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Of these patients over 3000 were suffering from phthisisand other tuberculous affections, over 1000 from diseasespredisposing to phthisis, over 2000 from diseases of the upperair-passages, and over 2000 from other diseases of the lungs.It was announced that an offer had been made to builda. hospital to contain 100 beds, on the condition that it wasmaintained by the public of Manchester.

ROYAL ARMY MEDICAL CORPS.-The Irish can-didates at the recent examination were remarkably fortunate.The 4 Licentiates of the Royal College of Surgeons inIreland secured first and second places together with sixother places out of the 24 vacancies.

POISONING BY COAL-GAS.-The Maryland MedicalJournal of Feb. 18th states that Dr. Robert C. Stewart, aprominent physician of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, wasaccidentally asphyxiated by illuminating gas at his home.Dr. Stewart graduated at the University of Pennsylvaniain 1872.

PRESENTATION TO A MEDICAL MAN. - OnFeb. 18th in the board-room of Dulwich College Mr. E. R.Ray, M.R.C.S. Eng., on the occasion of his leaving the neigh-bourhood of Dulwich, was presented with a silver bowland salver, together with a cheque for £116. This testi-monial was largely subscribed by Mr. Ray’s patients, many ofwhom had received his advice and attention for a period of30 years.

THE SURGICAL HOME FOR BOYS, BANSTEAD.-The annual meeting of the above useful institution washeld at Banstead on Feb. 25th. There were 21 littlepatients in the home, all looking bright and happy, underthe excellent management and nursing of Miss Chinnery, thematron. 85 new cases had been received during the year.Only one death had occurred and that from a disease whichcould not have been prevented. The home contains 25 beds.The majority of the patients are sent in from London hos-pitals. The building stands in its own grounds. The fine,pure, dry air of Banstead proves particularly beneficial tothe many cases of tuberculous disease sent to the home.

MANCHESTER’S LATEST SEWAGE SCHEME.-Mr.Baldwin Latham has estimated the cost of the proposedbacteria beds for Manchester, consisting of 60 acres, withall necessary adjuncts for dealing with the sewage from’600,000 persons, together with the storm water, at £300,000.The city will be saved from .E8000 to .f:.10,000 spentannually on chemicals, and Mr. Baldwin Latham says therecan be no doubt that the proposed works will be successfuland will relieve Manchester from all future embarrassmentso far as the purification of the sewage is concerned. The

report will be considered at the next meeting of the Council.

THE CRUSADE AGAINST TUBERCULOSIS IN MAN--CHESTER.-On Feb. 25th the inaugural meeting of the YorkAssociation for the Prevention of Consumption was held.at Manchester. The Lord Mayor of York, who presided,was supported by Mr. Malcolm Morris, F.R.C.S. Edin.,Dr. Jane Walker (London), the Dean of York, Mr.J. G. Butcher, Q.C., M.P., Dr. Tempest Anderson, J.P.,Mr. F. Shann, Dr. James Ramsay, Mr. W. H. Jalland, J.P.,the Rev. Canon Watson, the Rev. Canon Argles, Mr. W.Draper, the Rev. F. A. Russell, the Rev. J. S. Pawlyn,Mr. Alderman J. S. Rymer, J.P., Mr. R. Kay, Mr. W.F. H. Thomson, J.P., hon. treasurer, and Mr. H. M.Platnauer and Dr. E. Smith, hon. secretaries pro tem.The following rules of constitution were adopted. Themethods of working are as follows : (1) Familiar and wellillustrated lectures given in schoolrooms, drawing-rooms, atmothers’ meetings, &c., on the prevention of phthisisand on the rules of health generally ; (2) the distribution ofleaflets and other forms of literature bearing upon thesubject ; (3) assisting the sanitary authorities in carryingout sanitary improvements by calling their attentionto any particular insanitary conditions; (4) the collection ofstatistics and other information bearing upon the occurrenceof phthisis and other tuberculous diseases; and (5) the pro-motion of open-air sanatoria in the district. The council ofassociation for the ensuing 12 months will be :-President: theRight Hon. the Lord Mayor of York, ex-officio. Vice-presi-dents : the Very Rev. the Dean of York, the Earl of Fever-sham, Lord Deramore, the Sheriff of York (ex-officio), Mr.J. G. Butcher, Q.C., M.P., Lord Charles Beresford, M.P., Rev.Canon Watson, Rev. F. A. Russell, Hon. Reginald Parker,

