First Aid Journal July 1898-1900

FIRST AID •

The JO\Jrf\al devoted to f\mb\Jlaf\ce Work

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:fi3re\)tttes.

IT is with a certain amonnt of satisfaction that we l'emind our rear181's that :tbis month marks the co'nmencement (.f t.he fifth year of the existence of this Journal. Dming the last four yem's we have e,081')' reason to belieye that FIRST AID has fil led up a gap, and has into dOf';el' touch H 11 those, both in town and countl'Y, who are in amb ulance work. DUl'ing thn,t pe;'iocl the ambulance movement has grown by leapR <.tncl hOlll1ds. nml we think we Ciln say without any presumption that this Journal ha hnd some share in fostering tbe gl'owth,

DURING the last month two terrible clisaste1's have OCCUlTed d8111onstnl,ting in a 1110 t fOl'cible manner the value of first aid teaching. In the rai l way smash at Leyland near P l'eston, the aid that was given by the local ambulance tnli n wa.s so ,oa1 uable that even the Times in its leader has rntisecl it, all( l has commemlell the rai lway companies for the efforts they are making in hll,thering the work. In tlw dreadful catastrophe at Blaclnntll we re;i,d that many people l'ecove1'ed owing to the artificical re.' pil'ation that was performed on those apparently dro\yned as soon as they were tn,ken out of the ,mtel', All those who r isked theil' li,oes in Raving 01' attemptiug to s!-we tho live:-; of others ought certn,in ly not to go witbont recognit.ion of ome kind, fOl' acts of gallantry of that kind nre performed Rpontclne-. ous ly, with none of the excitemellt of \\"("I.l'fare, 01' the stl'aim: of m!l,l-tial

THE FOUl'th of th e St. John Ambulance Bt'igade seems to have paHRed off' most Tbe choice in having Blackpoo l ns tbe 1'endezycus and in securing Uhief Consta,ble Derhnni. a wa H,dmil'<lb le and we <tl'e ce r ta,in that a ll those ,,°110 , yere p1'ivilege<.l to nttellll III ust h ave thorough l,Y enjoyed themselves.

ALTIIOUGJI the i nteJ'n;!l rdfaiu:; of the Brigade hal'llly conce r n U , we U,r e p]easell to see that steps ha" e been takell to produce efficiency by increasing the number of yendy drills E ve r y member of the Brigade ought to be thoro u g hl y efficient, and it i only constant pI'actice 8111l dl'ill t h at can bl'ing it about.* !,(*

TIm Ann u n,l Insp ecti on of t h e Bri gade by t h e m ember s of t h o order of St, J·ohn , too k place on St. J oh n's D ny in

Chal'tel'ho u se Squu,re, The muster was pretty good considering that the day (Friday) was not so favo 'mable as a Saturday aft81'noon. vVe have reason to believe that the member. were ye1'y much plea sed at the turn out. .;:.

AN Ambulance Pavilion at·'the Royal Agricultul'al Show in Bil'mingham was visited by the Pl'ince of \Vales. Brigade Chief 'Supel'intendent Uhurch Brat)ier had the honour of submitting the tent to the insp ection of Hit) Highnes::;, who expressed himself as highly plea se d at the arrangements. It is a good sign of aclyance to see the Prince of Wales take such an interest in the work, :Thhy we hope that he will soon tum bi. attention to Lonc1oil and its crying want.

of tlccib ent s.

(Sp 'cal) , By

CHTHl ' RGT'S, To the Readers 0./ FIRST :\ID.

I ha\'e been asked to give you my views concerning transport of accident cases in town, that in streets, and also in country places where ambulance arrangements are deficient and transport is somewhat difficult. I gladly accede to this request, for I find th'u sufficient atte ntion has not bcen paid to tb is important part of the subject.

I hope th'lt none of you will think that 1 am aoing to call into question the methods of transport :\dopted by the St. John Ambulance Brigade, o r even the exercises that are recommend ed in Shepherd's Handbook, I intend to d o nothing of the kind, for I think that e\'ery ambul a nce man wh o takes part in the work, ought to be thoroughly acquainted with th e drill and the exercises. Th ose who wan,t to see what drill and discipline can do, see a squad of the Bngade at work, and those who witnessed ths Great Eastern Railway team winning the Railway Challenge Shield at the Portm an R ooms, on the T2th :'Ira)" will have noticed what pra ct;ce can do to make men work together , ,.

The po in t that was impre ssed upon me, and I admIt the force o f It, this - That kind of work was all very well for the battle-field or show work, but you do not get a well-trained team in the streets when an accident happens, or i'1 a country lane, or at a farrll, or other out of the way places, so we want to know the best \yay to transport these cases of accident or sudden illne ss.

In the treatment of this subject you will see that there is room for difference of opinion, therefore I am on!y going to put fonyard ,my own yiew s, not claiming for them any kInd of authOrIty, but trustI11g they will be acceptable to you, being baseJ upon common sense and the experience that I have had for some , Acci dents in the Streets ,-Tn treatIng cases .of sudden illness occurring in the streets we must take Into the police and the instructions they under, and there IS some differe llce between London and pro\'lnClal towns, I thInk that we had bette r ne\'ote a little time to our city first. , You may take it that in Lond on, as a rule, to) there , 'ery few excepti ons, no first aiu is by the and arrangements for transport are bad, OWing firstly to ll1SUffiClf11t insLruction, and secondly to their want of proper and I ,am afraid these are due to the lack of enthusiasm on the part 01 the offiCIa ls at S cot land Yaru or at the Home Office , Y ou will see by last month 's TournaI that there is a regulation in force by which tbe police are to accept the of any certificated first-ai?er, lhat gi\' es you a certain ad\'antage if y ou across 111 the street. If the police accept your sernces they must out the treatment you advise, A constable in charg-e, of an aCCIdent exercise his discretion as to a doctor, anulf does gel medlc,.[ assistance can himself as to the manner in whIch he conveys tbe patient to the hospital. I just tell you this S? that you .m.a y. see how essential it is that you should offer your servIces ",hene\ el } ou see an accident in the street.

\Y'e will suppose a ma n is run over in one of the. busy seriously injured, A policeman comes up and I:nmedlately gets th<;

FIHST

patient out of the traffic (according to his instructions) and mo\'es him either on to the foot path or into some adjoining premises. You see the accident and offer your services which are accepted. You find that a leg is broken, and perhaps some ribs, owing to the wheels passing over the patient. After rendering first aid, you next look round for some proper means of transport by \I hich he cai"! be com·eyed to the hospital. You will find that there are three methous open to you, firstly, a cab, either a hansom or four-wheeler (clarence, as they a re called by the police); secondly, the police litter; and thirdly, with the litter of the Hospitals' Associa ion, or the St. John Ambuhnce Association, 01' the Hospital Saturday Fund. A good deal depends upon what part of the City the accident occurs as to which you use; ob,·iouslya cab of any kind is of no good. The police litter is not th e best of its kind, far from it, and you have to send the constable to the police station for it.

If you are ne ar one of the stations of the Hospitals' Association, a listof which was in the last number of this Journal, or of the St. John Ambulance Association which has ele\'e n or twelve stations with litters in London and Suburbs, or those of the Hospital Saturday Fund, and the policeman on duty may possibly know which is the nearest, by all means use one of them. Providing your patient is comfortable, and remember that it is pa:t of):our duty to make him comfortable, that is, keeping him warm, him for the shock, O;.c. ; never mind waiting a little so l ong as you get SUitable mean s of transport. Do Ito! let )'o71r laliellt 1'tm risk offurth?' injury by lIsi1lg undue haste in 7'e movillg him Jn cases tha it, don your away o n a nything but a litter, even If It the p.olIce bt.ter, whi ch you always get by waiting and exercls1l1g a little patience. If the case IS m the vicinity of St. Paul 's , or Temple Bar, remember that the St. John Ambulance Association

Station in the Churchyard, and the one in the Churchyard of St. Clement Danes, available with the .additional help, which is most of the assIstant I.n It IS a great pity that there is no rapid means of commUl11CatlOn between the scene of an accident and the nearest liller, the fact rem.ains that .is not, and therefore y o u have to send. a messenger for It. If the InjUries to the patient be com slIght, such as a broken arm, or general shaking, it may be permissible to make use of a cab. You must remember that the police hive no ambulance wagons, the only ones a,'ailable in London for accidents are those at St. John's Gate, Which , I believe, can be used in cases of emergency.

The ft;rther yo.u get i.nto the suburbs, the greater, you will find, will be the difficulty 111 get.t1l1g a litter, and in most cases you will ha\'e to fall back upon the police ambulanc.e. The time required to obtain this depends entirely upon the distance you are from the nearest police statIOn Half a n h(Jur, or three quarters often elapses before its arnva \, a nd a distanceof three or four miles has to be tra before the hos pital IS reached, a factor which must be taken intoaccount in your of the injury and the general treatment of your patient.

It IS to lay a patient down in a arge roomy brougham or land au by plaC1l1g a board or two across the s eats with some cushion s on them. ( To be contilllled.).

1!anncb of 1b.M.S. Blbion.

TERRlBLE DISASTER.-GREAT Loss OF LIFE.-A STAGING S\\"EPT

A\\·AY.

A tel:rible disa,ster, equalled only by the accident to Daphne on the Clyde, 111 July, 1883, when 124 lives were lost, occurred on the Thames at o.n the 21st ult., on the of the launching of the ,AlbIOn, from of the Thames Ironworks and ShipCompa.ny Specml 111terest centred in the event, as the celemony of was to be performed by the Duchess 1)f York, and the Duke of"} ark had come espeCially from his vessel the Cre"cent Portsmouth, fo.r the occasion It was also the fact the IS the large st additIOn to the navy e'·er launched in the Thames where for n:a.ny years past the shipbuilding industry has been in a condItIOn. The result was that there was a iarge crowd to witness ceremony and appa:-ently had passed off happily and successfully, cheel s were be111g raised 111 celebration of the event when o.ut. of unknown their Royal Highnesses and other a which had been ereCled around a Japanese which IS be111g built in the yard, w:ts swept by the huge wash raised by the Albion as she reached the water and some 200 people suddenly The crowds attracted to Blackwall hy were exceedIngly large, and it ooked as thou h the entire rIverSIde was holiday in order to witness the Mr. J. Havelock-,.\ uson, :'1. P., says-" I was not with the other membe r s of the House of Commons, but was among the crowd at 'he lowe.r end of yard. The accider.t occurred to a timber brid e' or whdlch IS used, I understand, for enabling workmen to he ottom en of .one of the docks to a Japanese vcssel. This brid ae \\"as ?f course, not for the spectators of the laullch, X It becam: crowded With people, most of the poorer class who thought It was a good place for a :iew of the day's even't. There were nearly 200 persons l'pon It at the moment of the laun c h when 0\\ mg to the backwash or some other ca u se, the bridae sudde·11' collapsed, and the people who hac! been o n it were nto

AID. LJuly,1898,

water. lnstantly there was great ex c itement amongst those who saw what had occurred, and the disaster must have been seen by all wh o were on board the J apanese vessel. Most persons in the neicyhbourhood were so staggered and taken aback that, amiJ the and agitation, litLle time was ineyitably lost in taking to save the byes of the poor pC,o ple who were be seen st l'uggling with desperatIOn 10 the water. Many onlookers did not at once realise the seriousness of the occurrence, and some who were n ot far distant were at first una\\"are of the catastrophe. Indeed, two policemen who were stllld ing not more than 20 yards off did not knolv anything about it un tIl I ran forward and told them that a terrible accident had occurred and that nearly a hl.!ndred people were at that moment in the utmost of being drowned. As soon as means of rescue could be devised, a many persons, wet and exhausted, were dragged out of the water, partly by the help of fragments of the broken aanaway and other pieces of wood w.hich were about. saw ;')11"e young sailor who saved SIX or seven lIyes. IIe cert.a111ly did spare any effort in doing whatever he could for the strugghng crowd III the dock. The water at the point is not very deep-I should imagine not much more than 10 or ! 2 feet- -bu t even that was, of .course a fatal depth for the poor eXC It ed who not s\\"lm and had no help near, but who nen'ously seIze? each other Ill. desperate efforts to escape drowning.

After the aCCident the surV lyors recel\ ed every attention, and where It \yas found to be necessary t?ey were medically treated in the shipyard, and aften.,'ards sent h?me III of nurses, a large number of Wh0111 had arrive? from different hospitals. Some of the people were removed to .hospltal, but their cases were not serious, and in the nla)OrltY of Instances \\'ere able to be com·eyed to their own resldenccs, cloth111g on many of the recovered was very tal n,. tell1l1g of the whIch must have gone on. I.t IS .not lIkely that the a.uthontles will I)e able to delermine for some If e\'er, the exa c of ll\ es lost in this sad a-:cident, for it IS that many bodle S were washed away by the ebbing time, 3:' bodIes have been recoveree...

;\1r. F. J. R obinson, of Haggerston, a member of the St. John \mbu _ lan:e Association and ohhe eptune Swimn:ing Club, rendered valuabl e assIstance. He brought four round by artificial respiration three at them being on his hands at one time.

1Raih"a\2 <.tollision in 'Jlancasbirc.

A collision between two Lancashire excursion trains resultin a in the of. two lives and in injuries to 56 otber passengers', occurred on th e J0111t lme of the Lanca shire and Y orksbire and London and North· \V estern Raih,·ay Companies, 200 yards north of the passenger station at near Preston. At 8.5 p.m. on the 2nd ult., an excursion 'tram,. formmg one of .a left .Station, Blackpool, for a P?pulous 1I1dustn.al centre 111 the cIty of Manchester, th excursIOn beIng connected With the Bands of IIolJe in that district.

.NolIcmg that the slgl:als were against him at the Leyland cabin th e dr.lyer pulled up the traID. Before the train had been long at a standstill the guard .111 rear van heard the noise of an approaching tr ai n behind IDtO the middle?f the permanent way, he waved hi s lamp, the SIgnalman sh?ok hiS .red flag; but these warnings wer e no The tram proved to be a Lancasbile and Company s excursIOn from Morecambe to Patricroft, and conslsted of 12 coaches and a brake-van, tiayelllllg at a speed of abou t 25 miles an hour. As soon as be saw the standina train the dri, er of the .Morec:1.m.be excursion applied his brake, but engide dashed \I terrific force 111tO the BeSWick tral11.

The bc,dy of the last carriage in the standing train was forced forward off ItS frame and torn open on one side; the next two coache s were crushed 111tO each other, whilst two others were wrenched from thel! couplll1gs and reared almost on end The carriage nearest the engll1e was at the same time broken from the couplinas and dri,·ell forward sO,me yards, Screams and piteous. calls for help'" were immed iately he<.ra, and a number of people returnmg from a rose festiyal at Leyland, heapng the rushed to the I:ailwuy. The staff at Le)land Station a.lso hurned to the spot; the 11l1es were blocked; messellgel's \yere despatched for doctors and a.mbulance appliances, and neighbOUring hotel-keepers were asked to prepare r00111S for the reception of the ll1)ured

At Preston a special train \\'us made up, and Dr. Brown the medical officer of the two companies in the north, as well as a n u mber of c.,lleagues, with surgical a Pl:liances, sta ned with 1\ I r. Barlow, th e statl?nmaster, and offiCials. From Chorley and the district medlcal men were II ke\\:lse summoned. The first to arrive were Dr. Berry, of Ley!and, and hiS assistant, and others were soon among th e wreckage, while the Vicar of St Ambrose, Leyland, another clergyl11d.n lendel ed t.he suffererE all the help and consolatIOn that they could, Teleglams havll1g been despatched to the Royal Lancashire Tnfirm ary .beds were and a full staff of nurses sllmmoned.

Spec.1U1 trams were run and the injured were com'eyed therein by contlll.ge.nts of membels or the local branch of the St. John Ambulance ASSOCIatIOn, who throughout worked with praise-worthy zeal and tact. At P.reston several gen tlemen assisted in carrying the stretchers anJ ill help111g the passengers who were less seriously hurt.

July, 1898.J FIRST

:\fr. Ni chois(\ l1, l ocal superi11lendent of the Lancashire and Yorkshire and Mr. Downing, assistant local sup erinte nd ent of the London and N orth- ·Western, operations with the assistanc e of a corps of experienced offiCials and the county police. A breakdown gang came from illidge-hall, and they cleared the l!ne after some hours' work. The permanent way was not s<:riously damaged, but the "Teckage to rolling slock wa s great.

Extractfrom tile " Times."

Every effort seems to have been made by the railwa.y officials, and by the passengers who escaped unhurt, to rescue and to care for the wo unded; and the work of the lo ca l branch of the St. J ohl) , \.mbulance .is mentioLed having been p1.rticuh rly useful. :\10st of the gr!'!atradway con:pal11es .are .now seconding the efforts of -the Order of St. John to afford Illstructl?n 111 the metnods of giving firstaid to the :0 their .porters, polJcemen other officials; and Dn many l111es tll1S l11structlOn has been rroductIve of excellent results, It has not only enabled the men to display' considerable skill and knowledae in competitions at the Palacea.nd elsewhere, but has the.m to be of real and Important m such an emergency as that. has now occurred, and which, when occurring in a country where not many doctors can be immediately procurable, must gl\'e IDcalculable -yalue to the aid of men who have been taught how to handle a broken limb or to staunch a bleeding wound. Such a scene as that must have been almost comparable to that of a battl efield after an engagement and the speed with which the wounded were rescued and cared for seems to have been highly creditable to all who were concerned.

1Railwa\2 <.thallenge Sbielb.

TIlE TEA:VI AT LIVERPOOL STREET,

To celebrate the of Liverpool Street Team in carrying off, for .the second )'ear 111 successJOn the Ch a lle nge Shield offered to the raIlway sernce by the St. John Ambulance A ssoc iation the members of the \\ inning team were, on the 9th inst., entertained i'n the Great Eastern Railway Co.'s Hotel at Liyerpoo Street. The successful team consisted of Keary, Stiff, .Peck, Ash.ton and i.\1agnus.

1\1r. H. G. Drury, Superintendent of the Lme, occupied the chair and was supported by Brigade Chief Superintendent Church Bra'sier; Dr. Ta) lor, St, John ,\mbulance Brigade; Dr. Wingrave. Lecture r;

1\1r. J. Holden, Loco. Superintendent; :\Ir. C. Busk, Continental Traffic Manager; i\fr. .\., p. Wire , General :\Ianager's Office; l\lr. H. Drury, Stratford; l\1r. Bncldand; :\Ir. C. Randall, District :,uperintendent; :\1r. H. C. Amendt, IIotel:'Ianager, :vIr. R ob inson, Superintendent of Police; :'\IL C. Linsell Parcel Department; :'1r. F. Randall, Station Master, Li\'erpool Street; Messrs, Ridgwell and Becker, Hotel Department; :'lessrs. Chalenor, \Veston, S cott, Caltho rpe, Bel s ham, Page, W. IIyde, Godwin, Dalton, Pinchin, Hall and Andrews, Office of Superintendent of the Line; l\lessrs. Dill Parker and i\lein Loco. Stratford; Messrs. Crotch, Turrell, \Vatson, Tyrrell, Wllh;ery, Pye, Durn.ell, :'Ta ckay, Liverpool Street; ;Vlessrs. \VIlliams, and Burton, Cont1l1ental Department; and Mr. Twigger, Hon. Secretary. The Company's competing teams were represented by ;'le5srs. Stratton, \clkins, Knight, and Jones, Bethnal Greeri; :'l essrs. King; Oakley, Baker, -Bishop, Hale and Stephens, Bren wood; l\lessrs. Astor!,'Wright,l\1ees, Aldred, Bateanu Leverett, Stratford ;:\lessrs. Barnes Pamplin, and Westley Cambridge; a119 Althorpe, Lowestoft. The Chair9-1anexpfessed regret at the absence, thlough sickness, of :\11'. Magnus, one of the succes5ful competitors. He had also, he said, to express on behalf.of :\1r. R. P. Ellis, the Assistant Superintendent of the Line, that gentleman'S regret, that ab.sence from London prevented being with them, T:he Chairman (n proposing the loyal toasts, l'em1l1ded the company that It v\"aS a result of the Queen's long reign that they were gathered together, for if there had been no Jubilee thel e would have been no Jubilee Shield, and the Great Eastern Team co uld not have won it. (.\pplau5e). In subsequently proposincy the toasts of the evening, "The \Vinning Team," he said, on last oc t:asion there were some who thought that the team had succeeded more as the result of llisplay than fro111 any excess of knowledge, but whatever the cau se m'ly ha\'e heen then, thele could not be the slightest possible doubt nolV that the team had secured the Shield a second time, that they had done 50 a,s the result of sheer hard work; to attain that end they had to go through a course of £ire which none but the very best could s u stain, In the first instance, they slIccee<Jed in the local divisional competition, after that they compete"l for and won the Cup ofrered by the Directors; then they entered for the National Competition, and fi nally secured, after a searching eX1.minatiol1, the Shield, against all railways. There could be no doubt as to the quality of the men who composed that team; they could not possibly gain the victory o\'er all the ambulance men in this kingdom ,,·ithollt a very ttl'cye amoll nt of ability, and without baving undergone a considerable o f hard work. (t\pplause). There could be no luck about it, for they c<!rta. inly discounted anything like luck long before they got to the final competition. Lord Knutsford, in recently presenting the Shield to the team at the P ortma n Rooms, warned the 111<!mbers that the y wo uld h ave t o fight harder to retain it another year; lastly, he (the

AID. 3

speaker) hoped if the, Street Team could not do so. at least one of the Co:nr(lny s prov111cml t,eams would win it, fo r nothina would. please him better than to see the Shield at such a station NorWich or Colchester. Th ere was a little p e rsonal eleme n t in the matter, for they all arrogated to themselves a little pride in the winnina of the Shield, fo r it made th: men fe el that the Great Eastern was good as any company, If not a better. This feeling was shal ed f;om men 111 the humblest grades nght up to the Directors and the Cr.aJrman had recently shown hi s appreciation of their efforts 'in a speC ial congratu!atory letter to :'[r. Keary. ( Loud applause). The toast \Va 5 enthUSiastically received; the assembly at the instance of the Chairman, contributing an additional cheer for :.\r'r. Keary, and a final " hurrah" for fu ture successes.

Briga?e Chief Superintendent Brasier said he had taken a "ery keen In ,e,l;est In of the Branch, and he congratulated h IS boys on \\ 111 the SJ1leld. .:\ a one \\as more pleased than he when the of thiS particular team was annolln "cd, fo r they had tQ contend agamst foemen who were worthy of tb::;r steel. On this he them, and expressed the hope that they would win the next year. In he re ckon ed that if they had lost It thiS year there would not ha\'e been a sicker man on earth than he, a.nd he thanked them yery much for the reception they had accorded him.

Mr. in acknowleJging the toast, thanked the assembly for the honour which had bee n accorded them, and expressed the indebtedness of the team to the medical gentlemen who had taken so much pains to secure their succe's.

:'\1r. J. Holden, in proposing" The Competin a Teams" said the servan.ts werc i.n their work a's they were other sectlOn of their duties. They all did their very best, and they coula not all secure the Shield, those \\"ho did pull It off, much work as pOSSible to obtam It. That not only meant stlmulat1l1g the members o f their own corps, but tended to increase the efficiency of ambulance corps throughout the country. But they began to fe el that foreign ra ilway s had n o w no b usine ss with this Shield. (Laughter). A Great Eastern team wo n it first and now they had won it again. They were beginning to rEgard it as one of their yested interests-(Iaughter)-and there \\"as nothing which lived 50 10nO" and died so hard a.s a good old yested interest. (.\pplause). not in mortals to command success, but if they could not always hold the Shield, they w o uld, like Cato, at le3.st try to deserve it. From small beginnings, the Great Eastern Corps now numbered somethina like 1,000 members. IJe trusted they would continue to increase th,rt :1nd that some of the more remote country stations \You.d join in the w.ork of the A.s soc iation. (Applause).

:\Ir. :\Iein, in response, said that the first ambulance class connected with the CO::lpany was started 20 years ago at Stratford, under the secretaryship of :\lr. Parker. They were the fir.>t to recognise the nlue of ambulance work, and they had been the first to the Shield. Out of 29 teams in the service, 20 had competed this year, and he hoped another ye.:tr all the teams ,rould come forward to do battle for the Cup and for the Shield.

In proposing" Success to the St. John Ambulance Association," \1 1'. A. T. Hill, Hon. Secretary of the Company"s corps, reviewed the history of the Assoc iation, which, he reminded the members, was a branch of the Ancient Order of St. John of Jerusalem, an order instituted about the I Ith century. The Ambub.nce Department of the Order was started 20 years ago, and since t.hat time, up to the end of 18 9 6 , no less tban 36 9,000 certificates, and over +3,000 medallions had been awarded. .-\.s another branch d good work pursued by the :\ssociation, he referred to the Ophthalmic Hospital opened in recent years in Jerusalem, w here over 13,000 cases had been treated since its formation. Speaking of the officers of the \.ssociation, he said, Lord Knutsfordthe Chairman-had always t:tken a personal interest in the Great Eastern corps, and he e"idenced that interest by his appearance at their competition and by the kind remarks he addressed to the successful team at the Portman Rooms Colonel Sir E. T. Thackeray, and Chief Superintendent W. J. Church Brasier, were also unremitting in .the interest they took in the work of the A.ssociation. Dr. Taylor, 111 reply, humorously referred to an ancIent papyrus which wa s to be found in the archives of the London School Board, literally translated it ran thus :-" ;,Iadam, don't teach my :'IIary Ann no more about her inside, it is not necessary, besides, it's rude." He trusted this opposition to the study of Phy siology was breaking down, for there \vas nothinO" more to the adl antage of a man than that (to use the words of an he should" know himself." T hey had to do. Lhe best they could for their fellow creatures at any sac rifice. The work of their .\.ssociation was a fine and noble one. 1 e knowledge they had gained might, on the railw:!.)', enable them to save many valuable li,'es. In the word5 of the poet, he recommended them ne\'er to mind what people thought, but do wbat they thought was right-(applau se )-and in conclusion, he s::id should always be to work in all humblene,s for the beneht ot mank1l1d. (Applause). \ hearty vote of thanks to the Chairman presiding,. proposed by Mr. C. Rand:tll, concluded the toast list. DUring thc even111g an ample programme of music and song was creditably executed.

'F IR S T A ID.

JULT 1, 1898.

Ox nl1othel' pnge will be seen the SIR EmYaRD '1'. annonncement of the expiration of Silo 'Ill.:l.Cli:ERAY, Edwanl T. Thackenl,y's term of office

K.C'.B., Y.C. <1ti COll1missioner of the John Ambnhmce Brigade, and the appointll1f'nt of Colonel C. VV Bo\vLller, late Deputy Oommissioner of o. 1 Distl'ict as his successor.

It is with deep regret that we notice tbat the St. John Ambulance Bl'igacle is thus losing the valuable services of the late Commissioner, for we know thnt his retirement will be keenly felt by evel'J member. Sir Edward Thackemy was appointed to the post 5 years ago, and it is during this pel ioel that the Brigade has made such rapid progres.c:;. Its ::ltl'ength has largely increased, llumbering now Oye1' 8,000 of ,,1]1 nmks. It is also during his tenure of office that the Fil',st Annual Oonference of the Bl'igac1e was held fom' years ILgO, and it i3 dne to his organisation that these conferences lwse been the means of cementing together thc pl'oyincial and metropolitan members, and of affording :111 members the opportunity of bringing forward new ideas and methods, whereby the Brigade h3.<:; been placed on iel mOl'e solid foundation It WitS the far-sighted policy of Sir Edwal·d T. Tluilkeray that brought members from the proyinces on Jubilee Day, to help the metropolitan brethr en in tlleir enormous tmik of ambulancing London on that nevel·-to-beforgotteu day, he thOl'oughly desel'ved the honour of K.C,B. that the Queen was gmciously plea!3ed to confe1' on him, for it WHS in this particular manner that Her Majesty howed her appreciation of the \\-ork of the Brigade, and it wa-:; fmther emphasised by the pre:':ientation of the Jubilee Medal to all those who were on duty.

By his gt'eat courtesy and neyel' failing kindness, Colonel Sir Ec1wnrd Thackel'ay endeared himself to each menlber of the Dt. John Ambulance B1'igade, and h:1 touched theil' he u-t:-; in. such a malmer that lie will neyer be forgotten. T11e B1-igclde a debt to Sir E. T: Thackeray, which call neyer be repaid, and he will ever be remembered, not lllel'ely flS a b1'11,\-e soldier whc has \\'on his Victoria Cross. but as a hiend who'e kindly ach-ice and assistance ahn1Ys <tnlibble to every man who l'C'lluil'ed it.

'Ve ha\'e to congmtulate Colonel Bowdler on his appointment as He ill doubtless feel a difficulty 111 followmg 111 the footsteps of his pl' erlecessor, but we are glad that he has had it l,nge experience as Deputy of the Uetropolitan District, and hy the a hihty and enel'KY he has shown, we hielve eve1'Y confidence \vill. wOl'thily the just vacated. His militaljr w111 h<l:,e glVen hlm powers of organisation, and thlS WIth tart, WIll help to make him as POpUh1' as Silo E(b-ard T. Thackeray

1Railwa\? Bntbttlance.

[\. HFORn.-DIC vVrLKS ASD AMBULANCE \'VoRK.-An interestiuO' ceremony place at. the Eastern Station on Saturday evening, the +th ulL, With tbe South Eastern Railway Ambulance Corps, DI' Wilks beIng- .presented. with a gold fountain pen by the members, 111 token of their recog.nltlOn of his kindness in giving them a course. of lectures. Tbe ('haIr II as occupied by Inspector White, o! the Ashfo.rd Corps, :-'Ir. Willmott, who holds the position of pres.luent, preferrIng that the position should be filled by .some one practically a.cqu:lInteu 1\l1h ambulance work. The presentation In SUitable terms by i\Ir. Houlcroft who spoke very wUlmly In vf Lhe d?l'tor's kinc.lIy wOI'k in with the

The havll1g stated that the Company was nolV taking Interest In amb,ulance 1I'.0rk, :\iJr. Ileadley acknowledged the rote ot and Dr. "IlKS haVing urg ed the members to keep up tbeir pi actlce, the proceed Ings termlilated.

A ID [J uly , 1898.

HOLBECK competition for the Challenge Cup ofLhe Midland Railway (Northern Division) Ambulance Corps took place on the I9th ult. in the Locomotive Yard, M dl.and Railway, Holbeck, in the presence of about -+00 spectat.ors. H France presided. Four teams competed flom Keighley, Skipton, and Leeds Loco. (two) Dr. West Symes, of Halifax, 'was the judge of the practical work, and Dr. of Leeds.' examined the ca n.didates in theory. Dr. Symes SaId It was a very dtfficult 11!atter to dectde which was the best team, and he \\as glad to say the slIght advantage he had gi yen to the Leeds second team was supported by Dr. Littlewood, who O'ave them a slight advantage in the theory test. The cup was then presented to Mr. Freeman, captain of the winning team, and each member of the team was the recipient of a silver medal. I n the ackowledgments, great praise was accorded Dr. Woodcock, wh o had gi\'en considerable time to instructing the ambulance classes amongst the l\1idland Railway servants.

Pi.Yi\IOUTH.-,\Ied:dlions and certificates awarded to members of St. John Classes in connection with the Great \Vestern R ailway were distributed on the 3rd ult. by :\lrs. Adye, wife of the divisional snperintendent, in the waiting room at the Great vVestern rocks. 1\1r. T, H. Gibbons, divisional engineer, presided. During the evening an interesting demonstration n first aid was given by members of the classes, and a bouquet of flowers was presented to l\lrs. Adye. The Secretary (Mr. Evans) submitted his annual report which was adopted. Mr. "launder followed with an address on the advantages of first aid knowledge, and expressed the hope that members would not be content \\ith merely gaining certificates, but would practise the work throughout the year. The directors of the Great \Vestern Railway were mo s anxious to encourage the spread of ambulance work among their staff, and with that object defrayed the whole of the expense and awarded prizes for competition, so that there was no excuse for anyone back from the work. During the first eiO'hteen months Princess Christian, the president of the Great Western had signed upwards af 1,20::1 certificates for successful candidates amongst the company's staff. (Applause) Up to the pre;ent 4,3I7 members had gained first year certificates, I,378 second year vouchers, and 598 third year medallions. It was very gratifying to find the members of the medical profession always ready to assist the ambulance work by lecturing to classes and judging competitions. No less than 60 doctors had given lectures to classes on the Great Western system last year, and they owed a great deal of gratitude to them, because without their assistance ambulance work could not be carried on. Upwards of 2,00:) cases of accident were recorded, in which qualified members of the Great \'Vestern staff had rendered first aid. In many cases lives had been sayed through the aid thus rendered. Among railway men especially ambulance work should oe encouraged. The Plymouth team deserved every praise for the way in which they worked last year, and the position they held in the railway competition, and next year he hoped they would bring the railway challenge shield to Plymouth. (Applause.) On behalf of the class, Mr. Evans presented Dr. Buchan with a silver mounted walking stick in recognition of his nluable services. Dr. Buchan, in accepting the gift, expressed his appreciation of the kindly feeling which had prompted it, and anticipateri that unier the encouragement which the various companies were now giving it, ambulance work would increase hy leaps and bounds among raihl'ay men. "otes of thanks to Mr. and i\lrs. Adye, the Chairman , and Mr. concluded the proceedings.

ST. JOHN AMBULANCE BRIGADE.

GATESHEAD FELL.-A competition between members of this division took place on -+th ult., at Low Fell, between teams of 4 men each, commanded I'y an officer (s men in all), for silver medallion offered by Mr. J. Adolphus Harrison. Each member had to qualify by putting in a /certain number of attendances at drill, within a certain period, and the squads were drawn on the day of the competition The object being to encourage the idea of every man being able to undertake the duties of any member in the squad, as he might be called upon, without being previously specially practised and drilled to any particular number, more than four teams qualified, but 5 or 6 men were absent through business engagements, sickness and other unavoidable causes The teams were officered by First Officer Forster, Secretary L. Dobinson and the Re\'. E. U. Williams, drill instructor. Surgeon-Major G. F. Gibbons of the 1st Durham Engineer Volunteers, kindly acted as Judge. The competitors, after answering a series of questions consisted of (first) treating- a fracture of the head of the upper bone of the left arm, and rupture of brachial artery in S:lme arm, moving patient by stretcher and placing him on a bed; (second) removal of two men out of a room supposed to be filled with smoke, restoring them by tile prescribeu treatment of Shepherd's hand book. Surgeon-:Y1ajor Gibbons announced the winners, Mr. Dobinson's team, consisting of ::\fo. J. Knott; TO 2, The Rev.' J \Vilson, B.A.; No. +, Mr. J Young; NO·3. Mr. M. \ "hite, while he complimented the whole on their excellent stretcher lVork anJ good method of moving the pa.tien t. On the motion or Superintenuent J. A lIarrison, seconded by Fi rst Officer' Forster, a IJearty vote of thanks was accorded to Dr. Gibbons for h is killd selvices as juc.lge.

TOM P TAYLOlt, Esq., M.D., B.S. Lond., F.R.C S. Eng., L.U O.P. Lon(l., Hon. Smgeon Hospital Saturday Funcl 11i, iRion, ,'t John Anllmlnncc Brigade.

THE subject of our sketch is beconling so well knO\\'ll in Londou ambulance cll'cles, that we feel certain that his pl'esen cc in am Galle1 y this month will give gl'eat satisfaction.

Dr. Taylor was born at ley, near Leech.;, in Yorkshire, his father being Dr Thomas TaylOl' of that place. IIe Iya" educated in a private school fmel aftenmrds went to Y orkshil'e Colleo'e anel in 1837 ent3l'a:l Guy's Hospital as a medical Since that time his ca,reer lllay be ele:;cl·ibed as brilhant

In 1886 Dr. TarlOl' matl'iculated with honours at the London University, and took the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1889, being first in the Fil'st-OLlss honours. He was alf,o scholar in physiology at the University, and in 1892 became Bachelor of )Iedicine with honourr:; in Forensic Medicine and Obstetl'ics, and also Bachelor in Surgery (fin..;t honours), ::md finally obtained 1,he degree of M.D. in IS})4.

In 1891 he took the diplomas of M .R.O.S. Eng. and L R.C P. Lond., and in passed the examination for the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

At Guy's Hospitnl he was Assist:wt House Surgeon, anel then served hiR full time as HouRe Burgeon, <mel the experience he gained elm'ing his term of office has proved of great service to him as an Ambulance Surgeon.

He first became c0l111eded with ambulance work in 1595, by giving comses of lectures to students at the Hm:;pjtal Saturday Fund, of wbich diyision he appointed Hon. Surgeon in 1896 At present he is an Honorftry Life Member and Examincr of the St John Ambulnnce AS80ci,,\tion He is rLn ardent ad,-oca.te of ambuhnce wodz and devotes a, good dea,l of his time to the John Ambulance Brigade, and is el'er rei1.dy to go on duty 01' help in \vhate,-el' way he can.

D r . Taylor is a good spC'l'Iker, <1, good comrade and .a favourite with all, and the St. John Amhulance Brigade IS to be congratuh1.ted on having in its ranks a surgeon who, although comp;U'atITely young, shows such promise of haying a great future befOl'e him.

================

$t. 30bn BntDuIance <tall1p at JEaston 1Aestoll.

THE arrival of the members of the St. Jobn Ambulance Brigade at Towcester Station on Saturday evening 28th for the annual eight days' encampment at Easton Neston Pa.rk, kindly placed at their disposal by Sir Thomas F. Hesketh, arouseu considerable interest in Towcester. The men numbered about 90, and presented a smart appearance in their neat uI1iforms. They fell into procession, and under the command of Assistant Commissioner Wool s ton, and headed by the H igham Ferrers Drum and Fife BZlnd, marched direct to the Park. The men comprised members of the Northampton, \\"ellingborough, and K elterilJg Corps, and nearly every local division was represented. The officers present included Assistant Commissioner \ Voolston, Chief

A I:b.

5

Superintendent Perry, Chief nilton, ;cnJ SUjJel intendents Reeves. and Thorpe. On arnvll1g at the Park they \I'ere welcomed by SilO Thomas Hesketh, who declared the camp open, and hopec.l that the and men would spend a pleasant and profitable time. In the absence of Lieut.-Colonel Elliston, ".D. the camp commandant, who had not arrived, Assistant Commissioner T. H. '\Yoolston suitably thanked Sir Thomas for his kindness. The men afterwards busied the.mselves in putting their tents in order.

The camp \vas early astir on morning, preparations for the cburch parade. At 100 clock the men marched In procession headed by the Higham Ferrers Drum and Fife Band, to Church. Brigade-Surgeon Lieut.-Col one l Elliston, V.D., was in command. The service was conducted by the Re\,. S. H. B. :\oble, alld the (Rev. IV, H. Deane) preached a sermon .from John xiv., 26, and said the presence of the St. John Amb.tlance Bngade that mom inaand at Easton Ne sto n during the ensuing !veek, reminded them they constituted an order whose object was to administer comfort and relief to those who were in need. The Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jermalem-like all the hospitals existing throughout the lenath and breadth of the land, owed its existence to Christianity. TheG-'s was without doubt a Christian work, and for that reason they all welcomed it, and he trusted their presence would be the means of stimu lating a great many others to follow their example, and engage in similar useful work. On returning to camp, Colonel Elliston addressed the men, and expressed his satisfaction with the manner in which they had conducted themselves. I n the afternoon the gardens of Easton :\ eston IIouse were, by kind permission of Sir Thomas F. Hesketh, Bart., thrown opet1 to the public.

::\otwithstanding that rain fell the gl:eater portion of Sunday night, the men slept soundly, and when re\'ellle aroused them at 6 o'clock very few seemed inclined, for a time, at all e\'ems, to make a mOI·e. The serious work of the camp began with an early morning parade at 7 o'clock. The commanding officer's parade took place in the COUrtyard adjoining the house. In the afte"noon parade was again held, when the men went through company drill, and practised the m:lrch past in column. The >vhole of the movements were executed with skill and efficiency, and Colonel Elliston expressed his satisfaction with the manner in which the men fulfilled their duties. The number of yisiLOrs to the camp was yery few. In the evening a concert was held in the coach-house, which, by Sir Thomas Hesketh's permission, had been com'erled into a conceIt hall. '\1r. Arthur who has been a guest at the last t\VO are three camps, ha again beer. appointed chairman, and was very busy during the el'ening arranging an excellent programme. Cnfortunately rain again fell hea\'ily, ail.:! this deterred many from crossing the park for the concert. Great interest is being evinced in the competition for the cup offered by '\[r. G, T. Hawkins, and Brigade Chief Superintendent I," J. Church Brasier held a preliminary examination during the afternoon. In addition to this competition two others have been arranged. Lady Superintendent Church Brasier has offered a cup for cyclists, while '\Ir. G. D. He\dett has gi\'en a prize, value £1 IS., for the best kept tent during camp. These, with the other competitions, promise to provide an interesting afternoon's attraction. The health of the men up to the present has been very satisfactory.

The climatic conditions still continue to be all against the camp, and on :\Ionday night rain fell incessantly nearly the whole of the time, and on Tuesriay morning when the reveille sounded the men awoke to find themseh'es almost flooded. Some of them encountered strange and unique experiences, and the cooks \vere obliged to erect a temporary shelter oyer before the fire could be ::\ otwithstandina- these difficultIes the men worKed WIth a 1\'111, and the uSI.:al 7 parade hal'ing been dispensed \\'ith, the disasters were quickly repaired. BreZlkfast was served shortly after the ordinary time, and a quantity of sawdust haYing. been obtained by Chief Superintendent Trenery, the camp was soon 111 proper order and comfortable. The officers' mess was one of the greatest sufferers owing to the deluge, and althouah one of the meals was partaken of in a little flood, this was rectified. The commanding officer's and the afternoon par,ldes took pllce as usual, both off without a hitch. During the afternoon Brigade-Surgeon Lieut.-Colonel Bull, of the Home CountIes Inhntry Brigade, yisited the camp. Althou15h a heavy occurred about 7 o'clock, a concert took place m the cm.ch·house m the evening. \'ery few visitors during the da!'.

\Yednesday morning opened a lIttle bng!1ter, a.nd promIse was gtyen of better weather. Consequently the morl1lng dnll was one of the best during tbe week. By dinner time,. howe\'er, a number of heayy clouds were loomina- in the distance, and It was not long before ram was falling at a pace. Thi s marred the whol.e of the proceedings, and the inspection had to be postponed from 30 clock to .S, ports were put off until later in the \\eek. ASSIstant oolston, in the absence of Col. Sir E T. Thackeray, was the mspectmg o.fficer, and those present included Chief Superi11lenJen,t:, Perry anJ liliton, anLl the whole of the supernumerary officers. 1 he men were put through their various drills, which I\ere executed in commendable style ..• eighty men were on the section in camp competll1g for the cnp offered by .\Ir. G. T. IIawkJl1s [or the best all-lound man,

F IRST

Durin a the the TOlVces[er Pulice Ambulance Class and entertained a large number of friends and ,-isitors to tea. Abous 300 were present. Sir Thomas Hesketh kindl)" allowed those present to visit his ground3, many themseil"es of the opportunity _ :'IIrs_ effiCIently supenntenueu the whole of the assistel by friends. During the day Colonel BUlldler visited the camp.

Friday was the best day experienced Juring the whole the anu ad\'antacre ,\as taken to hold the sports alld competItIOns \\'hlch should ha\'e place on Wednesday. The proceedings were, of an enjoyable character, and considerable The borough men were to the fore In e"ery the .first prtze Il1 e\'ery instance going to that town. Bugler h'anCls ga.lIleu the CLlP given by Mr. G. T. Hawkins for the best The pnze of .£: IS. for the best kept tent was all'arded to "ellmgborough, and Pn\'ate Jefferies \Yon the cup in the cyclists' competition given by Lady Superin:endent Church Brasier.

The officials of the sports were: Starter, Quartermaster Trimmer; referee, :\ssistant Commissioner T. H. 'Yoolstan time-keeper. Superintenuent Perry; judges, Assistant Quartermaster Superintendent R.eeves, and :'IIr. D. ::\orman, D.C.C. ; clerk of the course, Supe)"intel,dent Boardman. The following ,,,ere the results :-100 yards bea '7 marching oruer with stretcher: Private Jefferies, 2 Pri \'a te Hands: 3 Private :'I1ilwiird. One man carrying competition: Pri\'ate Roberts, 2 Pri\-ate lIolmes. 100 yards canying bucket of water on stretcher (prizes awarded to those who spill the le:t.st waler): First Officer Hancock and Sergeant Ekins, 2 Pri\'ate Clarke and Pri\'ate :\lil\\'ard. Striking tent competition, pack tent and pegs in the mili, tary bag: Sergeant Francis' Sqmd, consisting of Sergeant Francis, PriYates lIolmes, Francis, Page, and Jc;:fferies; 2 Sergeant Ekins' Squad, consisting of Sergeant Ekins, Primtes Bosworth, l{ogers, Smitb, and Roberts. The time occupied by the \\ inners was just over six minutes. Three-legged race; I Privates Burt and Clarke, 2 Staff, Sergean t Gardner and Pri \'ate Roberts. Jockey race; I Pri \'ates Francis and Jefferies, 2 Privates Clarke and :'IIih"ard. Cyclists' competition for cup offereu by Lady Superintendent Brasier: Pril';lte Jefferies. Fo:.!r competed. The (:ompetitors had to dil-est themselves of their caps, tunics, and belts, and dress at the First Lodge; mount their bicycles ::Ind ride up the drive to a spot near the hOLl-e. "here they hld tu treat thcir patients, who were supposed to be sufferin!; from a fracture of tbe knee cap and right arm. and the oursting of a varicose vein in the leg. The winner did his work in \'ery smart fashion and won easily. There \\ as a good company of ,'isitors. [n the e\-ening an alfl esco concert and dance took place uI,der the direc, tion of Superintendent Reeves. The Camp l:roke up on S.tturd'l)' morning.

$t. 30 bn tltnblliance tlssociation.

IrswlcH.-The annual meeting of tht: [ps\\'ich centre o( the St. John ,\mbulance Association was held at the I'ubl}c Hjll on Friday evening, the roth ult. The Deputy-:\Iayor OIr. G.}-. J05selyn) tuok the chaIr, ha\'ing with him on the platform Col. Sir Herbert C. Perrott, Bart., chief secretary of Association, the ex-:\Iayor (:'Ilr. Felix Cobbold), Brigade,Surgeon Lieut.-Colonel Elliston, \7.D., :\115S Coulcher (tbe hon. "ecretary), :'Ih. H \1. J:tckaman. and other ladies and O'entlemen. The Chairman opened the meeting in it plea.sant anu speech and introduced Sir Herbert Perrott as a distinguished member of the Order, and an old boy of IpswichSchool-(applause)-\\'hom they were prouu to honour. ;\Iiss Coulcher, wbo met with a most enthusiastic reception, read theannual report, and offered some shrewd and ingenious comments upon the hcts. Those who had gone in for certificates anJ medallions Jane so almost entirely at their o\\'n expense, and all the more creult was due to th_em they were chiefly \\'orking men and women. (\pplause.) E\ en thIS could not ha\'e been accomplished, howcve but for the great generosity of their medical st::lff-(hear, hear)-Juee of whom-:\J r. Fryer, :\lr. Hosack, and Dr. \V arner-hau given free classes. (.\pplause). The great local work of the ye,tr bad the provision, useby all who requi:'ed it, of the nelY ambulance !ttter, wblch was on \ lew 111 front of the platform. This was buil t by :'IIessrs. Botwood and Son, and :'IIiss Coulcher said she was alad to add that ;,\Iessrs Botwood's employees were building Ii tter for themseh'es: they wcre gi\'ing thcir o\\'n time and skill to the making -(applause)-and they bau got some money, \\hile the Ip:,\\ich centre were going to find some m8re money. It was also to place first aId appltances at the social settlement, which was so near to lbe dockside that they would tbere be exceedingly useful. Iacluuillg the work of the Great Eastern. staff, fifty cases had bfen trealeJ by members of lhe ASSOCiatIon uurlllg the year, and during the coming year It was proposed to start a new lIycriene Class which would be conducted by :\Ir. Elliston and Dr. :'Iliss c'oulcher ad\'oc,Lted the. general' claims of the cenne to public support in forcible terms whIch evoked loud arplau:e. Colonel Sir Ilerbert Perrott who witw.a hearty recept!un, referred to the faLt that he was pupil at I pS\\,lch School when It was under the mastership of tbe late lamenteu

A I- D . [ Jul y, 1898.

Dr. Holden, and ?aid that he had at all events striven not to bring discredit upon Cis ,lima Vater (IIear, heaL) He went on to revIew the "ery interesting- history of the Order of St. John, ;I'hich was doubtless new to ma ny of present. although It has been beard 111 rpS\VIch before. The gallant Colonel g-aye some striking statistics as to the need for these various branches.oftheir work, amI the immense progress which had been m3.de, more particularly in recent years. The Chairman then annollnced, am;dst great applause, that tile \\'inners of the first prizes in tbe competition were 1\0. 17, St. Jobn's, who had obtained I20 marks out of the maximum of IS0, and of the second prize, Fir:t Di\'ision, 1pswich, \\'i tb II 9 marl, s. ;\0.5, Sc. John's was II p with_ I 17 marks. The members of the \\innlng team were :'I Iessrs. 13astll1g, \V. 1 Botwood, S. B. Bot\\'ood, D. C. Bullock, and Barker. Col. Sir IIerbelt PerroLL then distributed the cetiticates, medallions. and other prizes to a large number of recipients, whose 11;lll1eS as ,,·inners have appe.ll'eJ tIme to time. The services of :'IIiss Coulcher were warmly euloglsed by several speakers, and a fter the com pany left, Sergean t Offurd, whose devotion to th:s cause is also desen·ing of the highest praise. was presented hy :\Ir. Cucko\\', on behalf of the first di\'ision, Ipswich, with a purse, pouch, and p!pe, as a slight recognition of the esteem in which he is held. Sergeant Offord briefly tbanked his friends for.a gift as welcome as it was unexpected, <.Lnd Brigade Surgeon LIeut.-Col. Llliston said that ne\'er \\'as a presentation more richly deserved.

KE:\,DAL.-On the I7th ult. a public meeting W.1S held at the Town Hall for the purpose of forming a branch of the St. John Ambubnce Association ,\11'. S. Silkes in the absence of the .\layor presided. i\ branch of the Association was formed having its headquarters at Kendal. :'IIr. E. 'V. Wakefield \\'as appointed treasurer, :tnu the ChieEConstable 011'. George Hurley) secretary. with a committee consisting of J\1es5rs. E. J. Abbatt, Forster Wilson, Walter IIarrison, C. S. Davies, J. Hunter and T. N'. Ritson.

!1Debicc'JaI tln l bu!an ce (! orps .

THERE is a remal kable society in leghorn comprising no fewer than 9,CQO members, which succours the sick and buries the dead rhe mem I- ers wear a very curious costume A Pearson's contri butor was lucky enough during his \'isit [Q wilne,s the departure and return of:1. party of brethren. " Soon after my arri\'al," be says, " the bell rang for a ,on\'oy to take a \\'oman to the hospital. The last echoes of the bdl Iud scarcely dieu away when a pumber of men hurried in, well-tO-do cit:zcn3 for the most part. They rushed to their cupboards as if lheir hIes dependeu on it, and an inc,'edibly short time ",ere ranged round an empty liner in the CUU1ty.nU in their mysterious garb. It was amazing- to see hoI\' completely their costume transformed them. One momellt I lIas 5LlITounded by a bevy of citizens; the next 1 \\·::t5 plunged into an atlilOsphere of meui"cl'alism. The speed and order of the brethren remindeq me of a fire brigade. Only long practice could have enabled them to assemble in so rapid and exemplary a manner."

I. The Senior Brother tlnk command at once, deciding who should bear the litter, who should precede, and who shuulcl follow it. _-\.bsolute obedience to him is exacted, and allyone questioning his orders is instantly sent home. Ile e_\.claim::t in a loud voice: 'Proccd,lI11{(s m pace,' and the others reply: • JIl lIoml//e DOllllili. ,11111'11.' Then the great iron gates are throll n open, anu the party sets out at the double."

"There are elaborate rules for Lhe bebayiour of the brethren on scn'ice, an.J any infraction is \'isited with They must not rai"e their eyes to the windows of the streets, nor notice anyone they meet. If, hOlVe\'er, they encounter the bishop, or a pI iest bearing the llost, they must put uo\\'n their burden anll kneel duwn to ask a. and if they mecl the Kingor his troops, they are to raise their hats. \Yhen they pass a church they must also raise their hats. On returning- to the buikling gather round the brOLht',r in command \\hile he offers up a prayer, and are then uis:11issed to sign their names and remO\'e their clothes

P.-\CK ,.,,;\,D SADDLES A:-IlJ STRETCHER.-An inspection of the illlpro\'ised pattern of combined pack ambulance saddles, also an impro\'ed pattern of folding slretchers for use in mountain warfare, has been helu by a committee at Simla, comprised of the Principal Medical Officer of H.lIl.'s Forces at Simla, the Commissary General in Chief, the Director -General of Urdn.ll1ce in Indi:t., the Deputy (Juattemlaster-Gener,d, the Secretary to the P.M O. H.:.\L's Forces, anu the Commissary General of Tran: port. Reporls from the Tochi and :'Ilalakand Fie)ll Forces on the combined p:1.ck and ambulance sa.ddles were considered.

THE U'\IO'I 0" TIlE ,Vo:.1EN OF FRA:-ICE.-The Union has just held its annLlal meeting, f[,om the proceedings of which it appears that the organisatIon consists of 36,000 members, with 1+9 committees and 87 sub-committees; there is a reserve fund of £136,000, there flre 1,200 ce['ti!ied nurses, I75 buildings carable of holding IZ,35 5 heels, of which the Union posesses and if war broke out the Union could etluip 19 fIeld huspitals with 1,900 beds.

Ju ly , 18 98.J

FI R S T

$t. 30bn tlnlbnlanc e mr igabc .

THE Prince of Wales bas appointed Colonel C 'V. B. Bo\\'dler, formerly of the 8th II ussars, late Deputy Commissioner of the ;\0. District, to be CommIssioner of the St. John ,\mhulance Briaade in place of ('olonel Sir Ed\\'ard Talbot Thackeray, Y.C., whose period of service expired on Friday, 2+th ult.

ACCRI;:\GTON.-OPE;\,l;:\G or :'\E\\, HEAT>CWARTERS.- The new headquarters, situate in Briuge Street, behind-the Arcade buildinas. are admirably suited to the requirements of the Corps, having specially erected. at a cost of about £3,000 by the :\Iayor, to designs and plans by the Committees of the Ambulance Corps, who have taken over the premises at a rental, \'ery reasonable, of £30 a year. The new headquarters were formally opened, being made the occasion of a demonstration by various ,\mbulance Corps throughout the Diyision, of which there ace at present fIve in England The committee were fa\"oured in baving obtained the pI esence of Sir Yincent Kenne't-BarringtOn, Deputy Chairman of the St. John Ambulance Association, and Col. Sir E.:lward T. Thackfray, Brigade Commissioner. The original intention of holding a procession was adhered to, as during the afternoon rain kept off, and the demonstration of ambulance exercises tOok place in the assembly room of the To'vn IIall, "hich had been engaged at the last moment, but for several reasons tbe display here had to be curtailed. The following Corps \\'ere represented in the proces,ion: Colne, Preston, BarnoldslVick, Rochdale, \\'halley, Bolton, Warri'1gton, IIapton, Padiham and Accrington, the Colne Di\'ision sending their ambulance van. Through the kindness of their commanding offIcers tl:e loc::tl Artillery ,-olunteers and Rifles were present on parade. The Artillery \"ere under the command of Lieut .-Col. Sandema n. :lnd the officers present were Lieuts .\Iarsden, Lee and Frankish, anJ Surgeon-Captain Fox; and the Rifles, rompanies, \\'ere commanded by Lieut. Sharples, who was supported by Lieut. Slinger. Arri\'ing- at the Drill Hall the procession W::IS met by the members of the ,\ccrington ::\urses Di\-ision, in cbarg'! of Lady Superintendent Fletcher, of Accrington, being accompanied by representath-es from several nursing didsions 1Il :'\OIth-east Lancashire. The ceremony in opening was "ery brief. In presenting a gold key to Sir \-incent Kennett-13arrington, the 1\1 ayor remarked that during the past fifteen years they had had an ambulance society in .-\ccrington, during which time they had done yery good work. Sir \'incent Kennett-Barrington then unlocked the door, declaring the Drill Hall formally opened. He implored tha: God might bless the good work to which it was dedicated, and that God might bless and prosper the :'IIayor. the true friend who had done so much in providing them with that hall. (Appla·use.) The hall was then entered and the various rooms inspected, the yisitors being sho\\'n round by Chief Superintendent L. \Yhittaker. Superintendent Ogden, First Officer Spencer, and Second Officer Buliock .'\ short meeting was subsequently held in the Town Hall. The ;\Jayor presided, supported on the platform hy Sir \7incentKennr.tt-Barrington, Col. Sir Edward Thackeray, i\1ajor Trimblp) Surgeon-Captain Fox, Chief Superintendent Lawrence 'Whittaker, Superintendent J. Ogden, Chief Surgeon Grant, HOllo;'ary Surgeon Broomhead (llaslingden), Captain IYaring (Warrington), and Dr. Di::key. Tbe :\Ia)'or said they ,yere highly favoured by the presen'e of Sir Vincem and Col. Sir E. Thackeray, especially so when they had come down to officiate at the opening of such a useful institution as theirs. (I-lear, hear.) Sir Yincent Kennett-13arringtoLl, who was well receiyeu, remarked that, as Deputy Chairman of the Sl. John L\mbulance Association, it was a high honour "hich they had bestowed upon him in asking him to open the Drill Hall which had been erected for their benefit. The headCJlIarters and the Central Committee appreci:1.ted ,ery highly the state of proficiency and the immense progress made by TO. 4 District, and the Accring-ton Di\ision. rhere were many places where it was no'. yet suf-ficiently de\'eloped. and they \\'Juld look to NO.4 District and the Corps in London to set :1.n example of 'vhat ambulance men ought to be. lIe said one object of his coming to AccrinO'ton was to e.\.jlress the appreciation of the Centr::tl Executive, and of the members of tbe headquarters' stafr to the ;\layor for the kind interest he had taken in the movement , and the :1.ctil·e and liberal part he had taken in providing them \lith a ne\\ Drill Hall. (Hear, hear.) He hoped that the work of the ACCI ington Di\'i:ion migl::.t go Oll prospering. lIe was exceedingly interested to see that great progress had been maue in the nursing ui\'ision of ambulance "'ork, and he hoped they would continue to prosper. Col. Sir E. T. Thackeray spoke in apprecia:iye terms of (he I rogress Acel ingtol1 had made in securing such splendid headquarters. ,\ drill hall \y::s the gr.eatest benefIt to a Corps, :1.nd it \\'as one of the greatest "'lnts 111 the Ungaue. .\1ajor Trimble mo\'eu a vote of thanks to Sir \-incent [';:ennettBarrington and CuI. Sir E. T. Thackeray, kindness they. all thoroughly appreciated. He felt proud of the condlltull of the Accrmgton Corps, and development had been fostered unuer a gentleman \\'ho had for a numher of years spared no time, effort, or expense in the WOI k-he referred to his Chief Superintellllelll, :\1 r La l\Tence V\' hill a ker. (Hear, hear.) The Accrington Corps no\\' an excellent Chief Superintendent in 1\11'. Ogden, and if he (\lajor Trimble) were to go

AlD . 7

through the I\h')le cOllnlry be could not find a more energetic or better offIcer than Ugden. (t\pplause.) lIe expressed his re&-ret that SIr Thack.eray had deciued to resign his post as Bngade Commlsslone.r, and saId that be "'ould always retai:1 the esteem and of the Bngade for the great that he hn.d always sho\\n to .the officers of the Supenntendem Og,lell seconded the 1ll0110n, whIch \\as c:trned \\nh acchmation. Sir Kennett· Banington, in tha,nked the Accrington DI\ ISlon fo( .the halldsome present 111 the shape ol a gold key, which he ke.ep 111 of lhe dar he spent among them. He inlended keepll1g lt all.hlsbfe, and when he h'ld gone he would leave it for the Accnngton DI\'lslon, \\'ho w?ulu be able to keep it in their new drill (Apl?lause.) Col. SIr E. T; Thackeray briefly returned thanks. ChIef Supenntendent La\'rence \\ hlttaker moved a yote of thanks t') the :'Ihyor. Surgeon-Captain Fox seconded the motion, and ::tfter the .\layor had responded the proceedings terminated.

BIR)1Ii'lGHA:'I.-The monthly meeting of the committee of this Corps I\·as. at the Chid Fire Station on June 6th, :'III'. A. R. Tozer presldll1g. were 2 II cases of first aid reported during the month of :\lay. Fm.t\ arrangements were made for the demonstration and sports, as under :- I n splenuid weather on June the 1 th the and sp?rts organised by this Corps, took place 111 i.\lal\·ern Park, Solthull, whIch was kll1dly lent by :'IIes=rs. J. Trom:LI1 D. Coo.k There was. a large attendance ;:,f people from the Birmll1gham dlstnct. Prol11l11ent among tho"e present were :'Ilr. J. Courtenay Lord, and :'III'. E. :'I1urphy, Superintendent of the Great Railway, i\lrs. Lord and party. An interesting exhIbItIOn of first aId was gll'en by the members of the Birmiflaham Fire (under the of Engineer Jones), ham PolLce 1\. C. Jones), Great IYestern Railway, Snow Hill OIr. .:\lapperley), S:vern Street Li\ing=tone). Highgate (:'Ilr. J ennmgs), Great "estern Ral!\my, Hockley Olr. Hancock, Krnochs (:'Ilr. Barratt), Belmont Row Plr. Hawkins), :\Iidland rClilway, Lawley Street Cdr. J. Dudley), Small IIeath ('\Ir. \\'right), and of :'11 r. Lacon's class. Tbe whole of the exercises were superintended by ;\lessrs. J. R. Stamp (hun. secretary) and :lIr. J Dudle\', while the honorary medical officers present were Drs, :'IIOlrison to the Police Corps), and Dr. T\eale (Great \Yestern Rail\\'ay Dil'ision), who judged the work and explaineJ the nature the supp osed injuries. The bandage \\ ork and the first aId treatment tor fracture'::! limbs were higbly commended by the medical officers, and the men sh8\\'ed a thorough practical knowledge of their duties. With respect to stretchers. a parcel rack of a railway carriage was requisitioned, showing wbat could be done in the case of emergency. .\thletic sports for prizes subsequently took place, the stewards being :\Iessrs. "". C. Jones and A. E. 'Yright. A programme of music was supplied by the Hockley Raih\ay :\lilitary Banu, and the prizes \\'ere distributed by i.\lrs. Courtenay Lord, to wbom a vote of thanks \\':t.s p:t.ssed HARRO\Y -A good company assembled at the \'ictoria Hall on the 3rd June, to \\'itness the presentation of medals and certincatcs to the Harrow Di\"ision of tbe St. Amb'.llance Brigade, and also to "iew some exercises in the principles of first aid by the members of the Brigade. who ha\'e, during the \"inter months, been under the instruction of Dr. StiYen. Un the phtform, in addition to the Rev. T. and :'Ilrs. Smith, were _-\ssist:1.n t Commissioner and :'I! iss :\lackenzie. Superin [endent Alan Paull, Chief :'II organ, :'Ilrs. Childs, and Dr. StiYen. In the audience were also Superintendent \Y. T. Ball,

:\Ir. F .\1. Blockley, the Re,-. H. L. Rice, and others. The Re\·. T. Smith occupied the chair, and afrer a short address, called upon :\lr. :'Ilackenzie, ,\£sistant COl11!l1issioner, to address the meeting. :'Ilr. Mackenzie said a pleasure to come there that e,-ening to say a few words on a work which was one entirely of humanity. After a glO\\ing short history of the Order of St. John. and of the importance of a thorough knowlt!d.,;e of alllbulance work. he proceeded to say th:!!; as Assistant of the :\letropolitan Corps, he shoub like to thank Dr. Sti\-en for the work he had undertaken (cheers). He conaratulated the neicrhboLlrhood, and especi,tlly :\lr. Paull, on ha'"ing started a new di\ision of the :\[etropolitan Corps in harrow, and he wished il a prosperous future. He boped the di\'ision it was proposed to start at Rox[eth \\'ould edso be a success. :'Ilr. :\lackenzie then went on to speak of the desirability of a :\'ursing diyision being formed by ladies, and emphasized it by pointing out that \\here women I\'ere to be treated it I\as better, if possible, for them to be treated by tbeil own se.\:, and especially \\'here cases arose for treating them in the public streets. In conclusion the speaker again tbe di,'ision eyery success, and said he hopt:d the felY remarks he had made that night would not be entirely forgotten (cbeers). :'Ilrs. Smith, the wife the \"iC;lr then distributed the .11edals. to the successful competItors. The 'members then \\-ent thruugh some interesting h:lnd-seat and bandaging drill, illustlatin.g the different bandaging required a fractured arm, and lor InjUrIes to the chest, head, shoulders, and thIgh. Chief :)lIpnintendLllt the :'Iletropolitan Corps,. next addressed the meeting. gn:lI1g 5tatlstlcs sholl!l1g the JIlcreases 111 the dirferent corps dming- the last r:fteen. or ye::lrs. He of the use of urill anJ the necessIty tor strict o;.;edlence to orders. \I hen he started as a raw recruit he 50011 found the good effect it had upon

8 FIEST

him; never mind wbat they were told to do, let them always obey their officers' orders, as they would all then work well togetber.and become a realiy smart body of Hav!ng to the use the ambulance men "'ere on Bank HolIdays, ChIef Supenntendent Morgan saId they must 1Jnke this work up as a duty, and must deny tbemselves a goo,d deal of leisure, If they did not feel \\'illing to give time to the work It was no use, They must, week by week, and b;: month, keep themseh es proficiem not only in drill, but al.so In first aId He hoped this visit was the. of many.h e ITIlght have the prIvIlege of pa}ing- to the Harrow dIvIsIon; he wIshed them every success, and trusted they would, before long, be as s,mart a division as any in tne Corps (applause), Supenntende,nt W, !-, Bal,l then proposed a cordial vote of thanks to SmIth for dlstnbutll1g certificates, and to the audience [or tbe ll1terest they had taken, whIch brollaht the proceedings to a close.

Oi."nHA:-l- THE NE"- The following is a description of the " Bolton" accident ambulance. The frame of the body is built of good, sound, dry English ash, with panels?f baywood, well ,ventiI ,ted at the sides and doors, and fitted with adjustable covers, lIghted "ith fo ur plate-glass emhossed panels, and lighted at night two o utside and one inside lamps. doors open outward and fitted WIth lock and inside and outside bandIes, small window to open for direct communication with the dri\'er from the inside, recept3cle for splints, bandaaes, &c. seats for doctor and attendants, easy of ingress and folding step at back, seats in front for dril er and assistant, ",ith canopy over them to protect them from the weather. The ambulance is fitted with two stretchers. (A), or bottom :.;tretcher is fitted with 12in. rubber-tyred wheels and elliptic springs, which are detachable, and can be used to run a patient along the floor at any Iyorks or mill, and can be carried up or down stairs; it runs in grooves on the bottom of the ambulance after being placed on a portable tramway, which Ii, fitted to the hack of the body; this can then be folded up and carried underneath the stretcher, which it is always ready. This stretcher is also fitted with an ingeniolls arrangement for raiEing the patient in a horizontal po sition when the ambulance may be descending a steep incline. Stretcher (B ) is fitted with four small springs and wheels, and is suspended on an ingeniously arranged frame O\'er stretcher CA) ; both frame and stretcher neatly fold up, and when not required are out of the way. Both stretchers are co\'ered with stout sail canvas, and are fitteJ with two pure rubber pillows, partly inflated and partly s uffed. The cal1\'as is cO\ ered with white rubter sheeting that will easily wa sh. The wheels are made of good, sound, dry timber, and tyred with best quality indi:uubber. The axles are mail patent pattern , hind cranked and front straight. The springs ha\'e patel)t rubber ball bearings, specially prepared by the builders for ambulance work. They gil'e the greatest possible ease in riding, and reduce jolting to a minimum. A pO\\'erful le\'er brake is fitted to the wheel, worked by the driver, and shafts, pole, and splinter bar for one or two horses, as may he required. The ambulance is full lock. Tbe wheels, underworko, springs, &c., are painted a rich, deep chocolate, and picked out Yermilion, and glazed with carmine. The body is left self-colour, both inside and out, and the whole is beautifully finished and highly yarnished with super copal body yarnish. On the centre panels each side are the arms of the county borough of Oldham which <Jre beautifully hand-painted in proper heraldic colours.

1Ro\?al tlQricnItnral Societ\?

SHOW,

THE Ambulance Station at the Royal Show \\'as this year placed under the control of the Brigade Chief Superintendent. The arrangements made for coping with any accidents that might.occur were admirable. The Brigade Cbief Superintendent was assisted by Superintendent Goodwin, who has for the last ten years done duty at the Royal Show, Lady Superintendent Mrs. Church Brasier, and Lady Inspectorof Stores, Sleath Gent, Sergeant Phillips, with a squad o[ men from the l\Ietropolitan Corps, and by a detachment from the Hands\\'orth Corps. Forty-eight cases of a more or less serious nature were treated a,t the station, one a case of fracture of the rightleg ha\'ing to be moved 111 the ambulance wagon to the Central Hospital, Birmingham, a distance of nine miles. 'Vednesday, the station was \ isited by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales and Lord Spencer, the PresiJent of the Society. His Royal Highness, attended by Mr, and 1I1rs. Church Brasier and Mr. Goodwin inspected the station and enq .lired minutely into all the details connected with the workina of it and at the conclusion of his visit expressed himself as very all the arrangements. The .'.[edical Officers, Dr. Martin Young, and Dr. .Bennett wer.e subsequently presented to His Royal Highness. The statIon was furnl sbed by r-Iessrs. Cnsp & Co., of Seven Sistsrs Road Hol!o\\,ay, who deserve all credit for the way in which it carned out. Messrs. Burroughs & \Velcome, of Snow Hill London kind!y placed at the disposal of med,ical staff one of MedIcal Chests and a quantity o[ 1\ yeth s MeatJuiceand their "Forced 1\larch" Tabloid5. The :\ledical Chest was much/admired by the many medic;1.1 men who visited the station.

A I D. [Jul y, 189 8.

YORKTOWN AND CAMBERLEY CBNTRE,-ST. JOHN AMBULANCE ASSOCTAT!ON.-A very interesting gathering was held on the lawn of St. Michael's Vicarage on vVednesday evening, the 21st ult., by the kind permission of the Vicar and Mrs. Berryman. It was the occasion of the present;1.tion of medallions and certificates to those ladies and gentlemen of the classes recently held who had paSSEd the examination o[ the St. John Ambulance Association. Colonel C. W. B Bowdler, formerly of the 8th Hussars, who is well known in connection with ambulance work presided. In opening the proceedings Colonel Bowdler spoke of the great interest taken in the movement by the honorary secretary, who really initiated those classes. They had also been greatly helped by the Vicar, who was ever ready to assist any good work for the benefit of the parish. Mr. A. R. Harwood then presented a lengthy report. Colonel Bowdler then delivered a most interesting- address dealing with the rise and progress of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, and of the St. john Ambulance Association.

"Vith reference to the work of the latter he did not think he need enter into any long explanation of what first aid was. It meant giving temporary assistance to the sick and injured, but they must bear in mind that it was not doing, or attempting to do, the medical man's work vVith a few kindly words to each recipient Colonel Bowdler then distributed the awards, t-Iajor-General Abbot Anderson proposed a hearty vote of thanks to Colonel BowdleI' not only for his kindness in officiating there that e\'ening, but also for the very great benefit they all derived from his presence on all occasions. He wished them to join him in a vote of thanks and also in congratulations to Colonel Bowdler on his appointment as Commissioner of the St. John Ambulance Brigade vice Colonel Sir Edward T. Thackeray,KC.B., V.C. Expressing tbe opinion that tbey ought to be proud of having such a gentleman as Colonel BowdleI' residing in their midst, Mr. V'l. H. Goffe seconded the yote. The proposition having been heartily agreed to Colonel Bowdler responded, and as he had to leave General Abbot Anderson for the rest of the e\'ening. Later the Vicar said he had a very pleasant duty to perform. His present duty was to make presentations on behalf ofthe classes to Dr. Wooldridge and Dr. Rayner, who had so kindly consented to instruct them. In responsee Dr. 'Vooldridge said he was extremely ol,liged and was pleased to hear that they were gratified. Dr. Rayner acknowledged the gift with a few appropriate remarks. He congratulated them on the result of the examination, which was very aratifying to him. A vote of thanks to the Vicar and Mrs. Berryman for the use of the lawn was accorded on the motion of l\1r. I-Ia{\yood, seconded by .'.1r. Tomms, and the Vicar's brief reply closed a very pleasant e\'ening.

A"lBULANCE \VORK IN BRISTOL.-The anl1l:al distribution ofcertilicates and medallions in connection with the Bristol cen tre of the St. John Ambulance Association was held on Friday evening, the 2+th ult., in the Y.r-I.C.A. hall, under the chairmanship of Dr. Rogers, who was supported by the Duke of Beaufort, the High Sheriff (Dr Richardson Cross), Mr. V\'. Windus, Dr. Godfrey Gibbs, and Dr. J. O. Symes. The Chairman said that the number that had won medallions and certificates was 361, which showed an appreciable increase over 310 of the previous year. Altogether the report for the year was a most satisfactory one, and he hoped that the next year would be as successful. The Duke of Beaufort congratulated them upon the report just read, and said that it was an exceedingly small number out of the many that had attended the lectures in the past, but they must not be disheartened by it as people had occupations of more importance, and could not find time [or this. He hoped that in time they would get more people to join them, and with the increased numbers of th03e who learnt, the numbers of those who passed would also be increased. They ougbt to be very grateful to the gentleman who had taken the trouble of instructing so many people in giving first aid t.) the wounded. The High Sheriff (Dr, Richardson Cross) said that the association was one worthy of public support and recognition, and as a medical man he hoped that the first aid to the injured would be learn t by every Englishman. The Duke was then asked to gi ve the medallions.

THE USE OF AMBULANCE 'VORK.-An aged woman took an epileptic fit on South Parade, Northallerton, and was laid helplessly on the path. Dr. Hutchinson being called he sent for the ambulance stretcher at the station, and tbe woman being strapped to this, she was taken home. Tbe promptness and pr Jpriety with which the help was rende'ed was an of the utility of the late ambulance teaching, and was the subje:t of m'.lch favourable animadversion.Extract .from local jJCt/Jer. [Is this a specimen uf north country humour.-ED.]

CLASSES.

St. 30bn tl1nbulance :f13rigabe.

ANNUAL IMPOlnANT RESOLUTIO:-lS

(From our Special Correspondent).

The fourth annual COllference,under the auspices of the 5t John Ambulance Brigade, was this ye:u held at Blac«PJJI, in Lancashire, on June 17th, when some i mpurtan resolutions were submi tted from various quarters, the discussions being very interesting. A rnong the large n urn ber of deleaates present, which included over a dozen lady Superintendents, were"'Major Trimble, Deputy Commissioner of NO.4 District, a portrait and sketch of whose career appeared in the last number of First A ,d; Mr.J C. Derham,Assistant Commissioner; Mr. W, J, Church Brasier, Brigade Chief Superintendent, and Mrs. Brasier. Lady Superintendent, Metropolitan Corps; Colonel Bowdler, Deputy Commissioner, Metropolitan District; Mr T: H. Assistan.t 3 District ; tI. :'1dburD ASSIstant CommISSioner NO.5 Dlstnct, Hull; Superintendent Conference Secretary, London; Superintendent Swanton, ASSistant. Confe,rence Preston; Dr, rim, Barrowford ; Mr, MackenZIe, ASSIstant C')mmlssloner No. District, London; Superintendent Perry, Northampton; Captain Bielby, Birkenhead; Chief Superintendent Whittaker, Accrington; Chief Superintendent Hopper, Hull; Dr: Thomson, Oldham ;. .'.l.r. Newb'JLll1d, 1st Officer, Preston; Supenntendent W. Jones, Blrmlllgham; Superintendent H .r. Livingotone, Birmingham; Superintendent

M. H. Cartwright, Birmingham; SuperintenJent C. Heathcot'.!, Winsford Division; Superintendent A. S. and l\Ir5. Dale, London; Superintendent J. ('gden. Accrington; Chief Superintendent

H. Beck. HandsworLh and Smethwood Centre; Superintendent Secretary E. F' Krause, Hull; SuperintendentH, N. Preston, BarrolVlord; Superintendent J. Simpson Yates, Penrith; Tr.ansport intendent F. H, Turner, Leicester; Transport SuperIntendent J. G. Mobbs, Leicester; Chief Superintendent H. Veevers, :"lorth-East Lancashire; Superintendent P Hayman; Superintendent of Stores, A. J. Trimmer; Superintendent E. H. Evans, Hampstead; Superintendent Secretary J. Norfolk, No.2 District; :.Ylr. S. Adams, Hon. A. B. C, Division, B ristol; Dr. Tom R. Han. Surgeon London; Mr. l\1. H. Daw50n, 1st Officer, SuperintenJent A, J. Rile.y, Hon. Secretar;:: DlVlslOn; Superintendent J. A. Harnson, Gateshead; :;upenntendent 'V. H. Reeve, Northampton; Mr. 'V. Ireland Buckley, 2nd Officer, Wmsford , Mr. J. Hon. Surgeon, Colchester; ..'.1r. T. Sharples, Hon. Suraeon, vValton-le-dale; 1\11'. W. Bullock, 2nd Officer, Accrington ; Mr.t>S. W. ilIalkin, Assistant Commissioner, No 5 District; .'.lr. L. .'.1. Sutcliffe, 1st Officer, Hebden Bridge, Yorks; :'Ir. W. E. Hartland, 1st nfficer, Dudley; illr J, Durham, 3rd Officer, PreSton Secretary A Howard, Preston; 1\1rs. A. Lines, Corps; Mi5s A. Howard, Han. Secretary, Preston; i\llss E. Parker, Storekeeper, Preston; :'III'S. A. Davies, President of the i\"?rth-East L'll1cashire Division; Miss M. E. Fletcher, Lady SuperIntenuent Accrington, illrs. 'V. Orme, Lady Superintendent, Blackpool ; :'IIrs. J. Thompson, Lady Superintendent, Oldham; MISS L. Whltehead, Lady Superintendent, 'Valton.le-Dale, etc., etc, In wclcomin a the Conference, the Mayor of Blackpool (CouncIllor .'.lather, J. P.) it was a creditable thing to be with ,the St. John Am\)ul.tnce Brigade, and with people who gav.:: theIr 5erVIces for the aid and benefit of the suffering.

His \Vorship then vacated thechair, which wastaken by .'.IaJor Tr'mble, who paid a high tribute to the. and Corporation oftl1ctown for [he hospitality extended to the Vlsltors. He commented upon the healthy development of ambulance work in all parts of the country,. and saId there was no ')bject that either men or women, could lke UP.I'l more Christian spirit and more beneficial to hu.manlty, thal.the dlstr.lbuClon of this knowledge, the rendering of first aId, and nursl lg the SIck and poor withoul fee or reward. All they asked for were means to carry out th:!.t work which they held so dear. (Applause).

Letters of regret were read by i\1r. W. H. Winny (Hon. Sec.), from the Riaht IIon. Viscount Knutsford, G.c'.'.I.G. ; Dr. MIlnes Hey, Deputy No, 2 District; Colonel Sir E. T. Thackeray, KC.B , V.C. Dr. Elliston, NO.3 D!strict, and others.

HOIV.1rd (Preston) was next to the fore with a rather hU':lOrom " Tha.t cyclists when attending a parade at which th<:lf m..l.ch.mes not req ulred, nny wear ordinary uniform trousers," Up)J1 heanng whIch several delegates laughed outright.

The Chairman having observeJ that he could say his prayers quite as e::-Ily In knIckers as rousers, the motion fell to the ground.

., fhat it be a recommendation to he>adquarters, that with a view to o\)taining the services of influential persons as officers, some further inducem::!nts than Lho 'e at present ex isting be offered to such persons willing to h.:come members of the Br.igade. " was moved by Superintend;:nt O.;den (.-\ccringlon), and seconded by Second Officer Bullock.

Assistant Commissioner J. O. Derham CBlackp :lOl), expr.::ssed the general opinion of those present when he s:!.id it was like offering a bribe. He found no financial difficulty in Blackpool. because the men made themselves useful. (Hear, hear). The resolution was defeated cyan overwhelming majority.

Chief Superin endent Whittaker (Accrington) wanted the Conference to sanction a proposal to give permission "To introduce the purchase and loan system with regard to uniforms," so that men who were not able to buy them, could payoff the cost in three or four years at + per cent interest.

Superintendent Ogden (Accrington ) seconded. Superintendent HOlVard (Preston) suggested that the Superintendent of each Corps might advance the money, Superintendent Evans (London) supporting. Chief Superintendent Bielby CBirkellhead) remarked that though he would be willing to guarantee payment of money for the uniforms of his own corps, gentlemen hal'ing money to invest would very likely go in for something safer.

Rrigade Chief Supt. Brasier advised them to put their shoulder to the wheel and make the probability of allainment less difficult. Surely the larger towns could do what many of the small di\ isions had proved <apable of. Replying to Chief Superintendent Whitlaker, he said he did not know of any loan system in London. They issued certain uniforms every year, but the recipients had to hal'e three years efficient service and called upon to put in 25 insLe,ld of 12 drills annually, in addition to doing a great amount of public duty.

Superintendent Simpson drew the notice of the meeting to the work being done by Superintendent Hoga th of the Keswick who, be said, had set to work to hold a remnant sale in order to supply the whole of his men with uniforms.

The resolution was defeated.

Then came a proposal from the same quarter in regard to the nursing re a ulatio:1s. It was" That detailed regulations be drawn up and issued a complete and separate scheme of organi , ation for Xursing Divisions." In movin a this, Chief Superintendent Wbittaker said they had I'ery little matter, beyond thenotification .that a l\ursing Di\:ision miabt be formed, on which the ladles could go 111 referen ce to o rgal1lSll1g anJ carrying out their \York. He declared that it was time to put organisation on a proper basis. Suppose they had a commIttee of ladles to formulate a scheme under which all the members of the Brigade could work on similar line5. One lady officer in each district might be attached to the staff, and they could furnish full information to the lady Superintendenu of the district. Further, a lady officer could be attached to the headqu.lrter's staff.

Superintendent Ogden seconded. .,

Brigade Chief Superintenden t Brasier the that in the ,vI etropolitan Corps, the nursing sisters [.lad regulat.lons sUltable to their particular work, copies of which the proVl?clal dIstrIcts could ha\'e for ad o ption at any time. He thought the ladles would strongly resent beina taken away from the St Johl1 Ambulance BrIgade, and formed into separate organisation as suggested.

Assistant Commissioner Dr. '\lilburn (Hull) pOll1ted out that they coiiId not very well b.y down hard and fast rules for nursing to the benefit of every town. "

Chief Superintendent Whittaker discla,imed Idea of ladles stparating from the Association; the resolutIOn Simply meant separate reau lations from those of the men's corps.

NOTICE TO

In order to facilitate the work of Secretaries of Classes, it has been decided to insert Totices of Classes and Lectures on First Aid, Nursing, and Hygiene in this column at the rate of 1d. a line, the minimum c;::harge to be IS. per insertion prepaid,

A resolution was moved by Supenntendent Heathcote (Wll1sford), "That each corps or diyision be to appoint its own irrespective of a centre, to hold 1l1. trust all ambulance.materJal, and failing such appointment, the materIal should be vested In t.he Central Executive Committee of the St. John Ambulance ASSOCIation, except when the corps or division is connected wi.th a Railway or other public body, at whose cost the materIal has prOVIded: Second Officer Buckley seconded, but the proposltlon was ultImately withJrawn upon an assurance from Brigade Chief Brasier that s..l.tisfactory regulations were shortly to be Issued.

-\ long discussion followed upon a motion by Third Officer (Preston), seconded by Superintendent Secretary Cro.sfield (WarrIngton) "That attendances at no fewer than twelve drIlls or parades a year s h all be h e m ini mum number required to render a me:11b(;r efficient fo r that year." The resolut on was carried

\Vilhout speaking officially, Deputy Col.onel Bowdler (London), said it had been by the Central that, the duties of nursing sisters as re cognIsed by the Order, \"ere entIrely connected with amhulance work. If a person taken III to a tent or house [or three or four hours, a nursing sister mIght be m attendance, but the duties were not cansidered nursing duties.

The Conference nea:ttil'ed the proposal.

Assistant Commissioner Derham (Blackpool), next came with a motion "Thatin order to secure the more general reflresentatIOl1 of the Brigade on the Conference Committee, not [ewer tha? members shall be elected for each district, and that for all dlstncts numbering more than two thousand efficie>nts an extra be allowed for every thousana or part of a thousand above that There was the probability, said .'.Ir. Derham, that eXlstll1g conditions, where only one representative be he mIght be unable to attend, and the district would thus be left Superintendent Mobbs seconded, and It was supported by Superintendent Livingstone (Blrmmgham), The resolution was carried, as was also one by Asslstant CommiSSIOner I I /

TO

Woolston (1\0. 3 District), seconded by Chief Superintendent Perry (;'\ orthampton) "That the Conference be held every year Instead of at least once in three years as hitherto " Hull was mentioned as the venue for next year s meetIng, but by a great majority London was decided up?n.

A resolution was also passed protestlllg agamst ambub.nce members undertakincr cases of re-dressin cr and the meeting favoured resolutl0ns dealina with the reco'Ynizina weekly or monthly publication as the o ffi"c ial organ of the Brigade, and that an authoritative circular be issued monthly from It W\S also agreed that the date of officers' appoinllnents be entered in the annual report, and that a uniform kind of report sheet be issued for the use of officers In makll1g up their annual brigade reports

In regard to the grant of long service Superil:tendent Turner (Leicester), asked whether fifteen years servIce was to be retrospective, or whether it dated from the tIme the regulatIOns were issued from S1. John's Gate?

The Chairman replied that the service must be retrospective, as some medals had already been presented Colonel Bowdler remarked that the rule said a fifteen years efficient service; but the question was" what is efficiency?" No doubt the term meant unabated attention to the cause.

It ha\ ing been stated that ladies were as much entitled to the medals as gentlemen, some minor matters were gone into, .after which the election of the Conference Committee was proceeded WIth a.nd resulted as below:-

Supenntendent W H, Winny (re-elected) Assistant Secretary-:'Ilr. J. NOlfolk. Committee-. o. I District : Assistant

Commissioner :\ Iackenzie and Chief Superintendent i\Iorg-an. No.2. Superintendent Norfolk and Acting Commissioner Dr. Yernon. No. 3: Chief Superintendent Hilton and Chief Superintendent Buckley.

o. +: Assistant Commissioner J. C Derham and Chief Surgeon Thomson. No.5 : Comm issio ner Dr. iVlilburn and another (to be appointed by the Committee).

The Hon. Secretaries were thanked [or tbeir past services upon the motion of Superintendent Kra use Hull ).

The large company afterwards adjourned, upon the nvitation of the l\1ayor of Blackpool, to a banquet at the Park Hotel, which was also attended by the Marquis of Breadalbane.

THE AND REVIEW.

Ambulance men were much in evidence in all partE of the town on the following day (Saturday), when the annual competitions, demonstration and review took place, in connection with the North-East Lancashire Corps of the Brigade The downpour of rain and slushy streets, howeve greatly interfered with the arrangements, and the attendance of corps was not nearly so large as in previous years. They arrived during the morning and took part in the competitions of the Ladies Challenge Shield and the Silver Cup. The Shield was won by Barrowford, who have been victors on two previous occasions, though Blackpool headed the list la s year. It should also be mentionerl that the Accrington team was second and Blackpool third. The Blackpool team was successful in carrying off the Brigade Cup, though Preston ran close and gained second place, Oldham being a good third.

In the afternoon a procession of corps paraded the principal streets to the Royal Palace Gardens, where the review and demonstration took place in h e large ballroom. The programme opened with a general sa ute and march past, after which there were exhibitions of bandaging by the nursing d i vision and corps, ex h ibitions of artificia respiration for persons apparently drowned or suffocated, etc.

At the conclusion, l\Iajor Trimble, the inspecting officer, said he need scarcely point out that the review of the North East Lancashire district was increasing in every respect. He could only express to the officers, the lady superintendents, and to the members concerned, his great satisfaction at everything he had witnessed. They "vere rapidly improving in ambulance work, and it was plain to see that the interest in brigade organization was becoming more marked each year. He hoped his Lordship would be able to convey to the association, of the Order of St. John that they, NO.4 district, were thoroughly in earnest. In concluding, the doctor expressed his thanks to the udge s, and said he would make a good report to the commissioners.

The Marqu is of Bre:.:.dalbane announced that i n the review of the men, O l dham had gained first prize, Blackpool second and Accrington third. Ladies, \ Valton-Ie-Dale first and Preston second lIe then distributed the prizes. Upon the proposition of Dr. 1\1011oy, chairman of the committee, seconded by Assistant Commissioner Derham, his lordship was hear ily thanked for his attendance.

NORT II ERN ClIA T

The event not of the month, but of the year, n t h e" first aid ., world, was the annual conference of de legates, from all parts of the country, under the auspices of the St. John Ambu ance Bri g ade, This intel'esting

crat h e ri na was held at B bckpoo L a n ca3 hi re, on ] un e 17' h , a n d fur details tm u st refer readers to the re port wh ch a p pea r s i n a not h er part of this iss u e And now as to the impression it m1.de on one's m ind I was rea ll y a meeting which shall n ot very q u ickly forget, beca u se, to becri n at the beainnina the arrangements were excellent, the attendance good7 and tbe rapidity wbich. de.sp3tched, is in it?elf eloquent testimony to the harmoI1!ous SpIrIt mal11fested. EverythIng was carried along in a straightforward, good humoured, go-ahead sty.le. Assistant Commissioner Derham and the local secretary, SuperIntendent Swanton of Preston, deserve o u r warmest thanks for the manner in which they received us I especially feel bound to co u rtesy shown by both h ese gent emen, who were aSSIduous In theIr attention to the whole company, they worke d most energetically and ndefatiaab ly during the proceedings, no t only at the conference, b u t the day, when the Eighth Ann ual Review and Demonstration in connection with the North E ast L ancashire County Corps took place.

To a stranger, 1\1r. Derham, who it is interesting to note is the Chief Constable of Blackpoo is a striking personage ,\lore than one delegate remarked about this i n my hearing, although I did not make it my business to enquire about precise details. Some idea of \ ·hat he is like may be gained if I say that his age is about 5'J, he is OVer 6ft. in height, proportionately \\ell built.

The Assistant Commissioner enj Jys I 'm told, the distinction of being h e mos t enthusiastic Chief of Police on ambula n ce matters in the north, and has for so long i n sisted upon its adoption in the police force, and understand thlt every officer under his comm:ll1J is a certi ficated " first aid" man

Of the town of Blackpool, enough has bo:en said and written in the past for it to ne e d further description bere. It is however, to know that so far as the Southern and Metropolttan members were concerned, they are of the opinion that a better spot could not have been chosen than "The Brighton of the orth." This view will no doubt be generally shared notwithstanding that the greater part of Saturday, the day of the review, was spoiled by heavy rain.

A point which has not been noted in our report, was that r:lised at the conference by Mrs Howard of Preston, wbo sought inf0nnation as to 'why the lad ies were not allowed to wear thei pincushions at the review, along wit h t h e other articles of nursing outfit. Altogether, Mrs. Howard made out a very strong case by arguing th a t the pin cusbions were really necessary. The chairman referred her to the rules for the competition wh ich prohibited them, but there is a prevailing opinion in the divisions that eith er good reasons against them are required, or the rules should be at once revised.

Next year's conference is to be held in Lop.don. There was a proposal in fa\'our of Hull, but this was withdrawn when the suggestion with regard to the Metropolis was brought forward.

The most conspicuous figures at the dem'Jnstration were t'1e :Y I arquis of B r eada lbane, K G., Major Trimble, the inspecting officer and Colonel Bowdler. All of them must have felt proud as they surveyed the large gathering of ambulance men and women in uniform, while their quick orderly movements showed that they were thoroughly in earnest, in a cause which, to use :'I bjor Trimble's wordE " They held so deaL"

The ladies looked charming in their nursing uniform, and the march past gone through so well that his Lordship (the Marquis), who congratulated the whole assembly prior to presenting the prizes, made a special reference to it. The remarks were well merited though, for I do not remember seeing anything so pretty and effecti \'e before.

In the Shield competition I noticed the Barrowford, an unrloubtediy smart corps, once again came in first, after having missed their prize on one occasion The Cup fell to Blackpool, a team which durin g last winter was t utored by Dr. Leonard Molloy, 1l.nd trained for the event by S u perintendent Sharrock, Assistant Commissioner Derham's r ight hand man. Oldham, in the men's section, were adjudged smartest in the Review, and Walton-Ie-Dale among the ladies RE3PIRATOR.

'IDriIl

VOLU.'!TEER A \ 1BU L ANCE SCHOOL OF INSTR(JCTION.

President :-;\lAJoR ANDREW M ACLliRE, V D. , late L. S) .R.V.

Head-quarters :-8, Portman Street, W.

The next cbss for the traini n g of regimental stretcher bearers wi ll be he ld at the head-quarters of the L ondon Rifl e Br gade, 130, Bun h i 11 Row E.C , by perm ss on of Colone H C. Cho mo n aeley, commanui n g, and will

Pl'BLISHER'S NonrE.- I n of the demand for back numbers, the Publisher has to give notice that the price of any back number previous to the CUITent year, will in future be 2d. As the stock of some ()f them is very limited, it would be well for those of our readers who wish it, to complete their sets without delay.

:fJ3rC'Jitic5.

Amb u lance Oompetitions and Reyiews are still the order ot the day and our col umns are of course always open to the organisers in order to record the eYents, but why do they not bear our ad \-ertisemcnts col u mns in mind; one good turn descn·es another. \V e always comply with their r equest, 'will they try and comply with ours

{transport of Hcctbents.

(CONTINUED.)

(Special)

By CHIR(]RGI·S.

To the Rea Ius oj FIRST Am.

\Vith regard to other methods of transport, there are some that are used and can be used, but which 3re not ad\'isable, and ought not to be employed if a litter can in any way be oLtained. One of these is the orrlinary tram car, a means of cOlweyance often made use of by the police in slight cases, for which a member of tbe force has gi\'en me the following reason :- If the constables engages a cab, he has to disburse the amount for the time being out of his own pocket, and it sometimes happens that he tas not the necessary shilling or two on him, hence the penny or twopence for the tram. I have heard ot a coster's barrow being requisitioned for taking an accident to the hospital, and it seems to me that it is possible with some cushions or rugs, &c., to improvise a fairly decent lille r. is one other point tint wish to draw your attention to, and that is the great difficulty in some pans of Lendon and at certain times to get any vebicle at all. I will g-iye you one instance that recently came under my nOtice-I was called last lIo:;pital St.nrlayat 12 o'clock to a neigh bouring church in a poor district to see a young lady \, ho had been in a ht for some time and they did not know what to do ·",ith her.

On my arrival I found the patient lying down on the flags in the porch where the clergynnn had directed her to he placed (J hoped tbat he was preaching 1. little m')le humanity than what he pmctised by placing a girl on a stone Ooor instead of in the vestry) with two or three men holding her arms and leg-s. It was an attack of epilepsy cl)mbined with a li ttle hyster a. The difficulty was this: it was soon discovered that her home was about 300 yarus from the cburch, but tbe nearest cab rank was at least half a mile away, and the chances were that there would not be a cab on the rank, and I did not want to send for the police litter. Fortunately she soon came to nJter her arms and legs were released and was ab le to be taken home by her friends. In this case I felt that e ven n a (comparative ly) slight illness as this I should have been ob li gerl, i f i t came to the point, to have her sent home on the police liLter accompanied by a n admiring crowd of a hundred children. In con n ect i on wi th fits, a llow me to g ive you one piece of adv cedo h ave a n yo n e p u upo n yo ur s re t cher wh o i s suffe in g f r o m a

fit or semi-hysteric attack brought on by drink, if you do, you will probably have it smashed-it is a police case, therefore get the police litter.

Those of you who are interested in the question m::.y like to know where litters can be found in London and the suburbs. In the June number of this journal is a lis. of the stations ol the IIo s pitals tions whi ch I here reproduce.

LONDO:-; STREET SERYICE. Stations open 3 rst March, 1897.

FIRE BRIGADE STATIo:\s.-Southwark B ridge Read; Theobald's Road; Bethnal Green; West Ferry Road, Isle of Dogs; E\'elyn Street, Deptford; Peckham Ro ,ld,Cam berwell; Camden Town; F arada y Road, W. ; Great Scotland Yard; Great :'IIarlborough Street; Commercial Road, East: Bishopsgate Street; C rys tal Palace Parade; Wat!Hloo Road. HOSPITALS.-St. Mary's; Great orthern Central; Guy 's; i\Iiddlesex; St Bartholomew's; St. Thomas's; German; Royal Free; University College; Cancer; Poplar; East London Children's; London THORO UG HFARE STATIO:\'S.-Cab Rank, :'Ilarble Ar ch; Cab Road; Cab Rank, S1. Clement Danes; Cab Rank; St. James's Square; Cab Rank Pickering Place; Cab Rank, Hill; Cab Rank, Queen's G ate; Cab Rank, Arch er Street ; Cab R a nk, R o yal Cre sc ent. Cab Rank Eccleston B ridge; Y ork St reet East E. ; i\larshalsea Roac, S.E. ; Cab Rank, Blackfri ars Road; Cab Rank, Albert Road, N.W ; Sloane S quare; Lavender Hi li, S \\'.; Ca b Rank, Langham Place; Portman Square; Rye Lane, Peckham; Vine [Jouse, End Road; Eas t anrl We st India Dock Road s; All Saints' Church, Poplar; Tabe rnacle Square , Old Street, E.C.; S1. George's Road, Southwa r k (rlear Elephant and Castle); Y a uxhall Cross. OTHER STATIO:-l S.-New Dundee Wha r f; 47, Holborn Yiaduct; \Vest Ham Fire Stati o n, Canning TOI\l1 R oya l Exchange; Chelsea Town Hall. 10TAL 57.

