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alleged lunatic might be examined before the master andthe jury in private. The jury retired at a quarter tothree o’clock. They were absent only ten minutes, andunanimously found that Mr. Paget was of unsound mind,but that he was not dangerous, though incapable of takingcare of himself or of managing his affairs.Upon the evidence, and after personal inquiry and exami.

nation, the jury arrived at the only conclusion open tothem; for even Dr. Marriott admitted that Mr. Paget wasnot of sound mind. All who have experience of paralyticseizures from cerebral lesion, especially if there is a syphilitictaint, know how very frequently the consequences show

I

themselves in mental enfeeblement and loss of business-likequalifications which the individual may have previouslypossessed. The loss of memory which almost invariablyaccompanies this condition may be a not unlikely meansof causing the individual to do an unintentional injusticein one direction or another when writing out his will ormaking some similar business effort. Again, this enfeebledcondition of mind is apt to cause the individual to take suchlikes or dislikes to those about him as he would never havedone had he been in full possession of his faculties. Solong as a lunatic or person of uusound mind is not a sourceof danger to himself or to the community, we think that areasonable latitude should be given to him in spendinghis money or indulging in innocent foibles. But Bve arestrongly of opinion, on the other hand, that no unreasonableobstruction ought to be placed in the way of the affairs of alunatic who is himself unable to manage them being handedover in a legal and proper manner to the control of such acommittee as may be approved by the Chancery authorities.

THE GERMAN CONGRESS OF INTERNALMEDICINE.

THE tenth annual meeting of the above Congress willtake place at Wiesbaden from April 6th to 9th, under thepresidency of Professor Leyden of Berlin. The subjects forgeneral debate are: 1. Biliary Calculous Disorders, to beopened by Dr. Naunyn (Strasburg) and Dr. Furbiinger(Berlin). 2. Koch’s Remedy in Pulmonary Tuberculosisand other Internal Tuberculous Diseases. 3. AnginaPectoris, to be opened by Dr. A. Fraenkel (Berlin) and Dr. 0.Vierordt (Heidelberg). The following is a list of the paperspromised for the meeting :-Dr. Kahler (Vienna): Inter-mittent Albuminuria. Dr. Mosler (Greifswald) : the Treat-ment of Leukaemia. Dr. T. Schott (Nauheim): theDifferential Diagnosis of Pericardial Exudation and CardiacDilatation. Dr. Knoll (Prague): (1) Disorders of Circu-lation ; (2) Morbid Changes of Striped Muscle. Dr.

Brieger (Berlin): Chemical Changes in Infectious Dis-eases. Dr. Rosenstein (Leyden): the Diagnosis of Hyper-trophic Cirrhosis of the Liver. Dr. Quincke (Kiel) : Hydro-cephalus. Dr. Eichhorst (Zurich): Observations on thePatellar-tendon Reflex in Tabes Dorsals. Dr. Edelfsen(Kiel): (1) the Origin of the Vesicular Murmur; (2) VaricellaStatistics. Dr. Tappeiner (Munich): the Diuretic Actionof Phenylmethylpyrazolcarbonic Acid. Dr. Friedliinder(Leipsic): (1) the Method of Mathematical Diagnosis ofAcute Articular Rheumatism and of all forms of CentralRheumatism; (2) Etiology of Bright’s Disease. Dr.Leubuscher (Jei3a): Clinical Researches on Acid Excretionin Mental and Nervous Diseases. Dr. Schmaltz (Dresden):Examination of the Specific Gravity of Human Blood, andits behaviour in Anaemic Conditions. Dr. Mordhorst(Wiesbaden): Diagnosis and Treatment of Gout.The secretary of the Congress is Dr. Emil Pfeiffer of

Wiesbaden. Z-1

HOSPITAL ABUSES AND GENERALPRACTITIONERS.

