Medical News

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ment. Having referred to the sources from which the Poor-law Board derived its information, he went on to explain thecourse ordinarily taken by that body. They communicateddirectly to the guardians, and requested that they would sendany observations which they chose to submit, and they alsodirected an inspector to visit the guardians, and make a reporton anything complained of, and to try to get the guardians toremedy it. There had also been cases, such as that of Farn-ham, to which it seemed to the Poor-law Board that the endsof morality and humanity would not be satisfied without amore public inquiry,-an inquiry conducted, not by the in-spector for the district, but by one from a different district.He had now placed before them as clearly as he could thepowers, duties, and responsibilities of the different partiesconnected with the management of workhouses, and he haddone so in the belief that it was important that the publicshould have an opportunity of knowing who was responsible.The Poor-law Board frankly accepted the responsibility andduty of making such administrative arrangements for thetreatment of the sick poor under their charge as might be con-sistent with the best sanitary knowledge of the day, and mostconducive to the proper curative treatment of the patient.The Board did not shrink in any way from any public re- ’,marks and comments on them,-comments which, when tem-perately, calmly, judiciously, and candidly made, were oftenvery important auxiliaries in the performance of public duty.Having explained the powers of the Board, he would say thatit might become necessary to apply in the next session for in-creased powers in some respects. In conclusion, he movedfor the returns.The Archbishop of YORK thought that the reports which

he had moved for would no doubt prove very important docu-ments. The noble lord had not informed them upon what prin-ciple the forty-eight parishes had been selected, but no doubthe would kindly give them that information. He believedthat a good deal of inconvenience had arisen from the charac-ter of workhouses being mistaken; these workhouses werereally hospitals, but they had not been conducted accordingto the known principles of hospital management. The greaterpart of the inmates were necessarily persons requiring constantmedical care, and the guardians were not accustomed to themanagement of patients who wanted such treatment. And,again, it could not be said that all the inspectors were qualifiedto appreciate precisely the wants of hospital patients. Thereshould be for every person about 1000 cubic feet of space, dayand night nurses were required, and they must also have suit-able buildings.The Earl of CARNARVON said that he had listened with

very great satisfaction to the statement of his noble friend,and he agreed with the most rev. prelate that the motionmight well be enlarged so as to include some of the inspectors’reports, an enlargement to which he believed that his noblefriend would have no objection. His noble friend went intothe powers possessed by the Poor-law Board ; and he couldhardly doubt that if it was the deliberate opinion of the Pre-

. sident of the Board that these powers were insufficient tocarry out the ordinary requirements of decency and humanity,Parliament would not hesitate to give all necessary powers.Lord HOUGHTON recommended that if any new legislation

were attempted, the interests of the ratepayers should be keptin view, and that if more hospital accommodation were affordedin connexion with workhouses, the question should be consi-dered whether contributions ought not to be made towards theexpense from the consolidated fund and the county rate.The Earl of DEVON said that with respect to the reports

under Mr. Hardy’s circular, he must consider whether it wasdesirable to lay them upon the table of the House, but his im-pression was that it might be advisable to do so. His noblefriend, the rev. prelate, had referred to the question of the in-sane at present in workhouses, and to the practice of sendinginsane persons to workhouses for a short time previous totheir being sent to the asylum. This was, of course, a veryinjurious practice, and wherever that system prevailed it wasdesirable that it should be checked. There was also anotherclass of insane persons,-those whom it was legal to detain inworkhouses, who were not injurious to themselves or others.He believed it would be most desirable that that class shouldbe withdrawn from the workhouses. One very considerabledifficulty that had to be encountered lay in the fact that theratepayers themselves in many cases were little, if at all,raised above the class whom they were called on to aid in sup-porting. He could only say that it would be the object of thePoor-law Board, as far as possible, to prevent the incidence ofthat pressure.