The S1. John Ambulance Association has the following am b ulance stations where litters are k e pt-(I) St John's Gate. (2) St. Paul's Cathedral. ( 3) S1. Clement's D l.I1es' Church, Strand. (+) St. Pancras Passenger Slation. (5) Borough of Hackney Club, Haggerston. (6) Hyde Park COiner. (7) Win chester Hall Ho el Stables, Highgate HilL () St. James's -'carage ;\lus well Hill. (9) South l\Ie t rop o litan Gas Works, Canal Bridge Entr3nce, Old Kent Road, ( IO) Children's Home, Bonner Road, E. (II) Dr. Goddard, \\ embley. (rz) z, Canterbury Villas, Sudbury. (r3 ) \,it;tor H a ll, I:I.ar ro w. (q)

Kil'mrn PrQ\ ident l\Ierli cal In st it ute, r GreYIlle R oad, h rl b urn (1)) Saxby and Farmer's Signal Works, Canterbury R oad, Th.is Associat ion has also q ot her stations wh ere a and I-Irst \.Id ap pliance only are kept, for a list of which see the ,\.nnual Report: Ma.ny of the Railway stations and some pm'ate firms also keep lrtters which wo uld probably be anibble in cases of em.ergency :'\0 details of thp. accidents rep o lted by the rO:lce are gII'en_, so that I cannot tell you what kind of injury is most common. 1 here are howeyer one or two facts that are interesting. The total number of accidents reported by tbe police in 1896 (the report for r897 is yet OLIt) \\'3S 8,097, and the number of taken by the to were, accidents 6,360, and sufferIng from other whIch I pre sume su lden illn ess, The number of aCCIdents are increasing yearly, and no\\' are pracLIcally doable what they were en ye:trs ago. P r ha\'e before me a monthly report of the ambulance calls. 111 ans, where, you will remember, on ly a p o rti o n of the c;ty supp lied by the Ambulance Sen ice. There were 220 calls, of. whI ch 8 false alarms. The others consisted of: Injury by 1l11chlneS, &c., 10; by c.Hriages, I ; inj ury by fa lls, 42; SLI icides, 13; othe.r su ca ses , 22'; inanition (hunger), :!; accouchements, 3+;. ep rl,eps)" &c IS; apoplexy anrl other suuden illnesses , q; medical cases, 29; transports o rdered by. admlnlstlatIOn,:> \\ hat s trike s one most on loo !.:ing- at this Rep or ll s the number of acc?uchements; it is astonishing tbat 3+ \\'o men be 111 the streets. This is certainly OLe branch of medICll1e tl1.at has not yet come under first aid teaching; we teach nurs!1lg of \'arIOUS forms. and hygiene, but it has never yet been suggested that we should turn fiI.·st -alders into mic\wil es. I must confess that my first thought IS that It should not be taught-at the utm os t we could only elementary to the nursing sisters-but, doubtless, the questID.n ".Ill ar.lse s.ome da), and then it ca.n be threshed out. I think I am JustIfied gIV1l1g you this ad l ice i f you are eyer called to a woman confine? the stI<::et. T he only part of the caEe that you wi ll be concerned In IS the mov1l1g

FIRST

of che patient to a place of safety-it will not be a part of your duty to take the child "way or anything else. Go .to the ho,!se and state the case and tsk to hal'e her brought 111 for the tIme bemg-. T cannot imag'ine anyone refusing Lift. the patient and child with assistance I'ery carefully, and cany them. III to tiJe house. anella), them on the couch, bed or mattress that IS pro\·lded. IS al\\'ays a large loss of blood, but that need not alarm you, pro\'lded she has not c?llapsed-if she has, O'i\'e brandy. As soon as you hal'e earned her In, and she seems pretG, well, your duty is finished, except perhaps to help to find a doctor or other competent person.

The \'arious kind of cases in the Paris report may give you some idea of what YOll may expect in London.

LookinO' at our ambub'lce arrangements as a whole, and the mIserable that are made by our authorities at really succouring tbe injured in our streets, one cannot but eXP.ress. astonishment that the inhabitants of this great city ba\'e put up wIth It so long, but the facts are as I have stated, and, as first-aiders, we must abide by them, and do the best lYe can with the material at our command. If we show what can be done, and how it ought to be done, perhaps before we get old men there may be some change for the better.

To be cOlltmlteti).

Btl Btnbu[ance Service for jionbol1.

The following letter appeared in the Standard. Are Londoners at last awakening t o the crying need for a properly organised Ambulance Sen'ice? If those of our reade;'s who are ratepayers would only press the matter whene\'er an occasion occurs and insist on their representati ves, ei ther parliamentary or municipal, SUppOI ting some further inquiry into the question, the scheme would not be much longer. Are we to wait until some frightful catastrophe occurs, such as those in Vienna and Paris , before the powers tlMt be awaken to tbe fact that human life is more valuable than bricks and mortar? :

TO THE EDlTOR OF THE Sl R,- Wbat a curious thing it is that a this prestll time, wben so many good and praiseworthy causes are being furthered for the benefit of the inhabitants of this great Cityof ours, there should still be wantin g a something which, to most observers of Lhe times, is a matter of the greatest necessity. I imagine but fe\\' of your readers are aware of the appalling fact that in each week a number of citizens, both rich and poor, meet with accidental d-:;tths, often of a most terrible kind, and that our :'IJetropolitan Hospitais open their doors to the injured and dying almost every hour of the day.

'Yere there more men and women acquainted with these deplorable trutb o, then, no doubt, those of us who are in teres ted in am bulance work might hope to soon see an official ambulance service for London

Although unpleasant, it yet is sometimes very wise to picture to ourselves pOSSIb le el'ents of the unseen future; \lise because we are, inclined to prepare oursell'es I n my opinion, London should llldeed prepare itself for the immediate attendance of the injured in any fu ure catastrophe. \\'hat could be done were one of our biO' theatres to be burnt, witb a panic-its usual sequel? The poor wounci"'ed "ould .be placed on tl:e pavement, or in the doorways of the neighbourlllg shops, unlll the ar]']val of ambulances, most ofthem as old-fashioned as the hills, fit only for" Found Drowned" cases or those of inebriation.

Certallllya few.modern and excellent litters are at different positions of the but wh o IS to know, say, a mile away from the scene of the d.ls ste l> that nuybe a hynelreel or more beings are injured, and needed WIthout delay? No! The poor victims llIUSt ,lIe bones and hrcmorrhage till doctO! s 01 fil st-aldel s come to have them transported on the aforesaiu ., corpse-litters" to hospital.

.:'I[y suggestion that annexed to eyery fire-station there should be am.bulance-statlOn I.n the charge of two?r more qualified, experienced filst -aldels, organIsed Il1 the same way as IS the fire·station itself with L:!lephonic communication to all parts; and in the street there should be two handles, one for fire and the other for ambulance. I. h:tl 'e seen and attended some distressing cases, in all of which the pohc.e have been unable to ren?er first ai?, not any applIances whatevel WIth them,. and bell1g filled WIth one object only and that being to move the patient as soon as possible, rather than t; study the of the fIrst. I was informed a little while back by an.eye-\\'ltness tl:at a little boy who. had one of his feet shattered by a tJa1l1Cal allowed to rem::ul1 for twenty-five minutes on the roadSIde before a lItter came, notwithstanding that the staff of police pI;esent was very bIg ::-\0, something must be done, and that quickly " oe kno\\' w.hat Occurrence is be experienced in future da) s. us PariS !ast Summer, and make ourselves ready to lendel OUI poor wounded Immediate care in a like event.

I am, S ir, your obedient servant London, July 18th. So. + BEARER.

AID [Au g ust, 1898. ))}orli5hire Bgricllltllra[ $ociet\?

AGRICULTURAL SI-IO"\V A T

Ambulance work in Leeds ha s recei\'ed an impetus owing to the work carried o ut at tbe am bulance stat ion at the annual show of the Yorkshire Ag-ricultural Society. were by Mr. :'Ilarshall Steven so n the secretary of the socIety, In connectIOn wllh .:'1[1'. \\Talter ROIlley, honorary secretary of the Centre of the St. John Ambulance Association, were most complete 111 every detaIl. Th e station was a well built wooden structure with canvas roof, and wa s divided into a receivil1O' ward, male and female wards, and kitchen. Brigade Chief Brasier was in and was asoisted by Superin te ndent Good WI1: (Norwood Dlv?slon, lVI etroCorps), l\Ir s BraSier (Lady Superintendent, St. John's Gate Nursi ng DIvIsIOn, :\1 etropo!J tan Corps) l\I 1'5 .• \:r Rowley (:\cting Lady Superintendent, Leeds Nur s1l1g Dlvl:l?n), Pri\'ates Wh arton, Shepherd and Sykes (Arml ey and llfortley DIVISIon, Leeds Corps), and Police Constables Painter and \ Vilson of tbe Leed s Police Ambulance The medical and surgical duty was undertaken by the following :-Drs Atkinson, :'IIac Gregor.Young, \Vaite, Brown, T revelyan, Mach.enzle, and Voodcock. J?unng the time the show wns open thirty ca3es of a more or less senous nature were On Thursday, during the jumping competitions, an accident occLiITed which migbt have been much m ore serious. One of the riders lost control of his horse at the w:lier jump, and the animal swerved and jumped r ight into the mass of sp=ctators around barriers; two persons as a result were t reated at the ambu lance statIOn for slight concussion and abrasi?n. It was that.a greate r number were not amongst the Injured The statIOn was furnished by .:'IIessrs.l\ Iiller, Limited, who out. the gratUltousli.'.

To say that it W:Is weIl done is but conveymg famt praIse, every detail was most complete, and the firm the warmest thanks of the S ociety and the Ambulan,ce. Staff for the thex made Messrs Burroughs and \\ ell come agall1 .supplJed.one of theIr Congo chests containillO' T ablo ids, which the medIcal men Il1 attendance founJ most useful. The case was much admired by it large number of medical men who visited the station during the time it was open. The Ambulance Staff are unanimous in their thanks to the authorities of the Show for the kind and ready assistance which was accorded to them in the discharge of their duties.

\\'O

RK .-IN TERESTI:\G

On SaturJay, July 23rt!. for the eighth time, the annual competition under the auspices of the Volunteer i\ledical Ass oc iation was held ,.t \\'elling ton Ban<Jcks, when thirteen squads, each consisting fOUL men, took part in the contest for tbe handsome Challenge ShIeld-value 200 for the encouragement of nmbulance \\'ork and drill the ynrious regim ents of the Yeomanry Ca \'aIry and Vol unteer forces. Colonel T U'Farrell, Home District, was in charae of the alranO'ements. The cond iti ons of the contest pro\'ided the possible gaining of 3?0 I?arks,. roo. P?ints being tI:e maximum fOI stretcher and waggon drill (1I1clud1I1g bftlng and carry1I1g on stretchers and by improvised seats), a hundred ench for first aid and bandaO'inO', and lifty for 1'i1 a 1'oce examination in anatomy and physiology. The judges in the. several were Lieut Killmark, Surgeon-:'IlaJor Swaby SmIth, Matthews, Surgeon-Captain W arwick, Surgeon-Lieut. Bourke, Brignde Surgeon Colonel Giles, Surgeon-l\lajor Culver James, H .A.C., and SurO'eon-Lieut. Bidwell. The Challenge Trophy had only been won by two teams, and as things happened the 2nd Fusil.iers at the end of the contest wei e awal ded the Shield and accompanylllg badges for the third time, after a close finish witb the Post Office Rifles, this being the first appearance of the latter in the competilion. The result was announced as follows: 1st, 2nd V.B. Royal Fuslilers, 3I2 mnlks ; 2nd, 2+th (Post Office R.\'.), 310 marks; 3rd, 1st Buck s R. V., 307 The next three te:tms wh o tied for fourth place with 2<;6 marks \"ere the I2th 2nd II a mpshire, and 1st HighIallll Light Infantry. Colonel O'Farrell, having inspected the. teams, afterwards congratulated the competitors generally. The wll1nll1g squad, by command, "touched the trophy," and the badges were awarded. I t may be mentioned thaL the successful teams were instructed by Sergeant Barnes (2nd -.B. and Sergeant 11ahl1 (of the P ost Office Rifl es). The first and second teams had preVIOusly been through a course at the Volunteer Ambulance School of I nstruction

CLASSES.

-OTICE TO SECRETARIES.

J n order to facilitate the work of Secretaries of Classes, it has been decided to in sert Notices of Classes and Lectures on First Aid, Nursing, and IIygiene in this col umn at the rate of 1d, a line, the minimum charge to he I". per insertion prepaid,

August, 1898.J FIRST $t. John :tl1nblliflllCe B5Bociation.

FA \'ERSHA NL - Th e annual meeting of this Centre was held on Wednesday, July 20th, at the Drill Hall, Preston Street. J n the absence of the president, Lord Harris, the chair was taken by the l\ Iayor ( f<:. Chambers, Esq ). The ,',la yor in his opening remarks, said he was very glad to be able Lo stnte that the interest in the St. John Ambulance Association had in no way diminished, and its influence was becoming more extended and growing greater every year. It now had branches over the whole of the world and was looked upon as·a necessity At every large public gathering that 1\ as heldmembersof the Society were in request, and the assistance they:rendered from time to time was highly apprec ated. There was, be regretted to say, always a great need of their services especially on railways. If they took the trouble to look at the Boarel of Trade returns last year they would see that in nine months 900 persons were killed on the different railways, and 13,000 were injured. Those figures amply showed the necessity for the existence of tbe Associa'ion, and he was pleased to say Lh'lt the r.lil\\,ay employees had taken up first aid very heartily, because daily their required. It was a matter of congratulation that the Kent County Council and other bodies "'ere not unmindful of tbe va'ue of the institution, and contributed to its fund" In conclusion his Worship said such institutions were the means of doing a great eleal of good, and showed tbat Englishmen were not so selfish as they were often pictured in their consicleration for others. He \\'ished the m every success, and trusted that the time would come 'when eyery boy or girl's education would not be considered co mplete until he or sh e had obtained a certificate in first aid [rom the St. John Ambulance Association. (App lau se'). The report was taken as read. The balance sheet of the Centre showed the receipts hau amounted to £+1 5s. +id., which included £12 I:;S. from subcriptions, while after paying the usual items there "as a balance in hand of £12 3s .:'IIr. 'Y. C. Stunt, in reviewing the report, said it was a great satisbction to know :hat the Associatioll had o\'er a crisis to which every institution was liable. c\s a rule for a few yea.rs great enthusiasm was put into a new Yenture, and then a period came when matters more or less quieted down. He was happy to say that such was not the case Il'ith them , for they had had nn improvement in the number wbo sought the adl'antage which the Society offered In conclusion :\[1'. Stunt pointed out the importance of tho e \\'ho had passed the first examination keeping up Itheir knowledge. The report and balance sheet were adopted The .:'IJa)"or presenteJ to Superintendent Clinch;lJ1d :'I [essrs.

.c\.. P. Sherwood, A. E. Coe, C. r.. Symonds, and ,Yo J Reel'es Jubilee :Jledals for the sen'ice they rendered in London on Jubilee Day last year. Tbe Rev. B. S. \Yright proposed a yote of thanks to the officers and members of the local corps for the services they had rendered during the year. :'I[r. F. F. Giraud seconded the proposition, which \\';15 carried. .:'IIr. C. E. Clincb and :'III'. T. C. Gray having acknowledged tbe compliment on behalf of Faversham and Broughton respectively, the proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks to the ,',layor for presiding.

IL,,:\Ds\YORTH.-The competition for the Bayley-Lees Challenge Cup, I"hich is open for (:ompetition to the varioLls di\'isions in the lIandsworth and Centre of the St. John :\mbulance ,-\ssociation, took place in the gro und s of Far Croft, on Saturday, 23rd July. Eight divisions entered, yiz., the Handsl\'orth Parish Church, the B ir mingham Carriage and Wagon Company, Handsworth \Y ood, Nettlefolds (Lim ite d), Hanelsworth dult Bible Class, Best & Lloyd's, Ilenwick, and ,',luntz (Limited). The judges were Dr. F. H l\Iabedey, DI·. Newton, anu Dr. Nelson. Th e reoult was declared as follows: \\'inners of the Cup, I-Lll1dsworth Parish Church Team, with 132 out ofa possible 137 points; 2nd, Hanclsworth \Vo od, 1I8 points; yd, KetLiefolds (Limited), II3 points. ,\[r. J. H. Pearson (the President of the Centre) presented the cup to the winners, and in doing so thanked the medical gentlemen who had acted as juJges. It was announced that :\11'. J. H Pinson had pronlised to prol'ide a further silve r cup, which the winners of the Bayley-Lees challenO'e cup for three years would be entitled to hold permanently. ,\11'. \V. G Griffiths had also promised a specia l medal [or the best individunl examination in the competition.

A;-.ln PRESENTATION OF CERTlFICATES.-Un July 23rd tbis Centre held a public presentali on of Certificatet-i, the Oluham Corps also giving a demonstration of ambulance methods Invitation s had been sent out by the IIon. Sec. of the Centre, Dr. George Thomson, and tbe acceptances by the gentry and officials of the t own were numerous and gratifying. TI:e Corps fell in at Head-quarter s at 3 5, ancI marched lo t he Drill IIall of the 6th V.B. :'Il anche'ter Regiment, wbich \\' as lent for the occasion, headed by the Oldham Temperance Band. The balcony, which runs the whole length of the hall, wail occupied by the invited guests, the space arounu the sides of the floor of the hall celllg filled by a large Ilumber of the general public S R Platt, Esq., J.P. D.L., President of the Centre presided, and the certificates, numb ering over 180, were presented by Mrs. Platt, who were supPolted on the platform by the Mayor a nd Mayoress, Alderman and Mrs. Whittaker, A de rm an and

AID. 13

.:'III'S Bolton, Canon Rowntree, Rev. G. Perry Gore, Rev P. L ancashIre, 111'. and :'I[rs. J. Dodd, and :'Ilrs. Geo. Lees, 'd r. Reynolds Rowe, Knight of Justice of the Oruer of the Hospital of St. John of J erusalem, ,',11'5. and :'Ilisses Lees, Surg-eon-:\Iajor and :'1rs. Fort, Dr. and Mrs. \Yilkinson, Hon i\ssociate Order of St. John of Jerusalem. Dr. George Thomson (Hon. Sec .', Hon. :\ssociate Order of St. John of Jerusalem, and .:'IIrs. Th omson. .:'Ill'. J. S. Jone s, superintendent of the Corps was in command, and received the President and friends \\'ith a general salute This " 'as follo\\' ed by a march past, and an exhibiLion of the application of varioLls bandages by the Xursing and Ambulance Divisions. After a few introductory remarks by the Chairman, dealinO' with the progress of the movement in the town, he said that during past year 206 men and 2+0 ladies had been granted certificates They had received 6 medallions, 222 first aid certificates, and 62 ::\'ursing certificates, and he had been informed by tbe Hon. Sec that the year had been the most successful since the formation 0' Centre. The ceremony of presentation Ol'er, the detachment of Lhe Corps which gained the first prize at the :'\. E. L.C.C. RelicII' at BIack pool, went through the stretcher drill in a manner "'hich elicited great applause from the spectators, and in an equally creditable manner two squads performed the ambulance W'l.gon drill. In connection with this part of the programme, an incident of a somewhat and amusing character-fortunately, however, un,ttended with any serious comequences-occllrred. One of the patients when ordered to lie dOl\'l1, managed to fallon a full box of matches ,,·hich he had in his pocket; they exploded and set his pocket on fire, and the ambulance men h1d to first extinguish the fire, and thus get him out of real danger before proceeding to attend to his supposed injuries The programme concluded with an imaginary railway accident, dispbying the \'ar iou3 methods of treating and carrying the injured by improvised stretchers, &c., the wbole corps taking part, the item prol'ing of great interest to all, and being w:.trmly appreciated by the audience. Yotes of thanks ,yere then accorded to '\lrs. Platt for her se rvices, to the Chairman for presiciing, and to the Officers of the 6th V.B. for the use of the Hall. Dr. Thomson, in the course of his remarks laid especial stress on the value of the sen-ires rendered by the Superintendent of the Corps, :\1r. J. S. Jones, whom, he said, had devoted himself to its \velfare and well -being. There were on parade about 50 men and the S;1me number of nursing sisters, under the command of Supt. fones, Division B. Sellers, J. T. \Yard and J. S. Forrest, Inspector of Stores Carrington, First Lady Officer Dorman, and Corps Secretary, S. G. Halbert.

OTLEy-THE LHE :\IR. RlCH:'.lO:\,D BELL-It is with sincere and deep regret that we have this month to record the death of :'Ill'. Richmond Bell, which sad eYel1! has just taken jJlace at Otley. .:'IIr. Bell was an only child, being born at Barnard Castle in the year 1870, and \\'as left an orphan at the ea-ly age of seyen years. Coming to Otley in April, 1891, :illr. Bell quickly got to ,york in that sphere of labour with "'hich his name has since been associated-that of the St. John Ambulance Association. In fact he was one of the founders of the Otleycentre, \\'bicholYed a great deal of its success to h.is untiring energy and perse\'erance He "as elected bon. secretary 111 October, I893, and continued those duties until the ::\urses' Home scheme was mooted in ::-\ ovem ber, 1 96, when he was nppointed of that a.lso. success of the schewe is IlO\\' well knol\'I1-hOlY It was set bll'ly gomg in January, 1S97, and hoI\' the Ho,?e in opened in Uctober of that year. On the occasIOn of. the "'.11> Bell the lecipient of a handsome gold albel t, .gll·en 111 recognItIon of ul1\\'earied efforts in connection with the mo\'ement, the presentatIOn being made by l\lrs. Fawkes. .:'IIr: wa.s a a.nd, able in with the Otleyand DIstnct Fnendly SOCietIes Assoclat.1011, anu was also one of the prime mO\'ers in organising the local celebratIOns durinO' the Oueen's Jubilee in 1897. Personally, .:'II r. Bell possessed those "'pi eas;;; t traits of character, \"hidl helped to make him extremely popular in the town. The funeral took place on .:'II onday afternoon, July r8th, amid many signs of regret .and sympathy.. There large gathering presen t, and from the r nendl>' SOCIeties \ssociation and Nurses' IIome were 111 attendance, and eIght of tbe male members of the St. John Ambulance Brigade acted as bearers PRESTO;-.l.-The Chairman 0f this Centre bas recei\'ed n tion from Sir IIerbert Perrott, secretary of the Order of the II.ospltal of St. John of Jerusalem in England, stlting that Her has been graciouly pleased to sanction the of Dr. \: dlJams Irvin Sellers, Preston. as all Honorary ASSOCIate of the Ordel, on the recommendntion of II.R.H, the Prince of 'Vales, Lhe Grand Pnor. This distinction is in recognition of the ya}uable services rendered by Dr. Sellers in connection wiLh the Preston Centre.

AN 'CE CORI'S FOR Duuu:\.-The long tnlked of ambulance corps in connection with the fire brigade of D.ubl1l1 IS at last nbouL to be established. A site has been purchase.d 111 Bucklllgham street in the proximilY of the Quays, and .the cIty pbns for the construction of the statIOn! which be buJit with as little delaY:1$ pOSSIble. In the the bllgade ale to receive a regular course of instruction on first aId to the wounded.

FIRST NOTICE TO OUR READERS.

FmsT ,\m has now entered on the ye:u of its publication and its popularity is still increasing amongst workers in all branches of tbe Ambulance \rorld. In its early days the proprietors had much to contend with, including opposition from le:lst cxpected, but they manfully stuck to their post and determll1ed effort should be wanting 011 their part to run the journal solely 111 tbe benefit o.f ambulance and killlired work generally. That the success \\hlcb attended the paper has amply justificd their action is fully proved by the fact that the circulation is steadily improving, and in the distant parts of our Colonies ., First,aiders" look forward to t?e monthly ad\'ent of the little journal which will give them news ot the WdY 111 which the work is progressing in the old cOllntry. The old that it is not in mortals to command su ccess, might very well be applied to the proprietors of FIRST Am, bur \\'e have done something to de ,:erve it.

The staff who, month by montb bave produced tbelr concise record, of ambulance W::I rk in a concise form, is a purely yo'untary one, workIng for the love of the cause and with a determination to keep this the greatest humanitarian work of the century well to the fore, It is desired , however, to still further extend tbe usefulness of our columns, but to do so further expense must necessarily be entailed. vVill our readers help us? Will the members of the Medical profession help us ?

The former can help us very materially by sending matter for our advertising columns, Tradesmen who have specialities to bring before the notice of workers in the ambulance field cannot do better than advertise in the only strictly ambulance journal. Secretaries of classes, promoters of ambulance and fetes might draw the attention of readers in their parts to LJ1 tbcoming meetings and thereby en sure attendance [rom other to\\'ns, and,

La stly, the mem b ers of the :\!edi cal pro fession can help us by l\Titingspecial arllcles on ambulance work suitable to our lay readers. \\'e ha\ e at all times receiv ed such univer sal kindness the hands of th0 3e interested in the succesS of our little journal that we venture to make this appeal, anc! we feel confid e nt that we shall not appeal in vain.

FIRST AID

AUGUST 1, 1898.

Ix the June numbe1' of the Hospital j,X .i;l1B UL.iXCE SatlU'day Fund J oUl'na: there appeal's TR.lXSPORT SCIIEME. an article by 1\11'. R. 1\1. MacLen.n, entitled " Ambulance Transpol·t Sptem for the Metropolis," and it is one that is worth the peru"ltl of all those who think that Londonlleeds some kinc1 of Ambnbnce Sen-ice, :i\h. }\[ac is a pl'ominent member of the Order of St. John, Hnd has long beon connected with the ambulance work of the and at the onh:ct one c,wnot but e:s:pl'ess regret that the scheme which affects so closely the St. John A.mbuhwce Associa,tion and its mOTnbers, appeal's in a joul'llal which is not the organ of the Association, nor do we any indication that the Association SUPP01't::; it, :K otwitb::;tanding thi::; little point, 1\11'. dese1'ves to thanketl for the trouble he uas tn,ken in fOl'mulating his lC1e :18, and we are gh1.d to see tbat one membe1' of the Ol'c1el' of J olm has the com'age of his convictions and Kays, pllhhcly t,hat thel'e need for Ambulance Tl'[1l1SPOl't in London.

the is thili-A voluntm'y seJ'Yice lllakmg u"e of the serVIces of eyCl'y fil'st-aider willing to help, n,ml fl.ls? of medical men willing to render ,Ylth about one hunurecl wheeled litter station" and special methocl of cnJI On enrolment efLch fiu3tt? bil,ve ailixerl to the (1001' (If his residence n. plate mchc:l.tmg that enquiry may be ma(le thel'e fO l' the neal'cst surgeon Hnd the location of tlle wlteeleclliLtel' and filst (lid box. In<li<.:atio11 plates n.lso to be fix cl to lamp posts nnel at ::;tl'eet cornel's. 1\h, }\LlcLean does Dot advocate any . , VelY gl'(l;lt " inCl'cnse of Ambuln.nce Cal'l'in,gcs, n.s they would 1e bl!yoml the l'esOUl'CCS of pl'ivate organisation,

AID. [August, 1898.

We presume that Mr. MacL ean ha s put fonvn.rd his scheme to be Cl'iticised, for a.ny pLw, no llla.tter by whom propose d, mnst run the ol'll eil.l as it is only by su ch means we can arri"e a.t s':>me method that will be a.greell upon by the mn.jority.

We are opposed to any scheme of a voluntary character, for the simple reason that it impossible in a service of this kiml to depend upon volunteers to be on the watch noll the day, and every (by, to n.nswcr cCl.lls H,nel enquiries and to render first n.icl. The Fire Brigacle was run on voluntary li nes m,1.11Y yeal's ago, but no one would think now of proposing n. return to the olel meth0l1, a lth ough the pl'esent one costs a considen1.blo SUill of money.

A.mbulance carria.ges wonld be required especially for the f)uburbs, and n.s Mr. 1\fn.cLean admits that ,: in no eVAnt could we hope to have a sufficient number of these vehicles availabl e to meet the requilements of any serious emergency," it follows that his scheme wonld not be effici ent , \Vh eel od litters can certainly be used for short but we ought surely to expect some improvement on tIle present police method of transport for long distances.

L et us trace out the ?nodus opm'andi, an d see h ow it wou ld work. An accident happens in a very busy thoroughfare, a byst't.nder or pClliceman looks about for an indication pla,te or a house ,vhe1'e <1, plate is affixed to find ou t the location of thp ne cwest wheeled litter station, which may be <1, lllHtrtel' to half a mile 01' more <t\\'<l.y. If the first-aider is out, there must ue some and these thousands 01' hllndl'ed,-' of voluuteel's conldllot be compellell to stay in all (hy. If :;he c :mstilble himself goes to the litter f:!tation, he opens the box with his key ancl1'etlU'nS with the litter. In this plan we do not see mnch ad ' ance on the lreH:n t method, by which the policema.n has tc go 01' send to the Police Station or the ..:.l.mbnbnce Station of the Hospitah Association "Ve want something quicker amI mme certaill. These al'e some of the objections that a,ppeal' to us to detract hom the efficiency of the scheme n.::; a whole; but at the same time 1\11', j)IacLean has done good w01'k in bringing forwa.rd his idea, and we 1-:op3 that in t im e he will see the henefit of a State paid c1.mbulance service,

jfire :fBrtgabe (talllp at :fBlenbeitn

By kind permi ssion of Ilis Grace the Duke of a Fire Brigade Camp will be held in tbe 101'ely grounds of Blenheim Palace, from SJ.turday, August 20th, to vVednesday, August 25th. A capital programme has be e n arranged, and gi\'en fine weather, the meeting should be one of the must successful held in connection witb the fire service of the country. Tt is hoped that a strong detachment of the Sf. Johl} Ambulance Brigade will be present in order to support the Brigade Chief Superintendent wbo is in of the ambulance arrangements, Further particulars may be obtained from him at St, John's Gate, Clerkenwell, or from the energ-etic secretary of the Fire Brigades' Union, Captain Horace S. Folker, Guildford,

WARRT:-lGTO:-l.- \11'. R. A, Naylor and :\[iss Naylor, of Cuerdon Hall, Thelwall, 'Warrington, on Thursday, 2Ist ulL, enterta in ed the members of the 'Yarrington Corps of the St. J obn Ambulance Brigade, their wives and lady friends. The p:nty, numbering about I60 drove from the CenLral Station, and on arr ival at the hall formed into procession , headed by the hrge banner and the troph ies WOil by a nd in the pJssession of the corps -namely, the Cheshire Lin es flrst and thiru challenge cups, and the vVarrington and District Diamond Jubilee Cl11.11enge Shield. These trophies were bOI ne respective ly by First Officer Williams, Third Officer Edwards, and Superintendent Buckley, the representatives of the winning teams in these various competitions, A demonstration of ambu lance work was given in the presence of Mr, and :Vliss Naybr and their guests, and the following officers of the corps: CapL. Waring, Mr. George Crosfield, Mr. T. H. Hardy and Hon. Surgeons Drs. J. Ernest Gornall and Bower. Th e hall and gar· dens were tbrown open for the occasion, and after tea Mr. Naylor addressed the company, and referred to th e u sefu lness of the work in which they were engaged. A delightful afternoo n was spent.

August, 1898 .J FIRST

A 11). 15

H. F.A,I., .General Honorary Secretary N'1.tlOnal Ihl'e Bl'lgnclps Um on, and Hon01·n.ry Captain 1llen llot Fil'e Brigade

1 1HE gentleman whose port1'ait appears in our gallery this month, iB well kllO\l'll to lllany of Ollr Ambulance l'e,l.del's '\o"ho haye met him at the nUlIle1'OU::; interllational of the fire service, nncl we al'e sure that they will enclorse UU1' statement when we say tbat the AmlJUbnce cause has 110 warmer friend than Homce F01ker. BOl'n at Brighton, in 1859, Captnin .Folker was educated nt the Gnl.ill1llil.l' in thn,t town, hom whence he lDigmte ll to Uuildforc1, in ",bicb town he ha::; resided e\'e1' since, and whe1'p he cal'l'ie::; on an extensiye business as an .A ucbioneer anc1 SUlTeyor, For many YCtWd Ui1ptnin Folker occnpied the position of Deputy Superintendent and HOll. Secreta,l'Y of the Gnildfonl Fire B!'igatle, and in }\larch, he "was elected to fill the l'esponsible appointment of General Hon . SecretCl.ry of the Nntional Fire Bl'igctdes Union, a po::;ition was then vacant owing to the appointment of tl. Ga,mble to the post of Second Officer in the 1\1etropolitan Fi1'e Brigade. How well he has fi ll ed the office, perhaps none but those who m'e aRs()cia ted with him in the wOl'k on the Council know, it to say, that he has a mania for harcl work, n.nd a ready knack of grasping the det<lils of a.ny new depnl'ture that mny be made, in its general routin e. Since his appointment, he has made himself esteemed by all of those with whom he has come in contact, both at home and ah1'oad, and as an evillence of the respect in which he is 11eltl in othol' counb'ics amongst the me1l1her::; of t.he Fil'e SU1'\'ice, we lll;1,Y mention that he is a, Melllln'e ll'Hollllelll' of the following: N"tional ,Association of Fil'e Engineers, U S.A ; Central New York Volunteer Associ :ttion; Federation des S<l.pel1l·s POll1pien.; de Belgique; Fedemtion des 01li.cie1·s nnd sous Ofliciers de S:1peul's Pom piers de Fmnce et 1.;' AIg81'ie.

Under his fostering Cl1.1'e the :rationn.l Fil'e Bl'igadf>s Union has m,ule l'.'pid shi tles and now numbers 011 its register no le:-;s thn.n 300 Brigades, a reconl of which :111y man may justly be PI'Ouel. The t\yO Inte1'nntional 'l'OUl'n;'l.ments, which wel'U heltl at the Royal Agricu ltural Rall, Islington, in 1R03 ;1.11(1 1896, l'l' cci l'cll his head,y :-;llppOl't and cordial co-o pm'atioll n.Ul l, tlm'ing the nm of the 1'oUl'Wlments) no mattor wlH1.t tilDe hi::; nssist.:mee or nth'ice m1.S asked, no one eV01' fonnLl him othc1' \\'i"e ilHUl COlu-teons 01' anxio n s to oll lige 1lis numerOllS N otwithstanc1ill g t h e ffi,LSS of wode entail ed in this bonol'ary office-for we understand that t he nnnnal honorariulll he receives from the UniJn barely meets t h e co:-;t of l'ent of o1li.ce, cleric''I.1 assi::;tance awl oLhe1' expcnses-.;}iI·, Jj'olkcl' has yet l eisUl'e to devo te to ot h er duti es reqllil'ing ,\ll eCill a1 amount of t.ad, for we l e,tl'U that he is Secretary to the W c::;t Suney and

Licensed Victuallers' .:1.ssociation, Election and P a1:liamentary Agent and Deputy Retul'ninr Officer for the County Oonncil, Board Schools, Guardians' IS. also Secretary to the Guilc1fonl Golf Club, whlCh r:;alll to possess the lil,ks in the South of England. We al'e pleatied to say also that he has not ambulance work, and he wea.rs with pride the 1\ledalllO:, of the St. John Ambulance Association and the Ba.cl ge of the St. John Ambulance Briga,c1e.

A.thorough1y f?oo d.fello w, Horl1ce Folker has made hOtits of who wlll Jom wlth us in wiHhing him health and happme s, and none more so than comrades in the Ambulance service.

(torresponbence.

A:'IBuLANCE CO:'IPETlTIONS.

To ti,e Editor of" FIRST AID."

S,fR,-"-\S FIRST AID is, I believe, the only paper which devotes its pages to the noble of ambulance work and kno\\ing that it circuthe of England and is looked forward to by a very lar be numbel of fil st-alders, I should like, by your permission, to suggest to all the members of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, and especially officers .\\'?O the arrangements of Competitions and th1.t It IS hIgh tIme some means should be adopted than those 1Il vogue at the present time.

r refer ,especially to Squad .Competitions at Reyiews, and I do not like to see a Corps boa,stll1g of bemg the best Corps in the di s tri c b ecause a Squad of fi,ve of Its best members. out and es pecially drilled fOI the pm pose, has taken the first pnze over other similar picked Squaus.

Th,en again in Rel iew Competitions, do not hold with Corps entering and the day bf compell t lo n turmng out with a very loll' perce,ntage at ItS members, a s was Just lately the ca se at the Bla ckIf ,C o rps nu.mbering ?f members put to .)0 men 1Il competIti o n \\,111 the first pnze It IS not necessarily the best Corps 111 the competlUon,

What propose is tbat Corps entering in the compe ition 5hall be compelled to put a certall1 percentaO'e o f its members on the field' the larger the better, and if, there should be a Squad Competition Judge ha \'e power to ,PIck each squad from the ranks; this would be a faIr and would stImulate each Corps to get every man up to perfectIOn 1Il place of the fi\ e men forming the picked faithfully, R ochdale, July I2th, I898.

POLICE ,-\.::\D FIRST .-\ID.

To the Eddor of" FIRST Am."

W.IXGHA.M, Superintendent.

I,Ia\'ing your valuable journal for July and the in s tructi\ e on" 1 of .\ccldents" by Chirllrglls, cannot refrain IrOI11 cOl11mentJl1g on the general deficiency of the :'Ietropolitan Police in rendering first aid to the injured.

The recruit joining the preparatory class receives four days instructions at Scotland Yard in rendering fir s t aid, \"i z , - the treatment of .bones, fractures and compound), bleeding from arteries \'elns, fits, ('c., and a slight Idea of stretcher drill als0 a few lectures by the Chief Surgeon on the above subjects, and I' would ask readers of your journ"l " h,o\\' they can expect the raw material, many of whom have never been III London or seen an accideut to render first aid successfully from this vague instruction, Therefore, in nearly all cases arising from accidents, a doctor is called by the in the case, but when aid is olTered by a certificated pupzl o[ the :it, Jobn .:\mbulance .\ssociation, such is to be accepted by the constable un less thpre are exceptional circumstances [or refusing it, and a report is to be made by the constable in each case rela.ting theret? t o obtaining the ambulance for com'eying a pallent to hospItal, It frequently occurs that the police station is some considerable distance away from tbe scene of the accident, or the ambulance may already be in use for some other purpose, thereby causing great delay, consequently the constable ha.s to use his own discretion as to the best means of removing the sufferer, Amhulance classes are formed from time to time for the instruction of p"lire to obtain a certif.cate of proficiency f: o m the St John Ambulance il.sso.:iaCon, to render first aiu, but as only a small number from each di\'ision are sent, consequently those who hold certificates are

FIRST

small in compHison to the number o[ men in the ;\letropoli an Police. I 1 1:1 b In conclusion, I would suggest that eve'y e S10U 0 t:l.1n. a certificate from the St. John .\mbulance ASSOCiatIOn to first <lid, and tbat classes should be formed locally in each for .the necessary instruction. Trusting some abler pen will take the subyct in hanJ. -Yours truly, A CO:\STABLE.

17th July, 93.

st. tlttbtew 's tltnbulance tlssociation.

The annual meetinO' of the members of the St. Andrew's Ambulance Association was held June 28tb, in the Religious Institution Rooms --the .\ Iost Hon. the .\Tarquis of Breadalbane, K.G., presiding Among others present \\'ere :-Lord O\'ertoun, Sir James Bell, D. C. R. Carrick Buchanan, Re\·. Dr .\farshall Lang. Professor I'l..ent, Prol'o::t Sommen'ille POrt GlasO'ow ; Dr. Beatson, Dr. J. '\Yallace Anderson, Dr. Whitson', and Boyd Anderson and J. D. Hedderwick.

A number of letters of apology were intimated.

'\Ir. A.ndrtw Henderson submitted the annual report. Dunng tl e year +,(06 calls bad been made on the waggons of the aEs)ciation, since its formation in r882 '}, I ,775 patients had been com'eyed 111 them. In addition to classes held u'1der the auspices of the \'a,-ious centres of tbe association,99 deta:hed classes had been beld in 68 diotricts in Scotland. The number of pupils trained was 5,039, and s:nce the formation of the association, 72,527. There were no\\' four waggons in the Glasgow centre at the call of the public in cases of accident. Jn Glasgow and neighbourbood 55 classes for ambulance instruction were held Juring the year, which were attended by 1,212 pupils The year's income was £1,063 9s. rrd. and the expenditure £1,105 19s +d.

The chairman moyed the adoption of the report.

Sir }ames Bell seconded, and emphasised the fact that an amb\llance ",ag-aon could be had by anyone, irrespective of accidents. Tn Edin· hurgll there \\'ere 9+2 cases last ye;n in ,,-hich the ambulance \\'aggon hacl'been used for cases other than accidents; while in Glasgo\\' the cases numbered 6+2. He confessed that he himself did not know before thflt the waggon could be had for anything but 8.::cidents.

The report W83 unanimously adopted.

Dr. Beatson submitted the draft of the proposed Crown charter of incorporation. There had been only one motive in applying for the Royal Charter, and th:!t was in the highest interest of tbe association.

The principle underlying all incorporations was that they mllst be shown to be of good and permanent public benefit. Their experience after 16 yea rs' WOl k of the association "as that it was of permanent good. It had. been urged that they m ight have applied to the Board of Trade fer a license, and, of course, they might have done that, but they thought that their \\'ork was on a somewhat higher level than it "'ould be put by such prl)cedure. (Applause.)

The cbairman moved that the draft ot the proposed Crown charter of incorporation be appro\'ed, and that the following committee be reappointed with powers to petition Her l.\lajesty's Pri"y Council for incorporation, \'iz. :-Ex-Provost George Ferguson, David Macdonald, Colonel William Clark, Dr. D. i\I'Phail, Dr. George T. Beatson, Dr. J. '\Vallace Anderson, W. Boyd Anderson, Hugh Brown, Professor D. X. Knox, Professor James Dunlop, James Gilchrist, Sir James VVatson, and James D. TTedderwick - Dr. Beatson, cOlwener.

The was unanimously agreed to. 1 may be mentioned that about a hundred 11 )blemen and gentlemen had signed the petition in fa\'our of a Royal Charter.

On the motion of :\11'. IV. Boyd Anderson, a hearty yote of thanks was awarded the chairm8n, and the meeting terminated

$a\)ing 'lUfe on 1anb.

On the 8th ult. II.R.II. The Prince of Wales. Gmnd Prior of the Ot-der of t:ie Hospital of St. John of Jerusaiem in Engbnd, presented the medal of the order for sanng life on land, to the following for deeds of bravery

Police Constable William Bennett (of the Birmingham Police), silver medal awarded fO.r great and presence of mind disp ayed on 13 h June, 1897,111 resculI1g three men from a cellar belonO'inD' to a tavern in L1.wley Street, Birmingbam The men were Iying. unconscious [rom the s of the poisonous gas generated by beer In the, process of fermentatIOn. Constable Bennett, after having In bnnglng the men out of the cellar, resorted to artificial respll'atlOn,and brought the men round before the arriva l of the doctor Henry Rowe (Warrington), bronze medal awarded for very courageous conduct displayed on 24th July, 1897, in stopping a run-

A I D . LAu g us t , 1898.

away horse, attached to a dr verless cab, as it was o n t h e po int of dashing into a procession of ch il dren, .blocked 111 a narro w t h oro u ghf:tre known as Sankey Street, vV arnngton Rowe p u lled the h orse dOWI1 and fell beneath it, sustaining 8evere !njuries

Thomas ,\Vhincup (Superintendent, ,\Vest R.ldlng- Constabulary, Pontefract), bronze medal a warded for conspicuous conduct and presence of mind displayed on rStl] July, 1897, In .resCLII,ng a who had slipped down under the foot-board of Incol1llllg excurs.IOll tr;1.in at Baghill Station, Pontefract. T he Supel'll:tendent threw h1l11self down on the platform, and at great personal rIsk h'l:!ld the woman clear of the rails till the train stopped.

Police Constable Arthur James Scotcher (R eadin!S Borough Po li ce), bronze medal awarlled for courageous conduct displayed on 2 1st tember r897 in stoppinO' a runaway horse attached o a cart w h Ich a l ong G;eat Street, .Read ing, the street being crowded with people proceeding to the Fall' Ground S eotcher was himself knocked down, and one of the whee:s of the cart passed over his thiO'h which necessitated his laying up for two or three weeks.

Vockings (Porter in the employ of the Great \Vestern at ,\Yestbourne Park Station), bronze medal awarded for gallantry and presence of mind .disp!ayed on 9th September 1897, In rescuing at imminent personal nsk a man .narned J. Broughton who had staO'O'ered across the down 1111e platform 111 front of an admncing which was rapidly '\yestbourne Park Station Yockings jumped on t.o the hne and only managed to pull the man clear when the engll1e but a few feet them.

Tboll18s ,\Yilliam LeWIS (Porter 111 the employ ot the London , Chatham, and Dover Railway, Shortland3 Station), bronze medal awarded for c011l'ageous conduct and presence of mind displayed on 2nd February, r897, in rescuing a man named Dudley St:tnton Saul, \V.ho, whilst \\'alkinO' alonO' Shortlancls StatIon platform, overbalanced himself and fell the just as a t.rain was rapidly approaching-. Le\\'is who was on the opposite platform, without a moment's hesitation and at great personal risk jumped on to the ralls and pulled M r. Saul out of dan O'er.

_-\t the conclusion of the ceremony the recipients were conveyed l)'lck to St. 10hn's Gale, and subsequently entertained at at the Three Compasses HOlel, Cow Cross Street. _\fter ample JlIstlce had. been done to the good fare pro\'ided, the 1I5u'd loyal toasts were hono'Jred, and Superintendent ,\Vhincup proposed a very hearty \'ote of th:tnks to the Order of St. John for the kind and generous way in which they had been entertained.

1Railwav :thnbulancc.

SOUTHPORT.-A number of members of tbe permanent way staff connected with the Cheshire L ines Ra lway at Southport, were at Lord Street Station on tbe I9th lilt., presented with medallions and cates gained in connection witb the St. John Ambulance .AssoclatIon One of the waiting rooms was utilised as the pbce of meetl11g', and the O'atherinO' was presided over hy :\Ir. D. :\ Ieldrum, General :\hnager of fhe L ines. At the outset, l\Ir. Taylor explained to :\1r. :\Ieldrum that the class was composed o[ platelayers and other memb.ers of the permanent staff Practically ,all the n:embers of the ,statIOn staff at Southport had gained medalltons preViously. Great mterest was taken in the work by the whole of the staff, and the men w.ere now subscribinO' a small sum of money per week Il1 order to cont n bute to the prize at the annual competition in Liverpoo l , and also so tha.t they m ght have a little money in hand to other matterscolll:ected with ambulance work. i\Ir. Meldrum said that before proceedll1g to distl ibute tbe medallions to the men who had been sl.ccessfu i n the examination he wished to congratulate them on their sLlccess. It showed. he thought, that they haJ not gone in [or ambulance work merely for a passing whim, or to themselves for a week or. two during the first year, but that they had taken an earnest and ll1telhgent interest in the work. lT ewas very pleased to find that Dr. Thornton was able to report that they had pas'sed a m?st examinat ion, and that nine of them were entitled to receive m edallions. H e knew that to Dr. Thornton it had been a labour of love, :1.I1d he (the speaker) was fully aware tbat the doctor had always tal<en a 'ery strong interest in the Lines AmlJl;)ance Corps at So u thport. W heneve he (the speaker) had come to South po r to perform a s imilar d u ty to that he had undertctken that af ernoon, he had always been struck bJ.' the intelligence displayed by the men, and this he conSIdered spoke h ghly [or the instruction which h ey receivcd l-Je had much p eas u re III moving a hearty vote of thanks to Dr. Thorntol:. I n seconding the, motion :\'1r. Tay lor said that Dr. Thornton had.g l\'en a great.amo u nto J time to the ambulance lectures. The 1110tlon was carned. 1\1r. L awrenceson asked the chairman to present t) Dr. ] horn ton, on be h alf of the members of the class a handsome s ilk umbre lla, as a token o f their respect and esteem h i m . [ n t h e g f wh ich h e sa i d w as en t ire ly unex p ected, Dr. Thornton sa d It \N asa p leasa nt tb ll1g t o see the C hi e f O fficers of a great" Li ne lik e t he C h es bir e L in e s

Aug u st, 1898.J FIRST

ope rat in g w i th h e em pl oyes on the rai l way i n the inte rests uf a anat life -saving, assoc iat io n It was a l ways h is desire to he lp forward 111 any s u ch 'work as t hat, and he w ished them to reco ll ec t h at l.n d Oll1 g good to t h ey 'were benefiting themselves. T he C haIrman exp r esseda de31re that the Southport Ambulance take part thIS .rea; II1 the annual 8mbulance competitions held In Liverpoo l about Chnstmas time. On the motion of :\ I r. Lawr.encesol1, seconded by Dr. T hornton, a vote of thanks was accorded tJ ;\'fr i\ l eldrum and ;\II'. SC::Jtt. Mr. Meldrum and ;\ Ir Scott havinO' responded suitably, "Ir. Roberts was for his sen'ices as to the class, and the proceed1l1gs terml11ated.

St. 30hn Bnlblllance :fJ3rigabe . CORPS

ALL first-aiders join with us in a hearty welcome to SuperinAl?ert on hiS ret :rn from the Cape. I'Ve are ple8sed to learn that hIS VISit to the Colol1les has been beneficial to him and his health being now restored he among us fit for any hard work, both in an ambulance se n se and 111 connection with bis dental profession.

Thursday e \'ening.July 7th, by permission of Mr. Henry Clar k e, J P., L.C,C., a first aid competition in connection with this Division was held in the beautiful grounds of Cannon Hall. There was a very large interested audience, amongst those pre"ent being Lord Kl1utsford, Director G eneral of the Ambulance Department (St. John A mbulance Association), of the Order of St John of Jerusalem.

Mr. and Mrs. IIenry Clarke, Mr Basil Woodd Smith, J.P., Mr. Alfred Preston, J.P., Dr. ,\Veaver, J.P., Mr. '\ V. R Rickett, J.P Dr. Clarke

Dr. E. Collingwood Andrews, Rev. J . Kirkman, Re\ Canon stone, :\1r. R A Owtbwaite, Rev. Canon Streatfeild, Mr. Hugh Blckersteth, Dr. V H eath Strange, :\ I r. G. H. Turner, Dr. Sharman; the judges, Dr. J. Dr. E Gwynn, Dr. A. H. Cook, Dr. IJeaton H oward; Brigade ChIef Superintendent W. J. Church Brasier and Chief W. ;\ l organ, with Dr. E. Jessop, hon'. sU,r&,e?n to the diVISion, .and ,Mr. E. II Evans, superintendent of the under whose direction the were most successfully out. were present Supenntendents p. Hayman, LIlldel1, and Pontm; Sub diVISIOna l I nspector '\Vaite and Inspector S ,Division, \;·.ith a!)out thirty sergeants and constables; Engllleer of tbe 1, &c. The first competition was open. to Ylsltors, three pnzes belllg given by the Hampstead Di\'ision. The Injury \\'as supposed to be a wound in the palm of the hand. and the first prize was won by Private ;\Iilwood. Pri\'ate Knowles Brown was sec.o?d, and Pri\ ate Ely third. This was followed by a two-men competitIOn for men only, and was won by :\Iessrs. Fisher and Berryman. ,\. bngade team competition for three teams vi.:. St. J?hn's Gate I, and H.lI11pstead, \\'as \Yon by the St. Gate, Hampstead runI1!ng them very closely. There were only prizes for one team, but, as HampsteaJ were nl1 ly separated from the winners by a t e ch:1ical points, 1\11'. G H Turner signified his intention of presentll1g prizes to them The Amhulance work concludeJ with an individual exhibition of first aid work, which caused much interest and The .An:bulance qorps were supposed, as Dr. Jessop explalneJ, to be enJoYing a plc-nlc on the arass "hen news arri\ ed of an explosion. The pic.-nic was hurriedly broken up, and a rush made for the scene of :he and the supposed injured persons were prom ptly and sClel111fically ted. The prizes won by the competitors were Lhen presented by Lord Knutsrord. :\1r. Basil Woodd Smith J.P., in proposing a vote of thanks to Lord Knutsford, remarked if at any place a pleasant and heartv \\elcome could be a\\'arJeJ to L o rd Knutsfora it was at Ihmpstcad. (Applause.) The older ones amongst them could remember that, when Hampstead was first a P'l.rlimental'Y borough, they looked about to find the best man to them, sent Sir Henry IIolland, as he \Vas tben. with a tri u mphant majority to represent them in the riO'ht place then the IIouse of Common::: lIe had well seJyed his coun and his ents, thougl? he had no\\' left that name and that place, he had not lost hiS lI1terest 111 Ha.mpstead, but was always ready to help them on a ll when health and circumstances permitted. They regretted that III health had prevented Lady Knutsford being present, for they knew she would always willingly assist in all good work \\ hen she could lI e proposed that their best thanks be accord.::d to Viscount Knut3ford for his kindness for cominO' amonD'st them and distributing the prizes. (Applause). Tbe J. man £econded the motion, and remarked that if Lord Knutsford would co n tinue to do all be could to render first aiJ to the injured in C hurch and State they would always continue to applaud hlln to the echo (Laughtel' and applause). The Illotion was carried enthusiastically. Lord Knutsford, in responding, said that any small return that c0 dd ?e 1:1ade for the kindness, courtesy, and loyalty he had always met With In [JaI11Jlstead, would never be \\'antina on p:lrt of Kllcltsford. (Applause). f \\'as to make acqm:nntance With the work of the l\'1'!bulance all O\'el t h c co u ntry and the colonies, hut he h:ld a speciat pleasure in vie\\' ng th e wor k of the sm81 1 independent classes like that at Hampstead! was t he rea l t est of the progress of the work. It was no: surp n s ll1 g t h at the work shou ld be tahen lip energetically in industr al

A I D. 17

a.nd mining centres, where accidents were so preva lent, but in places hke H ampstead tbey d id that kind of pressure brought to bear upon them . T he way 111 whIch the work had been done tbat eve.I1Ing was most creditahle ?ad done quietly, carefully, and dehc ately, and he ?ad pleasu,re 111 glVll1g to them ungrudgingly and unstllltedly the highest praise. (Applause). On the motion of Dr.. E Jessop, a hearty vote of thanks was awarded to the judges, which was responded to by Dr. Gwynn During the evening a handsome bouguet of r?ses \\'as presented to :\ Irs. Clarke by ;\liss :\ 1abel and .\llss Beatrice Enns The proceedings terminated with cheers for Lord Knutsf?rd and :\lr. Clarke. .\.lr. Henry Clarke or :\1r. E H. Enns \\'Ill thankfully recel\'e any subscriptions towards the funds of the Hampstead Division

PRO\'I:\"CIAL C ORPS.

Sixty members of this Corps-39 gentlemen and 2 Bury on Sa.turday, and part in the annu:1.1 inspectIOn, re\':ew, competItIOn of the vanous Corps of the South-East Lancashire Dlstnct, they were so highly sl!ccessful tbat they carried off tbe \"bole three pnzes offered on the Occasion. ArranO'ements were made with the .railway company. by which a Burnley train stopped at: Accl'lngton, and by thiS the Ambulance members tra\-elleJ to Bury, sta}·ting at 2.18 p.m T':!e Accrington Corps are members of both the 1\ orth-east Lan cas hIre and South-east Lancashire districts, On arriyal at Bury the men's division formed alongwith tbe !lule members of the otber Corps in ,Union Squ,are, The then paraded through the streets, under Chief Supenntenclent '\\ hlttaker. of ,\ccrinaton, fl-o m Gnion Squ:Lre to the freetown football field, where th\ inspection, competitions, &c., were to come off. \Yhen the football field was reached the inspection took place by :\Iajor Trimble, deputycommissioner. There were about 230 ambulance members on the field - SO men and 80 ladies The Accrington lady members went direct from the railway station to the field. Yarious evolutions were go;,e through, and ambulance work W.lS performed by representati\'e squads from each Corps. The ladies' divisions were put through a course of first aid. The Sil\'er Challenge Cup was \\'011 by the ,\ccrington men for being the Corps on the field. with 98 points out of a possible roo. Possibly they would ha\'e got tbe whole ICO had it 110t been that one of the men \\ho has not been in the babit of attending the \\-ee khdrills regularly tied what is called a "granny" knot in one of the conipetitions. This was noticed, with the result that the total was reduced. Accrington was only three points ahead of Rochdale, last year's \yinners, who had 93 points, 50 tbat the compet itiun was pretty keen. The Accrington representative squad \\'ho went throug-h stretcher drill \\'er e awarded the first prize, a Flirler :\Iilitary Stretcher, Rocbdale being again second, and Bury third. In the ladies' competition Accrington was first, and Bury second, Rochdale and Roy ton tying forthird position. The ladies had to apply splints to fractures, arrest h:-emorrhage, answer questions as to what course they would adopt in certain eyentualities, and so on. Questions \'aried according to circumstances were also put to the men in connection \\-ith their competitions The tests with regard to both tbe men 8nd the ladies were aceordingly theoretical as well as practical. Superi::tendent Odgen was in charge of the .-\ccrington men, being assisted by First-Officer Spencer. S eco nd-Officer Bullock. and four supernumerary officers. Su perintendent 1\1 iss Fletcher, assisted by First- Lady-Officer .\liss Burge5s, was in charge of the Accrington ladies' eli \·ision All concerned are deserying- of the W.lrmest congratul.lti0ns on the success of the :lay

B',-'l.cuP .-On Thursday, the qth ult., in the cookery room of the Bacup Technical School, the certificates, &r., were prtsented to the students "'ho ba\'e been attenJing the class, which has been held under Dr. Ba rclay. :'d Barclay n presen ting the certificates. alluded to the good work wbich might be do Ie by any person \\'ho took ad \'a nta of these classes, and hoped that \\'h:lt they had learned they would try and keep, \l'hich might be clone by attending the practices held e\'ery fortnight. She was \'ery g-lad to be able to say that it was a " class" presentation, for eyery student had passed tbe examination, and she heartily complimented them on their The following ladies received certificates, viz.: Hannah vYilson, Rebecca Stubbs, IIutton, Annie Howe, .:\lice Ann Greenwood, .-\lice Ingham, Beatrice IIarpin, Elizabeth Day, i\ l ary Ann Lee, Annie P'ckup, <Lily Pickup. Louisa Leach, Constance l'Ilarshall, :\Iargaret Jane Howorth, BeSSIe Pilling, .\melia Bertha Emily Smith, Ann Hacking, Susann,lh '\Yoods, Sarah Richardson, and Mary Senile :\Iary ,\hce Emmett receil'ed the Sl. John ,\mbulance medallion, having passed her final examination. :\Iiss Pickup presented :\lrs. John Arthur Law, on b::b.aJf of the class, "ith a handsome cabinet gilt pictLIre fr::tl11e, and :\1 rs. \ Vilson presented a black ebony sih'er-l11ounted ,,'a lking stick to :\Ir. " 'illiam Brown, for their sen'ices as secretaries to the class. After each had suitahly responded, a vote of thanks to :\lrs. for her senices, moyed by :\lrs. E . .\1. \Yr;ght, and seconded by MISS Bird, brought the meeting to a close.

PIR\ll:'\GHc\\I.-At the monthly meetll1g of d1ls Corps, 1\1r. Tozer pI eSlding, it \\'as stated tha t there \\ ere 192 cases of fir=t aid reponed [or the past month. The report of the delegates at the recent at Bbckpool was submitted, and ordered to. be ent.ered the IlIln utes, amI the delegates were thanked for their ser\'1ces. I he serre,:!ry

] 8

FIB S 'r

mentioned that he hnd not received n complete return of the sale of tickets nt the recent display and sports at Soli hull, but he was able to st:tte that, financially nnd otherwioe, the outing was a great success A circular letter was recei\'ed from the secretary of the local centre, i\1r. J. H. Rogers, asking for donations to the Lord Leigh testimonial fund, and it ,,:-as unanimouly decided to. devote the sum of five guineas to the lund out o( the proceeds of the display.

Bl'HL COMPETITIO"'. - The annual inspection, review and competition of the South-East Lancash!re o( the Brigade took place at Bury on the 16th ult. The was '\1ajor Trimble, Deputy CommiSSIOner, and the prizes were distributed by Mr. Kenyon, M.P Tbe Sih'er Challenge Cup was by Accrington, 9 8 points; the other competitors bemg Rochdale (wll1ners last ye:tr), 95 ; Tottington, S:i ; Bury, 80; Heywood,80. The competition for the Furley .\rmy Stretcher was won by Rochdale being second, Bury third, Heywood fourth, and Toltll1gton fifth. In the Lndies' Competition, Accrington were first, Bury second, and Rochdale and ROYLOn tied for third position. A cycle parade was also held. XORTHA:llPToN.-Theannual inspection of this Corps was held in the O'rounJs of the l\'o,-thampton General Infirmary with great success Tbe"lnspector was Brigade Surgeon Lieutp.nant-Colonel G. S. Elliston, \-.D., l\1. R.C.S., Deputy Commissioner :r\o. 3 (Central and Eastern District, St. John Ambulance Brigade), who was accompanied by Assistant Commissioner 'Woolston. Among those who accepted in"itations were The ;\1;11 quis of Northampton, Sir Philip l\Ianfield, the ;\layor of :\'orthampton (Councillor IV P. Hannen), Alderman T. Wetherell, Councillor F. Ellen, the Rev. Canon Hull, the Rev. R. R. Cobbold (Earl's Barton), the Rev. A. IIarper, Dr. A, H.Jones, &c. The officers of the corps present ,,'ere: l\lr. H, T. Fracy (Hon Sec.), Cbief Superintendent J. Perry, Superintendent C. F. (jlney, Superintendent W. H Reeves (Head Quarters Division), Superintendent T, F. Thorpe (Earl's Barton Division), Superintendent Buckley (Leicester). Superintendent Fellowes(Olney). The Corps was first drawn up in front of the saluting point, and saluted, while the orthampton Temper:tnce Silver Band (under .'.h. J. Trolley) played a verse of "God save the Queen," The Corps then entered into formation for stretcher drill under Chief Superintendent Perry, when a number of imaginary inj uries were attended to, after which there was an inspection by the Commissioners and the Hon. SUI geons of the Corps. There was next a demonstration of bandaging drill. The i\1arq uis of :'-l' orthampton, Ple5ident, occupied the chair, and in presenting- med dlions aad sih'er medals, observed that it was ten rr.onths since he attended the annual inspection, and in the meantime hecould see that considerable progress had been made. It was at the camp of instruction that they picked up their knowledge, and a few days at camp were better than a whole year on the drill ground. He was very pleased with the excellent manner in which they were improving. (Applause). Lieutenant-Colonel Elliston said be had had a very pleasant duty to perform in inspecting such an excellent Corps as he had that afternoon. He could obsen'e since former \·isit that there had been. distinct all-round progress. The dnlls were ,ery good and the bandagll1O' had been done neater and tig;lter than heretofore. All he could say that he was very pleased with his inspection, and had no fault to find. ( \pplause). Sir Philip :'Ianfield then proposed a \ ote of thanks to the Chairman and the Infirmary Goyernors for the use of the grounds, and all those who had 111 any measure helped to make the inspection sllch a success. Mr. II.

T. Fracy seconded, and the resolution was carried unanimously. The men then gave three for the :'1arquis of 2\orthamplon, and three cheers for the Inspecting Officer, after which the proceedings were brought to a conclUSIOn. Subsequent to the inspection the members of the Corps sat down to an excellent diI:ner at the Grand Hotel. The Chair was occupied by Chief Superintendent Perry, and he was supported. by Lieutenant-Colonel Elliston, the ;'Ilayor of ;\'orthampton CounCillor \ V. P. Hannen, Assistant Commissioner \Voolston, Dr. A. H. Jones, i\lr. H. T. Fmcy, Superintendent Olney, SuperinReeves, ;\.Ir. E FranCiS Jones, R. A. i\IIiligan, &c. An toast lIst was gone through, the speeches being interspf'rsed ',nth musIc.

.IO\·ely weather, on Saturday, July 16th, the annual 1I1spectlOn of L;IS Corps took place. Tbe Corps, numberillO' about +0 up on the Knoll at 4 o'clock, and headed by'" the Olney Silver Pme Band? up the nigh Street to the Westlands, the o.(,Mr., S E \\ here a Ir.rge comp:l.I1y had assembled, mcludlng \\. \I. Carlile, l<.sq., :'I.P., and :'1rs. Carlile, &c. The men, under the command of Superintendent assisted by First Officer Cooper., Inspector ;\10rgan and Sergeant Jones, were put a of incl,uding forming and. "Ith extempollsed seats? artifiCIal respiratIOn, stretcher drIll, Ilfllng and c:nrymg helpless patIent, and concluded with a course of bandaging. They were then formed up and addressed by the Commissioner whn congratulated Superintendent upon the work performed, and UI upon men the necessity of frequently meeting together (or drIll. Fellowes replying on behalf of the Corps said he felt very gralified that the work had been per(ormed i n such a manner as to call forth words of commendation and praise (rom the

AID. CAugust, 1898.

Commiss oner, and he trusted the me m bers would take note of wh a h e had said n re(erence to their regu ar attendance at dril l. Mrs. Ca rlile then handed medallions to the recip ients. Mr. C[l.r\ ile, Dr. J ones, a n d Superilltendent Fellowes all made speeches suitable to t h e occas ion, after which the Corps W[l.S photographed by Mr. T horneyc r oft, of K ewport Pagnell, and then, together with the band , sat down to a sumptuous tea, kindly given by Mrs. Hipwell, who also entertained a large number of v;sirors. The insper.ting officer was Milnes rIey, Esq M.R.C.S., Deputy Commissioner St John Ambulance Brigade, and he was accompanied by Brigade Chief Superintendent Ch ur ch Brasier. Dancing was indulged in until about 9 o'clock PRESTON.-The members of this Corps paraded at the Crush R oom for inspection by Major Trimble, L. R.C.P., Deputy Commissioner for No. + District, and for the presentation of certificates, meda lli ons, &c., by Dr. R. C. Brown. The corps mustered one chief s u rgeon, w o honorary:surgeons, five officers, and 81 members , together with fo u r officers and 80 members of the Nursing division, making a total of I73 on parade. After being inspected and put through a few movements in bandaging and drill, the membErs were addressed by the Inspecting Officer who expressed his satisfaction and pleasure at all he had seen He also referred to the very creditable manner in ""hich many of the members had acquitted themselves in recent competitions and in giving practical first aid assistance to the inj ured. A s regarded the nursing division, he considered it one of the most numerous , most efficient, and most influential in the whole o( the Brigade, a fact which he thought was due to the efforts of I-Ion. Surgeon Collinson, tbe lad y superintentdent, and the lady honornry secretary In th.: un[l.voidable absence of Dr. Brown, the certificates and medallions were presented by Major Trimble.

IYORKSOP.-T he first annual inspection of the IYorksop Division took place on the cricket field on the I9th ult., the inspecting ofhcer

Dr. S. W. Malkin, assistant commissioner of the No,S c;. lidland) District. The divisional surgeon (Dr. Montague), the superintendent (:\1r. H. Davy), and the first ambulance officer and hon. secretary (:.lr. IV. C. Easterfield), put the members through squad, stretcher, and litter drill, including bandaging of various kinds The inspecting oHicer appeared highly satisfied, but commented upon the absence o( un form, of which the corps is in need. On 'VednesJay, Dr. Malkin inspected the \Velbeck Corps, of which i\Ir. E. G. Hamlyn is the superintendent.

IDrugs wotf t bOo

FREE T RIAL OF SOi\rETHI2\G THAT W ILL DO.

You would be perfectly astonished if you were made a\Vare of the many th()usand;; of pounds absolutely thrown away from year to year upon so-called curative.:; th:tt are fuisted upon a public only t()O willing to believe the specious arguments laid before them.

Even the hard-earned shillings of the very poor are wasted in this way; in fact, it is to the ignorant, anxions to rid themselves of the various ailments which handicap them in the race for life, that such argumen ts are too often adJressed.

;:\ow, strength and muculnr activity, r05Y cheeks, plumpness, and health can be obtainec; without medicine.

T.he replenishing of the system from the wasting of tissues which is going on every d:ly can only be accomplisbed by the proper assimilation of food

It ca mot be done \\'Ith medicine It can, however, be accomplished with a perfect, flesh-forming, palatable, and agreeable Food Beverage Dr Tibbles' Vi - Coc >a is such a Food Beverage, possessing, as it does wonderful nourishing, strengthening, and stimulative po wers unsurpassed by any other Food Beverage. Dr. Tibbles' Vi -Cocoa is n ot a medicine. It does simply what it is claimed to do, and its strengthening powers are being recognised to an extent hitherto unknown in the history of any known preparation.

Merit, and merit alone. is what we claim for Dr. Tibbles'Vi-Cocoa, and we are prepared to send to any reader who names FIRST AID (a postcard will do) a dai11LY sample tin of Dr. Tibbles' \ 'i-Cocoa free and post-paid There is no magic in all this. It isa plain, honest, straig h tforward offer. It is done to introduce the merits o( Vi-Cocoa into every home Dr. Tibbles' Vi-Cocoa, as a concentrated form of nourishmen-t and vitality, is invaluable; nay, more than this; (or to all wh o wish to face the strife and battle of life with greater endurance and more sustained exer:ion, it is absolutely indispensable Dr. Tibbie;' Vi-Cocoa can be obtained om all chem ists, grocers, and stores, or from Dr. Tibbles' Vi-Cocoa, Limited, 60, 6I and 62, Bunhill Ro\\', London, E.C

A:\S\VERS TO CORRESPO:'-l'DENCE.

J. C. DON:-lELl.EY (Blackpool) -Your letter has been forwarded to the Brigade Chief S u perintenclent, St. John's Gate, who w ill do u btle ss reply to your que r y.

The Trade will be supplied by Mr. F, BRETT, 5, Pi lgrim Street, Ludgate

PCBLISHER'S N OTIC E.-I n consequence of the demand for back num bers, t.he Publisher has to give notice that the price of any back number previous to the current year, will in future be zd. As thestock of some of them is very limi·ted, it would be well for those of our readers who \yish it, to complete their sets without delay.

:fBre\)itics.

THE tropical heat that we ha\"e had this last month shows us once more the absolute necessit\- for an efficient ambulance sen'ict in our streets The John Ambulance Association with its t\\"o stations at St. Pau l 's and St Clement Dane's, has receiyed more notice these last two or t hree weeks than it has met with in the whole course of its exi tence. And it desen-es it. But how the yoluntar), work done by this body brings out in a stIong light the utter absence of any official ambulance arrangements. There are, howe\"er, signs appearing which seem to show that efforts will soon be made to fill up the ,-oiel. The scheme that appears in another colurnn has been drawn up with the idea of showing that it is possible to ambulance this metropolis

$CbCl11C for a Bntbnlancc $cn1tce.

By C. IIo"-ARD, L.R.C. P., &c.

In considering this subject, it must be taken for granted that the want of some efficiel1t ambulance organisation is apparent, and it is only wi1.h the object of demonstr:tting how this want ran be supplied, that I write this article.

must say at the outset that the following scheme is put forward with the (ull consciousness th<'_t no plan hO\ye\'er \Yell it may look upon paper, is likely to work smoothly at first, in fact it is impossible \\ ithout eXDerience and a certain amount of practice to a scbeme off-hand suitable fo r the population and size of this enormolls city. Prejudic(;s ha\'e to be br0ken down, old ideas have to be exchanged for new, the London public has to be educated before anv scheme can be finally adopted. It is with a lo.rge amount of diffidence that 1 propose this scheme as a ground plan, as it were, leaving many details to be fill"d in afterwards. I sincerely hope that it will be considered and thought oyer in this sense, and the writer will feel sufficiently rewarded for his efforts, if it only results in a thorough ventilation of the subjf'ct. The scheme that I venture to place before the readers of this journal is not one that could be carried out by any yolunt::n), or private association or organisation, it would cost too much and the responsibility wouln be too great, and moreo\'er it is only right that the public should pay for services which would greatly benefit the individual members.

It is a maller (or consideration and argument whether the scheme would in the first instance be applied to the whole of London and suburbs, that is, the area governed by the Metropolitan Police. As this is somew!-..t extensive, being 688 square miles, persoTially I think it is too large to begin with, and might lead to expenditure of money which might afterwards be found to h ave been unnecessary. If a commencement were made with the district inside the four-mile mdius (rom Charing Cross, extensions could be gradually made according to the requireme n ts.

We will presume, then, that full Parliamentary powers have been obtained and the money provided to create an ambulance service with the following duties :-

r To take charge of all cases of accidents and sudden illness occurring in the streets, providing first aid treatment and removing them ei ther to hospital or to the patient's home,

2 -:ro take charge of and manage n a like manner when rpquested all slm1lar cas.es occurrIng at workshops, manufactories, buildi ngs in course of erectIOn, docks, warehouses '1nd other industrial buildinas and e\'en in private houses and also at fires if a patient requires to hospital.

3. No infectious cases to be treated by the service.

+. To gi ye assistance to any medical practitioner who may require it, for treatment of cases of poisoning, or removal of cases of accident or sudden illness to hospital.

\ Ye will now consider what would ha\'e to be provided in the way of PLANT.

Sites would have to be obtained by purchase or otherwise for the chief office, where the director would reside, with accommodation for his sta(f, and for all stations. Some of them need only be large enouO'h for a litter and t""O assistants without sleeping convenience, but of them must be of sufficient size for two or three assistants to live in, and for an ambulance wagon and litter and fvr the necessary telephonic communications. The number of stations required could only be determined after careful examination of streets and districts, probably somewhere between 40 and 80, but think that the better and more complete the telephonic arrangements are, the fewer the! number of stations. If properly fitted ambulance stations are placed at a distance, say, of two miles from each other (excluding the city and what I may call the beart of London where the street accidents are most numerous), the wagon ought to be on the scene of accident \\-ithin ten minute= of the call, probably less. The arranging of the sites of these stations \\'ould be, I think, the most difficult part of the undertaking, and the expense of purchase would absorb a large proportion of tbe money think in many arrangements might be made with the hospitals (those haying plenty of room) for an ambulance station to be placed in their precincts.

The next item that would entail a big outlay would be the ambulance wagon, In many of the stations the wagon \\:ould not probably be in frequent request, so for that reason I am not m h\'our of uSing horses as the moti\'e power. I think a motor ambulance wagon could be built, the power being pro\'iued by electricity, on the same principle as the cabs that are now running in the streets. The adl'antages are obvious, no horse keep or stables required, no harnessing, no waitingimmediately the call is recei\'ed the wagon could start; and there is no expenditure whilst the wagon is standing idle. .\ll the outlying stations would require a wagon, the total nuwber be1l1g somewhere bet\\een 30 and So.

Litters would be requil ed-perna ps :1O or 30.

The cost of telepl:onic communication would be considerable, but efficiency must not be sacri.ficed.

The chief office and stations yoldcl requIre furl11shll1g. l'niforms for officers and men would have to be proyided.

THE STAFF.

The chief or (lirector should be a medical man-one who is thoroughly COI1\'ersant with all tbe of work. He should have supreme control over all 111, the ser\'lce, be solely responsible to the Government for effiCiency of, the oel'\ lce.

The director would require a sub-director or aSSistant, also a medical man, who w ould help hi m in his duties, snch as taking. care that all. tbe men are thoroug-hly efficient, and in constantly 111spect1l1g the statIOns and material, and preparing reports. .,

A supe rintendent would be required to asslsl. the director III drillIng .he men and keeping them efficient, and he would also attend to the stores, wagons, and all mater.ial.

A secret>.ry would be reqUired for officml correspondence, and clerks as circumstances dictated.

Each station where a wagon is kept would require [l. to attend to the telephone and tJ all messages, and to record the times of the recei pt of the call, of tbe departure and. return of the wagon and details required for the dally report be sent to the chle. office. Also a senior assistant and Junior one of

fF I RS T

drive the wagon (motor), and on the arrival at the scene of the accident, both would help to lift the patient into the wagon.

At stations where only a litter is kept, probably one a<sistant would be sufficient, but if the c:tses prJved numerous in anyone district, two should be kept, and also another litter.

TELEPHO:-lIC COMMUNICATION.

I lay great stress upon this, believing that the better the telephonic communication is, the Jess number of stations will be required. 0 matter in what road or street an accident happens, or whereyer the ambulance may be required, no place ought to be more than fi\'e or six minutes walk from tbe nearest ambulance alarm post. There would be ambulance alarm posts (similar to those now used by the fire brigade, cr better still, those used at Birmingham which are available either for police, fire or ambulance) :tt intervals of about balf-a-mile along all our main tboroughf:ues, perhaps at sholter intervals where the traffic is congested, and also at suitable distances in cross streets. Each alarm post would be in telephonic communication with the ambulance station in the district. Each station would be in direct communication with tbe chief office. In many cases there would possibly be no objection to use the ordinary telephone call office, except perbaps that they would not be available at night Street accidents would occur in the main roads as a rule, and in the side streets there would be more of sudden illness, police cases, such as attempted suicide and assaults.

Each police station would be connected by telephone" ith the nearest ambulance station, for ca"es brought to the police station often want moving to the hospit lIar infirmary.

This part of tbe SChe;!le would be expensiYe, but unless it were well done the ambulance service would not be efficient and 'would not be properly appreciated by the public.

REPORTS.

Each ambulance station would give a daily report detailina the time of receipt of each call, the time of departu:e and return of thebwa;::on or li:ter, t?e name.of tbe patient (if it could be obtained), the nature of the aCCident or d!ness, and where removerl to. Each day's report would be to the chief office, and there they would be tabulated and kept for reference, and for the purpose of the yearly report to be drawn up by tbe director. :\1 A \:-ITENANCE.

scheme of this kind can be placed before the public without giving some idea of tbe cost.

!h.e cost, th;)t is, the cost of buying sites for the stations, and tbem fitting them up, cost of wagons and litters, and ulllforms and material, together with the cost of the ambulance 3.larm posts, would u.ndoubtedly be considerable, and would reqll1re some one better acqualllted than the writer with this kind of finance to draw up an estimate. but I presume the cost would not be under £50,000, and not over £roo,ooo.

But cost of is most important. Perhaps some iden of thiS may be arnved at. An ambulance station with two assist:lllts and could be I think, for £5 a week or £250 a year. of liberal allowance (for I believe with plenty of alai m posts, fOi t). ,,:ould be nearer tbe ma.rk) would be £20,000 per annum Anothel sum. say £-1-0,0:)0 III all, would cover the cost of the chief office, Il1cludll1g tbe salaries of the director and staff, and rent yearly cost of telephones, and wear and tear, &c.

ThiS sum, £40,000 a year, means a farthing in the :£ on the rates an aI?ount that.would hardly be felt by anybody. The Free Library rate IS a penny 111 the £, and. our Fire Brigade costs £r 50,000 a year. are three othe: POlllts which lequire a little further elucidatIOn, .namely, the relatIOn of the. ambulance service to the medical profeSSion, the polIce and the pubhc.

THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.

As. a if a me?ical man attends to a street accident he gets noth111g, It IS ·pure phIlanthropy, if he is called by the police he is paid 3S for a day and 7s. 6d. for a night call. ][ some one else not a policeman calls him, and although the constable accepts his help the d?ctor genera.lly has to go without his fee, recause the police say dId not call. hIm. )f two or three are called, only one is paid, the first arrival. I he ambul.ance assistants would be instructed to call the doct?r III any serIOUS case and receive his instructions as to rendenn!5 first aId treatment and transport. The doctor would be aid by the .dlrector the same fee, that is 3S. Gel. for a day call and 7s p bd for.a l1lght and I take it that these fees would be repaid b}; police to the .dlrector the ambulance service. The medical would probaoly be gamers, not losers by tbis arrangement.

THE POLICE.

In the eyent of accident or sudden illness in the street, the constable III charge .of case would be instructed to call up the nearest am bul<l:nce statlO.n,. I.f not alrearly called, and hand the case over, and there rls responSIbilIty \\'ould en.d, and he would not be taken off his beat. f the c?nsta?le were convll1ced that the case were simply due to drinl, or causll1g VIOlence, &c., he would have the person remoyed to

A ID . [Septemb er , 1898 .

police station on the police litter; if the person had committed some offence, and would require to be t.he case would be taken either in the ambulance wagon to the police station and be seen by the police or If in a serious condition to the hospital, and the constable III charge would accompany it. If the police wanted to remove any person in the cells to the hospital or infirmary, they would call up the nearest ambulance station which would conduct the removal.

The police would benefit immensely by the establishment of an ambulance sen'ice, inasmuch as the constaLles would not be taken away from their proper d L1t.ies.

THE PUBLIC.

The ambulance service would exist for the benefit of the public, and the following would probably be the modus operandi In the case of an accident or sudden illness in the street, a bystander or policeman

/!,o to the nearest alarm post and ring- up the station, ment.ioningIf pOSSIble, the locality of the accident, in a few minutes the ambulance ,wa!50n would arrive at the post or at the place mentioned, and the assistant would proceed to render first aid, calling the nearest doctor if and then convey the patient to the hospital or to his home If deSired. Many cases of sudden illness, such as fainting, syncope epilepsy, would then. get that immediate and proper treatment which at present IS so lacklllg. At fires where peep Ie often get suffocated, the ambulance wagon would be called up in the same way, the patient would be treated on t.lIe spot by the trained assistants. a big smash occurred, as t.he coll.apse of a bLlilding, at I\hich many people mIght be IllJured, the assIstant would send word back to his station from which a message would be telephoned on to the chief office, and the director or sub-director would detail their ambulance wagons as he might see fit, and proceed to the scene of the accident and personally superintend the operations of first aid treatment and of transport. Cases of suici.:le, either by poison or otherwise, would get prompt first aId treatment, and the meuical man would find this help to be of great assistance to him.

It will be seen from the above that no provisi')n is made for the work on Bank .Holicays, an.d for attendance at processIOCS, demonstratIOns, s.:C.,.",hICh easl,ty be carried on by the St. John Ambulance Bngade 111 conjunction with the Ambulance Service. TJ-e Brigade does the work so excellently at present, and the officers and men get such a good insight of practical work by goino- on duty, that It would not be fair to deprive them of this training

[By arrangement this article appears in t.he issue of the Hospita! Saturday :Journal published this month.]

\Ve shall be glad to hear the "iell's of our readers on the abo\'e subject.

$t. 30b n Bn l bulllll Ce Bs s ociation .

DUBLI:\' -On Augmt 27th,. a \'ery interesting celemony took place at the Iceregal Lodge, Dublll1. The Lord-Lieutenant. and CTountess a number of Illlrses of the City of Dublin Nurslllg Inst.JtutlOn, 111 Older to confer upon them the distinctions by the .Order of St. John of Jerusalem in England for their merItOriOUS ser\'lces last year on the Inishkea Islanus, when the inhabitants those co.mpal?til·ely remote aed disllicts were prostrated by a \'lrulent of. typhus fever. [here was a large and fashionable assemblage. franCIS Robert Davies, Knight of Justice of the Order, and president of the Dublin Centre of the St. John Ambula?ce Association, who had .been deputed by the Chapter to represent HIS Royal Highness _the Pnnce of Wales, who is Grand Prior, presented t.he ladles, and Her Excellency subsequently de::orated the nurses with the I nsign;a of Honorary Serving Sister of the Order. AmongsL those present at the. ceremony were the Lord Chancellor of Ireland and lady L\shbourne, FIeld Lord Roberts, the Rio-ht lIon. Lord Justice FitzGibbon, and Mr. T. W. Russell, M.P. b GOSPORT.-PRINCESS HEi'\RY OF BATTENI3ERG AKD THE SICK POOR.-Although tbe t.own which is situate on the western side of Portsl1l?uth Har?our has not yet aspired to corporate rank, it is a place of conSiderable Il1lpOrtance, as it includes within its boundaries the Royal Clarence "ictualling Yard and the Royal Kaval Hospital at Uaslar, in which is provided for upwards of 2,000 pallents. It IS 111 accordance WIth the fitness of things that in a place the SIck and wounded of the .• ?r.t line of defence" have good meulcal attendance and skIlful uurSll1g, t.he wants of the civil communIty, when ked by disease or laid loll' by accident, should be adequately prOVided [Ol. Last year, as a memorial of lIer Majesty's ,DIamond Jubilee, the Victoria Society for Nursing the Sick and Poor I n Gosport and Alv.:rstoke was established and affiliated with Oueen "ictoria's Jubilee Institute for Nurses, and also associa'ed with the Soldiers' and Sailors' Families Association. H KH. Princess Henry of Battenberg.accepted office of president of t.he society, and showed her personal mterest 111 It.S operations by attending the first an nual

Sep telu b er, 1 89 8.J F I RS T

meetina of its friends and supporters, which \\'as held in the Thorngate Hall Saturday aft.ernoon. There was a large and representative attendance. Her Royal Highness, who was attended by }linnie Cochrane and Lord 'Villiam Cecil, embarked early in the afternoon at COlI'es jn the Royal yacht Alberta and crossed to Portsmouth. The men-of-war did not dress and no salutes were fired, the yisit reaarded as privat.e. On disembarking at the '-ictualling Yard, the entered an open carriage, in which she was driven to the Thorngate Hall, at the entrance to which she was received by a gu::trd of honour, consisting of Gosport det.achment. of the 3rd ".B. IIampshire Regiment, under the command of Captain G. Chulcher, the band playing the National Anthem. The members of the committee were presented to her Royal IIighness, was conducted alcng the hall to the platform by Deputy- Inspector Woods, M.D., of the Royal yacht. After a handso.me bouquet had been presented to the Princess by :\Iiss Dorothea Brodrick (daughter of the Rector of Ah'erstoke), ;\Ir. G. Cooke, chairman of the Gosport District Council, in the name of the inhabitants tendered her Royal Highness a loyal and hearty welcome. Field, M.P., said he did not know a single par:sh in England where such a society could be established with more adl'antage than in that parish. It was full of service men, soldiers, and sailors, and there were in their midst over 1,000 pensioners. He proposed a resolution expressing cordial sympathy with the society, and pledging the meeting's further support. Dr. Sykes seconded the resolution, which was carried. Her Royal Highness then presented certificates and medallions to members of the St. John Ambulance Association, and the Distinguished Order to i.\lrs. Everett ;\1unby, the local hon. secretary. The Rector of Alvers t oke (the Hon. and Rev. Canon Brodrick), in moving a vote of thanks to Princess Henry for her attendance, said that every Single member of the Royal Family was following in the footsteps of the Queen, who was always willing to take a leading part in any wellconsidered scheme for the benefit of the community at large. (Cheers.) On leaving the hall Her Royal lIighness inspected the volunteers in an adjacent field. They were supposed to have been in action, and members of tl:e St. John Ambulance Association displayed their skill in attending tc those who had been wounded in the fmy. The local fire brigade also gave a brief, but effective, demonstration of liie-saving from a structure which wa.s meant to represent a three-storied building. The Princess, who expressed herself much pleased with all that she had seen, and also with the arrangements for her reception, afterwards returned to Clarence Yard a;]d embarked in the Royal yacht for Osborne

HEREFORD.-Under the auspices of the Barton and BaH's Court Ambulance Classes, a distribution of medallions, certificates, &c., took place at the Hereford Barton Station The l\Iayor (Alderman H. C. Beddoe) presided, and was supported by the following :- Dr. Lilley (Class Instructor), Mr. T. Wainwright (Supt. G.W. R.), :\[r. J. Phillips (Loco Supt.), 1\1r. Brown, 1\1r. Perks, Mr. Snow and Mr. Jones (Stationmaster). Mr. Wainwright asked the Mayor to distribute the medallions and certificates gained by the members of the Barton Class and his vYorshi p ex pressed the pleasure he Eel t in bei ng asked to do so: His Worship afterwards presented Dr. Lilley with a walking stick from the Barton Class and an umbrella from B'Hr's Court Class. Dr. Lilley acknowledged the gift in a few well-chosen words for their kindness, and expressed his pleasure in accepting the presents, and also in knowing that the members had shown that his had not been in vain. The .\.fayor then" presented Mr. C. H. Brown, I"ho had been very kind in instructing the members of both classes, with a walking s·.ick from the class and a pipe from the Barr's Court class. Mr. Brown thanked the members for the presents. The Mayor further presented Mr. A. Adkins, honorary secretary of the Barton class with a walking stick from the members. Mr. Adkin thanked the members for the present. Mr. 'Wainwright proposed a vote of thanks to the which was seconded by J. Phillips. The :\layor suitably responded.

LINCOL:-<.-The members of the ambulance class which has been held in connection with the evening continuation classes at the Boys' Elementary School, Recreation Road, met recently for the purpose of making a presentation to Dr. Middlemist, who has instructed them during the session. I\ r. F. E. Riley, on behalf of the member?, presented Mr. Middlemist 'with a handsome umbrella, and III domg so reminded the members of the very high compliment paid to them by Dr. Easby, the examiner, and spoke in high telIllS of the very great care and patience which the instructor had bestowed upon the class.

In replying Dr. .:\licidlcmist thanked the members of the for t.he kind manner in which. they had shown theIr appreciation of hIS efforts and complimented them upon the fact that el'ery member who had presented himself or her.;elf, for examination had succeeded in passing the examinat ion and had thus obtained the certificate from the S t. John Ambu l ance The members of the class then presented 1\1r. Markwick w ith a handsome case of ebony backed brushes, as an ack.lOwledament of the able manner in which he had taught the physiolugy co n nected 'with the subject. In replying, I\1r. } arkwick thanked the members for t.heir very kind present LITTLE HOUGHTON.-,!\ well-att.ended meeting was held i\ onday, August 22nd, at the Schools, L ittle Houghton, with the object of forming a class in connection w ith the Association . T he Rev. 0. Wynne,

A I D . 21

who pI'esided, made a few opening remarks anent the utility of su<:h instruction as was given to the members of the association in a villao-e like theirs, where there was no resident medical man. :\lr. H. T. pool sec. of the Korthampton centre) then gal'e a sbort and most Il1ter<'stlng sketch of the working both of the Order and Association from its foundation up to the present day. .\ contingent of the Headquarters Division, uncler the charge of Supt. \Y. H. Reeves, next gave practical demonstrations of blndaging and the manner of carrying wounded by means of improl'ised seats. Supt. Reel'es h:tl'ing apologised for the unavoidable absence of Chief Superintendent Perry, briefly addressed the meeting, those present with the necessity of keeping up their knowledge, once having gained their certificate, by joining the Brigade. The meeting closed by about 30 na:nes being gi ven in of those willi >1g to form a class.

the Bowl-in-Hand rnn, on Mondal' night, 13th August, the (Aluerman J. E. Birk3) presented to members of the local class of the St. John Ambulance AS50cia,ion 3+ certificates and two medallions. He also handed to '\1r. A. E. Knott, \\'ho had carried ont the secretarial duties for some time, a smoker's cabinet :::ubscribed for by members of the class. G. Bean was declared winner of a competition, the judges being Drs. Temple, Tate, and \Vordsworth.

\YIGAN.-The Wigan County Police Sports Committee has presented three hand ambulances for use in the townships of Hindley, Ince, and Abram. Mr. T. Marshall, J.P., made the presentations and stated that the \Vigan County Police, from the receipts from \'arious sports, had presented three horse ambulances and one h:tnd-wheel ambulance to different districts at a cost of £3+0, whilst they had also contributed £25 to the Wigan Infirmary. This, he thought, was greatly to the credit of the Wigan Police.

IDubIin tltnbu la nc e S ervice .

By the courtesy of :\lr. Thos. P. Purcell we hal'e received a few particulars of the newly formed Ambulance Serl'ice for Dublin. In conjunction with the enlargerr..ent of the City Fire Brigade the committee decided to establish and maintain in connection with it an efficient Ambulance Service for accidents only. It is proposed to form Ambu.ance Classes for tbe younger men of the fire sen'ice and Dr. Acting· urgeon to the Fire Brigade, has kindly the instruction of the members. In future all men on J01l11l1g the service will be required to qualify for the Ambulance Certificate It is proposed to prOVide several horse ambulance waggons with quick hitchIna harness. Xo prEvious attempt has been made to form a thoroughly reftable Ambulance Sen'ice but it is felt that the time has now arril'ed when Dublin shall not be left behind in providing so necessary an institution. How long will London have to wait until her governing bodies arrive at the same conclusion.

ij: IJe 33a l 1l)r epa ration s.

\Ye noticed some time since that the :\Iedical Officer of one of our largest London parishes informed the loc:d \'estry that carbolic as a disinfectant was ustless. This fact to many of us came as a rude shDck as we had been taught to pin our faith to this pungent \Ve have lately had the opportunity of testing the preparatIOns of ;\lessrs. Newton Chambers, of Gray's Inn Road, London, and we unhesitatino-ly affirm that these undoubtedly do all that is claimed for them. and:t much less cost than by the old method, We note also that the Government have real iced its value and it is now largely used in the ya:'ious departments. To the .fair of our Journal we would say try the Izal Toilet PreparatIOns, householder \,"ould do well to have a supply of this most usetul article.

ij:b e Btnbul ance :mOOt.

\Ve call the attention of our readers to the Ambulance Boot which is aU\'ertised in our columns this month To say that sucb a boot has long been wanted is a truism that all will aumit. To none more than the-ambulance bearer is a good easy walking: boot 50. [n carrying a patient on a stretcher good and march!11g IS .absolu:ely necessary, and unless a man. is wei! shod thIS IS almost an achievement. 'Ve are wearIng thIS boot and can assure OUI reader::. that it is one of the easiest boots we ha\'e yet \\'orn.

DISTR[CT NUHSING.- Two District Nurses are required .for the provinces. The ?ffered is £2.8 wit.h board, lodglllg, uniform. The DistrIct IS partly reSIdential and pal tly and the house where the N Home is establts.?e9,. IS ,:err, comfortable and in a pleasant nelghbourhood Apply F IlSt AId, H, Claremont Road, lIighgate, London.

FIRST NOTICE TO OUR READERS.

FIRST AID has now entered on the fifth year of its publicalion and its popularity is still increasing amongst in all bnlnches of the Ambulance \\orld, In its early days the proprIetors had much to contend with, including opposition from least expecled. but they manfully stuck to their post determllled effort should be wanting on Lheir part to run the Journal solely III the benefit o,f ambulance and kindred work generally, That the success whIch attended the paper has amply justified their action is fu!ly by the fact that the circulation is steadily impro\'ing, and In lhe dIstant parts of our Colonies" First-aiders" lo ok forward to the monthly ad\'ent of t he little journal which will g-ive them news of the way III which the work is progressing in the old The old that it is not in mortals to command success, might very well be applied to the proprietors of FmST AID, but we have done something .to de-,:erve it. 'fhe staff who, month by month have produced theIr concIse record, of ambulance \Y ork in a concise form, is a purely voluntary one, working for the love of the cause and with a determination to keep this the greatest humanitarian work of the century well to tbe fore, It is desired, however, to still further extend the u sefu lness of our columns, but to do so further expense must necessarily be entailed. \V ill our readers help us? Will the members of the Medical profession help us?

The former can help us very materially by sending matter for our advertising columns. Tradesmen \\'ho have specialit ie s to bring before the notice of workers in the ambulance field cannot do better than adl'ertise in the only strictly ambulance journal. Secretaries of classes, promoters of ambulance and feLes might draw the attention of readers in their parts to forthcoming meetings and thereby ensure attendance from other towns, and,

Lastly, the members of the :\J edical profession can help us by writing special articles on ambulance \\'olk suitable to our lay readers \\ e have at all times receil'ed such universal kindness;1.t the hands of those interested in he succesS of our little jou1l1al that we venture to make tbis appea l, ane! we feel confident that we shall not appeal in vain.

TRA?-ISPORT OF [5,- Owing to pressure of other matter the next instalment of this article is held over.

We must apolog i se for the late appearance of our Journal this month, which is owing to the somewhat serious illness of the editor. First-aiders will, we are sure, un te w th us in wish ng him a speedy recovery.

FIRST AID

8EPTEJI BER 1, 1898

AT a fhst glance om' l'eauers may not I:\TERXA.TIOXAL quite l'ealise the connection betw'een DISAR:\IA.}IE:\T the t,vo subjects tbat form tbe tit l e of A:\D Oul' leader this montb On fmtber AMBULA:\CE WORK. l'efiection, however, ,,,e feel SUl'e that they will agree with us that ambu, lance WOl'k is, H,nd will as time goes on" pr?ve an .unpOl'tant factor in the growing c1es il'e WblCb IS becommg more and mOl'e intense to do awav with the 110rrors of wal'. K 0 doubt thel'e are many who \eo-al'd Ozal"S project as visionary, and altogethel' impossille in tIm; age, nation after nation is anning to the teeth, fOl' a stl'Uggl e which mnny optimists l 'egal' d as mevItable III the n eill' futul' e, but in the meantime the more thinking of the world arc as kin g themselyes when and I S t!llS costly expen ditUl' e to end, t JJe ::;tl'llggl e may be mdo:fi.mtely delayed and in tbe meantime continental natiollS-mOl'e especia ll y Russia - al'e gl'onuuncler t.he necessal'ily imposed upon it If each natlOll 1S to hold its own

In this, the pl'elOcnt crisis of the wodel's histOl'Y, tbe grand oltl Onl81' of St, John can play an im pm tant pal-t. Fol' yeH,l' s past they teaclJing the people of this countl'}' that thel'e ]s somethmg gl'andel' ctl1\l noblel' than tllc :lestl' o),illg lif e, namely to l em'l] how to s:tve, how 1,0 nJlnlJ111Se humAn suifel'iug and to em ulate even iu t l lc small cst degree the effo rt::; of the Grcat Master who Bpcnt

AI D. [Septenlber, 1898.

his whole life on this carth in ende::woul'ing to comfOl't the sick auel alleviate suffering.

