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meat inspectors who are on duty at the public slaughter-house. The trade in milk is likewise subjected to variousregulations and methods of surveillance to prevent its con-tamination and adulteration. Thus the authorities havetaken measures to secure for the population, and especiallyfor the patients, good wholesome, food.

In visiting the.sanatoriums of Nordrach, of Davos-Platz,and other places, my object was two-fold. First to accumulateevidence and information which should be of practical servicein showing how popular sanatoriums should be estab-lished and managed in England.; and secondly, to set forththe deficiencies of the so-called sanatoriums established bythe late Mr. J. J. Jones at Sandgate and the necessity of-

legislative interference for their abolition. Therefore,, andin regard to the latter point, as the late Mr. J. J. Jonesadvertised that at Sandgate the treatment given was similarto that generally practised at Davos-Platz, it is quite fair toask whether when the late Mr. J. J. Jones was a member ofthe Sandgate district council he attempted to obtain theenactment of by-laws for Sandgate at all similar to thosedescribed above and applied at Davos-Platz. Was anyeffort made to prevent the cracking of whips and suchnoises as might disturb the patients at night ? There isthis similitude between Davos-Platz and Sandgate, thatin both instances there are patients in the centre of thetown, though at Davos-Platz all the popular sanatoriumsare well away from the main road and the centre. In regardto disinfection, Mr. A. R. Bowles, surveyor and sanitaryinspector of the Sandgate district, testified before the Houseof Lords Select Committee on the Sandgate Sanitary PowersBill that the Jones’s home, known as Grosvenor House, hadbeen used as a convalescent home for phthisical patients andthen for ordinary boarders. The local authority had not beeninformed of these changes nor was there anything to showthat the place had been disinfected. As sanitary inspectorhe had never been asked to disinfect when changes weremade. The medical officer of health of Sandgate, Dr.C. E. Perry, also bore witness that he had never been calledupon to disinfect any of the Jones’s homes. It was,however, stated that at least on one or two occasionsMr. Jones had burnt some sulphur in the rooms, notablyof Ontario House. Mr. A. J. Gore, who is now in chargeof these houses, declared that after the tuberculous patientshad been removed from Ontario House and before ordinaryconvalescent patients were admitted to this home hehimself saw the place thoroughly disinfected with formalinand sulphur. On the other hand, Dr. H. Scurfield, medicalofficer of health of Sheffield and professor of public healthat the University College of Sheffield, testified that a medicalman did not necessarily know how to disinfect a room. Thisis an obvious but an important point. It does not form partof ordinary medical education to teach a medical studenthow to cut long slips of paper or cotton-wool and to rendera door or a window airtight, nor is a medical practitionernecessarily an adept at stopping up a chimney. He may knowtheoretically when it is indispensable to disinfect but thevarious processes of disinfection are matters of handicraftthat form part of the education of an inspector of nuisancesand other municipal functionaries. Therefore no disinfec-tion can be counted as satisfactory unless, as insisted uponat Davos-Platz and many other places, it is carried on underthe control of the public sanitary authority. Nothing of thesort was done at Sandgate and the contrast between Sand-gate and Davos-Platz in this respect is most detrimental tothe former town. Finally, it may be observed that beforeSandgate can be compared with Davos-Platz a publicslaughter-house must be constructed and more rigorousmethods of controlling the food-supply introduced.

(To be continued.)

CHOLERA, PLAGUE, AND OTHER DISEASESIN THE NEAR EAST.

(FROM THE BRITISH DELEGATE ON THE OTTOMAN BOARDOF HEALTH.)

THE Turkish empire continues to be quite free fromcholera. It is less certain whether Persia is equally so.Reports from Tehran, dated March 29th and April 5th and12th respectively, stated that the sanitary condition of thatcountry was satisfactory and that no case of cholera had

been observed there since Feb. 26th. But the report ofApril 19th asserted that, in spite of official assurances,there were rumours that cholera was still prevalent atMeshed and at other places in the Khorassan province.On May 8th it was reported that sporadic cases of the diseasewere occurring in Tehran itself. The latest news, on theother hand, is to the general effect that the public healthconditions of the country are " satisfactory " but on June 5thit, was reported that some cases of " choleriform diarrhoea

"

had been observed at Hamadan.Single cases of cholera are officially reported to have

occurred on Russian territory at Askhabad on April 19th(May 2nd) and at Tsaritsyn on the Volga on April 21st(May 4th), and two suspicious cases were reported on

May 15th from the Bogorodsk district of the Moscowgovernment. No later news has been received and the

presumption consequently is that no cases have beenobserved since.The outbreak of plague at Aden has come to an end.

