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PARLIAMENTARY INTELLIGENCE

ON THE FLOOR OF THE HOUSE

By MEDICUS, M.P.

ONE of the main topics in which Parliament isinterested this week is the muddle in the A.R.P.arrangements. There has been and is very greatactivity in all departments, but there has beenmuddle-and continues to be. At the same timethere is less than may appear ; the apparent muddleis partly due to the unwillingness of the powersthat be to tell the ordinary man, whether he behospital surgeon or air-raid warden, what they areup to.The arrangements for A.R.P. as far as doctors are

concerned-their personal service, that is-are made.Ninety-five per cent. of the profession are card-indexed, and the central emergency committee atB.M.A. House is in a position to say how manydoctors are available for any definite requirement.The Emergency Medical Services MemorandumNo. 2 published for the Ministry of Health this weekby the Stationery Office gives an outline of a bigplan which will make 200,000 hospital beds availablein the first 24 hours of a war and a further 300,000very shortly afterwards. But it is typical of theunwillingness of the authorities to let out informationthat this publication has been delayed so that it isdoubtful if its contents will be known to M.P.sgenerally in time for the A.R.P. debate.The cumbrous procedure of the civil service and the

apparent reluctance with which information is givenout has become a serious handicap to Parliament.There is of course some justification for the civilservice ; many of them are real experts at their jobs,and they know, although they respectfully concealthe fact at official interviews, that parliamentariansare not. Many of the civil service distrust Parliament,just like Ministers of the Crown who are happiestwhen Parliament is not in session. If Parliamentseems suspicious of the motives and intentions of theGovernment it is largely the Government’s own faultfor not being franker and more explicit in statement.But then Parliament is a very nineteenth-centuryinstitution-like the Houses of Parliament them-selves-and with the qualifications of a bone-setteris trying to do work which needs modern trainingand technical specialisation. It is safe to say thatthe purely medical side of A.R.P. is satisfactorybecause it is in the hands of a medical committee

meeting at the B.M.A. outside of Parliament and

knowing its job. The hospital organisation in war-time will also be satisfactory so far as it goes, butwhether it will go far enough depends partly on Parlia-ment, partly on the county authorities in the country,partly on the Ministry of Health and partly on themedical profession. The profession ought to have alarger share of control, because they know the joband because if they do not have this control theservices of individual doctors and of individualhospitals are not likely to be used to the bestadvantage.The need of the scientifically trained mind in

Parliament is very great-the whole of this A.R.P.muddle shows it. Civilian defence is starved becauseits importance is not understood.

It is not much more than two years since A.R.P.and civil defence measures in general began to beseriously taught to the population in this country.In the autumn of 1936 the first medical A.R.P.instructors of the medical, nursing and allied pro-

fessions began work. But only at the time of theSeptember, 1938, crisis was a handbook on A.R.P.distributed to the general population, although it hadbeen ready for over twelve months-and only atthe last minute were protection trenches dug. Now,behind the scenes, there has been a very great activity,as this Ministry of Health memorandum on emergencyhospital arrangements indicates. But there is a greatdeal more that might be made public.The proposed division of the country into regions

which can function independently if cut off from otherareas by the destruction of communications by airattack implies a similar division of medical arrange-ments. The report indicates that hospitals in largecities will become little more than first-aid postsand that base hospitals will have to be at compara.tively long distances away from vulnerable areas.

This inevitably means not only the spreading ofmedical and surgical staff over a number of hospitalsbut also the spreading of instruments, X-ray apparatusand all the technical equipment of hospitals over anumber of hospitals. For a time the whole medicalprofession and the hospital institutions will be throwninto one melting-pot and it is very important thatthe medical profession, through its representativebodies, should have a big share of control. The factthat the B.M.A. has been able to prepare a list ofdoctors for use in a war which contains the namesand particulars of 95 per cent. of the professiongiven voluntarily and individually means that doctorsare not only scientifically trained people but are

also disciplined-voluntarily disciplined. No politicalorganisation of familiar type, no trade-union andprobably no other professional association, can

approach the efficiency of this organisation. This

organisation is a great power and might be used withmuch greater effect than at present in public affairsand in Parliament. It should be given a muchgreater share of the control of A.R.P. arrangements.It might, for instance, be asked to organise andsupervise the service of air-raid wardens.

