53VITAL STATISTICS.-THE SERVICES.

June 29th. The annual rate of mortality in these towns,which had been 15-4 and 16 2 per 1000 in the two pre-ceding weeks, further rose last week to 16’7. In Londonthe rate was equal to 16’9 per 1000, while it averaged 16 5in the thirty-two provincial towns. The lowest rates inthese towns were 9’6 in Brighton, 99 in Derby, 11’5 inHnddersfield, and 11-6 in Portsmouth, Leicester, and

Preston; the highest rates were 19 2 in Bolton, 194 inBurnley, 21-0 in Salford, 22-8 in Gateshead, and 25-7 inLiverpool. The 3394 deaths included 493 which were referredto the principal zymotic diseases, against 399 and 400 in thetwo preceding weeks ; of these, 177 resulted from diarrhoea,140 from measles, 59 from whooping-cough, 55 from diph-theria, 32 from scarlet fever, 29 from 11 fever " (principallyenteric), and 1 from small-pox. The lowest death-rates fromthese diseases were recorded in Brighton, Swansea, Notting-ham, Derby, and Wolverhampton; and the highest rates inCardiff, Leicester, Salford, Liverpool, and West Ham. Thegreatest mortality from measles occurred in West Ham,Plymouth, Cardiff, Bolton, Manchester.and Newcastle-upon-Tyne ; from scarlet fever in Burnley; from "fever" inHuddersfield; and from diarrhoea in Croydon, Leicester,69,lford, and Preston. The mortality from whooping-coughshowed no marked excess in any of the large towns.The 55 deaths from diphtheria included 38 in London,.3 in Liverpool, 2 in West Ham, 2 in Portsmouth, and 2in Birmingham. One fatal case of small-pox was regis-tered in London, but not one in any of the thirty-twolarge provincial towns. There were 34 cases of small-pox under treatment in the Metropolitan Asylum Hos-pitals and in the Highgate Small-pox Hospital on

Saturday last, June 29th, against 23, 19, and 22 at theend of the three preceding weeks; 25 new cases were

admitted during the week, against 5, 2, and 8 in thethree preceding weeks. The number of scarlet fever patientsin the Metropolitan Asylum Hospitals and in the LondonFever Hospital, which had been 1589, 1637, and 1732 on thethree preceding Saturdays, had further risen to 1894 onSaturday last, June 29th; ’819 new cases were admittedduring the week, against 179, 199, and 251 in the threepreceding weeks. The deaths referred to diseases of the

respiratory organs in London, which had been 152 and 186in the two preceding weeks, declined to 160 last week, butwere 45 below the corrected average. The causes of 38, or1.1 per cent., of the deaths in the thirty-three towns werenot certified either by a registered medical practitioner orby a coroner. All the causes of death were duly certifiedin Portsmouth, Bristol, Cardiff, Leicester, Sheffield, and infifteen other smaller towns ; the largest proportions of un-derlined deaths were registered in Birmingham, Nottingham,Preston, and Hull.

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HEALTH OF SCOTCH TOWNS.

The annual rate of mortality in the eight Scotch towns,which had been 17’1 and 19’4 per 1000 in the two precedingweeks, declined again to 19.2 during the week endingJune 29th, but exceeded by 2 7 per 1000 the mean rate duringthe same period in the thirty-three large English towns.The rates in the eight Scotch towns ranged from 14’2 inLeith and 15’3 in Paisley to 20’9 in Greenock and 27’4in Perth. The 555 deaths in these towns included 48which resulted from diarrhoea, 14 from measles, 9 fromwhooping-cough, 3 from diphtheria, 3 from "fever," 1 fromscarlet fever, and not one from small-pox. In all, 78 deathswere referred to these principal zymotic diseases, against 58and 76 in the two preceding weeks. These 78 deaths wereequal to an annual rate of 2’7 per 1000, which was slightlyabove the mean rate last week from the same diseases inthe thirty-three large English towns. The fatal casesof diarrhcea, which had been 25 and 26 in the two

