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Home and Foreign Notes.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)

SHEFFIELD.

Post-graduate Course on Syphilis. jDURING this winter the number of men taking

out the general clinical post-graduate course hasfar exceeded that of any previous year, and indicatesthe desirability of increasing their opportunitiesfor such work. The Faculty of Medicine has there-fore decided to give a short course on the etiology,pathology, and treatment of syphilis during Apriland May. It will consist of about ten lectures,given twice weekly, and will include demonstrationsand practical classes. It is intended to deal chieflywith recent work on the spirochaeta, Wassermann’sreaction, and treatment by salvarsan.

Evening Clinics for Venereal Diseases.The Royal Infirmary has very wisely taken up the

question of offering special facilities for the treat-ment of venereal diseases. For this purpose an

evening out-patient clinic for venereal diseases hasbeen started by members of the staff, and promisesto supply a long-felt want. The attendances have

proved distinctly encouraging. The board and staffof the Royal Infirmary are to be congratulated ontheir enterprise and initiative in this importantmatter, which should be widely imitated in otherplaces. The clinic is at present limited to malepatients, who are admitted without any recom-rnendation.

Appeal for Radi1t’Yn.Following a letter to the local press a few weeks

ago, signed by representatives of the staffs of allthe voluntary hospitals in the city, a circular appealhas been issued by a committee of the staffs, ofwhich Professor Sinclair White, senior surgeon tothe Royal Infirmary, is chairman, for JE10,000 topurchase radium. The appeal has already metwith considerable success, more than half the sumhaving been promised. There is no doubt thatwithin a short time the rest of the amount askedfor will be forthcoming.

Edgar Allen Institute.Coinciding with the appeal for radium, the

Edgar Allen Institute, to which reference wasmade in your columns last week, has issued anappeal for subscriptions to enable it to continue itswork in medico-mechanicaltreatment. The generousfounder, Mr. Edgar Allen, has not only equipped it,but has been responsible for its upkeep for the last

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three years. He now feels that it has justified itsfoundation, and that he should receive some assist-ance from his fellow citizens in maintaining it. Theresponse to the appeal is making satisfactory progressand already more than half the required amounthas been promised. There is no doubt that Sheffieldis fortunate in having such an addition to its means sfor hastening recovery in convalescent patients,and it would be a misfortune were it to be allowedto decline or even close for lack of support. Asuggestion has been made that this instituteshould become the place where the radiumis kept. From its accessible position and theconstitution of its governing body, representativeof the leading citizens and of the medical professionand hospitals generally, it corresponds exactly withthe requirements of a radium institute. It is to behoped that some arrangement of this kind may be

come to so as to save the cost of running twoinstitutes in the city-the upkeep of both of whichwould eventually fall on the generously disposedcitizens.

The Pathological Section of the Medico-ChirurgicalSociety.

At a recent meeting of the Pathological Section ofthe Medico-Chirurgical Society Dr. F. W. Mott,F.R.S., gave an interesting address on Parenchy-matous Syphilis before a large and appreciativeaudience. This is the first occasion upon which therecently formed Section of Pathology has enter-tained a distinguished visitor, and the innovationproved so successful that it is to be hoped it maybe made an annual event. The Pathological Sectionof the Medico-Chirurgical Society has so thoroughlyjustified its existence that a movement is now onfoot to form a Clinical Section on somewhat similarlines.

Hospital for Sick Children.A vacancy on the honorary staff of the Children’s

Hospital caused by the resignation of Dr. E. W.

Adams, has resulted in the election of Dr. JohnStokes. Dr. Adams, who is leaving Sheffield to takeup his new duties as a medical inspector under theNational Insurance Act, has also resigned the postof lecturer on pharmacology and therapeutics at theUniversity. His many friends will wish him everysuccess in his new career.March 17th.

BIRMINGHAM.

