54

partly glass. The water streamed from a vessel 5’5 metres

high, or from a reservoir at an elevation of 14 metres. Thetube was placed in the groove of a wooden case, and aus-oultated with a stethoscope introduced through an openingin the case. Under these circumstances, he found, withWEi3-uR and THAMM, that a bruit occurred with tubes ofuniform width only when the velocity of the current, asmeasured by the quantity of water escaping and the sec-

tional area of the tube, was sufficiently great. Thus, totake one of his experiments: in a thick-walled india-rubbertube having a diameter of rather more than three-quartersof an inch (18’75 millimetres), a sound was only produced iwhen the rapidity of the current amounted to from 1600 to1700 millimetres per second (5 ft. 4 in.). M. NoLE2’s num-

bers are higher than those of other experimenters, probablybecause his tubes were smoother and more uniform in dia-

meter. As a general rule, the velocity required to producea bruit is greater in proportion to the smallness of thediameter of the tube and the smoothness of the inner

surface ; on the latter ground the velocity requiredwas greater with metallic than with caoutchouc tubes.The bruit was equally distinct throughout the whole

length of the tube. M. NoLET next investigated the con-ditions for the production of sound in tubes of variablediameter, and found that when a tube is constricted at anypoint a sound is produced with much smaller velocity ofthe current, and this in proportion to the amount of theconstriction. The sound is produced both in front of andbehind the constriction, though it is loudest behind. In

the constricted part itself, if this were prolonged by theintroduction of a caoutchouc tube, no sound was audible.

When the rapidity of the current was very great, af1’émísse-ment was felt in the tube, both before and behind the con-

striction, and stronger in thin- than in thick-walled tubes.The effects of dilatations were studied by NoLET by meansof the introduction of india-rubber or zinc tubes, which had adiameter varying from two to sixteen times greater than oneof the above-mentioned tubes, which was three-quarters of aninch in diameter. He found that the greater the dilatationthe greater must be the rapidity of the current for the pro-duction of a bruit, so that when the aneurism or dilatationwas sixteen times as great, the rapidity of current requi-site was greater even than was capable of producing a bruitin the primary undilated tube. The bruits were constantlylouder at the point of influx into, than at the point of effluxof the fluid from, the expanded portion. M. NOLET’S ob-

servations lead him to the conclusion that the bruits are

caused neither by vibrations of the vascular wall, as WEBER

thought, nor by rhythmical contractions of the dischargecurrent, as CHAUVEAU maintained, but by an eddy (Flus-sigkeitwirbel, tourbillons, HEYNsms), which is increased bythe vascular wall. By replacing the wooden chest with

glass, and adding some amber dust to the fluid, the form ofthe eddy could be observed; and by the introduction ofmanometers, the variations of pressure at different pointscould be observed. The origin of bruits in tubes of uni-form diameter appears attributable to roughness of theinternal wall.

In regard to the application of these facts to pathology,the point deserving of attention is, that when by its

continued growth an aneurism attains a very large size, adiminution, and ultimately complete disappearance, of thebruit ensues.

II ON Thursday next the Council of the College of Surgeons

will have to elect a President for the ensuing year-a dutywhich at the present moment is of the greatest importance.The corporations are now on their trial, and it is not toomuch to hope that within the next twelvemonth some mea-sure of medical reform will be brought about. It is most

important, therefore, that the College of Surgeons shouldbe represented by a head who shall be known to the publicas well as to the profession, and who may influence for goodthe efforts which the Government may be disposed to make.Let the College of Surgeons imitate the College of Phy-sicians, and, throwing aside the rule of seniority, be boldenough to elect a representative man, who will be ready totake a leading part in any movement, and will duly sup-port the dignity and position of his College.Writing as we do before the election to the Council has

taken place, we disregard, and would urge the Council todisregard, all the chances and changes of that contest. It

is a matter of comparatively little moment to the professionwhich of the candidates are successful; but it is of the

greatest importance to the whole corporation of the Collegeof Surgeons that its President should be one of its mostdistinguished members.

Medical Annotations."Ne quid nimis."

THE CRITERION OF THE ARMY AND NAVYRETURNS

DR. ALEXANDER WooD very properly, on Tuesday, in theGeneral Medical Council, took occasion to point out the veryerroneous use of words in the Returns made by the ArmyMedical Department and the Medical Department of theIndian Army, as to the results of their examination of can-didates for medical service in these departments. In thesereturns certain candidates are spoken of as " successful,"and certain others as "unsuccessful," or as having 11 failed."The interpretation put upon the words 11 unsuccessful" or"failed" by every uninitiated reader is that the candidates

characterised as 11 unsuccessful," or as having 11 failed,"broke down in their examination. But it is now explainedthat it is not so. The medical departments use these wordsin quite a technical sense, to imply only that, as there weremore candidates than vacancies, certain candidates had togo without appointments, though they had passed the ex-aminations. Was there ever a more misleading use oflanguage ? The heading of the returns is even more mis-leading. According to this the returns are 11 A statementof the qualifications of candidates who presented themselvesfor examination, showing the number that passed and did notpass." It is true that occasionally, as this year, a footnotehas been inserted, explaining the technical use of the words;but it is only lately that such note has been inserted, andeven when inserted it does not justify the misleading ap-pearance of the returns. Having said this much, and per-fectly agreeing with Dr. Wood in his verbal criticisms,we cannot share his feeling that the experience of the Armyand Navy Boards is to be disregarded as a criterion ofthe competency of the candidates passed by the ordinary

55

boards. Dr. Parkes’s particular statements, in the course principle by which, Professor Christison maintained, everyof his various speeches, remain, and so do the very par- professor should be guided, and from which he had neverticular returns of the navy authorities, who have always deflected. He concluded by acknowledging, on the part ofhad to reject a considerable number of candidates, especially his family, the present of the replica. H I must assurefor deficiencies in anatomical and professional knowledge, Mr. Brodie," he said, 11 that the likeness he has produced isand whose opinion in 1869 was to this effect: H We con- a better resemblance than any that has been attemptedsider the average abilities and attainments of the candi- previously of what I am in the habit of seeing every morn-dates in 1868 were not superior to those of preceding years." ing. This compliment is all the more valuable, as it is notIt will be a great pity if the returns are not continued, and a copy, but a repetition of the bust; and thf’se, in beingif they are not cleansed of all inaccuracies that impair twin busts, are somewhat appropriate, as the subject himselftheir significance. -

was a twin." Professor Christison resumed his seat amidloud and prolonged cheering, after which the Lord Justice

THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURQH. Clerk paid a high tribute to Mr. Brodie for the skill withSELDOM has a more interesting ceremony been more which he had reproduced the dignity, the vigour, the

happily gone through than the presentation of the two vivacity, and versatility of intellect which marked the

busts of Professor Christison to their subject and his family original. The sculptor made a modest and effective reply,on the 29th ult. Two years and a half ago, at a meeting and the proceedings terminated.of the Professor’s colleagues and friends, a resolution was -

proposed and unanimously adopted to commission Mr. PROFESSOR SAYRE.Brodie, the sculptor, to execute a bust of him, which

.

should be added to the collection in the University Library. DR. LEwis A. SAYRE, the well-known surgeon of NewA committee was appointed to receive subscriptions for this York, who is making a short visit to this country, was pre-object ; and so large was the response to its circular that sent in the operating theatre of University College Hospitalin a short time the sum collected was nearly double the on Wednesday last, and gave a short address to the students

original estimate. Accordingly it was resolved to have on the treatment of joint-disease by his method of main-a replica of Mr. Brodie’s work, which should be presented taining separation of the joint surfaces, whilst allowing theto Professor Christison’s family on the same occasion as patient to move about so as to maintain his health. Dr.

the bust itself. On the 29th ult., the subscribers and Sayre, whose speech was highly characteristic, and elicitedstudents, with the Senatus Academicus and a large body of much applause and laughter from his audience, maintainedother gentlemen, assembled in the Upper Hall of the College that the so-called strumous diseases of joints were reallyLibrary to witness the ceremony of presentation. Principal the results of overlooked injuries occurring in healthySir Alexander Grant opened the proceedings by describing children, and that local and not constitutional treatment

the circumstances in which the memorial originated, the was required for their recovery. He exhibited a splint hesuccess with which the preliminaries had been carried out, is in the habit of using for hip disease, by which ingeniousthe high qualities of its subject, and the steadfastness and contrivance extension is made upon the thigh-bone and

purity of purpose with which he had devoted these to the in- counter-extension on the pelvis by means of plaster at-terests of the University. For forty-nine years has Professor tached to the femur and a perineal band, and the patientChristison been a member of the Senatus, and has raised is then permitted to walk about, being perfectly free fromin their progress the character of two most important pain. At night Dr. Sayre recommends that the splintchairs-those of Medical Jurisprudence and Materia Medica, should be taken ofF, and extension kept up by a weight, andwhile the services he has vouchsafed to the Senatus itself, humorously illustrated the method by referring to a caseto the University Court, to the General Council, and, above which occurred during his studentship, in which he gaveall, to the students, have been simply inestimable. Such an great relief by tying a " squash" or pumpkin to the ankle

exceptional career deserves exceptional recognition, and ac- of a patient suffering from disease of the knee.

cordingly the Chancellor of the University felt justified in de- Dr. Sayre professed himself a warm advocate of free in-

viating from the consuetudinary law that no bust be placed in cisions for the exit of pus, and did not believe that the

the library during its subject’s lifetime, and, in the name of admission of air into joints did any harm. He showed a

the University, granted the memorial a niche in the hall. The most ingenious probe to be used in the examination of

Principal concluded by presenting to Mr. John Christison sinuses, the instrument being made in small sections, like

the replica as a token of respect towards his father’s family. the vertebrae of a snake, and held together by a wire ropeAfter the applause which followed the unveiling of the within, which could be tightened by a screw so as to give anybusts had subsided, Professor Christison rose, with visible amount of stiffness. The introduction of this probe, as illus-

emotion, to express his sense of the honour which had been trated on a young patient, was absolutely painless, owingconferred upon him. " I had always," he said, "regarded to its flexibility, and Dr. Sayre showed that it might bethis place as our Walhalla, into which no professor could equally readily employed for the detection of a bullet

enter in the shape of lasting marble so long as he could lodged in the tissues, or for withdrawing the urine from aalso enter it in the perishable flesh." Referring to the patient’s bladder. -

compliments paid him by the Principal, he avowed thathis success in discharging the duties of his professorship MORNINO HEADACHES.

and academic work in general had its source in one in- SHORT as our summer is likely to prove this year, thevariable rule-to regard his position in the University as increase in the temperature of late, and especially duringthe primary consideration. Other and secondary objects may the night, warns us that we may expect it soon or not atbe attained by a professor incidentally; but, in Edinburgh all. The dwellers in large towns and cities will be seekingat least, he never looks to them in the first instance; his the sea-side, or be off to the Highlands or on a trip to Swit-chair is the primary object. To discharge faithfully the zerland. Those who are not so fortunate as to be able to doduties of teaching ; to cultivate the particular branch any of these things, will be condemned to be half stifled byallotted to him by private researches ; and, lastly, to look I sleeping in the close, heated atmosphere of a London bed-carefully after the general interests of the University by room. Some people, with the view of shutting out theattention to University business-such was the invariable noises which make 11 night hideous" in town, close every

