1002 NEW YORK.-NOTES FROM INDIA.

Accurate Labels on Patent Medwines.

Public interest has been aroused to the dangers of patentmedicines by investigations which have revealed the fact thatmany of them contain such dangerous ingredients as ace-

tanilid, cocaine, morphine, and wood alcohol. Occasionaldeaths have been attributed to the free use of these medicinesby the public. To regulate the sale of these drugs a Bill hasbeen introduced into the New York legislature by a societyof physicians which prohibits the manufacture and sale ofmedicinal preparations, including so-called "foods," whichcontain alcohol or certain other narcotic or potent drugs,unless the presence and percentage of such ingredients arerevealed on the label in plain English. Where alcohol hasbeen used as a solvent, preservative, or for any other purposeit is deemed an ingredient in the medicine. The label shallconstitute a warranty which may be availed of by an injuredparty. The Bill does not apply to preparations intendedsolely for external use, or to the dispensing of compoundsor prescriptions by legally authorised physicians, dentists, orveterinarians, or to preparations in the pharmacopoeia of theUnited States or the National Formulary unless sold undera proprietary name or trade mark.

Euthanasia.

The question of legalising the act of taking the life of apatient by a physician under certain conditions, has takenan acute form by the introduction of a Bill in the Iowa Statelegislature making the necessary provision for such a pro-cedure. The Bill is aimed to secure an immediately painlessdeath to persons suffering from a painful disease which willcertainly end in death, and to prevent the rearing ofhideously deformed children and hopelessly idiotic children.,The Bill requires that at least three physicians and thecounty coroner must unanimously agree to, and participatein, the act, and the consent of the nearest relative and, ifpossible, that of the patient must be obtained. Anydeviation from the proceedings described constitutes murderand subjects the offender to the penalty of murder. The Bill

provides a heavy fine for any physician who fails to performhis duty under this measure and also prescribes the usualpenalty for murder in the first degree in cases of abuse ofthe law.

Japanese Naval Sanitation.At a dinner given at Chicago to Baron Takaki, surgeon-

general of the Japanese navy, the distinguished guest statedthat when he entered the navy three-fourths of the entiresick list were made up of patients suffering from beri-beri.In his study of the conditions under which the disease

appeared he concluded that the ration of the navycontained too great a proportion of carbohydrates and toolittle albuminates, for he discovered that the prevalenceof beri-beri varied directly with the variation of thesefood constituents. He endeavoured to change the con-

stituents of the ration by the issue of barley in place of partof the rice ration. Strenuous opposition was made to thechange by the officers and men and it required a longand severe struggle to effect the reform, but he finallysucceeded and beri-beri practically ceased to exist in thenavy. He stated that this disease can be artificially pro-duced and that it can be prevented by diet. Referring tothe dead and wounded in the Russo-Japanese war he saidthat up to Dec. 5th, 1905, the total number of dead andwounded was 3689, of whom 1892 died instantly and 117died subsequently, leaving a balance of 1680. The death-rate was 54 per cent., and more than 90 per cent. of thewounded returned to duty.

Health Conditions on the Isthmus.

The constant agitation in regard to the health conditionson the Isthmus maintains an active public interest in theaffairs of the Panama Canal enterprise. The unfavourable

reports of transient visitors to the region of the canal opera-tions have lately caused much anxiety on the part of Con-gress and have led to very critical inquiry by its committeeas to the actual sanitary conditions existing there. The

report of the chief sanitary officer, Surgeon Gorgas, showsconclusively that the health of the labourers on the canal isremarkably good considering the fact that these labourersare largely unacclimatised. In January there was an averageof 22,000 employees on the rolls ; the average daily numbersick was 503, or 22 per 1000.March 24th.

NOTES FROM INDIA.(FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.)

The Pasteur Institute.THE usefulness of the Pasteur Institute at Kasauli is

becoming more recognised and with each succeeding year alarger number of patients resort to it for treatment. Last

year there were 877 patients as against 612 for 1904. Of lastyear’s patients 307 were Europeans and 570 were Indians.Although provinces near the institute naturally contributethe largest numbers, all parts of India send patients. Burma,Assam, Madras, Sikkim, and even Ceylon and Aden eachsent a few. The present director is Captain G. Lamb, I.M.S.,who was appointed last year when Lieutenant-Colonel D.

Semple, R.A.M.C., the former director, was appointed thehead of the Central Research Institute. Of the cases treated750 were for dog-bites and 105 were for jackal-bites. Threecases developed hydrophobia while under treatment ; two ofthese were the result of bites from jackals. It should not be

forgotten that besides the work in treating cases of rabiesthe institute prepares antitoxic sera for diphtheria, tetanus,and snake venom. The total value of these sera issuedamounted to Rs. 18,656. The anti-venomous serum now

issued is prepared with a mixture of cobra and otherpoison.

