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child having to undergo an operation was put under theinfluence of’chloroform and died in two minutes. At the

inquest Mr. W. Thomas stated that since the opening of theChildren’s Hospital 14,500 operations under anaesthetics hadbeen performed and that this was the first death. This is ameritorious record, showing that extreme care had alwaysbeen used and also that children possess more than an averageimmunity to the effects of chloroform.

Staircases without Handrails.

Staircases without handrails are stated by the coroner tobe a frequent source of death and there are thousands ofhouses in Birmingham in this condition. This is a point towhich attention may properly be called.August 15th.

LIVERPOOL.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The Annual Report of the Medical h’rzezclty of UniversityCollege, -Liverpool: Honour for Professor Sherrington.

THE annual report of the medical faculty states that thenumber of students attending classes in the winter session1898-99 was 188. In 1896-97 and 1897-98 respectively thenumbers were 155 and 169. The new entries this year were88-54 medicals, 19 dentals, and 15 for special courses.

During the previous winter there were 71 new entries-49 medicals, 11 dentals, and 11 for special courses. Duringthe present summer the total numbers have been 144,including 12 new entries and five new entries for specialcourses. Last summer the total was 148, including eightnew entries and six for special courses. The improvedfacilities for the diploma of public health work provided bythe museum and school of hygiene resulted in a considerableaddition to the number of public health students lastwinter. The changes in the dental curriculum and the

improvement in the arrangements at the Dental Hospital andMedical School have caused a large increase in the numberof dental students. It is pleasing to find the examinationresults creditable to all departments. 142 students havepassed professional examinations (as against 118 last year),one science, 127 medical, and 14 dental. Of the medical,72 have passed University examinations (60 at the VictoriaUniversity, seven at the London University, and five at otheruniversities); 56 have passed various examinations of the

English or Scottish corporations ; and 28 have received theirqualifications (as against 26 last year), 11 at the univer-sities and 17 from the licensing bodies. Of dentalstudents, 11 have become qualified (as against eight lastyear) and three have passed an intermediate examinationfor the L.D.S. The outlay incurred during the past threeyears in the outdoor midwifery department is now bearingfruit. The winter session will be opened on Oct. 14th by theRev. S. A. Thompson-Yates, M.A. (the generous donor of thelaboratories bearing that name), who will deliver the

inaugural address and distribute the scholarships, medals,and prizes for the previous session. Dr. Charles ScottSherrington, F.R.S., the professor of physiology and

histology, has gained the Baly gold medal for his researcheson physiology during the past two years. The medal isawarded by the Royal College of Physicians of London. Pro-fessor Sherrington has had a distinguished career. Hegraduated at the University of Cambridge as Doctor ofMedicine in 1892 and gained a Fellowship at Gonville andCaius College. He is a member of the councils of manymedical and scientific research societies and has done goodwork at Liverpool since his appointment to the professorshipof physiology.

The Cancer and Skin Hospital: Resignation of theCommittee.

A special meeting of the subscribers to this charity washeld on August 10th to receive the resignations of the com-mittee, as foreshadowed in THE LANCET of August 5th.The resignations were accepted by the subscribers who

proceeded to the election of a new committee. Mr. WilliamRathbone expressed the hope that the new committee wouldfind some means of enabling the hospital to regain, and toretain, the confidence whioh it at the present moment

appeared to have lost. Otherwise he thought a great manyof them would be obliged to withdraw their subscriptions atthe end of the present year.

High Death-rate A mong Infants in Liverpool.The medical officer of health (Dr. E. W. Hope) in his

report to the Health Committee deplores the present highdeath-rate among infants below one year of age. The infantmortality was mainly due to diarrhcna, a disease eminentlyfatal to children, with whom it had all the characteristics ofcholera. Inquiry by the sanitary inspectors proved that itwas associated in nearly every case with domestic distressand improper feeding. The mortality was not worst in theslums, where mothers, as a rule, fed their children naturally,but in artisan districts and among the class slightly betteroff who more commonly resorted to artificial feeding. The

department was doing all it could by the issue of postersand pamphlets of simple instructions to check this sacrificeof infant life. Dr. Hope feared that until the Health Com-mittee obtained some power to deal with the improper feed-ing of children the deplored mortality would continue.August 15th.

