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quickly. There is much to be said for the ingenuity ofthese views, but when we come to inquire on what scientificdata the clinical distinctions are based, the ground on whichDr. Richardson’s classification is made appears to us to beof an unsafe and theoretical kind. The Opuscula Practicaare of the customary useful kind, and the article on Prac-tical Biometry, or the Measurement of Life in Health andDisease, is of a high intellectual order.

New Inventions.THE "MATCHLESS" SELF-LIGHTING GAS-BURNER. ITHIS contrivance was originally brought out in America,

and is now in general usethere in all places where animmediate light is wanted fora short time. The lighting isaccomplished by means of asmall concealed flame con-

stantly alight, but so smallthat the amount of gas itconsumes is imperceptible.Medical men who are liableto be called up in the nightwill find this appliance mostuseful, and as its price ismoderate and it is easilyadjusted, there can be no

doubt that it will be exten-

sively used. The patenteesand manufacturers in thiscountry are the G. K. Cooke

Manufacturing Company, 73, Cowcross-street, E.C.

A NEW PATENT " BROUGHAM HANSOM."MESSRS. W. AND F. THORN, of 19, Great Portland-street,

have under the above name introduced what is practically asingle brougham on two wheels. The term " Hansom " is,we think, inappropriate, as this carriage in no way resemblesin appearance the familiar two-wheeled cab, over which ithas the distinct advantage of being a really comfortableclosed vehicle-a desideratum which the Hansom, usefulenough in many ways, entirely fails to supply. The driver,instead of being behind, has his box in front, and the pas-senger enters the cab from the back, the door opening out-wards in the middle, and the corresponding portion of theseat being kept raised when unoccupied by a spring. Whenthe passenger is seated, a simple but effectual arrangementensures that the door cannot become unfastened by accidentor from the outside. We have had an opportunity ofpersonally trying Messrs. Thorn’s new " Brougham Hansom,"and can speak to its comfort and to the remarkable absenceof "knee motion." The weight is only et cwt., at least2 cwt. less than that of an ordinary Hansom, and the cab isvery roomy. A little reeess between the front windowswould afford a convenient place for stethoscope, &c. ;indeed, taken altogether, we think that this two-wheeledbrougham is likely to prove a very convenient and com-fortable carriage for country practitioners.

FATAL ATTACK ON A DOCTOR IN ROUMANIA.-A Roumanian general, thinking that his wife’s doctor wasto blame for her death, attacked the unfortunate practi-tioner at a railway station and cut off his nose, a woundwhich subsequently proved fatal. The irascible general, onbeing arraigned before a court-martial, explained that hehad not intended to murder the doctor ! The deceased wasan Austrian by birth, and it is probable that some diplomaticcorrespondence is taking place on the subject. The resultof the trial has not yet been published.

THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF MEDICALEDUCATION & REGISTRATION.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17TH.SIR HENRY ACLAND, PRESIDENT, IN THE CHAIR.

THE Council sat for some time in private to consider acommunication from Mr. M’Vail.

Mr. COLLINS moved the following resolution :" That, inconformity with the request of the Governor and Court ofthe Apothecaries’ Hall of Ireland of November 9th, 1886,already entered on the Minutes of the Council, this Councilwill proceed to appoint an Examiner in Surgery to entitlethe Apothecaries’ Hall to issue registrable qualifications inconformity with Clause 5 of the Medical Act, 1886." Heasked the Council not to allow the Apothecaries’ Hall inIreland to be without a registrable qualification until theCouncil met again. The Apothecaries’ Hall was quite willingto co-operate with the other bodies, and that desire wouldstill remain even if it continued an independent body. Hehoped the Council would nominate an examiner to completethe educational examination of the Apothecaries’ Hall.

Dr. HAUGHTON seconded the motion.Sir WM. GULL pointed out that the Corporation itself

ought to have made the application. The motion of Mr.Collins was only a personal request from that gentleman.Mr. CoLLINS said he proposed the motion as the repre-

sentative of the Apothecaries’ Hall.Sir WILLIAM TURNER said the motion could be put in

order by a reference to the letter of the Apothecaries’ Hallon the subject.

Dr. LEISH--4AN called attention to the peculiar construc-tion of the motion, which was, he said, really a request ofof the Examiners and Court of the Apothecaries’ Hall, andnot in the form of a resolution of the Council itself.

