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meeting of Fellows and Members on Nov. 18th stating thatin addition to seventeen members of Council there were

present eleven Fellows and fifty-five Members. The Council

proceeded to the consideration of the resolutions carried atthe meeting and already reported in THE LANCET.The Council resolved that the mover and the seconder of

the first resolution be informed that the greatest care wastaken by the Council to set forth in the elucidatory state-ment adequately and impartially the question at issue andthat nothing advanced at the meeting of Fellows andMembers appears to the Council to justify the allegationthat the statement was ’ misleading and did not adequatelyrepresent the facts"’; and that the mover and seconderof the second resolution be informed "that under theexisting Charters the Council represent the whole (andtherefore all parts) of the corporation, and that in viewof the results of the recent poll of Fellows it wouldbe impracticable for the Council even if they thoughtit desirable to obtain a new charter conferring votes on theMembers"; and that the mover and seconder of the thirdresolution be informed that the Council are not preparedto make general pronouncement respecting the connexion ofFellows and Members of the College with medical aidassociations, but are willing to consider evidence which maybe submitted to them respecting the connexion of any indi-vidual Fellow or Member with an association which canvassesfor patients to the injury of private practitioners and allowsthe well-to-do classes to take advantages of rates of paymentarranged to meet the necessities of the poor."The PRESIDENT reported the delivery of the Bradshaw

lecture on Dec. 8th by Mr. Alfred Willett, the subject of thelecture being The Correction of Certain Deformities byOperative Measures upon Bones." The Council voted theirbest thanks to Mr. Willett for his lecture.The PRESIDENT reported that he had accepted on behalf

of the Council the portrait of the late Sir Spencer Wells,Bart., by Rudolf Lehmann, bequeathed to the College by SirSpencer Wells.The SECRETARY reminded the Council that a meeting of

Fellows would be held at the College on Thursday, Jan. 6th,1898, at 4 P.M.A letter was read from the Registrar of the University of

London inviting the College by desire of the Senate tonominate representatives to attend a conference on Dec. 14thto consider what steps should be taken in relation to the pro-posed legislation for the University. The President and Mr.Howes were nominated.A letter was read from Mr. Thomas Bryant reporting the

proceedings of the General Medical Council at their latesession. The best thanks of the Council were voted to Mr.Bryant for his services.A letter was read from the Registrar of the General

Medical Council reporting the removal from the Medical

Register of a Member of the College. The matter wasreferred to the Discipline Committee.A letter addressed to the President was read from Mr.

A. W. Senior, M.R.C.S., of Mount House, Levenshulme, for-warding papers relating to a provident association, specifyingtwo cases in which persons with incomes of from £600 to£800 a year and from £400 to E500 a year respectively hadbeen admitted members of the association and asking ifanything could be done. This matter also was referred tothe Discipline Committee.A letter was read from the Honorary Secretary of the

Jenner Society asking the College to support a memorial tothe Government respecting the administration of the Vacci-nation Acts and to make a contribution to the funds of thesociety. It was resolved to reply that it was contrary to thecustom of the Council of the College to approach theGovernment in the manner suggested and that the Councilhad no funds at their disposal for the purpose.An address was read from the Examiners in Physiology of

the College stating that, in consequence of the changesintroduced into the curriculum in January, 1892, the studenthas less time than formerly to devote to the study ofphysiology, and recommending that an interval of eighteenmonths should elapse between the First and Second ConjointExaminations and that a student should have to attend

teaching in physiology and histology during the two winterand one summer sessions after passing the First ConjointExamination before he is allowed to present himself for theExamination in Anatomy and Physiology. The Councilreferred the address to the Committee of Management forconsideration and report.

THE LONDON UNIVERSITY COMMISSIONBILL, 1897.

AT a meeting of the Medical School of St. George’sHospital held or Dec. 13th the following resolution was

unanimously adopted :-" The Medical School of St. George’s Hospital has taken the London)

University Commission Bill of 1897 into consideration. The school isof opinion that the provisions of the Bill will need great modificationas regards the constitution of the Faculty of Medicine and its Board ofStudies if it is to meet the requirements of medical education inLondon."