\Yill the On1el' grasp its chanco? \V c hopo so. At tho time of the foundation of the Geneva. Convention it sho uld have held the pl' eclolllinent posi t i on It l'ealised and a ppl'eciated the hOlTors of war, but it left to other hands the pl'oillulgation of a crusade, which had as its a im the minimising of those hOl'l'Ol·S. To day it lw,s a.gain its chH,nce and we 8h a11 hope to l em'u that among the representatives from this country, who lIIay l'epre 'c nt it at the proposet1 Peace Oonference, will be included the honoUl'ed name of the CJhainnan of the Ambulanco Departmcnt of the 0l'C101'. L onl Knutsford is eminently fit.ted fOl' sneh :t post, fOl during the time that be has h elel his prescnt position he has brought home more fully than , "as ever clone before the vn.lue of our work, D.ml "fil'st-nidel's" ""- QuId henriily endorse his selection. In conclusion w'e WQuld congl':ltnla tp the Czm' 011 t ho cmu'age which he has in making tho pl oposal. rhn.t tho So,'el'eign i n the world should Pl'OPOSC so grpat <L change augurs w ell fOl' it::; SUCCc':-;.'i, and ,,'e inyoke a blessing on his wod\:, find tl'llst that the name of Nicholas II. may be handed down to posterity as one of the world'::; greatest benefactors

1bcat "C!U1avc.

During the recent hot weather the of the St. John Ambulance Brigade have been busy n various parts of the cou ntry, and we are glad to note that the daily p,'ess in Loncl on have acknowledged the valuabl e aid which has been rendered, the more serio liS cases to whi ch our attention bas been directed are given below ancl prove conclusively the need for further extension of London's present inadequate ambulance service.

Near the Law Courts, a man named 'Willi ams, in the employ of Rawling-s, while unloading a case of mineral waters, was ')Ver-powered by the heat, ,md fell on the payement, dra,!.;gingWith him a loaded case of bottles which burst, and inflicted serious injuries to his arms. The attendant 'in charge of the St. John Ambulance Station in St. Clement Danes Churchyard was promptly on the and, after dressing Lhe man's wounds and applying \VllLIams was able to proceed home, Two ladies were also treated for heat stroke by the same officiaL One was the Law COllrts on an omnibus, and who, being suddenly overpowered, had a narrow escape of from the top of the vehicle. In the other instance, a lady walkll1g near the London and \Vestminster R1.l1k, Strand, was completely prostrated, a nd had to be attended to by the officer in charge.

Mrs. Bla ckwood , of Rochester, was treated for heat apoplexy of a seriolls nature by the same official s From Hyde Park three of sunstroke were reported. One \\as tbat of a gentleman named Wilkins, of Fulham who was cycling, and and suddenly fell off his machine on o the footway in a fit. :-:Ie was attended by the St, John Ambulance Association, and recol'ered in half an hour.

FIRE BRIGADE C.nrp AT BLENHEIM PARK,-A full descripti\'e account of the first camp of instruction held in connection \\ith the Fire Service in this will appear in our col umn s next month.

AMI3 ULA:\CE.- Recen tly the May or of Scarborough (:'IIr Jas. Pme) presented a number of certificates to members of the ScarPO.lice Force for efficiency in firsL aiu knowledge. Hi s \\ orsh lp saId he understood that every member of tbe force now possesseu a fir st aid certificate. The instructional work had been clone Dr. Hutton, the police surgeon, a nd Starf-Sergeant Cuttle, of the Volunteers, and their se rvice s were duly recognised at the lnstance of Mr, J, \V Rowntree, the cbairman of the vVatch Committee.

,THE annual meeting of the St. John Ambnlance Competition committee and supporters was held at the Friends' School, Hartshead, Mr. H, W ood ruff, the president, in tbe chair. Representawere present from nearly all the large 'No rk s in Sheflield anu dlstnct, from the local railway depots, and from collieries in the neiahbour?ood. The balance-sheet, was passed, was considered satlsLactory, showll1g a balance 111 hand of £17, Reference was made to the very successf ul concert held in aiLi of the funds , Thanks were to various officials, and a large and representative C0111was appolllted to arrange the next competition, wh ch wiII take place III October. It was decided to hold an a :nb ul ance review at The Farm in the autumn.

September, 1898.J F1RST {portrait <BaHer\?

LEO)!ARD ESQ., .YI. A. , M.n., Ho)!. SVRGEO)! BLACKPOOL CORPS, ST. JOB)! BRIGADE.

UR Blackpool friend s will be pleased to see this month in our gallery the portrait of their esteemed Hon. Surgeon Dr. Molloy who has done so much to mak e arnbulancc work popular in that well known seaside t own. The s u bject of our sket ch was born in Kildare and was educated both priyately and at Trinity ColI ege, Du blin, IV here he took the degree of B.A, in 1 82, and proceeded to .A. in 18 9+ a me cal stude nt he distinguished himse lf and gained many prizes, and ob tained his -:vLD, in 188 9 , Dr. Molloy commenced practlce 111 and has since become prominent as :l. pul?ltc man. He is Vice-President of the Fylde :\Iedical SocIety; .Go\-ernor, Hon. Surcreon and H on SE.cretary ofthe l\ledlc a l Bo ard , Victoria Ho sp'ital, Bbckpool; Hon COIWn,lescent Home, Blackpool; and Referee, \V orkmen's Compen satio n A :::t, 1897 (rtppoll1ted by the H ome Secretary).

He soon became ll1terested 111 work since that time he has been most industnous 111 furthenng and encouraging it in the town. In r8 n-+ he was appointed Hon. Surgeon of the Corps, !1e su bsequently accepted the ChaIrman sh ip of the 01 th East County Corps of the St , J ohn _ Dr. MoHoy is a Lecturer ExamlOer of the Amb ul ance Association, and 111 the former capaCIty IS responsible for the instruction of the Bl.ackpool Corps of the St. John Ambulance 1.t spea ks well the t h oroughness of work 111 d1l'ectlOll that t}1e COl ps in -which he take s so warm an 111teres t a,lways figures so \Yell in the competitions which are held ,111 the Countya County migb\ ,:rell b:, descnbed as the be st ambulancec.l one 111 the l.)l11tcd h

He is a keen ad vocate for in trLlctlOn 111 wor k beincr kept well to the front in With our p'olice force, and with a view to promote Its further proficiency he this year offered a valua?le Cup to be co mp eted {or by sq uads of five 111 umform. The rules an d regulations are at preseJ:t, dra,,-n up , and ther e i no doubt that the competltlon :\'111 be, keenly contes ted a nd l ead to a further impLtus bell1g gn'en to first aid work among the police of the Much of the success of the last annual l.-onference of the St. John Ambulance Brigade was due to the and ho spit ality of tbis gentleman, who never flagged 1ll his efforts to make the visit a happy one, tl:c officers who w e r e pr esent o n that occasion Ul11te wlth uS I?

:'bc wi sh that H on. Surgeon Molloy WIll for many yea,Is con tinue to maintain an inLerest in the. noble work 1ll which he take s so warm a co ncern. It IS s u ch workers

AID.

as Dr. MoHoy who h ave assured the success of the movement, and by their wi llin gness to sacrifice their own leisure in tbe interest of the work, have made it so popular amongst the rank and file as well as amongst the general public,

$t. 30})1\ Bnlbulance :Jl3rigabe.

l\IETROPOLITAi\' CORPS.

OSOUTH GAS COY,'S DI VISloN,-The weather was most fa\'ourable when the Soutb i\Ie tropolitan Gas Company's No, Di\'ision hel d their annual display. The exhibition of the" first aid to tbe injured" took plaCe at the company's recreation ground, Old Kent Road, under the direction of Superintendent Li nes He was assisted by the Hon, Surgeon, Dr. L. Pochin, :\J ,B.C,:\L, and nursing sisters and wagon from head-quarters, St. John's Gate, C\erkenwell, and was successful in showing the tboroughness and efficiency of his company, and in placing an interesting- and instructive entertainment th05e assembled 1vIr. Frank Liv esey (han. treasurer), ;\I r. C. \\, Tanner, and \V. J, Godden (hon , secretary) were amongst those present. The programme opened with company and stretcher drill, during which the following we;e s 'lpposed to be -A patient for a wound on bead, With falOt, and fracture of nght fore arm; a patient for a compound fracture of left, leg and fracture .of rirrht clavicle, These were taken to the fiela hospital and treated \YIth roller bandages by the surgeon and nursing sisters A for fracture of lower jaw and arteria bleeding from :t wound 10 sole of rirrht foot; a patient for arterial bleeding from a wound in left leg and bleeding from a wound in right arm, \V ith these they demonstrated the method of getting over gates \\'ith loaded stretchers. Th ey showed hoI\' a person recovering from an epileptic fit could be taken to tbe field hospital by means of the fireman's lift-an impromptu mode of throwing the patient across the shoulders face down\\,ards, illustrated the loading of the wagor.. and their powers at artifiCIal respiralion. Then there was a scaffold accident showing the use of the LO\\'Il1oor jacket, a harness arrangement enabled them to lower a patient from a height in an upward posltI?n With any, vibration, The men showed great promptitude !n theIr bandllllg' ot the patients, and exhibiLed much intelligence and The pr cceeJinO's terminated with a march past of the dl\'ISlOn headed by Tbey :"ere briefly addressed by :\11'. Frank Livesey, who praised the effiCiency and of the men. and on behalf of the directors promised them a shield, to be competed for by them and divisions from other wo,ks belonging to the company , TonmEE HALL.-An ambulance sociable was held at Toynbee Hall on Thursday, July 28th, when the medallions we re to the successful st'.ldents by '\lrs. T. H, i'\unn , In co nn ectIOn \\'Ith the 11l0l'ement there are four large classes for men, women, and 200 students are instructed in first aid to the lOJured, About 80 per cent. bad ()ffered for examination hy the S t, John Ambulance Association, and in nearly all cases these were successful. The ursing Guild, consisting of the female members, was started by :\,r r. IY H. Winny, and during the winter :nonths the members weekly instruction from doctors ,and hospItal nurses. aften',a lds prove their usefulne:s by and ,attendlOg the Sick under the superviSIO n of a distrIct nurse. lhe ne\\ students, at the conclus,lOn of suitabte ,ests, are draftecl into the St. John I3ngade Lectures are frequently given by Drs, Hettles, HmcblO,son, Eddoll'es, and the executi\'e of Toynbee Hall ha\'e succeeded.lO ?bta,ming a large proportion of working men students. f\ft e/: the dlst;-Ibutlon of the medallions short addresses were given by Sir. \ Kenn ettBarrington, :'IIr. T, H, Nunn, and :'11'. E. J. Urwlck on tn,e ,benefits accruing to the injured and,others wb o ca? be promptly re!Je\ed and :.ttended to prior to the arn\'al of skilled ald.

PROYI:\'CH,L.

BABBI.\'GTo:\,-The annual inspection of this C orps took place on 20th July The re\'iew was held in on the cncke: field at Basford Pari" Amongst those the proceed1l1g" from the reserved enclosure were Colonel SII' Charles Seely the S I '\LI' 1, C Seely General M oody, :\11'. Ilepplewhlte (Her 11 ee y, ", S' 'Th' I "1 esty's I nspector of :\1 ines), X urse Atte1rell, Islel 0 1 n e), -, IS. J. t. Walt ers, :\1r. and W, and d the ton Nursing Cbss The C orps IS connec oed with the Collieries, o\Yl1ed by Sir Charles Seely, to \ybo s,e genelOlIs SUppOIL the success of the ambulance movement in the neighbourhood, IS. largely due Th e officers and men are all employed at thes e collIenes, are at hand prepared for any of th,e unfOl tunate which may at any time arise, in fact there IS hardly a man b tl es of s 'xL)Tami fifty who has not earned a certificate etween le ag' , "d T b B bb' 0' (ual if ing him to render first aid to II1Jure , e a ll1",t,?n clentre10f the St. John Ambulance \ ssocmtlon 15 one of the oldest 111

FIRST

the district, and during- its existence has enrolled 88-+ certificated members of whom 321 have been all'arded medallions for thorough

In addition there is a Ladies' Association of mem bers. The present strength of tbe corps IS J S yiz., Chief Superint€lldent Fowler, Surgeon ':';eilson, SuperIntendents 'Walters and FOII'ler, Sere-eant,Major O'Callaghan, and. Se;'geants Carlin. Clement s, Cooper, Gettins, Hopkin, Herndge, J,al'l'IS, h Kirk Xorth Starr Smith, and Thompson, 'lnd r 1:3 ranK and file, \\"Jth a of 2/ perfOl:mers, under Bandmaster Twells. The inspection on Saturday by Colonel Sir Herbert C. Perrott, Thrt., assisted by Surgeon:.\1ajor Hutton, lI"as of a most searching descriplion. First of all, after a general salute, ';he Corps were put through bandage and handcarryim: drill, after which a bearer company of a sergeant and 16 men with stretchers gave an exhibition of the removal of wounded men suffering from different kinds of injUi ies. The Corps re-f?rmed, and, to tbe music of the band, marched past the salutJJ1g. p:ll1t by sections and then by fours. :\fter this they adv ll1ced in rel:le\\" Oluer, and forminO' up in bolloll' square, were addressed by SIT Herbert Perrott, who" congratuhted the Corps upon the smartness of their work. and assured them that should hal'e a most excellent report to forll'ard to headquarters. Sir Charles 5eely expressed his gratification 'lt the made by the inspecting officer, and called for cheers to given in his honour. The men acceded to the request a hearty manner, and, Sir Herbert having acknowledged the compliment the Corps headed hy the band, llMrched off to the school, where tea \\,'as provided for them,-folioll'ed by a sl11okingconcert.

BARi-<OLD SWICK DDIO:\STRATIO:--I.-Tbe lo:al committee of this division beld their annual demonstration and re,'iew on Saturday, 30th July, I\hen a good representation of Ambulance Brio-ades was present. The demonstration took the form of a proand started from the Drill Hall at 3 o'clock. The procession was headed by mounted marshals. who were followed by the members of the Crban District Coun-il and servants, in a \\agRonette. :'\ext came the Colne :\Iorris D:lncers, and the BarnoldslI'ick division of tbe Ambulance Association follol\ed with the wheellitter,after II'h0111 came tbe nursing division of Ihe same higade. The ambulance di"isions of the various brigades followed, and them and the BarnoldsWlck Fire Brigaue, wilh tender and equipments, came the memhers of the Coine Church tads' Brigade. who were admirahly marshalled by their officers. The comic cyclists follo\\'ed the Fire Brigade, and they e,'oked much laughter. .-\hout half a dozen of them ,,,ere in the most comical imaginable, the onp winning the first prize representing a chimney sweep. The c himney 'I'as attached to the bicycle handles, whilst the brush W:l.S worked ingeniously by means of the pedals. The second prize Iyinner representeu a gold seeker just returned from [(Iond yke, whilst the third, wbo cre:l.ted mucb laughter, was attired in the costume of a dairy farmer. The fancy cyclists were not many, and the procession terminated with one or tll'O trade turnouts. After the procession, tea was provided at the Drill Hall, and the ambulance brigades, together with the Colne :.\Iorris Dancers :l.nd Colne Church Lads' I3rigade, subsequently adjourned to the cricket field, where some keen competition took place for :he amtulance prizes, r he results of the ambulance competitions were announced by the judge, who was Captain Milburn, of Hull, as follows :-Ladies' squad, Xelwn, 2 Colne ;'ne gained 27 points, and the latter 26, out of a possible 30. Ambulance dil'isions-Smartness and efficiency, Nelson, z Accrington ; the first prize winners gained 77 points, and the second 60, out of a posssible 100, squad, Accrington, 2 Colne: in this section out of 20 possible points 16 and IS were gained r espectively, and the winners were awarded the first on account of being half a minute earlier th:l.n Colne. Rev. T P. Spencer then presented the prizes to the successful divisions, after \Ihi ch Captain Brown, of Neb on , proposed, and Captain Bullock, of Accrington, seconded a vote of thanks to the judge, the latter remarking amid much laughter that he was very well sat isfied. The collections taken in the streets amounted to £10 lOS., the field receipts £13 lOS., pri,'ate s ubs criptions £27, making a total of £51.

BARNOLDS\\'ICK {jRI3A:S- DISTRICT COu;'olCIL.-The Clerk read a letter from Secretary of the Ambulance I3rigade, asking the Council to take part. III the demonstration and review on Saturday. The Chairman asked If any of the members wanted to go? Councillor Rawlin son they ought to know wbether they had to go or not. Councdlor James Edmonson moved that they take part in the proce ssion He the ambulance cause was worthy of tbe s upport of the cour: cd , and they could not do le ss than show their presence. Th e Chairman: As many may go as can. Councillor Rawlinson seconded the proposition, and asked how they had to go. Councillor Smith: Have we to walk? The Chairman : IVe can decide after. !he,mo nthly meeting of the committee of this Corps was helu at the ChIef F Ire StatIOn, :\lr. A. R. Tozer presiding. It wa s reported that first aid had been lendered in 217 cases during the past month. were made for a contingen t of the brigade to attend the chanty sports on Augu st 27th. It was announced that members of the had attended the cycling sports at the rower on Bank IIobday and the following day, and rendered f.irst aId 111 several cases, and also at the Pearson's Children's Fresh-Air

AID. LSept e mber, 1898.

Fund demonstration at l\ 1r. C'1.dbury's, Northfie d w h ere 28 cases we re attended to BLYTH.-On the 21st lilt. an interesting ceremony in connection with the ambulance movement at Blyth took place i n the general waiting room of the Biyth Railway Thomas S cott presided, and there was a good attendance, Illclud1l1g- A derman John Dent, J.P., Superintendent Jobson. and the North Eastern RaIlway m:n and members of the Northumberland County who com pose the classes. Alderman Dent presented the certIficates, badges, bronze and silver medallions to the successfu l and s ub sequently pre se nted Dr: of Blyt.h, the cla ss witb a handsome pipe and cIgar case Jl1 recogn l tlOl1 of h IS serv Ices to the classes. Dr. :.\Janners, in accepting the gifts, alluded to the habit of smokinO'. He said the el1trance of nicot ine into tbe system could be avoided by smoking carefully and selecting a proper pipe. There were ti mes when the system was very much subject to th:::: in Ouence of nico tine, a nd this led him to the point : \Vhen should you smoke? l'nu o ubtedly, a person should not smoke on an empty stomach, and \\' ork mer. going to work in the morning should never have their pipe before breakfast. \Vorkmen should follow that out to the letter. The proper time for smoking was after meals. A man smoked quite enougb if he took three or four pipes in the day, and smoked immediately after me:l.ls. They " 'o uld know perfectly well that the first effect of the smoke ""hen it got into the mouth was to cause a flow of spittal, and the stronO'er tbe tobacco the greater would be the flow Amb u lance men would know that there was a digestive ferment for the purpose of rendering the sta rches into sURar,and in smoking befOie meals a person was practically robbing himself of the saliva which should be med for mastication and digestion of food. \Vhen a person smoked after food tbe alands did not give off so much saliva, being somewhat exhausted by the meal taken, and the sa Ii \'a which came into the mouth then was really the more useless sort, and smoking had a stimulating influence. One gland acted in sympathy with another, and consequently the st imulation of the saliva g lands in the mouth stimulated the stomach glands also That was one reason why he believed smoking benefited dyspept cs. Alderman Dent, on behalf of the members of the classes, then presented i\[r, \V. P. D ent, the class secretary, with a fountain pen, for services rendered to the ambulance movement. Mr. \V. P. Dent returneu thanks. Practical uemonstrations in ambulance work h:wing been gone through, the proceedings close.d with of thanks.

CLEYELA:--ID.-.\ gathering of an exceedmgly Jl1terest111g nature took place in the grounds of Sir Jo seph Pease's reside.nce, Hutton Hall, near Guisbarough, on Saturday, 6 tb .\ugust, when 111 response to an illl'itation issued by Sir J osep h Pease o\,er 600 of those trained in ambulance work assembled fo r reyie\y. Those on parade included 5+3 men and 8+ women from different parts of the Clel'eland district. \mongst those present I\ere Sir Joseph Pease, P :.'I I iss Pease, Captain J. G Swan, i\lajor Johnson, Alderman Taylor, Mr. Waynman Dixon, 1\1r. F. h. :\larshall, Hutton, Dr. McKinlay, Dr. Farmer, l\Tr. J. T. Burton, Mr. :\1r. R. T. :\lilner, and others. Surg-e)n-;\1ajor Hutton, Organising Commissioner of the Order, addressed those on p<lrade, and expressed hIS gleat pleasure at seemg what was the largest pJ.rade in the Middlesbrough and Cleve and centre since the Princess of \Vales opened the l\ iddlesbrough Town Hall. It had been suggested that ambulance men should wear a uniform, but while tbie might be necessary in crowded centres of population like London it was not nec essJ.ry in Cleveland, where, thanks to the efforts of Mr. Dixon, the organisation had been brought to its plesent height of perfection. (Applause ) Miss Pease then presented certificates and meuallions to the Loftus women's class, the Carlin How class Upleatham miners' class, South Bank women's n ursing and first aid classes, Gas Works class, Sou:.h Bank Steelworks class, and Middlesbrough St. Paul's class. On tbe. motion of Captain J, G. Sll'an, who has recently been made a Knight of tbe Order, seconded by Mr. IV. Dixon, an enthusiastic vote of thanks wa s accordeu to Sir Joseph Pease and to Miss Pease DUBLIN.-On August 2yd the members of the D u blin Metropolitan Police Ambulance Corps gave an exhibition in the large hall of h e University Buildings. The hall was crowded, aud the vario us movements of the Corps in their demonstration in first aid was followecl with the keenest interest and attention The Corps cons sted of sixteen men, comprising- representat i ves from each u ivision of the Dub lin police and five men from the mounted t roo p , all in charge of Se r gea nt Beahan, of the A division. The programme through wh ich the Corps went was divided into three parts. Eve ryth ing was neat y a r ra nged

First Selgeant Beahan took up a place in the space reserved for thc manceuvres. A man was the n seen to fall, supposed to h ave su st ai n ed a fracture of tbe leg, Sergeant Beah an whi s led for aid a n d a co u p e of m('n were promptly on the scene. They ban daged t he leg a nd conveyed the man away on a hand chair. The nex mo v ement was wh ere a man was supposed to have been resc u ed from drown in g. T hr ee me n were entrusted with restoring animation. T hey went abo u th is d eli ca t e and important work with most masterly ski ll a n d won warm ap p rov al from the audience The next and last item was far h e most a t tract iv e The whole were drawn up in a line four deep T he y we n t t h ro u g h t he stretcher drill with excellent precision

Septem,b er, 1898.J FIRST

H AZE L GRo vE.- Und er the a u spices of the IIazel Grove Division, a ver y su ccessfu de m ons t rat ion was held on the fGotb?,11 ground in Commerc ia R oad, Hazel Grove, on Saturday afternoon, In the presence of a l arge a n d a ppr eciative a u dience _ The on duty were Superinten de nt Mars and , FIrst Officer Johnson, FIrst Supernumerary J. W. Da wson, a n d S econd Supernumerary J. Davenport.

HIGHAM F ERRERs - On Nednesday evening-, August loth, the members 'of th i s ':orps met on the Market IIill at 7.30. Precent: Chief S u pe ri ntendent T. H. Hilton and Sergeant Smeathers, from the Welling-boro u gh Corps Superintendent J W. IIiggins, First Officer A. O. Groome, Sergeant J . Bettles, and a good muster of privates. A march was m ade to Dr. Crew's paddock, where Chief Superintendent Hilton put h e members t h rough a series of stretcher and other drills.

HOLMFIRT H,-At the J uLi lee one of the schemes that formed part of the Ho lm firt h ce l ebration was a p roject to provide a horse ambulance carriage, to be stationed at H o mfirth and kept for the use of the neighbOlll'hood Th e sum of £43 was collected. and the Jubilee Committee deleO'ated the matter to the Holmfirth Divisio.n of the St. John AmbuBrigade. A meeting of the latter organization was at the IIolmfirth Dist r ict Council Office, under the presidency of :'\lr. Frank Greenwood, It was reported that a number of ch u rches and chap els had prom sed to m:tke collections during August or September on behalf of the horse amb u lance fund. The matter was discussed, and it was urged tbat strenuous efforts should be made to obtain the necessary funds so t hat the ambu ance carriage could be procured as early as possible. R ec:nt ?ave demons tI:ated the need ?f an ambulance carriage III the dIstrict, In order to mitIgate the suffenng of those I\'ho have to be conveyed home or to the Infirmary after an accident. A deputation was appointed to wait on the District Council, with the view of obta ining their assistance for securing permanent head q ua rters for the carriage after it is obtained. On behalf of the recen am bulance class Mr. Greenwood (president) presented mementos to Dr. \Vatth ews (surReon-instructor) and i\Ir. C R, Hampshire (secretary) for the!r se n ices, Those gentlemen; !:l response, thanked tbe Ch:l.lrman for hIS kiTld remarks and the members of the class for their presents. HUDDERSFIELD.- This Corps fOI med about a year ago, and comprising between sevent? and eighty male and female mem bers underwent their first annuallllspectlOn at Honley, on Saturday, Augu5t 6th. Mr. IV. Brooke, the president, had invited the. Corps .to his ,grounds, 'o rthgate Mount, Honley, but as rain fell hea\'lly ll1 Sp ectlOn took place in the Xational School. :'\Ir. \V, Bro nk e welc omed members, and there were also pressnt Brooke, :\lrs. Allen HaIgh (H uddersfield), Dr. Rolfe, the cbief surgeon of the corps, and 'orman Porritt, surgeon to the nursing :.\(il burn 2nd East Riding of Yorkshire Volunteer Artillery, Hu I, Commissioner of tbe Brigade, was the inspecting officer. Under the direction of Miss Mellor, the lady superintendent, the female members were put through exercises in bandaging, and W. A Noble, the chief superintendent, directed the men in similar exerci,es, drill, stretche r practice, and an exhibition of how to restore the apparently drowned. At the close Surgeon-Capta in M il,burn said he was agreeably surpnsed WIth he .had and WIth the answers to questions. He JustIfied In reportIllg fal'ourably of the. corps to the Deputy-CommissIoner. Tea was afterwards partaken of 111 the Parish Room, where the president was thanked for hi s hospitality and Surgeon-Ca ptain :,\1 ilburn for return made to the Xational Scho ol, and Illdl\'ldual competition 111 handagll1g, &c., took place. The judges were Dr. Rol fe and Dr. Po, ritt, M r \\T. A. Noble, and illr. John :.\lorton (Chief Constable of Iluduersfield ). They awarded the prizes as :-l\'1en's divi s o n, i\lr. Alben Branch Lockwood; 2, l\ l r. J. S. Armltag'e, Quarmby; 3, ;'lIT. Arthur J. Brian Dalton. Ladies' division, Miss Annie H e3.to n, Brook street, Marsh' 2 M iss Hardy, Close Hill, N ewsome; 3, i\liss Hodg son, Daisy A prize presented by t be Chief Supel intendent, for the member obta ining the highest number of marks 111 eIther dIVISIon was awarded to Mi.;s

LEICESTER.-On Thursday, August 18th, the members and friends of this Division were iI1l·ited to a pic-nic arranged by Chief Superintendent J. H. Buckley, when a good number accepteu the il1\'itation. amongst them being Dr. McAllister Hewlings (H,on. Surgeo n ), i\lr. Wm. :::>tranks (First Officer), :.\ h, Turner (Uon !::ie cretary LeIce ster Centre), Transport Superintendent i\Iobbs, :.\ rs. and Miss Buckley, l\lrs. Snanks il rs. Turner , :\lrs. Ihtfield, Mrs. i\lo bbs, and :.\llsses Ward, IIatfie' d, IVilson, Harely, IIearne, Gardiner, anu F. Smi.th On arriving at Desford Station the party made their way to th ':! daIry farm of i\1essrs. Kirby & VeH, where a tent hild been erecte.d for the .convenience of the visitors. After the usual ph otogr:tph lc proceeuIllgs, the party were shown ol'er the farm by :,\11'. K ir hy, IIho :ery exphined all the workings and o-eneral.man :lge ment: gWlnR those present a aoou lesson on hatchIllg and reallllO' chickens by incubators. All through the farm one could not bel f> beJl1g by the great tro u ble and expense the propriet ors had been put to In planning e very detail, so as to ensure a most perfect result from a saI1Itary po in t, wh il st everytning was arranged for the and conve ni en ce of cattle an d men. A new and novel Idea the lightIng up of th e wh ole of h e farm buildings by e lectricity, el'en the COliS,

A I D : 25

horses, pigs, and fowls, not heing forgotten IIhen laying uown this expensi\'e luxury; "hile the engine which generates the electricity also does duty in other ways by pumping water, dril'mg chaff cutters, &c. Taken all rounu it is truly a model farm. The next place to be visited was the Desford Tnu ustrial Schools, \I ere upwards of :]00 hoys are kept. IIere again the I'isitors " 'ere fortunate enoLlg-h to meet the superintenuent of the schools (:\[1'. Oxley), "h o very kindly piloted the vi sitors through the schools and gi"ing them a lot of imeresting informat ion; although i\Ir. Oxley informed us that the boys did all of the cleaning one could not but help noticing ho\l' beautifully clean e\'erywhere was kepI.. Before leavin g the schools :'\Ir. Oxley to-,k the party to the ha keh ouse, dining room :l.nd workshop to see the boys making their oll'n bread, shoes, clothes, mending socks, O:.c. £\fter visiting the playgrounds, baths, gymnasiums, &c. the party h ad a stroll o\'er the farm, where there are acres upon acres of currant treps, gooseberry trees, strawberries, &c" and here ag1.in el'erything is attended to by the boys. Returning to tbe tent .!.mple justice was done a very tea prepared by :'\Ir s. Buckley, and then the el'enIng was spent III ambulan ce compet itions, &c. TJ-. e two cblef COmpelItItIOrs wel:e- (a ) Carrying a glass of ,Yater on a stretcher +0 :h) to hroken leg and scalp wound, :l.nd carrylllg pal lent 10 lent SInglehanded a of ;0 yards. After a keen competItion lhe former IYas W011 ly 6; Heame, and the latter by ,\1 1'. J. \Yilson. Dr. Kelly:of Desford, being the judge. This completeu "hat everybody voted a yery enjoyable outl11g-. ,

SPO:--l LA'iE.-On Saturday, August 13th, the annual excurSIOn ll1 connection with the Spon Lane Dil'ision took place at the party numbering about So. After a_sail on the R iYer Sel'ern,.an adjournment was maue cO t.he estern Hote.l, where a sn.o klllg concert was held; Dr. J. PItt presK\lllg. The chairman presented ;\11'. "'. J. Sh oemach \\'ith a purse of gold in rec ognition of his services as instructor to tbe di"ision, and in doing so complimented him upon the admirahle work ,,,bich he was doing in connection wi_h the ambulance movement. l\Ir. Shoemach briefly rep lied, TIRSHELF.-Threatening weather and a boisterous wind sadly marred the pleasure of this year's re\ir'\\' of the Tibshelfand Birchwood Corps, which was beld on the Tibshelf Cricket G:round o n ,-\ugu st 12th. This year Lady Caman'on, who was accompanIed by her son, the Hon. H LIbert Carnarvon, came down alld presenled the .xc. The officers in charge of the men were Deputy Comm ISS ioner 5. C. Wardell, Superintendent .E. P owiss First Uffi.:er P. RadclIff, Second Officer H. Sankey, Surgeons Stamford and .\/a:the\\'s corps), and Robson (Birchwood corps, and the cbaplall1s, !he .Re:'. E. E. :.\!orris, J.P., of Blackwell, and the .Re,·, A. C.otton, ot. RIddIng'S. Both the corps as usual were accompanIed by their resl?ectll'e bands, and these hal'ing taken up their position on the ground III file\ looked particularly imposin.g. O'\ing. to the cold weathel:' the exerCIses ha,d to be hurried ly earned out, IIhl Ch ne cessar,dy cur.taded the afternoon s proO'ramme. ,-\ square was then formed, .after whIch Lady Carum'Yon eyer 50 ceniticates and medalll0ns to members _of the corps and others. The Hon. Hu hert Carnan'on then stepped 101'ward and ex pressed to the men the pleasure it had g iyen Lady. Carnan'on to be present that afternoon. She took a great delight In the ambulance mOI'ement, 2.nd \\'as ever ready to do she could to further the movement. :'\lr. Fr:l.nk Seeley, 111 11101'Jl1g a vote of thanks to Lady Carnan'on, said they were deeply grateful for the presence that afte rnoon of Lady Carnarvon. inasn:uch as her sympathy towalds the movement would do much to g-Ive encouragement 10 the men to do e len better than they had hitherto done. Deputy IYard ell seconded the proposition in a feIY proposition II as then carried II th acclalll ation, three cheers bemg gl\'en to Lady Carnarvon. f h'

\\' I:LUZ'GBOROl-GH.- The annual parade and InspectIOn 0 IS Corps took p lace on the ,\'ellingbor oug h Grammar School grounds. ?n , \uO'ust 20th, in the presence of a large company. Rel?res enta tnes fro;; IVellin o'borough, Rushden, Higham ferrers, Finedon Bgzeat RinO'stead, I\,il bye, W ollaston, and tocyether'"itb of the Poli ce Force connected '':Ith. the Petty essiona l Dil'ision, assembled the II ellmgborough head"-quarters, Ch 1I rch Street. olfice:-s present were: Brigade Surgeon Li eutenant,Colonel G, Ellisr.on I .D., th.e ); 0. 3 Central and Eastern .DIS[JICl Illspectlng officer); Commissioner_ T: H, Il onlston ( .'\L rthampton), Chief Surg'eon W. E. ,\udland (\I _Hllll. J. Crew (Ili'aham Ferrels), J. \\' Orr (Y\ollasron), II Rohb (Ilthlll1gbOJollgh),"'\r. I. (\Yellil.lgloror:gh ,and I ors) (13ozea t), Chier'Superintendent T H. 11 dton, L." Icholson, (Welling- borough), Superinterdent J. II. anu 1',1 1 st Ufficel, Groome (lJigbam Felrer<, Sergeant 13ozeat, ("-ushden), hrst Officel Pen' (Ringsteau), Sergeant Lyman (II ollaslOn), (\Ycllingb orough P olice).

Po lice), Sergeant (Xorthampton r oll.ce) , !::ilstel \I bItney, Lady Slip erintel1lk nt I'letcher (.\ccnngtoI1. (OIpS), the ,,,hoI: numbering about 200 ambulance ,Yorker.s. SJn ::11 I at glolll1d r the respective divisions were dralln up .111 lllle undel the dIl.ectIOn 0 Chief Superintendent Hilton, and Lle1.lten;tnt-Colonel Elhston wa!?

respectfully saluted. The usual preliminary e.xercises ,,'ere gone throtwh and after the first march past the companIes were told off for drill and b;tI1daging- patients, operations that we!'e followed by the spectators. 'When all work had been satIsfactOrIly completed the companies were formed mto a three-quarter square, and Lieutenant-Colonel Elliston addressed the officers, memrers, and nmsin<Y sisters of the Corps. He said he was pleased and to see such a good muster, and alluding to last year's inspection, at which Sir Edward Thackeray w.as recrret tbat that officer had severed hIS connectIon \\'!th the bngace, thought he might safely say that during tbe .year had made progress, tbe bearer, company, and stretcher bemg' very good. Generally speaking, the memhers had kept up theIr knolVle?ge of first aid since they distinguisbed themseh'es. 111 the grand they attained in winning the Challenge Shield!l1 May. He adVIsed them not to rest on their laurels, and mged them to perfect themselves durin<Y the winter months in order to retain the shield. They must keep their first aid kno\\'ledge, drill, and ambulance work gene.rally.

Chief Surcreon Audhnd, in the course of a fel\' remarKS. saId he regarded the work done that day as "ery good indeed, and the bandagin<Y be had seen would stand well, and the members would come very \I'inning in any competition. Assistant Com.missioner .\I\TooJston, to whom much of the past succe"s of the Corps IS due, saId he was always delighted to have the opportunity of fraternising with ambulance workers-a body desernng of every encouragement. He was espec'lally glad to see members of the County Police present,. and it was, lJe said,.a proud thing to know that 200 of them \I'ere qua:lfied to render first ald. Subsequently the men adjourned to Dr. Platt supper pa\'ilion, where they were proyided ,,-ith refreshments. Afterwards the companies re - formed and marched back to head-quarters, and were then dismissed, all feeling pleased 'with the success cf the annual Ilspection.

jfirst Bib 1Recorb.

HAYLI:>JG TSLA;\D.-')n August 22nd a carter named Frank Ru ssell, attempted to stop his runaway horse. He was thro\\'n to the ground and severely injured, but not before he had checked the animal's progTe3s through the street, which was somewhat crowded. Amongst those who rendered first aid was Sir \Tincent Kennett - Barrington, Deputy-Chairman of the St. John Ambulance Association.

:'IARGATE.-A serious case of sunstroke is reported to have happened to a \'isitor named Buller, staying in :'Iilton r..:: oad, who was walking dmm Fort Road when he was oyercome by the heat, and on being remol'ed into the "'hite Hart Laundry was foum:l to be suffering from sunstroke. l\lr. Vasse and Police Constable Hayd ock of the ambulance corps attended to the man, and finding it to be a rather bad case sent for Dr. 'Yhite who o:dered his remonl to the Cottage Hospit:d.

l'\E"·ARK.-On :'lonclav, August 1st, amongst the many excursionists to Edwinstowe was 1\1r. '\\'alter Smith, :'Jarket Street, Newark, and his son and daughter. The party had visited Thoresby, and were returning along the driye near the Buck Gates, '" hen they met a carriage and pair and a number of gentlemen on horseback, Mr. Smith and his family were in single file to give more room for the carriage to pass, and a horse ridden by one of the gentlemen suddenly swen'ed through a dog running across the drive in front. ;o.liss l\Iabel Smith was knocked down, and one of her ankles injured. The lady and gelltleman at once alighted from the carriage, and most kindly proffered every possible assistance. They proved to be the Duke and Duchess of Portland. The Duchess deftly bandaged up tbe injured a)lkle, and when this had been done the Dul<e proffered to cOlwey the family to 1\ ewark. 1\1r. Smith preferred they should be t1ken to Edwinstowe, and orders were given for a trap to be obtained. Both the Duke and Duchess expressed their deep regret at the unfortunate mishap. The young lady is progressing favourably.

SELLI, G.-TERRIBLE ACCIDE",T TO A RAILWAY SERVANT.-A young fellow Law, a native of Westwell, \\'ho has been employed as porter at Sellll1g railway station about a fortnight, met with a terrible accident. About nine o'clock a goods train entered the Jump on to t.he footboard of guard's .van, \\'Ith the of ndmg down to tne yard for shuntll1g operatIOns, but he: faded to get a foothold and fell under the moving train. a portion of whIch went over hIS legs, all but severing the left one i::1mediately the ankle, and severely lacerating the other [oot, tearing the sole of hIS boot compl.etely off. A carpenter named Burgess, an ambulance man, .together WIth the Guard of the goods train, rendered first aid, matenals and restoratives being given by Mr. Wilson, the landlord of the. cc Sondes The en15ine was immediately detached from the tram, and Law, WIth Burgess 111 attendance, was taken to the Kent and Canterbury Hospital, he received the necessary treatment, and the house·surg-eon spoke in high terms of the first aid which had been rendered, but which the poor fellow would probably have bled to On arnval at the Hospital it was found necessary to amputate Law s leg.

A I D . CSeptenlber, j 898.

1Rail\''t-1y! tlnlbuIancc.

RAILWAY C;oRps.-The second annual dinner in connection with the Midland Railway Ambulance Corps at Coalville took place at the Railway Hote' on \ Vednesday night, when thirty members sat dO\I!1. 1\1r. "T. Sheffield was unanimously voted to the chair. The chairman said that a pleasurable duty he now had to perform on their behalf ""lS to give Dr. Jamie a slig-ht acknowledgment o[ their of his sen'ices to the class. T he present consisted of a handsome folding dressing case, and had a small plate on the outer cover bearing the inscription, "Presented to Dr. R. VV. Jamie by the Midland Railway Amhllance Class, Coalville, August 3rd, 18g8." Dr. Jamie having thanked the chairman for the kind terms in which he referred to him, said he hoped that tbe occasions for the practical use of t.he knowledge they had obtained would be few and far between, but he was satisfied that if the necessity did arise for them to render assistance they would do it promptly, willingly, and effectively.

The Mayor lent his counsel and support the otht!' evening to amhulance teaching in Oldham. His worship presided at a large gathering- of railway sery<,nts, at which certificates were presented to the successful candidate, of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railll'ay Centre. The Mayor is an extremely busy man, but he has found time to learn and administer first aid in many cases, which haye been productive of much good wben suffering requires urgent attention pending the arrival of a doctor.

<toIoniaI tlll1bulance.

AUCKLAND,--This Centre of the Association held its annual meeting in l\1ay, when reports were read showing the Centre to be in a vigorous condition, and that it is being waimly supported by the medical faculty, to several members of whiCh \Totes of thanks were passed.

CAPE To'Y"'.-Half-a-d ozen of Carter's Viaduct Ambulance Litters, which have been imported by the Governmen;:, were unpacked at the Casualty Vvard , and after being filted, up and put in working order "'ill be distributed in the suburbs and other centres in the (' olony. These litters have been in use at the Casualty'\Yard for some years and have been found to work admirably. They are fitted up with every description of mechanical appliances for the aid and comfort of the sick and injnred, and are the same as adopted by the Hospital s Associ"tion and Accident Service of London. The lttters which are adapted for the conveyance of sick and injurell by road, rail, or steamer, will prove a great acquisition to some of the suburbs and other towns which are some distance from any hospital, as it is the intention of the Government to supflant all the old conl'epnces by this type of litter.

Kn.1BERJ.EY.-A seriolls accident which, il1\olved loss of life, occurred at the shaft known as No. I, at De Beers 1\line, on June 7th. Twenty natives were being lowered for the afternoon shift when the engine-driver suddenly lost control M the en<Yire, and the cage fell a considerable distance with terrible force. The occupan ts were all injured, many very badly. Help \I'as SO,,11 forthcoming, and after first aid to the wounded had been rendered by memberc of the St. Jobn Ambulance Association in the employ of the comp:my, the injured nati"es were com'eyed to the surface where seven medical were 'I'aiting to attend them. It was found necessary to amputate limbs in several cases, anci one of the natives in the accident died suon afterll'ards.

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£100

will be paid by the above Corporation to the legal representative of anyone who is killer1 hy an acC'ic1ent to the Passenger Train (within the United KillO'c1om 01' Channel Is1all(18), ill which the deceased, was a ticket bearing or "paying passenger, or who shall have been fatally lll.)lll'ec1 thereby (should cleath result wit.hin ninet..y clays after sneh acci<lent).

PROVtDED tha.t the persoll so killed or in.iured iJatlupon his or her pel'son, or had left at home th is ticicpt, with his, or Ilsul1.1 si<tnature written prior to the onthe space provided below! wlJ icb, togcthC:'r witb the giving of notlcewlthm the tlllle as herelllilefore mentIOned. is the essence of this contract

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For 12 months, IS. 6d., post free, to be sent to the Publisher.

PlTBLISHER'S consequence of the demand for back numbers, the Publi sher has to give not.ice that the price of any back number preYious to the current year, will in future be 2d. As thestock of some ()f them is "ery limi·ted, it would be well for those of our readers II'ho wish it, to complete their sets without delay.

j}3 revi ti CS.

TilE he<1t-,vaYE', or Ruccesf'ion of heat-waves that we haNe h[l,(l lately, amply clemol1f'tmtes the necessity of some ambuh.nce system in our 1\Ietl·opolis. The St. John Am bubnce Association has two stations ,,-bieh have been most useful lately in l'el1l1Gl'ing first aid to those struck down by the heat, and .If' a statement 11:18 lately been made that this number might be increased, if funds wel'e forthcoming, and if sitetl coul(l be obtained \Ve al'e a,yare that there was a gl'eat difficulty in finding a place for the St. Olement Danes Station, and it waf' only owing to the kindness of tbc vicar tbat [l, site was found in the churchpal. We think that nothing shows the inadequacy of a ;'oluntaq Rystem more than thi . It means that compnltlory powers to purchase f'ites will h,we to be obtained, and that some such Rystem as that depicted in our last ifisue will hnse to be ultimately adopted.

* * >I<

WE fu'e infol'lned that there is, or ,vas hst ''leek, a notice on the door of the St. Paul's Station that owing to the illness of the attemlant this station is temporarily closed. This is vel'y extraOl'dillal·Y· lIas the St. J'ohn Ambulance Association only one" friend" who can help it in the hoUl' of need? vVe m'e sony to heal' that on Hccount of the illness of one ma,n thil:i important station HIlouM be dosed even for a few hours. The attendant has our sympathy, and we hope he will soon l'ecoYel' in o1'(lel' tht.t the station may be rc -o penecl.

* *

O""E of OUl' medicnl contemporal'ies-the B?'itish J.lfedical .!ow ?u6l-ha,s at length devoted a little space to" Ambulnuce WOl'k in London." It is to be regl'etted that the wI·itel· is not experienced on the subject, and j,' somewhat loo 'e in his facts and names, othcrvvise it is a clistillct advance on what ha.s hitherto been written in om' medical jOUl'nnls. Refcl'l'illO' to the box of the "Metropolitan Ambulance (Hospitals Association must be meftnt), the itl'ticle RR,YS " ('yer,Y constablc knows hO\\- to oren the ('017('1',

and as the majority of constables have been tra in ed in ambulance work, a trained bearer and an ambulance are at hand." We must taze exception to this statement as it is obviously opposed to facts. A police constable and a trained bearer have never yet been combined on one individual, and we aonbt whether it i13 possible to train constables to carry out ambulance work efficiently Twenty years teaching ha. produced very little I·esult. The al·ticle concludes as follows :-" vVere permanent ambulance stations, on the lines begun by the St. John Ambulance Association, multiplied and connected with the public telephone, we believe the present want ,,,ould be supplied Were, in addition say, two horse am1Julance, tationsestablishecl on the south side of the river, and another on the north, in addition to the one at St, John's Gate, all connected by telephone, we belieye the immediate necessities of the metropoli:-: would be met."

{tbe tDoInnteer BnlbnIance $cbooI of 3nstrnction.

The followin<Y Officers who have been under instruction from the staff of the have recently passed the proficiency. examinati.on for Volu:Jteer Medical Officers, thereby earning the HIgher CapItatIOn Grant for the Corps and becoming entitled to promotion after completing the necessary period of service.-Surgeon-Major W. H. \Vebb, M.D., 5th V.B. Devonshire Regiment; Surgeon-Lieut. J. J ackson :'II.B., F.R.C.S., Commanding Bearer London V. Surgeon-Lieut. \V. G. Owen, M.D., 1st Cheshne and Carnarvon shIre \'. A. Surgeon-Lieut. R. Mair. l.\I.B ,1st Roxburg and Selkirk. R.V, Surgeon-Lieut. G. Black l M ,B., 2nd V. B. Royal Suss.ex RegIment; Surgeon-Lieut. J. A. Wilson, 1\1.8., D P.H., 3rd V.B. HIghland L. 1.; Surgeon-Lieut. H. Syers, :'If.A., i\1.D., ;o.1.R.C.P., 3rd V A. Surgeon-Lieut C. S. de Segundo, :\1.B., B.S c., .zoth (ArtIsts) R.V.; Surgeon-Lieut. F. S 20th R.V. Surgeon-Lieut. E. Goddard, gth !\lIddlesex (Harrow) R.\.; SurgeonLieut. A. Du\{e, :'Il.A.,:'Ii. B., F.R.C.S., 1st V.A. SurgeonLieut. E. C. Palmer, ::'I1.B., 1st \T.B. Lincoln shire RegIment; Lieut. J. p. Farquharson, I.\1.B., 1st N ewcas.tle-0,n- \. A. , Surgeon-LIeut. D. J. Lawson, :'II.D., 1st Dorsetshlre \ A., SurgeonLieut. J. N. Brown, M.D., B.Sc., ::,th West Surge?nLieut. D. R. Dobie, 1\1. D., 211d V. B. The h.ll1g s Own ScottIsh Borderers' Suraeon-Lieut. C. J. Beattie, M.B , C.l\l., 18th MIddlesex R V Su'rcreon'::Lieut. r. McBourke 18th Middlesex R. V.; Surg-eonLi eu:·.' II. L. Wilks, 1st Wiltshire R. V Surgeon-Lieut. W. Boyd, 1\LD., 1st V. B. The Royal Scots Fusilier.s; Snrgeon-Lleut: P. 1st V. B. Highland L. r.; Surgeon-LIeut. A. Abraham, 5th '. B. Durham L. 1.' Suraeon-Lieut. W. J. Edwards, l\I. D., Tees Dlvlson

Submarine Miners R. E. V.; Surgeon-Lieut. G. 2nd West Riding- of York V. A.; 8nrgeon-Lieul. D. K1l1g-S mlt h, M .D ., +8th of Canada; Surgeon-Lieut. R. L. Cl,ark, M.B.,. Cumberland V. A,; Surgeon-Lieut. S. L. Potter, 1st" .B. The s Own Yorkshire' SurO'eon-Lieut. E. V Eames, 1st \ .B. DerbyshIre ReCTiment J. C. Fenwick, 3rd V.B Durham L. 1. ; S '" t J G Ronald i\l B 4tb V B Ar<Yyll and Sutherland urcreon- 1 U, .' ', '" ..,,,, r B Hio-l1landers' Suraeon-Lieut. W. H. Vickery, F .R.C.S., 3rd \ Fusiliers; E. 2nd V, p. l\Iiddlesex Regiment; Surgeon-Lleut. R. Shearel, Robll1 Hood .R·\V Surgeon -Lieut. F. Grindon, Bearer Company Home CountIes Brigade,

BmMINGHAi\L-The monthly meeting of the committe.e of this of the St. John Ambulance Brigade was held at the chIef .fire statIOn, 1\[r. r. Dudley, presiding. There were 2I8 cases of first aId for the past month. Contingents of the J?ngade attended the Challt) Sport" pn f\\lgust and attended to nye c;tses.

FIRST

AID.

jfire :f13rigabe <tamp at 113Ienbeiln

THE Nat;on1.l Fire Brigades Union is Lo be congratulated on th success of its first Camp which was pitched in the lovely gro unds •. Blenheim Palace kindly placed at the disposal of the Council by the noble President of the Union, His Grace the Duke of i\larlborough. l\lem bers of Fire Brigades from all parts of the country were present and the streets of the small town of W oodstock bore quite a semimilitary aspect. The local arrangements were in the h::tnds of a committee, which was engineered by Captai n Ban b ury the popular chief of the 'Woodstock Fire Brigade, and the members of which must be congratulated on the energy and devotion they showed in doing a II that lay in Iheir power to ensure the visit to Blenheim being a pleasant one. Nor was the Union behind; the Executive to a man, backed up as they were by their noble president, stro l'e hard to render the camp not only a pleasant outing but an instructive meeting as well. Colonel Dixon, Capt:tins Folker (General H on. Sec) and Theodore Rouwe are especially deserving of all praise for the unstinted way in which they sacrificed their own pleasure in order to ensure that there should be no failure. The Ambulance Encampment and Field Hospital were sit uated in a shady enclosure close by the officers' mess and the orderly tents, and here, under the command of Brigade Chief Superintendent Church Brasier, we found on the day we visited camp Han Surgeons Becker and Heaton Howard, Superintendents Trimmer, Piers, and Norfolk, Lady Superintendent Mrs. Church Brasier, Lady

LOctober, 1898.

foreign officers visited the Ambulance Encampment, wh e re they were entertained by the Staff on duty and a:terwards in spected the Ambu. lan ce Wagon and Equipment, expressing themselves as greatly pleased with the completeness of every detail. During- the afternoon by speciai permission of IIis Grace the Duke of Marlborough, the palace was open to firemen and others in uniform, and in the evening there was a torch-light procession and tattoo in the grounds.

vVednesday morning everyone was early astir in order to get ready for the Review and Inspection. A rehearsal took place at II a.m ., and it was just after this that an accident happened, which might have had a more serious ending than it fortunately did. An engine came tearina into Camp up to the Hospital, the men on it shouting' the while for ambulance. In almost le ss time than it takes to write these lin es the h orse was hitched to, a surgeon and the Brigade Ch ief Superintendent mounted, and the wagon was CIt route to the scene of the disaster. From what we could a triallVas being made with a large intended for Sydney, \\'hen, by some me:1ns, the man holding the bran ch let go of it and it swung round, striking on the leg a fireman who IVai standing by IIe at once fell to the gl'olll1d, and it was at first feared his leg was broken, but, fortunately, this was not the case. First aid had been rendned by two of the Nursing Sisters prior to the arrival of the ambulance van, so he was at once placed on the stretcher and into the wagon, and then conveyed to the temporary hospital at Chaucer House. It was one of the Sl11arte3t turns out witnessed during the week, and earned warm praise from all who witnessed it. During the day the Camp was visited by Col. Sir lIerbert C. Perrott, Col. Sir

October, t 898.J FIRsrr

each sLlcceeuing year rolls on. The Ambulance Cup was won by a nreman from Alder.shot, [ not o!)tain his name. The judges were Dr. Becker and the Bng-ade ChIef Superintendent. On Thursday the nllr sing sisters did duty at the Childr.!n's Fete in the palace grounds. They had two slight cases. The Duchess visited them and sent '(hem tea, besides th;tnking- them for services Everyone was loud in their praise of tbe Duke and Duchess, who seemed as though they could not do enough to make the meeting a g-rand success. A special vote of thanks was given by the nursing sisters to Dr. Elsmore who had so kindly placed qhaucer House at their 1 be picture of the Ambulance l and Staff has heen kll1dly placed at o ur disposal by the proprietOl s of Black and lVhite Tbis paper Ins a capi tal series o[ in their n tim ber of Augu s 27th. Tbe pbotographs were taken by YIr. Shelley, and fo): ::nap shots are the best we have seen.

n:be \Brent 1beat.

The following is taken from the ilio r mlll! Leader, anu it will be noticed that it is "exclusive."

[E.r:clusive Lv " The Leader."]

How THE ST. JOH e r\,1RULANCE ASSOCIATlO;-'! COPEll WITH THE CASES OF HEAT STRoKE.-The heat wave figures of the St. John Association are now available, and they are especially interesting as indicating the extent to which the torrid weatber must have made its prostrating effects fell throug:lOuL the metropolis.

The Association posses!:es perm went first aid s tations a t. Pa ut's Cathedral and St. L:lement's Church, Strand, and at these two places nearly 100 cases arising from heat strokes were treated.

At the laLLer station Mr. W. G. L. Fitchett, the officer in charge, had frequently to treat as many as six cases in one day, whereas under normal conditions the number averagF.s three or [our cases weekly.

St. Paul's station treateu .p of the recorded cases. L\t this laLter statio.n return .has just been prep ned showing that during the aSSOClallon year Just ended as many a:1 376 cases were treateJ by the attendants, being an average of at least one per diem. i\1any of these were, of course, cases of accident which had occurred at neighbouring warehouses.

St. Clement's, on the other band, deals almost entirely with street casualties, some of which during the recent tropical heat were of a serious nature. As showing- the neeu of such places, it is interesting to note that St. Clement's station was opened on 26th February this year, but between tInt date and .j.th :\lay only nine cases were treated. As soon as its excellent equipment became better known to the police and publi c, however, its work increased rapidly, and since 4th l\lay as many as IIS cases ha\'e been treated. The Association is anxious to multi ply its stations, but the difficulty in finlling ground sp;:tce is the great obst;:tcle in its way.

THE BRIGADE ENCAMPMENT AND STAFF.

Secretary Mrs. J. Calvin Lines, Lady Inspector of Stores Mrs. Sleath Gent, Nursing Sisters Mrs. Barnes, Miss Hall, Miss Radley, and Miss Sampson, Staff Sergeant Hewett,ISergeant Elam and Privates Flowerday, Dufiont, Sawney, and Shepherd. Major Rowley, a member of the Central Executive Committee, was a lso present.

.During the week seventy-five cases, cons isting principally of wasp stIngs, were treated, but two cases were of such a serious nature as to render their removal necessary. They were first conveyed to Chaucer House, the quarters of the Nursing Division, where the Sisters under Mrs. Brasier.'s instructions, had hastily extemporised a small ward for theIr receptlOll anu on the following day one patient, a member of the Coventry Brigade, was conveyed to his home in charge of Private Flowerday. The work done by this little detachment was well done and all those with whom I came in contact had got nothing but praise for the Staff. On Sunday the"e was a church parade on the Green, thIS was atLended by the Duke and Duchess and the house party' after that came the photographer, and then those not on were free to enJoy theIr leIsure, a large number visi ting the picturesque gardens at the Palace. was a day. of real hard work for the various competing Bngades. In the even 109 there sports and a t'lrch-light procession. qn Tuesday the French and Belgu!1 Officers were entertained by His Grace the Duke of at luncheon, and in the evening were the guests of the Umon at the Officers Me ss. After dinnera somewhat toa.st list was gone through and subsequently Brigade Cblef Superintendent Church Brasi.er, and Captains Banbury, vVhite !lnd Blek sley were WIth the insignia and diploma of the Royaume de BelgIque Federation des Corps des Sapeurs Pomplers. InCIdentally we may mention that in the afternoon the

Edward Thackeray and Miss Thackeray, anu Col. Bowuler, C ommis· sioner St. John Ambulance Brigaue. Unfortunately, the Commissioner had to leave early, and so did not witness the Review, but both Sir Edward and Sir Herbert expressed themselves as pleased with it. In the march past first came the band, then the foreign officers, then the engines and firemen on fON, followed by the ambulance wagon, litter and men, then the nursing sisters, followed in turn by the ambulance officers and mediml staff. At the conclusion of the march past the nursing sisters were presenteu to the Duchess, who subsequently visited the sta.tion and witnessed some bandaging. Both the Duke and Duchess expressed th::mselves as highly satisfieu with the completeness of all the arrangements.

])uring the afternoJn His Grace the Duke of was presented with the badge of life mem bership, and Major Fox, Brigade Chief Superintendent Church Captains Symonds and Bleksley with the in signia and diploma of IIonour of the Federation of Sapeurs Pompiers de France et d'Algerie. The prizes having been handed to the fortunate recipients by ITer Grace tbe Duchess of Marlborough, cheer; were given for the Duke and Duchess. Subsequently Captain Rouwe entertained the ambulance staffat tea. Colonel Sir Edward Thackera), was presented to the foreign officers by Captain Tinne of \Vells. It is needless to say that our gallant friends from across the water were charmed with our late Commissioner and expressed the pleasure that it gave them to meet S0 gallant a British officer. In Ih, evening more torch-light followed by votes of thanks in the Club tent. the ambulance coming in as [or, if anything, more than it; share, and so ended the Fire Brigade Camp of IS9S, a Meeting has forged another link in the chain of friendship binding our se rvices toge ther. May it always remain intact, stronger and firmer

!Drill

'·OLt'.:HEER SCHOOL OF I::\STRlJCTIOX.

Syllabus of Courses of Instruction to be held at the Headquarters of the London RiOe Brigade, 130, Bunhill Row, E C., commencing at 7.30 p.m on Monday, October 3rd, 1898, by permissiori of Colonel H C. Cholmondeley, Commanding the London RiAe Brigade.

NEW CLASS.

JlunJay, October yd, 1898 -In trouuctory Lecture all the Skeletun, Joints anu Muscles. M S. C. :\lan ual, pages to 7 a nu 95 to 103. Jlonday. October loth, 18g8.-The IIeart, Blood 'essels and Circu'ation. The Position of the Viscera. Pages 7 tu q and 19 tu 21. Brigade-Surgeon Lieut.-Colonel P. Giles, \ '.D. :'\[onday, October 17th, IS98.-The Lungs and Respiration. Pages IS to 19· ;\Jonday, October 24th, I8g8.-The Treatment of tbe apparently drowned. Burns and Scalds. Shock. Pages 69 to 73 and 7S. Surgeon-Captain E. HLghes, London Rifle Brigade. l\londay, October 31st, 18 98.Fractures and dislocations anu their treatment. Pages 32 to 38 and +0. THE ADVA;-.!CED CLASS or Instruction for passed members will commence on the same date (October 3rd) and will be under the charge of Surgeon-Captain E. i\l. Callender, .VI.D , I2th iddlesex (Prince of 'Val es' Own) R.V., and Surgeon-Lieutenant E. St. Vincent Ryan, London Irish RiOes, and will include the following subjects :-Oct. 3rd, at 7.30 p.m., The rules for using and the varieties or the roller bandage, pages 28 to 32, i\15.C. Manual. Ott. Iotll, The carriage and nursing of helpless patients, pages 86 to 90. Oct. 17th, Head and finger bandages. Uct. 24th, The observation of the sick, and the uses of the clinical thermometer, pages 90 to 93. O ct. 31st, Bandages for hand and arm.

Senior Medical Officer Instru ctor, Brigade-Surgeon P. Giles, V.D., F .R. C.S. Welsh Borcler V. Brigade.

{transport of Bccibents. (CO:-lTINUED.) (Special.)

By CHIHURGUS.

To the Readers of FmST AID.

Having given you my ideas of the methods by which accidents ollght to .be tra?sported in London, I will now proceeu to deal with the 111 count;y town.s and in country places where you may have pOSSIbly to exercIse a httle ingenuity in improvising litters and stretchers.

.Accidents in Country Towns.-A great deal of what I have ab?ut the methods of cOl1\'eying cases of acc;denls and sudden lllness 111 London applies to provincial towns but th 'I e are two essential points of difference. Firstly: in many of In \ lIS the authorities have pro\ ided an Am.bulance '''ag-on, thus doi lg away with the great difficulty we have 111 the. metropolis; Secondly: although many tOwns have (I•. Cottage HospItal or 1n5rmary, yet there are many without, so that the dIstance to be travelled may be considerable before the pat.lent can be brought to a place where he can have proper surgical assIstance The first point hardly requires mentioning, because all you have to do IS to summon the wagon and see that the patient is carefully lifted into it.

The second point w.ants Ii ltle consideration. The case may be one th.at reqUIres a stretcher, 111 whIch event you must get one or improyise one, and then comes the question of deciding upon the kind of vehicle you are going to use (t he improvising of stretchers will be dealt witb in the next paragraph). Before you can make up your mind as to the particular vehicle you want, several details ha\'e to be tboug-ht of. Tbe first is about a stretcher: if the case is serious and requires a stretcher, do not on any consideration send it aw"y without, if a regulation one is not to be had, by all means improvise one. There are many kindsof vehicles in which it is possible to place a stretcher, but a covered one is preferable, and for your purpose you may requisition a large roomy brougham or landau, and in country districts what they call a "fiy," if necessary place a board or two across the seats so as to make your stretcher secure. Failing a brougham or similar kind of conveyance, you may have to use an open cart. In this case sling the stretcher, with ropes tied to the sides of the in sLich a way that it does not touch the floor, and .1150 uoes not knock ag-J.inst the sides of the cart. In some cases you may not be able to do this, therefore get a quantity of hay or straw and spread it thickly on the bottom of the cart, in fact, half fill it, and place your stretcher on it and you will find that it ,yill ride easily. In cases ",here you think that the injury is not severe enough to need a stretcher, take care that your patient can lie down in the carriage, as the recumben t position gives the heart le3s work to do, thereby lessening the liability to faint, and gil'es the patient more rest. A wheeled ambulance litter,· where such is available, can of course be used for transport where the distance is not very great.

Accidents in Country Districts.- It will be found that accidents in these places have a knack of occurring when there are no ready made appliances at hand. I t therefore becomes nec;:essary for you to know how to make use of or improvise such material as you can get hold of. A 10Lof nasty cuts and smashes occur during harvesting operations, and cycling is producing a bigger crop of accidents e\'ery season. Afterha\'ing- rendered first aid on the spot-and this isa point about which you as first-aiders will be careful-althougb, as a rule, those unacquainted with ambuhnce work donot appreciate it-the next t'ling is to see aboul making a stretcher. You will und very useful hints on this suhject in your text books, and especially in Shepherd's " First Aid." Here are some of the methods by which temporary stretchers are made :-Get two stout pole,; about 7 fL. 10nO', and then two jackets buttoned up wiLh Lhe slee\'es turned in, and pUS!1 the poles through them; or a sack, and make two holes at Lhe LWO corners, and push the poles Lhrough them; or layout some canvas, sackinO', carpet, or a blanket, roll the pole:; round the edge to the required width. In this kind of improvised stretcher it is as well to ha\'e four bearers, t\\'o on each side, and they h :1Ve to walk sideways. In default of poles a hurdle makes a g-ood substitute; if anything of nature be used be careful that it is well covered with hay or straw, witb a piece of canvas or malting over it which will serve to lift the patient on afterwards.

Of course these makeshifts are only to be made use of wh ere the patient has to be carried a comparatively short distance-say, from the middle of a field to a house or to the roadside where he can be placed il. a proper conveyance After these hints a little ingenuity will soon enable anyone to make a temporary apparatus by which a person may be carried some distance with safety.

Wbat [ have said in the former paragraph concerning vehicles will apply to this class of cases. Remember, that a thick bedding of hay or straw &c., in a cart will prevent a deal of the jolting being felt by the patient. This concludes my remarkson this subject, and although J may have omitted some minor details, I hope that what I have said may prove of benefit to the readers of this journal.

FIRST NOTICE TO OUR READERS.

FIRST Am has now entered on the fifth year of its publication and its popularity is still increasing amongst in all branches of the Ambul ance world. In its early days the propnetors had much to contend with includina opposition from sources least expected, but they manfully 'stuck to "'their post and determined that effort should be wanting on their part to run the journal solely in the benefit of ambulan ce and kindred ,v ork generally. That the success which has attended the paper has amply justified their action is fully proved by the fact that the circulation is steadi ly improvin g, and in the distant parts of our Colonies" First-aiders" look forward to the monthly advent of th e little journal which will g-ive them news of the way in which the work is progressing in the old country. The old adage that it is not in mortals to command success, might very well be applied to the proprietors of Fm.ST AID, but we have done someth in g to deo;erve it. The staff who, month by month have produced their concise record. of amb ulance work in a concise form, is a purely voluntary one, wo rkIngfor the love of the cause and with a determination to keep this the greatest humanitarian work of the century well to the fore. It is desired, however, to still further extend the usefulness of our columns, but to do so further expense must necessarily be entailed. Will our readers help us ? Will the members of the Med ical profession help us?

The for mer ca n help us very materially by sending matter for our advertising co lumn s, Trade smen who have spec ialties to bring before the noti ce of workers in the ambulance field ca nnot do better than advertise in th e o n ly strictly ambtdance journal. Secretaries of classes, promoters of ambulance a nd fetes might draw the attention of readers in their parts to forthcoming meetings and thereby ensure attendance from other towns, and,

Lastly, the members of the \1etli cal profession can help us by "writingspec ial artIcles on ambulance work su ta ble to our lay readers. Y\Te have at all times receiv ed such uni\ ersal kindness;:t the hands of those interested in the succesS of our little journal that we venture to make this appeal, ana we feel confide n t that we shall not appeal in vain

FIRST AID

OCTOBER 1, 1898.

ONCE more we leave to chronicle one of THE those appalling accid ents on one of am

WELLINGBORO' rai l ways which app arently no human DISASTER f oresight if) a b l e to prevent. It Rppeal's that on the 2n,d ult at Welling bora' StatlOn a truck l'an off the platform on to the rail s, and anyone cou Ir! chag it away the express dashed into It and was thrown off the line becomino- a terrible wreck . 1 0, causmg t 16 deaths of persons and injuries to thirtv or forty more. Such a cal amity wbich, without a word C:f wal:ning, huds into eternity some of our f e llow-beings 'and maIms many more, demands the attention of all those who ,1.1'e in the work ,helping :·.;nffel'ing humanity

It I S WIth pl'Ofoun d satlsfactlOn we learn that skilled <1 mlmlance help was at hand , The smash OCCUlTed at nine. minute pa.st eight (in the even in g), a messag e was l'ec61ved at the head -q uartel's of the Wellino-boro' Ambul ance UO.l'pS twenty minutes p ast, at eight the wagon stl'etchers and a ll app li ances was at the scene of the followed imm ediately aft61 wiu·ds by nUmel'OLlS medlCal men, ':1'h e work of extricating the dead and wo:md ed the? commenced, a nd, in that scene of honor, the CrIes groans of the wounded, waB 110bly carned out by thIS most e ffi c i ent and well-trai ned COl'pS, vVe have to congratulate most heartily tIle WellinO'boro' on the manJ?-er in which they then' dutlC s on thIS sad occaSlO11 vVe must a so not fOlaet those membees of the Kettering md N Ol'tham pton helped.th61r Evel'yone is wol'thy of praise from the chief superIntendent clown to the privates Their conduct het" R pproved of and most wal'lllly commended by tHe med)calmen (who are the beBL judge," and a l so by the llas:,;engers in the ill -fated ''' bethel' in Llli ij eountl'y ,I. l'ctil \\ :IY :Ic('irlent lu· ::; been prevlOut:>ly <.tttenued to with b llch IJ1 'O lul ltll eS::i ;wd efficiency,

AID. [October, 1898.

It gives us great pleasure to put on record the names of a ll those who )'enclered ass stance, and we venture to suggest whethel' a Bpecial medal could not be stl'llCk and given to eac h of th ese First-aidel's. Mn y we hope that Viscount Knutsfol'd and the Commissionel' of the lh'igac1e will take thi s into consi\leration ?

$t- 30hn titnbulance tlesociatioll.

Ar.1l3t;LANCE BKANCH FOR TH URGOLAND.-,\ largely attenied meeting was held at the National Schoo l, Thurgoland, on Mond ay night, the I2th ult., the objec being the 10rmation of a branch of the St. John Ambulance Associeltion. Mr, Th omas Andrews pres id ed, and he was supported by Colonel Neville, J.P. , Captain Ormshy, J. P., Dr, Swallow, the Rev. vv. Upton Wooler (vicar), R. Swift, G. Green, B. Dransfield, and J. Leary. The following gentlemen were appointed as a comm ittee :-r.lr. Thomas Andrew, Captain Ormsby, J,P. , the Rev. W. U, 'Woole r, ;\II'. R. Swift, i\Ir. B. Dransfield, Mr. G. Green, and .\lr. Joseph L ea ry. Twenty-four members joined elt the meeting LEDB LiRY (G. W.R.)-.\ very pleasant meeting was held recent;y at the Castle of E1.stnor, when Leldy IIen ry S omerset present ed cert ificates and badges to the successful stude nt s and hunting crop to Dr. Harrison, the teacher of the class Lady Henry Somerset said she ,ya uld n ot like that little alternoon's ceremony to close without saying how glad she \VJ.S of the opportunity of welcoming them to her h ome. She wa s sure all realized that was no publ!c body to whom tbe whole community o\\'ed such a deep debt of gratitude elS to those who were connected with the railways. It would be im possible to expre ss their deep obligation to the men \\'ho rendered such signal service, She had in her time travelled a good deal more than mo st people, but she could never forg et the kindness and the courtesy, and the invariable thoughtful attention she had always recei ved from all the railway servants, She was fully aware of the arduo us nature of their duties, and she knew that it was not always an easy matter to be perfectly kind, courteous, and very c ivil when so much was pressed up on th em Continuing, h er ladyship said she felt under an obligation to them for taking the trouble to v sit her home that afternoon. She commended them, and she wa s extremely glad of this opportunity of so doing for the J;reat pains they had taken in attending the ambulance classes, and congratulated them upon the u seful knowledge they had acquired She thoug-ht it wa s a source of great credit, not only to the members but to the town of Ledbury <llso, tha the men should had been so signally successfu I 111 their examination, thelt every candidate passed. She had often attended some great missions and temperance meetll1gs in connect ion with the railway companies, and she always tho ug ht that there was a very strong bo n d of unity bet ween them all. Tn conclusio n, her ladyship said that she was a ll the more glad to welcome them there that afternoon becau se they had kindly a llow ed her, and she thanked them for the oppo rtunit y, to present on their behalf, the hunting crop antl spurs to Dr. Harri son, She was sure they allowed him a debt of gratitude for the services he had rendered. She hop ed they would join her III the dining-reom and ha\'e tea.. 1\1r. Jenkins (atltlress in g Lady IIenry Somerset) said "It is the unanimous wish of the members of the clelsS that r should on th eir behalf propose a most cordial vote of thanks to you for the very kind way you ha\'e tlistributed the certificates and badges Mr. W. H. Maunder (organising secretary) seconded the vote of thanks. Before he sat down to tea he should like to say how indebted he was fo r the pleasure it held been [or him to look over that beautiful castle that afternoon. He h ad it from the Earl of Cawdor himself, and also from the directors that they wished every member of the s taff to acquire a knowledge of " first aid" and then to retain it. It was very easy to forget the they had gainetl if they tlid not keep up the practices, the refore he hoped they would remember that they were a body of men, who, if they were called upon, would be able to render first aid to he injured, and perhaps be the meansofsaving many a valuab le life, IIe had passed the examination him self, and only a short time ago as he was passing along Euston Road, Lond on , he saw two poli cemen holding up a little boy. He (Mr. Mau nder)went to the little fellow and examinetl him, b ut the policeman said" there's nothing the matter wi th h im." But he (M r. M,wnder) said the boy's collar bone was brok en, and having rentlered "first a id" had the s ufferer removed to the hospital where the do ctors sa itl that the collar bone was broken, and commended th e speaker [o r hi s prompt action. Proceed in g, Mr, Maunder said that on behalf o[ the directors o[ the Great "W este rn Ra il way he thanked Dr. lIarri son for the time and trouble he had devoted to the railway servants. He would not detain them wi th a lot of figures, hut shou ld like to say th a 4,000 Great 'Ve stern Railway men had .passed the first examinati on, 1,SOO the second, an d 600 the third, and over 2,500 cases had been treated by the staff Perhaps Lady Henry SJmerset would be pleased to know that a. good temperance w.ork was being ca rried on amongst the men, anu be had the honour of bell1g a leelder of a banll o f emperance rail\\'ay men, llulllh er in g over g,ooo (LL(ly Hcnry Somerset: I alii glaJ to IH:a r that). Th e men re,tIiseJ that they haJ Ju ty to perfofm to the l.relvellillg public ;.tnu to themselves.

October, 1898.J FIRST <Baller\?

MRS J. GALVIN

LIKES, LaDY SECRETARY, S'f UATE

NUl{SIN G ST. JOllN Al'IBULAXCE BRIGADE, n"'IlE la uy wholje ..L portnlit appears ill our gcLllel'y this month i s one of the mo st energetic worken; amongst her sex in the cause of Ambulance.

1\11-s. J olm Calvin who is a native of London, ,\Oa::; erlncated at a private college in K ensington in which n eighbourhood she has l'esid ed almost continuomdy. Having p assed through t heFirst Aid and K ursingLectures of the St. John Ambulance A. '. ociation Lines, who n tLtumlly of an a ctive disposition, was desirous of finding some sphere in which could utilise ,1l1d r etain the knowledge she had thus acquired. In com'se of a convcl'sl tion with })h Brasier, who was then Ohief Sup61 intend ent of the 1\I etl'opoli tnn COl'PS, the hl.ttel' suggested the fOl'mn.t ion of a N Ul'sing Diyi:-;ioll with he adqual'ters at St Jolm's Gate, 1\hs. Lin et:> at once acq uiesced in the idea, 11 meeting of laclies was called under the presidency of Mr. Sam Osborn, Ohief Sm'geon of the Metropolit'1l1 Oorp:::;, und the sub jeet of our sketch w as elected Honomry SeCl etalY, a position ::ihe h as held ever since wi th credit to hen:ielf and to the b es t interests of the Division to which she is so much lLttaehecl Incidentally we Inay mention that the uniform 'which is now the l'egistel'ed pa,ttern of the N un:\ing Divisions of the Bl'ignde was designed by Mrs, Lines and another of the nursing sisters Mrs. Lines the honoUl' of being the first lad) who l'eceived the deconltion of an HonOl'[try S81'ying Sister of the Order of the of St. .Tohn of J el'usalem in Engla,nd, and she is na.t1.11'ally proud of the £::Lct.

In conjunction with her Lady SU1)el'intemlent, 1\hs Church Brctsiel', and other sistel's of the St J olm's Gate Nursing Divi sion, Linec w,tS instrume ntal in orgnnising the ,cherne for t h e of a Nun.e for the Paris h of St, J 01111, cuJ.d it i:; a of gratification to the Sist e rs of the Heacl-qual'bel's to know tha it WetS 11lltinly tlll'ongh their that the WttS ltken np 1:;0 thOl'ough y. :Mrs. Lines ta.kes a mO et active intel'est in the wOl'k mectings which ,11'e hel(l at h ead -qua.rters, the object of which is the making of warm winter ga l'ments for the sick poor and childl'en of Olerkenwell Anyone vvho know s the n eighbourhood in which th e grand 01<1 gateway is situated will appreciate the value of this pmely voluntary and ulU:i e lfis h l abour D evotedl y attached to music Mrs. Lines and bel' husband, who i s a so <til itL'd e nt (1 1'8 generfLll y in great l'equest at soc al gathOl'ings in which the l3rigade may be interested, fLll·thennore, i Hmy be si icl that Lin es is invl-tl'i1:tbly]Jresent at all the l arge gitthel'ings of the Bl'igade whethel' in Lond on or the provinces, and thus RIt e has a htl'ge circl e of friends who will a lways extend to h e r a hcru: ty w e lc om e wh e l 'eve!' they may meet h e r. Kindheart e d and sym path e tic by nature Mn;. Lines is t1,

At:b ; 31

typical fi.l'f:>1-aider, anc11'eady on emergency to calTY out to the best of her ability any duty entrusted to her In conclusi.on we venture to expl'ess a hope that fol' many ye l.l·t:> she may conti nue to take an active interest in the work which she has learn ed to love so well and which she has done so much t o flll'ther.

B $chenlc for an Blnbulance $er\1ice for 9.Lonbon.

.\ir. Samuel Osb?rn, Chief Surgeon of Metrop olita n Corps, 8t. J ohn Ambulance Brrgade has sent the follOWll1a notes concern ina the s ubj ect ?eing part of an article writtei1 by him and appearing''in a monthly Journal about two years ago

" That the Home Secretary should make an annual payment to the Order of St John (in the same ,Yay as the Local Government Board finance the .\Iet ropolitan Asylums Board), to organise and maintain a comple te ambulance system for London

The O:'der of St J ohn having started the St. J ohn Ambulance Association, have made the first move towards the furtherance of this sche mf , and to them therefore should be the honour of complet ing \\hat they have commenced.

Money might be obtained by the Order of S1. John by appealing to the genera public (the Co rporation of London, the City Companies, and firms) ; but as suc h a promiscuous amo unt is unsatisfactory, the former s uggesti on of a recognised annual payment is preferable. Stations around the severa l districts of L ondon, X; S. ; E,; W. ; N.E.; S.W.; S.E. ; like the ambulance stations of ll1fections hospitals, might immediately be started an d be in close proximity to the same.

Every Ambulance station should be in telephonic communication with the Head Quarters of St. John's Gate, in the same way as these infections ambulance stations are with Norfolk H ouse for the :\1. A. Board. By having our own ambulance stations in conjunction with those of the ;\1. A. Board, an arrangement might be come to with them, that when h orses are requir ed to equip ola own vehicles (because of course those vehicles us ed for infectious cases could not be em ployed by us ) a certain payment per h our could be arranged for, and paid qu arterly to them for such usage. This would make a commencement and then could be further developed by erection of call posts as for fire calls.

HEA DQUARTERS, ST. JOH:-I 'S GATE, ql/z September, I8 9 l{E SCHDIE FOR .\ LONDON A:'vIBULANCE SERVICE. SIR, To lhl! Editor of First Aid,

With reference to your Scheme for the pur pose of providing Lond on wit h an efficient Ambulance Service, may I ask why you deem it necessary to take the working of such an undertaking out of the hands of the StJohn Ambuhncc Association, and turn it over to a Director who 7/Ji//be solely responsible to the Government? Are you of the opin ion thelt the Association has failed in its endeavour to provide means for dealing with acc id ents on Bank H olidays and at the one or two permanent Stations which it h;ts throughout L ondon, or do you think it would be to cope with anyth ing on a larger scale than that in which it is presently engaged? I think you will agree with me, Sir, when I say no, most n o If such i s the case, then why create a new organization, which according to your article would not wo rk smoothly fOI' some considerabl e time? If any government can see its way to give a lump sum to the Association for the purpose of establishing and maintaining such a service throughout Lond on, and providing that the Asso ·:iation would undertake the responsibility ot directing it, you would get a far better Ambulance Service from the very outset, than y ou would be able to obtain [rom any newly constructed department for y ears to come.

One of the very best articles on this subject is that contributed by Doctor Osborn in a monthly periodica about 2. years ago, I quote from memory :

"That an Ambulance system for London might be pecuniarily managetl in a similar manner to that in whi ch the \I etropolitan Asylums B'Jard is financed by the Lo ca l Government Bo ar d, the Home Office paying a certain sum per annum to the Order of 81. John o f Jeru sa lem t o place in an efficient manner, throughout L?nd on an service. The Me tropo litan Asylums Board, hav!J1g already statlOlls !J1 every district of London, coultl be approached with the object of assisting the order of St. John to carry out this scheme."

An Ambulance 5tation very s imilar to that in St. Clement Danes, or laraer miaht be attached to every station of the Metropolitan Asylums and be in telephonic communication, like they are, with Headquarters.

II orse Ambulance for accidents s not so often re quired but where

FIRST

necessary arranaements could be made with the Metropo itan Asylums B oard, to' horse ambu lance for t h is temporary occasion, debitiT'g the Order with the expense of such employment at per hour, of course, our own ambulance would have to be supplied for transport or injured cases, as it would not do to employ that used for infectious purposes.

By this scheme you will se.e, at. once, a very large amount he saved in the purchase of SiteS, 111 fact, It woulJ mean almost a savl11g of balf the sum to be expended under this heading. The n again by allowina the Order of St. John to direct the working in all its details, tbere be an immense saving in clerical and other labor, as it would not be nececsary to appoint an entirely new staff, unacquainted wit h t he work. but simply augment the present one.

n conclusion, on the one hand you have a scheme which is simple, efficient and compa ratively speaking inexpensive, and which could be got into order in about from three to six months, directed by an Association whicb has proved time after time that no matter what the occasion or how difficult the arrangements, it has alway,; been able to discharge its self-imposed duty in a most satisiactory manner.

W hile on the other hand you have a new organization requiring a large initial outlay, and a yearly cost of £+0,000, with new Directors, new s aff, and which perhaps, after spending a large amount of money in costly experiments, might finally collapse altog-ether.

Yours falthfuliy, G. L. FITCHETT, Headquarter Staff.

The notes sent by ;\ Jr. Osborn are undoubtedly worthy of consideration.

With regard to the first, wl:ether the Home Secretary would pay a certain amount (iVIr. Osoorn does not say how much) to a private aS50c iation like the St. John Ambulance Association, I very much doubt. If he or they did, they would most certa nly want a definite scheme laid before them, including an eSLimate of the primary cost al,d of maintenance. The money 1V0uld have to come out of the rates, and would have to be allowed for out of the annual estimate, or the whole thing might be turned over to the County Cou n cil. For the sahe of a.rgument, suppose that the Order of St. John were subsidised, a scbeme must be prepared, and I see no reason why the one that I have ske'ched should not be taken nto consideration The loc'l.tion of the stations in close proxim ity to those of the Metropo itan Asylums Board is a suggestion worth serious thought, for a large initial expense might be saved. Mr Osborn does not RiVe any further details, so I presume that he has no objection to my ground plan.

Now, as to Y[ r. Fitc hett's letter. I am afraid that this gentleman has not reJ.d my article aright , and has mixed up two points which ou ght to be kept entirely separate I purposely omitted mentioning the body by w h om the scheme wOllld be carried out, which is an entire ly d ifferent matter to the scheme itself, and shou ld not be confounded wit h it. I said my scheme could not be carried out by any volunta r y or private association, because it would cost too much, &c., &c. I think Mr. Fitchett practically agrees with me by sayin g that the St. John Amb u lance Association must be subsidised If so, that is quite another matter, and does away with the voluntary element. and even the n a scheme of some kind must be laid before the body that finds the money. There s an old saying to the effect that" he who pays the pipe r call s for the tune." I say, and say distinctly, that under present condit ons the Order of St. John or the St. John Ambulance Association or both combined, are utterly unable to ambula.nce London in the way o ught to be done. Neither of these bodies have yet said (to my know edge) that they desire to undertake t. It is no good any person putting forward a scheme requ iring the Order of S t. John to do certain thing-s unless we know that the Order is willing I quite agree with M r. Osborn (and I think NIr. Fitchett is of the same opinion) that the Order of S t. J o h n is the body we ook to to start a scheme, b u t no sign has yet bee n made Personally, I should only be too pleased, and would do all [ co ul d to help such a cause. In any scheme that is brought forward, wh eth er by the St. John Ambulance Associat on or an yone e lse, there h ave to be a '.' Head" or ." Director" to it, and he will be responS ble for h e serv Ice That IS absolute ly n ecessary, for it wi ll be no go? d the if anything goes wrong, on to a body of mdlvldu a ls. T h ere IS a head to the Po lice Force and a h ead to t h e Fire B r igade a n d you could no t have the Amb ul ance serv ce witho u a head The O rder of Sl. J ohn is quite welcome to make u se of my sc h eme if it sees fit.

Why Mr. F itchett shoul d say that h e Director wou l d be so foolish as to have a staff unacq.uainted .with the work, T eannot imagi n e. I do no.t lik e words of.that kmd put mto my m?uth when I never said anythmg that cou ld m any way be construed mto that meaning.

Jus t o n e word about th e n u mber of cases a t present atten d ed to at the two sta ti ons ,of the St, Joh n Ambulance A ssociation. They will probably amou n t to about 700 a year; possib ly this year they will be more on account of the excessIve heat. A n Amb u la nce Serv ice would h a ve to a tte nd to many tho u sa n ds- 30,000 or 40,000. iVha t a d ifference I

A! D. [O c tober, 189 8 .

I find a s ight error has crept iuto my article. The sum of £5 is Riven as t h e week ly cost of a station, w th a clerk a n d two assistant". Th is, of course, is too small, but it would not affect the annual expenditure, because in many stations there would probably only be one assistant.

I thank very much correspondents who have written approvin.; of the scheme. IIEATo:c< C. IIOWARD.

(torresponbence.

[We do not necessarily hold " esponsi7Jlejol' the opinions '!I 0117' e orrespo nrlents. ]

I NT ERNATIO:-L\'L DISARYIAMENT AND .DfBlILANCE WORK.

To the Editor 0/ FrRsT AID.

DEAR Sm.-It was with the greatest possible pleasure that I read your ea::lerin the current number of your valuable little journal. quite admit that at first sight it was hardly apparent why you coupled tog-ether the tremendous suhject of International Disarmament with that of Ambulance \Vork; but on further reflection, as a first-aider, I could not but realise how thoroughly the two great movements cOlild work hand in hand. I take it that all of those engaged in the grand Ambulance movement which in recent years has swept like :l wave over the t;ontinent of Europe, are imbued with all the humanitarian principles its teaching involves; thus the colossal proposal and appeal placed before the civilised world by the Czar of AJl the RU5sias will be hailed by them with pleasure, inasmuch as it can bu t give an added to the work in ,,·bich they are e ngaged \Vhen one realises what enormous sums are spent annually and freely in th = furtherance of all that concerns that most dreaded of all human scourges, vVar, it does strike one that it is strange that in this the nineteenth century no one has yet been found to solve the problem of an International Court of Arbitration. In the middle ages it was customary in our own land to settle matters by trial by combat, and doubLless our ancestors fought against the abandonment of this prin ciple, as some will now, no doubt, be found in all countries ready lL1 oppose the Czar's beneficent and philanthropic suggestion. Howevel, whatever the outcome of the prcsent project, it must at any rate bring us a step nearer to the time when \Var shall be no more, and Nicholas 11. will certainly earn for himself a name in one of the brightest pages of the world's history. May the dawn of the twentieth century gi\'l.: hopes of an early fulfilment of thi:; his most cherished dream. The world is certainly wide enough for all its peaceably inclined inhabitants, and I, for one, fail to see why we should ahvays stand in dread of an unexpected conflagration accompanied by all the horrors that science, directed in a wrong direct.ion, can produce. E1 propos of the close relationship that exists between ambulance work and the Czar's proposal I had an interview with a friend of mine, who is also a member of the St. John Ambulance Association, and whom I knew to be closely connected with several kindred foreign societies, and I have much pleasure in forwarding you the result of a quiet chat with him, as it may be of some interest to many of yom readers, who doubtless like myself ha\e been impressed with the value of the views laid down in your article at this present crisis. Apologising for the length of this letter, I am, dear Sir, Yours faithfully, Sept. I2th, r898. SEAl{CHLIGHT.

CALLlKG at my friend's house I had the good fortune to catch him on bis return from the Continenl where he haJ been enjoying a wellearned rest. He greeted me with his customary hearty welcome, after which, in response to my request for a few notes as to his opinions on your article, he invited me to sit dOlm and talk the matter over. give, as far as m,.. memory serves me, the salient points of this most ineresting chat, but should I unintentionally have rep'JrLed anything not quite in accordance wiLh my friend's intenLions, he will, feel sure, pardon me.

In res p onse t o my queryas to the view he took of the proposa l , be replied; " 1 am entire y in accord with the noble and humanitariall proposal o[ t h e Czar, and r am convinced that if such an u nderstanding between the Powers ca n be carried out, it wi ll be a great boon to the who e civilised wor d, tbe great benefit of which will be felt u niv ersally in a comparative ly short Lime " "This question of fraternity among nations is not altogether a nel'" o n e to you, I believe?" was my next remark "No, certain y not," was the reply; "some litt e time [ was actively en gaged, in connection with sams friends of mine, in order to bring about a closer cordiality between h e various Amhu lance Societies in Europe. We had taken an interest i n the project from reading a most i nteresting book by Baron ThJmas de St. Georges d'Armstrong, on the IGeneral Princip es of t h e Right of I nternat ona l Arbitmtion I n tbe course of our conversations on the subject we d isc u ssed as to how we co ul d b ri ng i n to Ii r, c: the L.rge body of firs -a iders i n this co un t ry by showing them how h igh an the ir work cou d

Oc t ob er, 189 8. J

FIRST

aLtain Lo." " I n what direction would you then h ave carried o u your scheme? " I asked B y the meeting together of the various Vhite Cross Ambulance Societies, Annual Congresses on the same nes as that of the Ge n eva Convention, where discussiolls on the value of saving human ife wou d take place, bringing home forci b ly to the delegates from a ll parts of the Globe how they could assist Lhe various Peace Societies in their efforts Lo promote universal peace." Do you think the foreign Societies would have entered into the spirit of the movement?" I asked "Undoubtedly I do," was the "I had one or two inform:!.l interview5 with members of prominent foreign LiC: Savincr Societies, and I believe the propo,iti0I1 for an International tllteJtt; 1V0uid h'lve been received very cordially by most, if not all, of the foreign Societies. All were anxious that the English Ambul::tncers should take the lead, naturally believing that as the White Cross movement had been longer in existence in this country, it would carry more weight; added to which they naturally conduded that the fact H. R.ll. the Prince of \-Vales was the head of the movemen t here, It would tend to its greater success. Had this idea met with the approval of the governing body of the Amhulance Society here, the appeal to Foreign Societies to meet at a Congress could have been made months aO"O alld to day we should be a compact and homogenous body, workin the cause of peace \Ye should tbus ha\ e been twelve in advance of the Czar's manifesto." "Let us go back to the article, a paragmph in which reads thus: 'The grand old qrder of St. John can now play an imtl0rtant part. Will the Order grasp Its chance' At the me of the foundation of the Geneva COllvention, instead of holdina the predominant position, it left to other hands the promulgation humanitarian crusade. To-day it has again iLschance,' &c Have you any remarks to make about this?" said 1. "Yes," was the reply; " it is true th1.t the Order Ins again a chance of retrieving to an extent the mistake-to put it mildiy-it in not securing the nant position <It the Geneva ConventIOn, an.d lately In not supportmg those who were trying in a sm,all way to bring the formatlon of the' White Cross Convention, but I cannot help thlllklOg that should the Order be represented at the Peace ;Conference as \;uggested, it.wiP not now occupy so strong a position as it would done, had It 111 .the past tried to bring the nations together by ItS own mfluence. One thJn;5 I should like to call attention to before you go : the EnglIsh Fire BnO"ades have long seen the desirability of rendering their service ·With this ohject in view they visit other countries, and LnVlte representatives of the Sen ice .in countries to \'isit them; and the Enalish Fire Bngades Union, which lS under the pJ.tronage of H.M. the"'Q ueen, is just noll' ana ngi ng, in conj unction with oth.er countries, for the formation of an International Bureau for the FIre Service. This I thouO"ht concluded our interview, and I was about to take my leave when ';;y friend added. "Xextyear in Paris there will bea grand International Exhibition of Ambulance and Life Saving Apparatus; the year after there will be the Great International Exhibition. "What steps are being taken I wonder by the Order to be represented at these two great meetings, all important as they are to every earnest ambulance worker " To this question of my friend I confess I was unable to glye an answer so I contented myself by sa.ying "I had no doubt tha.t some provisibn would be made so that this country should not ?e left in the rear," my friend smiled in a significant and WIth a hearty hand-shake bade me farewell. In retracmg my steps, I could not help thinking earnestly of ail he said and I fel.t then as I feel now, there is much in it. I should I1ke to knowthe news of others of your re:lders.

1Railwar IDi5ast er at UUlcllingborongb.

EXPRESS WRECKED.

SEVEN KILLED.

A railway accident of an appalling nature o('cUl:red the Wellingboro'l\1idland Station on Friday, the 2nd ult., 1I11'01vlllg the loss of seven lives and injuries ofa moreor less serious nat.ure to many others. The news quickly spread throughout whole and a brge crowd ol people rapidly gathered Il1 the '.ICll1lty of disaster. The scene which met Lheir vicw was indeed a terrible one. 1 he massIve eng-ioe had been wrenched from the tender, the front portion becoming embedded in the foot ot the embankment, whdst Lhe tender lay on the opposiLe side of some of the carriages which were standll1g.upright. .A brae saloon carriage lay overtUl ned on the from which the tram had been derailed, whilst a. LhirJ-c1ass carnage of SIX compartments, \\"hich had been practically telescoped, by on a mass of Aames. I n the lurid light cast by the burnll1g carnages were to seen passengers gradually creeping up the em!:>ankl:nent, whdst toe agonising screams and groans of m0re seriously l11Jured and anon were LO be heard above the hiSSing roal of the wrecked eng-me. " ·e have been fa ·oured with the following notes fram Chief Superintendent IIilton of the \\' ellingboro' Corps of the St. John Ambulance Brigade ;-

AlD. 33

The train was due to pass this s t ation at about 8.12, and near the centre of the down platform it dashed into a four -wheel platform truck that had fallen on to the line, this caused the engine to foul the metals at the end of the platform, and swinging to the left it rushed with terrific force into a high embankment, where the train was wrecked, one of the carriages taking fire.

Cyclist Rogers (who was a prize winner at Camp) and P.C. Powell were crossiug the footbridge from the up platform at the time, and rushing at once to the wreck set to work rescuing the ir.jured. Station foreman Morris with great presence of mind promptly ordered the four stretchers and two boxes of ambulance appliances belonging to the railway company to be got out, and at 8.16 the telephone for all doctors and ambulance assistance it was possible to get, the message reaching our head· quarters at 8 20.

Fortunately five of my men were there at the time and they at once got out the horse-ambulance, filling it wiLh ten stretchers, six sets of splints, eight filled water bottles, four two ambulance hampers, over roo roller and triangular bandages, and hurricane lamp. Meanllhile Supt. C. i\icholson and horse arrived, and driving atfull gallop,.picking up Dr. Watson on the way, tbey reached the station, a mile di::it;mt, at ::>.30 p.m.

Drs. Audbn1 and Hollis arri\·ed at 8.33 p.m., followed in rapid sllccession by Drs Chrk, Morris, Fryer, Saunders, and myself, with other men, wheel litter, and a further supply of haITesacs, bandages, &c., which I had taken from our reserve stores.

The work of rescue and temporary t reatment of sufferers was set about with a will, and notwithstanding the terrible nature of the injuries and truly awful sllrroundings,the wounded were removed inan incredibly short time to the waiting rooms for further and more complete examination and treatment.

The np.ws of the disaster soon spread and not only brought a vast crowd on the scene but also a large number of private carriages, placed at our d isposal for the removal of the less injured to homes that were with the areatest kindness tbrown open to receive them.

Four serious cases were then sent on to Leicester in charge of four of my men, eight very seriolls ones were sen t on to rorthampton Infirmary by special train in charge of Dr. \Yatson and q of my men, beds having previously been telephoned for. .,

Fil·e cases were put up and well cared for at the statLOn-master s house· seventeen othe r cases-some of them very serious-were conveyed the following places of residence, \'iz.: Dr. Hollis, 2; Rev. i\.. R. Carr, 2; Dr Iorris, 2; Dr, Rliley, Station Hotel, 3; Mill Road 2 and Hind Hotels. This left us with Clark, whose case was bf the worst and most pathetic, and from :he very first appeared hopeless, Soon after midl11ght Dr. Audland ga \'e me IDstructlOns for mO\,ll1g this case to the home of i\urse Kay (our district nurse), for which purpose I told off eight men to carry the stretcher, this being the only way poss ble under the CIrcumstances, although the distance was half a mile. Although the IDJured 11mb was removed I regret to say ;\1iss Clark d :ed at +.25 a m

During the l1lght Drs. HollIS and vlslLed other seriOUS cases and 1 remained on duty \\"Jth five men alll1lght, ready for any emerge.ncy that might arise. After treatment of all these cases ·,7e had suffiCIent stores on the spot to treat as many more if necessary.