Sir W. FOSTER thought the resolution was premature. Itrelated to a great question which would have to be decidedby the Council. The intention of the Act of 1886 was toforce combinations on all the corporations of the UnitedRingdom, and he hoped that that result would be obtained.It was important that the contention between the partiesconcerned should be settled in a friendly manner. If themotion were passed, Mr. Collins would be in the position ofa Bismarck, and would be able to take up an antagonisticposition at once. If the negotiations failed, the Councilcould take the matter into consideration, but at present thegranting of the request would not be likely to promote thefriendly spirit to which they desired to appeal.

Dr. STRUTHERS moved, as an amendment, " That theCouncil defer giving a decision on the motion of Mr. Collins,in order to give the King and Queen’s College of Physicians,the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and the Apothe-caries’ Hall in Ireland time to consider the resolution passedby the Council yesterday on the motion of Dr. Struthers."

After some further discussion the motion of.Mr. Collinswas altered in the following form: "That in conformitywith the request of the Governor and Court of ApothecariesHall, Ireland, of the 9th of November, already entered uponthe Minutes of the Council, this Council will proceed toappoint an examiner in surgery, to entitle the Apothecaries’Hall to issue registrable qualifications in conformity withClause 5 of the Medical Act of 1886."Mr. TEALE, in seconding the amendment, said that if the

question were not settled in a friendly way, the Councilwould no doubt have to meet again for the purpose ofappointing an examiner. ’

Sir WILLIAM TURNER said that in passing the proposedmotion the Council would be stultifying itself. The motionwas altogether premature, and the amendment was the onlylogical sequence to the resolution passed on Wednesday.

Dr. WILLIAM AloonF, thought that the Irish bodies shouldhave time given them to consider the question.

Dr. GLOVER asked if there were any chance of the Councilreceiving an answer from the College of Physicians inIreland during the present session of the Council. Thenecessity of another meeting of the Council in June to settlethe question would be simply deplorable.

Dr. A. SMITH said there was no possibility of getting al1answer from the College of Physicians during the presentsession.

t Mr. CoLLINS and Dr. HAUGHTON stated that they would- ’?

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accept the amendment, in the hope that the Council would,if necessary, meet in June to settle the question.

-

Mr. MACNAMARA said that the College of Surgeons wasmost anxious to bring in the Apothecaries’ Hall. Dr. Kiddcould bear him out in that statement.

Dr. HERON WATSON supported the proposal of Dr.Struthers. The Council could not act in the directionrequired without knowing something of the terms that hadbeen discussed between the bodies themselves. It might,after all, turn out that the Apothecaries’ Hall had beenunreasonable in its demands.

Dr. QuAiN protested against the further discussion of thematter (Mr. Collins having accepted the amendment), andstated that the Council was sitting at the enormous

expense of .61 a minute.The amendment was then put and carried, and it was

also unanimously agreed to as an original motion.A communication was received from the Lord President

of the Privy Council, forwarding a memorial presented tothe Lords of the Council by Mr. Laffan of Cashel withrespect to the efficiency of the qualifying examinationsunder the Medical Acts, and requesting the Medical Councilto favour his lordship with their observations on thememorial. The memorial called attention to the Report ofthe Visitors on the Examinations of the Royal Universityof Ireland, with a view of showing that the candidates forthe degrees of the University were shamefully deficientin clinical training.’ Complaint was also made that theUniversity had declined to recognise the union hospitals forclinical purposes.

*

Dr. BANKS explained the action of the Royal Universityin the matter, and read the following regulations of thatbody : "In the case of a hospital seeking recognition as aschool for clinical teaching, the Senate will require evidencethat it contains at least sixty beds in constant occupation;that at least ten beds are provided for the treatment ofcases of fever; that it possesses a suitable lecture theatreand other appliances necessary for clinical teaching; that aroll of attendance is strictly kept, which shall be open tothe inspection of any person delegated by the Senate." Hemoved that the following resolution be transmitted to theLord President: "That this Council, having before it theregulations of the Royal University with respect to theattendance of students of hospitals, is of opinion that it isnot expedient to take any action on the subject."