The Proposed X Ray Institute at Dehra Dun.It is announced that the Government of India has

decided, with the approval of the Secretary of State, toestablish an institute in India as a centre for the practicalinstruction of medical officers and subordinates in the useand management of the x ray apparatus and as a depot forthe storage and repair of such apparatus. The institute willbe located at Dehra Dun and will be under the charge of anofficer of the Indian Medical Service. Classes of instructionwill extend over a period of three months and facilities willbe given to officers who may be desirous of acquiring thisspecial knowledge.

.Rat Pleas and Plague : Further Experiments.Experiments have recently been conducted in Bombay for

the purpose of proving that rat fleas carry plague not onlyfrom rat to rat but from rat to man. Amongst other experi-ments, a room was selected in which a rat that had diedfrom plague had been found. In this room animals were

placed, some being protected by fine metallic gauze, &c.,around their cages in order to keep away the fleas, and otherswere left without these protections. The unprotectedanimals sickened and died and rat fleas infected with plaguewere found on them. The protected animals escaped.In another experiment houses were selected in whichcases of plague had occurred and in which ratsdead from plague had also been found. The peoplewere removed and then in each house captive animalswere placed, some being protected as before described andothers not. The result was that those animals which wereprotected from fleas remained sound while the others wereattacked with plague and died. The health department inBombay is taking energetic measures with regard to the ratsfound in the streets and houses. Where plague rats are

found the houses are marked and disinfected and the

occupants are warned. Rat poison is also being largely used.In Calcutta, also, an active crusade is being undertakenagainst the rats. Rewards for live rats seem to have provedsuccessful and large numbers are destroyed daily.

Miscellanea.The Royal shoot at Nepaul, for which such great prepara-

tions had been made, was broken off on account of the occur-rence of cholera in the Maharajah’s camp. The diseasespread amongst the mahouts and the special man for thePrince’s elephant was the first to succumb.-The healthreturns for the British army in India for 1905 promise toshow a still further improvement. Preliminary reports haveso far only been issued but these show that malaria and"contagious diseases " have declined and that the mortalityfrom enteric fever has been much less.-Plague of a virulenttype is reported to have broken out in Seistan and it is pre-sumed that the disease reached Seistan through the PersianGulf. Plague now prevails on each side of Baluchistan.There is no doubt that this new centre of infection increasesthe danger of plague working its way into Europe.-It is notgenerally known that very considerable numbers of thepopulation in the United Provinces, the Punjab, Rajputana,

1003AUSTRALIA.

and Ajmere-Merwara are only kept from famine by the reliefworks maintained by the Government. Nearly 300,000 peoplewere in receipt of relief on March 3rd but some subsequentand fortunate rains which extended to the famine areas willprobably soon reduce these numbers.March 17th.

___________________

AUSTRALIA.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Bubonio Plague.THREE fresh cases of bubonic plague have occurred at

Fremantle, West Australia, and three at Geraldton, one

being fatal. One case has been discovered in Perth. In

Sydney five rats caught by the staff employed by the citycouncil for the purpose were found to be plague-infected.

Typhoid Fever in Western Australia.An unusually large number of cases of typhoid fever have

occurred at the goldfields of Western Australia. The numberof patients in the Government hospital at Kalgoorlie is the

largest that has been recorded.Health of Melbourne and S’ubwrbs.

The engineer of the metropolitan board of works forsewerage and water-supply of Melbourne has compiled somestatistics as to the mortality returns before and since thesewerage scheme was carried out. In every case the

mortality is less by a percentage varying from 6’ 14 inRichmond to 0.7 in Boroondera. The former is denselypopulated and among the first districts to be sewered ; thelatter is on the outskirts with sparse population and not yetcompletely sewered. The infantile mortality has fallen from15 - 9 rer 100 births in 1891 to 9 - 3 in 1904.

Vital Statistics of Sydney.The annual report of the vital statistics of Sydney

for 1905 has been issued. The increase in populationduring the year was 11,030 and the birth-rate was thehighest since 1896, being 26 ° 2’7 per 1000 population.The death-rate was 11 01 per 1000, the lowest on record.The rate for children under one year was 89 per 1000 births,also the lowest on record. As regards the causes of death,increases were shown in cancer, Bright’s disease, old age,premature birth, cerebral hemorrhage, bronchitis, endo-carditis, childbirth, insanity, diseases of the bladder, diabetesmellitus, and anaemia. There were decreases in pulmonarytuberculosis, enteritis and gastro-enteritis, syncope and heartdisease, undefined accidents, atrophy and debility, diarrhcealdiseases, enteric fever, meningitis, convulsions, and acutenephritis, while the remaining diseases showed very slightincreases or decreases or were normal. The returns showthat 403 deaths were due to pneumonia. of which 103were ascribed to lobar pneumonia and 109 to broncho-

pneumonia, the remaining 191 not being further de-scribed. The number of deaths during the year was

practically equal to the average of the preceding five

years. Tuberculous diseases in the aggregate caused 445deaths and of these 437, or 98 per cent , were causedby pulmonary tuberculosis which claimed more victimsthan any other disease during the year and caused 8 percent. of all deaths. Compared with the preceding five

years, the deaths show a decrease of 17 per cent. Thedeaths due to cancer during the year were 435, which is 51,or 13 per cent., above the quinquennial average. Each yearthe deaths from cancer are steadily increasing. Of thosewho died 419, or 96 per cent., were over 35 years of age.