Birminghai7t Gene1’al Dispensm’y.THE 120th annual report states that the total

ordinary receipts were .E1O,135 18s. 7d. and the

special receipts JE12,564. There was a decrease inthe amount received for subscriptions and super-numerary notes of JE1275. The expenditure in-creased by .E221. The total number of patientsadmitted during the year by ticket was 49,365, a

. decrease of 13,155. The average cost per patientI

has been 4s. 9<Z., an increase of Is. ld., an increase. partly due to the tuberculosis department. The’

number of new patients in the tuberculosis depart--

ment was 760, which does not include contactsexamined and found not to be tuberculous. Of thetotal only 113 were insured under the Act. The

attendances of patients during the year had totalled; 21,329, being an average of 70 per working day.

Hospital Saturday Fund.;; The annual meeting was presided over recently, by the Lord Mayor. Since the inauguration ofb the Fund in 1873 over half a million pounds have;; been collected. In proposing the adoption of the- report the Lord Mayor made interesting comparisons with similar funds in other cities. In spite of the5 Insurance Act a new record has been established forb the Birmingham Fund, as for the first time over1 .E23,000 has been collected. In London the collec-s tion amounted to 50,419, and there had been a drop;, of z4658 ; at Manchester in 1912 there was a decrease1 of .E382 and a further drop last year. At LiverpoolI.. in 1912 they lost JE2132, but last year there was ae fall of only ;E1. At Leeds in 1912 they went back1 1836, and last year .E206. Leicester reported ane increase of ;E498 to a total of 15,632. His lordshipe called attention to the fact that there were 500a firms who were not subscribing to the Fund. Of11 these, about half fell out over the Insurance Act,e but some of these were returning. The organisa-e tion was being worked very cheaply. The report

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showed that the percentage on collection was 5’86<Z.There, again, Birmingham was beaten by Leicester,

. whose percentage was 4Z. The figures for theother big towns were: London, 9&frac12;d. per cent. ;Manchester, 112d. per cent. ; Liverpool, 9fd. percent. ; and Leeds, 6&frac12;d. per cent.

After-care of Tubercnlous Subjects.At a conference held between representatives of

the health committee of the city council, the boardof guardians, the Insurance Committees, and theCity Aid Society to consider the difficulty of dealingwith phthisical cases, it was resolved that the CityAid Society be asked to form a special committeefor the purpose of coordinating action by the variousauthorities and societies. A circular letter has beensent to all institutions, hospitals, and organisationswhich deal with consumptives, and to all medicalmen in the city, inviting them to send on a formparticulars of any case which comes to their noticeand requires additional help. It is hoped in thisway to obtain fairly complete information as to thenumber of such cases and the amount and kind ofadditional help specially needed.

The Unitecl Kingdom Police Surgeons’ Association.The annual meeting of this association was held

in the Medical Institute, Birmingham, on March 14th,the President, Professor J. T. J. Morrison, in thechair. The council in the annual report, and in repe-tition of a previously expressed opinion, stated thatthe value of the association lay in the possibility soafforded for ascertaining corporate needs and takingcombined action thereon. The good offices of theBritish Medical Association in helping to advancethe inadequate scale of capitation payments inseveral districts were cordially acknowledged, whileit was noted that a knowledge of " first aid " is nowgenerally regarded as part of the equipment of thepolice force, and members were advised to bring tothe notice of local authorities the practice of payingpolice surgeons for the necessary instruction inambulance work. The report having been receivedand adopted, the following officers were elected forthe ensuing year :-President : Professor J. T. J.Morrison, Birmingham. Vice-Presidents : Sir HenryLittlejohn, Edinburgh; Dr. H. W. Oulton, Dublin;Mr. F. W. Lowndes, Liverpool; and Mr. H. NelsonHardy, London. Treasurer: Mr. J. Paul Bush, Bristol.Honorary Secretaries: Dr. Hugh F. Powell, Chelten-ham ; Dr. W. Hartley Bunting, Birmingham.Council: Dr. H. Barnes, Carlisle; Dr. J. F. Craig,Birmingham; Mr. G. H. Heald, Leeds; Mr. W. J.

