1755BIRMINGHAM.—LIVERPOOL.

BIRMINGHAM.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

BeNrl1nent 11/ Ilpof’es.o?, B. C. 1. Windle.Professor Windle has received a number of marks of kind-

ness from colleagues and students in view of his departurefrom this city. The annual dinner of medical students, anevent which always occurs about this time of year, was takenadvantage of to present him with a piece of plate sub-scribed for by past and present students. The Chancellorof the University, the Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain, andSir Frederick Treves were both present on this occasion andproposed, the one the toast of "Past and Present Students,"

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and the other that of "The Birmingham Medical School."Nearly 300 guests sat down to this dinner and many whowished to do so were unable to obtain tickets. After theconclusion of the last meeting of the Faculty of Medicine atwhich Professor Windle presided his colleagues presentedhim with a silver salver and set of candlesticks. The presen-tation was made, in the name of the rest of the members ofthe Faculty, by Professor Jordan Lloyd who said that he

hoped that the gifts which were offered would remind theDean of his friends in Birmingham when he was far distantfrom them and called attention to the fact that, in additionto the inscription of presentation which appeared upon thesalver, the names of all the members of the Faculty wereinscribed on the under surface. Professor Windle thankedhis colleagues for their beautiful gift, which would always bea pleasure to himself, his wife. and his children, and wishedevery possible success to the Birmingham School in thefuture. The staff of the University, together with certainprivate friends of the two professors. have also entertainedat a banquet Professor Windle and Professor MacNeileDixon who has recently removed to Glasgow. The healthof the two professors was proposed by the chairman, SirOliver Lodge, and responded to by the two guests. I aminformed that Professor Windle expects to be settled in hisnew home at Queen’s College, Cork, by Christmas Day.

Chair of Anatomy ioa the University.The council has appointed to this position Dr. A.

Robinson, at present professor of anatomy at King’s College,London. No steps have, I understand, been as yet takento fill up the position of dean of the Medical Faculty, alsorendered vacant bv the resignation of Professor Windle. Bythe charter of tlie University this is a life post and carrieswith it a seat on the council of the University.

The Welsh Water.When the new supply of water first began to make its way

through the pipes into the houses of the inhabitants of thecity and district its advent was at once to be recognisedon account of its very peaty colour. Even in a small

glass water-croft it is distinctly yellow and when seen ingreater bulk, as in a bath, it is like a peaty Highlandstream. It seems, however, that it is only its appear-ance which is against this water, for at a recent meet-

ing of the water committee a report was presentedfrom the city medical officer of health in which he statedthat during the month’ of November he had been collectingsamples of the water in all parts of the district, havinghad a man specially engaged in this work, in order that thequality of the new supply might undergo a complete test.He had analysed the samples thus obtained and was able toreport that the water supplied from Frankley, where themain reservoir is situated, and also as supplied to the housesin the city was, both from a chemical and bacteriologicalpoint of view, "entirely satisfactory." The report wenton to say that there was a certain amount of colouringin the water and it referred to the effects produced byallowing the water to stand and by boiling it. On the latterpoint Dr. J. Robertson said that boiling the water made itmuch lighter in colour. A small amount of brownishdeposit composed of peaty matter and a little iron tookplace. He pointed out, however, that the deposit from the- older supply was probably about ten times as greatas that obtained from the Welsh water, but being lighterin colour it was less noticeable than that in the presentwater. The general conclusion of the report was that thewater was excellent and in every way save’ that of coloursuperior to that supplied up to a few weeks ago.

School for Defective Children.At the last meeting of the education committee of the

city a proposition was brought up from the sites and build-ings committee for the purchase of a site for a school formentally deficient children near Kenilworth. It was sug-gested that an area of about 22 acres should be acquired fora sum of f.1700 and that a school should be erected thereoncapable of containing 80 children, the plans being so pre-pared that further accommodation could be provided whenrequired. Mrs. Pinsent, chairman of the special schoolssubcommittee, said that this matter had been on severaloccasions before the authority. The subcommittee hadfound great difficulty in securing a suitable piece of ground.They could not go too far from Birmingham, they mustbe reasonably near to a railway station, have a goodhealthy site, a sunny aspect, and a perfect water-supply.It was only at Kenilworth that they had come acrossa suitable site at a reasonable price. The subcommitteecould see even more clearly than it did a year ago thatthere were certain children whom it was impossible toeducate in a day special school and their presence in a dayspecial school rendered the work more difficult. Thosechildren came from the worst and most degraded homes andowing to their mental defects were particularly susceptibleto bad influences. They were insufficiently clad and often soneglected and dirty that it was impossible to instil commondecency into them. Those children must be removed from all

opportunities of vice or they developed criminal tendencies.There were also mentally defective children who were at thesame time confirmed truants and they could not be dealt within the ordinary manner because industrial and truant schoolsdid not take mentally affected children. There were somefew cases which had never been admitted to special schoolsat all, because it was felt that the training which could begiven them there was entirely inadequate. None could beclassed as idiots and imbeciles and they could not be dealtwith under the existing Idiots and Lunacy Act. Most of thechildren were capable of doing some simple form of manualemployment and it was the subcommittee’s belief that iftrained in a boarding school they could be passed on at the ageof 16 years to an industrial colony, where, with the trainingthey had previously received, they would be fairly satis-

factory inmates and contribute largely to their own support.The Birmingham, Aston, and King’s Norton guardians hadalready formulated a joint scheme for such a colony andhad obtained the consent of the Local Government Board.That scheme would carry on the work of the boardingschool and the two schemes together would in the long runprevent the birth of another generation of defective children.They believed the scheme they suggested would tend to

lighten the burden on the community. Birmingham was nowsupporting a generation of mentally defectives in the work-houses or in the prisons, which was not economical. Underthe scheme proposed the children would be prevented frombecoming paupers and criminals and would be largely self-supporting. An amendment was proposed that the mattershould be referred to the subcommittee in order that it

might bring up a detailed scheme with estimate, but in theend this motion was lost and the original proposal wascarried.

Dec. 13th. ________________

LIVERPOOL.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Tropical Diseases : A Big Liverpool Expedition.A DEPUTATION of scientific gentlemen connected with the

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, which is sending outanother expedition to study tropical diseases, was recentlyreceived by the Colonial Secretary. Sir Alfred L. Jones,K.C.M.G., the President of the school, introduced the de-putation, which included Professor Rubert Boyce, F.R.S.,Colonel Giles, late I.M.S., Sir Ralph Moor, Dr. Evans, Dr.M’Connell and Dr. Wolferstan Thomas (the latter two

gentlemen representing Canada), and Mr. A. H. Milne, thesecretary of the school. Sir Alfred Jones explained thatthe expedition was the largest of the kind ever promoted.Professor Boyce, Dr. Evans, and Dr. Clarke were going toSierra Leone, Gambia, &c. ; Colonel Giles and Dr. M’Connellwould investigate the Gold Coast, Lagos, and Nigeria ; whileDr.- Wolferstan Thomas and Dr. Anton Brieul of Praguewould go to the Amazon to conduct researches in yellowfever and malaria. The expedition was really promoted incompliment to Sir William MacGregor, whose excellent