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Welby " (367), which is characterised by all his delicacy ofhandling, and among the sculpture Mr. J. M. Swan’s bronzegroup, " Puma and Macaw," is a wonderful example of.stealthy motion.

ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS OF LONDON.

AN ordinary meeting of the Comitia was held on ,

April 25th, Sir WILLIAM SELBY CHURCH, the President,being in the chair.The following gentlemen, having passed the required

- examination, were balloted for, and having been electedwere admitted as Members :-Francis Robert BryantBisshopp, M.A., M.D. Camb.; Frank Cecil Eve, B.A.,M.B. Camb. ; Archibald Gordon Gullan, M.D. Lond.,L.R.C.P. ; Edward Forster Maynard, M.D. Edin. ; Nathan,Raw, M.D. Durh. ; Charles Henry Reissmann, M.A.,M.B.Camb., L.R.C.P.; and Reginald Cecil Bligh Wall,B.A., M.B. Oxon., L.R.C.P.

Licences to practise were granted to 96 gentlemen whohad passed the necessary examinations.A communication was received from the Secretary of the

Royal College of Surgeons of England reporting certainproceedings of the Council on April llth.The following Members were nominated by the Council

and proposed to the College for election to the Fellowship,.and after a ballot had been taken were all duly announced,to have been elected : William Burns Beatson, M.D. St. And.,(Eastbourne); Arthur Hamilton Nicholson Lewers, M.D.Lond. ; John Walter Carr, M.D. Lond. ; William JosephTyson, M.D. Darh. (Folkestone) ; Edmund Hobhouse,M.D. Oxon. (Brighton); William Rivers Pollock, M.D. Camb. ;Jiugh Walsham, M.D. Camb. ; Walter Sydney Lazarus-

Barlow, M.D. Camb. ; Edmond Fauriel Trevelyan,M.D. Lond. (Leeds) ; John Hannah Drysdale, M.D. Camb. ;Frederick Eustace Batten, M.D. Camb.; Raymond Henry,Payne Crawfurd, M.D. Oxon.; John Henry Bryant,M.D. Lond. ; and George Frederic Still, M.D. Camb.A report, dated March llth, was received from the Com-

mittee of Management. Amongst other matters theannouncement was made that the Blackburn Technical Collegehad been added to the list of institutions recognised forinstruction in chemistry, physics, and practical chemistry.A report was received, dated March 8th, from the Labora-

tories Committee recording the general work of the labora-tories and of the bacteriological department, and announcingthat Dr. T. Grigor Brodie had been appointed director of thelaboratories for another year. The report was adopted.The quarterly reports of the Finance Committee and of the

examiners for the licence were received and adopted.The REGISTRAR moved that By-law CXLV. be amended in

the manner of which notice had been given at the precedingComitia. This was carried.A list of books and other publications which had been

presented to the library during the past quarter was receivedand the thanks of the College were given to the donors.

It was announced that the subject of the Bradshaw lectureto be delivered by Dr. Judson Bury would be " Prognosis inRelation to Disease of the Nervous System."The PRESIDENT then dissolved the Comitia.

CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY.-The annualmeeting of the friends of the medical mission auxiliaryof this society was held at Exeter Hall, London, on

April 30th, when Sir John Kennaway presided. Dr.Herbert H. Lankester, the secretary, reported that duringthe year sthe beds in the society’s hospitals had increasedfrom 1484 to 1613 ; the in-patients from 11,400 to 11,887 ;and the out-patients from 630,000 to 753,000. A medical

training home for ladies had this year been opened inBermondsey. The income of the auxiliary had risen from.610.600 to £12,930, besides .62737 brought forward and.63797 from the Oentenary Fund. The expenditure had been£ 17,962, but the debit balance was only .6484. Thecommittee had undertaken to maintain all the society’smedical missionaries, and this would mean an increase of..65000 a year in financial liability.

Public Health and Poor Law.LOCAL GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT.

REPORTS OF MEDICAL OFFICERS OF HEALTH.