Dr. KIDD, in seconding the motion, said it was the opinionof the Royal University and the College of Surgeons inIreland that the union hospitals were quite inadequate forthe due teaching of clinical medicine or surgery. Theywere receptacles of the aged, the poor, and worn-out subjectsnot presenting features of active disease.

Dr. HAUGHTON suggested that the matter should bereferred to a committee acquainted with hospital teaching,with a view, not of controlling any university or corpora-tion, but of laying down some such principle as that, if theteaching of any hospital school in the country were efficientand the field of practice good, it should be partiallyrecognised.

Sir WILLIAM GULL concurred in the suggestion that thematter should be referred to a committee to report to theCouncil.Mr. SIMON, in supporting the proposal, expressed a hope

that the committee should not be an exclusively Irish one.Dr. HERON WATSON also supported the proposal.Sir WALTER FOSTER hoped that the committee would

consider not only the memorial, but all the documentsentered on the Minutes in connexion with it.Mr. MACNAMARA referred to a visit made by him and Dr.

Banks to the Galway Infirmary, with the admirable appear-ance of which they were both greatly pleased. He pro-tested against the allegations made by Mr. Laffan againstthe honour of the medical men on the Senate of the RoyalUniversity, who were men of the highest rank, and whollyabove any sordid considerations such as those chargedagainst them.

Dr. BRUCE called attention to the fact that the Act of 1886had only just come into operation, and said it was hardlytime to consider the action of the Council under that Act.

Dr. BANKS expressed his willingness to accept the amend-ment referring the subject to a committee, and said that theUniversity had acted on the knowledge of the fact that theworkhouse hospitals did not provide proper materials forclinical teaching. There was no intention, however, to castthe slightest slur upon the medical officers of those bodies,

Dr. KIDD read a description by the Visitors of the DublinHospital, stating that the patients were mostly old andworn-out persons, too stupid or deaf to hear and answerquestions, and might almost be regarded as specimens in apathological museum.The proposal to refer the subject to a committee was then

agreed to, Sir William Gull being the chairman.Dr. HERON WATSON moved: "That, considering the

somewhat anomalous position in which the General MedicalCouncil is placed by the opinion given by Mr. MuirMackenzie on the clauses of the Medical Act referring tothe qualifying examinations held by a combination ofmedical authorities, and the relation of the General MedicalCouncil to such contracting bodies as may agree to holdqualifying examinations under such scheme, it is desirablethat a further opinion from the responsible legal ad-visers of the Government be obtained before the Councilproceeds to take any steps arising out of the interpreta-tion of Sections 15, 18 and 19 of the Medical Act, 1858,construed along with Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 ofthe Medical Act, 1886, together with the considerationof any other points which may arise within this reference,and that it be referred to the Executive Committeeto take the requisite steps to give effect to this."He said that the opinion of Mr. Muir Mackenzie as to theduties of the Council in reference to combination had placedthe Council in a very distressing position. The Councilought to be quite certain as to what constituted a qualifyingexamination and what it might be required to do withreference to any body excluded from combination; andalthough not wishing to doubt the ability and acumen ofMr. Muir Mackenzie, he thought that the matter should bereferred to the legal advisers of the Government in orderthat the Council might know the exact position in which itstood and what was the true interpretation of the MedicalActs.

Dr. STRUTHERS seconded the motion.Dr. A. SMITH thought that the Council should be satisfied

with the opinion expressed by Mr. Muir Mackenzie. Hemoved as an amendment, " That the Council, in accordancewith the opinion of its law adviser respecting a ConjointBoard for Ireland, do proceed to the next order of the day."

This amendment was put and negatived.Dr. McVAiL said if it should turn out that Mr. Muir

Mackenzie was right, he thought it would be desirable thatthe Council should memorialise the Government to intro-duce a Bill to give it the power which it had lost. A shortBill with one clause would be sufficient.

Dr. QUAIN brought up the Finance Committee’s report,which showed that the income of the General and BranchCouncils for the past year was .E9741 6s. 4d., an amountwhich was less by .61373 2s. 5d. than in 1885. The expendi-ture during 1886 was .S8991 3s. 3d., which was less byJS3092 13s. 1d. than in 1885. With reference to futureexpenditure, it was estimated that the enlargement of theCouncil would necessitate hereafter an increased annualoutlay, on account of fees and other expenses, of about.61200.