ON Monday last a meeting of medical men in generalpractice was held at 29, Threadneedle-street, E. C., to

consider the question of hospital abuses and the advisabilityof taking collective action to make the views of generalpractitioners as regards hospital reform known to theSpecial Committee of the House of Lords now sitting to

inquire into hospital management. Among those presentwere: Messrs. George Brown, M R.C.8. (chairman), T. R.Atkinson, M.R.C.S., F. H. Alderson, M.D.. J. B. Cook,L.R.C.P. Ed., James Dawson, M.D, W. Piercey Fox,1,.R.C.P.Ed., T. C. Winn, M.R.C.S., A. C. Dove,M.D., F. H. Corbyn, LR C.P.Ed, and HughWoodM.D. After considerable discussion the following reo-tion, proposed by Dr. Corbyn and seconded by Dr. Cook,was carried nem. con. : "That a provisional committeebe formed with a view to organise general practitioners toprotect their mutual interests, especially in regard to theabuses of medical charities." All the above-named gentle-men having consented to join the committee, Dr. A. C. Dovewas elected bon. secretary pro tea., and the meetingterminated with a vote of thanks to Mr. Brown for presiding.

VIRCHOW TESTIMONIAL FUND.

PROFESSOR HUXLEY, F.R.S., Professor Struthers (Aber-deen), and C. Theodore Williams, M.D., have joined the-committee.The following additional subscriptions to the above fund

have been received since the last list was published:-

VITAL STATISTICS.

HEALTH OF ENGLISH TOWNS.

IN twenty-eight of the largest English towns 5964 birthsand 4139 deaths were registered during the week endingFeb. 21st. The annual rate of mortality in these towns,which had been 19-8 and 19-9 per 1000 in the precedingtwo weeks, was last week 21-6. The rate was 20-4 inLondon and 22’5 in the twenty-seven provincial towns.

During the past seven weeks of the current quarter thedeath-rate in the twenty-eight towns averaged 23’4 per1000, and exceeded by 0’3 the mean rate in the correspond-ing periods of the ten years 1881-90. The lowest rates imthese towns last week were 14-5 in Nottingham, 14’8 inWolverbampton, 14-9 in Hull, and 15-4 in Brighton; the high-est rates were 28’6 in Blackburn, 30’9 in Manchester, 31’OimHuddersfield, and 37’7 in Halifax. The deaths referred tothe principal zymotic diseases, which had been 332 ani340 in the preceding two weeks, further rose to 381 last,week; they included 126 from whooping-cough, 113 frommeasles, 49 from diphtheria, 44 from scarlet fever, 27 fromdiarrhoea, 22 from 11 fever " (principally enteric), and notone from small-pox. The lowest rates from these zymoticdiseases were recorded in Norwich, Hull, and Nottii3gham;and the highest in Salford, Blackburn, Halifax, andOldham. The greatest mortality from measles occurredin Leeds, Huddersfield, Halifax, Bristol, Blackburn, andOldham ; from scarlet fever in Bradford; and fromwhooping-cough in Oldham, Birmingham, Halifax; Salford,and Birkenhead. The mortality from "fever" showed andmarked excess in any of the large towns. The 49 deathsfrom diphtheria included 34 in London, 7 in Manchester,and 2 in Derby. No death from small-pox was registeredin any of the twenty-eight towns, and no small-poxpatients were under treatment in the MetropolitanAsylum Hospitals on Saturday last. The number ofscarlet fever patients in the Metropolitan Asylum Hos-pitals and in the London Fever Hospital at the end ofthe week was 1287, and showed a further decline fromrecent weekly numbers ; the patients admitted duringthe week were 113, against 107 and 97 in the precedingtwo weeks. The deaths referred to diseases of the re-spiratory organs in London, which had been 428 and 484in the preceding two weeks, further rose last week to524, and were 27 above the corrected average. The causesof 90, or 2’2 per cent., of the deaths in the twenty-eight,towns were not certified either by a registered medicalpractitioner or by a coroner. All the causes of death were