1179

to the education of epileptic children, whom the authoritiesare often obliged to exclude from the ordinary Board schools.The Executive Committee includes physicians of the highesteminence, men of business, and others who have long benactive workers in various departments of philanthropic work.The paid officials employed by the society may be counted onthe fingers of one hand, and everything apfea.rs to have beendone to ensure in as economical a manner a3 possible thelasting success of the movement, which must be of benefit,not only to the sufferers themselves, but to the communityat large.

MUNICIPAL HONOURS FOR MEDICALMEN.

THE occupant of the civic chair has many opportunities ofimproving the sanitation and ministering to the health of hisborough ; we are pleased to see, therefore, that some of themunicipal authorities have selected as their chief magistratea member of the medical profession.

Mr. Thos. W. Thursfield, M.D. Aberd., F.R.O.P. Lond.,the new Mayor of Leamington, was educated at AberdeenUniversity, and was the first medical graduate of the NewULited Universities. In 1866, six years after taking hisdoctorate, he settled in Leamington, and in 1880 re-

linquished general practice. In 1881 he was electedphysician to the Warneford, Leamington, and South War-wickshire General Hospital, and was chosen a Fellow ofthe Royal College of Physicians of London in 1889. Heis a past president of the Birmingham and Midland CountiesBranch of the British Medical Association, and is a memberof the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society, the MedicalSociety, and the Clinical Society. About sixteen years agohe entered public life as a member of the Free PublicLibrary Committee of Leamington, and has been chairmanof that committee for fourteen years. As a member of thetown council he has served the town for twelve years, and isa magistrate for the county and for the borough.Mr. J. H. Bartlett, M.D., M.R.C.S., &c., who has been

elected Mayor of Ipswich, is honorary consulting surgeon tothe East Suffolk and Ipswich Hospital and consulting phy-sician to the Suffolk Provident Society. He is also one ofthe oldest members of the Ipswich Scientfic Society, and iskeenly interested in its proceedings.Alderman Richard Daglish, J P., lfLR.C.S., &c., has again

been elected to the office of Mayor of New Romney. New

Romney was an unreformed borough until 1885, when a newCharter was granted. In that year Mr. Daglish was electedto the offi0e of chief magistrate, re--elected in 1886, andelected in October, 1888, to take the place of a mayorwho died durirg his year of office. In 1888 Aldeiman

Daglish was re-elected, and again elected in the present year.He was appointed one of the first borough ma2istrates in1885, and a county magistrate for Kent in June, 1886.Mr. T. D. Harries, M.R.C.P. Loi3d., F.R.C.S. Eng., has

been re-elected Mayor for the borough of Aberystwith. Heis the senior practitioner in the town and an ardent sani-tarian, and has given great attention to the prosperity of thetown as a watering place. He has also been instrumental in

obtaining for the town an abundance of pure water from thePlinlimmon range of mountains. Two years ago he broughtforward a scheme for the electric lighting of the town, whichbag since been carried out. Mr. Harries is at present super-intending the construction of a large pavilion in connexionwith the pier and in laying out tea gardens and extensivepleasure grounds. and before the end of this, his second yearof office, he will have the satisfaction of seeing the town ofAberystwith one of the best lighted, paved, and water-

supplied in the kingdom.Alderman R. Langford Jones, M.R.C.S. Eng. &c., has bc-en

unanimously elected Mayor for the borough of Bangor, NorthWales. He is physician to the Carnarvon and Anglesey Innr-mary and consulting physician to the Convalescent Home forMen, Llanfairfechan. He is also medical cfficer of healthfor the Beaumaris port sanitary authority.Mr. R. Arthur Prichard, L.R.C.P. Edin., M.R.C.S. Eng.,

&c., who has been re-elected Mayor of Conway, is a Justicecf the Peace and County Councillor for the borough.Mr. E. Jepson, M D Darb., M.R C.S. Eng., who has been

chosen Mayor of Durham, was first elected a member of theDurham corporation in 1887 and wa3 re-elected in 1890 and

1893. Daring the time he has been connected with thecorporation he has taken a warm interest in all matters con-nected with the welfare of the city. In sanitary reforms hehas been an active leader, and as a mostly scheme of sewagedisposal is now before the town the inhabitants are to be cor..-grd.tulated in securing as the occupant of the civic chair smember of the medical profession.

