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"In 1852. I married Frances, the daughter of ThomasWildman, Esq., of Eastbourne, and then resided fora time at Slough, coming daily to London to 28,Montague Place for practice. In 1854 the cholera brokeout in London and during the month of August, when thephysicians of the hospital were all taking holiday, I had theentire charge of both the in- and the out-patients, dutieswhich during the epidemic kept me engaged in the hospitalfrom morning until late at night. In 1857 I was elected oneof the physicians to the hospital and lecturer on the prin-ciples and practice of medicine, appointments which I helduntil my resignation in 1866, when I was appointed the first

consulting physician to the hospital. In 1858 I was selectedto fill the office of registrar to the Royal College of

Physicians in succession to Dr. Francis Hawkins, whoaccepted a similar appointment to the General MedicalCouncil. The records of my life from this period are

almost entirely the records of the Royal College ofPhysicians."

If the foregoing biographical notes had been written byourselves they would certainly have been couched in warmerlanguage, and it is characteristic of the man that his wordsabout himself should be so brief and unadorned. We happento know that during the 20 years which he served upon thestaff of St. George’s Hospital as assistant physician and fullphysician he was esteemed by his colleagues as a highlyvaluable colleague, unsparing of himself in the discharge ofhis duties and thoroughly expert in his discharge of them,so that his resignation was received with real regret by themall. He was particularly interested in all questions of medicaleducation, and when in 1876 he was appointed to representthe Royal College of Physicians of London upon the GeneralMedical Council he brought to his duties an excellent fundof common sense and a deep knowledge of the subject. In1881 he became chairman of the Executive Committee of theCouncil in succession to Mr. Andrew Wood, his choice beinga proof of the esteem in which the Council had come to holdhim, and this post he held for fiv-e years, resigning in 1886,being by that time 76 years of age. He had been previously knighted in consideration of his assiduous labours in the cause of medical education.On July 1st of this year Sir Henry Pitman celebrated his

hundredth birthday, when he received from the King atelegram expressive of hearty good wishes. On the same

day he was visited by a party of friends and former pupilswho found his health to be wonderfully maintained when hisage was taken into consideration. Among the many tokensof regard which he then received was a handsome silver-giltbowl from a group of old friends and colleagues at the RoyalCollege of Physicians of London, a letter from the Councilof the Royal College of Surgeons of England bearingwitness to the energy and wisdom with which as a memberof the joint committees of the two Colleges he had attemptedto promote a high moral, social, and educational standard inthe medical profession ; and an album of signatures fromSt. George’s Hospital. Our own personal connexion withSir Henry Pitman has always been very close, and until thepresent year he continued to act as auditor of THE LANCETRelief Fund. We know that we have lost in him a truefriend. The signature below the portrait is reproduced fromhis letter to us resigning the post on the ground of the

infirmity of age ; it was written when he was 99 years andthree months old.The funeral of Sir Henry Pitman took place on Nov. llth,

in Enfield Cemetery. The first part of the Burial Servicewas conducted in the"church of St. Mary Magdalene, EnfieldChase, by the Vicar, the Rev. G. P. Turner, and the Rev.Howell Browne, Vicar of Enfield, who also read the com-mittal sentences at the graveside. Very feeling renderings ofChopin’s Funeral March and of Handel’s Dead March weregiven by Mr. C. T. Davis, organist of the church. The oakcoffin was covered with many beautiful arrangements offlowers and bore a brass plate inscribed: "Henry AlfredPitman, Knight, born lst July, 1808, died 6th November,1908." The principal mourners were Lady Pitman, her threesons and four daughters, and other near relatives. The RoyalCollege of Physicians of London was represented by SirRichard Douglas Powell, Sir Dyce Duckworth, Sir WilliamAllchin, Dr. Norman Moore (Senior Censor), Dr. F. deHaviland Hall, Dr. J. F. Payne, Dr. H. D. Rolleston (whoalso represented the medical staff of St. George’s Hospital),Dr. E. Liveing (Registrar), Dr. J. A. Ormerod (Assistant

Registrar), and Mr. Fleming (Secretary of the College).Mr. Clinton T. Dent represented the.Royal College of Sur-geons of England (in the unavoidable absence of Mr. HenryMorris) and also the surgical staff of St. George’s Hospital.Dr. J. Bart Rous represented THE LANCET. A large eortegeof friends followed the coffin to the grave.

