1790

on Dec. llth. The subcommittee eventually decided to referthe matter to the medical staff for consideration and report.Before the medical staff could send in their reportarticles appeared in various local papers of a nature hostileto the medical officers. The whole of the medical staff,therefore, with the exception of Dr. Augustus Drake, theconsulting physician, then tendered their resignations, to

take effect on Dec. 21st. The resignations were consideredat a meeting of the governors held on Dec. 13th andat this meeting a motion was carried as follows :-That the Governors of the Exeter Dispensary regret the attacks

that have been made upon the medical officers by certain membersof the committee and desire to express their appreciation of the zealand ability with which the medical officers have discharged their dutiesand their entire confidence in them, and, being of opinion that theappointment of a paid medical officer is unnecessary and inexpedient,trust that the medical officers will withdraw their resignation.We congratulate the medical officers on this result and thegovernors upon the sensible view which they have takenof the matter at issue. So far as we can see from theinformation before us, we do not think that any dis-

courtesy was intended by referring the question: of the

appointment of a paid medical officer to a subcom-

mittee before applying to the medical staff, and the sub-committee apparently did no more than refer the matter

from themselves to the medical staff. But Mr. Knill’saction was mistaken, even from his own point of view,and we think that he made it very difficult for the

medical staff to do aught but to resign. He was in

his right to say, if he really conscientiously thoughtso, that the medical officers were unpunctual, but not

to imply that they were so wilfully. As regardshis complaints about the inadequate accommodation for

patients, that, it seems to us, is not the fault of the

medical staff. Moreover, we learn that so long ago as

1895 the medical staff pointed out the insufficiency of thewaiting-room accommodation and urged that the presentcommittee-room should be utilised for patients but the

then committee " declined to comply with this sugges-tion." " Where Mr. Knill showed a want of courtesyand also of knowledge as to how the business of a com-

mittee should be conducted was in threatening the committeethat, if his proposals were not carried, he would publishhis statement in the public press. Whether he personallycarried out his threat or not does not appear, but any waythe facts of the statement got into the press and hostilecomments on the staff appeared, written by one who wasapparently in possession of what had passed at the meetingsof the committee. We should add that the president of thecommittee, in a letter which appeared in the Devon Gazetteof Dec. 2nd, said that if the deliberations of the committeehad been conveyed to the public press he considered it "avery regrettable course of action," a sentiment in which allhonourable-minded people will acquiesce.

THE USE OF SLATES IN SCHOOLS.

A DEPUTATION was received at the Privy Council Officerecently by Lord Londonderry, at that time President of theBoard of Education, consisting of Mr. J. Bryn Roberts, M.P.,Sir John Puleston, Mr. R. A. Naylor, Canon Brownrigg, Mr.Ainger Williams, Mr. T. R. Jones, and Mr. W. M. Roberts.The object of the deputation was to urge the EducationalDepartment not to insist upon the official recommendation tolocal authorities that the use of slates in schools should be

discouraged. In the course of speeches by membersof the deputation it was stated that there was less

danger of infection through using slates than throughusing cheap paper and pencils ; that from economical con-siderations the advantage was in favour of slates ; and thatthe slate industry would suffer if the policy was carried out. In his reply Lord Londonderry pointed out that the sugges-tions to teachers with respect to the abolition of slates I

were not instructions and sympathised with the commercialaspect of the question. It does not seem to us possible thatslates are less likely to be the vehicles of infection than

paper however cheap, and this being so the cheapness ofslates becomes of no importance. Slates circulate through thehands of the pupils who breathe on them and spit on them.Where children are supplied with damp rags or spongesfor the purpose of cleaning the slates they frequently do notuse them, nor does the handing of such articles rounda class appear to us a sanitary proceeding. We hope thatthe managers of council schools will not be influenced byany commercial aspect of the question. A sick child costsmuch more to the community than the difference in cos

between paper and a slate, and the vital statistics of the

country are of more importance than the dividends of quarryowners.

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THE ADMISSION OF PAYING PATIENTS INTOTHE METROPOLITAN ASYLUMS BOARD’S

HOSPITALS.

THE question as to whether the Metropolitan AsylumsBoard should admit paying cases into the hospitals underits control was once again discussed at a meeting of the

Board on Saturday, Dec. 9th. The question was introducedby Mr. J. T. Helby, the chairman of the hospitals committee,who moved that the Local Government Board be requestedto sanction the admission of paying patients to the

hospitals, asylums, and schools and homes under the controlof the managers. His reasons for doing so were that duringthe recent epidemic the wards were very full and sometimes awell-bred child had to go into the same ward with childrenwho had been brought up in a slum and who were in thehabit of using rather foul expressions. There had also been

many offers from some of their patients to make some pay-ment but that the Board had decided to refuse. That factalone showed that there were people using the Board’s

hospitals who were able to pay something which wouldeventually benefit the ratepayers. The Hon. Maude Stanleyseconded the motion, which after some discussion was

referred to the general purposes committee for consideration

and report. --

TUBERCULIN IN THE TREATMENT OF TUBER-CULOUS IRITIS.

A NUMBER of cases in which good results have beenobtained from tuberculin in ocular tuberculosis has been

recorded. Indeed, Professor von Hippel states that tuber-culin rightly used will permanently heal the severest tuber-culosis of the eye." In the Journal of t7te American MedicalAssociation of Oct. 14th Dr. E. V. L. Brown has reported thefollowing case of tuberculous iritis in which Koch’s T.R.was used with success. A clerk, aged 25 years, complainedof " redness of the eyes" of four months’ duration whichwas not accompanied by much pain. He gave no personalhistory of syphilis or family history of tuberculosis. Theleft pupil was irregular, responded badly to light, anddilated irregularly under atropine, showing numerous

posterior synechiæ. At the inferior part of the iris on

the temporal side was a reddish growth of the size ofa pin-head and nearer the pupillary border was a smallergrowth. These ncdules were semi-transparent and non-

vascular. The iris was discoloured, its markings were

indistinct, and the media were hazy. There was a slightcough and an afternoon temperature of 99.5°F. was noted.Examination of the blood showed leucopenia, the leuco-cytes numbering 3500, of which 8 per cent. were smallmononuclears and 32 per cent. were large mononuclears.Examination of the chest was negative but there was

enlargement of the left supraclavicular glands. These con-ditions suggested glandular tuberculosis. Iodide of potas-sium was given and mercurial inunction was performed.