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Houses." In the evening a lecture was delivered to theCongress, " On the Food and Energy of Man," by ProfessorF. S. B. F. De Chaumont, M.D., F.R.S., in which he advo-cated variety as advantageous, and, indeed, thought thattobacco and alcohol might often be used with benefit.On Friday the following was the order of business :-

Address by Arthur Mitchell, M.A., M.D., F.R.S. H. C.Bartlett, F.C.S. : "On the Influence of Minute SuspendedMatter on Health-its Detection, Collcction, and Examina-tion." The Hon. F. A. Rollo Russell: " The Improvementof Climate with Slight Elevation." R. Carr Ellison, J.P.:" The Influence of the Purity or Impurity of the ExternalAtmosphere on Public Health, Public Comfort. and on theDomestic Habits of the People. R. B. Grantham, Al. 1. C. E. :" Oa the Establishment of a Library for a Special Branch ofSanitary Information at Newcastle,.’’ At 5 P.M. the closinggeneral meeting of the Congress; and at 7 P.lB1. the publicdinner at our Assembly-rooms, which was a spirited andlively entertainment-a great contrast to Tuesday’s luncheon,’which was rather flat and forced, rather like a wedding-breakfast minus the bride and bridesmaids, and with

scarcely an opportunity of "toasting" the ladies, or of givingthe bachelor members a chance of descanting on " youthand beauty," the fair sex being "only conspicuous by theirabsence." It has been decided to hold the next Congress atGlasgow. On Saturday His Grace the Duke of North- Iumberland kindly invited the members of the Instituteand the associates of the Congress, to the numberof 300, and entertained them to luncheon at his his-torical seat, Alnwick Castle. This was arranged withthe princely munificence customary to the house of"the Percies." Other excursions to points of interest inthe vicinity took place, and the week’s business may be saidto have finished up with a lecture to the working classes byDr. W. B. Richardson, F.R.S. Now that thefwifarc of theCongress has subsided, and the echoes of congratulationsfrom many sanitary voices have died away, we may ask our-selves, What have we gained ? Welt, the question is not soeasily answered. Many of the papers read reached a highscientific standard; others, again, might be described as"medium quality"; while a few possessed an ephemeralcharacter, and would soon be forgotten. For some reason,or for no reason, the intelligent classes of our citizensappeared to take very little interest in it, as judged by theirattendance at the discussions, which might as a rule becharacterised as tame. As a set-on, it is only fair to acknow-ledge the very full reports of the proceedings given by ourlocal newspapers. In the discussion on Captain Hildyard’spaper, " The Influence which Medical Men might exercise onSanitary Progress in their Private Practice," our medicalofficer of health said "he did not think that medical mentook a sufficient interest in sanitation," and instanced (insupport of this curious view) the petition signed by forty-sixmedical men of Newcastle, " who at the time they puttheir names tj the petition did not know what was

in the Bill." On the other hand, Captain Galton, thePresident of the Congress, held that " med)ca,t men

had been the originators of all sanitary improvements,"while Mr. T. P. Barkas said that "at the time the petitionwas signed, the compulsory notification of diseases clausesremained in the Bill." It is felt here that our usuallyintelligent health officer did not display this quality of mindon this occasion. The fourty-six medical men knew per-fectly well what they were signing. In the Town Improve-ment Bill, which was an application for money aud for

power to carry out various improvements, these compulsoryclauses were involved or "smuggled "into the legislature.The citizens were denied a public meeting where our pro-fession might, as ordinary members of the community, havediscussed these clauses. So a manifest attempt is made tokeep our profession in ignorance and to stifle public opinion,and then it is blamed for what it could not help. Ourhealth officer is not a practising medical man, and hence hecan only see one side of this coercive sanitarian question.I mean the official side ; for as regards the domestic andmedical aspect lie is evidently colour blind. Has anyone inthis Congress suggested, say a few years’ experience ingeneral practice, as one of the qualifications for a medicalofficer of health ? if not, it would be highly desirable. Itmust be remembered that these forty-six medical men whohave been so rashly and publicly charged with ignoranceand obstruction, will represent about one-half of th3

practising men of our city, of all grades, too, as to age andexperience. Does our medical olficer of health consider

when he gets on his sanitary stilts that he embodies thesanitary wisdom of the North of England? and that theprofession here is to sit still in awe like the scholars ofGoldsmith’s pedagogue, when-

still they gazed, and still the wonder grew,That one small head could carry all he knew."