Mr. John Billingsley Richardson, M.D.Edin., L.R.C.FLond., &c., the Mayor of Torquay, was educated at RugbySchool and Edinburgh University, where he graduated withhonours in surgery as M.B. and C.M. in 1874. He thenstudied at St. Gaorge’s Hospital, London, taking thd

L’oertiateship of the College of Physicians of London. In1875 he was appointed House Surgeon to the Torbay In-firmary, and in 1878 established a private practice atLJnstead, whence he removed to Torquay. He was one cthe promoters of the Recreation Ground Company, and has.greatly interested himself in municipal matters. He waselected on the local board in 1889 and again in April, 1892.Dr. Richardson, who is a Justice of the Peace for the borough,was one of the first to forward incorpora’ion, and, being:elected for Waldon at the first contest in 1892, was nominatedan Alderman. -

Mr. T. Hyde Mills, M R.C.S. Eng., L.R.C.P.Lond., who-has been chosen Mayor of Cambridge, came to that town in1876. Since that time he has taken great interest in thepublic affairs of the town and has been active in promotingmany good and philanthropic works. For two years heserved upon the Board of Improvement Commissioners, andin November, 1890, entered the Town Council as a representa-tive of the Market Ward, but under the RedistributionScheme was allocated to St. Andrew’s Ward, for which con-stituency he now sits upon the Council. He has alwaystaken the keenest interest in the sanitary matters of the

borough, and during the past three years has acted as chair-man of the Sanatorium Committee and as a prominent memberof the Sanitary Committee. Mr. Mills is also President ofthe Cambridge Medical Society. It is nearly fifty years-since the borough of Cambridge was represented in the civicchair by a medical man.

Mr. A. M. Sculthorpe, L.R.C.P. Edin., L.M., M.R.C S. Eng.,&c., has been elected Mayor of Tamworth. He is districtsurgeon to the Midland Railway.

ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OFENGLAND.

AN ordinary meeting of the Council was held on the 8tbinst., Mr. J. W. Hulke, F.R S., President, in the chair.

’, Mr. Morton Smale was re-elected a member of the Board c1

Esaminers in Dental Surgery.The President repotted the proceedings at the meeting of

Fellows and Members on the lst inst. and stated that, iriaddition to eighteen members of the Council, there were*present twenty-two Fellows and thirty-reven Members.The Council deferred the consideration of the first resolu-

tion passed at that meeting-namely, the one relating to themode of election of the Council.The second resolution, thanking the Council for the report

and for the concessions relating to the separate meetings ofthe Fellows and of the Members, was acknowledged.The President stated that Professor E. Treacher Collin&

would deliver three lectures on "The Anatomy and Patho-logy of the Eye " on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday,Dec. 3rd, 5th, and 7ch next, at 5 P.M. each day, these’lectures having been postponed from the last collegiate year.The President also stated that the Bradshaw Lecture

would be delivered by Mr. Oliver Pemberton on Wednes-day, Dec. 12th next, at 5 P.M.. the subject of the lecture-being "James Syme, Regius Professor of Surgery in theUniversity of Edinburgh, 1833-1869-a Study of his In-fluence and Authority on the Art and Science of Surgeryduring that period."The President stated that three vacancies on the Court.

of Examiners would be occasioned by the expiration ouDec. 12;h next of the period of office of Mr. John L3,DgtonMr. T. Pickering Pick, and Mr. Edmund Owen, and tha-,’these vacancies would be filled up at the ordinary meeting o2the Council on Dec. 13th next.A committee was appointed to consider the formulas fop

1180

the proposed alterations in the by-laws, Sections 4, 16, and25, relating to the mode of election to the Council andalterations in the fee for the Dental Diploma.A letter was read from the Registrar of the Royal College

of Physicians of London reporting the proceedings of thatCollege relating to the following matters of common interestto the two Colleges-viz.: 1. A report of the Inspector of theGeneral Medical Council on the examination of the twoColleges for the diploma in Public Health, which was receivedand referred to the Committee of Management. 2. The adop-tion of the report of the Committee of Management, dated=Oct. 8th, 1894, and the re-election of Dr. Norman Moore as a Imember of that committee. 3. The adoption of the reportof the Laboratories Committee, dated Oct. 5th, 1894, andthe re-elecion of Dr. J. F. Payne as a member of that- committee.

