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MUNICIPAL REPRESENTATIVES ON THE HOUSING OF THE POOR: A CONFERENCE AT GLASGOW.
MUNICIPAL REPRESENTATIVES ON THE HOUSING OF THE POOR. the week ending Sept. 7th the death-rate was Cholera was responsible for 130 deaths, but the llarge excess in mortality during several weeks past is not satisfactorily explained. Bombay city has now a death-rate of 66’44 per 1000, the excess being partly accounted for by plague. The city of Calcutta, on the .other hand, continues to show an exceptionally low deathrate. There is very little plague, cholera, or small-pox. In a paper on leprosy recently read before the Calcutta Missionary Conference figures were given relating to the Leper Asylum at Raneegunje which show that the disease is four times as prevalent in the Burdwan district as in the rest of India and that of those in the asylum 33 per cent. had - either leper parents or a taint in the family. Of the .children born after leprosy had been contracted 9 per cent. became lepers. These are higher figures, I believe, than those of the Leprosy Commission. A paper recently read before the Asiatic Society of Bengal upon the Habits of the Common Grey Mosquito gave detailed evidence that the female may live in its adult stage for nearly five weeks, that during this adult life it may feed as many as five time, and that it does not feed indiscriminately but has a preference for the blood of the house sparrow. The time of laying eggs would seem to ,depend on the amount of blood taken. If the insect gorged itself the eggs might be laid in four or five days, whereas on a small meal the egg-laying might be delayed to 14 days. After laying her eggs the female may feed again and lay a second batch of eggs, and if she be able to obtain a meal of blood she will continue to do this during her adult life. A fresh observation recorded in the paper concerns the struc,ture which forms a part of the lid of the egg. This is best seen in the eggs taken from the body of the insect when near full term. The eggs are capped at the larger end by a transparent, dome-shaped structure which is delicate and is easily broken off. It probably acts as a loat. Inside and at the base of this structure is a cupshaped cell with a hole or depression in the centre. When the float-cap breaks this cell comes away and becomes flattened out and looks like a star. but
during
105’9 per 1000.
Sept. 21st.
-
The Week’s Plague Figures. The Bombay Mortality. Famine Returns. - Disinf.-otion of Wells on the Outbreak of Cholera.-The Decctlt-rate in ltlcctlras City. This week shows a decline in the number of deaths from plague throughout India. The figures are 5712, as against 6386 for the previous seven days. The most infected places are Bombay city, 236 deaths ; Karachi, 11 deaths ; Calcutta, 13 deaths ; the Bombay Presidency, 4844 deaths ; the Bengal districts, 72 deaths ; the North-west Provinces, 18 deaths ; the Punjab, 57 deaths ; and the Mysore State, 342 deaths. In the Bombay districts the chief infected areas are the Poona district, the Satara district, the Surat district, and the Dharwar and Belgaum districts. For the week there is a decline in Bombay city, in Karachi, and in Calcutta, but a rise in the Bengal districts, the Punjab, the North-west Provinces, and the Mysore State. The outlook is ominous. The letter in the Times upon the plague in India deserves further attention. The returns of plague from Bombay city -
are
most
misleading.
The
mortality
-
in this
city during the
past three years has been enormous and the plague figures - only account for part of the excess mortality. It is unlikely that other diseases should have so enormously developed during the plague period as to account for this excess, and the probable explanation lies in the deficient registration of plague deaths. It is high time that further inquiry was made into this anomaly. At the present time the death-rate in this city is nearly 60 per 1000 per annum. The famine returns still show over 400,000 people as receiving relief. Crop prospects are good in some places, but there has been a deficiency of rain in others, and locusts have caused considerable damage in Bombay, in the Central Provinces, and in Baroda. It is high time that the farce of colouring the water ’of the wells and other places with solution of potassium permanganate with the idea of stopping or diminishing outbreaks of cholera should be recogiiisecl. A certain amount of organic matter may be destroyed, but that is all. Much more evidence is required to prove its value. In some places after this disinfection cholera has stopped, but in others it has not and the strength of the solution used is not at all likely to kill the cholera bacillus. The death-rate of Madras still continues excessively high.
1081
It is now about 110 per 1000 or double the mean of the past 10 years. Cholera, dysentery, and diarrhoea seem to be the chief causes of this increase. The districts of the city most affected are those on the north and west. The water-supply is not above suspicion and is liable to contamination. An analysis published in the Indian Municipal Journal shows pollution to a considerable degree. It is said that certain villages to the north and west have been affected with cholera for some time past and that from them large numbers of labourers go into Madras daily. The sanitary state of these villages is described as terrible, They are overcrowded and their well-water supply is foul to a degree. Many are dependent for their water on the stagnant pools in which they wash and water their cattle. A death-rate of 150 per 1000 in the First Division certainly demands investigation.
Sept. 27th.
________________
MUNICIPAL REPRESENTATIVES ON THE HOUSING OF THE POOR: A CONFERENCE AT GLASGOW.
(FROM
OUR
SPECIAL
COMMISSIONER.)
(Concluded from p. 945.) THE afternoon sitting of the first day began by the reading of a paper which proved once again that ’’ distance lends enchantment to the view."Bailie D. M. STEVENSON (Glasgow) opened the proceedings by introducing the question of the caretaking of tenements. He attributed the Scotch custom of living in flats instead of separate houses to the intimate relations that had subsisted between Scotland and France. Bailie Stevenson, however, lamented that " when our French allies brought the tenement system to Scotland they omitted to bring the concierge with them." It was fortunate for the worthy Bailie that there were no Parisians present, for he even went so far as to specify more particularly the Paris Cerberus who sits and scowls from the dark recess in the side of theporte coche-re. Bailie Stevenson thought that the caretaker or concierge contributed to maintain the order and cleanliness of the dwelling. In practice, however, I have good reason to know that the concierge studies scandal rather than sanitation. How many reputations have been destroyed, duels fought, and families broken up through the prying, gossiping proclivities of the concierge. Ready to be bribed by home and foreign criminal and political police and private detectives, the concierge tampers with the tenants’correspondence, spies upon their visitors, gives incorrect information, spreads false rumours, and generally causes mischief all round. It is only after a harsh experience that the tenant may perhaps overcome these inconveniences by resigning himself to the necessity of plying his concierge with numerous soft words and many hard coins. Of course, some concierges are very worthy people, and I knew one Parisian concierge who warned his Russian tenants that he kept their correspondence back for the Russian political police to read before putting it These, perhaps it may be said, are up on the letter-rack. considerations that have no direct bearing on sanitation ; but, on the other hand, it would interfere with the popularity of improved dwellings if anything like the grievances which have grown up around the institution of concierges in France were introduced into Scotland or England. Caretakers there should be, living above, below, or on the side of the block of the flats or tenements, but not at the entrance door watching every movement and every visitor, receiving all the correspondence and answering all the questions. The caretaker may be a useful servant but the concierge is a terror and a tyrant. The unpopularity of the concierge in France should serve as a warning in regard to the manner in which caretaking is organised in England. The concierge is essentially a doorkeeper and a spy. What is wanted is a rent-collector who shall at the The object is same time be a caretaker and an inspector. not to interfere with the liberty of the subject by spying out all the details of his private life, but toee that he keeps his home clean and does not inconvenience his neighbours. Paris, however, is a long way from Glasgow, and if the concierge suggests many obstacles and objections there is no doubt that in Glasgow the caretaker has rendered good service. Bailie Stevenson related that 10 years ago the Glasgow Workmen’s Dwelling Company tried to supply
1082
MUNICIPAL REPRESENTATIVES ON THE HOUSING OF THE POOR.