FROM THE PRESS GALLERY

Social Services

In the House of Commons on Feb. 22 Mr. GEORGEHALL urged the necessity for an inquiry into theworking of the social insurance services. In 1910all the provision made by the state and themunicipalities to deal with social insecurity amountedto .87,500,000 for old-age pensions and z616,000,000for poor-law relief. In 1936, the latest available fullyear, the expenditure under the various socialinsurance services, including public assistance relief,amounted to 2268,000,000-ten times that of thirtyyears before. Although that figure seemed largeit was less than 5 per cent. of the total income of thecountry, and when it was realised that the beneficiariesunder the various schemes represented 20 per cent.of the total population, the sum appeared very smallindeed. The State itself got off very lightly for itsdirect contribution was only 6136,000,000, theremainder being divided among workpeople andemployers. He suggested that all these servicesshould now be brought under one department witha minister of social services at its head. Under acoordinated system of administration there wouldbe an abolition of many of the anomalies, and insteadof a lowering to the lowest there would be an increaseto the highest benefit paid. Who would say thatthe nation had not the money to meet these needs ? PWe were the wealthiest nation in the world.-SirARNOLD WiLSON thought that the task of a royalcommission with terms of reference so broad as

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Mr. Hall suggested would’ be beyond the wit of man.It would involve half the Cabinet, and somethinglike half the total activities of Whitehall. Socialinsurance schemes were nowhere so complete, so

efficient, or so economical as they were in thetotalitarian states. The reason was that to makethe schemes fully efficient and complete involved agreat element of regimentation, which had its perilsas well as its advantages. He hoped one day to seefamily allowances an integral part of our socialsystem. He also hoped to see the national healthinsurance scheme further developed, but he questionedwhether it should be extended by raising the incomelimit. On the other hand, the present system ofadministration through 917 approved societies and6500 actuarially independent branches was wasteful,and the time was approaching for a national systemto be devised. The provision as regarded dentalbenefit was most unsatisfactory. The Minister wouldperhaps say that the cure for dental trouble was notthe services of the dentist, but larger supplies ofmilk. But the wealthier classes were just as badlyoff as the poor in the matter of teeth. The lastreport on teeth by the London County Council’smedical officer certainly gave that impression. Theonly reason why the well-to-do did not suffer so

much was that they spent three times as much on theirdentists as on their doctors, and they counted thatmoney well spent. He suggested that the properway to remedy some of the anomalies that existedwas by establishing a statutory commission such asalready existed in connexion with unemployment,with power to make modifications by orders incouncil, subject to ratification by the House ofCommons.

Dr. EDITH SUMMERSKILL said that nobody hadmentioned the claims of the dependents of the insuredworkers for national health insurance benefit. Thechildren obtained some measure of supervision atschool, but it was not in any way comprehensive.The mothers of the children were absolutely ignored.The married woman worker after the age of 23joined the most neglected section of the communityso far as health was concerned. The life of manypoor women after that age was an obstetrical steeple-chase. She was no sooner over the hurdle of oneconfinement than she was facing another. The

expectation of life of women at that period was lessthan that of men, and yet they were denied anyform of state health insurance. Could it be wonderedat that hospital outpatient departments were crowdedwith these women who were the end-products of thisneglect ? The medical profession would welcome theinclusion of this new category.Mr. BERNAYS, parliamentary secretary to the

Ministry of Health, said that the Government werefully alive to the need for further extension of thesocial services. In spite of the unprecedented callsupon the Exchequer for rearmament they were nowspending z650,000,000 a year more on social servicesthan when the Government came into office. Todouble old-age pensions would cost jE71,000,000,while the reform mentioned by Dr. Summerskillwould cost the country z10,000,000. The proposalfor pensions for wives at 60 would cost another.84,000,000. These reforms could not be undertakenwithout substantially increasing taxation, and itwould be a rash man who said that that would begood for the country. The Chancellor of the Exchequeralso had to keep in mind that the young must keep theold. Owing to the high birth-rate at the end of thenineteenth century and the low rate now, and thelonger expectation of life, more and more old peoplehad to be supported and there were fewer and feweryoung workers to maintain them. The power toincrease old-age pensions depended upon the extentto which they could equip young men and womenfor the struggle to maintain and extend Great Britain’spower and influence in the markets of the world.That was being done in the maternity and childwelfare services, in the school medical inspections,in the consulting-rooms of panel doctors, in the

employment exchanges, in the training centres, andin the educational services. He did not think thata case for an inquiry had been made out. He agreedwith Sir A. Wilson in regard to the importance ofdental benefits, but pointed out that two-thirds ofthe insured population now had an opportunityof receiving dental treatment.-Mr. T. SMITH saidthat the present insurance medical service was purelya general practitioners’ service, which meant that itstopped short just where the need was greatest.It should cover the treatment of disease from thegeneral practitioner to the specialist or hospital, ifneed be.-Sir F. FREMANTLE said that the medicalprofession knew the danger of suggesting that thesethings could be done merely by spending money.The thing to do was to bring public opinion along tohelp together with such money a,s was required.

