1403BERLIN.-OBITUARY.

addition to the medical members, men and even women ofevery class of the population. Insurance companies. sickclubs, and benevolent associations had also joined the

society, several town councils supported its work, and localbranches existed throughout the empire. The society has(lone good work in influencing legislation. The formerrestriction in the workmen’s insurance law, by whichpatients suffering from venereal diseases were not entitledto sick-pay, has been abolished. Lectures have been,and still are being, delivered- to students of otherfaculties than the medical, and also to young men of otherclasses, including workmen, and popular literature has beendistributed in great quantities. The public discussion of thesubject has done much to make the general population awareof the dangers of these diseases and the methods to avoidthem. The director of the Government medical departmentwho attended the meeting read an address, in the course ofwhich he announced that the laws relative to prostitutionwould be amended, and that the powers of the medicalofficers of this branch of the public service would beincreased.

’

The -Leyden Lecture.The Leyden lecture, with which since the death of

Professor Leyden the winter session of the Society forInternal Medicine opens, was this year delivered by Dr. E. F.Bashford, director of the Imperial Cancer Research ofLondon. The lecture being an event of great interest, alarge number of members were present, together with otherdistinguished medical men and some of the family ofthe deceased honorary president. Exigencies of spaceallow only a brief reference to the leading points ofthe discourse. Dr. Bashford, who spoke German re-

markably well, first discussed the statistical records ofcancer. He said that the method according to which all thecases of cancer were considered together gave erroneousresults, because important facts did not always clearlyappear. For instance, it was true that cancer was more

frequent after than before the age of 35 years ; but if thecases were analysed according to age, sex, and the variousorgans affected, it became obvious that great differencesexisted for the individual organs. The maxima of frequencywere reached at different times. For some organs thenumber of cases increased continuously as age advanced,but for other organs it decreased after having reached amaximum. Dr. Bashford was of opinion that a generalincrease of cancer has not been proved. For some organsthere has certainly been no increase, whilst for others a moreexact diagnosis might have contributed to an apparentgreater frequency. Social conditions, food, and density ofpopulation were of less importance in the causation of cancerthan in the case of tuberculosis. Vegetarians were notless liable to cancer than meat-eaters. Japanese andHindoos who lived exclusively on vegetable diet were by nomeans exempt from cancer. If infection did not occurchronic irritants must be regarded as the cause of the

development of cancer. In describing his experiments onanimals he discussed the subject of spontaneous recovery asobserved in transplanted and non-transplanted tumours.

Among transplanted tumours there were some forms whichgrew progressively and produced metastases in 95 per cent.,whilst there were on the other hand growths which nearlyalways terminated in spontaneous recovery. In contra-distinction to this, in 800 non-transplanted cases spontaneousrecovery was found to be a very rare event, happening inonly 1 per cent. of the cases. Dr. Bashford expressed theopinion that the experiments of Dr. Neuberg and Dr. Casparyin attacking the tumour cell directly by "tumoraffinic" "

substances were theoretically correct.Nov.11th. ,

ROYAL STATISTICAL SOCIETY.-At a meeting ofthis society to be held on Tuesday next, Nov. 19th, at therooms of the Royal Society of Arts, John-street, Adelphi,W.C., a paper will be read by Dr. R. Dudfield, entitled.. Stillbirths in Relation to Infantile Mortality." The

paper will deal with the report of a special committeeappointed by the council of the Royal Statistical Society toinquire into the systems adopted in different countries forthe registration of births (including still-births) and deaths,with reference to infantile mortality.

Obituary.LUDOVIC WILLIAM DARRA MAIR, M.D.LOND.,

M.R.C.S. ENG., L.R.C.P. LOND., D.P.H.,MEDICAL INSPECTOR OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD.

Dr. L. W. Darra Mair, whose unexpected death at the

early age of 46 occurred on Nov. 4th, was the eldest son ofDr. R. Slater Mair, formerly of Madras. He was born onthe troopship -Darra on her voyage from India to Englandon May 13th, 1866, and was educated first privately inLondon and afterwards at Epsom College. Thence heentered St. Bartholomew’s Hospital with a scholarshipin 1883, qualified in 1887, obtained honours at theM.B. London examination in 1888, and the M.D.degree in 1890. For two years he was assistant medicalofficer at The Coppice Asylum, Nottingham, but speedilybecame attracted by public health work, and obtained theappointment of medical officer of health to the Croydonrural district, settling at Carshalton, where he lived up to thetime of his recent fatal illness. In beginning his new workhe was fortunate in being associated with Dr. E. Seaton,whose counsel and assistance he greatly valued, and he soonshowed exceptional fitness in administration and in scientificinvestigation.