Medical News.ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF ENGLAND.-The

following gentlemen, having undergone the necessary examinations, were admitted Licentiates in Midwifery at a meetingof the Board on the 4th inst. :-

Alderson, Frederick Henry, Hammersmith.Browne, Jnhn Walton, Belfast.Fawsitt, Thomas, Oldham.Jarvis, Nathaniel Haward, Kingsbridge.Kemp, William Georee, Canterbury.Lock, John Griffith, Tenby.1tl’MulJin, John, Castledawson, Londonderry.Smith, Frederick Walter, Brenchley.Wallace, Frederick, Hackney.road.

j APOTHECARIES’ HALL. - The following gentlemenpassed their examination in the Science and Practice of Medi-cine, and received certificates to practise, on the 28th ofNovember :-

Cassidy, David McKay, Sydenham-park, S.E.Davies, William Richard, Carmarthen, South Wales.Jones, George Francis, Prittlewell, E>sex.Langmore, John Wreford, 12, Sussex-gardens, W.Prior, Richard Henry, Chichester, Sussex.

A WELL-DESERVED HONoUR.-The 11 InternationalSocieties for Aid to the Wounded in Time of War" haveawarded to Mr. Condy, of Battersea, their medal, in recogni-tion of the importance to military surgery of his discovery ofthe disinfecting properties of the alkaline permanganates, andthe great sanitary value of Condy’s fluid, as proved by the ex-perience of the Prussian army surgeons during the late Bohe-mian war.

FOOTBALL MATCHES between the different schoolshave been frequent of late. The London Hospital and Uni-versity College played on Saturday last at Victoria-park.There was no goal or perceptible advantage obtained on eitherside in an hour and a half’s play. The University deservepraise for their fight against such practical opponents. TheRugby rules were observed. In the early part of last monthSt. Thomas’s defeated St. Bartholomew’s : and St. Mary’splayed a good game against the Red Rovers of Blackheath.The latter club also obtained a slight advantage over the Lon-don Hospital ; King’s beat Epsom ; St. Mary’s beat St. George’sin the middle of last month ; and Charing Cross succumbed tothe better figure of Epsom College. University and King’splayed together on Wednesday last at Victoria-park ; after anhour King’s had only one hard-fought touch-down. A UnitedHospital Club is being formed, and every hospital has joinedit save Guy’s, we believe. The club ought to be a strong one,and capable of playing such as the Richmond and Blackheathclubs.

BRACKENBURY NATURAL SCIENCE SCHOLARSHIP,BALLIOL COLLEGE, OXFORD.-This Scholarship was adjudgedto Mr. C. J. F. Yule, of Magdalen School. Proxime Acces-sit : Mr. W. W. Fisher, of Worcester College. This Scholar-ship is tenable for three years ; its yearly value is 70. Theexamination papers were-Mechanical Philosophy and Physicsby Professor H. J. S. Smith, F. R. S., Fellow of Balliol College ;in Chemistry by Sir B. C. Brodie, Bart. ; in Physiology by Dr.Rolleston, Linacre Professor of Physiology and Anatomy.GLASGOW UNIVERSITY MEDICAL SOCIETY. - The

opening meeting of this Society, for the session 1867-8, washeld in the Practice of Physic Class-room, on the evening ofFriday, the Sth ult. There was a large attendance of mem-bers, which fully testified to the increasing prosperity of theSociety. In the absence of the president, Dr. H. Appleton,vice-president, occupied the chair. The first part of the busi-ness consisted in the reading of the Secretary and Treasurer’sreports for the past year, which were unanimously approvedof. The election of office-bearers for the ensuing year wasthen proceeded with. The following are the gentlemenelected :-Honorary President: Dr. J. Young, Professor ofNatural History. President : Mr. William Maclachlan.Vice-president: Mr. George Hutcheson. Secretary: Mr.Mclntyre. Treasurer: Mr. James Coats. Committee :Messrs. J. Aikman, J. Booth, J. C. Fletcher, A. Lang, J.

McNaughton, J. Pitts, B.A., and J. J. B. Taylor. A vote ofthanks being awarded to the retiring office-bearers and chair-man, the meeting was brought to a close.