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THE BATTLE OF THE CLUBS AT BRUSSELS.
476
THE RELATIVE HEIGHTS AND WEIGHTS OF BENGAL PRISONERS.
health have been excluded from these figures. They, therefore, represent the average weight for each height of healthy men. The figures differ slightly from a similar table published by me in the Indian Medieal Gazette some time ago; that list was found to be based in some instances on too few cases, men over 5 ft. 8 in. not having been found in sufficient numbers. This has been rectified by an examination of all the taller men at present in the gaol, and by use of figures kindly supplied by the medical superintendents of many other gaols in this province. The figures have been found to be applicable to most parts of the province of Bengal, excluding, of course, the hillmen, such as are found in Nepal and the Darjiling Himalayas. They have been tested to a large extent also in the central gaol, Nagpur, in the Central Provinces, and found to apply almost exactly. They do not, however, apply to the inhabitants of the North-West Provinces, Oudh, and the Punjab, where the men are of a taller and heavier type. They contrast markedly with figures recorded for heights and weights of European adults. As no table of the kind appears to have been published before, it is considered they will prove interesting to anthropologists in Europe as well as useful to medical officers in charge of gaols in India. For practical purposes I find the following rule sufficiently accurate for ascertaining the normal weight of a man of this class. Taking 100lb. as the correct weight for a man of 5 ft., if we add 3 lb. for every inch above 5 ft. we shall arrive at a fair average normal grounds. weight-e.g., a man of 5ft. 5in.=5x3+100=1151b. It must be remembered that a prisoner passed as of "good THE BATTLE OF THE CLUBS AT CORK. health " is considered liable to hard labour. I maintain that IT was very gratifying to gather from our Cork news if a man of this part of India reaches the standard above that there was a reasonable prospect of the questions in prescribed he will be capable of performing the severest form of hard labour. dispute between medical men and the clubs being discussed In his work, La Donna Delinquente,"Lombroso gives a in an adequate manner and under conditions giving a fair rule for computing the normal weight of an individual prospect of success. The Mayor of Cork has most properly’’ derived from measurements of Italians. The rule is as interested himself in the settlement of a dispute which is, follows : "A person is regarded as having a weight equal to disastrous to all parties concerned. No use of his Worship’s. the average in whom the number of kilogrammes which the weight is equal to the number of centimetres office could be more appropriate than this one of mediator represent which their statures surpass the metre." This is an by between a liberal profession and bodies with which it wishes exceedingly rapid rule for calculating weights for height if to deal liberally, while preserving due respect for its own we use the decimal measurements. It works out as follows grave and responsible interests. The profession as requested in pounds and inches : starting with 110 lb. for 5 ft., for sent six representatives to meet an equal number of repre- every inch above this 5 lb. are to be added. This is too high an estimate for ordinary peasants of the province of Lower sentatives of the clubs, the Mayor presiding. But we Bengal, but as far as my experience goes of men of the regret to learn from our Cork correspondent, as we go to’ North-West Provinces and Punjab in India I think it would press, that the proceedings terminated without any under- prove fairly exact. Bhagalpur. standing being arrived at.
n circumstance that this accident occurred in Had it happened at night the efforts of officials could not have been equally prompt and effectual, and the consequences of a possible panic would be difficult to e estimate. Notwithstanding the fortunate absence of these it would f be to omit use of the features, however, folly graver -any and every precaution which may ensure safety in a imilar emergency in future. The importance of providing means of exit from all public buildings is now generally f admitted, and it has not been overlooked in the construction of modern hospitals. s In the older buildings it is possible that there may still be room for improvement in thiss particular. The like may be said in regard to hydrants and1 hose, which in the hands of a few capable men prevented1 the accident at Mile-end from becoming a catastrophe. Ass regards the cause of this occurrence, an official inquiry will1 doubtless enlighten and instruct public opinion. A point of -evident importance, though clearly under-estimated in this’ case, is to be found in the fact that though the garden1 soil is said to have been impregnated with gas escaping in1 ’large volume from a main pipe, no means were used to prewent the use of lighted matches by persons walking in the
happy the daytime.
was a
.
