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body or for the maintenance of a capacity for active work.Oatmeal was used in 46 out of 60 families, but the averageamount per man per day was less than one ounce.

Death of Dr. Alexander Sclanders, of Nairn.The death of Dr. Sclanders, medical officer of health for

the burgh of Nairn, took place, after a long illness, at hisresidence, Nairn, on the morning of March 2nd, at the

age of 80 years. Dr. Sclanders graduated M.A. at AberdeenUniversity and took his medical degree in Edinburgh.Afterwards he became a house surgeon in the EdinburghRoyal Infirmary, and was subsequently appointed assistantto Professor Simpson, which position he held for three years,frequently sharing with him the responsibility of importantcases. He was reluctantly compelled on account of hishealth to leave Edinburgh, and more than half a centuryago he started practice in Nairn, soon becoming popularwith all classes of the community. Soon after he cameto Nairn he was appointed medical officer for the burgh,an office which he held until last week, when he resignedit. He gave much attention to sanitary matters, and thetown of Nairn has to thank him to a large extent for itshealthy condition. For many years he took an activeinterest in the town and county hospital, and was for sometime an enthusiastic volunteer. His great hobby in life wasgardening. His funeral was accorded military honours.

Aberdeen Friendly Societies and the Doctors.A special meeting of the Aberdeen and District Friendly

Societies’ council was held on March 5th, when a letter fromthe secretary of the Local Medical Committee was readregarding the decisions come to by that Committee oncertain questions referred to it from the conference withthe representatives of the Friendly Societies held on

Jan. 20th. 1. With regard to attendance on present oldand disabled members of Friendly Societies, the LocalMedical Committee recommend to the members of the

profession that medical attendance be given to such at therate of 6s. per annum per member, the societies to be

responsible for the sum, and free choice of doctor to bepermitted to the members. The Local Medical Committeealso desire in doing so that the Friendly Societies will

recognise and acknowledge that this is a concession made

by the profession in view of the circumstances placed beforethem, and is to establish no precedent at any future date.Also that attendance on other uninsured and non-insurablemembers under the local income limit be at the rate of7s. per annum, according to agreement under the NationalInsurance Act. 2. With regard to attendance on membersof juvenile lodges, the Local Medical Committee recom-mend that attendance on present members of juvenilelodges be agreed to at the rate of ls. 6d. pervisit, messages to be sent requiring such visit before10 A.M. Visits between 8 P.M. and 8 A.M. to be atthe rate of 3s. Free choice of doctor to be allowed.

Ultimately, after a lengthy discussion, it was agreed thatthe committee should approach the Local Medical Com-mittee and offer them the following terms : 3s. 6d. perannum per member for old and disabled members, 4s. 6d.perannum per member for other uninsured and non-insurablemembers, 2s. 6d. per annum for juveniles, cost of healthcertificate ls. 6d. Subsequently two members of thecommittee withdrew from it on the plea that, having beenalready before the doctors and refused, the offered termswould not be accepted. Finally, the committee wasinstructed to offer the doctors the terms mentioned, and, failing agreement on such lines, to make the best terms

possible.March llth.

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IRELAND.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)

The Royal National Hospitalfor Consumption.AT a joint meeting of the Fellows of the Royal Colleges

of Physicians and Surgeons, which was held at the RoyalCollege of Physicians, Dublin, on March llth, the action

of the board of the Royal National Hospital for Con-sumption for Ireland and the consequent resignation of itsvisiting medical staff were considered. The correspondencebetween the lay board and the medical staff was read, and aresolution was passed unanimously endorsing the consulting

and visiting staff of the hospital in the action which theyhad taken, and which was described in THE LANCET in a,

leading article last week.T7te Medical Benefit Committee.

The Treasury Committee appointed to conduct an inquiryinto the question of extending the medical benefit of theInsurance Act to Ireland held sittings last week in Belfast,Dublin, and Cork. Three witnesses were heard on behalf ofthe profession, Mr. R. J. Johnstone in Belfast, Mr. MauriceR. J. Hayes in Dublin, and Mr. Philip G. Lee in Cork. Mr.Johnstone explained to the Committee the revolution inmedical practice which the medical benefit would bringabout in Ireland. He declared that, if the drawbacks wereobviated, the profession would be willing to work the benefit,but worse conditions should not be offered to Irish medicalmen than were given in England. Mr. Hayes, developing thesame point, declared that there was a grave anxiety thatthe Commissioners were attempting to obtain cheaper ratesfor medical services in Ireland than in Great Britain, as wasevidenced in the case of the maternity and the sanatoriumbenefits. The Commissioners suggested in Ireland a confine-ment fee half that paid in Wales, and they proposed ear-marking 41/2d. instead of 6d. for domiciliary treatment underthe sanatorium benefit. He further made it clear that the

profession in Ireland had not declared either for or againstthe extension of the medical benefit to Ireland ; they wouldconsider any scheme on its merits. He suggested that thesame remuneration as was given in England-viz., 7s. ahead-would be accepted in Ireland. If the families were tobe included in the benefit, then a fair rate for persons withfamilies would be 1 guinea a head. He pressed also that.medical benefits in all cases should be administered throughthe Insurance Committees and not through the FriendlySocieties, and the medical profession should have a

direct representation of 1 in 10 on such committees. Ifmedical benefits were extended to Ireland there mustbe free choice of doctor by patient and of patient bydoctor. Medical benefits should be extended only to insuredpersons having an income of less than £2 per week.Mr. Lee, who gave evidence at Cork on behalf of theJoint Medical Committee, stated that he considered 8s.

