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Drug Houses’ preparation is now again available,and I can testify to its efficacy though I prefer themore concentrated solution prepared by Hoffmann-LaRoche.

I was much interested in Dr. Leak’s account of his

investigations, but deplore his desire to introduce

politics into the realm of research !I am, Sir, yours faithfully,

Edinburgh, April 9th. W. RITCHIF, RUSSELL.W. RITCHIE RUSSELL.

ANNIVERSARY OF A REFORM

To the Editor of THE LANCETSIR,-On April 23rd and 24th the Association for

Moral and Social Hygiene is celebrating an historicanniversary : the jubilee of the repeal of the Con-tagious Diseases Acts in 1886. To many peopleto-day the words " Contagious Diseases Acts " mayhave no significance at all, yet these Acts were thecause of a successful agitation which lasted 16 years,and had remarkable results throughout the world.Moreover the " repealers," led by Josephine Butler,presented a challenge to contemporary ideas on thesocial evil of prostitution which has largely changedthe thought of the Western world in regard to it andis now affecting the East as well.The British example has since been followed in the

Dominions and Colonies, and by Norway, Denmark,Finland, Holland, United States, Czechoslovakia,Bolivia, Palestine, U.S.S.R., Germany, and Switzer-land. (Germany under the present regime has sincereintroduced the old system in certain towns.)

Great Britain never had the full continentalsystem of registered women and licensed houses, butit made a beginning between 1864-69 with theC.D. Acts and introduced the " registered prostitute,"under special police control and regular medicalinspection, for use of the Army and Navy in certaingarrison towns. The object was to reduce venereal

diseases in the Services but the results were nil.We now know*that such medical examination of onesex only for the benefit of the other does not protectthe other; but it was not known then, or not

generally accepted, by the medical profession and theofficials. A certain small number of doctors andadministrators did criticise the Acts for medicalreasons, but the deep and passionate revolt againstthem came from men and women who opposed themnot only on moral grounds but primarily on groundsof the gross violation of the principles of law andjustice involved in the Acts. Mrs. Butler warnedthe people of this country :

" Never forget that if we allow persons belonging toany class of the citizens to be enslaved-however obscure,despised or degraded that class may be-these will notlong continue to be the only slaves. The principle ofindividual liberty, once infringed, will be gradually lost."The agitation was eventually successful and it

brought not only repeal of the Acts but sweepingchanges of the English law in regard to sex morals.Moreover, it led to improvements in the Serviceconditions which have brought venereal diseasesdown from 267 cases per 1000 men in 1886 to 10 per1000 in 1933. These and many other changes forthe better we celebrate on April 23rd and 24th.

Lady Astor, Prof. Gilbert Murray, and two descendantsof Josephine Butler, Mr. R. A. Butler, M.P. (Under-Secretary for India), and Mr. Andrew Butler, willspeak at the public luncheon at the Criterion onthe 23rd, which will be followed by a service of

thanksgiving at St. Martin-in-the-Fields at 6 P.M.at which the Bishop of Liverpool will preach a specialsermon. Tickets and further particulars of the

meeting on the 24th can be obtained at this office.I am, Sir, yours faithfully,

ALISON NEILANS,Secretary, Association for Moral and Social Hygiene.

Livingstone House, Westminster, S.W., April 7th.

ALISON NEILANS,Secretary, Association for Moral and Social Hygiene.

PARLIAMENTARY INTELLIGENCE

NOTES ON CURRENT TOPICS

Easter AdjournmentBOTH Houses of Parliament adjourned on Thursday,

April 9th, for the Easter recess. The House of Lordswill reassemble on April 28th and the House ofCommons on April 21st. On the latter date theChancellor of the Exchequer will open his Budget.

Magistrates and Birching of ChildrenIn the House of Commons on April 7th Mr. PARKER

moved that leave be given to bring in a Bill to abolishthe power of a court of summary jurisdiction to ordera child to be whipped. He said that it had beensuggested that when children mutilated animalsbirching was a desirable punishment. It was not.If serious cases of that kind were brought up birchingwas not the right punishment. Where a child com-mitted a crime of that sort he should be subjectedto some sort of treatment so that he would not do itagain. The child should be examined medically,and if necessary be sent to a Home Office school andtreated. There had been a very big decline in thenumber of birchings. In 1913 the number was2079, in 1930 it was 130, and in 1933 it was 151.Birching had declined largely because magistrateshad not found it effective. Unfortunately childrenwere treated very differently in various parts ofthe country. There had been a very big decrease injuvenile crime from the war down to 1930. Between1917 and 1929 the number of juvenile convictionsdecreased from 27,290 to 5936. There had been anincrease of convictions since that day, and to his

