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Mackey; M.D. Birm. ; Percy Whittington -Saunders, B.A.-,M.B. Toronto, L.R C.P. ; Henry ‘Charles Gustavus Semon,M. A., M.B. Oxon., L. R. C. P. ; and Arthur Stanley Woodwark,M. B. Lorid., L. R. C. P. ’

Licences’to practise physic were granted to 91 gentlemenwho had passed the necessary examinations.

’

The following communications were received :—1. Fromthe Board of Trade, Mgrch 26th; on Beri-beri, in’continuationof previous correspondence in 1908. The matter was referredto the Standing Committee on Beri-beri. 2: From Dr.

Raymond Crawfurd, asking permission -to photograph the,portraits-of Sir Charles’ Scarburgh and Sir Edmund King inpossession of the College. Permission was granted. 3. FromMr. Leverton Harris, M. P., asking permission to photographthe portraits of Dr. Cadoganand Sir G. Baker in’ possessionof the College. Permission was granted. ’

The PRESIDENT announced that he had nominated Dr. S. H.Habershon to represent the College at the 350th anniversaryof the foundation of the University of Geneva to be held inJuly next, as Dr. W. Pasteur would be unable to attend.The PRESIDENT also announced that he had nominated Dr.

E. I. Spriggs as one of the delegates of the College on thecommittee appointed to confer with’the delegates of LondonUniversity as to degrees for London medical students. !

Sir William Allchin was elected a representative of theCollege on the Senate of the University of London.The by-law for the admission of women to the examinations

of the College for qualifications was enacted for the secondtime.1

Dr. W. P. Herringham was elected a representative of theCollege in the Court of Governors of the University ofSheffield. The thanks’ of the College were accorded to Dr.F. T. Roberts, the retiring representative.The quarterly report, dated April 23rd. of the College

Finance Committee was received and adopted.A report from the committee of management dated

March 22nd was received and adopted. The report dealtwith the following subjects: 1. A revised syllabus of the

subjects for both parts of the examination in public healthwas adopted. The syllabus will come into force at Jan. lstnext. 2. The report of Dr. Norman Moore, the visitor tothe examinations of the Egyptian Medical School for the

year 1908, was considered satisfactory in every respect. Thethanks of the College were accorded to Dr. Moore for hisservices. 3. (a) The committee recommended that theGrammar School, Cheltenham, which has been visited by amember of the committee and reported as fulfilling the

requirements of the Board, be added to the list of institutionsrecognised by the Examining Board in England for instruc-tion in chemistry and physics. (b) The committee recom-mended that the Merchant Taylors’ School, which is alreadyrecognised for instruction in chemistry and physics, be alsorecognised for instruction in biology.. The quarterly report of the examiners for the Licence onthe results of the January examinations was received andadopted.Books and other publications presented to the library

during the past quarter were received and the thanks of theCollege were returned to the donors.The PRESIDENT then dissolved the Comitia.

THE

SIXTEENTH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESSOF MEDICINE.

WE have already in various annotations called attention tomany of the arrangements for the approaching InternationalCongress of Medicine at Budapest, and we print below arecapitulation of some of this matter with some addedinformation which should prove useful to members of the

profession who intend to be present.The sittings of the Congress will be held from August 29th

until Sept. 4th under the patronage of King and KaiserFrancis Joseph. His Majesty has named as his personalrepresentative H.R.H. Prince Joseph. The national com-mittees comprise the most notable scientists of signatorycountries. Over a thousand communications have beensent in up to the present time from every part of the world.

1 THE LANCET, April 10th, 1909, p. 1069.

The Governments, magistrates, universities, and academieshave already appointed their delegates. The business willbe transacted in sectional and general sittings, and in thelatter the representatives will hear addresses on topics ofgeneral interest tending towards the uniting of the nations inscientific work. The Hungarian Government, the legis-lature, the city of Budapest, and especially its scientificsocieties, are supporting the endeavours of the organisingcommittee generously. ’

,

The Regulations of the Congress.1 The, day of opening is August 29th, and the day of

closing is Sept. 4th.2. The aim of the Congress is purely scientific.

,

3. Members of the Congress shall be all medical practi-tioners who have paid, the membership fee, and who areaccepted as members on the recommendation of their nationalcommittees or of the executive committee.

4. The membership fee is 25 crowns (about one guinea).5. Wives and daughters of members pay- half of this fee,

which will entitle them to all the advantages offered tomembers by the railway oompanies. Such fees are to be sentto the treasurer, Dr. Elischer, Budapest VIII., EszterházyUtcza 7, accompanied by a card and a note designatingwhich section of the Congress the sender desires to join.

6. Members shall enjoy all the advantages of the Congressand shall receive the general volume of the proceedings ofthe Congress and also the special proceedings of his selectedsection.

