1503

behalf of farmers without charge, and for experimentalresearch and systematic instruction relative to the manu-facture of cider.May 24th.

___________________

LIVERPOOL.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Liverpool Medical 1nstitution and King George T.AT a special meeting of the Liverpool Medical Institution

held on May 19th, Dr. T. R. Bradshaw, the President, beingin the chair, an address to His Majesty King George V. wasadopted. The adoption of the address was moved by Dr.A. T. H. Waters, the senior past-president of the society,seconded by Mr. Chauncy Puzey, past-president, and

supported by Mr. Edgar A. Browne, also a past-president.The text of the address is as follows :—

To the King’s Most Excellent Majesty,-The Members and Associates of the Liverpool Medical Institution

desire to record their deep sorrow at the death of their belovedSovereign, King Edward VII. They desire to express their apprecia-tion of the sympathy which, throughout his memorable career, hemanifested with every movement for the social and physical advance- (

ment of his subjects, and more especially with the work of the medicalprofession, which he showed in a signal manner by graciously con-aenting to be enrolled among the Fellows of the Royal College ofPhysicians and of the Royal College of Surgeons. They respectfully 1offer to your Majesty, and your Majesty’s Royal Consort, to herMajesty the Queen-Mother, and to the other members of your Royalhouse, their profound sympathy in the loss which you and they,together with the whole British Empire, have sustained, and they begto assure you of their loyalty and attachment to your Majesty’s Throneand person.

West IJerrby Guardians and Medical Appointments.At a recent meeting of the West Derby guardians the

clerk reported the receipt of the following communicationfrom the secretary of the Local Government Board :-

I am directed by the Local Government Board to acknowledge thereceipt of your letter of the 20th ult., and to express their satisfactionon learning that the guardians of the West Derby Union have passed a ]resolution that in future no applicant for an appointment under the Iboard of guardians who is a member of the board, or who has beena member of the board within a period of six months prior to thedate of such appointment, shall be eligible. In the circumstances theBoard will not offer objection to the appointment of Mr. H. M.Mitchell as district medical officer. They accordingly approve of the

‘

payment to him of the salary of £150 per annum for his services, and (

now direct that the said salary shall be paid to him by the guardians in accordance with the terms of the orders in force on that behalf. The Board request to be informed as soon as Mr. Mitchell has removed intohis district.

Hospital Saturday in Liverpool. l

In connexion with the Liverpool Hospital Saturday Fund, :;the various firms and their employees who contribute weekby week to this excellent institution on Saturday last made up their accounts with the object of forwarding their annual ’’

remittances to the honorary secretaries of the fund. Since Ithe establishment of the fund as much as £179,360 4s. 5d. have been collected and distributed in conjunction with theHospital Sunday Fund to the various medical charities. An 1urgent appeal was now made, and as an incentive to a more Igenerous support of the fund the guarantors have notified that they will be prepared to double any increase of con- tributions over the total received during the year 1906. A I

special supplementary collection was made on Saturday amongst the workpeople towards the fund. t

2

The Birkenhead Guardians and the Need for Isolating Small- pox Patients. a

At a meeting of the Birkenhead guardians held on a

May 3rd attention was again called to the absence of an 1isolation block for small-pox patients, and it was decided to a asend copies of the correspondence between the board of tguardians and the corporation of Birkenhead to the LocalGovernment Board.

Small-pox Outbreak in New Ferry, near Birkenhead. tA serious outbreak of small-pox, directly traceable to the c

escape of a patient from the Liverpool Port Sanitary Hos- ppital, which is located at New Ferry, on the Birkenhead side 2of the Mersey, has occurred there, no fewer than 14 patients r-being in the hospital. The incident which is regarded as the t

inception of the outbreak occurred a short time ago. A pSpaniard had been taken to the hospital suffering from small- o

pox, and, in a state of delirium, rose suddenly from the bed, s

and overpowering the night nurse jumped through a window. t,

Escaping practically unhurt he roamed about the district for n

some time before being captured, coming into contact withseveral residents in the meantime. The first case of thedisease was reported on May 15th, when a man living inProspect-place, a poor neighbourhood, was found to be

suffering from a mild form of small-pox. His little son, how-ever, was suffering from a very serious attack, and waspromptly removed to hospital. Since then 14 cases, all inthe same street, have been notified, and all of these havebeen taken to hospital-7 to the port sanitary hospital and 7to the small-pox hospital at Greasby. The most rigorouspreventive measures have been adopted by the actingmedical officer of the district under the instructionsof the health committee of the Lower Bebington districtcouncil. The inhabitants of all the houses in which caseshave occurred have been sent to :Pensby, where they areaccommodated under canvas. Prospect-place has beenbarricaded off in order that people may not traverse it untilthe fear of infection is no longer existent. The strictestsurveillance is being exercised to prevent the disease

becoming epidemic. All the schools were temporarilyclosed. The first patient found suffering from small-poxstated that he had been in contact with the Spaniard on thenight of his extraordinary escapade. Experience of formerepidemics proved that the "conscientious objector" tovaccination realises that discretion is the better part ofvalour, and in such an experience throws his objections tobhe winds and requisitions the services of the publicvaccinator.May 23rd.

WALES.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

T2cbereulosis Dispensary for Cardiff.THE medical officer of health of Cardiff, Dr. E. Walford,

has laid before the health committee of the corporation as apreliminary communication that section of his annual reportfor 1909 which has reference to the prevention of tuberculosis.Among the preventive measures which have already beenadopted by the corporation are the voluntary notification of:ases of phthisis, the provision of facilities for the gratuitousbacteriological examination of suspected sputum, the distri-bution to the poor of spit-bottles free of charge, and suchJducational measures as are included in the distribution of.iterature and in the instruction given by health visitors andsanitary inspectors. There is, however, no special dispensary’or cases of phthisis, such cases being treated at the out-patient department of the Cardiff Infirmary, at the ProvidentDispensary, by the Poor-law medical officers, and by privatepractitioners. Dr. Walford considers that a central andspecial tuberculosis dispensary under municipal control wouldvery much facilitate the organisation of a proper system ofiome visitation by the health visitors employed by the cor-poration, and would be the means of securing the earlyliagnosis of patients suspected to be suffering from thelisease. He points out that the health committee alreadypossesses suitable accommodation which could be set apart’or the purpose of a dispensary, and suggests that an addi-sional health visitor should be appointed and the services ofa medical officer retained at an honorarium of E50 per annum.The cost of drugs and instruments he estimates at ,s25 permnum. The institution would thus be carried on at anannual charge of less than E200 yearly. The health committeelas accepted the principle of the proposals, so it may beassumed that there will be no great difficulty in giving effecto them.

Pontypridd Cottage Hospital.In spite of the great liability of the workmen to accidents

here is a noticeable absence in some of the colliery districtsof South Wales of hospital accommodation. Merthyr Tydvillossesses a well-equipped hospital with about 50 beds ; atLberdare and at Mountain Ash there are small cottage hos-pitals with 10 or 12 beds ; and at Porth, in the Rhondda Valley,here is a cottage hospital with accommodation for 20patients. The town of Pontypridd, which has a populationf over 40,000 persons, is at present unprovided with anyuch institution, although successful efforts are being madeo provide one. On the hillside overlooking the town andear to the celebrated rocking stone a site has been given, and