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Obituary.SIR CHARLES BENT BALL, BART., M.D. DUB.,

F.R.C.S. ENG. AND IREL.,REGIUS PROFESSOR OF SURGERY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF DUBLIN ;

SURGEON TO SIR PATRICK DUN’S HOSPITAL; HONORARYSURGEON TO H.M. THE KING IN IRELAND.

WE regret to announce the death of Sir CharlesBent Ball, which occurred in Dublin on March 17th,at the age of 65 years. The event was not un-

expected, for he had been ill for some months.Nearly the whole of Sir Charles Bent Ball’s life

was spent in Dublin. His father, Robert Ball..LL.D., was director of the Dublin Museum ofScience and Art, and Sir Robert Stawell Ball, theastronomer, was his elder brother. He himself hada successful career as a student at Trinity College,obtaining his degree in Arts in 1871 and in medi-cine in the following year. After a brief period ofpractice in South Wales, he obtained a Poor-lawappointment in Dublin and settled there per-manently, being soon appointed surgeon to SirPatrick Dun’s Hospital. In 1879 he took the

Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons inIreland, and, resigning his Poor-law appointment,devoted himself thenceforth entirely to surgery.In 1895 he became University Anatomist, and in thesame year he succeeded the late Sir George Porteras Regius professor of surgery in the University ofDublin, posts which he held until his death.He was for many years a member of the Councilof the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland,and in 1900 he was elected an honorary Fellow ofthe Royal College of Surgeons of England. Honoursand distinctions now came quickly to him. In 1902he went to San Francisco as Lane lecturer; in 1903,the year in which he received his knighthood, he wasErasmus Wilson lecturer at the Royal College of Sur-geons of England ; in 1911 he was given a baronetcy,having been for some years past honorary surgeon tothe King in Ireland. In 1914, after the outbreak ofwar, he was appointed consulting surgeon to thetroops in Ireland with the rank of lieutenant-colonel.For the past 10 years he was the representative ofDublin University on the General Medical Council;he was President of the Royal Academy of Medicinein Ireland from 1909 to 1912, and he was morerecently President of the Royal Zoological Societyof Ireland, in the working of which society he tookgreat interest. He was consulting surgeon to a

large number of institutions in Dublin; amongthese were Dr. Steevens’, the Orthopaedic, the

Dental, and Monkstown Hospitals, the StewartInstitution, and the Masonic Girls’ School. He wasalso Lord Chancellor’s consulting surgical visitorin lunacy, and medical referee for Dublin under theWorkmen’s Compensation Act.

It will be seen that he was a veritablepluralist in public work. In professional work,though a good all-round surgeon, he was

best known as a specialist in rectal diseases.His hand-book on "The Rectum and Anus, theirDiseases and Treatment," published in 1894,had a well-merited success, and in 1908 hepublished another book entitled " The Rectum,its Diseases and Developmental Defects," whichshowed both his learning and his practical equip-ment. The book was to a certain extent foundedupon, or a reissue of, his earlier work, broughtup to date, and including the Lane lectures and theErasmus Wilson lectures, in which discourses hehad dealt with different rectal conditions and

diseases. He contributed the article on rectalsurgery to " Treves’s System of Surgery,"and occasionally sent papers to the surgicaljournals. In his teaching he was clear anddefinite, with the gift of arranging a discourse inlogical order. He was an ingenious and cool

operator, ready for every emergency. In hisjudgment on a case he took a wide view, andphysicians who asked for his help always felt thathe gave full weight to other than narrowly surgicalpoints.For many years Sir Charles Ball was the most

prominent figure in Irish surgery. He married adaughter of the late Mr. D. Kinahan, of RoebuckPark, Dublin, by whom he had four daughters andthree sons, the eldest of whom, Mr. C. ArthurKinahan Ball, F.R.C.S. Irel., surgeon to Sir PatrickDun’s Hospital, succeeds to the title.

Medical News.ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF EDINBURGH.-

At the recent dental examinations the following candidateswere successful:-

FIRST DENTAL EXAMINATION.Edward Clive Smith, E. Loring Kelly, Meindent de Villiers, OscarU. Gottlieb Reinecke, John Sharpe, Nico Hofmeyr Albertyn.and Cayetano Betbencourt.

Chemistry and Physics.-Egbert Johan Charle Steyn, Gordon SmithRichardson, Alexander Phillips, Andrew John Molyneaux, AlanWilson Hart, and Mary Constable Adam.

FINAL DENTAL EXAMINATION.William Alexander Rankin, Glasgow ; Aubrey Claud Forster Barrow,Birmingham; George William Young, Kidderminster; HamishMackay Cranna, Fraserburgh ; James Leo Farnon, Morpeth ; JohnForbes Campbell. Kincardineshire ; Douglas Mitchell Mackenzie.Inverness; William Archibald Mein, Bombay; David UouparLamond, Dundee; Johannes Jacobus de Witt, South Africa ; andHenry Cecil Mackenzie Morgan, Stornoway.

UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM : FACULTY OF MEDICINE.-At examinations held recently the following candidateswere successful :-FIRST EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF MEDICINE.

Elementary Anatomy and Biology, Chemistry and Physies -TomHugh Ronald Anderson, Neil Robertson Beattie, Dorothy OlgaSutherland Blair, Robson Christie Brown (second-class honours),Richard Leslie Dagger (second-class honours), Nan Coxon, HughLeslie Mather, Robert Paulin Wanless, and Philomena RylandWhitaker.

Elementa1’y Anato7ay.-Mark Julius Erdberg, Kun Piu Leung, MayRaw, and Robert Sanderson.

SECOND EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF MEDICINE.

Anatomy and Physiology.-John Maurice Brydson (second-classhonours). Sujan Raj Ohatterji, Rev. Samuel Foskett. IbrahimGirgis, Samuel Elijah Goulstine, John Parkinson Higham, JamesRichard Hughes (second-class honours), David Levinstein, HabibToma, Hans Wilbelm Walther, and George Roebuck Woodhead.

Anatomy.-Iris Marjorie Cheeseright.

FIRST-AID INSTRUCTION.-The President of theUnited States has appointed a commission to investigatefirst-aid methods, packages, the standardisation of first-aidequipment, and an identical course of instruction to befollowed throughout the country. General W. C. Gorgas,Surgeon-General of the United States Army, is President ;-Rupert Blue, Surgeon-General of the Public Health Service,is Vice-President; and the American Medical Association,Association of Railway Surgeons, and Surgical Associationare represented. Great interest in first-aid has developedeverywhere throughout the United States.

MEDICAL SICKNESS AND ACCIDENT SOCIETY.-The usual monthly meeting of the committee of this society-was held at 300, High Holborn, W.C., on March 17th, Dr.F. J. Allan being in the chair. The accounts presentedshowed a margin in favour of the society in the sickness.expectation-a rather unusual event at this time of the year.With so many members serving their country in all parts ofthe world, it is impossible to regard the experience as

normal. The new business was satisfactory, but the feesfor locum-tenents are higher, which influences the sum

necessary to cover this expenditure. The permanency of thecontract for sickness benefit shnnid anneal to members off

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the profession. No matter what claims are made, the con-tract holds good until the age of 65, and at that age theannuity scheme, which is being offered for approval at theannual meeting, would prove a useful and valuable benefitin place of the sickness benefit.

HEALTH VISITORS AND INFANT WELFARECERTIFICATES.---The next course of training, for which twoscholarships are offered, will commence in September next.The certificates awarded by the governing body of theBattersea Polytechnic to successful students who haveattended the seven months’ course of training for healthvisitors and infant welfare workers are recognised by theLocal Government Board.

EDINBURGH EYE INFIRMARY.-At the annualmeeting of the contributors to the Edinburgh Eye, Ear, andThroat Infirmary attention was drawn to the fact that six ofthe medical officers were absent on military duties, with theresult that the work had been necessarily curtailed. It was

reported that the number of patients treated during last yearwas 3993, as compared with 4692 in 1914 and 5102 in 1913.

ORDER OF THE EXCELLENT CROP.—Mr. GordonO’Neill, professor of obstetrics in the Peiyang MedicalCollege, Tientsin, has been given permission by the Kingto accept and wear the decoration of the Seventh Class ofthe Order of the Excellent Crop, which has been conferredupon him by the President of the Republic of China inrecognition of valuable services rendered.

THE death in .announced of Miss FannyCresswell Paris at the great age of 102. Miss Paris was thesecond daughter of John Ayrton Paris, M.D., F.R.S., D.C. L.,’who was President of the Royal College of Physicians ofLondon so far back as 1844

Parliamentary Intelligence.NOTES ON CURRENT TOPICS. c c

Organisation of the Army Medical Serzice,. CONSIDERABLE interest was shown at Westminster in con- a

mexion with the criticisms which Mr. R. McNEILL made in r

a speech on the organisation of the Army Medical Services. The principal reply on behalf of the Government was made t

by Colonel A. LEE, the Parliamentary Secretary (Military) 1to the Ministry of Munitions, who for nine months watched 1the practical working of the medical services in the field. fHe maintained that the criticisms were unjustifiable and ill- ]informed.

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HOUSE OF COMMONS.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15TH.

