1200 PRESIDENCY OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS OF LONDON.

so persistently maintained, come within the cognisanceof the Medical Department, and seldom, if ever, has the

proof of the relation of the use of water so befouled to

wholesale occurrence of enteric fever been more obvious

and patent." Strong as is the censure which these words

imply, it is not too strong for the supineness displayed bythe authorities in the district, who more than twenty yearsago admitted the evil and made an effort to meet it, but

never carried their schemes to completion. The continued

existence of such conditions is a standing danger to the healthof the community, who are at least entitled to be furnishedwith pure water for consumption ; and it is to be hopedthat no considerations will now interfere to prevent the

remedy of this great evil, which threatens many another

district in this country that relies for its water-supply upona river liable at any time to be similarly polluted. The reasonfor the unusual prevalence of the endemic disease in manyparts may, in all probability, be referred to similar instancesof contamination, unsuspected because not brought to lightby a concurrence of conditions such as that which led tothe exacerbations of the disease in the Tees Valley in 1890-91.

Annotations.

THE PRESIDENCY OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OFPHYSICIANS OF LONDON.

11 Ne quid nimis."

THE vacancy created in the Royal College of Physicians bythe death of Sir Andrew Clark will impose on the Fellows theserious duty of choosing a new President from among theirnumber. The office is an annual one, and the established dayfor the annual election is on "the day following PalmSunday." But Section VI. of the Act 23 and 24 Victoria, c. 66

(an Act to amend the Medical Act, 1858), which thus providesfor the annual election of a new President, goes on to say:"Or in case of the death, resignation, or other avoidance ofany such President before the expiration of his year of officethe said Fellows shall, at a meeting to be holden by them for ithat purpose, as soon as conveniently may be (of which duenotice shall be given) elect one other of the Fellows of thesaid Corporation in such manner as aforesaid to be Presidentfor the remainder of the year in which such death, resigna-tion, or other avoidance shall happen, and until such electionthe duties of President shall be performed by the seniorCensor for the time being.’’

THE INCREASE AND DIFFUSION OF SMALL-POX.

THERE are already signs that the seasonal extension ofsmall-pox in urban districts, to which we have more thanonce adverted, has set in for the winter, and unless it can bechecked at an early date we may expect it to go on, slowlyperhaps at first, but steadily, until May of next year. SinceLondon abandoned the practice of aggregating small-poxwithin its own populous limits it has not acted as a centrefrom which the disease has travelled to provincial townsand districts ; but the provinces are taking their revenge,and the small-pox which commenced in somewhat distantparts of England two years ago doubtless served as themeans which led to the outbreak in London last year. Sincewe never exterminated the malady in the metropolis duringthe summer months, we may find that last year’s experiencewas only a forecast of something worse to happen during theforthcoming winter and spring. For the moment Kensington istaking the initiative, no less than five and eleven fresh attacks

of small-pox having respectively occurred within the parishon single days since Nov. 2nd ; cases are also being returnedfrom Paddington, Chelsea, and Greenwich, and, whereas ashort time ago the number of patients in the hospital shipsand encampments of the Metropolitan Asylums Board hadbecome reduced to about 70, it is now rising, and has

already exceeded 120. In Bradford 28 fresh cases occurredlast week, but the immediate emergency seems to be so farmet that the system of free vaccination organised by thesanitary committee of the town council has been suspended.In Walsall 57 fresh attacks occurred ; the patients in hospitalnumber about 100, whilst 60 are under treatment outside.In all there have now been about 390 cases in the borough,and it is stated that from 70 to 75 per cent. of the recentattacks have occurred in houses in which the disease had

previously appeared. The principal fresh attacks announcedduring last week were : London, 29 ; Birmingham, 17;Bristol, 8 ; West Ham, 7; Leicester, 3; Aston Manor, 2;Birkenhead, 2 ; St. George’s (Bristol), 2.

JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.

A RETUEN has just been i3sued which purports to give theoccupations of justices of the peace throughout the UnitedKingdom, and which contains much interesting informationrespecting those parts of the country which have been repre-sented accurately in its pages. Considered as a whole,however, it is rendered valueless by the misuse of the vagueword " esquire, " which in some localities has been used tothe practical exclusion of any more descriptive designation. Itwould be interesting to be able to ascertain to what extentthe various professional and other classes take part in thelocal administration which is confided to justices of the

peace ; but this cannot be learnt from the present document.Thus only ninety-nine medical practitioners figure as suchin the entire list of English justices, and from their totalabsence from large areas-such as Cornwall, Derby, Norfolk,Suffolk, Wilts, and Shropshire-it may safely be inferredthat their professional character has been merged in thesocial distinction which the use of the designation "esquire" "is intended to convey. How very pedantic the authoritiesentrusted with the preparation of the return in certain locali-ties have been appears from the circumstance that in somecounties practitioners holding university degrees are distin-guished thereby, but no recognition is vouchsafed to anyother diploma or to medical practice as such. The return,such as it is, assigns pre-eminence in respect of medicalmagistrates to Lancashire with thirteen, followed by Mon-mouth with eleven ; but no significance can be attributed tothese figures, and if Mr. Storey moves again for a similarreturn we hope that lie will insist on having the informationfurnished for which he asks.

ANALYSTS’ CERTIFICATES.

I A SOMEWHAT interesting case affecting the working of theAdulteration of Food and Drugs Act was recently decidedby Mr. Justice Charles. A farmer appealed from the decisionof the Birmingham magistrates, who had fined him for havingsold milk which was not of a proper quality. The publicanalyst stated that proper milk should not have less than 3 percent. fat and that a less proportion than that was owing tofraud. In this instance there was 22 per cent. less than thenormal amount, and he gave a certificate embodying thesefacts. The case for the appellant was that the quality of themilk was due to inferiority of food and the dry season, and itwas added, that the analyst had not given a certificate in theform prescribed by the statute. Mr. Justice Charles, in

affirming the decision of the magistrate, stated that hefelt that a good deal of injustice might be done by theinsertion of unauthorised statements in the certificate,and he would acquit the appellant of having abstracted