491

The second subject on which I wish to speak is the preventionof pitting. This I would not say anything about did I not sooften see it in my travels as blemishes which might have beenprevented had only the means been applied. These means areolive oil and glycerine, which are to be applied over the sur-face. It has a very soothing effect and cools the part, so thatthere is not that desire on the part of the patient to scratchit, and, as he thinks, to relieve the part in that way. I haveoften applied cream with similar advantage.

I remain, Sir, yours faithfully,C. BROOM, M.R.C.S.Kidderminster Infirmary, April, 1865,

ASSISTANT-SURGEONS IN CHINA.To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,-I beg to lay the case of the regimental assistant-surgeons serving in China before you, who are labouring underfar greater grievances than our Indian brethren, and hope youwill kindly advocate their claims ; by doing so you will conferon the eight unfortunate regimental assistant-surgeons a greatboon.

lst. The regimental medical officers serving in China havebeen for years past on Indian pay and allowances, the assistant-surgeon receiving only JE29 38. lld. a month, with a chance ofhead-money; but in consequence of the limited number ofstations they were seldom in a position to draw the latter, sothey had, and have still, to toil on upon the same E29 3s. lld.a month, no matter what service they have; while the staffassistant-surgeon of six years’ service, who is on what is calledChina pay, receives E47 a month, although he may be juniorto and actually doing duty under the regimental assistant-surgeon. The difference of pay was stated to arise from thefact that the staff were on China pay and the regimental onIndian pay.

2nd. A new Warrant has come out for the Indian medicalofficers, and we very naturally thought that, being on Indianpay and allowances, we should receive the benefit of it; but Iregret to say we have not, with the exception of one, who isan Indian assistant-surgeon. At present the assistant-surgeonsin the China command are on three different scales of pay-viz., the regimental, on the old Indian scale ; the Indian

assistant-surgeon, on the new Indian scale; and the staffassistants, on the China scale: rank being recognised in thetwo latter, while it is completely ignored in the former.This is a plain statement of our case, and by putting it be-

fore you we doubt not that you will advocate our cause asably as you have that of the Indian service.

I am, Sir, yours obediently, CHINA.CHINA.

THE INDIAN MEDICAL WARRANT.To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR,—Will you allow me, through the medium of yourpaper, to call the attention of those who care that theirbrother medicos have fair play, as well as that of youthfulaspirants to Indian honours, to the following.The newest Medical Warrant, that of the 7th November, I

1864, although no doubt intended to benefit all the membersof the medical service, has done good to very few, at most toa very small majority in this " benighted " presidency, as faras the main point-pay-is concerned. I am a zillah surgeon,and of about seven years’ standing (and waiting for somethingworth having, I might add), but I continue to draw five rupeesand six annas less monthly pay than captains, even when theseofficers are enjoying themselves on leave, and fifty-five rupeesless than they draw when performing their arduous regimentalduties. Paragraph 30 of the above Warrant says our salarieswill be revised with reference to Paragraph 29 (the one layingdown the pay for military and administrative officers), but ofcourse no unseemly haste has been made in doing so, and fourmonths are clearly insufficient for the purpose ! Meanwhile Isee my juniors drawing 450 rs., or even 600 rs. while withnative corps, and I, who have double the work and more thandouble the responsibility, draw net pay 360 rs. 12 a. 10 p.

I trust you will excuse my troubling you with this letter,but with the thermometer at 90° in the shade, the proverbial"hope deferred" makes the heart more than usually sick, at ’,least it does that of ’least it does that of

Yours faithfully, faithfully, *!A CONSTANT READER.Madras, March 1865.

DILATATION OF CERVIX UTERI.To the Editor of THE LANCET. _

SIR,—Will you allow me to note the fact that the dilatorof the cervix uteri, alluded to by Dr. Gream in last week’sLANCET, was invented by me, and made for me several yearsago by Mr. Coxeter, and that I have often successfully used it.It was last year again introduced by Dr. Priestley, who speakswell of it.

I am. Sir. vour obedient servant,ROBERT ELLIS, M.R.C.S.Sloane-street, April 10th, 1865.

LIVERPOOL.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

THE mortality tables of this town present at length a muchmore favourable appearance. Though typhus and small-poxstill keep a long way in excess, yet the total number of deathsfor the week ending April 22nd is less by eight than the cor-rected average of the last ten years would make it. The re-turns of deaths from zymotic causes for the last twelve weeksare as follows (from Feb. 4th to April 22nd inclusive) :—

The two first named have been for some months almost inabeyance, and the mortality from them has been unprecedentedlylow. Measles has been exceedingly prevalent for several weeks,perhaps as much as in any former year, when the mortalityfrom it ranked very high; yet it has been of so mild a formthis year, and so seldom accompanied with any complications,that the deaths keep considerably below the average. Thismay be partly owing to the greater care taken of childrenduring the disease. The exceeding mortality from other causesthat has latterly prevailed has made the poor as well as therich more careful over their children, even with measles. Thelate Dr. Duncan says in his report for 1860, when 418 deathswere registered from measles, " that this large proportion wasprobably due to the prevalent belief amongst the workingclasses that measles is a disease which requires little care, andthat children suffering from it may be allowed to go about asusual." The habit of giving whisky or some strong spirit tobring out the measles has fortunately fallen into disrepute,and, doubtless, helps to account for the diminished per-centageof fatal cases. The deaths from typhus last week were 34,being 21 in excess ; and from small-pox 14, being 10 above theaverage. Each week latterly the numbers have steadily de-clined, till the deaths from the two diseases now are but one-half what they were ten weeks ago.

Dr. Trench, in the very able Report of the Health of Liver-pool during the year 1864, issued a few weeks ago, enters veryfully into all the circumstances attending the great mortalityof that year; and, under the heads of Indigence and Over-crowding, Filth and Drunkenness, presents a sad picture ofthe Liverpool masses. That there should be no less than 918deaths in one year from violence alone is sufficiently startling;yet this is as nothing to the unobserved causes at work under-mining the public health. One of them, which will serve asan illustration of what I mean, was made evident at the last

meeting of the Health Committee. The Market Inspectorsent in a report of the difficulties he had met with from theofficials of the different railway companies, on several occasions,in his attempts to seize large quantities of unsound fish sent tothis town from Lowestoft and other places on the east coast,for consumption amongst the lower orders of this and otherLancashire towns. Indeed, the weekly report of the inspectorsof the amount of unwholesome meat and game, as well as fish,which they destroy, shows too plainly what a traffic goes onin these things, in spite of all inspection. The injurious effectsof such food must be great on the health of those amongst thepoor who habitually use it, because they cannot afford to buyany better.Our Medical Society closed its session on the 20th ult. At

its meeting on March 9th, Dr. Grimsdale related the particu-lars of four more cases of ovariotomy, three of which were suc-cessful. As so many of these cases have now been recorded,it is only necessary to give those leading points which are ofinterest to all operators. M. R—, unmarried; tapped