Holiday CampsIn the House of Lords on Feb. 22 Viscount

ASTOR raised the question of the Government’sproposals in regard to camps. The value of thesecamps, he said, had been proved in the Special Areas,where, according to the report of the Commissionerfor 1938, the average child attending camp for afortnight had increased 3 lb. in weight. The reportfor Scotland stated that the provision of campsfor unemployed men and their families was one ofthe most useful and satisfactory pieces of work whichthe Scottish Council had tackled.-Earl DE LA WARR,president of the Board of Education, said that thecamps could be used as schools, so that town childrencould spend say a fortnight in them during term-time, or they could be used for school holidays.They might take children who were suffering fromminor bad health and needed building up or mightbe let to boys’ or girls’ clubs, to industrial firms fortheir employees, or to trade-unions. This greatsocial experiment arose out of the tragic need forwar preparation, but that was no reason why theyshould not see that they got the best value out of itfor the constructive purposes of peace.

Makerere College in UgandaIn introducing a supplementary estimate for the

Colonial Office in the House of Commons on Feb. 23Mr. MALCOLM MACDONALD, Secretary of State forthe Colonies, said that the establishment of MakerereCollege was a great step forward in the developmentof higher education in East Africa. The governmentof Uganda had voted 610,000 in support of theCollege, and the native administrations in Kenyaand Tanganyika might also give it financial support.The Empire Cotton Growing Association was makinga grant of 610,000 towards the biological laboratory.In order to endow the College the government ofUganda was giving .8150,000, the government ofTanganyika j6100,000, and the government of Kenya,850,000. It was proposed that the United KingdomGovernment should complete the fund of .8500,000by contributing ;S100,00O.

QUESTION TIME

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 22

Motor Drivers and Alcohol

Mr. MATHERS asked the Minister of Transport if herecognised that a large proportion of road accidentsoccurred as the result of drivers of motor vehicles drinkingintoxicating liquor, though they were not so affected asto be described as under the influence of drink ; whetherhe would arrange to have the number of such cases shownin accident returns ; and whether he proposed to takesteps to ensure that persons partaking of alcoholic drinksshould not drive a motor vehicle within a certain stipulatedtime thereafter.-Mr. BURGIN replied : I am not inclinedto believe that a large proportion of road accidents canbe attributed to drink. The extent to which the consump-tion of alcoholic liquor by drivers of motor vehicles mayhave been the contributory cause of accidents is, I amafraid, not susceptible of demonstration by statistics,nor do I think that trustworthy information on the point

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would be obtainable in the manner suggested. In the

special investigation made in 1936-37 it was found thatout of nearly 200,000 accidents 1307 were attributable todrink or drugs as a primary cause, and in 567 cases thedriver was the person affected. As at present advisedI am not prepared to introduce legislation under whichit would be an offence to drive a motor vehicle within aspecific period after the consumption of intoxicatingliquor.Mr. MATHERS : Is it not the real snag in many of these

cases that motor drivers are charged with the minoroffence of careless driving because of the fear in the mindsof those who.are bringing the action that a convictionwould not be secured otherwise ?-Viscountess ASTOR:Will the Minister bear in mind the evidence given beforethe committee set up by the late minister of transportand also the recommendations of the medical committeewho looked into this matter and said that something shouldbe done ?-Mr. JoHNSTON : Has the Minister consideredthe evidence submitted by the Scottish sheriffs in the lasttwo years as to the preponderance of serious accidentsarising from drunken drivers ? P

Mr. BURGIN : I hope the House will not think that inanything I have said I desire in any way to condone theoffence of driving under the influence of drink. I wishthat to be as seriously punished as possible. What Iam endeavouring to deal with is the much wider problemas to whether there is a large or growing proportion ofaccidents due to drink. The evidence does not supportthat statement. I will willingly examine informationand statistics from any quarter, because this is a real

problem, and if we can solve it so much the better.