Saturday, 3 rd September.-Acting .on doctors' lYe redressed nine cases and despatched them to their homes at Leicester by the TO o'clock train. The remainder of the day, up to the departure of the 10.I6 p.m. train, Ivas pretty well taken up in assisting friends and relations in tracing the dead and injured.

The last case remaining here is that of the Rev. Gedge, \,Icar of Aylestone who is lyina at Dr. Hollis's home with a "ery bad fracture of the right femur and";;everal nasty cuts. It is thought by the doctor thaL this case cannot be moved for about a month

In all we dealt with 35 c<Jses of a more or less serious nature, and six of Lhese I regret t.o leport terminated fatally, the rem:linder it is now hoped by the medical authontles may recover.

As you will well understand, a disaster o! thIS magl11tude r.esulted 111 a great variety of in such. as of the bra 111, Simple an? compound fractures, spllle,.lImbs dre"dfully crushed and practically torn from the body, wounds, collapse, &c., &c. Appended to this report IS a .ltst of those Officers and .\Ien and ursina Sisters who rendered aSSistance, a.mongst whIch you Will find ;he of Chief Supt. F. Trenery of the Kettering Corps, to whom I am very grateful for the valuable help he gave. I have one stretcher broken through being tr,llll pled upon by the vast crowd tha " as presen t and O>1e missing, but this will no dou \:)t turn up before 100:g. I am very much indebted to I nspector Brown and the polIce under hIS command for the splendid assistance they gave. I can assure you that everyone engaged. in this sa.d and trying- work, rose to the highest conception of the duties devolVing upon then?, so assured that measure of success which is the true reward of duties faithfully perf.ormed.

T"h"TY ROLL :-Chief Supt. T H. Hilton; SuP.ts. C. N.lcholson and T. Gra\"ely; Staff-Sergts. C. Clayson, H FranCiS, Il Rlxon Sergt. E. Smeathers; Corporals R. Morns and H: HIllyard; B uolel W 'Francis; Cyclists D. Jefferies and J. R ogers; PrIvates E. Bosworth,

W. IIolmes, T. Dennis, G. Seabrook, A. Collins, J. Charlton, F. Wade, F. Line, \V. Roberts, F. Brawn, J. Durrant, G. Deacon, H. Underwood, G. Doug-las, A. King-ston, J. W. Coldicott, J. W Rogers, F. Wood, F. Marriott T. Abbott W. Bailey. H. \Vamick, J. Boon, G. Cox, C. Mason, G. Richa';dson, F Styles, G.-Smith, C. Topham, J. T. Curtis,. S. Taylor, E. Plowman, Jackson; Chief Supt F Trenery of C;orps ; Inspector Brown; Sergts. Powell and Judge.; P O. s RI?ley, Dlc.kl.ns, Fisher Powell Osborn, Brown, Reed; DIstrIct Turse h.ay; TurSIng Sister; Misses 'Pulley, \Vhitworth, A. V\'hitworth, J. Curtis, G. Turner, Lovatt Cox, Bolton, Morris.

The'seventh death from the disastrous accident on the Midland Railway at ,Vellingboro' took the Northampton General Infi.rmary on the 19th ult. The vl.ctlm IS Mr. James.Thomton, aged 71, boot and shoe manufacturer, LeIcester. He sustaIned fractures of the leO's broken ribs and a wound in the neck. He was removed to the 'night of the accident. IIis condition was regarded as hopeless at first, but he sho\yed such recuperatIve power that at one ti me it was thought possible he might recov.er. Towards the end of last week, however, he suffered a relapse, and dIed as already stat.ed. !he Midland Railway Company ha s sent a cheque fo; to the We.llIngborough A mbulance Corps for expenses In WIth the ad:ll1rable rendered by that body on the occaSlOn of the recent aCCIdent. YiSCOllnt Knutsford, director and chairman, presided at a meeting- of the committee of the St. J0hn Ambulance Association at St. John's Gate when Col. Bowdler, Commissioner ef the St. John Ambulance stated that he had received a report from its WellingbOI ough Corps of the services rendered on the occasion of the deplorable accident at \ VeJlingborough Railway Station. It appeared the ambu!an:e wag-gon belonging to the Corps and a large quantIty of materIal 111 charge of as many members as possible, who were summoned by elephone ar,d otherwise, arrived at the station within a quarter of an hour of the disaster, and were able to reneer the most valuable assistance in removina the dead and injured. Ample and very gratifying testimony to the utility of the services of the ambulance contingent has been voluntarily given by several of tbe local medical men, who state that they feel it highly satisfactory to the public to know that such complete appliances were in readiness at the head-quarters of the Corps, and could be so quickly brought into use on such an emergency.

$t. 30bn tlnlbulanc e 113ri ua be.

BRYNMAWR.-A well-attended meeting of ambulance men was held here on the 13th ult., when it was unanimously decided to form a divisiO:1 of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, Dr. G. H. Browne, J.P., was elected hon. surgeon amidst loud applause, also i\fr. R. P Adams was chosen as Superintenden t, a position he is well suited for; Mr. S T. Beard as 1st supernumerary officer and hon. sec.; Mr. VV. Phillips as 2nd supernumerary officer and storekeeper; Mr. B. Thomas as hon, treasurer, and the following ,,,ere selected to form a committee: M r. R. Lewis, Ur. H. Davies, Mr. T. J. Davies, and MT. D. T. Williams.

KESWI t.: K BRIGADE INSPECTIOx.-The annual inspection of the Keswick Division of the St. John Ambulance Brigade was held in the Parish Room, Keswick, on Tuesday, 13th September. The inspecting ofncer was Dep .ty Commissioner Trimble, of Preston, while the parade was Mr. G. Hogarth, Superintendent, in command, 1st officer J. 2nd Officer J. Cutts, Dr. Burnett, ho.n. surgeon, and I2 The men were put through stretcher drIll by 1st officer Gard1l1er, and they performed their task in a most admirable manner, drawing forth words of praise from Major Trimble. A viva vQce examination by thc Inspector was next gone through as regards fractures, bleeding, poisons, &c., and on the whole the answers given amply satisfied him. In a suort speech Dr. Trimble complimented the Division on having obtained uniforms which made the corps look a deal smarter in He the members would to give their in the cause of humanity and to bear III mInd the general pOInts necessary in first aid. He was glad to see such an improvement in the corps, and would be able to forward a favourable report of the inspection to head-quarters

.I!':SPEC!ION AT HALL-By kind

pe.rmlsslOn of Mr. Plckenng PhIPPS, J.P., the annual inspection of corps took place on Saturday, the loth ult., in the lovely and pIcturesque grounds of where the interesting operations of the corps were gone through 111 Ideal weather and in the presence of a large company of people. There were on parade 139 oijicers and men, including detachments i:om Wellir,gborough, Twywell, Cranford, Rushton, and Rothwell, whIlst there were also a number of nursinO' sisters from Rothwell The corps were under the command of Ohief

F. T. Trenery: and the inspecting officers were SurgeonLIeutenant Colonel G. S. EilIston, V.D. (the Deputy-Commissioner of the Eastern and Central District) anci Assistant Commissioner T. H. \Voolslon, of Northampton. Amongst tho .=;e present were the Rev. W. H. Dennett (Twywell), hon chaplain' Dr. Gibbons (Desborough) pr. Allison (Kettering), Dr. (Roth'well), hon surgeons; mtendent O. W. Supenntendent T. A. Simpson (Ketterin a )

First Officer Orulckshank (Rushton), Chief Superintendent T.

AID. [Octoher, 1898.

(Vi'elling-boro u gh), Nursing Sister Whitney (Northampton), Nursing Sister Gravely (Welling-borough), Superintendent T. Gravely, StaffSergeants Clayson, VV. E. Edwards, and ll. Francis, Cycle-Sergeants

E. Smeathers and Wilson (Wellingborough), Staff-C:ergeants Savage and II. ,"Viimott, Cleaver, Few, and Shawley (Kettering), The inspection took place on the lawn.

SHEFFIELD REVTE\\'.- The first demonstrati)n of ambulance work on a large scale :1.11d in the open air in Sheffield was held on Saturday, loth ult. Nearly 800 members gathered from various parts of the Midlands, aSEem bled in the grounds of the Farm, and gave a public display of their skill in the of first aid treatment in the presence of a medical representative of the vVar Office. Mr. Wardell, Deputy Commissioner, commanded the Tibshelf Corps, wh ich mustered 120 strong with the band, all the members being in un i form. He is an enthusiastic supporter of the ambulance movement and we understand that he organised the revIew. The different corps m u stered on the Cattle Market on Saturday afternoon, and proceeded to the Farm, headec by the Tibshelf company and band. The other contingents which were accompanied by bands were Velbeck, Birchwood, Eastwood, and Cammell's Spring Department. In the rear followed ambulance vans belonging to the following companies: VVelbeck, Cammell '5, Cyclops Cyclops Spring Department, T Firth & Sons, John Brown & Co., Vickers, Sons & :\Iaxim, Brown Bayleys, and \V. Jessop & Sons; John Crowley &. Company brought a hand van. On arriving at the Farm the men took up a position in a large enclosure in the paddock. Here a .ent hospital had been tixed, containing beds for the treatment of wounded and furni shed with a staff or nurses, wearing the uniform of the St. John :Ambulance Association, hailing from T ibshelf and Ilull. On the arrival of Colonel-Surgeon Gubbins, of the Army Medical Department, the reviewing officer, a \'ery full programme of ambulance work was gone through. The demonstration was brought to a conclusion by a march past of the whole of the corps. Col.-Surg. Gubbins, in addressing the Corps, said he would have liked to have seen all the men in uniform, as the pos ses sion of uniforms was an incentive to discipline, anci tended to increase the interest of the members in the work. He suggested that the medical officers should copy the example of their brethren in the Army, and be able to do every branch of the work, instead of conforming themselves to the technical part. The arrangements in the bospital wele admirahle, and he congratulated the corps on the ambulances and the way in which they were horsed. He wished other districts would seek to obtain organisation equal to that which he had seen that day. Theirs was the largest corps outside London, and he would like to see Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, &c., following suit. Taking the display on the whole, it was extremely satisfactory, and he had no dvubt that in the event of war the Government would be glad of the servi ces of those whom he had reviewed. He concluded by complimenting the nurses and 1\1r. 'Vardell on the forward position of ambulance work in his district. Among those present were the Rey. E. E. Morris (Chaplain of the Tibshelf Company), the Rev. A. Cotton (chaplain of the Birchwood company), Mr. John Furley and ,\11'. II. Woodruffe. Mr. y\Tardell was in charge of the arrangements, and was assisted by Mr. P. Ratcliff (of Tibshelf) and ;\11'. F. Batty (secretary of theannual ambulance competitions in Sheffield) In the absence, through illness, of Mrs. "'ardell, Mrs. Laverack, of Hull, was in charge of the hospital. The g-round was kept by men of the Artillery Volunteers under Captain A. F. Clifford.

COUPON TICKET

SPECIALLY GUARANTEED BY

The Ocean Accident & Guarantee Corporation,

L IMITED

4 0 , 42, & 44 , MQO RGATE STREE T LONDON , E. O

to whom Notice of Claims, under the followiIlg conditions, must be sent within seven clayti of accident to the above address.)

£ 100

will be paid by the above Corporation to thp- legal representative of anyone who is killed by an accident to the PasRcngE'I' '1'rain (within the United Ki11O'dom or Channel Islands), ill which the dec'cased ,ms a tic)wt bearing Or paying passengCI', or who shall have been fatally ill.jured thereby (shoulcl death result wlthJllllmety days after such accident). PROV ID E D that the person so kiHe<l or injUJ'ed had upon bis 01' her person, or ha.clleft at home this ticket, with his, 01' 1:1:1', usual signatUl'e, written priOlO to tbe n.ccldent, ontl1espace PTovic!ecl below! which, together with the giving of notIce wlthm the time as herellllJelore meutloned. is the essence of this contract

Th e Trade will be supplied by Mr. F. BRETT, 5, Pilg r i m Street, Ludgate H i ll.

PUBLISHER'S NOTICE.-In consequence of the dema nd for back numbers, the Publi sher has to g i ve notice that the price of any bark number prev ious to the current year, will in future be 2d. As the stock of some of them is very limi:ted, it would be well for those of our readers who wish it, to complete their sets without delay.

jJ3re\1ities.

THE Sch oo l Board for London is advertising in the medical papers fo r medica l men to app ly as lecturers on First Aid and N u rsing , at the remuneration of £3 3s. for a course of six l ectures, each lasting two hours. As the result of an application for a form, the following was received ;-

N.B,- This Form mmt be filled up and forwarded at once to the Clerk, School Board for London, Victoria Embankment, \V.e. SCHOOL BOARD FOR LONDON, EVENI:-.lG CONTINU .HIO:\' SCHOOLS. Form of Application for the post of Instructor it: First Aid and Home Nursing. Salary £3 3s. per course of SlX fortl11ghtly lessons of about two hours' duration.

I. Kame, Age and Address (in full) I

2,\\ hat Medical Degrees or quali - I fi cations do you possess?

3. What public appointments, if I any, do you hold?

+, expe:ience you had i 111 teachll1g pupIls an.d p.reI paring them for exammatIOI1 by the St. John Ambulance Association in I (a) First Aid (0) Home Nursing (lndicate £11 bolh ll1s!mlces the chss of Students whom you hrwe I tallght). ....!...

S· Any further information you I may desire to give 6. Rde;'ences (not more than three I in numbe r ) -

CanvassinO' for these appointments, either personally or by letter, will '" be considered a disqualification.

COPlES of not more than three testimonials should accompany this application.

In our opi n ion t his is a gross on t h e pa rt of a public b od y t o cu t down t h e. legIt Imate due to a medica l lec tur e r. Th e r ecog l11 sed fee has h Ithe r to bee n a guinea, a n d th e r e is n o r easo n ·why t h e pr?fession should b e sw eate d in thi s m a nn e r. The q u estIOns o n the ap pli ca ti o n fo rm ar e so m ew h a t pec uli ar. It o u ght no t to m a k e an y di ffe r e nc e t o th e S c h oo l B oar d as to t h e

degrees of the medical man, provided he be registered. How can public appointments be of any consequence?

R eferences have to be given and also testimonials to besent. T hey might just as well ask for the family pedigree and whether the app licant is a vegetal'ian, or has his daily bath, or any other absurd question The whole thing is degrading, and we sincerely hope that no medical man connected with the St. J ohn Ambulance Association or the B rigade wi ll h ave anyth ing to do with it. In our next issue we sha ll h ave something to say as to the effect it wi ll h ave on t h e Assoc iat ion. *

VVE unders t and that lately the question has arisen as to the exact meaning of First Aid, the point being as to whethe r it includes what is called the redressing of injuries. Mr. Sam. Osborn has written defining it, and it seems to us that his definition is pretty complete. R edressinO' can onlv be carried out in stations that are more or l eoss pe r manent, and it seems advisable to preyent them being t u rned into small hosp ital or otherwise the doctors wou ld be up in arms.

1RaiIwa\? tlccibent near

NINE PERSO:\fS KILLED AND MANY INJU R ED. DEFICIENT AMBULANCE ASSISTANCE. AN appalling disaster occu rred near Junction on the 17th ulL, to the Great Central RaIlway Company s express from Cleethorpes to ;\Ianchester. The train, which was only a light one, left Cleethorpes at ten minutes to fi\'e p m. It passed through Barnetby Station without stopping, and Junction aboUt. twenty minutes past five p.m. at a rate of sIxty mIles an hOUT. At thIS spOt a heavy goods train, laden with timber, being on the ,Ioopline to Lincoln, So far as can be as certall1ed a portIOn of the tImber 0.1 one of the trucks projected over on to the main line, and this fouled the express. The spectacle presented one of the u.tmost destruction and confus:on. Amid the mass of debns were buned a number of passengers, six of w hom were found to have been killed. The officials from Barnetby speedily reached the spot, and a pro:nptly dispatched to the district superintendent Gnmsby, asklDg hIm to send a speci:.ll with all the loc t! doctors pOSSIble. These were summoned by special messengers, and .within half-an-hour of the catastrophe the relief train lef: Grimsby WIth Drs Bruce, Stephe.lson, Soulsby, and Simpson. DI. French of B..unetby, and Drs. Russell and Powers, of Brio-O' were also cOlwe;'ej to the scene by another" special." At halfthe first" ,;peci:ll" \Yith eight of the injured arrive.d. Grimsby. In response to a telegram from the of the twenty special beds had been prep :tr.ed, but the GnmS?y officlals allowed the public access to the stallon, and when thIS tram drew up the platform was crowded with spectators The consequence was that a , 'ery unfortun:1.te delay occurred 111 removll1g the sufferers. There was also a lack of ambulances, and, as indicating the state of confusion which prevailed, it may be mentioned that only ambulance was in ,,·aiting. An attempt was made to remm e the IIlJured by means of hand-carts, upon which a mat.ress had been placed,. the groans ?f the sufferers and the pre5sing crowd, whose CUrIosIty to theIr hampering the officials at every point, gave the whole affaIr a :nos rough and ready appearance. One poor. fell?w, who was unconscIOUS, was terribly b:lttered about the he.ad, whIlst III the brake van could be seen a man and bis wife-both eVIdently of the humble class-hujdled too-ether and cry i nO' aloud with aaony Outside the station cabs were in and after inten'a the inj ured :vere : e moved to the hospital. S hortly after eight o'clock another speCIal, WIth half-

3f)

FIRST A I D. LNovember , 189 8.

;J.-dozen injured, arrived at Grimsby in ::t brake, under the charO'e of Drs. Stephenson, Soul?y, and The officials had not by the forn:er (a.ccordll1g to the P;ess Association), and the crowd had 10 the mcreased The mjured were considerably worse thar. the former arnvals. A Gnmsby correspondent states the

:a.ilway officials there made good preparations for the reception of lhe Injured, and the lack 0/ am bul,wce accommodn.tion was to a great extent remedIed on the amval of the second traiil. At the pr?mpt measures. were taken to meet the emergency, the board rooUl bemg converted ll1to a ward.

C!\?cle Bnlblllance.

:November, 1898. J FIRST $cbenle for a 1Lonbon R111bulance $er"ice.

Tile Critic is· taking up this matter and has an article in the issue of October 8th, from, which the followina parap;raph is taken :_ c

"vVith a view to disco\-ering approximately the number of people who meet with accidents or sudden illness in the )letropolitan area, requiTing immediate skilled ambulance treat111ent, I haye had enquir ies made at all the lartre London hospitals, whose admirable work: is so serioLlsly by the a bsence of a well-oraanised system of fir:-t aiel and sick transport. C

"Thus, I have obtained the following remarkable figures :-

HOSPITAL.

Charing Cross

Great N orLhern Guy's King';; College London

Jliddlesex Poplar Roya l Free Hospital

St. Bartholomew's S1. :'Iary's St. George's University Westminster

West London St. Thomas's

A I D. 37

To the Editor of FIRST AID.

Sm,-You have manifestly gi "en so much mature consideration and care tc the you.d,afted in the September issue of I; IRST AID, that you render diSCUSSIOn almost unnecessary.

I have n:ade several to supplement or modify your scheme, and ha.ve found eIther that your alternative is better or that the modIficatIOn IS already suggested in another form.

Will you then accept my congrat',lations and sincere wishes for a successful issue?

There can .doubt, I t.hink, that the only body having the necessary a<;lml11Istrat1ve powe r IS the London County Council. I am n ot an admIrer of the London County Council but still less am lone of those who so unjustly hold it '1)) to ridicule."

, had the advama.ge of discussing your scheme with a member of thls.body. He admItted its desirability, but not its pressing neces.s1ty. He assured me, h'Jwever, that he would g \'e his support if OCCJ.SlCln. el'er arose.

DETAILS.

Accident and Emergency (including r8+ in-patients)...

C'asualties

Casu;,tlties, 48,387; Accidents (inpatients), r ,052

Oasualties

Accidents (in-patients), 7,009 ;

Casualties : ;\Iedical, 4+,2g7; Surgical, 58, 7gr

Surgical, out-patients ,, ilhout leller

Casual lies

Casualties

Casualties

Casualties: :'lediral, 8+,000; Surgical, H,oOO

Acciden ts and Surgical Casualties

Casualties [\ccidents, 6,630; Medical cases, 2,97+ 1\ 0 figures given [\ccidenls (in-patients) [ :\fo record of Casualties]'

This is an enormous total; but, so as to avoid the suspicion of exaggeration, I must point out that not all these are new cases .' Many of the entries are, doubtless, duplicates; that is to say, cases in which persons have been treated more than once for the same injury or illness."

In another article in the issue of October 22nd, the Editor adopts the scheme advocated in this Journal, with some slight modification. All those interested should obtain these numbers and carefully read them The following is the last paragraph ;--

Up to the present the on Iy use to which the cycle has bee t regards f am?ulance ,:ork, is the rapid transport of scene ° actlO n. ThIs, of course, is no small advantaO'e Not onl does n:ore quickly, but the men are in f!trendenng- l.t than If they arri\'ed "at the double."

The dImll1 utlOn of " jar" ensured b the ness bof move men t, and e proPfehe '. make the cycle an ideal instrument for the ea's y ran sport 0 t. e SIck and wounded.

s At thJ To.urnament one occasionally sees a cyclist corps uppose 0 e retreat1l1g under fire, carrying wounded comrades on hurdles are ba anced between t\\"o machines placed fore a.n a ,an ale on the saddle pin and handle bar res ec-

So precanous a mode of transit can only be J'ustified b d P I ate CIrcumstances, y espe-

'When a serious attempt is made to carr th I mto ordinary practice the path is f d Yb·e cyc e Idea difficulties. ou n to e strewn WIth unforeseen h as we illustration of "cycle ambulance for use in ;he e1 md1cates the first successful attempt to cope with e pro em. t IS successful to a limiteci extent only strain on , " 1me , moreover,

unless.the steered with the utmost parallelism there must of be SIde pull on one wheel which miaht buckle the rim or IS ocate the tyre and b kd E'" r" " so cause a rea o\\'n. ven grant1l1g that lerel n.dll1g, and very slow progress would diminish this risk ele st! rema1l1S the great objection that the cyclists are depend en; sources for the supplying of the neces sary litter Unlil this 1 c:u ty. as been .surmounted the cycle can never attai'n a leadin a POS1 tlOn 111 the servIce. "

a have goO? grounds for believing, bowever, that the difficulty is c, pa de of For some months past Dr. Eltles has been engage IS problem, and his designs successful on a er are noll' the tests of experience and practice. If the is satis1 y "e hope to .lay before our readers a method by which twO cyc IStS can travel SWIftly and d d I i 1 th' I' T ,111 epen ent y to any gIven spot carry' e.lr his is then affixed to the machines much in the way and they can pr?ceed to the hospital without that f h y cycle carnes the stretcher portion, sa oth ,1 compamon sustall1ed a puncture or similar accident the proceed on the way with the necessary aid and of

We si ncerely trust that he will be successf I f revolutionisin 0' of the 1'61e of th I' u, or success means the dO. e cyc e ll1 a:n.bulance work and a O'reat s ep owar s the effiCient service of outly in g districts.

"This is a matLer which comes very near to every Londoner; he is, if seized with sudden illness or the \"ictim of accident, absolutely at the mercy of the good-nat ur ed bungler who cares to se ize upon hir11. K<;en if the guarantee of immediate skilled treatment in of need should cost double the £ 150,000 estimated as necessary for the preliminary organisation and treble the £+0,000 per annum suggested as the cost of maintenance and development, I do not think the average ratepayer would grudge tbe outlay. He already pays large sums for reading-rooms and museums which he does not always frequent, for parks which he seldom visits, for bands that do not irresistibly a ttract him, for baths which he does not often enter and many other public purposes, all good in their way, but each intirnately affecting a section only of the population An efficient ambulance service is as necessary as a gas supply or a fire brigade; and no one can possibly supply it for himself. Thus it becomes a pu blic concern.

I, In future articles I shall go further into the financial question, deal with any objections raised and attempt to conciliate certJin coteries of possible opponents "

Your suggestion for beginning at the pOpUhI 3 within the four mile would, pointed out, bel more likely to be adopted; leavll1g the evolutIon to the nature of the public rquirements as guaged by the work of the tentative or initial organization. regard to the duties, think it might be well to le ssen the ngIdlty of NO.3. by addIng" unless directed by the goverrrin a body." is not at all impro?able when a sufficient unprotect:d populatlon shall have come 1I1to bemg, London will have meted out to it the same terri ble object lesson as the" conscientious objector" obtained for Gloucester in 1896.

A fierce epidemic of small pox tax: the :'Ietropolitan Asylums Board far beyond Its transport abIlllles, and am sure that neither the medical profession nor the volunteers for ambulance sel'vice, imbued with the traditions of the noble Order of St. John, would desert their posts if great public calamity demanded their services.

On the question of complete telephonic communication, I am quite at one with you. .AlI the Metropolitan Fire Brigade call points and alarm posts are bemg fitted with telephonic commur.ication, and if the L.ondon County Council were the controlling body, it would not be difficult to arrange for these to be utilised for ambula.nce calls as well. This would at once largely reduce the initial cost.

Your electric motor ambulance wagon is an excellent idea. In less densely populated neighbourhoods, however, a covered litter mounted on a pneumatic ty red tricycle '",ould be serviceable and quite suffi cient. Nowadays one is familiar with th e sight of tricycle carts quickly and easily transporting loads far heavier than the heaviest patient. The operator, sitting behind, would have patient and steering under easy observa tion, a single skilled attendant is then sufficient.

It has been suggested to me by a surgeon (practicing in the suburbs) that such an organisation would entrench on the practices of the neighbouring medical men. This is not my experience. Having been eight years in practice in the city, in the centre of heaviest traffic, and, by means of the telephone exchange, being at the call of all the great business firms , r can truly say that accidents on the whole do I/ot payin a pecuniary sense All the members of the public insist on the immediate attendance and service of a surgeon, but, when his duties are fulfilled, no one, as a rule, feels respon s ible for his fee. Indeed a modest request is often regarded as evidence of a grasping spirit incompatible with their ideas of medical duty. :\loreover, as I pointed out, it is not contemplated that every case shall be removed to hospital. Trusting that you will command my services if they are of the slightest use,-I am, Sir, yours faithfully,

ETTLES, :\1.D.

qr, Minories, City. gth October, 1898

To the Editor of FIRST AID.

Sm,-I haye recently read with great interest and pleasure your proposed scheme for the organisation of a set of ambulance stations in London , where at any hour accidents can be attended to, and the removal of patients to the hospital can be effected in a safe and proper manner, and not left as it is now in inexperienced hands who may conve rt simple accidents into cases of a severe nature.

This is a wn.nt sorely needed in London, and I do not think I am using too strong a term when I say it amounts almost to a thn.t we should be behind-hand in the treatment of our street aCCidents when such cities as New York, Paris and Vienna (where the traffic is not to be compared to ours in extent) have a properly managed s.eries of stations wbere attention is paid within a few minutes to any accident or sudden illne.3s. I take it that in the proper conveyance of the iujured person to their home or hospital lies the principal part of the treatment of any accident; once arrived at the destination a surgeon will in either case attend to the injury, but during the transit from the scene of accident, much mischief may and often does occur.

From my own experience as a man pract.ising in. a crow,ded suburb of London, I may state that on many occaSIOns senous aCCidents haye occurred in which the pa tient has been roughly thrown on to some cart (OontinllIJcZ on page 38.)

THE GERMAN CYCLE AMBULANCE. :: [By kind permission oj the" Illustrat ed London J.Ye LCs."

FIRST AID .

NO VElJIBER 1. 1898.

La st month we had great pleasure in THE making some favourable remarks on GIUl\ISBY ambulance arrangements connected ,vIth ACCIDE:'-IT. the railway accident at Wellingboro', showing the advantages to be deri\'ed from the presen ce of a trained body of men. such as enrolled in the St. John Ambulance Bngade. ThI S month is our duty to comment somewhat unfavourably on the absence of tho se ar r angeme nts at the recent acc ident at Grim s by.

It appears that on the 17th ult., an ex press tr:lin ,vas caught by the timber pr ojecting from a goods which completely wrecked a portion of the carnages, causina- the deaths of nine perso n s, and injuri es to man y more. b I t is sa d to relate that amongst other thing s, there was a a-reat sca rcity of ambulances, handcart s, cabs and ot h e r being u se d, and eve n when the injur ed persons were r em.o\'cd from the relief trrtin at Grim sby, the organislltion was so lax that great difficulty wa s experienced in lifting the wounded from the train. The method of tran sporting the patie11ts to the local ho sJ: ital to say the le as t, was not one usually employed by firstaiders, and we si ncerely trust that 5uch an exhibition of how ambulanc e Ivork ought not to be carried out will never occur again.

vVe have no wish to say anything to hurt the feelings of the officials who were in charg e at Grimsby, for it is quite p oss ible that the muddle was not their fault, owing to their n ot having been sufficiently instructed as to what they ought to do on such occasions., but we should like to draw the attention of the travelling public to the fac t that the directors on this line evidently do not pay much regard to ambulance work.

It has often been sta ted that accidents will bappen n otwithstanding all human precauti on s, and it is much better for the railw ay companies of their own accord to provide plant and to have their e mploy es in struct ed in the principles of fir st aid than to have compulsion applied to them by Acts of P arliam ent Let those companies who have not yet fallen into line take this word of warning , and immediat ely set to work t o remove the blot.

SCHEME FOB, A LO -DON AMB U LANCE SERVIOE. (Oontinlledj?'o1n 3 7.) or vehicle by some well inte ntion ed members of the cro \\ d be fore e ith er the police o r a surgeon could be ca lled for.

Aga in unle ss the acc de nt resolves it self into a "police call" a surg on a t rresent has great difficulty in obtainincr a n ambulance stretc h er from the police station. <:>

!hese facts which are apyare nt to m.edical men every day in L ondon , POlllt to redress qf grIevances wlnch may affect anyone tra\'elling 111 our crowded thoroughfares

Sir, the Am bulance Scheme which you propose to carry Il1to force IS not alone and practicable, but is absolu ely necessary to the safety and well-beIng of the pub li c at lar ge.

,If your scheme should 1 have no doubt it w ill if only bIOught before the authO:ltles for the adopt on of any plan for the safety of the publIc, we sh al l see befo re ong a ser es of statio n s all ove:crLondon, much th e S:lme principle as our sp lendid fire brIqade,. when wlthlll a few mll1utes any acc iu e nt can be attended t o If Sefl?US, can be removed sa fely and com fo rt ab ly to either the hospItal or pnvate house.

I am, Si r, y ours fa ithfully

GEORGE D WI LSON, L.R.C .P .,' L.R.C.S Edin.

I to th ank Dr. Ettles for his flalteriug expression of 0p11110n,. ther e are some points in his letter which requl re notIc e . I can hardly believe that disc ussion is unnecessary, I thillk the more we have the better. I am pleased to see that the County Councillor approved of

[November, 1898,

the idea and would vote for it when required. lIe admits its advisability but not its pressing neces sity. Does he actually maintain that there is no pre ssing nece ss ity when there are about Lt,OOO or 13 ,000 cases of acc ident s and sudden illne ss in our street s, while doub le or treble the number in docks, worksh op, &c., almost all of them r ece iving no skilled treatm ent either in the sha pe of fir s t aid or transport? If ther e is no nece ss ity now I don t se e how it will ari se in the future. The tricycle ambulance see ms a good idea and worth considering.

I am sorry that Dr. Ettles' friend has not wr it ten giving hi s rea so n s fo r thinking an arr:bulance se rvice would entrench on the practIce of th e neIghb our. ina- medical men. Personally I do not see how it would blrt if any of my medical brethren think so, I wish would write.

I fully endorse the remarks of Dr. Ettles and Dr. \Vil so n about accident5. It mu st be remembered that the p o lice only pay when they se nd for a doctor, if the doctor offers hI S se rvices there is '10 fee.

Out of a nUlnb e r of letter s I select that of Dr. vVil sOll, because he see ms to belong to that class of med ical practitioners whom the propo se d ambulance senice would affect, not I hope to their disadvantage.

One gen tleman writes, that the m o tor wagon would be a snare ani a delusion, it is a rattling whirling COI1· triYance and would pr o bably break down. I quite agree that a motor wag o n of that kind would be unsuit able but I am informed that motor wagon s can be huilt dey oid of those un amiable peculiarities.

A great authority on ambulance work writes to me that " the great expense attending the initiati on o f such a scheme is the great obstacle." I b ow with great deference to this opinion, and agree that the ex pen se is it s great obstacle,;but it seems to me tbat its great obstacle is not that but some thing viz., the ignor ance of the public as to tbe facts of the the lack of intere't shown by the le a der s of publi c opinion, and the opp osi. tion both pa ss iYe and actiYe, of certain indiYiduals . All of these, I hop e in time , to break down and o\-ercom e.

H EATO N C. HOWAR D.

'UUlbat is H jft l' st B ib 1 "

l\lR. SAl\!uEL OSBORN writes :-To pre\'ent the remedia l assistance of first aid passing beyond its bounds anu encroaching up o n remedial treatment, I h ave found i t desirable, as w e ll as necessary, to define what first aid really consists of.

As this definiti on might be o f u se to many of your r eade rs, I h erewith enclose the sa me :-

Novemb er, 18 98 .J FIRST <Ba Il er\?

EDWARD ATKH\SON, ESQ., F .L.S. , M.R.C.S. Eng. CHAIRMAN LEEDS CENTRE ST. JOHN AMBULA?\,CE ASSOCIATIO:,(,

CONSULTING SeRGEON TO THE LEEDS I:\FIR:\IAl<Y.

1-'HI S month lye - are pleased to give a sketch of the career of an eminent Yorkshire Surgeon.

Atkin son was born at Leeds in 1829, and educated at the Leeds Grammar School. Hepassed tbruugh t h e professional curriculum at King's College, London. and became House S u rgeon of King's College Hospital in 185-+, after a voyage to Indi a in charge of troops

On the outbreak of war \vith Ru ssia, h e volunteered for se n -ice in th e Crimea. and was appointed on staff of the British Ciyil H osp it al at Smyrna, whence h e went forward to Scutari H ospi t al.

At the p eace in 1836, he accepted th e post of Surgeon to the En g li sh H ospita l at Jerusalem. where he also took charge of the Hospital of .th e Prussian Deaconesse. These dutie s occ upi ed him for four years, when he returned t o England at the end of I 860, entered into privat e practice with his uncl e 111". Hey.

Shortly after, he became connected \\'ith the Leeds S chool of M ed icin e, of which h e was tw ice elected President, wh ere h e lec tur e d fo r 25 years, the la st 11 on Surgery, r es igning hi s lecture sh ip on the sc ho ol being incorporat ed with th e York sh ir e C ol lege

In 187 -+ h e w as elected Surgeon to th e L eeds G en era l Infirmary, a po st which he filled for 20 years, and wlIerc he followed in footsteps of hi s uncl e a nd \, ·or t hily maintained an hon o urable reputation as an ope r a tin g s urgeon

only as an Examiner, but as Chairman , by hi s great judgme nt and expe ri e nc e, been the ri ght hand of th e H on(wary Secretary on the many occasions when he has b ee n appea led to,

As an Honorary Associate of the Order, no one has better earned that recognition of valuable scnTices in furthering the objects of the Order than 1lr. and with such a record as that giyen aboyc for an example, we hope tha t the younger medical men will strive t o emulate him. \ Ve trust that )'1r. Atkinson's great and yalued se rvices will long be retained for the Leeds Centr e

JBcboes frotn Bbroab.

Hearty congratulations to Capitaine F. :\Ialezon, P resident of the Life Saving Society of the Rhone, on :ecent marriage

Clement Gairaud, Director of'\he Annuaire Illustre of Venezuela, who is a staunch friend of Life Saving Societies, has been selected as cfficial delegate of the :\linistry of Commerce, Inuustry and Agriculture of the United States of Venezuela, and in this capacity was elected 'ice-Pres id ent of the International Maritime Congress in France, on which occasion 1'1. Cacheux, one of tl:e founders of the Secouristes Francais Ambulance Society was also present. questions of interest were fully discussed and satisfactorily dealt with * *

We learn that ;\Tr. A. Poncerot of the Ambulance Committee of the Hospital Saturday Fund and Hon. :\lember of seyeral Life Saving and Ambulance Societies in France, has just been elected a :\Jember of Honour of the Life Saving Society of the and has recei,'ed the diploma and insignia of the Society in recognition of his valuable services ill the ca u se of humanity.

*

A communication has been received by C. Kusel, the official represel.tative in England of the of d,ll Royaume de Belgique, of which His the h.IDg of the 15 president, stating that at a recent ?f the Fed eratIOn It was decided to confer a special diploma and I.nsl.glll.a ?n ladles as :'IIembers of Honour of the Federation. The new Illslgnla IS to be presented to Kusel :\lrs. Gamble :'IIiss Fox, and to .'.Irs. Church Brasier. Lady Superintendent St. Gate Nursing Di\'ision, St. John Ambulance Brigade. * *

From across the water since return haye come kindly references anent the recent visit of French and Belgian Fire Brigade Officers to the Fire Camp at Blenheim. From the JOllrnal des SajJeltrs POmpltIrS of September 18th, we quote the As we ca:ne on parade ground the steamer had been stopped oWing to an ",·hleh ha.d happened, the man in charge of the branch had let It escape from hIS hold, and revolving violently it had struck another man on, the leg, breakincr it· this enabled the £\.mbular.ce Department to do ItS duty, which the did in a most efficacious and interesting manner. Our heartiest congratulations are due to these self den ying and humane ambulance members." * .:'

"

First aid co n s sts in the immedi ate r e li e f of suffering and the tern· porary dressing of all injuries sufficie n t to e n ab le the suffere to proceed to wh ere a uth orita tive advice can be obtai n ed from som e qualified medical man, or to remain on the spot, when remova l is unju stifi able, un ti l that advice can be obtai ned. "

Under th i s comprehe nsi ve definition the arrest of hremorrhage, tbe tern porary appl cat on of sp lints o fract ure s, the first dressing of burns and the appl:cation of antiseptic dressing to wounds would take fi rst place.

Imm ediate ass istance would incl ude the resuscitation of the appar· ently dead, and the first succo u r requisite in cases o f poisoning or fits

Th e imm ed i:lte rel ief of s uffering w o uld include the giving done dose of medicine for diarrhoca, col c or other severe pain, as well as for shock co ll apse, o r temporary failure of the heart' s ac ti o n.

No redressing of wou nd s o r inj nries, n or operati ve inte rference of any kind is her e in cluded; in fact , th e s urgi ca aid is limited to what would be d o n e by bearers at the front o n a battlefield before the injured are· se n t t o the base or sta ti o n h os pi ta l for final redr es5 ing and surgically approved treatmen t.

An eminent m embe r of the medical profess on sa ys on th e subject:

« Th ere is n o doub: that a sha rp line mu st be drawn between fi, st aid and medical treatment, anu if Mr. O sbo rn can n. ss s t in building up a strong wall between them, he will deserve well of the profession and the public."

lVIr. Atkin son always claimed for hi s profession the highest standard, and hi s influence was eyer u sed to maintain re spect for its dignity as well as for purel y profes sional honour. In this hi g hl y important re ga rd he has set an example t o the younger members of t h e profes sion.

It was about the sa me time (1 87 -+) that th e work of the Order of St. J oh n commenced, and Mr. Atkinson was the first rn ed ica l officer wh o became interested in the work when started in Leeds. He taught a number of th e earlier cl asses and ha s been ey er since connected with the local centre as an Examiner, and as its fir s t Chairman. Indeed, for so me ye ars, when the Examining Staff was s mall, Mr. Atkinson und e rt oo k examinations in all parts of the N o rth of England, until his professional engagement s nece ssi tat e d him confining his services to the Leed s Ccntre, to which, and the Order of St. John, he has r end e r ed very great se rvice.

Hc holds the high es t r espect and appreciation of interested in the t eac hing of" Firs t Aid" and the nursing of the sick and inj ured oyer the very exten sive district which the Leeds Centre has worked, and has, not

Th e Journal de Cuelt has a lengthy article written by Capt. :\Ii gnot, the esteemed Chief of the French FederatIon, we \\'Ish.our space permit of ou r printing it in [u.ll for it proves how EnglIsh a nd French Firen1en are kmt together, we v.enture el to quote one or two extracts [n the course of hIS artIcle :\Ilgnot :" On the l+th August, we went to Charing O.ross StatIon to receIve the BelCTian Officers after which we were entertamed by l\IaJor Fox of.. the Salvage' Corps, after visiting se ·eral of the Salva,ge StatIOns we proceeded on our journey to Oxford. On the follOWIng ?ay we visited Blenheim arriyinl< there at II a,m., when we were by Col. Sea brooke, was accompanied Dixon CaptaIns l?yson. Folker, Gardner, Tinne, &c., and Chu.rch Brasier. Never shall we forget the cordial wn.y In whIch we "ere received in true comradeship true frienus met, happy to see each ?ther once m:J;·e and Lo spend a little time together Later on the preSIdent of the Engl sh Union, His Grace the Duke ot :\I arlborough, ,.on the parade ground and we were introduced to hIm, then the engme dIll!s commenced After luncheon we paid a "isit. to the palace.' where Grace the Dukeof :'IIarlborough received us 111 a,lllost mannel ami in vited us to lunch on the following day. \\Te tl:en the Ambulance Station and were introduced to the bj the Bricrade Chief Superintendent 1'1r. Church BI:asler, whose Wife Su "'erintendent. This lady had already cordrallywek011led the lenc , IS96 \V e visited the ambulance tents, sn.w the \l agon and II emen Il1 < II N' d \ 'e went to the material, anu we were most With a : ,.ext Dk l\l a rlpalace to lun cheon and were recel vell by HI S GI ace tell e 0

FIRST

borollQ" h and by th e Duchess. Her Grace is a charming lady and exqu site ling-uist, and the com'ers1t on under her guiuance was general. In the e,'ening we dined at the Officers :'II ess, His Grace anu in the course of his speech silid his sympathy was with English ana Foreign Firem en. Other speeches were made and healths were drunk. The French and Belgian Officers thanked their hosts and agreed that for firemen there ",a, po nationality. On IVedn esday the Re\·iew before the nobl e president took place, [hen the prizes were graciousl y presented by ITer Grace the Duchess. After the distribution ,ye paid our farewell respects to the Duke and Duchess, and left Blenheim charmed with reception which had been accorded to us, and wbich once more proved that Firemen, of whatever nation they belong to, are brethren. On Thursday we arri \'ed a!<ain in L o::don, and paid a vi sit to Mr. Gamble, of the M.F.B., wh ::>se sympathy with the Fren ch and Belgian Firemen is proverhial. IV e afterwards entertainedat luncheon at tbe Cafe Royal our comrades, after whi ch we adjourned to Kusel's, that energetic and indefatigable friend of all firemen of the :world. It is to him th1.t we owe the friendly relations whi ch unite u s all, and tend to link us still more closely, if possible, every year. ,..\fterwards we visited the Alhambra, where by the delicate attention of Maj or F ox, the orchestr::t playcdlthe "i\brseillaise," which the audience listened to standing; and then, as everyth in g has an end in this world-even the most pleas..1.nt th ingsand ?s the best friends must part, we reluctantly bade eac h other farewell, and fixed P aris, in I9 0o, as our next happy rendezvou s.

St. 301)tl Rtnblliance Bssociation.

H ALL.-On the afternoon of Sunday, October 16lh, in spite of the b:ld weather, about twenty-five members of the H ome Hygiene Class at T ovnbee H all, visited the Food Collection at the Bethna Green :\I useum r Science and Art Deparlment). They were accomp:l.l1ied by Dr. Ettles, le ct urer on Hom e Hygiene, 1\1r. Stamm, lecturer on Chemical Physiology., and by Dr. Colman, lect urer on Ambulance, :'vletrop olit.1ll Fire Brigade. As" food" had formed the subject of the lecture on the previous Friday, the contents of the cases were very instructive and examined with the greatest interest. [T his is a new departure, and is most gratifying to sec Sund1.Y afternoon is the time wh e n the working man has most l eisure, and he cannot spend his time in a mo re profitable manner tlnn by examining this magnificent collection.-ED. ]

BRISTOL .-The annu:ll meeting of this C entre was held at Univer.3ity College on the 6th ult. During the year 21 first aid classes were held and 199 certificates obtained by those attending. Five nursing classes were held, and 36 certificates awarded. In all about 550 persons attended the classes, to which mus be added 690 persons attendin a the Evening- Continuation Chsses of the Sch ool Board. The state of the Bran ch was announced to be in a very sat isfa ctory state, the ba ance in hand being over £45. During the year £1+9 was paid to lecturers. As the payment of the medical men for their services was one of the most imp o rtant points over which some fri ction arose between the lay members of the Committee and the medical representatives, and resulted in the laymen retiring in a body and the medical men taking ove r the whole management, it is highly satisfactory to find such a substantial sum being paid for what is really hard and irksome work. It is more by £100 than has ever been paid before. For he ensuing year the Duke of Beaufort was elected president, the Dean of Bristol, Chairman, and Dr. \V. Gubbin, Clerk, the post of Treasurer bein,a left vacant for a time. A donation of £5 was made to the loca l division of the Bri gade. Dr. J. O. Symes, in retiring, was given 1. vote of thanks for the able and energetic manner hc had conducted the duties of Clerk.

HANDSWORTH.-The annual meeting of this Centre was held at he Council Soho Road. The presiuent of the centre, 1\lr. J. H. preSIded, and ther e \yas a la rge attendance The Chairman saId the centre \1:aS making rapid progress, eleven new classes having been started dUrIng the year. They felt the time had come when they a .borse ambulance, and he thought they would have no dIfficulty In raIsIng the money if the council would pro\'ide a horse and a room for the conveyance. Councillor IV. Ro berts said they were about to have a new fire station at Handsworth and he had no doubt provisi.on could be made for such a valuable acquisition in the district. CounCIllor Roberts presented the Bayley-Lees Challenge Cup to the H a n?sw orth P arIsh Chur ::h C ass, they having secured premier honours In the ambulance compe,ilion open to classes in the centre. Medals were als? presented to the five members of the team by Dr. Darby "Weston In the absence of Colonel Howard Dickenson. Medals were also presented by Mr. W. G. Griffith to h e Handsworth Wood Cl.ass Nettlefolds, the winners respectively of the seco nd and third prIzes 111 the competition The Chairman presented m eda Is for lon a anu valuable se rvice to :'III'. W. II. IY elshman, r,hief Superin tendent II. Beck, Mr. II. Fortnam, aml :'II r. F. C. Gor se, and a medal was awarded to 11r. Ha rkness, he having rendered first aid in more cases than any other member of the centre.

Lr.:rCESTEH.-The annu:1. 1 meeting of this centre was held at the Old T own Hall on the 17th ult Mr. I.Jreen presided, and having briefly opened the proceedings, the sec retary , Mr. Turner, pre se nte d the rep ort

A I D. 1898.

which showed that the work of the past year had fu lly maintained the reputation that the L eicester centre had earned. The Committee, ho\\,el'er, regretted that the County Council still withhe ld tbeir g rant from the village classes. The horse ambulance had bee n r e'1 uisitioned 83 times, and the hand ambulance +3 times - The Cba irm<l l1 moved the adoption of the report and balance sheet -Some criticism W<lS passed on the balance sheet, two articles being sh a rply Lscrutin sed Supt. Ely said it wa s only fair to the meeting that they should know how the reserve fund was disposed of. He thouf;ht the money had been llsed to make the balance shee t of ast year appear right. The reserve fund ho\\'e\'e r, was not to be IIsed except for specia l purposes, an J he thought the meeling shou ld express their disapproval that it h ad been disposed o[ without an exact account being given as to how il was spent.-A reso luti o n to that effect \, as can ied, and the rep ort and balance sheet were th e n adopted.-:'IIiss F. Fullagar pre se nted the shidu and medals to the members of the winning team in the seventh annual competition, viz. :-:\Iessrs. Stranks, Hibbert, IVi lson F Smith and H atfield, and a vote of thanKS to the chairman closed t he proceedings

(torresponbence.

[ We do not necessarily IlOl(l oll1'Selces ?'esponsible jol' th e opinions fI.I 0111' correspondents.]

-

FIRE BRIGADE CA:.\IP AT P , \RK.

To the Edi/or <?lFJRST AlD.

DEAR Sm,-- As a consta nt reader of Fr'RsT AID, and a fireman as '\'ell, I naturally rea u your notes Oil the Camp. 1 wa s very pl eased to see the good work of the ambulance But I find you have maue a slight error with respect to the Ambulance Competition. It is stated that Aldershot won the Cup, but "ery rightly you could not obtain the fireman's name The [\mbulance Silver Cup was won by Fireman W. Connett, of the Axminster Fire Brigade-the pretty little Devonshire town once noted for its carpet manufactory, and a lso the birthplace of the first Duke of :'IIarlbo r o ugh. The Axmin ster man's score was 36, .-\ldershot, 32; and Aldershr)t, 27 - I am, dear Sir, Yours faithfully, A i\IE:-'IBER OF THE WrNNI)!G TE.-I.:-.1.

AKSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

HA GGEI{STO)!.-IVe are sorry not to have h eard from you aaain. IV e hot::e the letter reached you, notwithstanding the deficient Lo:-moN ,,\\IB ULA:-.ICE SER\'ICE - The gentleman who writes to us occasionally is thankeu for his communica tions, but we wish he would send his nal1le and adrl ress.

Other correspondents have been written to.

All those who have sent cuttings, etc ., are thanked.

tltnbnlance 'UUlorJt at the '!Disaster.

RECOGNITIO)l" BY THE R L-\ILW,\Y DIRECTORS_

The particulars of the sad railway accident that occurred near Leyland station .on the Land Y. Railway on th e 2nd June wherebyt,,·o persons were kll.led and seven and twenty more o r le ss seriously injured will be fresh 111 the ITI1ndsof the publIc As soon as the news of the accident became knmyn a number of members of the Preston corps of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, compris ing the Leyhnd, Farington, 'VV'altonIe-Dale, and Lostock sections made their way to the sce ne of the calamity and rendered first aid to the injured Of the assistance he m ed ical men who were present at the time spoke in terms of the hiahest commendation, and there s no doubt that the fact that nOlle of the lives of the injured were l ost, was largely owin cy to th e promptness efficiency and intelligence displayeu by the men. Their 'services all hands was admitted to have been o[ the most valuable character and the directors of the company, on the s uggesti on of Dr. Brown: agre ed to m<l:ke thp111 some recognition of their appreciation of their sernces, ThI S toO'k the form of hallu!;ome sih'er medals havin a on the frol?t the in scr ipti on "Presented by the directors of L. Y. Co., tor valuable a id r endered to the injured at the Leyland dIsaster, June ZllU, 1898 ." On the other side was the name of the recip.ient. On Saturday night, 8t h October, these mementos were publIcly presented to the men at the Public Uall on the occasio n of a concert promoted. on bf'half of the funds of the Pre s ton corps. The hall packed 111 every part, and the presentation was made in an ll1terval Jl1 the proceedil:gs by Rt Worshipful the Mayorof Preston (A lderman Dunn). IIIs \Vorshlp W,tS supported on the platform by Drs_ Bro.wn and Sellars (Preston), anll Sharples (Lostock H a ll), and C J. Tnm,ble (Wa.lton-le-dale), while in the be-dy of lh c hall were Colonel 0 Leary, 111 commanLI of the I st Batt. South L anoshire

Re g iment Fullw?oll Barracks, Captain I bbotson, deputy ch ief constable of L<l;ncashIre, !\lajor Little, ch ief superintendent of the Preston co rp s, Dr. l raser Dr. Il olden, Dr. :\1ooney Dr. Collinson, &c. After an IIltroductory speech by the ;\1ayor, Dr. Brown presenteu the meda l s.

The names of the recipients are: Preston section, :'I[essrs. Tho s R. Pear so n ami 'Vm. Lostock Hall section, l\Tes s rs. Geo. Dumbell, J oh n R obi n son, A rthur Alston, James Balmer, lIen ry Coult-

November, 1898.J

FIRST

hurst,Job n Swift ,and J. IV. Simond s Leyland and Farington sections Messrs Jas Pre scott, Thos. Far-ackerley, R obl. Hu1me s, John J. Thos Morns, Thos. II uxley, J ol1n Hampson, J as, IVood, J as. Smith Edward Lambert, Albert Banni ster, l\1. llackforth, Tho s. l\Iarsden: IYm. Jackson, John Fernley, Jas. Fernley, and IVilliam Pre scott. As each man ascended the platform to receive his medal he was cordially greeted. After these pro ceed ings were OI'er, a most CO:1cert was held.

'[be 1Recessit\? forffinnicipal Btnbnlances.

FOR REiVIOVTi':G ACCIDENT CASES A)!D ':::ASES OF SUDDE)! ILLNE SS FROM THE STREETS.

By G. JA?1ESUN J OHNSTONE, M.A., M .B., F.R.C.S.I., Surgeon

to the City of Dublin II ospita l.

In this paper read at the Sanitary Congress, Dublin, Dr. Jonnston;) sho ws the necessity of having municipal ambulance [or the remol al of cases of a cc ident and sudden illn ess, and the following extract gi"es his idea of the manner in which they could be provided in Dublin.

"The last and, in my opinion much the best, is that a rrangement by means of which horse ambulance waggons are placed at the fire stations and worked by the Fire Brigade local conditions, as noted, unf,,-vourably affect the adoption o[ any of the first three methods, and the fire brigade, from the nature of its duties, is the most suitahle body to undertake the work; the firemen are already train ed in the management of hors es an d in driving rap idl y through tbe streets; the public are also accustome d to clearing off the streets to make W,ty for the brigade The duties of th e fireman are more intermittent and les6 o ner ous than those of the.police; the se duties are much less during the day, when accidents are more numerous. Their work also trains the firemen to act with more deliberation in an emergency, a great desideratum in deall1lg wilh an accident "hen sun ouncled by a crowd of excited people.

"Being aware that some radical changes in the present system of locating and working the FIre Brigade were under consideration, I thought the present Congress a suitable opportunity for again bring ing the matter forward. Changes were recently forced on the attention of the Corporation by the adoption by the Electric Tram Company of ove rh ead wires, thus rendering the use of the ordinary fire-escape impossible During the fall of last year a sub-committee of the IY aterworks Committee having charge of the fire brigade, visited a large numher of places in England and Swtlanu, and on their return presented a report to the Council that the whole sptem of the Fire Brigade should be changed This sub-committee proposed to do a"'ay with the presen stations in Chatham Rowand Winetaxern Street, as being difficult of egress. Two new stations already heen acqu ired, one in Buckingham Street, where an ambulance waggon will be placed, and another in D orse t Street. Leave to obtain a provisional orde r will be asked for, with the object of acquiring land by arbitration suitable for a central station in the neighb our h ood of IYestmorelancl Street, and for another stat:on in Thomas Street. Among other sugges tions wa s one thai sixty te lep honi c signa l stations should be located in yarious po sitions in the city This would relie\'e eleyen firemen who are on duty all night at different fire-escape stations, and renuer them available for fire-station duty. Th ese facts only came into my possessi on yesterday, and consequently I ha\'e had very litde time to consider them from an ambulance po:nt of "iew but it woukl seem to be indicated that if a perfect anti efficient am bulance system is to be ca rried out, a h orse ambulance waggon should be provided [or each of the four stations, and one sh ou ld be a\'uilable at all stations during the day and at the central station during the night. I have endeavoured to obta in from tne statistics of the various h osp itals some idea of the number and distribut on of the accident cases, but the details at my disposal are not of such a kind as to be of assistance in deciding the am ount and ocation of the necessary equipment A t first sight, however, it would app ear that the n ew distribution of the fire st1.tions would be a sa::isfactory ambulance distribution.

"

" mbulance waggons worked by fire brigades ha\'e been in use for time in the follO\ling places among others :-Sheffielu, Leeds Leicester, Halifax, and York, and have r emlered most satisfactory sen·ice "The expense, which is always a serious consideration in advocating new departures, is, in this case, not very formidable, as once the initial expense was accounted for, the cost of maintenance would be a very sl ight add ition to the cost of lhe Fire Brigade. With regard to the powers of the Corporation for incurring eApense in thiS connection, I might quote from a rep ort of the Chief Constable of Li,'erpoo l on th e poli ce: mbulance system recently inaugurated in that city :-" I may be well in conclusion to mention that the Corporation have been a(hised that they were legally entitled to take the action they have done inasmuch as the removal of the sick and injured persons from th e st reets is an im portant PQrtion of the .:luty of th e police, and that charges for instructioll to render th e:ll efficient in the disch:trge of their dut)" ale charges properly paya b le under the :'11 LIn ici p:d Corporation [ ct 1882, Sec qo, Part J1. I t s doubtful whether any large lOWll in the Un ited Kingdom h as so far acted o n the se at a ll events to such an eXlent a s Liv e rp ool ha s done, a nd if the recapi tub tion of th e progress

AID. 41

there.teads other large towns to act in li ke m a.nner it wi II certain 1y be a in ca u se of humanity.'" The act re ferred to s one of a lIst of English and Scotch Acts capable of bein a applied to reland under the new Local Governmen t Bill. '"

$1. 30bn Bnlbulance

BIRZ,ll:\GHA?I.--:The mont?ly me!!ting of the committee ofthis Corps was held at the chief fir.e statIon, A. R. Tozer, presiding. There were 217 cases of first aId reported for the past month. It was resol ved that a tent be provided for use in cases of displays or attendance at sports, &c. Arrangements were also considered for tbe annual competition for the challenge shield.

BAR:-::OLDS\\'ICK.-The annual meetin a of the members of this Division was la tely beld in the Drill Hall. Dr. Alderton, the general surgeon o the corps, occupied the chair, and after the officers for the ye'!.r had bee n elected, he brought forward the question of dealIng WIth pauper patIents He thought it was very unfa ir for the Brigade to have to pay all the expenses, both for ofhcers and Learers. He al30 thought patients should contribute to the expen ses when they were able to do so. (Hear, hear). A resolution wa s un animo usly passed asking the Guardians to contribute to the remo\'al of pauper cases

BRAJJFORD -CO-OPERATlVE EMPLOYEES C01U'5.-

The distribution of certificates in connection with the 2nd ::::lass took place in the So cie ty's Assembly Rooms on l\!onday, Oct. loth. i\ l r. W. Cockcroft (President of the So ciet)') presideJ, ani presented the certificates to the successful students. In his remark s he spok e of the great advantage to be derived from the study of first aid and congrat ulated Dr. Browne and the class on their success. 1\1r. G. II. H op kinson on behalf of the class, presented Dr. Browne with a handsome aneroid barometer in recognition of his admirable services to t he class. Dr. Browne thanked the members of the class for the present, and said th:lt he "'ould endea,'our to help on the corps to the best of his ability. CROYDo:-.l. - This Branch is still flourishing, and in a sound, financial condition. Eigl::t members turned out on Carnival Xight fully equipped, but their sen.·ices were fortunately n ot required EARL'S BARTO'T.-In connection with this Divi,ion a dance was h eld in the Co-operative Hall, on IYednesday evening-, the 12th ult., about 80 being present. Sergeant :\Iatthews officiated as Bl..gler Lord acting as secretary. About half -way tbrough the proglamme a pre entat ion was made to Sergeant F. 1'\'. Austin. The present consisted of a very h:J.ndsome eight -day oat\. case timepiece.

GATESHE.AD FELL h-sPECTlO:\.-O n Saturday, 2+th September, the annual inspection of this ui\'ision was held on the la\\'n in front of the house of ::\1r. John Adolphus Hani son, the commanding officer. Surgeon-Captain :'Ilil burn, of llull, was the inspecti ng officer. There were pre sent on parade 29 officers and ;nen. At the conclusion of the in spect ion Capt. :'lil burn aduressed the di\'ision briefly. Se congratulated them on the improvement they showed as compared with of last year when he held his previous inspection. On that occasion he had made notes of the points where improvement 'was needed, and had forwarded them to ;\11'. Harri on, and he was plea sed to see that. they had profited thereby.

1I.-I.zEL GROYE -.\mbu1::tnce work has made rapid strides of late years here, as the proccedings at the second annual concert and ambulance display of this Dil'i6ion, held at the Hazel Gro, e ;\Iechanics Institution, on S-h ult. , haye amply testified. Ernest Can"e r presided over the proceedings, being supported by Dr Tomlinson, Mr. R, J. Fletcher , :\1r. C IY Ireland , and the Secretary (fi rs supernumerary J. IY Dawson ), and at the outset the latter read the rep ort and balance sheet. The Chall-man addressed the meet1l1g shortly, and during a few remarks wished the bri$"ade e\'ery success, and expressed the hope that the people of Hazel Gro,'e \\ould suppo rt them. A miscellaneous concert was then gone thro llgh and at the commencement of the seco nd part the d i\'ision gal'e a most successful all1bulance display to the e\·ident pleasure of a large <ludience H ULL.-At the annual pleasure fair here , the curporativ n again_ pro"ided an ambulance statiun + officers, 33 rank and file, 3 lady officers and II nursing sisters of the corps took dutr from October loth to at five hours duration, from 9 a.m. to 12 mIdnIght, and from 12 mldnight to 9. the police took of the 29 cases were treated w blch were as follows :-Fa1l1ts, 3; spra1l1s, 3; fracture, c u ts and wounds, 16; dislocation, 2 epileptic fits, 2 loreign body in the eye 1 ; alld one man taken suddenly ill attack of syncope) by of Dr. Darwent, after attending him, was sent on wh eeled. litter to railway station, where the brother of the patIent took charge of him. "patients were taken to the Infirmary: one ltttle boy WIth both bones broken in the right fore-arm; one man with shoulder, very severe, and one man with dislocated finger. 2 ",.ere taken home in cabs Every day during the week the was 1l1spected by the Chief Surgeon , Dr anu a.lso once 1l1 s pected by the Di\ is ional Surgeons: Dr. Falkner, Dr. Gneve, Dr. who reported in the mediCXI.l report book that the> found e\'erythlll.g In the most satisfactory cond iti on A proof h olY hIghly the IS appreciated by the sho wmen and stall-holders 111 th e fall', IS tlml

'Vaddinaham roundabout nroprietor, provided electric light for the slation charge; th; stall-holders in the bazaars gave l\J rs Krause, lady inspector of stores, over 130 articles of t?ys for .the children in the hospitals. and e\'eryone supported the public appliance fund Superin ten dent Se cretary Krause wri (es: I n your article on the Sheffield Re\ iew h eld on Saturday, ro t h September, it is stated that the members were" from various parts of the '\[idbnci s," but, more COf·ectly. it was a review of the members of the St. John Ambulance Brigade (and Centres) of :\0.5 District. I sh0uld likc to state that the Hull corps was represented by 3 officers and 22 rank and file; and 2 lady officers and 6 nursing- sisters; and this detachment being the only detachment in the regulation uniform, was hi ghly cJmmended for its smart appearance, &c. Lady Superintendent Laverack was in charge of the Hospital, in the absence of Mrs Wardell. The inspecting ::>ffice r, Colonel Gubbins, R.A.l.\I.C., complimented the nursing sisters for their splendid arrangements at such short notice

NORTHAMPTo;\l ANNUAL Co:vrPETITIONS.-The annual competitions in connection with this Corps for the handsome silver challenge cup kindly presented by 1\1r. S. C. Arthurs, took place in the infirmary Northampton, in the presence of an interested company of spectators. The cup is offered for competition to any squad, consisting of a sergeant and four men, from any corps in the Centre, and the examination includes nearly every of ambulance work. The squads t:lking part were from the following corps :- Northampton (2) Wollaston (2), Rozeat (2), Wellingborough, Higham Ferrers and Rushden. All tbe men showed exceeding smartness and efficiency in every respect. The judges were Brigade Surgeon Lieut. Colonel V. H. Bull and Surgeon Lieut. C. Deyn s, of the Home Counties Brigade, and their awards were as follows, the maximum number of points being +00 :- I Sergeant Francis' squad, Wellingborough, 357 points; 2 Sergeant Elkins' squad, Northampton, 351; 3 \Volla ston, 339; + Sergeant Ruckman's squad, Kettering, 338. The winning squad were the holders of the cup, and also won the Dewar Challenge Cup, :t similar competition open to all England, at the beginning of this year The winners, in addition to the cup, also re ceive l gold-centre silver medals, presented by the :'\orthampton centre. The second team wele presented with silver medals, and the third and fourth teams were the recipients of books. The officers present during the afternoon were :Assistant Commissioner Woolston, Ohief Supt. Perry, Chief Supt. Hilton (\Yelling-borough), Chief Supt. Trenery (Kettering), Hon. Sec. H. T. Fracy, Supt. Reeve, Supt. C. F. Olney, Supt. F. T Thorpe (Earl's Barton) , First Officer Beale, First Officer Groome ( Rushden) , Staff-sergeant Gardner, &c.-The CllP and medals were afterwards presented by Lieut. Colonel Bull, who made an appropriate speech, in which he congratulated the men on the excellency of their work-On the motion of Hon. Sec. H. T. Fracy, seconded by r;hief Supt. Perry, ,1l1d supported by Chief Supt. Hilton, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded Li eut. C olonel Bull for performing the ceremony, and his reply brougbt the gathering to a c1ose.-A -very successful smokinO' concert was h eld at Franklin's Hotel, under the presidency of the Superi·,tendent. There were also present: Supt. Reeves, First Officer Beale, Staff-Sergeant Acting Sec Wilkinson, Cycle Sergeant :'IIa.cknes5 , Sergeant Elkins, Han. S ec Phipps (Stoke Bruerne), &c. By common consent the toast li st was of the briefest. -On October lIth Fir st Officer BeaJe (officer on duty for the week) and Superintendent Reeves bad a umque and not very pleasant experience. They started at nine o'clock for \Vappenham, some 14 miles out, with pair-horse ambulance. The night was intensely loggy, which made it difficult to find the way. Rea ching Wappenbam about eleven, they brouaht thei r patient to the hfirm a ry, arriving there at I. IO a.m., the being none the worse for his journey.

REDR llT H.-The annual inspection of this Di vision held ill the Druid s Hall on the 13th ult., by Dr. Vernon the South-Western District, was very satisfactory. AmonO' those officially present were Dr. LaUlie, hon. surgeon; Mr. James \"ickett, hon. tre:tsurer; 1'.1r. E. T. H ami lton, hon secretary: Superintendent R. J. Parsons, and about IS members. The division was inspected in stretcher hand -seat dri!l, afte.r which Dr. Vernon urged upon those the Importancc of knOWing first aid for the sake of helping th eir fellow creatures, an:! hoped when he came down again in the early summer next year the numher of mem bers would be doubled or treblerl. Dr. Vernon then presented the cer tificat es to tho se who had passed the first examination of the Association the Association's silver merla,ls. to and F.C . Dyer, who had passed the t.11 ee eXamll1atlon s A prize competition was (hen held in stretcher drill and first aid, anatomy and bandaging. RrsHTo;\l. - At a recent meet111O' when Mr :'I1arshall Chairman of the District Council presided, a fuli discus sion, it w;s unanimously resolved, on the motIOn of :'Ifr. Charnley. seconded by '\1r. Critchley, that an ambulanr.e corps be formed for Rishton in connection with the St. John Ambulance Brigade 1\lr. J. J Adams was unanimously elected secretary, and t'1e follo\\,ll1g sub-committee wa, appointed: Dr. Barr, .\les.sr s. L. Elton, Charnley, Ainsworth, and C. Critchley.

Sunday, the 2nd ult., a parade of the members of the. Kettenn.g, Rushton, and Rothwell Corps took place at Rothwell. Chief Supenntendent Trenery, assisted by Superinten dent Cruickshank and 1st Officer F Barlow, was in command T he members, who

numbered roo,atlended di"ine sen'iceat the church. The Co r ps we re seated in the middle aisle of the historic bu ilding-. which was cro wd ed to i ts utmost capacity. The sermon was preached by t he Vica r ( th e Rev. IV. S. Parker), who took as h is text, " He bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine." (St. Luke, x., 3+). The preacher p ointed out that the text clescribed an ancient way of rendering llrst aid to the injured, and the remedies mentioned in the passage were such as were lIsed in those days, which was in the earliest periods of medical scie n ce. There were several reasons why people should take interest in this recognised and organised institution of ambulance work, beca u se the whole movement was sure to exercise a humanisil.g influence, and as soon as they took up the work they were brougbt face to face with h e marvellous construction of the human body As instances of the va l uc of ambulance work, he referred to the large number of cases dea t w it h in London by members of the corps during the Jub ilee fest ivities, whi lst only recently it had been brought vividly to their minds by the sad railway a cci dent at \V'ellingborough. The whole country sympath sed with the victims of that terrible calamity, but they could not forget the services rendered by tbe \Velling-boroug h ambulance men on that occasion, a contingent of whom were on the scene within fifteen minutes of the sudden disaster. The various medical men had testified to the excellent se rvices rendered that night by the ambu lance men The Corps in that tOll'n was not established until 1888, and if suc h an accident had happend before that formation, they could easily understand how the sufferings of the injured would have bcen ntensified In conclusion, the preacher besough t God's blessing upon a mo \'ement which was of suc h usefulness.

.\1mDLESEX HOUSE POSTAL INSTIT uT E. - In co n nection wit h the ambulance classes held at the above I nstitute, an evening enterta i nment .vas held at the St. John's Schools, Edgware Road, \ V., on T hursday, October 13th, in aid of the funds for the purchase of equipments for a Postal section of the St. John Am1.Julance Brigade DurinO' the IV. D. Herbert, Esq., Postmaster of Paddington, presented the certl ficates to the successful candidates who represen ted all branches d tbe postal 5ervice Among the supporters were well known officers of the Brigade: Brigade Chief Supt. Cburch Brasier; Supt. J. C Lines, South .\1etropolitan Gas Works Divis ion; Lady Secretary, Mrs. J C Lines, St. John s Gate Nursin.e: Division; Supt. W. D. Lidde ll, St. John's Gate, (\0. Division. The evening closed with a disp ay of ambulance work by a squad from the St. John 's Gate, No. r Division under Sergeant Pbillips.

:fBtrtbs, Marriages anb ID eatbs.

B I RTHS , HOPER.-On Octob!'r 15th, 1898, at the Pin es , Hed Hill n ea r Bir stall Leicestershire, the wife of J. Edwin HopeI', O.E. (htte Superiu'tendent of the Leicester Oorps, St. John Ambulance Brigade), of a son. MARRIAGES.

TYAlV:; -LOOKINGTON.-On July 28th, at Ashford, Mi cltllespx, by the HeL F. B. Dickinson, assisted 1),Y the llel'. W O. l'Iluriel, Vicar of FLilham, a.nd the Hev. M. Bolton, John Harris Tyars to Elsie LockinO'ton (NmsinO' Sister, St. John's Gate Nursing Division: St. John AmblllanceBrigade) "

BIUSqOE - GAIN.-On august 80th, at St. Augustine's Ohurch, Prestun, BI'I.ghtOll, by the He" A. 31. Elliott Briscoe, hrothel' of the bridegroom, by the He,'. Albi on JCil'kp, Vi car, Captain J. 1". lfeathfieltl JJl'iscoe, 1\1.A .' (1st To,,"er Hamlets Rifle Bl'iga<le, and St. John Ambnlance Brigade), to LLlhan :HaL1l1 Sophia, tlaughtel' of the late Fleet Paymaster II. IT. Gain, RN., and Mrs. Gain, of Ea thourne.

COUPON TICKET

SPECIALLY GUARANTEED BY

The Ocean AC9ident & Guarantee Corporation,

LIMITED, 40 , 42 , & 44, MOORGATE srrREET , LONDON, E.C. to Notice ()f Claims, lind!:!!' the following conditions, must be sent within seven days of accident to the above ac1c1ress.)

£100

paid by above Corporation to the legal representa.tive of anyone who IS kllied by an aCCIdent to the Passcnger Train (w ithin the United Kincrdom or Channel Islands), ill which the dece.{tsec1 was a ticket bearillg or paying po:ssenge.l', or who shall have been fatally !11Jured thereby (shou ld death result Within nl11ety days after such accident).

PROVIDED that the persoll so killed or injured had upon his or her person, or had at home this tickct, his, or her! usua signature, written prior to on.tbe space p.rovlclel1 below! togetht'r with tbe gh jng of notice wlthm the time as hercmbelore mentIOned. IS the essence of th is contract This insurance holds good for current issue only, and eal'l'ies the benefits of and if, subject to, the conditions of the" OOEAN AOCIDENT & GUA HANTEE COMPANY, Limited, Act, 1890," Hisks Nos. 2 & 3.

The Corporation admit that the plll'chase of this Paper is the payment of 11 premium under Section 34 of the Act. Gan recover under more than one Coupon ticket n respect of the

Tl-\e Of\l'j J o\Jrf\al devoted

No. 54. - V OL. V. Entend at Stat7one1's' Hall. J

TRADE NOTICE

T he Trade w i ll be suppl i ed by Mr. F BRETT , 5, Pi g r i m Street , Ludgate H ill.

T ERMS OF SUBS

CRIPTION.

For 12 months, IS, 6d., post free l to be sent to the Publisher.

PUBLISHER'S NOTICE.-In of the demand for back numbers, the Publisher has to givt notice tbat thc price of any back number previous to the current year, will in future be 2d. As the stock of some of them is very limi-ted, it would be well for those of our readers wbo wish it, to complete their sets without delay.

:fBr ev it ies.

IN referring to the matter of the London School Board' fLlh-81·ti elUent for ledm'el's on first [lid, we wouldl'omind our l'ea llers and medicn,l men especially, that in the event of these fees being genernJly accepted, the l'etmlts of ambulance tcttching from a medicnl point of view will he c1isastroll s L et us con .iclel' what is yery likely to happen. When the T ech nical Ellueatioll Committees in the country districts discover that llleuicallectmers can be obtained "for hal£-aguinea. pel' lecture, they "'ill natuJ'('\,lly object to continue paying the present fee of one guinea. The same thing will OCClU' in the local b),[1 Dches of the St. J olm Ambulance Association, and it ,,-ill thus 1eco111 e[1, precellent which in time will be difficult, if not impossible, to break down. If the St. J o11n Ambuhmce ARsociation permit this to be clone without protest, they will find it very lhfticult to l'esist the delluu1d that "will eyelltually be IDttde for the l'eduction of the examination fee.

TIIERE is anothel' point that strikes ono YOIT forcibly, ,-iz :-V{as thiR scheme brought f01'\v<11'(1 with the mlvice 01' consent of the Medicnl Ofiicer of the School Board? Information on this point wonhl be interesting, a,nd we should be oHiged if any of OUl' rouc1ers can suppl)' it.

;f. * if

Ix tlnother column will be found a letter from Captain Froud, Sccret:.u·y of the Shipmnste n; Society. asking for some llloclifieahon of the definition of First Aiel as bid clovi'll by 1\11'. S. Osborn. Cnptain Froud (le'il'es that seamen should be taught something 11101'e than First Aid-sufficient i.n fact to enable them to treat case on bOHrd ship until they are brought to port :mcl cnn be ph-teed uncleI' proper medical ac1yicn This, of COUl'se, is ttltogethcl' difrcl'ont to Fil'st Aid, anel we doubt yery much whether it can be included in mnbubncc teaching. At pl'esent "ye understand that sailing ve. sels, cargo and stemltships canying a mall numb 01' of pasRenger' are not obliged to take a medicnllllan, amI the captain with the help of (1 certain l)olk and a box of drugs, mOl'e or less ancient, anclmol'e ol· l es::; cleficient, ha to treat as best he cnn all the medical nnd surgical cases. Of course in thec;e days of progress such a state of things ought not to exist . I n our opinion it is a mattel' for the

Board of Tra de, and the deta il.' as to how far -medica and surgical treatment could he ranierl out hy laymen should be discussed and settled by a committee of medic..",l men acquainted with the pecial l·elluil·ements. It might be called "secon d aiel" but it could not be ir,cluded uncleI' " first aid," and therefore does not in any wny clash with it present definitioll.-H"s C,l,pt.nin Froud approa ched the Board of Tmde

H

jfi rst

Bib on tbe jfootball jfielb,"

BY w. J. :\I cCULLOCH ETTLES, :'ltD., HOll. Life .llemher, St. Johll Amhulance AssoCiahoJi.

In spite of scientific play and stringent rules, the football field is notorious for the frequency of its casualties. Now that the season is once more in full swinQ', we may expect that first-aiders will be afforded many opportunities of their knowledge to practical use. Large as the list of casualties is, e\'ery footballer knows that there are some to which he is especially liable, and with these I propose to deal. T. Broken Collar Bone. :?" Slipping the knee." 3. Stunning. +- " IYincling."

Broken Collar Bone.-A man is " corning down the field, carrying- a ball for all he is worth," suddenly an opponent dashes across his path, and, stooping low, tackles him round the knee. t'nfortunately the other knee, brought forward ,,·ith all its power and impetus, strikes him full on the shoulder. The referee's whistle shrills the sig-nal that a player is down, and the de\'oled ambulance men double out to a case of" collar bone broken by direct yiolence." Or, mayhap, the first man, abruptly checked in headlong career, plunges forward on his outstretched palm. The shock, tra\'elling up the bony column of the straight arm, is tmnsmitted to the slender S shaped cla\'ic!e which goes at a bend. It is, you remember, the only bone joining the upper extremity to the trunk. Tbis is a wse of fracture by indircct violence. Tow tbe method of dealing witb this condition, is it not laid down in your text books? Yet bear these three points in mind. (r) See that the pad in the axilla is !oJlgandjirJll. It ought to be six inches long by five broad and three thick. (2) See that the whole weight of the arm is borne by the sling. so as to raise the shoulder. (3) Neyer forget to fie! tile pulse and examine the fingers for coldness and blueness you ha\'e finished band:tging to make sure that the brachial artery IS not compressed.

An excellent a lternatiye method of bandaging is as follows :-

(r) Place a narrow bandage in .t he.axilla. Dring one end 1'c rtically over the shoulder. Tie the ends behilld O\'er the scapula Do thiS to both shoulders. (2) Tie the fonr ends together the spine.. (3) Place a pad under the knot. (+) Supp ort the Il1Jured arm \\'Ith a broad sling.

"Slipping he K nee."-\Yh en this occurs, the player suddenly stops. H s knee is stiff and he is suffering se\'ere pain ends of the bones, inside the joint, is a ring of cartilage. ThiS IS d.lsplaced and is being nipped the ends of the bO.nes. Notice that the joint is ji.red, It IS not fl:acture. There IS no marked displacement but the point of llltense IS betweell ends. Remove your patient to the Pa\'llJ o.n and ask hlln If thiS eyer happened to him before. If he s:tys no, It not a case for your interference. But if, as is u sually the case, you are Il1formed that It ha s occurred on several preyious occ:tsions, there is Y?U should not practice the following mann:une which mil gl\'e him immediate relief.

The patient is of course on hi s back. Place one hand underneath the lea just belol:' the injured kllee and grasp firmly. Take the foot in the other band, and, keeping- the leg horizontal, the knee o\'er the abdomen, so as to strongly flex the tbigh. All the time hear lip strondy wi th the hand under the leg. I n this position rotate the foot sharply to the riabt and left so as to tllrn the tibia. A slight snap tells you you ha\'e and the patient will also do so.. you be told that e\'ell this is beyond your scope. So It Is-theoretically. In

practice it is the choice of the lesser of two evils; for these patients, if not so dealt with, invariably attempt to remedy things themselves.

Stun ni n g -A player" takes a kick and follows it up hard." An opponent is waiting to catch, and comes Iviolently into collision with him. One goes down stunned. Keep your man lying down and quiet. His circulation is depressed, herefore keep him warmly covered. If necessary apply hot water bOtlles. vVhen he rouses, gi\·e him some hot coffee. No t much trea tment ? Rememb e r judicious IIOIl 17IterjerClIce is usually the best criterion of good training " Win ding. " -A mJ.n "cbarges" a player wbo s "on tbe ball," and may leceive his knee in the a?domen. In the graphic langmge of the field, I. he gets a na sty welt 111 the belly and is stretched out." This man is gasping for breath, in a few seconds he gains a little wind and then retches. His puls e is small so that it can hardly be felL. Tbe skin is pale and co ld. There is great prostration. In about a quarter of a n hour he is all right again. Treat as for stunning, but add friction of the belly. It relaxes the walls and relieves the cramp o[ the abdominal muscles.

bospftaI jfllnb.

MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DELEGATES.

On Saturday, the 12th of November, the Board of Deleo-ates of the Hospital Saturday Fund held their quarterly meeting atthe Gray's Inn Road Ofuces. Apart [rom th e usual run of business and an interesting question concerning tbe London Ho s pital, whicb caused several able speeches to be delivered and brouo-ht especially "en reI ief" one of tbe most able speeches ever male by the Secretary of the Fun?, O!r. vV. G. Bnnn) , we come to a proposition on the agend a, which will be, no doubt, of some interest to our readers inasmuch as it is a nell' departure [or which the Ambulance mittee of t.he H osp ital Fund must be highly congratulated.. Thi S <?omn:lttee, f.ully alive to the. ne cessity not to lose sight of 111 th eir and In order to keep them up to their "ork an? 1I1duce them. to Improve the knowledge once acquired, and to others 1TI the honourable work. of relieving human and as a Slight encouragement and recognltlon for exceptional the Ambulance Committee brought forward a proposltIO?, una11lmously approved by them at their last meeting, for the adoptIOn by the Board of Delegates of a "Diploma of Merit" the propos ed rules and regulations respecting the grant and Iss ue of thiS diploma. As the Board Meeting was called a week later than tlfr. Wyatt Sargent, Vice-Chairman of the Ambulance Committee, who .had to move the resolution, was unavoidably absent, havl11g a prevIOus and important engagement at tllorley Hou se Convale sce.nt Home, Dover. He had depu t ed NIr. R. 1. MacLean, the Chairman of the Ambulance Committee of the H os pital Saturday and. a Member of the Order of St. John, t o speak and support tbls propositi o n on his behalf, and i\1.r Ma.cLean had voluntarily undertaken to do so. Unfortunately some little time before the debate took place 1\11'. was obliged to leave in order to attend, it appears" another, .meet111g. FOI tunately for the scheme, which might ha, e been" ecked, were ready to bring before the notice ?f the Board the adVIsabIlity of the- adoption by them of such a for many rea s ons abo\'e mentioned among others, and "hl ch :\lr. J. B. Clarke very clearly put to the meetin a seconded by Mr. A. R. Rundell, and various other speakers. The COhairrnan of the Fund, Mr. R: B. D. Acland, supported the proposition, aGvising some s lIght alteratIOns 111 the proposed rule s and reo-ulations which were put ell bloc to the meeting and unani'mou sly th ,Ve are ll1debted to kindness of the gentleman,-al so a of e Ambulance who had the working out of that scheme,the rules and regulatIOns of which we reprodu ce below in exte1tSO ;-

PROPOSED RULES AND REGULATlONS FOR THE GRANT AND ISSG E OF TIl"- "DIPLOMA OF MERIT."

I.-That Diploma of M e rit be awarded by the Board of DeleCTates of the Saturday Fund, on the recommendation of the per sons trained in the Cla sses OJo-anisej by the l' und, and to persons in c harge of boxes y t)e. 'unel,. for special and conspicuous services rendered m le cause of life savmg <l,nd Ambulance wo!'!, \·;z.:life at .great -"; risk.

() lor speC ial cases m resusclt.l ·, apparently drowned or suffocated persons.

Cc) For atlend.ing to dangerously \\'o.lnded persons, when by such timely treatment the life o f persons has been saved.

Cd) Or [01: a gallant attempt to effect any of the above objects.

B DArbulance shall bring to the noti ce o[ the oar 0 e egates at their last meeting in each year the names of worthy of the together with a the D' 1 h 11de serVll es 111 respect of which they recommend that Ip orna S ou be granted, but the Ambulance Committee shall

A I D. LD ecemb er, 1898.

n ot recommend the grant of the Diploma to more than four persons in anyone year, or at any other meeting of the Board than that above mentioned.

3.-Due record shall be kept in a register specia lly prepared for th e purpose, of tbe names of the candidates se le cted , and o[ the services rendered.

4.- The Diploma sball be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Fund.

We beartily congratulate the Ambulance Oommittee of the Hospital Saturday Fund and the Board of Delegates [or this new departure which will add, we feel sure, further usefulnes s to the already useful work by them, b y stimulating the energy and efficiency of persons traJl1ed by them 111 ambula n ce wo r k. There i s no doubt that this is an example-and a very worthy one-which we trust will be followed shortly by others.

$treet IDrUI,

By CHIRURGUS.

The Editor has handed me some correspondence concerning the ambulance drill in the street on Lord Mayor'S Day, with a request that 1 should give my opinion o n it. I will give the substance of these letters, but I do not intend to print them, because the writers apparently-only apparently say-:-seem to ca s t ridicu le upon some of the work of the St. John Amhulance Brigade Before proceeding further, it is necessary to say that n o one but myself is responsi bl e for the opi nions I give utterance to-not even the Editor of this jom nal wh o kindly allow s me a certain latitude of expression-and ha my opinions are based, 1 trust, on common sense and willI hope give offence to no bod y. p o int is, Is the St. John Ambulance Brigade open to outside cntlclSl1l, and to what extent? I have heard it said that there are one or two officials of the Brigade holding somewhat high positions who hol d it to be practically high treason [or anyone to discuss the affairs of the Br!gade that opinion I not di sposed to agree. The Brigade )s a voluntary body dOlllg public work, and it seems to roe that its work in public is the only part that outsiders can lay any claim to speak about. ,Vith the internal affairs of the Brigade we are no t concerned, and certainly have no right to discuss or to interfere with The has done and s doing a large amount of good work, and I, more espeCIally as 1 hal 'e done my little to help, will always do my best to defend it from undeserved outside attacks.

,Vith this preamble I will state the incide:1t mentioned in the se letter s It seems that ill one of the st reets on the route a woman w as observed to bll, the ambulance squad arril'ed and went through the exercise as one writer says" irrespecti,' e of the patient's condition," the officer called out orders, the adjusting of the sl ings causing a little delay, and the patient W'lS :narched off on stretcher to the receiving sta.tlOn,.only to 111 a moment eat111g an orange, To the writer s It appeared ndlculous that such a parade should be made of the stretcher drill, and they ask, could not some simpler method be employed of treating such a simple case. I will not repeat the comments that are made in the lette rs.

The point of it all. is this :-ls it necessary when on duty in the streets for the officer III charge to gi ve orders in a loud voice and to be so particular about the minuti::c of the drill? I confess that it is a difficult question to answer, and requires looking at in various aspect s

The stretcher drill as at present carried out by the Brigade is based on that carned out by the bearers on the battle field, when the wounded ?ave to be moved from the front as quickly as possible to the hospit a 1I1 t he rear, when furtherltreatment can be obtained. But the condit ons are not quite the same. fn oLlr streets a stretcher need not be carri ed far, as a litter or wagon is usually close at hand. s it possible to hav e some drill that is more simple, for instance-are the slin<Ys essentially necessary? Th ey are a great help if some distance has traversed but are they for short distances? Other modifi ca tions might made, but I th111k these could be Ivery well left to the discretion of those who organised this drill.

Another point would impress on officers is this that it is possible t.o make more lise of the two or Ihree handed instead of the stretcher, especially [or slight cases o[ fainting and the like. If the woman .to whom allusion had been made had been carried by two bearers It would have looked much neater, and we should probably have heard noth1l1g of this adverse crit ici sm

There is another experiment in thi s drill that should li ke to see I s it possible for a squad to be so trained that they can li ft a patient on to the stretcher and march off without the officer givino- the words of command? °

These details may be of a minor. character, but I think they are Important and well deserve tbe attentIOn o[ the officers of the Brigade when they meet and discuss matters

I s inc er.ely trust .that I have ventured to put fonva.rd will be met 111 the spmt 111 whlch tbey are made viz :- that of a deSIre to help the Brigade in its good work.

December, 1898.J FIRST tlnlbnlance or jfirst Bib to tbe 3njnreb.

A noble self-sacrificing work carried on by an army of men and women, each a nd everyone of which are doing their utmost to relieve the s ufferings of their fellow creatures in the hour of their sad affliction. As citizens of this great and mighty metropolis we know not when nor how soon an injury may occur to any or either of us, and should it so please the Almighty that the injury should happen in the presence o[ or near to a memberof the St. John Ambulance Brigade, tbe injured wou!d receive cal:eful treatment whi ch might be the means of sav ll1g hiS or her hfe, It bell1g known to most people that a s imple injury by unskilled treatment frequently leads to a most serious condition, and not unfrequently re sulting in death.

When we consider the devotion of the members of the SL. John Ambulance Brigade to their grand work, and the sacr ifi ce o f time and money, it is not to be wondered at that the public generally are beginning to fully appreciate them when at their vari o us stations for duty on great public holidays or demonstration:=<. It may not be universally known that the d oc tors nursing sisters, officers, and men of the Brigade are not, nor ever have b een-and I sincerely hope never will be-paid for their services, for who could better do the good work than tho se who make sacrifices in order to soothe the sufferings o f their fell ow cre" ture s 111 the hour of their trouble s, for is it not" prac tical Christianity," and does it not follow, though humbly, the great work of that grand Master whose very life was humility and se lf- sacr ifi ce for did he not go about curing those that were crippled, blind and otherwise afflicted, neither seeking ror wanting any re ward saving thatofa belief in His personality as the Son of G od It must have s uch noble feelings that animated the Knights of the Order of St. John of Jeru salem when they established hospit <ds for the reiief of Christian pi Igril1l s visiting the I-bly City whi c h took place in the IIth century, and so long as the members of the Brigade endeavour to emu la r.e so worthy exa mples as above ment io ned, so long wil! the good work Aourish, for is it possible to have any reward equal to that feeling o f joy and happiness which must he felt by any member of the Brigade, when by prompt and careful attention to patients co ming uml er th e ir personal treatment, they s ucceed in a lleviating their s uffe ring, and see the benign look o[ gratitude on the face of the relieved sufferer.

JOIlN J. OLLEY.

$t. Bnbrc\X1'S Bnlbulance BS50ciation.

The annual general meeting of the subscribers of the Edinburgh Centre of the St Andrel\ 's Ambulan cc Association wa s held on 15th, at South Charlotte Street Strand, Edinburgh, Dr P. A. Young, Ohairman, presi ding. In moving- the adoption o f the annual rep o r which briefiy recorded the work of the yea Lo 30th April last, the Chairman mentioned that when they remembered that sixteen years ago before the As soc iation "vas inaugurated, ther e IV1.S no means o f conveying sick and hurt people in one of the first medical cities in the kingdom, they would see what a long-felt want the Association had su pplied. Nor did they co nfine their attentions to the city. They went far into the country a nd removed people from hou se to house or house to infirmary; and it was an incalcubble boon to sick people to have such a comfortable means of i\I o reover, throug-h the initiative of the A ssoc iation, other districts and agencies had taken up the removal of patients; and in this wayan immen se deal of excellent work was being done throughout the country. Their most energetic pupils were unque st ionably their ailway pupil s Mr. G. E. ,V atson, C.A., the acting secretary, directed special attention to the benefits co nferred upon the publi c by the As soc iation's operations in country districts

<torresponbence.

[ We elo not ?wccssa?'i ly hoZ(l Oil rsclt'cs nSJlons liZ e fO?' the oJJinions n 0/11' co?"respondents.]

FIRST AID DEF1N[TION.

To the Editor rifFIRST Am.

Sm,-Very much intere s ted in the teaching of fir st aid to seafarers.

I dsk for so me moclilication of the hard and fa s lines of 1\[1'. Samuel Osborn' s definition ancllimit ation of it which appears in your current iss ue, and which may be generally accepted if nOl que s tioned. Surely the exigcnres of sea I;e rvice point to the advisability of extending the teaching of Er s aid into what may be ca lled seco nd aid. kn o wledge for seamen at any rate. May 1 ask for your ass istance in the endeavoUi to make the acquirement of fir st aid in s truction a necessa ry qualification for officers of all grades in the I ercantile Marine. Shipollners sympathy with the work fails to show it se H, and consequel-.tly the very large proportion of t;,eir employes are indirferent in like manner. Yours faithfully A. J. Fl{'OUD, Seuelarl Shipmasters' Society. 2nd November, 1898.

\[)oInnteer Bmbulance.

RO;'-lTGI.:N RAYS IN WAR.-The ambula nce section of the V. B. Royal ,V arIVick regiment ately gave an in teresting demonstration of Rontgen ray field practice recenLlyat Ward End, Birmin<Yham. A kind of field ho sp ital was form ed , and imaginary patients wereomanufactured. Bullet and b:::.yonet wound s were assumed, and it was in connectio:1 with the former that the Rontg en ray demonstration was particularly successful. A complete pJrtable set of apparatm was supplied by II e nry W. Cox (Limited), and this was carried by four men upon a Foll ow ing this came two men, each carrying an accumulator. 111'0 other men had charge of a collapsible developing tent, and the rear wa s brought up by two men with a box containing photopraphic fi Im s and chemicals for SO exposures. Bullets were assumed to have struck various parts of the bodies of the" patient s," and successful demonstration was rrade of the efficiency of the app1ratus. It was agreed by those who took part in the performan ce that the application of Rontgen rays to military service had been demonstrated to b e of great u sefulness.

WORCESTER.-On Thursday evening, he 17th ult., the members of the ambulance section o( the" II" Company 2nd V.B. ,Vorceste rshire Reg-im e nt were entertained at dinner, at the Royal IIotel, by Surgeon Lieute nant \Vade, who presided, and was supported by Col. Bartleet and Sergt -Instructor L a keman. Col. Bartleet handed certificates to the following :-Privates Baylis, Hicks, Warwood, Shrimpton, Chat· terley, Wi lkes, Marsh;! II, and Croxall. Continuing, the Colonel stated that he considered a man who jo!ned the ambulance corps was as likely to become as good a figh te r as a man who joined the regular army, a nd pel'formed as arduous a work in carrying the wounded off the field under fire, as the man engaged in battle. After a comp lim e nt to the "II " Compa ny V oluntee s, Co!. Bartleet proposed the health of Dr. \Vade, which washearLily acco rded with musical honours. -In responding Dr. Wade said hi s reward lay in the fact that the men :Jad all passed th e examination successfully, and got into good shape and order. lIe wanted a dozen more men to form another brigade company before they went into camp. ll e had found the stretchers and the haversacks whi ch were got together 111 1888, and hop ed to shortly get them in good working order, as they s h o uld be. Col. Bartleet announced that at the ndt camp h e should be pleased to offer a prize t o th e best section o( the ambulance corps, and had n o doubt that tlIajor Harper would be pleClsed to examine the men [or that purpo se.

VOLl :XTEER :\IE DICAL DEPARDIENT.--We ha\'e often heard, from yarious military critics, that although our Volunteer for ce is composed of units of the highest quality, it is n evert heless, in the aggregate, defectil'e in the organ isation which is requ ired in order to co mbine unit s into an al my. IIow far this may be true, on merely military lines, we do n ot venture to say , b ut we e nt ertain gral'e doubts wh ether it may not he true, :llllllo a d e plorable extent, in relation to the medical branch o[ the service. Scattered over the co un try we have an y num ber of admirable surgeons; but we are much mistaken if the force they constitut.e, taken as a whole, is s ufficiently organ ised to be of Its proper value In case of actual fighting. A civil practitioner is to solely of his patient's injury, and o[ the proceedmg s Illdlcated for bls relief. An army surgeon, in the field, has to think o[ clearing the rear of the fighting line; and it would be hiS duty to leave undone much which, in more favourable Circumstances, would be urg en tly required, and to do nothing but what was absolutely in order to allow the wounded to be conveyed to the field hospital. There ao-ain the suraeons in charCTe would bear a similar rel a tion to the ho s pital' ando until that reached, it would in most cases be r.ndesirable to 'attem'pt anytbing more than such ,I first aid," to. use an expression now become familiar, as I:ender transp?rt po.sslble. For this purpose it is evident that a conSCientIOUS I?an, Ill. the demands of civil practice, would have to repre s s hiS surgl.cal very strongly indeed, and would ha.ve to .learn to. rega.rd .hlmself 111 the entirely new light of a portion of a ma.ch1l1e, hav1l1g: as first to work in harmony withal! the o ther portIOns entenng III to ItS compOSItIOn. \Y e think that men of light and leading among ,may fairly be expected to give serious attention to the and in view of the bct that the surgeons 111"y, at no distant period, be called upon for the dischar ge o[ really duties,. to make el1l1eavour to render th e m generally familIar. aL lea st In theory, WIth the ordinary routine of modern military surgery, witb. employment of antiseptics in temporary dre s: ings, and With the mll11mUm of treatmenL or intelference whi c h alon e should be expected at the hands of the first surgeon to wh o m a wounded man is brought,. or by whom he is found on the field. The detail s of the bearer serVice, and .the po sitioll s for base and field hospital s relatil ely to the fight1l1g.I 1l1e should also be \1 ell understood; and every surgeon should be acq with the pre ci se n;!ture of the duties which would dev oh 'e him In whatever part o[ the general system hiS lot for the tllne_ be The fiahtinO' rank s of the Y o lunteers in time ot need would fight hke but they \lould fight none the 1I'0rse the knoll ledge that their doctors, like themselves, had mastered the. difference whi c h" may separate the work of a civil from that of a DlIlltary surgeon.- The Hospital."

FIRST

A ID . [Decemb er , 1898.

FIRST AI D . DECEllIBER

1, 1898.

<1.mbulance wol'l{ be paid fol' out of rates?

RATE PAID This important question which nffects yery con::,idel'ably public ambulance wol"l{, has been raised and appa,rently settled at Winsforcl in Ohesli1·e.

