THE

put pressure on the Government to adopt their views. This is a very pretty specimen of the way in which questions which involve general principles, and at

FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 1877.

The Editor will be glad to receive, with a view to publication, announcements of meetings, reports of proceedings, and abstracts or originals of papers read before the members of any sanitary or kindred association.

THE TOWN COUNCIL OF WORCESTER AND THE CITY SEWERS.

IT appears that the town council of Worcester are at present very much exercised in their minds on the subject of the sewage of the city, and what to do with it. Hitherto the outfall of the city sewers has been into the river Severn, but whether in view of the rapid approach of the time when the Rivers Pollution Bill is to come into operation, or in consequence of admonitions from the Local Government Board, the council seem to be thinking of setting their house in order, and have instructed their Water and Sewage Committee to advise them as to what is the proper course to pursue. The committee, instead of addressing themselves to the consideration of the subject which was before them, viz., 'to report on the best practicable and available means to render harmless the sewage matter discharged into the Severn by the public sewers of the city,' and of reporting on what plans were practicable for the purpose, and what their cost would be, seem to have unanimously come to the conclusion that nothing could, should, or ought to be done in the direction indicated; that the corporation having done what was considered necessary and sufficient some years ago, ought to be freed from all further liability in the matter; and that if the public in general thought it needful that the river Severn should be protected from being converted into a common (or, perhaps we should say, an uncommon) sewer, the cost of diverting the Worcester sewage, and dealing with it in some other way, should be borne by the ratepayers of the country at large. The committee thought it necessary to justify their position by alleging as a reason for this modest demand, that in most cases the works indicated are not required for the benefit of the particular ratepayers called upon to execute the same, but for the benefit of other portions of the community.'

The Worcester Town Council were so much pleased with this happy suggestion of their Committee for getting them out of an awkward difficulty, that they not only adopted it, but also resolved to bring the question before the House of Commons, and to endeavour to induce other municipalities to co-operate with them in getting up an agitation to

dealt with by local authorities. We apprehend that if the inhabitants of any large town higher up the Severn were to render that river a nuisance to the good citizens of Worcester, by turning their sewage into it, we should hear a very vigorous outcry at such an impropriety being permitted, and legal proceedings might be threatened to put a stop to the practice. But directly these good people discover that public opinion has resolved that the rivers of England shall not, as a rule, be used as public sewers, and that the enactment founded on this decision is likely to give them some trouble, they begin with one consent to disclaim any further responsibility in the matter.

Now it is well that the Town Council of Worcester should begin to learn by heart the fundamental aphorism which lies at the bottom of all action in sanitary matters, viz. that each householder or aggregation of householders must be held to be responsible for the innocuous disposal of all waste matters which may be produced by them, so far as it is essential in the general interests that they should be so held, no matter what may be the cost, and that they have no right to plead anything, short of physical impossibility, as an excuse for not abating a nuisance which is detrimental to the comfort or welfare of their neighbours. It is upon this principle that the Court of Chancery acts when it grants relief, as it is constantly in the habit of doing, to those who invoke its aid in putting an end to nuisances arising from pollution of rivers or other causes; and it is on the same principle that every court of first instance thoughout the country proceeds, as we have no doubt some of the members of the Worcester Town Council, when acting in their magisterial capacity, have often done, when ordering the abatement of a petty nuisance, even though such abatement might, as it often does, involve an expenditure which is far more out of proportion to the value of the property involved than anything which the municipality of Worcester is likely to be called on to effect.

We have no intention of discussing here the question whether there is any reasonable necessity for calling upon the Corporation of Worcester to divert their sewage from the Severn at all. This is a matter upon which a good deal may be said upon both sides, and the decision of which must depend upon the special facts of the case, with which we do not profess to be acquainted. That the legislature did not intend that sewage should, under no circumstances whatever, be allowed to enter a river, is proved, not only by the general provisions protective of individual interests which the Rivers Pollution Act contains, but also by the special dispensing power which has been entrusted to the Local Government Board to be exercised by it, at its discretion, in cases where it may think it necessary to do so. When the Board

is applied to by Worcester to exercise this power in its favour, it will be quite time enough to examine the case which the city has to show in support of such an application.

