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of the department of clinical pathology must increase if thatmost valuable and necessary department is not to be crampedand limited in its usefulness, and there are many improve-ments which should be carried out, such as an extension ofthe limited electric lighting of the infirmary to the whole ofthe institution. The annual income from the bequest willamount to 3852 and the cost of maintaining the C. S.Weatherill Ward with its 32 beds cannot be less than Z2400per annum. It is hoped that other wealthy citizens or
former citizens of Leeds will consider whether any altarmore worthy of their offering or any monument more lastingcould be thought of than the endowment of a ward or otherdepartment of the General Infirmary. _
Oct. 13th. ______________
WALES AND WESTERN COUNTIES NOTES(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)
Herefordshire Ombnty Council appointment of County MedicalOfficer of Health and School Medical Officer.
AT a meeting of the Herefordshire county council held onOct. 10th it was stated that a committee of the council hadnot been able to come to an agreement with Mr. HerbertJones, who was elected county medical officer of health andschool medical officer on August 29th, as to the terms underwhich he should hold the appointment. The principal pointof difference is the stipulation by the county council that allqualified medical assistance required should be provided, notas is invariably the case elsewhere by the council, but by themedical officer of health. The council decided again toadvertise the appointment upon the same terms, in spite ofthe warnings of several members that no medical practi-tioner of standing would be found to accept the post underthe proposed conditions.
The Medical Inspection of School Children.At a meeting of the Gloucestershire education com-
mittee held on Sept. 26th it was decided to appoint a ladymedical inspector who should devote the whole of her timeto the duties of office at a salary of 250 per annum, in-creasing by annual increments of 10 to .E300, and alsoanother medical inspector who would be allowed privatepractice, at a salary of .6125 per annum, increasing by <S5 5yearly until .S150 was reached. It was also determined to
appoint a trained nurse at R75 per annum, rising to .680,with uniform. At a meeting of the Devon education com-mittee held on Oct. 1st it was reported that there were 65applicants for the three appointments of medical inspectorsof schools for the county. 11 of the candidates were
medical women. The committee eventually selected sevenof the candidates and these will be interviewed on Nov. 5th,when the appointment will be made. In Plymouth theeducation committee recently wrote to the Board of Educa-tion suggesting that a grant should be made from the
Exchequer towards the cost of the medical inspection ofschool children, and at a meeting of the education com-mittee held on Sept. 30th a letter was read from the Boardof Education stating that it was not proposed to make anygrant at the present time.
The Water-supply of jYotton-znder-Edge.A Local Government Board inquiry was held at Wotton-
under-Edge (Gloucestershire) on Oct. lst into the applicationof the Dursley rural district council to borrow ,2700 for thepurposes of water-supply for the town of Wotton-under-Edge.
Oct. 13th. _______________
SCOTLAND.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)
Opening of the Royal Medical Society, Edinblbrgh.THE 172nd session of this society was opened on
Oct. 9th by an inaugural address delivered by Sir ThomasF. Chavasse of Birmingham. The lecturer is a graduateof the University of Edinburgh and in his student days satunder and clerked under Lord Lister who was then inthe chair of clinical surgery in Edinburgh. It was but
natural, therefore, that the address should be a compari-son of the antiseptic method of kis student days with the
aseptic system which surgeons adopt now. There was a
good attendance and the lecturer was accorded a vote ofthanks on the motion of Mr. H. Alexis Thomson.
A Ne7v Medical Practitioners’ Association in Edinburgh.The medical practitioners in Edinburgh and Leith have
completed their scheme for a new Practitioners’ Association.The object of the association is "to promote the interests ofthe medical profession and serve as a medium of friendlycommunication between members." It is proposed to havequarterly meetings and at the first of these, on Oct. 30th,there is to be a discussion on the Relationship between thePublic Health Authority and the General Practitioner in
regard to the Treatment of Infectious Diseases. A novelpoint in the arrangements is that the members at one
meeting are to name the subject for discussion at the nextmeeting. The subscription is 5s. and there is to be anannual All eilueavour6 on um part of practionenersfor the furtherance of the interests of medicine are, ofcourse, most praiseworthy, and from that standpoint the newassociation will be wished success. At the same time itsinitiation has to be regarded as an indication that existingmedical associations and societies do not meet the aspira-tions of the general practitioners in Edinburgh and Leith.It will certainly be interesting to note what it does andhow it does whatever it may do. It is evidently not to bea competitor with the scientific societies ; but as a channelthrough which the general practitioners’ views and aspira-tions may find expression it may be of much value and mayaid in the furtherance of the public good, which, after all, isthe aim of the medical profession in a very special measure.
