1210 THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF THE RED CROSS IN ROME.

cases of cholera had occurred there daring the previous twodays ; and it is reported from Lisbon that a disease re-

sembling cholera is alarmingly prevalent in the island ofSt. Vincent, one of the Cape de Verd group.

THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OFTHE RED CROSS IN ROME.

(FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.)

TWICE fixed and twice postponed, the inauguration of theInternational Exhibition of the Red Cross took place onthe afternoon of Oct. 22nd. Count della Somaglia was thefirst to arrive, and he was accompanied to the platform bythe War Minister, Signor Pelloux, who represented His

Majesty King Humbert; by Count di Solms, the GermanAmbassador; by Mohamed Bey, the Turkish Ambassador; byBaron Wlangali, the Russian Ambassador; by Baron de Bruck,the Austrian Ambassador ; by the Ministers Plenipotentiaryof Bavaria and Belgium and by many attaches of the severalLegations ; by the Prefect and Syndic of Rome ; by GeneralsCosenz, Pinedo, Baroffio, and others ; by numerous represen-tatives of the various scientific and medical bodies in Italy,and by a considerable number of superior officers of both theservices. Count della Somaglia opened the proceedings witha short, felicitous address, in which, after thanking the foreignrepresentatives for the interest they had taken in the Exhibi-tion and its immediate object, he dwelt on the noble ideawhich forms the inspiring principle of the Italian Red Cross-an institution possessed by two supreme and seemingly con-tradictory, but really harmonious aspirations-that of per-fecting, as far as may be, the means of helping the woundedin time of war, and that of postponing for the longest periodpossible the occasion when such means shall be called intoworking.The vast Zoeale of the Eldorado in the Via N azionale has,

with a skill and effect that do honour to the ingenuity andenergy of all concerned, from the President downwards,been transformed into a handsome pavilion. The first hallis appropriated for the sanitary matériel employed bythe Italian army, including cars for the conveyance ofthe wounded on plain and on mountain, with litters andmeans of transport of all kinds. A grand central salone.just beyond this hall, contains the requisite material fora fully equipped field hospital, devised and arranged bythe Italian Red Cross, to whose exhibits the salone itself isexclusively restricted. This is a very varied and completecollection, the cost of which, it may interest the readers ofTHE LANCET to know, was defrayed from the proceeds of thegrand Red Cross ball given with this object in view some yearsago in the Teatro Nazonale. After this we proceed to the greatcircular corridor, or series of lateral galleries, which havebeen reserved for the exhibits of the competitors of the variousnationalities. The competition, as your readers are alreadyaware, is for the best mechanical means of picking up thewounded painlessly and promptly from the battlefield and con-veying them, also painlessly and promptly, to the nearest ambu-lance ; and the prize awarded to the successful competitor-the "King Humbert and Queen Vlargherite prize," as it iscalled from its august donors-is in value 10,000fr., or £400.Germany, for the number and variety of her competing exhi-bits, out-distances all other countries, among which come,in the order of their competitive materiel, Switzerland,Belgium, Roumania, France, Italy, Great Britain, and Greece.Before pronouncing on the merits of the respective contri-vances put en evidence for the "grand prix" of the Exhibition,it may be remarked, by way of ’’ first impressions,’’ that morethan one of the contrivances in question seem to have beencontributed without any view to competition at all. They willdoubtless receive the appreciation they deserve, but that willbe bestowed for other me] its than those most likely to findfavour with the Adjudication Committee. For instance, theSanitary Administration of British India sends in a series oftransport waggons of excellent design and workmanship, butso heavy in themselves, and mounted on iron wheels of suchweight, as practically to exclude them from the competition ;on the other hand, Austria appears to have aimed at the

opposite extreme-her contrivances for the picking up andtransport of the wounded consist of canvas stretchers slung

on bamboo poles, being so light as hardly to seem capable ofoutliving half a day’s service. Switzerland extorted generaladmiration for her contributions as a whole, while Greeceattracted particular notice for her litters and France for speci-mens of these as well as of other-notably wheeled -mean3of transport.

