687BIRMINGHAM.-MANCHESTER.---

than five hours at a time. But even if sufficient sleep couldbe obtained during the day the nervous system is bound tosuffer from taking rest at unnatural times. Thus, in Alsace-Lorraine, though among the wool-weavers the night handsworked 22 per cent. less time than the day hands, it wasfound, in 1888 and 1889, that there were 328 and 309 casesof illness per 1000 workwomen during 5641 and 5815 dayswhere no night work was done. In other mills, where therewas only partial night work, there were 429 and 413 cases ofillness during 8730 and 8865 days of work for every 1000workwomen employed. With regard to adult males Professor:Erismann had no hesitation in saying that night work was alsoinjurious to them, should be suppressed wherever possible,.and only sanctioned in exceptional cases, and then it should,not last longer than eight hours, and must be followedby sixteen hours’ rest. Dealing next with unwholesomeindustries, statistics compiled by Hirt showed that out of100 workmen who became ill from breathing the dust offactories, &c., from 13’3 to 18’0, according to the industry,’became consumptive; whereas among those who worked inpure air, out of 100 cases of sickness only 1l’1 developedphthisis. Where the dust contains some poisonouschemicals the injury done is of course much greater. Atleast 40 per cent. of the cotton-spinners who die in thehospitals of Russia die from chronic lung-disease. Speakingof mill-stone makers Professor Erismann said that the "sandcontained in the lungs of adults was equal to 7 per cent. ofthe whole; with stone-cutters it amounted to from 23 to 24 per.cent. ; and, according to Meinel, was equal to 30.7 per cent.among glass-polishers. According to Lewin, the mortalityfrom tuberculosis amounted to 8 ’25 per cent. among stone-cutters, and their average age was only twenty-four years.The researches made by Sommerfeld set forth that 90 percent. of the stone-workers die from phthisis of the larynx,of the lungs, or chronic catarrh. Out of 187 stone-workers25 per cent. had pulmonary phthisis, 7 9 per cent. phthisisof the larynx, and 66’6 per cent. chronic catarrh of the

larynx." Thus were the various leading industries passed inreview one after the other. Then a synopsis of the lawsaSecting them in the different countries was likewise

.-given.It was after thus examining a great mass of information

that the Congress voted in favour of the total suppression ofnight labour for women and young persons, and defined thenight as lasting from eight in the evening till six in the

morning. It was acknowledged that for men in exceptional- cases night labour must be allowed, but must never exceedeight hours in the twenty-four. Dangerous or unwholesomeindustries should, according to the resolutions carried, be*very carefully specified and tabulated in the text of the law.Such industries should only be authorised when the fullestprecautions have been applied. The employment of youngpersons under eighteen years must be absolutely forbidden.In dangerous industries the hours of labour must be shorterthan in other occupations, and there ought to be periodicaland official or governmental medical inspection of all theworkpeople. The employment of poisonous substanceswherever possible must be forbidden.

Of course, it will be said that all these demands, howeverestimable in themselves, are not practicable in the face ofthe exigencies of business. For this reason the Congressdiscussed on the sixth and last day the all-important questionof ways and means. First, the Congress demanded that inevery country a sufficient number of factory and workshopinspectors should be appointed to be able to visit every work-place at least twice in the year. This if costly is not anabsolute impossibility. Then they demanded for the work-ing-classes of all countries the fullest possible politicalfreedom, so that they might not only influence legislature inthe direction indicated, but form such trade and other societiesas would see that laws were not merely enacted, but actually.applied. Members of Parliament who sympathise with theobjects of the Congress were invited to simultaneously presentin their respective Parliaments similar projects of law. Theywere also to request their respective Governments to join informing an international office for the protection of labour,where all information on the subject might be centralisedand interchanged between the nationalities concerned.

Finally, the Swiss Government is asked to renew the effortit made in 1890 to bring about an international conferencebetween representatives of the European Governments withthe view of assimilating as far as possible the laws of thedifferent countries which deal with the age at which youngpersons and children may work, the prevention of night

labour, and the employment of women in dangerous occupa-tions, Sunday rest, the maximum labour day, &c. Ofcourse, the Congress was fully aware that the desiderata laiddown in the resolutions was not to be realised in a day; butit felt that if in each country the various organisations,whether clerical or secular, that had these ends in view wereto unite instead of quarrelling with each other, somethingeffective would be much more easily accomplished. Itwould then be more difficult for legislators to neglect thesequestions, and in the face of such a manifest desire for aninternational understanding a good deal might be done tomitigate the danger of foreign competition when suchreforms were introduced. If the movement follows faithful) ythese lines there is some chance that a portion, thoughprobably only a small portion, of the measures demandedwill be granted at no very distant future. In that case,and however fragmentary such improvements may be, thereis little doubt but that they will tend towards an

amelioration of public health. Under these circumstancesthis new and conjoint movement of parties and organisa-tions which on so many other subjects are hostile to eachother cannot fail to interest the members of a professionwhich is so intimately concerned with all that relates to thehealth of the people.

