643MEDICAL MEN AND THE OVERCROWDING OF THE PROFESSION,

promise that experiments in this direction shall shortly beundertaken, which will presumably form the subject of athird report. -

BEGGING FOR HOSPITALS.

WE must all regret the necessity which obliges hospitals to"go begging, yet this, notwithstanding a few notable excep-tions, is their common lot. Doubtless we have still amongstus munificent benefactors whose liberality like that of Guy,Rahere, and others now and then becomes monumental in thetreatment of the sick, and their endowments constitute thesole reliable foundation of our hospital finance. Unfortu-

nately they have not abounded in proportion to the medicalneeds of an ever-growing and in great measure an ever-poorand ever-ailing population. It is needful therefore, as it isalso just, to expect and to seek for the practical expressionof public sympathy in support of their devoted generosity.The quest is no ignoble one. It is essentially unselfishand humane, and therefore honourable ; yet it is after all,we repeat, a subject for some regret, especially because

there enters into it so much-as we constantly observe-of personal application. Of late, indeed, methods whichamount to nothing else than simple touting have been

in common use. Every now and then a Sunday is turnedinto a mere gala day, whilst crowds of persons of all ages

parade and obstruct the thoroughfares with banners flying,bands playing and children running everywhere soliciting acharitable penny. Elsewhere and quite apart from even thesanction of such an occasion, some young girl runs up andaccosts passers-by, with alike purpose. Natural reserve wouldalmost seem to be forgotten, old ideas on the subject becomeobsolete in presence of a new motive, and danger is unthoughtof. Surely this is going too far, and we greatly doubtwhether the ripe stores of public charity are more effectuallytapped by resorting to all this parade and this personalexposure than they would be if quieter methods were

adhered to. It is at least advisable that street collections,if they be considered requisite, should be sheltered by theprotective guarantee conferred by a public occasion-such asHospital Saturday.

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MEDICAL MEN AND THE OVERCROWDING OFTHE PROFESSION.

THE complaint of overcrowding in the profession is general,we might say universal, at home and abroad, in towns andvillages. It must be so when the fresh registrations yearlyexceed the deaths in the profession by many hundreds, as wehave often pointed out. It would be interesting to study allthe causes of this strange fact in favour of the profession asa calling when so many of its members are complaining of itas a hard and unremunerative occupation. There is one reasonwhich occurs to us and which we do not remember to haveseen noticed before. We refer to the fact that medical menthemselves send their sons into the profession so freely.This is rather inconsistent with the complaint that it is

an unsatisfactory and an unprofitable profession. Thereare occasional instances to the contrary. Some disappointedmen, and some even that had no great reason to complain,have been known to say that they would rather see theirsons "break stones" than enter the medical profession.This is altogether unreasonable and absurd, seeing that thepursuit of medicine is becoming increasingly more interest-ing and its foundations more secure in the estimation of alljudges. It is, perhaps, natural and proper that a medicalman who has worthily followed his calling should wish oneson to enter the profession that he may secure the continuityof his connexion with it ; but it is quite another matterwhen medical men send their sors into the professionas if there were no other calling and as if the postsof the profession were all unfilled. What other con-

elusion can the public come to but that this is an easy roadto success? This is, of course, a personal question for everyman to decide for himself ; but, we submit, it is worth con-sideration. In some families there certainly seems to be alarge amount of the mens medica. They breathe an atmo-sphere of medicine, and every problem in biology and thera-peutics comes easy to them. When this is so there is some

excuse for sending more than one son into the profession; butwhere this is not the case it seems to be reasonable that

medical men, whilst complaining of the congestion of thepro-fession, should ask themselves whether by example they arenot doing much to favour it.

PROFESSOR LEISHMAN.

WE regret to learn that, in consequence of ill-health, Pro-fessor Leishman has been compelled to resign the chair ofMidwifery at Glasgow University, a post which he has filledwith much acceptance for twenty-five years. The names ofseveral candidates for the chair have been mentioned, amongstthem being those of Drs. William L. Reid and MurdochCameron of Glasgow, and Drs. Berry Hart and Milne

Murray of Edinburgh. The income derived from the chair isstated to be about 706.

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THE SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS INEGYPT.

THE following table, compiled from the Bulletin Hebdoma-daire, which is issued by the Egyptian Sanitary Department,exhibits alamentable mortality amongst children of tender age.It must be premised that the returns only refer to thirty towns,with an aggregate (reputed) population of 1,002,961; andthat for the last two weeks the statistics of Alexandriaarenot included. The reason for this omission is not stated,but no doubt it is connected with the fact that the principalEgyptian seaport is now under the control of a municipality.

Thirty Towns of Upper cc7rd Lorcer Egypt, with an aggregatepop ulation of 1, 002, 961 (Census, 1882).

* Alexandria not included. t Same period-i.e., from June 1st toAug. 3rd, 183.

It will be seen that the percentage of deaths under five yearsof age was no less than 68’2 in the thirty towns, and that forevery 1000 births there were 798 deaths of tender age. At

Damietta, where the people drink cistern water whilst theNile is low, the birth-rate was largely in excess of the death-rate and the percentage of infant mortality was only 47’2,which, comparatively speaking, is favourable. Rosetta used

formerly to share with its sister town the distinction of head-ing the list for salubrity, but of late years a canal has been dug,which the poorer classes of the people are compelled to use,the public cisterns being no longer filled. There is a stern logic