A speech recently mnc1e by :Mr. F. H. Oooke at vVim;forc1, giving S0111 C impol·tant pilxticulars cJnd columns, should he read by all those mtel'ested m t 1ns (lue tion. It appeal's that the locnl n.nthOl·ity hall contributed a SUhSCI'iption to the \Vinsfonl Ambulance OOl'PS out of the money ra.ised for technical instnu:Lioll pm'posesa pedectly legitimate payment. IIowevel', la.tel' on it was found impos ·ible to continue the payment from that source owing to ,1.11 tbe money raised {Ol' t ecLnical instruction pm'poses lJeillg required fOl' \YOl·k that was m01'e stl-ietly of <l. technical educational clunactel'. It was then suggested that, in view of the fact that money paid to In:fil'lnal'ies was ruleel as a legitimate payment uncleI' cel'tain conditiol1t:i, ;l subscription should be paid in sup pod of alllbn1ance wol'le This was clone, anel there nevel' had been the slightest trouble with the auditOl' about the mattel', 1\11-, Cooke further stated that the Winsfol'll autbOl'ity "'as the :fin;t Council that had e\ e1' made a contribution of that ch;l,racter. v\e heal'tily eongnttulate the Distl'ict Council upon its "ictol'Y, and sincerely trust that the ofthe a.uditor will not be upset by a snpel'ior anth01·ity. ::;tep is most im pOl'tant and \\ill affed the futUl'e of public ambulance wode in ,'I, remal'kable mannel', and give a much need ed stimulus to all local 11,uthOl·ities. If a subscription can be leg,tlly macle ont of the I'ate" to SUppOl't a loca.l a.mbulance C01'PS, it follows ,18 a matter of course that <1n ambuhtnce service C1111. be entil'ely maintainecl from the same ource, and the consent of the ratepayers only 'will have to be obtained w, to the amount to be raised without having any reCOUl'se to Padiamellt. THis indeed is a great aclva nee in our WOlle, and ought to be taken full ad vantage of in all provinei,tl towns and districts w hel'e tbere is sufficient intel'est and enthusiasm to eI'cate an ambulance COl'PS or a fully equipped seniee.

Am bulance in country tmn18 and districts need not nece arily entail a great expense on the local authOl ities, for the requil'ement are not large, and if the voluntal'y efforts of the local ambulance corps coulcl be supplemented by a, yearly subscription, in the same way a::; is done in the case of Volunteer Fil'e Brigades, and the pl'ovision of an ambulance wagon 01' littel', tmtlicient would be done for the pI'esent, in supplying the want that i::; acutely felt in many places.

Winsford has set an example that we hope to see followed in many other districts.

JEcJ10es front Bbro ao .

\Ve r egret state that :\ladame Vve Carnot, the widow of the late respected Pre SIdent the French Republic, has lately passed suddenly away at the early age of 55 years, Her untimely death caused great consterna IOn and deep sorrow arnona- the life-savina and ambulance wo rld, by \\ she. was rightly con sidered their benefaclI:ess. fnend, o\\,ll1g to the d' ;ep interest always used to take In and societies which had for their object selfdenymg de\'otlOll to the great cause of suffering humanity.

*

The late :\ladame .Car not, nee lh7pont- 'White, was nearly as well known and respected 111 England as she was in .FI:ance, and it is paying memory a last tnbute by assoclatll1g ourselves to our fnends ac:oss the Ie stre.am " and deploring with them the sad loss sustallled by all LIfe Savll1g and Ambulance Societies.

It is, however, very gratifying to know that, conspicuous among the Official and Diplomatic Representatives, deputatIOns from the Arts and Science Departments, &c., were present delegates from the most Important Life Saving and Ambulance Societies Among the many beautiful flowery tributes, a huge and wreath from the Life Saving Society of Dieppe was greatly admll-,ed. One m:t:y say that not only France, but the whole world had .deslred to pay thtu last respects by their presence at the funeral of thIS great benefactress of humanity.

***

Amona some of the remarkable features of the Exhibition of and Life Saving apparatus held lately at Royal, Paris, were a life belt, hardly any larger than an ordmary l?elt, but so constructed lhat in time of danger, one has only to blo,"v all' Il1 a tube and the belt aradu dly aets inflated, allowing one to float s'.eadily on the surface until help This belt, the invention of Mr. Jean of Nevers, Fran ce, does away for ever with the large and cumbersome cork belts, which, even in some instances, are s.omewhat a source of danger-as it unfortunately happened at the ternble Margate surf-boat disaster. This new belt certainly a. long felt want.

* *

The other interesting item is a Life Saving Ball. attached to ':l- thin but extremely resisting twine line. This bad at may be lIghted by a CUI ious and interesting mechanism, and WIll be of some useful service at night and in the winter time.

** * The French National Life Saving Society held its thirteenth annual meeting in the beautiful Festival IIall ofthe Trocadero, Palace in Paris, before a cro\\ ded audience. On the platform were notIced '\1r. MastIer, Director of Departmental affairs, Home Office; l\1r. Aimond, Deputy '\1r. Grec, represen Ling the Minister of Public \Vorks; Capt. d'Adhemar, repre senting the Military Governor of Paris; tte Baron Textor de Ravisy, Commander of the Legion of Honour; Capt, de Fonbrunne, Baron de St. Georges d'Armstrong; Count Vi c tor du Verne, President of the Life Saving Society of the :\fievre; l\Ir. Che\'(\ and many others, Dele<Yates of various important suburban and inland Life Saving enhanced by their presence the CCZ{bt of the meeting. The band of the 1I7th RegIment of the Line, played during the intervals several choice pieces o f musi c In an able speech, :\[r. Emile Aimond, President of the Society, retra ced the useful work the Society had been doing since its foundation , and the steady increa se o f the number of its members, who rival in zeal and earnestness in extending the good work they are all engaged in. He was glad to say that among tIl e sauveteurs engaged in their merciful calling, in th e terrible disaster "hich happened at the" Bazar de la Charite," be proudly claimed many who belonged to the French National Life Saving Society. l\lanyother interesting speeches were made, rightly eulogising tbe self-denying work the several Societies were engaged in for the cau se of suffering humanity. This brought to a close the proceedings of a brilliant and imposing meeting.

:;:

* *

Jn December will be opened in Marseilles, an International Exhibition, where a l a rge space will be allot ted to Life Saving Apparatus and t o Hygiene. Competitions will also take pln.ce between several Li fe Saving Societies in the harbour, and, under the auspices of the naval and military authorities. In January next, a similar exbibition will be opened at i\ice. \Ye will, in another edition, give you some of its particular features.

** *

\Ve learn that the French Red Cross Society allows a certain grant to some important Civil Ambulance Societies, whose selected and well trained members would be a desirable reinforcement should the circumstances pro ve a necessity for the regular am bulance ranks to be s rengthened. This scheme has for object not only to stimulate the zeal and efficiency of those members, but also, when need be, a powerful body of well trained and efficient ambulance men will be ready to help the military authorities.

**'"

AT the instigation of the Empress of Germany, who takes the greatest interest in the work of the Ambulance Societies, the Kaiser has founded a new decoration to be conferred on members of both sexes who haye distinguished themselves in the interests of the Red Cross Society. This New Order consists of three classes, that of the third and l owest class being a bronze medal, one side of which bears the red cross, with the initials of both their Majesties; while on the other sitle are the words, "Fur Verdienste urn das Rote Kreuz," encircled by a branch of oak leaves. The Order of the second c1a.ss is in silver, with the cross in red enamel and that of the first and highest class a meda in gold, also with a cross of red enamel, finely outlined with white ename l. ***

Among theladies 'who are to receive the new insignia of the Royaume de Belgique de la Federation des Sapeurs Pompiers, we omitted to mention Mrs. Horace Folker the wife of the popular G en er al Hon , Secretary of the National F ire B rigades Union

Dec

HE officer whose portrait appeal's in our gall ery this month is Superintendent Shelley of the Herne Bay Division.

Mr Shelley, who is a native of Rye, in Sussex, one of the ancient and historical Oinque Ports, commenccLl to take an interest in ambulance wOl'k in the year 1891, when he joined a class and went through a course of instructiion in Herne Bay, in which to,Yn he had then taken up his

On the' nmtlOn of the e Bay Division of the St. John Ambulance Bl igacle in 1893, ]\Jr. Shelley was one of the :first membel's enrolled, and in April, 1895, in recognition of the keen interest he bad displayed in its development, he 'Ivas, at the un8nimous request of the membel's, appointed Sup81'intendent, a llosition he has continued to holll with cl'edit to himself and to the advantage of the Division, the interests of which he ha.s so much at heart.

In J une, 1897, the Ohaptel' and Oouncil of the Order 01 St . John, on the recommondation of the Central Executive Oommittee of St. John Ambnlance A sociation, conferred on Mr Shelley the of an Honoraq Serving Brother of the Order, and suh;equently he received the Queen's Jubilee Medal for having been on ambulance rluty with the provincinl cletachments, in the heets of London, on Jubilee Day, during Her Maje ty's procession to and from the City.

M 1'. tihelley, in spite of the tjme he devotes to ambulance wOl'k, yet finds leislll'e for anotbel' hobby, allll one of an equally humane and useful chctracter . He has since the year 1891 been one of the most active members of the Heme Bay Fire Brigade, and in thi::, cttpl1city has al 0 rencl€l'ed good suit and service to his fellow townsmen .

Thoro u gh ly genial find kiDCl hearted, Mr. Shelley, has made a host of hiends, and his comrades of the St. John Ambulance Brigade will, we know, thoroughly endorse our wish, that for many yeal's to come we mny haye the pleasUl'e of his ch eery presence.

'!Drill

VOLUNTEER SCHOOL OF Ii'iSTRUCTION

President: Major Andrew l\Iaclure, V.D. (late L.S.R.V.)

O(jice: 8, Portman Street, IV

The Prize Competition for tbe Adv:lllced Class will take place on Saturday, December 3rd, at +.20 p.m. for the new Class on l\londay, December 5th, at 7 20 p.m. The prizes will be presented on 'Wednesday, 14th, at 8·30 P'I?' atSt. i\/artin'sTown IIall,CharingCross , by LIeutenant-General SIr George ,Vhite, V C., G.C.B., G.C.S,l., G.C .I E Q uartermaster-General to the Forces.

(By Order) P. B GILES, F.R C.S., Brigade Surgeon Lieut.-Colone l. Senior Medica l Officer.

1Railwa\? Bnlbn{anc e.

GREAT NORTHERN OF SCOTLAND RAILWAY. -The directors of this company have decided to present a cup and shield for annual competition among their ambulance corps

MIDLAND RAILWAY.-The Ambulance Award Committee of the i\lidland Railway have issued their fourth annual report. This contains particulars of the services by men who have been awarded medals. Ten gold and 21 silver medals have been awarded in 31 out of 50 cases submitted for consideration,

PERTH RAILWAY CORPS.-A.t a :\[eeting of this Corps held recently, a resolution was passed by the Members to the effect that they should affiliate themselves with the St. Andrew's Ambulance Association. There are several reasons for the change, the principal being a prevalent desire on the part of the men to put themselves in a similar position to the majority of the railway men throughout Scotland, who are connected with the St. Andrew's, and in addition to that, a desire to have one Society in Perth. T he Railway Corps Social Section have just issued their syllabus for the season 1898-9. The programme is an attractive one, and sho u ld do much to create even greater interest in ambulance work.

NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE RAILWAY.-An interesting competition in ambulance work took place in the :\less Room of the .:\ orth Staffordshire Railway 'Works between squads of railway employees who had been instructed in first aid work hy Dr. F Arlidge. Five squads took part in the competition, the judge being Surgeon -Major i\Iassingham, of the Staffordshire and Shropshire Artillery. In turn these squads went through a portion of th.e ambul':l-nce drill. At the of the competition Surgeon-i\IaJor l\lassll1gham and i\Ir. W. D. PhdiJpps addressed the men, The prizes were then ddributed by Irs. Phillipps as follows :-Ist prize squad TO. 2, Messrs. IV. Arlot, J. Preston, W. Bloor, and W. Powner 2nd prize, squad X? 3, :\Iessrs. F. Starkey, C. Starkey, T. Bird, and T Banks; 3rd pnze, squad I, l\Iess r s. Huxley C. Cope, W. Huxley, and W. Buxton.

IAN RAILWAY.-The annual competition for the Caledonian Railway Company's Challenge'Cup, which was held. in Perth under the auspicp.s of the St. Andrew's Ambulance Association, on the 5th ulL, showed a satisfactory increase in the number of competitors. 1here were twenty-five teams of five men each, as compared with twenty teams last year. The competition took the form of oral and practical test examination, and the teams that came forward were :-Aberdeen (2) Ardrossan, Carstairs, Coatbridge, Dundee East, Dundee Wes t, Edmbura-h Glas<Yow-Bridcreton, Buchanan Street Goods (present holders), :\Iaryhill, Polmadie, St, Rollox \Yorks, Stobcross; Hamilton \Nest, Larbert, Leith, i\Iothenvell, Perth (2), ToUcross and Stirling. The examiners were Professor James Dunlop, Glasgo,v Professor D. W. Knox, Glasgow; J. C. Brodie' Dr. Gordon Price, Glasgow; and Dr. Robert Pollok, Glasgow. Colonel Rooney, the principal :\Iedical Army Of!icer of Scotland, was present. Colonel Rooney, who is an enthUSIast Ir: the army amJu.lance movement, came specially for the purpose of how the raIlway men went throuah their ambulance work. '\Ir. HIllhouse, the goods m<1.nager, was present as representing lhe Company, and takin.g practical charge of the competitio.n. 1 he res.ult was that the team won the cup, Perth, Caledonmn, and EglIn.ton teams maklllg equal seconds and the St. Rollox \yorkshops team belllg next.

EASTERc-I RAIL\\'AY.--An interesting pamphlet is issued by the i'\orth-Eastern Raihl ay Centre of the St John A:n.bulance ciation. It contains reports of the result of competitions for pnzes offered by the directors to the six districts into which the centre 5s divided. The General ;\Ianager of the (i\le. G. S, Glbb), III an introduction, stated that when the compeLltIOI1S were last yea.r there were 2,766 members who ,had the first examInation. The fiaures this year show a satIsfactOlY ll1crease, the number having to 3,766 members, distributed as follows 95 0 York 8 4, Darlington 66+, Hull 55 2 , 3+ 1 Leeds 375·

In the examination for the purpose of deCldmg whIch was the best team to represent the Company in group in connection with the National Railway CompetItIOn, the followll1g teams competed -T\\eedmouth, Shildon, \Vest Hartlepool, Hull,IStarbeck, Castleford; and the judge (Dr. Cassidi,Derby), deCIded the Tweedmouth Class was the best team. Although the :\forth-Eastern men dId not succeed in winning the 1 ationa.l. Shield, they the satis!action of taki ng part i.n the, com and of bell1g thIrd III the order of mel'lt, which IS a deCIded gam upon last yea!. The pres.entation of certificates and medallions to the members of the MIlford (1 orth-Eastern Railwa}') Class took place .at,Sherburn. Alderman Rhodes occupIed the chaIr, and Mrs. Rhodes dlstllbuted the certifica tes.

;\[mLAND RAIL\\'Ay,-SHEFFIELD.-The Lord Mayor of Sheffield (Ald. W E. Clegg), wh.o was acompanied by i\li,ss C.legg, attended at the Wicker CongregatIonal Schoolroom, Syeet, on evening, the 12th ult., for the purpose of the and medallions gained by the members ot the, RaIlway Ambulance Class in Shelneld, i\Ir. A. S JarvIs preSIded, and th e atte nda n ce included Dr J. H Brown (lect u r.!r to the Amb ulance Class )"

8UPER INTENDEK'f J F SHELLEY, HERNE BAY DIVISIOK, S'f J ORN AMBULANCE BRIGADE.

FIRST

M essrs A. \V. IY arner, S. Suckley, G eorge Fox, W. T. Gent, Carr, and J. IV. Clar.k (0 (he The 111 pointing out the necessity of raIlway men be1l1g sl{1l led 111 ambulance work, said in the month of Septen;ber 5+ raJ!way were killed, and 1,17+ injLred in the United K111gdom. On the 1\Ildland system up to October. this year 6,202 men had. passed ambulance examinations. The directors of the company did all they could to induce men to take up the work. They contributecl of the cost incurred in holding the classes, and 1895 had gold and silver medals to those who rendered first ald. So far 21> gold and 67 si lve r medals b ,1(l been awarded, and of thes"! o ne gold medal and two silver medals had cyone to the .'.1idland goods department in Sheffield. (Applause ) The Lord Mayor then 13 first year's certificates, six second year's certificates, and four medalllOns to merr:bers who had passed the third year's examination, and then, on behalf of the mem bers, presented to Dr. J. H. Brown, the lecturer o the claos, a. handsome electro-plate flower stand. Dr. B rown. made an appropnate reply. The Lord l'vlayor prese nted a valuable silver mounted walk1l1g stJck to the secretary, .'o1r. J. IV. Clark, who also made a suitable response. On the motion of i\lr. A. IV. Warner. seconded by 1\1r. Carr, the Lord Mayor "as warmly thanked for his attendance. A yote of thanks to the chairman, proposed by Mr. 1'. Gent and seconded by Mr. George Fox, brought the proceedings to a close.

1Rew 3n"cnttollB.

THE ROOT.-\\'e are glad to learn that thi s boot is commanding a ready sale among first-aiders. Both the Brigade Chief and the Chief Superintendent of lhe 1\Ietropolitan Corps. S.].A.B.,arewearingthem, and heartily endo rse our statement as to th e ir ease and comfort. To those who haye much walking to do, the comfort of all ea sy boot cannot be too highly appreciated, and we ca n thorough ly recommend the Ambulance Boot to all classes, no matter in what walk of life, the tread is easy and the step secure. Two new samples have bee n introduced this month, one at 105. 6d. with wide welts, the other at the instigation of he Chief Superintendent of the tan Corps, bei ng a regulati on boot without toe-caps, the correct thing to wear when !J.l uniform.

ON Lord Mayor's Day we had the pleasure of inspecting a new wheeled litter which is being introduced by (he St. John Ambulance Association. Both the stretcher and the wheeled carriage are a decided improvement on the old pattern. The former is not only lighter but it clOEes more co mpactly, a great desideratum where space is concerned, and Nos. and 3 bearers will, we are sure, welcome the abEence of weight. The legs of the carriage are rai sed or lowered by a neat and effective clip, which is easily controlled by the bearers in charge. The litter only wants to be seen to command an extensive sale._

St. 30hn :thnbulance tlsBociation.

BIRMI NGHAM. - The monthly meeting of t he comm ittee of this Centre was held at the Chief Fire Station, The Priory, on 7th ult., 1\1r. J. Dudiey. presiding Arrangements were made for the forthcoming competition for the challenge shield. which "ill take place at the Athletic Institute, John Bright Street, on December 5th. Sketches were of an ambulance tent for use at cycle s ports, &c., but the conslderatlOn as to the purchase of the same was deferred to a subsequen t meeting-. The draft annual report was presented, and ordered to be printed. The representative of the police divi sion (Inspector IV. C. j ones)exhibited the framed testimonial amI silver medal presented Ly H.R.H. the Prince ofvVales, Grand Prior o[ (he Order, to police

\V. E 99, in the :!3irmingham force, for conspicuous ab ility 111. fir.st aid to three men who were on the point of death OW1l1g to suffocatIOn by gases in Lmley Street, in june, 11)<)7.

Bm FAsT. -The annual meeting of this Centre 11 as lately held in. Messrs. C. & J Black's office, Donegall SCJuare. The chair was occupied by Dr. l\lacFarland, and there wa s a good attendance o[ members. On behalf of the hon. secretill)', who was unavoidably absent, Dr. Leslie read the thIrteenth annual report, from which ap p eared a large amount of good work bad been done during the year. Dunng the year endlllg the 30th June, 1898, the firemen who are members of the St. John Ambulance Bri gade had responded to 1,630 calls, as with 128 calls the previous year. It was pr?posed to form thiS year a nursing division in connection with the brIgade, the members to consist of ladie s who had received first aid and

AID. KDecember, 1898.

nursing Certificates, and to meet once a month for practice, ag:ree ing !o visit any poor cases unable to obtain n!Jr si ng. The moying the adoption of the report, said he thought .he wa.s nght III saying that Belfast was the best Centre of the ,\ ssocmt lon III Ireland, and he considered that [or this highly satisfactory state of thmgs t.he utmost credit was due to 1\Iiss Black's wonderful (act, know led ge, and unwearying energy. For what she hatt done he considered her deservincy of a hearty vote o[ thanks. As regarded the iii el11en who were of the Ambulance Brigade, his attention had been to the opinion expressed of them by .'oIajor Trimble, Deputy COl11lTIISSlOner. That gen tleman had sa id that as far as efficiency was the B elfast division was far ahead of anythlllg he haLl seen. here could, in fact, be no more thorough organization, and for th s sat sfactory state of tbings great credit \Vas due to Superintendent Parker, who was ever ready night and day to transport case reported to his department. Dr. Leslie seconded the motion, which was passed. The report of the Treasurer, which showed a handsome balance to the credit side of the account, was a lso adopted.

Chippendale, hon. secretary of this Centre, has received cert ifi cates [rom Sir Her bert C. Perrott, BarL., intimating that at a meeting of the Central Executive Committee, held at SL. John 's Gate, London, it was unanimou sly resoh 'e d to add the names o[ James Kerr, l\ I. A., l\1.D., Cantab. ; B. P Viret, 1\1.13. London, 1\l.R.C.S.; and Ralph Beresford, i\f.R.C.S., L.S.A., to the list of honorary life members o[ the St. John Ambulance A ssociation, in recognition of their valuable services as gratuitous lecturers to the classes at the Bradford Centre.

BmGHToN.-In the Corn Exchange, Brighton, on the +th u lt., the Mayor of Brighton (Alderman Sir John Blaker) the pleasing duty of distributing the medallions, badges, and certificates .to .the Police, gained in connection with the St. John Ambulance .\ssoclatlOll. The Mayor in s tanced so me typical cases in which members of the force had rendered first aid, observing that the training the men were re ce iving \\'as of tlnqlle sLio ned value to the inhabitants of the tOIlIl. a it of a st rength of 185, no fewer than 16 8 were certificate hOld ers, IIhile 19 held the highest awarLl, and 37 the second. There were only I7 men who did not hold a certificate. Chief Con s tahle Carter prop osed a hearty vote of thanks to his VVorship for aLLenLl:lt1ce. The Mayor, in reply, humorou sly remarked tha notll'lthstandlllg thal he was about to become one o[ the unemployed, he shou ld take every opportunity of being among them whenever he might be askell.

CA!lI8 ERLEY.-The first annual general meeting- of the York T owil and Camberley branch was held in the Yo !k Town Schools. The followin cy officers \I"ere e lected, and thanked [or their services during the pastyear :-President, Col. BowdleI' ; vice-presidents, Mrs. Morse, ;'lrs. Stotherd, Sir Geo. Couper, Bart., General Abbot Anderson, Dr. Hugo Muller, and Mr. A. II. Claypole; chairman committee the Rev. C. P. Berr) man; co 111111l ttee, Drs. Clarke, Gillespie, W'llc ot, Cadell, Rayner, Wooldridge, and Scott, Mesdames Berryman, Clayp ole, Rudge, Johnston, Morse, and Thom, Messrs. ll odgson, Look, Nor.man, Upfold, Martin, amI \Vh itehead. Mr. F. J. II urlock was re-app01l1teLl honorary tre:lsurer, :lnd Mr. A. R. Harwood hon. secretary, and tb ey were thanked [or their past services.

FAH:\TLEY.-The Brigade Chief SuperintenGent was present on Monday, November 21st, at a meeting held in the School R oom, Farnley, for the purpose of forming classes in connection with th e St. John Ambulance ..:\ssocia tion The chair was taken by 1\1r. Robert Armi tage, Managing Director of the large Ironworks. Owing to the illness of the i\ledical Lecturer, the Brigade Chief Superintendent gave an address on the ambulance work of the St. John Ambulance Association. At the conclusion, the chairman proposed a very hearty vote o[ thank s Mr. Chureh Brasier for his great kindness in coming down to explain to them the objects of the Association, and trusted that the result might be the formation of a stroug Division of the Brigade after the examination o[ their cl3sses. The Rector, who seconded the vote, stated that he would do all that lay in his power to carry out the wishes of the speaker, and he tru sted that \11'. Church Brasier would be enabled to come amongst them again, see the plOof of the earnest and telling words he had addressed to them that 11 ight.

IpS\\,lC1I. - The report of the Ipswich Branch for the year 1897-8 has just been issued by Coulcher, the hon. secreta ry. It is a record of good work economica lly Carried on. For the sum of £60 (or th ereabouts) the centre has been susta ined. The report says tersely, " Uld friends do not leav e us "we have nover ost a subscriber hy withdrawal, and this year, as often iJefore, we have gained many new o n es, but our power [or good is greatly curtai led by want of money, and we would rathcI have the pounds to take ca re o[ than the pence, or rather to spend wi sely." FOl the fir s t till1e at ce ntre a competition was held Dr. Brooks, o[ Felixsto\le, and 1\11'. Woolston, of I Vellingborollgh, (Assistant Commissioner of the District) , acted as judges Forty men, many of them having the medallion of the Association, and all oelonging to the Ip swich Corps of St. John Ambulance Brigade, went in for this competition. The highest possible number 0'- marks to be gained \vas ISO, but no team got nearer than 120. As to the needs of lhe centre, the report is very explicit :-" Vlte want a horse anabulance waggon, and a place to keep it, w h ich could be the reg u lar headquarters

December, 1898.J FIR S .T

of the centre, with a hall to practise, etc., etc. vVe want two more litters, and to finish paying [or those we now have We should like the offer of a challenge shie ld or cup, to be competed for an nually by members of the Ipswich Corps. And we should like more money for orcyanis ing cheap classes, so that our indebtedness to our medical staff not be so verygreaL" vVork has again begun well [or the present seaSon. A large first aid class is going on at Orwell Works, kindly arrancyed for their employees by Mess:s. Ransomes and Jefferies. An oddfellows class is in St. John's.

SHEFFlELD.-Th e fifth annual ambulance competition, under the auspices o[ this centre was held in the schoolroom o[ South Street Chapel on Saturday afternoon, the 19th lilt" and was well attended.

The event has been made an annua affair through the exertions of some cyentlemen who are interested in work of this kind, chief amongst them beinCY Mr. Fred Batty, tho IIon. Secretary. Competitors entered from all within a r adius of 20 miles of Sheffield. Most of the large iron and steel firms sent a contingent. The staff of the Midland Railway at Chesterfield and Sheffield were also represented, and also the tenants of the Duke of Portland at Welbeck The Boys' Brigade, the present holders of the" H. L. Brown" challenge shield, were again competitors. I n the absence of the President, Mr. II. IY oodru[[, the chair was taken by 1\11'. E. G" II amlyn, of IYelbeck. The first event was a trial of skill in the treatment of wounds and bleeding. The first priz'! "inner was George Lord of the '\lidlanc! Railway Goods Department, Sheffield. The second event, embracing treatment of fractures, was equally closely competed for. 'Villi am Greenwood, of N eepsend G as ,V orks, was first, fo llowed by Ben Goucher, \'Velb eck Abbey, and Geo. Cordon, of Tree ton The next event was the class competi t ion, comprising stretcher exercises for teams of four, and treatment for fra.ctures. The fir st prize was the "H. L. Brown" challenge shield, and there are [our other a\vards. The shield fell this ye:tr tJ Messrs. Vickers, Sons & the late holders of the trophy taking fourth place this year. The se co nd prize wa s carried off by the team [rom Messrs. IYilliam Cooke & Co., and the third by the Sheffield Goods Department of the ;'Iidland Railway Cornpdny Judging was undertaken by Drs. C. Addiso n, S" Ryan, J. D. Kenny (Treeton ), J. Somerville, E. S .'o[orlon, D. G Xewton, and G. Sorby. At the close of the competition the medical gentlemen were heartily thanked for their services.

AT an Inquest held on Saturday, November 36th, at Rotherhithe, the Coroner, Mr. G N. IV ood, specially commended William J ohn Dibb, Chief Engineer of the S.S. "Oli\'e," aho a certificated pupil of the St John Ambulance Association, for the commendable efforts he made to resuscitate an Allstrian seaman who had been rescued from the keel of an o\"erturned boat in the channel. This proves how necessary It is for members of the Uercantile :'Ifarine to have some ambulance instruction

PROPOSED OF ST. A:\TDEE"lY'S Al\D ST. JOHN AMBULANCE ASSO C1ATJONS"-The annual meeting of the St. Andrew's Ambulance Association (Perth Centre), was held in the Burgh Court Room recently. Captain Garrow, Chfef Constable, presided, and a.mong others present were Colonel Boyd Anderson, Yice-Chairman of the Central Executive, Glasgow; .'oIr. Hender so n, Glasgow, Secretary; Dr. Trotter, Dr. Taylor; 1\Ir. John Sime, of John Dewar & i'llr. Duncan Cumming; 1\11'. Callan; and :\1r. James

Colonel Boyd AnJerson said that when the Scotti sh Execu ive in Glasgow received the Perth circular with the prOf '3sa l to amalgamate wit h St. John's, they felt it was a matter tha t th " could hardly deal wit h straight away, but that it required a good <leal of consideration. Not that they had the slightest objection to it-they would rather wel co me it with enthusiasm; but they could not overlook the lact that St. John's was in Perth a long time before :::It. Andrew's. The St. Andrew's Centre had existed alongside of them in great harmony, and they would be very sJrry indeed if anything should be done in the slightest degree which would either offend the susceptibilities of the menlbers or not recognise to the fullest extent the "ork done by John's in Perth and other places in Scotlanci.-(IIear, hear). Officebearers were elected for the ensuing year as follows :-Chairman, Lord Provost Dewar; Trea surer, 1\1r. John Sime, Glasg-ow RoaJ ; Secretary, 1\1r. james Mitchell, solicitor; Members of Committee, J\Iessrs. Garrow, D. Cumml11g, J B. Bouick, John l\larshall, R. Callan, J. ThomsonPrentice (Caledonian Railway Company), Dr. Trotter, and Dr. Taylor. Mr. IIenuerson read a letter which he had recciveu from .'.11'. David R:lttray, Hon. Secretary o[ the St. J ohn Ambulance Corps at Penh, stating that at a meeting held 011 the 6th Novemher last, it was resolved tbat the corps should in future be conducted under the auspices o[ St. Andrew's Association, in stead of St. John Ambulance , ssociation as hitherto, and asking that the necessary papers and instructions should be forwarded. In his reply i\l1'. II enderson pointed out that the communication had been laid before the Executive Committee of the Perth Centre for approval. L ord Provost Dewar, i\1r. Garrow, i\1r. J ames Mitchell, and l'vIr. John Sime were appointed as a smail Committee to meet with a similar Com111i tteefrom the St. J ohn Ambulance Association. The proceedings closed widl a vote of thanks to 1\lr. Garrow [or presiding.

St . 30bn Bnlbulance :JBrigabe. METROPOLIT AN CORPS.

LORD MAYOR'S DAY.-On inquiry being made at the head-quarters of the Sl. J ohn bulance Brigade as to casllalities that occurred during the day, chief su\:enntendent, l\Ir. IV. II. Morgan, informed a representatl\'e of Press the number of cases treated was "ery much.hlgher than Jl1 any prevIous year, the figure heing IS5. The majority of these, however, consisted o[ fainting fits whi ch were soon ulsposed of. There were only two really serious accidents-one a case of fracture of the ankle, and another a somewhat se vere scalp wound. There II·ere ;33 stations the route, a nd the number of men employed was 235. thlS large staff, 111 the absen ce of the Commissioner, Colonel Bowdler, being controlled by Chief Superintendent Morgan. At the conclusion of the day's I\'ork an adjournment was made to the Blue tast Restaurant, the Broadway, Ludgate-hill, "here, under the chairmanship of tbe Assistant Commissioner Mr. F. D. ;\1ackenzie, about 160 guests, including 20 nurses, partook o[ an excellent dinner, which was followed by an agreeable smoking concert, this part of the proceedings beinoarranged by Superintendent S. B. Piers. b ON Lord :'fayor's Day the Ambulance De tachment which accompanied the Fire Brigade contingent, \y as in charge of Brigade Chief Superintendent Church Brasier. :\1r. Church B rasier. who wore the full dress of an officer in the Yolunteer Fire Sen'ice, was present in the evening at the Fire Officers' :'less, which was held at the Holborn Restaurant, under the presidency of Captain Shean. Superintendent Goslin who proposed the toast of the Ambulance Service. said. that _-\mbubnce and Church Brasier were synonymous wherever you went, he should therefore couple that gentleman's n:1me with the toast. Mr. Church Brasier received a most cordial greeting on rising to respond.

PROVI:\CIAL CORPS

AR:\ILEY.-The Brigade Superintendent was present at the concert organised to raise funds on behalf of the Armley and Wortley Di\'ision of the Brigade. :\11'. Cecil Graeme also travelled irom London in order to take part in the programme. i.\Ir. Graeme who ga\'e hi3 services, was accorded a most enthusiastic reception This gentleman, whose cle\'er imperson ations are always worth seeing, had added one or two fresh characters to his already extensive repertoire. During the inten'al the Brigade Chief Superintendent spoke briefly on the nlue of ambulance work, and made an earnest appeal on behalf of the funds of the local Di\'ision.

CRE"\\,E.-On Friday, Kovember 19th, Superintendent Oldham and some members of the Crewe Di\·ision, did good service at the railway smash which occurred on the London and X orth·IVfstern Railway ne tr this station, when two goods trains came into collision Oldham who received notice of the accident at 1.+3, says, his men did yeomen service, the injured \\'e re rescued with considering some had to be rescued with crowbars, &::c., added to which tbe wreck had broken the main water - pipe supplying Crewe, and the place ,\'as like a sea By 3.30 the injured were under treatment at the Hospital, a of miles away This is most creditable to Superintendent Oldham and the Divi SIOn which he controls, and is worthy to rank alongside the record of ambulance work at \Yellingborough.

DO"l'ER.-A very interesting competition for a sih'er cup, and a medal for e,\ch mem ber of the winning team, presented by the President (:.1r. E. P. Barlow), took place in the Assembly Rooms, Biggin-street, between three teams selected at a preliminary examination of the Di \·ision. The judges on giving their derision said the work had been so \yell done, that they had had a very difficult duty to perform. They had carefully considered the work of the various teams and their decision was that A team consisting of .'.lessrs Plater, Blackmore, Baker, and Booth, hall won. The cup was then presented to the wiunin cy team. A yote of thanks was giYen to the judges, Drs. and Baird. In responding, Dr. Baird saia he had, in the course of his profession, seen many different injuries attended to by first aid meo, but he h a d no difficnlty in coming to the conclusion that what he had seen there that night was a credit to the M edical Instructor, and also to the tOWl'l.

Hl-LL HOSPITAL S L':\D AY.-The annual appeal on behalf of the medical charities of Hull was made 0n 30th Octoher at all the places of worship o[ e\'ery dellomination 'n the city. The. Mayor, Sheriff,.a?d the members of the Corpora ion attended service at lIoly Tnnlty Church. Undoubtedly the most interesting feature of the service, which is quite an innovation, was attendance of detachments from the varioLls ambulance brigades. They included the stretcher-bearers of the 2nd East Ridin cy Yorkshire \ 'olunteer Artillery, under SurgeonCaptain Robinson; (Gtlo of tbe I.st \'olunteer pat:alion East Yorkshire ReCYiment under Surcyeon-Captaln t'alkner; City Police, under SuperGrasby; Ilull Corps St. JoJ:ll1 Rriga.dc, under Chief Superintendent IIopper North-Eastern RaIlway under Inspector Dobson; and Hull District N orth -Eastern Radwa.y Centre St. John Ambulance, under i\lr. F. Coates. The parade .up at 9 .+5 a.m. in front of the Inflrm<Lry and marched off at 10 clock 111 the ord er given. The bands of the 2nd R.Y. V.A. and the 1\ orth-Eastern Railway were in attendance.

FIRstr

MARKET HARBOROr:GH.-The annual inspecti on of this was conducted at tbe Corn Exchange recently byAsslstant T. II. Woolston (Wellingborough). At the close the ITIspector COI1cyratulated the captain, Mr. Gre en, on having such a smart him. He, however, cons id cred it would be adv Isable for ur; forms to be purchased so that people th.at. s.uch a corps eXIsted.

READfNG.- The first inspectIOn of thIs dIVISIOn took place at the "Vest Stree t Hall, on Saturday the I2th when +2 n:en paraded. Brigade Chief Superintendent Church BraSIer (Hon Servll1g Brother of the Order of the Hospital of John of Jerusalem 111 England) was the inspecting officer. The men were put dnll and first aid work, and the inspecting officer 11lm s.elf. fal.rly pleased with the work done on the whole, and WIth the dlsclpllDe of. the division. He also recomme nded the division to adopt the prescnbed uniform of the Brigade In the evening the annual meat tea was h.eld at the" Old Abbey Re staurant," followed by a successful Concert to welcome tbe ne,v hon. surgeon, Dr. Holden, who promIsed to do everything he could for the success of the division.

TIBSHELF.-On Tue sday, October 25th, the officer;; and m.en of Corps pre3ented their Chaplain, the Rev: E. E. Morns, :"ho. IS the neighhourhood, with a handsome SIlver Goblet, wIth Mr. Morris, who is a keen Ambulance man, has taken great mterest JD the welfare of the Corps during his Chapbi.ncy, wbich he has held for many years. His leaving is looked upon wIth by the men, with whom he is very popular. The Corps has gIven hIm the post of honorary Chaplain.

VVINSFORD-PRESENTATION TO HON. SURGEON.-This Division is in possession of an ho'1. surcyeon (Dr \V oodyatt) who takes more than an ordinary interest in th e humanitarian work carried on by the corps. On Wednesdaynight,glhull., Dr.'\Yoodyattgave a practical demonstration of his sympathy by entertaining the members to a dinner at the V\lheat Sheaf Hotel, \,yinsford. The company included Supt Heathcote, First Officer Bates, Second Officer Buckley, Sergeant Court, sixtee n privates, and others , with :\1r. J. H. Cooke as the principal guest. The toast of the "Queen," having been honoured, i\r L J. H. Cooke " The Winsford division of the St. John Ambulance Brigade," and III doin a so spoke in eulogistic terms of the excellent work carr ied on by its mern"'bers. The lo ca l corps "vas intere sting to him from a legal standpoint, because he believed it was the first ambulance corps in Englandand it was probably the only one at the present time-that had been supported out of tbe rates of a town. (A ppl:tuse.) Th e local authority had contributed a subscription to the Winsford Ambulance Corps out of the money raised [or technical instruction purposes-ambulance was unqu estionably a work recognised as part of technical in struction-and the aud tor bad pas sed it as a perfectly legitimate payment. (Applause ) However, later on it ,,'a s found imp ossible to continue the payment from that source oyving to all the money raised for technical instruction purposes being required [or work that was more strictly of technical educational character. I t was then suggested that, in view of the fact m oney paid to infirmari es was ruled as a legitimate payment under certa in conditions, a sub sc ripti on sbould be paid in s upp ort of ambulan'e work, 'which includ ed the removal of p:ttients to infirmaries. This was done, and there had never been tbe slightest ttouble with the audito r about the matter. (Hear, hear. ) The Win sford authority was absolutely the first counci l that had ever made a contrib u ion of that character, and he thought other councils might wisely follow the example, because he could not concelye of the rates being more appropriately employed than by helping the sick in every possihle way. (Applause.) It was a real pleasure to see Win sford leading the way in Mid-Che shire in this Q:latter, and he was sure It was a credIt to the town to have a corps in the uniform of tbe St. John Am bulance Brigade In Dr. Woodyatt they had got an hon. surgeon. (Applause.) H e hoped they would prosper in thelT noble work. (App lau se.)- The toast having been r ecei ved, Supt. Heathcote responded, and gave an intere sting sketch of ambulance work in the country. H e said the Winsford St. J o hn Ambulance Corps was formed 111 ]I,[ay, I 886, shortly after the examination in connection with the Winsford ce ntr e. The corps had done a truly humanitarian work. had r ecorded on his books [rom 200 to 300 cases, but this number dId not represent the total number dealt with. The result of rendering. II first aid" had many cases 1?roved the saving of many limbs an d doubtless the savmg of some bves. They had four stat ion s fitted up, and had. sO.me cac;h in bank in case of emergency

(Hear, heaL) SubscnptIOns were receIved from the ur ba n council the local g.entry,.and general public: He thought the latter might be more"lIbe.ra l m TheIr sma ll corps was afterwards called the Wll1sford dtvlslon ofthe St. John Ambulance Brigade." He had annually taken a detachment to the Brigade Camp of Instruction and last year he entered a team fo r the Bricyade Jubilee competition anti they came out tenth best in England (Applause) In he said they greatly needed an ambulancewaggon, and expressed the h'o pe that would see his way to assist them by providing them WIth thIS reqUISIte (Applause.) Dr. Woodya tt then submitted the" Albert Infirmary, " and said that this had been substituted at the :equest of :vir. r H Cooke for the toast of" Our guest." He referred m terms of praIse to the manner in which the new infirmary had been

AID. [D ece mb er, 1898. fitted up, and said he was sure it would be greatly. Mr Cooke had in the past and was at the present tIme dOI?g all m hIS power to assist any movement t hat was to alleVIate the su fferings of the poor, and they were to have h lscompany that mght. Before the toast was honoured, Su pt. Heatbcote pre sented. Dr with alhandsome mala cca ca n e whi ch bore the followmg InSCrIptIOn o n a silver mount;- " Presented to Han. Surgeon B. H. Woodyatt by the members of the VVinsfNd division of he St. John Ambulance Bn· gade " Dr Woodyatt t?anked for drinking his health and mak ng him the present, at whIch he saId he was very much touched. He ,,;as very much interested in th e work, and to be connected WIth them. During the evening the pro ceed ll1gs were enlIvened by songs co ntributed by 1'.1r. Cuzner, Mr. Royston, and Buckley. A very pleasant evening was brought to a close by the smgmg of the NatIOnal Anthem

MISS J ULIA C. MANN, L ady Superintendent Saturday Fund, has received t h e decoration of an Honorary Servmg Slste,r of the Order of the H:Jspital of St. John of J erusalem .The decoratIOn was publicly presented to Miss Mann on the occasIO n of the Annu.a Inspection of the Division by Mr. R. l\IacL ean MacLean, GenealogIst of the Order and Chairman of the Hospital Saturday Fund Amb ulance Committ ee.

ST. JOHN AMBULANCE BRIGA DE .-The St. John' s Gate Division held th'e first social evening on the 14th November, at I-lead Quarters. Superintendent Liddell in.th e chair,. supporte.d by Comm.issioner Mr. F. D i\Iacke nzle, the Bngad e ChIef Supenntendent, ChIef Superintendent Morgan, &c. capita pr?gramme was arranged by Private H avelock Dunng the evemng Supernumerary Offi cer Churcher (Secretary) was presented by the Division with a combination Breakfast Set as a slight recognition of the able way in which he has discharged his duties. The I 9t h in st. is fixed for the next socia evel11ng.

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SPECIALLY

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will be paid by the above Oot'poratioll to the egal representative of anyone wh o is kill ed by an accident to the Passcng er Train (within the United Kingdom 0 Channel I slands), in which the deceased was a ticket bearing or paying passenger, or wh o shall have been fa,tally injured thereby (should death result with in ninety days after such accident).

PROVIDED that tbe person so killed or injured had upon his or her person, or bad left at home Lhis ticket, with his, or her, usual signature, written prior to the :\ccielent, on the space provilled below, which, together with the giving of notice within the time as hereinbefore melltioned, is the essence of this contract

Tbis insurance holels good for currcnt issue only, and carries the benefits of and is su bj ec t to, the conditions of the" OCEAN ACCIDEN1 & GUAHANTEE COMPANY, Limited, Act, 1890," Hi s](s Nos 2 & 3.

The Corporation admit that the purchase of this Paper is the payment of a pr'emium under Section 34 of the Act. No person can recover under more than onc Ooupon ticket in respect of the same risk.

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The Trade will be supplied by Mr. F BRETT, 5, Pi lgr m Street , Ludgate H i

P UB LISHER'S NOTICE.-In consequence of the demand for back numbers, the Publisher ha s to give notice tbat the price of any back number previous to the current year, will in future be zd. As the stock of some of them is very limi·ted, would be well for those of our readers who wish it, to complete their sets without delay.

:f13r e\)iti e5.

Another town in good old Lancashire is now the po ssess or of a fine Ambulance Hall. The little town of Foulridge is the happy recipient of the gift on this occasion, thanks to the generosity of Mr. Carr, J P. How muc h longe.r we wonder will the Metropolitan Corps have to walt untIl some benevolent millionairethe splendid work that has been done, and is bemg done by the Corps on every possible occasiondecides on presenting the members with a suitable HeadQuarters, and with a decent drill hall.

to * it

We believe the site is already acquired, and it only \yants the money for the bricks and mortar, and other httle odds and ends of a like character. e understand the Me-moria l painting of Her Majesty, which is l11tended to grace the New Hall when it is finished is now quite ready, but its future resting place still remains a 9uery. will solve the riddle? Is there any on the look out for some deser\'ing cause on whIch to bes t ow the geniality of his or her O'olden smile.

0

* '" about the Jubilee picture, this likeness of Her Majesty, wh ich is a striking one, reflects the highest credit on Mr. Dudley Heath, the artist,and we heartilyconO'ratulate him on his very marked success. We that all the subscriptions are not yet in, and the l ist is not closed, so that those who ha\'e omitted to send on their subscriptions should not now delay.

"iR ew tl1nbulancc s.

At the genera l meeting of the Chesterfield and Midland Counties In st itu t ion of held at Nottingham on the 3rd ult., M.T. H. HeWItt, of Mine s , read a p:lp er dealing WIth Improved ambulance carnage and stretcher for u se in mines. A deSIre to alleviate the sufferings of hi s fellow-men was he said his only apol015Y f?r.bringing to the n otice of members a for 111]ured work men employed in the mine direct from their workmg-place to the bed at the ho spital or at home with a minimum of suffering nece ssar il y attending the removal o[ such cases WIth the use.of .this carriage and stretcher an injured person could be pla ced upon It 111 any part of th e mine where a tub could rlln conveyed to the pit bottom, taken up the shaft (even if the shaft ;\,as a nharrow o.ne), p l ,,:ced in a conveyance, carried lupsta irs upon' ,reaching e hos pIta l o r hIS o wn home, and p laced upo n the beJ there without

once left the o.r to have been subject to any exertion on hIS own part, a .mIl1lmUm amou nt of trouble to those who we.re attendIng hIm. InJun es were often aggravated by the sufferer belI1.g co nveyed up a narrow shaft an ordin.ary pit tub, and by being earned up an ordmary cottage sta Ircase, whlcb was som etim es steep, frequently broad enough for only one person. The stretcher Itse!f. was much .same as the old pattern, but to gain the angular pOSItIOn bearers were provided with hinged joints, at a conVcl11ent dIstance from one end so as to allow tbat end to be raised into a ny position to suit the requirements of the case or the comfort of the suffe rer, to enable. the stretcher to be drawn through a narrow sha.ft or up a staIrcase stavs were provided by whIch deSIred angular or verttcal pOSItIOn of the raised end might be vaned .and secured Two supplementary handles were provided for of ca rr y 1l1g when the stretcher was not in a horizontal pOSItIOn, and these were the hinged part of the stretcher It hOrIzontal, IJ1 thIS way strengtbening the frame also The Iron clIps ma.de this horizontal position doubly secure A s.u!table strap was provlde.d for .securing the injured person in any pOSItIOn on the stretcher, whIle bell1g conveyed from the mine or up the shaft. The weight of the carriage complete was I02 Ibs., and the total weight of carriage and stretcher was I 371bs.

Mr. 'vV. Hallam, the Local Superintendent of the Nottingham Centre of the St. J ohn Ambulance Association is the inventor of a co mbined ambulance carriage and stretcher fo; use in mines The object of the invention is to provide a vehicle by which an injured man can be removed from any p:ut of a mine where a tub can run to th.e shaft, and thence conveyed home or to tbe hospital with a mlntmum amount of suffering. The carriag-e is fitted with flang-ed wheel.s to run on the rails of the underground roads, and the axle can adjusted to fit any gauge. The carriage, with detachable stretcher, IS feet long, 3+ in ches wide, and its height is 28 inches, the total weight being I371bs.

[Possibly the two ambulances above described are identical. It is a strange coincidence that apparently the same idea has been carried out in Upper Sile siR in Germany, as shown by the following extract.-ED , ]

A co llap s i.b le ambulance for conveying the injured from underground work1l1gs to he surface has designed by Roe ssne r of the K onig Colliery in Upper Silesia, states the Delltsche Kolllen; eitltng. Thi s ambulance, which only weighs IS kilogs. lbs. ) , and can easily be carried by one man when in its contra cted state, consists of an oak frame wi th coppered iron-wire gauze in the na Lure of a spring. B oth the longitudinals of the frame are divided in the middle, the two puts being united by hinges fixed underneath; and the four handles, which are placed on the two longitudinals, are also hinged, so that they can be turned up for passing in narrow spaces If an injured man has to be carried in the workings, he will be placed on the opened-out ambulance, and lifted by two men, who take hold of the handles and so carry him; but if it be necessary to take the sufferer in a tub, by a h aulage plant or in the cage, he will be placed on the ambulance in a sit ting position. In this latter case the ambulance with the man in it will be lifted over the sides of the tub by means of iron handle s provided for the purpose, the portion free under him fastened by hooks, :tnd the man in the ambulance, after the handles ha\'e been turned up sidewa.ys against the longitudinals, let down into the tub. Lastly, after the ambulance has been taken out of the tub, the man is to be carefully brougbt to a recumbent position for further conveyance.

A. BRA E POL C :: SER GEANT .-Sir E. Bradford, Oommissioner of the Metropolitan P olice, amI L ady Bradford, attended at Stoke Newington Police Statio n on \Vedne sday, December qth, to present the Bronze Med1.1 of the R oya l II umane Society to Sergt. Thomas ,\V ilson, ++ N. On Sept. 2I a boy, named Joseph Baker, was bathing-in a pona in the Green Lanes when he got out of his depth and sank. Wilson arrived to find 30 persons standing looking at the spot where the boy had been bst seen. He at once divested himself of his tunic and h e lmet dived into 10 feet of water, and brought the lad to the bank By pro'mptly res orting to the methods of artificial he had learnt in the classes of the St. John Ambulance AssoctatlOn, the sergeant succeeded in restoring animation, but the boy from shock two hours later. Amid loud cheers Lady Bradford pll1ned the medal onthe sergeant's breast.

FIRST anll tfJt of tfieir

H a"In g been asked to produce a further series of articles on "Sick Cookii'g in its Relation to Invalids,":ve have that we car.not ?O better than publish extracts from a se'les of articles prepared by 1\1ISS Catherine Wood, late Lady Supt, at the Great Street, IIospital for Children, and published in the Health ExhIl;l1tJOn Senes of 188 4 by :'IIessrs, Clowes & Son, \V e trust that they of s,ervice to those 01 our readers who may be engaged 111 district sick nursing, and who may not have had the advantage of a professional training, Invalid s! What thoughts does that word call into being! what pictures does the imagination at once ,con,struct! The whole world seems full of invalids- be mgs whose ltfe IS a burden to them, who would give half their wealth to be eased of th eir who would barter their knowledge or fame for the careless life of the healthy man, ,

They may be met in a ::lreary procesSIOn across the contment of Europe, scattered up and, down sunny shores,of the IVlediterranean, steaming across the sea JJ1 pursUIt of rest, campIng on lovely spots to cheat their pain, all up and down the world among the haunts of men, life taking its sad tinge from their heritage of weakness,

There are invalids wh0 are invalids because they have not enough food , and there are invalids who are such because they have too much food' there are invalids who have made themselves such because of impr;per food, and there are invalids who are invalids because they will not eat proper food. , "

Food is frequently at the bottom of our Ills, and certamly 111validism that much-enduring, much-abused member of our bodies, the stomach, is answerable for ill-temper, for discontent, for fretfulness, for caprice, for ennui and yet, did we listen to it s admonitions an,d its teachi ng s, we should enjoy more peace, and find more happIDess ll1 our lives,

The success of half the water-cures and health resorts is based on this fact, for they associate with their strictly medical a ,str!ct dietetic regimen, plain, wholesome and temperate, on whIch they 111Slst as part of their scheme knowing that the over-eating of the L ondo n season must be combated with the under-eating of the holiday season, I t is a very irrational mode of treatment, but it is the only one that will restore the balance far better would it be if the need for cure did not exist, but such self-denial is too much to look for in these enervating days.

There is a certain vow ta.ken in early infancy tha.t promises temperance in all fleshly appetites unfortun ately, the meaning of this word has been narrowed down to an abstemious use of alcohol, thus ignor:ng its wide signification, which embraces all appetites and regulates the menu of the dinner-table as well as the cups of the inebriaLe,

This is one of the best prescriptions it can be read and made up by everyone for themselves,

It is ollite certa in that people eat too much n ot on ly do they offend ill the quantity of food taken, but in the variety of foods partaken of, so that at la st the appetite becomes so jaded an:! satiated that it has to be tickled with highly-spiced and novel dishes, Good were it for those invalids if they could be first set to work to earn their meal, and then be set down to a plain, nourishing dinner it would taste richer to them than the most delicate dainties of the French chef, because served up with hunger.

There are offenders against this canon amongst the poor as well as the rich, and in their measure they have as many ways of gratifying the appetite when the opportunity is given to them, they will indulge in must unwholesome, unsatisfying food, and as a r ule the mode of cooking s anything but rational. It is above a ll things n ecessa ry that people should un derstand that the use of food is to provide force and energy fur the duties of life, lhe gratifying of the p alate being a secondary r.onside r ation, though, with that wonderful adaptation of means to an end, our OFeator has linked the satisfying of our appetite with the duty of sustaining life,

As over-feeding is to blame for many of the miseries of invalids, so on the other hand is under-feeding, It is marvellous what a state of appetite can be brought about by the imagination, vVe Imag111e that and such an article of food disagrees with us and the healthy fun ctIOns of the stomach being mu ch influenced through the will, the digestion becomes impaired , and to such an extent can this imagination be pushed that the stomach will at last vomit the food, aod chronic v om iting will be induced, The scnse of distaste [or a l;lleal, almost amounting to nausea-the result, frequently, of overor prolonged fasting, is familiar to each one of us; and we are conSCIOUS of an act of will and det erminat ion in first instance to force the stomach to resume its functions,

The same may come as the result of a distasteful occupatIOn, or some SIght that disgusted c r unnerved u s; and it frequently attends the ,work of hospital nurses, or tho.e who tend the sick, It must be stnven manfully against, it is really a cry from exhausted nature :'lnd the must be the taking of natural. heal>hy food to prevent ItS beC01;l1ng a fixed habit It is likewise a form of hysteria n ot, un c0l;ll m on In growing g irls it may sprinl; from t.he [ool1 ::.h WIsh to appear mt eresting or delicate, or from the desire to :heck any approach to stoutness but from whatever ca use it may

AID. [January, 1899.

spring, the disea se must be with and gently by the moth el or auardian, the only way t.o 111p the evil 111 th e bud, In the same must a fancifu or wayward appetite b e dealt with but all coercion will fail of it s object uQless seconded by the intelligent will of the in valid,

I have seen young, growing girls treated as patients, whose only disease was that they refused their food, fhe history received with t.hem being, first, loss of appetite, then occasional vomiting, degenerating into a confirmed habit. It has been found th",t the disease could be quite conquered when separated from their injudicious friends, and dealt with kindly but firmly Being one among- a number, and without any prestige of illn ers attaching, nature soon again asserted h er claim, and the reas o n for the malingering vanished away, In a lesser deO'ree this depraved appetite shows itself in extreme fancifulness and daitltiness, nearly a lway s the outcome of affcctation , 1'0 a healthy stomach all food comes alike; and though in all cases there are likes and dislikes, they need not be placed in the ascendant, Even wh ere there is weakness and delicacy in the digestive organs, much of it may be overcome by ignoring and disciplining the organs to t heir duty, Like all our other functions, that of digestion is automatic, and to direct undue attention to it is at once t o disturb its equilibrium, The stomach s a good sen'ant but a bad master.

The effect that the mind has upon the process of digestion must be familiar to all who reason on cause and effect. A s udden mental shock will destroy all appetite for fo od ; a disagreeable duty impending, a great anxiety or prolonged strain, a serious mental effort, will disarrange the functions aud though tb.e food may be taken from a sense of duty, there will be no enjoyment in the act, and the results obtained from it will be imperfect, So, in like manner, the effect of any great mental excit ement is to lead to a forg-etfulness of the wants of the body, so that it may be carr ed past the usual time of feeding unheeded, The prolonged fasts of relig ious enthusiasts were a ll the result of such excitement.

All this goes to prove how intimate a connection exists between the mind and b0dy, the latter being intended always as the servant to minister to the former; but it exacts the guerdon of all good serviceviz" consideration and attention , Invalidi sm, again, may follow from usmg injudicious food and in this particular it is impussible to lay down a ny hard or fast line, I is a true proverb, that" what is one man's meat is another man's poison P for what will suit o ne will n ot another, so there will always be room for vegetarians, and eaters of a:1imal food, or followers of the Jewi sh rules of diet. In this matter there mClst be a large latitude for each individual nor should we quarrel one with another because we do not all eat alike, In some condit ions of stomach anc! of living, a vegetable diet is most suitabl e, whilst for others the greater support furnished by animal food is required,

Indig -=stion is undoubtedly induced and increased by errors in diet, which mig-ht be rectified by carefu attention to the indications given by the stomach, only as this often involves denie.l of favourite dishes it is not in si5ted on until that which might have bee n transitory becomes confirmed, and a miserable life succeeds over-indulgence, Another fruitful cause of indigestion or dyspepsia is haste, In these busy days time represents money, and a hurried meal is swalowed with a preoccupied mind, to the detriment of the d igestive powers, The food is sent down into the stomach half masticated, the stomach reacted upon by the general flurry disconcerted in its action, and the re sultllllR effect is dyspepsia, There is a certain dignity about the process of feeding that resents hurry and disturbance It demands a t.ime to itself and asks reco gnition as an imp orta nt fact or in the proce;s of life, So far we have dealt with thosc mental forms of invalidism, or rather those which are intimat e ly link ed with mental habit but the re ar e other forms of weaknes3, whi ch may spring either as the result of some prolonged ilLn ess, or from the irk someness and monotony of a n invalid's life, such as attends on the vict ims of some chronic joint affection

The se often la ck the appetite for food, because of the absence of the stimulus of healthy change of scene , or of vigorous exercise it is often a problem how to vary the diet S0 as to tickle the appetite, The same four walls, the sz,me look-out, the same unvarying- routi ne, the day's monotony only broken by more or les s pain, the absence of hope, the living for the sake of living, the feeling of uselessness, all these react upon anu deaden the healthy bodily functions, Here is ample scope for thoughdul attention to the details of feeding , "\Vh at a sharp contrast there is in the ot of these invalids! all alike in weariness, languor and sarroII' but some surrounded by all th at wealth can buy and ingenuity de\'ise to cheat t.heir pain, and others without one mitigating circumstance \.0 sohen their lot in the latter case learning the lesson of patience with but few bindrances, in the fonner clogged with many temptations, taught to be selfi sh, exacting, discontented, and where faith and patience triumph, triumphing out of man V obstacles, If God made thesp. sharp cont rusts, lle made them to g-ive us opportunities of helping each other.

ThIS form of illvaliJ is difficult to feed the appetite is capricious and morbid a ch :l11ge of food is constantly needed; the whims of the patient are many, and sometimes may not be gratified because of danger to the health. It may be conciliatory, but it is not wise to

January, 1899.J FIRST

onsult the patient. In the fir st place, no one cares to know what they gc ing to l);lv e [or dinnel:, it takes awaJ:' ,from the and nticipation in the second, It arouses a spmt of perverSIty m the a ltient, wearied, out with the" questi?n, "What you fancy for dmner to-day? will suggest sometb Il1g preposte rous and then be angry The of food havi,ng Leen laid down by the medical authonty, the detaIls n:ay be car,ned out by an intelligent nurse or attendant, who ann vanety, ombined with a wholesome style of cookery, All hIghly spIced and ceasoned dishes should be out of the question, Fooll may be made palatable by care in flavouring and att,ention, and much thought may be bestowed upon the manner of serv111g, It should be sent up in a spotless and in a small quantity, with pretty accessories, flow ers , pretty chma, &c" and when partaken of thc tray be at once rem0ved, , There are few thin gs that bet:aY the tra!D1ng of the nurse, so much as her attention to these little anrl there few thl11gs that so conduce to the comfort of the patIent as t? these sma ll details they are not unimportant, for anyth;ng that wIll and encourage the appetite thought. It IS and untIdy to eave remnants of food 111 a SIck room that which has been handled and looked at by the patient is not tempting and, moreover, the atmosphel e of a sick room does not mak,e a good ,larder. Un :vashed cups, glasses and plates are an unseemly htter theIr accumulal10n can be so readily kept under. I have seen presumedly good nunes collect around them such an assemblage of cups, glasses, spoons, wh,at not, that at last there was no clean vessel at hand, nor space to put It down out of hand, These may be counted as little fidgets, but they are very important fidgets in tendin g the sick"

It will be found a g:eat help in tendmg an mvalt,d to have a interval of time for the meals, and a regular quantity at those tImes, three hours is quite a suffirient for a weak, stomach, If thIS interval is observed a small quantity of food a t Im e can be Reaularity, order and method are very when attendmg up on ""the invalids this will save much fnctlon of temper on bo th sides, (To be cOli/Wiled,)

Microbes anb JDiaease=<Berms.

By DR, PITTOCK, J,p" F,R,;\1,S.

The above lecture was lately delivered at Margate, and fro m Keble's and our readers, and we have much pleasuI:e 111 staL1I1g that ,It IS our l11ter:ti on to publish a series of articles of a hke character durmg the present year. ", The study of bactel iolog-y is aSSOCiated, '':Ith some Important branches of enquiry, For instance, the ong1l1 of there ,such a thing as spontaneous as it is callcd? Do, hVll:g or the earliest forms of lIfe, ong-mate spontaneously, as It wele, dust and dirt and from putrefying substances ?-a which h,as occupied the minds of philosophers and natural1sts for ages" what can exceed the importance of ,of bactenologlcal enquiry, which is concerned with the 1111Cr?b1C ong111 of disease" and the toxins or poisons produced by then: 111 liVlllg bodies? Lord in his presidential address on the anJ1lve r sary of the Royal SOCIety, a few days ago (November 30th), said,: "There is n o subject in ,biology of g-reater interest at the present time, whether from a a pra ct ica point of view, than that of ,the Semm of diseases." Th ese and other questIOns, then, c?l1le \\'lth111 the scope of my lecture , I will beg in by a general descn,ptlon and account of the vanous kinds of microbes, and afterwards WIll attempt a ,m?re minute survey of the special forms, their appearance 'and charactenstlcs, and the effects produced by th em, Microbes or germs everywhere; in the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we dnnk, the ground we tread on they swarm in all decaying ,substances, and e ven our bodies are the homes and the happy huntIng-grounds of myriads of them, Du st and dirt, however, are great carners, feeders, and breeding-grounds of them, The moats 111 th,e as seen crossing a dark rOOI11, consist largely of t111y splltes, Their exceeding minuteness rtlmost baffies common size is about one twenty thousandth of an lIlch that IS to say, that 400 ,000,000 of them could find ample standIng ,room on a stamp, This numb er would be about a hundrcLI tImes populatIOn of modcrn London, And yet, small as they are, theil' shape and structure can easily be shown by the high,e.st po\\'ers of our modern mi crosco pes, which have reached such a pitch of as ,to be able to magnify a n object from one to three ti1?lI,<ancl dlan:eters" that s to sav, a m crobe of o ne twenty 01 an !I1 ch dlametcI be made to appear one twcntieth of an In ch In ,\ hen thus mag111fi ed some of the se little bodies are seen to be sllnplc round granu,les, called cocci some, called hacilli, are rod shap ed; some are sp Iral or cork-screw shaped, and are distinguished as YU'illll But the convenient, collective name for them all IS baderla, or they lImy all be spok en of as microbes or germs The yeas,t germs, as we shall l?reaen tly see, are somewhat larger a nd are ova l Jl1 shape, a nd often umted

A I D; 53

into branched, thread -li ke bod ies, The bacteria m ostly, especially the spiral forms, have the power of free movement in air and liquids, Some spin like a top, some travel in a tortuous or serpent-like manner. and some of them can dart rapidly across the field of observation, producing, when in countless numbers, a very curious and entertaini ng sight., :'Ili crobes increase and multiply with astonishing rapid ity, mostly by subdil'ision or splitting in pairs, A single bacillus may thus become t.wo in an hour, four in a second hour, eight in the third, /\. \'ery simple calculation sh:>ws that in this way one microbe may produce J6,ooo,000 individuals in twenty -four hours , But, for theIr favourable del'e lopment they require a certain temperature, moisture, and suitable food or nourishment. There are numerous agenCies at work to keep their numbers within reasonable limits, so that the atmospheres and waters may not be overcrowded with them, of prey up on each other, still more become the prey of other lIV111g thwgs. M any, again, are killed by the products of t:leir ow The yeast germ, which converts sugar into alcoh l, I , killed when the spirit exceeds a certain strength (a warning tu all who part?-ke of strong ,vaters) ; and the microbe ,yhich COl1\erts alcohol into vmeg-ar, though capable of co n suming an of spirit would put the most confirmed drunkard to shame, rei uses to take ns grog any than one- tenth alcohol and cannot Ii \'e in strong spirit , ThI S seems to be an appropr iate place to speak of an extraordinary provision of Nature by which the animal body in heah,h is guarded from the attacks of noxious kinds of bacteria. The white corpuscles of the blood of animals have the power of absorbing and destroying these germs (10 be continued )

$c benle for a 1ionbon Blnbulance 5er'Jice.

lite (}ritir, in its issue of December lith, again returns to this sU,bject in a closely-argued article, It is too long to reproduce 111 ItS entirety (although it ought to be read a,nd fully digested by all intere sted in the subject), and the follow1l1g extracts can only be given :-AN A;\lBULANCE SYSTEM FOR LONDON, "Se\'eral most of them ,:,ssociated with the St. John Ambulance Association or the Hospitals AssOCJatJon"str.ongly advocate the strengt hening of those bodies by publIC s,u?scnptlOn or rate-aid or both rather than the establishment of a mU111C1pal system others, i'ncluding certain gentlemen conn,ected with large London hospitals, think I have exaggerated eITI1, produc: evidence which leads me to share their plaCId optimism, others, a",al11, argue that what s needed is not so much the a separat e ambulance system as the <?f p,0lice orgamsatlOn so as to make it of more complete utIlIty 111 first aid, " .

" If you will, let the police force act as to a properlyconstituted ambulance se rvice; let us, If need be, utIlise (as 1 have hinted) the police stat ons -and telephone system i-fire depots and alarms, as part of the scheme let us, treat the J Ambu,la,nce and Hospitals Associati.ons quite em?odywg In a mumclpal scheme anything of their orga?lsatlo?s that IS worth ,pr,eservwg, a,n d gi\'ing first consideration to their offiCIals and our chOIce of pe7'sonnel, But do not let us bhnd ourselves, With VISIOns o,f perfecled policemen, to the utterly ineffectil'e now, at 111 thiS city to render first aid, or be turned from a fall' of the wh ole que'i ti on by the grumblin,g of vested 1 '_

" One of my correspondent>, 111 the of hiS letter, sa) s, , 1 think it would raise a great outcry If you to orgamse a system to be supported by the rates, and as the St. J ohn s syslem and the H ospitals ASSOCIatIOn each ,a syste m, 'IOU not be better to unit e these two aSSOCIatIOns, enlalge the are?" of their work, and impro\'e their systems somewhat afler the hnes you indicate? l'

If thouaht the bodies named really c?uld" or-w 1at more, pOI'tant either singly or In U1110n, do what IS reqUJr,e , I sh'ould not have started this I voluntary, act,tOn wh erel'er can prol'e itself as effiCIent as mU11lclpai contr?l b ' b t if I am correctly informed, so far back as 1\lalch, 18,9 +" I t o e, ,u b h If f h St John Ambulance ASSOCiatIon was offic J<llly stated, on e a 0 t e d 11 d by its then secretary, that London was to ha\'e,a, system mo el ed on Viennese methods, although of co u rse less ambltlous, at an ear y ate, "\iVhat has bee n done since? " , " ' ,','

,,'If I am unju s to either the St, John or the I h 11 be a lad to have from the officers of those a more dt:t h al1ed sa"" ,,, i\1 hile I SLlaaest at a t of their praiseworthy actiVitIes, 1 ean" ""'" accoun d b ce \York loca gOl'ernment conference of pcrwns intereste 111 ,am u an th' 'd hether , ll' mJO'ht do wors e an conSI el w and London questIOns genera ), "" 1 h' rttle larger an efficient system of first aid is Hot worth a capita IC I d < h the rtnnual tribute pZl.id by London fO its pub IC at san hOll ses and a maintenance fund representlllg ,o nl.1' a pound ste rling-many th o usand s le ss, '"th popular libraries, \V hen the County 0 el 111",,0' thinO's amusements, it also may fi,nd ;:me to dISCUSS tIS, aJUon",,5 "" really calling for ItS atLenl1on,

AID.

NOTICE TO OU R READE RS .

FIRST Am has now entered on the fifth year of its publication and its popularity is still increasing amongst workers in all branches of tbe Ambulance world. In its early days the proprietors had much to contend with, including opposition from sources least expecled. but they manfully stuck to their post and determined that !10 effort should be wanting 011 their part to run the journal solely in the benefit of ambulance and kindred work generally. That the success whIch has attended the paper has amply justified their action is by the fact that the circulation is steadily improving, and Jl1 the dIstant parts of our Colonies" First-aiders" look forward to the month!y advent of the little journal which will Rive them news of the way 111 which the work is progressing in the old country. The old that it is not in mortals to command success, might very well be apphed to tbe proprietors of FIRST A 11), but we have done something to de::erve it.

The staff who, month by month have produced their concise record of ambulance work in a concise form. is a purely voluntary one, working for the love of the cause and "ilh a determination to keep this the greatest humanitarian work of the century well to tbe fore. It is desired, howe\'er, to still further extend the usefulness of our columns, but to do so further expense must necessarily be entailed. Will our readers help us? \vill the members of the Medical profession help us ?

The former can help us very materially by sending matter for our advertising columns. Tradesmen who have specialties to bring before tbe notice of workers in the ambulance field cannot do better than ad vertise in the only strictly ambulance journal. Secretaries of classes, pl'Omoters of mbulance compe::itions and fetes might draw the attention of readers in tNeir parts to forthcoming meetings and thereby ensure attendance from other towns, and,

Lastly, the mem bers ofthe edical profession can help us by writing special artIcles on ambulance work suitable to our lay readers. IVe bave at all times received such universal kindness;!t the bands of those interested in the success of our little journal that we venture to make this appeal, anc.! we feel confident that we shall not appeal in vain

FIRST AID.

JANUARY 1, 1899.

TITE close of one year and the commencement of TITE another, fOl'cibly reminds us of the lapse of time, PaST and no doubt it is good for us to be obliged YEAR. occasionally to look backward to see if we have made pl·ogress. Bach a review of past work, whether found encouraging 01' not, ought to goad all of us on to make a determination to make good an shortcomings, and to equal if not surpass our effOl·ts in the past.

In the St .•rohn Ambulance Brigade the most notable event was the resignation of Sir Edward T. Thackeray. of the post of Commissioner, and the appointment of Col Bov.-:dler in his place. In the eady months of the year the ! ubllee medals fo1' those on duty in London on J 11bilee Day 111 1897, pl'esented to the recipients in London and the Pl·ovlDces. In June the Annual Conference was held at Blackpool, at which important resolutions were carried The Annual Camp was held at the end of May at Easton N eston Park. As usual the Bri<Yade has done <Yood work both in London .and in the gountry, and it b hall been thoroughly

The St. J o11n Ambulance Associcttion has carried out its humanitarian obj ects and issued certificates by tLe thousands. Its to teach Home Hygicne by meana of lay 1ectur\en; , finrl favour medical men. In May

OompetltlOnfl for tlle RaIlway and Dewar Challenge

wel'e brought to a conclusion, tbe Great Eastern wmmng the former for the second time, and the We11inO'borough Corps of the St John Ambulance BriO'ade secUl-:d the latter. The Association deserves every for pro-

[January , 1899.

moting these competitions, ltnd although the expense connected with them must be great, we hope that a corresponding benefit has been conferred

Competitions have been held amongst the Railways, of which the most important WltS that of the Great Eastern, and the sa'lle team was again victorious. It was also this team that won the Railway Competi.tion of the St..Tohn Ambulance Associlttion open to all England.

We are sorry to say tha,t accidents on railways have been more numerous than before, and 11101'e sel·ious. There was one on the South Eastern Railway at St. John's in March, where three passengers lost their lives Tn April over twenty volunteers were injured by a collision at Bisley, on the London and South Western H.ailway, assititance being promptly rendered by tbe volunteer and army doctors from the camps in thc 'licinity. In June at Leyland, near Preston, there was a collision between two excursion trains, resulting in the loss of two Ijves and injmies to 36 other passengers; great help was rendered by the local Corps of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, for which medals were afterwards presented to them In September a very serious clisaster occurred at WelJingborough, causing the deaths of seven pas.sengers and injmies to about 35 men; the splendid service that wa.s given by t.he Wellingborough Corps will long be remembered. In the following month there was a collision near Grimsby, remarkable for the deficiency of ambulance arrangements.

The Heat Wave, as it was called, that took possession of this ccmntry in the summer and eal-ly in the autumn, caused numerous ca.ses of sun-stroke and heat· stroke, and brought into prominence the work of the St. John Ambulance Brigade.

In September a Scheme for an Ambulance Service in London was published in this J oUl'nal, and has caused a considerable a.mount of discussion. In a.ll probability more will be heard of it during the coming yeal', and we hope that either that or some other suitable pla.1 will be adopted by the London Oounty liouncil. It seems pretty well admitted that something must be done, and if those who have the power will set to work, London will not have l ong to wait

The retrospect of the past year shows that ambulance work has made strides in all parts. The Railways are increasing the number of their certifica.ted men, more appliances are being provided; Provincial Towns are beginning to see the necessity of organised ambulance, and no dou"bt London will soon follow.

Let us all do our best to help on the good and noble work

A CORRB:SPOND ENT writes :-No more striking instance of the urgent necessity that exists in London for the need of a properlyorganised Ambulance Service possessing an official status could have been seen than was exhibited at the fatal fire at 28I,Clerkenwell Road, when a workman named Bowerman ditd from suffocation When the rescued inmates were brought out from the building, it was at once evident that one man was apparently lifeless A fireman on duty started artificial respiration, whicb two members of St. Joh1l observing they went forward and offered their services. "W h o are you, and what do you want?" was the greeting from the officer-in charge. On being informed who they were, his reply to one was, " Oh we're all ambulance men here; you can get outside, or, if you're a Christian, you might get a little handy for this poor fellow." I\'ow bad these men been units of a properly-recognised Ambulance Service, they would have been there on duty by right, and the poor fellow who died from suffocation might have had a chance I say rmght have had a chance, becanse it would hardly be believed that the method of artificial respiration was started on the senseless victim without any attempt having been previously made to loosen his clothing Now I thought that the merest tyro in amb ul ance wor k knew t hat it was absolutely necessary to first take this precaution, especia lly i n the matte r of rest r ictions about t h e neck.

}portrait <Ball er\?

MACLEAN CaRVELL, ESQ., M .R.e.s. ENG., L.S.A.

LaND HON SlJRGEON CORPS ST. JOlIN A ;\IBULaXCE BRIGADE.

WE are sure that the mem bel'S of the Metropolitan Corps of the St. John Ambulance Brigade will be pleased to see this month in our Gallery, the portrait of Dr. Carvell, one of their popular surgeons.

Dr. Carvell belongs to a Warwickshire family, although he first saw light in London in 1856. He was educated at the Brewer's School.

"--=-_--::--_________---' T ri ni ty Square, KC., and afterwards stucliell rnedlCll1e at the London Hospital, where he gained the Minor Surgery Prize. He became qualified in 1883, and practised in Bow for some years.

It was while he was Surgeon to the Gas, Light and Coke Co that Dr. Carvell commenced to take an interest in ambulance work, seeing the great necessity for it amongst the large body of men employed there. He spent a good deal of time and exhibited a large amount of perseverance in training a Corps in all the details of ambulance work, making them thoroughly efficient and the usefu l ness of this body has been proved on an occasion.

He was then appointed Hon Surgeon to the M etropolitan Corps, and holds the Jubilee medal for service on that day.

Dr. services in the Brigade are thoroughly apprecIated, and those who have the pleasure of his friendship know how thoroughly genuine and hardworking he is, although naturally quiet and somewhat reserved. We h ope the Metropolitan Oorps will long enjoy t h e advantage of his help and instruction.

timbulanc e.

NORwrCH -G.E. R. AMBULANCE COl{Ps.-On Tuesday, the 6th ult., the chairman of the Great Eastern Railway, Lord Olaud Hamilton presented Messrs. G. Keary, R. Stiff, W. l\1agnus, J Peck, and Ashtoll, composing the Liverpool Street team of the Great Eastern Railway Ambulance Corps, with an illuminated address in commemoration of the team having for the first two years of its institution won, in open competition with other railways, the Challenge Shield presen t ed by the St. John Ambulance Association.

AMBULANCE WORK AMONG RAIUVAY MEN -It is encouraging note the active interest which our great railway companies are taking 111 ambulance work. Prominent among these is the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company, which has now organised an ambu lance of its own, with Manchester as its headquarters; Mr. Bolland Its presi d ent, and Mr. R. H. Selbie as its secretary-in-chief. During the last ten years classes in connection with the L. & Y. Rai lway Station at Bolton have been held under the instruction of Dr. Johnston, honorary surgeon to the Bo ton Infirmary. These, now affiliated with the railway centre, have been recently organised as a local ambulance corps. On November 25th the Mayor (Alderman Nicholson, J.P.) distrib u ted the ce r tificates to the 38 members of the last two classes, who, out of the 40 prese nt ed, satisfied the examiner.

AlD. 55 <torr es ponb enc e.

[We do not necessarUy hold ollrSelves1'esponsiblejor the opinions of our correspondents.]

___

FIRST AID

To the Editor of FIRST Am.

STR,-Will you kind.ly allow to offer a which many would welcome could 1t be carned out. I t IS no other than this namely, the formation of a centre where those instructed in first aid could assemble for practice, after they have acquired ctrtificates of plOficiency. I have been asked, and I am sure all lecturers and examiners are constantly being asked: " Can't I have some farther c:>urse can I never have any.more opportu[lities of practising or seeing most recent advances 111 ambulance work except by goin<Y throuah the ABC of an elementary course again"? One has to : I. Th:re is nothing farther, that there is no place except a hospital to go to where any instruc.ion can I think this is a great misfortune. I would to see a centrallnstltutl.on de:'oted to ambulance practice, v.:here who have taken all theIr certlficates, might assemble from to .tlme, and be shown and go through all practical details from tIme to tIme, and were I called upon to formulate a scheme it would be on the following line::;.

I. That an institution to be termed" The St. John Ambulance First Aid Institute" be formed.

2. That the Institute be located in some central place which London and Provincial pupils can readily reach.

3· That the Institute be open from, say, three o'clock in the afternoon until ten at night, so that at any time durin a these bours ambulance pupils could go and practice their work see what is' new in wagons, str:tcbers, appliances, of lifting and carrying, &c.

4· A tramed ReSIdent Supenntendent to be on duty to help pupils with their practical work. A retired Sergeant Instructor from the Medic.al Staff Corps of the Army would be the proper person to act as Supenntendent.

S· At the Institute, whicb should consist of one large room and one or two srna!ler would be stored splints, bandages, etc, not merely hospItal appbances, they are not much wanted, but all kinds of improvised materials which can be employed for first aid work. It is the latter, not the former, that are important, for first aid has nothing w do with hospital work.

6. A model of an ambulance wagon, a railway carriaae, and a country cart, for practice in loading, would also form a part of the equipment. kinds of regulation and improvised stretchers, and the means of makmg the latter should be at hand, so that they can be demonstrated.

7· A very attractive feature of such an Institute would be a collection of" lay" figures, bandaged or splinted in approved fashion, so as to serve as typical examples of how such appliances should be employed Anyone who remembers seeing the hospital lYard at the" Medical and Sanitary Exhibition" at South Kensington, will acknowledge how attractive and serviceable such a display would be. At the exhibition some 70 lay figures were laid on beds, and every conceivable appliance utilised in medicine and surgery was demonstrated upon them. In the" First Aid Institute," only matters appertaining to first aid would be dealt with, but these are alone sufficiently numerous and important to make an ample display.

8. The cost of such an Institution would be maintained by those who patronised the building. The method of payment could be determined hereafter, but there are thousands of first aid qualified men and women who would gladly avail themselvcs of the opportunity of seeing and actually practising first aid [rom time to time.

9. Not only first aid demonstrations, but nursing instruction could be given. Making of beds, the changing of sheets, taking temperatures, filling in charts, making poultices, fomentations, and all the practical part of the work taught in the course of nursing lectures could be demonstrated.

Without entering in further detail, and to bring the matter to a practical issue, would ask all first aid readers of your valuable paper to communicate their opinion on the feasibility of this suggestion either to yourself or directly to, Yours truly, London, December, r898. JAMES CAI\'TLIE.

S fREET DRILL.

To the Eel/lor of FIRST AJ n.

STR,-In a general way I have a very gre::tt anu admiratic!1 for" Chinn'gus" but I do not think he was happy in. h:s article on the above subject. In the first place, he censures the wnters of cer ain articles for a pparen tly trying to cast ridicule upon SClme of the work of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, and states it is not his intention to quote lheir remark,,; but in.a paragraph later on proceeds to enter intu these "ery details. Now,. SIr, 1 thInk It would have been better eilher to have Jet the whole subject alone, or else have gl\'en us chapter an d verse in order that interested parties might have prove

JOIIN

F iR S T

the truth or falsity of the statement. r believe tl'e "'hole affa.ir has been gre.ltlyexaggerated, If It eve.r at ali, which I very much doubt. In workin.go in.a crowd, It IS lllvanably better to go through some little of the dnll; It prevents undue haste and tends to steady the be:uers, and it certainly .inspires a better .sense of order among the crowd than would otherWIse be the case. If the ambulance men rushed up and, witbout stopping to the extent of the injury or illness, proceeded to at once remove the patient without paying due reg:nd to a probably senoys case. Better a tbousand times strain a point on the side of than make one fatal mistake. Referring to hand-seat dnll.' I believe this is of:en made use of. It was, I believe, on tbe of the Duke of York's wedding, as also was the" Fireman's LIft," for th.e purpose of removing patients in the centre of the crowd, where It would have been hopeless to have taken a stretcher. As regards. the desire of " Cbirurgus " to see the bearers train.ed so that they shall lIft a patient on to the stretcher, and march off any word of mand, I do not ecbo his wish. By all means gIve the command In. as Iowa tone as possible; but in order to Nos. and 3 workJl1g accu"ately together, it is that the words of command made use of should be retaJl1ed. I am afraId I have trespassed .somewhat on your space, but I trust your readers will pardon me., feelmg as I do tbat an unintentional slur has been cast upon a deservlllg body of men.-Yours faithfully, "A VOlC&: FROM THE RANKS "

$1. Btllbulance Bssociation.

CLEVELAND.- Tbe successful students belonging to tbe Classes connected with I\lessrs. Bell Brothers' Park Pit and Skelton Shaft l\Iines attended at Ihe Drill Hall, Skelton, on 26th Nov., to receive medallions. i\Ir. T. Varty presided. l\1iss Johnson, of Rounton Grange, presented the medallions, fifty-nine in all. i\lr. \Vaynman Dixon who was unable to be present, wrote that he had been at the examil'lation of many classes, but in no instances were .tbe resul.ts more satisfactory tban tbey were at Skelton.. The saId since [882 there had been six classes formed 111 connectIOn With the mines and 200 students had received instruction in ambulance. Of the 200 there were 170 still employed at the mines, and remaining: 30 had died or left the district. He thought their Skelton mmes would compare favourably with any two mines in the for aT?bulanc.e men, there being one who bad received instructIOn In first a.ld to every three workmen employed in the mines, and when an accltIent happens there were always one or two ambubnce men present to render assistance. 111'. Toyn said eyery man ought to receive ambulance instruction, not only for the benefit of his fellowmen, but also for the benefit to himself and family He said when the movement wa.s first introduced into Cleveland by Lady Brassey he remembered gomg to Bell Bros. and asking them if they would pay the initiation fees for workmen connected with their mines, and they at once agreed to pay the amount asked. (Applause) A hearty vote of thanks was accorded to l\1iss Johnson. i\1r. \\Tal ter Johnson said his wife was at present engaged in making a challenge flag for Cleveland, and some day it would be seen in the district.

GLOUCESTER.-Theanllual sbield competition in connection with this centre took place at the Gloucester Baths. The president (Mr. J. M. Collett), the City High Sheriff (Councillor A. V. Hatton), Ald. A. Woodward, with 1\1essrs F. Stanway and M. G. Matty, hon. Secs., were present. The l\layoress (Mrs Braine) was also among those on the platform. Surgeon-Major Hutton, Organising Commissioner of the St. John Ambulance Association, was the judge. After a keen competition the result was announced by Mr. Stanway as follows :The Gloucester Corporation 575 (out of a possible 600), the Police 570, St. Catherine's and G.W. R. NO 2. 560 each, Whitefield 550, Matthews and Co. 5+5, Tabernacle 535. The Corporation team are, therefore, the winners of the shield. ['he Police Class had won the shield tbe two previous years, and had only to succeed again in order to' become the absolute possessors of the much-coveted trophy. A number of prizes, consisting of clocks, barometers, opera glasses, &c., were distributed by the City High Sheriff to the men taking part in the first four winning teams All who took part in 'be competition were presented with certificates. The donors of prizes were the Mayor, the City High Sheriff, Messrs. J. M. Oollett, Johnstone Vaughan, and G. F. Warden. Mr W. E. Ravenhill, senr., was in charge of tbe decorations and general arrangements of the room, and Mr. \V. IIodges (surgeon) and Mr. Mr. M. G. Matty officiated as superintendents of tbe competition.

INCE - The pre,entation of medallions and cenificates obtained by the memters of the ambulance class, in connection witb the Wigan Coal and Iron Company's Iron and Steel Works, took place at Belle Green Sc?ools, Ince, on 1st. The Chairman, Mr. 1'. M. Percy, saId they were much mdebted to the company for its assistance, and to i\Ir. Hewlett for the great encouragement he gave them. (lIear, heal.)

He knew it was Mr. Hewlett's wish that there should be good ambulance classes throughout the whole of the company's operations. They had among them that nigh.t some of their members who had greatly

A I D. LJan u ary , 1899. distinguished themselves, and he the Ince ?onstabulary had done O'ood work in the way of rendering first ald. LVI!. W. H. Hewlett said i? gave him great pleasure to be. there to perform the office of distributinO' the medallIOns and certJf'icates. There was one thll1g he wanted to most particularly, and that was the amount of patience and perseverance which necessarily devolved up?n the mem?ers of that class. It was not as if they had to do some dee? l1Ight after niO'ht or to do something in itself very excltmg; but It called upon th: to give up portion ?f lei.sure, and they did this persistently, antI With a consclcntlOu.s of mai{lng themselves thoroughly acquainted with all the vanous aIds, they could not be of any service to themsel ves or use to other people. .He thought the ambulance class had performed a great object, because It enabled when called upon to perform in truth the of the Samantan. ([lear, hear.) That was the idea which al1lmated the ir mll1ds, or they would not have been present that night. often happened that when an accident occurs men feel they would ltke to belp, but unless they had some knowledge such as this, they would .only be. 1l1, the way. H.e believed there had been one or two cases 111 parttcu.ar where thIS practical use had been of the utmost service, and been means of saving life. He was very thankful indeed that they (the \Vlgan Coal and Iron Comp:lI1Y) had, as :\1r. Percy had stated, a great The bad a great number of men spread about Jl1 parts of the works, and no matter what foresight, vigil wce, or might be exercised, they had, a number of aCCidents. They were indebted to Dr. Booth for hIS serVIces, and to the managers of the school for allowing the premises to be for tbat pUl pose. Mr. Ilewlett then distributed the medallIOns and certificates. LVII'. John Ellison proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Hewlett, which was seconded by Mr. V. Abhott, :lnd carried unanimously. M r. Hewlett responde.d, and proposed, and i\[r. Selkirk seconded, a vote of thanks to the cbalfman, and Mr. Percy responded. Il'S\nCH.-Orwell \Vorks class is just over. 20haye been examll1ed for certificates by Dr. Spencer Cooper of Brightlingsea. The other 30 must go in later on for p: large class of i:-; going on, but Dr. Hoyland IS glvmg eIght lectures, so It Will last some time.

MARLOW - The annual meeting of this Centre has been held at the institute. Mr. J. Astley Bloxam, the president ot the local centre, occupied the chair, and there was also present Mr. F. O.IiV'ethere? (vice-president), Miss E. B. Jackson (hon. secr.etary) Mr. F. J I,. Culhane (hon. treasurer), Dr. Dickson, Mrs. Pitt, MISS IIewett, i\1rs. W. T. Shaw, Messrs. E.' O. Jackson, R. H. Smith, A. Dav.is, T. A. Dunham, Frith, &c. Tbe minutes of the last annual meetl?g were read and confirmed, and the report and balance sheet were un?-nlll1ous!y adopted The election of officers then took -place. The ChaIrma.n saId that much useful work had been accomplished by the centre 111 the past and he hope;:! that O'ood work would be done during the coming sessi'on. Dr. Dickson had promised to conduct a nursing class, and he (Mr. Bloxam) hoped to come down Lo the first class and say something about the latest discoverie.s with regard to tuberculOSIS. Mr. Culhane would commence a first aId class early 1I1 the new year, and he hoped Mr. Stone would be able to lecture to a class to be formed at Cookham Dean. A hearty vote thanks was accorded the Medical Staff and the Executive Officers for their services during the past year.

MORECAMBE.-Under the auspices of this Division a most successful conversazione was helrl at the Albert Hall on 'Wednesday, over ISO persons being present. Mr. Howes, in the proceedings, called upon Councillor Baxter to present the to who passed the recent examin:J.tion in first aid Councillor Baxter SaId the ambul ance movement was one that had his heartiest support, and nothing gave him g-reater pleasure than to hear ofthe candidates Sllccesses. The people of M orcambe owed a debt of gratitude to the. Corps, to wh.om every credit was due for their work of .lov.e To rebeve. the suffen?g of mankind was one of the natural JI1stmcts of mankmd, and With regard to the earning of certificates it was the highest privilege of an Englishman to rise by promotion. Certificates. were then pre.,ent.ed.

Mr. J. Brown proposed a voLe of thanks to Councillor Baxter, that since the local corps was starteJ they had found a lot of fflends 111 MorcaTJ?be, and most prominent amongst the.se Mr Baxter (Appb:.use).

Dr. Watterson, in seconding the motIOn, saId he was heart and soul in sympathy with the ambulance work, an? he had seen some of the very best results of that work. After referring to the expense connected with ambulance, Dr. Watterson said that up to the present a great deal of difficulty had been experienced in removing pa.tients, but he was proud to say that entirely throllg-h the .genero.slty of Councillor Thomas Baxter they had that day succeeded Il1 geLlmg one of the best ambulance vans could be got in the country (Applause)

The new van was a four -wheeler fitted with all the latest improvements and would accommotIate t.hree two attentIants , and driver. By this generous gift Mr. BaxLer had benefited not only the town and the ambulance corps, but also tbe medical men of the town, and he (Dr Watterson) had the greatest pleasure in seconding the vote of t h anks. (Applause.) Mr. C. Ilowes supported the motio n and said there were many benefits which the ambulance corps had rece Ived aL t h e of Councillor Baxter. The vote of thanks was h ear ily ca r ne d, a nn

Januar y , 1899.J FIRST

Councillor Baxter briefly responded. He said it behoved every man to do his duty to his town, and it was the efforts put forward by the local ambulance corps that had influenced him to make the gift he had done. His thanks were due to Dr. Watterson for his kindness and assis:ance in choosing and ordering the new van, and he hoped and trusted that if any accidents did happen, valuz ble assistance might be rendered by the local ambulance men; and it would be a pleasant duty to him to grant them further assistance on some futLll e occasion.

ROCHDALE.-On _ ov. 29th a concert promoted by this centre was given in the Rochd de Town Ball in aid of the Rochdale Am bulance 'corps. There was a crowtIed audience. At an interval in the musical proO'ramme the ceremony of distributing the certificates and medallions to the su.::cessful students was gone througl::. The Mayor presided and was supported by Major C. J. Trimble, Deputy Commissioner for the North Eastern Division, St. John Ambulance Bligade; Dr. Sellers, the chief surg-eon of the Rochdale Corps; Mr. Leonard Barry, the hon. secretary; Dr. Walker, Mr. A. W. Shaw, Mr. Ed. IIealey and Mr. C. J. Roberts. The Mayor said it was very gratifying to see such a large gathering. It showed that the Rochdale public wished to encourage ambulance work. He was sure Major Trimble, who was there to distribute the certificates and medallions to those who had been successful in the examinations, would see that the people of Rochdale had the work of the ambula'1ce quite at heart. Major Trimble then distributed the medallions and certificates. After the distribution, Major Trimble made a few remarks on the work of ambulance The district of which he had been placed in charge was a rather extensive one, comprising Cumberland, Lancashire, Cheshire, the Isle of Man, and Ireland " thrown in." Last year in his district 3,65 cases of first aid received attention; 2,050 of those cases were transport cases-the patients had to be conveyed to another place after the 6rst aid had been given. That showed the grea.t benefit of the institution of a combined system of ambulance work. In former days the injured were merely chucked into a cart and taken away in that way to the hospital or home. There was no doubt that the ambulance movement was receiving in Rochdale very hearty support, and he was very pleased and grateful to find that in tbat part of his district the public were taking the work up. They could not devote their time a energy to a better work.

$t. John El1nbll lance :JJ3r iga be.

METROPOLITAN CORPS.

ST. JOHN'S GATE NlTRSING DlYISION.-On Wednesday, December 7th, an interesting- presentation was made by the Nursing Sisters of this Division to their lIon. Surgeon, Mr. James Cantlie. The gift, which was a very handsome golJ malch box, bore the following inscription: "Presented to James Cantlie, F.R.C.S., by the Nursing Sisters of St. John's Gate, as a sligbt mark of tbeir gratitude and esteem, December, 1898," and on the reverse side it bore the initials of the recipient. Lady Superintendent Church Brasier in making- the presentation, referred in terms to the unvarying kind uess of their Hon. Surgeon, and in conclusion expressed the wi3h that Dr. Cantlie might long be spared to wear their gift. Dr. Cantlie, who evidently deeply appreciated this mark of esteem from his Division, thanked them one and all for their handsome gift, and said, he desired also to thank Mrs Brasiei for her very kind words in presenting it, he could assure them it would remind him of many very pleasa nt meetings, and he should alwavs wear it as a memento of these. On Wednesday, December 21st, the Nursing Sisters distributed their annual gift of clothing to the rhildren and sick poor of the parish. The garments, upwards of ISO in numbe!-, were all made by the sisters at their fortnightly meetings, which are held at Head-q uarters during the winter months. 1£ any of our readers have any cast garments or material to spare, they could not do better than send to the Lady Superintendent, Nursing Division, at St. Tohn's Gate, and we can assure them their gift will be thankfully received and faithfully applied. Nourishments for the sick poor m ight also be sent.

PROVINCIAL CORPS.