.
-
-
--
.
.
.
.
.
________________
THE lectures of the Royal College of Physicians of London for the coming year will be delivered as follows : The Goulstonian Lectures by Dr. Patrick Manson, the Lumleian Lectures by Sir Dyce Duckworth, the Croonian Lectures by Dr. George Oliver in 1896, and by Dr. Greenfield in 1897. The Bradshaw Lecture will be delivered on Nov. 7th, 1895, by Dr. Bradbury.
THE BATTLE OF THE CLUBS AT BRUSSELS.
(FROM
OUR
SPECIAL
COMMISSIONER.)
THE struggle between the medical profession and medical benefit societies has reached a most acute stage in Belgium. The situation across the Channel is identical with what exists in Great Britain and Ireland. The only difference rests in the fact that the medical men who practise in the Belgian THE RELATIVE HEIGHTS AND WEIGHTS capital have created a much better fighting organisation than anything of the sort actually in existence among OF BENGAL PRISONERS. members of the profession on this side of the Channel. BY SURGEON-CAPTAIN W. J. BUCHANAN, M.B. DUB., There are about 450 medical men in practice at SUPERINTENDENT, CENTRAL GAOL, BHAGALPUR, INDIA. Brussels, and of these 430 are paying members of the College des Medecins de 1’Agglomeration BruxelFor the sake of brevity this assoTHE following table has been compiled from office loise (Syndicat). is generally called Le Syndicat Medical. Each ciation records in the Central Gaol, Bhagalpur. It is based upon member, to cover working expenses, pays an annual subthe recorded heights and weights of over 8000 male adult scription of 3 fr. and pledges himself to pay any levy, prisoners, most of whom have been admitted to Bhagalpur whenever made, so long as the sums raised from time to time do not exceed in all the sum of ;E4in one As yet no levy has been made, and the 430 year. annual subscriptions of 3 fr. each have sufficed to cover all the working expenses. On the other hand, ninetyfive mutual aid or benefit societies of Brussels have federated and elected a general managing council. This is known as the Federation des Mutualists. The members of the Federation number about 12,000, who generally pay 2 fr., or ls. 8d., per annum for medical attendGaol, all in good health, in the last five years. All those ance for themselves and their families, and this reprerecorded as having been admitted in indifferent or bad sents in all a population of at least 50,000 persons. The ,
I
477
THE HORSE SICKNESS OF SOUTH AFRICA.
Federation of the Mutualists had engaged the services of proper fee. This, and this only, is the point at issue. All eighteen general practitioners and of two specialists. The other questions raised are of secondary importance. The The Federation, however, refused to negotiate further or to in salaries paid varied from 700 fr. to 1400 fr. salary was estimated according to the number of Mutualists any way amplify the vague promise they had made. Thereresiding in the district of each officer. The officers employed upon the twenty medical men in the service of the Mutualist had to reserve two hours for consultations every day Federation, obeying with exemplary discipline the orders and to go to the homes of the patients who could issued by the Medical Syndicate on July 5th last, gave in not come to their surgeries. They had to see their resignations on July 6th. Conforming, however, to the nature of their illness and to instructions received from their syndicate, they have from whatever patients help in case of operations. An extra allowance of motives of humanity continued to attend the patients actually 25 fr., or 91, vras made for accouchements or miscarriages, and 2 fr. for vaccinations at the surgery or 3 fr. for vaccina-
tions at the patient’s home. But as these extra allowances had to be paid to the medical man by the patients themselves it very often happened that the officers failed to obtain the money. It is absolutely impossible to estimate what this rate of payment represents per visit. The medical officers in central districts have a larger number of patients, but the distances are much shorter. A medical man who had a suburban district showed me his books, and, roughly speaking, I should say that he gave fifteen consultations per day, Sunday included. His salary was 1200 fr. per annum, so that he would receive on an average 22 centimes, or a trifle less than 2¼d., per consultation. This, however, is no rule ; the proportion of payment varies greatly per district. It must also be borne in mind that the cost of living is much cheaper in Belgium than in England; that where a high-class consulting physician would receive in London a two-guinea fee, in Brussels from 16s. to j21would be given; and that in ordinary practice among the poorer classes fees of one and two francs are considered very acceptable. As in all other countries, a number of comparatively wellto-do persons have crept into these "mutualist"" or benefit societies ; indeed, some middle-class societies havebeen constituted that should never be allowed to contract for such cheap medical service. These are the Fraternelle Belge, the Mutualite Commerciale, and the Societe des Voyageurs de Commerce. It is objected that