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been asked by Herr von Bethmann-Hollweg, the Chancellor r

of the German Empire, to express on his behalf his apprecia- J.tion of the high aims which animated the Congress. The (most important purpose in life was the promotion of the 7economic welfare of nations, and the principal obstacle to the 7attainment of that end was the abuse of spirituous liquors.Obviously the same means could not be used by all nations ’to bring about the desired end, but the proceedings of theCongress should have the effect of making the nations under-stand better the difficulties under which each had to work inorder to do away with the evils consequent upon the abuse ofalcohol.The Rev. N. C. DALHOFF (Copenhagen) said that in

Denmark the use of light beers was increasing and the useof beers of heavy alcoholic strength was decreasing.Denmark was living down the reputation of being a brandy-drinking country.

Dr. RAGNAR VoGT (Christiania) remarked that in his

country the consumption of alcohol had been brought downto about a fourth of what it used to be during the past halfcentury.The Hon. G. F. COTTERILL (Washington) said that as long

ago as 1812 a temperance organisation was formed inAmerica, and that the United States had never recognisedany vested rights in the drink traffic.

Sir JOHN COCKBURN and others having addressed theCongress, it was announced that the Queen of Hollandhad invited the next Congress to meet at the Hague in1911.

In the afternoon the exhibition was formally opened bythe Dean of Hereford. The exhibition illustrates the

machinery of temperance work in various parts of the world.It includes literature, diagrams, lantern slides, photographs,models, chemical apparatus, regalia, postcards, medals, and avariety of objects of interest to the temperance reformergenerally.

In the evening Mr. Lewis Harcourt. M.P. (First Commis-sioner of Works), held on behalf of the Government a recep-tion for delegates in the Imperial Institute. Invitations wereissued to more than 2000 guests. Those present included theCrown Prince of Sweden, the Swedish Minister, Lord Wear-dale, Lord and Lady Carlisle, Lord Saye and Sele, Field-Marshal Sir George White, the Dean of Hereford, the Hon.Mrs. Leigh, Sir John Kennaway, M.P., Sir F. Hodgson, theHon. J. H. Turner, Sir T. Glen-Coats, M.P., Sir J. BattyTuke, M.P., Professor G. Sims Woodhead, Lady Horsley, Dr.Clifford, Mr. Leif Jones, M.P., Surgeon-General G. J. H.Evatt, the Bishop of Croydon, Sir Percy Bunting, CanonHicks, Sir T. P. Whittaker, M.P., Sir H. Hesketh Bell,Surgeon-General Pleadwell, Mr. C. H. Roberts, M.P., LadyCecilia Roberts, Mr. J. S. Higham, M.P., Mr. W. McAdamEccles, Sir E. Stafford Howard, the Archdeacon of London,Sir John Cockburn, Major Lugard, Dr. C. F. Harford, Colonel

. L. G. Fawkes, Colonel G. H. Bolland, and Mr. Mark H.

Judge.The real work of the Congress commenced on the morning

of July 20th at the Kensington Town-hall, when papers wereread on Juvenile Temperance, by Miss CORA STODDART(Boston, U.S.A.); on Temperance Education in the Schoo:in Various Lands, by Herr J. GONSER (Berlin); and or

Temperance Effort in Juvenile Societies throughout th<World, by Madam ALLI TRYGG-HELENIUS (Helsingfors).

Miss Stoddart contended that if the child were instructe(in temperance principles moral and spiritual ideals woul<be strengthened, but that such instruction must b

begun early. Herr Gonser’s paper was an optimistic ple;for the continuance of temperance teaching, while th

paper of Madam Trygg-Helenius was descriptive of thvarious juvenile temperance leagues. In the discussiowhich followed the reading of these papers emphasis walaid upon the importance of the personal factor of thteacher ; it was upon this that the value of instruction i

temperance principles, dietetic principles, and hygierdepended. As to the relative advantage of relyingin connexion with thorough instruction in temperan(principles, upon personal conviction among the teacheropinion seemed to be divided, many holding th:

legislative action would be more generally effective thprivate sentiment.

