859THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF MEDICINE AT LISBON.
THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OFMEDICINE AT LISBON.
A MEETING of the National Committee for Great Britain andIreland of the Fifteenth International Congress of Medicinewas held at the Medical Society’s rooms, 10A, Chandos-street,London, W., on March 13th. Dr. Frederick W. Pavy, thePresident, was in the chair, and there were also present SirThomas Barlow, Bart., Sir Dyce Duckworth, Dr. David
Ferrier, Deputy Inspector-General A. J. J. Johnston, R.N.,Colonel Arthur T. Sloggett, R.A.M.C.., C.M.G., Dr. H. Rad-cliffe Crocker, Mr. W. H. H. Jessop, Dr. Boyd B. Joll, Mr.L. E. Creasy, and the honorary secretaries, Dr. Clive Riviereand Mr. D’Arcy Power. The honorary secretaries reportedthat the railway companies had made important reductionsto members who intended to travel overland to Lisbon toattend the Congress ; further particulars will be foundon p. 847 of our present issue. It was also stated thatthe Visconde de Monserrate (Sir Francis L. Cook, Bart.) hadkindly offered to give a garden party on April 20th. TheBritish Association at Oporto has invited 20 members todine in the Factory house on April 25th and they will alsoextend hospitality to other members. A communication wasread from the German National Committee containing twoproposals which the German National Committee was sub-mitting for the consideration of the various national com-mittees. The proposals were as follows :-
1. An international bureau should be established which should con-tinue in activity in the intervals between the meetings. The bureaushould consist of the presidencies of the previous and of the futureCongresses and of the presidencies of the several national committees.The headquarters of the bureau should be in Paris. Its business shouldbe to maintain the continuity of the Congress and to cooperate withthe organising committee in the arrangement of the programme as faras concerns the division into sections and the choice of themes, ofreporters, hoc orary presidents, &c.
2. In future the International Medical Congress should be held, notas hitherto every three, but every five years. It is considered that the
holding of meetings at longer intervals would not only make morecareful preparation possible, but would encourage the devotion ofgreater energy and zeal to the solution of scientific problems by suchauthors who now have lost their interest for the meetings owing totheir too frequent recurrence. Moreover, less frequent meetings wouldmake the choice of a place of meeting easier.These propositions were approved after some discussion but itwas thought that the headquarters of the bureau should be inBrussels rather than in Paris. The British Committee wasnot prepared to make any suggestion as to the place of meet-ing of the Sixteenth International Congress of Medicine. Itwas suggested that delegates going to the Congress shouldtake academic costume. The proceedings ended with ahearty vote of thanks to the Medical Society for the use of Ithe rooms.
VITAL STATISTICS.
HEALTH OF ENGLISH TOWNS.
IN 76 of the largest English towns 8476 births and 4909deaths were registered during the week ending March 17th.The annual rate of mortality in these towns, which hadbeen 17’ 3, 17’ 4, and 16’ 7 per 1000 in the three precedingweeks, further declined to 16 2 per 1000 last week. In Londonthe death-rate was 16 5 per 1000, while it averaged 16’ 0 per1000 in the 75 other large towns. The lowest death-rates inthese towns were 5’ 9 in Burton-on-Trent, 6 5 in King’sNorton, 7’ 0 in Aston Manor, 8’ 7 in Ipswich, 9 2 in Totten-ham, 9 4 in Barrow-in-Furness, 9 6 in Hornsey, and 9’ 8 inWarrington; the highest rates were 20’ 6 in Bradfordand in Sunderland, 20’ 7 in Wolverhampton, 20’ 8 inBournemouth, in Norwich, and in Middlesbrough, 21’ 2in Liverpool, 21’ 7 in St. Helens, 22’ 0 in Hanley. and23.2 in Wigan. The 4909 deaths in these towns in-cluded 435 which were referred to the principal infectiousdiseases, against 388, 420, and 469 in the three pre-ceding weeks ; of these 435 deaths 150 resulted frommeasles, 118 from whooping-cough, 64 from diphtheria, 44from diarrhoea, 39 from scarlet fever, 19 from "fever" "
(principally enteric), and one from small-pox. No deathfrom any of these diseases was registered last week inBournemouth, Ipswich, Great Yarmouth, Hanley, Burton-on-Trent, King’s Norton, Coventry, Wallasey, Wigan, War-rington, Barrow-in-Furness, or Stockton-on-Tees ; while they
