sorts, whether in Egypt or the Soudan.The fund, also, will be replenished by the surplus of 1905and also by about RE.3,000,000 from the liquidation of theDaira estates.Under these flourishing financial conditions it is to be

regretted that the question of town sewerage should have,been allowed to fall into abeyance. Throughout his longreport Lord Cromer makes no mention whatever of drainage,although he admits that only the fringe of the greatquestion of sanitation has yet been touched in Egypt. In.1890 he wrote that the only way to remedy this evil-was to construct a system of sewers on scientific prin-ciples. An eminent English engineer, Mr. Baldwin Latham,.had been specially deputed some little time previouslyto report fully on this subject. The plan which he framed,.and which Lord Cromer approved of, would have costabout R700,000. In his book " England in Egypt "Viscount Milner also alluded to this project, saying that therevival of interest in sanitary matters was further provedby the preparation then being made for the thorough.drainage of Cairo. It is difficult to understand the com-

plete shelving of this important matter, for in 1898,under the heading Drainage of Cairo," Lord Cromer wrote :"This subject has been under consideration since 1890 butowing to financial and other reasons no solution has so farbeen found. The Cairo Water Company has now in hand ascheme which is almost ready to be submitted to the Govern-ment. The approximate total cost is RE. 50,000....... It isto be hoped that at no very distant date it will be possibleto commence work. I may mention that in 1891 the Powersagreed to the administrative expenditure of the EgyptianGovernment being increased by half the Octroi receiptsof Cairo, in order to provide for the drainage of thetown. The financial difficulties of carrying out anyscheme are thus materially lessened." That sewerage isurgently required not only in Cairo and Alexandriabut also in, the large towns of Upper Egypt (wherethe Nile receives most of the filt,h) as well as in thoseof the Delta cannot be seriously contested. The number oftowns which are provided with an abundant water. supply isbeing steadily added to, but in no case are there channelsfor its removal when soiled. Closets and binks discharge-

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into loose-bottomed cess-pits underneath the houses and

every day the subsoil necessarily becomes fouler and moresuitable to act as a breeding-place for noxious germs.

In spite of the magnificent climate the death-rate inEgyptian towns is very high. The average in 20 towns withan aggregate population of 1,436,989 (natives) was 32-7 7per 1000 for the week ending Dec. 16th, 1904, and forthe preceding week it was 33-2 per 1000. Lord Cromerquotes Sir Horace Pinching under the heading "InfantMortality " as follows : " The mortality in Cairo was con-siderably higher than in 1903. The increase was almostentirely due to a heavy mortality caused by gastro-enteritisamong children during the months of April, May, and Juneand to a severe epidemic of measles from which 750 childrendied. The gastric troubles to which so many infantssuccumb in this country are without doubt due to bad feed-ing. Children of under a year old are given unripe fruit andvegetables of all kinds to eat. The high mortality whichoccurs from measles is due to the absolute want of any careor attention to children when suffering from this disease."No doubt Sir H. Pinching’s view is correct to a certainextent but it should be remembered that it is during thethree months which he mentions that the Nile is lowest andmost foul. If Egypt were properly sewered an immensepurification of the Nile could not but follow. The river isthe sole source of water-supply that the country possessesand every effort ought to be made to keep it wholesome.

THE GERMAN CONGRESS OF INTERNALMEDICINE.1

THE German Congress of Internal Medicine met this yearat Wiesbaden from April 12th to 15th, Professor ERB

(Heidelberg) being in the chair.After the inaugural address, delivered by the PRESIDENT,

the nrst subject brought before the Congress was a discus-sion on

Heredity.Professor ZIEGLER (Jena) explained the biological process

involved. Heredity, he said, depended on the spermatic cellsand those of the ovule, which were very similar in animalsand in plants : their nucleus included so-called chromosomes-i.e., stainable formations of distinct number and shapeproduced by the division of the nucleus. They were of thegreatest importance for heredity. As the spermatic cell andthat of the ovule contained the same number of chromosomesthe influence of the mother and of the father was of equalimportance in heredity. The impregnated ovule cell re-

ceived one-half of its chromosome from the father and theother half from the mother and the mixture of the piternaland the maternal chromosomes had a great influence on thequalities transmitted by them to the young individual. Theaction of this combination (amphimixis) might be bestobserved when two different species of animals were mated.Professor Ziegler then explained that the germinative cellsmight differ according to the preponderance of the maternalor paternal chromosomes. In the procreation of new indi-viduals different combinations might act each time and sothe offspring of the same parents might exhibit differences.Professor Ziegler, in concluding his address, said that theconstitution of an individual and the liability to diseasesdepended on heredity according to natural laws.