mind that increase had been due to widespreadunemployment among juveniles of 14 to 21. Anunfortunate example had been set to younger children.The right way to secure a decrease in that crime waspartly by raising the school leaving age, partly byproviding better recreation facilities for children andyoung persons over 14, especially in the way of clubs,playing fields, and so on, and partly by placingnew industries in the depressed areas.Leave to bring in the Bill was refused by 166 votes

to 119.The Means Test

POSITION OF THE UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE

BOARD

On the motion for the adjournment in the Houseof Commons on April 9th Mr. D. GRENFELL calledattention to the condition of the unemployed, andin particular of those who came under the adminis-tration of the Unemployment Assistance Board.He said that the House had been informed on theprevious day that there was a live register of nearly2,000,000 persons. Nearly half that total came underthe inquisition under Part 2 of the UnemploymentAct. After referring to individual cases of hardshipthe hon. Member said that there existed a scandalouscondition of affairs. The private affairs of men andwomen were inquired into in a way that was quiteintolerable to a person of average pride. If a houseshowed evidence of cleanness, neatness, and of familypride, that was a disability, and those concernedreceived less assistance because of the good appear-ance of the house. People must not only be poorbut also in debt before they received the attentionof the officers of the Board.

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Mr. FORT complained of the delay in introducingthe fresh unemployment assistance regulations.—Mr.BATEY said that he would not be satisfied with theabolition of the household means test. He stood forthe abolition of the family means test and the per-sonal means test as well.

Mr. GuY said that the great justification for aninquiry into special circumstances was that somespecial provision might be made in cases of parti-cular need. Everyone knew that there were casesof hardship under the present means test. Thereshould be a distinction between the standard ofassistance given in this case and that given underthe poor-law. They did not want a destitution testfor the able-bodied unemployed. They wanted acertain standard of living for them, so that theymight be maintained as efficient units ready to taketheir place again in industry.

REPLY BY THE MINISTER OF LABOUR

Mr. ERNEST BROWN said that the problem couldbe simply stated, but it could not be simply solved.The trouble was that the new system was appliedto thousands of towns and villages where an infinitevariety of practice had previously reigned. Theyhad to consider the effect of the regulations and tosee how they could meet what fair-minded peoplewould regard as genuine hardships. Those investi-gations were almost at an end, and what the Govern-ment put in their election manifesto they meant tocarry out. The House would not have long to wait.His own impression was that the local area officerswere doing their work extraordinarily well, with agreat understanding of the circumstances of thosewho came to them, with great sympathy, and with adesire to do what the Act intended-namely, tomake the new system a more humane means of dealingwith the able-bodied unemployed. It was easy tourge the abolition of the means test and to bringforward hard cases. He had been surprised in thelast nine months, not at the number of hard cases,but rather at the smallness of the number. Theyhad to face the issue whether they ought to givepublic assistance without consideration of the ques-tion of means. There were two points-was thereto be a test at all ? and what kind of test was it tobe ? There had been many investigations into thequestion of whether or not there could be anothertest of need, and with one exception each investiga-tion had come to the conclusion that if there was tobe a test of need regarding applicants for publicfunds it must be in terms of the household. Whereassome local authorities administered State funds withthe same care as that with which they administeredtheir own ratepayers’ money, there was anotherclass of local authority that did not. The Govern-ment would do their best, and that very soon, tobring before the House improved arrangements foradministering a uniform system with due regard tolocal opinion over the whole of Great Britain. Theinvestigations were nearly complete and the Housewould not have to wait long after Easter.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

TUESDAY, APRIL ?THE

Poison Gas in Warfare

Mr. CARY asked the Secretary of State for War whattype of training, if any, was carried out by the War Officein the use of poison gas as a legitimate weapon of warfare ;and if chemical experts were employed to work to thisend in consultation with Army authorities.-Mr. DUFFCooPER replied : No training in the use of poison gas asa weapon of war is carried out in the Army, but possiblemethods of the use of gas have naturally to be studiedin connexion with training in defence against gas. Chemicalexperts have, of course, been closely associated withArmy authorities in connexion with such training.

Mr. SHINWELL asked the Secretary of State for Warthe names and basis of the gases with which the anti-gas protectors for the troops had been recently tested ;and whether the results had been proved effective.-

Mr. DUFF COOPER replied : As I informed the hon. Memberin reply to a question on 31st March last, the presentpattern of mobilisation container is considered to provide,adequate protection against the gases likely to be,encountered. The hon. Member will doubtless realisethat it is not in the public interest that I should answerthe first part of his question.

