1
1397 TAYLOR’S "PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF FORENSIC MEDICINE." To the Editors of THE LAN C E T. SIRS,-I have been requested by Messrs. Churchill to edit a new edition of Taylor’s large work on the " Principles and Practice of Forensic Medicine." Might I appeal through your columns to the profession to send me accounts of interesting and instructive medico-legal cases that have been recently decided ? Dr. Stevenson has with the greatest generosity and kindness placed at my disposal a rich collec- tion of poisoning cases, so that I am more particularly anxious for other criminal reports, such as rape, strangulation, &c. Might I ask that dates and references to the trial should accompany any reports sent to me at this address ? I am. Sirs. vours faithfullv. 138, Harley-street, W., Nov. 9th, 1903. FRED. J. SMITH. SOME CASES OF DILATATION OF THE BRONCHIAL TUBES AFTER MEASLES. To the Editors of THE LANCET. SIRS,-I beg to call attention to the following slight error which has crept into the publication of my paper in THE LANCET of Oct. 31st. The words "the lungs" on the last line of the second column on p. 1225 should have been I the lower lobes." By the way, the bronchial glands shown in Fig. 2 were not caseous. The enlargement was due to acute inflammation dependent upon the presence in the lung of bioncho-pneumonia. I am, Sirs, yours faithfully, Clifton, Bristol, Nov. 9th, 1903 THEODORE FISHER, M.D. Lond. 03. NOTES FROM INDIA. (FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.) The Plague Epidemic.-Transport for Invalids.--Medical n T Missions in India. B A SUDDEN upward leap has occurred in the plague o mortality during the past week. After remaining at about 13,000 for two or three weeks it has now risen to 16,204, t: chiefly due to a recrudescence in the Bombay Presidency. e The following figures show the local increases : Bombay t] Presidency, from 8868 to 10,890 ; Mysore State, from 554 to 1; 627 ; the Punjab, from 80 to 425 ; Madras Presidency, from B 146 to 185 ; United Provinces, from 95 to 120 ; Bengal, from t 41 to 85 ; and Rajputana, from 38 to 52. Slight decreases s have occurred in Central India, in the Hyderabad State, I Bombay city, Kashmir, and Calcutta. i The transport Plassey has been specially fitted to convey ( to England 100 helpless invalids on each trip during the s ensuing trooping season and the nurses required for duty ( will be drawn as far as possible from those nurses to whom t leave to England is being granted. The nurses will receive full Indian pay during the voyage and their leave will date ( from their arrival in England. 1 The Medical Missions in India seem to be doing a good i work. There are over 76 mission hospitals and over 100 dis- pensaries and they are all under the care of fully qualified practitioners. The Church Missionary Society has a group i of medical missions in the north-west of India, of which the << Kashmir branch has been particularly successful, but the Amritsar branch seems to be almost equally popular. In the ] south is the London Mission Society’s branch in Travancore, which attracts very large numbers and is evidently highly respected. Then there are the hospitals maintained in Bombay, the United Provinces, and in Arcot by the Presbyterians ; the hospitals in the Maratha country and in Madura, kept up by the Congregationalists; and the hospitals in Assam, the Telugu country, and Burmah, looked after by the Baptists. The Germans are represented by the Basel Mission in Malabar, and there are the Australasian Baptist Mission in Eastern Bengal and the Canadian Presby- terian Mission in Central India. Even the Salvation Army has its medical mission at Nagercoil, in Travancore, under a well-qualified graduate. There is no doubt that the medical part. of thee missions i6 supplying a long-felt want amongst the masses of the poor natives in India who in illness are otherwise at the mercy of ignorant quacks or without any assistance whatever. Judging from reports many of the officers must find plenty of work in strictly following their profession. The opportunities for practice are immense and embrace all branches of our profession. Oct. 24th. __________________ THE ELEVENTH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF HYGIENE AND DEMOGRAPHY. (FROM OUR SPECIAL SANITARY COMMISSIONER.) THE DIVISION OF DEMOGRAPHY. Infantile Mortality. THE seven sections of hygiene met, as already explainea, in the various committee rooms of the two Houses of Parliament. This was very convenient as at Brussels the Senate and the House of Representatives are located in the same building. But there was not room for the division of demography so it was allotted the Palace of Academies where there was ample space. But this building is on the other side of the Park and is from ten minutes to a quarter of an hour’s walk from the Houses of Parliament; it was not easy, therefore, for the members of the division of hygiene to go to the division of demography so that the two were more separated than was desirable. The members of the division of demography on their side had but little time to spare, for their programme was very overloaded. They had printed reports on no less than 14 different questions though only 12 resolutions were sent from the division to the general assembly of the entire Congress. On the first question Dr. J. F. W. TATHAM, superintendent of statistics at the General Register Office, Somerset House, London, presen’ed a report on Infantile Mortality in England which was brief and yet very complete and easy to grasp. The only difficulty in regard to this report is that in England no record is kept of stillbirths as is done on the continent. Thus, Dr. GUILLAUME, chief of the statistical bureau at Berne, was able to explain that since 1874 the law rendered obligatory the registration of all births at six months, whether still or living. By this means it had been ascer- tained that in Switzerland the proportion of stillbirths was equal to 4 per cent. of the total births. Dr. J. WILMART of the Brussels bureau of hygiene gave a brief account of the law on the registration of births in all the countries of Europe and statistics relating to the same. For Brussels there are statistics not only in regard to stillbirths alter six months but also of miscarriages before six months. Dr. J. BERTILLON (France) thought that the deaths of infants were due to a special microbiology. Dr. KIAER ’ (Norway) urged that infantile mortality ought to be studied separately for each class of society. Dr. PRESL r(Austria) insisted that insufficient or unsuitable food was ithe principal cause of infantile mortality and in this he was i supported by Dr. MAXWEILLER (Belgium). Dr. KERSTBERG ; (Berlin) alluded to the very significant statistics drawn up at Berlin, which indicated the state of the weather and tempe- rature as the principal cause of the high infantile death-rate, - and Dr. G. VON MAYR (Munich University) insisted that in Germany the infantile mortality had decreased though industrialism had increased. There were consequently other 3 causes than the fact of the mother working in a factory or e mill. M. HECTOR DENIS, vice president of the division and e professor of political economy at the Brussels Free University, , insisted that economic or social causes could not be separated y from the physiological and the psychological causes. The n problem could not be cut up into slices and it was therefore e absolutely necessary to place by the side of the physical cause of death details as to the social or economic position e of the parents. It was particularly necessary to state whether d the mother worked and at what trade. Finally the following e motion was adopted : n Considering that the question of infantile mortality is of great im- portance for the well-being of the peoples and the social condition of y nations ; considering that statistics cannot of themselves improve the bases of the statistics on stillbirths, the Congress expresses the desire that all the Governments should revise the administrative ordinances ie in regard to the registration of births (including premature births and

