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by a registered medical practitioner or by a coroner. Allthe causes of death were duly certified in Leeds, Ports-mouth, Brighton, Preston, and in four smaller towns. Thelargest proportions of uncertified deaths were registered inOldham and Liverpool. --

HEALTH OF SCOTCH TOWNS.

The annual rate of mortality in the eight Scotchtowns, which had been 17.7, 19.4, and 20-6 per 1000 in thepreceding three weeks, declined again to 18.8 during theweek ending September 18th; this rate was 3’8 below themean rate during the same week in the twenty-eightEnglish towns. The rates in the Scotch towns last weekranged from 11’8 and 13 9 in Greenock and Edinburgh, to20-8 in Paisley and 24’1 in Glasgow. The 465 deaths in theeight towns last week showed a decrease of 43 fromthe number in the previous week, and included 45 whichwere referred to diarrhoea, 11 to whooping-cough, 7 toscarlet fever, 6 to " fever " (typhus, enteric, or simple),3 to diphtheria, 1 to measles, and not one to small-pox;in all, 73 deaths resulted from these principal zymoticdiseases, against numbers increasing from 63 to 93 in thepreceding five weeks. These 93 deaths were equal to anannual rate of 3’0 per 1000, which was 3’5 below the mean ratefrom the same diseases in the twenty-eight English towns.The deaths referred to diarrhoea, which had risen in the pre-vious four weeks from 23 to 57, declined again last week to 45,of which 19 occurred in Glasgow, 8 in Dundee, and 5 inPaisley. The annual death-rate from diarrhoea in the eightScotch towns last week did not average more than 1’8 per1000, whereas the mean rate from the same cause in thetwenty-eight English towns was 5’3. The fatal cases ofwhooping-cough, which had been 19, 10, and 20 in the pre-ceding three weeks, declined again last week to 11, andincluded 6 in Glasgow and 2 in Edinburgh. The 7 deathsfrom scarlet fever corresponded with the number in theprevious week, 6 being returned in Glasgow. The deathsreferred to " fever," which had been 7 and 4 in the previoustwo - weeks, were 6 last week, of which 3 occurred inPaisley and 2 in Glasgow. Two of the three fatal cases ofdiphtheria, and the fatal case of measles, were returned inGlasgow. The deaths referred to acute diseases of the

respiratory organs in the eight towns, which had been 56 and72 in the previous two weeks, declined again last week to65, and exceeded by but one the number in the correspond-ing week of last year. The causes of 60, or 13 per cent., ofthe deaths in the eight towns last week were not certified.

HEALTH OF DUBLIN.

The rate of mortality in Dublin, which had been 18’2,26’2, and 25’9 per 1000 in the preceding three weeks, furtherrose to 27’5 in the week ending Sept. 18th. During thefirst eleven weeks of the current quarter the death-ratein the city averaged 21’7; the mean rate during the sameperiod was 19-1 in London and 17 8 in Edinburgh. The 186deaths in Dublin last week showed an increase of 11 uponthe number in the previous week, and included 29 whichwere referred to diarrhoea, 5 to "fever" (typhus, enteric,or simple), 2 to scarlet fever, 2 to diphtheria, 1 to whooping-cough, and not one either to small-pox or measles. Thus 39deaths resulted from the principal zymotic diseases, against18, 22, and 38 in the preceding three weeks; they wereequal to an annual rate of 5’8 per 1000, the rates from thesame diseases last week being 3’1 in London and 1’4 inEdinburgh. The fatal cases of diarrhoea, which had been9, 14, and 26 in the previous three weeks, further rose lastweek to 29, and exceeded the number in any previous weekof this year. The 2 deaths from scarlet fever showed a,decline of 5 from the number in the previous week, whilethe 5 from "fever" exceeded the number in the pre-vious week by 1. Three inquest cases and 4 deaths fromviolence were registered; and 39, or more than one-fifth ofthe deaths, were recorded in public institutions. The deathsof infants showed a further considerable increase upon recentweekly numbers, while those of elderly persons had furtherdeclined. The causes of 33, or nearly 18 per cent., of thedeaths registered during the week were not certified.

