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dangerous drugs. One clause of the Bill prohibited thecultivation or gathering of the coca plant, and to this clausethe select committee added the proviso that the prohibitiondid not apply to the cultivation or gathering of the plant byGovernment, the object being to allow Government to growthe coca plant and to experiment in the manufacture ofcocaine if at any time it were thought desirable that thecocaine required for proper medicinal uses in India shouldbe produced in India. This appears to be the foundationof the incorrect report that the Government of India haveauthorised the cultivation of the coca plant, and the manu-facture of cocaine. No action in this direction has been takennor, so far as I am aware, is any contemplated. TheDangerous Drugs Act, which has passed into law, merelymakes this legally possible.

Medical Examination of Pensioners.Dr. HUNTER asked the Minister of Pensions whether he

would arrange forthwith that no further medical boardsshould be held on pensions (except on deterioration claims,errors of final awards, Article 9 claims, or setting aside cases),and that the present assessment, whether on a deteriorationor current award basis, should be made as current for thenext three years.-Mr. F. 0. ROBERTS replied : The numberof cases in which further medical examination is requisiteis now reduced to very small proportions. I have fullsympathy with the hon. Member’s desire that medicalre-examination should be reduced to the minimum possible,and it is the practice of the Department to give prolongedawards wherever justifiable. But I have no power toauthorise awards which are not covered by medical cer-tification, or to refrain from awarding a permanent settlementin those cases which are suitable for it.

Dr. HUNTER asked the Minister of Pensions whether hewas prepared to take the necessary steps to make statutoryall awards, whether errors of final awards, or on over sevenyears’ claims, so as to give the same rights to these pensionersas to others.-Mr. ROBERTS replied: Legislation of the kindreferred to is not contemplated as either necessary or

desirable. The mere grant of statutory powers to makeawards of the two classes referred to would not, of itself,confer material rights which pensioners do not alreadypossess.

TUESDAY, MAY 13TH.

ulerehandise Marks Orders.

In reply to Sir Nicholas Grattan-Doyle, Mr. WILLIAMGRAHAM (President of the Board of Trade) stated that theclasses and descriptions of imported goods in respect ofwhich Orders in Council had been made under the Mer-chandise Marks Act, 1926, requiring them to bear anindication of origin, included surgical, medical, dental, andveterinary instruments and appliances ; aseptic hospitaland dental furniture, and dental supplies ; cotton-wool,gauze tissues, sanitary towels, spring balances, and scientificglassware.

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Medical News.ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF ENGLAND.-A Imeeting of the Council was held on May 8th, with Lord

Moynihan, the President, in the chair.Prof. L. G. Parsons and Mr. Seymour Barling attended,

and on behalf of the medical staff of the BirminghamGeneral Hospital presented a replica of Partridge’s portraitof Joseph Hodgson, president of the College in 1864.Diplomas of Membership were conferred on 136 of the

candidates whose names we gave on May 3rd as recipientsof the L.R.C.P. (excepting A. H. Baker, C. C. Bryson,W. W. Gerrard, C. C. Kapila, J. I. Rerrie, and Samuel Scher)and also upon Julia A. Boyd, Royal Free, and Laura M.Hollingsworth, University College.Lord Moynihan was reappointed representative of the

College on the Court of Governors of the University ofSheffield for three years from July lst.

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The President also reported that a vacancy on the Courtof Examiners occasioned by the retirement of Mr. GrahamSimpson would be filled at the next meeting of the Council.

ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS OF EDINBURGH.-A quarterly meeting of the College was held on May 6th, withSir Norman Walker, the President, in the chair.

Dr. James Kirkwood Slater, Dr. John Henry DouglasWebster, and Dr. Sydney Watson Smith were introduced andtook their seats as Fellows.

Lieut.-Colonel William Frederick Harvey and Dr. HermanPetrus Gunnar were elected to the Fellowship.

Dr. John Orr was elected a representative of the Collegeon the committee of management of the triple qualification

The Parkin Prize was awarded to Prof. R. J. S. McDowall.-The award of the Lister Fellowship was divided equallybetween Dr. Ralph Stockman Begbie and Dr. DonaldStewart.-Dr. W. A. Alexander was granted recognition asa lecturer on the practice of physic.-The College decided tocelebrate the 250th anniversary of its foundation on St.Andrew’s Day, 1031.—Intimation was made of a bequest byMrs. Isabella Kirk Duncanson for the foundation of aFellowship in medical research.ON May 10th Dr. H. B. Brackenbury, chairman of

the Council of the British Medical Association, was admittedto the freedom of the borough of Hornsey. He was mayorof Hornsey in 1905 and has been a member of its council for26 years.

LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE AND TROPICALMEDICINE.-The next series of lectures and demonstrationson tropical hygiene, which are intended for those outside themedical profession who are going to the tropics, will be givenby Lieut.-Colonel G. E. F. Stammers, between May 28th andJune 6th. The lectures will be from 5.30 to 7 P.M., and fullparticulars may be had from the Secretary of the school, inKeppel-street, W.C.I.

ROYAL SANITARY INSTITUTE.-A sessional meetingwill be held at Blackburn on May 30th and 31st. Dr.J. J. Buchan will open a discussion on the Reorganisationof Poor-law Hospitals under the Local Government Act,and Dr. V. T. Thierens will speak on the Need for FurtherLegal Powers with Respect to Ice-cream.

LONDON HOSPITAL MEDICAL COLLEGE. - Thedistribution of prizes in this college will be made by LordRayleigh, F.R.S., on Tuesday, June 24th, at 3 P.M.

BIOCHEMICAL SOCIETY.-A meeting of this societywill be held at the School of Medicine, Leeds, to-day,Saturday,.May 17th, at 3 P.M.

NATIONAL PHYSICAL LABORATORY.-The Presidentof the Royal Society, as chairman of the General Board, isholding a reception at the National Physical Laboratory,Teddington, on the afternoon of Friday, June 27th.WEST SURREY HOSPITAL LEAGUE.-Last year the

Royal Surrey County Hospital at Guildford received JE6831from this League, which is equivalent to one-third of theyear’s ordinary expenditure. The League, formed only twoyears ago, has a membership of 26,000.UNIFORMITY OF HOSPITAL POLICY.—It has been

arranged that the Birmingham General Hospital and theQueen’s Hospital shall interchange representatives at themeetings of the respective boards of management. It ishoped thus to secure greater uniformity of policy.

EiNG’s COLLEGE HospiTAL.-Last year there were7006 in-patients, and the daily average of patients receivedwas 349 ; in addition, 674 babies were born in the maternityward. At the end of the year the hospital had a debt of £ g5,8g7.

HERTFORD BRITISH HOSPITAL, PARIS.—At therequest of the committee of management Lord Tyrrell, theBritish Ambassador, who is honorary president, hasappointed a commission of inquiry to report on the necessityof modernising and enlarging this hospital. The membersare Lord Linlithgow (Chairman), Sir Basil Mayhew, Mr.Herbert L. Eason, Mrs. Loch, Mr. Evelyn M. Toulmin, andMr. R. H. P. Orde, honorary assessor to the commission. Theaccommodation of the hospital has become insufficient tomeet the growing demand for admission by members of theBritish community in Paris and British subjects from allparts of the Empire.BRISTOL HOSPITALS.-On May lst Lord Moynihan

opened a new operating theatre at the Bristol GeneralHospital. He had come to Bristol a few years ago, he said,and had inspected a theatre in this hospital which he haddescribed as the worst theatre in a first-class teachingschool in this country. He had now come back to open onethat was as good as any that he had seen anywhere. 011his previous visit he had come as a friend and critic, and hadjudged the institution by the very high standard whichmodern surgery demanded. Judged by such standards itstill fell short. In Bristol there were two hospitals, and hethought it a mistake that they had not amalgamated. Itwas not right that the General Hospital and the RoyalInfirmary should be separated, and unless they amalgamatedthemselves they would find that someone outside woulddo it for them-and less satisfactorily. The universityshould be the centre of research, and all the work that thehospital was capable of doing. Lord Moynihan concludedby congratulating his audience on what they had done, andby fervently hoping that they would do much more.

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LEBANON HOSPITAL.-Dr. Bedford Pierce will takethe chair at the thirty-first annual meeting of this hospital,to be held in the vestry hall of St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, at3.30 P.M. on Friday, May 23rd. The hospital is at Asfuriyeh,near Beirut, and is the only one of its kind in Syria.

MALARIA IN SOUTH AFRICA.-The Union Govern-ment, having definitely decided to start a scientific investiga-tion into the malaria menace in South Africa, has appointedProf. N. H. Swellengrebel, of Amsterdam, to conduct thenecessary research. He is expected to go to South Africain September. It is stated that Colonel S. P. James, of theEnglish Ministry of Health, was invited to undertake thework, but was unable to do so.