Sir C. A. Milward, J.P., the President of the York MedicalSociety (ex-officio), the Senior Member of the HonoraryMedical Staff of the York County Hospital, the SeniorMember of the Honorary Medical Staff of the Dispensary,the City Medical Officer of Health (ex-officio), Mr. J. S.Rowntree; Hon. Mrs. Wilkinson, Mrs. Edwin Gray, Mrs.Jalland, Mrs. Phillip Newman, Miss Wilkinson, Dr. Tempest’Anderson, J.P., Mr. Butterfield, Dr. Evelyn, Mr. EdwinGray, Capt. Dunnington-Jefferson, Mr. W. H. Jalland, J.P.,Mr. Robert Kay, Dr. Macdonald, Dr. James Ramsay, andRev. H. Robinson ; honorary treasurer, Mr. W. F. H.Thomson, J.P.; honorary secretary, Dr. Macdonald.

CHESHIRE FARMERS AND THE MANCHESTER MILK-SUPPLY.-At the meeting of the Cheshire Chamber of Agri-culture held at Crewe on Feb. 19th the Manchester proposalsfor securing pure milk were again criticised. The secretary,Mr. C. B. Davies, read a paper setting forth the objections ina very moderate tone. Resolutions were passed (1) in favour ofany action dealing with tuberculosis in cattle being national,not looal ; (2) against power being granted to a local autho-rity to enter any cowshed within the area of another localauthority for examining or inspecting cows kept therein ;(3) that only duly qualified veterinary surgeons be authorisedto act as inspectors or examiners of cattle under theseregulations ; (4) that in case of temporary disease of theudder rendering milk unfit for human coa sumption, onrecovery inspection shall take place within 24 heurs of anintimation to that effect, and if the eow is healthy a certifi-cate to that effect shall be given ; and (5) that " ’compensationshall be paid for animals condemned by an inspector of alocal authority as tuberculous and whose milk is unfit forhuman consumption." As first proposed the last resolutioncontained conditions which would have prevented some

possible abuses.WEST-END HOSPITAL FOR DISEASES OF THE

NERVOUS SYSTEM, EPILEPSY, AND PARALYSIS. - OnFeb. 28th the children’s wards of this hospital were

re-opened by Her Grace the Duchess of Devonshire beforea distinguished audience of ladies and gentlemen interestedin the welfare of the hospital. Her grace was present at ameeting held in the large out-patients’ room at the hospitalwhich was elegantly decorated with palms and exotics.The daughter of the chairman, Mr. G. E. Porter, havingpresented the Duchess with a bouquet of choice flowers,the chairman addressed the meeting, calling attention to thecircumstances which led to their meeting, and after giving abrief history of the hospital which was founded in 1878called upon the "senior physician, Dr. T. Outterson Woodwho drew attention to the large increase in the number ofpatients and the work being done at the hospital and advo-cated a further extension of the building to meet theincreased demand for the accommodation of in-patients’.Colonel Boxall, C.B., having proposed a vote of thanks to theDuchess for her attendance, and this having been secondedby General T. W. Mercer and carried with acclamation, theRev. F. A. Ormsby pronounced the Doxology and the

meeting terminated.

Parliamentary Intelligence.HOUSE OF COMMONS.

THURSDAY, FEB. 23RD.Enteric Fever in India.