The magnificent Marine Exhibition at Tynemouth, alludedto in my last letter, still continues to draw its tens of thou.sands daily. I am glad to see that it is to remain open untilOct. 14th, and that the railwav company has given increasedtravelling facilities in visiting it. Professor Corfield, in pre.senting the prizes at the Sanitary Exhibition here, which isalso to remain open for a longer period, said it was an ex.ceedingly good and successful one. I have only space hereto mention some of the most successful and interesting ex.hibits-viz., Messrs. Mather and Armstrong, Newcastle, forSiemens’ patent regenerative gas burners. Messrs. Hayward,Tyler, and Co., for full-flush valveless closets. La SociétéHygiene Francaise, Paris, for their exhibits of books onhealth. Messrs. Brady and Martin, Newcagtle, for scientificinstruments. This firm has a well-furnished stand of articlesof domestic and medical interest, including the popularMontserrat lime-juice of Messrs. Evans, of Liverpool. Thisjuice has the confidence of the profession here, and is largelyp) escribed for domestic and marine consumption. Messrs.Mawson and Swan have also a stand characteristic of thescientific energy and taste of this eminent firm, making astrong point of their disinfecting exhibits, and issuingvery useful " Notes on Hygiene." Not the least interestingexhibit to a medical visitor is that of Messrs. Irvine & Co.,Mustard Manufacturers, Gateshead, established 1791. Theirstand shows the processes in the manufacture -viz., thebrown seed whole, its crushed state, its pulverised state,and lastly, as the finished article, sifted into an impalpablepowder. Irvine’s mustard has unmistakable qualities as acounter-irritant, while as a condiment their Durham mus.tard " is in high favour here from its purity and flavour.The winter session of the College of Medicine here wasopened yesterday with great éclat. Dr. Gibson, in the ab.sence of Dr. Heath, presided, while our Mayor, in theabsence of the Bishop of Newcastle, presented the prizes.Dr. W. B. Richardson was present, and made some verypointed and happy remarks. Dr. Thomas Oliver, physicianto our infirmary, read the inaugaural address On Medi-cine, its Progressiveness and Relation to Civilisation." Ineed make no comment on this address as it will doubtlessbe noticed under its proper heading in THE LANCET, but Imay say it met with well-merited applause. This College,while it has increased in quantity as to students, I fearhas deteriorated as to " quality." The behaviour of theyoung "gentlemen" was simply outrageous. Making everyallowance for the high flow of spirits natural to the student,I have sat on many benches in many countries and neverwitnessed anything like the disorder of yesterday’s proceed.ings. Would not a cOlwersazione another time have a moresoothing effect on these turbulent tyros ?Newcastle-on-Tyne, Oct. 3rd, 1882.

EDINBURGH.

(From our own Correspondent.)

