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determine causes and means of cure, while theobservational method is necessary to differentiate anddelineate disease. Patient and continuous observationof diseased subjects is the crying need of everygeneration in medicine ; its neglect being due, not toits unimportance, but to the difficulties surrounding it,and because its importance is seldom taught in theschools. The insight given by successful observationis of signal importance to medical progress, and mayeven determine a new epoch in the study of a subject ;the masters of this method have at all times beenamong the acknowledged eminent of their age. Everystudent should be made to realise that nothing in histraining or after-opportunities need prevent him fromembarking on a career of research, or from hoping toreap the distinction and reward of some solid discovery.

I am, Sir, yours faithfully,Liverpool, Oct. 6th, 1924. EDMUND HUGHES.

THE NEW METHYLATED SPIRIT.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SzR,-Having to-day ordered a lotion containingspt. vini meth., I was told by the chem.ist to whom theprescription had been taken that there is some doubtwhether this spirit, since the recent alteration in itscomposition, is suitable for application to the skin.Seeing how very largely it has been so used in the past,it is desirable to know certainly whether methylatedspirit, in its new form, has any harmful action on theskin. I am, Sir, yours faithfully,

Oct. 6th, 1924. SENEX.** * The crude pyridine which since May last has

been added in the proportion of 0-5 per cent. tomethylated spirit as sold to the public is, we under-stand, irritating to the skin as well as to mucousmembranes.-ED. L.

The Services.ROYAL NAVAL MEDICAL SERVICE.

R. M. Drennan to be Surg. Lt.

ROYAL ARMY MEDICAL CORPS.Lt.-Col. T. H. R. Bond retires on ret. pay and is granted

the rank of Col.TERRITORIAL ARMY.

Maj. P. J. Gaffikin to be Lt.-Col. and to commd. the131st (Home Counties) Field Amb., vice Lt.-Col. C. W.Ponder, whose tenure of commd. expires.

Capt. G. Adam, haviug attained the age limit, is retiredand retains the rank of Capt.

ROYAL AIR FORCE.

C. J. MacQuillan and F. P. Schofield are granted shortservice commissions as Flying Officers.

INDIAN MEDICAL SERVICE.

The King has approved the retirement of Maj.-Gen.B. H. Deare.

Lt. Ram Nath Bhandari to be Capt.Lt..-Col. E. F. Tucker, on return from leave, becomes

Senior Medical Officer, First Physician, J. J. Hospital, andProfessor of Medicine and Therapeutics, Grant Medical

College, Bombay. Lt.-Col. R. M. Carter becomes Second

Physician and Registrar, J. J. Hospital, and Professor ofMateria Medica and Pharmacy, Grant Medical College,Bombay. Maj. M. J. Holgate, on the termination of theMahableshwar season, took over the duties of Surgeon,Ahmednagar. Maj. S. S. Vazifdar acts as PresidencySurgeon, Second District, Bombay, with attached duties,in addition to his present duties as Second Physician atthe J. J. Hospital, until relieved of the latter duties byLt.-Col. R. M. Carter, and thereafter acts as full-timePresidency Surgeon, Second District, Bombay, with attachedduties. Lt.-Col. C. B. McConaghy has been posted as

Administrative Medical Officerin Central India and ResidencySurgeon, Indore. Maj. A. N. Thomas, on return from leave,has taken over the duties of Superintendent of Mahableshwar,vice Maj. M. J. Holgate.

Parliamentary Intelligence.NOTES ON CURRENT TOPICS.

Reassembling of Parliament.PARLIAMENT reassembled on Tuesday, Sept. 30th, after

the summer recess. The object of having an earlier meetingthan was originally intended was to pass the Irish BoundaryBill, a measure giving power to the British Government toset up the Commission to settle the boundary betweenNorthern Ireland and the Free State, and to appoint aCommissioner in view of the refusal of the Northern IrishGovernment to do so.

