1441

ROYAL ORTHOPÆDIC HOSPITAL, 297, Oxford-street.-Resident HouseSurgeon and Registrar, unmarried. Salary E100 per annum, withfull board.

ROYAL SEA BATHING HOSPITAL, Margate.-Assistant Resident Surgeon.Salary jB60 per annum, with board and residence.

ROYAL SURREY COUNTY HOSPITAL, Guildford.-Assistant HouseSurgeon. Salary E50, with board, residence, and laundry.

SHEFFIELD ROYAL HOSPITAL -Junior Assistant House Surgeon, un-married. Salary E50 per annum, with board (exclusive of wine andbeer) and lodgings.

SOUTHPORT INFIRMARY. -Resident Junior House and Visiting Surgeon.unmarried, for six months. Honorarium at the rate of E60per annum, with residence, board, and washing.

ST. MARYLEBONE INFIRMARY, Notting-hill, W.-Second AssistantMedical Officer. Salary at the rate of E80 per annum, withboard, &e.

ST. MARY’S HOSPITAL FOR SICK CHILDR N, Plaistow, E.-ResidentMedical Officer. Salary B100 per annum, with board, residence,laundry, &c. Also Assistant Resident Medical Officer. Salary280 per annum, with board, residence, laundry, &c.

STOCKPORT INFIRMARY.-Assistant and Visiting House Surgeon.Salary £70. with residence, board, and washing. Also JuniorAssistant House Surgeon for six months. Salary at rate of B24per annum, with board, washing, and residence.

SUSSEX COUNTY HOSPITAL.-Ophthalmic Surgeon.TmI CHIEF INSPECTOR OF FACTORIES gives notice of a Vacancy as

Certifying Surgeon under the Factory Acts at Harleston, in thecounty of Norfolk.

TOWCESTER UNION.—District Medical Officer and Public Vaccinator.Salary B60 per annum, with allowances.

’WEST BROMWIOH UNION.-Assistant Workhouse Medical Officer.Salary £100 per annum, and E75 in lieu of apartments, board, &o.

WEST HAM HOSPITAL, Stratford, E.—Junior House Surgeon. SalaryB75 per annum, with board, residence, &0.

WESTERN GENERAL DISPENSARY, Marylebone-road.-Second HouseSurgeon, unmarried. Salary .e75 a year, with board and residence,and 10s. a month for laundry.

WESTON-SUPER-MARE HOSPITAL AND DISPENSARY.-Medical Officer.Salary .elOO per annum, with board, lodging, and washing.

WINDSOR AND ETON ROYAL DISPENSARY AND INFIRMARY.-HouseSurgeon, unmarried. Salary £110 per annum, with residence,board, and attendance.

Births, Marriages, and Deaths.BIRTHS.

BROWN.—On the 13th of Mav, at 6, Gibson-square, N., the wife ofGeorge Brown, M.R.C.S. Eng., of a daughter.

FITZGERALD.—On May llth, at Southwood-lane, Highgate, N., the wifeof Gerald Fitzgerald, M.B., of a daughter.

HENTSCH.—On May 12th, at Acre-lane, S.W., the wife of G. F..Hentsch,L.R.C.P. Lond., M.R C.S., of a daughter.

LINSDALE.-ON May 9th, at Trinity square, S.E., the wife of Wm.Lansdale, M.D., M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P. Lond., D P.H., of a son.

MACLEOD.-On May 9th, at Ladbroke-grove, W, the wife of C. E. AlexMacLeod, F.R.C.S., of a son.

PLUMMER.—On May llth, at Old Elvet, Durham, the wife of SelbyPlummer, M.D., of a daughter.

TAYLOR.—On May 9th, at Eland House, Rosslyn Hill, Hampstead,Huldah, the wife of E. Claude Taylor, M.D., M.S., of a son.

WACE.—On May llth, at Southgate-street, Winchester, the wife of CyrilWace, F.R.C.S., of a daughter.

MARRIAGE.PRESTON-BOWKETT.-On May 8th, at Emmanuel Church, West Hamp-

stead, Francis Harrison Preston. M.A. Camb., M.R.C.S., son of thelate Rev. A. M. Preston, of Winslow, Bucks, to Hilda Emily,daughter of the late Dr. Bowkett of Poplar.

DEATHS.BAYES.—Frederick William Bayes, M.R.C.S., of Walsingham, in his

76th year.BRADDON.—On May 10th, at the Imperial Hotel, Blackpool, Charles

Hitchman Braddon, M.D., J.P., of Ryecroft House, Cheetham Hill,Manchester, and eldest son of the late Charles Braddon, surgeon,of Upton-on-Severn, Worcestershire, in his 64th year.

DAVIDSON.-On Thursday, May 2nd, at The Dingle, Sydenham Hill,London, S.E., Lieutenant-Colonel D. C. Davidson, Indian MedicalService, Bombay Presidency, aged 50, youngest son of the lateRev. George Moir Davidson, of Watten, Caithness-shire, N B., andson-in law of the late General John Clarke, 25th Bengal N.I., andCommissioner, Sitapur, Oudh.