THE VACANT ASSISTANT-SURGEONCY TO THE ROYALINFIRMARY. - TIE VACANT PATFIOLOGISTSHIP TO THE

ROYAL INFIRMARY.—THE 1VEZV UNIVERSITY BUILDINGS.AUGUST and September are essentially holiday months

here, both patients and doctors being out of town and nothingof medical interest occurring. This year the usual monotonyhas been somewhat interrupted by the contest for the

assistant-surgeonship to the Royal Infirmary, which is stillbeing actively carried on. The vacancy, which is occasionedby the promotion of Dr. Miller to the full surgeoncy, will befilled up on the 16th. Drs. Caird, Cathcart, Cotterill, andMacgillivray are the candidates, and so far as I can learnDrs. Cotterill and Macgillivray are generally considered tohave the best chance.On the same date (Oct. 16th) the pathologist to the

Royal Infirmary will be appointed in the place of Dr.Hamilton, the recently elected Erasmus Wilson Professorof Pathology in the University of Aberdeen. Dr. Hamil-

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ton’s loss is no small one to Edinburgh, and his suc-

cessor will find it no easy task to maintain the pathologicaldepartment of the infirmary in its present high state of

efficiency. The candidates are Drs. Byrom Bramwell, Alex.Bruce, and Woodhead.The new University Buildings are now so far completed

that the whole of the medical classes, with the exceptionof materia medica, medical jurisprudence, and chemistrywill be carried on there during the forthcoming session.It is difficult without a personal visit to form an ade-

quate conception of these palatial buildings, but the readerwill gain some idea of the facilities for teaching and originalwork which they afford by perusing the following descrip-tion, which appeared a day or two ago in the pages of theSco"With the exception of the classes of materia medica, of

medical jurisprudence, and of chemistry, which are to belocated in the Tiviot row, or north and west sides of thenorth quadrangle, the several departments will be ready foroccupation in the ensuing momh. As matters at presentstand, there would seem to be no hope of having the otherdepartments ready for occupation for at least eighteenmonths or two years to come. Only that portion of thebuildings has so far been got ready for the work of theschool which forms the sides of the south quadrangle. Andeven on this portion a great deal of expensive work yet re-mains to be done. The grouping of the departments roundthis quadrangle is, roughly stated, as follows :--On the eastside are those of surgery and practice of medicine. Anatomyoccupies part of this side and a large part of the south side,whilst physiology claims parts of the south and west sides,pathology and midwifery taking up the remainder of thewest side of the quadrangle. On the north side is what pro-mises to be an anatomical museum worthy of the rest of thebuildings; but so far only the bare walls and the iron sup-ports of a gallery running round the hall are in their places.Meanwhile, it may be noted that into this museum are letseveral openings, by which ready access will be got to itfrom each of the departments, to suit whose convenience forteaching purposes the museum specimens will be arrangedin corresponding sections. The departure from the Con-tinental system, which had been necessarily followed inthe old buildings, of splitting up the practical departments,has in the new buildings been’ adhered to with thebest effect. In the magnificent central dissecting-room,measuring 10S feet long by 30 feet wide, and 27feet high, not only is practical teaching carried on withperfect thoroughness and efficiency, but it is carriedon with aa amount of general comfort, and for the benefit ofan increased number of students, that could not possiblyhave been provided for in the old rooms. In this, and inwhat may be styled the overflow dissecting-room above thefirst-mentioned, which measures 30 feet long by 20 feet wide.practical teaching can be given to over 500 students, asagainst 300 in the old rooms. The conveniently placedcloak-rooms, lavatories, demonstration and demonstrators’rooms, are also an immense advance upon what anatomicalstudents had not long ago to put up with. Then, the roomy,comfortable, and well-appointed bone and microscope rooms,are, both of them, in the best sense, aids, and even induce-ments to study; whilst the opportunity which the latteraffords for the investigation of objects of microscopic anatomywould have been gladly welcomed by the predece-sors of thepresent generation of students. Lastly, the lecture-roomhas beeu arranged to give comfortable sitting-space for about500 persons ; and the arrangements for profitable tuition andstudy made by Professor Turner are in keeping with thecompleteness of the building arrangements."In the immediate neighbourhood is the department of the