Mr. SniNWELL asked the Secretary of State for Warwhether any protective clothing other than oilskins were,in issue for the protection of the troops from corrosive,and incendiary chemicals ; whether he was aware that theGerman and other governments were now experimentingwith rubber clothing.-Mr. DUFF COOPER replied : Theanswer to the first part of the question is in the negative,and to the second in the affirmative.

Mr. KmKwooD asked the Home Secretary whetherthe ability of infants and young children to breathe,normally, if at all, in a gas mask had been satisfactorilyestablished; whether the period of time was known thatmust elapse before gas lost its harmful effects when the-populace could emerge from cover with safety ; what was.the penetrating quality of gas ; was it capable of reachingthose taking cover at, say, the underground railwaylevel; and what action the Government proposed to take,to prevent food and water, both under cover and otherwise,becoming contaminated by gas.-Mr. G. LLOYD replied : -.The question of the protection of infants and young personsis receiving attention and various alternative methodsof protection are under investigation. The period oftime during which poison gas- continues to exercise itsharmful effects depends upon a number of factors, suchas the nature of the gas employed, the quantity liberated,and the meteorological conditions prevailing at the time.The instructions to be issued to the public will give advice-as to when it is safe to emerge from cover. When poisongas is liberated it mixes with the air in the vicinity. This.leads to a progressive dilution of the gas cloud whichtends to follow the path of the normal air currents existingat the time. The question whether gas could reach tho-tube railways would depend upon the protective measuresadopted in connexion with the supply of air to the railway.Consideration has already been given to this question.The Government have considered the action necessary toprevent food and water becoming contaminated by gas.Protective measures are quite practicable and will be-embodied in the instructions to be issued to the public.

Sir GIFFORD Fox asked the Home Secretary whetherhe was yet in a position to make a statement about thesupply of anti-gas respirators to the civilian populationin case of air attack.-Mr. G. LLOYD, Under-Secretary,.Home Office, replied : Yes, Sir. A simple but effectiveform of respirator, for use by the civil population, hasbeen devised and the final design is now being settled.The Government propose to accumulate sufficient stocks.of this respirator to enable issue to be made to all persons.in areas exposed to danger in the event of air attack.The issue would be made free of charge. In the eventof attack from the air everyone would be advised toremain indoors in a gas-proofed room in order to avoiddanger of contamination ; and the respirators for theuse of the civil population would primarily be of servicefor the purpose of enabling people who were out of doorswhen a raid occurred, or whose gas-proofed rooms hadbeen damaged, to get to a place of safety. The Govern-ment are fully alive to the need for providing for the-needs of young children and babies, and special methodsof protection are being developed for this purpose. It

may be anticipated that many factories in this countrywill seek to put on the market respirators of their owndesign, and the Government have devised a scheme,the details of which are about to be published, by whichmanufacturers who make approved types of respiratorsand who accept various conditions, including liability toGovernment inspection, will be licensed to affix a HomeOffice certification mark to their respirators. Purchaserswill be well advised not to regard respirators as satis-factory unless they bear this mark.

New Cost-of-Living Index NumberMr. BooTHBY asked the Minister of Labour whether he

proposed to revise the basis of the cost-of-living indexnumber.-Mr. E. BRowN replied : Yes, Sir, I have recently

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given further consideration to this matter and havedecided that a revision of the basis of the cost-of-livingindex number should now be undertaken. For this purpose,it will be necessary to collect data with regard to thedistribution of the main items of expenditure of working-class households at the present time. An inquiry of thischaracter, on a scale sufficiently comprehensive to providerepresentative information covering different seasons

of the year, cannot be completed before the end of nextyear. In the meantime, the cost-of -living index numberwill continue to be calculated on the existing basis, andI anticipate that the new index number can be so linkedon to the previous numbers as to continue the serieswithout a break. I should add that as regards the methodsto be adopted in the conduct of the inquiry, I hope tohave the assistance of a small advisory committee whichwill include representatives of employers and tradeunions.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8TH

Danger Spots and Road AccidentsMr. ANSTRUTHER-GRAY asked the Minister of Transport

if he could state from statistics of the last two years whichwere the three most dangerous spots in London, ruralScotland, and Glasgow, and the number of accidents thathad occurred at each during that period.-Mr. HORE-BsLiSHA replied : The following statement shows certainstreets in London and Glasgow in which road accidentsinvolving personal injury have been particularly numerous.Information regarding accidents in the rural areas ofScotland cannot readily be given in this form :-LONDON- Six months ended

Sept. 30th-1934. 1935.

