100 THE EFFECTS OF THE CANAL BOAT ACTS.

as we can gather. The Government of India, endorsingthe action of the Government of Madras, holds, however,that his conduct in instituting and conducting his experi-ments and in disseminating lymph prepared from small-pox-virus without the express permission of the Madras Govern-ment was irregular and indiscreet and might have had the result- of provoking hostility to vaccination and perhaps to the Govern-ment under which he was serving. Surgeon-Major King was- consequently deprived of his civil appointment and relegated’to military duty at Mandalay. Allowing that this officer’s

action was technically, and in an official sense, wrong, still we- think that the reasons given by the Government of India are-far-fetched and exaggerate its importance. There is nothingto indicate that it was not the result of sheer inadvertence.and professional zeal, for his demonstration that cow-pox isnothing but small-pox modified by having passed throughthe cow’s body was an important one, which, as we havealready said, was subsequently confirmed by Dr. Hime.

Surgeon-Major King can appeal, no doubt, to the Secretaryof State and get some persons of influence in this country to’take up his case ; but we trust that this will not be necessaryand that the Government of India will recognise that they’have already gone far enough and virtually cancel their.decision in the matter by restoring this officer to civil

<employ. -

THE EFFECTS OF THE CANAL BOAT ACTS.

IT is characteristic of modern legislation that it is

’becoming increasingly concerned with the settlement of.social questions. The main principles of human conductz--and the rights of property are no longer its only or even its<;hief objects, but many other matters of less immediate im-portance in the nation-making ages of the world have latterly1provided it with worthy occupation. Such, for example, is"that of which we have been reminded by the last annual

’[report of Mr. Brydone, the chief inspector under the Canal.’Boat Acts for England and Wales. Notwithstanding therevelation of not a few discouraging facts, the pages of thisreport furnish abundant proof of the good work effectively<lone for health and education by the administration of theseActs. Cleanliness has increased, overcrowding, though stillmuch too prevalent and, in the circumstances, by no means<3asy of cure, has undergone marked reduction, the workoE education has made evident progress in spite of the

,difficulty interposed by a wandering life, and the spreadof disease has been limited by the notification of infectious- diseases. It is further satisfactory to note that these desir-able objects have been attained with comparatively littlefriction of temper, thanks to the judicious conduct of theofficial inspectors. The mental and moral character of the

barge population has improved in proportion to these beneficial-changes in their vital conditions and we shall, on the whole,be fully justified in saying that experience has proved thepractical value of measures in which the spirit of humanity- has leavened with such good effect the hard legality of simplej ustice.

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THE LEPROSY HOSPITAL NEAR DRONTHEIM.

A DESCRIPTIOX of a visit to the Leper Hospital nearDrontheim in Norway formed the subject of a paper recentlyread to a Hesse medical society by Dr. Kunze. The disease,- according to his view, is most probably connected with fish-bating, as it is most rife amongst the fisher-folk and thedwellers near the sea-coast in Spain, Russia, Norway andSweden. The hospital is built on a high barren table-landabout half an hour’s drive from Drontheim. It is absolutelyisolated, there being no habitations within sight. It is a

0ng barrack-like two-storeyed building with two wings and athird building at right angles to the main part. It is keptspotlessly clean. The kitchens are underground. The

male and female departments are of course separate Thetotal number of patients is between two and three hundred,a great many of them being in the prime of life. Their

general appearance is distressing, most of them beingpale and thin, with sores or recently healed scars on theirfaces, which at first sight might be mistaken for the effectsof lupus. In many cases the nose or lip is completely eroded,so as to expose the bone. In about 20 per cent. of the

patients the eyes are affected and in from 40 to 60 per cent.the hands and forearms, many having lost one or more

fingers. -

SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION TO SIAM.

DR. YBRSIN, formerly an assistant in the Pasteur Institutein Paris, has been sent by the French Government on ascientific expedition to investigate the region between theDon-Nai and the Mekong as well as the table-lands in Siambetween the Mekong and Bangkok.

ROYAL MEDICAL BENEVOLENT COLLEGE.

