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reports that for the first six months of 1908 he received I62 exemption certificates, as against 19 in the corresponding Iperiod of the previous year, and in other districts equally I

striking figures could be quoted. :

The Exeter Dispensary.The annual meeting of the subscribers to the Exeter

Dispensary was held on Feb. 17th. The medical reportstated that 4805 patients had been treated during 1908,compared with 4803 in 1907. The financial statement showedthat the income amounted to R1564 and that a favourablebalance of -E41 remained at the close of the year. It wasdecided not to fill the vacancy on the medical staff caused

by the resignation of Mr. L. R. Tosswill (who has beenappointed a medical inspector of schools), as it was con-sidered advisable to reduce the number of medical officers toten, the committee considering that number to be quitesufficient for the requirements of the institution.

lhe Royal Det’on and -Exeter Hospital, -Exeter.The annual meeting of the governors of the Royal Devon

and Exeter Hospital was held on Feb. 18th. The medicalreport stated that during 1908 the in-patients numbered1509, against 1411 in 1907. 5583 out-patients were treated,compared with 5719 in the previous year. The averagedaily number of in-patients was 157. The financial state-ment showed that the receipts for the year amounted to.613,846 (including <S2385 from legacies). The expenditurewas z10,816.

The Health of Fal7no?tth.The medical officer of health of Falmouth (Dr. A. Gregor)

in his annual report for 1908 states that the birth-rate was23-39 per 1000. The death-rate was 15-09 per 1000, butdeducting the deaths of non-residents the death-rate was13 - 57 per 1000. The infantile death-rate was 87-12 per 1000births. 19 cases of notifiable disease were reported duringthe year. Dr. Gregor mentions that he had received manycomplaints regarding the filthy condition of the streets ofthe town, and he calls the attention of the authority to thisimportant matter.

Welsh Quarrymen and Ambulance Work.Labour in a slate quarry is always more or less

dangerous, but judging from the proceedings at a recent

inquest held at Llanberis, ambulance work is a good dealneglected. According to the medical evidence, the manon whom the inquest was held died from h2emorrhageconsequent on a fracture of the leg. A witness ofthe accident said that none of the men who were

near at the time understood anything about ambulancework. The medical man said that the man died inthe quarry hospital the day after the accident, but his lifemight have been saved if there had been somebody imme-diately on the spot to check the flow of blood. "He had

preached and lectured much on first-aid work and conductedfour classes." The coroner, Mr. Penter Williams, regrettedthat he had to hold a second inquest in the same quarrywithin a week. He thought that every young quarryman"ought to be compelled to undergo a course of ambulancework, as he was convinced it would be the means of savingmany lives." It is strange that this has not already beendone, for it would benefit both masters and men. Its neglectmust be from heedlessness, not from want of humanity.Indeed, in this case one of the witnesses showed both courageand humanity by taking the injured man in his arms and

carrying him to a place of safety from a further fall of rock.

Univers’lty College of So2tlt lVales and Monnioittlishire.The inhabitants of Cardiff are extremely fortunate in thE

possession of a site for their public buildings which stand;unrivalled for its central position and for its extent. I

adjoins Cardiff Castle and was purchased a few years ag<for a moderate sum by the corporation. On one side of th<broad avenue traversing it there has already been erected 1magnificent pile of municipal offices which are faced by th<equally fine Law Courts, and other public buildings are eitheprojected or in course of erection. Among the latter anthe new buildings of the University College of South Waleand Monmouthshire which is at present housed in the oIlinfirmary and in a collection of wood and iron erection

standing on adjacent land. At the last half-yearly meetin;of the court of governors, which was presided over by Dr. W. TEdwards, the doyen of the medical profession in Cardiff, it wastated that the buildings would probably be ready fa

occupation in October next. A very complete scheme hasbeen embarked upon, although for the present only a portionof it is being carried out. For this portion, however, thereis still required a sum of S35,000 before the structure andthe necessary furnishing can be paid for. Complaint wasmade at the court that the Treasury grants made to Waleswere not so liberal as those to Ireland or Scotland. On thebasis of population, compared with Ireland, Wales shouldreceive for maintenance <E46,000 yearly instead of as at

present only R16,000, and on the same basis, compared withScotland, Wales should receive in building grants 180.000instead of ;E50,000. It has been decided to make a deter-mined effort to collect a sufficient sum to enable the new

buildings to be opened free from debt.

Infantile Mortlit in 5wansea.The rate of infantile mortality in Swansea has never been

very low. In 1907 it was 137 per 1000 births and in theprevious ten years it averaged 160 per 1000 births. In hislast annual report the then medical officer of health (Mr.Ebenezer Davies) pointed out that no less than one-third ofthe deaths occurred before reaching the age of one month.With a view to lessening this mortality Dr. Rhys Davies, oneof the school medical officers for the borough, has beendelivering a course of lectures to the mothers of the childrenattending the infants’ department of one of the largestschools.