preceding weeks, further rose to 48 last week, of which29 occurred in Glasgow, 6 in Dundee, and 4 in Aberdeen.The 14 deaths referred to measles corresponded with thenumber in each of the two preceding weeks, and included 6in Glasgow and 3 in Paisley. The fatal cases of whooping-cough, which had increased from 11 to 20 in the three pre-ceding weeks, declined again to 9 last week, of which 6occurred in Glasgow and 2 in Edinburgh. The deaths fromdiphtheria, which had been 3 and 4 in the two precedingweeks, were 3 last week, all of which were recorded inGlasgow. The 3 deaths referred to "fever "were within 1of the number in the preceding week, and included 2 in,G’a,3gow. The fatal case of scarlet fever occurred in Edin-

burgh. The deaths referred to diseases of the respiratoryorgans in these towns, which had been 87 and 94 in thetwo preceding weeks, further rose to 99 last week, andexceeded by 18 the number in the corresponding week of lastyear. The causes of 25, or nearly 5 per cent., of the deathsin these eight towns last week were not certified.

HEALTH OF DUBLIN.

The death-rate in Dublin, which had been 23.1 and 20’1per 1000 in the two preceding weeks, rose again to 22-4during the week ending June 29th. During the thirteenweeks of the quarter ending on Saturday last the death-rate in the city averaged 27’3 per 1000, the rate duringsame period being 16’7 in London and 18’8 in Edin-burgh. The 150 deaths registered in Dublin during the weekunder notice showed an increase of 15 upon the numberin the preceding week, and included 9 which were

referred to the principal zymotic diseases, against 8and 16 in the two preceding weeks ; of these, 5 resultedfrom diarrhoea, 3 from whooping-cough, 1 from "fever,"and not one either from small-pox, measles, scarletfever, or diphtheria. These 9 deaths were equal toan annual rate of 1-3 per 1000, the zymotic death-rate during the same period being 3’2 in Londonand 1-3 in Edinburgh. The 5 fatal cases of diarrhoea exceededthe number in any recent week. The deaths referred to

whooping-cough, which had been 3 and 1 in the two pre-ceding weeks, rose again to 3 last week. The mortalityfrom "fever" corresponded with that recorded in the pre-ceding week. During last quarter 23 fatal cases of small-pox were registered within the city, against 78 in the firstquarter of this year. The 150 deaths registered in Dublinlast week included 26 of infants under one year of age,and 32 of persons aged upwards of sixty years; the deathsof infants corresponded with the number in the precedingweek, while those of elderly persons showed a slight furtherincrease upon recent weekly numbers. Only one inquestcase and no death from violence was registered; and 51,or rather more than a third, of the deaths occurred inpublic institutions. The causes of 16, or nearly 11 per cent.,of the deaths in the city last week were not certified.

THE SERVICES.

MOVEMENTS OF THE MEDICAL STAFF.BRIGADE SURGEON - LIEUTENANT - COLONEL GREENHILL,

retired pay, has been transferred from Lncoln to Guernsey.Surgeon-Major Morgan has been appointed to Woolwich,Surgeon-Major Maclean to Chatham, and Surgeon-CaptainWatson to Glasgow. Surgeon-Captain Johnson has beengranted sick leave to England from India. The follow-ing officers have completed a course of instruction in meatinspection at Edinburgh :-Surgeon-Majors O’Sullivan andDick, Surgeon-Captain Kiddle, and Surgeon-LieutenantsBarnett and Master. The following officers have been placedunder orders to attend a course at Edinburgh :-Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel Slaughter, Surgeon-Majors Robinson andJencken, and Surgeon-Captains Cardew and Davidson.

Surgeon-Captain Trask has beon selected for duty with theEgyptian army.

ARMY MEDICAL STAFF.

Surgeon-Lieutenant Herbert C. French to do duty withthe Coldatream Guards as an attached officer, vice Surgeon-Captain M. T. Yarr, who vacates his post on appointment asphysician to the Crown Prince of Siam.

INDIA AND THE INDIAN MEDICAL SERVICES.