Organisation of the Army Medical Services. ]

In the debate on Army Estimates, ]Mr. R. McNEILL, in the course of a long speech, drew

.attention to matters concerned with the organisation of theArmy Medical Service. He referred to the reorganisation

. which followed on the South African War, and contendedthat the moment that war broke out the Advisory Boardought to have been called together. It ought to have beenstrengthened by some of the best of the younger generationof scientific men, but the very first moment the war brokeout the Board was scrapped. Its very important functionswere usurped by Director-General Sir Arthur Sloggett. Didhe possess the organising skill of Napoleon and thescientific genius of Lister and Paget ? He was given completecontrol over the administration of the Army Medical Serviceand within a week took sick leave from the War Office.Advantage was not taken of his disappearance to appoint tothis tremendously responsible post some young, vigorous, andup-to-date surgeon of the new school, but a stop-gap deputy,Surgeon-General Macpherson, undoubtedly a man of veryconsiderable ability in many respects, who possessed manyacademic degrees, was appointed, of whom Mr. McNeill said,his information from responsible quarters was that he wasunfit for the post. At the end of nine weeks he went assurgeon-general to the First Army in France, and in thatcapacity and in a later appointment he was, said Mr.McNeill, responsible for a terrible breakdown at one placeand a greater failure at another, when he became head ofour, army medical arrangements at Salonika. Mr. McNeillwent on to speak of the appointment of Sir Alfred Keogh asDirector-General, and expressed regret that he had notbrought the organisation of the Advisory Board intooperation. He also criticised the organisation of the

Army Medical Service on the basis of the divisional system,and the aelection of Poperinghe as a clearing station forYpres at the time of the first battle. At Hooge the doctors ofone division whose troops were engaged were working for 30.40, and 50 hours on end. There were numbers of doctors ofother divisions actually in the town at the time not doing ahand’s turn simply because they belonged to other divisions,the troops of which had not been engaged. The UnderSecretary for War might say that the battle of Ypres wasearly in the war and that the arrangements had not beenperfected. Let him therefore give an example from thebattle of Loos. When the fighting was going on at

Loos wounded men were left lying all night out in

the open and in the fields and streets of Chogue,Lapogny, Delair, and other villages because all the hospitalswere overfull and the staffs were overworked. The saddestpart of it was-and this brought them back again to thequestion of organisation-that within a very short distance,within a few miles, there were hundreds of doctors ofother divisions who could easily have been brought thereby motor-cars. He was not laying the smallest blame uponthe doctors. He recommended a system of movable hospitalsall the way along the front, within easy access by motor-carof the firing line, placed as far as possible off the main road.so that it might be kept clear for transport and supplies.Operation cases should be retained in the movable hospitals.With regard to the question of abdominal surgery at the front,as recently as January Ist, he said, Sir Anthony Bowlby,writing in THE LANCET, emphasised the possibility of savinglife by immediate operations in abdominal cases. Therecould have been no occasion to do that unless it was thecase that the practice had not become established and hewas agitating for its adoption. The War Office was failingto make the best possible use of the talent at the disposalof the nation, as no attempt was made to use the medicalman’s special qualifications at the points where those specialqualifications were most wanted. A very large body ofhighly instructed medical opinion held the views which hehad been trying to put before the House, and he pressed foran investigation.

THURSDAY, MARCH 16TH.

Organisation of the Army Medical Services.On the resumed debate on Army Estimates,Colonel A. LEE (Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry

of Munitions) said: I think an unfair attack was madeyesterday by the honourable Member for St. Augustine’s(Mr. R. McNeill) upon the medical arrangements of ourarmies. He delivered an indictment covering the wholemedical service in the field, its work and organisation, anddisfigured that speech by bitter personal attacks upon dis-tinguished officers of the Royal Army Medical Corps. I feelbound to repudiate some of the grosser charges which werelevelled by my honourable friend against the reputationand record of the Royal Army Medical Corps in the field.I say, speaking with some personal knowledge of thesubject, that there is no corps in the British Army, no branchof the service wnich has done finer, more effective, and moregallant service during the present war. In its officers, itsmen, and the noble women who have been associated with itin the nursing services, there is no section of the BritishArmy that deserves more praise and gratitude from thepeople of this country. Let me state my reason for inter-vening in this debate. At the commencement of the war I

accepted an appointment as Lord Kitchener’s special per-sonal representative to proceed to the front to watch andreport upon the practical working of the medical services inthe field, especiallv with regard to the collection, care,and evacuation of the wounded at the front. I donot profess, of course, that I had any technical know-ledge in regard to these matters or any special quali-fications beyond those possessed by any layman whohas taken an interest in this matter for some years past, andwho also, as a soldier, has some knowledge of the practicaldifficulties which distinguish war conditions from those ofpeace. After all, it is necessary, in considering this matter,to realise that war conditions are not the same as those ofpace, and that is often forgotten by critics who, whilst nodoubt animated by the purest and most disinterestedmotives-I am referring now to professional critics, whetherthey come from Glasgow or Portland-place or any otherlocality-are apt not to realise the difficulties with which themedical services are confronted under the actual conditionsof war, and this has led them in mauy instances to begrossly unfair to their colleagues overseas. I spent somenine months doing nothing else but investigatmg thesematters on the spot, and I duly reported the resultsto Lord Kitchener. During the whole of those ninemonths I had unique opportunities of watching thedaily and mghtiy work of the’medical services at thebattle of the Aisne, at both battles of Ypres, at NeuveChapelle, Festubert, and others. All I can say as the resultof that experience is that I utterly fail to recognise in theharrowing tale which my honourable friend gave of the