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their affiliation with them, and that they attended and sofar pleaded their case that two days since he had receiveda letter from Dr. H. Schmitz, the secretary of the HartlepoolMedical Society, to say that that society had unanimouslyresolved to become affiliated to the union. This, he con-sidered, was very gratifying, and pointed distinctly to growthand strength in the union. He added that he had repeatedlytried to induce the Darlington Medical Society to becomeaffiliated with them, but hitherto without success. That day,however, he had had a letter from Dr. J. Hern to sav thatthe matter would be further considered in October. Therewas one more society to be wooed and won, and that wasthe Gateshead Medical Association. When these two societieshad joined them the county union would be nearly complete.In conclusion, he thanked them for their kindness and

courtesy during the past year, and begged them most

earnestly to use a free and open mind in performing the iduty of electing his successor.

Dr. J. F. ARMSTRONG (South Shields) said that he had verygreat pleasure in moving the re-election as President of Dr.

Jepson who had been a great power and help to the society.He had spared neither time nor trouble in furthering theirinterests.

Mr. W. GALLOWAY (Low Fell) seconded the motion whichwas carried unanimously.The PRESIDENT, in returning thanks, said that he did not

believe in repeated re-elections, but he could not resist theirkindness and would do all in his power to help on the union.On the motion of Mr. M. A. WARDLE (Bishop Auckland)

and Mr. A. W. Attwater (Whickham), Dr. James Murphy(Sunderland) was unanimously re-elected Vice-President.The following were elected members of the Council: Dr.

Armstrong (South Shields), Dr. Cox (Gateshead), Mr.

Galloway (Low Fell), Dr. J. H. Hunter (South Shields), Dr.R. S. Hubbersty (Sunderland), Mr. R. E. Ingram-Johnson(South Moor), Dr. C. F. G. Mann (Washington), Dr. G. V.Miller (Stockton), Dr. A. Mackay (Crook), Dr. J. Taylor(Chester-le-Street), Mr. R. Stuart (Durham), Mr. Wardle(Bishop Auckland), Mr. E. S. Davis (Hartlepool), Mr.Arthur (Wingate), Dr. G. Stephen (West Auckland), Mr.K. C. Hill (Jarrow), Dr. J. Charles (Stanley), Mr. Attwater(Whickham), Dr. R. S. Anderson (Spennymoor), Dr. A. D. M.McIntyre (Blackhill), Dr. D. Wilson (Birtley), Mr. A, A. D.Parker (Easington). Dr. Taylor takes the place of Mr. H. LyonSmith who is leaving the district, Mr. Davis takes the placeof Mr. W. Nisbet (Thornley) who has retired from practice,and Mr. Arthur takes the place of Dr. W. A. G. Russell whowas, it was stated, at the seat of war in South Africa. Messrs.Graham and Shepherd (Sunderland) were re-elected jointsecretaries, treasurers, and solicitors. Dr. C. D. Hill Drury(Darlington), Dr. Hern (Darlington), Dr. David V. McIntyre(Brandon), and Mr. Davis (Hartlepool) were electedmembers.The treasurers’ statement, showing a balance of Z66 3s. ld.

in favour of the union, was submitted and adopted. A sumof £50 was ordered to be paid to the secretaries on accountof the balance due to them. Reports were made byrepresentatives from Sunderland, Chester-le-Street, Stanley,Jarrow and Hebburn, Consett, Trimdon, and Stockton,which were generally very satisfactory.Some discussion took place as to the fixing of a minimum

midwifery fee for the county, and Mr. ATTWATER (Whick-ham) gave notice that at the next meeting he would bringforward a motion fixing the minimum midwifery fee at 15s.

Mr. ATTWATER moved :-That in consequence of the great difficulty frequently experienced in

obtaining a reliable assistant or locum tenens we ask Messrs. Grahamand Shepherd to act as agents for the purpose and also for negotiatingthe sale and purchase of medical practices.

Several members expressed themselves i-i favour of the

desirability of such an agency being attached to the union,and the motion was carried unanimously.