Cambridge Urban District.-An outbreak of diphtheriaoccurred in this and the adjoining district of Chestertonduring the autumn of 1900, and although there was nothingof an exceptional character about the outbreak certain of themethods adopted with a view to control it were conceivedand carried out in a commendably modern spirit. The out-break, which embraced 62 cases and which was mainlyconnected with the Park-street Infant School, commencedon Oct. 14th and lasted until Nov. 15th. With respect,however, to the precise number of cases Dr. BushellAnningson, the medical officer of health, observes thatsome cases were notified on clinical symptoms alone,notwithstanding the fact that the specific bacillus was

not found in the throat, while others were notifiedupon the discovery of the specific bacillus alone evenif no clinical symptoms were present. In other cases,however, the diagnosis was supported both clinically andbacteriologically. Evidence as to the precise cause of theoutbreak is not forthcoming, but a thesis of unrecognisedcases operating in a school affords a substantial solution ofthe difficulty. Moreover, the sanitary condition of theclosets and urinals was unsatisfactory and may have broughtabout a state of the fauces susceptible to the operations ofthe bacillus of diphtheria. As regards preventive measures,Professor Sims Woodhead was appointed consulting bacterio-logist, and the invaded school was closed. Isolation accom.modation was provided separately both for cases of actualdiphtheria and for cases in which the bacilli of the diseasealone had been found. Moreover-and here we have theup-to-date nature of the prophylactic measures-theinfants who had been attending the invaded schoolwere visited at their homes, a bacteriological examinationwas made in each case, and a prophylactic injectionof antitoxin was offered not only to the infants but also totheir younger brothers and sisters. It is of considerableinterest to learn that the offer was, as a rule, accepted, andsuch acceptance"does great credit to the tact of those whoseduty it was to make the offer. But the liberality of the

Cambridge Corporation did not stop here, as the medicalpractitioners of the borough were afforded a gratuitoussupply of antitoxin and facilities for obtaining a bacterio-logical examination of any suspicious cases under theircare. Good results appear to have followed the use

of antitoxin in the case of children who had attendedthe invaded schools, and consequently the corporationinstituted a public injecting station at the Corn Exchangewhereat all parents whose children had been exposedto infection were at liberty to have them treated withantitoxin free of charge. As regards the bacteriologicalaspects of the outbreak, Dr. Anningson reports that a

total of 650 persons had their throats examined, and of thisnumber 33 yielded the bacillus of the first degree of viru-lence and 157 that of the second degree. The remaindergave negative results. Dr. Anningson is to be cordially con-gratulated upon the comprehensive and modern measureswhich were taken in Cambridge to stay the outbreak, and itis clear, as indeed he fully recognises, that all the partiesconcerned must have worked with a remarkable unanimity.

Middlesbrough Urban District.-This borough has for thelast five years suffered severely from pneumonia of a

definitely infective type and it will be remembered thatMiddlesbrough was the scene of the historical outbreak ofepidemic pneumonia which took place in 1888 and whichwas investigated by Ballard and Klein. At that time therewere 388 deaths. Klein found a bacillus which he called"bacillus pneumoniæ," the inoculation of which into micegave rise to a disease in which pneumonia was a very pro-minent symptom. This same bacillus was found in certainsamples of bacon, and mice fed toereon developed pneu-monia and yielded the bacillus pneumonias. During 1900-the estimated population being 97.007-there were no lessthan 543 deaths from pneumonia, the annual numberssince 1896 having been 275, 265, 225, and 397.It has, however, to be remarked as having a bearing uponthe figures for 1900 that in May of that year the Town

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Council made pneumonia a voluntarily notifiable disease,although it appears that the stress of the 1900 outbreak wasover before notification commenced. The number of casesnotified since May was 187-i.e., 138 males and 49 females.Of the total of 187 no less than 71 died-a fatality rate of37’9-which was much in excess of that which obtained in1888. As in 1888, males were more liable to attack thanfemales. The bacteriological portion of the investigationwas performed by Mr. Alexander Foulerton, who was

unable to discover the presence of the diplococcus pneu-monise in any of the cases, but he is inclined to regard anorganism which he names "Middlesbrough bacillus No. 2