During the week ending May 20th there were neither casesnor deaths from the disease. During the following weektwo cases and no deaths were reported. The last new casewas observed on May 24th.A sharp outbreak of plague has recently occurred at

Bahrein, in the Persian Gulf. The date of the first case isnot known but it was probably about May 10th. Up to the20th of that month 20 deaths from the disease had beenreported. Five days’ quarantine was consequently imposedin Turkey upon arrivals from that island. News has sincebeen received that the outbreak is declining. On the 19thof the same month two cases of plague were observed on aPersian Government boat, the Persepolis, which had arrivedat Bushire from Bombay.No further cases of cerebro-spinal fever have been re-

ported in this city. In Russia, on the other hand, accordingto official news received here, this disease has been showingmuch activity recently. At the beginning of May somedoubtful cases were reported from Rostof on Don and

Kremenchug. Down to the end of April (old style) thenumber of reported cases in all Russia had been as follows :In January, 4 ; in February, 7 ; in March, 27 ; and in

April, 15. Among the places in which the disease had beenobserved were the towns of Stavropol (in the Caucasus),Rostof on Don, Yaroslavl on the Upper Volga, and Lublinin Polish Russia, and the districts of Bendinsk in thePiotrkow government, and of Kuopio and Nyland in Finland.In addition three cases and one death were reported fromTaganrog in May; five deaths also occurred in the Polish

government of Radom, and (in April) two cases in theElisavetpol government, nine in that of Kuopio, two in thatof Viborg, and single cases in each of the Finnish govern-ments of Nyland, Tavasthus, Abo, Bjorneborg, and Wasa.

Constantinople, June 29th.

MANCHESTER.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Medical Officers of Health and Motoring.THE north-western branch of the Incorporated Society of

Medical Officers of Health held its annual meeting atLancaster on July lst. A paper on the Public Health

Aspect of Motoring was read by Mr. Herbert Joneswho spoke approvingly of its indirect benefits, such as thegreat increase of housing space in large towns that wouldresult from the removal from their centres of "all horses sand carriages and carts and wagons," hesides the advantageof doing away with a huge mass of offensive material.The horse must be stabled near its work but the motor

might be kept ten miles away. The public healthwould be benefited by the cessation of "the wholesaledissemination of organic material contained in horse

manure," which was shown by Professor S. Delepine to bethe cause of extensive outbreaks of diarrhoea in Manchester.Mr. E. Sergeant, the medical officer to the Lancashire countycouncil, thought the disadvantages greater than the benefits.The dust was a distinct danger and until roads were madefit for motoring, not only in regard to their surfaces but theirwidth, he was of opinion that it was dangerous to health.Mr. J. J. Weave- (Southport) said that the dust problemwas largely due to the make of cars and might be left toengineers and road-makers. Dr. Meredith Young (Stock-port) spoke of the great waste of water necessary to

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keep down dust on roads and streets and said that motorswould compel engineers to consider the best way of prevent-ing dust. Mr. J. Settle (Barrow) was not thankful for thecoming of motor-cars but feared they had come to stay. Mr.A. W. Martin (Gorton) spoke of the indirect benefits thatwould accrue 10 o agriculture and said that if dust were got ridof, as it would have to be, the death-rate would be loweredand a diminishing birth-rate need not be feared. ThePresident, Dr. J. F. J. Sykes, said that motors would ulti-mately lead to the improvement of the roads which would bea good thing. Motors did not make dust, they only raised it.In all this discussion nothing seems to have been said of thedirect danger to life caused by reckless or unskilful driving:but the newspapers bear almost daily testimony to the realityof this danger and in too many instances to cowardly attemptsby the motorists to get away without caring to learn theinjury that they have done. Those who often experience thesickening smell accompanying the clouds of dust raised indry weather on country roads, clouds frequently denseenough to hide the car and its occupants in a few yards,have, no doubt, borne without taking action a nuisancewhich is declared by this society of health officers to be

dangerous to health and therefore to life. Hence it is

clearly their duty to take such action as may be necessary tomake the roads and streets a little safer than they are atpresent from danger to life and limb and freer also fromthe dust dangers which they unite in condemning. But the

subject bears sometimes a slightly comic aspect. A casethat occurred on the same day as the meeting at Lancaster-July lst-at Kendal shows that a medical officer ofhealth may differ in opinion from some of his brethrenand take steps, as no doubt he ought to do, to guardhimself against the dangers of the road. A man wassummoned for failing to stop his motor-car when re-

quested to do so by the driver of a horse and trap. Mr. R. M.Craven stated that when driving along one of the Kendalroads he saw a motor-car approach. Wben within 80 yardsof it, being afraid that his pony would shy, he put uphis hand and also a flag as a signal for the driver to stop."Why don’t you stop ?" he asked the driver, who made noreply. He admitted having written to a newspaper saying :" I am a horse-driver and enforce my rights on the highway.I have a red bunting flag and when I hear a motor-car

coming I raise my hand and my flag. If the motor-cardriver gives me my side of the road and slows down to sixor eight miles an hour I lower my liag and allow him to comeon. If he does not I keep my flag aloft and stop him deaduntil I drive my pony past him." The defendant inhis evidence said that when he met Mr. Craven " he

pulled up dead slow until he reached him." To showhow our own conduct, eminently sane as we think it,may strike one looking at it from another standpointthe defendant said that when passing he remarked to hisbrother that "the man must be mad." He ways "comepletely dumbfounded by the red flag," so that it is evidentlya valuable weapon with which to encounter motorists. The

magistrates dismissed the case, the defendant paying thecosts, 22s. 6d. It seems a little hard that motorists shouldalmost monopolise the high roads, to the maintenance ofwhich they contribute so little, and if the roads are to bewidened and made dustless the cost should fall on those whomake the change necessary and not on the long-sufferinglocal ratepayers.