THE AWARDS.The prize of 10,000fr. (&400) offered by Their Majesties.

the King and Queen of Italy for the best means of promptlyand, as far as possible, painlessly transporting the woundedin war from the battlefield to the nearest ambulance, or tothe points from which the further transport of the same canbe most easily effected by the ordinary means in use;attracted some sixty-five competitors, Italy contributingthirty-three models, Germany twenty-one, Austria five, Francetwo, Switzerland one, Bulgaria one, Greece one, and theBritish (East) Indies one model. The merits of these were"on th? whole, so high and, in the case of many of them, so-evenly balanced that the International Jury asked and obtainedTheir Majesties’ permission to divide the 10,000 fr. into severalsmaller sums, so as to admit of rewarding competitors whosemodels were worth more than merely honourable mention:Their Majesties graciously assented, and accordingly, after afull critical and impartial examination of some sixty-fivecompeting models, the following awards were announced :-The first prize (3000 fr.) was obtained by Signori Rosats

and Pettinati, Italian exhibitors. Their model (No. 44 in theorder of arrangement and so entered in the catalogue) is,

certainly a very fine specimen of construction, consisting ofa wheelbarrow (carretto) furnished with two seats. The-combination of lightness, elasticity, and strength was the-point in this model which won for it the highest approval as

an adjunct to the ambulance. The same exhibitors also)attracted favourable notice for their specimen of a movablechair and four plain stretchers of the handiest and mostcomfortable type. The second prize (2000 fr.) was gained byM. Luigi Frohlich of Switzerland (No. 59) for his stretcher’for mountain warfare. This is an ingeniously contrived,well-constructed piece of mechanism, being fitted to serve.as a portable chair, which is attached in knapsack formbehind. Prize the third (1500fr.) was awarded to theMarchese Giuseppe de Luna of Messina, No. 53, for a,

stretcher, in solid iron, capable of being folded up andrunning on wheels; and another prize of equal amount wasawarded to Signor Matteo Mascarello, also for a flexiblestretcher, capable of being folded up, of admirable simplicityand lightness. The next prize (1000 fr.) was adjudged to ?,)

German exhibitor, Herr Edward Kuhlstein (No. 2), for acleverly designed, solid, yet elegant car for the wounded. It has, inside, two movable stretchers and a long seat for the lesssevere cases. It can be taken to pieces and recomposed withmarvellous celerity, and it contains room for the matériel of therelieving party. Another prize of the same value was gained!by Signor Mazzutini of Udine in the Julian Venetia, also fora transport car, in some respects superior, in others inferior.to its German competitor. lts features are, inside (1) a jointedlitter, which may be taken down, and is exhibited in twoforms, of which one is of iron and the other of bamboo cane,and (2) a wheelbarrow-litter, also capable of being taken down.This latter had already commended itself to favourable notice"at the Red Cross section of the Esposizione d’lgiene at Padua.The former (the litter reducible to two) is excellent in eitherform ; that in iron being solid and handy, while that inbamboo is lighter and cheaper.

This exhausts the prizes in money. The winners of silvermedals, stamped with Their Majesties’ likenesses, are o

Colonel G. Bellati of the Stato-Maggiore for two refiectorsaand parabolic projectors (No. 32) for illuminating the battle-field, and not only aiding the carriers of the wounded isfinding their way in the darkness, but also facilitating’the search for the missing. This beautiful apparatus:has for some time been before the public and has’attracted much attention, particularly in France. AfterColonel Bellati comes Captain Rodolfo Bizzari of Pesaro.with three very handy, well-contrived stretchers on wheels,capable of being taken down and easily transportable.Third in the list is Signor Boccia Salvatore of Bar-donnecchia (No. 47), whose model of a sledge stretcher,combining all the advantages of this mode of conveyance,was much admired. The fourth is Herr Rinaldo Cermach ofAustria (No. 21), whose models of six stretchers, different inconstruction, capable of being dragged by one great wheel,two at a time, were very ingenious, but had the drawback ofexcessive weight. After him comes Signor Eugenio Franchini

1211VITAL STATISTICS.