In 1898 Dr. Mair was appointed by Mr. Chaplin to atemporary post as medical inspector of the Local Govern-ment Board, and joined the permanent staff in the followingyear. No better appointment could have been made. Dr.Mair was not only an industrious and untiring worker, buthe possessed an acute sense of proportion and an invaluablehabit of refusing to take things for granted, while he had anexcellent literary style and great powers of logical exposi-tion. With the encouragement and guidance whichSir William Power, then principal medical officer, gaveso freely to his juniors, these qualities were rapidly de-

veloped and brought to bear on the work of the centralmedical department, and during his service, first with SirWilliam Power and later with the present principal medicalofficer, Dr. A. Newsholme, Mair became recognised in theLocal Government Board as one of the soundest "all round "

men in the service, who could always be relied upon toextract the essential facts and considerations from anyinvestigation which he undertook.

Reference may here be made to some of Dr. Mair’smost noteworthy reports, which were published in themedical officer’s annual volumes or separately issued.The report on Bilston and Coseley (1900) analysed thecauses of continued enteric fever prevalence in a typicalBlack Country area, bringing out strongly the effectof soil pollution in the neighbourhood of dwellings; others onenteric fever at Coventry (1902) and Ashington (1903) dis-closed unusual features of spread of water-borne infection ; an instance of the probable spread of infection by house.flieswas recorded in a report on Bedlington as early as 1902.Other epidemiological investigations included that into ananomalous epidemic of sore-throat in Lincoln, clearlyassociated with the milk-supply, in 1903 ; while Dr. Mairwas also the author of reports on sanitary conditions andadministration which often had much more than local interest.In particular, his reports on several of the larger rural districtsof the country have in many cases led to important sanitaryreforms.

Dr. Mair’s services were specially in demand for inquiriesinto applications from various public authorities to his depart-ment for sanction to new methods of water purification andof sewage treatment, and for other matters involving intricatetechnical questions. In 1907 he was nominated to the Com-mission appointed by the Local Government Board for Irelandto inquire into the causes and prevention of the continuedexcessive death-rate of Belfast, and was specially concernedwith the analysis of the evidence on which the exceptionalmortality from enteric fever in that city was attributed to thewater-supply. In discarding this hypothesis the Commissionaccepted and put forward the alternative explanation,elaborated by Dr. Mair in a separate memorandum, thatinfection by sewage-polluted shellfish, largely eaten raw, hadfor years operated on a scale the magnitude of which had beenquite unsuspected. In 1910 Dr. Mair’s report on mortalityin through and back-to-back houses was issued as a Parlia-mentary paper, and the accuracy and importance of his

1404 THE NATIONAL INSURANCE ACT.

findings have received wide recognition. He was chairmanof the Departmental Committee on the Use of InterceptingTraps in House Drains, the report of which, issued a fewweeks ago, was fully reviewed in our columns. His early’death has inflicted a great loss on the public health service,of the country, on his own department, and on his manypersonal friends.

Dr. Mair was married, in 1894, to Edith, only daughter ofDr. W. B. Tate, of The Coppice, Nottingham, and is survivedby his widow and two daughters. He was buried on

Nov. 7th at Brompton Cemetery.

THE NATIONAL INSURANCE ACT.

THE RESOLUTIONS OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE OF THI

ENGLISH UNIVERSITIES AND THE ENGLISHCONJOINT BOARD. ,

AT a meeting of the Joint Committee of the Royal Colleges’of Physicians of London and Surgeons of England, thE

’Society of Apothecaries of London, and the Medical Faculties’of the Universities of England, held at the Royal College olPhysicians of London on Nov. 13th, the following resolutionswere passed:—

1. That in the opinion of this committee the conditions set up by theProvisional Regulations of the Insurance Commissioners dated Oct. 1st,1912, are of such a nature as to interfere injuriously with the rightsand proper independence of the medical profession, and with theefficiency of insured persons.

2. That medical practitioners in matters concerning their professional’conduct ought not to be tried by a tribunal that is not professional, thedecisions of which may have the most serious effect on their reputationand practice.

3. Seeing that the carrying out of the Provisional Regulations is leftlargely in the hands of the Local Insurance Committees, it would beunwise to agree to accept them (even if otherwise satisfactory) so long;as the insured persons are represented upon these Committees by anoverwhelming majority.

4. That attention should be called to the advisability of establishingtuberculosis centres in connexion with those hospitals to which medical- schools are attached.

-

THE IMPERIAL MEDICAL REFORM UNION.

At a meeting of the executive committee of the ImperialMedical Reform Union, held on Nov. 7th, it was unanimouslyresolved :--

That the executive committee of the Imperial Medical Reform Unionconsider that the members of the profession can be recommended toaccept service under the Insurance Act on the following conditions:-

(1) That payment be made for actual services rendered andmedicines supplied;

(2) That the income limit of 40s. a week be observed;{3) That the conditions of service be compatible with the honourable

traditions and practice of the profession; and(4) That the whole question of remuneration be reconsidered at the

end of three years. --

THE NATIONAL MEDICAL UNION AND THE ACT.Over 600 members of the medical profession in and around

Manchester held a mass meeting in the Midland Hotel,Manchester, on Saturday, Nov. 9th, under the chairmanshipof Mr. G. A. WRIGHT, F.R.C.S. The meeting was

organised by the National Medical Union.After the vigorous introductory remarks of the chairman,

who hoped that they would have nothing at all to do withthe Act or Regulations till they were fully and satisfactorilyamended, Mr. E. B. TURNER proposed the followingresolution:—

That in the opinion of this meeting the conditions of service laiddown in the Regulations issued by the Insurance Commissioners areintolerable—notwithstanding the new proposals foreshadowed by Mr.Lloyd George in his speech on Oct. 23rd-and would destroy for everthe independence of the medical profession. Therefore, any financialoffer under the National Insurance Act should be refused until theconditions of service are made compatible with the best interests andhonourable position of the profession.