wholesome tenements, but the conduct of some of the tenants was such that they would soon have converted model dwellings into new slums. Consequently resident caretakers were appointed and they policed the so well that the destructive and disorderly tenants were soon driven away or reformed. Mr. W. C. M’BAIN (Glasgow) thought that there was more done in the way of sifting than of reforming. The root difficulty rested in the tenacity with which a certain class clung to their dirty and shiftless habits. These people must be raised and this would not be accomplished by driving them from one locality to another. Authority to control them was required. This the landlords did not possess, but the corporation, in their capacity as magistrates, had to deal with applications for the eviction of dirty and destructive tenants. As yet, however, the magistrates had not really taken up this
cheap,
dwellings
question. Mr. H. C. RICHARDS, M.P., argued that when dealing with the undesirable class of tenants the question of caretaking was most important. The caretaker must be strong, firm, and yet kind and sympathetic. The success of a large block of tenements depended, in the main, on the skill and efficiency of the caretaker. This was the case in the Peabody and Guinness dwellings where they had a good class of tenants, and the good that caretakers could do would be much greater where the residuum was taken in. Mr. WILLIAM HOLDER (chairman of the Unhealthy Dwellings Sub-Committee of Hull) read a paper on the Clearing of Insanitary Areas. He condemned the extravagances and delays resulting from the application of Part I. of the Housing of the Working Classes Act. At Hull they had applied Part II., though it was only intended for insanitary houses and not for areas; but it was quicker and cheaper to proceed separately against the owner of each house than to try to apply a large scheme. In this manner they had demolished 385 houses in five different districts. This was quite as important as any scheme, but it was not a scheme within the meaning of the Act. Therefore they were able to dispense with the intervention of the Local Government Board. All that they had to do was to be quite certain that the houses which they wished to destroy were really unhealthy. Then they obtained a magistrate’s order on the evidence of their own officers, backed by the photographs they took of the places which were visited. They thus proceeded against several contiguous houses, and they had cleared a whole street without incurring any cost. The process was very simple. A house once condemned as unfit for habitation had to be closed. If the owner did not rebuild or repair it he must pull it down. After a short lapse of time, if this was not done the town council proceeded to demolish the house, paid the cost out of the proceeds of the sale of the materials, and gave what balance there might remain to the owner. Some of the houses which had been thus treated at Hull were inhabited by the most depraved population that could possibly be found in a seaport town. It was a moral cleaning of the neighbourhood ; the scattered population had now to conform to the more decent conduct of those among whom they had gone to live. Under Part II. of the Act the question of rehousing was not raised ; and at Hull, fortunately, there were fairly cheap cottages not too far from the slum districts that had been
destroyed. Councillor IXNES (Derby) also read a paper on the subject, and alluded to the affection which people bore for the slums in which they were born. The aged, more especially, preferred ill-ventilated and crowded dwellings. They dreaded brightness and light, and also feared the monotony and dulness, the absence of shops and crowds in the suburban districts. Therefore he urged that theatres, reading-rooms, baths, and large and commodious public-houses should be provided in the suburbs, so as to entice people away from the overcrowded centres. Alderman M’GUFFIE (Liverpool) boasted that at Liverpool the best means of dealing with the housing problem had been applied. They had preceded even Glasgow by obtaining a local Act in 1864 and this enabled them to deal with insanitary areas. At the cost of .62,000,000 sterling they had dealt with from 10,000 to 12,000 insanitary houses. The speaker seemed to think that the Poor-law authorities should look after the extreme poor and that the city council should attend to the affairs of the rich and the poor alike. People were driven out of insanitary houses not for their good but for the good of the community. Alderman M’DOUGALL (Manchester) explained that they
had endeavoured to utilise existing dwellings and to render them wholesome by demolishing such strnctures as prevented a through draught. Thus 800 houses had been pulled down out of 6000, and now the remaining houses had backyards and more air-space. The only cost was that of prosecuting the owners so as to compel them to effect these improvements. The owners were called upon to pull down one out of every four houses or else all the houses would be closed. By these means the bulk of the population were not disturbed, but were kept near to their work and their homes were rendered much more healthy. Mr. D. S. WATERLOW remarked that these suggestions scarcely applied to London, for the metropolitan magistrates would not give a closing order unless it was shown where the people could be taken when unhoused. Nor did the London authorities take upon themselves to instruct landlords how to render their property sanitary as seemed to have been done in Manchester. Councillor HOLDER, replying, remarked with regard to the boasted achievements at Liverpool that in no town were there so many waifs and strays and such squalor and misery. Concerning the position in London he thought that the magistrates had no right to insist on rehousing under Part II. of the Act. At Hull private enterprise provided four-roomed cottages for 3s. 9d. per week on the outskirts of the town. The land cost 10s. the yard and the building cost R180. The walls were nine inches thick. The plans were not up to the Local Government Board standard. The fact that Hull was entirely a freehold town greatly simplified matters. The members of the Conference then adjourned to visit some of the dwellings erected by the Glasgow Corporation, and these interesting investigations were only concluded at the approach of night. The morning sitting of the second day was opened by Mr, PETER FYFE (chief sanitary inspector of Glasgow) who gave an admirable statistical account of the farmed-out houses. The house-farmer would rent an entire block holding from 10 to 35 one-roomed and two-roomed tenements, and he paid on an average 6s. 941/4d. per month per room. These rooms the house-farmer furnished with a few absolutely necessary articles which barely cost more than 30s. per room. The house-farmer then let these rooms for 10d. per day, or 5s. per week. Deducting 10 per cent. for unoccupied rooms, Mr. Fyfe calculated that the house-farmers in North Glasgow made a profit of 531/4 per cent.; in the eastern districts 70 per cent.; in the southern 60 per cent. ; and in the western 633/4 per cent. A recent census showed that the average earnings of the tenants were 22s. per week, but they varied from 8s. per week paid to female hairworkers to 42s. 6d. paid to bricklayers and masons. According to the confession made by the inhabitants themselves 47 per cent. had been reduced to this mode of living by intemperance. In some parts of Glasgow from 10 to 20 per cent. of the tenements were not inhabited and were marked empty."There was room, therefore, to lodge these people, but when it was suggested to them that they should save a pound or two to buy a little furniture they only replied with a sickly smile. They were paying to the house-farmer double the rent they need pay if they only saved to buy a little furniture ; but while the publichouses remained open they would never save. He did not think that philanthropic furnishing associations, or municipal lodgings, or the most active of caretakers could help these people. Perhaps a law to prevent the pawning of the necessaries of life might be useful, but the povertystricken dipsomaniac could only be cured when alcohol was placed beyond his reach. Bailie W. F. ANDERSON explained that in Scotland rebuilding was not insisted upon if there were houses available for the evicted tenants within a mile of their former dwellings. The Corporation of Glasgow had bought up the worst property in the town, but the people would not go to the tenements which the corporation had erected; they, on the contrary, endeavoured to find houses even worse than those from which they had been evicted, but as the corporation were destroying the worst houses some improvement had resulted. The municipality had secured the better class of tenants, leaving private enterprise to provide for the worst class. The latter preferred to pay high rents rather than to submit to any sort of control. Bailie Anderson thought that farmed houses should be licensed and controlled by some authority, otherwise those who were displaced would go into other dwellings and convert them into slums.