A HOMŒOPATH SUED BY A PHARMACIST.—A pharmacisthas successfully sued a homceopathic doctor in Játiva, forillegally trenching upon his province by preparing andsupplying medicines in the form of globules to his patients.

THE SERVICES.

INDIA OFFICE.—The Queen has approved of the retire-ment from the Service of the undermentioned officers of theStaff Corps and Indian Military Forces:—Brigade SurgeonJames Browne, M.D, of the Bengal Medical Establishment,and Surgeon-Major Charles Robert George Parker, of theMadras Medical Establishment. The undermentioned officershave been granted a step of honorary rank on retirement :-Surgeon-Major Charles Robert Parker, of the Madras MedicalEstablishment, and Surgeon-Major Theophilus Bolton WrightPlunkett Johnston, of the Bombay Medical Establishment,to be Brigade Surgeons.ADM:IRALTY. - The following appointments have been

made:-Staff Surgeon Wm. R. Colahan, to the Canada; StaffSurgeon Joseph Wood, to the Assistance; Staff SurgeonAnthony Gorham, to the Shannon; and Surgeon Patrick B.Handyside, to the Canada.YBOMANB.Y CAVALRY.—Westmoreland and Cumberland:

Surgeon and Honorary Surgeon-Major Joseph Wickham,M.D., the resignation of whose commission has already beenannounced, is permitted to retain his rank, and to wear theuniform of the regiment on his retirement.

Correspondence.DIRECT REPRESENTATION OF THE PROFESSION

ON THE GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL.

" Audi alteram partem."

I To the Editor of THE LANCET.SIR,—The great majority of our profession will agree with

the opinion, given in the annotation in THE LANCET of

Sept. 18th, that 343 responses cannot represent 17,000practitioners, and that the meeting at Birmingham was afailure; and will also agree with the hope, expressed in thatarticle, that the promoters will not seriously prosecute theirwell-intentioned labours.

Let me call attention to what took place at Birmingham.A meeting was called of a committee (self-constituted, andnot in the least representative). Of the 343 members of thatcommittee only thirty-two attended, and towards the endof the meeting only a few remained. It was then agreed tosend the names of a number of the candidates to the wholecommittee, for each one to select three names, the threehaving the largest number of recommendations to beadopted by the committee. Now, Sir, in what way isthat plan to recommend itself to the whole profession,each member of which is just as capable of forming acorrect judgment on the merits of each candidate as is anyone of the 343 who are not the elected representatives ofthe profession with power to select candidates? Looking atthe matter from every point of view, is it not substitutinga body of 343, self-constituted as a committee, for the whole17,000 members of the profession? For my own part, Ithink the system of committees a wrong one. The profes-sion now, for the first time, is given a direct representationon the Medical Council, and the Council will send out thenames of all the candidates to the 17,000 electors, for themto return three of those candidates to represent them. Themembers of the medical profession for the first time form anelectoral body, unequalled in education and intelligence byany other in the kingdom, and recourse to anything like theordinary electioneering tactics will be simply an insult tothe understanding of those composing that electorate. Iask is it seriously thought to be necessary for any committeeto inform the 17,000 electors of the merits of the majority,if not the whole, of the candidates? Are they not thoroughlycompetent to decide each one for himself ? The representa-tion is intended to be direct. I ask, will it be direct if anycommittee, however influential or well-intentioned, shouldinterfere between the candidates and the electorate ?

I am, Sir, yours obediently,Brighton, Sept. 18th, 1886.

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R. P. B. TAAFFE.

To the Editor of THE LANCET.SIR,—After reading in THE LANCET an account of the

meeting at Birmingham attended by only thirty-two mem-bers of the profession, I feel convinced that any choice of