GENERAL RusSELL asked the Secretary of State for India whether hecould state the result of the iivestigations which on May 5th, 1898, hestated were then proceeding ralative to the causes of the great increaseof enteric fever among Europeans living in India ; whether he couldstate the number of cases that occurred in the years 1897 and 1898 andhow many ended fatally, or if he had any objection to a return beingmade furnishing these particulars ; and whether it was true that inocula-tion had ,been :widely introduced as a preventive against the disease.-Lord GEORGE HAMILTON replied: I am unable at present to add any-thing material to the information which I gave my hon. and gallantfriend on May 5th last on the subject of enteric fever in India. Thematter continues to engage the attention of the military and medicalauthorities. Inoculation has not, however, been adopted as a pre-ventive. The number of cases of, and deaths from, enteric fever amongthe troops in India for 1897 will be shown in the report of the ArmyMedical Department for that year which may be expected shortly ; thefigures for 1898 will not be available for some time to come.

Dispensary Doctors in Ireland.Mr. HAYDEN asked the Attorney-General for Ireland whether the

Local Government Board for Ireland ;had acted within its powers in

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issuing an order making dispensary doctors ineligible for the positionof county councillor; and, if not, whether he will state the authorityunder which the Board so acted.-Mr. ATKINSON answered that theLocal Government Board had, under the Poor-law Acts of 1837 and 1847and 1848 and the Medical Charities Act of 1851, power to make with theconsent of the Lord-Lieutenant general rules relating to the qualifica-tions, tenure of office,- guidance and control of officers of Poor-law unionsand dispensary districts. Acting within this’power they made therule referred to in the question disqualifying all paid Poor-law Unionofficers from acting as county councillors.

Nursing in Egypt.Captain NORTON asked the Under Secretary of State for War whether

he could state the average number of trained nurses, men, and womenin attendance on the British officers and soldiers who were patients inhospitals at Cairo and Alexandria between Sept. 20th and Oct. 30th,1898.-Mr. WYNDHAM said that the average number of trained nursesbetween the dates mentioned were 226 men and 10 women.

English Soldiers and the Pasteur Institute.Sir WILLIAM WEDDERBURN asked the Secretary of State for India if

he would explain what were the circumstances under which nineEnglish soldiers were sent on Oct. 8th last from Bombay to the PasteurInstitute at Paris to be treated for hydrophobia; what was the evidencein the possession of the Government showing that the dogs which hadbitten these men were rabid ; under what official supervision these menwere sent; and whether it was true, as stated by the Director ofthe Paris Institute, that these nine men arrived in Paris without any .,,credentials or anything showing when or where they had been bitten.- Lord GEORGE HAMILTON said he was aware that nine soldiers were sentfrom India early in October to be treated in Paris for hydrophobia buthe had no information as to the circumstances. Such cases occurrednot unfrequently and on this occasion the usual arrangements weremade for their journey from Marseilles to Paris and for their accommo-dation while under treatment. He had received no complaint or repre-sentation on the subject from the Director of the Paris Institute andhe should have thought that the men themselves could have beencapable of explaining to the authorities of the Institute when andwhere they had been bitten.

The Inspection of Water-supplies. Lord EDMOND FITZMAURICE asked the President of the Local Govern-

ment Board if he proposed to introduce this session a public Bill em- ’

bodying the clauses relating to inspection of water-supplies by localauthorities which he proposed last year to insert in several private waterBills.-Mr. CHAPLIN replied: If I see any reasonable prospect of makingprogress with a Bill upon this subject I shall be quite ready to introduceit and I hope I may have the opportunity of doing so.

Rabies in Ireland.Mr. GERALD BALFOUR in reply to a question on this subject said it

was not proposed at present to suspend the Muzzling of Dogs Order inIreland. The total number of cases of rabies throughout Ireland in the12 months ended Dec. 31st, 1898, was 132, as compared with 162 cases inthe last six months of 1897, whilst the number of cases in the first sixmonths of 1897, before the Muzzling Order came into operation, was335. The enforcement of the Order had consequently been attended sofar with satisfactory results and it would be premature in the circum-stances to revoke the Order.

Food and Drugs Legislation.At this sitting Mr. WALTER LoNG, President of the Board of

Agriculture, introduced the Bill of the Government to amend the lawrelating to the sale of food and drugs.

FRIDAY, FEB. 24TH.Sick and Wounded in Egypt.