MUNICIPAL REPRESENTATIVES ON THE HOUSING OF THE POOR.
Dr.
A.
read
an
1083
K. CHALMERS (medical officer of health of Glasgow)
consisted ofan orange-box for a bed and a tin can for cookwith a dense ing purposes. In Liverpool their by-laws compelled them to population and in an unwholesome locality the death-rate spend 81/2d. per foot for their building, while in Glasgow they could be reduced by better housing. The worst district in had erected tenements at 4-ild. per foot, but they were very Glasgow, Bridgegate and the Wynds, had a death-rate of inferior to the Liverpool standard. It was not surprising that 44 per 1000 in 1891-92. For the two following years the people resorted to public houses when their homes were so average death-rate was 36 per 1000, and in 1899-1900 it had gloomy. Councillor COOPER (Aberdeen) did not believe in colonisfallen to 27 per 1000. By the operation of the ImproveAt ments Department the population of that district had ing and keeping together members of the same class. been reduced from 5689 in 1891 to 4098 in 1900. During best it only meant a little more room and air ; the same these 10 years a portion of the houses on this area social surroundings would produce the same vices. The had been reconstructed ; and during the last two years slum population must be scattered, made to live with a 1387 persons had been lodged in 361 newly built tene- better class, so as to engender in them a sense of shame. ments. Among these people only 40 had died, which It was a mistake to strive to rebuild other, even if more was equal to a death-rate of 144 per 1000 per annum. sanitary, slums. Bailie BROWN (Edinburgh) said that they had spent On the other hand, in the same district near Jailand built a good class of houses, but the residuum square there still remained some of the old tenements which <&150,000 continued to house the old class of tenants up to the adoption would not come and live in them. They had made mistakes, of the Improvement Bill in 1897. In this district during the and the more that they knew about the problem the more The moral question was the most three years preceding the application of the reforms autho- difficult it seemed. rised by the Bill the average annual death-rate was 53 per difficult. What were they to do with. prostitutes and with 1000. Therefore, side by side, on a soil equal throughout in the tenants who said that the municipal houses were too pollution, they had one set of poor people with a low death- bright to hold their shabby furniture ? They had to take Tate and another set with a high death-rate. Nor was the in a better class of people, though their object had been to ’reduction of the density of population the only factor. help the inferior, the lowest, class. If they took the city of Glasgow as a whole it would be Miss HELEN KERR, of the Edinburgh Social Union, wanted found that the density of population amounted to 2’032 to know what percentage of a labourer’s wage should go persons per room and the death-rate to 21’07 per 1000. to the payment of rent, but she obtained no answer to her The model dwellings built by the Improvement Trust gave question. -a density of population of 2’271 per room and in CatherineMrs. D. L. DocKRELL explained that in Dublin similar ’court of 2’526 per room. Thus there was a greater average difficulties existed, especially that arising from the condensity of population in these model dwellings, but the version of houses built for only one family into tenements ’deaths were equal only to a death-rate of 15’7 per where many families lived together. 1000: These dwellings covered 56-3 per cent. of the site Alderman CARTER (Sheffield) urged that society would Thus a considerable number of not tolerate much longer the squalid condition in which - on which they were built. Therefore greater powers should be persons could be crowded together if the tenements they some people lived. inhabited were well built and well managed. It was moral obtained from Parliament to proceed against those who and material filth rather than density of population that squandered their money. On the other hand, they must be careful that in supplying ready furnished houses they did produced a high death-rate. Mr. JOHN MANN, jun., who spoke on behalf of the not encourage improvident early marriages. Workmen’s Dwellings Company of Glasgow, urged that Alderman JOWETT (Bradford) attacked the housing of it was the housing of disinherited or rejected undesir- the middle and upper classes of Scotland who, for instance, able tenants which constituted the crux of the problem. allowed their servants to sleep in the kitchens where all Municipal enterprise should deal with the whole of any class, the food was cooked. The middle classes should give a otherwise injustice and privilege would result. Such action better example. also would tend to the benefit of the entire community. Alderman DOYLE of Dublin said that they had been Municipal intervention was especially needed in regard obliged to pay from R6000 to Cll,000 per acre for slum to the dangerous residuum, but no congress had sug- land in Dublin, and now the Government refused to sanction gested how this was to be done, only some details as further loans. What were they to do ? The land and to the building of a cheap shelter had been given. the houses should be accepted as security for the money. At present the residuum was left to the mercy of the borrowed. most unscrupulous of speculators. Under such circumstances The discussion was brought to a conclusion after some it was surprising that so many decent people could still be further description had been given of what had been found in the slums. His company carefully selected their achieved in Glasgow. tenants and those who did not respond to the expectations The afternoon sitting was devoted mainly to the consideraFor such as tion of the motions. Mr. JOSEPH B. MASSEY (sanitary were sent away to drift back into the slums. these the municipality ought to build experimentally cheap inspector of Burnley) found time, however, to read a blocks or shelters. When these shelters were ready the law paper urging municipalities to start cheap tramways to against overcrowding should be rigorously enforced and thus relieve the congestion in the centre of the towns, but this the disorderly residuum would be driven from pillar to did not lead to a debate. There was a good deal of conpost. Private enterprise could not do this. The saving in versation rather than speech-making over the motions, and epidemic disease and in crime would compensate the some of the words were altered. The wordsdeserving" cost of such measures. There were houses where the beds poor," for instance, were withdrawn and the word " people were never cold, for the day tenants succeeded the night was put in their stead, for it was strongly felt that the untenants in rapid succession, but this pressure would be deserving poor constituted one of the most important features reduced by the competition of city shelters. For these of the problem. The first motion asserted that it was latter there should be no standard of character. Willing- the duty of the municipal authorities to provide cheaply’ness to enter should be the only qualification. Having constructed but improved dwellings, and that for this purpose thus provided for the needs of the residuum, the police more extensive powers must be obtained from the Legisand sanitary authorities should bring full pressure to bear on lature. To this end the second motion stated that :landlords. The absentee landlords should be followed up 1. Simpler and less costly machinery should be devised and and warned that their houses would be closed and condemned sanctioned by Parliament for enabling local authorities to put in force as nuisances. The magistrates would no longer hesitate to and carry out the provisions of the Housing of the Working Classes 2. That authority should be given to municipal corporations and sanction ejections when it was shown that the tenants could Acts. other local authorities to acquire at its market value, by as simple and be lodged more healthily in the city shelters. inexpensive a method as possible, and without any allowance for The LORD PROVOST insisted that there was a considerable compulsory purchase, land for the present or prospective erection and of dwellings for the population to be displaced by the class who were not criminals, who earned good wa,ges, often maintenance abolition of slum properties. 3. That any sinking fund required to be as much as .f.5 a week, and who yet lived in the most filthy set apart for repayment of moneys borrowed for such purposes should .and crowded manner because they squandered their money apply to the cost of buildings only and not to land, and should be It could not be the duty of the corporation to extended over a period of not less than 60 years, and that municipal ’on drinking. corporations and other local authorities should be empowered to build provide cheap homes for men who earned £5a week. such buildings in accordance with their own by-laws and not be Councillor JOSEPH B. CoLTON (Liverpool) spoke sarcas- required to satisfy the requirements of the Local Government Board. tically of the bicycles and pianos which he had seen in the Finally, a third motion was adopted :to :the following Glasgow municipal tenements, while in Liverpool, he main- effect :That a joint representative committee be appointed by this Congress tained, they had striven to house those whose only furniture
important paper showing
that
even
’
BIRMINGHAM.-LIVERPOOL.-WALES AND WESTERN COUNTIES.