"

as having played an important part in the outbreak.Tn the words of Mr. Foulerton, " this ’ Middlesbroughbacillus No. 2’ proved to be identical in every way withwhat is recognised as bacillus coli communis and appearedto be quite normal in type." With regard to. the bacterio-logical aspect of the question, Dr. Charles V. Dingle,the medical officer of health of Middlesbrough, observes:" The results obtained cannot be said to be conclusive proofthat the above bacillus is the only cause of the excessivepneumonia met with in this borough, and it is hoped thatfurther and more conclusive evidence will be obtained infuture." As matters stand the bacteriology of epidemicpneumonia must be regarded as being in a somewhat Ievolutionary phase. As far as we can gather the results ofMr. Foulerton’s investigations agree with Klein’s in that inno case was P’riedlander’s or Frankel’s pneumococcus dis-covered, but we are not told whether I Middlesbroughbacillus No. 2 " is claimed to be identical with Klein’sbacillus pneumonias.

Stoke-uporn-Trent Ilrban Dastriet.-Dr. G. Petgrave Johnsonreports that during 1900 there were two deaths in thisdistrict from the consumption of veal. This meat, procuredon a certain Saturday, was stuffed with herb and eatenhot on the following Sunday at the midday meal. At supperon the same day nine persons partook of the cold meat andone additional person abstained. The next day seven ofthe nine veal-eaters were attacked with vomiting, diarrhoea,and abdominal pains. On the evening of the same daya visitor had a piece of the same cold veal and was ill onthe day following. The history of the veal was inquired intoand it appears that none of the other eaters of meat from thesame calf were taken ill. Dr. Johnson thinks that the meatwas contaminated after it had been cooked, seeing that thosewho ate the hot meat were not attacked. It does not seemthat any bacteriological or inoculation experiments weremade, and this, under the circumstances, is to be regretted.Cases of this nature, investigated in a bacteriological sensequite early, are likely to lead to instructive results, as hasbeen shown by Durham and others. The borough of Stoke-upon-Trent is without a disinfecting apparatus, and there-fore, as the medical officer of health remarks, it has been

impossible to disinfect any infected clothing or bedding.In 1886 Dr. Barry of the Local Government Board advisedsuch an apparatus, and the medical officer of health has

frequently reported in the same strain, but the districtcouncil has remained obdurate.

VITAL STATISTICS.

HEALTH OF ENGLISH TOWNS.

IN 33 of the largest English towns 6671 births and 4047deaths were registered during the week ending April 27th.The annual rate of mortality in these towns, which had been19°2, 192, and 18’4 per 1000 in the three preceding weeks,further declined to 17’9 per 1000 last week. In Londonthe death-rate was 17’4 per 1000, while it averaged 18’2per 1000 in the 32 large provincial towns. The lowestdeath-rates in these towns were 10’3 in West Ham, 11-4 inDerby, 11-7 in Brighton, and 11-8 in Birkenhead ; thehighest rates were 22-8 in Liverpool, 24’4 in Halifax,24’8 in Bolton, and 26-1 in Plymouth. The 4047deaths in these towns included 363 which were referredto the principal zymotic diseases, against 397 and 346 inthe two preceding weeks ; of these, 122 resulted fromwhooping-cough, 101 from measles, 48 from diphtheria,36 from diarrhoeal diseases, 30 from scarlet fever, and 26from "fever" (principally enteric). No death from anyof these diseases was registered last week in Burnley;in the other towns they caused the lowest death-rates in

Croydon, Plymouth, Norwich, Derby, Birkenhead, andHuddersfield, and the highest rates in Bolton, Salford,