56

crevice and chink, forgetful that they exclude all freshair at the same time; and others, from the small size andvicious construction of their bed-rooms, can obtain nothinglike efficient ventilation. What fresh air they get hasprobably been used and warmed below before it passes intothe hall and up the stairs to be distributed to the variousbed-rooms. The consequence in any case is, that sleep iseither prevented altogether or perturbed by dreams, andthe unfortunate occupant of the London bed-room descendsto his breakfast with a headache which he probably attri-butes to his 11 biliousness." Some of the bed-rooms we

have seen remind one of what, in the United States navy,once went under the name of "sweat boxes," for a descrip-tion of which we are indebted to one of the official circulars

recently published by the Washington War Department.These are wooden closets, just large enough to contain aman standing upright. A few inch auger-holes are

usually bored through the door and sides. Two hours’confinement in one of these boxes, we are told, commonlyexhausts a man greatly; and they have occasionally evenbeen taken out insensible. These 11 sweat-boxes" were intimes gone by used as instruments of punishment, but, likethumb-screws and other expedients of that sort, theyhave been relegated to the list of ingenious tortures of thepast. It is a lesson that cannot be too soon learnt andacted upon, that human beings foul the air in which theyare placed, and, unless it be renewed from without, they aresimply rebreathing the carbonic acid, organic impurities,and the moist vapour, save such as has been condensed

upon the glass, that they had previously produced and ex-haled. The size of the room, no doubt, exerts considerableinfluence. The cubic space may be so limited that it comesto resemble the American " sweat-box" ; but whether ahuman being inhabits a bandbox or a church, a supplyof fresh air is still necessary for health and comfort. The

lowering of the upper sash for an inch or two, or the pro-vision of a ventilating pane, with an open register to thegrate, and the removal of all curtains from the bed, willoften prove a more effectual remedy against what is calleda bilious headache than any antibilious pill that was evercompounded. -

THE MEDICO-CHIRURCICAL TRANSACTIONS.

THE Fellows of the Royal Medical and ChirurgicalSociety, and the reading medical public at large, are greatlyindebted to Mr. B. R. Wheatley, the sub-librarian of the

Society, for the very excellent general index to the first

fifty-three volumes of the Medico-Chirurgical Society’sTransactions which he has just placed in their hands. A

mass of interesting matter is contained in these volumeswhich it has hitherto been most difficult to unearth ; butthe complete lists of both contributors and subjects nowopen to easy reference will entirely obviate the difficulty.In looking over the names of the 11 great ones of the

past," it is curious to note the subjects of the papers theyhave contributed. Thus Sir Astley Cooper heads the listat vol. i., p. 1, with a case of aneurism of the carotid

artery; and after again contributing to the subject of aneu-rism in the early volumes, goes on to the subject of calculusand its removal " without the use of any cutting instru-ment," in vols. viii., xi., and xii. John Abernethy only con-tributes to the first volume a paper

" On a Diminution ofthe Mitral Orifice of the Heart in consequence of Disease,"and "An Account of an uncommon Disease of the Ovary."Benjamin Travers begins the second volume of the Transac-tions with a "Case of Aneurism by Anastomosis in theOrbit, cured by ligature of the common carotid artery,"and has numerous other papers reaching as late as vol. xxiii.Lawrence also makes his appearance in the second volume

with the " Case of a Woman who voided a large number ofWorms by the Urethra, with a description of the animals,"and is a very regular contributor up to vol. xvii. Brodie’scontributions began in vol. iv. with the first of his " Patho-logical Researches respecting the Diseases of Joints," andended in vol. xxxxiv. with a letter on Dr. Waters’s paper on

Asphyxia. It is a little remarkable that so few of the earlyPresidents should have contributed anything to the archivesof the Society ; thus the names of William Saunders, Baillie,Halford, Cline, and William Babington, are conspicuous bytheir absence, Sir Gilbert Blane, the fourth President

(1813), having been the first to publish a paper, thoughDr. Baillie’s pathological researches are referred to both byAbernethy and Blizard in their papers in the first volumeof the Transactions.

____

THE HABITUAL DRUNKARDS BILL.

A MEETING was held at the Westminster Palace Hotel, onThursday last, under the presidency of Mr. D. Dalrymple,M.P., for the purpose of forwarding the Bill introduced intoParliament by that gentleman, with the view of extendinglegal control to the class of habitual drunkards. We havealways upheld the necessity of supervising those who areincapable of exercising voluntary control over their ownintemperate tendencies, and we should rejoice to see Mr.Dalrymple’s Bill become law, though we fear at this lateperiod of a "do-nothing" session, this is impracticable.The proposed Bill defines an habitual drunkard as "one

who, by reason of frequent, excessive, or constant use of in-

toxicating drinks, is incapable of self-control, and of properattention to and care of his affairs and family, or who isdangerous to himself or others." Such a person may, it is

proposed, be admitted to a suitable asylum, either at hisown request or upon that of a relative or friend, backed bythe certificates of two duly-qualified medical practitionersand the affidavit of some credible witness other than the

applicant. The certificates are to be given with the sameformalities as in cases of lunacy; in fact all the proceed-ings are to be controlled by the Commissioners in Lunacyunder the Act of 1863. It is proposed that no inebriate per-son shall be admitted to an asylum or a sanitarium for lessthan three or for more than twelve months, and the Com-missioners in Lunacy will have the power of shorteningthe period allotted on the certificate of two medical men.The second part of the Act gives power to magistrates toset aside buildings or parts of buildings for the purposes ofthe Act as applied to pauper drunkards, and to charge thecost upon the parish or county rates.We may remind our readers that establishments for the

reform of inebriates are no novelties in America, and wemay refer to an annotation in THE LANCET for October lst,1870, for an account of the New York State Inebriate Asy-lum, which has now been in active work for four years withvery great success.

-

THE NEW MEMBERS OF THE MEDICAL

COUNCIL.