BIRMINGHAM.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The Higli Death-rate.CONSIDERABLE anxiety has been felt in the city owing to

the unusually high death-rate in the last few weeks, reachingas much as 43 per 1000. Various causes have been allegedas the reason for this. Diarrhoea has claimed the greatestnumber of victims, but with this exception, and that ofmeasles, the zymotic diseases have not appreciably increasedthe roll; 75 per cent. of the deaths from diarrhosa are inchildren under a year old. Many believe that defective sewagearrangements are the main cause of this, but the medicalofficer of health, Dr. Hill, points out that in the month ofJune, when the sewers had to be flushed without rainfall,the death-rate was very low and there was but littlediarrhoea. Many complaints have been made about thesewers, and no doubt the population has increasedenormously since these were laid down. At present aninspection is being made by the authorities, who will issuereports as the work proceeds. There are about 260 milesof sewers, so necessarily this overhauling will take sometime. A great deal of surface water now runs into thesewers which it is beyond their capacity to carry off.Some means are proposed to divert this and thus limitthe work they have to do. Some of the complainants goso far as to say that the town ought to be re-sewered, butthe Health Committee point out that this would be a giganticundertaking, involving many years’ work and a probablecost of half a million of money. They are anxious to do allin their power to provide for efficiency, with a due regard tothe various problems involved. In the meantime, it is satis-factory to know that the death-rate has been steadilydiminishing from the high record noted.

King’s Norton Workhouse Infirmaary.The new building at Selly Oak was formally opened on

Sept. 3rd and is well calculated to meet the requirements ofthe population for some time to come. The total cost isestimated at about .6210 per bed, and there are now 418inmates in the workhouse. At present the site is aboutfourteen acres, and there is a possibility of the number ofbeds being increased up to 500 in the future. Nothing hasbeen spared in equipment and arrangements to make thebuilding a complete one for the purposes required.

Sept. 7th.

MANCHESTER.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

7/ze Culvert Scheme.THE report of the deputation from the Mersey and Irwell

Joint Committee to the Local Government Board, as given inTHE LANCET of Aug. 14th, clearly foreshadows some relaxa-tion of the Beard’s hard and fast line requiring the filtration

688 LIVERPOOL.-WESTERN COUNTIES NOTES.

of sewage through land, and also its sanction, in suitablecases, of artificial filtration. Sir Henry Roscoe, in his dualcapacity of adviser to the Joint-Committee and the Man-chester Corporation, against whom his committee is carryingout proceedings, has warmly recommended precipitationand artificial filtration, which is said to give a satisfactoryeffluent at Salford. At the meeting of the Manchester CityCouncil, on the lst inst., Aldernun McDougal, who is notwithout chemical knowledge, threw grave doubts on thelasting properties of the filters. At the works at Davy-hulme, though still doing good work, they are doing lessof it. "They were gradually becoming coated, therewas less space for water in them, and in three or four

years the filters would have to be renewed." It is interestingto note that since the admission of the out-townships to thesewerage system there has been a change in the characterof the sewage matters from the large admixture of theeffluent from chemical works. "According to the tests ofthe joint committee twice as much oxygen as before wasbeing absorbed ; they were not precipitating as well, and theeffla.ent was worse." But " in Whit week, when theygot only domestic sewage, the effluent would havesatisfied every requirement of the joint committee,"Still, Alderman McDougal holds that the Manchestereffluent is a very fair one and if sent into a runningstream would do no harm. Unfortunately it goes intothe putrescent and practically stagnant water of the ShipCanal. The scheme for applying artificial filtration tothe whole of the sewage is found on calculation to be socostly as to be almost impracticable. In addition to the costof the extension of the filters, which would be almost asgreat as the construction of the culvert to tidal water, theirmaintenance would require annually from f.30.000 to

£40,000. The Council therefore has abandoned the filtra-tion scheme, and has decided almost unanimously infavour of the construction of "a culvert between sixand seven feet in diameter and about sixteen miles

long from the works at Davyhulme to the estuaryof the Mersey." In introducing the question Mr. Saxonstated that it " would convey the effluent after the

sewage had been treated by precipitation, as they weretreating it at present by chemical processes and precipitationtanks. A very clear effluent would be passed through theculvert." The estimate for this culvert is f.258.000, nottaking into account law costs and Parliamentary expenses.After giving various reasons-as urgency, &c.-for thescheme he adds a suggestive remark: ’’ The greatest reasonof all, however, was that it took the [Rivers] committee outof the jurisdiction of the Mersey and Irwell Joint Committee,and they were consequently freed from their excessive

requirements as to purity." It does not appear that the

sludge is to be sent down the culvert, so that it will probablybe carried out to sea at considerable cost. Alderman

Hopkinson said truly that the scheme might be called ’’ a

policy of despair," and it is opposed to the ideal of "thesewage to the land."Sept.7th.

