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of a science is necessary it is often difficult to recommend atext-book which will cover the aspect of the subject re-quired ; (3) it is fitting that in a great University the individualviews of the teachers should have the opportunity of findingexpression ; (4) in every subject there are general aspects ofquestions which do not find a place in text-books ; and (5)the constant progress of knowledge makes it necessary to

present the most recent views on a subject. It is, however,definitely indicated that the systematic lecture shouldtake a less prominent place in the curriculum thanit has hitherto taken. The three final subjects are

then dealt with seriatim. Surgery.-It is suggestedthat in the third winter there should be a junior courseof 50 lectures on three days a week and a seniorcourse of the same extent in the fifth winter. The otherthree days a week would be thus available for tutorial workat the corresponding hour. With regard to clinical work,the necessity of insisting upon a definite course of study isagain emphasised so that the precise course which eachstudent should pursue should be laid down each term. It isalso emphasised that in this way the number of studentsattending each surgeon should be rigorously limited

by the equal distribution of the students to the variousteachers. In the teaching, the services of the assistant

surgeon attached to each full surgeon ought to beutilised. Importance is given to the out-patient departmentas a means of familiarising the student with the aspectsof surgical practice seen there. Surgery is thus madeto occupy a prominent place in the third winterand the following summer. Medicine.-In this subjectthe ideal course in systematic medicine is given as 90 to 100lectures in which every system is dealt with generally.With regard to clinical medicine, much stress is, of course,laid upon the great importance of bedside work. It is

suggested that the ordinary physicians should be so corre-

lated to the clinical professors that the students would beequally distributed amongst the various teachers. It is alsosuggested that the assistant physicians ought to take a

definite part in teaching. Midiwifery and Gynocology.-It isheld that oral instruction as pursued in Edinburgh has manyadvantages, and it is not suggested that it ought to be altered,but that the lectures should be taken in the fourth winter.

Special subjects -These are also dealt with, but as the

arrangements for taking them are largely a question of timetable and not of principle, they do not require specialmention. Attendance, however, on these subjects can onlybe properly regulated by a definite curriculum being laiddown which the student must follow. Examiations.-Withregard to examinations, it is suggested that the first pro- fessional subjects should be taken as they are at present.Anatomy and physiology should be passed at the end of thesummer after the second winter. At the end of the thirdwinter there should be an examination in pharmacology andelementary pathology, and in medical jurisprudence and publichealth at the end of the summer after the fourth winter.Another very important suggestion is made-namely, thatwhen a candidate fails twice in a subject he should notbe allowed to attend subjects in advance, but must lengthenhis curriculum. The question of introducing a block systemis referred to, but no strong opinion with regard to it is ex-pressed. Other matters are dealt with in the report, butthese have not the same wide interest that belongs to anyproposals which have for their object the improvement of theteaching of the student.

Presentatien of the T’reedom oj the City of Edinburgh toPrincipal Sir IVilliam Turner, K. C. B.

On Dec. 10th, on the invitation of the Lord Provost, magis-trates, and councillors of the city of Edinburgh, a largenumber of citizens met in the Synod Hall to witness the con-ferring of the freedom of the city on Principal Sir WilliamTurner, K.C.B., and the Rev. Principal Whyte, D.D., aneminent local clergyman. The Lord Provost, as is usual onsuch an occasion, gave a sketch of Sir William Turner’s careerin Edinburgh, and also sketched the relations past andpresent which subsisted between the town council and theUniversity. As is also customary on such an occasion therecipient of the honour is expected to make a speech. ThisSir William Turner did in his own strong and directstyle; he was evidently much affected by having had thehonour offered him and by the reception he received. Healso referred to the connexion between the University and thetown council and also spoke of his long connexion with the

University. The event was of peculiar interest as thefreedom of the city is not usually bestowed upon citizens.Principal Whyte unfortunately was prevented by indispositionfrom being present.

Prnposal,for a New Hospital for Women in Edinburgh.A meeting was held some days ago in the council

chambers, and presided over by the Lord Provost, whichhad for its object the inauguration of a scheme for a sortof paying hospital for women in Edinburgh, to be officeredby men. The scheme met with some criticism at themeeting, and it will be difficult to float any new charity atpresent ; while it would require to be made very clear thatit is necessary to add to the medical charities of the citybefore the proposal would meet with any considerablemeasure of support from the public or the medical profession.

Appointment.Dr. A. K. Traill, the medical superintendent of the Sidlaw

Sanatorium, Dundee, has received an appointment at the

Municipal Sanatorium, Salterley, Birmingham, and has

resigned his present appointment.Poorhouse Medical Officers in Dundee.

At a meeting of the subcommittee of the Dundee parishcouncil it was agreed to recommend for the staffing of theEast Poorhouse Hospital a senior medical officer at a salaryof 120 per annum, and a junior at £100 per annum. Underthis scheme the services of the present medical officerswould be continued.