WE have pleasure in announcing that Sir James Paget hasconsented to fill the office of consulting surgeon to the RoyalMedical Benevolent College in the place of the late Mr. Cock,who had been connected with the institution for so manyyears. The disinfection of the buildings after the epidemicof scarlet fever which was imported into the College lastterm is being carefully carried out with the advice and underthe supervision of the medical officer of the College, thepurveyor of the local board of health and the medicalofficer of health for the district. This is as it should be.

H&AElig;MORRHAGES IN THE NEWBORN.

IN the Centralblatt feir Bakteriologie qtnd Pa1’asUenkranken,xii., 17, 1892, Drs. Tavel and Quervain report two cases ofhaemorrhages occurring in the new-born in which bac-

teriological investigations of the blood were made. In thefirst a purulent discharge from the umbilicus was noticed afew days after birth. Multiple and fairly extensive hoemor-rhages occurred ten days afterwards. The infant died on thethirteenth day. At the necropsy, in addition to the features

already noticed, blood-stained fluid was found in the pleuralcavities ; there was double pneumonia and haemorrhages werealso noted in the mucous membrane of the stomach and

intestines and into the substance of the kidney. Examinationof the blood and organs by means of cultivations showed largenumbersof streptococeiivith a few staphylococei. In the secondcase pneumonia developed on the tenth day and death took placetwo days later. At the necropsy haemorrhages were found in thepericardium, beneath the dura mater, in the pia mater and inthe substance of the brain. On similar examination of the

blood, staphylococci were found in large numbers. The

hsemorrhages could not be ascribed to injury ; the labourswere perfectly natural, although in each case premature. In

the first case the infection most probably took place by theumbilicus.

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SMALL-POX AT SOUTHAMPTON.

SMALL-POX has, we regret to say, been again introducedinto Southampton by shipping and, curiously enough, it isby the steamship Tamar again that the introduction has beeneffected. The disease appeared on board between Pernambucoand Lisbon, at which place two sailors were put ashore

suffering from small-pox. About a week after arrival at

Southampton one of the ship’s stewards was notified to besuffering from small-pox. Owing to the fact of there beingno available hospital accommodation (the house which doesduty for an infectious hospital being filled with cases of anotherdisease) he could not be isolated except at home. How thiswas carried out is shown by the result which followed-viz.,

101PROFESSIONAL TOUTING.

that some dozen cases which have occurred since are all moreor less traceable to the steward of the Tarnal’. Since thenisolation in the present hospital has been insisted upon anda temporary iron hospital is being erected on the hospital site.Moreover, revaccination is being extensively practised at theinstance of the town council and the guardians. We can

only trust that these measures may prove effectual in limitingthe progress of the epidemic. But it is to be feared that the

unsuitable position of the hospital now in use, as well as

that of the temporary adjunct, will but intensify the presentdanger to Southampton. In the interests of the town the

council should lose no time in procuring a more suitable andpermanent site. -

"APOPLEXY OF THE PANCREAS" ATTRIBUTED TOSEA-SICKNESS.

DR. HADE describes a case of so-called apoplexy of thepancreas occurring in a female, in consequence apparently ofprolonged and violent sea-sickness. The symptoms wereanalogous to those of peritonitis, there were severe pains onthe right side of the abdomen and considerable distensionwith flatus. The patient died three days after being first seen.The kidneys were found to be granular and there was a largemass of extravasated blood, originating in the pancreaticartery, spreading over the whole of the pancreas and forcingits way to the two kidneys, which were enveloped in bloodclot.

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PROFESSIONAL TOUTING.

THE Pathological Society of Reading in Berkshire is

believed to be the oldest society of the kind in the kingdom,having been founded in 1841. The medical men of the

borough and counties adjacent who ’are members of this

Society at their meeting on Jan. 4th determined to take somesteps to check the growing tendency to lower professionalstatus by the practice of circulating printed statements amongstthe public, setting forth the conditions and terms on whichthey can be attended and supplied with medicines bybecoming members of a " medical aid society." As the

result of a full discussion the following resolutions werepassed : 1. "That in the opinion of this Society thehonour and interests of the medical profession are insuffi-

ciently safeguarded, and we do request the GeneralMedical Council to use the powers vested in them,or if necessary to acquire larger powers, to enable

them to deal with conduct (other than criminal) dishonour-ing to the medical profession. " 2. " That this Society regardsas unprofessional all touting, advertising or covering, or theholding of any appointment where it is shown that suchmeans are employed to increase the sphere of work."