______________

LIVERPOOL.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

More Suicides in Liverpool by Carbolic Aeid Poisoning.IN THE LANCET of Aug. 14th comment was made, in the

case of a suicide through poisoning by carbolic acid, on theeasy means afforded to the public of procuring that drug.During last week no less than three more deaths from thesame cause took place in Liverpool, all of which were

investigated by the city coroner. Four suicides from theeffects of carbolic acid poisoning occurring within one monthought to be sufficient evidence of the danger of allowing itto be so easily obtained by the public at large. Possibly theselamentable occurrences may stimulate the legislature to placegreater restrictions on the sale of carbolic acid. Since writingthe above it has just come to my knowledge that last nighta married woman was admitted to the Royal SouthernHospital suffering from the effects of carbolic acid, and diedshortly afterwards.

Increased Accommodation at Rainhill Asylum.The chairman of the West Derby Board of Guardians

intimated at the last meeting that the Lancashire AsylumsBoard had agreed to provide two hundred additional beds at

the County Asylum at Rainhill. By these means the pressurooccasioned at the local workhouses by the difficulty ofremoval will be considerably relieved.

Prospectiuc Closing of Intra-Moral Cemeteries.The proceedings of the Health Committee at their last;

meeting contained a recommendation for application to Parlia--ment for power to close St. Mary’s Cemetery, Walton-road; theNecropolis ; St. George’s Churchyard, Eveiton; St. Mary’sChurchyard, Edge-hill ; St. Michael’s Churchyard ; and St.James’s Churchyard, Toxtetb. It will be remembered that.these comprise a portion of the cemeteries which were.

unfavourably reported upon by the medical officer of healthand the closing of which he strongly recommended.

Typhoid Fever and Server-polluted Shellfish at Waterloo.A great number of cases of typhoid fever occurred last

month in the Waterloo and Seaforth districts which, oninvestigation by the health authorities, were proved to be duein a great measure to eating mussels and cockles contami-nated by sewage. The shellfish were collected by childrenfrom the foreshore, close to the outlet of the south sewers.Sept.7th.

WESTERN COUNTIES NOTES.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The Proposed Cortvalescent Home for Bristol.MR. P. H. VAUGHAN has given Z3000 to the proposed

convalescent hospital for Bristol. The balance remainingto be collected is now .69500.

The Sewage of Bristol.At a meeting of the Bristol Sanitary Committee, held

on Aug. 26th, a communication was read from the Local’Government Board calling a’tention to an applicationmade by the local authority of Westbury-on-Trym with

respect to a scheme in which it was proposed to pour thesewage of the place into the River Avon. The town clerk.was instructed to inform the Local Government Board that.the sanitary committee are now considering as to the bestmeans of dealing with the sewage nuisance in the river.The chairman remarked that it would be a curious thingif, whilst considering how they could deal with the sewagenuisance in the river, they were to allow the Westburysewage to be thrown into it.

1’he Epidemic of Typhoid Fever at Wadebridge.At a meeting of the St. Columb Major District Council’.

held last week a report was read from the locum tenens ofthe medical officer of health. It stated that the epidemic oftyphoid fever at Wadebridge was caused by the deficient.sanitary arrangements of that town ; also that the water-supply, which is unfitted for the present requirements of

Wadebridge, had been contaminated through the absenceof a complete system of drainage and the unsuitable methodof scavenging which is adopted. The report added thatowing to the Infectious Diseases Notification Act not beingenforced in the district three weeks had elapsed before themedical officer of health had knowledge of the outbreak,.which had resulted in twenty-three cases, with two deaths.

Typhoid Fever C‘ases in the 87vansea Hospital.Two nurses from the Swansea General Hospital whilst

nursing typhoid fever cases in Gower contracted the diseaseand were admitted into the Swansea Hospital. Somecomments have occurred in the local press upon the subject,owing to the fact that enteric cases have not been admittedinto this institution for several years, although in 1885 anunsuccessful effort was made to obtain permission for theirtreatment. It is difficult to see why the authorities of theSwansea General Hospital cannot follow the example of the-majority of London and provincial hospitals and admit cases.of typhoid fever.

Infectious Diseases Notification Act at Aberdare.At the meeting of the Merthyr Tydvil board of guardians,

held on August 28th, the Rev. Father O’Reilly moved that arepresentation be made to the Aberdare Urban District Councilurging them to enforce the Infectious Diseases NotificationAct. He said that in the opinion of the county medical officerof health it was essential that the Act should be adopted.The Rev. Father O’Reilly added that Aberdare was the only

parish in Glamorganshire where the Act was not in force: