ireland

995

IRELAND.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS. )

ivational Association jor the Prevention nf Consumptionand Other Forms of Tuberculosis. Dublin Branch.

A MEETING of the executive committee of the Dublinbranch of the National Association for the Prevention of

Consumption and Other Forms of Tuberculosis was heldon March 25th to consider an important propositionbrought before it by Sir Christopher Nixon, President ofthe Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, with regard tothe establishment of a sanatorium for the treatment of

consumption among the poor of Dublin and its suburbs.. Sir Christopher Nixon mentioned that the sisters of mercy

had recently acquired the house and demesne of Beaumont,embracing some 110 acres, for the purpose of providing aconvalescent home for the patients of the Mater Miseri-cordiae Hospital. It occurred to him to suggest that advan-tage might be taken of the site to establish a sanatoriumfor the reception and treatment of cases of consumptionamong the destitute poor who could not be treated with

hope of beneficial results in a general hospital. He ex-

plained that the sisters of mercy were ready to offer theirservices in taking charge of the institution and nursing thepatients on the following conditions : (1) that the sana-

torium should be built and fully furnished, and (2) that theexpenses should be defrayed for the maintenance of the

patients and the proper working of the institution. Sir

Christopher Nixon also laid before the committee a letterfrom Dr. Walsh, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, inwhich he (Dr. Walsh) stated that he approved of the projectand would do anything he could in aid of it. The followingmotions relative to the project were passed unanimously :-Resolved-That the Council of the Dublin Branch of the National

Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis have heard with deepinterest and sympathy of the probability of the establishment of asanatorium in the vicinity of Dublin in which the destitute poor ofthe city and suburbs afllicted with pulmonary consumption maybe satisfactorily treated in the early and remediable states of thatcomplaint.Resolved-That the council are of opinion that the advantages likely

to accrue to the public health from the establishment of the proposedsanatorium are of a twofold kind : first, far-reaching benefit to thepatients themselves ; secondly, a widespread influence for good froman educational standpoint, patients and their families being taughthow to prevent the spread of the infection of tuberculosis.

The Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast.At the annual meeting of the friends of this institution,

which was held in Belfast on March 18th, it was reportedthat 2080 patients had been treated in the hospital duringthe year and 354 in the convalescent home, 29 in the con-sumptive department, and 137 in the children’s hospital,making a total of 2600 cases ; in addition to which 25,453patients had been treated in the out-patient department.The receipts from all sources were el2,487 9s. 5d. and the

expenses were .Bll,589 5s. 2d. The necessary expenditureexceeds the legitimate income by E2051 15s. 9d. The new

hospital will be ready early next year and the better andgreater accommodation it will afford must necessarily involvea much larger expenditure ; therefore it is necessary tomake timely preparation for this additional outlay. Acordial vote of thanks was given to the medical and surgicalstaff for their services during the year.

Small-pox in Belfast.So far only one case of small-pox-introduced from

Glasgow-has occurred in Belfast. At the meeting of theBelfast Guardians on March 18th a resolution was passedrequesting the Local Government Board to make arrange-ments by which persons suffering from any infectious diseaseshall not be removed from the gaol, where there is sufficienthospital accommodation provided, as there is grave dangerincurred in the transit of these cases through the centre of acrowded city. The guardians say that the police authoritieshave no right to rid themselves of responsibility by driving asmall-pox patient from the gaol to the workhouse through acrowded city.

mster Hedicccl Society.An adjourned meeting of this society was held in the

Pathological Laboratory of Queen’s College, Belfast, on

March 20th, Professor W. Whitla, the president, being inthe chair. Dr. J. McLiesh read a paper on the Blood in aCase of Skin Disease ; Dr. R. Allen read a paper on GranularLeucocytes in Tumours, illustrated by microscopic sections ;Dr. H. L. licRisack and Lieutenant D. McCay, I M.S., readNotes of Pyelitis in Young Children ; Mr. R. J. Johnstone

showed the organs from a case of Molluscum Fibrosum withFibrous Tumours in the Stomach and a specimen of a rareform of Enlargement of the Prostate ; Dr. Eleanor R. Sproullgave a demonstration of the Structural Changes in the Liverand Kidneys in a case of Acute Yellow Atrophy of the Liver ;and Professor J. Lorrain Smith demonstrated the Depositionof Iron in the Liver in a Case of Pernicious Anasmia.

7’he Royal Commission on -Tris7i University Education.The commission is to begin its sittings in Belfast, in the

Library of Queen’s College, on April 2nd. The membersare to be entertained to dinner by the Professors of Queen’sCollege and the President has issued invitations for an" afternoon to meet the Royal Commissioners. It isunderstood that several very important witnesses will beexamined and that the case of the Northern College will befully presented.April lst.

PARIS.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

A New Method of Producing Analgesia of a Tootlt forExtraction.

M. Regnier and M. Didsbury recently communicated tothe Academy of Medicine a new method of analgesia in

dentistry which does away with the use of cocaine, ofcarbolic acid, or of any of the well-known anaesthetics whichare all more or less toxic, and in the use of which the patientruns a risk of poisoning quite out of proportion to the in-

significant operation of an extraction. The method is to usean electrical current of high frequency which producesabsolute insensibility of the tooth. The current is appliedto the tooth bv means of a gutta-percha cap lined with goldleaf, and in this way the field of application of the currentis limited to the tooth which it is desired to extract. Perfect

analgesia is obtained in a few minutes and the tooth can beremoved without the patient feeling anything. The appli-cation of the current is easy and harmless and the methodwould seem capable of application to other operations ofminor surgery.

A Federation oj French Anti-Tuberele Societies.On March 16th there was held in the hall of the Society

of Civil Engineers, the President of the Republic beingpresent, a formal inauguration of the federation of allFrench societies for the prevention of tuberculosis. Thesesocieties, which previously have wasted their strength byacting separately, will now be increased in power by beingunited. Representatives from 76 societies and 37 citieswere present. The President of the new federationis Professor Brouardel and the objects of the federa-tion are to favour the spread of knowledge about tuber-culosis and the various methods for its prevention andto unite for the purposes of effective action all societiesand persons who have studied the subject from itsdifferent aspects. The example of England, where themortality from tuberculosis has declined by 45 per cent. in40 years, and of Germany, where it has declined by 12 percent. in 10 years, should give great encouragement to thestruggle in a country like France, blessed in the possessionof a beautiful climate, to enjoy which the sick of all nationscome in the hope of cure. The central bureau of the federa-tion will serve as a link between the different sanatoriumsand as a guide to patients. One case of tuberculosis, forinstance, will require treatment in the isolation ward of ahospital ; another will do better at a seaside sanatoriumand another at a high altitude ; another will be so farconvalescent that he will be sent to an agricultural colony.The Bureau will in addition organise a system of relief forpatients and for this purpose friendly societies will be askedto contribute as well as ordinary charitable persons. The

railway companies, so many of whose employes are affectedwith tuberculosis, will be asked to subsidise local sanatoriumsin the respective districts served by them and the militarycharities will also be asked to help so that soldiers who areon their books may be sent to a sanatorium instead of beingallowed to spread infection broadcast by remaining at large.

Professional Secrecy and Hospital Practice.The Consultative Committee of the Assistance Publique

has just formulated an answer to a problem laid before it byDr. Bonnaire, the obstetric physician to the LariboisiereHospital. In pursuance of this decision a circular has beensent out to all the hospitals pointing out that professional