HoiT.-On the 10th inst., at Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent, Mary Ethel, wifeof Arthur Knight Holt, M.D., of Bournemouth, and eldest daughterof Joseph Knight, of Newcastle-under-Lyme, aged 38.

LEIGH-SoDIPE.-At Lagos, West Africa, on the 15th April, 1901Sodeinde Alfred Leigh-Sodipe, M.D., Assistant Colonial Surgeon,Colony of Lagos.

N.B.-A Jee of 5a is charged for the insertion of Notices 01 BirthsMarriages, and Deaths.

Notes, Short Comments, and Answersto Correspondents.

THE SCOPE OF THE MIDWIFE’S DUTIES: AN INQUEST.ON May 9th Mr. A. Braxton Hicks held an inquest at Lambethon the body of George Ernest Eyre, the five-days-old son of a printer’slabourer, living at 24, Caffin-street, Lambeth.-Elizabeth Lloyd, of 16,Caffin-street, said that she attended the mother of the deceased in herconfinement, a midwife being also present. The baby was not astrong child when born.-Marian Langley, a midwife attached to

Guy’s Hospital Maternity Charity, residing at 10, St. Thomas’s-

street, S.E. (the Institution), deposed that she attended Mrs. Eyre inher confinement. The child was expected about that time. Witnesswas sent for on Sunday, May 5th, and went back again. The babywas born before she got there the second time. Mrs. Lloyd said itwas a natural presentation. ,Witness attended to the mother andchild. The latter was a little discoloured but quite normal. On the

Monday afternoon, about 2 o’clock, witness again visited and she paida further visit on Tuesday or Wednesday, when the child was appa-rently all right; she saw nothing the matter with it. It was not a

large child. One of her assistants then took over the case-one ofher pupils. She was there first and sent for witness.-The Coroner

(surprised): You have pupils, do you? Where is it going to stopPupils will be having pupils too, I suppose. I am not surprisedat what the medical journals say about this midwife business.

Although you are a certificated midwife, when a call is made yousend a pupil, who finds something wrong and then you go. Do not

you think you should have called the obstetric physician-aqualified practitioner ?-Witness: I often have cases like this.-The Coroner : And I have often to hold inquests becausea medical man, who could give a certificate, is not calledand midwives take too much upon their own shoulders.-Witness went on to say that the nurse told her of the death atnine o’clock on Friday morning and she asked Dr. Sime, thephysician, to see the child.-The Coroner: You did not see it ?-Witness : No, sir.-The Coroner: You could not tell what was thecause of death, then why did you give this certificate:-

" GUY’S HOSPITAL.Guy’s Institution, 10, St. Thomas’s-street.

This is to certify Mrs. Eyre of 24, Caffin-street, was delivered ofa male child, April 29th, that it died May 2nd from inanition withconvulsions. "MARIAN LANGLEY, midwife."

Witness: I had seen the child.-The Coroner: The doctor could not

give a certificate because he only saw the child after death. First ofall this certificate is incorrect as to the date of death. It is on paperheaded " Guy’s Hospital," which gives it an official aspect. Whydid you put " convulsions " when you never saw the child in one ?-Witness : Dr. Sime saw the child and was of that opinion.-TheCoroner: If Dr. Sime could not give a certificate, why should you Have you ever had a case like this before?-Witness: No.-TheCoroner : Then I trust you won’t give another certificate. I never

accept them because you are not qualified to give a certificate ofany sort. If you believe what other people tell you you would

have to believe anything. Did Dr. Sime authorise you to give thiscertificate ?-Witness: Yes.-The Coroner: Do you know of thenew Bill for the Registration of Midwives ?-Witness: I have heardof it.-The Coroner: That is one of the things it prohibits-the givingof a certificate of any description. In future always refer a case tomy officer at once, because the registrar sends it to me. In thisinstance the alleged cause of death is not put down at all, because theregistrar found it was a midwife’s certificate. You have made a veryfair guess, but it is not correct in one way.-Dr. Francis WheelerSime deposed to having made a post-mortem examination of thebody by the coroner’s order. There was an absence of any definitecause of death, but from his inspection of the body after death and thepost-mortem examination he came to the conclusion that death wasdue to infantile convulsions.-The Coroner: Your midwife tells usthat you said she might give a certificate ?-Witness: Yes’; ofcourse, you see, we are not used to Lambeth. We have about400 births a month and it is impossible for me to see themall.-The Coroner : If a child gets a convulsion and dies do younot refer it to the coroner ?-Witness : If the registrar is notsatisfied we do, or, rather, we send the paper to the registrar,and if he is not satisfied he sends to the coroner.-The Coroner:The registrar knows less about it than anyone else and he mightaccept it and it would be an uncertified death. I do not thinkmedical men should put so much power into the hands of regis-trars, some of whom do not know their work. I have no control over Southwark, but I used to have as deputy coroner. Anyhow,as far as Lambeth is concerned when you have a case in my districtwill you at once inform my officer who will make inquiries ? Probablyyour opinion will be quite as valuable as if I had a post mortem made.

i This certificate I consider most irregular. The matter is of import-ance to the public at large, whom I represent to some extent.-Thejury fully endorsed the coroner’s observations.-The Coroner (to MissLangley): I hope you will tell all your probationers not to take toomuch upon themselves.