1084
for the purpose of adopting such measures as may be deemed requisite expedient for bringing the several matters referred to in the first and second resolutions under the consideration of Parliament and for obtaining remedial and supplementary legislation thereon. or
often
forgotten is a matter of common observation. The cheap lamps with pottery vessels are in common use amongthe poor and unless some legal restrictions are placed upon
shall continue to hear of similar accidents classed as preventable. question was at once The Consultative Institute. from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen, representatives In place of the door-plate so obnoxious to the orthodox London, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield, Dublin, Sunderland, Plymouth, and Leeds ; the Lord Provost of profession for some months past the sign of"Ichabod " may be written over the portals of this recent venture. The doorGlasgow to act as secretary or convener. This concluded the business of the Conference, but its plate has gone-the glory has departed. Conceived in mismembers did not separate without first passing the usual apprehension, developed in ignorance, and launched into complimentary vote of thanks to the Lord Provost and the life against the united voice and will of the profession, this Corporation of Glasgow for the useful initiative which they inglorious institution has ebbed its life away ignominiously. had taken in convoking the Conference and for the hospitality It will be remembered that when the late occupant of this which they had bestowed on its members. Thus ended a mulitifarious consultant scheme resigned his position it was memorable meeting. Perhaps it will be said that there loudly proclaimed that there would be no difficulty whatwere not many new proposals, ideas, or suggestions brought ever in finding appropriate substitutes. The scheme was forward ; but in any case what was only vaguely felt before widened and enlarged. Proclamation was made as to the. has now been emphasised, explained, and rendered clear. stability of its finances and the demand for its continuance. All who assisted at the Conference have surely obtained a Advertisements were issued for consultants in various departbroader grasp and a more detailed knowledge of the subject. ments of medicine, surgery, and specialties. The result But there were some new suggestions, though these were not was but an echo of the professional voice which had s perhaps as numerous as might have been anticipated. Also, emphatically demonstrated the futility and uselessness of if the representative committee elected carry forward their the whole project. Whatever may have been the responses. mission with energy we may look forward to some practical to the appeal made by the promoters time showed that they results. did not equal the ardent aspirations and confidence entertained by the prominent members of the administration. The institution has lapsed into a natural death, the effects have BIRMINGHAM. been sold, and its memory only remains as that of an unOn the
adoption
(FROM
this motion the committee in appointed, and consisted of leading
of
OUR OWN
CORRESPONDENT.)
Distinguished
Visitors.
THE renewal of the activity of the medical societies of the town during the coming session is evinced by the notices of meetings already sent out. These include the names of distinguished visitors who are announced to deliver addresses at various meetings. Thus on Oct. 18th Mr. Thomas Bryant will give an address and distribute the prizes at a meeting of the Clinical Board under the presidency of Mr. Bennett May. On Oct. 24th Mr. Victor Horsley will give an address on Medical Reform at a special meeting of the Birmingham and District Medical Practitioners’ Union ; and on Xov. 7th it is announced that an address on the Treatment of Wounds in War will be delivered by Mr. Watson Cheyne at the meeting of the Midland Medical Society. In their respective roles it would be difficult to find authorities more entitled to a hearing, and none who will be more welcome to the audiences which gather to listen to them.
University of Birmingham. inaugural meeting of the medical faculty took place on Oct. lst, when the Dean, Professor B. C. A. Windle, received the guests to the number of about 400. The event was celebrated by proceedings of a social character at which the The
were entertained by a musical programme conducted medical friends whose performances were much appreciated. The different museums-dental, anatomical, and materia medica-were thrown open and entrance was given also to the pathological and bacteriological departments. A demonstration of lantern slides and microscopical slides was given and the various arrangements for teaching in the most modern and approved forms were shown. The evening concluded with a pleasant reunion of old friends and the anticipation of a flourishing and successful session.
guests
by
Dcfcetive Lamps. Accidents and injuries inflicted by the use of imperfect constitute a good proportion of cases which come before the city coroner. At his court recently an inquest was held upon the body of a young man, aged 21 years, who met his death by a lamp of this kind being thrown A quarrel occurred during a game at him as a missile. of cards, and the lighted lamp was picked up by one of the group and hurled at the deceased. The lamp struck him on the shoulder and, breaking, enveloped him in flames. He was conveyed to the hospital and he subsequently died from the injuries he had received. The coroner in addressing the jury pointed out that this was another case of a lamp which had an earthenware container. In every case which had been before him where a lamp was concerned the vessel had been a china one. A lamp with a metal vessel could be obtained at a moderate price and it In instances such as this the lamp would was much safer. probably have gone out and would not have given rise to fire. How frequently this lesson is inculcated and how
lamps
their sale which can
we
safelybe
warrantable and ill-judged attempt to exploit the services of an honourable and hard-working profession. Oct. 15th. ________________
LIVERPOOL. (FROM
OUR OWN
CORRESPONDENT.)
Medical Faculty of University College, Liverpool: Opening, Address by Dr. Oliver Lodge of Birmingham, University. ON Oct. 12th Dr. Oliver Lodge, F. R. S., formerly professor of physics at University College and now the principal of Birmingham University, delivered the opening address to the medical students of University College and distributed the medals and prizes. A thoroughly practical address was delivered to a brilliant assembly comprising the Lord Bishop of the diocese and other distinguished citizens. Before the close of the proceedings Professor Herdman unveiled a bust of Dr. Lodge executed by Mr. Allen, a well-known Liverpool sculptor, the likeness being a striking one.