caused the highest death-rates in West Ham, Plymouth,Handsworth (Staffs), West Bromwich, Smethwick, Liver-pool, Bury, Newcastle-on-Tyne, and Merthyr Tydfil. The
greatest proportional mortality from measles occurred in
Croydon, West Ham, Liverpool, Bury, Manchester, Preston,York, Newcastle-on-Tyne, and Swansea ; from scarletfever in Birkenhead ; from diphtheria in Coventry, St.Helens, Hull, Middlesbrough, and Merthyr Tydfil ; fromwhooping-cough in Plymouth, Handsworth (Staffs),West Bromwich, Smethwick, Stockport, Liverpool, Rother-ham, Sunderland, Cardiff, and Rhondda; and from diar-rhoea in Reading. The mortality from "fever" showedno marked excess in any of the large towns. One fatalcase of small-pox was registered in Plymouth but none
in any other of the 76 towns. The number of small-poxpatients in the Metropolitan Asylums Hospitals, which hadbeen six on each of the two preceding Saturdays, increasedto seven on Saturday last, the 17th inst. ; one new case wasadmitted during the week, against three, one, and one in thethree preceding weeks. The number of scarlet fever casesin these hospitals and in the London Fever Hospital at theend of last week was 2485, against 2689, 2628, and 2545 atthe end of the three preceding weeks ; 252 new cases wereadmitted during the week, against 274, 273, and 268 in thethree preceding weeks. The deaths in London referredto pneumonia and diseases of the respiratory system,which had been 328, 343, and 314 in the three
preceding weeks, rose again to 334 last week, butwere 38 below the corrected average number in the corre-sponding periods of the four preceding years. The causes of41, or 0 - 8 per cent., of the deaths in the 76 towns lastweek were not certified either by a registered medicalpractitioner or by a coroner. All the causes of deathwere duly certified in West Ham, Bristol, Salford, Leeds,Hull, and 49 other smaller towns, while the largestproportions of uncertified deaths were registered in Hanley,Birmingham, Nottingham, Liverpool, and Gateshead.
HEALTH OF SCOTCH TOWNS.
The annual rate of mortality in eight of the principalScotch towns, which had been 19 - 6, 19 - 3, and 18 - 2 per1000 in the three preceding weeks, rose again to 19 3.per 1000 during the week ending March 17th, and was 3’1 1per 1000 in excess of the mean rate during the same periodin the 76 large English towns. The rates in the eightScotch towns ranged from 13’9 in Leith and 15’1 inPerth, to 21-6 in Paisley and 24 - 7 in Dundee. The 661deaths in these towns last week included 37 which werereferred to measles, 20 to diarrhoea, eight to diphtheria, sevento scarlet fever, six to whooping-cough, and three to " fever."
"
In all, 81 deaths resulted from these principal infectiousdiseases last week, against 54, 61, and 57 in the three pre-ceding weeks. These 81 deaths were equal to an annualrate of 2-4 per 1000, which was l’ 0 per 1000 above the.mean rate last week from the same diseases in the 76 large,English towns. The fatal cases of measles, which had been28, 26, and 23 in the three preceding weeks, rose againto 37 last week, and included 18 in Glasgow, eight inDundee, eight in Paisley, and three in Edinburgh. Thedeaths from diarrhaea, which had been five, 14, and sevenin the three preceding weeks, rose again last week to20, of which 12 occurred in Glasgow, three in Aberdeen, andtwo in Edinburgh. The fatal cases of diphtheria, whichhad been two, six, and 11 in the three preceding weeks,declined again to eight last week, and included five inGlasgow and two in Dundee. The deaths from scarlet fever,which had been two in each of the two preceding weeks,increased last week to seven, of which two were registeredin Dundee and two in Leith. The fatal cases of whooping-}ough, which had been ten in each of the three precedingNeeks, declined to six last week and included five inGlasgow. The deaths from "fever," which had been six,ihree, and four in the three preceding weeks, declined againast week to three, all of which occurred in Glasgow. Theleaths referred to diseases of the respiratory organs in theseowns, which had been 125, 153, and 125 in the three pre-:eding weeks, were again 125 last week, and were 15 belowhe number in the corresponding period of last year. Thecauses of 20, or more than 3 per cent., of the deaths
egistered in these eight towns last week were not certified.
HEALTH OF DUBLIN.
The death-rate in Dublin, which had been 24’ 4, 24’ 8,