In Committee of Supply Captain NORTON raised again the questionof the treatment of the sick and wounded in connexion with the recentNile Expedition.-Mr. GEORGE WYNDHAM, Under Secretary of Statefor War, in his reply for the Government, said he believed doubt didexist in the public mind whether all was done that ought to have beendone to save the lives of our officers and men, but it was doubtnot justified by the facts. The Government, he said, accepted fullresponsibility in the matter of seeing that the troops lent to anotherState went short of nothing, not only in arms and clothing, but stillmore in medical comforts and attendance for the wounded, and heassured the House that no question of cost entered into the matter.The hon. Member was altogether wrong in thinking that requisitionswere made which were refused owing to pressure. The medicaladvisers of the War Office tendered their advice which in such matterswas and always would be accepted. He was in a position to say thatwhatever view anyone else had taken their military advisers wouldthemselves have taken the full responsibility of insisting that a hos-pital ship should have been sent had they thought it would havetended towards the end all must have equally at heart. While it restedwith him to controvert the charge that lives were lost that mighthave been saved he might be allowed to say that he deeplydeplored the loss of lives and feelingly sympathised withthose who were left to mourn. It was, however, to make a falsededuction to suggest that the number of men who died proved con-clusively that they had not received adequate medical attendance. Hisown experience had been that the proportion of deaths from entericfever was always very high, this insidious disease being apparently theleast understood of all. As to the charge that if a hospital ship had beenprovided lives would have been saved, as a matter of fact there wasno application made. The principal medical officer of the Army ofOccupation in Egypt who was in London signified to the commanderof the Egyptian Army who was also in London that he wished to havea hospital ship, but the application would have come from theGeneral Officer commanding. This question as to whether hospitalships ought to be used and when and where they ought tobe used was, he might explain, a question of old standing. Noapplication for a hospital ship was made at the time. The GeneralOfficer commanding in Egypt said that on his return to Egypt he wouldconsult with Lord Cromer and he would then inform the War Officewhether it was necessary to ask for a hospital ship. He did notthink that that could be taken as a refusal to provide a hospital ship.A hospital ship might be regarded either as a floating hospital oras a transport to be sent home when full of sick and wounded.

Assuming that this hospital ship was to be treated as a floatr-ing hospital he was informed that the hospital at Cairo gavefar better accommodation than could be afforded on board ship.Then came the question whether, if the hospital ship had been sent outand had been used as a transport to bring the sick and wounded home,the lives of men who had died would have been saved. That wasunfounded also. The General Officer commanding in Egypt wasauthorised to avail himself of all passenger steamers leaving Egypt tobring home the sick and wounded. In the case of the Peninsular andOriental line alone the steamers which left Egypt during the periodcovered by the charges of the hon. and gallant Member could havetaken home 1000 men. The hospital ship would have had aocom-modation for 200 men, but under the arrangements adopted280 men had been sent home. The hon. and gallant Memberhad asked how long patients had to wait before they were em-barked. The average number of days before embarkation at Cairo’was 26 in September, 29 in October, and 19 in November, and at Alex-andria the average number of days was seven in each of those months.The question of sister nurses was a question for the officers of the ArmyMedical Service and they felt that there were great difficulties from thepoint of view of discipline in the way of placing non-commissionedofficers of the service under the orders of sister nurses, or sister nursesunder the orders of non-commissioned officers. At the hospital base inEgypt there were 226 men nurses and 10 women nurses-all trainednurses-for an average of 541 patients, of whom almost 150 had neitherwounds nor enteric fever. He deeply regretted the lives that were lost,but he should say that after the most careful consideration of thematter he was persuaded that adequate arrangements for the sick andwounded had been made and that British soldiers were treated on thisoccasion as they should always be treated.

Appointments.Successful applicants for Vacancies, Secretaries of Public Instittutios

and others possessing information suitable for this columm, areinvited to forward it to THE LANCET Office, directed to the Sub-Editor, not later than 9 o’clock on the Thursday morning of eachweek, for publication in the next number.