Proposed infirmary Extension at Dundee.A scheme for the erection of a large building in connexion

with the out-patient department of the Dundee RoyalInfirmary was under consideration at a meeting of the

management committee on Dec. 9th. The erection willcost between E3000 and 4000, and it is understood that Mr.J. K. Caird, who has frequently come forward to help theinfirmary, has promised substantial aid towards the cost.It is proposed that the building shall face Barrack-road, andthe matter will come up for further discussion at the

quarterly meeting of the governors.. Conszcmption in Turriff.

At a meeting of the Turriff district committee a letter wasread, dated Nov. llth, containing resolutions adopted at aconference on pulmonary phthisis-namely, that notificationshould be compulsory, that infection should be traced out

by officers of the local authority, followed by disinfectionwhere necessary ; that hospital accommodation should beprovided for cases that could not be treated at home. Aletter from the town clerk of Turriff was also read suggestinga conference with the town council as to the advisability ofextending the present hospital to admit consumptivepatients. The feeling of the meeting was in favour ofnctification and disinfection, but with regard to hospitalaccommodation there was doubt expressed. Eventually thechairman moved :-

That the district committee approves of the first three resolutions ofthe conference on pulmonary phthisis. and resolves to make notificationof phthisis compulsory in the district and to instruct the sanitaryinspector to assist in disinfecting houses where the disease occurs ; butwhile willing to discuss this matter with the town council, is ofopinion that a grant should be given by Government for that purpose

. before any provision for hospital accommodation is made from therates.

: The motion was unanimously agreed to, and the matter ofmeeting the town council remitted to the hospital com-mittee representatives.Dec. 14th.

IRELAND.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)

The Irish Universities.THE following figures give in round numbers the students

at present attending the Irish Universities :-National Uni-versity : (a) University College, Dublin, 90 ; (b) Cecilia-street Medical School, 270 ; (c) University College, Cork,320 ; (d) University College, Galway, 120 ; total, 800.

University of Dublin: Trinity College, 1200 ; Magee College,90; total, 1290. The Queen’s University of Belfast : Facultyof Medicine, 252 ; Faculty of Arts, 201 ; Faculty of Science,110 ; Faculty of Law, 12 ; total, 575. As a result the total

1862

University students at present in Ireland are 2665. InBelfast the numbers last session were 456.

Irish Meat-Supplies.The Local Government Board has just issued a new code

of regulations relating to the inspection of all foreign meatimported into this country. The foreign meat trade wasvery small, indeed, when the old regulations were drawn up,but it has attained considerable dimensions, and it is desiredby dealers in the article of home production that the

imported meat should be submitted to a process of inspec-tion at least as searching as that which is applied in the caseof Irish meat. Of the two varieties of cold-preservedmeat which are brought into this country, the" chilled" "comes from Liverpool, where it has been slaughtered within the previous 24 hours or less before its arrival at an Irishport ; while the frozen comes in many cases from some ofthe most distant parts of the earth, and may have been killedmany months before arrival here. It is hoped that the newregulations for Ireland will provide precautions as carefuland effective in the safeguarding of the public meat-supplyand the public health as are enforced at the Port ofLondon. It is significant of current opinion that a

motion brought before the Limerick county council withthe object of discontinuing the attendance of veterinaryinspectors at fairs was promptly rejected, and at theannual dinner of the Dublin Victuallers’ Association, whichtook place on the evening before the opening of theCattle Show of the Royal Dublin Society last week, Mr.T. P. Gill, secretary of the Department of Agriculture,pointed out that the cattle trade of Ireland was being ’’,outstripped by other trades not usually considered of so

high importance-trade in the produce of the dairy andthe poultry-yard and that of bacon. Last year the value ofthese amounted in round numbers to £9,200,000, while thatof the cattle exports made a total of f.8,900,000. ,

Richmond Asylum v. Local Government Board: Report of Jaedgment. ,

The joint committee of the Richmond Asylum has pub-lished a full report of the judgment which was given inits favour in the Court of King’s Bench in the case inwhich it successfully contested the payment of four

surcharges which had been made by the auditor of the LocalGovernment Board. The printed report of the legal detailsand the circumstances in which they originated (to which Ihave already drawn attention in this column) is accompaniedby an instructive memorandum drawn up by the chairman ofthe committee (Mr. Richard Jones), who points out that thejudgment has established that Irish public bodies are endowedwith the right of protection of the interests of the members ofthe working population by the adoption of the fair wagesresolution, and special attention is directed to the passage inwhich the Lord Chief Baron stated that they should guard to thebest of their abilities against the danger of having that clauserendered a dead-letter. Such bodies, in the expenditure ofpublic money, are entitled to exercise the same discretionthat the members would use in the conduct of their ownprivate and personal affairs, which includes the power ofrejecting the lowest tender when it is thought fit to do so. Andhe indicates, finally, that it is decided that public bodies are tobe allowed to manage, in the real sense of the word, theaffairs which were entrusted to them-" that these gentlemenare not appointed to be mere clerks," as the Lord ChiefBaron forcibly expressed it. This report will doubtless

inaugurate a notable departure in the transaction of publicbusiness by the various Irish boards, and the thanks of theIrish public are due to the chairman of the Richmond com-mittee for the preparation of the memorandum, and to thisbody for the publication of it and the report which it

accompanies.Bangor Hospital, (o. Dorvra.

