1546 MEDICAL NEWS.

Medical News.THE firm of Nobel has given £1000 towards the

St. Petersburg Institute of Experimental Medicine.

OUTBREAK OF RABIES IN THE NORTH OF ENGLAND.-This outbreak appears to have originated in Widnes, whereone or two cases had been recently observed. The affectedanimals were killed, and the veterinary inspectors dis-covered, on post-mortem inspection, evidence of the exist-ence of epidemic rabies in each carcass.

ROYAL BRITISH NURSES’ ASSÓCIATION.-The sixthannual conversazione of this association was held at-thePrinces’ Hall, Piccadilly, on the 7th inst., and was attendedby something like 1000 members. Prior to the commencementof the proceedings a telegram was received announcing theregrettable fact that the president, the Princess Christian,would be unable to be present on the occasion. In lieu of herRoyal Highness the guests were received by Sir J. Crichton-Drowne, Mr. Pickering Pick and Miss Stewart.

DISEASED MEAT PROSECUTION.-By the energy ofthe meat inspectors at Birkenhead some samples of meatwhich on inquiry were found to belong to a cow affected withpleurisy were adjudged by the magistrate to be unfit forhuman consumption, and an order was therefore issued fortheir destruction. Though medical opinion is not perfectlyunanimous as to the extent to which the ingestion of unsoundmeat is injurious, there can be no doubt that the magistrateacted wisely in ordering the samples to be destroyed.THE ULSTER MEDICAL SOCIETY’S DINNER.-The

annual dinner of the Ulster Medical Society was held atThompson’s Restaurant, Belfast, on Thursday, Nov. 30th.The president (Professor Byers, 111:. D.) occupied the chair,and between fifty and sixty members were present,amongst the guests being the Lord Mayor of Belfast, thePresident of Queen’s College, Dr. W. Thornley Stoker(President of the Dublin Branch of the British MedicalAssociation and Vice-President of the Royal College ofSurgeons in Ireland), and Dr. J. C. Hall of Monaghan(President of the North of Ireland Branch of the BritishMedical Association). After the toasts of "The Queen"and "The Lord-Lieutenant and Prosperity to Ireland " (towhich Mr. John Fagan responded) had been proposed by thepresident, Dr. W. Thornley Stoker gave the toast of "TheQueen’s College and Belfast Medical School," and referred invery flattering terms to the high position the medical schoolin Belfast had attained and to the admirable way in whichthe students going from it to Dublin for examination inthe Royal University were prepared. The President of

Queen’s College and Professor Cuming replied. Dr. J.Walton Browne then proposed "Our Guests," to whichSir Daniel Dixon (Lord Mayor), Dr. W. Thornley Stoker, andDr. J. Campbell Hall responded. The " Ulster MedicalSociety" was then given by the President of Queen’sCollege, to which Professor Byers replied, and proposed’’ The Health of the secretary, Dr. McKisack," to whoseunceasing exertions the success of the dinner was due.During the evening an excellent programme of vocal musicwas gone through by Mr. W. G. Mackenzie, Dr. Leslie,Dr. M’Caw, Dr. Hugh Lewers, and Dr. McKisack, the accom-paniments being played by Dr. Lindsay.THE METROPOLITAN ASYLUMS BOARD.-The report

of the year’s work of this board-the seventh consecutiveyear’s statement-gives a very good idea of the great andincreasing labours and responsibilities of the MetropolitanAsylums Board. From the report of the Statistical Committeeit appears that an unprecedentedly large number of patientssuffering from infections diseases have been treated duringthe past year in the hospitals of the board. We briefly advertto some points of interest. The number of patients, withthose remaining in hospital at the close of 1891, made a totalof 18,471 admissions from fever and small-pox during the year.There were 13,093 cases of scarlet fever, 2009 of diphtheria’430 of enteric fever, 19 of typhus fever, and 725 of otherdiseases. The small-pox cases numbered 348, and were morenumercus t’oan in any year since the last epidemic of 1885.The hospital accommodation had to be greatly increased, andin addition provision had to be made for a threatened invasion