Sudden Death of a Fife Medical Man.Dr. Alexander B. Spence, medical officer of the parish of
Kinghorn and son of Dr. R. Spence of Burntisland, diedsuddenly on Oct. 8th at his residence, Orchard Bank,Kinghorn. Dr. Spence was only 27 years of age and on theday before his death seemed to be in his usual health.He was chairman of the Kinghorn school board.
Oct. 10th. ______________
IRELAND.
(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)
Proposed Amalgamation of D2cblin Unions.A PROPOSAL for the amalgamation of the North and South
Dublin Unions has been under the consideration of theguardians of those institutions and of the citizens generallyever since the issue in the autumn of 1906 of the report ofthe Viceregal Commission on Poor-law Reform in Ireland.No effective steps have, however, been hitherto taken in thematter. The subject was brought before the guardians ofthe South Dublin Union last week. A deputation of theNorth Dublin guardians attended and a motion was sub-mitted that a joint committee be formed, composed of sixmembers of each board, for the purpose of considering thepoints which would tend to bring about the amalgama-tion. This was defeated by 15 votes to 12, an
amendment being carried: "That, pending the Govern-ment’s dealing with the report of the Viceregal Com-mission on Poor-law, no action be taken." The matterwill not, however, be allowed to rest. The guardians of theNorth Dublin union have declared unanimously in favourof amalgamation and the proposal has also received theapproval of the Dublin corporation. A letter received fromthe Local Government Board last year (dated July 30th,1907) stated that "if the guardians of the two Dublinunions decide in favour of amalgamation the proposal couldbe carried into effect without further legislation." At presentthe two unions cost, in round numbers, £180,000 per annum.Of this sum it has been calculated that £30,000 are spent insalaries and wages and the number of requisite recipientswould be greatly diminished by amalgamation. After
amalgamation a united district hospital could be formed inone of the existing union hospitals into which a patientcould be received without the stigma of pauperism.
The Recorder of Dzcblin on the Housing Problem.The Recorder of Dublin took the opportunity in his address
to the grand jury at the opening of the sessions last week tocall attention to the question of the housing of the working-classes of our Irish metropolis. In the course of his remarks
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he said, "To the slums in our midst is, in my humble
judgment, directly traceable the great prevalence of tuber-cular disease and to the same source the drink evil, which isa fruitful source of the great bulk of our crimes. It cannotbe even hoped that an environment of squalid filth andnoisesomeness, which in an ancient city such as ours is anevil and ever increasing heritage, could produce sober,healthy, or honest citizens. One can well understand thedespair of the wretched and hopeless poor who are left intheir sunless lairs to fester and rot." I have seldom seen somuch sanitary, pathological, and psychological truth com-
pressed into a couple of sentences as in this reference of theRecorder to a question which he has had such exceptionalopportunities of studying.G’karatyS’ermon in Aid of the National Lying-in Loqpital,
Holles-street, Dublin.One of the special events of the opening month of the new
medical year was the powerful appeal made on Sunday by theVery Rev. Canon Fricker on behalf of the National Lying-inHospital, Holles-street. The preacher eloquently impressedupon his audience the invaluable nature of the servicesrendered to humanity by the nuns and the medical menattached to our Dublin institutions. The self-sacrifice towhich our citizens owe this great work for their poor andsuffering is nowhere more prominent than it is in Holles-street. During the past year over 1000 patients were
received into the hospital and 1400 were attended intheir own homes. It was gratifying to be able to announcethat the usefulness of the institution would be much increased
by the enlargements and additions that have been recentlymade in the building. A larger number of beds and a newoperating theatre were among the best items of equipmentthat make for the merciful work of the institution andfurther secure its eminence as an educational centre forRoman Catholic medical men and nurses. Of all classes of
hospital it was most necessary that such as that of Holles-street should be equipped on the most modern lines, and thepreacher expressed confidence that the public, grateful forthe priceless work that has been done and is being done inincreasing measure within its wards, ’’ will not allow it tobe hampered by the liability incurred through necessary andinevitable improvement." I am glad to record that CanonFricker’s eloquent appeal on behalf of this excellent institu-tion met with a most generous response.The Annual Report of the Castlebar District Ilccnatie Asylzcna.The report of the result of the annual inspection of the
Castlebar District Lunatic Asylum by Dr. E. M. Courtenay,Inspector of Lunatics, has just been published. In September,1907, there were 712 patients on the books, 451 male and261 female. Since then 113 had been admitted (77 males and36 females) ; 50 were discharged (32 males and 18 females;and 39 died (22 males and 17 females). Accordingly thereare at the present date 736 patients, of whom 474 are malesand 262 females. Of the deaths, 14 (36 per cent. of the
total) were due to tuberculous diseases. There was one caseof suicide by drowning but all the others were due to naturalcauses. The attendant staff appears rather weak in numbers,one attendant to 17 male patients and one nurse to tenfemales. Even of the above a large proportion of the maleattendants are habitually employed on the farm, someoutside the asylum grounds.
