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most acceptable. Immediately afterwards he added that noother plan would be as satisfactory. He thought that surgeonsshould not dispense their medicines or practise midwifery,as anyone who gave time to such trivialities would have noneleft for the acquisition of the principles of pure surgery, buthe admitted that if only the non-dispensers could be chosenon the Council the power would be absolutely in the handsof 200 pure surgeons to govern 8000 persons presumably aswell educated as themselves-viz., the body of Members atlarge. He defended the system by which the ten seniormen of the twenty-one Councillors were examiners, in spite ofthe fact that Councillors were chosen for life and that someof the senior men would therefore presumably be pasttheir work. And he spoke well of the high rate of

fees exacted from the London student. His evidencewas printed at length in THE LANCET, much to his

disgust, and proved in the clearest possible way that

Wakley had not been exaggerating during the past ten yearswhen he described the Council of the College as "a self-perpetuating junto" and its educational scheme as useless,giving as his reasons firstly, that pharmacy and midwiferywere not included in it, and, secondly, that the examiners werenot fit and proper persons. If these facts had been elicitedbefore the Committee from Scotch or Irish teachers jealous ofcertain of the advantages enjoyed by the London corporations,or if they had been insinuated by Grainger or Carpue, soreat the greedy opposition offered by the College professorsto all private tutorial enterprise, or if they had been advancedby Wakley himself-a known foe to the College of Surgeons-the public might have looked with suspicion on the evidenceas tainted. But Guthrie was speaking for the College-asthe President of the College in fact-in favour of keepingthings as they were, and he satisfactorily convinced theCommittee of the urgent need of reform.

It was in a House in full possession of such evidence asthis taken before a Parliamentary Committee that Wakleycriticised Mr. Cripps’s County Coroners Bill from a medicalaspect. The House was prepared to believe that in mattersof medical reform the honourable member knew what hewas talking about. He was listened to with attention andwas able to secure the approval of the members for severalamendments, chief among which was that the medicalwitness should be treated as an expert and should be paid atinquests one guinea for his attendance and another for

making a post-mortem examination if directed to do so bythe Court.

Mr. Cripps’s Bill was afterwards rejected as a whole, butWakley’s prompt and successful employment of the firstopportunity that had presented itself to him to watch overthe interests of the profession in Parliament did not gowithout recognition at the time, while it led to practicalresults in the immediate future. He was publicly thankedby several medical associations. He was also begged torenew his endeavours in the next session of Parliament toobtain adequate remuneration for medical witnesses in thecoroners’ courts.

(To be continued.)

METROPOLITAN HOSPITAL SUNDAYFUND.

A MEETixc of the Council of the Metropolitan HospitalSunday Fund was held on Tuesday, July 28th, in the Saloonof the Mansion House, when the following annual generalreport of the Committee of Distribution was presented :-

.. Y"ur committee have the honour to recommend awards to 180 oftBJ" institutions enumerated in the appendix to this report, being anJ,"réaSe oi seventy-five since the first awards were made in 1873. f hetotal amount available for distribution, after allowing for liabilitiesand the usual current expenses, is JM4.029. Of this total .B41.829 isnul; recommended to 125 hospitals and fifty-five dispensaries. Five per

cent. of the total collected-viz., about £2200—is set apart to purchasesurgical appliances (in obedience to Law XII.) in monthly proportionsduring the ensuing year. Your committee recommend that all pay-ments to the Fund atter this date be carried to the credit of next year’sFund. In compliance with an order of the Council and for thespecial use of its members tables of statistics have been prepared asusual, showing an analysis of the number of beds in hospitals,the cost of patients both at hospitals and dispensaries, the propor-tionate expense of management, as well as othar valuable information,and copies are sent to every member of the Council. Your committeehave this year had occasion to question the administration of nineteeninstitutions. Each of these has been given the opportunity of send-ing a deputation in conference. Your committee are, however, glad toreport that in most cases the objections raised were frequently explainedsatisfactorily. There are now very few institutions which do not pub-lish their accounts on the uniform system agreed upon. One specialhospital, having no present need, gets no award. One convalescenthome, where the charge for maintenance of patients was deemed ex-cessive, has no award recommended. An institution which has beenclassed as a dispensary, and from which your committee requested theproduction of the minute-book, declined to produce the same, and yourcommittee are very doubtful of the existence of any such book. Theresult of all their interviews will, your committee hope, lead to im-provement in the future. Awards are therefore recommended to 162institutions on full bases, to sixteen on slightly reduced bases. Theremaining three applicants have no awards recommended."

Sir SYDNEY WATERLOW, who, in the absence of the LordMayor, occupied the chair, said he had great pleasure in

moving for the fourth time that the report of the Dis-tribution Committee be approved and that the severalawards recommended be paid as soon as possible. Theamount collected up to the present time was f,44,683 16s. Od.,and although this sum was not as large as that collected lastyear he thought it was on the whole satisfactory consideringthe fact that during the last three months special efforts hadbeen made by one of London’s old hospitals to raise anendowment fund. Sir Savile Crossley had contributed thisyear for the sixth time f,1000, Mr. Ludwig Mond for theninth time a donation of .6100, and Reid’s Brewery for thefourteenth time a donation of f,200. Special thanks werealso due to Canon Fleming, who had this year beaten hisown record.Alderman COTTON asked whether St. Thomas’s Hospital

had been taken into consideration when making the awards.Sir SYDNEY WATERLOW said there had been some corre-

spondence with regard to the matter, and he believed thereason the hospital was excluded from the awards wasbecause the authorities objected to prepare their accounts onthe uniform system.