THE personal changes in the General Medical Council,while open to criticism, are not likely to impoverish the de-bates of this body. To their credit be it said, the new mem-bers made their debut in a lively and outspoken altercation onthe first day of the session, and slightly redeemed theafternoon from the reign of utter dulness. Had the repre-sentation of the great body of general practitioners in theprovinces been an object with the Government, as we thinkit should have been, they could have had no difficulty inchoosing a successor to Dr. Rumsey who would have

promoted at once the reputation of the Council and of

provincial medicine. But, with all its show of liberalism,

57

this Government is highly centralising and despotic in are now necessary in our outports, because the seeds of thedepartmental matters. Nevertheless, the profession will be disease have been scattered over these towns from the

gratified at Dr. Gull’s presence in the Council. He is at Thames without cessation and without interruption. Andthe head of consulting practice in London. He is clear in it must also be recollected that each and every ship havingjudgment, and both concise and clear in speech. We ven- conveyed a small-pox patient becomes liable to carry theture to believe that he will view questions from an in- disease into whatever port she enters, inasmuch as no specialdependent stand-point, and be a new power for good in the disinfecting or fumigating process is commonly adopted.Council. Mr. Quain will ably represent the College of We may, indeed, fairly anticipate that the duration of thisSurgeons. The College might, indeed, have chosen a epidemic will be prolonged in England, in part because theyounger representative. But it is the fashion of that body coasting vessels, having assisted to propagate, will continueto heap responsible work on its oldest members; and it to perpetuate it. ____

must be admitted that the board of the Medical Council is -

not a place where the younger members of the profession, CURIOSITIES OF THE CENSUS.however able, have any chance of getting a hearing. If ’l’HE Census always brings up to the surface a few ofthe recent census had been a little more perfect, it might those curious idiosyncrasies of character occasionally to behave revealed the curious fact’that there is not a member met with in human nature, but which under ordinary cir-of the Council who received his medical education less cumstances lie hidden away from the public gaze. Thethan thirty years ago. Further, Mr. Quain is the repre- Registrar-General gives a few of the curious incidentssentative of the idea that improvement in the education of arising out of the recent Census. Thus fourteen schedulesmedical men is to come from teachers of medicine, and not were, with his sanction, sent to him privately to avoid thefrom the efficiency of examining bodies. This is a comfort- scrutiny of the enumerators in country districts. A countrying theory for a sleepy body like the College of Surgeons, spinster of advanced age, and very wealthy, fastened upthough one, we admit, unworthy of a man of Mr. Quain’s her doors and windows against the access of the enumerator;mind, which has still a youthful H yearning" for facts. but, notwithstanding her asseveration that a fine of ae20We can only hope that Mr. Quain will not use his place to would not induce her to give the required information, herthe disparagement of the importance of the functions of obduracy melted under the influence of a soothing letterour examining bodies, to which the profession looks almost from the Registrar-General, and she sent him her scheduleentirely for further improvements in the culture and pro- privately. A gentleman of landed property declared him-ficiency of its members. We cannot leave this subject self ready to pay any amount of fine, or even to die, ratherwithout a word of regret at the loss of Dr. Rumsey and than commit the offence for which David suffered, as re-Mr. Caesar Hawkins, who will not be inconspicuous by their corded in the Old Testament; we learn that " his religiousabsence. Dr. Rumsey was crotchety sometimes, but always scruples were respected," but that the particulars respect-courteous, and often wise; and Mr. Caesar Hawkins, though ing his family were nevertheless obtained and recordedbound by the traditions of his College, had a good business with tolerable accuracy. On the whole, however, therefaculty, and was a shrewd and useful member of the Coun- appears to have been very little resistance exhibited to thecil.

- inquiry. The Registrar-General did not find it necessaryto enforce the Census Act by a single prosecution, and only

- SMALL-POX AFLOAT. a few recusant householders were fined before local magis-

DURING the past week, vessels have arrived at Sunderland, trates at the instance of the enumerators. From faults ofDartmouth, Weymouth, Shields, and Leith, with cases of omission, indeed, we suspect the returns are more free thansmall-pox on board, and we have also transported it in the from faults committed. The tendency to turn the wholesame way to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Charlotte Town, Prince thing into a joke is hardly to be measured by the singleEdward’s Island, New York, and Quebec. A correspondence specimen which the Registrar-General gives of the authorhas recently been going on between the authorities at the who, in the column of the schedule devoted to certain in-Home Office and the Totnes Board of Guardians, relative firmities, records that his 11 wife says he is both idiot andto the fact that no regulations have been issued by the lunatic," which assertion may possibly be nearer the truthPrivy Council to meet cases in which ships enter harbour than the joker would like to admit. A novelty in thiswhen there is small-pox on board. Having remarked that Census above all its predecessors is the fact that a lady was" the Privy Council do not treat small-pox as a quarantine appointed enumerator in a London district, and is reporteddisease," Mr. Bruce records that, as it appears to him, " it to have discharged her duties very efficiently.is the duty of the local authorities to provide a hospital or ____

temporary place of reception for the sick, and to remove THE MEDICAL CLUB.persons suffering from small-pox on board any ship. Wetake leave to consider it the duty of Mr. Bruce to see that AT a house dinner of the Medical Club, on Wednesdaythe local authorities provide what is required, and we may evening, under the presidency of Dr. Lush, M.P., there weresuggest to the Home Secretary that in sanitary matters present Dr. Brewer, M.P., Mr. Hargrave and Dr. Flemingaffecting the marine he might consult with advantage the (members of the General Medical Council), Dr. Lockhartauthorities at the Board of Trade, or the Customs. Had Robertson, Dr. Lory Marsh, Mr. Teevan, Dr. Allen, Dr.this been done, it is probable that some scheme might have Anstie, Dr. Hood, Dr. Glover, and other gentlemen. Thebeen devised to prevent the exportation of small-pox from chairman, in proposing the toast of the evening, °° ProsperityLondon to the waterside towns on the east coast in this to the Medical Club," referred to the recent difference inwholesale manner. We have persistently maintained, and opinion among the members with regard to the necessityshall continue to maintain, that epidemics are fed and for increasing the subscription. He pointed out that afostered in the port of London because the governing body large majority had assented to this increase, and that theof the port (i.e., the Thames Conservators) do not choose financial position of the Club was now perfectly satisfactory.to undertake sanitary responsibilities, and the Government Dr. Lory Marsh, in returning thanks, explained how theneglect to compel them to do that which would, after all, necessity for an increased subscription had arisen; and

only place the floating population on a par with the rest said that the position of the Club, as an embodiment of theof the inhabitants of London. Local small-pox hospitals profession, depended upon its being made a pecuniary

58

success. Dr. Brewer, M.P., in returning thanks for theHouse of Commons, and the chairman in returning thanksfor his own health, spoke of the increased interest felt byParliament in medical questions, and of the way in whichthe profession was coming to be recognised as a power inthe State. Mr. Hargrave and Dr. Fleming returned thanksfor the Medical Council, the former stating in substance thatall the improvements in science and civilisation of the lastthirteen years were due to the action of that learned body.Mr. Hargrave, indeed, said that Lord Nelson had raised thenaval power of England to its highest point, that the lateDuke of Wellington had done the same for the militarypower, and that the Medical Council, by dint of never

minding what was said by the press, had completed every-thing that those great commanders had left undone. Afterthis Mr. Arthur Sketchley, who was present, was goodenough to entertain the company with certain of the remi-niscences of Mrs. Brown, and thus to bring to a humorousclose an evening that had been harmonious from its com-mencement.