After the midday adjournment the. conference met at t]conference room of the Imperial Institute under the preldency of Mr. J. BYSTROM (Stockholm), when papers we

read on Temperance Teaching in Higher Schools, by MissA. W. RICHARDSON (London) ; on How to reach the StudentClass, by Mr. IVAR THULIN (Stockholm); and on How toEducate the Teachers, by Herr J. PETERSEN (Kiel) andM. AUBERT (Paris).

In the afternoon a reception was held at the London

Temperance Hospital by the British Medical TemperanceAssociation, when the guests were received by Professor SimsWoodhead and Sir T. Vezey Strong.

Dr. A. HoLlTSCHER (Carlsbad) read a report on Alcohol inLobar Pneumonia and Enteric, founded on statistics from 47hospitals, in 18 of which the plan of alternating treatmenthad been adopted. The purpose of this plan was to securethe most reliable proof as to the effect of alcoholic and non-alcoholic treatment. Among 238 cases of pneumonia treatedwith alcohol the death-rate had been 24’ 3 per cent. ; among248 cases treated without alcohol it had been 21’ 3 per cent.Of 47 cases complicated with delirium tremens, alcohol hadbeen prescribed in 21, of which 15 ended fatally, while of the26 patients treated without alcohol only nine died. Whilealcohol could not be made responsible for the difference

: between the 24’ 3 and 21 - 3 percentages owing to the small-ness of the number of patients reported on, he thought theL investigation demonstrated the complete failure of alcohol as

a curative agent in such cases. Of the 161 typhoid patientsB reported on by eight institutions, 80 had been treated with1 alcohol, of whom 15 died, and 81 without alcohol, of whom112 died.

Professor Smzs WOODHEAD said that the majority ofr medical men who had investigated the subject had arrived3 at the conclusion that it was necessary to revise their. opinions as to the value of alcohol as a therapeutic agent., While admitting that sufficient evidence could not at

present be obtained to put the case convincingly beforer the public, it was a fact that medical opinion was

tending towards that which was held by those who1- discarded alcohol..- In the evening the Norman Kerr lecture was delivered bye Professor TAAV. LAITINEN (Helsingfors) in the theatre of thee Victoria and Albert Museum, the subject being the Influencer- of Alcohol on Immunity. The lecture was well attended,l- and was found by the audience to be both instructive andi. suggestive. It is referred to at some length in a leadingle article this week.y At the third general meeting, which was held in ther. Kensington Town-hall on July 21st, Dr. IMRE DocziL read a paper on Alcohol and its Effects on the Child ;m Professor HERCOD took for his subject the Legal Protection1, of Children ; and Mrs. BRAMWELL BOOTH spoke on Alcoholly in its Relation to the Home. The Scientific Sectionm continued its work and in the evening a public demon-n, stration was held in the Queen’s Hall, the LORD CHIEFel JUSTICE presiding. The Congress will close on Saturday,3. July 24th, with a farewell d&eacute;je&ucirc;ne’1’ to the foreign guests.

(To be continued.)3g

_______________,re &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;

Looking Back.FROM

THE LANCET, SATURDAY, July 23rd, 1831.USE OF

HUMAN FAT

IN THE ARTS, ITS ECONOMICAL APPLICATION TO THE

PURPOSES OF FUEL AND FOR FEEDING

VARIEGATED LAMPS.

(Eaet’1’aoted from the Annales d’Hriene Publique, <$’0.)AT this period, 1813, a circumstance occurred in Paris,

which, by its singularity and the importance attached to it bythe government, deserves to be recorded. The servants of one

of the anatomical theatres having been informed against fortrafficking in human fat, were watched for some days by the

j spies of the police, and were shortly detected in the fact.l The affair appeared sufficiently serious to be laid before the

minister of general police. In the report drawn up on the subject, it was viewed in a moral and medico-political light,- and the principle was laid down, that this fat, proceeding3 from bodies deceased in the hospitals, might propagate

