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A NEW LEVER WITH TRACTOR BLADE.THE instrument here represented has been recently made

by my direction by Messrs. Meyer and Meltzer. Whenclosed it is of the form of an ordinary vectis, but with

this modification : it has applied to itsinner surface, by means of a slidingscrew running in its handle and shank,a similarly shaped blade to the outerone, and this inner blade can be pro-jected beyond the outer one after theinstrument is applied in a closed con-

dition to the extent of two inchesand a half or less, according to need.The chief novelty of this instrumentis the augmentation of the lever andtractile power of a vectis by the pro-jection of an inner movable blade. Thecaseg. in which this instrument will befound useful are : in breech or foot-ling presentations, where there is delayin the delivery of the after-cominghead, especially in those cases where,owing to the presence of the shoulderscausing an obstacle to locking of theblades, the forceps cannot readily be ap-plied, its great power as a tractor beingthen eminently useful. It is also efficientin cases of face presentation, the occiputbeing easily brought down by means ofthis instrument, and also in some casesof occipito - posterior presentations inwhich it is desired to aid rotation of thevertex. It should be introduced closedas an ordinary forceps blade, the end ofthe fenestrum being carefully guardedand directed by the fingers of the lefthand inside the cervix. When in properposition, the screw is pressed, and theinner blade made to project to the re-quisite distance. As the blade is projected

by simple pressure, the resistance can be estimated, and Ithe chances of injury to the soft parts reduced to a minimum.Tavistock-square. LUKE ROBINSON, M,D. Cal., &C. I

THE ALBERT SATCHEL.

THIS is one of the best satchels for tourists’ use we haveseen. It is made so as to combine the advantages of aknapsack and handbag, is thoroughly waterproof, and

. weighs about 16 oz. It will, we believe, be a welcome addi-tion to the pedestrian’s equipment. The manufacturers arethe Army Rubber Company, Brompton-road, Knightsbridge.

BRITISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION.

THE fifty-second annual meeting of the British MedicalAssociation commenced in Belfast on Tuesday, this being thethird occasion on which the Association has visited Ireland.The meetings are held in Queen’s College, Belfast, the

general meetings in the library, and the various sectionalmeetings in the lecture-rooms.At 3 o’clock the first general meeting was held in the

library, when there was a very large assemblage. Theretiring President, Dr. Waters, took the chair; and theminutes of the last meeting having been taken as read, Dr.Waters said that, as the term of his presidency was about toexpire, the only remaining duty which he had to performwas to introduce his successor to the chair which he had thehonour of filling. The past year had not been an unevent-ful one in the history of their Association ; on the contrary,it had been marked by the enactment of laws in reference tothe Society which had produced material alteration, makingthe executive more responsible than the whole body. Thechange was one which, he believed, would tend to the in-creased prosperity of the Association. To that body andthe committee of council, which had guided the council to itspresent position of strength and usefulness, they owed, in hisopinion, a large debt of gratitude. He congratulated themon tJ e g-eat prosperity of their Society, and the steady in-

crease of their members-an increase which bade fair, in thecourse of years, to include within the Association almostevery member of the profession in this country. Dr. Watersconcluded by thanking them for the honour they had con.ferred upon him, and by introducing Prof. Cuming, Belfast,the president for the ensuing year,

Dr. Cuming having taken the chair, a cordial vote ofthanks was given to Dr. Waters, and he was elected a vice.president of the Association for life. From the report wegather that the invested funds of the Association now

amount to over 17,000, and the number of members to nearly11,000. The revenue of the Association for the year endingDec. 31st last was jE20,545, the expenditure jE18,l41, leavinga surplus of 92404. Dr. Wade having resigned the post oftreasurer, Mr. Macnamara (London) was elected in his place.At 8 o’clock the meeting reassembled in the library, which,was lit up with the electric light, and was crowded with.members who had come to hear the President’s address.At the conclusion of Dr. Cuming’s address a vote of thanks,

proposed by Dr. Douglas Powell, and seconded by Dr. Grim-shaw of Dublin, Registrar-General of Ireland, and a nativeof Belfast, was most heartily accorded to him. A discussionon some notices of motion followed, and the meeting con-cluded at 10.30. Amongst the distinguished foreignersattending the meeting are Professor Sayre (New York), Dr.Jacobi (New York), Dr. Cordes (Geneva), Dr. Jones,(Chicago), Dr. Moore (Rochester), Dr. Shoemaker (Philadel.phia), Professor Zehender (Rostock), Dr. Pozzi (Paris),Professor Gayet (Lyons), Dr. Dujardin-Beaumetz (Paris).On Wednesday morning, at 9.30, Professor Sayre (New

York) gave a demonstration in the anatomical theatre of theCollege of his plan of treating curvature of the spine. There-was an immense audience, who paid marked attention tothe professor as he explained and illustrated his well-known.method of treatment.At eleven o’clock the second general meeting was held-

when Mr. Wheelhouse (Leeds) resigned his post of Pre,sident of the Council and was elected a vice-president of theAssociation for life. Dr. Balthazar Foster (Birmingham)was elected President of the Council in his place. An in.vitation was presented from the medical men in SouthWales asking that the Association should meet in Cardiffnext year. This was cordially agreed to, and Dr. Edwardswas chosen President-elect. Dr. Ord then delivered hisaddress, at the conclusion of which a cordial vote of thanks,moved by Dr. Waters (Liverpool), and seconded by ProfessorGairdner (Glasgow), was accorded to that gentleman.The meetings of the sections opened on Wednesday after.

noon, when addresses were delivered by Dr. Smith, Dr.Godson, Professor Greenfield, Dr. Maclagan, and SirJ. Mac Cormac. Special discussions were opened byMr. Lawson Tait and Dr. G. Johnson. In the eveningthere was a brilliant conversazione in Queen’s College,two thousand guests being present.

MEDICAL MEN FOR COLONIAL SERVICE.

A BRIEF paper was read by Dr. Dyce Duckworth at theFirst Intercolonial Medical Congress, held in Amsterdamlast year, on the supply of sound practitioners for the

English colonies. The author of the paper is of opinionthat encouragement should be given to young men of goodability to come forward for colonial service, and that thisend might be served by the institution of scholarships ingeneral literature or science of such value that the costs ofmedical education might be, at all events, partially de.frayed, it being suggested that the funds for this purposeshould come from the Colonial Department of the Govern-ment. The study of physics and chemistry is urged inopposition to a detailed knowledge of anatomy, pby-siology, and botany. To protect properly qualified men,Dr. Duckworth considers that it ought to be the care ofthe mother country or of the local Government to preventimperfectly educated practitioners from practising in acolony. He thinks it important to recommend that nocolonial practitioners should commence work in tropicalregions under the age of twenty-three or twenty-four years.Statistics seem to prove that a better standard of health ismaintained if tropical service is begun at this time of life,and that Europeans are thus enabled to resist the specialof trying climates with greater prospect of success.