Pulmonary Diseases on the Gold CoastMr. SORENSEN asked the Secretary of State forthe Colonies

whether, in view of the report of the registrar of birthsand deaths of the Gold Coast that pulmonary diseasesaccounted for 165 out of every 1000 deaths in that territory,and that a quarter of the total deaths registered occurredbetween the ages of 24 and 25, he would ask for a reporton the causes of this position.-Mr. MACDoNALD replied :The figure mentioned by the hon. Member in the firstpart of the question refers only to non-tuberculous diseasesof the respiratory system. With regard to the secondpart, the age-group appears to be 24-45, not 24-25.This age-group includes practically all immigrant labourers,many of whom are said to have little resistance to pul-monary infections. The serious nature of the pulmonarydisease problem is recognised and is discussed in the

report of the medical department for 1937, a copy of whichis being placed in the library of the House.

. Foreign Nurses in British HospitalsMr. McENTEE asked the Home Secretary how many

applications he had had from local authorities or privatehospitals to grant permits to foreign nurses to work inhospitals in Great Britain; how many permits had beengranted during the past year; and how many wereawaiting decision.-Mr. GEOFFREY LLOYD, under-secretary,Home Office, replied : The Ministry of Labour issued224 permits during 1938 to hospitals to employ foreignnurses, and in addition made 98 favourable recommenda-tions to the Home Office in respect of persons already inthe United Kingdom who wished to enter hospital posts.In 89 cases the Ministry of Labour was unable either toissue a permit or to make a favourable recommendationto the Home Office. Fifty cases are outstanding. Inaddition to the cases dealt with under the normal pro.cedure, arrangements were made in October with thenursing subcommittee of the Coordinating Committee forRefugees to allow German women to undertake work asnurses in hospitals in this country, and visas were

authorised in 63 cases up to the end of 1938.

THURSDAY, FEB. 23

Malnutrition among School EntrantsMr. GEORGE GRIFFITHS asked the Parliamentary

Secretary to the Board of Education the number of schoolentrants for the 12 months to the last convenient datefound on inspection to be suffering from malnutrition orto require dental treatment, respectively, and the per-centage in both cases to the total entrants.-Mr. KENNETH

LINDSAY replied : Of 571,032 entrants to public elementaryschools in England and Wales medically examined duringthe year 1937, the latest period for which figures areavailable, 3314 or 0-6 per cent. were found to have badnutrition and 58,267 or 10-2 per cent. slightly subnormalnutrition. Separate figures are not available to show thepercentage of entrants who required dental treatment.

Viscountess ASTOR: Is it not true that 16 per cent.of children entering the elementary schools are sufferingin some way from physical defects and that if they had hadthe advantage of nursing schools it would be only 7 percent.Mr. LINDSAY : The standard is improving.

Survivalf of Retired Civil ServantsMr. AMMON asked the Secretary to the Treasury what

was the average length of life of civil servants retiringat 60 years of age.-Captain EuAx WALLACE replied:The average length of life of established civil servantsretiring at age 60 is : men, 16 years; and women, 18

years.Training of Women Refugees as Nurses

Mr. HoLLINS asked the Minister of Health what stepshad been taken or were contemplated by local authoritiesto offer to women refugees any opportunity for trainingas nurses in the hospitals under their control.-Mr. ELLIOTreplied : I am informed that 19 town councils and 3 countycouncils have agreed to admit a limited number of refugeesas probationers in their hospitals, and that suitablecandidates are being allocated by the CoordinatingCommittee for Refugees.Water-supply and Drainage in Evacuation AreasColonel HENEAGE asked the Minister of Health whether

he was aware that in many rural districts to which it wasproposed to evacuate large numbers of the population,there were at present no adequate arrangements for apublic water-supply, and no adequate system of sewerageor sewage disposal sufficient for the needs of the presentpopulation ; that there was a grave apprehension on thepart of many local authorities in rural districts that theabsence of these facilities was likely to have serious

consequences, the risk of which would be accentuatedby the removal of large numbers of the civil populationfrom congested areas ; and what steps the Governmentproposed to take by way of grant from national funds,to deal with these matters.-Mr. ELLIOT replied : In theevacuationf’ arrangements, steps will be taken to avoidareas where insuperable difficulties are likely to arise onaccount of water-supply or drainage. It is not consideredthat the number of such areas will be large. I am notat present satisfied that there is a case for grant fromnational funds for the purpose of improving water-supplyor drainage in rural areas as part of the evacuation scheme.Representations, however, have been made to me in thematter by the county councils and rural district councilsassociations, and I am seeing a deputation from them onMarch 7.