Heslop, Manchester; Dr. T. F. Higgs, Dudley; Dr.C. E. Hoar, Maidstone ; Dr. L. Maybury, Ports-mouth ; Dr. H. B. W. Plummer, West Bromwich;Mr. W. Powell, Cheltenham; Mr. W. M. Roocroft,Wigan; Mr. W. Roughton, London; and Dr. J.Young, Bristol.March 17th.

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BRISTOL AND WESTERN COUNTIES.

Bristol General Hospital: Workmen’s Subscriptions. ]

A FURTHER step in the campaign described inthe issue of Feb. 28th (p. 638), by which a com-mittee claiming to represent the working men ofBristol seeks to gain a footing in the governing ibodies of the Bristol hospitals, was completed this

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week at the annual meeting of the General Hos- pital, when Mr. Herbert M. Baker, chairman of thecommittee, made a very interesting statement.

Beginning by an acceptance of the claim of the

working classes to be represented on the hospital

committee-a claim based on their generous sub-scriptions-he pointed out that about 12t per cent.of the hospital expenses were met by those sub-

scriptions. The hospital committee had for sometime past been considering the advisability of

establishing direct representation of the workingmen, but had been hindered by difficulties in con-nexion with the fixing of a franchise. They had,however, invited 21 firms whose employees(numbering 22,000) subscribed JE20 and upwards tothe hospital to send representatives, chosen by theworkpeople, to meet them. These representativeshad constituted themselves into a standingadvisory committee and had elected one of theirnumber to act as their representative on the hos-pital committee. By this means the hospital hassecured for the working man a method of directrepresentation on the committee, while atthe same time avoiding concessions to the self-

appointed "

representatives " of labour. Theannual report of the charity was read, and con-tained many interesting items, of which the newpathological department, the change in the

presidency and in the secretaryship, and mattersrelating to the new wing, have already been fullymentioned in these columns. The committee hope toopen the new wing this summer. During 1913 the in-patients reached a record total of 3056, an increaseof 216 on the previous year. The average stay inhospital was 21 days. Out-patients numbered 33,925,a total less than that of 1912 by 4405; this drop isdoubtless due to the National Insurance Act, andis welcomed by the committee as tending to intensifythe consultative nature of the out-patient depart-ment. The ordinary income amounted to 12,697,an increase of over &pound;1000 ; the ordinary expendi-ture showed an increase of E336 only, and totalledJE16.300. Allusion is, of course, made to the legacyof .f:25,OOO in securities left to the hospital by itslate president, Mr. Joseph Storrs Fry. The Lord

Mayor, who was in the chair, spoke feelingly of theincalculable loss to the hospital and the citygenerally in the death of Mr. Fry, but congratulatedthe institution on securing so worthy a successor inMr. George A. Wills.

Bristol Insurance Committee.

At the last meeting of this committee the chair-man gave an interesting r&eacute;sum&eacute; of the year’s workso far as medical benefit was concerned. About80,000 insured persons had been treated by thepanel doctors, who had issued nearly 400,000 pre-scriptions. A fact of significance was that at theend of the 12 months only about 600 of the insuredhad asked to change their medical man. This, asthe chairman remarked, was a vindication of thepolicy of free choice of doctor. The chemists’account amounted to &pound;12,800. It was reported thatthe medical referee was being temporarily re-

munerated by the practitioners themselves untilsome permanent basis had been decided upon. Asum not exceeding &pound;100 was appropriated for healthlectures.

Children’s Hospital, Bristol.The annual report of this hospital showed that

4873 out-patients and 978 in-patients had beentreated during 1913. The income amounted to&pound;4602 and the expenditure to &pound;5241. Representa-tives of the employees of some of the largest firmsspoke in warm appreciation of the hospital’s value.Lord Mayor of Bristol’s Hospital Sunday Fund.At the first distribution of this fund JE1600 was

divided between the medical charities of the city.