Mr. SHEPHERD, on behalf of his firm, promised to givethe matter careful consideration. He thought an agency ofthe kind would be a most useful adjunct to the union.The SECRETARIES reported that the resolution unanimously

passed at the general meeting on Feb. 5th requesting theGeneral Medical Council to remove from the Register anymedical practitioner who countenanced or encouragedcanvassing by any union or association of working men andothers on his behalf had been brought before the ExecutiveCommittee of the General Medical Council on June 3rd, butthat no action was taken thereon. Great disappointment wasexpressed at the lack of interest in matters affecting the

general practitioner thus displayed by the General MedicalCouncil, and it was unanimously resolved, on the motion ofMr. ATTwATER, seconded by the VICE-PRESIDENT, andsupported by Dr. ARMSTRONG, Dr. CHARLES, and Mr.ARTHUR, that the resolution should be again sent to theGeneral Medical Council and that Mr. G. Brown, Mr. VictorHorsley, and Dr. J. G Glover should be specially asked togive it their support.A reprint of the rules with the amendments made since the

first issue was ordered ; and on the motion of the PRESIDENT,seconded by Dr. ARMSTRONG, it was agreed that a half-

yearly letter or report should be sent out in the months ofMarch and October to all the members, giving a short state-ment as to the work which had been done and of the meetings.held, and as to any resolutions, &c., passed, so as to keep themembers in touch with the executive.

Considerable interest was evinced in the question of thefees paid by insurance companies for medical examinationsand it was decided that the matter should be further con-sidered at the next meeting. The PRESIDENT said that he

would give notice of a proposition which he would move onthe subject.A liearty vote of thanks to the President brought a

successful meeting to a close.

VITAL STATISTICS.

HEALTH OF ENGLISH TOWNS.

IN 33 of the largest English towns 6377 births and 3927deaths were registered during the week ending July 20th.The annual rate of mortality in these towns, which had been15’1 and 15’6 per 1000 in the two preceding weeks, furtherrose to 17 ’9 per 1000 last week. In London the death-ratewas 16-2, while it averaged 19’0 in the 32 large provincialtowns. The lowest death-rates in these towns were 7’7 inCroydon, 84 in Brighton, 11-9 in Hull, and 12-0 in Cardiff ;the highest rates were 22’5 in Blackburn, 29’1 in Birkenheadand in Sheffield, and 30-5 in Liverpool. The 3927 deathsin these towns last week included 897 which were

referred to the principal zymotic diseases, against431 and 567 in the two preceding weeks ; of these,616 resulted from diarrhceal diseases, 103 from measles,62 from diphtheria, 49 from whooping-cough, 35 from"fever" " (principally enteric), 32 from scarlet fever,and not one from small-pox. No death from any of thesediseases was registered last week in Brighton ; in the othertowns they caused the lowest death-rates in Croydon, Wolver-

, hampton, and Hull, and the highest in Birkenhead, Liverpool,

,

and Sheffield. The greatest mortality from measles occurredin Leeds and Birkenhead ; from scarlet fever in Blackburn ;from whooping-cough in Newcastle and Swansea ; and fromdiarrhoea in Preston, Leeds, Birkenhead, Sheffield, and

Liverpool. The mortality from " fever " showed no markedexcess in any of the large towns The 62 deaths from diph-theria in the 33 towns included 30 in London, five in Leicester,five in Manchester, five in Salford, and four in West Ham.No fatal case of small-pox was registered in any of the 3atowns ; five small-pox patients were admitted into the Metro-politan Asylums hospitals during the week, and 14 remained

-

under treatment on Saturday, July 20th. The number ofscarlet fever patients in these hospitals and in the LondonFever Hospital at the end of the week was 2907, againstnumbers increasing from 1522 to 2918 on the 12 precedingSaturdays ; 371 new cases were admitted during the week,against 408, 363, and 324 in the three preceding weeks.