Practice of Medicine. Professor Grainger Stewart has ob-tained for this department a large and comfortable class-room, wi’h a museum, retiring-room, and five other rooms,which he proposes to arrange for the purposes of practicalwork in connexion with his course. The cla’s-room, whichis provided with a gallery, which last session’s experienceproved to be happily constructed, so far as hearing and see-ing the lecturer are concerned, has its students’ door open-ing on a staircase that enters from the south front of thenorth quadrangle, and is common to the departments ofAnatomy, Surgery, and Practice of Medicine. The classmuseum is to the west of the lecture-hall, and was lastyear used as the professor’s retiring-room. Two compactrooms, which enter from the north side of the lecture-room,will now be used as retiring-rooms for the professor ; and to

these private access is had by a spiral staircase opening onto the east front of the north quadrangle. This staircase,and the professor’s retiring-rooms, open in turn uponthe suite of five rooms which the professor purposes to

arrange for practical illustration and teaching in con-

nexion with his chair. One he has already set apart forpractical teaching of the use of the ophthalmoscope ; andanother for that of the laryngoscope. The others he willutilise for purposes which may suggest themselves in thecourse. In the ophthalmoscope-room, it is proposed, bymeans of a light placed centrally in the apartment, to enableabout six students at a time to practise with this importantinstrument upon dummy specimens, so as to enable them togain facility in its manipulation before using it on the livingsubject. A like plan will be followed in the laryngoscope-room. The Surgery Department, to which Mr. Cheyne, thenew professor, will be inducted at the opening of the Schoolnext month, was in full working order last session, and itsrooms are situated on the same floor with those just de-scrihed. The lecture-room is laid out much after the sameplan as that of the Anatomy Department, being a largetheatre, with seats arranged semicircularly round the pro-fessor’s lecture platform. It does not, however, accommo-date so large a number of students as does the Anatomylecture-room. Attached to it are professors’ retiring-rooms,and rooms also in which the practical work of the chair hasbeen, in the past winter, comfortably and successfullycarried on."As already stated, the Midwifery Department of Professor

Simpson is situated at the west side of the south quadrangle.It is entered by a corridor, opening upon the south-westcorner of the north quadrangle, and also upon the MiddleMeadow Walk ; and has, in the first place, a lecture-room,with a compact and ungatleried auditorium, seated for about250 students. The lecture-room is in communication withthe professor’s rooms and with the museum. The former

consist of a retiring-room and a work-room, whilst the latteris elegantly and conveniently fitted with glass cases andpresses and open stands. There is further a large practicalroom, intended for tutorial classes and original investiga-tion, and supplied with models and other appliances for thethorough training of the students in their practical work."But it is perhaps in the departments of Physiology and

Pathology that the most striking and manifest improvementsare to be found. To take first the deparment of Pathology,which also is in the western part of the buildings, there isin this a suite of rooms admirably fitted up for the carryingon of pathological teaching, both systematic and practical,and, in addition, several rooms which may be used forpathological investigation of various kinds. It is unfortunatein being entered by an imperfectly lighted stair and corridor,the latter being nine feet wide. Then the dimensions of thelecture-room ot the department, like those of all the otherdepartments, have been found to be insufficient to meet thewonderful growth of the school in the past fewyears. But herecomplaint ends. Endeavour has been made, by the addition ofa gallery, to provide the requisite accommodation in the lec-ture-room, which is on the upper floor, and opens, with thepractical and other rooms of the suite, from a common corridor.The gallery extends round three sides of the room, at theheight of about thirteen feet above the level of the lectureplatform, is seated for 132 students, and is entered by aspiral staircase situated at each end. Altogether, the roomis seated for about 350, allowing 24 inches for each student,and the room is lotty and well-lighted, and will comparefavourably with the other class-room. Openiug into it isthe retiting-room of Professor Greenfield, which measures18 feet by 15 feet, with a height of 18 feet, is well lightedand comfortable, and is fitted with ample accommodation forstoring diagrams, &c. Opening from this again, and havinglike it a door to the corridor, is a room of similar (limen-sions, fitted up as a private workroom for the Professor ofthe department. A few steps across the corridor at thispoint bring oue to the entrance to the pathological sectionof the great museum. Farther south along the corridor, andto the right hand, is the large class-room set apart for

practical work, perhaps the most beautiful room in the wholebudding. It measures 39 feet by 40 feet, and has a heightfrom floor to ceiling of 27 feet. It is lighted on iis north,south, and west fronts by large windows measuring 16 feetin height and 6 feet in breadth, and is, besides, magnifi-cently fitted with every requisite for carrying on the work ofa large practical class. Slate tanks for storing material,troughs, &c., and wash-basins, are placed at intervals round