Surgeon-Major R. J. Baker (Bombay), Residency Surgeonand ex-officio Assistant to the Political Resident in TurkishArabia, is appointed to officiate as Medioal Officer of the2nd Regiment Central India Horse, and of the WesternMalwa Political Agency during the absence on leave ofSurgeon-Captain C. M. Moore. Surgeon-Captain A. R. S.Anderson, Surgeon-Naturalist of H.M.’s R.I.M.S. steamer

Investigator, is appointed to officiate as Superintendent ofthe Indian Museum during the absence of Surgeon-CaptainA. W. Alcock, who accompanies the Pamir Commission asSurgeon - Naturalist. Surgeon - Captain J. B. Smith hasdelivered over charge of the Shikarpur Prison. The servicesof Surgeon-Captain W. Molesworth and Surgeon-CaptainC. Donovan are placed temporarily at the disposal of the

54 THE SERVICES.-IS METEOROLOGY A SCIENCE? ?

Government of Madras. The services of Surgeon-MajorE. F. H. Dobson are replaced at the disposal of theGovernment of India, Home Department. Sargeon-ColonelH. Cook takes over the duties of Principal Medical Officer,Bombay Command from Surgeon - Colonel C. A. Atkins,A M.S. Surgeon-Major C. L. Swaine proceeds to Englandon the recommendation of a medical board in anticipationof the leave which will be hereafter granted to him by theGovernment.

ARMY MEDICAL RESERVE OF OFFICERS.

Surgeon-Captain Arthur Taylor Wear, M.D., 1st New-castle-on-Tyne Volunteer Artillery (Western Division, RoyalArtillery), to be Surgeon-Major. Surgeon-Lieutenant JohnHugh Maclean, F.R.C.S. Edin., 2nd Volunteer Battalion theSherwood Foresters (Derbyshire Regiment), to be Surgeon-Major.

VOLUNTEER CORPS.

Artillery : 2nd Middlesex: Surgeon - Lieutenant J. H.Gibson, M.D., resigns his commission. lst Cornwall (Dukeof Cornwall’s) (Western Division, Royal Artillery) : Sur-

geon-Captain W. Mason to be Surgeon-Major. RoyalEagineers: 1st Gloucestershire : William Balfour Fergusson,M D., to be Surgeon-Lieutenant. -Rifle : 4th Volunteer Bat-talion the Hampshire Regiment: Surgeon-Lieutenant E. Roeresigns his commission. lst Volunteer Battalion the RoyalScots Fusiliers : The under-mentioned Surgeon-Majors to beSurgeon-Lieutenant-Colonels : W. Wilson, M.D., and W. Frew, IM.D. 6th Volunteer Battalion the Gordon Highlanders :James Taylor, M.D., to be Surgeon-Lieutenant. 1st Volun-teer Battalion the Highland Light Infantry: Surgeon-CaptainH. St. Clair Gray, M.D., resigns his commission.

THE PARKES MEMORIAL PRIZE FOR 1894.

According to the Pioneer Mail of June 12th last, we haveto congratulate Surgeon-Major Donald Ross, Madras MedicalService, on having won the Parkes Memorial Prize for hisessay on ° Malarial Fevers: their Causation and Pre-vention." We learn, moreover, from the same source

that the Maharajah of Patiala, acting on the suggestionof Surgeon-Major Owen, his medical adviser, has appliedfor the services of a medical officer to carry out an

investigation into the fevers which prevail in his State duringthe rains, and that the Maharajah has named Surgeon-MajorRoss for the work. The Durbar are prepared to bear all theexpenses of the inquiry, and it is to be hoped that the IndianGovernment will accede to the Mabarajah’s request. Fever isof all the diseases of India that which prevails the mostextensively and causes the largest mortality among thenatives of that country, especially when the soil of certaindistricts becomes waterlogged. There are several questionsof a scientific and bacteriological character respectingthe micro-organism of malaria in India requiring thoroughinvestigation, and Surgeon-Major Ross having made a specialstudy of the subject, in addition to having gained the ParkesMemorial Prize, seems to be eminently qualified to undertakesuch an investigation.