per insured member and £1 for the member and his

dependents would be a fair rate. He said the medicalprofession in Ireland were not so concerned about theactual money payment as they were about the huge exten-sion of the contract system which too often will impairmedical efficiency by not giving time to overworked prac-titioners to make accurate diagnoses. I may mention thatthe amount of evidence to be tendered was limited by theCommissioners. That, taken in connexion with observationsdropped by individual Commissioners, has left the impressionthat many of the members started with preconceived opinionsand that the introduction of medical benefits for at leastsome of the towns is already a foregone conclusion.Among the non-medical witnesses there was much differenceof opinion as to the desirability of extending the benefit toIreland. Speaking generally, the representatives of thesocieties were in favour of the proposal, and those of theemployers against it. An interim report from the Com-mittee is expected in a few days. So far as the inquiry hasgone, it is regarded by many medical men as little short ofa farce. The refusal to hear medical evidence from Belfastwas inexplicable; indeed, the whole attitude of the mambersof the Committee was in the direction that the medicalprofession had quite a secondary interest in the question ascompared with insured people and employers. Then attackswere made on the medical profession in Londonderry, andyet when at Belfast Dr. George Elliott rose to reply andto explain he was promptly silenced by the chairman. Asto remuneration, the main idea of the Committee seemed tobe to pay 4s. a year per head for medical attendance uponan insured person, with medicine, and 8s. for the insured

person and dependents-that is, for the whole family. Nowonder that in an editorial in one of the leading Belfastdaily papers the question is asked, " What sort of doctoringcould be given for such remuneration ? "

"

Maternity Benefit in Ireland.A conference was held recently at the offices of the

Insurance Commission in Dublin between the representativesof the Dublin maternity hospitals and representatives of theUnion of Approved Societies, at which the position of the

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hospitals in relation to the maternity benefit was fully dis- i.cussed, and the following four points were eventually agreed upon-viz. : (1) a fee of 5s. to be fixed for intern aand extern patients ; (2) the fee to be reconsidered at the 1.end of one year should the hospitals be able to prove (

that they had actually incurred loss as the result of the withdrawal of subscriptions ; (3) the Approved Societies ito pay the fee direct to the hospitals; and (4) the hospitals to provide the certificates required by the

Approved Societies in connexion with the payment of thebenefit. For this purpose it is proposed to furnish eachhospital with a supply of forms, and it has been decided thatthe certificates may be signed by any responsible member ofthe hospital staff-for instance, the medical officer, matron,or the nurse in attendance upon the case. It is considered

strange that although there are maternity hospitals in Belfast,Cork, and Limerick, their representatives were not consultedin reference to the above regulations. Indeed, nothing ismore remarkable than the way the Irish Insurance Commis-- sioners are-off their own bat-making arrangements ofwhich the Advisory Committee and the medical professionknow nothing beforehand.

Typhoid Fever and Diphtheria in Belfast.In a report presented at the monthly meeting of the

Belfast city corporation, dealing with the health of that citybetween Jan. 19th and Feb. 15th, the medical officer ofhealth drew attention to the increase in the number of casesof typhoid fever and diphtheria (16 of the former and 37 ofthe latter having been notified during the month, as against’7 and 26 in the preceding month, and 7 and 18 in thecorresponding month of 1912). No common cause (water,milk, typhoid-carriers, shell-fish) has been discovered forthis increase ; the typhoid cases have appeared sporadically,and no contact seems to have occurred amongst the families,of the several patients. Practically all the cases were foundin the houses of the working class, the majority being inpoor circumstances ; and the houses, with one exception,were in a clean and sanitary condition.

Death of Mr. Josevh Bradley.I regret to announce the death of Mr. Joseph Bradley,

L.R.C.P. & S. Irel., at the Tyrone County Hospital on

March 8th, from complications following an opeiation for.suppurative appendicitis. He was dispensary medical officer,of the Gortin district of the Omagh Union, and had onlyrecently been married ; indeed, three weeks ago the peoplein the Gortin district-where he practised-showed theirappreciation of his services by making him a handsomepresentation on the occasion of his marriage. To his youngwidow the greatest sympathy is extended. Mr. Bradleyacted for a time as assistant demonstrator of anatomy atQueen’s College, Cork.March llth.