Mr. TURNER, in the course of an eloquent speech, saidthat they might disregard the threatening storm if only theofficers of the ship kept their heads and the crew carried outtheir instructions intelligently and heartily.

The resolution was seconded by Dr. T. WHEELER HART,who severely criticised the conditions of service proposedto the medical profession, and was supported by Dr. E. S.Reynolds. Professor G. R. Murray (Manchester), Dr. R. H.Trotter (Huddersfield), and Dr. Maurice (Lancaster). Onbeing put to the meeting the resolution was carried unani-mously and with enthusiasm.

Mr. F. H. WESTMACOTT (Manchester) then moved, and

Dr. C. E. M. LowE (Crewe) seconded, the followingresolution :-That the members of the British Medical Association present under

take to attend their divisional meetings and instruct their repre-sentatives that any failure on the part of the representative meetingto give effect to the original demands of the profession-formulated bythe British Medical Association and reconfirmed at this meeting-willinevitably result in independent action being taken.

This resolution was also carried, with only two or threedissentient votes, and the result was greeted with loud

applause. -

BRISTOL PROVISIONAL MEDICAL COMMITTEE AND THE ACT.

The Provisional Committee for the Bristol area has issueda report calling attention to the various points in which theChancellor’s latest proposals are unsatisfactory. It is

recognised that the remuneration now offered is not un-

reasonable, but it is held that the conditions of service arein many respects impossible unless freely amended. A largemeeting of practitioners, under the auspices of the BristolDivision of the British Medical Association, has givenunanimous support to resolutions embodying opinions similarto those expressed in the Provisional Committee’s circular.

Medical News.UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD.-The new department

; of Pharmacology was opened on Nov. 9th, when theReader in Pharmacology, Dr. J. A. Gunn, delivered his

inaugural address. A distinguished company attended,,

which included the Vice-Chancellor, several heads of houses,graduates in medicine, and resident members of the

University, as well as the members of the local profession.The Regius Professor, in introducing Dr. Gunn, brieflysketched the history of pharmacology in the University, andenumerated the previous teachers in the subject, specialmention being made of the services rendered by Dr. SmithJerome who had been lecturer for ten years. Dr. Gunn tookas the title of his lecture "The New Pharmacology." Hereferred to the antiquity of the use of drugs, not only asremedies, but also as lethal weapons, such as arrow poisons andin the ordeal. He inferred that considerable accuracy in the

dosage and knowledge of these drugs must have been acquiredby observation of their effects. He mentioned that the skin oftoads had been used in primitive times for the relief of dropsy,that recently a body similar to digitalis had been isolated byAbel, and that its therapeutic effect was again being tried onpatients. In behoved pharmacologists, therefore, to lookwith respect upon the ancient uses of crude drugs. In thenineteenth century the action of drugs became more precise,and in these investigations other actions of great import-ance were discovered, such as the action of physostigmineon the pupil. In the twentieth century the great aim wasin the. direction of specific therapeutics ; quinine for malariaand mercury for syphilis were specific remedies discoveredby chance. A tribute was paid to the brilliant work ofEhrlich in this field. Finally, he gave an example in therecent work of Cushny and Mackenzie on digitalis of the greatresults that may be expected in the future when an expertpharmacologist works in connexion with a clinician of experi-ence. In thanking Dr. Gunn for his lecture, the Regius Pro-fessor reminded the Vice-Chancellor (the Principal of Brase-nose) that Withering’s monograph on the use of digitalis wasinspired by the results of its use on a previous holder of hisoffice. An adjournment was then made to inspect the newpharmacological laboratory, which is situated in the front ofthe main building of the museum, and has been fitted upwith all modern requirements. Tea was served in an

adjoining department, where were displayed an exhibit ofthe editions of the work of Dioscorides on Materia Medica.

UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD.-The followingdegrees have been conferred :—

D.M.-A. H. Hogarth and M. Davidson.

FOREIGN UNIVERSITY INTELLIGENCE.-Florence: : Dr. C. Lotti has been recognised as privat-docent of Internal Pathology, Dr. G. Glocci and Dr. t.

Trinci as privat.-docenten of External Pathology, and Dr. N.Beccari as privat-docent of Anatomy.-Genoa: Dr. A.