of Rome (No. 39) for a suspensory stretcher ; and thenHerr Adolf Greef (No. 5) for two light stretchers of

iron, sheathed in cloth. They may be carried on the armor drawn by two detachable wheels. Herr Jacoby follows,and is awarded a medal for his wheeled stretcher, and afterhim come Herren G. and C. Lobner (Austria), whose ambu-lance car (No. 1) is exceedingly, possibly too, light, andcontains two ingeniously constructed stretchers, perhapsnot quite strong enough to be comfortable. Next is SignorScipione Losio (No. 41), whose jointed stretcher with bandsof cloth was much admired for its handiness, strength, andconvenience. Herr Pachmayr (No. 19) succeeds with twostretchers, iron-made, mounted on wheels, the whole beingvery light; and then his compatriot, Herr Solstein, with hisstretcher (No. 15) on two wheels, very elaborately wroughtin detail, the wheels being provided with a spring whichobviates all jolting. The objections to this model were itslack of originality and its excessive costliness. Lastlycomes Signor Guilio Tedesco of Verona with his " barellaa zaino " (pouch-bag stretcher), so called from its beingeasily packed. It may be taken down and rolled up like a blanket, and has room for a small medicine chest. Its weightis 13 kilogrammes and its price is under f:2. The question itis apt to suggest is as to its ability to stand the wear and tearof a campaign.Such are the primary and the secondary awards in the

International Exhibition of the Red Cross. The jury isadmitted to have discharged its difficult task with impartiality and judgment, and the models thus placed prominently enévidence will doubtless form the starting point of furtherimprovements on the way to perfection. The Exhibitionwill remain open till the 12th inst.

Oct.. 22nd. ________________

VITAL STATISTICS.

HEALTH OF ENGLISH TOWNS.

IN thirty-three of the largest English towns 6155 births and 4005 deaths were registered during the week ending Nov. 4th. The annual rate of mortality in these towns,which had been 18 4 and 18’3 per 1000 in the preceding twoweeks, rose again last week to 202. In London therate was 20 5 per 1000, while it averaged 20.0 in the

thirty-two provincial towns. The lowest rates in thesetowns were 9 6 in Croydon, 11 9 in Halifax, 14 6 in Ports-mouth and in Bristol, and 15 ’0 in Leicester ; the highest rateswere 24-1 in Salford, 260 in Liverpool, 26 5 in Preston,S6 in Wolverhampton, and 26 -7 in Hull. The 4005 deathsincluded 458 which were referred to the principal zymoticdiseases, against 503 and 447 in the preceding two weeks ;of these, 108 resulted from diphtheria, 81 from scarletever, 74 from diarrhoea, 70 from "fever" (principallyenteric), 61 from whooping-cough, 57 from measles, and 7 fromsmall-pox. No fatal case of any of these diseases occurredPast week in Halifax ; in the other towns they causedhe lowest death-rates in Newcastle-on-Tyne, Brighton, Croydon, and Nottingham, and the highest rates inSunderland, Wolverhampton, Gateshead, and Norwich. The.

greatest mortality from measles occurred in Wolverhamptonand Norwich ; from scarlet fever in Plymouth, Liverpool,and Burnley ; from whooping-cough in Plymouth, Derby, and Gateshead ; from " fever " in Norwich, Birkenhead,Hull, Sunderland, and Gateshead ; and from diarrhœa in

Wolverhampton and Blackburn. The 108 deaths from’diphtheria included 88 in London, 4 in Sheffield, and 3 in Preston. Four fatal cases of small-pox were registered in Birmingham, 1 in London, 1 in Bristol, and 1 inBradford, but not one in any other of the thirty-three towns. There were 110 cases of small-poxunder treatment in the Metropolitan Asylum Hospitalsand in the Highgate Small-pox Hospital on Saturday last, the 4th inst., against 84. 76, and 87 at the end of thepreceding three weeks; 30 new cases were admitted duringthe week, against 12 and 25 in the preceding two weeks.The number of scarlet fever patients in the MetropolitanAsylum Hospitals and in the London Fever Hospital at theend of the week was 2906, against 2785, 2758, and 2778 on thepreceding three Saturdays ; 460 new cases were admittedduring the week, against 304 and 401 in the precedingtwo weeks. The deaths referred to diseases of the respi-ratory organs in London, which had been 277 and 271in the preceding two weeks, rose again to 369 last week, butwere 21 below the corrected average. The causes of 52,

l or 1’3 per cent., of the deaths in the thirty-three townsE were not certified either by a registered medical prac-L titioner or by a coroner. All the causes of death were

duly certified in Portsmouth, Cardiff, Bradford, Leeds,’ Newcastle-on-Tyne, and in eight other smaller towns; the- largest proportions of uncertified deaths were registered in

Leicester, Blackburn, Sheffield, and Hull.-

HEALTH OF SCOTCH TOWNS.