VITAL STATISTICS.

HEALTH OF ENGLISH TOWNS.

IN thirty-three of the largest English towns 6531 birthsand 3388 deaths were registered during the week endingNov. 10th. The annual rate of mortality in these towns,which had been 18 and 17’3 per 1000 in the preceding two Iweeks, further declined last week to 16 9. In London Ithe rate was 15-0 per 1000, while it averaged 19 3 in thethirty-two provincial towns. The lowest rates in these townswere 11-8 in Birkenhead, 12-7 in Huddersfield, 13-0 in

Croydon and in Leicester, and 14 in Halifax ; the highestrates were 230 in Swansea, 235 in Gateshead, 24’1 in

Sunderland, 24-3 in Burnley, and 24’8 in Preston. The 3388deaths included 365 which were referred to the principalzymotic diseases, against 394 and 385 in the preceding twoweeks ; of these, 91 resulted from measles, 77 from diphtheria,’72 from diarrhoea, 58 from "fever" (principally enteric), 32from whooping-cough, 30 from scarlet fever, and 5 from small-pox. No fatal case of any of these diseases occurredin Leicester or in Halifax ; in the other towns they causedthe lowest death-rates in Brighton, Croydon, and Cardiff,and the highest rates in Sunderland, Leeds, Wolverhampton,and Darby. The greatest mortality from measles occurredin Bradford, Gatesbead, Derby, Leeds, and Portsmouth;from scarlet fever in Burnley ; from whooping-cough in

Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Sunderland ; from "fever " inSunderland and Wolverhampton ; and from diarrhoea inBlackburn, Preston, and Derby. The 77 deaths from

diphtheria included 42 in London, 7 in West Ham, 4 eachin Wolverhampton, Liverpool, and Hull, and 3 in Birming-ham Four fatal cases of small - pox were registered Iin Birmingham and 1 in London, but not one in Iany other of the thirty-three large towns. There were ’’,51 cases of small-pox under treatment in the Metro-

politan Asylum Hospitals and in the Highgate Small-poxHospital on Saturday last, the 10 h inst., against 60, 50,and 48 at the end of the preceding three weeks; 12 newcases were admitted during the week, against 8 in eachof the preceding two weeks. There were 2258 scarletfever patients in the Metropolitan Asylum Hospitals andin the London Fever Hospital on Saturday last, against2214, 2285, and 2240 at the end of the preceding threeweeks ; 223 new cases were admitted during the week, against26l, 254, and 223 at the preceding three weeks. The deathsreferred to diseases of the respiratory organs in London,which had been 329 in each of the preceding two weeks,declined last week to 245, and were as many as 199 belowthe corrected average. The causes of 55, or 1’6 per cent.,of the deaths in the thirty-three towns were not certifiedeither by a registered medical practitioner or by a coroner.All the causes of death were duly certified in Nottingham,Salford, Oldham, Bradford, and in nine other smaller towns ;the largest proportions of uncertified deaths were registeredin Birmingham, Leicester, Haddersfield, Halifax, Sheffield,and Hall.

____

HEALTH OF SCOTCH TOWNS.

The annual rate of mortality in the eight Scotch towns,which had increased in the preceding three weeks from17’5 to 22-2 per 1000, declined ag3,in to 20-3 during theweek ending Nov. 10th, but was 3’4 per 1000 above themean rate during the same period in the thirty-three largeEnglish towns. The rates in the eight Scotch towns rangedfrom 12 in Perth and 17-0 in Dundee, to 22-2 in Paisley

and 25’0 in Greenock. The 578 deaths in these towns in-cluded 21 which were referred to diarrhoea, 16 to measles,13 to diphtheria, 13 to whooping-cough, 10 to "fever" "

