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itself, it will be necessary, in view of such a contingency, toendeavour also to come to some understanding as to theadoption in the several countries of some system of defenceagainst the invasion and diffusion of the disease, which,without laying burdens which are excessive and rarelyefficacious on the freedom of communication and commerce,shall be rational and at the same time of practical utility.Gentlemen, your duty will be no less difficult than it isimportant. But if your efforts, as I venture to hope, arenot barren of results, and if the conclusions to which youcome, being accepted by your respective Governments,should be embodied in an international convention, you willhave the right to congratulate yourselves, and will havedeserved the gratitude of the whole human family. Far

beyond the mere prestige of power and the splendour ofvictories, it is those services which are rendered to humanityand to civilisation that take the highest rank in the annalsof the world. They stand as the purest and most legitimateof all the titles of nobility which occupy a place in thehistory of peoples. I trust and hope that of such may bethe results of this Conference, which I now have the honourto inaugurate, and which I now declare to be open."

The actual labours of the Conference commenced atonce by the election of Signor Cadorna, President ofthe Council, as President of the Conference. Certainpreliminaries as to the proceedings and debates werealso provisionally agreed upon, and the Conferenceadjourned until Friday, the 22nd inst., when it was

hoped that all the foreign delegates would have arrived.With a view of facilitating the labours of the Conference,the medical delegates were, on the second day of meeting,formed into a technical commission, which will discuss thevarious decisions arrived at by the Vienna Conference of1874, and which will then submit the conclusions they arriveat to the Conference as a whole.

A& far as can be judged from Signor Mancini’sinaugural address, and from the personnel of theConference, it is evident that there will be a determinedeffort on the part of many to maintain quarantineby sea, although perhaps under somewhat less onerous

conditions than heretofore. England, as is well known, willnever again impose this antiquated restriction againstcholera, and it is to be hoped that the British delegatesmay succeed in showing their confreres that our presentsystem of medical inspection and isolation, coupled with aprogressive improvement in the general sanitary circum-stances of the kingdom, is the only system which is at thesame time rational and capable of efficient execution. Wemust, however, not be too hopeful in this matter; the realisa-tion of which will be the more improbable if we againfind ourselves this summer face to face with an extendingcholera epidemic. Panic will then doubtless once more

reign supreme.So far, however, the Technical Commission has done good

work, having inaugurated its sittings by a vote which, withthe exception of Turkey alone, recorded with unanimity acondemnation of quarantine measures by land. The lessonof 1884 has not therefore been altogether without its results,and is is to be hoped that this decision will be ratified bythe Conference as a whole, and that it will lead to theadoption of those measures of sanitary improvement whichafford the greatest obstacle against the spread of cholera.The following are the names of the diplomatic and

scientific delegates to the Conference who are now in Rome.One or two minor States whose delegates have not arrivedmay be represented later on :-

Argentine Republic : M. del Viso (Minister Plenipo-tentiary). Aust)-o-Hu2qai-.q: : Count Ludolf (AustrianAmbassador), Dr. de Hofmann, Dr. Grosz, Count Batthyanyi.belgium M. Van Loo (Minister Plenipotentiary). Brazil:M. Callado (Minister Plenipotentiary), Dr. d’Azambuja.Chili: M. Matta (Minister Plenipotentiary). China: GeneralTcheng-Ki-tong. Z)eK7H./’;; M. de Hegermann Lindencrone(Minister Plenipotentiary). France: M. Decrais (FrenchAmbassador), Dr. Proust. Germany: M. de Keudell (GermanAmbassador), Dr. Koch, Dr. Erhardt. Great Britain : Sir J.Savile Lumley (British Ambassador), Sir Guyer Hunter, Dr.ThorneThorne. Greece: M.Rhasis (Minister Plenipotentiary).Guatemala: M. Segarini (Consul-General). India (British) :Sir Joseph Fayrer, Dr. T. Lewis. Italy: M. Cadorna, Pre-sident of the Council of State (President of the Conference),Dr. Baccelli, Dr. Moleschott (President of the TechnicalCommission of the Conference), Dr. Semmola, Dr. Buonomo,Naval Commander Randaccio, M. Casanova, M. Scibona.