commercial men and commercial travellers can well afford to pay for medical attendance, and cases are cited of members of these societies who are in receipt of incomes equal to even £1000 a year, yet they expect to obtain medical attendance for themselves and their families in exchange for a payment of only 2 fr. (Is. 8d.) per annum. A case was described to me of one of these wealthy mutualists, as the members of such societies are called, He who paid a subscription of 4 fr. or 5 fr. a year. had an operation performed, and gave the operating surgeon, who was not in the service of the Mutualist Federation, a fee of 24; but he gave nothing to the medical officer of the Federation who also attended him, and he obtained from the Federation medicaments, bandages, &c., to the value of £ 6. If he could afford to give the operating surgeon £24, why should he not also pay at a proper rate for his medicaments and his ordinary medical attendantAnother medical man related to me how he had been called up in the middle of the night to attend the wealthy owner of a large establishment, who refused to give him a fee on the ground that he paid ls. 8d. per annum to a mutualist society. Under these circumstances the Medical Syndicate opened communications with the Mutualist Federation. After lengthy negotiations the Federation suddenly offered to increase the salaries, in some cases to the extent of 500 fr. (E20) per annum. Formerly the increase allowed never exceeded £4 a year. The Medical Syndicate urged that they were not seeking to obtain more money for medical services. That was not the principle at issue. There was no lack of medical men who would gladly give their services for nothing if it was to relieve a genuine case of poverty, but they absolutely refused to attend rich men on the same terms as the poorly paid labouring classes. At last the Federation replied that they would endeavour to eliminate the well-to-do members of their societies ; and, acting on this principle, they had refused to admit to their ranks the Israelite Benefit Society and the Société des Sauveteurs. The Federation, however, gave no sort of explanation as to how they proposed to eliminate the well-to-do element. They, on the contrary, refused to take any so-called inquisitorial measures so as to ascertain what was the income of their members. The Medical Syndicate now replied that, if the Mutualist Federation could not or would not do this work, the medical men themselves were quite prepared to carry it out; and claimed that the officers in the service of the Federation should have the right to refuse to attend such members of the mutualist societies as could afford to pay a
under treatment when the movement commenced. To meet this emergency the Federation offered high salaries to anyone who would undertake to replace the medical men who had resigned. The scratch staff of medical officers thus got together were quite incapable of doing all the work required. There were never at any time more than eleven enrolled, and I am assured that at the present moment only four of these render any really effective service. Being thus absolutely incapable of supplying the medical assistance which the Federation are pledged to. provide for all their members, an announcement was made that any member of the affiliated mutualist societies might consult any medical man he chose and pay him a fee of 2 fr. The money would be reimbursed to the memberthe society to which he belonged, only he was especially by recommended not to consult any of the twenty officers who had resigned. The Medical Syndicate met this manoeuvre in a very effective and simple manner. They issued orders that all practitioners, except the twenty officers in question, were to refuse to give receipts for the 2 fr. fees offered by the mutualists. The latter were, therefore, unable to prove that they had paid the 2 fr., and consequently could not be reimbursed. They then naturally, and in spite of the recommendation received to the contrary, began to gravitate back to the Federation officers, from whom they had no difficulty in obtaining the receipt for the 2 fr. Thus these officersare getting a number of their patients back again, and,. financially speaking, on very much better terms. In this struggle the Medical Syjadicate have no power beyond that derived from the voluntarily accepted discipline of the members. Fortunately, this discipline has been very strictly maintained. The Federation had appointed a medical man, with the high salary of 4000 fr. per annum, as the chief of their medical service. For the success of the movement it was absolutely indispensable to dislodge this adversary. Measures were accordingly taken. He was systematically "cut"" by the whole of the profession ; no one would enter into consultation with him. If he came near his old medical friends they put their hats on their heads and their hands in their pockets and refused to shake hands with him or to speak to him. If he entered a cafe or any other public place all the medical men present at once rose and left. He was medical officer to one of the Brussels theatres ; his colleague, the senior medical