____

MR. PACET AT ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S.

ON Tuesday, his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, inhis official capacity as president, paid a visit to St. Bartho-lomew’s Hospital, accompanied by the Princess of Wales,the Princess Lonise, and the Marquis of Lorne. The occa-sion was to present to Mr. Paget an illuminated copy of theresolution in which the General Court of Governors ex-

pressed their sincere regret at his resignation of his officeas senior surgeon to the hospital. The Prince, in handingthe resolution to Mr. Paget, expressed, in cordial language,his own concurrence with its terms; and Mr. Paget re-turned thanks with that happy blending of dignity andmodesty which is so peculiarly his distinguishing character-istic. Thus far the ceremonial was a formal one ; and yetit is impossible not to feel that the formalities were thesigns of a great event, and that Mr. Paget’s separationfrom the hospital he has so long served, and from theschool he has so long adorned, forms an era in the medicalhistory of our generation. We trust that the release fromarduous labours will be a welcome rest to him, and that itwill prolong the period during which his intellect and hishand will be at the service of the public. His hospitalmust not lament him overmuch, if the prudence of retire-ment preserves for other duties one than whom our profes-sion, rich though it has been in the learned and the good,has had no member more blameless, more skilful, and morewise. Mr. Paget has long since earned the undying grati-tude of the poor; and we trust that he will long continueto earn the gratitude with recompense" of the rich.

THE METROPOLIS WATER BILL.

THE strictures which we felt bound to pass upon theHome Secretary in giving way to the pressure put uponhim by the water companies respecting the Bill first

brought forward by him this session relative to the Londonwater-supply have been amply justified by the result. For

this is the verdict of the Metropolitan Board of Works uponMr. Bruce’s second Bill, now before a Select Committee :-11 Since the second reading it had been so altered andemasculated by the Committee as to completely destroy allthat was valuable in it in reference to the interests of the

consumers, and gave instead increased advantages to thewater companies." The Board find, in fact, that the Bill

’

as it appears likely to issue from the Select Committee willhave only one object in view-namely, the establishment ofa constant supply, and even in that respect will be muchless effective than was originally proposed, as the power of

making regulations for the supply is to be left with the

companies, instead of being vested in the Board, who areonly to have the privilege of lodging with the HomeSecretary any objections or suggestions in reference to suchregulations-a privilege of which the Board do not seem tothink very much. They not unnaturally protest, therefore,against being any longer considered as promoters of a Billwhich does nothing, or next to nothing, in accordance withtheir wishes, yet saddles them with all the expenses con-nected with its preparation and passing into an Act ofParliament. The whole question has evidently now gotinto a state that can only be remedied by the entire with-drawal of the Bill for this session, in the hope that beforenext year the present Home Secretary may have been re-moved to make way for a competent minister.

THE EDINBURCH SENATUS AND THELADY STUDENTS.

AT their meeting on the 30th ult. the Senatus had underconsideration a memorial from Miss Jex Blake on behalf of the

lady students. It appears that some of the professors are notprepared to deliver second courses of lectures for the ladies’benefit ; while the University regulations do not admit ofthe ladies attending more than four classes at the extra-academical school. Miss Jex Blake accordingly suggeststhat the Senatus might appoint special lecturers in caseswhere the ordinary lecturer declines to give a second

course, and that the expenses of such appointments shouldbe defrayed by the ladies themselves ; or, failing that

arrangement, that the extra-academical course should beallowed to qualify for graduation beyond the four classesalready allowed for that purpose by the University. TheSenatus decided to defer the subject for a fortnight, so asto gain the opinion of counsel as to the legal powers theypossess over existing regulations.

Miss Jex Blake’s proposal seems quite a reasonable one; yand if the Senatus should reject it, that body will certainlybe in the scarcely consistent position of having first allowedMiss Jex Blake and her sisterhood to matriculate as civesof the University, to enrol themselves as students, to pro-secute their studies with a view to graduation, and then toturn round and bar their progress half-way.

THE CONJOINT EXAMINATION SCHEME.

WE understand that the Council of the College of Sur-geons of England have withdrawn their opposition to thatportion of the scheme of the College of Physicians whichprovides for the selection of examiners by a central Boardcomposed of the representatives of the various licensingbodies and universities, and have agreed to give up thepower of specially nominating examiners in special subjects.Thus the main difficulty in coming to an agreement uponthe question of a conjoint examination has been removed.The Apothecaries’ Hall will be probably left out in the cold.

THE PHARMACY BILL.

WE understand, at the moment of going to press, thatMr. Forster has accepted the proposition that the regula-tions for the keeping of poisons lately approved for voluntaryadoption by the Pharmaceutical Society, shall be the regu-lations to be put in force in all open shops where drugs arevended. Of course surgeries and private dispensaries areto be quite unaffected by the regulations. The Bill as

amended, and the fate of which will probably be decidedwithin a few hours, provides, moreover, that regulationsare to be amended, revoked, or extended, as occasion mayrequire, by the Pharmaceutical Society, with the consent ofthe Privy Council. The Council of the Society, at* its

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meeting on Wednesday last, by a majority of one, decidedto continue the opposition to the Government Bill, and itseems that Mr. Torrens is practically their mouthpiece,which we much regret. His good sense and activity areworthy of a better cause.

THE BROWN TRUST.

