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,public to find the money. It is estimated that the totalamount required will be some .6250,000, towards which con-tributions amounting to £80,000 have already been promised.For a time the financial question seemed likely to breedmischief between the infirmary managers and the reconstruc-tion committee. The latter contended that having selected.a plan for rebuilding and collected £80,000 their functionshad ceased, and that the remaining financial responsibilitymust rest on the shoulders of the infirmary manage-ment, a proposal to which the managers not unnaturally.-objected. They expressed their consent willingly to the re-construction of the buildings on the north side with the

money already collected, but they declined to permit furtherinterference with the infirmary until the total amount ofmoney needed for the entire reconstruction scheme was raised.To this view the reconstruction committee appear to havebecome converted and they have now issued an appeal fora further £170,000. Together with the request for moneythe committee combat at length the various criticisms towhich their decisions and proposals have been subjected.The selection of the present site they defend not only onthe ground of its proximity to a vast industrial population,but also because the adjoining public square, necropolis, andcathedral afford a guarantee that the site will remain an

"open one permanently, and that no other position willsecure this condition unless the infirmary is removed farfrom the city to a place where the attendance of medical.men of the highest standing cannot be commanded. Theypoint out also that the removal of cases of severe injury oraccident to a distant spot would be full of danger to thepatients. The surroundings of the large London hospitalsare instanced in favour of the decision and the com-

mittee further quote the opinion of Dr. J. B. Russell,-late medical officer of health of the city. Against thecomment that the proposed plan adds 60 more bedsto a site already overburdened with 600 the committee.allow that in the present building some of the wardsoffer a greatly insufficient cubic space, but they state thatthe new infirmary will provide for every one of its 660 bedsan amount of air-space as ample as the most advanced

hospital reformer has ever alleged to be necessary, and thatin every ward there will be the fullest through-and-throughventilation in addition to any system of artificial ventila-- tion that may be adopted. The provision of the necessary bed-space is to be obtained by carrying the buildings to a height-of six storeys, but this, it is urged, will be an advantagerather than otherwise, and members of the staff will, it isanticipated, compete with each other for the upper floors, anadequate service of lifts being, of course, provided. The plan,,it is also explained, secures an arrangement of the buildingsso that only the minimum of shadow will be cast by any oneblock on any other and this is advanced as one of its leadingmerits. In regard to their selection of a plan other than theone recommended by their professional assessor the com-mittee explain that the plan adopted was not excluded bythe assessor from any failure in regard to vital or

essential particulars but chiefly from a difference ofopinion in regard to the style of architecture and thegeneral elevation, on which matters the committee thinkthat they are quite entitled to follow their own opinion.Detailed reasons are advanced in favour of the plan adopted,the elevation of which, it is stated, will in no wise prejudicethe architectural and aesthetic effect of the neighbouringcathedral. Altogether it must be admitted that the committeemake out a very fair case, and it is to be hoped that anyfeelings of irritation which have existed will now be allowedto subside and that all interests will work harmoniously tosecure the modern and thorough equipment of an institutionwhich is one of the oldest and most valuable of the medicalcharities of the city. When the infirmary is rebuilt it will

undoubtedly be one the largest and best hospitals in the’United Kingdom. There must be a great want of tact andmanagement somewhere if such an institution is not madefully available as a clinical school for the numerous medicalstudents of the University. It is notorious that many of theclasses at the Western Infirmary are much overcrowded, yetthe wards of the Royal Infirmary find but a scanty con-tingent of students.

Glasgow University.The executive committee appointed in January last to deal

with the question of providing funds for the better equip- ]ment of the University and for meeting the demand forextended laboratory and research facilities have issued astatement describing the immediate requirements in these i

respects. In the medical faculty it is stated that claimsmore particularly arise in the departments of materiamedica, forensic medicine and public health, and physiologyand surgery, and it is proposed to meet these bythe erection of new buildings which, together withsome minor rearrangements, will cost .650,000. Newbuildings and apparatus needed in the science facultyare estimated to cost .645,000. The demand for increasedaccommodation in the faculties of arts and law will, it isanticipated, be met by the removal of the departments justenumerated into new buildings. The teaching staff ought,it is stated, to be reinforced by the foundation of professor-ships in civil law and in organic chemistry, and by theinstitution of lectureships on English language, ancient

history, philosophy, and electricity. The total sum forwhich an appeal is made is .c150,OOO. Towards this sub-scriptions amounting to £38,000 have already been privatelyintimated. They include a donation of .cSOOO. from Mr.John S. Templeton and a similar sum, 11 ear-marked " forthe physiology department, from an anonymous source perthe Right Hon. J. A. Campbell, M.P. The trustees of thelate Wm. Houldsworth give £2000, and Mr. Andrew Stewart,LL.D., who recently endowed a chair of Political Economy,.c1500. Amongst the donors of subscriptions of .f.1000 areLord Rosebery, Lord Kelvin, Sir John Stirling Maxwell, SirCharles Tennant, Sir James Bell, Sir Charles W. Cazer, theRight Hon. James A. Campbell, M.P.. Mr. J. S. Kennedy,New York, Mr. William Ker, and Mr. James Napier.