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the room, and there are five long tables in the centre, andalso tables fixed by each window, at which students maycarry on microscopic work. During the summer session,five classes, each consisting of about thirty-six students, metdaily for practical work. Adjoining this i-i another fineroom, measuring 30 feet by 30 feet, and 20 feet high,also most completely fitted up for pathological research,with various apparatus, chemical, &c., and intended forthe use of more advanced students. On the floor beloware three smaller rooms, intended for special work.These average a little over 40 feet in length by 14 feet inbreadth, and each is lighted by three windows placed in thewest wall. The north room is set apart and fitted forphotographic work, &c., in this department, and possesses adark chamber and other necessary apparatus for this work.The central room is for chemical and experimental patho-logical work, and the most southerly room of the three is atpresent used for storage and work in connexion with pre-parations for the practical class. In all the rooms which areintended for practical work, the gas and water fittings aremost complete ; and a large ice-house and cellars for storage,entered from the lower court, complete the accommodationfor the Pathological Department.

" In the Physiological Department, presided over by Pro-fessor Rutherford, the provision made for carrying on theteaching, practical and systematic, and for experimentalwork is equally generous and quite as complete. To adaptthe lecture-hall, which is in the south-west corner of the

building, for the numbers attending the class, certain internalwalls had to be removed and the superstructure supportedon two large iron girders. With this structural change, alecture-room which will seat nearly 500 students, and willmeet the requirements of the department, without theaddition of a gallery-in the mean time at any rate-hasbeen secured. For the practical work of the department,Professor Rutherford has a suite of some sixteen rooms.These are divided between the ground and first floors of thesouth and west sides of the southern quadrangle. The classmuseum is placed opposite the lecture-room on the groundfloor, and is fitted with the same completeness as has alreadybeen noted in the other departments, having a wealth of glasscases, tables, and other requirements. To the back of, anden suite with, the class museum are several smaller rooms,designed and fitted for the preservation of subjects for theclass demonstrations. Ascending to the first floor, access isgot to the practical and experimental rooms of the depart-ment. Beneath the large practical pathology class-room arethree smaller rooms, in which the teaching of microscopy orhistology is to be carried on. Of these, the largest has anarea of 33 feet by 21 feet, and it is furnished with ebonisedmahogany tables, sinks, water-taps, &c., after the styleadopted in the pathology department. A smaller room, in-tended and arranged for the like work, is in communicationwith the larger apartment, whilst the students’ lockers areplaced in a third. Alterations which had to be made on theoriginal plans to meet the needs of the department havelowered the roofs of these rooms considerably in comparisonwith the pathology room above. The professor’s retiring andwork rooms are placed in the west side of the building, overthe Midwifery class museum, and are admirably furnishedfor private work. At the end of the lobby from which theseenter are the students’ lavatories. Opening off a lobby,which runs at right angles to the one just mentioned, is aseries of rooms fitted up for the experimental and practicalstudy of physiology, as well as for physiological chemistry,and for the use of the professor’s assistant and other purposesof the department."When these buildings are completed, the University of

Edinburgh will enjoy every facility for original investigationwhich spacious accommodation and the most modern appli-ances can afford, and it is to be earnestly hoped that eachdepartment will produce an amount of original work com-mensurate with these facilities.

GLASGOW.(From our own. Correspondent.)