Dr. GLOVER said before the resolution was put he had acomplaint to make. He explained that the Distribution Com-mittee had been ordered by a resolution of Council to makesome inquiries respecting the growing proportions of the out-patient departments of hospitals and the subject had beentreated with absolute neglect and ignored in the minutes.There had been a meeting of the Distribution Committeewith regard to the matter, and he (Dr. Glover) leftthat meeting with the distinct understanding that theDistribution Committee- would cause a summary of the factselicited to be published. It was never meant that our greathospitals should become huge dispensaries. As the Distribu-tion Committee had ignored the matter, with the help of abusiness friend he had collected some figures which showed

that eighty-two of the institutions helped by the Fund spenton their out-patient departments £94,604, and that each out-patient cost on an average 3s. 5 3/4d. Special hospitals spentmore on their out-patients, the largest sum being 30s., thecost of an out-patient at the Cancer Hospital. He was of

opinion that if the Committee had faced the subject thecollection would have been increased, and the public wouldbe more inclined to put money into the Council’s hands ifthey were not so timid in telling hospitals what they shoulddo. Secondly, a wholesome and reasonable reduction in theout-patients’ department would save an expenditure of £30,000or £40,000 a-year.

Mr. BURDETT pointed out that the Council was only acollecting body and that the proper persons to deal with thematter were the members of the medical profession them-selves.

Sir SYDNEY WATERLOW said it seemed to the Committeethat there was so much diversity of opinion on the matterthat they could not see their way to recommend any courseto the Council.

Captain PALLISER having seconded the motion that thereport be adopted, the resolution was put and carried.The following resolutions were then agreed to and the

usual courtesies to the chairman terminated the proceedings." That the cordial thanks of the Council be and are hereby given to

Sir Sydney H. Waterlow, Bart. (chairman), and to the other members ofthe Committee of Distribution, for the considerable care and attention

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bestowed in the preparation of the awards they have recommended andfor the very efficient report of their proceedings.""That the thanks of the Council be and are hereby given to the

editors of newspapers who have pleaded the needs of hospitals andadvocated the cause of this Fund with a view to increasing this year’s :collection.

11 That the cordial thanks of the Council are now given to the RightHonourable Sir Walter Wilkin, Bart., Lord Mayor, who, as presidentand treasurer, has devoted his valuable time and made special efforts topromote the growth of the Fund."

THE INTERNATIONAL PERIODICALCONGRESS OF GYNÆCOLOGY

AND OBSTETRICS.

THE second session of the International Congress ofGynaecology and Obstetrics will be held in Geneva under thedistinguished patronage of the Federal Council of the SwissConfederation and of the State Council of the Canton of

Geneva. The meetings will be held in the great hall ofthe university, and Professor Auguste Reverdin will preside.The following is the programme :-Monday, Aug. 3lst.-At 3 P.m. a reunion of the permanent

international committee and original members of the Con-gress will be held. At 9 P.M. the members of the Congresswill be entertained at a reception at the Palais Eynardby the State Council and by the City Council of Geneva.

Tuesday, Sept..1st.-The Congress will be opened by thePresident of the Committee of Organisation (Dr. Reverdin)at 9 A.M. The President of the Swiss Confederation and thechief of the Department of Public Instruction will be presentand will speak. At three o’clock in the afternoon there willbe a discussion on the Treatment of Pelvic Suppurations.The following have been selected by the Committee ofOrganisation to open the debate :-Professor Sanger (Leipzig),Dr. Howard Kelly (Baltimore), and Dr. Bouilly (Paris).Among those who have signified their intention of takingpart in the discussion are Professor A. Martin (Berlin),Mr. Lawson Tait (Birmingham), Dr. Laroyenne (Lyons), andseveral others.

Wednesday, Sept. 2nd.-In the forenoon two subjects willbe discussed-viz., The Surgical Treatment of BackwardDisplacements of the Uterus, to be opened by Dr. Kilstner(Breslau), Dr. Polk (New York), and Professor Pozzi (Paris);and The Best Mode of Closing the Abdomen, to be intro-duced by Dr. Granville Bantock (London) and Dr. La Torre(Rome). In the afternoon various miscellaneous communica-tions will be considered.

Thursday, Sept. 3rd, will be entirely devoted to an excur-sion on the Lake of Geneva, dining at Vevay, and with anexcursion to Montreux-Chillon.