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HOUSE OF COMMONS.

THURSDAY, OCT. 2ND.Revision of Pension Warrant, 1919.

Dr. SPERO asked the Minister of Pensions if he proposedto revise the whole of the Royal Pensions Warrant, 1921,in view of the large number of amendments and changesof entitlement which had been issued recently.-Mr. F. 0.ROBERTS replied : Yes, Sir. It is intended at a convenientopportunity to issue an up-to-date version of the RoyalWarrant of December, 1919 (to which I presume the hon.Member refers), and of the concurrent Orders-in-Council,embodying the various amendments that have been madesince their issue.

Physical and Mental Condition of Murderers.Mr. LAMB asked the Home Secretary whether official daily

bulletins were issued as to the physical, mental, and spiritualcondition of convicted murderers awaiting execution ;and if not, whether he had taken any steps to ascertainthe source of such bulletins that had recently been published.- Mr. DAVIES (Under Secretary for Home Affairs) replied :My attention has been called to bulletins or reports of thiskind which have recently appeared in newspapers. Theycertainly have not been communicated by the prisonauthorities. The reports themselves have been utterlydevoid of truth and seem either to have been invented bythe writers or to have been based upon false statementsmade to them by discharged prisoners or others professingto be able to supply information.

Medical Opinion and the Smoke Nuisance.Sir WALTER DE FRECE asked the Home Secretary whether

he was aware of the growing criticisms of medical omcersas to the evil effect of the smoke nuisance ; and, seeing thatthe law was not sufficient to deal with this growing menaceto the public health and that the police statistics showed aserious increase in the number of private chimneys whichcaught fire as the result of carelessness in respect of sweeping,would he inquire into the matter.-Mr. GREENWOOD(Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health) replied rA Bill dealing with the smoke nuisance has been introducedin the House of Lords and has been read a second timeand passed through Committee. My right hon. friend is-advised that powers already exist for dealing with the-nuisance arising from private chimneys which take fire.

New Form of Death Certificate.Mr. PENNY asked the Home Secretary whether, in the new-

form of death certificate to be issued, he would make itcompulsory for doctors to inspect the body of the deceasedbefore signing, so as to safeguard, as far as possible, againstthe chance of live burial.-Mr. GREENWOOD replied : Nopowers are available which would enable such an obligationto be imposed upon medical practitioners, and legislation-would be necessary to give effect to the hon. Member’ssuggestion.

Procreation of Unfit Children.Mr. BLACK asked the Minister of Health whether, in view

of the continuously enlarging financial responsibilitiesaccepted by the State with regard to unemployment,invalidity, and old age, he would state the policy of theGovernment with respect to the procreation of childrenwho, owing to physical or mental deficiencies, becamea charge upon the State funds ; and whether he was preparedto appoint a Royal Commission to investigate into thepossibilities of improving the calibre of the nation byrestricting the procreation of children to persons possessing-a recognised minimum standard of physical and mentalefficiency.-Mr. GREENWOOD replied : As at present advisedmy right hon. friend does not see his way to recommending-the appointment of a Royal Commission on this subject.I may perhaps add that he is not aware of the existence ofany recognised standards of physical and mental efficiency.

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Lee Commission and Indian Medical Service.Colonel Sir CHARLES YATE asked the Under Secretary of

State for India if it was now proposed to bring the recom-mendations of the Lee Commission into operation withoutfurther delay ; and whether these recommendations wouldbe adopted in full, including those relating to the medicalservice.-Mr. RICHARDS replied : I am not yet in a positionto make any statement on this subject. My noble friend,the Secretary of State, is still in correspondence with theGovernment of India on certain points, and both he and theGovernment are desirous that orders on the report shouldbe issued with the least possible delay.

