701

Handsorrae Gift to the Dundee Royal Infirmary. Mr. James Key Caird, Dundee, has sent a letter to the b

directors of the Royal Infirmary offering to provide the Cnecessary sum to build a hospital for the treatment of diseases -of women. The full details of the offer have not yet been ddisclosed, but it is understood that in the first instance a t’sum of Z5000 is placed at the disposal of the directors.

Woodilee Asylum. aIn view of the new regulation obtaining in medicine, the h

Barony Parish Council on appointing two clinical clerks atWoodilee Asylum, Lenzie, have decided to make the appoint-ments open not only to graduates in medicine, but also tofourth and fifth year students, provided always that such b

students have taken out classes in practical pathology. The (clinical clerks will be boarded in the asylum, and will be pro- t

vided with railway season tickets between Glasgow and a

Lenzie to allow of their attendance, if they desire it, on t

special classes in Glasgow. The appointments are to be for c

six months, three months on the male and female sides s

alternately. In special cases a three months’ appointment vmay be made. t

Aberdeen and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. I

In connexion with a suggestion by Mrs. Ogston, wife ofDr. Alexander Ogston, Professor of Surgery, University of xAberdeen, that children labouring under incurable disease fbe admitted to Morningfield Hospital -where at present xonly adult incurables are received-the expense of the maintenance of such children being met independently of

(

the hospital funds, the directors have passed the following Aresolutions. Children are to be admitted and steps taken toraise funds for the erection and maintenance of a children’s

‘

wing in commemoration of the sixtieth year of Her Majesty’s . ireign. Meantime, two small wards (with accommodation each for five children’s cots) will be furnished and utilisedfor the purpose. A new wing, containing two wards,

]

accommodating in all twenty children, besides nurses, (

will cost £ 2500 to erect, and the annual expense would be £ 500. It is believed the scheme will becarried out, especially as it is understood that the ThurbuinTrust (about to be wound up) will give a substantial con- tribution. Mrs. Ogston has already received 45 2s. 6d.in aid of the project.-The managers of Aberdefll GeneralDispensary in their annual report refer to the necessity forincreased accommodation, and suggest as a commemorationof the Diamond Jubilee that a fund might be raised for theenlargement or re-building of the dispensary. A gift of£ 250 is stated to be in hand to form the nucleus of such afund. Daring 1896 10,056 cases were treated and 34,967prescriptions were dispensed. There was a deficit for the

year, which required E400 to be drawn from the generalcapital.Tlt6 late Brigade-Surgeon-Lieute2tant- Colonel D. A. Leslie.The remains of the late Brigade-Surgeon-Lieutenant-

Colonel D. A. Leslie, M.D. Aberd,, A.M.S., medical officer incharge of the troops at Perth, were interred with militaryhonours on the lst inst. in Welshill Cemetery, Perth.March 2nd.

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IRELAND.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT)

The Notification of Infectious Diseases Act.THIS Act, which has been adopted by the corporation of

Belfast, came into force on March 1st, and the medical officer of health, Dr. Whitaker, has sent a memorandum tothe members of the medical profession exp’aining very clearlythe working of the Act. Many members of the professionthink it is rather a pity the corporation adopted the Actbefore they had done what is absolutely necessaryfor its being successfully carried out-built’ a hos-pital for infectious diseases, as it is impossiblereally to properly work the Act without having such,a place. Never was an infectious hospital more needed thanat present, when there is so much zymotic disease in thecity-scarlet fever being very prevalent-and when, accord-ing to the latest statistics of the Registrar-General for theweek ended Feb. 20tb,the death rate had reached the highfigure of 30 6 per 1000. At the present time there are onlytwo places available for cases of infectious disease-the

Royal Hospital and the Union Hospital. The former

institution has only a few fever beds, while the middle andbetter classes natcrally will not go to a union hospital. The

corporation decided some time since to build a new infectioushospital, but there would seem to be some extraordinarydelay, and up to the present they have not agreed finally onthe site.

St. Mark’s Ophthalmic Hospital, Dublin.Mr. R. J. Montgomery, F.R.C.S. Irel., has been appointed

assistant surgeon, and Mr. F. Chetwode Crawley, M.B.,house surgeon to St. Mark’s Ophthalmic Hospital.

The New Hospital for Tyrone.Arrangements are being made for the holding of a great

bazaar next year in connexion with the new hospital inOmagh. The old building there is becoming too small andtoo antiquated for the demands made on it, and the want ofa new building is now being very much felt. It is proposedto inaugurate a committee for the purpose of securingcollectors in the different centres in co. Tyrone to raiseshilling contributions. The Duke and Duchess of Abercorn,who have granted their patronage for the coming bazaar, aretaking the deepest interest in the erection of the new

hospital.Belfast Dispensary Committee.

At the monthly meeting of the Belfast Dispensary Com-mittee, held on March lst, a letter was read by the secretaryfrom the Local Government Board, enclosing copy of a com-munication received by them from two members of thecommittee, who complained of the unpunctuality on the partof the officers of the dispensary station situate at Craven-street, Shankhill-road, Belfast. These two gentlemenalleged that on visiting the dispensary station on the

morning of Feb. 8uh they found a number of poor peoplein attendance, but not a member of the staff there except thecaretaker. This was shortly after 10 o’clock in the morn-ing, the hour at which the station should open. The firstofficer appeared at 10.25 A M., and the others came after-wards. The answer of the officers to the charges was a verycomplete one. It seems that recently the Registrar-Generalhas (at the suggestion of the Trades’ Council) altered theregistration hours from 12 to 1 o’clock (on Mondays andThursdays) and 7 to 8 o’clock (on Saturdays) to 9 to 10o’clock A.M. and 3 to 4 o’clock PM. respectively. As a

consequence it is quite impossible for the officers to finishtheir registration duties and be at the dispensary station atten o’clock in the mornings, the distance from the variousplaces being considerable. After discussing the matter thedispensary committee resolved unanimously that the LocalGovernment Board be informed, in reply to their com-munication, that the lateness of the hour of attendance ofthe dispensary officers was due to the time fixed by theRegistrar-General for attendance at the registration offices,and request him to change the hour so that it may not clashwith the hour for dispensary attendance.

Health of Belfast.At the monthly meeting of the city council, held on

March lst, it was reported that the health of the city forthe past month has been very unsatisfactory, the death-ratebeing 35 2 per 1000 from all causes, while it was 3 7 fromzymotic diseases and 15’9 from chest affections. Thisterrible mortality from diseases of the respiratory organsis much higher than it has been for a number of years.There is an epidemic of measles and scarlet fever, butthe mortality from each is diminishing. The mortalityfrom whooping-cough and typhoid fever still keeps high, and,what is most unusual, eight cases of typhus fever have beenreported, with one death. Not for several years has therebeen a more unhealthy winter than the present in Belfast,and all over the north-eastern part of Ireland there has beenan unusual wave of sickness, the mortality of Londondtrrybeing 38 8 per 1000, while further south the death-rate ofDublin has reached the appallingly high figure of 48 3 pel1000.March 2nd.

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PARIS.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The Hygiene of

Marriage.The Hygiene of Marriage.DR. TOULOUSE has just put forward a scheme which

greatly exercises the public mind, although it is notabsolutely new. He desires to prevent the marriage Qf