of cholera in the autumn. A special committee was appointedand arrangements were made having upwards of 2000 bed&available for cholera cases in general hospitals, workhouseinfirmaries and other institutions. Arrangements had also tobe made for organising the necessary amount of sick transportin case of need. In regard to the mortality from scarlet feverand diphtheria the figures show that the number of deaths wassomewhat greater amongst the cases treated in the board hos-pitals than amongst those treated in their own homes ; in thecase of scarlet fever the percentages were 6’4 as compared with2 3, and in diphtheria cases the death-rate was 22 Samong thosetreated at home as compared with 29’1 among patients treatedin the board hospitals. The scarlet fever and diphtheria death-rates in the board hospitals, it should be added, have shownmarked decreases of late years. as compared with formerperiods. The total number of removals oLpatients effected byland and river ambulances numbered 152,465. The board,on Mr. Mann’s proposal, decided to order plans for another"permanent fever hospital at Shooter’s Hill. Mr. Mannsaid that double the number of existing beds for infectious.disease-i. e., 6800 instead of 3400-would not be an excessiveprovision. The board also considered a statement by Mr.Mann as to the great demand for information about thenumber of refusals of admission into the hospitals. Suchinformation could not be given, as the board had no record ofall the cases dealt with by the local sanitary authorities, who.’ .only applied for admission for the most urgent cases. Inone case, for example, a medical officer applied for admissionfor twenty urgent cases, having 171 others. The actual ad-missions Mr. Mann reckoned to be about 55 per cent. of thenotifications.

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FOOTBALL CASUALTIES.-During a match on the’2nd inst. at Hartham between the Caxtonian and Hoddesdonteams a player fractured his clavicle.-While playing in a.

match on Saturday last at Kensal Rise between the West-minster and Dental Hospitals one of the former side fractured-his fibula.

THE HIGHEST LEVELS AND SUBSOILS OF THEPARISHES WITHIN TWENTY MILES OF LONDON. -The Lanta, ,Roll for December, published by Messrs. Dowsett and Co.,3, Lincoln’s-inn-fields, contains a list of about 300 parishes,.showing at a glance their highest levels and subsoils. It isof considerable value, on the score of health, to know wherearound London are the high levels and the dry, healthy soils.

SOUTH WALES UNIVERSITY COLLEGE. - The-council of this college have resolved upon the purchase fromthe infirmary committee of the college buildings, in accord-ance with a notice to that effect given at a former meetingof the council. The corporation of Cardiff have voted:£10,000 to meet part of the cost of the purchase. The

opening of the medical school in connexion with the collegeis fixed to take place on Feb. 14th next.

BEQUESTS AND DONATIONS TO HOSPITALS.-TheGrocers’ Livery Company has granted a donation of q50 tothe Metropolitan Dispensary, Cripplegate, and the Mercers’"Livery Company £21.-The late Mrs. Edwards, widow ofMr. John Edwards, a past-master of the Loriners’ LiveryCompany, has bequeathed i:100 each to the National Hos-

pital for the Paralysed and Epileptic, Bloomsbury, to St.Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, and to the Hospital for SickChildren, Great Ormond-street; and 200 each to the Cancer-Hospital, Brompton, and to the Middlesex Hospital, for thebenefit of the Cancer Ward.-The late Mr. Geo. Hatton of

Ledbury has bequeathed 500 to the Led bury Cottage Hos--pital -The Bazaar which the Duchess of Montrose recentlyopened at Glasgow realised the sum of £11.000 for the Hos-pital for Incurables at Broomhill.-Miss E. J. P. Willes,late of Branwoods, Great Baddow, has bequeathed £5000to the Essex and Colchester Hospital, and 2500 to theChelmsford Infirmary and Dispensary.-The late Mr. ArthurHutchinson of Hagley-park, Lugwardene, Herefordshire,has bequeathed i:500 each to the Bury and the-Hereford Infirmaries.-Mr. J. S. Turner, late of Bath,has bequeathed, free of legacy duty, .E500 to the RoyalUnited Hospital, Bath, and a further sum of i:3000 upon thedeath of his widow.-The Goldsmiths’ Livery Company hasmade grants of i:l00 each to the Royal National Hospital forConsumption, Ventnor, and the Seaside Convalescent Hospital,Seaford.-The directors of the Dunoon Convalescent Homeshave received £100 from the trustees of the la1;e Mr..John.Hughes of Bridgeton.