NOTES FROM INDIA

  • Upload
    hatuong

  • View
    219

  • Download
    1

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: NOTES FROM INDIA

1397

TAYLOR’S "PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICEOF FORENSIC MEDICINE."

To the Editors of THE LAN C E T.SIRS,-I have been requested by Messrs. Churchill to edit

a new edition of Taylor’s large work on the " Principles andPractice of Forensic Medicine." Might I appeal throughyour columns to the profession to send me accounts of

interesting and instructive medico-legal cases that have beenrecently decided ? Dr. Stevenson has with the greatestgenerosity and kindness placed at my disposal a rich collec-tion of poisoning cases, so that I am more particularly anxiousfor other criminal reports, such as rape, strangulation, &c.

Might I ask that dates and references to the trial should

accompany any reports sent to me at this address ? I am. Sirs. vours faithfullv.

138, Harley-street, W., Nov. 9th, 1903. FRED. J. SMITH.

SOME CASES OF DILATATION OF THEBRONCHIAL TUBES AFTER MEASLES.

To the Editors of THE LANCET.

SIRS,-I beg to call attention to the following slight errorwhich has crept into the publication of my paper inTHE LANCET of Oct. 31st. The words "the lungs" onthe last line of the second column on p. 1225 should havebeen I the lower lobes." By the way, the bronchial glandsshown in Fig. 2 were not caseous. The enlargement wasdue to acute inflammation dependent upon the presence inthe lung of bioncho-pneumonia.

I am, Sirs, yours faithfully,

Clifton, Bristol, Nov. 9th, 1903THEODORE FISHER, M.D. Lond.03.

NOTES FROM INDIA.

(FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.)

The Plague Epidemic.-Transport for Invalids.--Medical n TMissions in India. B

A SUDDEN upward leap has occurred in the plague o

mortality during the past week. After remaining at about 13,000 for two or three weeks it has now risen to 16,204, t:

chiefly due to a recrudescence in the Bombay Presidency. e

The following figures show the local increases : Bombay t]

Presidency, from 8868 to 10,890 ; Mysore State, from 554 to 1;

627 ; the Punjab, from 80 to 425 ; Madras Presidency, from B146 to 185 ; United Provinces, from 95 to 120 ; Bengal, from t

