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analyses of new books and of medical journals. Men-tion may also be made of the appearance last monthof the first number of the Johns Hopkins Hospital B’ttlletin,Baltimore, to be continued monthly. It is to containannouncements of lectures &c., reports of the practice of thehospital, and of lectures and papers read before the HospitalMedical Society. This number contains, in addition to theannouncement of the course of study during the presentsession, and a brief account of the Johns Hopkins Hospital,a report of the inauguration of the Training School for

Nurses, a Preliminary Report of Investigations concerningthe Causation of Hog Cholera by Prof. Welch, and a shortpaper by Prof. Osler on the Value of Laveran’s Organismsin the Diagnosis of Malaria, and the Proceedings of theMedical Society. -

PERMISSION TO OPERATE.

MEDICAL CIRCLES in Belgium have been considerablyexcited recently by the trial of an action against a wellknown surgeon who is on the staff of a hospital in Liege.More than two years ago a child was brought to the

hospital for the advice of the surgeon in question on accountof a curvature of the tibia. The mother was told that an

operation would be necessary, to which s4e replied- that-shemust obtain the grandmother’s consent. Shortly afterwardsthe child was brought back to be operated on. Unfortunatelygangrene supervened, andthèèhi1d’s leghad to be amputated.After the lapse of some two years, the father; of the childappeared on the ’scene, and, declaring that’ his consentto the 6Vetal(;’ Ilad not been’’obtained, commencedan action against the surgeon for having operated’*iW6ilt.it, the result being that the court awarded him 10,000’frat"t’s’damages as compensation for the lObS of the child’s leg. Itis pointed out by medical critics’ that the court seems tohave, proceeded on the principle that a surgeon who operatesis liable unless he can prove that a child’s father has con-sented. It seems to have been taken for granted that whenthe child was brought to the hospital the second time it wasmerely for another consultation, and that no consent hadbeen given as understood by the defendant. An appeal toa higher court has been made, and the result of that is veryuncertain. It is, however, evident that great care willhave to be’exercised by hospital surgeons in future, at leastin Belgium. Indeed, it would seem that a written per-mission to operate may have to be insisted on in all casesin that country. -

THE HOUSING OF THE WORKING CLASSES.

WE have received from Mr. J. Theodore Dodd, of 20, Old-buildings, Lincoln’s-inn, a letter criticising the reply theHome Secretary made to a deputation from the LondonCounty Council who waited upon him to urge certain pro-posed amendments of Torrens’ Acts. Mr. Dodd argues thatwhat is needed is the consolidation of the sanitary autho-rities, the appointment of medical officers of health and ’,sanitary inspectors by the County Council, and the posses- z,sion by the Council of power to compulsorily purchase land,to build and let dwellings, and impose a small tax onLondon landlords. We entirely endorse his views that theDistrict Council Bill should not be long delayed, andthat the more secure the position of the medical officer ofhealth the greater is the prospect of effective sanitaryadministration. We see no objection to the medicalofficer of health becoming the officer of the CountyCouncil. This, in fact, was proposed by Sir Lyon Play-fair when the Local Government Bill was under theconsideration of the House of Commons. Unfortunately,this proposal was in the form of an amendment to a clause,which was withdrawn ; it was, therefore, never consideredby the House, but Mr. Stansfeld’s amendment, which

embodied the same principle, but left its acceptanceoptional to county and district councils, was adopted. Itis quite possible some further effort will be made, when theDistrict Council Bill is under consideration, for the opinionof Parliament to be taken on the question.

HEALTH OF THE MARQUIS OF SALISBURY.WE are glad to learn that the illness with which Lord

Salisbury was attacked on Saturday last is subsiding satis-factorily, although it has been attended in its career byconsiderable prostration. The character of the attack, in itsonset and severity, seems to leave no doubt that his lord-ship has, in common with President °Carnot, M. Pasteur,Professor Virchow, and many other men of European fame,been the subject of the prevailing influenza, to which a chill

may have predisposed him.MORTUARY ACCOMMODATION IN LONDON.

THE--position of some London districts with regard to

mortuary accommodation is well shown by the circum-stance that recently a dead body was left for three days inthe kitchen pf a common lodging-house in Spitalfields, forwant of a suitable place for its reception. The Board ofWorks for that district do. not possess a mortuary of theirown, but h - been dependent upon the courtesy of the

guardians for the’l1sè of their mortuary, which the latterleased; this lease had just expired, and the result was.that the sanitary authority were left without any means

rbr the temporary disposal of a dead body. We hope this

act will not ’eSeape the attention of the Government; and,mrther, that existing sanitary authorities will be unwillingto incur any expenditure until the wants of London can bedousidered in respect of the new districts which will

’ eventually be created. -A STREET DANGER.

IT is long since the first protest was directed against thedangerous and untidy, but very common, practice of

throwing down fruit skins at random in the public way.Yet, as if road and pavement, coated by the frosts of winter,were not slippery enough, we still see freely distributedupon them those treacherous fragments of orange-peel,apple-parings, and the like, which experience and precautionhave condemned as the frequent causes of accident.Familiar as the evil is, its effectual correction is by nomeans a simple matter. Advice in abundance has been

applied in vain. Carelessness will not be thus instructed,and the difficulty is not the less that the offender is oftena child. Still, the matter is not hopelessly beyond a chanceof amendment. Why should it not be subject to a judiciousmeasure of police control, at all events when blame canbe attached to some responsible person? We think itreasonable that every householder should clear the snowfrom the approach to his dwelling. Is it out of the questionthat consumers of fruit be likewise required, on pain of a.

moderate fine, to refrain from littering the streets with itsdangerous waste ?

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THE FIRE AT FOREST GATE.

A TERRIBLE calamity occurred on New Year’s morning atabout 12.20 at the Forest Gate District School, situated inForest-lane, between Maryland Point Station and ForestGate Station, whereby twenty-six boys, aged seven totwelve, lost their lives through a fire which broke out inthe building at that hour, and by which so many of thelittle inmates were suffocated. The school is maintained bythe guardians of the Whitechapel and Poplar Unions, whoreceive children there from other parishes at a stipu-lated amount per head. There is accommodation for 724