7. The sectional classes of the Congress will be as follows:(1) Anatomy, Histology, and Embryology; (2) Physiology;(3) General and Experimental Pathology, Pathology (Physio-logical and Chemical) ; (4) Microbiology (Bacteriology) andPathological Anatomy ; (5) Therapeutics (Pharmacology,Physical Methods, and Balneology) ; (6) Internal Medicine;(7) Surgery ; (8) Obstetrics and Gynsecology ; (9) Ophthalmo-logy ; (10) Pediatrics; (11) Neurology; (12) Psychology;(13) Dermatology and Venereal Diseases ; (14) Urology; (15)Laryngology, Disease of the Nose ; (16) Otology (this sectionforming also the Eighth International Otological Congress);(17) Stomatology, Dentistry ; (18) Hygienics and the Studyof Immunity; (19) Forensic Medicine ; (20) Military andNaval Sanitation ; and (21) Tropical Medicine and ShippingSurgery.

8. The arrangements of the Congress are in the hands ofan organising committee and of an executive committee.

9. The Congress will hold two formal sittings, which willform the opening and the closing ceremonies, at which onlythose appointed by the organising committee and nominatedby the State representatives will speak. At the openingceremony the organising committee will, after the usualaddresses, proclaim the list of the honorary presidents ofthe Congress, and at the closing ceremony it will announcethe place of the next Congress, which will be decided by aspecial committee sitting on the third day of the Congress.This committee will consist of the presidents and secretariesof the national committees and the president and chief

secretary of the Sixteenth International Congress. The

honorary presidents of the single sections will be elected atthe opening sitting.

10. The last day for the notification of papers will be

May 15th. Communications notified after this date will be

put upon the programme only if time will allow.11. Members have the right of attending other sections

besides those to which they belong.12. The speeches and addresses delivered at the opening

and closing ceremonies will be printed at full length in theproceedings.

13. The time spent in delivering a communication shallnot exceed 20 minutes, no speaker shall spend more than10 minutes in a contribution to the discussion, and the replyof the opener shall not exceed 10 minutes.

14. At all the sittings the English, French, German, andItalian languages may be used by speakers.

The Central Committee of the Congress.The names of the foreign honorary presidents will be pro-

claimed at the opening festivity. The following officials havebeen already appointed :-Honorary President of theCongress: Baron Frederik Koranyi ; President: KolomanMiiller; Chief Secretary : Emil Grosz ; and Treasurer : JuliusElischer.

Ladies Committee :-President : Mme. Professor Arpad

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Bokay ; Vice-Presidents : Mme. Professor Emanuel Herczeland Baroness Alexander Kor6,nyi. The -members of theladies committee number about 100. The Executive Com-,mittee consists of about 50 members. The . National

(Hungarian) Committee consists of about 300 members. The

Reception Committee consists of 25 members. The FinancialCommittee consists of 15 members.

lhe Foreign Committees of the Congress.The following are the officials of the various National

Committees :- .

England.—President : Dr..F. W. Pavy, London; Secre-taries : Dr. Clive Riviere and Mr. D’Arcy Power, London.

Germany.—President : Geh. Med. Rat. Professor, W.Waldeyer, Berlin.

United States of America.—President : Dr. John H. Musser,Philadelphia.

Austria.—President : Hofrat Professor A. von Eiselsberg,Vienna.

France.—President : M..1e Professor Landouzy, Doyen dela Faculte de M6decine, Paris. ,

Spain.—President : M; le Professor Tullian Calleja ySánchez, Madrid.

Egypt.—President : M.: Armand Ruffer, President of theEgyptian Sanitary Quarantine Council, Alexandria. ’

Canada.—President : Professor Alexander MacPhedran,Toronto.. ,

Italy.—President : M. le Professor Guido Baccelli, Rome.Japan.—President : Professor S. Kitasato, Director of the

Institute for the Research of Infectious Diseases, Tokio.The Plenary Sittings of the Congress.

There will be six plenary sittings dealing with the follow-ing subjects. Dr. G. Baccelli (Rome) : On Heroic Medicine.Dr. E. F. Bashford (London) : On Cancer. Dr. M. Gruber(Munich): Vererbung, Auslese und Hygiene (Inheritance,Selection, and Hygiene)., Dr. R. Kuttner (Berlin): Uberdas arztliche Fortbildungswesen ,(On the Post-graduateInstruction of Medical Men) ; this address will be heldunder the auspices of the central committee of PrussianPost-graduate Instruction. Dr. A. Laveran (Paris) : La

Pathologie Exotique (Tropical Medicine). Dr. T. Loeb

(Berkeley) : Artificial Parthogenesis and its Bearing upon thePhysiology and the Pathology of the Cell. The place anddate of these sittings will be published in the journal of theCongress. At these sittings ladies will be admitted to thegeneral meetings of the Congress. ,

General Arrangements.For the benefit of the Congress the organising com-

mittee has made arrangements with the General Post Officeof Budapest to send the letters of foreign members to theoffice of the Congress if no other address is registered. The

telegraphic address will be Congressus, Budapest." In ourlast two issues we have published full particulars of the

arrangements made for lodgings and excursions for membersof the Congress. 1 :

MEDICINE AND THE LAW.