,

The deaths referred to diseases of the respiratory organsin London, which had been 165 and 133 in the two precedingweeks, rose last week to 135, but were 35 below the

, corrected average. The causes of 49, or 1’2 per cent.,of the deaths in the 33 towns were not certified, either

by a registered medical practitioner or by a coroner. Allf the causes of death were duly certified in Bristol, Salford,

Bradford, Cardiff, Sunderland, and Oldham, and in 10 othersmaller towns ; the largest proportions of uncertified deaths.were registered in Leeds, Sheffield, Birmingham, and

i Liverpool. -

IHEALTH OF SCOTCH TOWNS.

t The annual rate of mortality in the eight Scotchs towns, which had been 19-0 and 17-2 per 1000 in thee two preceding weeks, rose again to 18-4 per 1000 during

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the week ending July 20th, and was 0-5 per 1000,above the mean rate during the same period in the 33large English towns. The rates in the eight Scotch’towns ranged from 14’2 in Perth and 14’8 in Aberdeento 19-1 in Edinburgh and 22-6 in Dundee. The 585,deaths in these towns included 45 which were referredto diarrhoea, 25 to whooping-cough24 to measles, fourto scarlet fever, and three to fever. In all, 101 deathsresulted from these principal zymotic diseases last week,.against 81 and 89 in the two preceding weeks. These 101’deaths were equal to an annual rate of 3’2 per 1000,which was 0’9 per 1000 below the zymotic death-ratelast week in the 33 large English towns. The fatal cases of- diarrhoea, which had been 24, 19, and 29 in the three preced-ing weeks, further rose last week to 45, and included 26 inGlasgow, six in Edinburgh, five in Dundee, four in Aberdeen.and three in Paisley. The deaths from measles, which hadbeen 25, 25, and 22 in the three preceding weeks, rose lastweek to 24, of which 17 occurred in Glasgow and six inDundee. The fatal cases of whooping-cough, whichhad declined from 30 to 25 and 22 in the three pre-ceding weeks, rose again last week to 25, and included 11in Glasgow, 10 in Edinburgh, and three in Dundee. Thedeaths from scarlet fever, which had been seven in each ofthe two preceding weeks, fell last week to four, all of whichwere registered in Glasgow. The deaths from fever,"which had been one and six in the two preceding weeks,fell last week to three, which were all registered in Glasgow.The deaths referred to diseases of the respiratory organs inthese towns, which had been 95 and 75 in the two pre-ceding weeks, rose last week to 79, but were one below thenumber in the corresponding period of last year. Thecauses of 23, or more than 4 per cent., of the deaths inthese towns last week were not certified.

HEALTH OF DUBLIN.

The annual rate of mortality in Dublin, which had been20 ’7 and 21 ’0 per 1000 in the two preceding weeks, declinedagain to 18-4 during the week ending July 20th. Duringthe past four weeks the death-rate has averaged 19’6,the rates during the same period being 14’7 in Londonand 17’1 in Edinburgh. The 132 deaths of personsbelonging to Dublin registered during the week undernotice were 19 fewer than the number in the precedingweek, and included 18 which were referred to the prin-cipal zymotic diseases, against seven and 10 in the two

preceding weeks ; of these 14 resulted from diarrhoea,two from fever, one from diphtheria, and one fromscarlet fever. These 18 deaths were equal to an

annual rate of 2’5 per 1000, the zymotic death-rateduring the same period being 2’9 in London and 2’8 in

Edinburgh. The deaths from diarrhoea showed a con-

siderable excess over the numbers recorded in recentweeks. The 132 deaths in Dublin last week included24 of infants under one year of age and 33 of persons agedupwards of 60 years ; the deaths of infants were aboutequal to the average in recent weeks, and those of elderlypersons were rather below the average. Ten inquests wereheld and seven deaths from violence were registered; and 48,or more than one-third, of the deaths occurred in publicinstitutions. The causes of four, or more than 3 per cent.,of the deaths in Dublin last week were not certified.

THE SERVICES.

ROYAL ARMY MEDICAL CORPS.MAJOR J. J. P. DOYLE has arrived at Brighton for duty and

taken over medical charge of the Station Hospital, vice Lieu-tenant-Colonel J. J. Crean, A. M. S. Lieutenant Adderley istransferred from the Poona District to the Bombay District.Major John Osburne to be Surgeon-Lieutenant. Dated

July 20th, 1901.

ARMY MEDICAL RESERVE OF OFFICERS.

Surgeon-Lieutenant Leonard Leighton Hanham, 2nd Devon-shire Volunteer Artillery, to be Surgeon-Lieutenant. Dated

July 20th, 1901.VOLUNTEER CORPS.