Whooping-cough Experiments in GermanySir ARNOLD WILSON asked the Minister of Health

whether he had received details of the extensive experi.ments carried out at Stuttgart in curing whooping-coughin children by flights at high altitudes ; and whether itwas proposed to make similar experiments in low-pressureair cabinets in this country, in view of the fact thatwhooping-cough was responsible in 1936, in England andWales, for three times as much infant mortality as allforms of tuberculosis.-Mr. ELLIOT replied : I am awareof these experiments, the progress of which is beingfollowed with interest in my department. With regardto the second part of the question, I am not aware thatany experiments in the treatment of whooping-coughby means of low-pressure air cabinets have been under-taken, and I am advised that such experiments would beattended by considerable risks.

Hospitals and Emergency AccommodationSir THOMAS MooxE asked the Minister of Health what

was the present approximate capacity of all hospitals inGreat Britain, including and excluding mental hospitals;and whether it was proposed to take any steps to increasethis capacity in connexion with the emergency arrange.

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beds in England and Wales is approximately 502,000,including mental hospitals, or 371,500, excluding thosehospitals. Of the latter figure some 120,000 beds can befreed for use by casualties in an emergency, and sufficientnew beds have been obtained or are on order to increasethe capacity by 80,000. A further 100,000 beds could beaccommodated in existing hospitals if necessary, and

plans for new hospital units are under consideration.The 50 camps at present proposed are primarily to supple.ment billeting accommodation in an emergency, not

hospital accommodation. As to the Scottish figures, Imust refer my hon. friend to the Secretary of State forScotland.

New Standards of Lighting in FactoriesMr. ROBERT MORRISON asked the Home Secretary

when it was proposed to issue regulations prescribing astandard of sufficient and suitable lighting for factoriesas required by part I, clause 4, of the Factories Act, 1937.-Sir SAMUEL HOARE replied: I have appointed an expertcommittee to assist me in considering what standardscan properly be prescribed, and they submitted lastautumn an interim report recommending various principlesfor securing good general lighting. As the next step ingetting these principles translated into practice, a leaflethas been drawn up and will shortly be issued to factoryoccupiers throughout the country summarising the com-mittee’s recommendations and urging them to have thelighting arrangements in their factories reviewed withreference to the principles indicated. As soon as employershave had reasonable time to go into the matter I wouldpropose to follow it up by issuing draft regulations onthe subject. This procedure is, I am advised, morelikely to achieve satisfactory practical results than theformulation of a draft legal code at this stage.

MONDAY, FEB. 27

Medical Services in Spanish Refugee CampsLieut.-Commander FLETCHER asked the Prime Minister

if his attention had been called to the misery existing inthe refugee camps in France ; that rainproof shelterexisted for only 10 per cent. of the refugees ; that medicalservices were rudimentary ; that a third of the refugeeswere suffering from stomach troubles owing to food, andthat no possibility existed of isolating infectious diseasessuch as scabies ; and if he would, in consultation with theFrench Government, dispatch a mission to view these

camps on the spot and to make the necessary offers of £assistance to the French authorities.Mr. NoBL-BAEEB asked the Prime Minister whether

he could make a statement concerning the conditions inthe Spanish refugee camps at Perpignan ; and if he pro-poses to make any further grant of assistance.-Mr. BUTLER,under-secretary for foreign affairs, replied : As I statedon Feb. 23 His Majesty’s Government are in consultationwith the French Government on this subject. It willbe appreciated that any steps which it may be decidedto take must receive the full approval of the FrenchGovernment, and in these circumstances a statementfrom me today would be premature. I can, however,assure the House that the matter is receiving our mostsympathetic consideration and I hope very shortly tobe able to make a full statement.

Gas Attack Protection for InfantsMr. GALLACHER asked the Lord Privy Seal whether

any progress had now been made in devising and producinga satisfactory form of protection from gas attack forinfants.-Sir JOHN ANDBBSON replied : Yes, Sir. Satis-factory articles have been designed, and contracts havebeen placed for their production.

