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SCOTLAND.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Corporal Punishment.THE question of corporal punishment having

been raised before the Edinburgh EducationAuthority, a motion was made that, whenever corporalpunishment was resorted to, appropriate particularsshould immediately thereafter be recorded in an

official record kept for the purpose. A committee on dayschools and attendance considered this motion anddisapproved of a recommendation by a subcommitteethat the clause be inserted in the regulations. Afterdiscussion at a meeting of the authority the motionwas defeated. Another motion was made that theregulation, " the Education Authority are verydesirous that the infliction of corporal punishmentshould be avoided during the time set apart forreligious instruction " should have added to it " andat all times in infant departments." This was alsodefeated. The intention of the first motion was tobring about a gradual abolition of corporal punish-ment, and there is in the procedure of the CentralBoard of Lunacy in Scotland, now the Board ofControl, strong precedent for the method suggested.For here a special register having been institutedwhich required an exact statement of the particularreason, the nature of any restraint enforced, thelength of time of the restraint and other particularshad the effect that the strait-waistcoat ceased tobe used in the asylums of Scotland. No steps wereever taken, so far as I know, to abolish any form ofrestraint required ; the recording of the details endedin the disappearance of this particular method.And it is probable that a register of corporal punish-ment in schools would have a parallel history.The Scottish schoolmasters of former days were

certainly not famous for their leniency in the use ofthe tawse, but possibly the belief in the disciplinaryefficacy of an inflicted pain is a survival of the" possession theory of wickedness, and those thataccept that theory are becoming extinct. At theEdinburgh discussion, it was admitted by one supporterthat the teachers of exceptional " personality " didnot need to inflict corporal punishment, which is acomment of the first value.

The Glasgow Small-pox Outbreak.In the bulletin of the Glasgow Public Health Depart-

ment it is pointed out that only one case of small-pox was recorded last month. " This case was asso-ciated with the former outbreak in respect that thepatient was a painter on the ship on which the infec-tion occurred. He worked on board that vesselfrom April 20th to 23rd and was diagnosed on May llth.He had been at work on another vessel from the dateof his sickening on May 5th. All possible contactswere kept under observation and no further cases ofthe disease have arisen. It would now appear thatthe outbreak is definitely at an end." It is a matterof interest that no deaths have occurred among thecases which have arisen in Glasgow, but four small-poxpatients remain under treatment. The case of theship’s painter forms an illustration of the variation ininfectivity. The late Dr. John C. MacVail, whoseknowledge of small-pox was extraordinarily extensive,used to tell with great humour the story of theKilmarnock registrar who divided the populationinto two classes-those that had had small-pox andthose still to take it! The story marks the differencebetween the administrative resources of those days I

and of these. Glasgow Public Health Departmentis to be congratulated on the rapid arrest of a ratherserious outbreak. ’

Dundee Royal Infirmary.At the annual meeting the chairman stated that, i

while over z80,000 had been added to the Endowment i

Fund, the income alone being used for administration, .

there had been a surplus in the reserve fund only inone year. This is the fund available for the generalpurposes of the institution. From that fund, whichstood at 2109,765 in 1918 and towards which £103,305had been received during the intervening years, it hadbeen necessary to draw a total sum of £161,663 to meetannual deficits, leaving the fund at Dec. 31st last at£51,407. This, he said, was face value, not actual value,and in view of the large additional commitments ofthe infirmary, it was clear that a large addition wasrequired not to the annual income alone but to thetotal funds required for extraordinary expenditure.The infirmary is one of the finest general hospitalsin Scotland and within the last few years manyenlargements and improvements have taken placein it. In fact Dundee as a whole is peculiarly favouredin the number of public institutions supported bygenerous men of wealth, and the infirmary, from timeto time, has shown great public spirit in taking onfresh burdens.

Presentation of Portrait to Sir Alfred and Lady Ewing.On his retiring from the Principalship of Edinburgh

University, a portrait of Sir Alfred Ewing was

presented to the University and accepted by theLord Rector, Sir John Gilmour, late Secretary ofState for Scotland. A second portrait of, Sir Alfredwas presented to Lady Ewing. The Chancellor ofthe University, the Earl of Balfour, could not bepresent; but there was a large gathering represen-tative of every phase of University work and interestin Edinburgh. The artist is Mr. Lintott, R.S.A.

