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patients have been dismissed from the hospital after recoverywhile one death has occurred, leaving 18 patients still in thehospital.

University of Aberdeen : preliminary Examinations inMedicine.

The preliminary examinations in medicine commenced .atMarischal College last week. The candidates number 29,compared with 33 last year. It is understood that the resultswill be announced on Oct. 14th.

Forres Leanchoil Hospital Case: Sheriff Principal’s Decision.Sheriff Wilson has now issued his interlocutor in the action

which was appealed to him at the instance of Wm. Kessack,coachman, Market-street, Forres, against Dr. J. Adam, Forres.The pursuer alleged that his wife, while a patient in theLeanchoil Hospital, was not properly treated and that afterher death at his house the coffin was opened and her bodyexamined without his consent. Sheriff Gray assoilzied thedefender and found him entitled to his expenses and SheriffWilson has confirmed his decision, with additional expenses.The sheriff, in a note, says he is of opinion that the pursuer’scase has completely failed and that the defender, Dr. Adam,ought to be assoilzied. He concurred not only in the resultarrived at by the sheriff substitute, but also in the groundsof the decision, as these are stated and explained in hisinterlocutor and note, and he thought it unnecessary to add

anything in supplement.Oct. 1st.

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IRELAND.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Proposed New City Abattoir in Belfast.WHILE your Special Sanitary Commissioner is pointing

out (THE LANCET, Sept. 21st and 28th) the weaknessof Dublin as regards an abattoir, it is interesting tonote that in Belfast an effort is being made to build oneon modern lines, the only difficulty being the cost. OnJan. 17th, 1903, the market committee recommended theacceptance of a tender for a new structure at .22,700, butas the fittings would cost E7000 the total expenditurewould have been equal to the amount raised by a loan. Thecommittee refuses to recommend any scheme of extension ofthe premises which would be costly to work and to maintain,and which it does not think would give satisfaction, and ata meeting of the city council in committee on Sept. 27th itwas decided to authorise the market committee to submitalternative plans of modern accommodation at the presentsite, the total cost not to exceed £30,000.

Belfast Health Commission.The Commissioners met in London this week to draw up

their report, which it is expected will be ready this month.Oct. lst.

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PARIS.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Explosion at the Hopital Tenon.AN apparatus for warming dinner plates exploded recently

in Dr. Souligoux’s wards in the Dolbeau pavilion of the

Hopital Tenon. The accident occurred at about 12 noon andcreated consternation among the patients. A piece of castiron weighing about a hundredweight, which formed theupper part of the plate warmer, was thrown into the air, andin falling it demolished a partition wall. A female dresserwas thrown against a window by the force of the explosionand she was severely scalded by an escape of steam. A

porter was also scalded on the neck. An inquiry into thecause of the disaster is being made.

Insanity and Alcoholism.Some interesting particulars relative to the influence of

alcohol in producing insanity are contained in a report fur-nished to the prefect of the Marne by Dr. Sizaret, principalmedical officer of the asylum at Reims. Among 504 maleinmates there were 58 in whose insanity alcoholism was thechief factor, 57 in whom it was one of the factors, and fivein whom there was a family history of alcoholism. Among725 female inmates there were 26 in whose insanity

alcoholism was the chief factor, 27 in whom it was one ofthe factors, and five in whom there was a family history ofinsanity. The report adds that in reality the connexionbetween insanity and alcoholism is even closer than thesefigures indicate.

Plaglle in Algeria.The Governor-General of Algeria has telegraphed to the

President of the Council of Ministers that the existence ofplague in the Port of Oran has been officially declared. Thedisease made its appearance in the lower part of the townand bacteriological examination leaves no doubt as to thediagnosis. Up to the present time there have been only twodeaths, the victims being a porter and the wile of the wharfsuperintendent. According to some accounts there have beenfour patients and according to others there have been 11. Thechief of the sanitary service of the Government has arrivedand has conferred with the municipality as to the measureswhich should be taken. The tenants of the building(immeitble) in which the cases occurred have been medicallyexamined and all the houses of the district have been dis- infected. Injections of serum have been given to some docklabourers who had been handling suspicious freight.Measures for the destruction of rats have also beencommenced by the naval authorities and the chamber ofcommerce.

Oct. let. _________________

VIENNA.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The Successor of Professor Politzer.Professor Victor Urbantschitsch, who is now in his

sixtieth year, has been appointed the successor of ProfessorPolitzer in the chair of otology in the University of Viennaand will take over the work of the clinic on Oct. lst. Thenew professor has hitherto been director of the otologicalsection of the Vienna Polyclinic, and his lectures, whichwere delivered in English as well as in German, werewell attended by medical men from all countries.The studies of the new professor have been princi-pally directed towards the treatment of chronic catarrhaldisease of the ear and his books and monographs on

his specialty are very numerous. Professor Urbantschitschhas founded a special school in Vienna where many otologistshave been trained and the increased opportunities affordedby the extensive material of the clinic in the generalhospital will be advantageous to both teacher and students.A farewell meeting was held in honour of Professor Politzeron his taking leave of the place where he had worked for over30 years. All his former assistants, some of whom are nowprofessors and privat-docenten, were present on this occasion.

The New Winter Term.The new winter term of the University of Vienna com-

mences on Oct. lst. There is not much difference, as regardsthe number of lectures and the names of the lecturers,between the present programme and that of last term.

Special courses will be delivered in English by several pro-fessors and lecturers. Among these there may be mentionedcourses on internal diseases by Professor Kovacs, on ophthal-mology by the assistants of the two ophthalmological,clinics, on dermatology by the professor and his assis-tants, on laryngology and otology at the respectiveclinics, and on gynaecology and obstetrics at the clinics

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Schauta and Chrobak. The fee for most of these classes isfrom .62 2s. to £4 4s., according to the subject and durationof the course. As a rule, a course lasts from four to sixweeks and the classes meet for one or two hours six times aweek. As the number of medical men admitted to theseclasses is limited to ten early application is necessary. Theclasses are repeated from three to four times during the winterterm which lasts till Easter. In all these classes English is-the language used- In addition to them the professors ofthe respective subjects and their assistants will deliverlectures on neurology, pharmacology, pathology, surgery,ophthalmology, diseases of children, bacteriology, and ana-tomy, both normal and pathological. These lectures are opento any medical man on payment of the fee, which is usuallybetween 10s. 6d. and £1, and they are mostly delivered inGerman. It is, however, possible to arrange for a specialcourse distinguished as " privatissimum," in which only oneindividual receives instruction ; the subject is generally a.