Feb. 23rd. _________________

SCOTLAND.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)

Grants to Scottish Hospitals.THE trustees under the settlement of the late Mr. James

Dick have allocated a sum of 311,500 to Scottish charitableinstitutions, chiefly in Glasgow and the West of Scotland.By his will Mr. Dick directed his trustees, after payment ofa number of personal bequests and .682,000 to local charitableinstitutions which he named, to allocate the residue of hisestate for behoof of Scottish charitable institutions andschemes to be selected by them. It will be remembered thatthe will was the subject of a lawsuit as to whether the

bequest was void on the ground of vagueness and uncertainty.The House of Lords contirmed the judgment of the Court ofSession upholding the validity of the bequest. The list ofdonations now announced is the first allocation made by thetrustees. The total residue of the estate has been estimatedat over 600,000, but it may be some time before anotherallocation is made, as the realisation of the estate will

necessarily be protracted. Under this allocation the GlasgowRoyal Infirmary gets .680,000, the Western and VictoriaInfirmaries; .630,000 each, and the Maternity Hospital, theSick Children’s Hospital, and the Samaritan Hospital, allsituated in Glasgow, each get P,10,000.

Aberdeen Asyluln Board.The annual meeting was held on Feb. 10th. The

death-rate for the year has been considerably less thanusual. The number of patients has increased during the

year from 782 to 798. The proportion of cures has been 37per 100, rather lower than usual ; but there has been a

larger proportion than usual among the admissions of patientswith previous attacks and of elderly patients in a state ofsenile decay. The patients at Elmhill, paying the higherrates of board, have somewhat decreased during the year.The decrease may arise in some degree from thecurrent depression in trade, which may make relativesless willing to pay the high rates of board. In themain asylum the reconstruction of the female patients’quarters has been finished and to a large extent newlyfurnished. Reconstruction on the same lines is beingcarried forward in the male portion and should be finishedin three years. The branch asylum at Daviot has been, as

usual, valuable for the health and congenial employment ofpatients there, but the financial result has not been so goodas usual. The net profit earned during the past year wasonly .6286, as against R571 the year before. The directorswere glad, however, to find at the end of the year that onthe whole accounts the revenue had exceeded the expenditureby .63289. This is reckoned before making any allowancefor deterioration of buildings or furniture, but the directors

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regard it as fairly satisfactory and as justifying the con-tinued execution of the reconstruction scheme. In recent

years there has not been spent on buildings and furnituremore than was saved ugon the revenue account, as the sumsborrowed have not increased ; they have rather been growingless. The directors regard the financial position as quitesound, while the care given by Dr. W. Reid and his staffreceives the constant approval of the Commissioners in

Lunacy. The adoption of the report was moved andseconded.

Feb. 23rd. __________________

IRELAND.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)

The Annual Dinner of the Royal College (If Surgeons inIreland.

THE great professional function of the past week was, ofcourse, the annual dinner of the Fellows of the Royal Collegeof Surgeons which took place on Feb. 22nd. Followingrecent precedent the occasion was honoured by the presenceof the Lord Lieutenant, as a compliment to whom a haggiswas included among the delicacies and was ushered into the

banqueting shall on a silver dish ’hung with the Aberdeencolours, preceded in a; complete circuit of the room by twoskilful pipers :of the Royal Scots who received a warm

reception. Another Scottish feature of the entertainmentwas the presentation to Professor A. Fraser of a testimonial incommemoration of the ’’ silver jubilee" of his occupa-tion of the chair’of anatomy in the College. These

happy features of the brotherhood and hospitality ofthe occasion show how very far we have travelled on theroad of national brotherhood since the reign of James I.,when Sir Anthony Weldon noted that it was a saying inIreland that no member of any other nationality ever

prospered who came within the kenning of a Scotchman." "The Earl of Aberdeen asked, if this country was really in thechaotic state in which it was sometimes depicted, " would itbe possible for a great audience to listen for an hour and ahalf to lectures on the subject of health, particularly inmatters of consumption ?

"

Dr. Sa7iiit,?l MoKee.The death is announced of Dr. Samuel McKee, a former

well-known Belfast practitioner, at his residence in that city,on Feb. 16th. He had been in failing health for the past twoyears, and for the last two months had been confined to bedwith a nerve lesion ; the immediate cause of his decease wascerebral haemorrhage. A native of Drumbo, county Down,Dr. McKee was born 66 years ago and came as a youth toBelfast. Entering Belfast College as a medical student, hegraduated in 1872 as M.D. of the Queen’s University. Fora time he was at St. Thomas’s Hospital, London. He startedin practice in a working-class district in Belfast and rapidlygained a lucrative professional connexion. A very kindlyand genial man, he was greatly beloved by his patients. Heis survived by a widow and four sons.

Health Lectures.