FREDERIC S. COWAN, L. R. C. P. LOND.,M.R.C.S. ENG.

Mr. Frederic S. Cowan died suddenly at his residence,27, Queen-square, Bath, on Oct. 20th. He was the son of thelate Mr. S. B. Cowan, M.R.C.S. Eng., of Bath, and receivedhis medical education at St. George’s Hospital, London,qualifying M. R. C. S. Eng. and L. R. C. P. Lond. in 1878 and1881 respectively. Mr. Cowan also studied at Vienna. After

holding the appointment of resident medical officer at theRoyal United Hospital, Bath, Mr. Cowan commencedpractice in Bath and succeeded to his late father’s practicein 1883. He was formerly senior physician to the EasternDispensary, Bath, also a justice’s visitor in lunacy and amedical referee of several insurance societies. He held a

very respected position in Bath, where he took great interestin the Church of England School Teachers’ Association, of £which he was the first honorary secretary. Mr. Cowan leavesa widow, the youngest daughter of the late Prebendary AngusClerk, and two little daughters.

DEATHS OF EMINENT FOREIGN MEDICAL MEN.-Thedeaths of the following eminent foreign medical men areannounced :-Dr. A. Kriukoff, professor of ophthalmology inthe University of Moscow, aged 59 years. He was vice-

president of the Ophthalmological Society, editor of an

ophthalmological journal, and author of many papers and workson subjects connected with his specialty.-Dr. Dubuissen, theeminent Paris alienist physician.-Dr. Rondot, professor-agrégé in the medical faculty of Bordeaux University.

Medical News.UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE. -Dr. FrederickTaylor of Guy’s Hospital has been appointed an examiner

in medicine in the Third M.B., Part II., in place ofProfessor W. Osler, who is unable to examine. AUniversity lectureship in Pharmacology has been approved,by the General Board of Studies. The First and SecondM.B. and the Third M.B., Part I., will begin on Monday,Dec. 14th ; the Third M.B., Part II., on Tuesday, Dec. 8th ;and the M.C. on Thursday, Dec. 10th. -The following degree-was conferred on Oct. 29th :-M.B.-E. Slack, Pembroke.

FOREIGN UNIVERSITY INTELLIGENCE.-Budapest : Dr. Vilmos Manninger has been recognised as-

privat-docent of Surgical Diagnosis.-Cincinnati (MiamiMedical College) Dr. Oliver P. Holt, Professor of Patho-

logical Anatomy, has been appointed to the chair of Medi-cine in place of the late Dr. Joseph Eichberg.-Freiburg: Dr. Max Voit has been recognised as privat-docent ofAnatomy.--New York (Post-graduate Medical School antt

Hospital) : Dr. John F. Erdmann of the University andBellevue Hospital Medical College has been appointed to,the chair of Surgery.-Rome : Dr. Luigi Silvagni has beenrecognised as privat-docent of Medicine.

BRITISH MEDICAL TEMPERANCE ASSOCIATION.-This association, founded in 1876, lost its honorary secretaryby the death of Dr. J. J. Ridge in May last. He had filledthe office since the commencement of the association and itsgrowth and vigour were largely due to his untiring energyand unselfish acts. In addition to being its honorary secre-tary Dr. Ridge was the editor of its official organ, TheMedical Temperance Review. The council has appointedMr. W. McAdam Eccles as honorary secretary and Mr.H. J. Paterson as editor of the Review. Professor G. SimsWoodhead, the President, will preside at the annual meetingof the association on Friday, Nov. 20th, at 5 P.M., in the

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rooms of the Medical Society of London, 11, Chandos-street,Cavendish-square, W., and will open a discussion on theFuture Work and Aims of the Association. All abstainingpractitioners, whether members of the association or not, areinvited to be present.