-

At a meeting of the school committee of St. Mary’sHospital held on Dec. 8th it was resolved to send thefollowing letter to the Duke of Devonshire and Mr. Balfoursigned by the lecturers and teachers in the medical school ofSt. Mary’s Hospital:-"We, the undersigned members’of the medical and surgical staff 06 of

St. Mary’s Hospital and lecturers and demonstrators in its medicalschool, beg to approach Her Majesty’s Government with the expressionof an earnest hope that the Government in view of the importance of a.speedy settlement of the question will introduce early in the approach-ing session of Parliament a Bill similar to the London UniversityCommission Bill, 1897, and pass it into law during the same session."

A resolution in the following sense was passed at meet-ings of the Cbaring-cross Medical School and of the LondonSchool of Medicine for Women :-That the Government is begged to introduce at an early date 2L

Bill, similar to the London University Commission Bill, 1837, for thereconstitution of the London University. Further, it is hoped thatupon this occasion the Government will give sufficient time to carrythis most important Bill through the House of Commons.

VITAL STATISTICS.

HEALTH OF ENGLISH TOWNS.

IN thirty-three of the largest English towns 6120 birthsand 4393 deaths were registered during the week endingDec. llth. The annual rate of mortality in thesetowns which had been 20’2 and 19 per 1000 in the twopreceding weeks rose again last week to 20’8. In Londonthe rate was 21’8 per 1000 while it averaged 20’2 in thethirty-two provincial towns. The lowest rates in these townswere 14 4 in Cardiff, 14’9 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 15’3 inBradford, and 15 4 in West Ham ; the highest rates were25’3 in Gateshead, 26-4 in Liverpool, 26-7 in Birkenhead, and34.1 in Norwich. The 4393 deaths included 551 whichwere referred to the principal zymotic diseases, against 552and 541 in the two preceding weeks ; of these, 231 re-

sulted from measles, 95 from whooping-cough, 85 from diph-theria, 48 from diarrhoea, 47 from "fever" (principallyenteric), and 45 from scarlet fever. No death from any of £these diseases was recorded last week in Brighton ; in theother towns they caused the lowest death-rates in Derbyand Cardiff, and the highest rates in Swansea, Burnley,Oldham, and Gateshead. The greatest mortality frommeasles occurred in Swansea. Birmingham, Burnley,Halifax, Blackburn, Oldham, and Gateshead ; from whooping-cough in Bolton and Oldham; and from diarrhoea in

Oldham, Burnley, and Bolton. The mortality fromscarlet fever and from "fever" showed no markedexcess in any of the large towns. The 85 deaths fromdiphtheria included 58 in London, 6 in Leeds, and3 in Wolverhampton. No fatal case of small-pox wasregistered either in London or in any other 01 thsthirty-three large towns, and no small-pox patients were

under treatment in any of the Metropolitan Asylum Hos-pitals. The number of scarlet fever patients in these hospitalsand in the London Fever Hospital at the end of the lastweek was 3806, against 3792,3818, and 3812 on the three pre-ceding Saturdays; 319 new cases were admitted during theweek, against 397, 375, and 328 in the three precedingweeks. The deaths referred to diseases of the respiratoryorgans in London which had been 471 and 418 in the twopreceding weeks rose again to 468 last week and were40 above the corrected average. The causes of 62, or 1’4per cent., of the deaths in the thirty-three towns werenot certified either by a registered medical practitioneror by a coroner. All the causes of death were duly certified

1616

in Brighton, Bristol, Oldham, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and’In eight other smaller towns; the largest proportions ofuncertified deaths were registered in West Ham, Birmingham,’Liverpool, and Halifax. -

HEALTH OF SCOTCH TOWNS.