During the past ten days several lectures have beendelivered on matters pertaining to the public health. OnFeb. 17th at a meeting of the Natural History andPhilosophical Society Mr. Alec Wilson gave an address on theProblem of Tuberculosis in the Dairying Industries. OnFeb. 18th, at :the Municipal Technical Institute, Mr. JohnFagan, inspector of reformatories and industrial schools,delivered a lecture on the Training of Girls in IndustrialSchools in Ireland, in reference to the management ofhouseholds, in the particular subjects of (1) the house andhousework ; (2) food, kitchen work, and housekeeping ; (3)needlework and dressmaking ; and (4) laundry work. OnFeb. 22nd, in the same Municipal Technical Institute, Dr.J. McLiesh lectured on the Care and Education of Feeble-minded Children,; while on the same evening at theDiocesan Synod Social Service Committee Sir RobertMatheson gave a lecture on Tuberculosis in Ireland, whichwas followed by an address from Professor J. A. Lindsay.On the following evening, Mr. J. Beattie, Principal of theUlster Institution for the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind, gave anaddress on the Education of the Deaf and Dumb.

D1di!!s of the State to Pa1lpe’J’ Children.At the meeting of the Statistical and Social Inquiry

Society of Ireland which was held on Feb. 19th a veryinteresting paper was read bv Mr. S. Shannon Millan,barrister-at-law, on the important subject of " The Duty ofthe State towards the Pauper Children of Ireland." Thelecturer pointed out in the course of his introductoryremarks that, "speaking generally, the Poor-laws of thiscountry have been directed to alleviate the hardships attend-ant on pauperism rather than to reduce the evils out ofwhich pauperism springs "-a radical defect in our legisla-tion which can hardly be too emphatically discussed. Hethen proceeded to the enunciation of questions which hetermed of tremendous national importance but not incapableof solution. The lecturer especially concerned himself withthe welfare of the children of the nation and showedthat during the quarter century first following the

original Poor-law Relief Act of 1838 guardians had nopower to board out pauper children. This facility wasfirst furnished them in 1862 for children up to the ageof eight years, and this period was extended in threesuccessive subsequent Acts up to 15 years, which is the

age-limit still maintained. Down to 1902 no attempt wasmade to define what was an "orphan" " or a "deserted"

"

child, and in the present state of the law no workhousechild can be boarded out unless it comes under one or otherof the legal definitions supplied by that Act. Those Actswere purely Irish and did not apply to England. An Act of1889 enabled the guardians of both countries to assume

parental authority over a deserted child and that control con-tinued until the age of 18. In the preparation and passing ofthe Poor-law Relief Act of 1838 Irish opinion was utterlydisregarded. On the recommendation of an Englishman,who had little knowledge of, and less sympathy with,Ireland, said the lecturer :-"the plan of exclusive workhouse relief was introduced, not as

a system which had proved a success in England, but out of aninnate fear that any other system would open the flood-gates of im-posture which would be obviated, in the opinion of the promoters, ifthe test were to cross the threshold of a workhouse. The system provedan utter failure, and in 1847 outdoor relief was legalised. The systemof outdoor relief established in 1847 has since grown in an ever-

increasing proportion, until to-day the average daily number in receiptof outdoor relief considerably exceeds that in receipt of indoor relief."

The lecturer illustrated the defects of the Irish law by theextreme case of a worthless, drunken mother with severalillegitimate children. When such a family were inmates ofa workhouse the guardians required the mother’s consentbefore they could board the children out. In England theguardians could do what they deemed best for them. Hesaw no reason why the English law should not be extendedto Ireland and thought that no child should be sent to anindustrial school unless sanctioned by the Department forChildren to be managed largely, if not exclusively, bywomen, after boarding-out had been tried and failed. Asthe expenditure on Poor-law relief has increased from Z4920in 1852 to 216,170 in 1897-08, the question should appealto the advocates of all the various national fiscal schemes.Feb. 23rd.

PARIS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The Treatment of Neu.ralgia by Deep Injeotions of CarbolicAcad Glycerine.

AT a meeting of the Academy of Medicine held onFeb. 9th Dr. Ostwalt reminded his hearers that for somefour years he had advocated deep injections of alcohol forneuralgia. All the world was now cognisant of the efficacyof this method even in the most resistant cases. The modeof action of the method was that it interrupted the con-ductivity of the nerve and so gave a temporary rest to thecortical sensory centre. Dr. Ostwalt had studied the action(in the case of the facial nerve) of substances other thanalcohol. He had found that a solution of carbolic acid in

glycerine with or without the addition of alcohol gave himfar superior results to alcohol alone. The break in theconductivity of the nerve lasted from two to three times aslong as that obtained with alcohol, and the chance of a per-manent cure was augmented in,proportion. The amount ofcarbolic acid varied from 7&frac12; to 50 per cent., and the amount