BIRMINGHAM. -The monthly meeting of the committee of this corps was held at the Chief Fire Station; Mr. A. R. Tozer, presiding. I t was decided to purchase at a cost not exceed ing £6, a tent, ro-ft. by 6-ft., for use at displays, sports, &c " it being found inconvenient to attend to patients in the open. \Vith respect to the recent competition for challeng-e sbield, votes of thanks were accorded to the chairman, the metIical examiners and referee, and others who contributed co the successful display. The remarks recently made by Colonel Bowdler , Commissioner of the Brigade, as to the faulty organisation of the local corps, were commented upon, ancl explanations were afforded by the chairman and secretary. Pamphlets recently issue':l from headquarters Were distributed to the repre;;entatives of the several divisions for their consideration and that of the members, and their decisions for or against the carrying out of the rules and regulations embodied in such were promised for the next or following meetinl;.

annual meeting of the Birmingham Corps, was

helel on December 5th, at the Coul)cil [lollse; the Pn;sirlellt (tlIe Ri6'IIt

A I D. 57

Hon Lord Leigh, Lord-Lieutenant of the County) takinO' the chair

The Lord (Alderman Beale), Colonel Bowdler of the St: J.ohn Brigade), :\11'. T. H. Woolston (Assistant CommlsslOn,er of the BrIgade fo;. the 3 Distl-ict), Mr. J. Courtenay LOI'd, Dr. elson, Mr.]. E. \\ Ilson, Mr. Holder, ;\1r. J. H. RoO'ers (lIon. Secretary), Superintendent :rozer, :\11-. F. J. \lorgan, \V. C. Jones, Mr. J. R. Stamp, anu other well known supporters of the movement were amongst th03e present. The Brigade Committee reported that the number of membe.rs, 1 177, showed an increase of 25, and the number of cases, 4,200, an lI1crease of 1,355 over the record for the previous year. The number of cases for the past twel ve months included 700 attended to on the occasion of the visit of the Prince and Pr,incess Christian at the ,?pening of the new General Hospital. The rngade had rendered service on several other public occasions. During the past twelve months the police had borrowed the ambulances on 85.occas.ions, an9 had been four cases attended to by the FIre Bngade DIVISIon. The wheeled htters belonging- to the Corps now numbered twelve. The President, in moving the adoption of the report and accounts, said that he considered the imtitution to be one of the most useful in existence. The more he saw of the work of the Association the better opinion he had of it. The Lord Mayor, in seconding tbe resolution, pointed out that the official replrt did not represent the whole of the good the Association was doing. He joined in regretting that more attenti'}l1 was not gi ven to the subject in factories, because there was no doubt that much suffering- and often loss of life, resulted from want of knowledge of h.:)\v to render 6rst aid. The report having been adopted, the lIon. Secretary and other Officers and the Commi ttee having been re-elected-Colonel Bowdler then addressed the meeting - The fifth an nual com peti tion under the auspices of the St. john Ambulance Brigade (Birmingham Corps), took place on December 5th, at the Athletic [nstitute, John Bright Street. There was a large attendance, over which Mr. H. Mitchell, president of the Athletic Institute, presided. Dr. T. Sydney Shore, and \Ir. G. W. Adams officiated as examiners, and Superintendent Beck (Handsworth Ambulance Division) acted as Ireferee in the place of 2111'. W. h. \Vhitcombe The competition was for the 50 guinea challenge shield, of which the City Police Division are the holden. Of the fifteen divisions of tbe Birmingham Corps, eight competed for the coveted honour, name l y-the City Police Division; Curzon Street London and North \iIJ'estern Railway; Belmont Row; Kynochs (Limited) Witton; Great Western Rail\\'ay Hill); Higbgate; Great Western Railway (Hockley); Midland Kailway (Lawley Street). The competition consisted of a searching viva-voce examination to test the theoretical knowledge of the human frame; and practical tests comprising the bandaging of broken limbs, the dressing of wounds, the resuscitating of the apparenLly drowned, the drill, and the conveyance of patients on a speedily constructed ambulance overa 6 ft. wall. The competition, which did not conclude until half-past eleven o'clock, resulted as follows :-r, GreJ.t \Vestern Railway (SnolV Hill), 327 marks out of a possible 370; 2, i\1idland Railway (Lawley Street), 325; 3, Great Western Railway (Hockley), 314 ; +, Birmingbam City Police, 308; 5, Highgate, 306; 6, Belmon tRow, 302; 7, Curzon Street, 289; 8, Kynochs, 276. Superintendent Tozer presented the shield During the evening an interesting athletic display was gi"en by the members of the Athletic Institute. Selections of music were discoursed by the City Police Band.

FOULRIDGE.-The new Ambulance Hall and Assembly Rooms was furmally opened on December 3rd, by Councillor J.P., the Mayor of i'\elson presiding. The hall includes a committee room, gallery 3.nd plattorm, and is capable of seating persons, and. the total cost £1,100, ·.-:hich sum had been generously given by CounCillor Carr. After the opening ceremony, Major Trimble, Deputy-Commissioner of the Brigade presented the medals and certificates to the successful studel1 ts.

HANDSWORTH AND S:-1ETHWICK.-An interesting competition took place in connection with this division, in St. Sch.ools, Smethwick, on Saturday evening, 5th ult. One of the vice-preSIdents ?f the centre, 1\1r W. G Griffiths, had offered. a medal for the man I? .the brigade who could obtain the most marks 111 an competItIOn. Each class was entitled to send one representatIve to compete, and the followinO' men were chosen: :\Iessrs. A. \V. Wheeler (Best and Lloyd's class), 'V. Hall (. ettlefold's, Limited), H. Fortnum Brigade), A E. Vaughan (Boulton Road class), C. Turner (B.lrl1?mgham Carriage and Wagon and \V.I: alton (:\I,llI1lz, LImited) Dr. \V. H. Stephens, of Smethwlck, was the ]ut.lg,e. 1 he was announced as follows: winner of medal, Mr. A. E. Vaughan, WIth 9 2 p/ints out of the possible roo; 2, :\Ir. A. W YVheele.r, 87 points; i\tfr. C Turner, 8+ points; +, :'\1r. W. 83 pOints; S, :\1r. " IIall, 68 points; 6, i\lr. II. Fort.num,,59 pomts. IpSWICH -Nlembers of the FHst DI\'lSlOl1 gave great ::r t a fatal accident lately. They have since moyed <1: helpless p,:t.lent !rom a connlry village to the hospital for authoTltIes. i\lr. Eadesgave a very interesting lecture on POisons latel), to the members of three Divisions. .'

annual meeting of the rnembC:lS o.f thiS Corps ll:U S k II, on l)ec. 9th, in the Crush Room of tbe Public Hall. Major

FIRST

Little, Chief Constable of Preston, and superintendent of the corps, occup ied the chair, and was supported by Dr. Collinson, Dr. S e llers , and a good muster of members. Th e annual report says inter alia ;" The corps has made good progress during the past year, and may be regarded as more efficient for carrying on the work of the brigade than at any time since its formation. The new horse ambulance, kindly provided by ;\1rs. Holgate Brown, has been in almost daily use, and has proved a great boon for the conveyance of the si ck and injured There are 75 members in possessi on of the Brigade uniform, and 53 nonuniform members. The Leyland Division rendered conspicuous service at the lamentable railw:!y disaster on June 2nd, and on the recomme ndation of the Joint Railway Co.'s surgeon, Dr. R. C. B rown, I7 members have been awarded silver medals in recognition of their timely and effic ie n t aid The strength of the Nursing Division is now ITS. The nursing sisters have paid sl6 visits to the sick poor, and in some the division stores have been ent to the patients, a nd valuable assistance has been g-iven to doctors and district nurses. The N .E.L county corps review will be held at Preston in June next, and it will be the duty of each member to assist in making the event a su ccess The Chief Superintendent has ordered a constab le to accompany the horse am?ulance on all occasions when used in the borough, so as to render assistance and make a report of the occurrence" The Chairman in moving the adoption of the report, said he was sure in all it must be as eminently satisfactory. Speaking from his ow n expe.nence as chief. constable of the borough, he could vouch for the admirable work which was done by the members of the corps Proin the .lJst twelve mcmths there had been no less than 70 or 80 accidents which had been attended to by the members of the police force, all of whom were connected· with the a mbulance soc cty Dr. Sellers seconded the of report, said he was ve ry glad to find the society was makmg extensive progress vV hen the recent .accldent took at Leyland the grand work which ambula n ce men on that occaSIOn seerr.ed to bring to the front the va lu e of such aSS?Clatlons. Probably they had an opportun it y of hr in ging their :I"ork more before the publIc than on that occasion, and he was sure It have been verr pleasing to the whole of those present the directors of the railway cO::Ipany had recognized their s ervices Dr. Sellers went on to give excellent advice to the members and expressed the hope that although last year they were not s uccessfu in carrying off the prize, they would make amends by se curing the trophy this time. It 'was resolved that a team from Preston should take pa.rt in the. national competition, that a team shou ld also take part In the revIew which is to be he d in Prestor. in or about June next year and the members of the police force be the expense the corps to take part in the national competitIOn confined policemen. Several matters of detail were dis. cussed, and it was resolved that a very hearty vote of thanks be accorded to :'Ill'S. Howard for the valuable assistance she had rendered to the Nur sing- Division, and honorary secretary was requested to convey the thanks. of the meetlllg to her for her services. -A vote of thanks to the OhaIrman closed a pleasant meeting.

<toloniaI :tilnbulance.

NEW S.OUTH The annual demonstration and of certIficates III connection with the St. John Ambulance ASSOCiatIOn took place at the Town H all, in the presence of a arge of members and of the public. The gathe rin g was pJesld:d. over by Mr. J A. Hogue, Mlllister for Public Instruction, and III additIOn to L ady Hampden and the Hon. Dorothy Brand, there were present Professor. Anderson Stuart, Dr. Vandaleur Kelly, Dr. Roth, &c., &c. A pllog'les fo r non.-attendaLce were read from Sir Frederick Dar!ey, hiS. Grace Archbishop of Sydney, and Dr. Williams. The ChaIT man , III openIllg the referred to the excellent work the Sydney centre of the were engaged in, and expressed the he felt at the lllterest that was being manifested in ambuhnc e affaIrs The report for the past year had been of the most ch a racter. There had been a steady growth of ambu ance work In Sydney and sub1lrbs and in various parts of the colony' indeed there appeared to be a stea.dy. growth of the work throughout parts of world The had instructed something like 5,000 the p:l st eIght years, which compared very creditably 500000 lll structed In England over a period of twenty years. A l;uoe. number of bran ches had been established since the last annua meetmg. He regarded the Newcastle branch with gratification, as it was ther e the firJt ambulance work had been introduced in a regular way Lady presented the medallions to those who were entitled. to receive them. Votes?f thanks to Lady Hampden and to the chaIrman were afterwat:d s carned, and the members of the different corps engaged .In first aId demonstration, the members of the lst Infantry B:l.lld discourslllg the while a series of popular a irs.

AID. [January, J 899.

IDolunteer :ambulance Scbool of 3nstructfon.

The gecond B ohemi an entertainment in con n ect on with the aboven.ar,ned School took place. on Wednesday, December l4th, a St. M artIn s H all , when Lieut.-Gen. Sir George vVhite, V.C., di st ributed the .pn zes to those who were successful at the recent com p et it ion s. M ajor And rew Macl ur c, V.D., the president, was suppor t ed by a large num ber of officers of almost every branch of the Service. The year has been a most successfu one for the School in every way; a large number of officers a nd men h ave been in structed in amb ul a nce work some of the hav ing come from ong distances-Canada, Bermud'a and Il1 order to get in the Among the were Lieut.-Gen. G. H. M onc neff, Surg.-Gen. Taylor, Col. Allin and Major Wilson, R.A.M.C. all took part in the programme were so good it IS difficult to llldlvlduahse, but a word of specia praise is due to Mr. W. F. Tyle r, late Grenadier Guards, for his cornet so lo "The Message" ; tc: Mr. Syd.ney Anning for his musical sketch " Hall," to Eugellle for her. recitative, "At Dargai." This lady WIth mu ch and st udi e her piece in before essaylllg. to renuer It III public. She received a wellm ente? recall. Re.plYI.ng to a ,:ote of. thanks to him se lf for kind ly attendlllg and the prizes, Sir G eorge White expresse d the pleasure l:e felt m be lll g present, and taking part in the proceedings that :velllng: He was pleased see so large a num ber present, as h e took It as eVIdence of th e great lllterest that was taken in o ur grand home of Volunteers, and what they might h ave t.o go through. Spea.kll1g on ambu lance work on the field of battle, Sir George said that It was wonderful how the kindly attent ions rendered on such an occasio? to one's the effect. of heali:1g old racial wounds and cementmg future fnendshlps Such aId which recocynizes neither race nor creed had been rendered to e nemies, and had tu;ned what had been deadly enemies into firm friends.

lDriIl

VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE SCHOOL OF INSTRUCTION

The next class for the training of regimental stretch er beare rs wi li be held a Head-quarters of the 4th V.B., The Queen's Royal West 7r, New Park, S.E., by permission of Lieut.-Col. J. DaV ies Jenkllls, command in g, and will co mm ence at 7.30 p.m. , on Wednesday, February 8th, r899.

ST. JOH N'S GATE (No. I DrVISION.)-The Seco nd Social EveninO" in connectio.n with the above Division took place on Monday, I9th, occupiedlthe chair, an? was supported by the Bllgade Chief. Superintendent, Chief Superintendent Morgan, Supennt.endents Tnmmer, PIers, Pontin, &c A capital programme was carned out and .was much appreciated. At the conclus ion, the BrIgade ChIef Supenntendent, on hehalf of the visitors, thanked the officers and members of the No. I Division for their hospitality and for pleasant ev.er:i?g they had arranged for them. He (the speaker) Wished ot her d IVISIO?S would arrange social evenings as they tended to promote a good feellllg <oIl round

COUPON TICKET

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£100

:Will. be paid by above Corporation to thelegai representative of anyone who kIlled by an accI.dent to the Passenger Train (within the United Kingdom of Channel I slands), III which the deceased was a ticket bearinO" or a'n or who shall have been fatally injured thereby (shuuld wlthm nmet.v days arter such aceidentJ

PROVIDED that pe.rson so or in.imed had upon bis or her person, or had at borne thIS tlCket, WIth hiS, or her, usual signature written prio r to on.thespace provided below, which, togethE'r witil the criv in of notlc.e the time as hereinbefore is the essence of tbis bcontfact

ThIS Insurance holds good for current Issue only, Rnd carl'ies the benefits of anclls sub.lect to, the conditions of the" OCEAN ACCIDENT & GUAHANTEE COMPANY, Limited, Act, 1890," Risks Nos 2 &:3 Corporation a:dmit that the purchase of this Paper is the payment of a. premIUm under SectlOn 34

The devoted to Work

IMPORTANT NOTICE.

This month marks another successful step in the journalistic career of "First Aid," and the proprietors have much pleasure in informing both advertisers and readers alike that on and after the 1st of February the Publishing and Advertising D e partments of the paper will be placed under the control of the well-known Publi she rs and Ad vertising Con trac tors, Messrs. Bros. , 10, Pft'lrnos te r Row, London. In accordance with the requirements of Messrs Marshall. the journal will in future be published on the 25th of the month. and the Editor appeals to correspondents both in London and the Provinces to send any matter for insertion not later than the 21st of each month , after whIch date Its insertion cannot be guaranteed in the current issue. No efforts will be wanting to make the Journal as interesting as possible to tlle ambulance helpers in all the various o:rganizationsoverwhose destinies we are pleased to watch, and we ask our readers to kindly help us with suggestions and any item of news likely to int6rest our readers. One iimportant event which we trust will result from the change in the publishing and advertising departments, will be the enlarging of the Journal at a no dist a nt date.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION.

For 12 months, IS. 6d., post free, to be sent to the Publisher s.

:f13revities.

SURGEON CAPT. BLAKENEY, of the First Worcester a nd vYal'w ick Artillery Volunteers, 'VYriting to t he jJfail points out what a ridiculous id ea it is to give instl'uction to the p olice in first a id , affix an ambul ance hadge to their arms, and then not to equip them with firstaill ap pliances. Capt. Bla keney suggests that each police fi1'st-aid el should be suppli ed with at l east on e "field ell'ess ing," as pl'ovid ed by the War Office fOl our soldiers. Then, when street acc id ents occ ur, wounds w ould be coyered immediately by n, dl'essing which is a ntiseptic, thus preyenting t h e access of gel'm s to the wound, &;c. We will dmw atte ntion to anothel' gla.ring inconsisten cy on tbe pm't of polic e a'Jthol'ities, and Olle that w e think is, if anTthing, of UlOl'e impOl'bnce than m-en Captain Blak eney's com.pIn,int, and thnt is the pl'H ctice of pl'esenting 8<1ch polic ema.n with the amb ulance bndge on his fi1' St gaining his certificate, an d nevel' aftenva1'ds taking any ste ps to see if h e is k eeping up the knowl edge once acq uir ed. Th e w eal'ing of a badge und er such cil'cumstances is thus often 11 serious blunclel', if not worse .

<torresponbence.

[ We do not necessarily hold responsible jor the opinions nJ 01''1' correspondents. ]

THE NE 'vV BRIGADE REGULATIONS AND NURSING OORPS.

To thl! Editor of FIRST AID

D ear S ir,-I am a member of a nursing corps of the St. John Ambulance Brigade and am terribly grieved at the issue of the new Brigade Regulations, as I think that that portion which deals with the duties of Nursing Corps practically sounds the death knell of small corps in cOlintry places. Such regulations maybe all very well for corps in large towns where the principal part of their work is c Hried out in connection with public duty; but what opportunities do -Tie in the small towns aDd villages get for public duty? \Yhy, none! and we are to be debarred from undertaking nursing duties except as private individuals. What then is the use of our belonging to the Brigade? H itherto, we have carried out our voluntary nursing duties as members of a grand organisation, which we have felt not a little proud in belonging to, but to be debarred from wearing the uniform when on the only duty we ever get a chance of doing, is to leave no other alternative bu t to form village Nursing Corps and work independently. That our services have been and are appreciated in distri cts too po or to main tain a district nurse could be proved by an inspection of the books of many of these country corps which are to he practically disbanded. Hoping it is not yet too lat e to rescind these regulations,-I remain, Yours sincerely, A ST. JOHN'S I URSE OF TEN YEARS' SERVICE. To the EdiLor of FIRST AID.

SIR,-I have read Capt. Froud's letter in your issue of last December, and quite agree with him that seamen should have a second aid knowledge, but then where are you to draw the line?

I should sucycyest that office rs , before being granted a master's certificate, sho ul l'be compelled to have six experience in a in o rder to qualify:hem to treat the lllJured on board under their cha r O"e when a vessel does not carry a surgeon. In my many years in c;m'm and, had I had this knowledge it would have of cons id errtble service to my crew. If owners would pay men a little extra for this so -call ed medical knowledge, there would soon be plenty of qualified men' but ()wners have no sympathy for anything that touches their pockets. The Board of with a!l so-called interest in seamen, I am afraid, take but lIttle m.havlllg men on ?oard qualified to render first aid when a senous aCCIdent occurs Kmdly excuse my troubling you

Yours faithfully, Latchford. January IIth, I899. WM. WARI:-l"G. SPEEDY MOBILISATIO::-f.

SIR,-The question of prompt mobilisation of corps or divisi?ns of the St. John Ambulance Brigade is of paramount Importance Jl1 he event of any catastrophe where help is required. G ranted that news of any such case quickly spreads round, but It seems to me that there should be a known standard method of summoning members together either by sig nal or otherwise I therefor.e solicit. space in your esteemed publication for discussing any suggestIOns which mlg.ht be. by ambulancers interested in this matter. Thankmg you Jl1 antiCipatIOn, I am, yours faithfully, J. OGDEN, Sup erintendent.

COLNE.-Dr.

H o n. Surgeon, Colne Division, has been a ppointed by the Burnl ey Boal d of Gual di a n s Medi cal Offi cer and Public Va ccin a tor for C olne , Foulridge and Tr owden di str icts.

AMBULANCE workers, no matter where "'.ill have. received wi th gratification the intelligence that IIer Most GracIous i\IaJesty conferred a Knighthood on 1\1r. John Furley yeteran ambulancler, and one of the founders and hardest \\"01 kers In the movement ",hich owes its oriO"in to the Order of St. John. Sir John has been no feather-bed soldicr in the ca.use, his experience was first gained on the battlefield, and to no doubt is largely due the wide reputation which he has gamed not so associated with the St. John mO\'ement as m Its early days, he stl!l takes a keen interest in its welfare, and we doubt not in the generatIOns to come posterity will link his name and that of late Colonel Duncan wi th the ca u se long after those of hi s sLlccessors Jl1 tbe work ha ve become forgotten memories.

Dickey, J.P.,

3nvaIib5, anb the lPreparation of tbeir jfoob.

Repn'nted b)' spec£aZ jJermlsslo1Z 0./ J1izss Catllerz'ne TVo od, Audio]' of "A Ha7ldbook on .i.'yrursz7zg," &c. (CoIlNIIIlCd,)

An intellio-ent arrano-ement of diet for invalids will presuppose an outline of morbid physiological changes in the functions that call for this care and management. The process of healthy digestion has been briefly sketched, and a recollection of this will be of use in understandino- wherein the disease lies.

The most form of disturbance is indigestion, or dyspepsia. This may exist in a ,'ery ::lild form, ,or be of so serious a nature that the life is rendered a burden; there IS every shade of degree between these two extremes. Tn ,yhatever degree it exists, much atte,ntion must be o-iven to the nature of the food, and to the manner of takll1g It,

Primarily in dyspepsia the digestive functions are enfeebled in one part or othe;' ,of the It may be in the which does not secrete suffiCIent gastnc JUice to dissolve the l1ltrogenous elements of the food and cOOl'ert them into peptones; this change must take place in the food before it can be absorbed into the blood, The weakness may be in the coats, ,which .d? not carry on action sary for the mechamcal mIxing of th,e In It.S ev.ery particle wIth the gastric juice. \Vh en the stomach IS ll1flamed, Its disordered mucous membrane secretes mucus, which acts as a ferment and favour,s. decomposition in the food; free the gases and causes flatulency (" the wmd ), and the, formatIOn of lactiC a condition of acidity. The fault may be In the duodenum, the l11testine below the stomach, the pylorus being the door of communication between the two, Th e semi-digested mass is here brought in contact with the pancreatic and biliary juices, which act upon the fats and render them fit for absorption, and the starches and sugars are con,'erted into grape-sugar, in which form they are taken into the blood. The bile is secreted by the liver, and shares in the health or reverse of that orgar. ; it may be either deficient in quantit,Y or quality; in eit?er case it does not react upon the contents of the ll1testlI1es by prepanng them for assimilation.

XC' straight line of dietary can be laid down for for, as the causes of indio-estion are various, the foods prOVided must meet those distinctions." Thus, for some, animal food must be gi\'en in a liquid or semi -li quid form; whilst oLhers, on the contrary, are disturbed by the presence of any large amount of fluid in stomach; it seems to act as a soh'ent of the gastric juice, and irllpair its efficiency. It can be readily understood that the artificial digestion of food by the Liquor Pancreaticus must aid this enfeebled action, though an artificial combination can never equal the action of a living agent; nevertheless, it is a very valuable auxil iary in the dieting of dyspepsia.

Fluid food is not always efficient as a stimulant to the secretion of the o-astric juice, or to the mechanical act ion of the coats of the stomach"; in this case food in small quantities, in a solid form, must be used.

Starches and fats are usually a source of discomfort, probably because the food remains too long in the feeble stomach, and fat is especially with commencing decomposition; fatty matter of all kinds is unsuitable for dyspeptic invalids.

In the Gouty subject the difficulty has changeci its place from the stomach to the organs of assimilation the nitrogenous matters in the food are digested, but the body does not burn them up in a healthy way, and dispose of the waste through the excretory organs, The used-up and worn-out nitrogenous tissues, and the overplus of the proteids or albuminoids, go wandering about the body, establi sh ing themselves where they have no business, and so doing ha rm, instead of giving up their nutriment and leaving when their work is done, YVhen the nitrogenous matters are efficiently oxydized or, burnt up, the waste is cast away in the forn; of urea through the kidneys; but when this process is not satIsfactory, uric acid is formed instead of urea. The uric acid will combine with soda and form urate of soda, which seems to be tbe chief irritating agent, setling up inflammation, and the other varied disorders of the gouty condition.

Tbis imperfect assimilation may be caused by eating too much (unfortunately, a common form of disease), especially where the habits of life are sedentary i or by eating of too rich, t00 highly nitrogenised f003S, such as animal foods; by drinking the stronger forms of wines and beers, and by taking sugar in large quantities. In all cases, gout more usually attacks seden tary, self-indulgent livers, than those of active habits and abstemious in their feeding.

To make the fire burn faster and fiercer will be one self-evident means of correcting this gouty tendency, as Abernethy did, whe n he made his gouty patients to dance on hot plates; or as, in a less determined form, may be done by sensibl e people-making use of their limbs instead of those of other animals; but this will not suffice in all cases, The evil must be combated by attention to d iet. It will be necessary to reduce the a.mount of nitrogenous food (an imal food) as

AID. [February, J 899.

far as may be consistent with the vital and li,mit the amou nt, of suo-ar and of a coholic drinks as these 1l1terfere WIth the conversIon proteids into fully oxydi;ed mea, , Soups, broths, beef-teas, are not a sUltable form, of glvmg al1lmal food to gouty subjects; they contain a large quanL1ty of waste nitro. genous matters; but where gout is complicated by dyspepSia and feeble nutrition they may be necessary.

In Brio-ht's Disease the oro-ans chIefly m fault are the kidneys; their work is t; eliminate the wasle after the oxydisation of the nitrogen ous matter, and that caused by the wear and tear of the and. to throw it out of the body Failure in the thIS functlO,ll retain s the poisonous matters i.n th.e body, causll1g ur rem.la uren:l c poisoning, very frequently ending 111 death frOl:n slow pOlsol1lng. Die in this disease consists in a very spare use of nitrogenous foods, only as much as is really needed, and a large preponderance of vegetable fo od. Soups. broths, bee f-t eas, are not suitable in this disease" as they do not contain the mo st nutritiou s form of animal food, but Il1stead, a large amount of decyenerate nitro o-eno us matter which turns into very poisonous and the body with kidneys has much difficulty in discharging these matters from It.

Diabetes is a disease in the assimilative process. I t may be that the liver is chiefly in fault; but in whatever organ the principal mischief lies, the result is a perverted acti?ll, so that the carbon,aceous and in some degree the elements also, ll1stead of bell1g co nvcrted into a carbo nace ous material properly prepared for use in the body. appear in the form of glucose, or grape-sugar, a form not adapted for the purpose and ""hich .th,e body c":1not make use of.

On Lte kicineys s thrown the task of ehmll1at.ll1g h.ls sugar whl.ch IS four!d in the urine as diabetic sugar. The dIsea se IS attended WIth morbid excess in the amount of and very with most painful thirst , Sugar is necessary in the .labo ra tory of the It stands among the group of heat-producmg elements; and the healthy wbject it is so entirely absorbed mtG the blood and tIssues that it cannot be tr.,ced in the urine; in d abetes, on he contrary sugar is found in large quantities.

The object aimed at in the dietary is to exclude sugar and starch, tbe latter bein u co nverted into sugar during the progress of digestion, and especially" into glucose, the objectionable form of. sugar abO\e mentioLed. Thi s strikes out farinaceous foods, espeCially wheate n bread, and all forms of grains, s weetened beers and Spil,'its, and any cookery in which sugar is used, Fresh exceptll1g potatoes, are admissible; fresh fru:t, without sugar; a11ll11al foods and butter. :\lilk must be taken sparing ly; cream is permissible; tea, coffee and cocoa, with cream and without sugar The only substitute for bread or biscuits is that m1.de wi th gluten, whic!1 is the uough with the starch washed out , and bran bread, The diet is apt to become monoton ous, particularly "hen the patient is young, and .of the succes.s in perseve r ance will depend npon the cook and her makll1g vanety, A free use of water is indicated, and may be indulged in with benefit; it supplies material to meet the drain of fluids that is going on, and being the uniyersal soh'ent, it materially aids in the process 0, assimilation.

Scurvy is a disease caused by imperfect nutrition, affecting the quality of the blood and the blood-vesseb. The former becomes poor, watery , and deficient in vitali sing power; the latter are weakened in th eir str u cture, the coats become feeble, the contents will ooze out, and as their contract ile power fails, the circulation i s languid and intermittent : the gums are spongy, the muscles soft. and there is extreme debility.

The ca use of this disorder is the absence of the organic salts from the diet. These salts are essential elements in the economy of life, and they are found arge ly in fres h vegetables, and their equiva len t mu st exist in milk, It is known that the deprivation of fresh vegetables milk, and fresh animal food-such as used to occur on a long seavoyage, or in the case of prisoners and th e very poor-gi I'es lise to th e scorbutic state, and that the disease may be combated by giving the se articles freely, with milk and fresh animal food.

The development of scurvy is favoured by the use of salted meat s, even though fresh vegetab les forrp part of the diet, so that the change from sa lt meat to fresh with little farinaceous food and abundance of fresh vegetables, will generally bring about a better state of things.

In all cases it is necessary to take some form of vegetable acid, that of the lemon or lim e being the most efficacious. The discovery of thi s atter specific , and the use of preserved and tinned meats and milk, h as almost ban ished scurvy from the Navy.

Diet has mllch to do with skin diseases. A fish diet, espe cially that of shell-fish, may cause urLicaria, or nettle-rash; tomaues produce itching and an erythematous eruption; eggs are poison to some Eczema may be much modified by an attention to the a rticles of food eaten, especially wnen it is the outcome of a gouty tendency. The lep r osy of the present day may be favoured by a diet of fish, if no t absol'llely dependent on it. There s a skin disease that Occurs in I taly, called Italian leprosy, which is due to eat in g ma ize (Indian corn) wh en affected WIth a certain fungoid growth In all these cas es the cure li es in change of diet.

vVe are fra il mortals at the best of times; but espec ia lly when t he indulgence of th e appetite is in questIO n. The little boy at the school

February, 1899.J FIRST

least, who said he might , perhaps, be able tc' eat m ore if he stood up, bas his brothers and sisters of larger growth in every rank of society No doubt that little man regretted the cake and jam that he had O'oraed, whe n the next morning found him with a headache and s ickand all the other aches that come with repletion. Ile would long for the vigour and ela.sticity that usually came with his healthy meals; and let us hop e that he remembrance of the day after the feast brought with it abstinence o n the next occasion

The Christian's YOW of temJ)erance, to " renounce the s inful lusts of the flesh," should be the safeg uard against over-indulgence in the of table, and like all th?se good old precep.ts, will be found condUCIve to a long and happy Me. Th ere are few Sights more pitia ble than to see an old man or woman the victim of the dise1ses that spring from gluttony, tottering towards the end of life, with their hearts s till set upon the indulgence of the palate, but with taste and smell almost gone, and n ot hing left to take the place of former joys. The men who have left the deepest mark on their time, and who have done the best work, have always been abstemious, using food just for its right purpose, to keep the engine going.

microbes anb IDi5case=<Oern15.

By DR. PITTOCK, J.P. , F.R.i\1.S

[Reprinted j'rom Kcble's ",LlIa7'[pte {blUl Ila 'llsgcdn Ga:ette."]

(Continued. )

This faculty of the white blood-cells was first pointed out by the ce ebrated Russian physiologist, :\Ietschnikoff, by "hom these protective cells were named phal!ocylcs, or germ-swallowers. In health the warfare between these good guardian cells and the intruding germs is constantly going on, and it is probably only in disordered and enfeebled conditions of the bo.:!y that this power of defence fails. The re is another Iyay in which microbes multiply, and that is by spores, which are round or oval bodies formeci in tbe interior of a bcillus, and set free on the death of the microbe. These spores are far hardier than tbe parent-germ, for whereas all bacilli may be kill ed by freezing or boiling, these spores can resist extremes of cold far beyond the freezingpoint, and will even survi,'e cOl1Linued boiling. In fact, they are among the most indestructible forms of living matter yet known Moreover, they may remain un altered for years, and yet, under favourable conditions, will re"ive, grow rapidly, and speedily become ba-:teria like the parent. power of revival and growth was taken advantage of by Pasteur, 1 yndall, and others in their experiments to sterilise fluids, as it is called, that is to destroy all microbic life, By repeatedly boil ing fluids containing germs, with an interval of a day or tl\'O betwee n each boiling, to allow tbe spores to germinate, both and Tyndall succeeded in destroying them.

, 'fhe le cturer next proceeded to speak of the microbes ll1 air. The systemat ic eXamination of the atmospheric forms of bacteria was first carried out on a scientific basis by th" great French chemist Pasteur, who, indeed, founded the science of bacterio logy, and with whose name some of the most man'ellous and most beneficent disco\'eries of the century will ever be associated. Before his researches on aer ial microbes, some thirty or forty years ago, it was generally be!ie"ed that the lo\\'er forms of life, both animal and vegetable, might anse neously in certain highly putrescible substances, such, as yegetable infusions, animal broths, decaying matters, and the hke. Pasteur proved by most ingenious experiments that certain li"ing germs \I hich are always pre se nt in the atmosphere wer e nece ssary for the del'elopment of e,'en the owest forms of life He found that after dest:'oying the baci lli and their spores by repeatedly boili ng anima and \'egeta_ble broths in small flasks, the necks of which vvere drawn out to a nne thread, and sub seque ntly sea ling hermetically the flasks so treated, so that they should contain n o air, no living matter of any k ind was el'er del'eloped in them el'en after a yery lon g period of time. Thus he proved that all, even the very minutest and simplest, 10rms of life from spores Hoating in the air, and that there no of hfe apart from pre-existing germs In the course of hiS experIments PaEteur found by exposing the se vee-etable infusions in various localities, that the' num ber of micro-organisms in the air to. an astonishing extent, Subsequent observers have excended th iS ll1quuy, ane! with similar results. For in sta nce, a given vol u ::ne of air from an inha bited room would contain ro,ooo livin g germs, he same from a city stree +,000, from a city park +50, from the mid-Atlantic 6, f,om a mountain peak only r,

After detailing some experiments by Prof. which th"'t the numb er of microbes in the atmosphere was In direct proportIOn to the number of person s pre se nt in a room, the leclurer said:leads me to a very interesting and important bran:h of my subject Th e antiseptic treatment of wounds and surgical injuries, which is associated with the o-reat and hon oured name of Lord Lister, is founded on observa ti o n of effects of perfect cleanliness, combined with the protection from the injuri ous contac of organisms swarm ing In the a ir, on the healing of wounds. 1 shall quote here the words of

AID . 61

the celebrated German sa vant, P rof. Virchow, who was invited to <Yi\'e the Huxley memoria l lecture this year, on "Recent Advances" in Science, and their Bearing on and Surgery, " In speaking of the antiseptic treatment he said :-" In the city where the man still lives and works who, by devising th s treatment, has introduced the greatest and most benefi cent reform that the practical branches of medical science have ever known, e\'eryone is aware that L ord Lister, on the strength of his original reasoning, arrived at practical results \Vh irh the new theory of fermentation and septic processes has full \' anyone had succeeded in demonstrating, bv exa -t methods, the microbes which are acti\'e in various diseases, orin showing the specia fUllctions that they perform, Lister had learnt, in a truly prophetic revelation, the means by which protection against the action of putrefying organisms can be attained, and a perfect revolution ill the basis of surgical treatment has been the consequence L ord Lister is already, and will always be, r<:ckoned amongst the greatest benefactors of the human race." After this magnificent tribute to the genius of Lister, Prof. \ 'irchow ,,'ent on to say: "It has already happened once before tbat an Englishman has succeeded in producing byarti ficial means immunity irom to the nearly complete destruction of at least one of the most deadly infectious diseases. Jenner's noble discm'ery ha s stood its trial as successfully- except, perhaps, in the popular fancy-as he could have hoped " .\s to bacteria in water, Thames "'ater before filtratIOn contains on an average, on the evidence of Prof. Fran kland, 20,000 bacteria in a cubic centimetre (about twenty drops). The effect of filtration through sand, howeyer, is to deprive il of a large portion of this microbic life, for after filtration it contains only +co microbes in t h e cubic centimetre In deep water from the chalk Frankland found only IS per cubic centimetre, and in sea-water a still less numbe r; while mud from the sea bottom and at the bottom of lakes is yery rich in microbic life.

After carefully the various methods of cultivating bacteria for the purposes of obsen'ation and experiment, and lhe means adopted for steril isino- (or rendering free from germ life) the \'arious apparatus employed, the lecturer proceeded to gi\'e a description of the methods of staining bacilli by aniline dyes, in order to bring their st ru ct ural peculiarities into greater prominence, and so to :lssist in their minute examination. This pro'ess was illustrated by some fine slides of various coloured forms. Th e lecturer then spoke of the bacteria sen'iceable to man. icrobes and germs are usually associated in the popular mind with disease; but the fact is, by far the greater number of them are useful to man in a high degree, 111 the pn:sen'ation of health, in agriculture, and in certai n are Xature's, scavengers, bringing about th; decay an.d of dead al1lmal and vegetable matter. \'\ lthout their salutary al,d the surhce of our earth would Il1 time be covered With the remaIns of plants and animals, and life on this globe would come to an for it is hy the decay and decomposition of dead and refuse al1Imal and yegetable matter that the fertility of the soil is maintained. With out the aid of micr obes fertile land \yould then become a desert waste, incapable of supporting plant life; and of course, \\'ithout plant life a.nima ls must necessarily cease to exist, for the herbi\'ora \\'otIld stane for want of vegetable food, and the can!lyora would also die for lack of animal food, In agriculture these mJl1ute germs subsen-e a double purpose; for they not only seize upon and deyour, so to speak, dead matter, cO!1Yerting it into simple chemical compounds SUitable tor the SUPPOI:t of vegetable, life,. but t?em. possess property of cOIH'ertmg atmosphenc nItrogen mto nItrIC aCid and I1ltlates, ThiS very impor: ant function of the bactena has been only thoroughly im'estigated lately, .Farmers have long known that crops (peas, bea ns and vetches) greatly ennc?ed the sod nItrogenous products; and taking advantage of thiS, the agn,culLlIrlst, by ,a judicious rotation of crops, periodically renelYS the fertIlity. of the SOil hy their means, after it has been exhausted by a crop of ce re a ls 01 grain. This property of the "etches and other plants resides mainly in numerous s,,'ellll1 g s or tuberos.lues their roots, which are remarkably rich in nitrogen, and swarmll1g With as is also the soil around them, Dr. Frankland ha;:; succeeded 111 this nitrifying ba cillu s. it is a curious fact that fertIlIsll1g o-erms are to be found only Jl1 the uj.> per layers of the sad, and cannot Dve beyond a depth of incbes or so, amI near the surface they abound in countless myriads. By their silent and unseen dead rottino- a nimal and yegetable matters are converted mto the matellal for li fe, soon to be built up into plant and and tree The gardener and the agricultur ist h ave learnt that,lt IS ,of no use plant or to dig or to plough bel0w , A curlOLl<; Il1s ance, tIm, by he way, of that IS pnor to kn owledge, of we find so many examples 111 the history of the human race", In e manufacture of alcoholic liquors from malt and other .sacchallne substances, and of vinegar from alcoholic liqUid s, the mlcrobe.s an essential part. To t he genius and labo urs of agall1 \I e 0 \\ e the complete explanation of the nature of the fermentatIve process, and the proof that it is due to the yeast germ, of ",Illch I show some beautiful microscopic drawing5.

(10 be continued.)

FIRS T AID.

FEBRUARY 1, 1899

"T o those entitled to it do not fail to award a fair and just meed of praise, yet do not hesitate to criticise, remembering that n o man or body of men can be so perfect as o be above all criticism."-TAYLOR.

As one of the few journals in this PEACE OX EARTH, country which hailed with sincel'e GO OD'rYILL enthusia,slll the Peace Manifesto of the TOWARDS Ozar, we now offel' oue sincere con gratulations 0 }Hr. VV: :: Stead. on the very marked success which attended the 11lltIal meetmg held at St. James's Hall in support of tLis the latest crusade in modern times, It speaks much for the personality of .Mr. Stead, ctn el augUl's well for the cause which he has so much at heal't, that he has secUl'ed the cordial cooperation of men of every shade of and religious feeling. Some there al'e, ,no doubt, m tlllS country, .as well as in others on the Oontment, who doubt the genumeness of the Czar's desire for peace; but a perusal of the account of Mr. Stead's interview with Nicholas II. should do much to Drove to these sceptical ones how earnest is the young desire that the proposed Oonference should at least result ill a truce to the present costly armaments which are crippling the financial position of many of the powel's. In a pamphlet which is now before us as we wr:te, Mr . Stead appeals to the British PU I)1ic to be up ::l,nd domg in the C:1use of peace, and we believe he is asking tbem to aiel in no fodorn hope, Never were the for an international armistice bl-ighter. The universe is groa,ning under the heavy taxation involved in this piling up of militarv stores and the manufacture of munitions of war, and yet" there is not a single Government that would not exhaust every method of diplomacy before venturing to put to the test these terrible engines of destruction. Once more we appeal to Ambulance helpers in a11 parts of the wOl-ld to lend their aid in furtherance of the cause of peace, To the Fil'e Bl'igades of all countries we also appeal. Both these classes of society are engaged in the noble art of b'ying to save life and relieve suff el ing. They may be said, thel'cfore, to have a direct mandate to support the movement, if they would be true to the humanital'ian principles they pl'ofess. Capt. Mignot, the vbteran and esteemed Pl'esident of the French Fedel'Rtion des S:tpem's Pompiers, in the comse of speech at Blenheim, stated that "for Fil'emen there was no nationality, they wel'e all brothers." We endOl'se these sentiments, and we feel 8me that they will find an echo in the head of every British fil'oman. From mem bel'S of the French Secouristes Societies, also, we have received, this New Year, frat81'nal greetings, and we feel sure the people of the two conntl'ies only require to .'ee more of each other, and to know one anothel' bettel', for these greetings to be amplified It has been suggested that, with a view to the further and more thorough l'ealisation of tbis hope, an Internatiol1l:l,l Society should be formed to be called the White Oross League, which should consist of members of the Fire and Ambulance seI'yices and kinch-cd humanitarian societies Such a league, if formed, would receive our hearty support, believing as we do that the WOlk that we all love so much should play an important part in the programme for the world's pe<1,ce; and we earnestly appeal to om' readers to join with u in asking God's blessing on the young Ozar's proposal, and to aid in evel'J way that may lay in their power to bring to a successful issue this crusade of the twent ieth century.

A ID . [Febr uary, 18 99. <to!onial Btnbulance.

SYDNEY -The monthly meeting of the Executive of the St. John Ambulance Association was held at the assocmtlOr. s 9ffic e, 12, Imperial Arcade, on Friday, December 2nd: Dr. F. H C.ox w s "ppointed to lecture at vyalgett. The ",.ere detailed to examine classes :-Dr. JarvIe Hood, Australian Gas LIght Company; Dr. P. i\1. Wood, Newtown, first aid; Dr. Roth, Pymble first aid; Dr. Carruthers, Turramurra, first aid. Mr. A. E. Ash, of the castle branch, wrote applying for examiners for several local classes, The Secretary of the Colonial Sugar Corps reported that a large class is under instruction by Dr. Sto'"Je DIx so n.

SYDNEY.-The monthly meeting of the General Committee of the Civil Ambulance and Tr:J.nsport Brigade was held at the of the briO'ade junction of Pitt and George Streets on Thursday evening, Prof Ande:son Stuart, as president of the brigade, in succession to Sir F. M Darley, presided. There were also present Dr. E. Sydney Littlejohn (chief medical advise:), Dr. Jamieson, Dr. E. H, Binney and others. In welcomlDg the PreSident, the Hon. Secretary (:'Ilr. Scott) stated that this was. the first on. which any meeting of the Lrigade had been preSided over by I.ts PreSIdent. The Pre side nt said that be had no doubt of the necessity of the organlsa · ti(l[1 that the volume of work spoke for itself, and that a volun tary had done what the Government might have becn long in rioing. The Hon. Secretary that during l\'ovember the uricrade had attended IOI cases of aCCIdent and transport, the officers and hand-wheel ambulances travelling thereon 251 miles. The cases were classified as follows :-Government, 17; shipping, 21; street accidents 10' treated at the ambulance stations according to fir st aid, 16 ; at the sports, 4; medical, surgical, and casualty transports, 52; domestic 10' and factories, 10. Of these 30 were conveyed to Sydney IIospital: 12 to Prince Alfred, 10 to Vincent:s, 2 to North Sydney, 2 to Balmain Cottage, and 2 to pnvate hospitals; 3,? were fem.ale cases. Other business included arrangements for a pubhc presentatIOn of certificates in the Y,M.C,A. Hall on the 19th inst.

SYD",EY.-A nursing class, consisting of 28 member s, was formed by Vi scountess Hampden, at Governm ent I-louse, in September, and was examined by Dr. Jarvie Hood on N oyember Ith. Dr. R. nde leur Kelly delivered the course of lectures. The Chatswood first aId class, which has recently been instru cted by Dr. Clarence Reade, was examined on November lIth by Dr. R. Vandeleur Kelly.

PARRA MATT A.-At a meeting of the Parra matt a branch of the St. John Am bulance Association, held in the School of Arts on Tuesday evening, to form a ladies' first aiel class, some 17 ladies gave In their names, and it was announced that Dr. \V, S. Brown would instruct the class.

jf i r st Bib 1R ecorb .

ApPLEDORE Station, on the Hastings branch of the South-Ea stern Railway, was the scene of all. accident on Day, by a nnmber of holiday-makers were Il1Jured, two. senously. The aCCident occurred during the operation of attaching a horse-box to the Hastings train. ThrouO'h so me unexplained cause the horse-box dashed into the rear of IIastings train, tele scop ing he guard's van and a third· class bogey carriage. The guard, an Ashford man named Speller, had a miraculous escape. He jumped out of the van just in time to save from certain death. The damaged carriage was well filled with passengers, some fourteen or fifteen of whom were injured. Th e two most serious cases were those of gentlemen from Folkestone, who sus· tained broken legs. The injuries of the other passe ngers were chiefly cuts and Several doctors from Ashford and Rye, together with the Ashford Railway Ambulance Corps, were quickly brought to the spot by special train, and the broken limbs were placed in splints, and the wounds dressed, the two unfortunate passengers being con· veyed by the special train to Folkestone Hospital.

LIVERPOOL.-On 29th December last a carter named Robert Gill 37, Abram Street, while adjusting the oil sheet on the top of his lorry, fell to the ground in consequence of the horses suddenly starting He dislo · cated his hip, and was in great agony. Sergeant Richardson and a police-constable were immediately in attendance, dnd before the horse ambulance arrived from the Northern Hospital they got spl ints and gave temporary aid in such a skilful manner that the doctor highly commended them for the efficiency and promptit.ude they had displayed,

MONSIEUR EMILE OACIIEUX, OIVIL ENGINEER, ADMIKTSTRATOR OF THE AMBGLANCE 'OCIETY, LES SECOURLSTES FRAXC;AIS.

THE gentleman whose portrait we have much pleasure in producing in our journal, this month, was born at M ulhouse, on the rth of June, 184+ lIe finished his education at the Lycee Charlemagne, in Paris, receiying his diploma as a ci\'il engineer frOIn the Central GO\Ternment School in

Ever since the year 1865 Mons. Cacheux has devoted himself to the interesting questions on social eCl)nomy, and has proyed a valued friend and warm ally to life-saving and ambulance societies, He ably seconded the efforts of hi s old professor, M. Muller, who initiated the erection of artisans' dwellings in his native town of Mulhouse; and he was subsequently commissioned by the great philanthropist, Jean Dolfus, to build in Pari.s the first wOl:kmen's buildinrrs erected in t.hat city by pnvate enterpnse, In carrying out this scheme, M. <:acheux combined system in vogue at 1\Iulhouse WIth that of the EnglIsh building societies, and he was thus enabled to carry out a work of much magnitude, and one that reflects upon him the greatest credit.

In 1888 the subject of our sketch was deSIred to oro-anise the t.hird International Life-Saving Congress, which was held in the Palais de (lnd in deference to the wishes of the Commissioners of the 188 9 Exhibition he also organised the fourth Oongress, the important official Report of which ':'as largely due to his energies and labour --a Report has p:-o,:'ed of the utmost value to the French life- sa nng sOCletIeS, resultinrr as it has in the federation of these societies under presidency of that great philanthropi t, M, Boucher-Cadart, Ex-Senator, and Pres idem of the General C ouncil of the Pas de Oalais.

In 18 9+ M. Cacheux .was appointed ,by the Ministry of Commerce Its offiCIal on the eirrhth Life-Savino- Congress, whIch was held at St. under the presidency of Admiral Dupene, On this occasion M. Oacheux had as a colleague M. Gui ll ard de Lorient, and was deputed to consider particularly the questi?lls to the, welfare: of mariners, such as techmca l ll1structlOn, aCCIdents, SIckness, old age, &c . ,

AI D. 63

French Republic. There are now ten simi lar institutions in France, and they have proved of inestimable advan tage to its maritime population,

At the la st International Congress of Fisheries, held in Dieppe, France, Cacheux was ctppointed the repre, sentative of the Brench Government, and was elected Vice-President of the Congr ess, and on the loth of January last he bad the honour of being received at the Elysee by the President of the French Republic, to whom he s u bmitted the Report of the Congress and also the report of the society relative to the technical instruction of the Fisheries Society of which he is the Founder and Uhairman.

In connection with this Congress, it is interesting to note the cordial relations which existed between }\I. Oacheux and the British delegates-J)Ir. Fryer, Inspector of Fisheries (Board of Trade), and :JIr. Fullerton, of the Scottish Fishery Board. It. proved once more that on all international, humanitarian projects Englishmen and Frenchmen are at heart united, and can stand shoulder to shoulder in any cause which has for its aim the benefit of our common humanity.

1\1 Cacheux is the author of severa l standard works in hi s own country, principal among \"hich we may mention the life-saving and ambulance handbook, I, The :Manual du Sauveteur," and manyworksof social economy for which he has receiyed pecial recognition from the French In sti tute, besides se,'eral gold medals from the International Exhibitions of 187 , 18 c+ and I bC) , and from the Hygien e Exhibition in London in 18 , -+is a Knirrht of the Leo-ion of Honour, Officer of PublIc Instruction of t.he National American Order of the Officer of the Colonial Order of the Camboge and of the Dragon of Anan. It i worthy of note that in his handbook, The clu Sau"eteUl 1\1. Cachellx has devoted a special and interesting paragraph to the work of the Civil Ambnlance Society of St. John 0f Jerusalem in England; and, as we are, no,,approaching the time when the great Exhibition of 1900 will welcome the world, It may be hoped that many of the humanitarian societie:s of nationality will meet at the con&ress \yhlcl: IS to be organised with the able co-operatlOn of ::\1. wben English societies, ,\'ill, we are ure, meet WIth a most hearty welcome from one and all , and we no doubt will obtain one of the first honours for theIr useful work among uffering humanity,

In conclusion we once more express the pleasure we feel in inserting the'portrait of J)I. Cacheux in our Gallery this month, recognising in him as ,ye do,. a fellow-worker of whom we Engli sh First-Aiders may be Justly proud aI?d one in unison with us in our effort to do all that lays 111 our power to alleyiate. hUl1:an to human misery, and to Ulllte hI S natlOn With ?urs 111 lh,e o-rand international moyement for the promotlOn of man s o humanity to man G. CLET.

ylETROPOLlTAN CORPS.-The Annual Bohemian Concert of the Metropolitan Corps will take place on Friday, February 3rd, when Chief Secretary, Sir Herbert C Perrott, Bart., will preside. Sir Herbert is generally popular with all ranks and we trust that a brge number of first·aiders and their friends w ill rally round him on the night, A capital programme has been arranged by S u pt. S B. Piers,

In 1895, with the co-operatlOn of members ?f the leadinrr French society he was eaa bled to establIsh an institution for technic-al instruction in connection with all matters appertaining to th.e.fish.ing Thi.s institution received officia l reCOo-l1ltlOn 111 the same year, and in 1898 it was furthe r as an institution of pu b li c ut ili ty by a special of the President of the

BRADFORD.-The annual meeting of the Centre of the St. John Ambulance \ ssociat iol1 was held at the Bradlord Town Hall. The i\layor of Bradford (:\11'. W. E. .\.ckroyd), Preslelent of Centre, occupied the chair. The lIon. Secretary CUr. ,George ChIppendale), in presenting the annual report, that It \\ as one of the most satisfactory that had ever been submItted. The i\layor moved the ad option of the report, and. congratulated the on the ?,ood. wO.rk whi ch hael been done dunng the p::.st ten yeals. Th.e lepOlt \\as adopted. ;\lr. A. T. Priestman proposed and i\[r. W. Field a vote of thank s to the bon. secretary, bot h, gentlemen speaJ.::ll1g III lauelatory terms (If the services whi ch i\lr. ChIppendale had rendered to he cent re, The ·ote was heartily accorded, and wa s acknowledged by Mr. Chippenel :de

$t . 30hn Bll1bu{anc e :f13 rtgat) e.

i\!ETROPOLITAJ\T CORPS.

ST ]OH:-<'S GATE :::\0. I A,{D CYCLTSTS' DrYIS!ONs.-We call of our readers to the next m connection wIth tbe aho\'e divisions, ",hich will take place at we .\thenxum, Camden Town, ?\,.IY. on Febluary 9 th , 18 99.

A ;'\E\Y 01'.'1510'\ of the Corps has been founded. to be called" The Fac;t London DivisiolJ." It wi.ll consIst ?f members of the Hebrew failh drawn from the many Jevl'lsh clubs 111 the East of London. lYe wish its popular superintf!ndent, :\[r. P. all success \Ye are certain, from his past recorri, that he will do hIS le\'el best to earn it.

CYCLISTS' DTYJsro:-.:. -.-\ capital smoking one of the best it has been our fortune to attend in con n eC,t IOn w1t.h ambulance work -took place at the Duval Restaurant. 1 be chaIr was taken by rontin, who ,,:as supported. by the i\ssistant-Commissioners, :\0. I Dlstnct, the Bnga.de Supel 111tendent, Major Fox (London Salvage .Corps), ChIef Supenntenden.t Hon. Surgeons Brown al?d :\Ialtland Coffin,. &c'. The was admirably arranged, and carned out under the dIrectIon of C} clIst XeIV.

BEIDlO:-.IDSEY A:\,D ROTHERHTTHE first smokin!:; concert given by thi s Di\ ision was held at tbe headqual tel's, BetnlOndsey Settlement, F,'trncombe f'treet, on Saturday whe;l, a company was most enjoyahlyentertained. :\Ir. preSIded: 1 be Rev. J. Scott Lidg-eu spoke of tbe objects of the DlvIs.lOn, ",hlch al'e establish amhulance stations containing litters, blanKets and for public use in case of accidents, al(Jng the water-side from Lond o n BrIdge to RotberlliLiJe, and "hen tile necessary funds are collected to, stal them further inland. A yote of thanks ",as vtssed to Dr. A. Salter, throt]O'h whose unfailing energy the Division has teen founded and brouO'ht to its present useful condition. In reply Dr. Salter his th·illks for the enthusiastic manner in which the vote \\.as recen'ed.

THE :\lassey-i\Iail1\\'aring Challenge Cup was competed tor by te<lms from divisions of the :'Ietropolitan Corps on and W'ednesday, January roth and 1 ah. The judRes were Ch!.ef Surgeon S. Osborn, Brig:1de Cbief Superintendent Church BraSIer, non. Surgeon. J. Cantlie, Chief Superintendent W. H. and W. H. Smith. The following teams had entered, and a cap!tal competition was the result. East Ham, 2; South :"letropohtan Gas Company, 2; Great l\orthern Railway (King's Cross, :\Ierton and 'Wimbledon, Hagger ston, St. :\Iarks, and Tottenham and Railwav. :\. fairly Lnge audience \\' lS present on both e\'e.nl11gs, and watched the competili o n, which was yery keenly contested. \\Ith eVIdent interest The \l'ork of the Great Xorthelll Railway was "ery admired; the team had evidently been trained, and individual member worked with that coolnesi'; ",hlch should at all tImes characterise ambulance men. :\11'. Painter is to be congratulated on the evident interest which he contillUt::s to throw into the work; and may we venture to hope that the just opened, and. which has started so ,'ell for the division under hIS control, may have 111 store yet other succes5es? The result of the competition was as follows:-

G.l\.R. (King's Cross), first with 248 points, South_1\letropolitan Gas Company I) second with 210, East H.am (:\0. 1), thIrd 221 points. The East IIam team had prevIously won the cup tWIce in succession. .\luch sympathy was felt for the East Ham 2) team, who, o"ing to one of their number not s howing up,. had to compete with only four men. S1. .'Ierton and WI:nbledon are also to be congratulated on tblS thell first appearance III the competition arena. ,\t the conclusion the result was announced by Chief SurO'eon Osborn, and ,','lrs. Church Brasier then handed the cup to the team. Supt. Painter on recei.ving it a warm to the men under his command, who, he saId, had thIS year won It WIthout any assistance from himself, and he felt very proud of tbem. He concluded with a yote of thanks to tbe judges.

PROVl:\CTAL CORPS.

BR'i Browne. hon. surgeon to this division, has been appointed an Honorary Life of the St. John Ambulance Association by the Central Executive Committee their Meeting on December 16th. Dr. Browne has gratuitously lectured to six fin:t aid and nursing cbsses, and is no\\' engaged in lecturing to another hrst aid class.

DIVISTON.-On l\1ond'aY, January 9th, under the of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, a public tea and entertainment took place in the \lidland Railway Institute, "Vesthouses Super intenden t Powis, on behalf of the mem bel'S, presented Dr. Leary with a handsome smoking cabinet for services as instructor. Dr. Leary ha ving sui tably acknowledged the gifts, Mrs. Leary presented the medallions and certificates. The proceedings concluded with dancing, !\Ir. Hardie's quadrille band supplying the music.

Messrs. J. lIumphries and J. H. Stableford acted as l\ l. C.'s.

GATNSBOI'Q( C.H.-On Decemf:er 22nd a meeting was held at the Britannia Works to consider the advisability of forming a c.iivision of the Brigade. Dr. Cassan presided, and explained that, tho ugh:J.

A! D. [F ebr u ar y , 1899.

great many people in had passed through a first there were at present no opport u l1J Ies for rubbll1£' up and Il1creaslllg theIr knowledge It was decided to form a division under Hu ll Centre, and 26 members were at once enrolled. The follOWIng officers \\'ere elected, subject to approval by the H ull Centre :-Superinten?ent of division, Dr. Cassan; hon. surgeons, Dr. and Dr. secretary Mr. True' and treasurer, i.\Ir. F, LIl1ley. I t was deCIded that the and stores room should be at Britannia ·Works. I t was reported that l\les:;rs. '\farshall, Sons &; Co. offered th.e division the use of the Britannia Works ambulance equIpment untIl they obtained all necessary stores for themselves.

GATESHEAD FELL.- The annual meeting of this was held in the National School Room, BeacoJlsfield Road, Low Fell, on January 6th. Superintendent J. A. Harrison occupied the cha r, and there was a good attenLlance The annual report and balance-sh.eet showed the division to be in a satisfactory state. After the meetll1g 1\11' and :\lrs. Harrison entertained tbe compaI;1y to supper, and subsequentlya smoking concert was held

HASLINGDE - £\t a of the Town CouncIl the i\Iayor silid he desired to present to Dr. Broomhead, Superintendent of the Haslingden Corps, the money collected at Manchester Road Chapel 011 the occasion of :\layoral Sunday. He then banded to the doctor a cheque for £19 12s. 3d., tbe amuunt collected, and trusted he would see that the money was spent in a judicious manner. Dr. Broomhead tendered to :he :\layor the best thanks of the corps for the h'll1dsome cheque, which would be expended wisely and judiciously, and as much ill tne interests of the community as they could ensure. The corps had had many obstacles to overcome, man,Y of the difficulties been surmounted. The men Rave theIr servIces and prm'lded then O\ln uniform, each man deposit:ng las. and making up the remainder of the 24s. afterwards. The money they bad receIved from the puhl c they had expended in establishing ambulance bo'<es one at a cost of {,' ro, and the other of £7, provld1l1g Three stretchers a C?st o f £3 7s. Gd., and otber articles required. He "'as a firm behe\'er 111 the volunteer movement. Their work was purely :J. volunteer \\'ork ; not only that, but it was a humanitari.an work one of fi!'st

HULL. - The annual conversaZlOne of thIS corps eclIpsed all us pre· de essors In poi·-t of all-round S.1ccess, and the St. Hall,was the scene of a very enjoyable The 1\1ayor (CounCIllor \\ \. Gelder) was, unfortunately lE1able to be present, or he would ha\e occupied the chair. The Town Clerk (:\Ir. E. Laverack) was als o un LLidably absent. The (.Mrs. IV. A. Gelder) and :\lr. Gelder, jun , ,,'ere, however, present, inclu:l.ed. amongst company were ;\1r. ,\. F. Laverack, Drs Bngg, DTenmson, J L. II ater"

C. H. :\1ilburn, and A. \Y. Scott, and :\lr. E. F. I'>..rause secretary), Mr. H. Wingate, and 11'. J. O. Vaughan. ChIef Supe!'lntendent Hopper presided, and during the evening alluded to the admirable wor, accomplished by the corps. They now numbered some 250 strong, and the membership was on the increase He move d a \'ote of thanks to the :\1ayoress for being present. A capical entertainment of songs, &c., was gone through; this was followed by a dance, l\Ir. 1\1. Hopper acting as i\I.C The mllsi.c arranged and provided by 1\1r. Bert Friis, ami gave complete satIsfactIOn. The ro)m was tastefully decorated by :\Iessrs. Craft. l\Iuch of the success of the evening was, undoubtedly, due to the (:\11'. E. F. Krause). The chairman was ·wn.rmly thanked for hIS and the party broke up in the early hours of the HULL-OENTRAL DIVISIO, .-At the Royal Inhrlllary, on Thursday, 12th ult., a very instructive lecture was delivered by Dr. J. YVright Mason, ;\1 0.I-I. on .• Infectious Disease," illustrated by oxy-hydrogen liO'ht. The lecturer exhibited the bacillus-various specimell5 of maRnified, explaining the cha.racter and mode of O'rowth of each, and how to rectIfy or prevent theIr progress, after he d Iyelt on measles and vaccination I n the former he advised parents to look well after their young, or there might be germs left I\'hich would prove :erious in after years. With regard to the latter, he said if the public could be educated into its usefulness. as a preventive to small-pox, it would be betler for the communIty at large. At the conclusion First. Officer (Chairman) moved a hearty vote of thanks to Dr. Mason for his interesting address, thiswas seconded by Chief Superintendent Hopper, 'l. n d carried "i:h acclamation

NOlnHAMPTO:-J".-One of the most successful of the series of smoking concerts which have been held by the above-named Corp':;, to promote social intercourse and a fraternal feeling between the members lhereof, was held at Frankl in's Hote l, Guildhall-road, on Tuesday evening The attendance was exceedinO'ly good and t:le whole proceedings II·el.e characterised by the utmost enthusiasm and good feeling The ClIalI' was taken by Chief Supt. Perry. A very enjoyable evening \I""S brought to a close by the s nging of the National An them -The officers and superintending officers of the Headquarters Division of the Northampton Co ps bad a most successful and enjoyable eve n ing at the Plough H ote l on Thursday, 5th Jan., when a capita repast was provided by he hostess ( Miss Beeby) Tbe cha ir was taken by D r A II. Jones, su ppor t ed by n on S urge on E Francis Jon es M R.O.S .,

February, 1899.J FIRST

Hon Surgeon H. C C oleman, l\1. R.C.S., Hon Centre Secretary H. T. Fracy, and Supt. C. F. Olney The vice-chair was occupied by Cbief Superintendant J. Perry T here were also present: Supt W. H. Reeves,' First Officer Beale, Acting Corps Secretary Wilkinson, Sergeant Gardener, Cycle Sergeant :"Iackness, and Sergeant Ekins. Annong the toasts propose was that of Sir John Furley, heartily receil'ed with mllsical honours. During the evening songs were ably rendered by the Chief Superintendent, Supt. Reel'es, and First Officer Beal, and a pleasant evening was brought to a close by the singing of the i\ational Anthem.

OU:-<DLE. - The annual inspection of the Oundle Division has just taken place at tbe Town IIall, before Assistant - Commissioner Woolston. The division was under the command of Superintendent Robert Knight. The Inspecting Officer expressed himself satisfied with the work.

PLYMOUTH. - A most successful tea and entertainment was held on IYednesday, January 4 th at the Great Western Docks, to welcome the new Hon. Surgeon (Dr. YVebber) who has succeeded the late Dr. Buchan About ninety sat down to the tea, the tables being presided O\'er by Emmett, Kinner, Willies Dungley and JIo\\'. and the ,\1isses B. and F Tarlol'. At the wbich fo llo \I ed, the chair was taken by T. Gibbons, Esq., Presicient of the Division. A capital prograJl1 me had been arranged, and was contributed to by i\lrs. Johnson, :\Iiss Stephens, and tbe :\lisses Bell; and G. Hoblin, J. Hatch, G. ColIan, II. Rea, J. Chapham and Prof. J. A. \\'atson, who interes:ed all with his cle\'er sleight of-halld

"Iiss Chapman presided at the piano

$ 1. 30hn H111bulanc e BBBociatton.

ASK.,ul.- The annual general meeting of the Asbm section ,)f the St. John Ambulance Association was held in the infants' room, N'ational Schools, on Tuesday, JannaI')' 3rd, under the chairmanship of John Lings. There was only a meagre attendance, the ladies predominating In addition to the business connected with the annual meeting, there was a presentation, that of a marble clock and side ornaments to the retiring hon. secretary, :\11'. Jas. Robinson, who \\'a!" prevented from receiving it on the occasion of the distribution of certificates on :-'-OI'ember 25th last, owing to illness.

DEwsI3uRY.-The annual meeting of this Branch was held on December 19th, in the Dispensary, at the Infirmary. Capt. P. B. Walker presided. In his statement the secretary said that more than a hundred Ircal members pass the examination of the fociety each year. Liversedge had won both the male and female first aid competi'ion, for which Dewsbury was not allowed to compete .A corps of the St. John Ambulance Brigade had been formed in Dewsbury [or male members.

DUBLlN CATHOLIC Boys'BRIGADE -On Friday ..::\'ening, Dec. 30th

P. J. Fagan, Esq., F.R.C.S., delivered a most interesting lecture in the Brigade Hall, Church Street. The lecturer, who takes a \'ery keen interest in the brigade, is giving a 5eries of lectures on " First Aid to the Injured." The earnestness displayed by the boys at these lectures proves that the doctor's demonstrations are deeply appreciated by the members of the brigade.

SERVICE.-A suitable ambulance conyeyance has just been built for the Dublin Corporation from special designs by Captain Purcell, Chief of the Fire Brigade. The new ambulance wagon will supply a long-felt want Up to the present the only moue of transition ayailable for injured people to hospitals has either been the outside cars or objectionable , jolting cabs. )lot infrequendy has the spectacle been witnessed of the crushed and bleeding form of some victim of an being driven exposed to the gaze of all tbrough the streets. The public will therefore learn with satisfaction that the city is at last pro\'ided with a suitable ambulance. The conveyance has been placed with the Fire Brigade, and temporary arrangements are being made for working it from the Central Station, at. Chatham Street. Relays of three men will abm)'s be on duty and wdl accompany the ambulance at all times. I is expected that the ambulance service now started will be further developed as soon as tbe contemphted reorganisation of the Fire Brigade and the erection of mOre convenient stations in central parts of the city are accomplished facts. The arrangements o[ the new ambulance wagon :L!e perfect, and reflect great credit upon Capt. Purcel l. It is fitted with the most complete set of approved appliances for the easy 10comotiOll of thf' wounded. It is a four-wheeled covered vehicle, with Y"arner patent having solid rubber tyres, CollinO's' axles, and easy grasshopper It is suited for two horses, and the pole and harness are fitted spring draft hooks, in order to save time in harnessing. The body IS made of ash, fitted with bay wood panels. Adeep boot drops between the bind whee l s, a n d brings the floor of the vehicle within convenient of h e ground. The footboard is fitted with a gong, and the seat in front accommodates one attendant along with the dril'er. ]' he beneath the seat is ulilised for storage batlery ror e lectric Igbt, and [or bandages, splints, &c , llsed in cases of first aid for the Wounded. lL h as l o u vre ven tilators on s des and at back and

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front, with adjustable covers o n the inside. The interior of the \ a"'on w ill be by day by four. embossed plate glass panels, and"" at nIght by an Incandescent electnc lamp fitted in the roof. There are also a pair of outside copper lamps, prepared both for oil and elec. tricity. The whole back is hinged, and made to open outward. The doors are provided with automatic fittings, so that the) are held open and cannot be clapped to by the wind or other such cause. At base of the doors is a broad, folding step, which is closed automatically when the attendant enters and shuts the doors. The mechanism cif doors a.nd step mentioned is simple \'ery clever, and is entirety the ll1\'entlOn of Capt. Purcell himself. The length of the body measured on the inside, from end to end, is 6 ft. 3 ins the width is about 4 ft. 6 ins., and the height about 5 ft. 10 ins. On U;e left side there are two folding stretchers, the one placed above the other, after thc fashion of the on board ship. The upper one is supported 0:1 rests. fixed on t?e ll1slde to the woodwork of the waggon, and on the outSIde to foldl11g. stays dependmg from tbe roof. The fitting of the lower stretcher IS the same as the upper, on the side immeJiateh' in contact ,,·ith the frame woodwork of the vehicle, and its ('utside reo't-, upon upright su pports which can be folded dOI\l1 le\'el to the floor \\ be ; necessary. All the rests or stays are of neatly-made l rass fiLtings cushioned with indiarubber used to further deaden ,·iur.ltion. I'h.: stretchers, as pointed out, are both on the left side of the \'ehicle. ,1IlJ at tbe other side, just inside the doors, is a folding oe ll, upon II hi ch the attendant can rest when circumstances permit.

DO\\,Lus.-At the Dowlais Testimonial Library a crowded meetingtook place upon the occasion of the presentation by Lad\' Wimb me of the certificates and medallions \yon by members of the DOI\lais branch of the ;\Ierthyr Centre of the Association during t 1e pas. session. Her ladyship was accompanied by her son, the Han. Lionel Guest, "'ho presided; bel' daughter, Lady Rodner; Col. Creso\\ell, C.B., \\·ho lectured to the classes, and other gentlemen

EDMl::\DBYERs.-_-1. most concert \\'as gi\'en b\' :\lr. J. Bel: of Stanhope in the Board School, Edmundbyers, on 2 tft Dec., r89 , in aid of the St John .\mbulance Olass, to a brge and appreciat,,·e audience. The concert was follo,\'ed by a dance. ,, hich \\'as wel l attended. The class, nnmbering 37. ",ere examined on Saturday I. \. Dr. Li "ingstone of Stanhope, who passed them all, \\'hich fact reftec l'o great credit on the lecturer, Dr Connon of Blanchland.

HALIFAX.-On Saturdayevenin u last the members of the \Yomen's Central (First Aid ) Class presented Dr. J. Crossley \\'right "ilh a handsome trayelling bag and leather C:1se, in of the \'alllable services rendered by him as lecturer to the held at the Municipal Technical School during the past three months.

LOUGHBOROlJGH.-The annual distribution of cerlIficates under the auspices of this centre took place in the Oorn Exchange, in the presence of snull attendance. The (Ald. H Cohman) presided, and the Iayoress gracefully presen ted certi ficates. [he .\layor said he had been asked to perform a "ery pleasant t,',sk in presenting on beluL of the Ladies' Ambulance Class, a sih'er-Illounted \"alking-stick to I Phelps. '\Ir. A \\'. N. Burden performed a similar duty ;n presentin a stick to Dr. Pike, who ga\'e the lectul es to the men's class, and abc , presen ted, on behalf of the ladies' and men's classes, a sih'er 1ll01ltlle umbrella to lirnest Oook, the retiring An ex hIbition u ambulance work was gi\'en by members of the association, after whit a vote of thanks to the :\Iayor and Mayoress for presiding cOllclLtlk the proceedings.

the meeting of the Council, on Thursday, January 5,' the chairman, :\1r. E. R. Ligbt\\'Qod, presented certificates to the S' C' cessful ambulance students in the Technical Olass He said I " Council and the ratepare1s fully understood how important it \\.1, for all persons who could do so to obtain these certificates, andespecia '.' those \\ho occupied public positions, such as of them did-po],,,men, There was no saying of IIhat ad\'antage they might be t . unfortunate indi"iduals who met with accidents from time l·) til 1-: Although he did not hope there would be accidents, he hoped, if SI.(:J things should occur, that one of those about to receil e a certific _ lIould be on the spot.

.-A class in first aid has he en held for jlIl1iors 1' the Domestic Economy School, Dallington. Dr. C. J. E\'ans was t. lecturer. A.n examina t ion I\'as conducted 011 Dec. 8th by Dr. A. II. J ones. A class has also been held at Far Cotton for women. ]),. Flancis E. Jone3 the lecturer, and Dr. A. H conducted t.,_ examination.

l'oRTS:-'IOuTH -Recently, at the conclusion of the first aid cla' Miss Newby was presented with a gold bracelet by.'llr5. Fagan, , behalf of the pupils, as an expression of their thanks for the kind \' in \I bich she had helped them at their practices during the leCWj'l, She also expressed a hope that all would do their lest to atte:Jd t1 _ nUlsing class next month. ._

CL\EHsTOl\'.-The meeting for the presentation of cerllilcatc". prizes, &c (under the auspices of l-lverstoll U rb:1n District Council) lI'as held in ;\11'. Casson's Auction Room, County 5quare, on ThursJa el'ening, and wns fairly well attended ;. to sho,. Lhat interest is reviving in respect to first aId lllstructIOn,. under th· zealous instrumental i ty of the able secretary, and the attentIOn de 'oted

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to the instruction of the students by Dr. Bowman, who practically works COli amore on behalf of the organisation in Ulverston After the presentation of certificates, Dr. Bowman and 1\1r. YVhitham were the recipients of handsome presents as testimonials from the members of the class, in recognition of the zeal and interest they had taken in the classes.

st. tll11b nI a nce tlss ociation.

ABERDEEC\f.-A meeting of the Committee of this Centre was held in the office of Mr. William Smith, advocate, Canad1. House, on Decemher 28th, Mr. Spence, of Pow, convener, "'as in the chair, and there were also present-Sir VVilliam IIenderson, Col. Douglass Duncan, ;\1r. Jaffrey, actuary, Aberdeen Savings Bank; :vIr. Samuel T. Law, :\1r. A.. G. Reid, passenger superintendent. Great North of Scotland Railway Company; and l\1r. Smith. A letter of apology from Prof. Ogston was read at the meeting. The meeting resoh'ed that applicaLion should be made to the Town Council, Harbour Commis sioners. and the railway companies, and other employers of labour in town for funds to carryon the work of this centre; and with this ,"iew :\1r. Smith was instru cted to prepare a memorandum of informaion as to the objects of the Association, and as to the amount of funds that would be ne eded. The meeting further resoll'ed that everything possible should be done to encourage the formatIon of ambulance classes in the city, and :\1r. Smith will be glad to have intimation in writing from any employers of labour or private parties who would wish classes formed.

PERTH.-The first of a series of lectures to be deli\'ered by Dr. Robertson, :'Iledical Officer of Health for the city, under the auspices of the St. Andrew's Ambulance Association, was given in the Burgh Court Room. commencing June lIth. Chief Constable Garrow, in introducing Dr. Robertson. spoke of the great interest which he took in ambulance work, and referred to the valuable work done in the cause of amhulance by the late Dr. Simpsvn. Dr. Robert50n, after a few intlOductory rel1lnrks, said he ,yas glad that Chief Constable Garrow had referred to Dr. Simpson, because his memory would always be before them in their endeavours to further the interests of ambulance. The doctor then proceeded to give a lecture on " First Aid."

Rt·THERGLE:,<.-On December 23rd the annual conversazione and presentation of certificates and medallions took place in the Lesser TowD Hall, which "as entirely filled with ladies and gentlemen. Pro"ost Edmiston occupied the chair. In the course of the evening Dr. Clarke, the lecturer. was presented with a very handsome oak escritoire The President eMr. William Edmiston) maGe the presentation, and referred to the great success that had attended this year's class, whi ch was a recorci one in its history. The certificates were presented to the lady and gentlemen members who had passed the eX:lmination. Dancin CT was engaged in till an early hour in the morning.

tl tn bnL anc e.

CALEDO:\IA:--11 RATLW.-\Y-STIRLING fourth of the Saturday evening entertainments got up by the Ambulance Corps was held in the Ambulance Hall on January 7th. Mr. Dow, vice-captain, occupi';d the chair, and referred to this as being the fourth of the series, and said that he trusted this would beasprofitable and as enjoyable an evening as the others had been. A capital concert of vocal and instrumental music and recitations was then given. Mr. Mundell in proposing a vote of thanks to the chairman for so ably conducting 'the meeting-, sa id that if the members of the Ambulance Corps continued to bring such talent as they had done that night, their hall would prove too small in a very short time. He also said that he considered these entertai nments on Saturday evenings a most laudable object, and well worthy of every encouragement. Mr. Dow suitably replied.

LO;-\DOC\f A:--1D XORTH-,,'ESTERN RATL\yAY.-In connection with the Ambulance Corps at Broad Street Station a smoking concert was given on Saturday at the Broad Street Restaurant. Mr. R F. Castleman presided, and was supported by 1\1r. F. W. West (president of the corps) and 1\1r. G. Hedge (,(,ice·president). In speaking o( the work of the corps dUring the year, the Chairman said that in about half the cases treated the patients were able to be sent home instead of to a hospital, while not one death had been due to accident on the station. The work of the corps not only relieved pain, but was frequently the means of preventing accidents from havinCT fatal results Mr. F. W. ,Yest, who was warmly cheered, also of the good work done by his corps.

STlRU:\G RAIl.WAY FEST!\' AL.- The annual soiree concert and assembly in connection with the StiriinCT section of the Railway Ambulance Corps took place in the Public IIall, Albert Place, on 2:;rd. There was a crowded audience. In the absence o! ?ir James Thompson, the chair was occupied by Mr. Robert Miller, ChId ,\SSlstant 111 the General i\lanager's office. Tea was sen·ed,

A I D. LF eb r uar y , 1899.

after which the Chairman addressed the meeting. An excellent. concert programme was afterwards gone through by a troupe of professional artistes. Each and all of the performers did their respective parts in a very creditable manner, and encores were frequent.

Ox Friday, December 20th, 1898, Mr. and Mrs C. Kuselentertained at their residence, 6, Chepstow Place, Bayswater, a gatherinO" of friends of the Ambulance anj Fire Brigade Service in this country occasion being taken to present the diploma and insignia of a Lady Member of Honour of the Belgian Fire Brigade Service to Mrs. Church Brasier (Lady Superintendent St. John's Gate Nursing D iv ision) Mrs. C. Kusel and Mrs lIorace Folker. The presentation which was made by Mr O. Kusel as representing the Royal B e gian F ederation in this country, was prefaced by a short speech in which Mr. Kusel stated that it had been decided by the Executive of the Federation to limit the number of Honorary Lady Members to twentyfive, and of this number six had been allotted to England as follows: Her Grace the Duchess of Marlborough, Mrs. Church Brasier, Mrs. Horace Folker, Miss F ox, Mrs. Sidney Gamble and Mrs Charles Kusel. l\1rs. Churcn Brasier and Mr. Horace Folker returned thanks for the ladies for the honour conferred upon them, and stated that the insignia would always be regarded as an emblem of the unity which existed between the fire services of the two countries. The decoration is exceedingly chaste and bears the figure of the Belgian Lic.n surmounted with. the Royal Cro·wn at the top with a fireman's helmet and crossed axes below, while the words Membre d'honneur Dame appear upon the clasp.

THE distribution of prizes to the successful competitors in the recent competitions in connection with the Sheffield and District Ambulance Competition Association took place recently in the Friends' School, Hartshead. There was a good attendance. The chair was taken by Ald Franklin, The Chairman said be was glad to be present He thought that all that could should be d0ne to foster an interest in Am. bulance work. The association carried on a different work than thlt accomplished by the St. John Ambulance Association. It was not part of the duty of the S.D.A.C.A. to organise classes to give that instruc· tion which he was glad to see in another direction they were endeavouring to encourage by means of awarding prizes. He was glad to find the heads of the large firms in Sh:!ffield fostered ambulance work. He read a paragraph a short time ago to the effect that one of the directors of a large company had given instructions to the managers not to give employment to a man over 50 years old, nor yet to a man suffering from any slight infirmity whose ch'lnce of meeting with an accident would be greater than that of an average man. He added that the work of the association and the formatior, of ambulance classes was a much more humane way of meeting the difficulties and legal liabilities attaching to accidents than seemed the aims of that firm. During the evening Mrs. Franklin distributed the prizes to the successful com· petitors, and an ambulance display was given by the winners of the shield.

COUPON TICKET

SPECIALLY GUARANTEED BY

The Ocean Accident & Guarantee Corporati on, LIMITED.

40 , 42, & 44, MOO R GATE STREE'f LONDON, E. C to whom Notice of Claims, under the following conditions. must be sell witbin seven days of accident to the above address.)

6 000 9 3 £100

will be paid by the above Corporation to the legai of anyone who is killed by an accident to the Passenger Tram the Kmgdo m of Channel Islands) ill which the deceased was a tlCket bearing or pay11lg passenger, or shall baye bee!l fatally injured thereby (should death result within ninety days arter such accJ('1ellt).

PROVI DED that the person so killed or 1Il ]ured had upon hIS or her perSOn, or had left at home this ticket. with his, or her, usual signature, written pnor Lo the accident on the space proviL1ed below, which, togetlH'r witll Lhe notice within the time as hereinbefore mentioned, is the essence of tbis contrad This insurance holds good for current issue ouly, and carries the bene/its and i, subject to the conditions of the" OCEAN ACCIDENT & COMPANY Act, 1890," Hisks Nos. 2 & 8. The admit that the pnrcbase of this Paper is the payment of B premium under Section 34 of the Act. he No person can recover uuder more than one Coupon ticket in respect of same risk.

Signatu1'!

FIRST AID

The J o\lrf\al devoted to Ptmb\llaf\ce Work.

IMPORTANT NOTICE.

In acc ord a n ce w ith th e r equir e m e nt s of Me s sr s Ma r s h a ll B ro t he r s, th e n ew Pu b li s h e r s, th ejo urn a l w ill in f utur e be publ ishe d o n the 25 t h of the m onth, an d the Edit0 r a p pe a l s t o co rr espo n d e n t s b 0th i n Lon d on an d the Pro vi nc es to se n d any matter for in sertio n not lat er than th e 20th of ea c h m onth. af ter whI ch d a t e I ts inser ti on ca n not be g u a r anteed in t h e c urr e nt issue

No effo r ts wi ll be wan ti ng to make t h e J our n a l as i n te resti n g' a s p os sible t o the ambu l anc e h e l pe r s in all th e vari ous ol'ganiza t i on s ove r w h ose d es tin ie s w e are ple ased to wa t ch, a nd we ask o ur reade r s t o ki ndl y help us w ith suggestion s and an y item o f news li ke l y t o i ntere s t our reade r s. On e impor t a n t eve nt w h ic h w e t r u s t w ill resul t from the chAng'e i n the publishing a n d a d v e r t is i n g depa r t m ents, will be the enlarging of the J ou rnal at a no d is ta n t date.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION.

For 12 months, IS. 6d., post free, to be sent to the Publishers

*** OWI:'<G to pressure on our space tl>lis month, we have been compelled to hold over our articles on " Invalids, and the Preparation of their Food," and" l\[icrobesand Disease Germs."

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e" iti es .

It. is with pleasure we note that the great services of SIr John Furley been recognised by one of our weekly conte!llpOranes, The Graplltc, which on the 21st January publIshed the result of an interview with h im and also ga\'e a capital full-page likeness of him All first-aid.ers procure a copy, for it is well worth presernng. SIr John Furley's portrait and sketch appeared in this Journal for February, 1895.

As a means of keeping up ambulance knowledrre the scheme of a First Aid Institute, as proposed in issue of undoubtedly be of great advanIt .1S po.ssible that there might be some difficu l ty 111 ItS scope to the limits laid down by Dr. CantlIe, but probably, under due supervision, this dange r would be ayerted. We shall be pleased to p u blish in our columns any suggestions that may be forwarded

From a lecture on "Medical deli'Tered by Dr. E . Baxter Forman, and publIshed 111 the Lancet of the 28th J anuary, the following extract is taken ;-

"AMBULANCE ,YORK

"Before pass to the nex t branch of my subject, I shall just notice the treatment of street aCCidents. There were 300 deaths from this cau.se last year: -r:he police f?r most part deal with sickness or 111 public hl,ghway They are almost invariably tlamed togl\e filst aId to the ll1Jured, but should the case require before .the be taken to a hospita l the police IS called 111, or, fallll1g hlln, the nearest medical man If the poltce send for the surgeon, payment is made from Scotland Yard in cri:ninal cases it is necessary to send for a medical man: and then, If pOSS Ible, the police surgeon is called. Thi, same official has Lo attend at the police station and dress the wOllnJs of the accused,

or .decide between intoxication. or insensibility from disease. The of their own, but tl-tere are two voluntary assocIatIOns provldlll.g ambulance carriages for the streets A gentleman who h ad orgalllsed an ambulance service for Paris came to me when I was Chairman of the Public Health Committee, and advo·cated a plan of horse ambulances for the streets. with surgeons in constant atte?dance. As we m.anage our .street. better than they do in Pans, perhaps there IS no necessity to ImItate our neiahbours in this respect " '" ***

Dr. Forman is, we believe a member of the London Co u nty Co u ncil and a J.P., and therefore his statements carry a certain amount of authority, and one would n aturally expect them to be correct and not misleading. T he above ext r act is remarkab le not so much for the facts bu t for its omissions. number of street accidents .and deaths from them, as reported by the police, are gIven on another page). We cannot quite admit that '.' are almost invariably trained to give first aId to the mJured "; but, apart from this it would been more to the point if Dr. Forman had informed hIS hearers the pol.ice very rarely render first aid, and are not prOVIded WIth proper equipment use cabs and othe r u nsuitab le vehicles; in facti do little real am bu lance work.

The above extract is a sample of the statements that are and in by our public men concerning our polIce an d theIr ambu lance work, owing to their not a little more closely into the facts, and ascerta mIn g what is actuall y done.

An instance of smart amb u lance work at Birkenhead is given below. After receipt of the call by telephone, the ambulance waggon w·as at the scene in two-anda-half minutes. It is an absolute fact that at present such a performance is impossible in this city; and yet our public men bel ieve that no improvement can be made.

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W e h ave received some correspondence and a report of a meet i ng co n cerning the differences between the medical men an d the loca l hon. secretary of the Stock p ort Branch of the St. John Ambulance Association. T he point of disp u te which has led t o some warm W<Drds is hardly worth mentioning in this J ournal, but it seems to us a great pity that some disinterested friend was not as k ed to put the matter straight. P erhaps, after all, it is on ly a lovers' quarre l, and when it is all ove r and sett led th ey will be better friends.

SMART AMBULANCE \ VORK AT BIRKENHEAD - Recently, at an inquest on a child that was burnt to death, the following evidence was given :-Patrick Cole, a fireman in the Borough Fire Brigade, stated that at l1.I6 a telephon c message was receiv ed at the Wh:tstone. Lane station with reCTard to the accident at the house ot th e preVIOUS wttness. I n two and a minutes he had driven the ambulance to 26, Clifton Crescent a n d at 11.2-+ (e iCT h t min u tes after the message was recei ved at the fi;e station) the was at the \Virral Children 's Hospi al. This Shq.Wi t l1<: vah.\ e qi a ll

BHO'l'EmlS,

$t john tlmbulance tlssociation.

BRADFORD.-From the annual report which has just been issued of this centre it appears that both its range of operations and its usefulness are greatly extending-. During the past year 24 classes have been held, and 6r7 members of these haye successfp.lly passed their examinatiGYs, In addition to these 67 persons receiyed the medallions awarded by the association. No fewer than 180 members of the police force ha \'e received certificates, and of thefe I H hold the second-grade certificate, while +8 of these latter having passed a third examination succesofully have earned the medallion award, and these have been presented them by th.e 'Watch Committee. year a}so aid instruction appears 111 the syllabus of the evenmg contmuatlOn schools of the Bradford School Board, and in connection wit h t h ef e 37 1 students have sa t is fied the examiners.

DERBY -A distribut on of certificates and medallions in connection with this centre took place at the Victoria Hall, on January 31st. Mr. Francis Ley, J.P. (President of the Derby Centre), occupied the chair, and Mrs. Ley also kindly attended to distribute the awards. The Chairman said that I20 awards had to be distributed that evening, comprising certificates aid, 17 for nursing, I9 certificates for first re·examInatlOn, and 31 medalllOns. T hese results spoke volumes as to the knOlvledge gained by the memb er s of h e classes, and the painstc..king work of the medical men who gave up valuable time for the purpose of encouraging this great movement. D r. T. L. Gentles stated that an effort was being made to form a branch of the St John Ambulance Brigade at Derby, and already 72 names had been enrolled With an Ambulance Brigade all the advantages were secured of proper organisation , and therefore he hoped that a corps would be formed for Derby. He also remarkeri that it was a matter for regret that the town did not so far possess a wheel transport waggon, which was of immense service in cases of accidents The Chairman, !.\ Iiss Darby, Dr. Cassidy, and the medical men supporting him, had taken a great interest in forwarding this work, and he hoped that the public would support their efforts. The Chairman then made a presentation from employes at Ley's to Dr. Hodson for his services in teaching them ambulance work The presentation consisted of an umbrella with gold mounts, and a rug, and it was appropria ely handed over by the Chairman and acknowledged by Dr. Hodson. The Cha irman also referred to the formation of a brigade, and said t ha t £60 was now needed to complete equipment. Mrs. Ley distributed the awards.

DE\\'SBURY.-HEAVY WOOLLEN CENTRE. - Th e annual meeting of Centre was held in the Library, at the Industri31 Hall, Dewsbury, on 26th January, when there were present Captain P. B. 'Walker (in the chair), and MessrE. R. Gadie, J. L. Walker, Chaley Fox (treasurer), and Duke Fox (secretary). A etter was read fr o m M r. George Lee, resigning his position as assistant secretary, on account of ill -health i\1r. D u ke Fo x (the hon. sec.) read the r5th annual report, which stated that during the year 16 classes had been held a nd 205 members had su ccessfully passed the examinations. Both th e Co u nty and Borough Police continue to avail themselves of the classes, and every member was entitled to a certifici1te at the time of the last examination. T he instruction the police had received had greatly increased their usefulne"s and ther.e were many well authenticated cases of great and unnecessary suffenng .belng prev ented by their intelligent aid. The horse ambulance, prOVIded two years ago, had been in constant use for removing surgical cases to the Leeds I nfirmary and other The thanks. of committee were again te n dered to the medIcal staff for theIr contm ued support and assist. ance. During r898 97 men an d I 47 women attended a comp lete course of instruction.

D UBLIN. - O n Febr uary 6th and 7th a de m onstration and co mpetition, the auspices of this ce n tre, took place at the Earlsf ort Terrace Rll1k, m the presence of a large company At a l ittle after half-past thre.e o'clock, on second day, Her Excellency the Cou n tess Cadogan arnved, accompallled by the Countess of Erne, V i scountess Helmsley, Lor? and Lady Farnham'T' Lady Barrington, and Captai n Hon. 1\1. 0 A.D.C. The 'i Iceregal party were received by SIr A. Jephson, KnIght of St. John of Jermalem ; Mr. F R. Davies, K.J. J. ; J. Dallas Pratt, M.D , and Mrs. Pratt; Mr. Norris Goddard and. Mrs. and 11rs. Bolger, and were conducted to seats on a raIsed daIS whIch had been prepared for them. The following were the fina of the two days' competitions :-In Competition N o 2 the competll1g teams the final were the past members of the Boys' Bngade (Team F), Pnson Warders (Team E ) Fire Brio-ade (Team A) and King's Own Y.orkshi:e L ight Infantry cream C).o The first was won by: Fife Bngade, and the Prison W arders Wt re second. In CompetItIOn NO·4 the competing teams were the Argyle a n d Sutherland HIghlanders (Team A), the King's O wn Yorkshi re Light Infantry D. and E), a n d the 1st Bedfor d sh ire R egiment (Team H ) FIrst King s Own Yorkshire L igh I nfantry Team. Second. 'prize-The Argyle and Sutherland High landers' Team CompetItIOn NO.3, for of the Boys' Brigade under 16 yeal s of age. The. teams competmg were the Boys' Brigade (Team A) and. t h e C:j.thohc Boys' Briga d e (T ea m D). only prize

AID. LMar ch, 1899.

offered was won by the first -mentio n ed of t h ese teams Co m pet ition for members of t h e Boys' B rigade over r 6 years of age . T he competing teams were 1st Company Boy s Brigade (Teams. C an d D), and the Catho lic Boys' Br gade ( r eam G). The first p ri ze was won by Team D of t h e first-named brigade. The secon d pr ize was aken by Team C. Competition No . I (Championship). The competing teams for this were the Dubli n Metropolitan Police (Teams], Land I), the R oya l Irish Constabulary (Teams A and D), and the R oyal Army Medical Corps (Team G). First prize-The Royal Ir ish Con stabulary, Team D. Second prize-The Dublin Police, Team 1. Third prize-The Dublin Metropolitan Police, Team J. In the above competition the winners of the first prize scored m aximum number of points-viz., 100, in each of their trials The prizes were then given by the Countess Cadogan td the pr ze-wi nners who were loud ly applauded Sir Alfred Jephson, address ing thd assemblage, said they would not be doing justice to themse lves if they did not express their gratitude to Her Excellency for the assistance sh e had given them. He had no hesitation in saying that her presence h ad bee n of the greatest service; and the encouragement she had given would have an important effect on the work of ambulance, which was spreading all over the Empire. Her womanly sympathy was enlisted on behalf of the movement, because it had for its object the allev iation of pain and suffering, and the welfare of the public. On behalf of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, on behalf of the Ambu. l ance Committee in general, and the Dublin Committee in particular, and also on behalf of the j u dges, and in the name of everyone pre sent he had the greatest pleasure in proposing a hearty vote of thanks Her Excellency for her kindness in being present on that occasion. T he vote passed with applause, and the proceedings terminated, DUDLEy.-On W ednesday night, the 25th January, the annua l meet· ing and distribution of medallions and certificates in connection with this branch took place at the Town Hall. Dr. Higgs presided, and among those present were Alderman G. H. Dunn (l\layor), the Rev. A H Shelley, Dr. Wilkinson, Dr. Croll, &c -The sixth annual report, submitted by Mr. J. Slater (chief superintendent), stated that two men's classes had been held. During the past six years of work in the Dudley Centre 35 classes had been conducted 555 persons had received instruction in "first aid," and 82 in" home nursing," 36 1 certificates had been awarded, and 60 had passed their final examinations and had obtai ned n:edallions. These results were gratifying in themselves, b u t more so Il1 the number of cases where prompt treatment had rel ieved the suffering of the injured. The commIttee expressed their deep sense of obligation to the medical staff for their aenerous and gratuitous services during the past year. The report to the ambulance corps showed that the two divisions under 1\1r. Slater's control had maintained their usefulness T he first division under Superintendent Dawson and Hon. Surgeon Rhodes, numbered 26 efficient members, I+ of whom had volunteered to do ambulance trans· port service in the event of war. The police division numbered 37 ambulance men, several of had passed repeated exami n ations, and had been awarded medallIOns. Twenty-six cases of " first aid" tr e<l;tment had been during the year-Io of these were by the pol Ice-some of a senous nature. The corps were much in need of two improved wheeled litters with telescope handled stretcher, and also a horse ambulance for the conveyance of injured persons to the hospital 0r to their own homes. It was hop ed that the means would be provided for obtaining these appliances by subscription to the special fund for that purpose. The Chairman moved the adoption of the report which he considered was highly satisfactory. The Mayor dis t ributed the certificates and medallions to the successfu students and dwelt upon the importance of ambulance work. Dr. Wi kinso; and S u perintendent Slater emphasised the importance of the provision of a h orse a m bu lance Subsequently Dr. "Wi lk inson was prese nted wit h an inkstand, and Dr. Croll with a smoker's cabinet and pipe. T he b ri gade afterwards enjoyed f!. supper and concert at the Central Cafe.

REDDITCH.-Great success attended the fifth annual concert a n d ball in connectIOn with the Arr:bulance Class, held in the Pub ic H all on 2nd Feb.ruar:' In addition to an attractive programme, medallions and certlficaces were presented to the successful members of the class also an illuminated address to Dr. Bodger, the instructor. The had was with ar; audience. The vicar, ( R ev. J. S. Tur n er), In mtrod u clOg MISS VVhltehouse (Hardw ick House), stated that .the class had been most su ccess[u!, as all the pu p ils had passed. Ha vJl1g commented on the benefits denved fro m such classes, and the assIstance the members could render their fellow me n i n case of acci· and often, in cases of emerg;ency, be the means of savi n g l fe, the vlca.r addressed a e ncouragll1g remarks to the rec pents. Miss WhIteho u se, on nSIng to. present the awards, was loudly c h eered. ext. came the presentatIon to Dr. Bodger, which cons isted of an address, the work of Mr. J. Peel (Birmingham), mounted 10 an oak frame. Mrs Knowles ma d e the prese n tat ion on be h alf of the class. Dr. Bodger, who was loudly cheered, thanked he class and spoke in the highest terms of the interest ,they had take n i n their subjects. A vote of thanks hav ng been accorded Wh e h ouse ar;d ::\1rs. Knowl es, the second part of the progra m me was pro.::eeded WIth.

Ma.rch, 1899.J FIRST

AID. 69

DELIVERED TO THE FIRST Am CLASS, UNIVERSITY SETTl.EMENT, TOYNBEE HAl.L, FRIDAY, FEB. 3RD.

By W J MCCULLOCH ETTLES, M.D., CH.;\I. (ABERD.), lION. LIFE MEMBER' AND LECTURER, ST. JOHN AMBULANCE ASSOC1A 1 ION.

" G EN'fLEME ",-It is, I assure you, with sincere pleasure that I welcome within the gates of Toynbee Hall so many new-corners, and with equal pleasure that 1 find myself able to renew the acquaintance of so many o d pupils. 'vVe have gathered here in order that you may, under the auspices of the St. John Ambulance Association, obtain instruclion in the rendering of first aid to the sick and injured. Let me, before we address ourselves to our work, say a few words in explanation of the terms, c. Toynbee,"" St. John Ambulance Association," and" First Aid."

T o y nbee Hall. - This Institution was founded fourteen years ago, and is the headquarters of the Universities Settlement in East London. Its objects are to promote c. feelingo of neighbourliness and to afford opportunities of widening the mental horizon of those carIng to take advantage of them, and to impress on those coming under its gentle sway the knowledge that we live for others as well as for ourselves. The very simplicity of such aims is a reason for their rejection by many critics who seek, and seek in vain, for a more tangible propaganda As our 'iVarden, Canon Barnett, says: c'There is no definite purpose, no social programme, no religious ideal clearly shaped anci ready to be impressed." Yet every student here comes in time to "realise that in the common feeling which moves the many minds there is a force which, like a spirit or like leaven, makes changes which are definite, if unimag-ined and slow to come ?\o report written hy one hand can tell of this feeling, of the atmosphere it creates, or of the force it exerts; but it is tbe existence of this feeling which constitutes the value of Toynbee Hall."

In a word, Toynbee is th e U n i ve r s it y uf E as t London. With its staff of \Yarden, Residents, Associates, Lecturers and Teachers, its halls, residentird colleges, class-rooms and laboratories, with its library of over 7,000 volumes, and its 1,200 students, it possesses the ideals, the machinery, and the jJeNoll1zel of a university. In corning here, you not only obtain the instruction you seek, but you become students attachcd to this great Institution, and participate in its endless social and educational advantages You see, also, how fitting it is that we sbould assemble in this place, the key-note of \\'hich is unselfishness, in order that we may study how to render intelligent and "aluable aid to our suffering fellow-creatures.