Japan: M. Tanaka (Minister Plenipotentiary), M. Nagay.ll2e.zaeo: 111. Sanchez Azcona (Resident Aiinister), Dr. Hijary Haro. Netherlands AL. de Westenberg (Minister Pleni-potentiary), Dr. Ruysch. Peru: M. Brunialti. Portugal:M. de Carvalho e Vasconcellos (Minister Plenipotentiary),Dr. Da Silva Amado. jRoMHMMM; M. Obedennare (MinisterPlenipotentiary). -Russia: : Baron d’Uxkull Gyllenband(Russian Ambassador), Dr. Eck. Servia: M. Franasso-vich, Dr. Danitch. Sweden and No)-zv6y: M. Linstrand(Minister Plenipotentiary), Professor Bergman, Dr. Dahl.Switzerland: M. Bairer (Minister Plenipotentiary), Dr.Reali, Dr. Sonderegger. Turkey: Mihrau Effendi (Charged’ANaires), Dr. Zoeros Pacha. Ut’uguay: M. Antonini yDiez (Minister Plenipotentiary).

THE MEDICAL AND CHIRURGICAL SOCIETYOF JAPAN.

AMONGST the many recent advances made by the

Japanese in the adoption of European institutions thatwhich relates to medical science is not the least signi-ficant. Two years ago we had the pleasure to notice a

promising medical journal, the I Ji Shi1nbun, which stillreceives the support of those for whom it was intended; andwe have now to record the success of an Association, theSei I Kwai, established on the basis of the London RoyalMedical and Chirurgical Society, for the advancement ofmedical science in Japan.The Sei I Kwai, which issued its thirty-sixth monthly Fasci-

culus of Transactions in January last, numbers eighty-sixmembers, including nearly all the leading representatives ofthe profession in Tokio, and some of the principal foreignpractitioners, and is under the presidency of Mr. K. Takaki,F.R.C.S., the Director-General of the Naval Medical Depart-ment, formerly a distinguished pupil of St. Thomas’s Hospital.Its business is conducted at weekly ordinary meetings, whencases are brought forward and discussed in due form, papersare read, and points of interest in foreign journals are

quoted and commented upon; and at special monthly meet-ings held for the more systematic discussion of subjectspreviously announced.The January and February numbers of the Transactions

now before us present a courageous innovation, the additionof a supplement in which certain of the contents appear inEnglish form and so become available for use and criticismiy the outside world. In the January part the supplementis introduced by a report of Four Cases of Ovariotomy per-! formed under complete Antiseptic Precautions by Mr. Takaki,with the result of three successes against one death, the

. fatal termination being due to shock and haemorrhageinduced by the removal of an extensively adherent tumourof very large dimensions.Mr. Furukawa Sakaye follows with an interesting paper, on Japanese Cosmetics. We learn from this that the use ofthe toilet adjunct in question, which is confined to women! and actors, commenced as early as 724 A.D. The main in-

gredient, according to the analysis of Professor Atkinson(Trans. As. Society of Japan, vol. vii.), is carbonate of lead

. diluted with powdered rice starch. No charge of poison-ing has ever been raised against the composition; but, onL the other hand, it is supposed to exert a wonderful curative

influence upon certain skin diseases, which Mr. Furukawa- Sal:ay6 unfortunately omits to name.A report by the Central Sanitary Bureau of cases of. Poisoning collected from the various provinces during the’ half-year ending June, 1884, is next quoted, and it appears. that of a total of 132 instances recorded seventy resulted1 from eating poisonous fish, forty, with twenty-three deaths,ebeing set to the score of the tetradon. The subject ofli tetradon poisoning is discussed in a subsequent paper.i A statistical table to show the prevalence of Myopia. amongst the students of the Agricultural College at Sap-r. poroni Yezo is contributed by Dr. J. C. Cutler, and states that