Bravery.In THE LAXOET of April lst a brief narrative was given of

the brave doings of the boys at the school for the deaf anddumb at Preston when a fire broke out. It is gratifying tolearn that silver medals are to be given to two of them,Nicholas J. Dalton and John Jackon. The fire was dis-covered in the early morning and "the two lads climbeddown a waterspout from the dormitory windows, summonedassistance, and helped to bring ladders by which theircomrades escaped from the dormitories." At Pre&ton, by theway, a lad, aged 12 years, while bathing in the Ribble

recently got out of his depth and was saved from drowningby a man named Albert Edward Lowe who had previouslysaved eight lives.

Smoke and the Magistrates.Some places seem to delight in the manufacture of smoke

and to be as proud of it as if it were their best paying pro-duct. At Sheffield on June 22nd an Attercliffe firm answereda summons which alleged that they had disobeyed an orderto abate a smoke nuisance, "but the case was not heard

because the magistrates on the bench, themselves cutlerymanufacturers, declined to adjudicate." The chairman, Mr.J. E. Beal, said: " You had better take it to the other court;you will not get any sympathy from me," and he declined tohear it. The summons was then taken to the other courtand there, also, the chairman, Mr. G. F. Lockwood, declinedto hear it. On the face of it this " passive resistance" bythe magistrates does not look creditable but it may be thattenderness of conscience sometimes prevents sinners fromrebuking sin.

Tests of Sobriety.Mr. E. A. Humphreys of Northenden, surgeon to the police,

recently described at the Stockport police court his test fordrunkenness as applied to three men accused of being drunkon licensed premises. He made them shut their eyes and walkbackwards, and he said that few men could do it when soberand if they succeeded they were certainly not drunk. Theyhad also to write their names with a quill pen, to walk alonga straight line, and to stand still with their heels together.He accepted the definition in Murray’s dictionary that adrunken man was one who had ’ taken intoxicating liquorto anextent affecting steady self-control " and described thesymptoms as " staggering when walking, incoherent speak-ing, and lack of reasoning power." There is no doubt thatthe tests named are applicable to those in the conditiondescribed, but they do not cover those cases of more com.plete narcosis where the diagnosis between drunkenness andbrain mischief is not self-evident.July 4th.

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WALES AND WESTERN COUNTIES NOTES.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)

The Somerset County Couneil and a County M(dical Offieer ofHealth.

THE question of the appointment of a county medicalofficer of he[ilth of Somerset has been often discussed atthe meetings of the Somerset county council. At a meet-

ing held at Wells three months ago the sanitary committeeobtained the sanction of the council to a proposal to appointa medical officer of health at a yearly salary of .6150, travel-ling and other expenses being estimated at another .E100.Applications for the appointment were duly advertised for and30 gentlemen applied for the post. Four candidates wereselected and attended the meeting of the county council heldat Taunton on June 27th. Unfortunately for the candidatesa member moved that the resolution passed at the previousmeeting providing for the appointment of a county medicalofficer of health should be rescinded and this was carried bya majority of one. The chairman expressed regret that thecandidates had been asked to attend unnecessarily andassured them that their travelling expenses would be paid.Following upon the decision the chairman of the sanitarycommittee resigned his connexion with the committee andsuggested as his successor the mover of the rescission of theprevious resolution.

The TVater-s?ipply of Taunton.A new storage reservoir, capable of holding 120,000,000

gallons, in connexion with the Taunton water-supply wasformally opened by the Mayor on June 30th. The reservoiris situated at Luxbay, on the Blackdown Hills, eight milesfrom Taunton. It will have a water area of 17 acres whenfilled, with a depth of water of 57 feet. The cost of theundertaking has been about .626,000.

The Royal Hamadryad Seamen’s Hospital, Cardiff.The old Ha1nadryad ship has done good service during the

past 40 years as a hospital for sick and injured sailors wholand at the Port of Cardiff but it has been realised for someyears that a building with more modern requirements oughtto be provided and in 1897 it was decided to commemorate thediamond j jubilee of the late Queen Victoria by establishing suchan institution. The late Marquis of Bute associated himselfwith the project in the heartiest manner. He gave the

principal portion of the site and at once subscribed .&10.0COtowards the building fund. After his death, which occurredshortly afterwards, it was found that his trustees were

empowered to give further sums up to a total of <S30,000 if

they were required, so that it has been possible to provide abuilding well equipped in every respect. There are threemain wards each containing 16 beds, and smaller wards bring-ing up the total accommodation in the hospital to 60 beds.