LEPROSY RESEARCH IN SOUTH AFRICA.-Thecommittee appointed to advise the Union Governmentregarding leprosy research and other matters relating toleprosy in the Union was gazetted on April llth, as follows :Dr. J. A. Mitchell, Secretary for Public Health and ChiefHealth Officer for the Union, chairman ; Sir Spencer Lister,Director of the South African Institute for Medical Research,or his deputy, Prof. A. W. Falconer ; Prof. 0. K. Williamson ; IDr. A. Pijper ; Dr. A. J. Orenstein ; Dr. Karl Bremer, M.P. ;Dr. F. C. Wilmot, Assistant Health Officer for the Union;and Dr. G. W. Robertson. The appointments are for theperiod ending December, 1935, and the Committee is to meetannually or more frequently as convened by the chairman.

NORTHAMPTON GENERAL HOSPITAL.-Mr. ThomasSinglehurst, of Northampton, has offered 210,000 for theprovision of an in-patients’ ophthalmic department of thishospital. Mr. Singlehurst gave an out-patients’ ophthalmicdepartment to the hospital six years ago.

STUDENTS’ BEDS AT BIRMINGHAM.-As the resultof their annual carnival on behalf of the hospitals of the citythe students of Birmingham University last week endowed,at a cost of JE1250 each, two more beds at the Queen’sHospital. Fifteen beds have now been endowed from thissource. The carnival produced a total of 26700.

QUEEN’S HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN.-Patients’ con-tributions have risen from E3124 in 1925 to 26665. Thefirst part of an extension scheme, which is about to be begun,will include accommodation for nursing mothers in connexionwith a ward for babies, which is to be built with money fromthe Children’s Jewel Fund. Sir James Carmichael isbuilding an extension of the Little Folks’ Home at Bexhillwhich will provide room for ten more children and accom-modation for the nurses.

DESTROYING AN ISOLATION HOSPITAL.-Followingthe recent example of the Yeovil town council the corpora-tion of Doncaster have set fire to their old isolationhospital which has just been replaced by a new institution.Most of the buildings were of wood and corrugated iron,and it was feared that if they were preserved they mightspread infection. Carr House, the original hospital, wasformerly the residence of the Childers family, and there, inthe middle of the eighteenth century, was bred the famousracehorse, " Flying Childers."

TJNIVERSITY COLLEGE HOSPITAL.-Last year 8374in-patients and 77,129 out-patients were treated. The costper occupied bed was 181, a reduction of £4. The patients’dietary has been revised and supplemented by adding meatbreakfasts and rations of sugar and jam, and the prejudiceof patients against even the best quality of margarine " hasbeen partly overcome " by the issue of a half ration ofbutter. The provision of these extras will cost an additional£2000 a year. According to the annual report the new dietkitchen is " proving an invaluable aid to medical treat-ment, more especially in relation to specific diseases, suchas pernicious anaemia, diabetes, &c."

A RHEUMATIC CLINIC IN BRIGHTON.-At a con-

ference at Brighton on April 30th a resolution was carriedunanimously favouring the establishment of a rheumaticclinic in the town. The gathering comprised representativesof the Brighton and Hove corporations ; British MedicalAssociation ; Brighton and Sussex Friendly Societies’Council; Brighton Insurance and East Sussex InsuranceCommittees ; Industrial Approved, British Red Cross(Sussex Branch), and Brighton and Sussex Mutual ProvidentSocieties ; Brighton and Hove Chamber of Commerce ; andBrighton and Hove Hotels Association. The resolutionrecorded that the representatives of these organisationswere strongly in favour of the establishment of a cliniclocally, urged Brighton corporation to take the necessarysteps at an early date, and appointed a subcommittee ofone representative from each of the associations to arrange the details. )

EXTENSION OF NELSON HOSPITAL.-Princess Maryhas laid the foundation-stone of a new maternity wing andother extensions of Nelson Hospital for Wimbledon, Merton,and district. The Princess " proved " the stone with an oakmallet made of wood from the Victory.EDENBRIDGE COTTAGE HOSPITAL.—On Saturday

last Prince Arthur of Connaught laid the foundation-stoneof the Edenbridge war memorial cottage hospital. Theexisting hospital was founded in 1920 in a temporarybuilding ; it is said to have been the first in England tostart a contributory scheme, and it has never been in debt.A scroll was placed within the foundation-stone inscribedwith the names of those to whom the hospital is a memorial.

