63BERLIN.-NEW ZEALAND.

The population of France in 1891 was 38,343,192. Theoscillation of the marriage rate since 1884 is interesting.

The fluctuations in the divorce figures since 1884, whenM. Naauet reintroduced that institution, are as follows :

" "

Of the 866,347 children born in 1891, 443,227 were boys and423,150 girls, while 792,441 were legitimate and 73,936illegitimate, these latter constituting 8’5 per cent. of the entirebirths. Of the 876,882 deaths, 453,085 were male and 423,797female. As in 1890, the death-rate for 1891 was high, the partsof France which were most tried in this respect having beenthe south-east and the west. In fifty-three departmentsthe excess of deaths over births has entailed a totalloss of 62,533, an inverse process having given to the re-mainder (34) a gain of 52,028. For the whole of the countrythere were for 1000 deaths, 989 births. Of the 13,958foreigners who married during 1891, 347 were of Englishnationality. The births comprised 26,475 foreigners, including368 English. The death-list included 17,626 foreigners, 478of them being British.January 4th.

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BERLIN.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Cholera in Hamburg.So far as I can judge from the reports in the newspapers,

the number of cholera cases in Hamburg last week was seven,the number of deaths from cholera two.

Pathologico-Anatomical Plates.Professor Kast (now in Breslau, formerly head of the

Hamburg Infirmary) and Dr. Theodor Rumpel have publishedpathologico-anatomical plates taken from fresh preparations,with explanatory text. They have been assisted by an artistnamed Gummett. The plates are very cheap, and are said tobe excellent.

Medicine in the llliddGe Ages.Dr. Julius Pagel, private lecturer on the history of medicine

in Berlin University, has induced Dr. Otto Paderstein to edita part of the ’’ Revocativum Memoriæ " of Johannes de SanctoAmando, a Belgian physician of repute who flourished in thethirteenth century. It is a manual of pathology and thera-peutics, which was much used by medical students six cen-turies ago, and affords a valuable insight into the state of thescience and art of medicine at that time. Dr. Paderstein’sedition, which is the first, is based on four manuscripts.

A Practitioner Sentenced for Fraud.A Leipsic practitioner, Dr. von Tischendorf, a man of good

reputation, with an income of about E500 a year, was sen-tenced to eight months’ imprisonment on Christmas Eve forfraud. He had a private dispensary and received from eachpatient belonging to the sick fund of the place only 1 markand 25 pfennigs (1s. 3d.) a day for board, lodging and medicalattendance. In order to eke out this miserable pittance, hereckoned more than the actual number of days in hisaccounts. In ten accounts which were laid before the courteighty-two of the ninety-nine entries were proved to be false.The court took the good reputation of the accused and theinadequacy of his pay as doctor to the sick fund into accountas extenuating circumstances.

Miscellaneous Itenes.

Owing to the death of Professor Wilhelm Braune, Dr.Fick of Würzburg has been invited to teach anatomy in

Leipsic University, with the title of Extraordinary Professor.Professor Werner Spalteholz has been appointed curator ofthe anatomical museum there.-Wilhelm Marme, Professorof Pharmacology at Göttingen, has received the title of PrivyMedical Counsellor.-The "Society for the Investigation ofNature " is celebrating the hundred and fiftieth anniversaryof its foundation to-day at Dantzic. A history of the Societyhas been prepared for the occa,sion.-A committee has beenformed for the purpose of commemorating, by the erectionof a bust, the twenty years’ services of Surgeon-General.Mehlhausen as medical director of the Charité.-The medicalfaculty of Berlin University has forwarded to M. Pasteur aletter of congratulation in Latin on the occasion of his,seventieth birthday.Berlin, Jan. 2nd.

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NEW ZEALAND.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The Sanitary Condition of Wellington.A LETTER appeared in THE LANCET of Sept. 24th las

signed by Dr. Chapple of Wellington, in which that gentle-man refers to my article on the above heading as "painfullyunjust, as my report most clearly proved. " Unfortunately Dr.Chapple does not give his reasons for characterising myremarks in this manner, nor, indeed, do I think it possiblefor him to do so, since the article in question is in the main aresicme of his own sanitary report. If any "scathing criticism"makes its appearance it has emanated from Dr. Chapple himself.When the report on the sanitary condition of the city firstappeared the universal opinion expressed was that at last aman had been found who struck out straight from the shoulderin such a manner as to show very clearly the absolute necessityfor immediate sanitary reform. Dr. Chapple’s report, Imaintain once more, most clearly demonstrated that thecondition of the city at the time of writing was suchas reflected disgrace on the authorities. It has aston-ished me not a little, too, to find Dr. Chapple making theassertion that "previously to 1890 there was comparativelyittle typhoid fever existing. " I reiterate once more that dirt,disease and death have given this city an unenviablenotoriety among the cities of the colony for years past. IfDr. Chapple will look up the Registrar-General’s reports for.say, the past ten years he will find that typhoid fever hasclaimed many victims yearly (I have recently forwarded youthe statistics) and that the death-rate from this disease wason the increase at the moment that his report appeared. As amatter of fact, Wellington has been the "home" of typhoidfever in this colony for, at any rate, the past fifteen years,Numerous instances could, if necessary, be cited wherecases of typhoid fever occurring in other parts of NewZealand have been actually traced to a Wellington infection.Another point I wish to refer to in the letter and I havedone. Dr. Chapple accuses me of attacking the sanitationof the whole city. In this respect, too, his letter is notcorrect. He has evidently not read my article with anycare or he would have come upon the following sentence :" The yearly outbreaks of fever have been confined to a smallarea in the Te Aro end of the city." As a matter offact an acknowledged area of about 100 acres teeming withfmcal accumulation (according to the recent report) in thecentre of a city cannot conduce to a "comparative im-munity from all forms of zymotic disease." In conclusion,.I heartily congratulate the ratepayers of Wellington on theirrecent determination to purify the city from all infectiousdiseases, and no one wishes them more thorough success.than your own correspondent.Nov. 30th, 1892.

BOMBAY UNIVERSITY AND THE M.B. DEGREE.-Another effort is being made by the Senate of the BombayUniversity to put their medical degrees on a new basis.With this object in view it has been proposed to change the,degree of L.M. and S. to M.B., the Arts examination beingsubstituted for that of Matriculation. Another suggestion is,that the "intermediate " in Arts or the final B. Sc. be the-

preliminary test, and that the L.M. and S. degree remainuntil an equivalent diploma is granted by some licensingbody. Other suggestions have been made and there is a.

general feeling that some change is necessary. At presentthe discussion on the matter by the Senate stands adjourned.