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"provincial" journalists by the metropolitan reporter, mustsurely be as rare in their profession as black swans weresupposed to be when Juvenal penned his satires. Last of all-on the principle, we presume, that finis eoronat opus-camethe author of a formidable counterblast in the shape of aseries of anti-nicotian sonnets ; but there is apparently alimit to enthusiasm, even among zealots, and the verses weretaken as read. The programme was now exhausted, butbefore the audience dispersed the secretary felt constrainedto remonstrate with them on their excessive zeal. Most ofthe members, he said, were more royalist than the king. It

was a fatal mistake to try to do too much. Tobacco has

enough sins of its own to answer for without being madea scapegoat for half the ills that flesh is heir to. Modera-tion must be the watchword of the society if the evils whichunquestionably do accompany the misuse of tobacco, espe-cially in the case of immature boys, are to be remedied. It

is to be hoped that these words of wisdom have been takento heart by the hearers, and that no captious critic willaccuse the society’s officers of endeavouring at one and thesame time to ran with the fox and hunt with the hounds.It must be confessed that between the words and the deedsof these gentlemen there is a certain amount of incon-

gruity ; but then this world is full of contradictions.

THE PLAIN TRUTH AT INQUESTS.

TACT in the use of words is a faculty to be exercised by Iall sensible persons as long as this is consistent with atrue and clear understanding. To medical men its employ-ment is a daily necessity. Perhaps no class of men are moreoften called upon thus to clothe hard facts with a trulyfitting dress of language. It is therefore the more impor-tant that they should not mistake the spurious for thereal quality. Men are apt to fall into this error withthe best intentions. We may be allowed to quote fromrecent experience of a coroner’s court. On the occa-

sion in question a medical witness, who had verified bypost-mortem examination certain lesions due to alcoho-

lism, very briefly described the death as due to

"natural causes," his desire being if possible to avert thescandal of drunkenness. His was but a trifling error ofjudgment and it derives what little importance it possessesfrom its rather ungracious treatment by the presidingcoroner. Had his evidence been stated with equal modera-tion but more precision it would still have been unexception-able on the ground of good feeling and it would better haveserved its intended purpose, which was the enlightenment ofthe coroner and his jury. It is sometimes compatible withgood sense and true kindness to speak plainly. This was acase in point. -

ANNUAL PAUPER RETURNS.

THE Local Government Board have issued their annualreturn of paupers, including lunatics and vagrants, relievedon the first day of the present year, with comparative datafor previous years. From this return it appears that, in-cluding 169 persons relieved both as in-door and out-doorpatients, the gross total of persons obtaining relief onJan. 1st last was 840,625. On the estimated population ofthe Registrar-General this gives a rate of 2’8 per cent. ofthe population, or 1 person relieved in each 36 of the entirecountry. Of this total, 229,721 were in-door and 610,904out-door paupers. The vagrant class accounted for only13,239, including 7859 who were relieved in two unions onthis same day. Only 390 of the vagrants were out-door reliefcases. The in-door paupers include all those in Poor-lawestablishments such as district schools and the like. Theable-bodied adult paupers relieved included 36,999 males and75,380 females, and 168,669 children under sixteen years ofage, the offspring of able-bodied paupers, were also

females, and 1750 children under sixteen years of age.The ratio of paupers relieved to population was in

England and Wales 27 7 per 1000; in London it was

28’2, in the eastern counties 37’1, and in the south-western counties 40’4. In-door paupers were at the rate of

7’6 per 1000 in the whole country, in Wales only 4’1, in York-shire only 4-5, but in London 15 8. As compared with thefirst day of 1895 the only groups of counties showing a declinethis year were Yorkshire and the northern counties group.London showed an increase of 1’3 per cent., the north-western group of 3’0, the south-eastern and south midland of3-1 and 35 respectively, and the north midland of 4’7 percent. Throughout the country the increase was 1 6 per cent.Compared with earlier years the proportion of paupers to

population was larger than on the same day of the fiveimmediately preceding years, but smaller than in any of theyears 1858-90 inclusive. In 1877, when the number ofpaupers was the smallest on record, the total was 12 8 percent. fewer than in the present year. The able-bodied

paupers were this year larger in their total number than infourteen out of the twenty preceding years, but smaller

than in the other eighteen years 1858-75. The data are

given in detail for each of the Poor-law unions of Englandand Wales.

___

MEDICAL LONGEVITY.