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SCOTLAND.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Glasgow Infirmaries.THE Western Infirmary will soon be able to show a new

and greatly improved out-patient department. The old

building has for some time proved itself too small for thedemands made upon it and the work has only been accom-plished with considerable inconvenience alike to the staff, thestudents, and the patients. All will therefore welcome thechange to the new dispensary which will offer more commo-dious consulting-rooms and a fully-equipped electrical depart-ment, dark-room, &c. The special departments of practiceare to have every arrangement necessary to secure efficiencyboth for work and teaching. The managers are to becongratulated on their determination thus to meet the wantsof the modern medical student who is more and more aliveto the necessity of being furnished with practical knowledgeand skill in all the departments of practice. In addition tothe out-patient department the new building will have twowards for the reception of cases of skin disease. This willleave additional accommodation for medical cases in themain building, and in this way certain schemes whichcaused considerable excitement in the medical worldsome two years ago may be carried out peacefullyand without any attendant " excursions and alarums."The Royal Infirmary has not yet commenced to re-

construct itself. Unfortunately, there seem to havebeen repeated delays and difficulties in connexion with theplans and when it is remembered that the ReconstructionCommittee, the board of managers, and the medical staffhave each to be satisfied it is not difficult to understand that

opportunities for postponement are multiplied. There is,however, reason to believe that a satisfactory adjustment isnow in view. Naturally there is much interest taken in thewelfare of the institution which is the city’s oldest medicalcharity. At the Royal Hospital for Sick Children themanagers have appointed Mr. George H. Edington, M.D.Glasg., M.R.C.S. Eng., to be honorary extra-surgeon to thedispensary.August 15th.

IRELAND.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)

Order of St, John of Jerusalem.THE Queen has been pleased to sanction the appointment

of Dr. Samuel T. Gordon as an Associate of the Order of theHospital of St. John of Jerusalem in England and to permithim to accept and wear the decoration pertaining to thatrank of the Order. Dr. Gordon is surgeon to the Royal IrishConstabulary and has the Turkish and Zulu war medals.

Clare Lunatic Asylum.A specially convened meeting of the board of governors of

the Clare Lunatic Asylum was held at Ennis on August 14thfor the purpose of appointing a resident medical super-intendent. Much interest was taken in the election, therebeing no less than five candidates, all very well-known

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medical men. Mr. F. O’Mara of the Limerick Lunatic Asylumwas ultimately appointed.

The Blind of Ireland.

At a meeting of the Dublin Corporation held onAugust 14th a deputation was received from the DublinBranch of the National League for the Blind in reference tothe subject of State-aid. Mr. McDonald, in introducing the (

deputation, said that he spoke on the part of the 6000 blind ipersons in Ireland for whose assistance the late Royal (Commission appointed to inquire into the condition of theblind of the United Kingdom had reported unanimouslythat early legislation was required.

The Guardians and Medical Officers’ T7acation.

A great deal of unnecessary friction is at present takingplace between the Local Government Board in Ireland andthe guardians of the urban and city councils. The central

controlling body in Dublin passed a rule, known as 28 of thedispensary rules, by which they allowed medical dispensaryofficers the right of one month’s holiday, the guardians topay a substitute. These bodies are trying in variousways toevade this rule by endeavouring to shorten the holiday totwo weeks and by refusing to pay the recognised fee for alocum-tenent. I am pleased to find that the Local Govern-ment Board are showing a firm front and that although,as in some cases (Antrim, Belfast, &c.), the guardianshave attempted to hold to the two weeks’ vacationthe Local Government Board are making it mandatoryon the guardians to sanction the full month. It ispreposterous this attempt on the part of the guardiansto "sweat" their medical officers and I trust the LocalGovernment Board will keep firm on the matter. Theguardians are also in many places, on the death or resigna-tion of a dispensary medical officer, making a great effort tolower the salary, although the amount of work remains thesame. Under such circumstances the only real weapon tofight such miserable tactics is combination on the part ofmedical men not to apply for any appointment where thesalary has been lowered in this way.

The Services Examinatiom.

At the recent examination in London for commissions inthe Royal Army Medical Corps Mr. F. Irvine, M.B., attainedsecond place ; while Mr. J. W. D. Megan, M.B., and Mr.R. Steen, M.B., obtained third and fifth places at the ex-amination for the Indian Medical Service. All these gentle-men are from the Belfast Medical School.

Study of Tropical Diseases.The council of Queen’s College, Belfast, having received a

communication from the Colonial Secretary, Mr. Chamber-lain, as to the advisability of establishing a special depart-ment for giving instruction in the diseases of tropicalcountries to such students of medicine as contemplateentering the colonial service of the State, have decided, withthe sanction of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, to appoint alecturer on tropical diseases. In addition to serving thespecial purpose primarily intended to be met by its establish-ment it will afford to such of the students as intend tobecome medical missionaries an opportunity of familiarisingthemselves with the diagnosis and treatment of tropicaldiseases. This is the sixth new department established inthe College within the last seven years.