252

diseases, and even compromise the lives of those whotouched it. It was proved on the investigation of the affair,that there existed amongst the servants of the Faculty ofMedicine, and of the private theatres, a kind of associationfor the purpose of trading in this material ; that the fat notpreviously melted was used to grease the wheels of theirwaggons-that several qzcaeks pitrokased it as a remedy inpainficl diseases,. but it was especially consumed, and inenormous quantities, by the enamellers and false-gemmakers, who bought it under the name of dogs or horse fat.Two thousand pounds of weight were found in the dwelling ofone- of the servants of the School of Medicine, 20 lbs. with.another, 400 kilogrammes with a third, and two barrels fullwere seized with a fourth. A waggon drawn by two horses,and assisted by three porters, was required to draw thisenormous quantity of fat to the Montfaucon sewer, intowhich it was projected.

In order that no public alarm should be created, or anypopular commotion excited, the affair was tried with closeddoors, and the culprits sent to the Bicetre for six months.In the different interrogations to which they were subjected,they confessed that they had repeatedly sold the fat atseventeen sous the pound, and that they found it a source ofmuch emolument. It is, indeed, surprising that the govern-ment did not obtain earlier information on this matter, forthe servants made no mystery about it, and they renderedthe fat publicly in the anatomical theatres. On the marriageof Napoleon with Maria Louisa, we saw them preparewith this fat, solidified with some tallow, considerablequantities of flambeaux and lamps, which they sold to theneighbouring spice-men, and which were used for theillumination at the Faculty of Medicine and the Palace of theLuxembourgh.

THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OFNURSES.

A NURSING Congress, convened by the International’Council of Nurses, is at present proceeding. The Inter-national Council, founded by Mrs. Bedford Fenwick ten

years ago, now consists of the National Councilsof Nurses of seven affiliated countries-Great Britainand Ireland, America, Germany, Holland, Finland, Den-mark, and Canada. This is the second quinquennialmeeting of the Council, which has now agreed to holdits meetings every three instead of five years. There

have, however, been two interim congresses, one in Paristwo years ago and one in Buffalo in 1901. It hasbeen arranged to hold the next meeting in Cologne in

1912, and Fraulein Agnes Karll, President of the GermanNurses’ Association, has been elected President of theInternational Council in place of the retiring president, Mrs.Fenwick. As stated in the ’’ Foreword" issued by thehonorary secretary, Miss L. L. Dock, "the essential idea forwhich the Council stands is self-government of nurses, withthe aim of raising ever higher the standards of education andprofessional ethics, public usefulness, and civic spirit oftheir members." "

The scope of the present Congress includes such subjectsas Education and Registration, the Nurse in Private Prac-tice, the Nurse as Citizen, the Relations of Nursing andMedicine, the Care of the Insane, the Nurse as Patriot,Morality in Relation to Health, and the Nurse in the MissionField. Under these headings are classed the various branchesof each subject, including School Nursing, Social ServiceWork, Nursing in Prisons, Massage, Professional Organisa-tion, and Scientific Temperance.Among those contributing papers to the Conference are

Mr. Haldane, the Secretary of State for War ; Miss Stewart,matron of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital ; Fraulein AgnesKarll ; M. Mesureur, of the Assistance Publique, Paris;’Dr. Anna Hamilton, of the Protestant Hospital, Bordeaux;Mr. D’Arcy Power; Dr. Frederick Rose, assistant medical.adviser to the London County’Council; Dr. Robert Sevestre,of the Leicester Infirmary ; Dr. Robert Jones; and Dr.William Russell, medical inspector of the State Commissionin Lunacy, New York.