MIDDLESEX HOSPITAL CHILDREN’S WARD.-Thisnew ward, given by the late Mr. Bernhard Baron, came intouse last week, when it was visited by Prince and PrincessArthur of Connaught. The ward, which is for surgical andmedical cases, is brightly decorated, and the walls are

covered with tiles upon which nursery rhymes are depicted ;there is a deep blue dado and the cots are a bright blue.Upon arrival patients are placed in isolation wards separatedby glass partitions where they remain for three or four daysunless they have a clear medical history.STAFFORDSHIRE MENTAL HOSPITALS. - Reports

presented to the annual meeting of the Staffordshire MentalHospitals Board showed that overcrowding exists in eachof the three asylums-Stafford, Burntwood, and Cheddleton.At Stafford the excess over the authorised numbers is 98 ;and at Burntwood, where there are 947 patients, it is 30.The asylum visiting committee are pressing for the erectionof an admission hospital at the latter institution. At Cheddle-ton (1133 patients) there is an excess of 34 females.

TRIBUTE To A MEDICAL MAN. - Sir GarrodThomas, M.D., who, for the last 25 years has been Chairmanof the board of Directors of the Royal Gwent Hospital, atNewport, Mon., has been presented with a life-size bronzebust of himself, the work of Mr. L. S. Merrifield, and analbum containing an illuminated address with 5000 signatures.Sir Garrod, who formerly sat in Parliament for SouthMonmouthshire, presented the bust to the hospital.

Medical Diary.Information to be included in this column should reach us

in proper form on Tuesday, and cannot appear if it reachesus later than the first post on Wednesday morning.

SOCIETIES.ROYAL SOCIETY OF MEDICINE, Wimpole-street, W.

TUESDAY, May 20th.-5.30 P.M., GENERAL MEETING OFFELLOWS. Ballot for election to the Fellowship.8 P.M., PATHOLOGY. Special General Meeting. Toconsider the suggested change in the times of themeetings of the Section-viz., 5 P.M., instead of 8 P.M.

THURSDAY.-8.30 P.M., UROLOGY. Annual General Meeting.Election of Officers and Council. Discussion onThe Technique and Results of Prostatectomy. Opener :Mr. Kenneth Walker. Followed by Mr. Swift Joly,Mr. John Everidge, Mr. Clifford Morson, Sir JohnThomson-Walker, and others.

FRIDAY.-8 P.M., EPIDEMIOLOGY. Annual General Meeting :Election of Officers and Council. Paper : Dr. P. Stocks:Infectiousness and Immunity in Regard to Chicken-pox,Whooping-cough, Diphtheria, Scarlet fever, and Measles.

CHELSEA CLINICAL SOCIETY.TUESDAY, May 20th.-7.30 P.M., Dinner at the Hotel

Rembrandt, Thurloe-place, S.W., followed bya discussionon Sleep, to be opened by Dr. S. A. Kinnier Wilsonand Mr. P. Seymour-Price.

LONDON CLINICAL SOCIETY.TUESDAY, May 20TH.—8.45 P.M. (at the London Temperance

Hospital), Dr. A. Remington Hobbs : Puerperal Sepsis :Early Symptoms and Signs and Treatment by Drainage.

LECTURES, ADDRESSES, DEMONSTRATIONS, &c.FELLOWSHIP OF MEDICINE AND POST-GRADUATEMEDICAL ASSOCIATION, 1, Wimpole-street, W.MONDAY, May 19th, to SATURDAY, May 24th.-MEDICAL

SOCIETY OF LONDON, 11, Chandos-street, Cavendish-square, W., M.R.C.P. Special Course, Lectures onTuesdays and Fridays at 8.30 P.M. Tues., Dr. L. S. T.Burrell: Intrathoracic Tumours. Fri., Dr. L. S. T.Burrell: Bronchiectasis and Abscess of Lung.-WESTERN OPHTHALMIC HOSPITAL, Marylebone-road,N.W. Wed., 11 A.M., Mr. Rugg-Gunn : ClinicalDemonstration. No fee.-PRINCE OF WALES’sHOSPITAL, Tottenham, N. Fri., 2 P.M., Dr. L. R.

) Yealland, Clinical Demonstration. No fee.-CENTRAL