The annual rate of mortality in the eight Scotch townswhich had increased in the three preceding weeks from 18.5 to 19’6 per 1000 further rose to 20’2 during the week endingDec. llth, but was 06 per 1000 below the mean rate duringthe same period in the thirty-three large English towns.The rates in the eight Scotch towns ranged from 16’8 inPaisley and 17’2 in Dundee to 28.8 in Greenock and 29’0 inPerth. The 603 deaths in these towns included 20 whichwere referred to whooping-cough, 17 to diarrhoea, 16 tomeasles, 12 to scarlet fever, 6 to "fever, and 5 to diphtheria,In all, 76 deaths resulted from these principal zymoticdiseases, against 74 and 73 in the two preceding weeks.These 76 deaths were equal to an annual rate of 2.5 per1000 which was slightly below the mean rate last-week from the same diseases in the thirty-three largeEnglish towns. The fatal cases of whooping-cough which hadbeen 23 and 22 in the two preceding weeks further declinedto 20 last week, of which 14 occurred in Glasgow and 4 in !

Greenock. The 16 deaths referred to measles showed aslight further increase upon the numbers recorded in recentweeks and included 8 in Glasgow and 8 in Greenock. Thefatal cases of scarlet fever which had been 12 and 9 in thetwo preceding weeks rose again to 12 last week, of which7 occurred in Glasgow, 2 in Edinburgh, and 2 in Dundee.The 6 deaths referred to different forms of "fever" showed-a decline of 2 from the number recorded in the precedingweek and included 3 in Glasgow where 2 of the 5 fatal casesof diphtheria also occurred. The deaths from diseases ofthe respiratory organs in these towns, which had been 123and 125 in the two preceding weeks, further rose to 129last week but were 18 below the number in the correspondingperiod of last year. The causes of 36, or nearly 6 per cent.,of the deaths in these eight towns last week were notcertified.

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HEALTH OF DUBLIN.

The death-rate in Dublin which had been 25’4 per 1000in each of the two preceding weeks was 25’5 during theweek ending Dec. llth. During the past ten weeks of thecurrent quarter the death-rate in the city has averaged 23’6per 1000, the rate during the same period being 18’6 inLondon and 19’0 in Edinburgh. The 171 deaths registeredin Dublin during the week under notice were within oneof the number in the preceding week and included 15which were referred to the principal zymotic diseases,against 20 and 19 in the two preceding weeks ; of these, 7resulted from "fever" (principally enteric), 4 from scarletfever, 3 from diarrhœa, 1 from diphtheria, and notone either from small - pox, measles, or whooping -cough. These 15 deaths were equal to an annualrate of 2’2 per 1000, the zymotic death - rate duringthe same period being 3’2 in London and 0’9 in Edin-burgh. The deaths referred to different forms of"fever " which had been 12 in each of the two preceding.weeks declined to 7 last week. The 171 deaths in Dublin lastweek included 30 of infants under one year of age and 54of persons aged upwards’ of sixty years ; the deaths ofinfants showed a slight decline, while those of elderly.persons showed a further increase upon the numbersrecorded in recent weeks. Six inquest cases and 4 deathsfrom violence were registered ; and 79, or nearly one-half,of the deaths occurred in public institutions. The causesof 13, or nearly 8 per cent., of the deaths in the city lastweek were not certified.

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-VITAL STATISTICS OF LONDON DURING NOVEMBER, 1897.In the accompanying table will be found summarised

.complete statistics relating to sickness and mortality duringNovember in each of the forty-three sanitary areas of London.With regard to the notified cases of infectious diseases in the metropolis last month, it appears that the number ofpersons reported to be suffering from one or other of thenine diseases specified in the table was equal to 12-7 per 1000 of the population, estimated at 4,463,169 persons in the middle of this year. In the three preceding months the rates had been 10-2, 13’3, and 16.0 per 1000 respec- ’ ’.lively. Among the various sanitary areas the rates were ’