Advertisement of Cancer TreatmentMr. GROVES asked the Minister of Health whether it

was his intention to prohibit, under clause 4 of theCancer Bill, registered medical practitioners referringto any article calculated to lead to the use of thatarticle in the treatment of cancer when speaking toaudiences or writing for groups of people composed ofpersons other than those mentioned in subsection (4)(a) and (b).-Mr. ELLIOT replied : In so far as such state-

ments as the hon. Member has in mind could be held tobe advertisements, I am advised that, subject to theexceptions contained in subsection (5), the effect of theclause is as stated by the hon. Member.

TUESDAY, FEB. 28

Radium in Cornwall

Mr. BEECHMAN asked the Secretary for Mines whether,in view of the large quantity of pitch-blende in the westof Cornwall, he would cause a survey to be made for thepurpose of ascertaining whether radium could be obtainedtherefrom in sufficient quantity to justify development.-Captain CROOKSHANK replied : I am advised that althoughpitch-blende is known to occur in several places in Cornwallvery few deposits have been of commercial value. Thesedeposits have now been worked out or contain such low-grade ores that they do not justify processing for therecovery of radium. The Geological Survey of GreatBritain, for which my noble friend the Lord President of £the Council is responsible, is now completing a compre-hensive investigation into the mineral resources of Corn-wall, and in these circumstances it does not appear thatany advantage would accrue from the institution of aseparate survey of the kind suggested.

Army Recruits RejectedMr. McENTEE asked the Secretary of State for War

what number of men applied to enlist in the Army forthe twelve months to the latest available date ; whatpercentage were rejected on medical grounds ; and whatwas the percentage of the applicants for enlistmentrejected on the ground of defective vision.-Sir V.WARRENDER, Financial Secretary to the War Office,replied : Of the 61,552 applicants to enlist into the

Regular Army during the year ended Dec. 31, 1938,12.25 per cent. were rejected by examining medical officers.The percentage of the total number of applicants whowere rejected on the ground of defective vision was 1.96during the twelve months ended Sept. 30, 1938, which isthe latest date to which figures relating to the causes ofmedical rejection are available.

INFECTIOUS DISEASEIN ENGLAND AND WALES DURING THE WEEK ENDED

FEB. 18, 1939Notifications.-The following cases of infectious

disease were notified during the week : Smallpox, 0 ;scarlet fever, 1637 ; diphtheria, 1212 ; enteric fever,20 (25 " expected ") ; pneumonia (primary or

influenzal), 1919 ; puerperal pyrexia, 195 ; cerebro-spinal fever, 44 ; acute poliomyelitis, 6 ; encephalitislethargica, 1 ; dysentery, 24; ophthalmia neona-torum, 76. No case of cholera, plague, or typhusfever was notified during the week.

The number of cases in the Infectious Hospitals of the LondonCounty Council on Feb. 24 was 3352, which included : Scarletfever, 659 ; diphtheria, 859 (carriers, 47) ; measles, 5 ;whooping-cough, 828 ; puerperal fever, 24 mothers (plus 13babies) ; encephalitis lethargica, 300 ; poliomyelitis, 3.At St. Margaret’s Hospital there were 18 babies (plus 9mothers) with ophthalmia neonatorum.

Deaths.-In 126 great towns, including London,there was no death from smallpox, 2 (0) from entericfever, 7 (0) from measles, 1 (0) from scarlet fever,14 (4) from whooping-cough, 33 (5) from diphtheria,40 (15) from diarrhoea and enteritis under two years,and 255 (37) from influenza. The figures in paren-theses are those for London itself.The deaths attributed to influenza are again on the down-

grade, the totals for this week and the seven preceding weeks(working backwards) being 255, 265, 210, 173, 223, 214, 144, 89.Of these 255 deaths, 108 were reported from the South-easternArea Ilford contributing 9, Croydon 6 ; 80 from the NorthernArea, Manchester contributing 13, Sheffield 12 ; and 51 fromthe Midland Area, Bristol contributing 13, Birmingham 10,Nottingham 6 ; Ipswich and Norwich each reported 4. Cardiffhad 2 deaths from measles. Fatal cases of diphtheria werescattered over 24 great towns, Liverpool reporting 3, Sheffield,Stanley, Birmingham each 2. The deaths from enteric feverwere at Hastings and Liverpool.The number of stillbirths notified during the weekwas 244 (corresponding to a rate of 37 per 1000 totalbirths), including 28 in London.