1016 VITAL STATISTICS.

deity of the University, seated on a marble throne in thegrove of Academia receiving the gift of the building. Intoone of the figures, arrayed in classic robes, standing at thesides of the steps of the throne the artist has introduced aportrait of Mr. McEwan, which is an excellent likness of thegenerous donor. The panel balancing this on the other sidegives a representation of " Fame" as a female figure in palegreen and gold seated on a throne with a trumpet in onehand and a laurel wreath in the other. An aspirant in redrobes kneels in front of her while groups of men are rangedon either side. The angle panels of the arch are decoratedlike those alongside of them. On the right are two figuresrepresenting "Perseverance" and "Intelligence, while onthe left are "Imagination" and "Experience." On thewalls of the clerestory, which are painted sky blue and gold,are inscribed the names of eminent men who have been con-nected with the University. The carved stone frieze is veryeffectively picked out in gold. The ceiling of the first

gallery is panelled in blue and gold, while the roof of thesecond is treated in a warm sepia tint. The paintings anddome decorations were finished in oil on canvas in theartist’s studio and afterwards affixed to the walls and dome.The colouring has been necessarily strongly executed toallow for the mellowing influence of age.

There can be no doubt that on the completion of theMcEwan Hall the University of Edinburgh will possess anacademic building unequalled in any other university in theUnited Kingdom.

VITAL STATISTICS.

IHEALTH OF ENGLISH TOWNS.

IN thirty-three of the largest English towns 6544 births 1and 3814 deaths were registered during the week endingApril 4th. The annual rate of mortality in these towns, s

which had declined in the four preceding weeks from20-7 to 18-8 per 1000, further fell last week to 18-3. In 1

London the rate was 17-9 per 1000, while it averaged 18 6in the thirty-two provincial towns. The lowest rates inthese towns were 11-7 in Portsmouth, 12-2 in West Ham,13-0 in Huddersfield, and 13-1 in Cardio ; the highest rateswere 21-5 in Preston, 22’0 in Liverpool, 22-1 in Manchester, J24-3 in Salford, and 26-7 in Birkenhead. The 3814 deathsincluded 615 which were referred to the principal zymotic,diseases, against 578 and 631 in the two precedingweeks ; of these, 247 resulted from measles, 183 fromwhooping-cough, 68 from diphtheria, 48 from scarletfever, 39 from diarrhoea, 30 from " fever" (principallyenteric), and not one from small-pox. No fatal case ofany ot these diseases occurred last week in Halifax ; in theother towns they caused the lowest death-rates in Ports-mouth, Swansea, Preston, and Hull, and the highest ratesin London, Manchester, Plymouth, Sunderland, and Birken-head. The greatest mortality from measles occurred inPlymouth, Birkenhead, Manchester, Burnley, and Sunder-land ; from scarlet fever in Bolton ; from whooping-cough in Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, London, andPlymouth, and from "fever" in Norwich and in Black-burn. The 68 deaths from diphtheria included 45 in

London, 5 in Birmingham, 4 in West Ham, and 3 in Liver-pool. No fatal case of small-pox was registered eitherin London or in any other of the thirty-three large towns.There were 23 cases of small-pox under treatment in theMetropolitan Asylum Hospitals and in the Highgate Small-pox Hospital on Saturday last, the 4th inst., against 42,43, and 33 at the end of the three preceding weeks; 2new cases were admitted during the week, against 4,9, and 2 in the three preceding weeks. The number ofscarlet fever patients in the Metropolitan Asylum Hos-

pitals and in the London Fever Hospital at the end ofthe week was 2676, against 2764, 2773, and 2744 on thethree preceding Saturdays; 186 new cases were admittedduring the week, against 217, 277, and 224 in the three

preceding weeks. The deaths referred to diseases of therespiratory organs in London, which had declined from433 to 285, in the four preceding weeks, further fell to270 last week, and were 131 below the corrected average.The causes of 56, or 1-5 per cent., of the deaths in thethirty-three towns were not certified either by a registeredmedical practitioner or by a coroner. All the causes ofdeath were duly certified in Portsmouth, Salford, Oldham,Sunderland, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and in ten other smaller

towns ; the largest proportions of uncertified deaths were?registered in West Ham, Birmingham, and Liverpool.

HEALTH OF SCOTCH TOWNS.