ACLAND, H. T. D., L.R.C.P., M.R.C.S., has been appointed Assistant,House Surgeon to St. Thomas’s Hospital.

ADAMS, J. D., M.D. St. And., M.R.C.S., has been re-appointed MedicalOfficer of Health by the Yeovil Rural District Council.

AMBROSE, W. C., B.A. Camb., L.R.C.P., M.R.C.S., has been re-appointeda Clinical Assistant in the Special Department for Diseases of theThroat at St. Thomas’s Hospltal.

BARNES, J. A., L.R.C.P., M.R.C.S., has been appointed House Surgeonto St. Thomas’s Hospital.

BELFRAGE, S. H., M.B. Lond., L.R.C.P., M.R.C.S., has been appointedJunior Obstetric House Physician to St. Thomas’s Hospital.

BELL, R. H., M.A., M.B., B.C. Camb., L.R.C.P., M.R.C.S., has beenappointed Senior Obstetric House Physician to St. Thomas’sHospital.

BENNETT, D., M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., has been appointed Assistant Anaes-thetist to the Royal Ear Hospital, Frith-street, Soho-square,London.

BENSON, P. L., M.D., M.Ch. Dub., D.P.H. Camb., has been re-appointedMedical Officer of Health for the Rural District of Buckingham.

BEVAN, A., L.R.C.P., M.R.C.S., has been appointed a Clinical Assistantin the Electrical Department at St. Thomas’s Hospital.

BiN&EAM, S. 0., L.R.C.P., M.R.C.S., has been appointed House Surgeonto St. Thomas’s Hospital.

BOURDAS, E. C., L.R.C.P. M.R.C.S., has been appointed a Clinical Assist-ant in the Special Department for Diseases of the Throat at St.Thomas’s Hospital.

BRODRICK, C. C., L.R.C.P., L.R.C.S. Edin., has been re-appointedMedical Officer of Health by the Tavistock Urban District Council.

CAMERON, J., L.R.C.S. Edin., has been appointed Parochial MedicalOfficer and Vaccinator by the Fintray Parish Council, vice J.Christie.

CocK, M. F., L.R.C.P. Lond., M.R.C.S., has been re-appointed MedicalOfficer:for the 9th Sanitary District, Newport Pagnell Union.

CORNER, E. M., M.A., M.B., B.C. Camb., B.Sc. Lond., L.R.C.P.,M.R.C.S., has been appointed House Surgeon to St. Thomas’sHospital.

CUPPAIDGE, J. L., M.D., B.Ch. Dub., has been appointed MedicalOfficer for the Stoke Gabriel District by the Totnes Board ofGuardians.

GAFF, J., L.R.C.P., M.R.C.S., has been appointed a Clinical Assistant inthe Special Department for Diseases of the Skin at St. Thomas’sHospital.

GATES, E. A., L.R.C.P., M.R.C.S., has been appointed House Physicianto St. Thomas’s Hospital.

GtELSToy, J. S., L.R.C.P., L.R.C.S. Irel., has been re-appointed MedicalOfficer by the Thetford District Council.

GOODE, H. N., L.R.C.P., M.R.C.S., has been re-appointed a ClinicalAssistant in the Electrical Department at St. Thomas’s Hospital.

GORDON, J. E., L.R.C.P. Lond., M.R.C.S., has been appointed MedicalOfficer of Health for the Salisbury Rural Sanitary District, viceJ. Kelland, resigned.

HALL, J. S., L.R.C.P., M.R.C.S., has been appointed Senior OphthalmicHouse Surgeon to St. Thomas’s Hospital.

HOBAN, T., L.R.C.P., M.R.C.S., has been appointed Junior Ophthalmic-House Surgeon to St. Thomas’s Hospital.

HUNTER, W. L., M.D. Dub., D.P.H. Camb. and Eng. Conj. Bd., haabeen re-appointed Medical Officer of Health by the Pudsey UrbanDistrict Council.

Joass, A. W., L.R.C.P., M.R.C.S., has been appointed Clinical Assist-ant in the Special Department for Diseases of the Ear at St-Thomas’s Hospital.