considerably below the average in St. George Hanover-

square, Westminster, Hampstead, Stoke Newington, St.Martin-in-the-Fields, Strand, and City of London; whilethey showed the largest excess in Fulham, Poplar, Ber-mondsey, Rotherhithe, Battersea, Woolwich, and Plumstead.Three cases of small-pox were notified in London duringNovember, against one in each of the three precedingmonths; of these 3 cases, 1 belonged to Poplar, 1 toBattersea, and 1 to the Port of London sanitary areas. Nosmall-pox case was admitted into any of the MetropolitanAsylum Hospitals during November, and no patients remainedunder treatment at the end of the month. The prevalenceof scarlet fever in London showed a marked decline fromthat recorded in the preceding month ; this disease wasproportionally most prevalent in Fulham, Limehouse, Poplar,St. George Southwark, Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, Battersea,Woolwich, and Plumstead sanitary areas. The Metro-politan Asylum Hospitals contained 3731 scarlet feverpatients at the end of November, against 3390, 3585,and 3571 at the end of the three preceding months;the weekly admissions averaged 383, against 346, 350,and 387 in the three preceding months. The prevalenceof diphtheria in London showed a decline from thatrecorded in the preceding month ; among the varioussanitary areas this disease showed the highest propor-tional prevalence in Fulham, Clerkenwell, St. Luke,Poplar, St. Saviour Southwark, St. George Southwark,Battersea, Lewisham, and Plumstead. There were 1042diphtheria patients under treatment in the MetropolitanAsylum Hospitals at the end of November, against 1006,1033, and 1029 at the end of the three preceding months ;the weekly admissions averaged 155. against 131, 150,and 155 in the three preceding months. The prevalenceof enteric fever in London during the month undernotice showed a marked decline from that recordedin recent months ; this disease was proportionallymost prevalent in Holborn, Bethnal Green, St. George-in-the-East, and Poplar sanitary areas. The MetropolitanAsylum Hospitals contained 155 enteric fever patients at theend of November, against 133, 173, and 175 at the end ofthe three preceding months ; the weekly admissions averaged23, against 26, 28, and 26 in the three preceding months.Erysipelas showed the highest proportional prevalence inSt. Giles, Clerkenwell, Shoreditch, Bethnal Green, and St.

George-in-the-East sanitary areas. The 23 cases of puer-peral fever notified in London during November included 5in Kensington, 4 in Islington, 2 in Newington, 2 in Lambeth,and 2 in Camberwell sanitary areas.The mortalitv statistics in the table relate to the

deaths of persons actually belonging to the various

sanitary areas of the metropolis, the deaths occurringin the institutions of London having been distributedamong the various sanitary areas in which the patientshad previously resided. During the four weeks end-

ing Saturday, November 27th, the deaths of 6496 personsbelonging to London were registered, equal to an annualrate of 19’0 per 1000, against 23-7, 15-6, and 16-1 inthe three preceding months. The lowest death-rates

during November in the various sanitary areas were

9’4 in Lewisham (excluding Penge), 10’3 in Lee, 12’0 inSt. George Hanover-square, 12’5 in Hampstead, 13’0 inWandsworth, 14’1 in Plumstead, and 14’4 in St. Martin-in-the-Fields ; the highest rates were 26’0 in Shoreditch,27-5 in St. George-in-the-East, 28.3 in St. George Southwark,28’8 in Bermondsey, 30’0 in St. Luke, and 30’1 in Limehouse.During the four weeks of November 899 deaths were referredto the principal zymotic diseases in London; of these,358 resulted from measles, 202 from diphtheria, 108 fromwhooping-cough, 94 from scarlet fever, 76 from enteric fever,and 61 from diarrhcea. These 899 deaths were equal to anannual rate of 2-6 per 1000 ; in the various sanitary areasthe lowest zymotic death - rates were recorded inPaddington, Hammersmith, St. George, Hanover-square,Hampstead, and Holborn ; and the highest rates in Clerken-well, St. George-in-the-East, Shoreditch, Limehouse, St.Saviour Southwark, St. George Southwark, and Bermondsey.The 358 fatal cases of measles were 157 above the correctedaverage number in the corresponding periods of the tenpreceding years ; this disease showed the highest pro-portional fatality in St. James Westminster, Hackney,Shoreditch, St. George-in-the-East, St. Saviour Southwark,St. George Southwark, and Bermondsey sanitary areas.

The 94 deaths referred to scarlet fever were 14 below thecorrected average number ; among the various sanitary

1617VITAL STATISTICS OF LONDON DURING NOVEMBER, 1897.