T h e Gr a nd Pri o r y of t h e Or d er o f the Hos p ital of St Joh n of Jer u s a l em i n En g l a nd is a title so reminiscent of Paladin and Saracen, of white-gaberdined knight and bare footed palmer, that the uninitiated might be forgiven for wondering how it can actively exist in these unromantic days. Yet exist it does, not as an archxological curiosity carefully preserved for its historic interest, but as a great factor ill the lessening of the sum of human misery; flourishing because of the valuable work it is doing, and characterised by that stJ.tely dignity which centuries of noble endeavour can alone confer.

In 1877 this Order founded the St John Am b ul a nce Assoc i atio n. The objects of this Association are to provide instruction in first aid, in nursing, and in domestic hygiene, to organise those satisfying its requirements into corps for the efficient ambulancing, transport and nursing of "the sick and injured in peace and war, independently of class, nationality or denomination."

This humanitarian work is spreading over the kingdom and the colonies, so much so that, in 1893, over 300,000 certificates of pro· ficiency had been issued since the foundation; and, of course, to·day the total is very much larger.

In many of our large towns amI cities,sueh as Liverpool and Dublin, a highly-organised and efficient service is at the disposal of the community It is with a 5enseof humiliation that we have to ackno\\'ledg-e that our vast metropolis is miserably equipped in this respect. The splendid services of the Ambulance Brigade at the railway disaster at Wellingborough, on September 2nd ],lSt year, and our want of efficient organisation, brought into prominence by the heat waye wbich afflicted us in August, have attracted public attention. The Press is beginning to inq u ire, " How lo n g is London to lag behinu the provincia.l towns? ,.

So keenly felt a pub li c need-for there are 30,000 accidents in our stree:s yearly-must be met in time; and Dr. Heaton Howard, the able Ed itor of Am, has promulgaled a scheme which, if it wi ll not be accepted as a whole, serves as a useful basis for practicd consideratio n. "'f any suggestions have been maue, and we may look forward wit h some degree of confidence to municipal action in the near future.

For a definition of fir s t aid 1 will refer you to that of 1\1r. Sam Osborn, than whom we have no better authority: "First Aid consists in the immediate relief of suffering, and the temporary dressing of all injuries suffic ent to enable the sufferer to proceed to where authori tative advice can be ob a ined from some qualified medical man, or to remain on th e spot, when removal is unjustifiable, unti l that advice can be ob ta in ed. "

I am told that some of yo u are holders of the medallion, or are m.em bers of the Br iga d e, and have come here in the hope that you wIll be taught some methods of rendering first aid other than those of tee syllabus. "fow r am deeply sensible of this compliment, and of the it exhibits. but, !:evertheles5, I have no intention of diverging from tbe beaten track. l he same ungracwus task of throwina cold water on praiseworthy enthusiasm has twice been thrust me by my having to refuse to teach" ad \'anced first aid," Iyhatever that may be. Tn nursing, and in hygiene, I plead guilty to suaying- from the syllabus, b·t in this case the methods taught in the official mallual are so practical, so very efficient, and so easily borne in mind, that I cann ,t see the value of alternatives, bowever useful in themselves. [ndeed will go further, and say that anyone of you who knows one good plan thoroughly, ar:d one ?nly-, is likely to.hesitate in an emergency than be who ha::. mmgled Il1 hIS bram the detaIls of several alternatives. This desire for extended opportunitie" has been recently \'oiced by a distinguished and first-aider, \Ir. James Cantlie, Surgeon to Charing Cross Hospital, and he makes the foll')lI'ing most excellent a.nd practical sugo-estion. To establish in some central place an institute replete with the apparatus used in am·'u ..rnce. Xot elaboratelvconstructed apparatus, mark you, but" all kinds of improvised which can be utilised in first aid work." I n addition, there is to be a railway carriage, a country cart, and an ambulance waggon, so that you may actually practice, on the hitherto inaccessible article, work you are likely to be called on to perform. It is one of the best suggestions I have seen for many a long day, and I hope It will soon be carried into effect.

)[ow, gentlemen, we must" cut the cackle and come to the 'osses." Before we can successfully cope with the sudden breaks·down to which the body is liable, we must have some intelligent idea of the lines on which it is constructed. There is a certain danger, however, of overdoing this preliminary stl dy. '''hen, some years ago, I essayed my first course of lectures on this subject, I found that the attendance at the second lecture was less than that at the first, and remall1ed so throughout. That, no doubt, was due to my own short. comings; but the reason, or excuse, gi ven to me was that the abser, tees felt the subject was beyond them It is unfortunate, but necessary, tbat the mOft difficult lecture-that describing the body structurecomes first. Yet I would ask you to bear ,his in mind: interesting and desirable as a knowledge of phY3ioiogy is, it is not absolutely essential to the efficient rendering ot first aid A man may render valuable assistance in a case of bleeding, for example, without being able to explain distinctly the circulation of the blood. Understand me. 1 do not decry physiological knowledge, far from it. I only ask you to remember that some haziness in Lhat direction is not evidence of practical incompetence.

[The lectllrer then proceeded with the description of the body structure. ]

1Railwav Hlllbulancc.

:\MBL'LA:\'CE AT SEAFORTH.-On Tuesday afternoon, February 13th, at the Oyerhead In5titute, Seaforth, Dr. :-\lfred Fisher of the Hospital, and Dr Hammond, :'Iedlcal Officer :1.t "'alton Gaol, held an examination of ten officials connected with the O\'erbead Railway Company in ambulance work. The ten men were divided into two teams, A and B. The object of the examination was to pick the best team to represent the Overhead Railway Company at the cominO' annual competition in London of the All England RaIlways Classes, under the auspices of the St. J Ohl1 Ambulance Association The teams were as follows :-" A " : ;'lessrs. R. E. 0rford (capt.), J. H Brown, T. W. james, W. :-laloney, and Griffiths; ., B" team: G. Smallwood (capL), G. Jackson,. ,\. Loughl.m, P. Conway, and R. E. Owen. At the close of the eXamll1atl?n whIch lasted about two hours and a hal[ Dr. IIammond addressed tue te..1.ms, and said that on behalf of himself and Dr. Fisher, he must say they were both ft;Uy satisfied with the result of the It is stated that the ,. A" te:lm stills retains the premIer pOSItIOn, though P. Conway, of the" B " team recei\'ed the most marks individually

lDrilI

VOLUNTEE R A MBUL\ N c.;E SCHOOL OF INSTRUCTION. CLASS FOR TIlE TRAINlc G OF STRETCHER held at 7 New Street, Kenn ington VednesdClY, March Ist.- T he of the apparently Burns and Scalds' Suraeon.Lleut. E. Berkley, +th V.B. The Queen's." 'iYednesday, :.larch Sth.-Fract ures and dislocations and their treatment. \ Vednesday, l\larch 15th.-W.ou nds and H;;emorrhage; The First Field Dressing Surgeo n-Captall1 C. Boyd, 3rd V.B " The Queen's." \ Vednesday, Marc h 22nd ,-Th e ca uses and treat ment of In sensib ili ty.

AID.

All Letters and communications to the Editor should be addressed to him at the Publishers , 10, Paternoster Row, E.C .

Subscriptions and Advertisements should be sent to the Publishers direct.

FIR S T AID

MARGE 1, 1899,

Although the interests of Oapital and THE Labour are not al ways identical, the RESPOXSIBILITIES difference of opinion in some cases causing OF CAPITAL AXD great mise) y and suffering on the one LABOUR. side and loss of capital on the other, yet in one instance-that of ambulance work-both ought to combine for their mutual Lenefit, When we come to realise that it is the actual toilers ·who bear the risk 01 loss of life and limb, ,ye feel, or ought to feel, most strongly, ,that is the bounden duty of the employers to do all m theIr power to minimise this risk, Have they done it in the past, and m'e they doing it now?

We find, that at variou£ times Parliam ent has been obliged to step m to compel employers to take eel'tain measures for the protection of the men. Labour clhims its holocaust of victims each year, but the number has been reduced of late by the introduction of ambulance aiel into coal mines factories, railways, &c" but this number could be still lessened if those employel's who at present stand aloof would only up work and encourage it amongst their employees. , It IS sad to reflect that compulsion has been necessary, 111 the past; let us hope that in the future its lessons ,WIll not be lost on the present generation.

But It must not be for that this lack of ambulance knowledge IS due entIrely to the action of the masters We understand that in some cases the men will not t,ake advantage that are provided, and that mstead attendmg to receive instl'uction they have tO,be brIbed to go ThIS hard ly seems credible, and

It, appear that the working man is so indifferent to hIS own 111terests and those of his fellow men that he will not the t.couble to acquire the rudiments of first aId, IS a reproach to the British workman that we lIke to see speedily removed for the sake of his own credIt and good feeling ,

Let both masters and men work together in unity to ambulance knowledge, and ,help this grand human itanan and we are qUlto certain, judging from tbe past of, the St J olm Ambulance Association, that they WIll receIve every assistance and encoura.D'ement from that body, 0

(tolnpeti tions.

By " CHIRURGUS,"

fate have taken such a prominent place in the dt It sJems to me worth considering whether they th f er eve ope,' Personally 1 am very much in favour of or \ ey tend tlo, bnng out the inventive resources of the comr, an_ to glv,e 11m that self-reliance on his own 'udo-ment and whIch I believe is very often only latent not d Jl1g, as m t Ight be supposed from the strange things sometimes one at l eSe contests , For th:: purpose of this h t 'r 1 d , the reade f th' J s or al Ie e, an m order to Impress up on ,11 d- _drs 0 IS, the particular point that I wish to illustrate I \\ I 1I1Lo two clas,ses-viz" Orthodox and Realistic, St John A b I offiCIal competitions promoted by the wiil I SSOctatlbon anhd the St, John Am bulance Brigade mean y t e orthodox I"ompetition, In the

March , 1899.

stretcher_ competition-which is, perhaps, the most interesting-there are prOVIded a stretcher of the authorised pattern, splints of a certain size, and a definite number of bandages; the patient is ticketed with a supposed injury, for which he lies down, and then the injury is attended to; he is placed on the stretcher, and the bearers march round with it, and then it is unloaded, There is no doubt that this kind of contest has done and is doing an immense service to the members of the Brigade, an-:l in my opinion should not be entirely put on one side, It is, I think, a military idea, and is an imitation of what i6 done on the battle-field, It teaches individual men how to work together in unison, and is, undoubtedly, of great service to them when they go out on duty as members of a Brigade, The same system prevails on volunteer ambuhtl1ce; but here it is easily understood, as they are only supposed to act on the field of battle

But the question occurs to me, and has, doubtless, occurred to many others, Is this kind of competition exactly suited to what is required in civil life ? And again: Is it possible to have a competition more in accordance with the accidents that are seen in our towns aud country districts?

I think that this object might be carried out to a great extent by having what r have termed" realistic competitions," that is, a competition depicting what actually occurs, the chief part of which is the improvising of splints and bandages and stretchers, On lookino- at the columns of this Journal for the last month or two, it will be noticed that this is being done in some places, and should like to see the idea further can:ied out in London at the more important competitions, such as the Railway and those of the St, John Ambulance Brigade, There are many of our ambulance surgeons who have bad actual experience of railway smashes, and who know the kind of materi al they have to use; and it is to these gentlemen ·with this special knowledge I would appeal to help us in this particular branch,

In organising this kind ot competition, valuable hints can be derived, not only from railway aCCIdents, but from accidents of all kinds, Let us imagine a street accident, where the ambulance helper cannot avail himself of the orthodox splints and bandages, or an accident in the hunting field , where a proper stretcher is nut at hand, or building, where patients han to be brought out of the wreckage, or any accident you like where bandages, splints and stretchers have to be made out of whatever material ca n be obtained

In this kind of competition it will be seen that there is plenty' of scope for the competitor to use his inventive powers in the way of neatly bandaging, and of lifting and carrying, an injured patient.

-r: hese contests under efficient medical supervision wou ld, I am convll1ced, prove of great belJefit to our ambulance men, and more than that, would be extremely interesting, not only to the competitors but to the public as on-lookers. This may be a matter of smali to some, but to myself, as partaker in many of these competitions r thin 1 { it is highly important that in our competitions we shoulG some thing that will act as a " draw" to the public,

[ADDENDuM,-The above ·was sent in for last month, but was crowded out, I am glad to see that the G N,R. Division, St, John Ambulance Brigade, under Supt. Painter and Mr. S, Osborn has been carrying out a "realistic" competition, Let us havc of them especially in London."-C,] ,

(tol. Sir 1berbert (t. U)errott, :fBart.

FEW militia commanding officers can lay claim to such a record in the service as Colonel Sir Herbert C, Perrott, Bart, Sir Herbert, who is well-known to first-aiders as the Chief Secretary of the St. John Ambulance Association, has just retired from the command of the 3rd Batt, The Buffs (Ea st Kent Regiment); was appointed a Lieutenant in 1871; becoming Captain in 1876' Major in lSg6; and Lieutenant-Colonel commanding in 1893, He never missed a sinO"le parade for the first fifteen training s, and he served the whole of the em bodiment in IS85 without more than" commandinO" officers leave," As commandinO'

Si,r Herbert vas deservedly veryb popular With all ranks, and general and O"enuine reg'-et is al:d expressed in the ::'county press ,It hIS retIrement as it was hoped that '. he ':'o uld remained for a few years 111 command ot the regIment 111 which his name has been so l11tlmately for so many years past, That he will be missed at the aDnual tralllll1,g we, feel certain, for all of those who have had the to serve With Herbert in any capacity have always found 111 him, a courteous EnglIsh gentleman and a kind-hearted friend and there IS no doubt that the regiment which he has had the hono'ur to command ?wes much to his unremitting zeal and the way in whichhe has at all tImes looked after its intt::res1s,

<Baller\?

MISS FAY LANKESTER, 'ECRETARY NATIONAL HEALTH SOCIETY.

HE: lady whose pOl'trait gmces Oui' Gallel'J this month is the daughter of the late Dr. Lankester, COl'oner for MiLldlesex, and occupies the l'esponsible post ...,.. of Secl'etaq to the National Health Society- a position she has helcl almost ,' ince the inception of the Society some tvyenty years ago

Stal'ted in a very small way, few societies have so strikingly illustl'ated what can be accomplished b,f a cle,er and well-educated woman possessbd of thOl'ough business tact and ::L capability for organisation, Many of our read el'S are, 110 doubt, ,Yell of the Rims and objects of the Society which is so ably controlled by 1\Iiss Lankest81'; but for the benefit of those who may not be acquaint;ed ,vith its geneml ,vOl'k, we purpo:::e introducing into this article some details of the instl'Uction given undm' its auspices, and through the instnnnentality of which many gentlewomen have now within their gI'asp lucl't1tive ::Lnd congenial appointments.

Pl'imarily, we may mention the position of paid lec-· tU1'el'S under the Society. Salaries of £100 to £150 pel' annum may be obtained by l'efined and well-educated women who al'e willing to quaJifyas teachel's and lecturers, Here, then, i s a pleasant and suitable opening for women, the subjects taught being sanitation, personal and domestic hygiene, nursing, and first aid in accidents and disease. In connection with the latter subject, it lll::ty not be out of place to mention that under the auspices of the Society a com'se of lectUl'es is now being given to some of the female pl'isoners in Wormwood Scrubs Prison, The Society also ananges special courses of lectmes, or, as al'e termed, "Homely Talks," for the poor, These include a ll the diffOl'ent subjects so vital to health, and upon which, alas! the POOl' are so wofully ignOl'ant. The l ectUl'es, it is needless to say, are delivered hee in all the poorer parts of London, as well as in the Pl'ison, and it is fOl' the extension of this pol'tion of her most uReful wOl'k tbat Miss Lankester appeals-especially to those who al'e intm'ested in, and who l'ealise the value of knowled ge in assisting to raise and elevate the fallenfo1' help to enable the Society to still fUl'thel' increase the number of its free classes,

The deepest interest is taken in the ,,,ode of the Society by many members of the Royal Family, while its noble President, the Duke of WestLlinstel', takes ffiallJ opportunities of advocating its cause and its claims to public sup pod and recognition.

It speaks highly of the National Health Society as a tminillg medium, when "YO mention that four of tIle ladies appointed ;-\,S Inspectors UlHlel' the FactOl'ies and Workshops Act were tn1.ined undm' its auspices, A la rge quantity of itel'atm'e is published, by the

one of its little pamphlets dealing with vaccmatlOn S now befoI'e us as we write. vVe earnestly recommend It the study the conscientious objector, A pm'usal of, Its perhaps, lead to a very mal,ked mochficcttlOn 111 hIS want of faith in what has justly been descl'ibed as one of the greatest benefits confeneel upon mankind by medical reseal'ch,

TIn conclusion, we al'e afraid we must confes:> th,lt we have said but little ab?ut the subject of om sketch; but we have done that wInch we think will please her much better, We have given a short account-all too incomplete as it is-of the WOl'k she loves so well, To those of om readers who wO:-lld wish to know more :t.bout the Society, would adVIse that they should Wl ite 01' call upon JHu.;s Lal1kestel', at h81' oilices, 53, Bernel's Street, when we can aSSlU'e them a conlial welcome, for .:\liss Lankester, necessal'ily a busy ',"0111<1n, is ne;-e1' too busy to gIVe detail::; to any inquiring inten-iewel'; and there is no doubt tbat much of the success of the ational HeJ.lth movement is due to tIte genial p81'sonality of its el1el'getic lady-secl'etary , That its good WOl'k may go on and prosl'el', and that Miss L ank estel' m.ay be spal'ecl fOl' many years to contI'ol and guide its destinies is OLlr earnest wish as it will be that of a1J those who have the pleasure of hel', and appr6ciating the WOl'k she is engaged in, 0

(torresponbence.

[ Ire do not neces8a?'ily hoZel OIl?'8elL'es ?'eSPO?lS ible jor the opi llio 'Il S (/ 0711' CO?'1'espondents,]

To the Editor of FIRST AID, SIR,-I note in yorr issue of February, I 899, that in "Breyilies " you "draw attention to another glaring inconsistency on the par: of Pol,ice authorities," and that it is the practice of presenting tach poltceman with the ambulance badge on his first gaining his ccnificate, and never afterwards taking any steps to see if he is keeping up the knowledge once acquired,"

The paragraph preceding this refers to the Birm Lngha m P oli ce, but do not know whether or not you intend the aboye to apply to the Police authority here; but if so, the facts respecting this city are at utter variance with the statement you make, r may inform you that, siDce 1893, 576 members of the Birmingham Police Force have received awards from the St. John Ambulance Association for re-examination in first aid, The \Yatch Committee, to encourage officers to keep up their knowledge in first aid work, provide beautifully-illuminated certificates for those who haye passed the third examination, and a large number of officers have taken advantage of this,

The work, however, does end here, for, indtpendent of the class le;:tures and examination held annually, from November to :'larch, lectures and practical work are carried on at each divisional station every Friday, Thus the whole of the members of the St, John Ambulance Association in this force who perform duty in the streets are in constant practice, I may further add that the Police are about to be supplied with certain articles which they will be able to carry about with them to assist them in rendering first aid, l n justice to this force, I should be glad if you would insert the above in your next issue, Yours faithfully, Chief Constable's Office, Corporation Street, Birmingbam, loth February, 18 99,

J, FARNDALE, Chief Constable, by E DITOR,-We ,have m,uch in complying with the request of NIr. Farndale to Insert hiS letter 111 our :\Iarch number. The remarks anent the laxity in which ambulance badges are regarded by some Police authorities was mentioned in a general way, from facts which had come to our knowledge, and was by no means intended to imply thaL such a practice 7xisted in We are \'ery glad to learn from i\ I r, Farndale s letter that the stncture would not 111 any sense be applicable LO of city. We are also more pleased to learn that It IS Il1tended to Issue to each ,con,stable certa,ll1 articles with which he can render first aId, The B1l'I11Ingham Chief Constable intends to be up to dale, and he has our hearty congratulations and best wishes for the successful working of this new departure in Police ambulance work.]

To the Editor <?!FmST AID.

DEAR SIR,-Being a constant reader of your valuable paper," FIRST AID," from tbe first issue, I am glad to see the instruction you give from time to time, under various beadings, bearing on ambulance work, which is a great help to first-aiders. I haye noticed lately a number of articles re "The Scheme fer a London Ambulance Service." r n looking through some papers, I came across the enclosed cutting from the JJail of August 25th, 18g8 :-

"NEW AMB ULANCE SCHEME.

"The question of providing a more efficient ambulance transport sysrem for the metropolis, the necessity of which has been strongly emphasised during the past few weeks of excessive heat, is engaging the serious attention of a number of leading medical men and others interested in bospital work in London. A system is proposed by which the skill and enthusiasm of those members of the ambulance classes wbo g<').in their first aid certificates milSht be utilised, and which would be the means of spreading ove r London a network of places of call [or help all within easy reach of hospitals and dispensaries."

Has tbis new scheme taken any definite shape yet? The suggestion is good, and also that of utilising the services of first aiders in cases of emergencies, the opportunity thus afforded would be much appreciated by them, P1'O bono publico r remain, &c., Clapton, N.E. A CITIZEN, Medallion holder and late Class Secretary.

1'0 tile Eclttor of FIRST AID.

SIR,-I am a memher of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, and a reader of your valuable paper. should be glad if you ",ill allow me to trespass upon your valuable space, in order to ask one or two questions.

.My first is, What are the duties of officers in the ordinary and practIces? reason for asking this is, in the division to whIch I belong the. always t;akes charge, and puts the men 'through the drIlls and practIces. Is thiS the aeneral custOJIl with other divisions ? t<;> the new page 14, it is laid down that the supenntendent IS responsible for the drill, discipline, &c., of the officers, supernumerary officers, and men under his command. 'Veil, take for instance the division to which I helong. I have never yet seen the first officer or supernumerary officers drill the men How call these mcn .be to be capable of anytbing they bave not done. Theory IS all nght, so far; but practice makes pfficient and

To me it appears that it ought to be the duty of the officels to drill th e men, and the duty of the superintendent to superintend as the word itself infers.

My next question is in reference to wheelin a In the Drill Man:lal there is no such command as right or left but we often receive the " :lbout wheel." I cannot learn th:lt such a command as thiS ever eXisted. Is the command to wheel not out of date? can learn, "forming" i!l the.Army has taken the place of wheehng. Is thiS not the case Il1 brigade drill? Perhaps some of your may be able to my questions, and give me and some llS-ht. we.are m the dark, and groping for the light. Thankmg you Il1 antICipatIOn, I remain, yours, &c., ANXIOUS To LEARN. [ I would be of service if some of our readers could answer these questions.-ED.]

$t. 30bn tltnbulance lSrigabe.

METROPOLITAN CORPS.

GREAT R.AILWAY DIVISION -What may be called a Dress Rehearsal for a Railway Accident took place on the 12th ult. in the l\lilk Yard of th.e Great Railway at Kino-'s Cross. At eleven o'clock the Kll1g's Cross division of the Metropolitan Corps of the St. John Ambulance mustered on the platform, where a was drawn up. .The diVISion was in charge of Superintendent Pamter, and of the of the corps, Dr. Samuel Os born under whose supervIsIOn the highly interesting operations were carried out. .Present also the officers ot the division, Messrs. Cooper, Hankin, and Seabnght, and the honorary surgeon, Dr. Main. All of them, and me?, the surgeons, were employes of the Great N ?rthern Railway -clerKS, ticket collectors guards porters firemen, fitters, and linesmen, al:nost every of b.elng :,epresented. The corps. having fallen in for inspection, eIg ht patIents were The 1ll1e was then littered with the s,:!pposed wreckage of an d}-fated .train, planks and debris of various a. and a R notIce board also formed part of the propel ties. The patients then sat or lay on the line, and the scene completed presented much the appearance of a real disaster.. of course had his ticket, those who were lying down l:ud theIr tIckets on their chests. The ticket f N f o o. 4, or

AlD. [March, 1899.

read as of the sku.ll, with concussion of the bram :omplete msenslbdlty ; SImple commmuted fracture involv. ingibones forming the right elbow joint, and simpJe fracture of tibia and fibula on the side." The division t.hen advanced at a run alor:g the to t?,e scene of the aCCident, and Il1 a moment, e:]ch of the eight" Injured men was surrounded by a :;quad; in another moment the stretchers were ready, and tbe whole of tho! necessary bandages were produced; then the planks were broken up to make splints, and in a few minutes more the patients were bandaaed and splinted and laid, some on the stretchers, one on the hurdle, one on the notice board. Tbe doors of the train by which the ambulance was supposed to have arrived were opened, and within sixteen minutes the eigbt wounded men were carefully lifted into the train. In a few moments more they were made as comfortable as possible inside it. the slightly-injured were seated on the carriage seats, the more serial!; cases were in stretchers, &c., in the guard's van or in the passenger carnages; In the latter case the ropes were attached to the rocks above the seats, and in t.he case to rings in tbe side of the van. lhe worst case was patient r-io. 2, who lay stretched motionless on the notice board slung in a skilful manner, so tbat the board could not only swing fore and aft to the motion of the train, but could also rock from side to side. No. 2 had: "Concussion of the spinal cord at upper dorsal region, shown by paralysis of motion and and of all parts below the seat of the injury. Simple fracture of the nght humerus and a lacerated wound on the riaht side of the forehead attended with hacmorrhage from the artery." He was a mass of bandages, and as he lay there, slun a up in the guard's van his case presented a startlingly real The Ambulance COJ:ps having taken their places, each squad grouped round its own patJ.ent, the doctors went round to see all was ready, and then tbe engme was gently backed to the carriages-so genlly that the buffers scarcely moved. I n another moment the train was off " for the nearest town wh.ere there .was hospital accomr.n?dation.' The whole display was out Wit? the utmost preCISion and promptitude, and the Great I\orthern RaIlway Company has reason to conar:ltulate itself upon an Ambulance Corps which, if and when the evil .:omes wil be found completely traincd.

HOSPITAL. F UN,D DrVISIO - The Nursing Sisters of thiS diVISIon were' at home to their friends on Saturday, February 12th, at 54, Gray's Inn Road, W C. The Lady Sup erin. tendent and Secretary, the Misses Mann (assisted by Messrs. W. G. Bunn and A. W. Dav.is, Saturday Fund Secretary and Assis. tant Secretary) their guesLs Amongst those present we C.hlef Supenntendent a.n? MIS. Morgan, representatives from the King s Cross (G.N.R.) DJ\ lslOn, Children's Home, East Ham Toynbee Hall, Ley ton, and Cyclists' Divisions, as well as the men 01 the Hospital Saturday ,,".ere lending a helping hand, where pOSSible, to aid thell' Nursll1g Sisters. A capital pro· gramme had been arranged, song, &c., alternatino- ,,,ith dance with intervals f?r provided in an upper rogm, which reflected great credIt on the SIsters for the manner in ·which it was laid out. The quartette party was deservedly encored, as also were Mrs. Lamb and Miss Manton in their duet; and the Brigade Concert Committee should ma.ke a note. of these two items. Miss Hutchinson, Mrs. EYaTIS, Mrs. Barnngton PIers, Messrs. Davis, Painter and New also contri· buted to the programme, and the dances were carried throuo-h with great spirit, t.he evening being characterised by genuine and goon feeling. At the close, Mr. Bunn, on behalf of Miss l\1ann and the Nursing Division, and also on behalf of the Hospital Saturday Fund, expressed great pleasure it gave them to see so many present, and. hoped they might all soon meet again, and an echo of every heart replied" So say all of us." The company united in singina "Auld Lang .Syne" and the" National. Anthem" wishing as they long life and success to the N U' sm/[ S!sters.

ST. JOHN'S ld.J'E, No. I DIViSION, MIDDLESEX HOUSE POSTAL

The First Aid .Class among Postal Employes recently beld at .'vllddlesex House Institute, EdgwaJe Road, 'V., has again been succ:ssful, e\'ery member obtaining his Certificate, which reflects great credIt on Lecturer! Surgeon-.Lieutenant C. Beattie, 18th, M.R.\". whose servIces were given gratllltously. At the commencement of tbe course he was the recipient of an Inkstand as a mark of esteem from th.e class. A Section of the Brigade, under Superintendent W. D. LIddell, has now been formed, and drills are held every Thursday at St. St., Edgware Road, W., at 8.30 p.m., where alllmformation as to Fees, &c. may be obtained from Sergeant R. W. Stone, or the Secretary, E. Hatter.

THE Annual Bohemian Concert of the Metropolitan Corps was held on Fe?ruary 3rd, at the Holborn Town Hall. The chair was taken by Col. Sir H. C. Perrott, Bart., who was supported among- others by Sir John Furley, Col. Col. 'Vyndham Murray, Sir Owen Burne, Lady Conyngham and the Hon. Conyngham Assistant·Commissioner Mackenzie, Chief Syperintendent Chu;ch Brasi er, Chief Surgeon S,am ?sborn, Chief Supennten.dent W. H. Morgan, Dr. Collingridge, &c., &c. Tbe programme was a somewhat lengthy one was arrang.ed and carr:.ed (Jut under the direction of Superinten· dent PIers, Supenntendent Lmes and Sergeant-Major Smith.

March, 1899.J FIRST

THE second of the series of cinderellas in connection with the St. John 's Gate No. I, and Cyclist Divisions, ,vas held at the Athenreum, Camden Town, on Thursday, tbe 9th February. Th ere was a fair attendance, but we must say that we should like to have seen a larger number of connected With the ·work of the Brigade present. t is not encQuraglI1g to those who arrange and carry out these little social evenings to find that they are not better supported by the members of their own cloth.

PROVINCIAL CORPS.

BIR:-.Il:-<GHAM -A monthly meeting of the committee of this corps was held at the chief Fire Station under the presidency of Ar. A. R. Tozer. During January the report stated, first aici was render ed in no less than 210 cases. Some discussion took place on the question of altering the organisation of the brigade and it was decided not to adhere to the general regulations issued fro'U head-quarters on No vember 29 th , 1898. The meeting subsequently discussed the advisability of continuing ambulance work in the city, and it was resolved to continue the old order of procedure under the title of the "Birmingham and District Ambulance Brigade," which it was resolved sboul d consist only of men hoiding the first-clsss certificates of the St. John \mbulance or kindred associations.

EARL'S BAKTON.-The proceedings at the annual dinner of this Corps were attended with great success at the Board Schools on February 2nd. The chair was occupied by the Vicar (the Rev. R. R. Cobbold, the chairman of the Earl's Barton Section of the Ambulance Asso ci ation). The Chairman said that letters of apology for nonattendance had been received from Assistant Commissioner T. H. Woolston, Dr. A. H. Jones, Chief Superintendent Perry, Superintendent Reeves, and Mr. A. Mills (Northampton), Mr. J. B. Whitworth and Sergeant F. 'V. Austin. The Chairman ga\'e "The Northampton Am bu lance Corps," and Superintendent Olney, whose name was connected with the toast, made a suitably reply -Staff-Sergeant Gardner submitted" The Earl's Barton Corps," Superintendent T. Thorpe first replied and said that the division had made great headway during the ele\'en years it had been in existence. They were very pleased to see the Vicar in the chair, and said that he was one of the originators of the ambulance work in Earl's Barton, and he believed it was at his house where the movement first staried. They had used their horse wagon 13 times for removing patients to the Infirmary or to their homes. They were gratified with the encouragement they recei \'ed from the inhabitants of the village, and he could assure the subscribers that all the money subscribed was spent in ambulance work. Dr. Lawrence tben presented the certificates to the ladies, numbering 35, who had passed the first examination. First Officer Abbott submitted "The Health of Dr. Lawrence," ,th e Medical Officer). Replying, the Medi cal Officer said that a class for hygiene also had just been completed, and he believed that was the first in the county. If it was, he thought Earl's Barton had scored one (Laughter.) He contended that hygie ne, without wishing to disparage the first aid instluction, which was more valuable in its place, was much more important; for while they might attend lectures for first aid and ultimately gain their certificates, yet it might be twelve months or perhaps t,vo years before they were called upon to attend a case. On the other hand hygiene was ot daily and hourly importance, for they knew from elementary facts its usefulness. l\rr. T. F. Thorpe gaye "The Chairman," and referred to the interest which the Vicar and 1\1rs. Cobbold had alwavs evinc ed in the movement. The Chairman's reply brought the speecb. making to a conclusion.

HANDS\'·ORTH.-The members of the Handsworth and Corps met in St. James' s Schopls, Handsworth. i\Ir. \Y. H. IYel shman (Ch;.irman of the committee) presided, and there was a very large attendance.-Deputy-Commissioner T. H. IVoolston, of the Eastern and Central District, said he had corne down to Handsworth to discuss with the members the new rules o{ the St. John Ambulance Brigade, as laid down by Colonel Bowdler, the Commissioner. He (the speaker) was afraid that an impression had got abroad that it was diffie-ult for the men to conform with the new regulations. This, hGwever, was altogether an erroneous impression. for all that the Commissioner insisted upon was that every member should undergo 12 drills a year, be examined every year by a surgeon of the division, and submit himself before the CommiEsioner for an annual inspection. Various questions were asked Mr. VVoolston, to one of which he replied that the Commissioner had no idea of attempting to make the members 30ldiers. They were a body of civilians, and not military men, but they must remember that a certain amount of drill was necessary if they were to do ambulance ,york in a thorough and efficient manner.-

The members unanimously agreec.l to abide by the rules as stated by Deputy-Commissioner Woolston, after which he was accorded a vote of thanks.

HULL.-The annual general meeting:of Corps was held at the Technical School, Park-street, on Thursday, the 26th January. Superintendent Wingate (chai rman), in his opening remarks, congratulated the members for the excellent voluntary sen'ices rendered, and for the time given to the cause during the past twel\'e months. Sergeant VVilson read a glowing account :Jf the seawn '5 doing-s, which

A I D. 73

may be judged by the hllowing:-Over 200 case3 have been treated by the first-aiders of this society during the session, includina fractures, epilepsy, sunstroke, concussion, burning, hysteria, foreil;n in the eye, cuts, wounds, &c. The balance sheet presented by 1st Officer Vaughan showed the brigade to be in a healthy condition. It was announce? that. prizes would be given for competition amongst members ID AprIl. Before the clos>! the chairman handed the service stars to the following :-Private Gilliat (2), Sergeant \Vilson. Privates Orman and Cabby. A vote of thanks to the chairman concluded the business.

HULL NURSING DI vrSION .-On February qth a lecture on "Elementary Tissue" was given by Councillor Dr. Holder at the Technical School, Park Street, before a crowded audience. He illustrated his lecture with a number of microscopic slides of elementary organic tissues from the vegetable and animal kingdoms. Sessions of leaves, sterns, and roots, showing their secretory cells, circulatory and cactefirious vessels with their contained vegetable blood or chlorophill cells, and the depositing wood cells, were shown and contrasted with the sections of muscle, nerve, lung, secreting gland, cartilage, and bone depositing cells from animal tissues. The lecturer pointed out that his object in showing the analogies of tissue secreting cells, breathing tissue, circulating vessels, and ossifying and wood-forming parts of the two kingdoms, was done with two objec ts. First, to show the wonderful tensity and similarity of design used by the Creator, to effect a like end, under dissimilar conditions; and second, to show the extreme delicacy and structural beauty of the most minute of elementary tis· sues, which he reminded them were not elements, but tissues, whose elements were still more delicate and refined. It was only by understanding these things that a society devoted to first aid and attendance of the sick, could understand the necessity of atte!1tion to the most minute instruction of the surgeon, and how absolute the necessity of rest, the most important of all directions, mnst be observed, if the repair of such delicate tissues was to lJe effected with succ ess. In the course of tbe lecture many illustrations of the wonderful working of these tissues were given. At the close of the lecture, the Lady Superintendent (Mrs. E. Lavc:rack) moved a vote of thanks to Dr. Holder for his lecture, and to Councillor Pybus for exhibiting the slides. The society on several occasions had the profit and pleasure of receiyina instruction and help from the lecturer, and she hoped, in moving vote of thanks, that they might have him again , and tbat the lecture might be given in a larger hall: M:s. Harbron and after beina supported the vote was carned with acclammatlon.

ILKEST;NE.-A well-attended meeting was recently held in the Ilkeston Town Hall, with the object of promoting an ambulance corps and a nursino- division for the district .\lr. E. :\[. Mundy, J.P., of Shipley, t ook the chair. A section of ambulance men in uniform, along with four nurses, from the Sibshelf Corps, were in attendance, and gave an interesting exhibition in .bandaging and stretcher work. Mr. Stuart C. cleputy to be present and address the meeting, but owmg to mdlsposltlon was unable to attend. The Chairman ex.plained the adyantages of the movement, and stated that less than three per cent. of the 2,OX men working- at his collieries were certified to render first aid. Some £ I 50 was required to the initial expenses, and he hoped it would be raised. He would contr ibute twenty guineas himself. (Applause.) The r.byor expressed his hearty sympathy with the movement, and addresses were delivered bv Mr. Lono-den Dr Dobson, :'.1r. \Y. Tatham, J.P., and the Town Clerk. The following gentlemen were appointed as a Finance Committee :-i\Iessrs. W. Fletcher (chairman and hon. treasurer, J. Herbert (hon. secretary), Ward, Sa\ idge, Andrew, Spencer, Dr. Dobson, Captain Walker.-:'.fr: and Mrs: l\Iundy were heartily thanked for their services. The promised were as below :-Mr. E. M. Mundy, 20gS. ; l\1apperley Colliery Co, (per Mr. Spencer), lOgS.; Mr. W. Tatham, J.P., 10g-S.; Mr. J. A. Longden, lOgS.; the l\Iayor, 3gs k' I . h 1\1' Ipsv\'ICH.-In connection with ambulance wO:' 1D PSWIC ! r ISS Coulcher, hon secretary of the Divisi?n, gave a dinner 1I1 St.• Icholas Parish r00111, kindly lent for the the Rev. S. Green, to the medical staff· officers of the various and members of.th.e 1st Division. Amongst those who accepted were the Deputy-Commissioner (Lieut.-Col. tilliston), Surg:on-Ca_pt. Holyland Surgeof Ead.es, Drs. Hossack and \, arner, h.eeble (1st Supt. Smith (3 rd Division), Supt.-Sergt. Hammond (Police DlVlsl.on), etc. Hon. Surgeon Fryer, Dr. A T. Wood, Dr. Supt. Smithers (2nd Division), and l\lr, Harold Jeffenes ({th DIVISiOn) "ere unable to ;].ttend. Dinner over, toasts and songs wer.e the order of even ing, the Deputy-Commissioner being t.he Jn. proposlDg the toast of " The St. John Ambulance ASSOCiatIOn, the Chairman gave some interestina information with regard to the movement, and mentioned that one its members, Sir J. Fudey, was amongst those recently received the honour of knighthood. that evel11ng receiving the hospitality of a lady who had been Inumately with ambulance work for twenty years. :,urgeon Eades replying-, tr::lced the progress of 1he corps from ItS modest commencement at the Y.M .C.A., to its present strength over roo members, with head-quarters at the Mansion. He trusted MISS CouIcher would

he for many years to carryon the work o f the centre, and he took that opportunity of expressing their Igratitude to her for the splendid manner in which she had entertained them. The Chairman then gave the toast of the" St. John Ambulance Brigade," stating that it was the first time they had become a corps. Head-quarters were anxious that the Ipswich corps should go into uniform, and he hoped some of their wealthy townsfolk would be able to help them in the m;).tter.

He that at no distant date they might have a horse ambul:mce, several to\\'ns much smaller than Ipswich possess ing one.-Supt. Keeble suitably responded.-The toast of the" ':'ledical staff" was given by Hon. Sec. Cuckow, who remarked that the divisi.)ns and the inhabitants owed a deep debt of gratitude to the Hon. Surgeons for the way in which t hey gave up their spare time to perfect the members of the corps.-Dr. Hossack and Surg.-Capt. Hoyland suitably respo!"!ded.Songs were given during the evening by the Chairman, Surgeon-Capt. II oyland, Staff-Sergt. Offord, and others. Before breaking-up, three hearty cheers were given for Miss Coulcher.

KETTERrNG.-In connection with this Corps, a very er.joyable gatbering- was held in the Co-oper;;1.tive H;).ll, Kettering. on the roth ult. About 130 sat down. Chief Superintendent F. T. Trenery occupied the chair, and was supported by Assistant-Commissioner T. H. Wcolston (Northampton), Chief Superintendent T. H. Hilton (Wellingborough), Dr. J. W. Dryland, Superintendent C. vV. Lane, f'r. Baker (Rothwell), l\fr. J. T. Tliffe, J. P., Dr. H. Gibbon (Desborough)

Captain J. W. Lieutenant H Butlin and Lieute nant -Surgeon Allinson (1st V. B. Northamptonshire Regiment), &c. &c. T he Chairman gave the customary loyal toasts, which were duly honoured, after which Lieutenant - Surgeon Allinson proposed the toast of "The St. John Ambulance Brigade," coupled with the name of AssistantCommissioner Woolston.- -The toast having been enthusiastically :eoeived! Assistant-Commissioner vVoolston, in reply, spoke of his great mterest m the movement. and the loyal co· operation he received from officers and men. As an evidence of the growth of the ambulance movement in the locality, he pointed out that on the occasion of the Jubilee i'l 1887, they only turned out something like 10 or I2 men for duty and at the last Jubilee they mustered nearly 900 men, With surgeons, officers and men, all in uniform, with ambulance wagons and all the appliances necessary for work. T he speaker next referred to the need of an ambulance wagon being provided for the town, it "vas not the right thing every time a covered conveyance was reqUired that they should have to send to VVellingborC"ugh. An ambulance wagon was just as necessary in a manufacturing town as a good fire and h.e men to earnestly back up the efforts of the officers In obtamlllg thiS much - needed vehicle AssistantComm,issioner V,Toolston then made a presentation to Chief Snperintendent 1 renery, and walmly congratulated him on the ability with which he m.anaged the corps; He had great pleasure in asking Chief Trenery s acceptance of a pair of bronzes, and the Illumlllated :-" !h.e officers and men of the Kettering Corps \\'Isb to express theIr appreCiatIOn of the services rendered to the in by Chief Superintendent Trenery during the perIod he has m command of the corps, and in aski ng bim to accept accompanyll1g present they earnest ly express the hope that he will bve years to occupy the pos.ition which ,he at pre:<ent so worthily CLou.d cheers and the stram "For he s a jolly good fellow.")Chief SuperIntendent Trenery, who was taken by surprise, returned thanks .to the men for the high appreciation they had showed of hIS poor He should esteem their present very much, and should con.tlllue to endeavour, the same as in the past, to do the best for the of St. John Brigade. During the evenlllg a subscnptIOn lIst was opened!n the room for h e provision of an ambulance wag:on, and £15 6d. was promised, whilst just before the clo se of the enjoyable 1\1r. C. Jewers promised another £1 Is and Messrs H F Hen so n and J. W. Dryland £2 2S. each. B e fore the close a vote of thanks was accorded those who had contributed to the. harmon,,:,.- The arrangements were well carried out by the follow111g commIttee: Staff-Sergeants Beale and W. vVillmott, Sergeants Ruckman and Cleaver, G R. Dixon and Groom (secretary). Lady Superintendent of Nurs111g and COUSlll to ASSistant-Commissioner T. H. Woolstot" has. deCIded to build a Cottage Hospital and present it to the Town of F:1I1ds for its endowment and proper maintenance bemg freely proVided, and there is every prospect of the scbeme bemg a very success. Eight beds will be prov"ided at the start and ample prov.tslOn made for increasing the number as necessity anses Ohlef Supenntendent T. H. Hilton has co n sented to act as honorary general secretary.

WHALEy BRIDGE.-On Saturday night, lIth ult., a larO'e audience ga.thered 111 the spacious Drill Hall at Whaley Bridge, ilie occasion bel.ng a held on behalf of and under the auspIces of the Whaley Bndge a.nd Furness division of the St. John Ambulance Brigade. The was occupted by Colonel Hall, J.P who was supported by of Buxton, who has worked very hard on behalf of the dIVISIon, by Dr. J Nall, and others The artistes were all local and the concert was an excellent one Colonel Hall said the

A I D. [March , 18 99.

first item on the programme in t h e second h alf was the ch airman 's address T hey were all a ware that was the W h a ey B r idge and Furness V ale division of th e St. John A mbula n ce Associa t ion, and co n sisted of two m edical men and 26 stu de n ts. Since the corps Was formed in 1896 there had been S7 drills and practices h eld, which been well attended, and during that time 60 cases had occurred where first a id had been rendered by the members. He was sure tber were all happy to be there to support such a class.-(Cheers). Th'e next thing was for the public to support them, for no one knew wben they might need t!le services of the men - (bear, hear)-though he hoped that no one in that room would eyer require them, but f they did the men would be ready -(Applause). Tbey saw those two boxes on the platform; such boxes were placed at the large works, where tbey were ready in case of emergency. There was a long programme to go through, and he must give them a little more Ii berty than h e did before,

1Lonbon Street Bccibcnt5.

The Annual Report for 1897 oftheOommissionerofthe Metropol itan Police has been recently issued, and from it the following figures are taken :-

The number of persons killed in the streets was 165, as against 110 in 1896. -

The number of accidents reported by the police was 9,082, as against 8,097 for 1896.

T he number of persons taken to hospital by the police suffering from acciden t s 7,305, suffering from other causes 3,930. No statistics are given as to the nature of the accidents, or how the injured were removed. ================

THE VALUE OF FIRST Am.-A which well illustrates the value of the training giyen to members of the St. John Ambulan ce Brigade has just come to hand. An employee of the l\ I illwaU Oompany who was at work in the sack shed, suddenly developed suicidal ma n ia, and with a long- bladed keen-edged knife he was gashed his throat cross-wise, making an ugly wound. A Mr. S toward, who is on the clerical staff of the company, was promptly on the scene, and by plugging the wound and bandaging it, preyen ted what would haye undoubtedly have otherwise been certain death for the poor fellow. On the doctor being summoned, professional measures were taken, and the man was removed to the Poplar Hospital. So much did the prompt and effective WOJ k of Mr. Stoward commend itself, that in addition to the encomiums of the doctor who was summoned.

!\'Ir. J Smeathers 'Wood, the dock superintendent, sent a lette r of acknowledgement of the valuable services rendered to 1\11'. Superinten. dent Kimber, of the Toynbee Hall division of the brig-a de, of which Mr. Stoward is a member. This W"l.S duly read on pa.rade on \;Vednesd ay evening, amid hearty cheers and congratulations of his comrades. This is only one of the many cases in which first aid is effectively rendered but few of them come within the ken of the everyday world.

COUPON TICKET

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ti on , LIMITED

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be paid by the above Corporation to the legal representative of anyone "hO 15 kIlled by an accident to the Passenger Train (within the United Kingdom of Ohannel I slands), in which the deceased was a ticket bearin<1 or passenge.r, or who shall have been fatally injLlred thereby (should death resuli wlthm lllnety days after

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JO\1rf\a l d evoted to j\mb\llaf\ce Work. EDITED

I n acc o rdR.nce with the req u iT6ments of Mess r s. Marshall Br o the rs, the new Publishers, t h e jour n a l will in future be p ublIs h ed on the 25th o f the mon t h. and th e Editor a p pe a l s t o correspondents both in L o n don a-nd the P rovin c es to send any matter fo r insertion not l ater than the 20 t h of ea c h m onth, at te r w h Ich date Its insertion ca n not be guaranteed in the current is s ue. No efforts will be wanting to make the Journal as interesting as po s sible to the ambulance helpers in all the various organizatio n s over whose des t i n ies we ar e pleased to watch, an d we ask our readers to kind l y help us with suggestions and any item of news likely to in t erest our readers. One import an t event which w e trust will result from the change in the publishing and advertiSing departments, will be the enlarging of the Journal at a no distant date.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION.

For 12 months, IS. 6d., post free, to be sent to the Pu blish ers.

ties.

WE hear with great satisfaction that the London and South- 'vVestern Railway Company is inaugurating the teaching of ambulance work by having classes all o\"('r the line. \Ve belieye this to be due to the initiative of 111'. Owens, the new Manager, who eyidently believes in first aid. If the work is thoroughly carried out, it will reflect great credit on the company, and will be greatly appreciated by both the employes and the pu blic.

WE notice that a new departure In the teaching of first aid is going to be attempted at Ranskill, Notts. The hon. secretary of the centre announces that the lectures next winter will be given, "not by a doctor, as formerly, but by some of the senior ambulance men" ; and also, "that Dr. Thompson had kindly promised to come over just before the examination to gi\-e them a final' drilling." We sincerely hope that no such will be gi\'en; and we can inform the hon. sec. that, according to the rules of the John Ambulance Association, these candidates will be unable to obtain the first aid certificate unless they have been taught by a qualified medical man. We also trust that Dr. Thompson. 011 consideration, will not lend his name to this method of first aid teaching. Ambulance teachmg by laymen, or e\'en "senior ambulance men," will only bring discredit 011 the work, and must not be allowed.

THE secess ion of the Birmingham Corps of the St. John Ambulance Brigade is an event that deserves more than a passing notice. The or the dis-

satisfaction which has resulted in this deplorable split we have no wish to enter into. We can only express our deep regret at the unfortunate occurrence_ The BirCorps is one of the largest, if not the large st, 111 the k1l1gdom; and we hope that, although it has se parated itself from parental control, the work-the grand work-in which it is engaged, and ,,·hich we all strive for, irrespective of se lf-interest, will not suffer or be lessened in any way. '

"' THE attention of our readers is dra,,'n to the 1\ Fir",t Aid" Memorial Fund to the late Mr. Troughton, of Margate, particulars of which are giyen in another column. :JIay we appeal to all those interested in ambulance to read the details of some of ),'[r. Troughton's work so eloquently told by our correspondent; and if they feel touched by the recital, to send on their subscriptions, howeyer small, at once?

**'"

\VE are glad to note that, following in the lead set by the St. John's Gate Kursing Di\-ision, the Blackpool Nursing Division ha\-e made a distribution of clothing to the poor of their town. This is all eminently practical way of showing sympathy with the suffering poor, man y of whose ailments are often caused by the ,,'ant of proper clothing. The movement is one' which \ve shall hope to see more fully deyeloped among the Nursing Sisters of the Brigade. The member of country diyisions v,Tho complain as to the lack of work for them to do haye here an outlet for their generous sympathy. It may be argued that in many of the smaller towns there is no call for such a distribution. In that case we would sugge:t that the clothing might be sent to a nursing division in one of the larger towns, where there is always a pre ssing demand for such gifts. Try it, ladies you would be surprised hOl\' deeply interesting such unselfish labour becomes.

Mi cro bes anb lDisease=<Bertns.

By DR. PITTOCK, J.P., F.R.i\1.S. [ReJ)1'inted j'rom Kable's and Ra 'J18f}atr

Ga::ctte."] (Cont. mud)

The conversion, also, of alc oholic liquids into vinegar Pasteur has shown to be effected by a microbe, which is here displayed. The formation of pigments and colours from colourless materials is another and scarcely less wonderful property of microbes. bacillus has the power of producing a blood-red appearance when grown on certain substances-bread, for instance-and ,,,a s, no doubt, the calise of some phenomena which were formerly attributed to supernatural agency. This bacillus has been known to invade large tracts of country, causing blood-red spots to apoear on loave s and other farinaceous food3 It has been known to attack even the s'lcred wafer, producing the appeal'ance known as the ,. Bloody TIost. " Culti,'ated in nutrient gelatine, in a tube. as the gelatine becomes gradually liquefied, and of a blood.red colour throukhout. Red snow, black ,,,ater and blue milk are other instances of the colouring po,,,er of mirrobes.

\Ve now come to the bacteri'l which are hurtful to man and domestic animals, producing disease, and often death. In IS77 :\1 Pasteur was asked to investIgate the nature and cause of a "hich. under the name of "chicken cholera," was devastating the poultryyards in large districts of France, in the hope that be might suggest a remed/,. After long and patient study and many experiments.

FIRST

Pasteur found that if fowls were inoculated from an artificial culture of a hacillus which he found was present in tbe blo od in all cases of the disease, were subject to only a mild form of the malady, and yet were permanently protected thereby from any attack of the fatal form of the disease. This discovery was not only of immense pecuniary benefit to the poultry industry of France, but was also the inauguration of a great advance in the science of preventive medicine, and the protection from disease, to which Jenner's great disco\"ery nearly a century previously, undoubtedly pointed the way. In the same year Pasteur commenced the investigation of the nature and cause of another fearfully fatal malady affecting cattle, but also communicable to man, and known by the various names of splenic fever, malignant pl1stule, anthrax, and disease, according as it was met with in animals or man, the latter being chiefly among woolsorters and tanners, who handle the skim of cattle after death. Here, again, Pasteur found the blood of animals which had died from the disease to be swarming with a peculiar lacterium, the bacillus of anthrax. In the course of his studies and expl!riments Pasteur discoyered that the virulence of these bacilli was greatly weakened by culti,oating them in blood-serum at a high temperature, so that by the end of about forty days the culture so prepared "'as no longer fatal to animals inoculated with it, but that they were thereby protected from any further attack of the disease. In !\lay, r88r, Pasteur inoculated a number of sbeep and cattle with this attenuated or weakened virus, and shortly after re-inoculated them with the anthrax poison, together with as many sheep and cattle which had not been previously treated witb the cultivated virus, with the result that all the animals inoculated with the anthrax poison, without tbe previous protective inocuho.tion, died of tbe disease, whereas not one of the previously-inoculated animals was affected by the disease at all. Since that time, M. Pasteur, writing to our own L ord Lister, in r893, reports that byo and a-half million sheep, 320,000 oxen, and 2 860 horses, had been protected from this [aLaI disease; and since that time the protective material prepared in the Pasteur Institute bas been distributed all over the world, and even elephants in India have been inoculated with it. The Toxms, or Ptoma11les, which are the names given to poison generated in the animal body by disease-producing microbes (according to whether tbey are generated before or after death), have since heen investigated by many competent observers, among whom Prof. Koch, of Berlin, stands, perhaps, first. Tubercular disease, diphtheria, Asiatic cholera, tetanus or lock-jaw, typhoid fever, the plague in man, and lastly the deadly cattle-plague, have all been shown to be due to specific bacilli and to poiso.ns secreted by them; and in several of these diseases, notably dlpbthena and both the human and the cattle plagues, it has been found that inoculation with a serum prepared by cultivation of the bacilli, as in the case of anthrax, has enormously diminished the mortality of the disease, and is now the most approved method of treatment. The phenJmenal Sllccess attained by Pasteur in the treatment hydrophobia by inoculating the victims of the bite of a mad dog with a serum prepared from the brain and spinal marrow of an animal whi.ch bad died from that terrible disease, is probably one of the grandest achievements modern science. After a long series of patient and elaborate expenments, Pasteur found that animals so inoculated were proof against even most violent hydrophobia. And in July, 1885, M. treated his first human patient-a little cbild which had been bitten hy a dog undoubtecily mad The child recovered. What a What a reward for the patient seeker after truth-the untIrIng student of nature! First the lives of fowls, then of sheep and oxen, saved by thousands and tens of thousands from certain death and now a little child snatched from a hideous and terrible death i And that time a long series of patients have been treated with extraordlOary success at the Pasteur I nstitute in Paris. Similar instituteshave b.een established in Russia, Italy, Turkey, the United States, BrazIl, MexIco, and most other countries of the civilised world and the include persons bitten by mad wolves, jackals, other rabid antmals.

Lastly, since writing the previous portion of my lecture, I am glad to be able to the account I have given of the successful treatment of the vanous zymotic diseases named, by the news wbich has reached us througb t.he La?lcet of the 5th November, of the successful treatment of the terrtble nnderpest-the cattle plaaue-which has so many horned cattle in South Africa and This account IS quoted by Lord Lister President Royal Society in his at the anniversary meeting that Society, on 30th No'vember. .A .grea.t su ccest> has been recently achieved in this direction by that distIngUIshed bacteriologist, Prof. Koch (wh o was sent out to the Cape by ML Chamberlain, with the consent of the German Government), and collab<:>rators, one of whom was an Englishman. The result of th.e InoculatIOn of an animal with the serum is that the beast can sustam a dose of the blood-serum of a diseased animal which would otherwise prove fatal, .without. showing more than any slIght symptom of the. disease. And Just as m the case of vaccination (says Lister!, and mild form of the disease confers proagalOst It III Its m?st yirulent condition. Thil; immunity IS, moreover, of a very lastIng character, and indeed appears to be permanent. Not more than one per cent. of the stock so immunised

A I D. LApril, 1899,

subsequently becomes a victim to this disease, which was before So fatal as to kill from 80 to 90 per cent of those affected. According 10 an estimate based on the Cape Government statistics, the effect of the preventive inoculations carried out during the last two years has been to cause the saving of the lives of upwards of 700,000 head of cattle V'le have here (says Lord Lister) another striking example of th; beneficent application of science." Just a few words in conclusion

I have had to speak in the latter part of my lecture of the evil doing; and mischievous effects of some of the microbes; but I would have my audience rather carry away with them more kindly thoughts of OUr tiny friends, and think of them as beneficent in their action and even essential to man's welfare, guarding him from disease and harm and keeping the world sweet and clean. Just to alter (if I may be allOWed to take so great a liberty) a coup le of words, and may we not speak 01 them as Spencer does of some of heaven's other me sse ngers (in tbe " Faery Queene" :-

Against foul things to aid us mil itnnt, They for us fight, they watch and duly guard, Their tiny squadrons round about us plant, And nIL fo r love, and nothing for reward.

Oh. why should Hea,·ellly God to men have such regard?

:fJ3irnlingham anb lDistrict Bmbulance :fJ3rtgabe.

A MEETING of the Committee of the above was held at the Chief Fire Station, March 8th, and it was announced that a sub-committee had met the First A.id Committee of tbe local centre St. John Ambulance Association, for tbe of considering the object ions to the rules of the St John Ambulance BrigaC:e, and to listen to any proposals which the local centre and the Assistant Commissioner (Mr. Woolston) were prepared to submit. After hearing the report of the sub-committee, the Secretary submitted a further resolution which had been received from the local centre, that-I< A full meeting of the Brigade Committee should meet the Commissioner and the Committtee of the centre with a view to an amicable arrangement being come to for future action ." The subject was discussed, and it was resolved-" That in the opinion of th is Committee no good result would ensue from any further meeting between the two Committees." The Chairman (Alderman Sam Edwards), the Deputy-Chairman (Mr A. R. Tozer), and the Hon. Secretary eM r. J. R. Stamp) resigned their positions; but on the motion of ;vIr. Dudley, seconded by ;.\Ir. W. Mapperley they were unanimously elected to similar posit ons in the newly-formed brigaJe, An oBer having been made by ;.\1 r. Stanley, the manager of tbe forth. coming National Trades Exhibition at Bingley Hall, for the services of the members of the Brigade in giving displays during the run of the Exhibition, the same was accepted, and a sub-committee formed to make the arrangements. The number of cases reported for the past month was 164.

From the latest published report of the Birmingham Ambulan:e Brigade, it was seen that there wet'e r,r67 members in the r6 divisiuns, and the of cases treated was 4,200. At most of the principal public functions held in the city during the year, the corps rendered conspicuous help in the treatment of cases of injury. The annual dinner in connection with the brigade was held at the" White Horse, Congreve Street, on March 8th, Councillor "Vaters (Chairman of the Watch Committee) presided, and among the company were Superin· tendent Tozer, Dr. Neale, Dr. Adall"!s, Messrs W. Hutton, J. R Stamp (hon. secretary), J). P. T. Kirk, J. Dudley, F. Gilbert Sheldon, Groves, G. Willia ms, B. W. Gilbert, G. Bladon, T. Dunn, D. Roberts, In spector Jones, &c. There were nearly roo mem bers of the Corps pre· sen t. The Chait nun, in a few words prefatory to distributing the awards gained by the different blanches in the recent competition for the Ambulance Challenge Shield, referred to the secession of the Corps from the SL. John Amhulance Brigade, wbo have, it is understood, insisted upon details of procedure distasteful to tbe Birmingham members. The Chairman said from what he had seen of the Birming-ham Brigade he did not fear that the reconstructi on would make any difference to the work of the Brigade in Birmingham, or would make them relax their endeavour to r ender first aid whenever the opportunity offered. Mr. Waters then distributed silver medalS with gold centres to the winners in the first team-the Great Western Railway, Snow Bill: si lv er medals to the Midland Railway, Lawley Street, team, who were second; and a bronze medal each tJ the members of the third team-the Great Western employes at Hockley. There were consolation prizes in the shape of walking-sticKs, pipes, knives, and other articles, to the runners-up. After a most pleasing programme of music, to which the Chairman himself contributed, Dr. Neale proposed in the happiest manner the health of Mr. Waters. Dr. Gerald Adams seconded, Supt. Tozer supported, and the meeting accepted the toast right heartily and with musical honours.

April, 1899.J :F IRS T $i\gGeateb Bmbulance !lDenlorial to the j!.ate $upt.

By AN OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTOR.

I., r"

THERE are heroes in almost every walk of life, and many. but for some unforeseen event, would live and die without anyone in the world learning aught of their unselfish heroism. Take the a'lnals of our lifeboat men, how oft do these gallant fel loxs go out, holding, as it were, the r lives in their hands, not knowing whether they will live to return to home and loved ones

aga in ; and yet these heroes in humble life, after bours of labour amid wind and waves, will modestly tell you that they have only done their duty, and that they looked for no higher reward than the grateful thanks of some fellowcreature rescued from a watery grave, and restored to tbose who, but for our life-boat men, might have bad to mourn the loss of a dear one. It is the characteristic simplicity of such bravery which sbould appeal to us, but how often it happens that we never realise the value of a man until we have to write his epitaph. No doubt in tbe ambulance world there are first-aiders who are continually performing little acts of heroism which find no place in the world's record, but these actions, however small they may appear to human eyes, are never too small to be recorded by higher hands than ours. I have been led to write the above since reading the account of the re-opening of the enlarged Cottage Hospital at Margate.

It i.s, doubtless, well within the recollection of your readers, that on the ntg?t of December 2nd, r897, the Margate surf-boat was capsized, when eight of the crew, and SuperIntendent Troughton of tht' Maraate Ambulance Corps, los t their lives. Charles Ecward Troughton just one of those heroes, who, but for his untimely death, mio-ht have gone down to his grave withcut anyone ever being the wiser bas to the many.little acts of heroism which he was constantly doing.

SpeakIng at the opentng ceremony, Mr. James Lowtber, ]'.1.P., said, in the c?lITse of hi s remarks, " Tbere was also the name of one, and the erectIOn .of a tablet to the memory of a gentleman who was much beloved In the town and neighbourhood, who spent his life-he miaht say, gave away his life-for the benefit of his fellow-creatures. He referred to the lamented M r. Troughton. The memorial referred to was a contribution of £100, contributed by his colleagues in Lloyd·s Bank-not only in the Bank so well known in Margate, but in all parts of the country where branches of that Bank flourished." One or two little anecdotes will se rve to show how thoughtful Mr. Troughton was for others, and how unselfish as to bis own pleasure where the happiness of others was concerned.

For some years it had been his c ustom to make a collection with a view to providing Christmas cheer for the men who man the ligbt-shi ps fixed near the dangerous sands off Margate, subsequently proceedin a in a lugger to distribute his gifts among the light- ship men. Need I say how welcome was his visit to the se men practically cut off from the rest of the world? We are glad to say tbat this kindly duty has not been allowed to drop, but will be carried on by other friends It was, however, the last action but one performed by Charles Edward Trougbton-" Dickey," as tbose of us who knew him and him for his genuine worth and sterling character used to call hlm-wbich to my mind shines out clearer and brighter thiln any other.

On December 2nd, calling, as w<\s his custom at tbe Cottage Ho spi tal last thing prior to going home, he learned that there was a dymg child in the Institution who was crying for its fath er-a coastliving some miles off. Without a moment's hesitah?n, vr thought of his own comfort-it was a bitterly cold and wild n.lght-he at once volunteered to go and fetch the father to the bed51.de of the dying child. Tl'.king a cab, he lo st no time in executin cr hiS voluntary mission. During the drive he was led to an rough weather at sea, and the probable call for the life-boat; on his tberefore, instead of proceeding borne, he at once made for the pIer, where he was just in time to take hiS place in the boat 'ere she proceeded on her ill-fated voyage.

Whether this attendance in the life-boat, for the purpose of renderIng first-aid, was either wise or nece ssa ry, is a question about which I have my doubts; but tbat Charles Trougbton did it thoroughly and conscientiously, believing it to be his duty, I do not for one moment 9uestion. My object, however, in writing this brief record of the hfe a.nd death of a valued comrade in the ambulance world is to try tnduce your readers to join in a subscription to mark, in some sltght degree, our pride in this comrade of the whiLe cross. I had hoped that some more able pen than mine would, long ere this, have set on. foot some scheme-I won't say to perpetuate tbe memory of Supenntendent Troughton, for I know full well that no memorial suc h

AID. 71

a.s this is necessary to preserve his name with those amongst whom he lIved laboured so long, but a memorial that shall testify our appreCIatIOn ot the man who had learned so thoroughly the lesson of ourgrand old motto, " Pro uti/date hominum." His fellow-clerks have endowed a bed in the Hospital in which took so keen an interest Cannot his fellow-workel s in the ambulance world do likewise and endow another which shall hear testimony to O:.lr admiration for dne of " our s" who gave up his life in tbe service of the cause?

[NOTE BY EDTTOR.-We tbink the idea a very commendahle one and we shall be pleased to open our columns for subscriptions in aid of a to an Ambulance ;',.Iemorial to Mr. Troughton CollectIng-cards Will he sent on applica.t;on. Individual sums can sent to the Offi;:,es, 10, Paternoster Row, E.C., marked Troughton MemOrIal 1· und. All monies subscribed will be duly acknowledged in ,. FIRST AID."]

The followering Subscription is a send off:;( , d. fhe Proprietors of FIRST AID °

(toncerning 1horse Btnbulances.

(EXTRACT FROM LONDO:-l HOSPITAL GAZETTE, FEBRUARY, r899.)

"THAT enterprising morning paper, the llail, has recently devoted some space to the consideration of the above questi0n. The ar e."uments it sets forth? advocating the establishment throughout Lon?on of properly-eqUIpped horse ambulances, are weighty. Full detaIls of the workmg of such a system in A merica and elsewhere are supplied, it .surely b.ehoves the greatest city in the world not to be behmdhand m Its appltances for relieving the injured. At present must often elapse a long period before the Isufferer in some acciden t can reach the hospital, to which he is comoeyed on a not too comfortable ambulance only as fast as a policeman can push him. \Ve have seen an ambulance starting offfrom the neighbourhood of Bow to come up to the Hospital-a journey which at its quickest would take oYer twenty minutes. The first aid assistance thouah valuable is necessarily only slight, and much suffering, and possibly many would be saved by more rapid transit." (Here follows description of Amencall hor se ambulallces.) " It is to be sinh o ped tbat the question will shortly be taken up, and that an Impro\"ed ambulance service will be provided for our crowded streets where severe accidents are of almost hourly occurrence."

THE LATE :'II{. J OH?-r ;'\[ASO:-;r COOK.-I t is with deep regret that we learn of the death of this gentleman, whicb occurred at 'Yaltonon- Thames on March 4th. :\1r. Cook, who was a Knight of Grace of the qrder of John, had been ai!ing e,oer since the Kaiser's Imperial tour In P::t!estllle, the worry of "hlch, no doubt, had much to do with his illness. Few men ha,oe done more to earn the gratitude of the travelling public than John .:\1. Cook, and his loss will be -widely felt. He was and liberal with his purse to all deserving objects, and the Hospice at Jerusalem loses in him a good friend whom it will be difficult to replace. His remains, which were interred at Leicester on March loth, were followed, amongst otbers, by Sir G. S. F. Fitzgerald (representing the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem), Chief Supt. J. H. Buckley, Supt. Sec. Turner, and Supts. i\Iobbs and Green of the Leicester Corps of tbe St. John Ambulance Brigade. Among the many beautiful wreaths tha.t covered the coffin was one from the Order, and another from Catherine; Lady Lechmere.

A FIRST-Am PROBLEM.-An extraordinary problem is confronting tbe Lincolnshire justices. A few days ago a man, who seems to bave been known locally as a somewhat character, entered a tavern, and calling for a glass of beer was seen by the attendant to empty into the liquor the contents of "a small white paper." The man hurriedly drank the mixture and sat down, while the barman, suspecting an attempt at suicide, promptly \yent for a policeman. The officer examll1ed the white paper, came to the conclusion that it had contained poison, and, inspired by his first-aid experiences, administered a strong solution of common salt by way of an emetic. It failed to act, however, and the man died. At the coroner's inquiry a medical practitioner certified that the "white paper" hai co ntained a small quantity of sulphate of zinc, which in ordinary circumstances would merely have had an emetic effect, and would in any way have injured the person taking it into hi3 system. The salt and water administered by the policeman, however, had had the effect of chemically co nverting the innocuous sulphate of zinc into the deadly chlorate of zinc; and hence brought about a fatal result. The problem placed before the authorities is whether or not the police-constable, in thus causing the man's death, was guilty of constructive manslaughter. He certainly would not have died if tbe constable had not interfered, and the consta.ble's act was a deliberate one, though witbout intent. The coroner's j my merely recorded a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence

AID. . [April; '1899.

to the Grand President, who will submit h e n ame to H er M ajesty Ih Sovere gn of the League, for her approval." e

All Le tters and communica ti ons t o the Ed itor shoul d be addressed t o him at th e Publi shers , 10, P a ternoster R ow, Re .

Subscriptions and Advel'tisements sh oul d be sen t to the Publishel's direct.

FIRST AID

APRIL 1, 1899

\VE ha,'e not yet sufficient detailed THE ORDER OF information to hand to enable us to :\IERCY. crystallise our ideas regarding the "- ew League and Ord er of Mercy, the details of which are given below.

The scheme has giyen rise to much discllsf'ion, but, so far as we can .i udge, t.he trend of public opinion is in its favour. It is generally conceded that t.he League is well adapted to reach those persons who haye not hitherto felt called upon, or been called upon, t,) support the Hospital Scheme. ,Ve certainly wish it all success.

In regard to the Order, the Grand President took care to emphasise the fact that the decoration can only be obtained by sustained and gratuitous personal effort. This is as it should be, but many are inquiring if League workers are solely to become eligible for the distinction. It is obvious to all that a decoration for those who have gratuitously given years of personal serv ice to the relief of suffering and distress must be wide ly distrib u ted indeed. So far from detracting from its va lu e, such distribution 'would only demonstrate the p reva lence of unselfish endeavour. Who, for example, deserve it more than the physicians and surgeons of the great hospitals, wllo spend the best years of distinguished lives in such gratuitous service? Or what about those who find their recreation and happiness in qua lifying t h emselves for the efficient and unremunerated renderi n g of first aid to suffering humanity? In tile latter case, however, t.he 9rder of St: Joh1: has done muc h good by confernng Its valued dIstmctlOn on those under its <:egis.

As we have said, we await with interest more detailed information. At any rate the well -known excell ent judgment of His Royal Highness the Grand P resident is a guaranlee that the Order will be pro p erl y safeguarded and judiciously bestowed

\tbe ')leag ue anb of

DURING the past few weeks, the nove scheme propounded by the Prmce of Wales at the Marlborough House MeetinO' on Y arr.h 1st has been a prominent subject of discussion in social and medical circles. Briefly, it is to obtain annual subscriptions to" the Prince of W a les's Hospital Fund for L.ondon " those persons whom the mac h inery of the Fund has hItherto faIled to reach The Idea is to spread the League over the metropolis and home co u nties.

For .each (a?Ol:t a. hundred n all) h ere will b e a. preSIdent, who \1'.111 dlVI?e hIS into thirty divisions respectIvely ruled by a vIce· preSIdent. In hIS turn earh v ce-president will select twenty members. The dutIes of a memb e r will be to undertake to find twenty annual of a sh,illing a -year and upwards. l,n the same \yay, there \\'Ill be lady preSIdents and vice-presidents 1 he League would thus obtam for the Fund a minimum annual revenue of £60.000

To exertions. in this direction, the "Order of r-lercy has been It WIll be "conferred as a reward fo r gratUItous personal se.rvlCes only in th e relief of sickness, suffenng, povel.ty, or dIstress, and wIl.l have on l y one class. Admission to the Order WIll be by recommend a tJOl1 of a district or v ice ·president

In r ep ly to Lord Carringto n , the P rince of Wa l es said that Ih de.coration w.ould be for personal se,·vic.e on l y; that five years' tmtous servIce would at least be reqUIred, and that no donation 0 subscription, however large, would entit e any erson to so O'reat honour. Sir Henry B u rdett was nom i nated treasu r er, D/' Collin' secretary, and Colouel W Knollys registrar. The Order will, it is said, be a red cross surmounted by tbe Prince of vVales feathers, and bearing the representation of the well-known " Charity," by Sir Joshua Reynolds.

THE GRAMOPHONE. -Through t h ecourtesyofthe GramophoneCom. ha,:e recently had an opportunity of listening to t h is marvelloUi !Ittle mvenllon. Gramopho?e has a over man) ll1struments o( a bke character, ll1asmuch as It IS so SImple tbat iti' well nigh impossible for it to get out of order, llnd to use a somewha; ha.-kneyed expression," chil.d can work it." In ir.s t rument that we had the pleasure of IIstemng to, what struck us more particularly was tbe almost total absence of blurring, which is so common a charac. of other machines. -r:he records are on vulcanite, and It i! claImed [or them-and we qUIte believe it-tbat they are so durable that, even should they be the room! they in no lVay detenorate. To fully descnbe thIS marvellous lIttle mus1cal box in detail would take too long, but we have no hesitation in recommend. ing it to our readers as being a decided acquisition at ambulance ; di.visi.ons. wh? have th.e good fort u ne to acquire one will find It a capItal InstItutIOn 111 th e drIll -room, aR it possesses recordscl popular marches played by first-class bands; and there is no doubt that the tedium of the marching drill might ofttimes be r elieved bl' turning on.a full In the sick too, the. Gramophone wiil be a welcome substItute to the old fashlOned mUSIcal box with its somewhat expressionless music. Violin and clarionet solos fault· lessly given, and many a sick one's sufferinO's would we have no doubt, be temporarily relieved by listening to the music the Gramo. phone The London offices are at 3I, Maiden Lane Covent Garden' and we would advise our readers to write to the 1IanaO'er for pric; list and u ll particulars.

"THE INSTRA."-We beg to call the attention of our readers more particu larly th?se in. work or sick nursing, 'to the :alue of thIS mgemous 11ttle Inventwn. , The Instra," which was in tS early regarded by many as a toy, has since been proved, as be :eadlly seen by a. glance at the large number of testImonIals, to be a contnvance of the grtalest possible yalue where artificial heat is required. "The rnstra " is a small pocket stove made of German silver, perforated on either side and is desiO'nec to furnish a continuous heat for a period of from to four by a slow combustion of prepared fuel, which possesses a total absence of smell. The cost of fuel for replenis h ing the Instra is very small fifty refills capable of he::t. for a term of nearly two hours bemg. supplIed for one and sixpence. In th e case of patients from apo]?lectlc seIZure .or .shock, the Instra will be proved as by Its agency artlficral heat can be at once a,Pphe? to. any par of the body. Among those who have given tei' tlmonIals ll1 Its favour, 'Ne may mention the late SurO' eon-General Sir William Mackinnon, who, we are sure would not bbave recom· mende d it, were he convinded of its utility. In the course of h IS remarks SIr WIlham sa.ys : " [f we had h ad such a thing i n the C ri mea during our first winter wha t a blessin g it would have bee n t o the during t ry ing' period. I ap p ea r s somewhat late In h e WInter o be soundmg the praises of" t h e In s t ra "but wehave only just h ad the opport u nity of testing its merits and b e sides in our climate" one n ever knows," and in the case o f an 'a m b ul a n ce c;rps an .1 I nstra" would always be useful as pa r t of i t s eq uip me nt.

THE annual general meeting o f the Natio n al Fire B riO'ades Union was. h eld at the IIolborn Restaurant on March 8t h The plan for pl acmg the ambulance department of the Union o n a m Ole satisfacto'l basis was explained by the Genera IIonorary S ecretary and Cbie! Officer Church Brasier, both officers impressing upon th e sent the. va l ue o f the movemen t The depart m en t is in no way In antagoDlsm to the St. John Ambula n ce Br <Yade but is in tended to assist i n the formation of amb u lance classes for fire m e n in connection with the St. John Ambulance Association It will a so un dertake the d.uty in c?nnection with the ann u a l camp a n d the varioul dlstnct meetIngs. 1; urther pa r ticulars will be short y a nn ounced. An for funds for of the purchase of e q ui pment hal been Issued to a bngades affiliated to the U ni o n. I n the evelllng the annual dinner was held under the pres idency of th e p residen Hi! Grace t h e Dukeof fv!arlb?rough. The French m ili tary attache, present as representIng hIS Excellency the Frenc h ambassador in reply· ing to the toast" Our Guests," referred to the fact hat the and E n g li s h bremen all thro u g h t h e reCf' n t troubl o u s t im es h ad h oro.ugh y u nited, an d by !lei r con ti n u ed frien dship a nd fr equent m ee tm gs wo ul d do mu ch to bn ng t he tw o countries cl oser toge her

Aprii,

CAPTAIN

FIRST lPortrait (Saller)?

Alb.

'-j

IT i s with u n f e ign e d pl eas ur e that we p res ent o u r rea d e r s thi s mo n t h with the por t r ait o f a ge ntleman w h o, a lth ou g h ha iling fro m another co un try, h as, duri n g h is fr eq u e nt visits to E n gla n d, m a d e him se lf so po pu la r , t h at w e h av e c o m e alm os t t o r egard him as one of our ow n Ca p t ai n Pi erre Mig n o t was bo rn at th e Ch a t eau d es M eze r ets, l'v res nil -B acley (Oalvados) in France, on th e 17 t h Of Dece mb er, 1837. H e j oi ned th e V olunt ee'r F ir e Se rvic e of his co untr y in I a t Cau de be c-e n -Cau x ( Se ine Infe r ieu re ). In t h is briga d e he r e ma ined a s ca p t ain unti l the yea r 1878 , w he n h e ret urne d t o Mesn il - Bacley, a nd was a ppoint e d to or ga n ise a Fire Bri g ad e a t Liv ar o t , in plac e of t he old o n e whi ch h a d been d o rm a nt s in ce 187 0 Captain M ignot was app oi nt e d ch ief offi cer of t he newly -forme d brigade-a po siti o n he h as h eld from t ha t time.

In 188 3 he joined the Fed er at ion de s Offi cier s e t SousOfficiers de S apeurs P o mpi ers de France et d ' Al ge rie , and at the Congre ss at (, ae n in 189 0 h e w a s elect ed se cretary; at the 1892 Co ngr e ss , whi ch wa s held at Ha v re, he was e le ct ed a vice- pre sident, a nd at. Ly o ns , i n 18 94 , he was elec ted Pre side nt of th e F e d er at i on. He h as been the r ecipi ent of t wo silv er meda ls (1st and 2nd class) from the G ove rnm e nt of th e R e publi c, ad ded to w hich he is a Me m b e r of H o nour o f the Fire Service of many oth e r countri e s, including the National Fire Brigades Union of Engl a nd

In these times , when the topi c of int ernati on a l peace rings out loud in the air , it is as well t o rec all the fact that Capt ain Mignot h as for y ears b ee n an ard e nt w orker i n the cau se of a mity b e tween England and France , and he has n e ver l os t an o pp o rtunit y of bringing the M embers of the Fire S er v ices o f t he two countries t ogether. He ha s att ended ev ery Fire Demonstr a ti o n of an international chara cter th a t h a s been held in this country, and doubtles s it is well within the recollection of many of our readers that, on the occasion of his visit to the Fire Tournament in 1896 , he inspected the ambulance station of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, when the ursing Sisters in charge were pre sented to him. Captain Mig not w as pl ease d to ex pr ess his admira tion of the work which was b e ing don e by the Ambulan ce Brigade, and in re cogniti o n of his high appreciation of it he p e rson a ll y d ec or a t e d Lad y Supt Ohur ch BraSIer with the insi g nia of a Merpbr e d H o nn e ur of the French Federation, which he himself was wearing.

Th or ou g hl y p at r iotic in h is love fo r hi s own b eau t iful Capt a in Mi g n ot possess es in a d d itio n a w arm feelm g of rega rd for hi s B ritis h co mr ades and for o ur dear old E n g la n d . It is among me n of h is sta m p that we look fo r t h e pioneers of pe ace-men who d o n ot th emse lves. in their ow n country, but b elihe i n bn ngm g t he serVIc es of peace in all countries in closer t ou ch one wi th t he other.

M ay Ca p tain Mignot long be spa r ed to sti r up and stimul a t e th is feelin g of brot h erly regard between the fir e m en of Engla n d and F rance. Of o ne thi n g we are cer t a in , in his own co untry the r e are none who hold for h im a warmer friendship than his many friends m Eng land

(torreaponbenc e.

[ We do not necessarily hold ourselves responsible jar the opinions flJ OWl' correspondents. ] -

:\IOLLOY CHALLENGE CUP.

To the Editoy of FIRST AID.

SlR,-Dr. Leonard :Vl olloy, Chief Surgeon of the Black pool Divi3ion of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, offers a challenge cup to be competed for by members of police in the North-Western District. which comprises the counties of Cheshire, Lancashire, Cumberland and 'vYestmoreland, the I sle of Man, and lreland.

The chief condition is that each competitor shall hold the certificate of the St. John Ambulance Association to render first aid to the injured.

The cnp is offered as an incentive to promote, jf possible, greater general efficiency in ambulance knowledge amongst the police forces of the District. The competition will take place at Preston, 011 June 17th next.

I e nclose copy of the conditions and rules for the contest, and should be glad, if you consider it of sufficient importance, if you will give it publicity through your widely-circulated journal. -1 am, sir, your obedient servant ,

JNO. C DERHAi\l, Chief Constable, Blackpool, and Asst. Commissioner, 4 District, St. John Ambulance Brigade.

2nd March, 1 899.

ST. JOHN AMBULANCE BRIGADE.

"THE MOLLOY CHALLENGE CUP."

Open for Compeliholl to all Polici' Foras ill the NO.4 (North - Western) District of tlu St. John A mbulallce Brtgade.

I. T hat the cup be named" The Leo:1ard i\ l o11oy Police Ambulance Challenge Cup "

2 That the Cup be held for one year, and be competed for annually, under the direation of the Chairman and Committee of the XorthEast Lancashire County Corps

3. That one squad from each Co'mty, City,or Borough Police Force in the NO. 4 (North-Western) District, St. John Ambulance Briga de be a ll owe d to compete, and t hat every member of t he competing team must h old t h e "First Aid" Certificate of the St. John A mbula n ce Associatio n Th s fact to be cer ti fied in wr ting by the Chief of Police o f each of the competing squads. _.

4 T h:tt the squads shall consist of officer and 5 men}n theIr polIce un iform.

5. T hat t h e Competition be held on the same date and at the place as the Review and Inspection of the North- East LancashIre County Corps, St. John Ambulance Brigade.

6. That an entrance subscription of lOS. be paId to the Hon. Secretary, ..v olloy Police Challenge Cup, at least 28 full days before th e date fixed for Competition.

7. T h a t the test be both practica and viva voce but that t h e que.sions p ract ica w ork and stretcher exercises must be con tamed In S hep'h erd's " Fi rst A id."

8 Tha t he ju d ge or j u dges mus t be members of the medIc al p rofess ion; a. C h ief Su rgeon, or Hon. .St. John Amb u la n ce B ri<Yade an d mllst reside outside the NO.4 DIstrIct.

A1'1 communications must be directed to the Assistant Commissioner, J. c. Derham. Chief Constable, Blackpool, Hon.

" T he Leonard :'I101l0y ['ol ice Ambulance Challenge Cup CompetItIOn.

10. Thl.t the Chief Constable o f the county, CIty, or borough, fr.om w h ich the winnincr team comes shall be responsible for the safe keepl11 g of the Cup.

11. T hat the Officer respo n sible_ for the custody of the Clip must sign t he fo ll ow ng u n d ertaking

FIRST

NORTH-EAST LA' COUNTY CO RPS OF THE ST. JOHN A"IBULANCE BRIGADE.

Rules o.f the Police Corps Compet£tim .for" The Leona1'd Molloy Po lia A m lmlaJZct Challenge Dlp."

I. The Cup is the of the N o rth-K,st Lancashire County Corps of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, so long- as such County Corps shall continue in existence as a regularly organised Co rp s of the Brigade.

2. The Cup shall be competed for by ;VI embers of the Police Forces in the NO.4 ( To rth-Western) District, at the Annual Review of the NorLh-East Lancashit'e County Corps, and the winning sq u ad at each Review shal be entitled to hold the Cup for the then en suing year, but they must guarantee t h e safety of the same , and deliv er it up on the expiration of such term in such good and substantial condition as when recei ved, and free from any injury, defect, or damage, and they will be held responsible for, and must make good any injury, defect, or damage occasioned to the Cup whil st in their possession.

3. The Cup shall never become the absolute property of any Police Corps.

4. Tne Competition for the Cup shall be under the control of the Committee of the said ?\orth-East Lancashire County Corps, who may make such rules and regulations for the conduct of the Competition as they may think fit, subject to these Rules being incorporated therein.

S. In the event of the s::t. id North -East Lancashire County Corps heing disbande d or ceasing to exist, the Cup shall be returned to and retained by the Chief Constable for the time being of the Borough of T3lackpool, who sha ll hold the same in trust for the St. John Am bu lance Brigade, whose property the Cup shall Lhenceforth and subject as hereinafter become.

6. Tn the event of the said Cup becoming the property of the St. John Ambulance Brio'ade as aforesaid, the Competition shall beco me open to a ll and any Police Forces in the No. 4 District, but the Competilion therefor shall take place within the Borough of Blackpool, unless the Chief Con stab le of Blackpool for the time being should agree that the objects of the Competition would he the better fulfilled by the Competiti'Jn being held on any particular occas ion in some other place within the Xo. + (North- Western) Di strict, and be subject to and under the control of any rules and regulati'Jns made by the said Brigade.

AXSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

ANXIOUS To KNOw -We cannot answer your query. The delay is not unusual.

IT is suggested by several correspondents in reply to "Anxious to Learn," that his inquiry is not a proper one for insertion in the columns of a newspaper, involving, as it does, a question of the discipline and conduct of his division, but that the question is one that should have been referred to head-quarters. Perhaps so We therefore commend this course to " Anxious to Learn." Those correpondents who have replied are thanked, and will understand why these letters are not inserted.

THE following order issued to a Volunteer regiment is of practica l mterest to many of our readers :-An ambu ance man obtains little or no physical training; and this, combined with the fact that when on duty his work is exceedingly arduous, renders him especially liable to galled feet. Worsted socks and well-fitting but previously-worn boots b.e and the boots and socks should be well powdered

With French chalk each morning; the socks should be worn out, and well soaped in addition-dry scraped soap rubbed well m. The boots should be rubbed with dubbin. The feet should be ?ardened a week or so before the march commences by soaking daily m a bucket of cold water, to which has been added a handful of powdered alum.

A I D • [April, 1899.

St. 30bn tlmbnlance jJ3rigabe.

METROPOLITAN CORPS.

HAGGERSTON DrvrsION.- The certificates. andl med:t.llions gained during the past year were presented to the successful candidates by Mrs. Bird the wife of the popular hon. surgeon of the division on February 14 th la st at the Borough of Hackney Working Men's Club. Advantage was .taken of the occasion to present Dr. Bird with a h a ndsome stationery cabinet as a mark of the respect and esteem in which he is held. A capital concert was afterwards carried out under the direction of Supernumerary Officer Goodwin.

ST JOHN'S GATE No. I AND CYCLISTS DIV1SIONS.-The last of the series of Cinderellas alTanged by the officers and members of these Divisions took place at the Athen re um, Camden Ro ad, on Thursday, March 8th. vVe hearLily congrat ulate Sup erintendents Liddell and Pontin, and I'all were' associated Iwith them on the very marked success of their undertaking.

ST. JOHN'S GATE NURSING DrVISION.-The Nursing Officers and Sisters of this Division have arranged to hold a Convers::t.zione at the New Town Hall, Rose bery Avenue, OT) April' 22nd, 1899. Music and dancing from " 7 till II.IS. We wish all concerned a very pleasant evening.

PROVINCIAL CORPS.

BLACKPOOL.-About a month ago Mrs. Orme, lady su perintendent of the Nursing Division, called a meeting of members to consider the advisability of distributing clothing to poor children. The So members setting to work with a will, no less than 208 new articles of clcthing were collected, and these were distributed at the Police Station on i\1.trch 7th. The aid of the Chief Constable was invoked, and 143 destitute children lI'ere gathered together from all parts of the town. All the clothing has been marked, and pawn brokers wamed not to take the things in pledge. This distribution is an innovation on the part of the Lancashire Nursing Divisions, and it is hoped to make it an annual event. Mrs. Orme is to be congratulated on the success which has her effort to relieve the distress existing am ongst the poor of Blackpool.

CARDIFF.-On Thursday, February 23rd, Mr. James Hurman presided at the tenth annual dinner of the Bute Docks Ambulance Brigade-an organisation which is doing a lot of good about Ca!'diff docks. During the past year 180 accidents happened at the docks, 44 less than during the previous year. First aid was rendered in 77 cases, 41 were conveyed to the infirmary, and 19 to the hospital ship.

COLNE.- The members of this corps held their annual tea-party and distribution of prizes and certificates in the Cloth Hall, on Saturday, February 25th. The chair was occupied by Mr. William Wilkinson, of Solway Mount, and there were abo on the plalform Mr. Altlerman

W. Sagar, J.P., e.c., Dr Dickey, Mr. Scott, Mr. B. Titherington, secretary, and Mr. Atkinson, superintendent. The superintendent submitted his report, in which it was stated that the horse ambulance carriage has been to Burnley Hospital in connection with 12 accidents and 17 removals, and thrice to the Union Infirmary. During- the year thero:! have been 36 practices and 13 parades, which have been very well attended. At present the horse ambulance carriage is undergoing repairs and the much-needed aLeration, namely, indiarubber tyres. The Chairman spoke highly of the report, and prcceeded to give a review of the ambulance movement since its commencement. • The Rev. C E. Little then presented 42 certificates.

MARGATE AMBULANCE CORPs.-This Corps which originally formed part of the St. Jobn Ambulance Brigade and was founded in 1879 by the present Brigade Chief Superintendent, has recently received a handsome windfall by the death of Mr. Master, of Margate, who has bequeathed to the Corps the £500.

Thi s town is now in the possession of a horse ambulance van which has been presented to the Ambulance Association by Mr. Thomas Baxter.

[Many other reports are unavoidably crowded. out.]

IDrill

VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE SCHOOL OF INSTRUCTION.

April, 1899.J FIR S T l St, Jobn tlmbulance Bssociation.

!PSWICH.-We are glad to see that the money is being subscribed for the Horse Ambulance in this town. Miss Coulcher, the Hon. Secretary, repo rt s the receipt of £46 14s.

MIDDLESBROUGH.- The 16th annual report of this Centre presented on Thursday, 9th ult. at the annual meeting, presided over by C aptain J. G. Swan , stated that the classes formed and examined numbered 12. as compared 17 last year, which was exceptionally large. These comprised 345 members, of whom 310 qualified by attending the ful course of lectures; 272 were examined, and the same number passed and obtained certificates. The following officers were un;:.nimously reelected, and a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to them for their past services :-President, Capta.in J G. Swan; treasurer, .Y1r. C. A. Sheppard; auditor, Mr. J. J. Burton; hon. secretaries, Messrs. Wawnm,m Dixon, F. Herbert Marshall, and D. J. 'V00d, of Stockton; and assistant secretary, Mr. T. R. Milner. The committee were heartily thanked, and re-elected.

NEWPORT, 1. OF W.- D r. Thompson (hon. surgeon) presided at the annual meeting of this Centre, recently held at the Unitarian Schoolroom. The ninth annual report, read by the hon. secretary (Mr. J. W. Gibbs) stated that during the past year the work carried out by the members had greatly increased compared with that of previous years. The wagon had been used for 20 cases. There had also been some 30 other minor cases of first aid rendered by the members, the patients being well satisfied with the attention and care o f the ambulance men. Owing to new rules for the brigade the annual election of officers of divisions had been cancelled, the superintendent being permanently appointed by the deputy commissioner of the district, and on his recommendation the following had also been permanently appoic.ted: 1st officer, Mr. J. R. Hayles; hon. treasurer, Mr. F. Pinnock; inspector of stores, Mr. F. Peach; hon. secretary, Mr. W. Gibbs.

NORWOOD CENTRE.-On the Itth ult. Her Royal Highness Princess o[ Sr.hleswig-Holstein di stributed in the Concert Ro om of the Crystal Palace the medallions and certificates awarded to the Students of the Norwood Centre of the St. John Ambulance Association. Princess Christian has been President of the Centre since its foundation some seven years ago, and has never failed to distribute the awards herself, thus showing the great interest which she takes in the prosperity of the Centre. There were about 400 of these given away, 600 persons having attended the various elasses this session. Since the Centre was established a depot has been kept open in the Crystal Palace where the Norwood Brigade of Nurses are in attendance on all .fete days, and have rendered valuable assist:ll1ce. Previous to the arrival of Princess Christian, the Rev. John Rice Byrne delivered a short address, in the course of which he said that the Nursing classes had been doing extremely good work, and the high appreciation in which they were held was proved by the num erous applications which were made to the Secretary for their services. An intere sting exhibition was then given of bandaging and stretcher drill by certificateG pupils, followed by a demonstration by firemen of the methods adopted in the treatment of accidental injuries Princess Christian, who was attended by Miss Loch and Major Martin, 'was received by Mr. C. E Tritton, M.P., Chairman, the Rev. John Rice Byrne, Deputy-Chairman, the Rev. J. Oakley Ooles, Vice-President, and other gentl:!men, and was conducted to a seat on the platform. Mr. Tritton thanked Her Royal Highnes'5 on behalf of the Norwood Centre for her kindness in coming down among them, and assured her that the Centre was in a very flourishing condition. The Committee, he sa id, desired to give their special thanks to the Medical Staff for their untiring efforts on behalt of the Centre. Princess Christian, having distributed the various medallions and certificates, Lord Knutsford thanked Her Royal Highness for her presence on that occas ioil, and the warm interest which she had taken in the welfare of the Cen tre. The proceedings then terminated.

ROCHDALE.-On 28th February, Dr. Carse was presented with an illuminated address and silver cigarette case, by the members of his ambulance class, and the certificates were presented to the recipients by Dr. Sellers.

, 81 had to over just before th e examinatIOn to glve therr: a final drlllmg. It \Va.s unanimously decided that ambulance practice should be conducted 1\1 the Readino- Room the second Monday in every month, during the spring and at '7.30 p.m A vote of thanks to Mr. Jenkinson for the use of the Churr.h Room for the recent demonstration, was accorded.

R :masket lPannier Bmbulauce.

OUR Red-Cross readers will be interested in the following method of tran s porting the wounde d in mountainous regions. The design is that of Major oj the ,rd Gurkha Rifle!', and the illus-. tra tion \\ e are indebted to the proprietors of the J liltstrated Londoll ;\'e71 S. The idea occur red tl) Major Ros e on seeingwith "hat facility the natives carried aged anJ infirm pilgrims up the Himalayas to the sacred shrines. An almost similar meth od is adopted in the Alps, thl; _\lex can Hills and other surh districts. The apparatus resem bles a wicker arm chairslung on th e back by a belt pass ing ac ro ss tbe forehead or chest.

:\"ative bearers inyariably prefer the brolY, as it leal'es the resp iration unimpeded, and the continuous practice brings almcst incredible neck power. \Yhen resting, a stick carried by the bearer, is placed underneath and thus supports the burden

From the ambulance point of view the m et!1 ld is bad The patient is not under observation and may be bleedino- profusely; the recumbent po sition, so essential to good transp ort, is not obtained, and the limbs are dangling.

Yet c:rcurnstances alter ca ses so much that, in spite of these infractions of the cardinal rules of ambulance, we must accept this process with approval. It is to be borne in mind that the uual Dhoolie" (a stretcher slung on :1 long pole resting on bearers' shoulders) is ;J. delu<;ion and a snare in hilly districts, it is cumber50me, unwieldy and a large target for" snipers." Th e iis be.tter, but. in the gueril ia skirmishes of the north west frontier of Indta, the necessary bearers cannot often be spared from the fighting ranks. The crucial point is that "hereas in fighting an enem:>: that regards mel, as n oncombatlnts, we can leave them to Its tender merCies, In the case of such treacherous brutes as the Pathans, the woun ded must be withdrawn at all risks, lest a terrible deatb overtake them.

Major Rose's plan promises success as to speedy removal, with a minimum depletion of the fi!5hting strength, and prol'ided that it be strictly limited to the above requ rements, it mus t, as command our approbation.

1RaiIwa\? Blnbulancc.

WANTED A STIMULANT.-Scene : Aldershot Soldier supposed to have been .wounded s brought to a surgeon's tent by bearers. Bearer (re portIng) : "Severe sca lp wound sir accompanied with insensibeelity."-Surgeon: "Well, what done? "-

11 Dressed the ,:ound, sir, and gave him a little whuskey and -Surgeon: Whi skey and water! How did you expect an ll1senslble man to swallow that? "-Bearer: 11 He axed for 't sir 1" Regimmt.