Sections of Commercial-road and East IndiaDock-road .......... 236 .. 251

Lewisham High-road and Eltham-road .. 158 .. 155Chiswick High-road and ging-street .. 194 .. 121

GLASGOW-Dumbarton-road from Church-street toBalshagray-avenue ...... 121 .. 128

Paisley-road and Paisley-road West, fromMorrison-street to Lorne-street .... 92 .. 97

Garscube-road, from Burnside-street toPossil-road .......... 47 .. 61

Sir ALFRED BEIT asked the Minister of Transportwhether he would arrange for fuller publicity to be given

regarding the ages and physical defects, if any, of thevictims of road accidents.-Mr. HORE-BELISHA replied :Yes, Sir. The ages of persons killed and any physicaldefects from which they suffered, so far as they wereconsidered to have been a cause of the accidents, will beshown in the Report on Fatal Accidents on the roadsduring 1935, which will be issued shortly. Similar parti-culars will be available in the reports on road accidentsinvolving personal injury which are being obtained fromthe beginning of this month.

Captain STRICKLAND asked the Minister of Transportwhether he had observed the reports of accidents tochildren cycling in the streets; and whether, when legis-lation was being introduced, he would consider fixing aminimum age for persons using bicycles, as was the casewith motor cyclists.-Mr. HORE-BELISHA replied: Yes,Sir. The figures before me are alarming and show thatnearly 40 per cent. of the cyclists killed in road accidentsare under 21 years of age.

Out-patient Clinics for Mental TreatmentMr. SORENSEN asked the Minister of Health the number

of out-patient clinics for mental patients that had beenestablished to the present date.-Mr. SHAKESPEARE

replied : The latest available information indicatesthat there are now 143 out-patient clinics associated withpublic mental hospitals. More comprehensive particularswill be secured by a questionnaire which is shortly to beissued to local authorities by the Board of Control.

THURSDAY, APRIL 9TH

Maternity and Child WelfareMr. EDWARD WILLIAMS asked the Minister of Health

whether he had been in touch with the British MedicalAssociation with regard to maternity services ; and, inview of their contention that a unified public healthservice was the most sure means of reducing maternaland infant mortality, what action he proposed to take inthis matter.-Sir YINGSLEY WOOD replied: Yes, Sir.I have recently received a deputation from the Associationon this subject. I stated that I should give further con-sideration to their proposals after I had received the reportof my medical officers who are making special investi-gations in the areas in which the maternal mortality-rateis high.

PUBLIC HEALTH

Public-school Boys Learn About PublicHealth

ON the joint invitation of Sir Kingsley Wood,Minister of Health, and of Mr. Herbert Morrison,leader of the London County Council, a party ofpublic-school boys and masters, 25 of each, spentthree days in studying the problems of local adminis-tration in London. The qualification for admissionof a boy was that he must have the school certificateand be over 17 years of age. In all 28 schools wererepresented. The party was welcomed by LordSnell, chairman of the L.C.C., and then listened toan account by Mr. Morrison of the duties of theL.C.C. and how their functions are carried out bythe various committees and departments. Dr.W. Allen Daley and Dr. Andrew Topping explainedthe work of the public health department, the formerdealing with the broader aspects of hygiene. Dr.

Daley told of the great epidemics of the past, of thework of the commissioners who investigated theconditions of life of the labouring classes nearly ahundred years ago, and of the rise and developmentof public health work. He described the environ-mental services, drains, sewers and sewage disposal,the collection and disposal of refuse, town-planningand building by-laws, the steps which are taken toensure that houses are maintained in a satisfactorycondition, and problems of unfit houses and clearance

areas. And so on through the provision of pure air,pure water, and pure food, and the measures to controlinfectious disease, to the various medical servicesfor the individual and the steps taken to educatethe public. The importance of public health workto everyone was emphasised, examples being theeconomic burden to the community of the care ofthose who are disabled by mental or physical illnessand of the dependants of those who prematurely diebecause of preventable illness. Mention was made ofthe epidemic which attacks rich and poor alike, ofthe serious effect which disease in our ports wouldcause to our shipping, and of the part played bymedical discoveries in reducing the death-rate.

Interest was shown by the number and nature ofthe questions put to the lecturer. Only ten minuteshad been allotted to questions, yet more than twicethat time had to be given before the closure couldbe applied in order that the next item on the pro-gramme could proceed. Questions came almost

entirely from the boys, the masters being interestedto observe the first reactions of the boys to an addressof this character. The first was an invitation to saywhat the next big development in public health workwas likely to be. The answer hazarded in replywas that it might be a reorganisation of medicalbenefit as now provided under the National HealthInsurance Acts so as to provide consultant and

pathological services for insured persons and a medical