ON Wednesday last the Senate of the University of

London, which has now acquired possession of a specialsite and building in the Wands worth-road for the purposesof the Animal Sanitary Institution, contemplated underthe provisions of the will of the late Mr. Brown, of Dublin,appointed Dr. Burdon Sanderson Professor-superintendent,and accepted a scheme for the management of the insti-

tution, involving the appointment of, first, a Committee ofManagement, to be composed of the Vice-Chancellor, six

members of the Senate, and the registrar, or assistant-

registrar, if a medical man; and secondly, a professor-superintendent, a veterinary assistant, a clerk, and sub-ordinates, the two former to reside on the premises.

INDIA AND THE SOLDIER’S ACE.

By a return just laid before Parliament showing the agesof the non-commissioned officers and men of four regimentsnow under orders for India, it would appear that 351 soldiersout of a strength of 992 in the 44th Regiment were undertwenty years of age, and that 231 out of 876 in the 70th

Regiment, 281 out of 972 of the 68th Regiment, and 120out of 230 men of the depot, 48th Regiment, were

under twenty years of age. The debates in both Housesof Parliament have called public attention to the factthat we are sending the raw material, that we havesuch difficulty in procuring in sufficient quantity for ourarmy, to a climate where it is sure to be rapidly got rid of.The War Office authorities had probably been all alongalive to the evil, and anxious to overcome it; but there isvery little doubt that the representations of the doctorsand the Army Sanitary Committee would have effected littleenough had it not been for the pressure put upon theGovernment by Lord Sandhurst and others.

THE RECISTRATION ACT.

DR. LYON PLAYFAIR has withdrawn his Bill for the com-

pulsory registration of births, the Home Secretary havingannounced that he had ascertained it to be the Registrar-General’s opinion that several improvements in the Regis-tration Act are necessary, and that in consequence theGovernment would next session introduce a Bill on the

subject. We gather from Mr. Bruce’s statement that theRegistrar-General thinks that the death as well as the birthregistration is capable of improvement, and we are thereforejustified in looking for a much more comprehensive andvaluable measure, next session, than that of Dr. LyonPlay fair, to which we felt bound to object on the score ofinsufficiency. ____

LIVERPOOL SEWERS.

THE Liverpool Health Committee would have acted wiselyif, instead of persistently maintaining that the sewers weresufficiently ventilated and in a cleanly state, they had atonce acknowledged the truth of the charges brought againstthem in our Reports on the sanitary condition of the town.The position of the Health Committee is the more humiliat-ing as they have been compelled to prove the case in ordeito refute the charge that the sewers had been speciallycleansed prior to the inspection of Drs. Parkes and Sander-son. With respect to the ventilation, we have alreadynoticed the evidence of their district surveyor, who, in orde

to prove that the Atherton-street sewer was not cleansedout through a single opening, said that no man could livein the sewer if several plug-stones were not removed so asto admit of ventilation. And now we are informed thatthe operation of cleansing the same sewer could not havebeen done secretly, or without the opportunity of certainproof, because the amount of deposit in the sewer was solarge "that it would take a week’s continuous work tocleanse it out." After admitting the existence of such anabominable state of things, it is difficult not to believethat many other sewers are in the same state. In fact, themore closely the subject is examined the more clear will itbecome that the high mortality of Liverpool, and thedrunken habits of the working population, are greatly dueto their being condemned to live in badly-ventilated houses,charged with sewer gases of a very deadly kind. The re-

port of Drs. Parkes and Sanderson was presented to theTown Council on Wednesday. We shall refer to it next week.

HEALTH OF PARIS.

THE health of Paris continues surprisingly good. Epi-demics may almost be said to be conspicuous by theirabsence. Bronchitis and pneumonia caused most mor-tality for the week ending June 24th. The unseason-

able cold is chiefly to blame for this; while the large:

consumption of fruit may to some extent be responsible,

for the diarrhoea, which caused twenty - five deaths

during that week. The deaths from small - pox weresixteen-four times as many as in the week preceding.Typhoid fever numbered twenty-nine victims; but there

’ were no cases of typhus or cholera. In spite of the ener-’

getic precautions of the Prefect of the Seine, the odour ofdead bodies is perceptible on the way from Versailles to

.

Paris; and the park of St. Cloud, where the Prussians’

buried their dead horses with only a thin covering of sandy’ soil, exhales a stench suggestive of pestilence in the ap-’

proaching hot weather. -

THE BLUE-BOOK OF THE VACCINATION’ COMMITTEE.

IT is impossible to do more than draw attention to themass of evidence, extending over more than five hundredpages of a folio Blue-book, now presented by the Select

- Committee on Vaccination. The inquiry seems to have origi-nated in consequence of some hardship which was expe-

- rienced by certain opponents of vaccination from repeated- convictions with fine and imprisonment. These convictions% had the effect of making martyrs, and yet failed to secure’ the object of the law-viz., the vaccination of the infants.* Upon this inquiry the anti-vaccinationists have been allowedl the fullest liberty. They have broached the most absurd’ and fallacious arguments, they have made curious use of

statistics, and misinterpreted the most obvious facts. Thel sole advantage of the inquiry appears to us to lie in the

admirable history of vaccination and its results containedin the appendix to the evidence, which, if not new to theprofession, it is important should be well known to themembers of the House.

____

BOILER EXPLOSIONS.

t WE have often called attention to the terrible annualt damage to life and limb that results from the explosion of. steam boilers; and we are glad to place 00. record that a- select committee of the House of Commons has reported inr favour of a remedy that would, we have no doubt, be per-7 fectly effectual. The committee believe that the great- majority of explosions arise from negligence, and they re-y commend that full responsibility for personal damage shallr in every case rest upon the owner; and shall only be re-

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butted by proof that the accident arose from causes beyondhis control. There can be little doubt that such a liabilityas this would strike at the root of the parsimony by whichexplosions are commonly caused, and would save, everyyear, great numbers of valuable lives that are now need-lessly or wantonly sacrificed.

PARTIAL INTOXICATION.