The annual rate of mortality in the eight Scotch towns,which had been 18.6 and 18-2 per 1000 in the nreceding

. two weeks, rose again to 18’7 during the week endingNov. 4th, but was 1 5 per 1000 below the mean rate during

’

the same period in the thirty-three large English towns. The’

rates in the eight Scotch towns ranged from 17 6 in Leith, and 18 -1 in Paisley to 20 7 in Greenock and 240 in Perth.

The 528 deaths in these towns included 15 which werereferred to diarrhoea, 14 to diphtheria, 13 to whooping-cough, 5 to "fever," 5 to scarlet fever, and not one eitherto measles or small-pox. In all, 52 deaths resulted from

’

these principal zymotic diseases, against 64 in each of thepreceding two weeks. These 52 deaths were equal to anannual rate of 1 9 per 1000, which was 0 4 below the meanrate last week from the same diseases in the thirty-threelarge English towns. The 15 fatal cases of diarrhoea showeda slight further decline from those recorded in recent weeks,and included 6 in Glasgow and 4 in Dundee. The deaths re-ferred to diphtheria, which had been 5 and 13 in the precedingtwo weeks, further rose to 14 last week, of which 6 occurredin Glasgow, 2 in Dundee, and 2 in Leith. The fatal cases ofwhooping-cough, which had been 14 and 9 in the precedingtwo weeks, rose again to 13 last week and included 6 inGlasgow and 3 in Edinburgh. The 5 deaths referred todifferent forms of "fever" showed a further decline fromrecent weekly numbers and included 2 in Glasgow and 2 inPaisley. The fatal cases of scarlet fever, which had been 11and 16 in the preceding two weeks, declined to 5 last week,of which 3 occurred in Glasgow. The deaths referred todiseases of the respiratory organs in these towns, whichhad been 106 and 116 in the preceding two weeks, declinedto 103 last week and were 39 below the number in the

corresponding week of last year. The causes of 44, or morethan 8 per cent., of the deaths in these eight towns last weekwere not certified.

____

HEALTH OF DUBLIN.

The death-rate in Dublin, which had been 24’5 and 20 6per 1000 in the preceding two weeks, rose again to 26 -8 duringthe week ending Nov. 4th. During the past five weeks ofthe current quarter the death-rate in the city has averaged23-9 per 1000, against 18’6 in London and 17 -7 in Edinburgh.The 180 deaths registered in Dublin during the week undernotice showed an increase of 42 upon the number in the pre-vious week and included 27 which were referred to the prin-cipal zymotic diseases, against 22 and 17 in the precedingtwo weeks ; of these, 10 resulted from "fever" (principallyenteric), 7 from diarrhoea, 4 from measles, 2 from scarletfever, 2 from diphtheria, 2 from whooping-cough, and not onefrom small-pox. These 27 deaths were equal to an annual rateof 4 0 per 1000, the zymotic death-rate during the same periodbeing 2 8 in London and 1’2 in Edinburgh. The deathsreferred to different forms of "fever," which had declinedfrom 10 to 8 in the preceding three weeks, rose again to 10last week. The fatal cases of measles, which had been 2 ineach of the preceding two weeks, rose to 4 last week. The 2deaths from whooping-cough corresponded with the numberin the preceding week. The 2 fatal cases of scarlet feverwere the first deaths referred to this disease during the pastsix weeks. The 2 deaths from diphtheria exceeded the numberin any recent week. The 180 deaths in Dublin last weekincluded 38 of infants under one year of age and 38 of

persons aged upwards of sixty years ; the deaths both ofinfants and of elderly persons exceeded those recorded inthe preceding week. Two inquest cases and 5 deathsfrom violence were registered ; and 65, or more than a third,of the deaths occurred in public institutions. The causes of7, or nearly 4 per cent., of the deaths in the city last weekwere not certified.

____

HEALTH OF CALCUTTA.

Dr. W. J. Simpson, in his report on the health of Calcuttafor July last, states that of a total of 1589 deaths whichoccurred in the district 59 were from cholera and 71 from