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an address to the assembled candidates. In his discoursehis lordship referred to the organisation of the school by hisfriend the late Lord Herbert, and its subsequent progress,to the changes which had taken place in the medical de-partment of the army during recent years, and especiallydwelt on the advantages which had been conferred on itsofficers by the new Medical Warrant, and indirectly, hebelieved, on the army at. large. He warmly congratulatedthe candidates who had just completed the final steps neces-sary for obtaining their commissions in the various branchesof the public medical service, and after some other observa-tions on the careers which were now opening to them,asked the gentlemen who had been named as the winnersof the several prizes to step forward. With a few kind andflattering observations to each gentleman, his lordship handedto them their respective honours. Mr. A. H. Keogh, of theArmy Medical Service, carried off both the Herbert prizeand the Martin memorial medal; while Mr. G. Kirker, of theRoyal Navy, took the Parkes medal for practical hygiene.The visitors subsequently adjourned to the officers’ mess-room for luncheon.The number of candidates during the session has been

very large-viz., 96. Of these 72 were probationers for theBritish service, 16 for H.M.’s Indian Army, and 8 for theRoyal Navy. We publish elsewhere a list of the successfulcandidates for the Indian Army and Royal Navy. We havealready published the names of the gentlemen who com-peted last December for commissions in the British service.

TESTIMONIAL TO DR. FARR.

SINCE the publication of our last issue, the followingnames have been added to the committee which is beingformed for the purpose of raising, among his friends andadmirers, a testimonial fund for presentation to Dr. WilliamFarr, F.R.S.Earl Granville, K.G., F.R.S.Lord Houghton, F.R.S.Lord Aberdare.The Right Hon. Sir Stafford Northcote, Bart, M.P.The Right Hon. W. H. Smith, M.P.Thomas Brassey, M.P., President of the Statistical

Society.John Walter, M.P.William Spottiswoode, President of the Royal Society.John Hainworth, F.R.S., Master of the Society of Apo-

thecaries.William Clode, Secretary, Registrar-General’s Office.J. de Cappelain, Highgate.Professor W. T. Gairdner, M.D.Professor Frankland, F.R.S.Thomas Stevenson, M.D., F.R.C.P.J. Napier Higgins, Q. C.R. Druitt, M.D., F.R.C.P., F.R.C.S.G. H. Philipson, M.A. M.D., F.R.C.P.Cosmo G. Logie, M.D., F.R.S.E., Deputy Surg.-General.W. A. GreenhilJ, M.D. Oxon.D. B. Balding, F.R.C.S., Coroner for Hertfordshire.J. T. Clover, F.R.C.S.It is proposed shortly to call a meeting of the committee,

of which due notice will be sent to its members, for thepurpose of appointing an executive committee; a prelimi-nary subscription list will soon after be published, which willinclude all those subscriptions already promised, and anythat may be in the meantime notified to Mr. Noel A.Humphreys, of the Registrar-General’s Office, SomersetHouse, W. C.

HEALTH OF LARGE ENGLISH TOWNS.NINTH WEEK OF 1880.

THE rate of mortality in our large towns continues todecline. In twenty of the largest English towns, estimatedto contain in the middle of this year seven millions and ahalf of persons, or nearly one-third of the entire populationof England and Wales, 5408 births and 3181 deaths wereregistered last week. The births exceeded by 223, whereasthe deaths were 94 below, the average weekly numbers

during 1879. The deaths showed a further decline of 41from the decreasing numbers returned in recent weeks.The annual death-rate in the twenty towns, which had de.creased from 37’0 to 23’1 in the four preceding weeks,further fell to 22’1 last week. During the past nine weeksthe death-rate in these towns averaged 26’9 per 1000, against25’8 and 27’0 in the corresponding periods of 1878 and 1879.The lowest death-rates in the twenty towns last week were17’5 in Bradford, 18’8 in Bristol, 19’0 in Birmingham, and19’4 in Portsmouth. The rates in the other towns rangedupwards to 22’9 in London, 24’6 in Liverpool, 25’5 inNottingham, and 28’5 in Plymouth. The death-rate inPlymouth has now shown a marked excess during manyweeks, owing mainly to an exceptional fatality of measles.The deaths referred to the seven principal zymotic diseases

in the twenty towns, which had slowly declined from 637 to467 in the four preceding weeks, were 466 last week; theyincluded 209 from whooping-cough, 99 from scarlet fever,74 from measles, and only 29 from fever, mainly enteric.The annual death-rate from these seven diseases averaged3’2 per 1000 in the twenty towns, and ranged from 0’4 and0’7 in Portsmouth and Wolverhampton, to 4’9 and 9’7 inHull and Plymouth. Whooping-cough showed the largestproportional fatality in Salford, London, and Plymouth;measles in Plymouth, Hull, and Nottingham ; and scarletfever showed increased prevalence in Sheffield. Of the 13deaths referred to diphtheria, 5 occurred in London, and 3in Manchester and Salford. Fever, principally enteric,caused 14 deaths in London, and 5 both in Liverpooland in Sheffield. Eight more fatal cases of small-poxwere recorded in London, and one in Bristol, but not onein any of the eighteen other large provincial towns.The number of small-pox patients in the MetropolitanAsylum Hospitals, which had steadily increased from 80 to163 in the five preceding weeks, further rose to 185 onSaturday last; 49 new cases of small-pox were admitted tothese hospitals during last week, against 58 and 48 in thetwo previous weeks. The Highgate Small-pox Hospitalcontained 12 patients on Saturday last, 10 of whom weresuffering from small-pox.The fatality of lung diseases showed a further decline last

week. The deaths referred to diseases of the respiratoryorgans in London, which had declined from 1557 to 459 inthe four preceding weeks, further fell to 390 last week, andwere 80 below the corrected average in the correspondingweek of the last ten years ; 258 resulted from bronchitis, and91 from pneumonia. The annual death-rate in London lastweek from diseases of this class was equal to 5’6 per JOOO,and corresponded with the death-rate from the same diseasesin Liverpool.

Correspondence.

FUSSY SANITATION.

"Aurii alteram partem."

To the Editor of THE LANCET.SIR,-In the third leader of your last issue the following

passage occurs :-" There are probably, as medical officersof health will tell us, not a few things in which the law maybe amended in order to strengthen their hands in dealing withinfectious diseases, but if we are to give regard to history itis highly necessary that in so strengthening them the Legis-lature should not at the same time foster that wild fear of

contagion that has been the bane of administrative efforts inall great epidemics. Yet there is reason to fear that theevil here referred to is being brought about amongst us."Upon this text I, as an old sanitarian, having the addi-

tional advantage of a great many years of active practiceamongst all classes of the people, and, therefore, the oppor-tunity of observing the progress of the public opinion onmedical and sanitary subjects, would venture to make a fewobservations.

In the first place, I do not think that those remarks ofyours, with the caution they convey, are made a day toosoon. With a Government in power which may any dayrecur to the dogma of sanitas sa7aitatrcna, omnia sanitas, itbehoves all who have the real progress of sanitary science atheart to see that that science will not be brought into con-