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PARIS.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Cocaine Sellers.A MONTH ago the Commissary of Police of the Quarter of

the Sorbonne, in which the Paris schools are situated, was.ordered to hold an inquiry on the clandestine traffic in

poisons. The police sought for long in vain to tracewhence the habitues were able to procure the drugs. An

inspector finally noticed the movements of a woman who ina night cafe delivered to certain known persons little whitepaper envelopes containing several grammes of cocaine.Three days in succession she returned to the same estab-lishment, then she disappeared, to be observed in anothercafe, where she acted as before. She was followed, and wasseen to talk to individuals who, in their turn, were shadowed.These persons also frequented certain night cafes, and withgreat secrecy and caution distributed little blue packages.The inspector gradually satisfied himself that he had to dowith a band of purveyors of the drug in the students’

,quarter. Five arrests were made. A porter of a night cafewas found to be furnishing his accomplices with the drug,which he obtained by means of thefts practised by him inthe pharmacies where he was also employed. The membersof the band supplied the cocaine only to persons known tothem and whom they found in the night cafés. A special

introduction was necessary to enable any one to obtain adrug packet. They frequently changed their establishmentsand made themselves up, the men changing the cut of theirbeards and frequently varying their attire. They sold thecocaine as high as 20 francs a gramme. According to theresults of the inquiry their clientde was very large, andincluded students of the Ecole Polytechnique and of all thefaculties, among them many women.

The Jubilee of Professor J. Renaut.On Feb. 22nd, at Lyons, the friends, colleagues, and

pupils of Professor Renaut presented him with a medal

commemorating his 40 years of teaching. A native of

Touraine, Renaut began his medical studies at Tours, cominglater to Paris, where he entered at the Charite. He took amedal in 1874 for his M.D. thesis on an anatomical andclinical study of erysipelas and the cedemas of the skin.

Shortly afterwards he became chief of the medical clinic,and in 1875 director of the clinical laboratories at theCharite. He continued his researches at the College deFrance. On the creation of the Faculty of Lyons in 1877,Renaut was appointed professor of general anatomy andhistology. From the first he achieved a rare success as ateacher. Subsequently as a hospital physician he estab.lished a clinical course which was always well attended.He became a member of the Academy of Medicine whilevery young, and was elected a corresponding member of theAcademy of Sciences. He remained at Lyons, in spite of

tempting offers of more coveted and highly placed posts.He is a poet also, and has published a volume of fine poetry,and is a remarkable artist, all the figures in his Traited’Histologie being designed by himself, as well as the platesin a volume on the Art of Heraldry, of which he is the author.

The Three Years’ Military Service and Medical Students.The committee of the Association Corporative des

Etudiants en Medecine has passed a resolution to the effectthat, in view of the proposed new law increasing the periodof compulsory military service from two to three years, veryheavy burdens will be imposed on French students whichforeign ones are not called on to bear, and urging thatthe time has come to settle the constantly recurring ques-tion of foreign students and to prohibit to them the practiceof medicine in France. The law must not be permitted toexercise a discrimination in favour of foreigners. It is

necessary also to examine closely into the probable con-sequences of this law from the standpoint even of Frenchmedical students.

Cerebro-spznal Meningitis.An outbreak of cerebro-spinal meningitis has occurred

lately at the Military School of Gymnastics at St. -Ilaur.So far two cases have occurred. The military authoritieshave taken all the usual precautions. It is thought thatthese cases are sporadic. A case has also occurred in the13th Regiment of Artillery in garrison at Vincennes.

Creation of a New Professorial Chair.On the proposition of M. Landouzy, doyen of the Faculty

of Medicine of Paris, the Council of the Faculty has unani-mously voted, after discussion, in favour of the creation of achair of hygiene of infancy, with a clinic. This chair

, would prove of undoubted utility, as Professor Hutinelremarked. It remains to find the money necessary for its

’

establishment.

; The Rational Treatment of Habitital Constipation.L The part played by respiratory gymnastics in the treat-ment of habitual constipation was considered by M. Froussard

on Feb. 27th at the Societe de l’Internat des Hopitaux deParis. For some years past kinesitherapy has held an

- important place in such treatment; and naturally so, since’ it is logical to remedy the impotence of the abdominalmuscles. Of these the diaphragm is one of the mostimportant, although it is usually regarded as a respiratoryimuscle, without regard to its abdominal r6le. Its move-. ments in unison with those of the muscles of the antero-) lateral walls act not only on the visceral mass, promoting’

movement of the intestinal coils on one another, butalso on the intestinal gases. The contractions of the .

, abdominal walls subject the gases to alternate com-

i pression and decompression, thus forcing them to passs along the intestinal tract in a regular manner. This

gaseous circulation awakens and maintains intestinal peri-1 stalsis. In defalcation the importance of the functional