officer of the theatre, went to the manager and threatened to resign his post if his colleague was not at once dismissed. This request was immediately granted. The whole medical staff of the Civic Guard of Brussels tendered their resignations if the officer, who was one of their colleagues in that service, was not dismissed. Though the position of medical officer to the Civic Guard is only an honorary office it is much envied by the profession, as it generally brings with it a considerable increase of private practice. The colonel of the Civic Guard, who did not at all relish losing the services of all the medical men enrolled, at once acted as requested. The result was that the chief of the newly constituted medical staff serving the Mutualist Federation found life absolutely unendurable, and finally came to the Medical Syndicate, apologised for his conduct, joined the Syndicate, undertook to obey their orders, and therefore had to at once resign the appointment the Mutualist Federation had given him. As already mentioned, I am assured that the Mutualist Federation have now only four medical men at their service who are really capable of doing the work required. Brussels, Aug. 20th.
THE HORSE SICKNESS OF SOUTH
AFRICA. THE recently issued report of the Colonial Bacteriological Institute, Graham’s Town, Cape of Good Hope, for the year 1894, is mainly devoted to work done in the investigation of£
the
South African
epizootic known as
"horse sickness." This
THE RELATIVE HEIGHTS AND WEIGHTS OF BENGAL PRISONERS.
health have been excluded from these figures. They, therefore, represent the average weight for each height of healthy men. The figures differ slightly from a similar table published by me in the Indian Medieal Gazette some time ago; that list was found to be based in some instances on too few cases, men over 5 ft. 8 in. not having been found in sufficient numbers. This has been rectified by an examination of all the taller men at present in the gaol, and by use of figures kindly supplied by the medical superintendents of many other gaols in this province. The figures have been found to be applicable to most parts of the province of Bengal, excluding, of course, the hillmen, such as are found in Nepal and the Darjiling Himalayas. They have been tested to a large extent also in the central gaol, Nagpur, in the Central Provinces, and found to apply almost exactly. They do not, however, apply to the inhabitants of the North-West Provinces, Oudh, and the Punjab, where the men are of a taller and heavier type. They contrast markedly with figures recorded for heights and weights of European adults. As no table of the kind appears to have been published before, it is considered they will prove interesting to anthropologists in Europe as well as useful to medical officers in charge of gaols in India. For practical purposes I find the following rule sufficiently accurate for ascertaining the normal weight of a man of this class. Taking 100lb. as the correct weight for a man of 5 ft., if we add 3 lb. for every inch above 5 ft. we shall arrive at a fair average normal grounds. weight-e.g., a man of 5ft. 5in.=5x3+100=1151b. It must be remembered that a prisoner passed as of "good THE BATTLE OF THE CLUBS AT CORK. health " is considered liable to hard labour. I maintain that IT was very gratifying to gather from our Cork news if a man of this part of India reaches the standard above that there was a reasonable prospect of the questions in prescribed he will be capable of performing the severest form of hard labour. dispute between medical men and the clubs being discussed In his work, La Donna Delinquente,"Lombroso gives a in an adequate manner and under conditions giving a fair rule for computing the normal weight of an individual prospect of success. The Mayor of Cork has most properly’’ derived from measurements of Italians. The rule is as interested himself in the settlement of a dispute which is, follows : "A person is regarded as having a weight equal to disastrous to all parties concerned. No use of his Worship’s. the average in whom the number of kilogrammes which the weight is equal to the number of centimetres office could be more appropriate than this one of mediator represent which their statures surpass the metre." This is an by between a liberal profession and bodies with which it wishes exceedingly rapid rule for calculating weights for height if to deal liberally, while preserving due respect for its own we use the decimal measurements. It works out as follows grave and responsible interests. The profession as requested in pounds and inches : starting with 110 lb. for 5 ft., for sent six representatives to meet an equal number of repre- every inch above this 5 lb. are to be added. This is too high an estimate for ordinary peasants of the province of Lower sentatives of the clubs, the Mayor presiding. But we Bengal, but as far as my experience goes of men of the regret to learn from our Cork correspondent, as we go to’ North-West Provinces and Punjab in India I think it would press, that the proceedings terminated without any under- prove fairly exact. Bhagalpur. standing being arrived at.