41 to 85 ; and Rajputana, from 38 to 52. Slight decreases s

have occurred in Central India, in the Hyderabad State, I

Bombay city, Kashmir, and Calcutta. iThe transport Plassey has been specially fitted to convey (

to England 100 helpless invalids on each trip during the s

ensuing trooping season and the nurses required for duty (will be drawn as far as possible from those nurses to whom t

leave to England is being granted. The nurses will receive full Indian pay during the voyage and their leave will date (from their arrival in England. 1The Medical Missions in India seem to be doing a good i

work. There are over 76 mission hospitals and over 100 dis-pensaries and they are all under the care of fully qualified practitioners. The Church Missionary Society has a group iof medical missions in the north-west of India, of which the <<Kashmir branch has been particularly successful, but the Amritsar branch seems to be almost equally popular. In the ]south is the London Mission Society’s branch in Travancore,which attracts very large numbers and is evidently highlyrespected. Then there are the hospitals maintained in

Bombay, the United Provinces, and in Arcot by thePresbyterians ; the hospitals in the Maratha country andin Madura, kept up by the Congregationalists; and thehospitals in Assam, the Telugu country, and Burmah, lookedafter by the Baptists. The Germans are represented by theBasel Mission in Malabar, and there are the AustralasianBaptist Mission in Eastern Bengal and the Canadian Presby-terian Mission in Central India. Even the Salvation Armyhas its medical mission at Nagercoil, in Travancore,under a well-qualified graduate. There is no doubt that the

medical part. of thee missions i6 supplying a long-felt wantamongst the masses of the poor natives in India who inillness are otherwise at the mercy of ignorant quacks or

without any assistance whatever. Judging from reportsmany of the officers must find plenty of work in strictlyfollowing their profession. The opportunities for practiceare immense and embrace all branches of our profession.

Oct. 24th. __________________

THE

ELEVENTH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESSOF HYGIENE AND DEMOGRAPHY.

(FROM OUR SPECIAL SANITARY COMMISSIONER.)

THE DIVISION OF DEMOGRAPHY.

Infantile Mortality.THE seven sections of hygiene met, as already explainea,

in the various committee rooms of the two Houses ofParliament. This was very convenient as at Brussels theSenate and the House of Representatives are located in thesame building. But there was not room for the divisionof demography so it was allotted the Palace of Academieswhere there was ample space. But this building is on theother side of the Park and is from ten minutes to a quarterof an hour’s walk from the Houses of Parliament; it wasnot easy, therefore, for the members of the division ofhygiene to go to the division of demography so that thetwo were more separated than was desirable. The membersof the division of demography on their side had but littletime to spare, for their programme was very overloaded.They had printed reports on no less than 14 differentquestions though only 12 resolutions were sent from thedivision to the general assembly of the entire Congress. Onthe first question Dr. J. F. W. TATHAM, superintendent ofstatistics at the General Register Office, Somerset House,London, presen’ed a report on Infantile Mortality in Englandwhich was brief and yet very complete and easy to grasp.The only difficulty in regard to this report is that in Englandno record is kept of stillbirths as is done on the continent.Thus, Dr. GUILLAUME, chief of the statistical bureau atBerne, was able to explain that since 1874 the law renderedobligatory the registration of all births at six months,whether still or living. By this means it had been ascer-tained that in Switzerland the proportion of stillbirths wasequal to 4 per cent. of the total births. Dr. J. WILMART ofthe Brussels bureau of hygiene gave a brief account of thelaw on the registration of births in all the countries ofEurope and statistics relating to the same. For Brussels

there are statistics not only in regard to stillbirths altersix months but also of miscarriages before six months.Dr. J. BERTILLON (France) thought that the deaths ofinfants were due to a special microbiology. Dr. KIAER

’ (Norway) urged that infantile mortality ought to bestudied separately for each class of society. Dr. PRESL

r(Austria) insisted that insufficient or unsuitable food wasithe principal cause of infantile mortality and in this he wasi supported by Dr. MAXWEILLER (Belgium). Dr. KERSTBERG; (Berlin) alluded to the very significant statistics drawn up at

Berlin, which indicated the state of the weather and tempe-rature as the principal cause of the high infantile death-rate,- and Dr. G. VON MAYR (Munich University) insisted that inGermany the infantile mortality had decreased thoughindustrialism had increased. There were consequently other3 causes than the fact of the mother working in a factory ore mill. M. HECTOR DENIS, vice president of the division ande professor of political economy at the Brussels Free University,, insisted that economic or social causes could not be separatedy from the physiological and the psychological causes. Then problem could not be cut up into slices and it was thereforee absolutely necessary to place by the side of the physicalcause of death details as to the social or economic positione of the parents. It was particularly necessary to state whetherd the mother worked and at what trade. Finally the followinge motion was adopted :n Considering that the question of infantile mortality is of great im-

portance for the well-being of the peoples and the social condition ofy nations ; considering that statistics cannot of themselves improve the

bases of the statistics on stillbirths, the Congress expresses the desirethat all the Governments should revise the administrative ordinancesie in regard to the registration of births (including premature births and