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about by means of legitimate experiment for the benefit ofthe human race- Those holding antivivisection theories madea strong attack on the demonstration of experiments for thebenefit of medical students.

THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON: THEINSTITUTE OF MEDICAL

SCIENCES.

THE following letter has been addressed to the Earl of

Rosebery, Chancellor of the University of London :-My LORD,-We have observed with satisfaction that the

Senate of the University of London have lately issued anappeal for funds to build and endow an Institute of MedicalSciences under the control of the University.The positions which we severally hold in connexion with

the general hospitals of London and their medical schoolshave compelled us, especially of late, to give the proposalthat the University should undertake the teaching of the

preliminary scientific subjects of the medical curriculum themost serious consideration.We are convinced that the adoption of the recommenda-

tion of the Royal Commission in favour of the concentrationof the teaching of these subjects in one or more centres hasbecome a matter of urgent necessity in the interests alike ofmedical education, of the hospitals, and the medical schools.

We are, My Lord, yours faithfully,SANDHURST,

Chairman of the Weekly Board, Middlesex Hospital.TREVOR LAWRENCE,

Treasurer, St. Bartholomew’s Hospital.H. COSMO BONSOR,

Treasurer, Guy’s Hospital.SYDNEY HOLLAND,

Chairman, London Hospital.J. G. WAINWRIGHT,

Treasurer, St. Thomas’s Hospital.TIMOTHY HOLMES,

Treasurer, St. George’s Hospital.H. A. HARBEN,

Chairman, St. Mary’s Hospital.THOS. PERCY BORRETT,

Chairman, Charing Cross Hospital.J. WOLFE-BARRY,

Chairman, Westminster Hospital.A large sum is required to carry out the scheme. The

honorary treasurers of the appeal fund are Dr. J. K. Fowler,member of the Senate, and Mr. H. T. Butlin, Dean of theFaculty of Medicine, 35, Clarges-street, W. The followingdonations in addition to those already announced have beenpromised to the Institute of Medical Sciences Fund :-Mr. Alfred Beit ... ... ... £5000 Sir Henry Roscoe, F.R.S.... ;E1COMessrs. Rothschild and Sons 500 Sir E. Cooper Perry, M.D. !Dr. J. K. Fowler ......... 250 Cantab................ 100Mr. H. J. Ohinnery ...... 100 Dr. E. Lauriston Shaw...... 100Sir Charles Metcalfe, Mr. C. B. Lockwood ...... 50K.C.M.G............. 25 Sir R. Douglas F )well, Bart. 50

ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OFENGLAND.

A QUARTERLY meeting of the Council was held on

Jan. 14th, Mr. JOHN TWEEDY, the President, being in thechair.

Diplomas of Fellowship were issued to two candidates whohave now attained the age of 25 years.A report from the museum committee was submitted.

The rep Ht mentioned inter alia the addition to the museumof a number of interesting i-pecimens illustrating the agree-ment of external sexual characters in sheep and fowls, theresults of experiments performed by Mr. S. G. Shattock andDr. C. G. Seligmann.The best thanks of the Council were given to Dr. G. V.

Poore for presenting from the library of the late Mr. MarcusBeck notes of Mr. John Marshall’s lectures on surgery atUniversity College taken by Mr. Cluff.The Council considered the question of renewing the exist-

ing arrangem’nt with the Metropolitan Asylums Board forthe supply of antitoxin ; the report was postponed forfurther consideration.

The Council considered some further information suppliedto it by the Director-Ganeral of the Army Medical Service onthe subject of the physical disability of recruits and it wasdecided to reply to the Physical Deterioration Committeethat it saw no ground to modify the opinion which it hadpreviously expressed on the matter.

Sir HENRY G. HowsE, as chairman of the committee onthe physical disability of recruits for the army, reportedthat a letter had been received from the Physical Deteriora-tion Committee asking the College to recommend the namesof two surgeons who would give evidence representing theviews of the profession in general on the condition of theeyes and the prevalence of syphilis respectively among thepoorer classes of the population, and that the names ofMr. Tweedy, the President, and Sir Alfred Cooper, Vice-President, had been submitted to the committee. Thenomination of these two gentlemen was approved.The SECRETARY reported the receipt of essays for the

Jacksonian and Triennial prizes.Mr. Tweedy, the President, was appointed Hunterian Orator

for 1905.The President presented to the College an enamelled

gold presidential badge representing the College seal. Aunanimous vote of thanks was given to him for his gift.The SECRETARY reported that the portrait of Sir Spencer

Wells had been returned from Nottingham and that a letterhad been received from the director of the NottinghamMuseum and Art Gallery conveying the thanks of the ArtMuseum committee of the city corporation for the loan ofthe portrait.On the recommendation of the examiners of Part 1. of

the examination in public health the Council adopted thefollowing resolutions :-

(a) That in the interest of factory and workshop workers the amountof carbonic acid in the air of such places should not exceed ninevolumes in 10,000. (b) That carbonic acid produced by the com-bustion of gas or oil used for lighting purposes should be made to passdirectly to the outside air and should not be allowed to contaminatethe air of the factory or workshop.

It was resolved that copies of these resolutions should beforwarded to the Secretary of State for the Home Depart-ment and to the Incorporated Society of Medical Officersof Health.

VITAL STATISTICS.

HEALTH OF ENGLISH TOWNS.

IN 76 of the largest English towns 8668 births and 5557deaths were registered during the week ending Jan. 16th.The annual rate of mortality in these towns, which had been15’4. 20 6, and 20’3 3 per 1000 in the three preceding weeks,further declined last week to 19’0 per 1000. In London thedeath-rate was 18’8 per 1000, while it averaged 19.1 per1000 in the 75 other large towns. The lowest death-ratesin these towns were 8’ 5 in Coventry, 9 6 in Hornsey, 10’ 3in Waltb-’.mstow, 10’8 in Leyton, 11.1 in Devonport, 12 - 2 inHandsworth, 12’5 in Kings Norton, and 12’6 in Derby ; whilethe highest rates were 24’ 7 in Gateshead, 25 6 in Rochdale,27-5 in Tynemouth, 28.7 in Warrington, 29’0 in Preston,30 - 1 in West Hartlepool, 33-0 in Merthyr Tydfil, and 38 2.in Wigan. The 5557 deaths in these towns last week included450 which were referred to the principal infectious diseases,against 389. 495, and 462 in the three precedingweeks; of these 450 deaths 136 resulted from measles,131 from whooping-cough, 62 from diarrhoea, 51 from

diphtheria, 44 from scarlet fever, 24 from fever" (prin-cipally enteric), and two from small-pox. No death from anyof these principal infectious diseases was registered lastweek in Hornsey, Hastings, Brighton, Devonport, Burton-on-Trent, Coventry, Derby, Bootle, Barrow-in Furness, or

Huddersfield ; among the other towns the highest death-rates from these diseases were recorded in Walthamstow,Handsworth, Wigan, Warrington, Salford, Preston, andGatebhead. The greatest proportional mortality from measlesoccurred in Willesden, West Ham, East Ham, Warrington,Salford, Preston, Rotherham, and Sunderland ; from scarletfever in Merthyr Tydfil ; from whcoping-cough in Ports-mouth, Handsworth, Bilkenhead, Wigan, West Hartlepool,Gateshead, and Newport (Mon.) ; and from diarrhoeain Wilthamstow. One fatal case of small-pox was

registered last week in Nottingham and one in Sunder-land, but not one in any other of the 76 large