THE ASHANTI EXPEDITION.

1597 has been organised for the transport of the sick. Wearethe patient shown), except the eldest, suffered from not told, by the way, what the means of transport of the The patient had four chorea about the fiftieth year. and wounded will be, whether stretchers or canvas cots sick these one suffered from chorea at the age sisters, and of or hammocks from the naval ships, or all of these. Surgeonof forty-nine, while two others were mentally affected. A Eckersley has started to provide for the establishCaptain Another case was also ment of a hospital, at Prahsn for the troops on the march. In son of the patient was healthy. one of so-called chronic shown, congenital chorea" in a addition to the land hospitals at the base there will, of course, be the large amount of accommodation afforded by sixteen. were noticed immediThe contractions girl aged the floating hospital, the Coromandel, which has been spedid not to walk after the and birth, begin patient ately fitted up for the purpose ; and with the steam transuntil she was four years old, and it was only at the age cially and other communications between the Gold Coast and ports of eight that she could walk alone. She was also late in this country there should be no difficulty in arranging for transit of invalids. speaking. She used her hands with difficulty, but her Whilst preparations are being made for the advance of the condition showed a slow but gradual improvement. Volun- , force along the line of route from Cape Coast Castle across tary movement increased the contractions. The knee-jerk the Prah to Kumasi, a movement is also to be made conwas slightly increased, but with the exception of a small with that of the expeditionary force from temporaneously degree of weak-mindedness the general condition was the coast, from the north, by a large force of constabulary fairly good. The case, according to Dr. von Solder, is and a detachment of Houssas and two Maxim guns. This really one of cerebral diplegia, and, as was recently pointed latter force will, it is understood, proceed to the Nkoranza out in our columns, this is almost invariably the actual country, and thence threaten, and advance if necessary, on the Ashanti capital. condition in cases of so-called congenital chorea ; so that The subordinate chiefs in the interior of the colony arethe term is probably a misnomer, and the movements understood to be very favourable to the expedition, and have would be more correctly described as those of athetosis. proffered their services and large detachments of bearers. Samory, the Mahommedan chief of a large warlike tribe in DR. RENTOUL explains in a circular that his opposition to the vicinity of Ashanti, who has a powerful army, is understood to be also favourable to the British enterprise. five successive Bills since 1890 has cost him, " out of his own The belief entertained on the Gold Coast is that the chiefs private means," ;E321 15s. 9d. Dr. Hugh Woods established of the Ashantis are determined on fighting. It is rumoured a fund to repay Dr. Rentoul, and succeeded to the amount of that Prempeh will be deposed and replaced by his mother, a .E50. Mr. Colin Campbell succeeded in the same way to the woman of fortitude and masculine character, who is strongly amount of £30. In 1894 the branch committee of the inimical to the whites. Be this as it may, the expedition Lancashire and Cheshire Branch refunded him E37 17s. 2d. may have to encounter some unforeseen difficulties and hard before the troops succeed in capturing the Ashanti These sums amount in all to E117 13s. 21/2d., leaving him still fighting The capital. topographical difficulties and dense bush for .8204 2s. 6d. out of pocket. obvious reasons offer very favourable conditions for Ashanti warfare. The country is well adapted for raids and surprises THE death, on the 17th inst., is announced of Mr. Daniel and sudden attacks from numerous small and concealed Dr. Ambrose was bodies of men. Ambrose, M.D., Q.U.I., L.R.C.S.I., &c. The health of the on the Gold Coast is to He belonged to be excellent. The troops season is favourable in reported member of Parliament for South Louth. this respect present the anti-Parnellite party, and at the last General Election for the expedition, which cannot, however, it is believed, defeated another medical man, Mr. J. G. Fitzgerald. start for Kumasi for some time. We hope that when it does start the march to the Prah may not be protracted by any defective or other obstacles, for the country WE regret to hear of the death of Dr. Fauvel, of Paris, and bush arrangements are very malarious, and that when the expedition whose reputation as a laryngologist is of world-wide fame. has accomplished its work by penetrating to the capital and His work on Tumours of the Larynx is one of the standard securing its political objects the force may effect its return march before the rains set in. In that case there is no reason works on thf subject. to suppose that the risks to health and life should provegreater than on the occasion of our last war with Ashanti. Everything depends upon the exercise of forethought in THE ASHANTI EXPEDITION. providing for the requirements of the force and in safetheir health, as far as practicable, by good sanitary VERY great activity has been displayed on the Gold Coast guarding arrangements. The previous experience of those who have in disembarking stores and in preparing for the advance of to conduct the arrangements in these respects affords the the troops on Kumasi. One of the main difficulties in the best guarantee that we can have of their being properly present expedition, as on the last occasion, has been the carried out. men

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transport. There is no animal or vehicular transport in the country, and everything has to be carried by native bearers. Great care has been taken in providing and organising a snfficient force of these, and the transport work went on very satisfactorily as far as Mansu, but owing to the difficulty in procuring food in the country beyond, and the desertion of a number of the native carriers, a block occurred from the accumulation of stores at that station. This will, however, soon be overcome. As in our Indian warfare, and following the course adopted in the last Ashanti campaign, rest camps have been provided along the line of route. Eight of these have been constructed, and a field telegraph will be completed between Cape Coast Castle, which is the base, and Prahsu. The postal service which has been organised between these stations is working well. The distance, it may be mentioned, of Prahsn from the base is about eighty miles. A pontoon bridge is being constructed over the Prah, but the work is temporarily delayed pending the arrival of requisite materials, and cannot be completed for many days. Three canoes, each capable of carrying thirty men, have been constructed for the passage of the river. Meanwhile a hospital for the troops is being provided at Connor’s Hill, which will afford accommodation for five officers and seventy-five men, and a bearer company of 600

ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF ENGLAND. AN ordinary meeting of the Council was held on the 12th inst., the President, Mr. Christopher Heath, being in the chair. A further report dated Nov. 15th was presented from the Board of Examiners in Dental Surgery. The chief recommendation was that an examination in mechanical dentistry, chemistry, physics, and metallurgy should form the first examination for the licence. The report was referred to a committee of the Council. Dr. Arthur P. Luff was appointed an Examiner for Part I. of the Examination in Public Health. Two cases of alleged misconduct on the part of Members were considered. The President stated that the Deputation Committee, at a meeting held on the 2nd inst., had determined to further postpone their report to the Council, as one of the subjects referred to their consideration had been selected by the