Medical Economy of Boards of Guardians.The following proposition was moved and adopted at a
recent meeting of the board of guardians controlling theKiltimagh dispensary district (County Mayo):-That in any cases where the Local Government Board make deduc-
tions from claims for recoupment in respect of the cost of medicines andmedical and surgical appliances, the loss incurred to the ratepayers becharged to the medical officer by wfiom the articles were ordered.The hardship and injustice of thus arbitrarily limiting thediscretion of a medical officer are obvious.
Compensation for the Death of a Medical Man.A very important precedent has just been recorded in the
matter of compensation for accidents in the case of medicalmen in the employment of boards of Poor-law guardians.The late Mr. D. P. Murphy, who was medical officerof the Killane dispensary district, Enniscorthy (CountyWexford), and coroner for the county, was killed by thecollision of a motor car which ran into his dog-cart whilehe was driving to see a dispensary patient in the routine dis-charge of his ’’ searlet-runner " practice. His widow claimed
compensation ’ from the guardians under the Workmen’s
Compensation Act, and the case came before the countycourt judge at the April quarter sessions, with the result thata sum of £300 was awarded. The board of guardians hasdecided to drop its proposed appeal, subject to the approvalof the Local Government Board and the paying of legal costsby the widow.
Worn.cn’s National Health Association of Ireland.It is a source of great satisfaction to the President of the
Women’s National Health Association of Ireland and to allthose who worked under her that a prize of 9100 has beenawarded to the association at the Washington InternationalCongress on Tuberculosis for the best evidence of effectivework in the prevention of tuberculosis. The association hasalso been bracketed equal with the similar association in NewYork for the first prize of £200 given by the Congress for thebest voluntary association for the prevention of tuberculosis
Outbreak of Diphtheria at Limavady.At the weekly meeting of the guardians of Limavady
held on Oct. 12th a deplorable state of affairs was shown toexist by the medical officer of the workhouse, Dr. J. W.Watson. The fever hospital, he pointed out, was absolutelyfull ; a second nurse, whom it was necessary to employ, hadhad to sleep on the floor, and there were no facilities for
cooking in connexion with the hospital. He complained thatthe accommodation provided had been discussed fruitlesslyfrom time to time for the last 12 years, yet nothing had beendone. Finally no system of disinfection was in use. Theyhad to keep people in quarantine, but the building was fullfrom top to bottom, and three cases of diphtheria had re-cently been admitted. Dr. Watson asked what course hecould take if he had to admit another case of scarlet fever.
It was ultimately decided to purchase a kitchen range, andin a thoroughly parochial way the master was asked to dothe best he could to relieve the overcrowding, another ideabeing that the night nurse could occupy the same apartmentas the day nurse, an inexcusable arrangement. It is hopedthat the Local Government Board will interfere, or that aquestion will be put in the House of Commons in referenceto the matter.
Oct. 13th. _______________
PARIS.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
The First Internationil Congress of Urology., THE First International Congress of Urology held its
opening meeting in Paris on Sept. 30th. The InternationalAssociation of Urology was founded in Paris last year with alimited number of members, an international committee beingformed to fix definitely the number for each country. Theassociation is to meet in congress every third year. This first
assembly was under the presidency of Professor Albarran,the vice-presidents being Professor Posner (Berlin) and Mr.Watson (Boston). The general secretary and treasurer of theassociation, M. Desnos and M. Pasteau, are acting in similar
capacities to the Congress. The inaugural meeting was heldin the large theatre of the Faculty of Medicine, underthe presidency of the Minister of Public Instruction whowelcomed the Congress in the name of the Government.He was followed by Professor Guyon, honorary president,who was greeted on every side with a storm of applause.In a few words he pointed out the utility of congresses andespecially of such international gatherings. Professor Israel(Berlin), speaking in French, next rehearsed the history ofthe foundation of the International Association of Urology, inwhich France had taken the largest share, and pronounceda eulogy upon Professor Guyon. M. Desnos also spoke of theorganisation and aims of the association. Professor Albarranfollowed with a discourse upon the importance of urology.The. Minister rose at 3.30 and the scientific proceedings wereopened. Four subjects were down for discussion: 1. ThePathogeny and Treatment of Anuria, opened by M. Achard(Paris), Mi. Watson (Boston), and Professor Kumme(Hamburg), and followed by M. Alessandri (Rome), M.Teissier (Lyons), M. Jeanbrau (Montpellier), M. Pavone
(Palermo), M. Pousson (Bordeaux), M. Legueu (Paris),M. Chauffard (Paris), M. Nicolich (Trieste), and M.Janet (Paris). 2. Vesical Retention without MechanicalObstruction. This question was considered in three parts;