Besides the affiliated councils, delegates have been sentfrom France, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland, Japan,and Syria, so that the Congress may rightly be deemed an I

i.&Icirc;nternat&Icirc;0nal one, and presents to the public a valuable I

.0 accumulation of information respecting the progress ofr, nursing and the condition of organisation of nurses in manyif parts of the world.n The meetings are being held in the Church House andIt Caxton Hall, where there is also a Nursing Exhibition. Ther chief features of interest here are the practical exhibits of

nurses, organised by the various nurses’ leagues and associa-tions. One table is devoted entirely to dressings and appli-ances used in nursing injuries and diseases of the head, and

. contains exhibits from ophthalmic, throat, and ear hospitals.f There is a well-equipped district nursing section, showing1 every kind of cheaply constructed emergency appliances,1 while some amusing models of cottages and rooms depict, nursing in the days of Mrs. Gamp and in the hands of thes Queen’s nurse, the district patient before and after the) advent of the nurse, and a typical Irish cabin.

There has been no lack of hospitality to vary the work of7 the conferences, and besides expeditions, banquets, and otherl entertainments organised by the honorary onicers of the. Council, the Congress was invited to receptions at Dorchester, House by Mrs. Whitelaw Reid and at the Mansion House. Fort the visit to Windsor, arranged for Saturday, the King has, sent instructions that special facilities be given to the. visitors, and the Canadian delegates have received per-. mission from His Majesty to lay a wreath on the tomb of

the late Queen Victoria.

VITAL STATISTICS.

HEALTH OF ENGLISH TOWNS.

IN 76 of the largest English towns 8268 births and 3637deaths were registered during the week ending July 17th,The annual rate of mortality in these towns, which haddeclined in the five preceding weeks from 12 - 6 to 11 - 8 per1000, further declined to 11.5 in the week under notice.During the 13 weeks of last quarter the annual death-rate inthese towns averaged 14’0 0 per 1000, against 14’9 9 and 13’7 7in the corresponding quarters of 1907 and 1908; themean rate in London during last quarter did not exceed13-5, against 14.0 and 12 - 7 in the two preceding corre-sponding quarters. The lowest recorded annual death-rates last week in the 76 towns were 4’ 9 in Willesden,5 - 6 in Rotherham, and 5 - 7 in Walthamstow and in King’sNorton ; the rates in the other towns ranged upwards, how-ever, to 18’2 in Coventry, 19’5 5 in Warrington, 20’3 3 in

Middlesbrough, and 21. 5 in Great Yarmouth. In Londonthe recorded death-rate last week did not exceed 10 6, andwas considerably lower than in any previous week ofthis year. The 3637 deaths from all causes in the 76 townslast week showed a further decrease of 74 from the

declining numbers in recent weeks, and included 324which were referred to the principal epidemic diseases,against 321 and 341 in the two preceding weeks; ofthese 324 deaths, 114 resulted from measles, 67 from

diarrhoea, 56 from whooping-cough, 35 from diphtheria,30 from scarlet fever, and 22 from "fever " (principallyenteric), but not one from small-pox. The 324 deathsfrom these epidemic diseases last week were equal toan annual rate of 1’ 0 0 per 1000, against l’ 0 and 1’ 1 in thetwo previous weeks. No death from any of these epidemicdiseases was registered last week in Birkenhead, Derby,Stockport, St. Helens, or in 11 other smaller towns ; theannual death-rates therefrom ranged upwards, however, to

4’5 5 in Wolverhampton, 4’6 in Coventry, 4-7 in Newport,and 5 9 in West Bromwich. The fatal cases of measles inthe 76 towns, which had been 159, 129, and 138 in the threepreceding weeks, declined to 114 in the week under notice;the highest annual death-rates last week from this diseasewere 2.5 5 in Norwich, 3 0 in Wolverhampton, 3 3 in

Newport (Mon.), and 4 4 in West Bromwich. The 67 deathsattributed to diarrhoea showed a further slight increase

upon the numbers returned in recent weeks, and caused thehighest proportional fatality in Aston Manor, Rhondda, andBolton. The 56 deaths from whooping-cough showed a

further decline from recent weekly numbers, but causedannual death-rates equal to 1.6 in Swansea and 2-0 inGreat Yarmouth. The 35 deaths assigned to diphtheriasomewhat exceeded the numbers in recent weeks,and included five in Manchester and Salford, and threeeach in Birmingham, Hull, and Newcastle-on-Tyne.The 30 fatal cases of scarlet fever were fewer by