L2cnaey Administration in Victoria.Although it is 12 months since the new Inspector-General

in Lunacy arrived in Victoria it was hoped to reform thelunacy administration, and although he has placed before theGovernment important proposals for that purpose and Parlia-ment granted a vote of £40,000 for carrying some of them out,nothing has yet been done. The administration of the newLunacy Act is betraying its defects and weaknesses, whichwere pointed out by experts when the Bill was beforeParliament. It makes no provision for " border line " cases, (

and the conditions under which private hospitals for insanecan be conducted are very unsatisfactory, and the result is ]

that only two have so far registered under the Act. 1The unregistered houses still continue, and from his inspections the Inspector-General is of opinion that most iof them are quite unsuitable. The lay press made

a sensational story recently concerning a patient who wasremoved from one of these unregistered private asylumsto the State asylum at Kew and was found to have been thevictim of considerable violence. As a result Dr. G. J. Scantle-bury of Cheltenham was charged at the local police court withassaulting the patient at his private hospital. It was statedin evidence that a struggle had taken place between thepatient and Dr. Scantlebury, during which the injuries wereinflicted. The case was dismissed.

Inebriates’ Home, Hawkesbury River.The Chief Secretary of New South Wales has at last paid

an official visit to the buildings erected on Rabbit Island,Hawkesbury River, for the purpose of an inebriates’ homeunder the provisions of the Act passed last session. It isconsidered probable that the Government will go on withthe scheme.

Women as Resident Medical Officers.Quite a heated discussion is taking place in Sydney over

the question of appointing women as resident medical officersat the general hospitals. It has been the custom to appointthe resident medical officers to the Prince Alfred and theSydney Hospitals annually from. the recent graduates of theUniversity of Sydney, according to their position in the finalhonours list. In January, 1904, among the graduates thusentitled to a position at the Sydney Hospital was MissO’Reilly. She, however, was rejected by the hospitalauthorities on the ostensible ground that there was noaccommodation at the hospital for a woman. At thePrince Alfred Hospital there is no such difficulty.Among the graduates eligible this year is Miss Aspinall,standing ninth in the list of 35 graduates,’ and apart fromher sex she had every right to expect, as a matter of course,one of the residentships at the Prince Alfred Hospital. InJune last the board of management of the Prince AlfredHospital decided, in answer to a letter from the womenmedical students of the University, "to accept women resi-dents at the hospital, other things being equal and subjectto the appointments being confirmed by the conjoint board,"consisting of delegates from the hospital board and theSenate of the University of Sydney, and its assent to suchappointments in the past has been virtually a pure formality.Miss Aspinall was appointed by the hospital board andentered upon her duties at the beginning of the yearand her name was inscribed upon the hospital roster.At a meeting on Feb. 8th, however, the conjoint boardeliminated the name of Miss Aspinall on the ground "thatit was not desirable to appoint a lady doctor." It isgenerally assumed that the representatives of the Senate andnot the hospital authorities are responsible for this action ofthe conjoint board, which is the more severe to Miss Aspinallas she had on the strength of her appointment by thehospital board and entrance on her duties refused anotherappointment. The conjoint board has been most adverselycriticised and scarcely a voice has been raised in its defenceor a plea put forward for its action in the very warmpress correspondence and comment which have followed.At the Melbourne Hospital a woman resident had been

slighted purely on the ground of her sex. The medical

superintendent has been absent owing to illness. In similarcircumstances the senior resident medical officer has alwaystaken his place. But it so happened that the senior manwas also incapacitated by illness and the next on the list,Miss De Garis, performed the work. But the committeedeclined to recognise her and has appointed a practitionerfrom outside as acting superintendent.

Obituary.Dr. William Sheldon, the oldest medical practitioner in

the northern suburbs of Sydney, died suddenly at hisresidence on Jan. 19th. He was born at Stratford-on-Avon65 years ago and graduated as M.D. at Edinburgh in 1864,taking his M.R C.S. Eng. in the same year. He came toNew South Wales in 1869 and practised at Armidale till1884. He resumed practice in North Sydney in 1886. He wasthe most genial of men and deservedly popular. Two sons arein the profession.-Dr. Alexander Dewar of Woolloomooloolied on Feb. 14th at the age of 71 years. He was a graduate)f Edinburgh of 1862 and was a bachelor.-Mr. James

Pengelly Reed, a retired surgeon, shot himself with a

revolver on Jan. 23rd, at his residence, Waverley. He hadeen a victim of severe neuralgia and took a large dose ofnorphine a few nights previously and had seemed peculiarn manner since. He was 56 years old.March 2nd.