Blackburn, and Sunderland. The greatest mortality frommeasles occurred in Wolverhampton, Bolton, Sunderland,and Gateshead ; from scarlet fever in Preston ; fromwhooping-cough in Bristol, Cardiff, Swansea, Bradford,and Sunderland; and from "fever" in Blackburn andSunderland. The 48 deaths from diphtheria included 20in London, four in Salford, four in Leeds, and threein Liverpool. No fatal case of small-pox was regis-tered in any of the 33 large towns; and no small-pox patients were under’ treatment in any of theMetropolitan Asylums hospitals during last week. Thenumber of scarlet fever patients in these hospitalsand in the London Fever Hospital at the end of theweek was 1522, against 1601 and 1526 on the two

preceding Saturdays ; 198 new cases were admittedduring the week, against 180, 205, and 150 in thethree preceding weeks. The deaths referred to diseasesof the respiratory organs in London, which had been345 and 374’in the two preceding weeks, decreased again lastweek to 286, and were 71 below the corrected average.The causes of 46, or 1-1 per cent., of the deaths inthe 33 towns were not certified either by a registered medicalpractitioner or by a coroner. All the causes of death wereduly certified in Norwich, Nottingham, Salford, Bradford,and seven other smaller towns ; the largest proportions ofuncertified deaths were registered in Liverpool, Blackburn,Halifax, and Sheffield.

HEALTH OF SCOTCH TOWNS.

The annual rate of mortality in the eight Scotch towns,which had been 24-1, 23’2, and 23-0 per 1000 in the threepreceding weeks, further declined to 22-9 per 1000 during theweek ending April 27th, but showed an excess of 5-0 per 1000over the mean rate during the same period in the 33 largeEnglish towns. The rates in the eight Scotch towns

ranged from 11-8 in Perth and 18-8 in Dundee to 23-7 inGlasgow and 24-5 in Edinburgh. The 717 deaths inthese towns included 62 which were referred to

whooping-cough, 25 to measles, 13 to diarrhoea, eightto scarlet fever, five to "fever," four to diphtheria, andthree to small-pox. In all, 120 deaths resulted from theseprincipal zymotic diseases last week, against 95 and 117in the two preceding weeks. These 120 deaths wereequal to an annual rate of 3-8 per 1000, which was 22per 1000 above the mean rate last week from the samediseases in the 33 large English towns. The fatal cases

of whooping-cough, which had been 51 and 56 in thetwo preceding weeks, further rose last week to 62, ofwhich 34 occurred in Glasgow, 18 in Edinburgh, five inDundee, and four in Paisley. The deaths from measles,which had been 16, 17, and 21. in the three precedingweeks, further rose to 25 last week, and included seven

in Glasgow, seven in Leith, six in Edinburgh, three in

Paisley, and two in Greenock. The fatal cases ofdiarrhoea, which had been eight, 13, and 23 in thethree preceding weeks, declined again last week to

13, of which seven were registered in Glasgow, threein Dundee, and two in Aberdeen. The deaths fromscarlet fever, which had been three and two in the two pre.ceding weeks, rose again to eight last week, and includedfour in Glasgow. The fatal cases of "fever," which hadbeen one and four in the two preceding weeks, further roselast week to five, of which three occurred in Glasgow, where

, two of the four deaths from diphtheria were also registered.The fatal cases of small-pox, which had been five, six, and10 in the three preceding weeks, declined again last week tothree, and all occurred in Glasgow. The deaths referred todiseases of the respiratory organs in these towns, which

, had increased from 155 and 130 in the two preceding weeks,

; rose again last week to 179, and showed an excess of 38 overthe number in the corresponding period of last year.The causes of 36, or more than 5 per cent., of the deathsin these eight towns last week were not certified.

HEALTH OF DUBLIN.

The death-rate in Dublin, which had been 35-6 and 35-4per 1000 in the two preceding weeks, further declined to 29-4

I during the week ending April 27th. During the past, four weeks the death-rate in the city has averaged 33-1 per

1000, the rates during the same period being 17-7 in Londonand 23-2 in Edinburgh. The 195 deaths of personsbelonging to Dublin registered during the week undernotice were 40 less than the number in the preceding