Friday, Sept..4th.-In the morning the subject will beThe Relative Frequency and most Common Forms ofPelvic Contractions in different Races, Groups of Countries,or Continents, and the following will be the reporters : Dr.Fancourt Barnes (London), Dr. Dohrn (Konigsberg), Dr.Fochier (Lyons), Dr. Kuff erath (Brussels), Professor Lusk(New York), Professor Rein (St. Petersburg), Dr. Pawlick(Prague), Dr. Pestalozza (Pavia), and Professor Treub

(Leyden). Dr. Berry Hart (Edinburgh) will also speak.The afternoon will be taken up with various papers not yetannounced.

Saturday, Sept. 5th.-The subject at the morning sessionwill be the Treatment of Eclampsia, to be introduced byDr. Charles (Brussels), Professor Charpentier (Paris), Pro-fessor Halbertsma (Utrecht), Professor Veit (Berlin), Dr.Mangiagalli (Milan), Professor Parvin (Philadelphia), andProfessor Byers (Belfast). Professor Tarnier of Paris willalso speak in the discussion. At five o’clock there will bethe closing meeting and in the evening a public banquet.

Those who have been appointed by the organisation com-mittee to open the various discussions will be allowed tenminutes each, while others taking part in the debates willbe allowed five minutes. Life members pay a subscription of£12, which absolves them from the payment of any futurepayment, while those who are only inscribed for one sessionpay 24s. This entitles them to membership of the Congressas well as a copy of the Transactions of the meeting. Therewill also be an exhibition of instruments used in midwiferyand gynaecology. Professor Cordes, 12, Rue Bellot, Geneva,and Dr. A. Bétrix, 33, Rue du Rhone, Geneva, are the

secretaries-general—the former for obstetrics, the latter fopgynæcology—with whom those who propose to take part inthe Congress should communicate. The special secretaryfor England is Mr. J. H. Targett, 6, St. Thomas’-street,London, S.E.

CHOLERA IN EGYPT AND THE SOUDAN,

PUBLIC attention is focussed at the present time upon theoutbreak of cholera in the Soudan and the effect which it

may have upon the campaign. For the moment everythingconnected with the merely military aspects of the expeditionis set aside ; the presence of cholera has temporarilyexcluded the Khalifa’s forces from consideration. Therecannot be any doubt that the epidemic in Lower Egypt andthe Soudan has been on an extensive scale, whether we

regard it in relation to the numbers attacked or the space theepidemic has covered. Since the beginning of this Egyptianepidemic there have been over 14,000 cases reported andnearly 12,000 deaths; and in a country like Egypt, wherethe system of registration in rural districts especially cannotbe relied upon, it is very probable that the actual number ofattacks and deaths exceed the number officially returned.We have to announce with great regret the deaths of two

more British officers serving with the Egyptian troops of theNile expedition-viz., those of Surgeon-Captain Trask andCaptain Fenwick, both of whom had distinguished them-selves by their energy and zeal and their brave devotion toduty. The almost simultaneous loss of these two officers,who perished within a few hours of their being attackedwith cholera, naturally cast quite a gloom over the force.Some other cases of cholera had also occurred at Koshehand the camp was shifted in consequence. Captain Fenwickwas a very gallant soldier and an immense favourite in theEgyptian Army, and Surgeon-Captain Trask had onlyshortly before his attack arrived from Korosko, where he hadbeen doing excellent work. This officer had served withmuch distinction in the action at Ferket, where he hadexhibited great bravery and coolness in attending to thewounded under a heavy fire. We are proud to say that themedical service has greatly distinguished itself in the

present expedition by its devoted zeal and untiring exertionsin attending to the sick and in devising measures

for limiting the spread of the disease. It is verygratifying to us as medical journalists to add that thelabours of the medical officers and the hopeful, pluckyspirit they have always shown under most trying cir-cumstances have been universally recognised. Only thosewho have had personal experience of cholera camps can formany adequate idea of the calls that are made upon a man’sfortitude and of the mental and physical strain which haveto be undergone under such depressing circumstances. Theheat in the Soudan has of late also been very great, the tem.perature in the shade having been over 120° F. In additionto the attacks of cholera at Kosheh there have likewise beencases at Suarda, Gemai, and Wady Halfa. The disease inLower Egypt is, however, slowly subsiding, and the latestaccounts from the Soudan are also more favourable. TheBritish troops forming the army of occupation have almostentirely escaped cholera, but the death of a man of the RoyalArtillery at Alexandria has to be recorded. In addition tocholera there have been some cases of enteric fever in thefield force and others returned as enteritis. The StaffordshireRegiment at Wady Halfa and the European part of the forceacross the frontier have, however, been relatively free fromcholera as compared with the Egyptian army and the civiliansaccompanying it. The water-supply for the troops hasbeen the object of vigilant attention on the part of themedical officers. The Nile has risen greatly, and its waters,derived from pure sources and moving rapidly, should, withordinary precautions and care, afford an abundant supply ofwholesome pleasant drinking water. The course of thecholera that has appeared along the banks of the Nile has,as we have said, and as is the case with cholera in India,where an epidemic commencing in the plains proceedsupwards to the north-west, the Punjab, and to the Himalayas.contrary to the course of the great Indian rivers, been movingupwards and against the course of the river. The medicalofficers have among other things had recourse to the shiftingof camps and change of site as one of the safeguards againstcholera, based presumably upon Indian experience. Great