357

NOTES FROM INDIA.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)

Sanitation in Assam.

THE annual sanitary report of the Provinceof Assam for 1914 shows that the year was,on the whole, an unusually healthy one. Thebirth-rate was slightly above and the death-ratesubstantially below the average for the precedingfive years, and the mortality from the more seriousepidemic diseases was comparatively low. The

large decrease in the number of deaths from kala-azar and the check to the upward tendency of themortality from that disease, which has been a

source of anxiety during recent years in thedistricts of Nowgong and Goalpara, are particularlysatisfactory, and afford grounds for the hope thatthe measures taken to eradicate the disease fromthe province will prove successful. The death-rate from fever was slightly above the decennialaverage, and it is a matter of much regret that itwas found necessary to recall to military duty thedistinguished officer who was deputed by theGovernment of India to undertake the malariaresearch work contemplated by the local administra-tion. The registration of vital statistics is in manydistricts still very imperfectly performed. Incertain areas, where the recorded rates of birthsand deaths were suspiciously low during the pre-ceding year, special inquiries revealed largenumbers of omissions, and it is more than probablethat the low records reported from several areasduring the year under review are due to defectiveregistration. The large percentage of omissions dis-covered in certain areas of compulsory registration,notably in the Surma Valley, and the failure to dealadequately with the defaults are unsatisfactory andwill be suitably dealt with. So far as urban regis-tration is concerned, the appointment of medicalofficers as municipal sanitary inspectors and theutilisation of their services in the registration ofvital statistics-measures which were introduced inthe course of the year under review-should effecta marked improvement in future. As regards ruralareas, suggestions have been made by the SanitaryCommissioner which will receive early considera-tion. Good progress was generally made in theimprovement of rural water-supply with the Govern-ment grant of Rs. 10,000 made to each local boardin 1913, and a start was also made with a specialscheme for the improvement of the water-supplyalong the banks of the Kallong river in Nowgong,an area specially liable to water-borne diseases.The five years’ programmes of water-supply, whichwere prepared by all boards as the result of a con-ference held in 1913, were finally approved afterthe close of the year under report, and the firstyear’s work is being financed from the currentyear’s budget. The continued expansion of the saleof quinine " treatments " is eminently satisfactory.The Secretary of State has sanctioned the ChiefCommissioner’s proposal of the appointment of aseparate Sanitary Commissioner for Assam, and itis hoped to give effect to the scheme at an earlydate. The Hon. Colonel Banatvala is com-

mended for his careful administration of thedepartment, and Major McCombie Young for thezeal and energy which he has displayed in thedischarge of his duties as Deputy SanitaryCommissioner.

Maternity Home Hospital for Women, Bombay.The first yearly report of the Gynaecological Hall

and Maternity Home Hospital for Women, Bombay,shows that this little hospital for women wasstarted in August, 1913, with accommodation forfour beds only. At the pressing request of somelady patients a maternity ward was added in July,1914. As the patients began to appreciate theadvantages of this institution and work increasedvarious improvements were gradually made. Tomeet with the increasing demand the place had tobe shifted to Mahammadi Mahal and the numberof the beds correspondingly increased. A consult-ing medical staff, consisting of an obstetrician andgynaecologist, a physician, a bacteriologist, and ananæsthetist, was appointed and the nursing staffincreased. The total number of admissions duringthe period under report was 116; of these, 79 werefor gynaecological treatment and 37 for confine-ments. The total number of operations performedwas 38, of which 14 were abdominal operations.

St. John Ambulance Association.The annual general meeting of the St. John

Ambulance Association in India was held. at Vice-regal Lodge, Simla, His Excellency the Viceroypresiding. Among those present were the Lieu-tenant-Governor of the Punjab, the Commander-in-Chief, the Bishop of Lahore, the Kaur Sahibof Patiala, and Sir Pardey and Lady Lukis.The Commander-in-Chief, chairman of the Indiancouncil of the association, said that ambulancework was going on in every corner of India,and the Indian Ambulance Department of theassociation had ably maintained the best traditionsof the order. Surgeon-General Sir Pardey Lukis,in presenting the report to the meeting, announcedthat His Highness the Maharaja of Scindia hadintimated his intention of presenting 500 units forthe use of British troops, thus bringing the totalamount of the generous donation up to 1000 ten-bed units, of an estimated value of over 2 lakhs.Three motor-boats, he added, had now been sent tothe Persian Gulf, and in addition to these threethey hoped to be able to supply ten more of lightdraught and suitable for river work, while therehad been already received from Her Highness theBegum Sahiba of Bhopal Rs. 14,000 for the purchaseof two such boats. Through Lady Earle they hadnow received an offer of two more motor ambulancesfrom the ladies of Assam, thus bringing the totalfor that province up to four, three of which hadbeen given by the ladies of Assam and one by HerHighness the Rani of Bijni. Sir Arthur Ker,honorary treasurer of the association, presented astatement of accounts, which showed steady financialprogress, but he said that a much larger endowmentreserve fund was required if the future of theassociation was to be definitely assured. ColonelR. J. Blackham, general secretary, having describedthe reorganisation of three provincial centres foradministrative purposes, the Viceroy alluded instirring terms to the work done by the associationsince the outbreak of war, the splendid liberality ofthe ruling chiefs, and the devoted personal serviceof the officers.

THE LATE DR. ALFRED MANN.-Mr. AlfredMann, M D., C.M. Edin., died on August 3rd at a nursinghome after an operation. He had done good work on theChester town council and was chairman of the public healthcommittee from 1908 to 1912. He was also an active memberof the Chester port sanitary authority. He was placed onthe commission of the peace in 1913.