DR. SALZMANN of Esslingen-who apparently is largelyendowed by nature with a predilection for investigating thecontents of ancient records, and who, more fortunate thanthe majority of his compeers, likewise enjoys exceptionalfacilities for indulging in his hobby-has recently devotedhis attention to determining the average duration of life

among members of the medical profession. After an

exhaustive examination of all accessible archives referringto the last four centuries the following are the results

arrived at by the zealous antiquarian. The average durationof a medical man’s life during the sixteenth century wasthirty-six years, five months ; in the seventeenth centuryit was forty-five years, eight months ; in the eighteenthcentury forty-nine years, eight months ; and in the

nineteenth century fifty-six years, seven months. Itwould appear from these data that-whether the survivalbe of the fittest or not-the duration of medical life hasbeen increasing in a marvellous manner. Should the samerate be maintained practitioners of medicine may ere longall look forward to centennial honours-by no means a rosyprospect from the point of view of the neophyte who, as itis, finds it sufficiently hard to make good his footing withinthe densely crowded ranks. According to Dr. Salzmann theaddition of over twenty years to the average medical lifetimeis due to the advance of medical science, preventive andcurative ; so the ironical apophthegm, "Physician, healthyself," can no longer be launched with any effect. In a

speech delivered some time ago the present leader of theHouse of Commons alluded to the possibility of normal

human life becoming extended to the patriarchal term of120 years." A fearful prospect truly in these days of rapidliving when some men (having exhausted life’s possibilities)look upon themselves as Struldbrugs at forty.

LIVERPOOL LADIES’ CHARITY AND LYING-INHOSPITAL.

A SPECIAL general meeting of the subscribers to theLadies’ Charity and Lying-in Hospital, Brownlow-hill, hasbeen called for Tuesday next (23rd inst.), to consider theposition. Mr. James Lister, the hon. secretary, states in aletter accompanying the notice that owing to the action ofthe medical profession the board of management had beenunable to obtain the services of a medical staff. It is now

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suggested that the general control in medical matters of allthe cases should be placed under the hospital medicalofficers. The board of management is understood now tothink it desirable that the rules should be altered in such a

way as to admit of representation upon it of the medicalstaff. We heartily agree with the new views of the boardof management. -

THE CASE OF MR. R. B. ANDERSON.

MR. TIMOTHY HOLMES has given notice that at the forth-coming meeting of the Fellows of the Royal College of

Surgeons of England to be held on July 2nd, he will move :" That the Council be requested to instruct its representativeon the General Medical Council to forward in every waywhich seems feasible the objects of the Civil Rights DefenceCommittee in the case of Mr. R. B. Anderson." We invite

every Fellow to support this motion. Mr. Anderson’s

wrongs are well known and we need not go into them now,but somehow or other his wrongs must be redressed.

COMMERCE AND PHILANTHROPY.

MR. WILLIAM COOPER of StafTord is doubtless a sound

man of business. Doubtless, too, like Abou Ben Adhem,he desires to be written as one who loves his fellow men,but he has committed what we will mildly stigmatise as anerror in taste. He has a business to sell, apparently a hotelwith brine baths attached, and " as the success of this com-pany will be largely dependent upon the support given to itby the medical profession he makes the following offer-bribe we consider the proper word-to the medical pro-fession :-The vendor undertakes, immediately after completion of the purchase

of the premises and the receipt by him of the first instalment of thepurchase money (which is fixed for the first day of September next), topay to each subscriber to this issue who is also a duly qualified medicalman, an underwriting commission at the rate of 10 per cent. in respectof shares, and 5 per cent. on debentures subscribed for and allotted tohim, provided the contract to take such shares or debentures accom-panying this prospectus is duly returned before June 20th instant.

There can be no doubt as to Mr. William Cooper’s line ofargument. It is a bribe to medical men to send patients tothe Stafford Brine Baths Hotel and so increase the businessdone there, and Mr. William Cooper evidently thinks that ifmedical men have a pecuniary interest in the concern theywill be the more likely to send patients to it. Besides baths,however, the medical man who comes to this lure will havean interest in a variety of commercial pursuits, as followsTo carry on the business of hotel, restaurant, cafe, tavern, beerhouse,

refreshment room and lodging-house keepers, licensed victuallers, wine,beer, and spirit merchants, brewers, malsters, distillers, importers andmanufacturers of aerated, mineral and artificial waters and otherdrinks, purveyors, caterers for public amusements generally, coach,cab, and carriage proprietors, livery stable keepers, jobmasters, dairy.men, ice merchants, importers and brokers of food, live and dead stock,and foreign and colonial produce of all descriptions, hair-dressers, per,fumers, chemists, proprietors of clubs, baths, dressing-rooms, laundries,reading, writing, and newspaper rooms, libraries, grounds and places ojamusement, recreation, sport, entertainment, and instruction of alkinds, tobacco and cigar merchants, agents for railways and shippingcompanies and carriers, theatrical and opera box-office proprietorsentrepreneurs and general agents, and any other business which can bconveniently carried on in connection therewith.