. of the pupils (whose total number is not mentioned) enter-. ing the College 29’5 per cent. were already myopic, and that- an additional percentage of 23 developed the complaint, after admission. As a reading people the Japanese have1 always suffered from myopia, but there is reason to hopeI, that in the future its frequency may be diminished by im-. provements in printing, and an increased knowledge of the

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bearing of properly constructed desks &c. in schools uponthe question of visual defects.In the February number Dr. Osawa writes an account

(translated by Mr. Tsuruda) of Tetradon Poisoning, the fre-quency and fatality of which have already been referred to.From this it appears that three-fourths of the twenty knownvarieties of the fish are found to be more or less poisonous;that the intensity of the virus increases in certain seasons,notably during the period of gestation in the month ofApril; that the poisonous principle is located in the ova,and sometimes in the liver also, the flesh being innocuous;and that it is active during the life of the fish, and does notdevelop as in the bonito and other members of the tribe asa result of post-mortem changes. The poison is describedas a crystalloid, readily diffusible from the tissues intowater, slightly soluble in ether, chloroform, and spirit, andsusceptible of preservation for a considerable period (twomonths in the case of the eggs of the T. chrysops). It issaid to kill by asphyxia. The writer concludes an ablepaper with the pithy assurance that " the only prophylactic

against poisoning by the fish is to avoid eating it."A report of the Diseases and Injuries of the Mariners inthe Japanese Navy during the year 1883 presents the note-worthy feature that out of a total of 2335 cases registeredunder the head of general diseases, no less than 1292, witha mortality of 3’75 per cent., were due to " kakke," a diseaseprobably of malarious origin, which appears to be identicalwith the beriberi of India.The number closes with a translation of an imperial

decree relating to the Licensing of Medical Practitioners inJapan. These regulations having necessarily been con-structed with reference to the present stage of transition inmedical education, must undergo considerable modificationas time and knowledge progress ; but they are well adaptedfor existing circumstances, and framed in a spirit of indul-gence that should leave no grounds for complaint from can-didates who desire to assume the grave responsibilities oft,hA nh"’(’n::!;/õ;aT1

THE HEALTH OF IRELAND IN 1884.

THE General Abstract recently issued by the Registrar-General of Ireland affords valuable statistical evidence ofthe health condition of that portion of the United Kingdomduring last year. It appears that, though the excess ofbirths over deaths was 31,631, the population decreased44,232 during the year, owing to the emigration of 75,863persons. The population of the country has declined yearby year since 1877, when there was a slight reaction fromprevious decline, and was estimated to be 4,962,570 in themiddle of last year. The marriage-rate showed an increaselast year, and was higher than in any year since 1878,indicating a tendency to revival of prosperity. Thebirth-rate, too, was slightly higher than in 1883, andequal to 24’0 per 1000, but was 1’2 below the meanrate in the preceding ten years. The death-rate was17’6 per 1000, against 17’4 and 19’2 in the precedingtwo years, and was 0’8 below the mean rate in the tenyears 1874-83. The marriage-, birth-, and death-rates inIreland are all very considerably below those prevailingeither in England or Scotland, with which, however, theyare not comparable, owing to the abnormal age proportionsof the Irish population. The constantly large amount ofemigration from Ireland during a long series of years hasdepleted the population of that country of so large a pro-portion of its young adults that the marriage- and birth-rates are necessarily reduced. The unduly small proportionof children and young adults necessarily affects the grossdeath-rate, and destroys its value for comparative pur-poses, unless due correction be made for exceptional agedistribution of the population; but such correction isnot made by the Registrar-General for Ireland. TheIrish General Abstract now under notice gives, however,much more information than the corresponding GeneralAbstract for England and Wales, which gives only barefacts, without any calculated rates. The deaths referredto the principal zymotic diseases in Ireland last yearwere equal to 8’2 per cent. of the total deaths, and to a rateof only 1’46 per 1000 of the estimated population, whichwas 0’49 below the mean annual rate from the same diseasesin the preceding ten years. Only one death was referred to