Liverpool Medical Institution Dinner. The biennial dinner of the Liverpool Medical Institution took place on Oct. 12th. The gathering was a most successful one, the guests including the Lord Mayor, the Lord Bishop, and Dr. Lodge. About 120 gentlemen sat down to dinner. The Mid-Cheshire Queen Victoria Memorial. Already R1396 have been raised towards the fund for the extension of the Victoria Infirmary, Northwich, which will be the mid-Cheshire memorial to Her late Majesty Queen Victoria. The Hospital Saturday Committee are making strenuous efforts to raise Z200 towards the requisite £4000, and the employes of Messrs. Brunner, Mond, and Company have also warmly taken up the project.
Liverpool Country Hospital for Chronic
Diseases of Children. In response to an appeal made by the honorary treasurer. last week subscriptions amounting to el72 have just been announced. At present the committee are indebted to the West Kirby Convalescent Home for 20 beds, hence the appeal for funds to build an independent hospital at Heswall. Oct. 15th. _______________
WALES AND WESTERN COUNTIES. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)
Cardiff Infirmary. MR. E. TENisoN COLLINS, who has practised as a gynoccologist in Cardiff for some years, has been elected second honorary gynaecologist to the Cardiff Infirmary. Through the 1
Dr.
Lodge’s
address appears in full at
p. 1021.
during
105’9 per 1000.
Sept. 21st.
-
The Week’s Plague Figures. The Bombay Mortality. Famine Returns. - Disinf.-otion of Wells on the Outbreak of Cholera.-The Decctlt-rate in ltlcctlras City. This week shows a decline in the number of deaths from plague throughout India. The figures are 5712, as against 6386 for the previous seven days. The most infected places are Bombay city, 236 deaths ; Karachi, 11 deaths ; Calcutta, 13 deaths ; the Bombay Presidency, 4844 deaths ; the Bengal districts, 72 deaths ; the North-west Provinces, 18 deaths ; the Punjab, 57 deaths ; and the Mysore State, 342 deaths. In the Bombay districts the chief infected areas are the Poona district, the Satara district, the Surat district, and the Dharwar and Belgaum districts. For the week there is a decline in Bombay city, in Karachi, and in Calcutta, but a rise in the Bengal districts, the Punjab, the North-west Provinces, and the Mysore State. The outlook is ominous. The letter in the Times upon the plague in India deserves further attention. The returns of plague from Bombay city -
are
most
misleading.
The
mortality
-
in this
city during the
past three years has been enormous and the plague figures - only account for part of the excess mortality. It is unlikely that other diseases should have so enormously developed during the plague period as to account for this excess, and the probable explanation lies in the deficient registration of plague deaths. It is high time that further inquiry was made into this anomaly. At the present time the death-rate in this city is nearly 60 per 1000 per annum. The famine returns still show over 400,000 people as receiving relief. Crop prospects are good in some places, but there has been a deficiency of rain in others, and locusts have caused considerable damage in Bombay, in the Central Provinces, and in Baroda. It is high time that the farce of colouring the water ’of the wells and other places with solution of potassium permanganate with the idea of stopping or diminishing outbreaks of cholera should be recogiiisecl. A certain amount of organic matter may be destroyed, but that is all. Much more evidence is required to prove its value. In some places after this disinfection cholera has stopped, but in others it has not and the strength of the solution used is not at all likely to kill the cholera bacillus. The death-rate of Madras still continues excessively high.
1081
It is now about 110 per 1000 or double the mean of the past 10 years. Cholera, dysentery, and diarrhoea seem to be the chief causes of this increase. The districts of the city most affected are those on the north and west. The water-supply is not above suspicion and is liable to contamination. An analysis published in the Indian Municipal Journal shows pollution to a considerable degree. It is said that certain villages to the north and west have been affected with cholera for some time past and that from them large numbers of labourers go into Madras daily. The sanitary state of these villages is described as terrible, They are overcrowded and their well-water supply is foul to a degree. Many are dependent for their water on the stagnant pools in which they wash and water their cattle. A death-rate of 150 per 1000 in the First Division certainly demands investigation.
Sept. 27th.
________________
MUNICIPAL REPRESENTATIVES ON THE HOUSING OF THE POOR: A CONFERENCE AT GLASGOW.
(FROM
OUR
SPECIAL
COMMISSIONER.)
(Concluded from p. 945.) THE afternoon sitting of the first day began by the reading of a paper which proved once again that ’’ distance lends enchantment to the view."Bailie D. M. STEVENSON (Glasgow) opened the proceedings by introducing the question of the caretaking of tenements. He attributed the Scotch custom of living in flats instead of separate houses to the intimate relations that had subsisted between Scotland and France. Bailie Stevenson, however, lamented that " when our French allies brought the tenement system to Scotland they omitted to bring the concierge with them." It was fortunate for the worthy Bailie that there were no Parisians present, for he even went so far as to specify more particularly the Paris Cerberus who sits and scowls from the dark recess in the side of theporte coche-re. Bailie Stevenson thought that the caretaker or concierge contributed to maintain the order and cleanliness of the dwelling. In practice, however, I have good reason to know that the concierge studies scandal rather than sanitation. How many reputations have been destroyed, duels fought, and families broken up through the prying, gossiping proclivities of the concierge. Ready to be bribed by home and foreign criminal and political police and private detectives, the concierge tampers with the tenants’correspondence, spies upon their visitors, gives incorrect information, spreads false rumours, and generally causes mischief all round. It is only after a harsh experience that the tenant may perhaps overcome these inconveniences by resigning himself to the necessity of plying his concierge with numerous soft words and many hard coins. Of course, some concierges are very worthy people, and I knew one Parisian concierge who warned his Russian tenants that he kept their correspondence back for the Russian political police to read before putting it These, perhaps it may be said, are up on the letter-rack. considerations that have no direct bearing on sanitation ; but, on the other hand, it would interfere with the popularity of improved dwellings if anything like the grievances which have grown up around the institution of concierges in France were introduced into Scotland or England. Caretakers there should be, living above, below, or on the side of the block of the flats or tenements, but not at the entrance door watching every movement and every visitor, receiving all the correspondence and answering all the questions. The caretaker may be a useful servant but the concierge is a terror and a tyrant. The unpopularity of the concierge in France should serve as a warning in regard to the manner in which caretaking is organised in England. The concierge is essentially a doorkeeper and a spy. What is wanted is a rent-collector who shall at the The object is same time be a caretaker and an inspector. not to interfere with the liberty of the subject by spying out all the details of his private life, but toee that he keeps his home clean and does not inconvenience his neighbours. Paris, however, is a long way from Glasgow, and if the concierge suggests many obstacles and objections there is no doubt that in Glasgow the caretaker has rendered good service. Bailie Stevenson related that 10 years ago the Glasgow Workmen’s Dwelling Company tried to supply
1082
MUNICIPAL REPRESENTATIVES ON THE HOUSING OF THE POOR.