Action Against a Dairy Company for Selling Milk ContainingBoric Acid in Breach of a Warranty.

AT the Croydon county court judgment was given recentlyby his honour Judge Harington in an action heard by himin February, in which the plaintiffs, Mr. Harold Bentley andhis infant daughter, suing by him as her next friend, claimedagainst the defendants, Messrs. Wraigbt, Dumbrill, and Co.,in respect of milk supplied to Mr, Bentley for the use of hischild. Mr. Bentley entered into a verbal contract with thedefendants in June, 1908, through their agent at Mitcham, aman named Hughes, for the supply of nursery milk freefrom any preservative or adulteration for the consumptionof his child born in December, 1907. He had alreadyceased to deal with another dairy owing to the presence ofboric acid in the milk supplied, and his express stipulationand the dairyman Hughes’s promise that there should benone were not disputed. While the child was being fed withthe defendants’ milk she suffered severely from diarrhoea,loss of appetite, and loss of weight, and her father eventuallyconsulted Dr. David Forsyth;who recommended him to have

1 THE LANCET, April 24th, p. 1192, and May 1st, p. 1264.

the milk analysed. It then appeared that the milk con-tained borio acid in the proportion of five grains to the

pint, and when this was discontinued the child improvedin health, after which the action was brought. Medicalevidence was given on behalf of the plaintiffs by Mr.Bentley himself, Dr. Forsyth, Mr. E. Hinks, analyst to theSurrey county council, and others. On behalf of thedefendants Mr.-Felix C. Kempster gave medical evidence,and Mr. Hughes and other witnesses connected with thedairy denied absolutely the use of boric acid in the businessor in connexion with the milk complained of. In givingjudgment his honour -stated that there were two questionsfor his decision : 1. Did the defendants or their agentsadulterate with boric acid the milk supplied to Mr. Bentley ?2. If so, was the child’s illness due to such adulteration ?

Dealing with the second question first, and saying that theanswer must depend entirely on the conclusion to be drawnfrom the medical evidence, having regard to the history ofthe illness, he found that there was boric acid in the milkduring the period following June 6th and that the child’sillness was due to it. After reviewing the evidence as to theother question, he came to the conclusion that the preservativefound its way into the defendants’ milk before it left their

premises and that -they were responsible under their

warranty. - He assessed the damages at Pll Is. 6d., repre-senting the actual cost to the father, with ,E5 5s. for thechild in respect of suffering undergone, and gave judgmentfor that amount with costs on Scale B. Mr. Bentley is tobe congratulated on the result of his action and upon havingdiscovered in time the cause of his child’s illness. The caseshows the danger arising from the use of boric acid, and thevalue of analysis as a safeguard even when assurance of thepurity of the milk has been given.

Looking Back.FROM

THE LANCET, SATURDAY, May 7th, 1831.

POISONOUS TABLE SALT.

The Council of Health of Nantz have found, after a mostrigorous and extensive examination, that the table-salt ofthat city was free from the admixture of arsenic and thecombinations of iodine which MM. Latonr de Trie andChevallier have detected in Paris. The Academie deMedecine have recommended the Government to ordersimilar inquiries to be prosecuted in every department ofFrance.

COMPOSITION OF OXALIC ACID.

M. Gay Lussac has succeeded in decomposing this acid bya moderate temperature, and he states it to be composed ofsix parts of carbonic acid, five of carbonic oxide, andone ofthe formic acid.-Lancette Franç.

VITAL STATISTICS.

HEALTH OF ENGLISH TOWNS.

IN 76 of the largest English towns 8423 births and 4569deaths were registered during the week ending May 1st.The annual rate of mortality in these towns, whichhad been 17-1 and 15 8 per 1000 in the two precedingweeks, further declined to 14’ 5 in the week under notice.During the first four weeks of the current quarter the death-rate averaged 16’ 1 per 1000, while in London during thesame period the mean rate was 15 ’ 6. The lowest recordedannual death-rates in these towns last week were 7 - 6 inLeyton and in Walthamstow, 7’7 in Burton-on-Trent, 7,8 8in York, and 8 2 in Hornsey and in Handsworth (Staffs);the rates in the other towns ranged upwards to 20 - 2in Preston, 20 6 in Sunderland, 22.3 in Middlesbrough, and24 . 0 in Bootle. The 4569 deaths from all causes in the76 towns last week showed a decrease of 414 from thenumber in the previous week, and included 462 which werereferred to the principal epidemic diseases, against 593, 584,and 518 in the three preceding weeks ; of these 462 deaths,