1547MEDICAL NEWS.-PARLIAMENTARY INTELLIGENCE.

ANTHRAX.-In the course of the present weekMr. Wynne Baxter held an inquest on the body of a man,aged 64, who resided in Mile-end. The evidence went toshow that the deceased was a carman and in the course of hiswork a few weeks ago he had the misfortune to scratch his’band, which began to swell and to become very painful, somuch so that he sought relief at the Poplar Hospital, wherehe was attended by Mr. T. E. Bowkett, who gave evidence atthe inquiry that the deceased had, after much suffering,succumbed to the poison of anthrax.

DR. ANDREW DENHOLM, of Chorlton-cum-Hardy,near Manchester, has had presented to him by a numerouslist of subscribers, headed by the late Sir Andrew Clark andSir William MacCormac, a testimonial expressing their sym-pathy with him. The testimonial was accompanied by ahandsome and massive silver salver, with the followinginscription :-"Presented to Andrew Denholm, M.D., C.M.,by Sir Andrew Clark and other professional brethren, whosympathise most heartily with him in the matter of hisrecent action at law with Mr. Lawson Tait. October, 1893."

THE SOCIETY OF ARTS. - The council of thissociety have given notice that the next award of the SwineyPrize will be made on January 21st, 1894, the fiftieth

anniversary of the death of Dr. George Swiney, who left ,g5000o the society for the purpose of presenting a prize every yearto the author of the best published work on medical juris-prudence. The prize consists of a cup of the value of ;E100and money to the same amount. The award is made jointlyby the Society of Arts and the Royal College of Physicians ofLondon. Amongst the recipients of the prize was the lateDr. Meymott Tidy.

NATIONAL DENTAL HOSPITAL. - The annual’dinner of the past and present students of this hospitalwas held in the Venetian Saloon at the Holborn Restauranton the 8th inst., Professor Michael Foster, F.R.S., pre-siding. Amongst the guests were Dr. Sidney Coupland,Professors Victor Horsley and Sherrington, Messrs. StanleyBoyd, G. H. Makins, Spencer, Mummery, Smale, F. Canton,S. J. Hutchinson, and D. Hepburn. After dinner thedean read a short report, referring especially to thecemoval of the school to the new buildings at the corner,of Devonshire-street. These are already occupied, but willbe formally opened early next year by H.R.H. the Duke- of York, who has consented to become president of the

hospital. The chairman then distributed the medals andcertificates to the successful students, and in proposing thetoast, " Success to the National Dental Hospital and

’College,’’’ he alluded to the great advances which had beenmade in the practice of dental surgery and dealt with otherimportant points in a cleverly worded speech, which wasmuch appreciated. Sir James Crichton-Browne, F.R.S.,responded for " The Visitors. "

THE BOURNEMOUTH MEDICAL SOCIETY.-The.annual general meeting of this Society was held on Tuesday,Nov. 14th, at the Imperial Hotel, under the chairmanship ofMr. Blake, retiring president. The following office-bearerswere elected for the year 1893-94 : President, Mr. Parkinson(Wimborne) ; vice-president, Mr. Embleton ; hon. treasurer,Mr. Kinsey-Morgan ; and hon. secretary, Mr. Lys. The annual>dinner was held at the same date and place, twenty members- and seven guests being present. The membership now numbersfifty-two. The first ordinary meeting of the session was heldon Nov. 28th, at 8 P.m., at the society’s rooms, Athenæum-chambers, Bournemouth, twenty-two members being present.Dr. Yair was elected a member of the society. The presidentdelivered his address, in the course of which, looking backon thirty years of professional life, he touched upon the manychanges that had occurred in the public relations of the pro-fession as well as in the practice of the various branches ofmedicine and surgery. In particular he dwelt on the influenceand future of bacteriology, the origin and treatment of

diphtheria and influenza, the therapeutic value of salicin andthe nitrites, the treatment of hernia, and also that of obesity.He likewise referred to the future of unqualified assistants andthe influence which the profession might and should morelargely exercise on public opinion in questions affecting thehealth and well-being of the community. A vote of thanksto the president for his address was proposed by Dr. RobertsThomson, seconded by Mr. Allis Smith, and carried unani-meusly-