Artillery: : 7th Lancashire (the Manchester Artillery) :’Surgeon-Major R. A. S. Daly to be Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel. Dated July 20th, 1901. Rifle : lst Cadet Battalion

the Royal Fusiliers (City lof London Regiment) : ArthurRobert Owst to be Surgeon-Lieutenant. Dated July 3rd,1901. 1st Volunteer Battalion the Lincolnshire Regiment:Surgeon-Captain G. M. Lowe to be Surgeon-Major. Dated

July 20th, 1901. 3rd Volunteer Battalion the Royal WelshFusiliers : Second Lieutenant John Robert Williams resignshis commission, and is appointed Surgeon-Lieutenant.Dated July 20th, 1901. lst (Pembrokeshire) VolunteerBattalion the Welsh Regiment : David Arthur Hughes tobe Surgeon-Lieutenant. Dated July 20th, 1901. 6th Volun-teer Battalion the Gordon Highlanders : Surgeon-LieutenantT A. Sellar to be Surgeon-Captain. Dated July 20th, 1901.

SOUTH AFRICAN WAR NOTES.The following have been discharged from hospital for

duty :-Civil Surgeons : John Brodie Boyd and HamiltonArthur Stewart. The following are on passage home : CivilSurgeons : J. Sowden and J. W. Miller.

AFFAIRS IN SOUTH AFRICA.A great deal has taken, and is taking, place since we last

chronicled the course of events in South Africa, some ofwhich has an important prospective bearing on the war, whilemuch is of more or less medical interest. The capture andpublication of the Reitz-Steyn correspondence come underthe first category. It discloses a disorganised state of thingsin regard to the Boers and their Governments which has beenlong suspected and it serves to demonstrate the necessity ofa vigorous prosecution of our military policy by mountedtroops if we would overcome resistance and put an end tohostilities. While we can all be touched with a feeling ofpity in connexion with the circumstances attending the illnessand death of Mrs. Kruger at Pretoria, separated by so manymiles from her husband, and the grief which her death hasnaturally caused to Mr. Kruger, this country has neverthelessthe satisfaction of feeling that all that kindly considera-tion and forbearance could do for Mrs. Kruger was done.With regard to the concentration camps the Governmenthave appointed a committee of ladies to inquire intoand to report upon the arrangements made by the

military and medical authorities. We imagine that thisis the first time that such a step has been taken.In addition to the casualties from repelling attacks by theBoers in their various raids, there are still rather long listsof sick from various causes incidental to war and camps.There has been a reception at Marlborough House bythe King of a deputation of American ladies to present HisMajesty with a memento of the work done by the Americanhospital ship Maine for the sick and wounded in SouthAfrica and China in 1900 and 1901. A gold medal, whichhad been designed and struck for the purpose of presenta-tion to Her late Majesty Queen Victoria was offered to, andaccepted by, the King. The Maine was at the end of herwork, it will be remembered, presented to the BritishGovernment.

VITAL STATISTICS OF THE GERMAN NAVY, 1897-1899.A biennial statistical report on the Imperial German

Navy has been issued for the period ending March 31st, 1899.It is a voluminous document, comprising 315 pages, andcontains a large amount of valuable and well-arrangedmatter in addition to numerous tables and diagrams. Inthe first half of the biennium the average strength, afloatand ashore, was 22,692 men, but during the second twelve-month it rose to 27,067, an increase of nearly 20 per cent.The general admission-rate, at home and abroad, was 790per 1000 per annum for the two years, which was about thesame as that prevailing among the German land forces. The

average time under treatment was 16 ’5 days per case, and37 men were constantly sick out of each 1000. The firstyear the death-rate was 3’5 per 1000, but the second year itfell to 2 ’8 per 1000, the average for the two years being conse-quently 3’15 per 1000. This very low mortality comparesfavourably with that of all the other navies publishing statis-tics, but in gauging its true value the invaliding-ratesmust be taken into account. In 1887-88 the average numberof men invalided from the German navy was 14 per 1000,whereas in the first of the two years under report the lossfrom this cause was 40 per 1000 and in the second 38 per1000. The revaccinations during the biennium amounted to19,884, and in no fewer than 12,935 instances, being 65 percent. of the whole, the operation was successful. Of thefailures 5201 were again vaccinated, some for a fourth orfifth time, success attending on 29 per cent. of the attempts.The capital operations performed during the period were