Sir WM. TURNER said he wished to draw attention to thesubject of Dental finance. In January, 1881, the Dentists’Fund amounted to CO824, in 1883 to .&9220, in 1885 to

;f,90l7, in 1886 to ;f,8445, and in 1887 to .S7465. Thereforeduring the six years it had sustained a diminution of .E2359.If that process went on in anything like the same proportion,the vanishing point of the fund was almost within measur-able distance. This was an especially serious matter, as thedentists had no representative on the Council. The methodof administration was imposed upon the Council by Act ofParliament, and he thought something ought to be done inthe way of diminishing the ratio of expenses, so that a balancemight be obtained between income and expenditure.

Dr. QUAIN said that if the Council wished to diminish thedental expenditure it must be done at the expense of themedical profession. He quite agreed that some means mustbe adopted, if possible, to prevent a final catastrophe inconnexion with the Dental Fund, but he could not see howthe expenditure was to be lessened. The proportion of ex-penses paid by the dentists had been fixed at one-sixth, but asthey were 6000 as against 24,000 it ought to be one-fifth. Thedentists wore advised originally to allow the Council toappoint a board composed of eminent dentists and of somemembers of the Council, but the dentists expressed themselvesas having so much confidence in the Council that they wereperfectly willing to put the whole matter into their hands.

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If they had accepted the principle of the Duke of Richmond’sBill and appointed a Dental Board, they could have workedwith one-tenth part of the expensive machinery.

Dr. A. SMITH said that he believed there had only beenone special meeting of the Dental Committee. On all otheroccasions the business had been transacted as supplementalto that of the Executive Committee.

Mr. MARSHALL thought that the dentists should be en-couraged to sever themselves financially from the MedicalCouncil. At present their registratibn was at a very lowebb, twenty-five or twenty-six a year, but students werecoming on to the Register at the rate of from seventy-fiveto a hundred a year, and therefore in a few years thedentists would have increased resources, and that ought toencourage them to feel that by and by they might be ableto run alone.The Council then adjourned.

FRIDAY, FEB. 18TH.SIR HENRY ACLAND, PRESIDENT, IN THE CHAIR.

Mr. MARSHALL said lie had thought it his duty on theprevious day, as chairman of the Business Committee, toask the Council to suspend the printing of a communicationreceived from Dr. McVail, wishing to see whether anyirregularities had been committed. He had now unreservedlyto say that there had been no irregularity, and he thereforemoved that the letter be now entered in the Minutes.

Dr. HERON WATSON seconded the motion, which wasagreed to.The following is the letter --DEAR SlR,—The point of order that I rose to speak to yesterday con-

cerned the commissions of the representatives of the Scottish univer-sities, as read by the Registrar.These commissions in all four instances are from the Senates of the

universities; in three of them this is formally expressed ; and in thecase of Glasgow, although not definitely stated in the document, yetthe Senate alone made the appointment.

I desired to call your attention to the circumstances-first, that theMedical Act of 1886 does not, in the case of any one of these universities,restrict the power of election to the Senate; and second, that theScottish Universities’ Act of 1858 is likewise without any such limitingprovision.

I hold that in the Scottish universities the duty of electing the repre-sentatives to the General Medical Council falls on the same constituenciesthat return the representatives to the Imperial Parliament.

I therefore regard the returns read before the General Council yester-day as being quite invalil.

I am, dear Sir, yours faithfully,To Sir Henry W. Acland, President of the 0. C. McVAIL.

General Medical Council.

Dr. HUMPHRY moved, " That a committee be appointed toconsider the past and prospective income and expenditure ofthe Council, and to report to the Council whether any, and,if so, what, diminution can be made in the future expendi-ture of the Council." In doing so, he said when the Councilwas first constituted they had to settle the fees and expensesto be paid to the members; therefore one of the first actionsof the newly constituted Council should be to take the samesubject into consideration. The expenses of the sittings ofthe Council amounted to about S2000 a year, and any op-probrium cast on the old Council should not be fixed on thenew one. The excess of income over expenditure during thepast seven years averaged .E1400 annually, and the estimatedincrease of expenditure in the years to come would be .S1200.That would bring expenditure and income within close rela-tion to one another. Additional expenses must, however, beexpected. It would be an unusual thing for a large numberof men to do business in a shorter time than a small number.He therefore thought the Council should seriously considerwhether any diminution could be effected in the variousexpenses.Mr. WHEELHOUSE seconded the motion, believing that the

action of such a committee would be some guarantee to theprofession that an eye was kept on the expenses, and thatthe Council was not inclined to spend its funds recklessly.