Meanwhile, if the Corporation of Worcester are not above taking our advice, we would suggest to them the desirability, if they are at all anxious to obtain for themselves a favourable hearing hereafter in the sanitary assize which will soon be held on themselves and other similar misdoers, of relegating the question to their Water and Sewage Committee, with a request that they will carry out the instructions previously given to them on the subject, and with power to call in competent advice, if they require it, in order to aid them in coming to a conclusion. When the committee have done this, both they and the town council will be much more justified than they are now in endeavouring to shirk the responsibility which the law has imposed upon them, for they will have a solid basis of facts upon which to argue instead of an assumption of injured innocence which is rather ludicrous to outsiders than otherwise.

THE SANITARY CONDITION OF THE WAR OFFICE.

THE report of the Royal Commission-has been printed and presented to Parliament. It is an amplified confirmation, with one slight exception, of every statement contained in the report of our Sanitary Commissioner, which led to the appointment of the Commission. In respect to this one exception we frankly admit that if the floor of the kitchen, which was taken up for inspection, and the soil below which was analysed by Professor Abel, belongs to the same apartment as that to which we referred, then it must be granted that it is free from sewage taint. It should, however, be borne in mind that the Commission found here that a trap one foot square, from which foul gas escaped, had been repaired and cleansed before our visit.' And again, 'A room recently tenanted by the audit department, but which was empty for the purpose of repair at the time of our visit,' is considered by them insufficient for its purpose. This is the audit room which our Commissioner described in

detail, and we are able to positively assert, that a day

or two before the visit of the Royal Commissioners, the dumb skylight was removed from the ceiling of the room, the paper was torn off the walls, and whitewashers and cleaners were busy at its reconstruction. In the face of these facts it is possible the Royal Commissioners may have been misled as to the actual condition of the soil beneath the basement, and this view is confirmed by the statement of Mr. John Taylor, the clerk of the works, who, while 'supposing there are no cesspools under the buildings,' significantly concludes, 'I have, however, to add that unless the whole of the basement floor be uncovered and excavated to a depth of some feet, I

cannot undertake to say positively that there are no cesspools under the buildings.' The Royal Commission was informed, as had been stated by our Commissioner, that no plans showing where the old drains run are in existence,' and as many cesspools have been discovered at different times, and as cesspits were known to be the only system of drainage employed at the time of the erection of these buildings, it is not safe to conclude, that none of these dangerous plague spots yet remain.

Taken as a whole, the report conclusively proves that nearly every possible sanitary defect is to be found in the present buildings in Pall Mall. So convinced are the Royal Commissioners of this fact, that they declare :

(a) The salient sanitary defects are inherent to its structure, and cannot be so effectually removed as to render possible the retention of the present War Office.'

(6) Although we had no evidence before us of special outbreaks of disease having originated from these sanitary defects, we have no doubt that a daily exposure for several hours to their influence must tend to deteriorate the general health of the persons so exposed.'

(c) We are satisfied of the accuracy of the opinion, that by no alterations can the building be rendered sanitarily satisfactory.'

(d) 'It must be borne in mind that our suggestions (for improving the present building), if carried out, will, in our opinion, only mitigate evils, not remove them?

In the face of the above testimony, sanguine persons might conclude that the Government will at once take steps to ensure the erection of a new War Office. Unfortunately, however, on four previous occasions during the past twelve years, reports of a similar character, equally strong in their condemnation, have been submitted to the Government, and yet the abuse is allowed to continue with but

slight abatement. For instance, when Sir G. Cornewall Lewis was Secretary of State at War, an inquiry was conducted by the War Office sanitary authorities, which resulted in a report and recommendation that a new War Office should be provided, the existing defects being remedied for the time, as far as possible. Nevertheless, nothing really efficient towards providing suitable buildings had been done until we called public attention to the subject in January last, and if we are to judge from Mr. Gerard Noel's statement in the House of Commons on Friday last, in reply to a question from Mr. Kay-Shuttleworth, no

arrangements will now be made for the erection of a new War Office, unless public opinion insists upon it very strongly. As we stated at the first, the time for tinkering and patching up defects has gone by, and it will be highly discreditable if the present buildings are allowed to be occupied a moment longer than is necessary to enable arrangements to be made for a new War Office. Perhaps some member of the House of Commons might expedite matters and secure the needful reform by giving notice of a motion on the subject without delay.

Notes of the Week.

MR. STEPHEN CAVE has been nominated chairman of the select committee on Lunacy Laws. The committee will assemble on the 15th inst., to proceed with the inquiry.