The annual rate of mortality in the eight Scotch towns,which had been 19-6 and 18-9 per 1000 in the two.

preceding weeks, further declined to 18’7 during the weekending April 4th, but slightly exceeded the mean rate

during the same period in the thirty-three large Englishtowns. The rates in the eight Scotch towns ranged from10’5 in Leith and 13 4 in Edinburgh to 21-6 in Dundee and22’2 in Aberdeen. The 545 deaths in these towns included21 which were referred to whooping-cough, 17 to diarrhoea,8 to measles, 6 to "fever," 5 to scarlet fever, and 4 todiphtheria. In all, 61 deaths resulted from these prin--cipal zymotic diseases, against 70 and 52 in the two pre-ceding weeks. These 61 deaths were equal to an annual-rate of 2’1 per 1000, which was 0’8 below the mean ratelast week from the same diseases in the thirty-three largeEnglish towns. The fatal cases of whooping-cough, whichhad declined from 35 to 21 in the three preceding weeks,were again 21 last week, of which 13 occurred in Glasgow andAberdeen. The deaths from measles, which been 13 and 6in the two preceding weeks, rose again to 8 last week, andincluded 4 in Glasgow and 3 in Greenock. The deathsreferred to different forms of " fever," which had been 6 and4 in the two preceding weeks, increased to 6 last week, ofwhich 5 occurred in Glasgow. The 5 fatal cases of scarletfever showed a slight further decline from the numbers re-corded in recent weeks, and included 2 in Glasgow and 2 ir,Edinburgh. Of the 4 fatal cases of diphtheria 2 were.

returned in Glasgow. The deaths referred to diseases of therespiratory organs in these towns, which had been 115 and107 in the two preceding weeks, further declined to 87 lastweek, and were less than half the number in the corre-sponding period of last year. The causes of 37, or nearly7 per cent., of the deaths in these eight towns last weekwere not certified.

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HEALTH OF DUBLIN.

The death-rate in Dublin, which had declined in the threepreceding weeks from 28’3 to 24-8 per 1000, rose again to25’5 during the week ending April 4th. During the thirteenweeks of last quarter the death-rate in the city averaged25’3 per 1000, the rate during the same period being 19’5 inLondon and 17’7 in Edinburgh. The 171 deaths registeredin Dublin during the week under notice showed an in-crease of 5 upon the number in the preceding week, andincluded 8 which were referred to the principal zymotic

- diseases, against 7 in each of the two preceding weeks; i-

of these, 2 resulted from measles, 2 from diarrhcoa, 1 from, small-pox, 1 from diphtheria, 1 from whooping-cough,’

1 from" fever," but not one from measles. These 8 deaths’

were equal to an annual rate of 1’2 per 1000, the zymoticI death-rate during the same period being 3’7 in London.

and 1-3 in Edinburgh. The fatal cases of scarlet fever,l which had been 4, 1, and 2 in the three preceding weeks,

were again 2 last week. The 2 deaths referred to diarrhces-

were within one of the number in the preceding week, while-1

the mortality from diphtheria and whooping-cough corre-rsponded with that recorded in the previous week. The fatalr

case of small-pox was the first registered within the city since-.

January last. The 171 deaths in Dublin last week included3 26 of infants under one year of age, and 48 of persons aged-

upwards of sixty years; the deaths both of infants and!of elderly persons exceeded those recorded in recent

’’ weeks. Two inquest cases and 3 deaths from violence weref registered; and 64, or more than a third, of the deathsoccurred in public institutions. The causes of 9, or more,

f than 5 per cent., of the deaths in the city last week werenot certified.

___e -

ile VITAL STATISTICS OF LONDON DURING MARCH, 1896.e In the accompanying table will be found summarisedn complete statistics relating to sickness and mortality duringo March in each of the forty-three sanitary areas of London.I. With regard to the notified cases of infectious disease in the.e metropolis during last month, it appears that the numberd of persons reported to be suffering from one or other of the)f nine diseases specified in the table was equal to 8’4 per1, 1000 of the population, estimated at 4,435,955 persons inir the middle of this year. In the three preceding months

1017VITAL STATISTICS OF LONDON DURING MARCH, 1896.