small-pox during the year. The zymotic death-rate inIreland last year was little more than half the rate from thesame diseases in England and Wales, but this may to someextent be attributed to the small proportion of children inthe Irish population, as children under ten years of age areinvariably the greatest sufferers from zymotic diseases. Oneof the most useful features in this Irish return is one whichwe should much like also to see in the English return; thisis the death-rate in each of the urban sanitary districts. Thedefect in this table is that the rates in 1884 are calculatedupon the enumerated population in 1881 ; the rates, there-fore, for the whole of Ireland in this table differ con-siderably from those given in other tables. All the rates inthis table are more or less understated in consequenceof the decline that has taken place in the Irish popu-lation since 1881. However, the rates respectivelygiven for the urban and rural sanitary districts are interest-ing, although they require correction for difference of agedistribution, as well as for the want of duly estimated popu-lations. The urban birth-rate is given as 29’4, while inthe rural districts it did not exceed 21’4. The death-ratewas 24’7 in the urban and only 14’9 in the rural districts;and the zymotic rate, which was 2’8 in the urban districts,did not exceed 1’0 in the remaining or rural districts. Ex-

cluding the smallest towns, the highest death-rates in theIrish urban sanitary districts during last year were 26’3 inLimerick, 26’7 in Cork, and 29’8 in Waterford. It is doubtful,however, how these rates would have been affected if theyhad been calculated upon the estimated population in themiddle of 1884, instead of upon the enumerated populationin 1881. The statistics of infant mortality in Ireland areexceptionally favourable. The deaths under one year of agelast year did not exceed 92’ per 1000 of the registered birthsin Ireland, whereas the proportion in England was equal to147 per 1000. Whether viewed as a test of sanitary con-dition or of care of infant life, this low rate of infantmortality in Ireland is eminently satisfactory.

WILLS OF MEDICAL MEN.

THE will and two codicils of Mr. John Mann, formerly of4, Charterhouse-square, surgeon, but late of Warltersville-road, Hornsey-rise, and of Moreton-in- the-Marsh, Gloucester-shire, who died on January llth last, were proved on the1st ult. by Mrs. Mary Mann, the widow, and Mr. GeorgeLoosely, the acting executors, the value of the personalestate amounting to over .618,000. There are gifts to hiswife, to each of his four children, and to his executor, Mr.Loosely; and as to the residue of his property, the testatorleaves two-fifths to his daughter, Elizabeth Frances, and one-fifth each to his children, Joseph Procter, Mary Rebecca, andEdith Spear.The will and two codicils of William Bruce Joy, M.D.,

F.C.P. in Ireland, late of 16, Pembridge-gardens, Bayswater,who died on January 28th last, have been proved by Mr.Albert Bruce Joy and Mr. George William Joy, the sons, theexecutors, the value of the personal estate exceeding .62400.The testator leaves to his wife, Mrs. Arminella Joy, all hisfurniture and effects, cash in the house and at his bankers,and an annuity of £500; to his son, Archibald Edward, anannuity of £250; and to Frederick James McDonnell, £100.Subject to the foregoing, he leaves his estate of ’;Joy’sreclaimed Dam," Belfast, and his other estates in Irelandwith the residue of his real and personal property as to two-thirds for his son, Albert Bruce, and as to one-third for hisson, George William.The Irish probate granted at Dublin of the will of Samuel

Warren, M.D., late of Hoylake, Cheshire, and of 83, Grosvenor-square, Rathmines, Dublin, who died on Feb. 12th last,to Mrs. Frances Elizabeth Warren, the widow and soleexecutrix, has been resealed in London, the value of thepersonal estate in England and Ireland exceeding .61500.The testator gives, devises, and bequeaths all the real andpersonal estate which he shall die seized or possessed of tohis wife absolutely.

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The following legacies have recently been left to Hospitalsand other medical charities:—Mr. Francis Parsons, of AshfordHouse, Hornsey, X500 each to St. Albans Dispensary and theHemel Hempstead Infirmary.—Mr. Stephen Cooke, of Bucking-