THE Haworth, Oakworth, Oxenhope, Silsden, and Skipton urban, and Keighley, Settle, and Skipton rural sanitary authorities have agreed to combine in appointing a medical officer of health at 500l. per annum.

AN increased prevalence of trichinosis is, says The Farmer, noticed among swine in Saxony. An opinion long entertained that its extension was in a great measure due to rats is said to have been fully justified by recent investigations, which have shown the disease to be widely spread among these troublesome vermin.

A PARLIAMENTARY return shows that in the years ending Sept. 29, 1874, there were 208,277 persons taken into custody in England and Wales for drunkenness or for charges including one of drunkenness. Of these 158,594 were men, and 49,683 women. Of those who were taken before a magistrate, 140, 294 men and 40,467 women were convicted.

THE Council of University College have granted the necessary space for the Parkes Museum of Hygiene, which will be the first of the kind in London. The Executive Committee are ready to receive offers of the gift or loan of objects of hygienic interest, and subscriptions for the adequate endowment of the museum. Communications may be addressed to the secretary of the Parkes Memorial Fund, University College.

THE Kidsgrove Local Board Urban Sanitary Authority advertises for a medical officer of health at the liberal salary of 20/. for one year, while it asks in the same advertisement for an inspector of nuisances at 35/. for one year. Judging from salary alone, we have a right to presume that here, at any rate, the inspector of nuisances will be the superior officer, while the inedical officer of health will hold only a subordinate position. Nevertheless, last year there was a contest between the two local practitioners for this appointment, and much unpleasant feeling ensued.

A DEPUTATION from the metropolitan vestries and district boards which are most directly interested in the prevention of floods in the Thames had an interview with Mr. Cross, to solicit the opposition of the Government to the principle of the bill promoted by the Metropolitan Board of Works. The Home Secretary said it was desirable there should be speedy legislation on the subject, and he hinted at an instruction to amend the bill by making the cost of the necessary works a charge upon the whole metropolis.

TREES IN LONDON.

Two of the South London parishes have set an excellent example to local authorities by planting trees in the wider thoroughfares. The Vestry of St. George-theMartyr have just planted two rows of planes along the entire length of the Borough Road and St. George's Circus, and that of St. Mary, Newington, have commenced the planting of the Kennington Park Road with planes and white chestnuts alternately. The New Kent Road is also to be planted this season; and the planting of Clapham Road footways at first as far as the Swan,' Stockwell, will be shortly begun and eventually completed as far as Clapham Common. This will give to a roadway, three miles fully in length, an uninterrupted avenue of trees.

THE SPREAD OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE. A CURIOUS fact in connection with some cases of scarlet fever at Coole and Haslington is reported by Mr. Davenport, the inspector of the Nantwich rural sanitary authority. Both families in which the deaths occurred (parents and children) attended a wedding at Ravensmoor. The family where the wedding was held were suffering from sore throats, but were not otherwise seriously ill, and there had been several cases of fever at houses a few yards away. Within a day or two of their return home, six of those at the wedding were seized with scarlet fever, and three are now dead, viz., two at Haslington and one at Coole.

TYPHOID ON BOARD CANAL BOATS. MR. DAVENPORT, the sanitary inspector for Nantwich, reports a case of typhoid fever on board a boat at Audlem, the boat being loaded with manure. The family here found such good friends that they refused to go into the

workhouse. This case had travelled some distance down the canal before reaching Audlem, and the manure surroundings of the patient, who was the captain of the boat, were of the worst, for he stopped during the whole of his illness in the cabin, and in his absence the boat was Davenport's district, a young girl died after illness in the commanded by his wife. In another case, within Mr.

cabin, and the bulk-head of the boat had to be broken up in order to get her body out. It will be evident that when such occurrences as these are possible, the Home Secretary's promise of legislation for these canal boats does not come

a whit too soon.

FEVER AT PORTSMOUTH.

DR. J. WARD COUSINS, of Southsea, has written to the local papers, directing attention to the continued prevalence of scarlet fever in the town. It is greatly to be regretted, he says, that notwithstanding all the efforts which have been made, the disease still lingers in our midst. During the past year about 430 fatal cases have occurred, and probably from 8,000 to 12,000 persons have been attacked with the disease. Many, too, of those who have recovered, have suffered from secondary disorders, and other serious constitutional injuries. The local circumstances and conditions which are now preventing the complete extinction of the epidemic demand, Dr. Cousins adds, serious investigation. Ordinary measures appear to have failed, and therefore he is confident that an extraordinary effort to stamp out the disease must be made at once by all classes of the community. A meeting of the whole of the medical men of the town is to be held on the subject.