lleredaty and Predispos"tion with Reqard to Tllberaulosis.Professor MARTIUS (Rostock) said that in an individual

case the question of hereditary conveyance of pathologicalor rormal psychical or bodily qualities could only be jd<1g-edaccording to the laws of probabilities. The practicalresults of theoretical research were not very great ; in con-tracting a marriage it must bj considered in the first placewhether the constitution of both partners was good.Secondly, when specific diseases had been prevalent in theancestry of one partner it was desirable that they should beabsent in the ancestry of the other. The hereditary natureof certain diseases, however, was not only manifest by theirprevalence in the ancestors ; as these diseases could not beexplained by exogenic influence a specific predisposition mustbe admitted. Some diseases could only be understood by

1 For this report we wish to tender our sincere thanks to the editor ofthe Deutsche Medicinische Wochenschrift, through whose courtesy ithas been forwarded to us by our Berlin correspondent.

supposing a specific hereditary debility of the organ. Pro-fessor Martius concluded that diseases proceeding fromexogenic causes might be combated and that intra-uterineinfection and direct toxic lesion of the germs (as by syphilisand alcohol) must be avoided. The better the constitutionof the parents the greater was the probability of healthyoffspring.

I I Thorax Parccl,rtians."Dr. ROTHSCHILD (Soclen) said that he distinguished

between the congenital and the acquired forms of this con.dition and he opposed the view that thorax paralyticus wasthe consequence of pulmonary tuberculosis. It was presentnot only in children of tuberculous parents but also in thosewho lived under bad hygienic conditions. He then describedthe anatomical symptoms of this form of thorax, the flatnessof the anterior thoracic wall being the most characteristicfeature.

In the discussion Dr. jESSEsr denied the existence ofcongenital thorax pa,ralyticus.

Dr. HANSEMANN supported the views of Professor Freund-namely, that the stenosis of the upper aperture of thethorax depended on a congenital shortness of the cartilageof the first rib. He said that thorax paralyticus and thegeneral state of nutrition were inherited.

Dr. AUFRECHT (Magdeburg) said that pulmonary tubercu-losis was not transmissible by heJedity, but he conceded theheredity of scrofulosis which made children more liable tobe invaded by tubercle bacilli.

Dr. TURBAN (Davos) made the interesting statement thatin certain tuberculous families the phthisical process had atendency to begin in every member in the apex of the rightlung and in other families in that of the left lung.

Dr. LUTHJE said that dogs of the same family when bredin and in presented certain anomalies of metabolism, such asincrease of the discharge of uric acid, polyuria, obesity, &c.

Dr. STAUBLl (Munich) gave an account of his experimentsin guinea-pigs concerning the quantity of agglutinin in theblood of foetuses the progeny of animals treated withenteric fever bacilli. He said (1) that a foetus having a fatherwith and a mother without agglutinating blood did not showagglutinin in its blood ; (2) that the offspring of motherswhose blood contained agglutinin had also agglutining sub-stance in their blood serum ; and (3) that their fcetuses werelike animals of passive immunity-i.e., those in which theagglutinating serum had not formed pontaneously but hadbeen injected. He drew the conclusion that the agglutinatingsubstance was conveyed through the placenta to the foetusbut that the capacity to form agglutinin was not hereditary.

Physiology and Pathology (Jf the Blood.Professor LEUBE (Wurzburg) spoke on the subject of the

pulse in the veins of anaemic patients. According to himthis venous pulse was produced by a relative insufficiency ofthe tricuspid valve.

Dr. HERING (Prague) reported an expeiiment where theheart was made to resume beating 11 hours after death byinjection of Ringer’s fluid into the coronary arteries. Theheart beat three and a half hours and it was remarkablethat both the auricles beat separately from the ventriclesand more often than the latter.

Dr. DENEKE (Hamburg) reported that he had made asimilar observation in the heart of a decapitated criminal.

Dr. SCHOTT (Nauheim) said that it was a clinical observa-tion that both the ventricles and the auricles beat syn-chronously.Alteration (If the Arteries produced by Tnjections of Adrenalin.

Dr. FiscHER (Bonn) said that intravenous injections ofadrenalin in animals produced aortic aneurysm by caus-ing necrosis of the muscularis and degeneration of theelastic fibres. An inflammatory reaction leading to typicalmesarteritis and endarteritis was the result. The arch andthe thoracic part of the aorta were liable to be affected first.Dilatation and hypertrophy of the heart occurred almost

always, myofibrosis and myocarditis occurred frequently,and sclerosis of the heart muscle sometimes. Cerebralhaemorrhages of greater or less extent were frequent, espe-cially in the cortex. The same alteration of the arteries,though not so marked or so regular, might be produced bythe intravenous injection of other toxic substances Therewas a ditference between arteriosclerosis in the humansubj ct and the above alteration, which might be termedarterionecrosis. Subcutaneous injections in guinea-pigs andintravenous injections in dogs were inefficacious, as differentspecies of animals showed different reactions.

(To be coHttMwed.)