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octogenarian, but his last discourse, on the fixationabscess with special reference to its use in encepha-litis, had won applause for its intrinsic merits as wellas in tribute to its author’s personality. It may benoted that the opinion of the meeting seemed stronglyin favour of the use of fixation abscesses in manyforms of illness ; though a more critical attitude wasmaintained in at least one quarter.

CREMATION IN FRANCE

In the March number of Annales d’hygiène Dr.Emile Malespine has published a historical survey,conceived in a philosophical spirit, of the disposalof the dead. As he points out, the mode of destructionof a dead body is far less complicated than thepsychological and spiritual problems connectedwith it. " The problem of the cadaver is inseparablefrom the problem of the cult of the dead, and thiscult has its roots in the deepest forces of humanityand the spirit of religion, and it dominates thesocial life. A nation loses its raison d’etre, a nationdies if it no longer feels the mysterious threads

attaching it to its dead and to the past." It was

during the French Revolution that the idea ofcremation took concrete form in a project for itsrealisation, but this project was referred back to acommission in which it was duly buried. It was nottill 1874 that cremation was again considered as apracticable solution of the problem of the disposal ofthe dead. In this year the bodies of three womenwere cremated in Germany in a Siemens furnace.The idea spread, and soon schemes were afoot forthe creation of crematoria in most of the large townsof Europe. In 1889 the crematorium of Pere-Lachaise in Paris was inaugurated, and in the sameyear 49 cremations were effected in this centre.Since then there has, indeed, been a steady rise inthe number in Paris, from one decade to another,but the figures certainly do not testify to any greatand popular movement in favour of this mode ofdisposal of the dead. Thus in 1890 there were121 cremations. In 1900 the number rose to 297,and in 1910 to 473. There were 560 cremations in1920, 899 in 1930, and 904 in 1934. At the presenttime cremation is requested in barely 1 per 1000

deaths, and it does not seem as if in France it is

likely to make great headway. Why 1 Dr. Malespineis careful to avoid specific references to the attitudeof the Roman Catholic Church to cremation, and heseems more inclined to be philosophically resignedover, than to tilt against, those psychologicalinhibitions which play so important a part after aswell as during life. Respect for the dead cannot becontemptuously dismissed with such a catchword as"fetishism of the cadaver."

CENTENARY OF THEROYAL MEDICAL BENEVOLENT FUND

THE hundredth annual general meeting of the

supporters of the Fund was held in the library ofthe Medical Society of London on Tuesday last,March 24th, at 5 P.M., Sir THOMAS BARLOW, presidentof the Fund, presiding. The members stood in silencefor a brief space in respectful tribute to his late Majesty,King George V., a patron of the Fund since 1913.

Mr. R. ill. HANDFIELD-JoNES, hon. secretary, thenpresented the annual report. He said that theannual meetings were purely formal and designedto meet statutory requirements. But he was ableto state that the president had invited the honorarylocal secretaries to meet at his house to discuss an

appeal to be made in April and sent to everyone onthe Medical Register, except where a benevolentfund is already in existence. The meeting at SirThomas Barlow’s house would discuss how the

appeal can be made more powerful. With the sameobject a conversazione will be held shortly, when theRoyal Society of Medicine has offered the use of itspremises and have asked the members of the Fundto be their guests.

ANNUAL REPORT

He then read the report which showed a story ofexpansion, very slow at first but substantial ofrecent years. For example, while in early days theannual subscriptions never exceeded E2250, by theninetieth year of the Fund the income from thissource had risen to 7000 and had reached 14,500in the centenary year. The committee however hadhad to expend nearly ;1;700 in annual grants morethan was actually received in income during theyear, so numerous and urgent had been the appeals.By the jubilee year of the Fund (1886) the Fund haddistributed ;1;60,000 among the less fortunate membersof the profession ; by the centenary year close on;1;400,000 had been thus expended. The reportconcluded by stating that a brief historical recordof its activities, written by Sir Humphry Rolleston,would be issued in April with the general appeal topractitioners.Commenting on the report Sir THOMAS BARLOW

remarked that he did not know of a charity which dis-played more kindliness in the way it was administered.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

Dr. LEwIS G. GLOVER, hon. treasurer, in presentingthe accounts, pointed out that from January toDecember grants are allocated carrying on for thenext year, thus committing the Fund to a largeexpenditure in the immediate future. The Fundwas solvent but care had to be exercised over expen-diture. The number of grants and annuities hadincreased by 138 over the previous year; in 1935there were 240 more beneficiaries than in 1927. The

money invested at the moment was 225,000 ; JE2058had been received through the B.M.A., allocated bysubscribers to the Fund. The actual amount of

money distributed was :f:2415 more than was givenin the last year, including :f:865 for Christmas gifts,money resulting from Sir Thomas Barlow’s letterin the medical press at Christmas, and from collec-tions at meetings, mostly B.M.A. and panel com-mittees. Sl 123 were received from the Ladies’ Guildas the proceeds of a charity matinee, and :f:207 fromthe provinces as the result of dinners and dances andsocial functions held in aid of the Fund. The workingexpenses were 9 per cent. this year as against 9’3 percent. last year, and he would point out that societiesanalogous to their own in calculating percentage ofworking expenses take into account all moneyreceived in legacies, in which case the expenses ofthe Fund would be only 5 per cent. of the totalincome received.

Dr. W. P. S. BRANSON expressed the gratitude ofthe meeting to the honorary officials of the Fund,and Dr. HERBERT SPENCER, who seconded the pro-posal, said he thought 100,000 would be a goodfigure to aim at for the centenary appeal.At the conclusion of the meeting the hon. treasurer

announced, relative to the special appeal which isto be issued in April, that Sir Thomas Barlow hadheaded the list of contributors to the centenary fundby a donation of B1000.