n circumstance that this accident occurred in Had it happened at night the efforts of officials could not have been equally prompt and effectual, and the consequences of a possible panic would be difficult to e estimate. Notwithstanding the fortunate absence of these it would f be to omit use of the features, however, folly graver -any and every precaution which may ensure safety in a imilar emergency in future. The importance of providing means of exit from all public buildings is now generally f admitted, and it has not been overlooked in the construction of modern hospitals. s In the older buildings it is possible that there may still be room for improvement in thiss particular. The like may be said in regard to hydrants and1 hose, which in the hands of a few capable men prevented1 the accident at Mile-end from becoming a catastrophe. Ass regards the cause of this occurrence, an official inquiry will1 doubtless enlighten and instruct public opinion. A point of -evident importance, though clearly under-estimated in this’ case, is to be found in the fact that though the garden1 soil is said to have been impregnated with gas escaping in1 ’large volume from a main pipe, no means were used to prewent the use of lighted matches by persons walking in the
happy the daytime.
was a
.
.
-
-
--
.
.
.
.
.
________________
THE lectures of the Royal College of Physicians of London for the coming year will be delivered as follows : The Goulstonian Lectures by Dr. Patrick Manson, the Lumleian Lectures by Sir Dyce Duckworth, the Croonian Lectures by Dr. George Oliver in 1896, and by Dr. Greenfield in 1897. The Bradshaw Lecture will be delivered on Nov. 7th, 1895, by Dr. Bradbury.
THE BATTLE OF THE CLUBS AT BRUSSELS.
(FROM
OUR
SPECIAL
COMMISSIONER.)
THE struggle between the medical profession and medical benefit societies has reached a most acute stage in Belgium. The situation across the Channel is identical with what exists in Great Britain and Ireland. The only difference rests in the fact that the medical men who practise in the Belgian THE RELATIVE HEIGHTS AND WEIGHTS capital have created a much better fighting organisation than anything of the sort actually in existence among OF BENGAL PRISONERS. members of the profession on this side of the Channel. BY SURGEON-CAPTAIN W. J. BUCHANAN, M.B. DUB., There are about 450 medical men in practice at SUPERINTENDENT, CENTRAL GAOL, BHAGALPUR, INDIA. Brussels, and of these 430 are paying members of the College des Medecins de 1’Agglomeration BruxelFor the sake of brevity this assoTHE following table has been compiled from office loise (Syndicat). is generally called Le Syndicat Medical. Each ciation records in the Central Gaol, Bhagalpur. It is based upon member, to cover working expenses, pays an annual subthe recorded heights and weights of over 8000 male adult scription of 3 fr. and pledges himself to pay any levy, prisoners, most of whom have been admitted to Bhagalpur whenever made, so long as the sums raised from time to time do not exceed in all the sum of ;E4in one As yet no levy has been made, and the 430 year. annual subscriptions of 3 fr. each have sufficed to cover all the working expenses. On the other hand, ninetyfive mutual aid or benefit societies of Brussels have federated and elected a general managing council. This is known as the Federation des Mutualists. The members of the Federation number about 12,000, who generally pay 2 fr., or ls. 8d., per annum for medical attendGaol, all in good health, in the last five years. All those ance for themselves and their families, and this reprerecorded as having been admitted in indifferent or bad sents in all a population of at least 50,000 persons. The ,
I
477
THE HORSE SICKNESS OF SOUTH AFRICA.
