post-graduate courses in paris

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work, Mrs. Chisholm told the prisoner that her husband was E

beginning to be jealous and said, " I wish I was dead." 1The prisoner said, "Shall I kill you?" She said, " I don’t I

mind, but you have not the heart to do it." He then (

strangled her and a few hours later, gave himself up to a 1police-officer and handed in a written confession which <

clearly showed that he quite understood the nature of the act 1which he had committed. His motive apparently was that <

the deceased was the wife of another man. There was no

sign that he had committed any other act of violence uponthe deceased. Ever since the date of the crime he expressedhimself well satisfied with what he had done. He also stated 1that he wished to be hanged and that he did not wish to go ]to penal servitude ; that he was a murderer and that he would 1be glad to put the rope round his own neck. He also statedmany times that he would kill anyone who tried to get him Ireprieved. One other circumstance is worthy of notice.The prisoner always had a taste for melodrama and he was aconstant reader of a publication known as " Famous Crimes,Past and Present," a recent edition of which contains

pictures of an execution and the report of a trial of a well-known criminal. So far as we can ascertain these are thesubstantial facts which would have to be considered in

deciding whether the prisoner was insane in the eye of thelaw.

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POST-GRADUATE COURSES IN PARIS.

WE are informed that a series of post-graduate coursesand practical demonstrations will be delivered at the Hoteldes Societes Savantes, Rue Serpente, and in several hospitalservices at Paris from Monday, Sept. 19th, to Saturday,Oct. lst. The courses delivered at the H6tel des SocietesSavantes will be as follows :-Bacteriology, Dr. Veillontreatment of syphilis and diseases of the skin, Dr. Leredde ;massage, Dr. Marchais ; diseases of the urinary organs, Dr.Nogues ; electrotherapeutics, Dr. Zimmern ; midwifery, Dr.Dubrisay ; nervous diseases, Dr. Sollier; applied thera-

peutics, Dr. Landowski; and hygiene and therapeutics of

children, Dr. Lesne. The courses delivered in the various

hospital services will be as follows :-Gyncology, Dr.Arrou (Hopital St. Antoine) ; practical surgery, Dr. Souligoux(Hopital Lariboisiere) ; auscultation, Dr. Caussade (H&ocirc;pitalTenon); diseases of the stomach, Dr. Soupault (HopitalBichat) ; oto-rhino-laryngology, Dr. Laurens (HopitalBichat) ; and ophthalmology, Dr. Morax (H6pital Lari-

boisiere). The fee for each course (which will includeabout from eight to ten lessons) will be 20 francs, payable Iin advance. Detailed programmes will be sent on request. I,For all further information application should be made toDr. Marchais, Hotel des Societes Savantes, Rue Serpente, ’

Paris.

SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF DISEASE INCHILDREN.

THE annual general meeting of this society was held onJuly 15th and from the report it appears to have made greatprogress since it was founded in 1900. Commencing withabout 100 members it has gradually increased its member-ship to over 300 and its financial position has become firmlysecured. During the last session 346 7s. were collected insubscriptions and it has invested funds amounting to

Z228 13s. 6d. in Consols and an endowed lectureship of .620per annum. After paying for a well-bound and profuselyillustrated volume of reports and defraying all expensesfor the session there remains in the treasurer’s hands abalance of 149 9s. 10d. to be carried forward. Everychildren’s hospital in London and the majority of those inthe provinces are represented among its members and in

provincial members it is exceedingly strong. One meetingevery year. is held. in some provincial town and since the

society was established meetings have been held in Liver-pool, Manchester, Brighton, and Clifton and each of thesehas been a great success. After the general meeting Mr. R.Clement Lucas delivered the first Wightman lecture on

the Hereditary Bias and Early Environment in their Relationto the Diseases and Defects of Children. The members

afterwards dined together in the evening at the HotelCecil.

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THE PROSTITUTION OF THE POST OFFICE.

WE have upon many previous occasions called attention tothe way in which His Majesty’s Postmaster-General aids allkinds of swindlers, purveyors of indecent literature, bettingtouts, moneylenders, lottery keepers, and other objectionablemembers of society in puffing their wares. On several

occasions, too, the Postmaster-General has expressed his

sorrow at being unable to do anything to stay the annoyanceand the police have also done the same. The official wormhas at length turned, owing to " Members of Parliament andgentlemen in high positions " having been annoyed by thereceipt of circulars recommending what are euphemisticallycalled "indiarubber goods," which circulars were distributedthrough the post. These circulars were sent out by a mannamed H. Berdot of Stafford-street, Bond-street, and Mr. H.Muskett prosecuted at Marlborough-street police court on

July 16th on behalf of the police. The particular case uponwhich the prosecution relied was the sending of the circularson two occasions to a gentleman named Mr. E. Williams.Mr. Kennedy convicted the defendant and fined him in allE27 7s. We now ask the police authorities to proceedagainst " Dr." Bell who has been for many years in thehabit of sending filthy little pamphlets through the post. If

a prosecution could be carried out successfully in the case ofBerdot we see no reason why Bell should not be prosecutedalso.

MEASURES AGAINST SYPHILIS IN ROUMANIA.

THERE has been of late years so marked an increase in the

prevalence of syphilis in the villages and rural districts ofRoumania that both the medical profession and the Govern-ment have shown a disposition to adopt special measuresin order to check this great evil. Actuated by the

idea that this is a shameful disease many peasants darenot venture to consult the regular medical practitionersand so they resort to various quacks. There are notablya certain number of old women who have made a

speciality of treating these diseases. Strange to say, theyenjoy a certain popularity because they employ and use theterm which in the Roumanian language is analogous to

quicksilver. The medical men, on the other hand, use aword corresponding with mercury. The peasant imaginesthat there is a difference and goes to the old women becausehe thinks that quicksilver is so much better than mercury.The sanitary council of Roumania has consequently publisheda number of small pamphlets for distribution among the

people which explain the true nature of the disease, its

dangers, and how it should be treated. As an example ofthe gravity of the question, statistics of all the cases of

syphilis in the department of Ramme Sarat have beentaken since the year 1896. Out of a population of

125.000 persons there were 1361 cases of syphilis. Amongthese patients 38 were infants and 185 were children under12 years of age. Therefore, 223 patients, or about one outof six cases, were children. The 1361 cases are sub-divided into 324 primary, 913 secondary, and 124 tertiarycases. A great amount of infantile mortality is attributed tosyphilis and in this Roumanian department there werefrom,.189’1 to 1903 as many as 324 stillbirths, 5727 deaths ofinfants under four weeks old,. and 6258 deaths of infantsaged from one month to one year. This gives a total of