1018 THE SERVICES.

the rates had been 11-5, 10-3, and 8’8 per 1000 respec- hitively. Among the various sanitary areas the rates were E)

considerably below the average in St. George Hanover- TI

square, St. James Westminster, St. Giles, St. Martin-in-the- av

Fields, City of London, Bermondsey, and Lee ; while they wi

;showed the largest excess in Clerkenwell, Mile End Old PI’Town, Limehouse, St. Saviour Southwark, St. Olave South- Liwark, Camberwell, and Greenwich. The prevalence of wsmall-pox in London during March corresponded with that min the preceding month, the 22 cases notified including 7 in inIslington, 3 in Hackney, 3 in Lambeth, and 2 in Poplar msanitary areas. The Metropolitan Asylum Hospitals con- re

tained 33 small-pox patients at the end of March, against a1

’75, 68, and 45 at the end of the three preceding months ; n4

the weekly admissions averaged 7, against 13 and 6 in the Ttwo preceding months. The prevalence of scarlet fever in rf

London showed a further decline during March ; this disease tlwas proportionally most prevalent in Hampstead, Strand, ciClerkenwell, St. George-in-the-East, Mile.end Old Town, St. a’

Saviour Southwark, St. Olave Southwark, and Greenwich sani-tary areas. The Metropolitan Asylum Hospitals contained tl:2688 scarlet fever patients at the end of March, against r,

2708, 2814, and 2867 at the end of the three preceding a

months; the weekly admissions averaged 234, against 250, r1

’282, and 258 in the three preceding months. The prevalence S- of diphtheria in London during March showed a very slight a

increase upon that recorded in February; among the n

various sanitary areas this disease showed the highest Sproportional prevalence in Fulham, Hampstead, White-

chapel, Limehouse, Mile End Old Town, Camberwell, and’Greenwich. There were 704 diphtheria patients under treat-ment in the Metropolitan Asylum Hospitals at the end ofMarch, against 687, 682, and 715 at the end of the threepreceding months; the weekly admissions averaged 99,.against 99, 103, and 99 in the three preceding months.The prevalence of enteric fever in London showeda further marked decline from that recorded in recent jmonths ; this disease was proportionally most prevalent tin Chelsea, St. Luke, and Mile End Old Town sani- 1tary areas. Erysipelas was proportionally most prevalentin Clerkenwell, St. Luke, Shoreditch, and Limehouse sanitaryareas. The 29 cases of puerperal fever notified during ]March included 4 in Greenwich, 3 in Islington, and 3 inNewington sanitary areas. ;The mortality statistics in the table relate to the i

deaths of persons actually belonging to the various <sanitary areas, the deaths occurring in the institutionsof London having been distributed among the different

sanitary areas in which the patients had previouslyresided. During the four weeks ending Saturday,March 28th, the deaths of 6601 persons belonging to Londonwere registered, equal to an annual rate of 19 4 per 1000,against 17’3, 18’4, and 20 0 in the three preceding months.The lowest death-rates during March in the various

sanitary areas were 10’1 in Hampstead, 11-5 in StokeNewington, 11’7 in Lewisham (excluding Penge), 12-9 in Lee,13 9 in St. Olave Southwark, 14 2 in Woolwich, and 15-3 inSt. George Hanover-square and in Battersea ; the highestrates were 23-8 in Bermondsey, 24-1 in Holborn, 24 6 in St.George-in-the-East, 25 5 in St. George Southwark, 25 9 inMarylebone, 27-8 in St. Luke, and 28-8 in Bethnal Green.During the four weeks of March 1262 deaths were referred tothe principal zymotic diseases in London; of these, 552resulted from measles, 386 from whooping-cough, 193 fromdiphtheria, 69 from scarlet fever, 32 from diarrhoea,, 27 fromenteric fever, 1 from an ill-defined form of continued

’’fever, and 2 from small-pox. These 1262 deaths were equalto an annual rate of 3’7 per 1000; among the various

sanitary areas the lowest death-rates from these diseaseswere recorded in St. George Hanover square, Westminster,Stoke Newington, Battersea, Lewisham, Woolwich, and