Mr. Somerville Hastings, F.R.C.S. Eng., Mr.J. C. Mottram, M.B.Lond., and Mr. Bryden Glendining,M.B., B.S. Durh., have been appointed to the "Salters’Company," the "Richard Hollins," and the "WalterEmden" Scholarships respectively in the Cancer ResearchLaboratories at the Middlesex Hospital.

THE board of management of the West-EndHospital for Diseases of the Nervous System, preparatory torebuilding the hospital, has asked the two senior physi-cians, Dr. Harry Campbell and Dr. T. D. Savill, and thearchitect, Mr. Phipps, to visit some of the more recentlyinstalled hospitals on the continent. It is hoped that thechairman of the board, Mr. Ian Malcolm, will also be able toaccompany them. The hospital has recently received alegacy of £40,000 for rebuilding and the board is thus

proving that it intends to expend this large sum to thebest advantage in the public interest.

UNIVERSITY OF LONDON : THE ROGERS PRIZE.-At the last meeting of the Senate of the University theRogers prize of £100 for original research in medical sciencewas awarded, being divided equally between Mr. David

Forsyth, M.D., D.Sc., assistant physician to Charing CrossHospital, and Mr. F.- W. Twort, L.R.C.P., M.R.C.S.,assistant bacteriologist to the London Hospital. The essayof the former dealt with the anatomy, physiology, -andpathology of the thyroid and parathyroid glands, and thatof the latter with the fermentation of glucosides by bacteriaof the typhoid coli group.. MEDICO-PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION.-The nextquarterly meeting of this association will be held at 11,Chandos-street, Cavendish-square, London, W., on Thursday,Nov. 19th, at 3 ’P.M., under the presidency of Dr. C. A.Mercier. By permission of the governors of the BethlemRoyal Hospital and Dr. T. B. Hyslop, the resident ’,physician, a clinical demonstration of cases of dementiapræcox will be given by Dr. W. H. B. Stoddartat the hospital on the same day at 10 A.M., and atthe meeting in the afternoon the adjourned discussionupon the same subject will take the form of a paper entitled"The Case for Dementia Preecox," by Dr. T. Johnstone,supported by Dr. Stoddart. Several well-known medicalmeninterestedin the subject have promised to speak in theensuing discussion or to send contributions. The resolutionembodied in Dr. R. Cunyngham Brown’s paper upon" TheBoarding-out of the Insane in Private Dwellings will befurther considered, and the discussion will be continued onDr. F. A. Elkins’s paper entitled "Asylums Officials : is it

Necessary or Advisable for so Many to Live on thePremises? " Members will dine together at the Cafe Monicoat 7 P.M.

ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS OF EDINBURGH.-A quarterly meeting of the Royal College of Physicians ofEdinburgh was held on Nov. 3rd, Dr. J. Playfair, the’President, being in the chair. Dr. William Elliot CarnegieDickson was introduced and took his seat as a Fellow of i

the College. Dr. Alexander Hill Buchan was admitted byballot to the Fellowship of the College. On a ballot the

following candidates were admitted to the Membership ofthe College after examination: Dr. George Rutherford

Jeffrey, Dumfries; Dr. Thomas Addis, Edinburgh ; andDr. Alexander Murray Drennan, Edinburgh. The Registrarreported that since the last quarterly meeting of the

College 33 persons had obtained the Licence of the

College by examination. The secretary laid on the table theannual statement by the governing board of the School ofMedicine of the Royal Colleges in terms of the constitution.The report indicated that the number of classes during thewinter session 1907-08 was 32 and during the summer

session 1908 35, and that the number of students during thewinter session was 1026 and during the summer session 855,both so far as could be ascertained, as certain lecturers hadnot made returns. The Hill Pattison-Struthers bursary inclinical medicine, which is the’ gift of the College, was

awarded after examination to Mr. Norman E. WelshDavidson.