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areas this disease was proportionally most fatal inClerkenwell, St. George-in-the-East, Limehouse, St. GeorgeSouthwark, and Rotherhithe. The 202 fatal cases ofdiphtheria exceeded by 8 the corrected average number ; themortality from this disease was highest in Clerkenwell,Poplar, St. Saviour Southwark, St. George Southwark,Rotherhithe, Battersea, Wands worth, and Lewisham sani-tary areas. The 108 deaths from whooping-cough were 7below the corrected average number; among the varioussanitary areas this disease showed the highest proportionalfatality in Shoreditch, Bethnal Green, Limehouse, and MileEnd Old Town. The 76 fatal cases of enteric fever almostcorresponded with the corrected average number ; thisdisease was proportionally most fatal in St. George Hanover-square, Hackney, Clerkenwell, and St. George Southwarksanitary areas. The 61 deaths from diarrhoea were 18 belowthe corrected average number. In conclusion, it may bestated that the mortality in London from these principalzymotic diseases during November was nearly 16 per cent.above the average, owing principally to the excessive fatalityof measles.

Infant mortality in London, measured by the proportionof deaths of children under one year of age to registeredbirths, was equal to 157 per 1000. Among the varioussanitary areas the lowest rates of infant mortality wererecorded in Hampstead, Strand, St. Saviour Southwark,Lambeth, Lewisham, and Plum stead ; and the highest ratesin Paddington, Westminster, Shoreditch, St. George South-wark, St. Olave Southwark, and Bermondsey.

THE SERVICES.

ARMY MEDICAL STAFF.SURGEON-CAPTAIN WAY has assumed medical charge of

troops and Station Hospital at Lydd. Surgeon - MajorMaunsell embarks in the transport -Z/7MM at Southampton.

INDIA AND THE INDIAN MEDICAL SERVICES.

The following promotions are made in the Bombay MedicalEstablishment: Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonels to be Brigade- I,Surgeon. Lieutenant-Colonels : J. S. Wilkins, D. S, 0., viceBrigade-Surgeon-Lientenant-Colonel Hay, promoted, and I,W. A. Barren, vice Brigade- Surgeon -Lieutenant- ColonelCaldecott, promoted. The services of Surgeon-LieutenantWall (Madras), are replaced at the disposal of the MilitaryDepartment. The services of Surgeon-Lieutenant-ColonelMartin (Bengal) are replaced temporarily at the disposal ofthe Military Department. The services of Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel Swaine (Madras), Officiating SanitaryCommissioner, Hyderabad Assigned Districts, are replacedat the disposal of the Military Department. The services ofSurgeon-Captain Bidie, Officiating Civil Surgeon, Saugor, areplaced at the disposal of the Government of India in theHome Department.

NAVAL MEDICAL SERVICE.The following qualified candidates for the Naval Medical

Service have been appointed to be Surgeons in Her Majesty’sFleet:-Herbert Newsome, Malcolm Cameron, James DuffScott Milln, David Walker Hewitt, Kenneth Hurlstone Jones,Reginald Waterfield, Henry William Worth Townsend, EricDanvers Macnamara, William James Codrington, ArchibaldWay Campbell, Horatio William Alexander Cowan, SamuelHenry Facey, Godfrey Taylor, Alfred Woollcombe, FrancisBolster, George Ernest Macleod, William Henry Pope, JohnWilfred Bird, and James Herbert Fergusson. SurgeonElystan O’Leary has been appointed to the JJIagpie.

VOLUNTEER CORPS.

Artillery lst Orkney: Surgeon-Lieutenant B. D. C. Bellresigns his commission. Rifle 20th Middlesex (Artists’) :Lieutenant Charles Sempill de Segundo, M.B., resigns hiscommission, and is appointed Surgeon-Lieutenant. 2ndTower !4aml,-.ts Frederic Mercer, Gent., to be Surgeon-.:L,itmtenan1i.

VOLU-XTBEB AMBULANCE SCHOOL O? INSTRUCTION.