BURIAL AND CREMATION: A PROPOSED COM-MISSION OF INQUIRY.

THE objects aimed at by the deputation of the Church ofEngland Burial Reform Association which recently waited uponthe Home Secretary were well worthy of the attention whichthey received. They included, as our readers will remember,besides the appointment of a Minister of Health-a matterreferred to in our leading article on ’’ The Ministry and PublicHealth " (vide p. 93)-a proposal for the more careful certifi-cation of causes of death and another for the institution ofan exhaustive inquiry as to the comparative merits of thedifferent methods of burial now recognised amongst us. 117eobserve with much satisfaction that Mr. Asquith appears tobe sanguine as to the feasibility of carrying into effect bothof these latter propositions. There can be no question as totheir importance. It cannot be denied that, notwith-

standing the general practice and the recognised utilityof death certification, there still remains a considerableannual margin of deficiency represented by cases in

which the dead are allowed to reach their last resting-placewithout any official notice of the means, whether natural or

other, by which they died. As regards the practice of burialin its relation to cremation and the relative advantage ofdifferent modes of interment, there is, in our opinion, hardlyany sanitary question which requires more careful discussionor which as yet owes so little to the deliberate declarations.of authority. We would most sincerely welcome the appoint-ment of a commisgion of inquiry which would examine thepresent state of our knowledge upon this important subject,and would publish the result of its investigation in a definite’statement of opinion.

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THE LANCET RELIEF FUND.

THE "Application Form " of THE LANCET Relief Fund’will be found in our present issue. It can easily be removed,filled up and forwarded to the Secretary, Mr. Edward Davies,THE LANCET Offices, 423, Strand, London. We would once’more ask those of our readers who may have occasion ta

employ the form or to sign one of the required accompany-ing certificates to carefully notice the conditions on whichapplicants become entitled to a participation in the benefits of

&deg;

the Fund. ____

"FAITH CURES."

Tms subject has been recently discussed in the pages:of one of our contemporaries by so able a physician as,

M. Charcot. His treatment of the subject is very calmand impartial. After showing that in all ages the condi-tions affecting the successful application of the faithcure have been practically identical, he emphasises the-

following important points : (1) That a special disposition"on the part of the patient is necessary to success-a dispo-sition fostered by the mental exaltation incidental to

religious pilgrimages ; (2) that the diseases usually bene-fited.have been of a convulsive or paralytic order-that is,they belong to the category of functional disorders which.demand for their cure no intervention beyond the powerwhich the mind has over the body "; and (3) that the domain..of faith healing has thus a limited application. M. Charcot,however, deals with the matter in no dogmatic spirit nor’

does he restrict within too narrow limits the trophic influence:of the nervous system. Mention is made of the remarkable

case of a patient in ,whom a "hysterical &oelig;dema " of the,

breast resulted in extensiva and long-continued sloughingand who was at the same time the subject of a profoundx.hysterical paralysis of the left side. The sores, mistaken for

cancer, rapidly healed and the paralytic symptoms disappeared.

ASLEEP OR DYING?

OF somewhat more than ordinary interest and importance-was one cf the cases recently inquired into by a -coroner’s juryat St. Helens. It was that of a woman who, probably whileintoxicated, fell downstairs, and striking her head against awringing machine sustained what finally proved to be fatalconcussion of the brain. The most singular circumstance-observed in connexion with the occurrence was the fact thatthe deceased was allowed to lie in a state of stupor foreighteen hours before her relatives considered it needful tosend for medical assistance. It was the old story over again : sthe stupor of cerebral compression was mistaken for drunkensleep. Perhaps in the existing circumstances it was not

remarkable that the other occupants of the house-her husbandand son both over-tired with a week’s labour and half asleepthemselves-should at the outset have fallen into this error,notwithstanding the existence of a bleeding scalp wound.Dangerous head injuries, as every practitioner can testify,often wear at first and for some time afterwards an appear-ance of deceptive innocence. Their true character, unless it

be carefully looked for at the time of infiiction, is usually