wholesome tenements, but the conduct of some of the tenants was such that they would soon have converted model dwellings into new slums. Consequently resident caretakers were appointed and they policed the so well that the destructive and disorderly tenants were soon driven away or reformed. Mr. W. C. M’BAIN (Glasgow) thought that there was more done in the way of sifting than of reforming. The root difficulty rested in the tenacity with which a certain class clung to their dirty and shiftless habits. These people must be raised and this would not be accomplished by driving them from one locality to another. Authority to control them was required. This the landlords did not possess, but the corporation, in their capacity as magistrates, had to deal with applications for the eviction of dirty and destructive tenants. As yet, however, the magistrates had not really taken up this
cheap,
dwellings
question. Mr. H. C. RICHARDS, M.P., argued that when dealing with the undesirable class of tenants the question of caretaking was most important. The caretaker must be strong, firm, and yet kind and sympathetic. The success of a large block of tenements depended, in the main, on the skill and efficiency of the caretaker. This was the case in the Peabody and Guinness dwellings where they had a good class of tenants, and the good that caretakers could do would be much greater where the residuum was taken in. Mr. WILLIAM HOLDER (chairman of the Unhealthy Dwellings Sub-Committee of Hull) read a paper on the Clearing of Insanitary Areas. He condemned the extravagances and delays resulting from the application of Part I. of the Housing of the Working Classes Act. At Hull they had applied Part II., though it was only intended for insanitary houses and not for areas; but it was quicker and cheaper to proceed separately against the owner of each house than to try to apply a large scheme. In this manner they had demolished 385 houses in five different districts. This was quite as important as any scheme, but it was not a scheme within the meaning of the Act. Therefore they were able to dispense with the intervention of the Local Government Board. All that they had to do was to be quite certain that the houses which they wished to destroy were really unhealthy. Then they obtained a magistrate’s order on the evidence of their own officers, backed by the photographs they took of the places which were visited. They thus proceeded against several contiguous houses, and they had cleared a whole street without incurring any cost. The process was very simple. A house once condemned as unfit for habitation had to be closed. If the owner did not rebuild or repair it he must pull it down. After a short lapse of time, if this was not done the town council proceeded to demolish the house, paid the cost out of the proceeds of the sale of the materials, and gave what balance there might remain to the owner. Some of the houses which had been thus treated at Hull were inhabited by the most depraved population that could possibly be found in a seaport town. It was a moral cleaning of the neighbourhood ; the scattered population had now to conform to the more decent conduct of those among whom they had gone to live. Under Part II. of the Act the question of rehousing was not raised ; and at Hull, fortunately, there were fairly cheap cottages not too far from the slum districts that had been
destroyed. Councillor IXNES (Derby) also read a paper on the subject, and alluded to the affection which people bore for the slums in which they were born. The aged, more especially, preferred ill-ventilated and crowded dwellings. They dreaded brightness and light, and also feared the monotony and dulness, the absence of shops and crowds in the suburban districts. Therefore he urged that theatres, reading-rooms, baths, and large and commodious public-houses should be provided in the suburbs, so as to entice people away from the overcrowded centres. Alderman M’GUFFIE (Liverpool) boasted that at Liverpool the best means of dealing with the housing problem had been applied. They had preceded even Glasgow by obtaining a local Act in 1864 and this enabled them to deal with insanitary areas. At the cost of .62,000,000 sterling they had dealt with from 10,000 to 12,000 insanitary houses. The speaker seemed to think that the Poor-law authorities should look after the extreme poor and that the city council should attend to the affairs of the rich and the poor alike. People were driven out of insanitary houses not for their good but for the good of the community. Alderman M’DOUGALL (Manchester) explained that they
had endeavoured to utilise existing dwellings and to render them wholesome by demolishing such strnctures as prevented a through draught. Thus 800 houses had been pulled down out of 6000, and now the remaining houses had backyards and more air-space. The only cost was that of prosecuting the owners so as to compel them to effect these improvements. The owners were called upon to pull down one out of every four houses or else all the houses would be closed. By these means the bulk of the population were not disturbed, but were kept near to their work and their homes were rendered much more healthy. Mr. D. S. WATERLOW remarked that these suggestions scarcely applied to London, for the metropolitan magistrates would not give a closing order unless it was shown where the people could be taken when unhoused. Nor did the London authorities take upon themselves to instruct landlords how to render their property sanitary as seemed to have been done in Manchester. Councillor HOLDER, replying, remarked with regard to the boasted achievements at Liverpool that in no town were there so many waifs and strays and such squalor and misery. Concerning the position in London he thought that the magistrates had no right to insist on rehousing under Part II. of the Act. At Hull private enterprise provided four-roomed cottages for 3s. 9d. per week on the outskirts of the town. The land cost 10s. the yard and the building cost R180. The walls were nine inches thick. The plans were not up to the Local Government Board standard. The fact that Hull was entirely a freehold town greatly simplified matters. The members of the Conference then adjourned to visit some of the dwellings erected by the Glasgow Corporation, and these interesting investigations were only concluded at the approach of night. The morning sitting of the second day was opened by Mr, PETER FYFE (chief sanitary inspector of Glasgow) who gave an admirable statistical account of the farmed-out houses. The house-farmer would rent an entire block holding from 10 to 35 one-roomed and two-roomed tenements, and he paid on an average 6s. 941/4d. per month per room. These rooms the house-farmer furnished with a few absolutely necessary articles which barely cost more than 30s. per room. The house-farmer then let these rooms for 10d. per day, or 5s. per week. Deducting 10 per cent. for unoccupied rooms, Mr. Fyfe calculated that the house-farmers in North Glasgow made a profit of 531/4 per cent.; in the eastern districts 70 per cent.; in the southern 60 per cent. ; and in the western 633/4 per cent. A recent census showed that the average earnings of the tenants were 22s. per week, but they varied from 8s. per week paid to female hairworkers to 42s. 6d. paid to bricklayers and masons. According to the confession made by the inhabitants themselves 47 per cent. had been reduced to this mode of living by intemperance. In some parts of Glasgow from 10 to 20 per cent. of the tenements were not inhabited and were marked empty."There was room, therefore, to lodge these people, but when it was suggested to them that they should save a pound or two to buy a little furniture they only replied with a sickly smile. They were paying to the house-farmer double the rent they need pay if they only saved to buy a little furniture ; but while the publichouses remained open they would never save. He did not think that philanthropic furnishing associations, or municipal lodgings, or the most active of caretakers could help these people. Perhaps a law to prevent the pawning of the necessaries of life might be useful, but the povertystricken dipsomaniac could only be cured when alcohol was placed beyond his reach. Bailie W. F. ANDERSON explained that in Scotland rebuilding was not insisted upon if there were houses available for the evicted tenants within a mile of their former dwellings. The Corporation of Glasgow had bought up the worst property in the town, but the people would not go to the tenements which the corporation had erected; they, on the contrary, endeavoured to find houses even worse than those from which they had been evicted, but as the corporation were destroying the worst houses some improvement had resulted. The municipality had secured the better class of tenants, leaving private enterprise to provide for the worst class. The latter preferred to pay high rents rather than to submit to any sort of control. Bailie Anderson thought that farmed houses should be licensed and controlled by some authority, otherwise those who were displaced would go into other dwellings and convert them into slums.
MUNICIPAL REPRESENTATIVES ON THE HOUSING OF THE POOR.
Dr.