Two cases of poisoning from whisky drinking have beennoted in our daily papers during the past week. One man

had been drinking in a public-house till a late hour, and ongoing home he procured a further supply of liquor; shortly

afterwards he fell asleep, and in a few hours fell from hischair, dead. The other case was that of a man who, indrunken bravado, agreed to drink a whole bottle of whisky"without taking it from his head," and did so, with theresult that he soon became comatose, and had to be removedto the infirmary.Another poisoning case, in which a man, his wife, and

three children suffered severely from the effects of someirritant poison, is reported, the symptoms being caused byeating from a tin of preserved salmon.At the last quarterly meeting of the trustees of Anderson’s

College the proposal to move the medical school, and per.haps also the whole institution, to a more westerly site, wasagain discussed ; but no decision was come to, the matterbeing left in the hands of the managers for consideration.The medical faculty of the College should know their ownbusiness best, but I believe they err in leaving such anoble field as the Royal Infirmary (the largest in Scot.land) solely to the little Infirmary School, while theirown students, on going westward, will naturally stillfurther block up the already overcrowded wards of theWestern Infirmary ; nevertheless, they are quite agreed thatsuch a change is eminently necessary for the furtherprosperity of the school. There are no funds at present inthe hands of the College available in aid of this transference,but it is hoped that either the trustees will assist the medicalfaculty in their projected move, or that the whole Collegewill migrate. One of the directors made some statements,which passed unchallenged, and which form a strange com-mentary on the swelling statistics published in the College’sCalendar and referred to here a few weeks ago. He advancedit as an argument in favour of the proposal to move west.ward, that as the greater part of the city’s population is nowto the west of the site of the College, and as the eastern partsof the city are well supplied with other institutions in whichpopular science and art are taught, the number of studentsin the evening classes is now considerably less than it wasa few years ago. Looking back only ten years, at the oldendowed classes, anatomy, chemistry, and natural philo.sophy, the number of students now is not one-half what itwas then !The grand annual battle of the schools took place at the

October meeting of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeonson Monday last, with the result that the supporters of whatis known as the stcetacs quo ante were triumphant along thewhole line. Strangers to Glasgow medical politics shouldbe aware that at the annual meeting of the Faculty, whenvacancies occur by rotation in the examiners’ board, therepresentatives of the various local medical schools contestfiercely for the posts, and canvas freely among the Fellowsfor support, a part of the business much deplored by thePresident. The object of these contests is, of course, to

strengthen the schools, students being probably attracted tathat which has most representatives on the Faculty’s boardof examiners. It is doubtless a bad thing that the Facultyshould be made the field for such strivings, but it is not easyto see how it can be avoided. Bad as this is it is scarcely aless evil than the opposite extreme, which is apparentlyfavoured by a large party in the Faculty-namely, a ten-dency to regard the annual retirement as merely nominal, andto look with extreme suspicion on any proposal to changethe personnel of the board. The provision that a certainnumber of examiners should retire every year was surelymeant to give an opportunity for the introduction of freshmen into the board at regular intervals.A fully equipped little hospital, "intended for the care

and treatment of the poor when suffering from disease oraccident," has been presented to the people of Largs byMr. John Clark, of Curling Hall, Largs. The hospitalproper is a neat, one-storeyed edifice, built of red stone, andstanding in its own grounds; the wards, two in number,are lofty, roomy, well lighted, and cheerful, the flooring beingof red pine laid in three inch breadths. The building hasbeen so arranged that it can easily be divided into twoseparate portions, one for accident cases and one for in.fectious diseases. The officials live in an upper flat, whilethe offices (laundry, mortuary, &c.) are in a separatebuilding.Pollokshaws, a suburb of Glasgow, is to-day in the throes

of a municipal election, the only noteworthy point aboutwhich is that both candidates for the provostship aremedical men, Dr. A. Ritchie and Dr. W. Walker.Glasgow, Oct. 2nd.