DWELLINGS OF THE PooR.-The monthly meetingof the Mansion House Council on the Dwellings of the Poor(of which the Lord Mayor is president) was held on Tuesdayin the Long Parlour, Mr. James Hole in the chair. Mr.John Hamer (the hon. secretary) read the report of the workdone during the month, which showed that insanitary con-ditions in Mile-end, Bethnal-green, Shoreditch, Hackney, St.Pancras, Poplar, Marylebone, Islington, Whitechapel, Fulham,Kensington, St. George’s-in the-East, Southwark, Chelsea,Limehouse, Paddington, Deptford, and the City had beendealt with. A suggestion for the better ventilation of sewershad been received from one of the local committees, and wasordered to be sent to the chief engineer of the London CountyCouncil. It was resolved to petition for the repeal of Section63 of the East London Water Works Act, and also to promote,with all the influence of the Mansion House Council, thepassing of the Bill to consolidate and amend the lawrelating to streets and buildings in London, which has justbeen read a first time.

PRESENTATION.-On the 5th inst. a number ofthe members of the Oldham Medical Society assembled at theOldham Infirmary for the special purpose of expressing theirsense of indebtedness to Dr. John Hodgson for his valuableservices during the ten years in which he has acted as theirhon. secretary. Dr. Fawsitt, the president of the society, ex-plained the circumstances under which the testimonial, whichconsisted of an illuminated address and a cheque, was pre-sented. Dr. Hodgson had been the first secretary of the society,and in the discharge of the duties of his office he had sparedno pains to make it in every way a success. The addressrecited that, by reason chiefly of his unwearied endeavours,the medical society had every year seen an accession ofstrength, so that the society may now be said to includealmost the whole of the profession in Oldham. Dr. Hodgson,in expressing his thanks for the honour conferred upon him,spoke of the gratification he had felt at receiving so markeda testimony of the approval of his medical brethren.

Parliamentary Intelligence.i NOTES ON CURRENT TOPICS.

AT the present time the routine work of the Legislature seems to beconsiderably hampered by the prevalence of influenza. Both the

Speaker and the Sergeant-at-Arms are partially laid aside, whilst SirEllis Ashmead-Bartlett and Lord Frederick Hamilton are unable fromthe same cause to occupy their places in the House of Commons.

HO IJSE OF COMMONS.

FRIDAY, DEC. 8TH.

Factory Inspection.Captain Naylor-Leyland wanted to know whether o ne inspector of

factories was sufficient to exercise supervision over four counties-viz.,N01folk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, and East Essex, a district whichcontained a population of 1,500,000, and whether the Home Secretaryproposed to take steps to remedy the inadequacy of the inspection inthat district.-Mr. Asquith admitted that the staff of factory inspectorsboth in the district referred to and elsewhere was undermanned ;he had already increased it, and he hoped to make further additions toit during the ensuing financial year.

Animal Tuberculosis.

Sir Walter Foster, in reply to a question addressed to him by Vis-count Wolmer as to the probable date at which the departmentalreport on animal tuberculosis might be expected, said that the LocalGovernment Board had no later information on the subject than thatgiven in the reply of the President on the 24th of last month. It wasthen stated that the whole of the experimental investigations wereconcluded, that the reports of two of the subcommissioners were

printed, that the report of the third subcommissioner would probablybe finishsd in a few days, and that on its completion the commissionwould meet to draft the final report, which would, it was expected, beissued during the present month.

Deaths from, Starvation.Mr. Keir Hardie inquired whether the return of deaths accelerated by

privation within the metropolis in the year 1892 would be likely to beready for early distribution.-Sir Walter Foster said the Local Govern-ment Board had received the returns furnished by the coroners inrespect of deaths due to privation, and the Board had been in com-munication with boards of guardians with reference to cases of the kindmentioned, but the return had been delayed for the purpose of havingappended to them certain observations required by the order of theHouse of Commons. The returns, however, would be issued veryshortly.