SMALLPOX HOSPITALS.

A MANAGER of the Central London Sick Asylum, Mr. Arrowsmith, has lately written to the Times respecting the alleged danger to persons in the vicinity of small-pox hospitals. He says that an infirmary for 500 sick was built six years ago within a stone's throw from the Highgate cemetery and the small-pox hospital; that there has been an average of 400 inmates, suffering from various diseases, and yet not one single instance of disease has been known to have arisen from either. He also states that the old St. Pancras workhouse, the casual wards, and the parish small-pox hospital are all close together, and that no injury whatever has arisen from their close connection. Mrs. Gladstone's convalescent hospital at Clapton was only divided from the road by a small forecourt, and was within a few yards of the gardens of several houses, and yet it is stated that no one contracted the disease. The medical officers of the Stockwell and Homerton Hospitals, as well as the medical officers of health of the districts, have reported that in no instance has it been proved that small-pox has spread from the wards to residents outside. Mr. Arrowsmith asks Are the Wandsworth gentry unpatriotic and selfish, or are they merely poltroons?' We think them at any rate badly informed.

A REPORT is published by the Chief Inspector of Common Lodging-houses in which he enumerates the cases he has found of overcrowding existing in single rooms. It appears that the space allowed in sleeping rooms in common lodging-houses is about 300 cubic feet. But in single rooms, let to families, which are occupied by day and by night, as well as used for domestic purposes, the space was found in some cases not to exceed 150ft. The following is the account given by the reporter of the state of the houses in Bolton's Gardens, Turk's Row, Chelsea :'There are eighteen houses in these gardens, consisting of one and two rooms each, having four closets for the whole, and which are generally in a filthy condition, being open to the public in addition to the inhabitants. In a room at No. 4, 11ft. by 11ft. 6in., and 6ft. 6in. high, having space for three persons (according to the Common Lodginghouses Regulations), a cab-driver, earning 16s. a week, and his wife and three children-viz., son, sixteen years old, and two daughters, aged eleven and nine years-were living; rent 2s. 6d. In a room at No. 5, similar in dimensions, a bricklayer's labourer, earning 24s. a week, and his wife and four daughters, aged seventeen, thirteen, ten, and seven years, were found living; rent 2s. 6d. In a room at No. 6, similar in dimensions, a bricklayer's labourer, earning 24s. a week, and his wife and four children-viz. son, thirteen, and three daughters, aged nine, eight, and three years, were living; rent 2s. 6d. This extract illustrates the class of facts recorded in the report, which deals with cases of overcrowding in all the poorer districts of the metropolis.

REVACCINATION.

THERE has been a good deal of correspondence in the Times on the subject of vaccination and revaccination, which leads to a belief that the subject even now is not fully understood. The chairman of the vaccination committee of a very large West End parish pointed out that all persons are entitled to have their children vaccinated by the public vaccinators, and said that the guardians were doing all they could for the poor. He also asserted that the other authorities, viz. the vestries, 'exhibit few or no signs of activity, and take no precautions by which the continued spread of the malady may be prevented.' The writer appears either to be ignorant of the powers of the vestries, or else of what they are doing, for as regards vaccination they have no power to compel the vaccination of anyone, and it is admitted by him that there is no law requiring persons to be revaccinated, although there is now almost indubitable evidence that revaccination after puberty is almost as necessary as primary vaccination. 'A Public Vaccinator' also wrote to the same journal, complaining that he is paid one-third less for successful cases of revaccination than for primary, although the percentage of successful cases is less than half. We therefore quite agree

with him that if revaccination is to become general, it is hope of larger reward than now awaits them,' and would to be hoped that the vaccinators will be stimulated by the urge on the Local Government Board the propriety of giving one-third more instead of one-third less for every successful case of revaccination. There is one ground for this proposal which has not been referred to, viz. that the lymph from a revaccinated case should not be taken, and consequently the vaccinator cannot keep up his supply with it for the vaccination of infants or revaccination of adults.

SANITATION IN LONDON.