Outbreak of Small Pox at Braemar.Ab’’ut a fortnight ago a fatal case of small-pox occurred

in an isolated cottage at Braemar, in the AberdeenshireHighlands. Since then there have been reported six othercases, three of which are being treated in the same cottageand the remainder (including the lady caretaker) in the localhospital, which is being enlarged to meet the emergency.The outbreak is unfortunate at the commencement of theholiday season, Braemar being a great summer and autumnhealth resort. All precautions as to vaccination are beingtaken, and a medical man and selected staff of nurses havebeen sent from Aberdeen specially to attend to the cases.

Elgin Infectious Diseases Hospital.The Joint Committee of this hospital having had before

them a letter from Dr. Watson, medical officer, as to the workdone at the hospital during the year, have fixed the salary atE50 per annum. The charge of five guineas per head perweek made for small-pox patients from Burghead was con-firmed, it being stated there would be a loss rather than aprofit, the total extra expense having amounted to 6145,including disinfecting.

Small-pox in Aberdeen.Professor M. Hay, medical officer of health to the city, reports

that the seventh case in the present series (commencingJan. 1st, 1901) was that of a girl employed at BroadfordWorks who is now nearly fit to be discharged from the CityHospital. About 300 workers in the fame factory have beenrevaccinated and there has been no spread of the disease.The city local authority have revaccinated the followingnumbers :-At the Sanitary Office, 874 ; the Royal Infirmary,1094 ; the City Hospital, 122 ; the Dispensary, 56 ; Marywell-street School, 290 ; St Clement-street School, 183 ; WoodsidePolice-station, 253 ; Old Aberdeen Townhouse, 139; Walker-road School, Torry, 192; Torry School, 11 ; and elsewhere,330-total, 3544. The number of revaccinations performedprivately has been still larger. The extra expense to therates so far as is yet known is .6135 13s. 4d., including.c44 7s ld. for vaccine lymph, and E91 5s. to medical menand others for personal services.May 21st.

_______________

IRELAND.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)

Dublin Sanitary Association.THE council of the Dublin Sanitary Association met on

May 9th and passed the following resolution:-That having regard to the very serious epidemic prevalence of acute

pneumonia or pneumonic fever in Dublin and its vicinity, and to theproved infective or zymotic origin of this disease, the council are ofopinion that the disease should take its proper place among zymoticaffections in the periodical returns of the Registrar-General forIreland.

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At the previous meeting of the association a resolution wasadopted calling the attention of the Local Government Boardfor Ireland to the eminently unsatisfactory state in whichnotification of infectious diseases at present stands in theDublin registration area and adjoining districts. It tran-

spired that the Notification of Infectious Diseases Act hadnot yet been adopted in such important urban districts asKingstown, Blackrock, and Dalkey. Moreover, there is adifference of practice as to the diseases which are notifiable ;for instance, measles is not notifiable in Rathmines while itis so in Dublin and Pembroke; whooping-cough is not

notifiable in Dublin or Rathmines while it is so inPembroke. The council expressed an opinion that the timehas now come for assimilating the law of notification inIreland to that in force in England, Scotland, and Wales,where notification is now universally compulsory.

Presentation to Mr. Thomas Myles, P.R. C. S. Irel.A few intimate professional friends of Mr. Myles, Presi-

dent of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, met somedays ago at 33, Merrion-square, Dublin, for the purposeof presenting him with a carriage and an illuminatedaddress as a mark of their appreciation and regard. SirCharles Cameron occupied the chair and made one of hisusual felicitous speeches. Sir F. Criuse, D.L., was calledto the second chair, when a vote of thanks was passedto Sir Charles Cameron for kindly presiding on the pleasingoccasion.

Small-pox in Belfast.At a meeting of the Belfast Board of Gnardians on

May 14>,h, one of the members stated that a woman admittedto the infirmary with small-pox had come from nursing achild in Glasgow affected with the disease, and that thebedding and furniture were allowed to be brought throughthe public thoroughfares of the city without let or hindrance.He referred to the matter as showing great laxity on thepart of the Public Health Committee.

The Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, and the MedicalStudents.