Federation of the Mutualists had engaged the services of proper fee. This, and this only, is the point at issue. All eighteen general practitioners and of two specialists. The other questions raised are of secondary importance. The The Federation, however, refused to negotiate further or to in salaries paid varied from 700 fr. to 1400 fr. salary was estimated according to the number of Mutualists any way amplify the vague promise they had made. Thereresiding in the district of each officer. The officers employed upon the twenty medical men in the service of the Mutualist had to reserve two hours for consultations every day Federation, obeying with exemplary discipline the orders and to go to the homes of the patients who could issued by the Medical Syndicate on July 5th last, gave in not come to their surgeries. They had to see their resignations on July 6th. Conforming, however, to the nature of their illness and to instructions received from their syndicate, they have from whatever patients help in case of operations. An extra allowance of motives of humanity continued to attend the patients actually 25 fr., or 91, vras made for accouchements or miscarriages, and 2 fr. for vaccinations at the surgery or 3 fr. for vaccina-
tions at the patient’s home. But as these extra allowances had to be paid to the medical man by the patients themselves it very often happened that the officers failed to obtain the money. It is absolutely impossible to estimate what this rate of payment represents per visit. The medical officers in central districts have a larger number of patients, but the distances are much shorter. A medical man who had a suburban district showed me his books, and, roughly speaking, I should say that he gave fifteen consultations per day, Sunday included. His salary was 1200 fr. per annum, so that he would receive on an average 22 centimes, or a trifle less than 2¼d., per consultation. This, however, is no rule ; the proportion of payment varies greatly per district. It must also be borne in mind that the cost of living is much cheaper in Belgium than in England; that where a high-class consulting physician would receive in London a two-guinea fee, in Brussels from 16s. to j21would be given; and that in ordinary practice among the poorer classes fees of one and two francs are considered very acceptable. As in all other countries, a number of comparatively wellto-do persons have crept into these "mutualist"" or benefit societies ; indeed, some middle-class societies havebeen constituted that should never be allowed to contract for such cheap medical service. These are the Fraternelle Belge, the Mutualite Commerciale, and the Societe des Voyageurs de Commerce. It is objected that commercial men and commercial travellers can well afford to pay for medical attendance, and cases are cited of members of these societies who are in receipt of incomes equal to even £1000 a year, yet they expect to obtain medical attendance for themselves and their families in exchange for a payment of only 2 fr. (Is. 8d.) per annum. A case was described to me of one of these wealthy mutualists, as the members of such societies are called, He who paid a subscription of 4 fr. or 5 fr. a year. had an operation performed, and gave the operating surgeon, who was not in the service of the Mutualist Federation, a fee of 24; but he gave nothing to the medical officer of the Federation who also attended him, and he obtained from the Federation medicaments, bandages, &c., to the value of £ 6. If he could afford to give the operating surgeon £24, why should he not also pay at a proper rate for his medicaments and his ordinary medical attendantAnother medical man related to me how he had been called up in the middle of the night to attend the wealthy owner of a large establishment, who refused to give him a fee on the ground that he paid ls. 8d. per annum to a mutualist society. Under these circumstances the Medical Syndicate opened communications with the Mutualist Federation. After lengthy negotiations the Federation suddenly offered to increase the salaries, in some cases to the extent of 500 fr. (E20) per annum. Formerly the increase allowed never exceeded £4 a year. The Medical Syndicate urged that they were not seeking to obtain more money for medical services. That was not the principle at issue. There was no lack of medical men who would gladly give their services for nothing if it was to relieve a genuine case of poverty, but they absolutely refused to attend rich men on the same terms as the poorly paid labouring classes. At last the Federation replied that they would endeavour to eliminate the well-to-do members of their societies ; and, acting on this principle, they had refused to admit to their ranks the Israelite Benefit Society and the Société des Sauveteurs. The Federation, however, gave no sort of explanation as to how they proposed to eliminate the well-to-do element. They, on the contrary, refused to take any so-called inquisitorial measures so as to ascertain what was the income of their members. The Medical Syndicate now replied that, if the Mutualist Federation could not or would not do this work, the medical men themselves were quite prepared to carry it out; and claimed that the officers in the service of the Federation should have the right to refuse to attend such members of the mutualist societies as could afford to pay a
under treatment when the movement commenced. To meet this emergency the Federation offered high salaries to anyone who would undertake to replace the medical men who had resigned. The scratch staff of medical officers thus got together were quite incapable of doing all the work required. There were never at any time more than eleven enrolled, and I am assured that at the present moment only four of these render any really effective service. Being thus absolutely incapable of supplying the medical assistance which the Federation are pledged to. provide for all their members, an announcement was made that any member of the affiliated mutualist societies might consult any medical man he chose and pay him a fee of 2 fr. The money would be reimbursed to the memberthe society to which he belonged, only he was especially by recommended not to consult any of the twenty officers who had resigned. The Medical Syndicate met this manoeuvre in a very effective and simple manner. They issued orders that all practitioners, except the twenty officers in question, were to refuse to give receipts for the 2 fr. fees offered by the mutualists. The latter were, therefore, unable to prove that they had paid the 2 fr., and consequently could not be reimbursed. They then naturally, and in spite of the recommendation received to the contrary, began to gravitate back to the Federation officers, from whom they had no difficulty in obtaining the receipt for the 2 fr. Thus these officersare getting a number of their patients back again, and,. financially speaking, on very much better terms. In this struggle the Medical Syjadicate have no power beyond that derived from the voluntarily accepted discipline of the members. Fortunately, this discipline has been very strictly maintained. The Federation had appointed a medical man, with the high salary of 4000 fr. per annum, as the chief of their medical service. For the success of the movement it was absolutely indispensable to dislodge this adversary. Measures were accordingly taken. He was systematically "cut"" by the whole of the profession ; no one would enter into consultation with him. If he came near his old medical friends they put their hats on their heads and their hands in their pockets and refused to shake hands with him or to speak to him. If he entered a cafe or any other public place all the medical men present at once rose and left. He was medical officer to one of the Brussels theatres ; his colleague, the senior medical officer of the theatre, went to the manager and threatened to resign his post if his colleague was not at once dismissed. This request was immediately granted. The whole medical staff of the Civic Guard of Brussels tendered their resignations if the officer, who was one of their colleagues in that service, was not dismissed. Though the position of medical officer to the Civic Guard is only an honorary office it is much envied by the profession, as it generally brings with it a considerable increase of private practice. The colonel of the Civic Guard, who did not at all relish losing the services of all the medical men enrolled, at once acted as requested. The result was that the chief of the newly constituted medical staff serving the Mutualist Federation found life absolutely unendurable, and finally came to the Medical Syndicate, apologised for his conduct, joined the Syndicate, undertook to obey their orders, and therefore had to at once resign the appointment the Mutualist Federation had given him. As already mentioned, I am assured that the Mutualist Federation have now only four medical men at their service who are really capable of doing the work required. Brussels, Aug. 20th.
THE HORSE SICKNESS OF SOUTH
AFRICA. THE recently issued report of the Colonial Bacteriological Institute, Graham’s Town, Cape of Good Hope, for the year 1894, is mainly devoted to work done in the investigation of£
the
South African
epizootic known as
"horse sickness." This