335

arising out of, and in the course of, his employ-ment." It has been bald that whether the injuryis due to an "accident" or not is a question ofmixed fact and law and consequently the Court of Appealwill review the finding of a county court judge on the

subject, although it may not be willing to disturb it. In arecorded case an " accident " has been spoken of as some-

thing "fortuitous or unforeseen," and it has also been saidthat "in its ordinary sense the word accident necessarilyinvolves casualty, violence, or vis major." In the case

mentioned it was decided that a woman who sustainedinternal injury through lifting a succession of heavy boxeswas not injured by an "accident." The county court judgeat Kidderminster held that some force caused the anthraxbacilli from the wool to float in the air and to impinge onthe deceased and that this circumstance constituted theinfection an "accident."

- 5M<M overlooking Open Spaces.Under the Metropolitan Open Spaces Acts and under the

Disused Burial Grounds Act areas of considerable extenthave been thrown open for the public benefit in many partsof the metropolis. They are of use as recreation grounds,where the neighbouring inhabitants and their children canobtain a little fresh air and sometimes look upon greengrass and trees, while the houses adjoining and over-

looking them enjoy the obvious advantage derivablefrom facing an open space. The Paddington boroughcouncil, however, anxious lest some houses built so as

to overlook a large disused graveyard should acquire a pre-scriptive right to enjoy light and air uninterrupted, erected ahoarding upon the land under its control and an action wasbrought by those interested in the houses in order to test thecouncil’s right to do this. Mr. Justice Buckley’s decisionwas in the council’s favour, but the Court of Appeal, con-sisting of Lord Justice Vaughan Williams, Lord JusticeRomer, and Lord Justice Cozens-Hardy, has now taken adifferent view and the hoarding will have to be removed.As far as we understand, the open spaces made public wherethere have been burial grounds are intended to remain openspaces for ever ; no one may build upon them except where achurch has to be enlarged and the borough of Paddingtonhaving no power in any case to build on the land in questionwill not be in any worse position owing to the decision of theAppeal Court. The benefit derivable by a locality from anopen space is not confined to the pleasure and recreation ofthose who resort to it. The houses immediately adjoining itgain considerably and others near it do so to a less degree.It would diminish the utility of such open spaces consider-ably if unsightly erections were permitted upon them inorder to guard rights which no one - would ever wish to seeexercised. The appeal in the case referred to (Boyce v. thePaddington Borough Council, July 25th, 1903) involved notonly legal questions of some intricacy but a matter of con-siderable public importance and no one should regret thedecision at which the court arrived.

THE NEW BUILDINGS OF CAMBERWELLINFIRMARY.

THE board of guardians of the parish of St. Giles, Camber-well, S.E., after three years’ building operations and at a I’gross cost of close upon ,6200,000, opened on July 24th veryextensive new infirmary buildings for South London. Theold and comparatively small building, which was erectedin 1873, has been altered and modernised so as to form

part of the institution, which the board wish to be knownas Camberwell Infirmary and which, although technically aparish infirmary, must from its position and extent be

regarded as really a general hospital, capable of dealingwith a large number of accident and acute cases of allkinds. The institution is in Brunswick-square-a well-wooded open space recently acquired for the public, quitenear to Camberwell Green and the main highway there-from to Peckham and New Cross, but sufficiently far

away to be out of the noise of the street traffic. Itconsists of 21 buildings standing on a site of several acres,practically surrounded by roads, all the buildings being con-nected by glass-covered ways and subways. It will provideaccommodation for 800 patients, have a resident staff of fivemedical men, and officials, nurses, and servants to thenumber of about 160, with Mr. W. J. C. Keats at their headas medical superintendent. The various erections are builtof fire-resisting material and special provision is made for

escape in case of an outbreak of fire. The institution con-tains a fully-equipped operating theatre with recovery-roomattached and an electric treatment-room with all modern

appliances&mdash;"x" "

rays, galvanic and faradic electricalbaths, and all the usual appliances for dealing withdiseases of the nervous system. On each of the fourfloors of three pavilions there is a ward of 24 beds,with windows on three sides, and other wards of six,four, and two beds respectively-so arranged, of course,as to afford opportunity for classification. On every floor abalcony the whole length of the large ward faces west andis sheltered from all cold and side winds. The largeward of the top floor has been specially designed for con-sumptive patients and practically the whole of the inclosureson three sides consist of opening windows for open-airtreatment, there being above a flat roof on which patientsmay spend all the day with something of interest to see inthe panorama stretching for miles across London. This

arrangement for consumptive patients is new in the metro-

polis and so far as is known not yet introduced in any ofthe general hospitals of the large towns throughout thecountry. Special attention has been paid to the provisionand furnishing of a children’s pavilion. The whole institu-tion is electrically lighted ; it has electric lifts of a

special labour-saving type which are capable of hoist-ing and lowering beds of full length ; it has laundrymotors, electric ventilation, and a heating system of a kindbelieved to exist in only one other institution in London-open fires being allowed for in the sitting-rooms only. Theadministrative offices are in the centre and so is the nurses’home, in which there are several large rooms for dining,writing, recreation, &c., and to which a pleasant garden isattached.At the formal opening the architect-Mr. EDWIN T.

HALL, F.R.I.B.A., F.S.I.-handed to Mr. Alfred Foster,chairman of the board of guardians, who presided, a keywith which to unlock the main door of the administrativebuilding of, he said, this new temple of Hygeia. Mr.FOSTER, in declaring the building open, mentioned thatthe guardians would get from the Local Government Board<E53 000 as its share of the money realised by the sale ofwhat were known as the Sutton Schools. The population ofthe parish, he stated, had risen from 111,302 in 1873, to

259,339 in 1903, the indoor adults under its chargefrom 506 to 2167, and the children from 421 to 1028.Mr. WILLIAM T. PARTRIDGE, chairman of the infirmarycommittee during the last nine or ten years, congratulatedthe large number of Camberwell ratepayers who had cometo take part in the opening ceremony on having securedfor their great parish an infirmary capable of doing thework that was to be done. Hitherto they had been muchhandicapped, but that state of matters was now at an

end, and as they were such a long distance from the generalhospitals of South London-St. Thomas’s and Guy’s-theywould be able with their accommodation to receive a greaternumber of acute medical and surgical cases than was usuallyundertaken by metropolitan infirmaries. 14 years ago theyhad not a single trained nurse, but of the 64 employed atpresent-a number to be gradually raised to 116-there wasnot one who had not passed through the training school.Dr. J. T. MACNAMARA, M.P. for North Camberwell, felici-tated everyone concerned on the completion of the build-ings. He did not think the money they cost could be betterspent, but he thought that the Local Government Boardought to give a very generous contribution towards the costfor the reason that so many people from other districts ofLondon and from the country came into the parish andwhile getting the advantages somehow escaped the burdenswhich the more permanent residents were called upon tobear. To the poor people of the district he believed that thislarge extension of the Camberwell Infirmary must prove anunspeakable boon.On the motion of the Mayor of Camberwell (Mr. GODDARD

CLARKE, J.P., L.C.C.) a vote of thanks was accorded to thechairman, and then Mr. Hall and the stewards led thevisitors, in parties of 50, to inspect the buildings.

ASYLUM REPORTS.

County and City of Worcester Asyl1tm (Annual -Reportfor1902).-The average number of patients resident during theyear was 1189, comprising 524 males and 665 females. Theadmissions during the year amounted to 266-viz., 114 malesand 152 females. Of these 228 were first admissions. Mr.