Child Neglect.The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty

to Children does admirable work and it is no reproachto the " Children’s Charter " that prosecutionssuccessfully instituted by it may produce a situationwhich appears to render all effort nugatory. Hereare four cases. A labourer, aged 33, pleadedguilty to having neglected his four children betweenDec. 1st and May 29th and was sentenced tothree months’ imprisonment; a miner, aged 48,pleaded guilty to neglecting his three children and wassentenced to three months’ imprisonment, admittingone previous conviction ; a pit-head worker, aged 38,pleaded guilty to neglecting his six children betweenMarch 28th and June 3rd, admitting two previousconvictions, and was sentenced to four months’imprisonment ; another miner, age not stated, pleadedguilty to a charge of neglecting his wife and sixchildren, and was sentenced to three months’ imprison-ment. Evidence of extreme laziness on the part ofthe fathers was forthcoming, and it is known thatprosecutions are only instituted in the worst examples.In these cases the family, during the imprisonmentof the father, has to be provided for by the poor-lawauthorities or by the Society, and the break-up ofthe family and the boarding out of the children mayeither or both be necessary. When the father comesout of prison, he resumes, whether he wishes or no,responsibility for his wife and children, and thoughkind efforts may be made to give him a fresh starthe frequently returns with no work or wages to hisfamily and the same results of laziness and incapacityfollow. Many years ago, the Local GovernmentBoard for Scotland, then the central authority forpoor-law, had to stop the inspectors of poor, actingunder the Parish Council, from bringing the childrento the prison door and handing them over to thefather immediately on his release. This was thenthe conception of reinstating " parental responsi-bility." Possibly this variety of poor-law activityoccurs from time to time still and no doubt, in thelong course of handling worthless persons, the inspec-tors of poor have been driven to it as the sole methodof "

catching " the father and preventing his finaldesertion. But no one can regard this as a practicalprocedure. But in the four cases recorded above, itis difficult to know where to begin with a remedy,and with that difficulty the Scottish Society for thePrevention of Cruelty to Children is faced continually.

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It is no wonder that the Society feels that the wholeproblem of the preservation of children should bebe studied afresh, for police methods can deal onlywith the superficial aspects.

BERLIN.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The German Surgical Congress.THE first official subject of discussion at the German

Surgical Congress, which has lately been held in Berlin,was the treatment of empyema. Prof. Sauerbruch(Berlin) said that experience in the influenza epidemicof 1918 and 1919 had modified our views on theadvisability of rib-resection for this condition, themortality after resection having been 90 per cent.For post-traumatic empyema he thinks that a wideopening with removal of part of the ribs still gives thebest results, but for para-pneumonic empyema and inempyema after influenza this method has nowadaysfallen into disuse, and puncture of the pleura is per-formed instead. Its object is to improve the generalcondition of the patient, and this is often effected bya single puncture though several may be necessary.Should exudation continue, Bulau’s drainage is recom-mended ; and if, in spite of this, resection becomesnecessary, the operation is less dangerous after theimprovement of the patient’s general condition.Prof. Sauerbruch holds that rib-resection must be donein a pressure chamber. Of 63 patients operated onunder these conditions, 57 healed without a fistula andsix died, whereas of 32 patients operated on withouta pressure chamber 17 died. Where the lung is adherentto the parietal pleura an extrapleural resection of theribs must first be performed ; two or three weeksafterwards the pleura may be opened and the adhesionreduced. lThe second official subject was the treatment of

ureteric calculi. Prof. Voelcker (Halle) spoke of thedifficulty of distinguishing the symptoms of calculus, cholecystitis, appendicitis, and ileus, to which end 1radiography is not always reliable. By catheterisation 1of the ureter the calculus may sometimes be brought ! aback to the pelvis of the kidney. To reduce the pain tcaused by a calculus spinal anaesthesia may be tried ; tif there is no improvement ureterotomy with primary Isuture is necessary. Should the colic and retention of c

urine improve without removal of the calculi a s

condition resembling chronic cholecystitis is set up c

and there is a danger of the kidney being damaged by r

infection. Treatment then consists of the administra- Stion of suitable mineral waters by the mouth, with n

injection of pil or glycerine into the ureter. Prof. o

Voelcker did not approve of dilatation of the ureter taccording to Burger’s method or of permanent r,

catheterisation, which increases the chance of infection.Some calculi, he pointed out, are primarily infected-especially phosphatic calculi with a rough surface.In such cases intravesical therapy is undesirable ; b