A MOST important letter has been published in the Metropolitan on this subject by Dr. Cortis, a member of the Metropolitan Asylums Board. He refers to the action taken by the Local Government Board in sanitary matters, and expresses his conviction that, as the central sanitary authority for the metropolis in connection with the Asylums Board, 'it is worse than a failure, inasmuch as it is a sham authority, which prevents the institution of a real one.' This precisely agrees with the opinion of Mr. Dexter in his brochure on the government of London, 'that whatever the Local Government Board meddles with it muddles.' Dr. Cortis goes on to say that the Poor Law Department has been for years an obstacle in the way of those sanitary reforms which ought to have been initiated, and it has not been until the proposed reforms have become popular that they have been taken up, and that the conduct of the department towards the Asylums Board has been governed by alternate fits of parsimony and panic.

Dr. Cortis strongly points out the necessity for some central sanitary authority for the metropolis, as the medical officers of health and the district medical officers who attend the poor are under the control of different authorities in the same parish; that when epidemic diseases prevail, the vestries and boards are called upon to supplement the hospitals of the Asylums Board, and of the guardians, if they have any, whereas all might be carried out under one supervision and control. He then proposes that the Asylums Board should exercise similar jurisdiction in sanitary matters that the Metropolitan Board does as regards the drainage as well as the improvement and embellishment of the metropolis. Dr. Cortis proposes that the powers possessed by the Local Government Board should be transferred to the Asylums Board, so that Londoners would have a voice in appointing the central body by which its sanitary government would be regulated.

In making this proposal Dr. Cortis forgets that the nominal chief sanitary authority for the metropolis is the Home Secretary, and not the Local Government Board, so that his proposal, if carried out, would make a radical change in the sanitary government of the metropolis. The direct action of the Home Secretary has, however, so rarely been exerted, that practically, with the exception of closing burial grounds, it has been in abeyance for several years, and we suppose that even if the Asylums Board were appointed as the chief sanitary authority, the Home Secretary would be in the place of a court of final appeal. Undoubtedly the Local Government Board has not ob tained the confidence of the medical staff of the country, as its action has always been vacillating, sometimes almost tyranical, and at others too lenient, whilst it has almost always given way whenever a local authority has steadily opposed it, except as regards the building of huge workhouses, and the opposition to vaccination by the Keighley Board of Guardians. It is an almost general opinion that the Asylums Board has been lavish in the outlay on its buildings and staff, but it has been less so than the London School Board, which continued to receive the support of the ratepayers at the last election. If, however, the Asylums Board should be constituted the central sanitary authority for the metropolis, its constitution and mode of appointment would require fuller and earnest consideration.

FIRES IN THEATRES.

SOME explanations have been given and practically illustrated by Professor Pepper at Sadlers' Wells Theatre, as to the prevention of fires in buildings, more particularly in theatres. Mr. Pepper's proposal was that canvas and cloth, and stage scenery generally, possible to be so treated, should be prepared with a solution of phosphate of ammonia, size, and gelatine. The lecturer illustrated by experiments the respective values of the process mentioned. Over a fire of tow,' lighted by spirit, he held a sample of canvas, stretched on frames, prepared with phosphate of ammonia; the canvas, with a fierce flame beneath it, only

charred and remained intact as stretched to the wooden frame. Thus much for the safety of the scenery of a theatre; but, with regard to the building and the mass of woodwork which was necessarily used in fitting it, Mr. Pepper said that an invention had been patented which he thought would offer to the public the greatest possible security from fire extending, if it should unfortunately happen. The invention, as explained, appeared to consist of a series of pipes, served from the main, running around the roof inside the theatre, and in columns, in all corners of the building, both before and behind the scenes. The pipes would be perforated and those along the ceiling

or roof would meet in a common centre.

This would also be perforated, and resemble the 'rose' of a garden waterpot. On a recognised signal of alarm from the stage the man in charge of the pipes would draw the main, and, as every portion of the building would at one and the same time, and continuously, be freely watered, Mr. Pepper had no hesitation in saying that more actual good towards extinguishing a fire or arresting its progress would be effected by this than by any means which had yet been devised. Subsequently in the court-yard of the theatre an illustration of the action of the proposed patent was given. A large shed of wood and canvas (the latter prepared to resist fire) had been constructed, and in this a quantity of straw was set on fire. The canvas did not burn, but fell into the flames, and then a hose-which had been fixed and connected with pipes made as it was said the pipes would be made-was brought into use and a continuous 'shower' of water played on the fire until it was extinguished.