Under the energetic presidency of Major Andrew Maclurethis school gave a very pleasant entertainment in St. Martin’stown-hall on Dec. 9th. It was called a Bohemian concertand the P’Mrget1.c secretaries—Surgeon-Captain Sleman (oftuhe 1"rti3ts)), .3er-;;Jant rieaaaace (of the 1st London R.E.V.),

and Ambulance Sergeant Russell (of the Artists’)-had pro-vided the most varied fare. So many were the items on theprogramme that we cannot even mention all of them, but;without being invidious we may refer to the trumpet calls,given by the trumpeters of the 2nd Life Guards, the pipe-music and reel dancing by members of the London ScottishCorps, and the recitation given by Quartermaster- Sergeant,J. A. Smith, of the 3rd V.B. the Queen’s. He gave 11 The-

Charge of the Light Brigade " and local colour was,

appropriately added by the presence on the platform of’Sergeant Herbert, of the 1st Light Dragoons, who hadridden through the valley on that never to be forgotten 25thof October. At the conclusion of the recitation Sergeant.Herbert made a most modest and happy little speech whichwas cheered to the echo. The prizes gained during the past.year by the members of the Yeomanry and Volunteercorps of the Home District who have been under instruc-tion in the school were distributed by Major-General H.Trotter. Major Maclure, the President, gave an inter-esting report of the work and stated that nearly twothousand of all ranks had passed through the school and alarge number of medical officers of British and colonialcorps who had obtained instruction had subsequently passedthe proficiency examination conducted by the Army MedicalStaff. General Trotter addressed the large companypresent, which included many ladies, and congratulated the:instructors upon their work.

THE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST A HIRED TROOP TRANSPORT.

The DaiZy Mail has done good service in bringingprominently to notice the absence of proper arrangements forour troops on board some of the transports hired by Government. The subject is one which calls for prompt and search.ing inquiry, for if the allegations in connexion with the hire(}transport Avoca be well founded a disgraceful state of thingexisted on board that steamer on her voyage from the WestIndies to Capetown. The troops on board were, it is alleged.half starved as well as thoroughly uncomfortable and they areseriously discontented at the treatment they received.

It is understood that a considerable addition to the-strength of the army is to be made next year and that inorder to obtain the necessary number of recruits manychanges beneficial to the soldier are about to be introduced.Here is a subject ready to hand. It is impossible that thearmy can be a popular calling if soldiers are not bettercared for than they seem to have been on board the Avoca.How is it if the regulations were properly carried out thatsuch a state of things as is represented could have existed? î

They must have been officially reported. Who is to blame ?;

DEATHS IN THE SERVICES.

Surgeon-Captain James Murray (Bengal Medical Depart.ment), Professor of Pathology, Lahore Medical School, onthe 8th ult., at Ripon Hospital, Simla, aged thirty-two years.He entered the service in March 1887, and served with theHazara Expedition of 1888 (medal with clasp).

NORTHERN COUNTIES HOSPITAL FOR IN-CURABLES.&mdash;The friends and supporters of the Homes toyIncurables at Mauldeth and Walmersley held their annua]meeting at Mauldeth on the 6th inst. The report stated than.the special feature of the year had been the establishment ofa system of out-pension8. Up to May, 1872, the charity waasimply a dispensary for out-patients. A new departure wasthen made : eight beds were provided, one paying patientand six free patients were admitted to what was " a home forlife " for those suffering from incurable diseases ; and thisyear, by the kindness of friends, pensions of <E2<per annum were given, to which six persons have beenelected, who are thus enabled to spend their lastdays with their friends. "The most searching inquiries.were made into the conditions and surroundings of theapplicants." The finances seem to be in a fairly satisfactorycondition and there has been an increase in the annual sub-scriptions. On Oct. 31st there were 110 patients in thehomes. During the year six patients were admitted onpayment, seven were elected to Mauldeth, and five to

Walmersley. The chairman, Sir William Houldsworth, inthe course of his speech, said that the fact of their taskbeing to care for those whose infirmities were incurable wasthe great distinction between their work and that of otherhospitals and made it a peculiarly high expression ofChristian feeling.