Some recent appointments to the resident staff of the

Royal Victoria Hospital have given rise to considerableadverse criticism on the part of the medical students of theschool. The following are the facts. Two intern vacancieswere announced to be filled up on May llth, and for theseposts there were three candidates-two old students of theschool who had been resident pupils in the hospital and athird, a young medical man, the son of a well-known prac-titioner in Belfast, who had studied in Dublin. The appoint-men s are made by the board of management and life

governors. On the eve of the election a circular wassent, signed by the secretary of the Students’ RepresentativeCouncil and by the secretary of the Belfast MedicalStudents’ Association, asking the board of management togive preference to the candidates trained in Belfast, becausethey have been trained in the school and have beenresident pupils in the hospital. Their qualifications,the circular said, were not inferior to those of anyoutsider; and to appoint an outsider would cast a

slur on the teaching of this school and discourage thestudents attending it. All three candidates were graduatesin medicine; one was a first-class honours man of the

Royal University, the second was a pass graduate of thesame institution, and the third was a pass graduate of

Trinity College, Dublin. At the election the TrinityCollege man, whose father resides in Belfast, and who inthis way had local influence among the life governors,was elected by a large majority, and the other successfulman was the first-class honours man of the RoyalUniversity and one of the most distinguished men theBelfast Medical School has had for some time. As a resultthe students, who were most indignant, held a meeting, anaccount of which was published in the Belfast papers ofMay 18th, and passed a resolution viewing with regret theaction of the staff of the Royal Victoria Hospital in con-nexion with the recent appointment of resident medicalofficers. Further, they thought that the hospital staff shouldhave taken up a firmer position in regard to the medical quali-fications of candidates. A second resolution was also passed,stating that the Belfast medical students, being dissatisfiedwith the treatment they received in the Royal VictoriaHospital, directed the medical secretary of the Students’Representative Council to approach the Royal College of

Surgeons, Dublin, with a view to the recognition of theUnion Infirmary, Belfast, as a teaching hospital.

The Irish Census Returrns.From the returns just issued the population of Ireland is

now 4,456,546-a decrease of about 53 per cent. In threecounties there is an increase-Down, Antrim, and Dublin(the presence of the two cities of Belfast and Dublin givethe explanation). There is less decrease in Ulster (2 4 percent.) than in the other four provinces. Belfast, in popula-tion, is now by far the premier city of Ireland, and rela-tively it has increased in numbers more than any other townin the country. Its inhabitants are now 348,876 insteadof 255,950 at the last census (an increase of over 90,000).Dublin has a population now of 286,328 instead of 269.710’last census. These figures show that not only has Belfasta population exceeding that of Dublin, but that whileDublin during the past 10 years has increased by 16,618,Belfast has, during the same period, added 92,926 to itsnumbers. Of the other cities, Derry has increased since thelast census by over 6000, Cork by over 2000, while Limerickand Waterford have diminished.

Nurses in Poor-law Hospitals.On May 14th at Dublin Castle several boards of guardians

appealed under Section 14 of 10 and 11 Victoria, ch. 90,against an order of the Local Government Board for Ireland,dated Feb. 4th, 1901. The question involved was the rightof the Local Government Board for Ireland to insist uponthe appointment of qualified nurses and attendants in poor-law infirmaries and hospitals.May 21st.

PARIS.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Lumbar Puncture in Uræmic Headache.

AT the meeting of the Société Médicale des Hôpitaux,held on May 3rd, M. Marie and M. Guillain reported aninteresting’ case occurring in a young man suffering fromalbuminuria with enormous increase of the arterial pressureand complaining of very violent headache which neitheranalgesics nor milk diet could relieve. Lumbar punctureshowed that there was considerable hypertension of the

cerebro-spinal fluid, six cubic centimetres of which escapedin a jet. The headache diminished rapidly and disappearedentirely at the end of two hours. The improvement lastedfor several days. It might, therefore, be asked whethercertain nervous phenomena of urasmia, such as head-ache, transient amaurosis, &c., might not depend on

hypertension of the cerebro-spinal fluid, just as inthe case of cerebral tumour. If this be so, the best treat-ment of ursemic headache would be lumbar puncture. Atthe same meeting M. Legendre quoted the case of a uræemicpatient suffering from headache, insomnia, and myosis, whowas similarly relieved at once by lumbar puncture. At thenext meeting, held on May 10th, M. Babinski added astrange case to this list of instances of relief of cerebraltroubles on the reduction of the infra-spin al pressure. A

patient under his care, the subject of cerebral tumour,suffered from headache which disappeared regularly forthree days after the menstrual flow; menstruation, therefore,seemed here to act as a natural blood-letting, so to speak,diminishing the blood-pressure and consequently the pressureof the cerebro-spinal fluid.

The Chair of History of Medicine.At the Faculty of Paris the chair of History of Medicine is

again vacant, its occupant, M. Brissaud, having made anapplication to exchange to the chair of Intemal Pathologywhich Professor Debove has given up in order to become thesuccessor of M. Potain in the chair of Clinical Medicine.The list of candidates for the chair of History of Medicinesubmitted by the Faculty gives the first preference to M.Dejerine, and after him to M. Gilbert Ballet. Now M.Dejerine, an eminent neuro-pathologist, makes no secret ofhis intention if appointed to quit his post whenever anopportunity arises, in order to take the first chair of InternalPathology which becomes vacant. The council of thefaculty is not ignorant of this intention, but it assertsthat at least M. Gilbert Ballet, the candidate second inorder of preference, who will in due course be M. Dejerine’s