WITH the view of abating the nuisance caused by certain trades carried on in different parts of the metropolis, and improving the sanitary condition of those localities, the Metropolitan Board of Works are about to enforce the adoption of new and more rigid regulations, which have just been decided upon. The particular trades and manufactures to which the new regulations are to apply are specially set out, and they embrace catgut manufacturers, manure manufacturers, blood and bone-boilers, soap-boilers, and tripe-boilers. The carrying on of the whole of these several trades is more or less offensive and injurious to the health of the inhabitants in the districts where the manufactories are located, and the object of the Metropolitan Board appears to be to reduce the nuisance to a minimum. With respect to the establishments where the manufacture of catgut is carried on, and which is exceptionally offensive, the mechanical and other arrangements to be in future observed are particularly stringent. In the first place, the material used in the manufacture is not to be allowed to come upon the premises except in iron vessels firmly closed, and from which no foul odour can possibly be emitted. Chambers for the carrying on of the manufacture are to be constructed according to designs prepared by the board, and the vessels containing the materials are not to be opened, nor the preparing of the catgut carried on, in any place but these chambers, the object being to prevent the emission of offensive smells, such as are now experienced at these manufactories by the residents in the districts around them. A further regulation stipulates for the air in these chambers, during the time the process is

going on, being conveyed through a shaft into a furnace. The regulations likewise provide for similar precautions being observed in every apartment in the manufactory where the process of manufacture is attended with the foul odours above referred to. Provisions are also laid down as regards the structural character of the buildings, one of which is that all the window-sashes are to be so constructed as to be perfectly air-tight, and the glass in the windows themselves is not to be under a quarter of an inch in thickness. As regards the boiling trades and manufactures, the regulations direct that all boilers emitting offensive and noxious vapours are to be so constructed as to secure the vapour passing through the furnace fire. The thorough cleansing at intervals of the buildings internally is also insisted upon, the regulations stating that the walls are to be limewashed every three months. No garbage or offal of any kind whatsoever is to be exposed, but to be kept in iron vessels closely secured, from which no smell can escape.

VITAL STATISTICS.

THE (annual) death-rate in the United Kingdom in the first quarter of the year 1876, was 23.3 per 1,000 of the (estimated) population. In England and Wales the ratio was 23.5 per 1,000, being 11 below the average rate in the corresponding quarter of the preceding ten years; in Scotland 241 per 1,000, or 67 below the average; in Ireland 21.3 per 1,000, or I below the quarter's average for the preceding five years; but registration is said to be very imperfect in Ireland. The deaths in the quarter were 142,269 in England and Wales, being 87,711 fewer than the births; in Scotland 21,294, or 11,039 fewer than the births; in Ireland 28,290, or 9,442 fewer than the births. Thus, the 300,045 registered births in the United Kingdom show a natural increase of 108, 192 souls by their excess over the number of registered deaths. The Board of Trade 2,464 were foreigners. The present resident population is, returns state the emigration at 17,648, of which number in round numbers, not quite 24 millions in England and Wales, a little over 3 millions in Scotland, and a little over 5,300,000 in Ireland, making a total of rather more than 33 millions. The returns of the local registrars of Scotland continue to notice the frequency of illegitimate births. The registrar of a small district in Dumfriesshire has to state that in that place they were twice as many as the legitimate births in the quarter. The Brechin registrar lays the blame partly on Trinity fair' in the preceding June; a Roxburghshire registrar is of opinion that the evil is due to the want of discipline in the churches.' Last year the registrar of Draperstown, Londonderry, recorded the occurrence of a death after taking a draught of ether; this year another registrar in the north-east of Ireland. reports that ether, as an exciting stimulant, is used to a very injurious extent in localities adjoining Maghera district, and is sold in large quantities in all the cabin grocery establishments scattered through that part of the country. Several Irish registrars are able to trace the prevalence of enteric and typhoid fever to neglect of ordinary sanitary precautions, and some complain that their reports of public nuisances are disregarded by the authorities; but others note that the people, in some places at all events, are being educated' to put away filth diseases. A courageous Irish registrar asks for power to be given to medical officers of dispensaries to compel the removal of persons smitten with infectious disease from houses where they cannot be isolated. That security for human life is yet in the distance. At present he has to report 'very bad cases of fever' in houses with six or seven people, and only one compartment, but they 'stoutly refuse to let the patients go to hospital.'

The Clifton Union and Rural Sanitary District will, on and after the 14th instant, be called the Barton-Regis Union and Rural Sanitary District, by order of the Local Government Board.