Lee, and the highest rates in Marylebone, Islington,Holborn, Shoreditch, Bethnal Green, Poplar, St. GeorgeSouthwark, and St. Olave Southwark. The 2 fatal’cases of small-pox were within one of the correctedaverage number in the corresponding periods of the ten

preceding years ; 1 belonged to Lambeth and 1 to Greenwichsanitary areas. The 552 deaths referred to measles wereconsiderably more than double the corrected average number;among the various sanitary areas this disease showed the

highest proportional fatality in Marylebone, Islington,Strand, Shoreditch, St. George Southwark, Rotherhithe, andGreenwich. The 69 fatal cases of scarlet fever were 8 above’he corrected average number; this disease showed the

highest proportional fatality in St. George-in-the-East, MileEnd Old Town, and St. George Southwark sanitary areas.The 193 deaths from diphtheria were 77 above the correctedaverage number; among the various sanitary areas this diseasewas proportionally most fatal in Fulham, Marylebone, St.Pancras, Clerkenwell, Shoreditch, St. George-in-the-East,Limehouse, and Camberwell. The 386 fatal cases of

whooping-cough were 77 above the corrected averagenumber; this disease showed the highest proportional fatalityin Shoreditch, Bethnal Green, Limehouse, Poplar, Ber.

mondsey, and Wandsworth sanitary areas. The 27 deathsreferred to enteric fever were 8 below the corrected

average number; the mortality from this disease showedno marked excess last month in any of the sanitary areas.The 32 fatal cases of diarrhoea were 23 below the cor-

rected average number. In conclusion, it may be statedthat the mortality in London during March from these prin.cipal zymotic diseases was more than 64 per cent. above theaverage.

Infant mortality in London during March, measured bythe proportion of deaths under one year of age to birthsregistered, was equal to 140 per 1000, and was below theaverage. Among the various sanitary areas the lowestrates of infant mortality were recorded in Hampstead,Stoke Newington, Strand, St. George-in-the-East, Lewisham,

, and Woolwich ; and the highest rates in St. James West-minster, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Clerkenwell, Bethnal Green,

. St. Saviour Southwark, and Newington.

THE SERVICES.

MOVEMENTS OF THE MEDICAL STAFF.SURGEON - LIEUTENANT - COLONEL BLENNERHASSETT has

joined the depot of the Medical Staff Corps at Aldershot priorto his transfer to Netley as the successor of Brigade-Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel Evatt, who has embarked to take up theappointment of Principal Medical Officer at Hong-Kong.The following arrivals from abroad are notified :-Surgeon-Majors Archer, Donaldson, and Creagh from Bermuda; Sur-geon-Captains Eckersley and Josling from Ashanti; Surgeon-Major Tidbury from Malta; and Surgeon-Captain Carter fromCeylon. Surgeon-Major E. Wilson has arrived at the GoldCoast on a tour of duty, and Surgeon-Major Hickman hasbeen posted to the North British District. Surgeon-ColonelPreston will succeed Surgeon-Major-General Colahan as

Principal Medical Officer in Ireland.INDIA AND THE INDIAN MEDICAL SERVICES.

Surgeon-Captain Thacker, on arrival from England, is

posted to the Bombay District, and Surgeon-LieutenantCollins to the Mhow District. Surgeon-Major R. Cobb, CivilSurgeon of Patna, is appointed to officiate as Surgeon-Super-intendent of the Presidency General Hospital, Calcutta,during the absence on furlough of Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel A. Crombie. Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel R. D.Murray, Civil Surgeon, Howrah, is appointed to officiate asProfessor of Surgery, Medical College, Calcutta, and ex-

officio First Surgeon to the College Hospital, during theabsence on furlough on private affairs of Surgeon-Lieu-tenant - Colonel J. O’Brien. Surgeon - Major A. W. D.Leahy, F.R.C.S., Civil Surgeon, 24th Parganas, is ap-pointed to officiate as Professor of Midwifery, MedicalCollege, and Obstetric Physician, Eden Hospital, Calcutta,during the absence on furlough on private affairs of Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel C. H. Joubert. Surgeon-Major R. N.Campbell, M.B., is appointed to officiate as Senior MedicalOfficer, Port Blair, vice Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel D. P.MacDonald, M.D., who has been granted eight months’furlough on private affairs. Brigade-Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel G. Hutcheson, M.D., Bengal Medical Establishment,is granted the temporary rank of Surgeon-Colonel whileofficiating as Inspector-General of Civil Hospitals, Bengal,vice Surgeon-Colonel G. Ross, granted privilege leave.Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel P. J. Freyer, Bengal MedicalEstablishment, Civil Surgeon, Allahabad, retires from theservice.

NAVAL MEDICAL SERVICE.The following appointments are notified : - Deputy

Inspector Generals : G. Maclean to Hong-Kong Hospitaland T. S. Burnett to Haslar Hospital. Fleet Surgeon JohnA. M’Adam to the Victory, additional, for the Duke of