A.
read
an
1083
K. CHALMERS (medical officer of health of Glasgow)
consisted ofan orange-box for a bed and a tin can for cookwith a dense ing purposes. In Liverpool their by-laws compelled them to population and in an unwholesome locality the death-rate spend 81/2d. per foot for their building, while in Glasgow they could be reduced by better housing. The worst district in had erected tenements at 4-ild. per foot, but they were very Glasgow, Bridgegate and the Wynds, had a death-rate of inferior to the Liverpool standard. It was not surprising that 44 per 1000 in 1891-92. For the two following years the people resorted to public houses when their homes were so average death-rate was 36 per 1000, and in 1899-1900 it had gloomy. Councillor COOPER (Aberdeen) did not believe in colonisfallen to 27 per 1000. By the operation of the ImproveAt ments Department the population of that district had ing and keeping together members of the same class. been reduced from 5689 in 1891 to 4098 in 1900. During best it only meant a little more room and air ; the same these 10 years a portion of the houses on this area social surroundings would produce the same vices. The had been reconstructed ; and during the last two years slum population must be scattered, made to live with a 1387 persons had been lodged in 361 newly built tene- better class, so as to engender in them a sense of shame. ments. Among these people only 40 had died, which It was a mistake to strive to rebuild other, even if more was equal to a death-rate of 144 per 1000 per annum. sanitary, slums. Bailie BROWN (Edinburgh) said that they had spent On the other hand, in the same district near Jailand built a good class of houses, but the residuum square there still remained some of the old tenements which <&150,000 continued to house the old class of tenants up to the adoption would not come and live in them. They had made mistakes, of the Improvement Bill in 1897. In this district during the and the more that they knew about the problem the more The moral question was the most three years preceding the application of the reforms autho- difficult it seemed. rised by the Bill the average annual death-rate was 53 per difficult. What were they to do with. prostitutes and with 1000. Therefore, side by side, on a soil equal throughout in the tenants who said that the municipal houses were too pollution, they had one set of poor people with a low death- bright to hold their shabby furniture ? They had to take Tate and another set with a high death-rate. Nor was the in a better class of people, though their object had been to ’reduction of the density of population the only factor. help the inferior, the lowest, class. If they took the city of Glasgow as a whole it would be Miss HELEN KERR, of the Edinburgh Social Union, wanted found that the density of population amounted to 2’032 to know what percentage of a labourer’s wage should go persons per room and the death-rate to 21’07 per 1000. to the payment of rent, but she obtained no answer to her The model dwellings built by the Improvement Trust gave question. -a density of population of 2’271 per room and in CatherineMrs. D. L. DocKRELL explained that in Dublin similar ’court of 2’526 per room. Thus there was a greater average difficulties existed, especially that arising from the condensity of population in these model dwellings, but the version of houses built for only one family into tenements ’deaths were equal only to a death-rate of 15’7 per where many families lived together. 1000: These dwellings covered 56-3 per cent. of the site Alderman CARTER (Sheffield) urged that society would Thus a considerable number of not tolerate much longer the squalid condition in which - on which they were built. Therefore greater powers should be persons could be crowded together if the tenements they some people lived. inhabited were well built and well managed. It was moral obtained from Parliament to proceed against those who and material filth rather than density of population that squandered their money. On the other hand, they must be careful that in supplying ready furnished houses they did produced a high death-rate. Mr. JOHN MANN, jun., who spoke on behalf of the not encourage improvident early marriages. Workmen’s Dwellings Company of Glasgow, urged that Alderman JOWETT (Bradford) attacked the housing of it was the housing of disinherited or rejected undesir- the middle and upper classes of Scotland who, for instance, able tenants which constituted the crux of the problem. allowed their servants to sleep in the kitchens where all Municipal enterprise should deal with the whole of any class, the food was cooked. The middle classes should give a otherwise injustice and privilege would result. Such action better example. also would tend to the benefit of the entire community. Alderman DOYLE of Dublin said that they had been Municipal intervention was especially needed in regard obliged to pay from R6000 to Cll,000 per acre for slum to the dangerous residuum, but no congress had sug- land in Dublin, and now the Government refused to sanction gested how this was to be done, only some details as further loans. What were they to do ? The land and to the building of a cheap shelter had been given. the houses should be accepted as security for the money. At present the residuum was left to the mercy of the borrowed. most unscrupulous of speculators. Under such circumstances The discussion was brought to a conclusion after some it was surprising that so many decent people could still be further description had been given of what had been found in the slums. His company carefully selected their achieved in Glasgow. tenants and those who did not respond to the expectations The afternoon sitting was devoted mainly to the consideraFor such as tion of the motions. Mr. JOSEPH B. MASSEY (sanitary were sent away to drift back into the slums. these the municipality ought to build experimentally cheap inspector of Burnley) found time, however, to read a blocks or shelters. When these shelters were ready the law paper urging municipalities to start cheap tramways to against overcrowding should be rigorously enforced and thus relieve the congestion in the centre of the towns, but this the disorderly residuum would be driven from pillar to did not lead to a debate. There was a good deal of conpost. Private enterprise could not do this. The saving in versation rather than speech-making over the motions, and epidemic disease and in crime would compensate the some of the words were altered. The wordsdeserving" cost of such measures. There were houses where the beds poor," for instance, were withdrawn and the word " people were never cold, for the day tenants succeeded the night was put in their stead, for it was strongly felt that the untenants in rapid succession, but this pressure would be deserving poor constituted one of the most important features reduced by the competition of city shelters. For these of the problem. The first motion asserted that it was latter there should be no standard of character. Willing- the duty of the municipal authorities to provide cheaply’ness to enter should be the only qualification. Having constructed but improved dwellings, and that for this purpose thus provided for the needs of the residuum, the police more extensive powers must be obtained from the Legisand sanitary authorities should bring full pressure to bear on lature. To this end the second motion stated that :landlords. The absentee landlords should be followed up 1. Simpler and less costly machinery should be devised and and warned that their houses would be closed and condemned sanctioned by Parliament for enabling local authorities to put in force as nuisances. The magistrates would no longer hesitate to and carry out the provisions of the Housing of the Working Classes 2. That authority should be given to municipal corporations and sanction ejections when it was shown that the tenants could Acts. other local authorities to acquire at its market value, by as simple and be lodged more healthily in the city shelters. inexpensive a method as possible, and without any allowance for The LORD PROVOST insisted that there was a considerable compulsory purchase, land for the present or prospective erection and of dwellings for the population to be displaced by the class who were not criminals, who earned good wa,ges, often maintenance abolition of slum properties. 3. That any sinking fund required to be as much as .f.5 a week, and who yet lived in the most filthy set apart for repayment of moneys borrowed for such purposes should .and crowded manner because they squandered their money apply to the cost of buildings only and not to land, and should be It could not be the duty of the corporation to extended over a period of not less than 60 years, and that municipal ’on drinking. corporations and other local authorities should be empowered to build provide cheap homes for men who earned £5a week. such buildings in accordance with their own by-laws and not be Councillor JOSEPH B. CoLTON (Liverpool) spoke sarcas- required to satisfy the requirements of the Local Government Board. tically of the bicycles and pianos which he had seen in the Finally, a third motion was adopted :to :the following Glasgow municipal tenements, while in Liverpool, he main- effect :That a joint representative committee be appointed by this Congress tained, they had striven to house those whose only furniture
important paper showing
that
even
’
BIRMINGHAM.-LIVERPOOL.-WALES AND WESTERN COUNTIES.