Dr. McVAiL thought that the committee should also con-sider the question whether the meetings of the Council couldnot be held in rotation in London, Edinburgh, and Dublin.No one could doubt that there must be some rearrangementwith regard to fees, and it would be absurd to propose thatthey should be reduced below the present scale for gentle-men living out of the country in which the meetings wereheld. He would therefore move as an amendment that thecommittee be asked to consider also whether the meetingscould not be held, occasionally at all events, in Edinburghand Dublin,

’

The PRESIDENT ruled that Dr. McVail’s proposal was notan amendment to the motion.

Dr. QuAIN strongly opposed the suggestion. There weresixteen English members, and if they had to travel to Scot-land and Ireland the expenses would be doubled, and thefunds would be utterly inadequate.

Dr. HAUGHTON said he might add the additional reasonthat the Irish members were so hospitable that if theCouncil came to Dublin they would be broke in entertainingit. (Laughter.)Mr. MACNAMARA suggested that the following words

should be added to the motion: 11 and also whether and inwhat manner its income may be increased." He had verystrong views upon the subject as to a method and way inwhich the income of the Council might be substantiallyincreased, and he should be prepared to state them when thetime arrived.

Dr. HUMPHRY said he would accept Mr. Macnamara’ssuggestion, and add those words to the motion.Mr. SIMON said the financial position of the Council was

only one part of a large subject. The primary question wasthe organisation of their work, because if their work waswell organised he believed that great economies wouldresult. The Council was not nearly strict enough in distin-guishing fancy work from statutory work. The Council metfor definite duties-happily now much more definite thanthey formerly were. He had handed in a notice of motionexpressing what he thought the better view to take for thepresent of this finance question-namely, that it be referredto a committee to be appointed to consider under what rulesof meeting and procedure and with what appointment andauthorisation of standing committees and sub-committeesthe Council might best provide for the regular, effective, andeconomical discharge of its statutory duties, the committeeto report to the Council at its next meeting and to bring upa draft of any standing orders which it might deem desir-able. If a reference of that sort were made, then on thereport of the committee the Council would be in a positionto reconsider their finances; but at present he thought they

were not in a position to do so.Dr. PETTiGBEw agreed with Mr. Simon that the present

motion was premature.motion was premature.Dr. AquiLLA SwTx supported that view.Dr. BRUCE thought that until they knew what their

expenditure was to be they could not deal with ways andmeans.

The motion, with the addition of the words suggested byMr. Macnamara, was then carried and the committee wasnominated.

Mr. MARSHALL, in furnishing information in regard tosome exceptional cases which the Council had directed to benquired into, said it appeared that twenty-two such caseshad occurred at the College of Surgeons and thirty-nine atthe College of Physicians, but he wished to point out that acertain number of those were duplicate representations ofthe same persons. In every instance the men were graduatesof Indian, colonial, or foreign universities, and he wasprepared to state that they had all studied medicine for thereauired period of fortv-five months.

Sir DycE DUCKWORTH corroborated4Mr. Marshall’s state-ment, and said that all the cases had been carefullyscrutinised by the Registrar of the College of Physicians.

Dr. HERON WATSON asked if in the case of graduates ofan Indian university English was regarded as a good sub-stitute for a classical language.Mr. MARSHALL said that it was.The next subject on the agenda was the final report from

the Visitation of Examinations Committee.Mr. MARSHALL, in moving that it be received and printed,

and appended to the Minutes, expressed his deep regret thatDr. Haldane was prevented from being present at thismeeting of the Council, and his extreme sorrow at the un-expected death of Dr. Lyons. In addition to a historicalsummary of facts, the report contained a commentary inwhich care had been taken not to express decided opinionsthat would create any adverse criticism, but rather to balanceand weigh and see where hints could be obtained for futureexaminations. The report terminated with a series of " con-clusions," not " recommendations."

Mr. TEALE seconded the motion.Dr. HAUGHTON bore testimony to the extreme accuracy

and care with which Mr. Marshall had prepared the report.He thought the committee might perhaps see their way toadd a statement as to the sujneiency of the examinations,