THE policeman who arrested a man engaged in stencilling" No vaccination " and " Mercy to the blind" on a wall inthe Commercial-road has earned for himself a brief cele-

brity by the assertion that the prisoner’s hands were soberthough his feet and head were drunk. The great truth ofhuman liability to partial intoxication has perhaps neverbeen so clearly stated before. We fear we must take ex-

ception, however, to the policeman’s topography of drunken-ness. We have met with cases in which both hands andfeet were sober while the head was drunk, and also withcases in which hands and feet were hopelessly drunk froma dose of alcohol which had only stimulated the brain toincreased action, and the tongue to be the vehicle of re-partee, anecdote, argument, and wit. Immunity of thehands while the head and feet are affected is to us a new

phenomenon; and, notwithstanding the great and variedopportunities of observation that offer themselves to a

policeman, we must confess to some lingering doubts con-cerning the accuracy of a statement which, if well founded,certainly calls for the attention of physiologists.

VACCINATION AT BIRKENHEAD.

A LETTER from the Poor-law Board was read at the last

meeting of the Birkenhead guardians, complaining of someof the district medical officers continuing to keep open theirvaccination stations in opposition to the public vaccinator,who has been appointed to supersede them. This is puttinga new phase upon the question. The Poor-law Board mustknow very well that they have no power or right to preventany member of the profession from vaccinating gratuitously,and that it is done by hundreds for the purpose of keepingup their supplies of lymph. Indeed, if it had not been forgratuitous vaccination, lymph could not have been obtainedat the commencement of the present year. Nearly all thepublic vaccinators who have lost their appointments inLondon continue to vaccinate gratuitously, and we know atleast of one case in which the gentleman used his influence Ias a registrar of births to secure the attendance of a largenumber of children. The fact is the Poor-law Board hadfar better let the matter rest, for should they engage in thequarrel between the Privy Council and the mass of the pro- ’fession, they will find themselves in continually increasing ’

difficulties.

MEDICAL SALARIES IN ISLINCITON.

THE Guardians of Islington having resolved to fix the If

salaries of all the district medical officers at j8100 a year,with the single exception of Dr. Simpson, that gentleman ’’

has appealed to the Poor-law Board. He states that therecords of the dispensary in Newington-green-road provethat he does more work than the other medical officers ;whilst instead of .8100, his salary is only 75. The Poor-

law Board have forwarded Dr. Simpson’s letter of appeal tothe guardians, and the latter have replied that they see no Ireason to alter their arrangements. We shall watch the icase with some interest. The improvement in the medical Isalaries is due to the interference of the Poor-law Board,and Dr. Simpson has clearly a prima facie elaim. ThePoor-law Board have the power to insist upon what is rightand we hope that they will exercise it.

SMALL-POX IN LEICESTER.

THE authorities in Leicester appear to be taking praise.worthy precautions against the extension of small-pox,which has, unfortunately, broken out in the town. A house-to-house visitation has been instituted in search of sanitarydefects ; a large house and warehouse have been taken fora temporary hospital, and the guardians have engaged tolend bedding and other necessary furniture. The thanksof the Town Council were given to the medical staff of the

Dispensary for having assisted in drawing up plans for ahospital of corrugated iron, on the principle of the

Hampstead Hospital, and for the offer of their services totake charge of the new hospital.

Leicester suffered heavily in the epidemic of 1864, andsince then considerable attention has been given to vac.cination it will be interesting to observe with what result.

CHESTERFIELD AND NORTH DERBYSHIREHOSPITAL.

THis institution is about to be enlarged and improved, atan estimated cost of .84000. This is rendered necessary bythe great increase of the population of the town and neigh-bourhood. The medical staff are doing their best to intro-duce all the modern improvements, so as to make it a modelhospital in a sanitary point of view. The funds are in a

flourishing condition, the working men, as well as the em-ployers of labour, being large contributors, and the insti-tution having in addition a handsome endowment fund.

MR. CORRANCE’S MOTION ON POOR RELIEF.

WE beg to call the attention of our readers to a letterwhich appears in another part of our present impression,and in which Mr. Corrance, M.P., explains to Dr. Rogersthe views that have led him to bring forward his motion onPoor-law medical relief, which is announced for July 21st.It will be evident to those who read this letter that Mr.Corrance firmly believes that a material improvement inthe pay and status of the medical officers is absolutelynecessary, and that it will prove most effective in diminish-

ing the cost of pauperism, more especially that which con-cerns the out-door poor. _

THE last meeting of the Royal Commission on the Con-tagious Diseases Acts will, it is expected, take place to-day(Friday). The Report, as our readers have already beenapprised, will recommend the repeal of the Acts of 1866and 1869, and the re-enactment of the law of 1864. Therewill be but one report, which will be signed by all the mem-bers of the Commission; those Commissioners who dissentfrom particular clauses giving their reasons in separatememoranda. It will be ready next week, though a longertime must elapse before the evidence taken by the Com-missioners can see the light.

THE Council of University College have, we are glad tohear, unanimously resolved to confer the title of 11 Surgeon"upon Mr. Berkeley Hill and Mr. Christopher Heath, whohitherto have been assistant-surgeons to the hospital. Thisdistinction is a fitting recognition on the part of the govern-ing body of the services which these gentlemen have ren-dered to their hospital and college.

IT is reported that the hope we expressed last week islikely to be realised, and that a Bill is about to be intro-duced by the Right Hon. J. Stansfeld for consolidating thecentral authority now exercised by the Privy Council, theLocal Government Office, and the Poor-law Board.

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WE regret to hear that Dr. Hyde Salter, through seriousillness, has been compelled to resign his post of senior phy-sician to Charing-cross Hospital. Dr. Silver will probablybe promoted to the post of full physician, and thereby avacancy will be created for a new assistant-physician.

THE deep-sea soundings taken by Dr. Carpenter in thewaters of the Old hemisphere are about to be followed upin those of the New by Prof. Agassiz, who has had placed Iunder his control a coast survey steamer, which will shortlystart for the North Pacific seaboard.

WE are very glad to learn that Mr. Holthouse, at therequest of the Westminster Hospital school, has consentedto continue his lectureship on Surgery, and that Mr. Pearsehas been appointed to succeed Mr. Mason as lecturer onAnatomy. -

Dn. PARKES, F.R.S., has been nominated by Her Majesty,through the Home Office, to a vacant seat in the Senate ofthe University of London.