1084
for the purpose of adopting such measures as may be deemed requisite expedient for bringing the several matters referred to in the first and second resolutions under the consideration of Parliament and for obtaining remedial and supplementary legislation thereon. or
often
forgotten is a matter of common observation. The cheap lamps with pottery vessels are in common use amongthe poor and unless some legal restrictions are placed upon
shall continue to hear of similar accidents classed as preventable. question was at once The Consultative Institute. from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen, representatives In place of the door-plate so obnoxious to the orthodox London, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield, Dublin, Sunderland, Plymouth, and Leeds ; the Lord Provost of profession for some months past the sign of"Ichabod " may be written over the portals of this recent venture. The doorGlasgow to act as secretary or convener. This concluded the business of the Conference, but its plate has gone-the glory has departed. Conceived in mismembers did not separate without first passing the usual apprehension, developed in ignorance, and launched into complimentary vote of thanks to the Lord Provost and the life against the united voice and will of the profession, this Corporation of Glasgow for the useful initiative which they inglorious institution has ebbed its life away ignominiously. had taken in convoking the Conference and for the hospitality It will be remembered that when the late occupant of this which they had bestowed on its members. Thus ended a mulitifarious consultant scheme resigned his position it was memorable meeting. Perhaps it will be said that there loudly proclaimed that there would be no difficulty whatwere not many new proposals, ideas, or suggestions brought ever in finding appropriate substitutes. The scheme was forward ; but in any case what was only vaguely felt before widened and enlarged. Proclamation was made as to the. has now been emphasised, explained, and rendered clear. stability of its finances and the demand for its continuance. All who assisted at the Conference have surely obtained a Advertisements were issued for consultants in various departbroader grasp and a more detailed knowledge of the subject. ments of medicine, surgery, and specialties. The result But there were some new suggestions, though these were not was but an echo of the professional voice which had s perhaps as numerous as might have been anticipated. Also, emphatically demonstrated the futility and uselessness of if the representative committee elected carry forward their the whole project. Whatever may have been the responses. mission with energy we may look forward to some practical to the appeal made by the promoters time showed that they results. did not equal the ardent aspirations and confidence entertained by the prominent members of the administration. The institution has lapsed into a natural death, the effects have BIRMINGHAM. been sold, and its memory only remains as that of an unOn the
adoption
(FROM
this motion the committee in appointed, and consisted of leading
of
OUR OWN
CORRESPONDENT.)
Distinguished
Visitors.
THE renewal of the activity of the medical societies of the town during the coming session is evinced by the notices of meetings already sent out. These include the names of distinguished visitors who are announced to deliver addresses at various meetings. Thus on Oct. 18th Mr. Thomas Bryant will give an address and distribute the prizes at a meeting of the Clinical Board under the presidency of Mr. Bennett May. On Oct. 24th Mr. Victor Horsley will give an address on Medical Reform at a special meeting of the Birmingham and District Medical Practitioners’ Union ; and on Xov. 7th it is announced that an address on the Treatment of Wounds in War will be delivered by Mr. Watson Cheyne at the meeting of the Midland Medical Society. In their respective roles it would be difficult to find authorities more entitled to a hearing, and none who will be more welcome to the audiences which gather to listen to them.
University of Birmingham. inaugural meeting of the medical faculty took place on Oct. lst, when the Dean, Professor B. C. A. Windle, received the guests to the number of about 400. The event was celebrated by proceedings of a social character at which the The
were entertained by a musical programme conducted medical friends whose performances were much appreciated. The different museums-dental, anatomical, and materia medica-were thrown open and entrance was given also to the pathological and bacteriological departments. A demonstration of lantern slides and microscopical slides was given and the various arrangements for teaching in the most modern and approved forms were shown. The evening concluded with a pleasant reunion of old friends and the anticipation of a flourishing and successful session.
guests
by
Dcfcetive Lamps. Accidents and injuries inflicted by the use of imperfect constitute a good proportion of cases which come before the city coroner. At his court recently an inquest was held upon the body of a young man, aged 21 years, who met his death by a lamp of this kind being thrown A quarrel occurred during a game at him as a missile. of cards, and the lighted lamp was picked up by one of the group and hurled at the deceased. The lamp struck him on the shoulder and, breaking, enveloped him in flames. He was conveyed to the hospital and he subsequently died from the injuries he had received. The coroner in addressing the jury pointed out that this was another case of a lamp which had an earthenware container. In every case which had been before him where a lamp was concerned the vessel had been a china one. A lamp with a metal vessel could be obtained at a moderate price and it In instances such as this the lamp would was much safer. probably have gone out and would not have given rise to fire. How frequently this lesson is inculcated and how
lamps
their sale which can
we
safelybe
warrantable and ill-judged attempt to exploit the services of an honourable and hard-working profession. Oct. 15th. ________________
LIVERPOOL. (FROM
OUR OWN
CORRESPONDENT.)
Medical Faculty of University College, Liverpool: Opening, Address by Dr. Oliver Lodge of Birmingham, University. ON Oct. 12th Dr. Oliver Lodge, F. R. S., formerly professor of physics at University College and now the principal of Birmingham University, delivered the opening address to the medical students of University College and distributed the medals and prizes. A thoroughly practical address was delivered to a brilliant assembly comprising the Lord Bishop of the diocese and other distinguished citizens. Before the close of the proceedings Professor Herdman unveiled a bust of Dr. Lodge executed by Mr. Allen, a well-known Liverpool sculptor, the likeness being a striking one.
Liverpool Medical Institution Dinner. The biennial dinner of the Liverpool Medical Institution took place on Oct. 12th. The gathering was a most successful one, the guests including the Lord Mayor, the Lord Bishop, and Dr. Lodge. About 120 gentlemen sat down to dinner. The Mid-Cheshire Queen Victoria Memorial. Already R1396 have been raised towards the fund for the extension of the Victoria Infirmary, Northwich, which will be the mid-Cheshire memorial to Her late Majesty Queen Victoria. The Hospital Saturday Committee are making strenuous efforts to raise Z200 towards the requisite £4000, and the employes of Messrs. Brunner, Mond, and Company have also warmly taken up the project.
Liverpool Country Hospital for Chronic
Diseases of Children. In response to an appeal made by the honorary treasurer. last week subscriptions amounting to el72 have just been announced. At present the committee are indebted to the West Kirby Convalescent Home for 20 beds, hence the appeal for funds to build an independent hospital at Heswall. Oct. 15th. _______________
WALES AND WESTERN COUNTIES. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)
Cardiff Infirmary. MR. E. TENisoN COLLINS, who has practised as a gynoccologist in Cardiff for some years, has been elected second honorary gynaecologist to the Cardiff Infirmary. Through the 1
Dr.
Lodge’s
address appears in full at
p. 1021.