ALVARENGA PRIZE OF THE COLLEGE OF PHY-ISICIANS OF PHILADELPHIA.-The College of Physicians ofPhiladelphia announces that the next award of the Alvarengaprize, being the income for one year of the bequest of thelate Senor Alvarenga and amounting to about$180, will bemade on July 14th, 1909, provided that an essay deemed bythe committee of award to be worthy of the prize shall havebeen offered. Essays intended for competition may be uponany subject in medicine but cannot have been published.They must be typewritten and must be received by thesecretary of the College on or before May lst, 1909. Each

essay must be sent without signature, but must be plainlymarked with a motto and be accompanied by a sealed envelopehaving on its outside the motto of the paper and within thename and address of the author. It is a condition of compe-tition that the successful essay or copy of it shall remain in

possession of the College ; other essays will be returned uponapplication within three months after the award. TheAlvarenga prize for 1908 has been awarded to Dr. WilliamT. Shoemaker of Philadelphia for his essay, entitled"Retinitis Pigmentosa, with an Analysis of Seventeen Casesoccurring in Deaf Mutes, including Laboratory Examina-tions of the Blood and Urine in Eleven Cases."

PLAGUE IN LIVERPOOL: Two DEATHS.-OnOct. 28th a man employed on a coaling barge fell ill, deathoccurring the same day. Plague being suspected, a bacterio-logical examination was made at the instance of the LocalGovernment Board and this -showed the presence of thebacillus of plague. Two persons who had been associatedwith this man, having been kept under close observation,were found to be ailing on Nov. 6th, though it was hopedthat as more than five days had elapsed since the death ofthe first patient there would be no spread of infection fromthat case. The two persons under observation were

immediately isolated at the hospital. Symptoms of plaguedeveloped in both instances and one of the patients grewrapidly worse on Nov. 8th, dying the same night. Theother patient appears to be recovering. Both of these

persons were on the barge with the first case and occupiedthe cabin prior to that individual seeking medical advice.Various cases dealt with some time ago by the Liverpoolauthorities show how strict and vigilant the staff of the

port sanitary authority is. In one instance occurring in1901, out of nine cases traced seven deaths occurred.Another death occurred on the Crewe Hall, which arrived inthe Mersey in January, 1905, and the individuals attackedwere closely followed up. Rigorous inspection of this sortalone saves us from serious importation of disease.

Parliamentary Intelligence.NOTES ON CURRENT TOPICS.

The Scottish Local Government Board.

Mr. THOMAS SHAW, the Lord Advocate, last week made an importantstatement with regard to the Scottish Local Government Board, whichis taken to foreshadow the intention of the Government not only toaugment its staff but to enhance its official status. The announcementwas made in the Standing Committee of the House of Commons whichis dealing with the Housing and Town Planning Bill. Mr. MUNROFERGUSON in a trenchant speech had just declared that the LocalGovernment Board for Scotland with its limited resources and constitu-tion was quite unfitted to carry out the duties committed to it bythe measure, and earnestly pressed the Government to undertake thereconstitution of the Board. The LORD ADVOCATE then intervened and

unexpectedly admitted the weight of Mr. MUNRO FERGUSON’S criticism.He stated that the Local Government Board for Scotland was over-worked, that its duties had been increased by public health and otherlegislation, and that it was the intention of the Government to make itadequate to fultil its task. " We are conscious," said Mr. SHAW, " thatthe time is very rapidly approaching, if it has not now been reached,when both the staffing and personnel will have to be largely augmented.I know my honourable friend is anxious for an assurance of that kind, andafter consultation with the President of the Local Government BoardI am free to give assurance, which I do with great pleasure." In a sub-

sequent speech the LORD ADVOCATE spoke hopefully of the feasibilityof codifying the law relating to public health and its allied departments,