(principally enteric), 8 to scarlet fever, and 3 to small-pox.In all, 84 deaths resulted from these principal zymoticdiseases, against 55 and 54 in the preceding two weeks.These 84 deaths were equal to an annual rate of 2’9

per 1000, which was 1 1 above the mean rate last weekfrom the same diseases in the thirty-three large Englishtowns. The 21 fatal cases of diarrhoea, comiderably exceededthe number recorded in any recent week, and included 8 inGlasgow and 4 in Edinburgh. The deaths from measles, whichhad increased from 3 to 9 in the preceding three weeks, furtherrose to 16 last week, of which 11 occurred in Glasgow and3 in Aberdeen. The fatal cases of diphtheria, which hadbeen 6 and 14 in the preceding two weeks, were 13 Imt week,of which 10 occurred in Glasgow. The 13 fatal cases ofwhooping-cough showed a further increase upon thoserecorded in recent weeks, and included 8 in Glasgow and3 in Greenock. The deaths referred to different forms of"fever," which had risen from 2 to 10 in the preceding threeweeks, were again 10 last week, of which 7 occurred inGlasgow, where 4 of the 8 fatal cases of scarlet fever werealso recorded. The 3 deaths from small-pox were registeredin Edinburgh. The deaths referred to diseases of the respira-tory organs in these towns, which had been 114 and 144 inthe preceding two weeks, further rose to 166 last week, andexceeded by 25 the number in the corresponding week oflast year. The causes of 45, or nearly 8 per cent., of thedeaths in these eight towns last week were not certified.

HEALTH OF DUBLIN.

The death-rate in Dublin, which had increased from 18’0to 23 9 per 1000 in the preceding three weeks, declined

again to 22-8 during the week ending Nov. 10th. Duringthe past six weeks of the current quarter the death-rate inthe city has averaged 22’0 per 1000, against 16’0 in Londonand 19’3 in Edinburgh. The 153 deaths registered in Dublinduring the week under notice showed a decline of 7 from thenumber in the previous week, and included 12 which werereferred to the principal zymotic diseases, against 16 and11 in the preceding two weeks ; of these, 4 resultedfrom small-pox, 3 from whooping-cough, 2 from fever,"2 from diarrhoea, 1 from scarlet fever, and not one

either from measles or diphtheria. These 12 deaths wereequal to an annual rate of 1’8 per 1000, the zymoticdeath-rate during the same period being 1’4 in Londonand 1’7 in Edinburgh. The fatal cases of small-pox,which had been 2, 4, and 1 in the preceding three weeks,rose again to 4 last week. The 3 deaths from whooping-cough exceeded the number recorded in any recent week.The deaths referred to different forms of "fever," whichhad been 3 in each of the preceding two weeks, declinedto 2 last week. The 2 fatal cases of diarrhoea showed afurther decline from the numbers recorded in recent weeks.The 153 deaths in Dublin last week included 36 of infantsunder one year of age and 35 of persons aged upwardsof sixty years ; the deaths of infants considerably exceededthose returned in any recent week, while those of elderlypersons showed a decline. Five inquest cases and 4 deathsfrom violence were registered ; and 52, or one-third of thedeaths, occurred in public institutions. The causes of 15,or nearly 10 per cent., of the deaths in the city last weekwere not certified.

____

VITAL STATISTICS OF LONDON DURING OCTOBER, 1894.

IN the accompanying table will be found summarisedcomplete statistics relating to sickness and mortality duringOctober in each of the foity-three sanitary areas ofLondon. With regard to the notified cases of infectiousdisease in the metropolis during last month, it appears thatthe number of persons reported to be suffering from one orother of the nine diseases in the accompanying table wasequal to 10’0 per 1000 of the population, estimated at4,349,166 persons in the middle of this year. In the pre-ceding three months the rates had been 9-4, 8’5, and 9-6 per1000. Among the various sanitary areas the rates were

considerably below the average in Hampstead, St. Giles,Strand, Holborn, St. Luke, and City of London ; while

they showed the largest excess in Limehouse, Mile EedOld Town, Poplar, St. Saviour Southwark, Rotherhithe.Greenwich, and Plumstead. The prevalence of small-poxinLondon showed a further decline during October, 47 cases