THE MEXICAN ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT.The Army and Na2:y Gazette says : The Mexican Army

boasts of a medical department which is clearly sufficientfor the needs of the sick soldiers. The medical officersconsist of one brigadier-general, head of the department; onebrigadier-general, chief inspector ; two colonels, seventeenlieutenant-colonels, fifty-four majors, and twelve lieutenantson probation. Apothecaries : One lieutenant-colonel, twomajors, two first-class captains, and five second-class captains.Administrative hospital officials : One lieutenant - colonel,four majors, and five second-class captains. CommissariesOne first-class captain, four second-class captains, and fivelieutenants. Medical Staff Corps : One captain, three lieu-tenants, three sub-lieutenants, sixteen first-class sergeants,twenty-three second-class sergeants, thirty-nine corporals, andone hundred and sixty-eight privates. These figures show124 commissioned officers to a strength of 246 rank and file.

"THE ’KISSING CASE."’The case which has been so frequently alluded to and com-

mented upon by the Anglo-Indian press under the aboveheading will be in the recollection of our readers. A state.ment has recently appeared in some of the Madras papersthat Surgeon-Major Clarence Smith will be reinstated in theIndian Medical Service provided that he consents to be triedby court-martial and is acquitted by the court of the chargesbrought against him. Whether this rumour be well or illfounded is more than we can say, but we see no reason for

altering the opinion that we formed from the narrative offacts given at the time in the press-viz., that Surgeon-MajorSmith had, under all the circumstances, been very severelytreated, and that there were, at any rate, grounds for havingthe matter more fully investigated and reconsidered.

THE UNHEALTHINESS OF OOTACAMUND.A paragraph in the Times of India of the 14th ult. refers

to the very unhealthy condition of this favourite station andhealth resort of the Madras Presidency. For some timepast there has been a good deal of sickness in this station,but during the present season the number of sick people atOotacamund is said to be unprecedented. The prevailingdiseases are stated to be throat affections, low forms of fever,and typhoid fever, pointing to the existence of such causes asdefective drains and bad water-supplies. Several cases ofsickness have occurred at Government House as well as atother parts of the station, and it is alleged that some of thevisitors have preferred to return to the plains rather thanincur the risk of contracting disease by remaining atOotacamund.

FEVER AT MOOLTAN.

According to the Indian papers enteric fever bas been un-usually prevalent of late at this station. Several fatal caseshave occurred at the station hospital. The men belonging tothe new draft have been sent up to the hills as a pre-cautionary measure and in order to gradually acclimatisethem to an Indian climate.

EXAMINATION FOR STAFF-SURGEONS.An examination of naval surgeons who are eligible to

qualify for the rank of staff-surgeons will be held at Hasla1Hospital on the l0th inst. Notice should be sent to theInspector-General not later than to-day (Saturday), July 6th,

SURGEON-MAJOR ROBERTSON.We are very glad to learn that Snrgeon-Major Robertson.

who was at the time of the latest intelligence from Indiastaying at Simla, has quite recovered from the wound hereceived at Chitral.

CALCUTTA.The Calcutta death-rate, although it has decreased, still

remains high-11 per 1000 above the average. Fevers, small.pox, and cholera are unduly prevalent.

DEATH IN THE SERVICES.We regret to have to announce the death of Surgeon-

Captain George Nelis, A.M.S., attached to the Poona Districtat Bombay, on the 9th ult.Two officers and eighty-nine non-commissioned officers

and men of the Hants Company of the Militia Medical StaffCorps left Aldershot on the 5th inst. for the annual trainingat Netley.

Correspondence.

IS METEOROLOGY A SCIENCE?

"Andi alteram partem."

To the Editors of THE LANCET.

SIRS,-I have not seen the article in the Edinburgh Revie7v,but I have read your interesting notice of it, in which the abovequestion is propounded. As you justly say, if facts be

accurately observed and recorded, leading to certain con-

clusions however slight, the subject investigated deserves tobe called a science. At the same time meteorology appearsto stand on altogether a different footing from the variousbranches of scientific inquiry in which mankind is engaged.In every one of these the question to be investigated, whetherin the organic or inorganic world, has reference to the positionof the subject in relation to its environments. Whether thisbe an inert mass of rock or an organic substance we seek forthe influences acting from without which affect its constitu-tion. We never suppose that a spontaneous change can occurin anything whilst the surrounding conditions remain thesame. For this reason, in order to discover the nature ofany substance, we submit it to experiments-that is, put itunder new conditions.We know nothing of the characters of objects in this world

as existing per se, as these depend largely on their surroundings. We ourselves as human beings could have no separate