The Disposal of Lunatics in Ireland.The question of the location of lunatics in Ireland is still

being discussed. At a meeting of the County Armagh AsylumBoard (held on August 14th) a resolution was passed to theeffect that although the board had never refused admissionto patients sent there from workhouses and certified as

having become dangerous they were obliged to exercise dis-cretion in the admission of others owing to the congestedcondition of the asylum. The board was of opinion thatsteps should be taken to set apart some of the workhousesfor the reception of harmless lunatics. The governors ofthe Belfast Asylum have decided to. hold a special meetingto formulate a scheme for the consideration of the citycorporation for a settlement of the question of how to dealwith the lunatics now resident in the workhouse.

August 15th.

PARIS.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Exophthalmic Goitre treated by Injections of Iodoformsolution.

ONE of the most interesting communications made to theCongress of Medicine at Lille was that by Professor Pitresof Bordeaux, reporting that he had given up using injectionsof tincture of iodine in treating exophthalmic goitre. Thismethod gives good results in simple goitre but it is liable tobring on abscesses in the exophthalmic variety. ProfessorPitres now makes use of injections of an iodoform solution inether. He injects one cubic centimetre into the tissues ofthe goitre at intervals of about eight days. The injectionsmust not be made more frequently on account of the swellingprovoked in the gland which lasts for some days. The paincaused is acute, but it only lasts for some 12 minutes.In a very short time after the first injection the nervoussymptoms cease, sleep returns, the gland hardens little bylittle, becomes smaller, and the exophthalmos disappears.The patient continues to su:Eer for some time from cardiacirritability, but the arterial pulsations diminish and thesensations of palpitation disappear. Professor Pitres hastreated 12 patients, but in only six of these has he followedup the results enough to draw conclusions of value. Thesesix have remained well for over two years and none of the120 injections carried out upon them was followed by anyuntoward result.

The Hygiene of Railways.For a long time past hygienists in France have been com-

plaining of the insufficiency of hygienic precautions taken bythe railway companies-a lack of precaution which is all themore dangerous inasmuch as the number of people who travelis daily increasing. A preliminary circular has been sentout by the Minister of Public Works at the instance of theCommittee of Hygiene suggesting to the railway companiesthat they should wash the floors of carriages and waiting-roomsevery day with some antiseptic solution, and that a noticeshould be posted in carriages and other public places forbid-ding people to spit on the floor as is at present the customin all the chief towns. These measures were particu-larly recommended for the suburban lines which carry a

large number of workmen every day. The railway com-panies, however, have taken no notice of the circular andowing to numerous representations in the medical journalsthe Minister has just sent to the railway companies a more

. pressing circular than the first and has organised a systemof surveillance so as to see in what manner his instructionsare carried out. It is to be hoped that these measures maybe carried out equally on board steamers. It is fair tostate that the Paris, Lyons, and Mediterranean Railway

. Company has brought about real progress in sleeping

. cars going to Nice which so frequently carry tuberculouspatients.

. Death of Professor Balbiani.Professor Balbiani has just died at Meudon at the age of

75 years. As Professor of Comparative Embryology at theCollege of France he was formerly assistant to Claude

- Bernard at the Museum. Although descended from anItalian family he was born at Havana, and pursued hismedical studies at Frankfort-on-the-Main before going to

1 Paris. His reputation was world-wide and he leaves a con-1 siderable number of works, of which the best known deal

with the constitution of the egg, the embryonic vesicle,cellular division, the reproductive process in infusoriaand aphides, and silkworm disease. He had been

many times a laureate of the Institute, but despitemost pressing invitations on all hands he never pre-n sented himself as a candidate at the Institute or Academye of Medicine where he would certainly have been elected.n He wished only to be a member of the Society of-Biology,s of which he was one of the oldest and most industrious

;- members. Besides, for many years past he did not himselfd lecture but devoted his time more and more exclusively tot the laboratory altogether, leaving his lecture work, as

.s unfortunately is too frequently the case as regards the>f College of France, to his assistant, Dr. Hennegy. Professorg Balbiani was, with Professor Ranvier, editor of the Archives

V d’Anatomie Microscopique. It is probable that in accord-ance with the usual custom his assistant, Dr. Hennegy, will

succeed him in the chair.August 14th.