Reform of Public Health Laws.Mr. ROBERT RICHARDSON asked the Minister of Health

if the statement in the Annual Report for 1923 of Sir GeorgeNewman to the effect that in hundreds of sanitary districtsthere was a failure to use the facilities which the sanitarylaw provided was based upon official records of the Ministryof Health ; and, if so, whether he was prepared to appointa Royal Commission to inquire generally into the wholequestion of the administration of the laws relating to publichealth and housing and the generally unsatisfactory condi-tions prevailing in the sanitary service.-Mr. GREENWOODreplied : The answer to the first part of the question isYes. The second part refers to a matter which would

fall within the scope of the terms of reference to the RoyalCommission on local government now sitting.

Sir George Newman and Public Health Administration.Mr. JOHN GUEST asked the Minister of Health whether

he had read the statement of Sir George Newman in hisreport for 1923, to the effect that there were many authoritiesand medical officers of health who muddled on from handto mouth, the victims of every passing whim or popularstunt, instead of organising their work as responsible andcompetent men charged with the duty of directing thepublic service of their district; whether there was anyrecord at the Ministry of the muddling authorities andincompetent medical officers of health ; and, if so, whataction he proposed to take, in the interests of the community,to remove the medical officers of health referred to from officeand to supersede such authorities.-Mr. WHEATLEY replied :The answer to the first two parts of the question is Yes.With regard to the third part, the difficulty is largely dueto the passivity of local public opinion on health questionsin many areas, and I have this point under consideration.Further difficulty arises owing to the number and size ofmany of the 1800 sanitary authorities, a subject which wouldfall within the scope of the terms of reference to the RoyalCommission on Local Government now sitting. There isno question that the large authorities are, as a whole, dis-charging their duties satisfactorily.

Medical News.UNIVERSITY OF LONDON : University College.-

Prof. S. L. Rashkovich, M.D., Director of the TechnicalSanitary Institute of Petrograd, will deliver a course of fourpublic lectures on Water-supply and Its Purification, atUniversity College, on Fridays, Oct. 10th, 17th, 24th, and31st, at 5.30 P.M. The chair at the first lecture will be takenby Prof. H. R. Kenwood. Tickets of admission are notrequired.

UNIVERSITY OF LONDON : Par7iamentary By-.E’!ecMoM.—In his election address Dr. F. G. Bushnell saysthat he supports thoroughly the programme of the LabourParty to develop fully the medical and social " communityservices," especially the extension of the benefits of theNational Health Insurance Acts, and the further and betterutilisation of hospitals and infirmaries for the public. Hebelieves in wide publicity and propaganda being afforded bythe State in preventive medicine, and is in complete agree-ment with the Advisory Committee of the Trades Union andLabour Party in their health policy. The task of preventivemedicine is made more difficult by the fact that most infec-tions are due to ignorance of the principles of hygiene andsanitation. Preventive medicine, he concludes, has becomea basic factor in sociology both as regards the unhealthyconditions that affect the person (i.e., hygiene) and those thatresult from defective environment (i.e., sanitation). ’.,..... . -

HOSPITAL DINNERS.-The Annual Dinner of theOld Students of the London Hospital was held at the TrocaderoRestaurant on Oct. 1st. Over 200 attended, and the presentand past staff of the hospital were well represented. Thechair was taken by Prof. W. Bulloch, who for 27 years hasbeen in charge of the bacteriological department of thehospital. He referred to the changes which had taken placein that time, during which the whole of the visiting staff haschanged, with the single exception of Lord Dawson. Paying astriking tribute to Lord Knutsford, he spoke of the rapiddevelopments which had been made at the London Hospitalin his own time, contrasting its atmosphere of energy andprogress with the " mediaeval repose " which he had observedelsewhere. His hearers were left in no doubt as to the vastadvances which have been made in scientific medicine, inwhich bacteriology has played so large a part, but some ofthem may have felt a twinge of regret at the passing of thepersonalities who dominated the hospital 30 years ago,when F. J. Smith astonished the students by his language,and Treves by his operative daring. In spite of its size,Prof. Bulloch concluded, the London Hospital had succeededin maintaining that personal contact with its students whichwas one of its oldest traditions, and which formed the- greatest and most striking characteristic of medical teachingin this country.