GENERAL COUNCILOF

MEDICAL EDUCATION AND REGISTRATION.

Session 1871.

TUESDAY, JULY 4TH.THE General Medical Council commenced its sittings on

Tuesday last. Dr. Paget, the President, took the chair attwo o’clock. Two new members of Council were introduced:Dr. Gull, nominated by the Crown, in the place of Dr.Rumsey, resigned; and Mr. Quain, nominated by theCollege of Surgeons, in the place of Mr. Caesar Hawkins.The PRESIDENT, in opening the session, said :-On the

two former occasions on which I had the honour of openinga session of the Council I did it in the fewest words. I

spared your time, knowing its value, and could well spareit because the business of the session was plainly and un-mistakably before us, and any introductory remarks ofmine would have been at least superfluous. On the presentoccasion the circumstances are different, and in one respectpeculiar. What has happened since our last meeting mightseem to demand comment-perhaps lengthened comment.But I will not detain you long. We meet for business, notfor talk, except such talk as maybe in itself business. Butone word for two friends of ours who have retired from theCouncil since our last meeting. We should be ungratefulif we omitted to acknowledge what we owe to Mr. CassarHawkins, to his diligence in business, his conscientiousaccuracy on which we could always rely, and the clear

judgment and honourable spirit which he brought to theconsideration of every question ; and to Dr. Rumsey it isdue that we should remember his great and willing sacrificeof time and labour while aiding us in the large and com-plicated subject of State Medicine of which he is so perfecta master. The services rendered by these gentlemen tothe Medical Council were, in fact, rendered to the generalpublic. The public may overlook them, or fail duly toacknowledge them ; we cannot and ought not. Our lastmeeting was wholly occupied in considering the MedicalAct Amendment Bill of the Lord President of the PrivyCouncil. I regret that it was necessary to withdraw it. Ibelieve that it would have accomplished a vast amount ofgood. I believe that it would have removed the chiefobstacles to the further improvement of the education ofthe medical profession-the real obstacles to the advance-ment of its social status and the more general attainmentof professional excellence. It would thus have conferredgreat, very great, benefits on the public. I therefore

regret its loss. But I have satisfaction in rememberingthat this Council, after long and careful consideration,expressed an approval of it, and a wish that it might

speedily become law. It has been sometimes said, or in-sinuated, that this Council has more regard for the interestsof the medical corporations and universities than it has forthe interests of the public. If there be any candid manwho thinks this, I would ask his attention to the vote ofthe Council on that Bill of Lord De Grey. That Billproposed, in its chief and leading provision, to deprive allthe universities and medical corporations of their ancientprivilege of granting licences to practise medicine-a.privilege which, in the case of the corporations, is the mostimportant they possess. The Council, early in their dis-cussion of the Bill, expressed a doubt of the necessity orexpediency of this sacrifice of ancient privileges-a sacrifice-which might, not improbably, be injurious to all the cor-porations, and might even endanger the existence of some ofthem. Yet, after careful consideration of the whole Bill, thisCouncil approved of it by a majority of 15 to 3. Perfect una-

nimity of course could not be expected on a measure involv-ing so great a number and variety of details. But to anyperson who finds fault with the constitution of the Councilbecause he believes it to represent unduly the interests ofthe corporations, I would commend that vote of 15 to3 as a fact worthy of consideration. It is not necessaryfor me to enter upon the causes which led to the withdrawalof Lord De Grey’s Bill. Neither is it necessary for me to-discuss the merits of the two Medical Bills which wereintroduced into the House of Commons by private membersin the present session. They have been withdrawn; yetthey have not been without use, if their discussion hasdiffused more knowledge on a subject of which the general

, public is so profoundly ignorant, and many members evenof the medical profession are still so imperfectly informed.Among the business of our present session will be an inquiryinto the conduct of a qualified medical practitioner. Weshall have to inquire, under the provisions of the 29th sec-tion of the Medical Act, whether he has been guilty ofinfamous conduct in a professional respect. The chargeagainst him is that he authorised another person to affix:his name to false certificates of death-false in this respect,that they stated him to have been in professional attend-ance on the deceased, which it is said was contrary to the.fact. Charges of this kind have been made against twopractitioners. The complaints were made originally to theRegistrar-General of Deaths and the Secretary of State forthe Home Department, and by them the complainants werereferred to this Council. In accordance with standingorders, a preliminary inquiry has been made by the EnglishBranch Council. In one of the cases it was found that theevidence was scanty, and the circumstances such as, in theopinion of our solicitor and that of the Branch Councihwould not fairly warrant a charge of infamous professionalconduct. In the other case it was thought proper that thecharge and the evidence in support of it should be sub-mitted to your judgment. I have mentioned this case, not

merely because it is the first in which charges of this kindhave been brought under your notice, but because I desireyour opinion as to whether one part of our procedure-namely, our deliberation on the merits of the case-shouldbe public or private. Of course the hearing of the case willbe public; the decision will be public. But it has appearedto me worth considering whether there should be a, short

intervening time in which our deliberations should be

private. The deliberations of juries are private; so are

those of magistrates at sessions, and those of judges whenthey sit in a body. In all these cases the deliberations areprivate, though the decisions are given publicly. Whateverdifferences of opinion there may be in the Council on thissuggestion of mine, I am satisfied we shall all be agreed ontaking that course which appears to us the most likely tolead to a just conclusion-just towards the person whoseconduct is impugned, and just towards the profession andthe public, who would have good reason to blame us if weshrank from exercising aright the powers conferred on usby the Medical Act.The usual committees having been appointed, the returns

from the Medical Department of the Army, and from theMedical Department of the India Office, were laid beforethe Council. The statement of the degrees, diplomas, andlicences of the candidates for commissions in the MedicalDepartment of the Army, who, in February, 1871, presentedthemselves for examination, showed that of the candidatesthere were 36 successful, and 21 unsuccessful. Of the un-