All these businesses are perfectly legitimate and honourableneither is there any reason why a man should not invest hi!money in any or all of them; but he should do so as Iprivate individual and not as a member of a professionwhich, equally with its sister faculties, ought to be abovisuspicion, even more than the London County Council.

GUARDIANS AS SANITARY AUTHORITIES.

THE return to sanity in guardians on the vaccination

question is slow. In fact, it may be said that they havebeen tried as administrators of the Vaccination Acts andfound wanting. The medical officer of health of Islingtonpoints out to the vestry that the proportion of unvaccinatedchildren to those born has increased in that huge parishfrom 8-0 per cent. in 1885 to 18’0 per cent. in 1895. Mr.

Harris was directed by the Public Health Committee in 1894to represent to the guardians this grave state of matters, butnothing remedial has been done. In neighbouring parishesmatters are as bad or worse. In Hackney, indeed, it is

nothing short of a public scandal, the last available returnshowing that 41 per cent. of infants born remain unvacci-nated. No wonder that the Vestry of St. Pancras hasdecided to convene a conference of delegates from vestriesand district boards to consider the advisability of transferringthe administration of the Vaccination Acts from boards of

guardians to the sanitary authorities and that the sanitarycommittee of Islington has advised the vestry to appoint adeputation to attend the conference. On going to press wehear there is a localised group of cases of small-pox inIslington, which is likely to increase the earnestness of thevestry in this matter. ---

HEAT AFFECTIONS.

l..t1l!.i tJ1WtJplUIli:l>L uenu ll2L Ili:l>iS Jrevdlleu UUIijUg Mm iUSC

few days has naturally been the subject of common

remark. With each recurrence of hot weather we get,of course, its usual concomitants in the shape of dis.

comfort, sleepless nights, more or less nervous depression,and affections attributable to heat fevers, heat ex.

haustion, and occasionally sunstroke, to say nothing ofthe distress to infants and children and their liabilityto attacks of indigestion and diarrhoea or nervous ex.

haustion. We do not think there is anything that canbe said at the present time that has not been often saidbefore. For those who live in the country surrounded byfresh air, who can dress in the lightest and coolest attire,and take their exercise when and how they like, hotweather is so enjoyable that a good many people revel

in it. But it is a very different thing for those whoare compelled to live in cities, to travel by undergroundrailways, and to submit to the dust, closeness, and noise ofLondon streets, and a succession of bands and organ.grinders, the practising of "scales" by inexperienced pianists,violinists, and vocalists, the yells of newsboys and race.card sellers, varied occasionally by the possible howling-whine of some pet dog that has been inadvertentlyleft outside a house at night. Medical men cannot do much

to relieve these sources of distress and discomfort; but a

good deal may be done by the exercise of a little physio.logical intelligence and common sense to avert some of theother and graver effects of heat. Toleration of heat dependsmuch on the vigour of the constitution, the state of the health,and the mode of living, especially in freedom from excess inalcohol and food, in being suitably appareled, and in gettingall the air and ventilation that are available. We need notdwell upon the different forms of sunstroke and heat affections;they are pretty well known. Among the gravest of them isthe exhaustion caused by heat which is followed by syncope,a condition allied to shock from the effect of a powerful sunon the nerve centres, especially the respiratory centre, andthat form attended with the over-heating of the blood and allthe tissues of the body. Men on parade or when marching,

if oppressed with accoutrements and clothing, or when occu-pying heated and badly ventilated barracks in tropical or sub.tropical climates, are very apt to suffer. A dry heat, it is

well known, is better tolerated than a moist one, and we haveevidence of this in the experience of our soldiers in the pre-sent Soudan campaign. The treatment obviously cannot bethe same in all cases, but where a high body temperature is a

l characteristic feature of the attack cold is the remedy-coldi water, ice, and exposure to currents of air. The great heatl of Saturday last resulted in three cases of sunstroke, one ofi which ended fatally, in the Royal Irish Rifles on their march1 from Lydd camp to Brighton. We can all of us, at anyi rate during exceptionally hot weather, try to keep quiet and. abstain from "worritting" ourselves and other people, and