The Annual Dinner of the Past and Present Students ofthe Middlesex Hospital Medical School was held at theHotel Cecil on Wednesday, Oct. lst, Mr. G. Gordon-Taylor,surgeon to the hospital, occupying the chair. There wasa very large gathering of the alumni of the school, the total,dncluding guests, being about 260. The guests includedSir Douglas McGarel Hogg, M.P., Sir William Leishman,F.R.S., the Mayor of St. Marylebone, Mr. W. Hartman,

and Mr. F. G. Hallett. The Chairman, in proposing " TheMiddlesex Hospital and its Medical School," referred to thefriendly relations between the lay board and the medicalstaff and to their loyal cooperation in all matters affectingthe work of the hospital. He alluded to the value of theefforts of the League of the Associated Hospitals of St.Marylebone and to the formation through the agency of themayor of an employers branch of this League. He voicedthe general regret at the loss of Lord Athlone as chairmanof the weekly board, pointing out that he had endearedhimself to every person connected with the hospital. Theresignation of Dr. Campbell Thomson and that of Prof. W. S.Lazarus-Barlow were also serious losses to the hospital andschool. He was sure that all present would be sorry to learnof the resignation of Mr. A. E. Webb-Johnson of the office ofdean, which he had filled with such great advantage to theschool, and he drew attention, to the great work he hadachieved in helping to put the school. on a sound financialbasis. He alluded to the pride felt by all Middlesex menin the re-election of Sir John Bland-Sutton to the officeof President of the Royal College of Surgeons and to theprofessional honours and distinctions conferred upon otherold students of the school. Mr_Richard C. Davis, chairmanof the Finance Committee of the school, in replying for thehospital, pointed out that medical education and researchwere essential functions of a hospital. In spite of its greatvalue research was not fostered in this country as it deservedto be. Mr. Webb-Johnson, in replying for the school,mentioned the generous gift of :B20,000 from Mr. Courtauldto endow the chair of anatomy in the medical school. Hethought it must be unique for a hospital to number amongstits residents at one time three gold medallists at the LondonM.B., as was recently the case at the Middlesex Hospital.He expressed his regret at relinquishing the office of dean,but regarded the charge of the school as in the nature of arelay race. Mr. C. Vincent Cotterell, in replying on behalfof the old students, described the great increase in the workof the hospital. When he joined 46 years ago the hospitalhad 305 beds with 36 devoted to cancer cases, whereasnow there were 450 beds with 92 for cancer. He mentionedthat out of a staff of 40, 26 were old students of the school.Mr. J. W. Nankivell, the senior Broderip Scholar, replied onbehalf of the present students. The toast of " The Guests

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was proposed by Sir Arnold Lawson. Sir Douglas Hogg,in replying, maintained that the efficiency and progress ofmedical science were due to the hospitals. He spoke withapproval of the useful work of the St. Marylebone HospitalsLeague. ’Sir William Leishman spoke of medical researchand of the useful work being accomplished in the Bland-Sutton and cancer research laboratories. He was optimisticas to the outlook in the future for pathological research.The Annual Dinner of St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School

was held at the Connaught Rooms on Monday, Oct. 6th,when 149 members of the school, past and present, attended.Dr. Eustace M. Callender, who was in the chair, proposed thecontinued prosperity of the school, and contrasted St. Mary’sin his day with the present position, recalling some amusingscenes of his student days. He asserted his belief that thefuture of the school was very bright, judging by the expansionof the buildings, the keenness of the teaching staff, and thelarge number of students. The Chairman of the HospitalBoard, Mr. A. R. Prideaux, gave a short resume of theactivities of the hospital during the present year, andmentioned the extension of the X ray department and the