THE NECESSITY FOR ACCURATE REGISTRATION.

1028 him from joining in a four-handed game. young man, when at Guy’s and the Infirmary, was an excellent cricketer, excelling as a bat, and in later years we were glad to see him often up at the county ground watching the performances of the county cricket team. In 1911 it was suggested that it would be an appropriate acknowledgment of his many services to present him with his portrait. The idea was taken up very eagerly by all classes, some 200 subscribed to the fund, and Mr. Harris Brown was chosen to paint the portrait and a replica. One hangs in the board room of the hospital, the other was presented to Mrs. Buszard at a gathering of the subscribers in a highly congratulatory speech by the late Marquis of Northampton. Dr. Buszard’s health failed very much during the past year, and in June he finally retired from medical work. About ten days before his death he was seized with gastric symptoms, renal complications occurred, and he passed away on Sept. 14th. He touched life at many points, and he will be long and sincerely mourned by all those who had the privilege of knowing him. I am, Sir, yours faithfully, R. A. MILLIGAN. Northampton, Sept. 29th, 1913.

and As he

prevented

a

THE NECESSITY FOR ACCURATE REGISTRATION. To the Editor of THE LANCET.

the following resolution adopted by the Council on Nov. 30th, 1911. It cannot be too strongly urged upon practitioners that in giving certificates they are recognised by law as members of a trusted profession, and that it behoves them to exercise the greatest possible care in the matter. to

Whereas registered medical practitioners are in certain cases bound by law to give, or may be from time to time called upon or requested to give, certificates signed by them in their professional capacity, for subsequent use either in courts of justice or for administrative purposes: And whereas such certificates include, amongst others :-

Certificates :(a) Under any statute

dead;

relating

to

births, deaths,

or

disposal of the

(b) Under the Lunacy Acts;

(c) Under the Vaccination Acts ;

(d) Under the Factory Acts; (e) In relation to children or to excusing school attendance; (f) In connexion with Sick Benefit, Insurance, and Friendly Societies; (g) In connexion with workmen’s compensation; In connexion with naval or merchant shipping ; (h) (i) For procuring the issue of Foreign Office passports; (j) For excusing attendance in courts of justice, in the public services, in public offices, or at ordinary employments ;

And whereas it has been made to appear to the General Council from time to time that some registered medical practitioners have given and signed untrue, misleading or improper certificates of the above specified or other descriptions: Now, therefore, the General Medical Council hereby give notice that any registered medical practitioner who shall be shown to have given any untrue, misleading, or improper certificate, whether relating to the several matters above specified or otherwise, is liable to be adjudged by them to be guilty of " infamous conduct in a professional respect" and to have his name erased from the Medical Register under Section 29 of the Medical Act, 1858.

I am,

SIR,—May I once more ask you for your valuable assistance in reminding members of the profession that, unless their names appear in the Medical Register, they are not legally qualified medical practitioners " (Medical Act, 1858, Section 34), and that the duty of notifying changes of address

Sir, yours

faithfully,

NORMAN C. KING, 299, Oxford-street, London, W., Sept. 26th, 1913.

-..

Registrar.

’’

LORD KELVIN AND THE ETHER OF SPACE.

rests with them.

No person canappointment as a physician, surgeon,

or other medica hold any officer either in the military or naval service, or in emigrant or other vessels, or in any hospital, infirmary, dispensary, or lying-in hospital, not supported wholly by voluntary contributions, or in any lunatic asylum, gaol, penitentiary, house of correction, house of industry, parochial or union workhouse or poorhouse, parish union, or other public establishment, body, or institution, or to any friendly or other relief in sickness, infirmity, or old age, or society for affording as a medical officer of health, unless he be registered (Section 36).

mutual

Andcertificate required by any Act now in force, or that may hereafter be passed, from any physician, surgeon, or licentiate in medicine and surgery, or other medical practitioner, shall be valid unless the person signing the same be registered (Section 37). no

To the Editor of THE LANCET.

SIR, —In the restful radiance of these southern waters I have been reading in THE LANCET of Sept. 13th your comments on the ether of space in Sir Oliver Lodge’s recent address to the British Association, and you have awakened a vivid recollection of an interesting conversation on the genesis and evolution of matter and kindred interests which I had with Lord Kelvin shortly before his death. I had at that time been speaking on the significance of radium emanation and helium, &c., in relation to solar energy, and time, and time estimates, in an address at the centenary meeting of the Geological Society on behalf of the College of Physicians, and on the occasion of our meeting Kelvin brought me an advance copy of a short but very interesting paper, entitled "Gravitational Matter," which may or may not have been published subsequently. He explained that the first word "given a definite quantity " in the opening sentence, though a mathematical commonplace, was also applicable in the creative sense, and it was in response to my quotation from Milton, ° ° Hard thou knowest it to exclude ethereal substance with corporeal bar," which led to the expression of his views on the interstellar medium. Kelvin considered the ether as an all-pervading agent, possessing certain definite attributes of which radiation and gravitation were evidence, and held that any theory of evolution or condensation of ether into gravitational matter would mathematically conflict with the condition precedent that such a medium should exercise no restraint on the perfect mobility of the matter immersed in it. He shrank from asserting that the ether had no influence"on matter, and deprecated any objections to generally received views on the subject as "whimsical." Lord Kelvin at that time seemed to stand sceptical or with suspended judgment at the assertion of elementary instability or transformation, and frankly resented the illogical notion of dissecting an atom, but nevertheless in the vast progress since established in our knowledge of matter and of the ebb and flow in universal attenuation and condensation he would surely have taken a leading part, especially perhaps assisting our understanding in the corpuscular character we are inclining to superimpose upon

The Medical Register is the only official publication, and it should not be confused with any of the various directories which issue circulars annually. No one who is not familiar with the work of this office would believe the amount of trouble which is taken to keep in touch with practitioners, and to find them when touch has been lost, but, unless we are assisted by members of the profession themselves, our efforts are often fruitless. In consequence of cases which have recently occurred, it becomes increasingly important every year that the Registrar should carry out the duty laid upon him under Section 14 of removing from the Register the names of practitioners with whom he cannot communicate. It is done with reluctance, but only by this means can the public and the profession be protected against impostors. No doubt cases of hardship do sometimes arise in consequence of this removal of names, but every possible source of information is made use of to save practitioners from the results of their own forgetfulness, and, if they are inconvenienced by finding that their names are off the Register, the blame does not rest with this office. The duty of notifying changes of address rests with practitioners ; the registrar is obliged to send communications to registered addresses only, but the practice is to make use of every available source of information. I therefore hope that all practitioners who have any doubt as to the accuracy of their address in the Register will communicate with this office without delay, and, if they will give their full names and qualifications in legible writing, it will be of great assistance to us. All communications will be duly acknowledged. Perhaps I may add that by a recent undulatory light, and perhaps imparting a new significance Regulation practitioners possessing medical and dental quali- to the ether of space itself. fications, if already on the Medical Register, may register in I am, Sir, yours faithfully, the Dentists Register, or vice versti, for a reduced fee of MICHAEL GRABHAM. .62Is. instead of E5Is. Position approximately N. Lat. 37°, W. Long. 13°, I should like to take the opportunity of drawing attention Sept. 20th, 1913. 11