On Dec. 9th the foundation-stone of the new hospital atBangor was laid by Miss Connor, who has contributed E500to the building fund. Situated on an excellent site, thisuseful cottage hospital will afford accommodation for medicaland surgical cases, with rooms for matron and nurses, andwith an excellent operating theatre. A simple style of earlyGeorgian architecture has been adopted, carried out in solidred brick with sandstone sills and copings.

The Belfast Branch of the Women’s National, HealthAssociation.

At the second annual meeting of the Belfast branch of the

Women’s National Health Association of Ireland held in the

city hall, Belfast, on Dec. 13th, the Right Hon. the LordMayor presiding, very gratifying reports were presentedfrom the various subcommittees on the prevention of

tuberculosis, the promotion of school hygiene, and theformation of babies’ clubs, showing the admirable pre-ventive work that was being done. Among the speakerswere the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, the DowagerMarchioness of Dufferin and Ava, the Right Hon. ThomasSinclair, D.L., Mr. J. S. Bryars (chairman of the Belfastboard of guardians), and Dr. W. J. Maguire.Dec. 14th.

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ITALY.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Honours to Enrieo Giglioli.THE Republic of Science " is about to show its appre-

ciation of the life and work of this veteran in the field of

comparative anatomy and ethnographical exploration bycelebrating on Dec. 20th the completion of his fortieth

year of professional instruction in the Istituto di Studi

Superiori in Florence. Nature students of all nationalities

throughout Christendom are taking part in the ceremonyand already a lengthy list of names has been received

by the secretary of the organising committee (Dr. E.Balducci, Via Romana 19, Florence) in attestation ofthe universal interest evoked by the anniversary. Amongthese I may notice the representatives of nature studyin the English-speaking world-British, colonial, andAmerican-such as J. T. Cheeseman, Robert Etheridge,Professor A. C. Haddon, Sir E. Ray Lankester, Professor

Henry F. Osborn, Charles H. Read, Professor G. D. Thane,Professor E. B. Tylor, Professor Bernhard H. Woodward, andDr. E. P. Wright. These gentlemen, in compliance with theinvitation of the committee, have forwarded to the secretaryeither their autograph, their carte de visite, or their photo-graph to be inserted in the album-an artistically illuminatedvolume in symbolical binding to be presented to Professor

Giglioli along with the congratulatory address on Dec. 20th.Other participants in the " testimonial" (for such in a signalsense it is) are in course of doing likewise, thereby giving to thecommemoration an "ecumenical" " character in keeping withthe kinship, or rather the brotherhood, of science. Thereare special reasons for the cordiality with which English-speaking nature-students have responded to the appeal.Giglioli is described by his compatriots as " Italo-Inglese,"having been born of Italian parents on June 13th, 1845, inLondon, where, after graduating in medicine at Pisa, heworked with Professor Huxley as a trusted disciple and co-adjutor. He made a voyage round the world in the

lllagenta, and enriched the "Museo di Storia Naturale"inFlorence (in which he has long been director of the"Gabinetto degli Animali Vertebrati ") with specimens, asvaluable as they are unique, of zoological treasure-trove. Amember of the " Consiglio della Società di Anthropologia,"he has laid its transactions under heavy obligations byoriginal research, while his published writings entitled" ITasmaniani: Etnologia e Storia di un Popolo Estinto" ;" ’Zoologia della Magenta" ; "Relazione del Viaggio intornoal Globo della Pirocorvetta Magenta"; "Iconografia dell’Avifauna Italica"; "Un Bisogno Urgente dell’ Antro-

pologia "; " Notizie sul Kalang di Giava "; " Studi Etnologiciin Siberia," and many others bear witness to the variety andcomprehensiveness of observations distinguished by pains-taking accuracy, clear exposition, and charm of style.

Superstition.How green’ is this grey world " (Shelley’s memorable

line) might have been the motto of Professor Pio Foà’s recentlecture before a popular assembly at Milan on " Pregiudizi eVittorie di Medicina." Superstition playing into the handsof charlatanism dates from remote antiquity and findsillustration even in what the platform declaimer referred toas "this so-called twentieth century." A generation whichhas witnessed the pathological and therapeutic triumphs ofVirchow, Pasteur, Lister, Koch, Behring, and Schaudinn isstill capable of such tragedies in "faith-healing" as thatreported from the quondam states of the Church, where apoor peasant woman, bitten by a mad dog, was dissuadedfrom using the money subscribed to take her to the