ureterotomy is indicated and the kidney may have tobe removed. In acute anuria where catherisation of t]the ureter has not succeeded the kidney must be madeaccessible. If its condition is still pretty fair a renal tlfistula may be made through which the calculus will Gusually be discharged. If stones are present in both pkidneys, and neither radiography nor ureteral catheter- tiisation shows which is most affected, both must be made accessible so that the worse can be removed. AThe third official subject, the treatment of adhesions sL

in the abdominal cavity, was opened by Prof.Clairmont (Zurich) who showed a large collection ofanatomical specimens illustrating different kinds ofadhesions. Ri

A Serological Blood Test. Prof. Zangemeister (Königsberg) not long ago

reported to the Berlin Medical Society on his experi- ex

ments on blood-serum. It is known that by 18mixing the serum of two persons, the albumin being reiprecipitated, the mixture becomes opaque. The degree of opacity, however, is sometimes so slight th,

that it cannot be ascertained in the ordinary way.Zangemeister has therefore used the Tyndall effect,with Zeiss’s photometer, which allows a very accuratemeasurement of the intensity of light. A mixture ofthe sera of two unrelated persons and a mixture ofthe sera of a mother and her child are at first equallytransparent. But whilst the transparency of a

mixture of the serum of the two unrelated personspersists, that of mother and child by and by decreases.A second test is made by the ultramicroscope, withwhich the illuminated albuminous substances looklike stars in the heavens. In the mixed serum ofmother and child the stars gradually conglomerateinto large spots. The test proved reliable in thecases tested by Zangemeister, not only for motherand child but also for father and child, and not onlyfor new-born infants but also for persons up to theage of 30.

Nationalisation of the Profession.Between the municipal authorities and the medical

profession in Berlin a conflict has arisen, which is offundamental importance apart from its local interest.According to the Act concerning the campaign againstvenereal diseases the municipal authorities are obligedto take measures for the care of persons sufferingfrom, or suspected of suffering from, such diseases.This provision has been complied with in many citiesby the establishment of municipal dispensaries.Throughout Germany these dispensaries abstained fromtreatment, the patient being sent with a note to hisclub doctor or private practitioner after he has beenexamined. In Berlin alone have the dispensaries fromthe first undertaken treatment as well as diagnosis.By an agreement made in 1928 it was stipulated thatthe existing dispensaries might continue on conditionthat no new dispensaries were established by the city,but the Berlin municipal authorities have now givennotice that they do not propose to be bound anylonger by this agreement, which expires on July lst,and that they feel obliged to open new dispensaries.Negotiations between the Hartmann-Bund and thecity having failed, the Hartmann-Bund has declared aboycott of these dispensaries so that no medical manbelonging to the Bund may apply for or accept anappointment in them. The boycott has been extendedto other dispensaries too-for instance, those fortuberculous patients, and for mothers. The Hartmann-Bund states that already no more than 10 per cent.of the patients calling at municipal dispensaries aresent to private practitioners, the remainder beingcared for in the dispensaries. Obviously the Berlinmunicipal council, which is under the influence of theSocialist Party, aims at complete socialisation of themedical profession, as has been observed on otheroccasions. The Berlin profession will fight againstthis tendency, for it is calculated to destroy the smallresidue of private practice which still remains.

According to a report by the Berlin Municipalhealth Office, 67 per cent. of the children examined)y the municipal dentists needed dental treatment.Children with healthy teeth are rare in Berlin schools,he cause being inadequate feeding.The Cleveland disaster has caused some anxiety as to

he possibility of a similar happening in one of theGerman hospitals. The Government has stated in the’ress that long before the Cleveland disaster instruc-ions were given to the hospitals about the storage of1ms and their separation from combustible material.Lccording to this statement it is highly improbableuch a thing could happen in this country.

STOKE NEWINGTON HOME HOSPITAL FOR WOMEN.-recently Princess Helena Victoria, the Patron, unveiledtablet to the memory of Miss Isabella Lister, who was

tng closely connected with this hospital, which, with thekception of the visiting doctor, is entirely staffed by women.he institution was founded in the present building in525 by an aunt of the late Lord Lister, whose grandfatheraided at Stoke Newington ; Miss Isabella Lister waslother relation. The Princess named the ward containingLe tablet the " Isabella Lister Ward."