CLASS FORI THE TRAINING OF held at 71, New Street, Kennington \ Vednesday, Apri l 5th, P oi sons a nd their Treatment, SurgeonCaptain W. Atkinson, M.D., 1st Surrey Rifles. Saturday, April 8th, at 4 30 p m., The Transport of Wounded, Surgeon-Captain R. R Sleman, A.M.R. Wednesday, April 12th, Parade for general in struction in the application of Splints and Bandages. Wednesday, April 19th, Prize Competition. Parade in Drill Order at 7.30 P m. ednesday, April 26th, Official Inspection and Examinatio n. 'IParad e in Drill Order at 7.30 p.m. Jn struction in the use of the Triangular Bandage will be given by the Senior Medical Officer, on or about March 8th.

RANSKILL.- The annual meeting of this Centre was held in the Reading Room, on Friday, February 24th. The secretary gave a br ef account of the line upon which h e proposed to conduct the club during the ne x t two winters. What he (the secretary) would very much like to do was, that in stead of th e members having to purchase their medallions at the en d of the three years' course as customary, the club should make all the successful candidates a present of them. (Applause )

He estimatl:'d that the expenditure would be £8 IS. 6d., which would, irrespective of members' su bscripti ons, require a sum of £3 I SS. r d. to be raised. This he thought could be easily done by hal'ing a demonstra tion next year. The lectures next winter would be given, not by a doctor as fo rmerl y, but by some of the senior ambulance men, but Dr.

WE have just received the seconel annual report of Lb e South Eastern Railway Ambulance Classes. Our hearty conoratulations to the members for the continued improvement in efficiency which was shown at the recent ambulance competition lJclJ at for the company's challenge cup. The District ag-ain headed list and besides winning the cUt! wdl repres ent. the Company 111 the Competition for the Railway Challenge ShlelJ. Dr. J. Brown, of London, was the judge.

CHIPPE HAM.-On the {th ult. the memb ers of the Great Western Railway Ambulance Class were presented with certificates badges by Dr. Briscoe, in the absence h.l sllngb ury, the dlVlsional superintendent; and at the same the lIlembers of the class gave Dr. Briscoe a "ery handsome pocket as .l maI!-, of thelr appreciation of his sen·ices

In,,aIfbs , allb tbe of tbeir jfoob

RePl'£nted b)1 specz"al permzssion oj llilSS CatlzerZ1'Ze Wood, Autho1' of "A Handbook on l\Tursz'ng," &c. (ConHnued.)

It is one of the provisions of Nature that man should be obliged to seek the materials to maintain his being from the various compound substances around him. Though certain elements are required for his lire-such as nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon, &c.-still he cannot make use of these in their elementary form; they must be introduced into his body in combination with the natural substances in which they are found; in other words, he cannot supply himself with the nitrogen or hydrogen that are around him in large quantities in the air, but he must receive them in some organic compound.

Tn the laboratory of his body, man arranges these elements in quite n different form; in some cases making entirely new combinations, such as fat out of sugar, and they pass throug-h an infinity of changes whilst adapting themselves to his needs. They are all derived from the vegetable world, though in some cases they come to him darily, after having been incorporated into the body of another living nnimal. It is quite possible, ani it bas frequently been done, to resolve food into its primary elements, and then to put them in different bottles; but it is quite certain that if a man were fed on the contents of these bottles he would die; they lack that mysterious principle, life, which G0d only can give, and which, unfortunately, man can take in a moment, but can never restore.

The great divisions of food are into organic ano inorganic substances, the latter being made up only of water and \'arious saline principles. The organic must be divided into the nitrogenoll5 and non-nitrogenous compounds, the non-nitrogenous into hydro-carbons (f.lts) and carbo-hydrates (starches and sugars). The purpose of the former is to give the material out of which to build up and repair the body toe purpose of the latter, to serve as a source of heat, sometimes called the" calorifacients," or heat-makers; these latter also assist in the process of nutrition, but in a secondary way. The only food that contains in itself all these compounds is milk; it is the type food, and is presented to man in a form at once ready for use. Next in importance are the various forms of animal food, and 'hese will be nutritious according to the amount of albumen, fibrine, ,,:1d caseine which they contain Albumen is the white of an egg-; it is a nitrogenous substance, and is found alike in the animal and vegetable world. In its common form it is a transparent, glairy fluid, tenacious in texture; it coag-ulates with heat, and is decomposed and neutralised by the action of alcohol.

Fibrine is the chief part of flesh, and is even more abundant in the yegetable than in the animal kingdom It is found in the fibre of muscle, and exists in the blood; if the blood is stirred when fresh with a stick, the fibrine will be found clinging to it like hairs.

Caseine is the curd of milk, and forms the b:.sis of cheese; it may he found in the seeds of certain vegetables, such as peas, beans, lentils, all that are called leguminous.

Fish has its place among the animal foods; and when considered as part of the diet of invalids, it occupies an important place. It is rich' III nitrogenous matter, and those fish that have too much fat can be a',oided, without limiting the choice so much. As a rule, white fish i, more digestible than red fish; and of all fish the whiting may be regarded as the most delicate, tender, and easy of digestion.

After animal food we have Vegetable food, of which there is almost infinite variety; but we must place the Cereals in the first place. These contain all the essential alimentary compounds; and first on the list stands wheat. It is the most important, because it is made into 1 read, and a variety of useful compounds besides. All cereals have a ll'ge proportion of starch, a substance which some stomachs find a difficulty in disposing of, and the presence of this starch in such a hrge proportion makes them less nutritious as a f00d than animal food. The want is supplied by the combination of milk. Baked flour ;'nu biscuit flour are both more digestible than uncooked flour; the heat breaks up the starch granules, and thus prepares them for the action of the digestive juices.

The finest wheat flour is not so nutritious as the darker kinds for the process of bolting removes some of the outer husk that the fibrine and phosphates; for this reason trltt brown bread and wholemeal bread are more nourishing than white bread. If our workpopulation could be brought to see this, and would discard the I\!l,le bread fl?m their table, they would find the advantage in gleater ,-,. 0;10my and 111 a healthier torm ()f food.

Macaroni is an important preparation of wheat; it is made f r o m the finest wheat, and has a ll the nutritive properties ')f wh eat in a form easy of digestio n. It is made fr o m the Ital a n wheat, w hi c h is r ch in gluten, and is a high ly-prized article of food n t ha t cou n t r y In p reparation it requires to be thoro ughly softened in m ilk or gravy, as it is hard and close in texture.

Next to wheat stands oats; it contains less starch and more fat than wheat; it is deficient in g uten, and therefore cannot be made nto bread; it is generally eaten as oat cake or porridge. It is th e staple food of Scotland and Northern countries; and if its n ut r it ive val u e is to be guaged by the physique of the race fed upon it, it stands second to none in importance.

Rice is a valuable article of food in its right place; having a very large percentage of starch, it is insufficient alone to as nutriment; but associated with anima l food, generally milk, it is of g reat use. The starch granule is easy of digestion, hence it agrees with some ?isord e red states of the alimentary canal. I, In diarrhcea and dysentery It agrees better than any other kind ot solid food." (Pavy.) It is poor in nitrogen and fat.

(To be c(jntiflued.)

F OUN DE- D r8 7 1.

Bccibent Ullb <Duarantee (torporatioll ;. jLtb

(Em powered by S peC al Act of P a rli am en )

AU THORISED 1'1 000 000 RESE RVE S 1'650.00 6 CAP IT AL CJ... Dec. 3 1s , 1898 - CJ.

SU BSCRIBED CAPI T AL - - 421.200 FUNDS 3 1st Dec ,1

IMPORTANT NOTICE.

tra vel, and provides an Annuity. S E ND FO R PROSPECTU S.

HE AD OFFICE : R J PAULL, 40 to 44, Moorgate Street, London, E.C. Genel'alManagel'/tSecretary

COUPON TICKET

SPECIALLY GUARANTEED BY

1'he Ocean Accident &Guarantee Corporation

, LIMITED 40 , 4 2 , & 4 4 MOORGATE s'rREE'f , LONDON, E. C.

to whom Notice of Claims, under the following conditions, must be sent within seven days of accident to the above add r ess.)

60009 3 £100

:o-vill. be paid by above Corporation to the l.egal :ep.resentati v:e of anyone who IS killed by an aCCIdent t a the Passenger Tram (WithIn the Umted Kingdom of Ohannel Islands), ill wb ich the deceased was a ticket bearing or paying passenger, or who shall bave heen fatally injured thereby (shuuld death resUlt within ninet.y days after sueb accident).

PROVIDED that the perSall so kilJerl. or inj ured had upon his or her persoD,

.

I n accordance with the requir6ments of Messr s Mars hall Brothers the new Publishers, the journal will in fu ture be published on the 25th of the month , and the Editor a ppeals to correspondents b oth in London and t he Pro v ince s t o send any m a tter for insertion not later t han the 20th of e aoh month , after whIch d a te its inse rtion cannot be g uaranteed in the current issue. No e fforts will be wantin g to make the Journal as interesting as possible to the ambulance helpers in all the vari ou s ol' ga nizati ons over whose destinies we are pleased t o wa tCh , and w e a s k our re a ders to kindly help us with sugges tions and a ny it em of news likel y to interest our reade r s. One import a nt e vent w hich we trust w ill result from t he ch a n ge in the publishin g and adv ertis i n g depar tm e n ts. w ill b e th e e nla r g ing of th e Journal at a no di s ta n t dat e.

T E R MS OF SU BSCRIPTION. For 12 m onths, IS. 6d., post free, to b e sent to the Pu bl ish ers.

:tSre"ities.

\VE w ish to draw the attention of our readers to a letter in our correspondence col un:ns from a "Oonstab le" in the gives a fact sl:owi ng how i nacleqt;ately proYlded w1th ambulance matenal the police are at the pre 'ent moment. It seems that a chimney was blown down crashing thl'Ough a roof and killing one chi ld and injm' i nO' two. only one am bnlance at the stntlOn 1n the YlClluty, and other ambulances we1'e telegrnphed for, but after considerable delay the patients had to com-eyed to the hospitaJ in the Metropolitan Fire Bl'lgnde wagon. We belie,-e that this accident OCCUlTed in the W. or Olapham Police Division, which covers an area of 76 square mi les. It woul d be interesting to know how many bulances the police l:al"e in th is d ivision, as they were eV1dently unable to pl'ov1de h ttel's for these tlnee cases a l'easonable time. It has often been po i nted out III col umns-officin'! ass81-t ions notwithstanding-that the pohce cannot and do not perform efficient amb ul ance work, and t he above i nstanee is another proof Further comment is unnecessary.

* If

TilE t h an k s of the commun i ty are due to lVIr. S Osbo1'n fm' givillg an acld1'ess on F irst A id to the Members of t h e House of Commons It is ment ioned in t h e report O'i ven to the newspl;1,pers thfLt t h e members p r esent were of bopin i on that more efficient ambulance al'l'angements ought to be made fOl' the metropo lis. Thi::; is a distinct ach 'ance, and we hope t lmt some London of Padiament will move in the matter

$",*

OUR h eal'ty cong r itt n htt ions to the St. J oh n 's Gate Nursi ng D i vision on the ve r y mark ed succeS3 of the ir i nit ia l vent ur e in t h e socil:\,l sid e of a mbulan ce life, Hit h er to, we

have on ly met these lad i es when engaged in their ambulance dut ies, or mak i ng garments for the sick, poor and needy of the d istrict in which are situated the H ead Quarters of their DivislOn. T he good work that they have done in this d irect i on, has on more than one occasion been recognised, an d we are sure that all who have witnessed their devotion in the cause of ch arity, will join with us in our expressions of grat.ificat ion t h at their socia l evening "as so thoroughly s u ceessful.

"1borne 1b\?giene."

B y W J McCUL L OCH E T TLES, .iIl.D., CH.l'.1., ABERD. H on. L ife Member, St. John Ambulance Association. Lecturer on Amb u lance, University Settlement, Toynbee Hall.

Among the many temples of ancient Athens stood one dedicated to the Goddess Hygieia, the creed of whose votaries gave a pre-eminent position to the culture of physical he:llth. Althoug-h the goddess has gone the way of the rest of the pagan pantheon, her name, with the ideals it concreted, remains for all time.

To say precisely, and concisely, what Hygiene is, is almost impossible, for nearly e\'ery science or art forms brick or pillar of the temple.

"Sanitas," said the the late Lord Beaconsfield, p:lrodying the words of the preacher, "Sanitas, Sanitatum omnia sanitas."

T his very diversity of elements is one of the charms its study possesses. In the su cceeding chapters we will quarry a biological fact here, a chemical there, now a physical, now a historical, and putting them to ;ether we will rear a mental altar to the sen'ice of Garths' " Blooming Goddess."

I n the study of hygiene then, we must consider all factors which will mprove the health of the body, co:nbat deleterious i nfluences, and prevent the attack of disease.

It has been said, with truth, that" the history of hygiene is that of civilisation." In pre-historic d:lYS, life \\'as simplicity itself. P eople went about" 'mid lloddings on," as Hans Breitmann puts it. \ Ve have, however, some evidence that they occasionally wore a broad smile or a nicely fitting patch of paint. Man s only shelter was the dense bush, a cave, or the branches of trees, and he depended for his existence on his skill as a hunter.

The power of constructing edifices is occasionally spoken of as indicating p r ogress in the e\'olution of Hygiene. This, however, is an animal instinct shared by the most insi:;nificant creatures, many tribes of which build residences of exquisite beauty Bathing, washing, personal cleanliness are, at first sight, acceptable evidence; but do not the sparrows in H yde Park bathe and clean themselve5 far more than the filthy human beings who doss there at night?

The Mosaic ordinances are often quoted as proof of sanitary kr.owledge during the Israelitic period; yet, if l\[oses had a cat, he must have had many an object lesson in the covering of excrement.

T he one achievement which distinguishes pristine man from the lower anim'lls is his ability to kindle a fire a.t will and to cook his food

It is not until we come to the days of the R oman Empire that we fi nd p ositive e\'idence of the gro wth of sanitary science.

T he R oman military engineers constructed huge aqueducts for bringi n g pure drinking water from a distance to the of the ,;i ty T hey also constructed underground vaults and sewers, or cloacae, for the recept on of refuse.

During the dark ;\1 iddle Ages th.:re was no worthy of the name until the terrible succession of plague or pestilence, the nemesIs of neO'lect which exterminated whole communities, brought ove;-whelming evidence of the necessity for sanitary measures. Thus, in 13+9, during the reign of Edward II!., the Bl ac k De a th appeared. At hat time, there were fewer people in the whole of Englan? than there are in London alone at the present day. I t has been said that t hey ';:ere decimated, they were not, they were" duo-ated," f()r more one h alf fe ll before the merciless scourge; a scourg<! which struck m ore fiercely wherever filth was greatest, that is, where people most did congregate.

Again, hree ce n u ries \later, he Great Plague of r665 mo wed

84

FIRST

down Londoners like the sectional firing Dervishes at Omdurman. In the city alone over IO?,oOO die? 111 a tew

The writer recently had an opportunity of seemg the from the Fire of a small city parish. Each day showed Its dread lIst, sometimes several folios long, and appended to each name was the same monotonous co mment, "dyed of ye plague."

The following year, r666" saw the visitation of a blessing, as a disaster. .the Great FIre. Property of value was lost, IS true, but it annih ila ed, as nothing else could, the. dwelll11.gs and narrow alleys, the dirt and accumulated abomll1atlOns of centunes

It s::erilised London.

In erreat crises En erland has never wanted a master-mind to rise to them "and at the great archite c t, Sir Christopher Wren, found his opportunity. The devastated area wide .enough. to give him fair play, and a new London rose hIS fosterIng gel1lus ?- cleaner London with broad streets and roomier houses, so that sunlight and fresh ail; had better entrance. In medi<eval dwellings, the windows, heing simply holes 'through .walls, were high up and "ery This meant absence of ventilatIon, darkness, and the accumulatIon of filth, i.e., a high death rate. The introduction. of glass is, therefore, a great sanitary improvement butone long handicapped by sh.ort-slgh.ted politicians. Nowadays, the of the 111 huntmg for budget material looks only at : ,he :vould dream of taxing God's sunshme. 1. et Wmdow Tax was in existence so recently as r851, and Its abolttlOn IS a great advance. A century ago, so comm?n was Small that, however plain a damsel mierht be in feature, If she were unpltted, she was regarded as beautiful. "To-day, thanks to Edward Jenner, who vaccination in 1796 , a pitted face , or, what is more important, death from Small Pox, is rare.

During the years i ust pre\'ious to the introduction of the death rate was r8s per r,ooo people; a century late, It was IS per r,ooo.

In r772, Captain Cook, the g-reat voyager, showed that scurvy could be prevented by the use of fresh vegetables. N olVadays scurvy is practically unheard of. Before Cook's day, ten.s of thousands o( mariners, and landsmen too for that matter, dIed of It. Even so late as the Crimea the French, whose supply of vegetables ran short, .lost far more men scurvy than they did in action.

So thick and fast have sanitary advances and enactments followed each other duriner the last half cemury, that their bare enumeration wodd take up than the space in this journal. Suffice it that the net result is the annual saving of thirty lives in every thousand, a saving in London al one that would populate a provincial city such as Aberdeen or Sunderland. The enormous improvement in the physical health and well-being of the people, if it cannot be assessed, must not be lost sight of. (To or, continued.)

St. jobn Bnlbnlance 16rigabe.

CORPS.

ST. JOH:\,'S GATE NURS[:\'G DI\'[SIO .-On Saturday, April 22nd, one of the most suc cessful gatherings yet held in connection with the Brigade in the metropolis, took place at the Clerkenwell Town Hall, Rosebery Avenue. The occasion was the first Conversazione held in connection with the Di\" sion, and took the form of a" petite concerL and d3nce." The guests, who numbered abo<lt one hundred, were recei\ ed on arrival by the Tursing Officers and Sisters, whu all wore the regulation indoor uniform of their respective ranks. The concert was taken part in by the following ;-Lady Secretuy and Nursing Officer Mrs. J. Calvin Lines, Nursing Sister Miss Laura Law, Glover, Superintendent J. Calvin Lines, Mr. Charles F. Frood 1I1r. Stenson Liddard, ilIr. 1\1. S. Salmon, Mr. C. New anJ :vIr. Allad Acton. Every item was so good, and was received by the audience present with su ch evident marks of approval, that it is somewhat difficult, nay, it is invidious, to criticise. The concert was a complete success, and as nothing succeeds like success, it is needless to say that dance was also or;e that ga\"e general satisfaction, espeCIally a very charmlllg dance whlcb was arranged by the Lady Superintendent, and whirh was appropriately named" The Sisters' Dance." The programme was ably carried out under the direction of Messrs. Trimmer, Liddell, Lines and J. Havelock Mason, and these o-entlemen were indefatigable in the discharge of their respective The catering, which W'l.S placed in the hands of Messrs. Kingston, Miller & Co., Oxford Street, reflected the greatest credit on that firm and special of praise is due to Mr. Strong, who personally superIntended thIS depa r tment. Among those present we noticed Colonel Bowdler, Commissioner of the Brigade Assistant Commissioner F. D. -:Ylackenzie, :\lajor Fox (London Salvage Corps), Brioade Chief Church Superjntendent (City Pollee), and :\1rs. MackenZIe i Mr. C. I'>..usel (Representative of the French Federation of Sapeurs PomI?iers) and Mrs. Kusel, Chief S.uperinten?ent and i\lrs. Morgan, Captam Folker (National Fire Brigades' U11l0n), and Mrs. Folker; Hon. Surgeons J. Can tlie, J.Brown, and j. Becker, &c. Just prior to the conclusion of the dancing Dr. Brown, on behalf

AI D. [May, 18 99.

of the company present, proposed a hearty of tban k s to Super. intendent Mrs. Church Brasler,and the S I.sters of the St. John's Gate Nursing Division, for thelf very kmd and the very pleasant and successful evening they bad gwen the.m the opportunity of He (the speaker) had attended, ll1 his younger days, many gathenngs of a like character, but he had never attended one that he had more thoroughly enjoyed. The vote was carried with acclamati·Jn. The Brigade Chief Superintendent in replying said, on behalf the Lady Superintendent, 'ursing Officers Sisters of the Dlvislon, he deSIred to thank both Dr. Brown for the kind way in which he had proposed the vote, and the company present for the kind and hearty manner in which they had endorsed it. The Nursiner Division had hitherto devoted themselves €olely to the discharere ot their ambulance duties, but they had felt for some time, that the'"'y should like to an opP?rtunity of meeting their friend;: in the ambulance cause at a SOCIal functlOn and although the arrangements had entailed so:ne little hard work, and they had entered upon it with some trepidation, it being their first venture, they had been more than repaid by the kind expression of thanks which had been accorded them The party broke up at about .singing." Auld Lang Syne " and The :\'ational Anthem. The deSIre to return grateful thanks to the many friends who rendered such kind assi3tance and thereby helped to make the gathering the pronounced success it was.

BROi\1LEY.-Mr. A. C. Norman, J.P, presided :wer the annual meetin cr of the Bromley division of the St John Ambulance Brigade, which held at St. Luke's Institute, Bromley Common, recently. Staff-sercreant Field the third annual report, which, after referriner"to the death of their late Superintendent (Mr. IV. Lucke), and Lynch-White, unr., a vice-president, stated that durin g the year the two sections of the Division had bee? amalgamated and. Mr. Coolin er , the late secretary of the NO.2 sectIOn, had been app oll1ted in the place of Mr. E. Peill. For some time past the division has had the privilege of haying Sergeant-major Smith to teach the drill, and of '\Ir. Gosling, who had for some weeks past been t.ea ching the buerlers their calls. The equlpmen had also been conslder:t.bly added "to. In fact at the annual inspection in Sept e rr:ber last the Commissioner of the Brigade, Colonel Bowdler. stated that they were one of the best equipped divisiJns in or around London. It wa s also worthy of note that all who presented for re-examination during the past year proved themselves The of case s treated during the year numbered 82, as agaInst 65 the prevIOus year. Of these r5 were remO\ ed to Bromley Cottage Hospital, three to London Hospitals, twO to the infirmary, and one (death in the street from heart disease ) to the m o rtuary. The cases previously rep orted had been 103, so that the total was now They had undertaken public duty at the Agricultural Hall military tournament, Earl s Court, St. Paul's Cathedral, St. Clement Danes, Beckenham Lifeboat Par'lde, South of the Thames cross country championship race, and on Bank Holidays at Bromley Common, Fa.rnborough, Southend, and Peckham Rye. They were also required for duty at Beckenham on the occasion of the inspection of the Canterbury Regiment Church Lads Brigade by Earl Chelmsford, at the close of which his p asked permi ssion to inspect the men present, as it was the hrst time he had had the pleasure of seeing them on duty. His lordship carefully looked into the medical havresacs and pouches of the men, and afterwards in a few words expressed his pleasure in seeing them eng-aged in such good and useful work. Classes in first aid, hygiene, and nursing had teen held under the auspices of the Technical Education Committee. The first aid and nursing certificates gained during the year had brought the total up to 28r, and eleven men were entitled to three years' effi·: iency badge. Mr. Anthony proposed and Sergeant Cool ng seconded, and it was unanimously carried that 1\1r. Stanley should be elected' as superintendent of the division.-Mr. Hawkings accepted the post.

EXFIELD.-In Enfield the St. John Ambulance Brigade has a large following, and under the superintendence of Dr. Howard Distin, it is doing excellent work in the matter of imparting information which In case ot accidents is of the greatest value. 1\1r. F G. Fitch is the president of the local branch of the Brigade. and the vice-presidents are Mr. G. Spicer, iVIr. W. Gundry, the Re\·. G II. Hodson, Mr. W. Ash· ton, and the Rev. G. H Culshaw. The funds of the local Brig-ade are somewhat low, and with a view to putting them in a sound position an enjoyable concert was given in the Lecture Hall, Chase Side, on the 21st March. Dr. Disti n announced that the object of the concert was to raise funds for a litter, which was greatly needed. He thanked the audience for tbeir support, and hoped that they wou!d continue to assist the Brigade as far as they could. A profit of £7 55. 6d. was the result of the concert. CORPS.

FERRERS.-The general annual meeting of this was helJ at the Board Schools on Tuesday the 8th ult., when there was a large attendance. The Mayor (Mr. O. Parker, President) was in the chair. Superintendent Riggins (the Secretary) presented his report and balance-3heeL This showed receipts £r8 as. 3d., and expenditure £10 lOs which left a balance in the hands of treasurer of £7 9S. Mr. IIiggins was unanimously re.elected secrebry, whilst

May, 189 9 J FIRST

the \1ayor (1\1r. O Parker) was again elected as president, with iY1r· Thomas Sandp.rs as vice-president.-Dr. Crewe proposed, and First Officer Groome seconded, that the following- be re-elected on the committee: Messrs. E. B. Randall, C. Pa.rker, and G. H. to whom were added Alderman 'vV. Spong, Alderman T. Patenall, MISS Sanders, Miss B. Randall, and Mrs. Higgins. Dr. Crew \vas elected han. urgeon. A number of certificates were then presented by the Mayor. 5 KIDDER:vrrNSTER.-A Kidderminster Corps of St. John lance Brigade has been formed. of recelv111g ambulance training may attend the of the dlvlslon, and when there " re a sufficient number of such candidates, a course of lectures and an examination will be by the centre S ecretary. The materiel of the Corps WIll be kept at the Pollce StatIOn, where a list of the members qualified to render First A!d .may be seen A notice board will be affixed to the Town Hall BUlldmgs for the notices of the Division.

REDRUTH.-A very successful smoking concert was held at the Red Lion Hotel, Fore Street, Redruth, under t)1e auspices of Redruth Division of the St. John Ambulance BrIgade. The object of the "smoker" was to present to Dr. C. R. Laurie, from the members of the local branch, a very pretty travelling- clock, and a framed photograph of the members in uniform. Mr. IV. T. Hamilton of the divi sion), presented the testimonial to Dr. Laurie. ThIS .branch was started ill Redruth, mainly through the efforts of Dr. LaUrIe, to whom Redruth ovved a debt of gratitude (Applause). None, unless they been behind the scenes, knew the troubl,e. that he had taken 111 bringing the branch. to its ana It. was thought that they ouerht to show their gratItude to him for It. He therefore had pleasure in asking Dr. !--aur!e to accept the eIght-?ay a framed photo of themselves 111 umform, as a mark of theIr appreClatlO.n, and o f his extreme and courtesy-Cloud applause-Dr. Laune, wh o was received with loud and p:-olonged applause, saId the presentation had come as a great surprise to him, so much so that words almost failed him and they could hardly know the pleasure he felt. For the first three 'or four years they existed only in name, and nearly came :0 grief on more than one occasion. "('ntil they had several enthUSIastIc members enrolled, such as Supt. R. Parsons and :\1r. E. T. Hamilton, their worthy secretary, their success was not He had had a letter from the Assistant Oommissioner recently mform1l1g them that they were the only uniformed branch in Cornwall-(appl.ause).

H l' LL.-On Friday, qth April, a Concert wa? held the Lecture Hall Kinerston Square in aid of the PublIc Appliances Fund, Col. H. Puisey, of the Hull Centre, ;. also present were Capt. C. Acting Deputy CommISSIOner, r1. District Capt. E. DIxon, Chlef Supt. J:;Iopper, and Supt. Laverack kindly arranged the entertall1ment. The chief object of the Concert was to raise a fund to pur-:haoe a horse ambulance wagg on, fitted with newe s t improvement s The was attended and otherWi se successful. The artistes gave thelr sen Ices and the that met thei.refforts h.a\: e b.een \'ery gratifying. The vocalIsts were Mr. Meredith Robel ts HIlda Bristow, l\Iiss Dalton Holmes, and :\1r. Arthur J o nes, the instrumentalists included :\Iiss C. La\ erack, L. R.A.l\I., and :\IIss L. Smurthwaite, L.R.A.M., pianoforte; :\Iiss Amy Wing, violin :\Ir. W. Jukes ; harp 1\Ir. II. II. Sissons, violoncello i l\Ir. J: R. accompanying. The Concert followe? by a clever II ttle sketch"A Pair of Lunatics," the prInCIpals be1l1g Mr Arthur Stephenson and Miss L. Laverack, whose portrayal \\'as highly successful and amusing. A special. circular, fo:th past humane of the Corps, and ask1l1g for hel p, IS be1l1g circulated to the valiOUS firms in the city.

LEICESTER - On Wednesday evening, March 22nd, the annual dinner in connection with the" Town Division" was held at the Oriental Cafe, when nearly 40 members. and friends. sat down. Hon. Suro-eon McAllister Hewlino-s occupied the chaIr, supported by Surgeon McLeod Division), Chief Buckley, Superintendent Secretary F. H. Turner,.J. G. Mobbs (_uperint ndent of Stores), Superintendent Green, Officer Stranks, Second Officer Hibbert Supernumerary Officer F. SmIth (Hon. Secretary of the Town Division),' Privates Francis, \Veaver, Jacks-Jn and Hatfield, Messrs. Lingard, Boothroyd, and others. loyal toasts were duly honoured after whIch ;\1r. Jackson, Junr. m a .humorous speech proposed success to the "St. J olm Ambulance the Tow n Division," coupling With It names. of ChIef Supel. intendent Buckley and the .The. Chief 111 reply complimented the Town DIVISIon on ItS high standald of effiCIency and the willinerness of the members to turn out when required for duty. Ho more testimonial could be than the fact .of the T?\\"n Division winnina the Challenge ShIeld two years 111 successIOn. Superintendent. Green also replied. Superintendent in proposing the health of the" llon. Surgeons of the B.ngade paId a high tribuLe of praise to the Hon. Surgeons of the LeIcester Corps The great interest displayed by them had to a ve:y large extent brought about the efficiency of the. members of t.he Lelces.ter twas gratifying to know that J elcester a hIgh place Jl1 the of other Corps in the country, Drs Hewhngs and McLeod bell1g lJ1vlted to

A I D. 85

judge a competition to be held at Preston. Replying for the Hon. Surgeons, Dr. Hewlings thanked the members for the kind manner in which they had received the toast and said that it had always been a pleasure for him to be associated with the Town Division. The toasts were interspersed with vocal and instrumtntal wusic, a most pleasant evening being spent.

OXFORD.-The prescribed uniform has been introduced into this city. The division has just been reorganised, unifGrm was proposed, a subscription-list started corp o rati o n heading the list with a donation of £5, the mayor £2 2S., the Cit)' M.P. £2, and a County i\I.P., G. H. Morrell, Esq. £3 3S., with others amounting in all to £30), havresacs were bouerht and placed in outlying parts of the town, and the money left over be spent in uniforms for the division.

JDublin Blnbu la nce S er\1i ce.

For its work in bringing in an incredibly short t ime injured persons from the scene of a mishap to the nearest hospital, the I?'ish Independent, tbe ambulance :lllarhed to the Dubllll Fire Brigade C:eserves to be ranked as one of the. most ben.eficent institutions of the city. It has been but a short tIme m tenee. As yet people are not fully ed.ucat.ed to its use;. do suflicientlyappreciate the noble servIces lt 111

Even in the present comparatively uneducated condItion of Dublm With regard to the ambulance, the nllmber of cases attended about+o per month from the city alone. are as readIlY served a s the city, and if the ca5es from the vanous outlYll1g dlSt!"ICts be. reckoned the gross t'Jtal will not fall short of lOa per month. ::'\ot untIl the four new fire stations are completed wil.! the ambulance be thoroughly established. In the day time the ambulance can now be Ye:y effective. Each day three men are selected for thIS duty, and at periods in the day and night a pair of horses are kept h.arnesse? and.m readiness to turn out at a moment's n o tice. In stead of mterfenng WIth the reguhr wOlk of the Brigade, the busine ss is besides \'idina di\"ersion for the men, a useful aid 111 many ways. It lS a splendid means of brigade have to he exercised every day, and It IS claImed that a Journey the ambulance is far better than a mere perfunctory form of exercIse. Arrange. ments have been made with the manager of the Telephone Company by which a person can for the ;lmbulance just. as he asks for the fire brierade - no number IS necessary. When an aCCident occurs, all the police;an or anyone who witnesses it has to do is to go to the nearest business premises with a telephone and ask. for the ambula!lce. Tn the night time. of course, this can.not be eastly done. One IS then r;nore or less restricted to the police statIOns and fire

There are 12 escape stations, practically 12 polIce. statIOns WIth Chatham street station, making altogether 25 POlllts from the ambulance or fire brigade can be requisitioned at all of the l1Ight. C nLler the ne\y scheme a tremendous improvement WIll take place. In the first place a second be established. The fire esca.re stations will be abolished, and 111 theIr stead WIll be set up 60 box.es with lamps at al: the prominent intersections of streets box .wlll have a telephone. Ever;: in th.e city will be sup.pbed WIt? a key, also a few of the reSIdents I.n the neIghbourhood. "llh?ut a key an alarm can be gi\"en by breakll1g he glass fixed before light, and pulling a cord that will be fix.ed close to the glass. !n thiS the person o-iviner the alarm WIll not be able to speak to bn"ade. boxes will not be wanted at all. new stations there will be in future 76 points of alarm of at present. The boxes will be arranged tbat e\:ery house 111 the city will be within an eighth of a mile of an alarm stn.tlOn.

<.tonlp etttioll a.

RAILWAY SHIELD. - The competitions in connection with this contest are now in progress. The final \\'Ill take place at Portman Rooms on May roth, 1899, at 12 noon. A keen contest IS expected.

DE\\"'O\R SHIELD AND ECCLES Ct.:P. - The contest. ll1 connectIOn with these trophies is now in progress. East. ?am secured first place in the preliminary or district \\:111 No. District IVellino-borouerh represents NO.3 Dlstnct, ha.vll1.g secudre .' ." '"' f thtd't'tN04Dlstnctsensa premIer place III the competItIOn or a IS nc. .'. representative team selected by I:1 District up to the time of our g0ll1g to press, the com petition' hau not taken place. No. 5 District has agam thIS year decided not to enter a team.

THE II TROUGHTO::--l i\IE:lIORIAL."-The Collecting for, this I\Iemorial are now ready, and may be obtained on applicat!on. the resent, the request for cards has not ur.e helpers will not be behind other slmllar orga11lsatlOns]n dom", best to recognise the self-elevotion of an and brave comrade who lost his life in the carrying out of hiS 5elf-Jlnposed duty ,

All Letters and communications to the Editor should be addressed to him at the Publishers , 10, Paternoster Row , E.C.

Subscriptions and Advertisements should be sent to the Publishers direct.

FIRST AID

JLLY 1, 1899.

(torresponbence.

[ We do not neocssa?'ily llOld onrselves ?'esponsibll! for the opinions oj 011'1' om·respondents. ]

POLICE AMBULANCES.

'1'0 the Editor' of FIRST AID.

May, 1899 .J FIRST lPottratt

A. I D . 87

MISS M; E. FLETCHlrH, LADy-SUPT. LADy-SECRETARY NORTH EAST LANCASHIRE Comny CORPS, ST. Al\IBULAKCE BRIGADE.

that it made such. rapid progress in the County of Lancas.hIre. to a degree, courteous and sympathetIC to all those WIth s.he may come in contact, she has ma.de a host of fnends 1D the ambulance world. who appreCIate and valtle the work she does for the cause and who will unite with us in expressin CT the hope that for many years to come 1\ orth East in CTeneral and Accrington in particular, may have the ot' her valued assistance. <:>

RAIL',AY

A:\IBULAXCE.

The annual com petition that is now t<1king place between the railwa.y companies for the John Ambulance Association Challenge Shield, aga.in brings before us the important connection that exists between l'ailway comp;1nies and ambulance work.

It is a matter that ma,y be looked at from points of view-that of the directOl's, that of the workmen, and that of the public. If we are able or competent to look at it from a director's point of view-which may reasonably be open to doubt-the question that he would seem to ask would be, is it worth the cost? Outsiders are not ,",upposed to know the motives that influence the mind of a railway director, but it is a popular belief that dividends and halfyearly I!leetings are imprinted on his miud to the exclusion of everything else, but we will give him credit for something higher, viz. :-a humanitarian feeling for his fellow man.

We say this advisedly, judging from .the approval that first aid work has met with lately in the railway world. Our directo'r then will have the satisfaction of knowing that, in addition to promoting a good work, he is spending money on something that will repay the company in the shape of increased passenger t,raffic <1nd in a diminution of claims for personal injuries. Money spent on ambulancing railwa.ys is like sowing seed, the benefit comes some time after.

And how does it effect the employes? They are interested in it as much as the directors. A certain percentage of them get killed or injured at their work with unfailing regularity, and if they know that some of their fellow workmen are competent to treat their injuries in the first in stance, they will feel that something is being done by the directors to lessen the dangel'S of their arduous duties. But just one word of advice to the workman. We think it is the duty of the employe, if the directors provide lecturers and material free of expense, to join the classes and do all he can to render him self efficient We say this because there has been found in some instances a difficulty in getting a sufficient number of men together, and we are sure that, if a few more prizes were offered, and a little more encouragement shown by those in authority, it would be a great inducement for the men to keep up theil' knowledge. Gl'eat praise must a lso be given to those, and there are many, who devote a good deal of their spare time and often without any assista.nce from a medical man, to competition work.

Th e public has also n, great interest in ambulance work on all accidents where members of the public are lDJured, It IS a matt-,er of satisfaction to know that prompt mea!:iUl'es are taken by the directors to minimise the effects of those dre adful injUl'ies What a errand thina it would be, if, in all cases of emergency, the could aSSUl'e us that they had men close at hand l'eady to render first aid, and efficient means by which the patients could be removed safely and quickly. The ra.ilway companies may depend upon this, that wherever there is a choice, the public will prefer a line where the ambulance arrangements are up to date.

SIR-Having read your Journal for April, I should like to draw your attention to the p resent and inadequate means of co nvey ing patients by the P olice Ambulance. It frequently occurs that the accident happens some considerable distance from the Police Station, con, sequentlya long time elapses 'ere the sufferer is removed to a hospital. Also the ambulance is frequently in use for a case of drunkenness, etc., anG then other means have to be resorted to by the constable, who must use his discretion as to which is the best. I quote a case ill point in January last. A chimney was blown down in one of the suburbs , cra shing through the roof, killing one child and injuring two others and there being only one ambulance at the Pol'ce Station in .the v cinity, others were telegraphed for from the surround ing Stations, viz., Brixton and Bllham, consequently, by the time they reached the scene, a consider, able delay had taken place and the sufferers were e\'entually removed to hospital by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade wagon.

This is only one of many taking place daily, and I think in this, the largest centre in the world, an "Ambulance Corps" should be estab· lished thr ougho1lt the metropolis and supported by Government, and I hope the time is not far when such a great necessity ,,.·ill be established The Poli ce Ambulance at the best is a cumbersome vehicle, and more adapted for drunken and violent persons than those who require delicate and careful conveyance to the nearest Hospital.

Trusting, through your valuable columns to open up a discussion upon this great necessity and that some abler reader may take this matter in hand,-Y ours truly, A CONSTABLE.

To the Eel itor oj FIRST AID.

SIR,-At the first mon thly meeting of the Committee of the Bir· mingham and District Ambulance Brigade, held at the Chief Fire Station on loth April, Mr. A. R. Tozer, Deputy-Chairman, presiding, I directed their attention to the current number of your estimable paper, and read to them the third item in "Brevities " They instructed me to write you to express their sati:o;faction at the tone of your remarks, and to assure you and all the co-workers in the grand labour we are engaged in, that the severance of the Birmingham Ambulance men from the control of St. John's Gate will not cause them to relax their efforts in alleviating, to the best of their ability, the sufferings of their fellow-men whenever or wherever they may have the. opportunity of rendering first aid, but rather stimulate them to prove, by the con· tinued earnestness with which they will attend to their self-imposed duties, that the severance, although un so ught and painful to them, was unavoidable.-Yours faithfully, J. R. STAMP, Hon. Sec., Birmingham and Di strict Ambulance Brigade.

MR. CR(JDDAS, M.P., ON j\MBULANCE.-Mr. Cruddas's speech to the Elswick ambulance scholars is notewcrthy for the stress laid on the educational value of the ambulance class. Its val ue as a work of mercy from the surgeon's point of view is manifest to everybody. But it IS not so generally understood that the student in th e ambulance class is getting knowledge of first-rate value-physiological and anaLOmical knowledge that no person can be without and yet be called well-informed. Then there is the moral ed ucation for as Mr. Oruddas truly remarked, an ambulance class is "an example of aenuine public spirit-a work carried out without fee or reward for good of the surrounding neighbourhood." This means that he is training himself to be good who is training himse lf to be useful to others in distress.

AUSTRIAN. AMBULANCE SHIP.-The example given by the Ul1lted States dUring the Spanish-American war of fitting out an am · bulance ship under the Red Cross reaulations has been followed in In .country, however, the departure is due to private and IS Intended to commemorate the jubilee of the Emperor FranCIS Joseph. At he express desire of the Emperor, the vessel been named the Gra£ Falkenhayn, after the first president of the Austnan Red Cross Society. Thi s association has been entrusted with the care of the ambulan ce sh ip by the donor, Baron von Reinelt, who has also a s4m of 50 ,000 Borins for its maintenance in time of peace. !he new has an estimated speed of nine knots, has an Isolated WlDg for ll1[ectlOus cases and two bath rooms and in short, is prov.ided with a ll modern hygienic rquirements. Its equipment, whtch IS co.mple te, ,includes four lifeboats and two disjointable rafts. ThIS munIficent gIft makes the Red Cross Society the first institution of the kind in Europe which possesses a permanent naval am b ulance. The Falkenhayn will for the present be stationed at Tneste, where she WIll be placed in charge of a retired officer of the Austr ian Lloyd Company.

MI SS FLETCHER, whose portrait it is our pleasure to insert in our gallery this month, is a native of Accrington ; she was educated at the High School in that town and has resided there continuously Sl11ce the completion of her studies

1893 d first-aid class for women was formed in connection with the Accrington Co-operatiye Society and Miss Fletcher elected Honorary Secretary. This class was t?e of many other classes in various parts of thIS large dIstnct, both for first aid and sic k nursing and her services :v ere required for the of assIs tll1g the lect ur er WIth the practical work Miss Fletcher was always to the fore, and there is no doubt that many a first-aider in North East Lancashire owes a debt of gratitude to :Miss Fletcher and her Sister officers for the kind and skilled assistance they at all times so readily rendered to the students at the classes.

N of the Accrington Corp s, of whIch Fletcher IS the Lady-Superinttndent, was formed 111 1894-, and has, thanks to her energy, shown a marked Improvement each year 111 both first aid and nursing, and in the of their yoluntary duties the members have on various occasions earned well merited praise from the general public.

As organi sing Secretary of the Nursing Divisions of the Nor th East Lancashire Oounty Corps, which comprise some,400 Nu.r sin&, Sisters distributed through the Oounty Palat111e, MISS Ii letcher holds an office which entai ls a vast. amoun.t of clerical and other work, and which is out 111 a way that reflects upon her the greatest credIt.

MISS Fletcher has made a special point of attending the Annual Oonferences held in connection with the St. John Brigade, and any propositions brought forward 111 the 111terest of the work she has so much at heart, are at all times sure of her ear ne st s upport. She is, to an extent, an advocate for direct representation for the on the governing body of the orgal11Z atlOn ; and 111 these davs when ladies are admitted to sea ts on Board s of Guardians &c we think that a of ladie s might all connected wlth the Nursing Divisions which are of such a character a to be capable of a satisfactory solution at the hands of women only.

In conclu ion, we feel we are only yoicing the "iews of all of. those who hav e the pleasure of Fletcher's :w h e n we say it is mainly owing to the manner 111 whIch she has thrown her se lf into the work,

1Re"icws.

Ventilat-ion, being extra"s from a paper Ott "Hospital COllstrltet lo ll," by DH. Jom, W. HAYWARD. Published by the .• Builders' Journal."

Wle have received this and read it with intere st, as it seems to a plan for ventllatlng the wards of a hospital without cammg draughts or other objectionable fcat'Jres. (By the way, we notice that Dr, Hayward does not seem to apprO\'e of the new method of consumptio,n by lc:ting practically live in the open aIr.) The author s plan tS to gIve admISSIon to the fresh air at the basement of the building,. and then warm it (lhough in what manner d-:-es not seem to be .ment lOned), and then pass it through gratings in the floors of the corndors, and from thence intothewardseitherthrough the doors or through special openings in the walls. The outlets for the foul air are in ceiling on .to the roof, the terminal ends being protected by Boyle s pump (checking any do\\'n draught). We lIke to see thts method of" spontaneous" ventilation as It see.ms to carry. out the requirements of changing the air III large rooms without causlllg draughts (what a God-send o our LalY and their judges), an? as Dr Hayward maintains at "ery little ongmal cost and comparatively no permanent cost. We wish him success in his efforts.

Osborn's Pint Aid Ambulance Lectures. +th Edition. Published by Lewis of Gower Street.

Another edition of his well - known text book is out, and we have every in recommending it to students who wish to know all a.bout first. aid and the methods of rendering it. It has been translated into eight a fact shows how muc:l it is appreciated. The .dIrectIOns gIven for the aId treatment of all kinds of injuries are so full, that It is worth the " hile of any certificated pupil occaSIOnally to run through its pages. T!le price is small and within the rea ch of everybody.

THEY were all attention at an Ambulance Cia 5S at Bryn, a smal VIllage near Aberavon. The doctor had been demonstratin a to his students the best and simplest of methods to be utilised in bsuraical cases. in his most plaintive tone, the medico said, "Now, gentlemen, If you saw a man drowning "'hat would you do?" There was a for few moments, and then a pale-faced young man With a gigantic of spectacles, who bad been disturbing the well-parted head of balr he was the possessor of, "leek I}' exclaimed, " Pull him out of the water!" This was the culminatinO' point. The medical gentleman snatching hold of the first hat that nearest to him dashed out of the schoolroom with a hurried" Good :liaht you are all certainly too clever for me." I>

SIR ·WILLIAM. PRIESTLEY at a meeting of members Of Parbament, held 10 one of the committee rooms of the House of Com _ mon5 on the 19th ult., hear an address by l\lr. S. Osborn, chier surgeon of the Metropobtan Corps of the St. John Ambulance Brigade on" First Aid in ambulance cases." Amongst those present were ;\Ir.' Lafone, Mr. Pike Pease, 1\1r. Helder, Mr. ]. YV. Sidebotham, Captain Norton, and Mr. H. l\1. Stanley. }fr. O sborn pointed out the necessity a humanitarian of view, of an ambulance corps being formed 111 every town and dtstnct. There was a general agreement that ambulance work should be made compulsory in the mercantile marine and amongst the ;\Ietropolitan Police. In the latter connexion the fact that a large number of cases were attended to on Jubilee Day and on the occasion of the Duke of York's wedding was adduced as an araument in favour of establishing a complete amb!lIance service in BIRMINGHAM A:-In DISTRICT AMBULANCE BRIGADE. - The first monthly meeting of the committee of the above was held at the Chief Fire Station on the loth ult., Mr. A. R. Tozer presiding. There were 223 cases of first aid reporten for the month of March. The proof of the rules of the brigade were submitted, and ordered to be printed and circulated ilIr. Fred Gilbert, Cambridge Street, was elected hOll. treasurer,land notified his willingness to receive subscriptions and domtions to the runds, which at present are nil. A vote of condolence with the Highgate division, on the death of their president, 1\1r. Richard Cadbury, was unanimously passed, as was also one with the family of the deceased gentleman.

$1. 30bn Bn1bulance BBsociation.

DUNDEE.-A "first aid to the injured" competition, promoted by the Dundee Centre of the St. John Ambulance Association took place in Drill Hall, Dundee, on Saturday afternoon, the I 5th ult first prIze ",as a handsome silver challenge shield, a:1d the competitIOn was to all Scotland Eleven teams entered. The judges were Drs. Greig and Kinnear. At the conclusion of the competition it was found that the first and second places had been taken by th.e Perth teams. The Lord Provost can cratulated the Perth teams on their success, and handed the first team the" shield together with silver badges to each of the men, and also bronze badges to the members of second teams. pr. J. V'!. Miller proposed a vote of thanks to the ]ud.ges, and Dr. K1l1near, 10 replyino-, said there were just about a dozen P01l1ts between the first and last the competit on had been so close.

NORTHAMPTO:--l.-On the 13th ult., an and keenly contested competition, for which three prizes were kindly by the Northampton Centre, took place at the Infirmary Building (by kind permission of t h e. G.overnors) The competltIOns were open to Divisions of the Corps wlthm a four lll11e and there were four teams, each composed of four men and an actlOg- sergeant. The treatment of the injury was judg-ed by the Hon. Surgeon, and the stretcher drill by Assistant Commissioner T. H. ·Woolston. The first prize was gained by a squad consisting of railway men, under Gee the second and third places be ing respectively taken by ACt111gSergeant Xorman and his Blisworth team anci Acting-Sergeant Cox, in charo-e of a team from head-quarters.

THE "0 ha; s:ll1ctioned and approved that Dr. Frederick 'vV. Gibbon ;:;'f Tyne Dock, examiner and hon. life member of. St John Ambulance Association, be enrolled as an "Honorary of th.e Order of the Hospi tal of St. John of Jerusalem in En.gland. HIs work is, perhaps, best known on the North-Eastern RaIlway system, with which he has been associated for over twelve years. As teacher, examiner, and judge at the \'arious competi.tions his name on ambul,ance work has become a household word, for he IS as well known at the york, lIull, Leeds, and Hartlepool centres of the railway ambulance organisation as he is at Tyne Dock, where his classes z.re se::ond to none. The decoration comes deservedly to one who has so willingly and gratllituouslv done so much in imparting knowledge to his fellow-men, that one day it may be the means of alleviating the sufferings, or even the lives of their fellow workmen.

:Ylo\,I1 \\".-Scene, Ambulance tent. Officer to last-joined recruit, St. J.A.B. (who is being regaled \yith refreshments by the kindness of the Nursing Sisters): "\Vell, and what do you think of your first experience of active service? \I Recruit: "The tea and sandwiches are all ?'iglti. \I

PERILS OF FfRST AID WORK.-Coster (whose " donah " has been under treatment for hysteria) to policeman at entrance to ambulance enclosure: "Lemme pass, I want to fight the bloke what's b een knocking my gal about. II

Bmbu!ance.

GREAT CE:-lTRAL RAIL"·AY. - On Wednesday, April 12th, :'lorton of Sheffield, examined a number of teams composed of employes of the Great Central Railway. who are members of the St. John Ambulanc.e Association, to select the team to repre,ent the Company in the competition with other railwJ.Y companies. The teams from Hull, Sheffield, Grimsby, Gorton (carrialSe and wagon department), Gorton (locomotive depaltment), and IIexthorpe competed ; and after a very careful examinatio'.1, Dr. ;'l1orton decided in favour of the Hull team, remarking that they were parti:ularly smart and good at the work. The Hull team 'was successful in the preliminary examination last year.

GREAT EASTER:-l RAILWAi.'.-Theannual competitions in with this Company have recently been held and the final stao-e took place on Saturday, 22nd April, at the Town Hall, Ley ton The competing teams who had been selected at preliminary competitions, held at various di.stricts on the lin.e, were Liverpool Street, Stratford, Brentwood, IpSWich and Cambridge. The Judges were the Brigade Chief Supelintendent and Hon. Surgeons Howard and Brown. The prizes, which \\"ere of both a valuable and useful character, were distributed in the evening by Lord Claud Hamilton, who was supported on the plat.form by many of the princip:ti officials of tbe Company, and their [fiends. The Secretary lep::rted the result of the competition as follows: Liverpool Street First.' 265 marks; Stratford, 214, Brentwood, 193; IpSW ch, 179; CambrIdge, 171. T h e h ig hest number of

marks obtainable was ::80 fh e indivi du a l pr ze fo r t h e h ighest number of m arks ga ined was won by Mr: o f t he. Street te a m. T he noble chairman, havi n g distributed the pnz e s 111 the course of his remarks said, he was pleased to rep o rt h at ambul a nce work on the Great Eastern Railway was st ill go ng- a h ead It was a work of which they were all justly proud, whether they were members of the o-eneral staff or of the ambulance corps For the second time :he Street team last year won the .inter-rail way prize: com:::eted for by all the railways of the .KlOgdom, and he did not think it was outside the bounds of pOSSibIlity that they illight succeed in winnino- it this year for th.! third time. At all events, he was sure their good wishes were with the winning of that (is a director of th e compa n y and ch ef officer, he stdl took an und1l111nlshed i lterest in the work of the ambula n ce corps, an d he trusted that as ma n y servants of the company as could poss bly find time would become members of he corps, for not only did t h ey re n der o the service to ,""hich they belong-ed, but, what was far m ore llnportatant, to h e public at large.

G. Aston he been r e:tuested to present a test i monia to Mr. t.Id on hiS of the secretaryship of the ambulance corps, whic h through h iS n everflagging pen everance and energy had been brought to the proud position it now held of champion among ambulance corps. I t had been subscribed. for byevery man of the Great Eastern Ambulance Corps, and in wishing- him a long and caree:- he hoped he 'would sometimes look back on the corps With pride, seelOg he had lef it second to none in the country. (Applause.) He desired also to express the corps indebtedness to Mistress Hill for her help in t h e past, The present consisted of a silver s:l.lvcr for :vir. and an umbrella for Mistress Hill. l\1r. A. J. Hill returned thanks 111 a feelll1g manner on behalf of his wife and himself, and expressed the hope that the corps which had done splendid work in the past had before it a still more brilliant future. Votes of thanks were also accorded to the Judges in the competition, to the Ambulance and the of the Company. A capi t al concert was carned out by the Field Fisher Quartette.

GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY. - As the result of district competitions, five team'> were present at the final competition at Cross on the 7th inst for the Officers' Challenge Cup and pnzes The judo-es were D rs S. Osborn and J. Cantlie After a severe test the were placed in the following order :-I, King's Cross, 322 (possible marks, 380); 2, Sandy, 235; 3, Louth, 23 2 ; 4, Doncaster, 200; 5, B radford, 178. Individual prizes :-1, T. A. Painter, King's Cross, 67 (possible marks, 70) 2, J. W. Halls, King-'s Cross, 59; 3, A. Holliss, King's Cross, 58. ;\Ir Grinling presided at the distribution, and in again handing the challenge cup to the King's Cross team, heartily congratulated them; and as they would represent the Great Northern Railway in t;le Railway Shield Competition, he wished most sincerely they would be '1.ble to win it The individual prizewinners were then called up; and in handing Mr. P ainter his prize as the best ambulance man on the Great Northern Railway, it was, perhaps, in accord with the fitness of things it should be so, as for many years he had laboureci to make the King's Cross men what they were, and his influence as a first aider was felt all over the line.

GREAT 'WESTERN RAILWAY.--The annual competitions amongst the Great 'Western Railway staff have, during the past few weeks, been takino- place on different parts of the Company's system, and on Thursday, April 20th, the following first p rize teams, viz. :-Birmingham, Paddington, Plymouth, Smithfie d and Swindon, met at P addington for the final com petition, for the purpose of selecting a team to represent the Company in the forthcoming Challenge Shield competit:on, 'when tue result was :-Plymouth 1st, Birm i ngham 2nd, Smithfield 3rd, Swindon 4th, and Padding-ton 5th. The two first tea m s occupied the same position last year. The Judges were H on. Surgeons Heaton C. Howard and J Maclean Carvell. There are upwards of +,500 members of the Company's staff who have gained the certificate of the St. John Ambulance Association H R.H. Princess Christian, President of the Great Railway Centre, has consented to present during the coming summer the certificates, &c., to the successful cand idates in recent examinations in the London district. Only members of the Company'5 staff who have passed the th ird examination are eligible to compete for the prizes gi yen by the Directors.

L ONDON, BRIGHTON AND SOUTH · COAST RAILWAi.'.-At the preliminary Competition on the L.B & S.C. R ai l way he d on April 17th at Crystal Palace S tation, for the Ra ilway Cha ll enge Shield, the New Oross Detachment was s u ccessfu l, the judge being Dr. Coles, of Croy d on.

LONDON & NORTH WESTERN RAIL\\·AY.-Thefinalcompetition for the ambu l ance shield for proficiency in ambulance work offered by the directors of the Lonuon and orth- W estern Railway Company took place at Crewe on the 12th ult. The judges were Dr. Brown and Dr. Potter, of the St. John Ambulance Association, London. The teams which competed in the final were representatives of Orewe (loGomotive), Wo l verhampton ( goods department), Longsig h (l ocomotive), O ldham ( traffi c de p ar Lme n t ) , W igan (springs bra n ch) , W d n es (traffic),

May, 1899.J FIRST

Wolverto n Ca r r iage Works ( last year's win ners), Le icester (goods), Bangor ( permanent way) Kendal, and The resulted in .Wolverton be:ng awarded the shield, B angor bemg second, and Crewe a nd Brynmawr t ieing for third place.

NORTH - EASTERN RAILWAY -The final competltlOns 111 connectlOn with the North-Eastern Railway Centre of the St. John Ambulance Association took place on Saturday, the 15th ult., in the Railway Institute Dr. H. T. Potter, of Kensington Infirmary, London, acted as judge, and announced that the six teams rep:-esenting the various districts of the Company s system, had obtained the followino- marks :-1, York, 254-; 2, H ull, 25 I ; 3, Leeds, !q2; 4 240 5, Darlington, 223 6, Newcastle, 204 The possible total was 350. The York team, having !:eaded the list, will represent the Company.in lh.e group at on the 28th inst., in connectIOn With the NatIOnal Competition which 1S to take place in London on the loth of May.

JIl\JaIib5, anb tJJe lPreparation of tbeir jfoob.

Reprz'nted by sjeC£al jermz'sszon oj .J1z·ss Catherz"ne TVood, Author of "A Handbook 01l ce.

eContinued.)

THE nf'xt class of vegetables are the Leg-uminous Seeds The principal of them are beans, peas and lentils. They are richer matter than cereals, have less starch, and are all defiCient 10 fat; therefore it micht be thought they would prove a more nutritious article of food than the grains; but experience has not proved this. They are not easy.of dige.stion, and I.equire some fatty or .oily substance to combine with; still, as an article of food, they reqUl:-e more attention and are very econo:nical.

Chief the edible roots is the potato, an almost. uni I'ersal vecetable ; it contains a large amount of starch, and a small proporof nitroo-enous matter. As a food by itself, it is not sufficiently nutritious ; it is a wholesome and valuable addition to the diet of a healthy person, and is a necessity where there is a scorbutic tendency. The weak and dyspeptic stonnch finds it object!onable, because of the larg-e quantity of starch in it.

The green vegetables of the cabbage tnbe are nch 111 l1ltrogenous matter, but they contain <l; large. per.centage of water; the): also consain sulphur and ammonia, which IS .the. cause of th.:: disagreeable smell when cooking. They are a necessity 10 the treatment of scrofula, scurvy and most of the eruptive skin diseases. They are an article of food oE much value from a medicinal point of view, and are not sufficiently prized by the poor..

The large variety of other Will .a place as lIecessilles of diet; but as welcome additions, glVlOg Yanatlons, or for flavouring, they are useful and palatable. A diet in which there is a generous supply of vegetables is a healthy one.

Another of the useful products of the yegetable kingdom is fruit. In these, generJ.lly speaking, there is but little nutrition; but they are a "ery pleasant food, and .many ?alts useful 10 the animal economy. A daily use of fnllt, With the first meal, will often administer that amount of correctIOn 10 the excretory functions, without the need of further Fresh fruit.should always form a part of the diet of n..nd IOvaltds. As a natIOn, we neglect this valuab l e article of diet; It m ight WIth advantage be put upon the table at every meal.

The Grape has a value of its own; it is not only a refreshing, pleasant food, but it is also nutritious, from the quantity of grape sllo-ar which it contains; and is a medicine, because of the bi-tartrate or"pcAtass, tartrate ot lime, and malic acid in it. The" Grape cure and the" Raisin cure" have attracted a great deal of attention; the grape or raisin is the chief the with. an exquisite climate an c;>pen-alr life ralSll1 IS .the grape dr.led, and in this form It IS an Important article In domestIc consumptiOn. It is highly nutritious and very The dried grapes of Corinth, pop u larly known as are Ll sed 10 cookery, .but are not suitable as food lor children or ll1valids; they are highly 111digestible, generally pass down the tract unaltered, and therefure cause irritation.

The juice of the grape comes to us as wine, that" which maketh glaJ the heart of man," and may be taken for the" stomach's sake."

How far alcohol may form a part of our diet, or be used in the treatment of disease, it is not within the province of !hese pages to declare as it cannot be classed among the nutritivus foods; its office is to stimulate," to make glad the heart of and, like all useful and bad masters, it should be u sed With temperance and moderatIOn. On this point let every man form his own judgment and rule of action, and allo w others to d iffer from him without being placed outside of the pale of salvation. C erta in y in P.lst da)"S, Olll forefqthers were too

A I D. 89

lavish in the use of alcohol; and there are some no\\" who must curse ",he·first time it passed their lips; but this is the abuse of one of God's good gifts to man.

T h ere are still the farinaceous foods to be considered, such as sago, tapioca, arrowroot, &c. T hese foods contain a very large proportion of starch, and therefore require the use of some animal s:.Jb:;tance to give them the nitrogen they lack. They are generally mixed with milk in the form of puddings, or are used in soups. With milk they make a non-irritant, nutritious food for an invalid or for children. Taken alone, they are quite insufficient to support life. Sugar is a substance found largely in the vegetable world, and not so profusely in the animal. Its place is among the carbo-hydrates; it is extracted and stored up in the human frame to be converted into force as needed. It is readily digested, being very soluble; but in some conditions of the stomach it gives rise to acid fermentation. It is a necessity to young children, whose instinct teaches them to like it. Like all other good things, it must be taken with moderation.

All food includes in its category drinks, or beverages; and in many cases the action of the food is assisted by the mixture of some soh·ent. Some conditions of the stomach require the partaking of the soh·ent first, though this is an abnormal way of eating.

The universal soil'ent is water, which is found in large proportion in ali solid food, and besides, is e\'erywhere around. A pure, copious supply of water i; what everyone ought to have as their birthright; but man has done his best to foul and curtail it. It conslitutes the basis of all our drinks, and it is essential that it should be pure :lnd be kept free from all contamination. It will absorb the noxious vapours in the atmosphere, and the decomposing substances in the earth; therefore, if stored for daily use, it should be in a non-porous cistern; or, if drawn from a well, the lYeil should be deep and far removed from any source of contamiT'ation, such as drains, cesspools, or cattle-yards. It may be rendered chemically pure by filtering through charcoal, boiling, or distilling.

The source of the is the rain, and rain-water, when obtained in the country, is absolutely pure. It is tasteless, from the absence of the salts of the earth, and is non-gaseous. Spring-water, w;lich is rain-water returned through the ea.rth, is the source of our drinking supply, and its taste. and sp:lTkling look a e obtained from the salts and gases With which It IS charged.

Water, pure and simple, is a useful adjunct to the diet of inl'alids ; and i.here are felY illnesses in wb-ich, 50 long as it is abs::>iutely pure, it may not be given with safety and benefit. It is an irrational practice to deny it to the sick; in illnesses in which there is [e\'er, n" those attended with profuse discharges, it is a necessity, as it supplies the fluid that is rapidly being dried up or drained aw.l}" from the body. A o-lass of pure water on rising in the morning, lJefore food, is an aperient. as a rule take water than adults. 'Vater in the form of Ice IS constantly used 111 the Sick-room. It IS palatable and I:efreshing, and is taken t? in fevers, diphthena, and other throat affectIOns, It IS deCIdedly useful as a local application and as a solvent.

Tea coffee and cocoa are the be\'erages most in use in the present day. Though different products, they are very similar in Theine and caffeine are com.idered by chemists as almost Identical; theobromine, the principle of cocoa, is the analogue of theine. Of these three drinks cocoa is the most nourishing, containing more fat and more gluten; it is more digestible, and a less direct on the nervous system Tea and. cof!ee hoth the brain; they are almost.a necessltY.ll1 thiS bustlt?CY, anxIOus life. Tea has the effect of restoring and relresh1l1 6 the ,"Ital powers; coffee, of sustaining and exciting them; tea is the beverage of the poor, coffee of the rich. Tea agrees better With a weak stomach than coffee, which is too rich and exci:ing, and tea will almost take the place of food and drink with the overwrought and destitute; if the poor woman can only get her cup of tea she will be satisfied. Cocoa with milk is an admirable breakfast drink; the best form for use IS the nib crushed. This is the purest form of cocoa, being free from the foreign starchy matters with which it is mixed.

In the form of chocolate, cocoa becomes a highly food, and is valuable for sustaining strength in the absence ot or her food, therefore it is useful on a long journey. Chocolate is the best for111 of cocoa prepared with sugar.

Beer in all Its varretles, IS an InfUSion of malt and hops, it is a fermenled liquor, the amoun t of alcohol being It .is a refreshing, exhilarating, n.utritil'e. Jrin.k, an.d i.n excess IS an As a tonic, ;1nd as an aid to dIgestIOn,. It IS of ."allle, t?e pale, bitter beers The StoutS are heaVier, and, If taken In excess, Indllcea plethoric habit of body, aCCUl11ulat!ng .imperfectly oxyd,Ised ll1.1lter, lIrIC acid, &c., leading to gouty complicatiOns. Beer 1Il. ad C.lses must be taken in moderation; but there are some dyspeptrcs. and those of a gout)' tendency cannot assimilate beer. Beer IS espeCially the dri nk of the \\'ork1l1g classes.

In dealino- with the food of invalids lYe must glance at the al.-tdiclal compounds scientific combinations .are prepared \\'Ith the view ei\her of aiding digestion or of partially d1gest1l1g the food before being eaten,

FIRST

The prillcipal of tbese are the preparations from meat-the teas, hroths, essences, extracts and jellies, rn1.lteJ foods and peptonised

The meat p:'eparations are prepared from fresh meat; are either well or badly made, according to the skill of the cook, and are within tbe compass of most people to get The extracts and essences are also prepared by dealers, are hermetically sealed in tins, and may be either nourishing or delusi\'e, according to the honesty of the maker

It is not difficult with some bones and cartilage, a little meat, and some col.:lUring matter, to make a composition that will look very nutritious, as there is it popular idea that a stiff jelly is the sign of goodness. This is a delusion; some meat, rich and n !tritious, will not set, as it is deficient in gelatinous matter, and this especially so when t h e meat is takeil from the thick end of the leg; whilst other meat, if near the thin end, will set readily.

The aim or object of these meat preparations is to convey the nutrition of animal food in form easy for digestion. This is done by extracting- the yirtue of the meat by heat, either with or without the agency of water. The great mistake usually made in the ordinary style of cooking is that the process is too quick and violent. A cook is satisfied, if she hears a great bubbling going on, that she is making excellent beef-tea. whereas she is really spoiling it and wastIng the material. Fast boiling hardens the albumen and precipitates it to the bottom, and it also hardens the fibre of the meat, so that it does not part with its juices into the water. If there is time, the meat should be first soaked for an hour, and then be put in a jar surrounded with hot water, and boiled very slowlv, just simmering, for at least two bours. The meat must infused, so as to extract all goodness possible. Beef-tea is always impro\'ed by adding some good stock; it should not be strained , as se:liment contains much nutrition. B eeftea is more stimulating than nourishing; and if relied on as the only article of would land the patienc in starl'J.tion; it is known o contain only 2 per cent. of solid material. :'\ext on tbe tist stand the broths. These are the result of meat boiled in water, the me'lt bein" either strained off or served in it.

They are fia\'oured with yegetables or not, according a.s advised. The goodness of the meat is extracted by slow boiling, and if the meat is left in it, the substance is tender and lighter of digestion. Soups are the same as broth, with the addition of good bone stock and the flayouring of yegetables. The yarious materials are strained away, and the liquid remains, combining· the taste of the i ngredients in judicious proportion. These la.tter are not so nourishing as beef-tea, and require a stronger stomach for their dige3tion ; but tbey are a \'aluJ.ble article of food, and deserve much more attention from the working classes than they get.

The essences of meat, as their name are made with less water and more The object aimed at is to extract all the properties of the meat by the prolonged action of heat in a closed vessel a.nd, if satisfactorily done, the residue should consist only of the and insoluble part of the meat.

The extracts of meat are deficient in albumen, cre latine and fat· in fa.ct. can hardly be called food at all. They. are of a highlystimulatlllg nature, and are a good additIOn to ordmary beef-tea or soup. Raw -meat juice is, as its name illlplies, juice of the meat extracted without the aid of heat. This is done by maceratin cr the meat in a suita'Jle qUlntity .cold and t.he? fin.ishin;; b the process by The addition of a ltttle munatlc aCid brings out the juice qUIcker.

Beef is the juiciest of meat; next to it is mutton' veal and chicken have but little juice,

Malted Food.s are f.arinaceous foods, eitber malted as part of their preparation mixed with malt-meal, or eaten with malt extract or maltine is. the term appl.ied to the action of damp and h eat

gral , caus.ll1g It. first to germmate, and .then stopping the germinatIOn at a certall1 pomt by the heat of a boIler. The result of tbis de\'elops a peculiar, active, princi pIe called diastase, which has the power of convertll1g starch IIlto dextrine and sucrar.

Barley is the grain which is converted into true malt, hence the r:altmeal: a.nd foods are called malted when they are mixed with this or II·hen the malt extract is eaten with them or before them.

The}: :u:e Yery foods all delicate subjects, as the starch in the grail) IS changed 1I1lo dextnne and surrar, a substance that is much easier of digestion than in the form of they are also palalable and taken by young children with relish.

Dr. Fothergill says: "In order to secure all the adl'antacres wh ich be deri\'ed from malt extracts, it is follow s not them Consequently, malt extract sboula be taken eltheI: \\·.!th food or immediately after such food. For the first It IS adml,rably adapted by its properties beincr an? toothso.me, so It can be a.dded to farinaceous With or WIthout milk, prevIous to theIr bema eaten. One caution is however, necessary, and tbat is, that it should not be added mess _h.as so far :ooled olhat it can. be is killed by a temp:rature abo\e 147 Fahrenhe it, and thiS lS the highest tempera -

A rD . [ May, 1899 .

ture at wh ich anyt h ing can be s pped. I may either be mixed througbout the food, and be eaten with it, as the case may be, or it may be taken immedia,:elyafter the food, so as to operate before the stomach becomes too highly acid, (To be cfilZtinued.)

ST. ANDRE\\"S ASSOCIATION A:-IBULANCE COMPETITIoN. - The fourth annual competition among the St. A ndrew's Assoc iation ambulance COlpS was held in the , iVaterloo Rooms, Glasgow on Saturday 22 n d i\Lrch. The competition \vas divided into three departments:-': (r) General know ledge; (2) pmct ical work, bandaging, e tc.; and (3) b e transport of the i nj u red. Each competing corps was rep r esented by one detachme n t of five men. One h u ndred marks were obta inabie i n each department, and the wi n ning team , Kilmarnock , G. and S. W. R ailway, had 2+4 St. Enoch, G. and S. V. Railway was second with 2+2 marks.

DUKE OF CONNAUGHT CHALLENGE SHTELD.-Before the Duke of Co n naught relinquished the Aldershot Command he sanctioned an annual competition for the challenge shield for regimental stretcher bearers To carry the scbeme Sir Red\'ers Buller appointed a committee composed of Co lon e l 'Woodland, D urham Light Infantry, pres ident, and Major James and Captains Parry and H ugbes, R.A.i\ LC , members. On the l oth i11t. the first competitio n took place at Aldershot and excited consi.:ierable i n terest. After a close contest th:: stretcher bearers of the 2nd Batn. Somerset L ight [nfantry were adjudged the winners, those of the 2nd Batn. De\'onsh ire Regiment being second. T he shield was presented to tbe winning team by Surgeon -General O'Dwyer, P.:\I .O., wbo congratulated them on their success.

FO U NDED l8 7 r.

anb - <Dtlarantee (torporatioll 1Ltb.

(Empow e r ed by Sp eci al Act of Pa r i iame nt.)

IMPORTANT NOTICE.

In a ccord a nc e w ith th e requ i nments of Mes sr s. Marsha ll Brothers, the n ew Publi shers, t h e journ al will in fu ture be p u bl is h e d on the 25 th o f th e mon t h, and t he Editor a ppe a ls to corr esponde n t s b0 t h i n Lo ndon a n d the P rov inc es t o se n d a n y matter for inser t ion n ot later than th e 2 0 th of ea c h m onth, af te r wh1ch date I ts ins ertio n c annot b e guar a n teed in the current is s ue. No effor ts w ill be wan t in g to make the Jou rn a l as inte resting as p os s i b l e t o the ambula n c e h e l pe r s in all th e variOUS o],' ganiza t i on s over w h ose des t inies we ar e pl eased to watch, a nd we ask our r e'1.ders t o kindly h el p us w i th suggesti on s a nd a ny it em o f news like l y t o i nt eres t ou r readers. On e im po rt a n t eve nt w h ic h w e trust wi ll resu l t fro m the c h a n ge in the pu b li shing a n d advert i si n g departme n ts, w ill be the en l argi n g of the J our n al at a no dist'1 nt d a t e T ERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. For I2 months) IS. 6d.) post free) to be sent to the Publishers .

* Owing to pressure on our space we have been compelled to hold ol'er untll our next issue the continuation of the article on " Inyalids, :ll1d the Preparatior. of their Food."

:fBr e\)iti es .

nd prov ide s a n Annuity.

London, E. C. Genera11l1anagerc'ySecretary

COUPON TICKET

SPECIALLY BY

The

& Guarantee Corporation,

LIMITED.

40, 42 & 44, MOORGATE STREE'f, LONDON, F, e to wbom Notice of Claims, under the following conditions, must be sent within seven days of accident to the above address.)

600093 £100,

will be paid by the above Corporation to the legal representative of anyone who is killed by an accident to the Passcnger Train (witlIill the United K ingdom of Channel I slands), ill which the deceased. w,tS a ticket bearin" or paying passenger, or who shall have been fatally injured thereby (shu ul d death result within ninety days after such accirlent).

PROVIDED that the person so killed or in.jured had upon his or her person, or had left at home this ticket, with his, or her, usual signature, written prior to the accident,

THERE is a point connected with the found81'ing of the II Stella" last Erl.ster which tlemanc1s <1, pn,ssing notice from us, It will be remembe1'ed thn,t this boat was wrecked on SOllle rocks nen,r Guernsey in a fog, n,nd that many liYes were lost. The heartrending detn,ils of men gi,ing up t.heir Jiyes in Ol'der thn,t the women might be saved, and the dreadful Rufi'81'ings of those who were in the open boa.ts for many hours, can neyer be forgotten, and it is to be hoped that some apparently needful p1'ecRutions will be taken in the future to ayoid a repetition of the disaster It appears that eight of those drowned were insnred in the Ocean Accident Company, and five of those insuretl for £500 each were not legally entitled to receiye these sums) as the conditions under which the policies W81'e granted were not cal'l'ie(lout, but the Ocean Compn,ny wit,bout an.Y demur paid the amount of the insl1l'ance mone? \Ve think that the Company deserveH eyery credit f01' its nction, the more so as the consideration was merely nominal. This accil1ent co,t the Company £3,500.

THE St . John Ambulance Association's Railway :tnd Bl'ignde Competitions have now come to a close, and we haxe to congratulate the winners on tlleir yictories In the Railway Competition t.he London and Nodh "VVestern team wai; the Gren,t N Ol·thel'n second. and the Great Ea, tel'n, the \yinners f01' the two preyious ?ears, third. Li,Tel'pool Street, with regret and longing, giyes up the S11iel(l, am1 Euston reccives it with chee1' of joy . Jm1ging from the number of l'ailway and men who were pL'esent at the Portman Rooms, the interest in thiH COUlpetition seems to be incr easin g

the Brigade Competition the Eitst Ham Division (Metropolitan Corps) canied off fixst honours, with \Ve1lingborough second, and Pl'eston third. The first two have ]'eversec1 their positions of the previous yeal·.

'[ be St. 3 0b n Blnbnlance <tOlllpetttto ns.

THE last stages of the two compecitions promoted by the St. John Amb:.llance Association ",ere concluded at the Portman Rooms on the 10th ult., when the final heats were contested in the presence of a numerous and interested company.

THE RAIL\Y[\Y CO:.\IPETITION.

The prelimil11.ry competitions in connection witb the Challenge Shield and prizes presented by the St. John Ambulance Association, open to all English railways, were held in different parts of the country. Seventeen RJ.ilway Companies entered teams for t'lis Competition. On 25th April teams representing the London, Brighton, and South Coast; London, Chatham, and Dover; South Eastern; London and South Western, and Isle of Wig!Jt Central Railway Companies competed at -Waterloo. On the 26th those representing the Great Eastern, Great ,Vestern, :\Ietropolitan, London and :\'or.h \Yestern, Great :'\orlhern, and Xorth London Companies competed at Euston On tbe 27th, a team representing tbe P-.hymney Company competed at Hereford; and on the 28th, the :\lersey, North Eastern, Great Central, Li\'erpool Overhead, and Cheshire Lines Committee Companies' teams competed at l\Ianchester. The result that the teams came out in the following order of merit (the first fiye teams competing in the final):I, Great Eastern; 2, London and :'\ orth \Yestern; 3, :'\ orth London; + Cheshire Lines Committee; 5, Great Torthern; 6, Great Western 7: ::'\orth Eastern; 8, Great Central; 9, London, Chatham, and Dover; ro, South Eastern; II, Cambrian; 12, Liverpool Overhead; 13 :\[ersey; q, i\letropolitan; IS, London, Brighton, and South C;ast; 16, London and South \Yestern; 17, Isle of Wight Central. The Shield was held by the Great Eastern, haying been won by the Liverpool Street team on two successi\'e years (1897 and r898), the Shield being presented for the first time in 1897.

The judges for the final competition \"ereJ, J. 0Ia.rsh, Esq.,L. R C.P.E., &c., and J. Dallas Pratt, Esq :.\f. D., &c. The contest commenced at D 30 p.m. and finished at about J p.m. The result was announced as follows .-

r. London and :'\onh "-estern RaihYaY (3++ marks). Represented by :.\1. 1\1. Lewis. J. X. Fessey, F. Jones. IV. H. Costiff, and J. H, Anderson.

2 Grent ;\'orthern Railway (328 marks). Represented by A. G. Walker, A. lIollis, J. W. Halls, J. A. Painter, and G. \Y. Bryant.

3. Great Eastern Railway (317 marks). Represented by W. :'\Iagnus, J. Peck, R. Stiff, G. Keary and S. Ashton. + North London Railwa.y (232 marks). Represented by A. East, 'Y. \Tincent, R. Gibson, D. Murra.y, and C. Home.

;. Cheshire Lines Committee (218 marks). Represented by J Fogg, H.-T. Williams, .-\. Fryer,]. G. Buckley and H. Holloway. Bldges of merit were also gained in tbe prel!minary heats by the Great Western Raihyay, the :"orth Eastern Radway, and the Great Central Railway. BRIG.\.DE CO:.\IPETITIOS.

Sixteen teams entered, rep:'esentin cr tbe ;'\0. I.' 2, 3, and 4 Districts, and, as a result of the preliminary comp.etltlOns, four teams were selected, one from each District, to take pHt 1Il the final.

Tl1e judges were Assistant Commissioner \\T. Yernon, :\I.R.C.S, &c., and Hon. Surgeon IIeaton C. Howard, :\1.R.C.S., &c.

The result was announced as folloll's :- ..'

I. :\Ietropolitan Corps, East Ham Division (No. Distn.ct) With :!3 HUlks. Represented by 1st Officer / A. Atkll1s, Pnvates E. Cra\'en, T. Hurden, J. Brickell, and T. Shee.

::. \Yelling-borough Corps 3 District) with 205 marks. _Represented uy Sup. Officer H. Francis. Privotes "IV. Holmes, \\, Page, T. \Y Francis, and C, E. Bos\yorth.

3. No, -I. District with r3+ marks. Represented br Supt. Pri\'ates F. R. Cooper, J. "\. Landrum (Preston), 1. II. Ra\\'cllffe (Accrington). and W. T. Fish (Blackpool).

+ Westaate-on-Sea Division (No.2 Distl ict) with 172 marks. Reby Sup. Officer W. E. Lanchbery, Privates C. W. Case, J. Kinmont, II. A. Forsyth, and G Pedde.r..

The winning team (lhe East Ham DIVISIOn) hold the Dewar Shield for one ye'tr, and the second team (the will hold the Symons Eccles Cup for the same penod Each team 111 both competitions also gained

At the conclusion of the competitIon Lord Egerton of Tatto ?, Grand Chancellor of the Order of St. John, g-ave the result, ane! the shlel,ds and prizes were presented to the competItors by Her Grace the Duc,Iess of Buckingham and Chandos.

Viscount Knut sford in a few well chosen words proposed a vote of thanks to Her Gra ce. Lord Stalbridge, the chairman of the London and North Western Railway Company, in second ng the vote said that he was very pleased that the belonging to his Coml?any had won the shield, and he was qmte sure that they would keep It as long as they could. As regards competitions he was of opinion that they were of benefit to everybody; they were ,good for the St. John Ambulance Association and good for the publIC, and healthy competition wa s aood for the men.

The yote carried by acclamation. Lord Egerton replied on behalf of the Duchess.

St 30hn tltnbll[anCe Bssociation.

D UNDEE .-The annual meeting of the Dundee Centre of the St. John Ambulance Associ:.J.tion was held on :'IIay 2nd, in the Queen's IIotel, Colonel Rankin ill the c h:tir. }fr. David Don, the Se cretary, submitted the annual r eport, from which it a ppeared that during the past session I6 classes had been held under the Dundee Centre. The total numb er of pupils wh o had rece ived a complete course of instruction on first aie! to the injured and sick was 53-+ (266 men and 268 women). The Committee had much pleasure in reporting that in ovember last they recei I'ed from the Dundee Town Council the sum of£2 theamount yoted by them to the Dundee Centre out of the Loca l Taxation Grant, 1896-97. in aid of ambulance work in the city In his statistical rep o rt for the year ending 31st December, 1898, Captain Dewar, Chief Constable, reported that, out of 96 accidents which occurred to work· men while engaged at the Dundee Harbour, 56 cases were successfully attended to by members of the police force who had been trained in ambnlance work underthe auspices of this Association. The Committee, being greatly interested in the success aT'!d de"elopment of 'l.mbulance work, and being of opinion that compel itio ns would tend to stimulate members to maintain their knowledge and profi cie ncy in fir st aid to tho injured, recently purchased a challenge shield for annual competition

The shield is of solid silver, tastefully mJunted on an ebony plinth. It is richly chased round the border. Engraved at the bottom of the shield is a representation of a patient being borne on a stretcher, while the centre bears a cross of the Knights of Malta, the emblem of t he Association. On the motion of Colonel Rankin, the report was unanimously adopted.

FOLKESTONE.- The distribution of certificates and to members of the classes held during the winter took place at the Town Hall on the 5th ult., when there was a very large attendance. The :'Ilayor presided, and there were also present Sir Edward Sassoon, Bart., }I.P, i\li ss Campbell (the local hon. sec.), Captain Campbell, Dr. Thomas Eastes, Dr. Perry, Dr. Powell, Dr. Thornton Gilbert, Dr. Percy ' T . Dodd, Dr. Latter, Dr. Yunge - Bateman, and others. Sir Herbert Perrott (Chief Secretary of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem) then addressed the meeting. He said he had three duties to perforrr:, first to express to them the very great gratification it wa s to him to address a meeting like that in the Town Hall at Folkestone again. Then he wished to express his great p leas ure in coming to say a few on beh_alf of the Order of St. John, and to express the thanks of Iscount l,,-nutsford and the r.ommillee to the local h on sec., :'Ili ss Campbell, and to the medical mell who had been so kind as to give their n:os t invaluable assistance and supp::lrt, and for the vast amount of time and trouble they had expended It gave him great pleasure to address a Folkestone audience [or more reasons than one. First because he belonged to the county, having, until a few months ago had command of a battalion of the county regiment, and also be:'l.u5e he belonged to Kent, his family having settled in th e COUllty as far back as the ti me of Ed ward 11. Another reason was that the Order of St: John .had !ts birthplace in Kent in the year IOo g He gave a very hIst ory of the Oder and how it had orown and put fOI th various .branches, the la,t being the ambulance which had been prod:lctlve of S? good by imparting knowledge of how to gl\'e first aId to .the Injure? He expre sseli great pleasure in the that the S outh Eastern RaIlway Company was taking an interest In the and. that members of their staff were to take part in the evemng s proceedings He expressed the hope tha t the South Eastern RaIlway would before long take a more active interest in it anli that of the take part in the competition for the SIlver challenge shIeld, whIch had been won by the Great Eastern Railway company, a,.nd the local Company ought to do its best to win it.

Sir Herbert then handed the certificates and medallions to those who who had qualified. These comprised (I ,) Ladies' first aid, (2) Em. ployees S.E.R. first aid, (3) Ladies' home nursing, (+) Men's first aid, and (5) Ladies' home nursing-. t5ir Sasseon, M.P., then gave an addreEs IIe said: Mr. Mayor, Sir Herbert Perrott, ladles and gentlemen-rn the first place a llow me to express my to Mis ; Campbell, to Capt. Campbell, Lnd t? the medlcr.LI gentlemen for giving me this, the first 'public opportu111ty of n-:eetmg my Con stituents here after the election (chee rs ), more espeClally as thiS an occasion which must very powerfully appeal t.o ?ur imag in at ion, to our support, and to our sympathies, because th iS IS a the chief principle of which, as Sir Herbert Perrott has said, IS to relieve pain and assuage suffering I said I not refer to the actual work of the Ambulan ce Association because Sir IIerbert Perrott hasso exhaustively covered the but I should like to lead you to the consider3.tion of the moral aspects of this Association. O f course We are concerned now, I take it, with the first aid aspect of the Ambulance Association and in that connection, ladie s and gentlemen, I should like to lay' down three propositions, e,'ery one of which I hop e, when you have heard them, you will agre= wilh me is s.ufficient. commend the objects, the aims, and the aspirations ()f thIS ASSO CIatIOn to your judgment and your attention B.lt the whole three of them tak en together, pre se nt such a str'Jng clai.m upon }:our and public support, that I think any objectIon that might be raIsed JI1 the minds of a hypercritical pers')n will fall th:! ground. first of these propositions iE that it is good for the polIce or any 'pu blIc servant; se:ond, that it makes a private indi vidua a far better and the third is that by the influence of these two propOSitions upon the aaareaate of the community i for the of the common· (cheers) The first proposit ion is t hat it good for .the police and public officials, for it Gtuses them to exerCIse qualIty of help, the qmlities of self-denial, the virtue of and a.bove all, a symp1.thy with suffering. I say It makes polIcegood as they are-even b:!tter and more for .the. d.ls chargc of their duties (cheers). Now, as regard s the prIvate concerns you and me-I think that from the tone .whlch gi ves to our cond uct, the way it teaches us to deal wl th aCCIdents of everyday life, which unhappily are the appanage at one tllne or another of the workman in his workshop, of cilildren in their homes, of inno ce nt passenaer in the street-these untow ard occurrences \1'1 happen- :ll1d when they do happen it all depends \\,;lether they aT; taken in due and proper time or whether they are neglec:ed; bec.lu,e you know if these things are neglected for an hour, som.etllnes fOI: minutes, they I1ny become the SOurC3 of ;lcute sufferin g, chroniC In their character and sometimes dis:l;trous to those men who lll'e by th eir toil, who depend upon the cOltinuity of tneir to dischuge the dutie s required of them, and UI))n ,,·hom very often will the welfare and comfort of their h omes J nJ families. Th ese are the thing; upon which I base my advocacy of the us eful nes s ani general this institution. NolV let m e go to my third point-the effect up ln the community at large. I think, ladies and that th.e Ibltl of application, the habits of training, and also the habits of dlsclpllBe which the attendance at these classes of instruction undoubtedly give are interesting in t hem selves. T n eei not say that the se qu:tlit ieo tend enormously to strengthen and brace the moral fibre and ton e of th' character of the individual, and then rea cts upon the coml11onwealthal large, so that the result is that we get a nu cleus of us efu l, active, and important individual s of both sexes, whose presence in the is bound to redound to the advantage of that co m111ul1lty and to increase the resour ces of the publi c as a body politic. I am glad to hear that the firemen in this borouo-h have shown th eir greal aptitude in regard to the requirm ents of the classes. They ha.ve senl up t,vo teams, and all h ono ur to them. One more word lailes and ,o-e ntlemen, and that is this, that if any of you feel disposed to senu ln just a little subscription or contribution, however small, it will be WI thankfully received by the committee It is not so much for the filthy lucre that the committee require funds, but it gives an of desire to support the movement and that you thll1k well of It. One 0, the members of the Railway clas> advanced to the plat[?rm pre· sented to Dr. Percy Dodd a handsomely mounted walk1l1g stIck as. re cogn i ion of the doctor's kindness in giving them the lessons. Dr, D odd, in thanking the class, said it was pe rfect ly unexpected, and Ii came up on him as a s urpri se, but he was mllch obliged to the members: VOle s of th"nks were pa ssed to Mayor and others, and the pro ceeding> closed.

I ps\\" [CH. -.\ co mmittee meeting was recently held, with the In tbe chair, to fllnlly arrange about a horse ambulance carriage,. Elliston and Mr. Canham had seen those at St. J o hn' s Gate, and It decided to order one of varnished birch, with mahogany \\;Id indi a rubber tyre.; and spec ial spri with two telescoplc-ha,nd e stretchers, brake, lamp s, pole and sp linter bar, as well as shafts, a cost of a bout £86, to be ready about the end of July, The Secret, repor te d having received £77 ISS. 6d but several large firmshuI'eno, responded to the appeal. She would like about £20 more. Theiatesl donations are from-Mr. Berners, £5; Messrs. Ransomes and Rapier: £3 3s.; Miss Curling, £ r IS ; Dr. Locke, IDS,; srnrt,l !er sums, (os.,

------t I £ro s. There must be extras - an ambulance station lamp, to a.,. fi d ·d & ney for insurance aga1l15t re an aCCI ent, 'c mOSAlFORD.-The first competition for the" William Mather' ChalI ge Shield took place on Saturday, May 13th, at the Queen Street Sa ford The Competition, is open t? the P.S Ambulance Classes Il1 the Socletles of LancashIre, Yor.kshll e d Che shire was, after a spJrlted contest, won by Oldham WIth 9+ out J f a possible 100. [l ope Chapel was second wi.th go points. he first a nd second teams are entitled to med als. The pnzes (medals) [or first year m en were won by Queen Street, Salford, first, and Oldham second. The Judges were Dr. G,llard, Oysenshaw, and Dr. P orter, Stockport, At the conclusion, Counc!lIor who prizes in the absence of :\11> Mather, paId a hIgh tnbute to the tra1l11l1g of the Oldham representatIves.

SrOCKPOHT .-At a meeting recently held at the Church .Club it was resolved to form a division J.obn .Ambulance Bn.gade. Dr. Christian, who has taken the 1l11tJative 111 thIS matter, explall1ed to the meeting tha t the of the formation of such a di vision was to holders of first aid certIficates from the St. J Ohl1 Assoclat!on oppo rtunitie s of t?gether for ambulance ar:d nursll1g practice, and thus to comb1l1e Il1dl'l'ldual for the adva.ntage, to render first aid to the sick and on publIc the sanction of the police and other authontles, and to 111 readll1ess for such duty a body of traineu men and women qu.ahfied to act. The formation of tbis clivision seems to prove that conSiderable II1tere::;t ambulance work is felt in Stockport, and that the medi ca l profession is prepared, under suitable circumstances, to take its share in the good work.

S t. jobn tlll1bnlancc :JBri gab e. :\lETROPOU'LL CORPS.

0:-; .\.pril 25th, two members of the Corps ren.dered good service at a in the of Tottenham. Pnor to the arrival of the FIre Bngade, heanng that a .\Ir e; Truman who had recently been confin.ed, was in the house, tbey. pluckily entered builciing, and, wrappll1g the unfortunate woman 111 bed clothes, carned her out of the room which was subsequent ly burnt o ut. The plucky hrst-aiders were Private A. IV. IIill (\Vaterlow Divi s ion), and Private R. Hill, Cyclists.

TO Y:-<BEE DrVISlO:-l.-The s ix th annual social of the Toynbee Division was recently held in the drawing rool11 of Toynbee Hall, when a thoroughly enjoyable e\'ening ,,·as spent by a large. compa.ny, which included Brigade Chief Superintendent Church B raSIer, Chlef Superintendent Moroan, Dr. 'vV. Black J ones, }I.D., &c. (the hon, surgeon of the division'''), and several officers of divisions. The music provided by the Miss es Burman, Me ssrs Kimb er and Padd.on, and the excellent ventriloquial sketch and songs of 1\1r. Attley bell1g highly appreciated. Bandaging prizes were awarded a recent competition as folloll"s :-Eato n (;\tlillwall), I ; Leggett (}Idlwall), :2 Thompson , Stoward (equal) (Toynbee), 3; Harri so n, Savage (eql:al) (Toynbee), novice's prize. The opportunity was taken of presentll1g Kimber, superintendent of the division. with a very handsome marble clock on the occasion of his approaching m arr iage, and to the lady a pair of silver salts. This item was not on the programme, but was the mos: popular of the evening, 11r. Kimber being generally liked [or his gentlemanly and courteous dealing with every memb e r of the division. The men evidently know how to enjoy themselves as well as do good first aid ,"york, and their guests had no cause to complain of the provision made for their pleasure, indeed if the social events were a little more frequent we assume everybody interestted would be the mOre pleased. Mr. Kimber was married at Wycliff Chapel on the 29th in the'presence of a very large gathering of friends, and at the Di visional parade in the evenin a a congratulatory telegram was sent to Mr. and Mrs. Kimber, at where the honeymoon was spent We wish them a long and happy future.

PROVI CIAL CORPS.

ARMLEY.·-A meeting of representatives from the Armley and Worsley, East Ardsley, Midland Locomotive Works, Leeds, and Farnley Divisions, was he d at the Temperance Hall, Armley, on May 13th, to meet. the Brigade Chief Superintendent. Owing to the the meetIng was somewhat sparsely attended, a matter which IS to be :egretted, but tbe members who were present evinced a warm interest In the proceedings Superintendent Armitage (Armley) was in the chair, and in opening the meeting said, no introduction was needed for the Brigade Chief Super.intendent, as he was already known to most of them. Mr. Church Bra51er first expressed the regret of the Comthat he was not able to be present, as he had originally Intended, but intimated that it was his intention to visit them at a future date , when he hoped that he would have the opportunity of meeting a laroe number of ambulance helpers in the City of Leeds. The speaker then gave a short address on the work of the Brigade, and [ully described the details of the regUlations Severa l speakers who followed urge d the necessity of the formation of a Leeds C orps , i n order

A I D. 93

to bring the various Divisions into closer touch one with the other. A very hearty vote of thanks was, on the proposition of H on. Surgeon McNab, passed to the Brigade Chief Superintendent for his visit. BLACKPOOL.-As previously mentioned in this Journal, a silver cha.llenge cup has been presented by Dr .\Iolloy for competition at the annual review of the L a nca shire Corps, whi ch is to be held at Pre ston, on June 17th. It is t) be competed for by the police ambulance corps. The desi£;'n is an exceedingly pretty one, of an original character, and has been carried out through the order of .\[r ]. S. Doidge, of West Street, Bla ckpool. The cup slands :2+ inches high, and bears on it the following inscription :-" Police Ambulance Cballenge Cup, presented to the North-East Lancashire County Corps. by Le onard G. S. ;\,1alloy, i\I.:\., i\I. D. (Dublin), hon. surgeon to th e Blackpool Division, 1898."

MORLEY. - A meeting was held in the Town Hall , i\Iorley, on Friday, :\Iay I2th, at 7.30, :'III·. AIl11ey 111 the cha ir, to consider the advisability of furming a Divi sio:l of the St. John Ambulance Brigade. The Brigade Chief Superintendent .attended, alld fully explained the formation and working of the BrIgade; after se\·eral other aentlemen had spoken on the question, it was resoh'e d unanimously to form a Division, and a small C0t?m;ttee was to carry out the initial programme, Jt was also deCIde d to submIt n1.me of '\Ir. Ainley for the position of and H.onorary ecretary In replying to a vote of thanks, BrIgade .qhlef Supe ll1tendent it was the wish of the CommISSIoner to VISit them at an early date after their enrolment, and general satisfaction was ex;:>ressed at the pmposal.

OXFORD DrV1SIO:-l -The Annual In spectIO n of thIS DII"ISIOn, was helli at the Corn Exchange, Oxford, on April 27th, the il1'pect.ing officer bein a the Briaade Chief Superintendent. J t was first 1l1Spection e\'erlleld in with the Divisi on, and that it has only recently undergone re-organisation, the members on whole acq uitted themselves satisfactorily A t the conclusion of the lllspection of l "Ie Di,·ision, the books and applIances ,yere gone through, and the inspecting officer addressed a few encoc:ragll1g 'I" ords to \Vhil<:! lIl·aina tbat there \Vas room fo ,· ImprO\·ement, he paId a well-deserved to the Hon orary S.urgeon, and First Officer, for the zeal they ha\'e shown 111 placll1g the DI\'lslon on a more efficient footing.

MARGATE CORPS.-On .\lay IIth, there was a large gathering at the Town Hall on the occasion of the distr!but!on .of the certificates to the success tul candidates at the recent eX3.mll1atIon 111 the first aid classes in connection ,"ith this Corps. The .\I ayor C\Ir. G. 1\1. Macfarlane) presided, and was accompanied by the ;,I ayoress and supported by Miss G. W. Haddow, fIlr. John E.astland (supenntendent), 1\1r. W. H. Linnell (hon secreta ry), Drs. IV. and J. J. Hemming (lecturers), &c. The :'I Iayor, 111 the re cipients of the certificates, said that to the he was most aratified to see the lauy teachers and aSSIstants at Schools themselves in gaining a knowledge of what p1ight ?ften be of the greatest service to them. His next duty was the of presenting to the doctors tangible testimonies of the 111 which their services were regarded by :he members?f their h a ndsome silver mounted umbrella (from the police) and a SIll er cigarette case (from the other male to Dr. BIckford, a?d a cigar case from the ladies to Dr. Hemmll1g. The doctors expressed their tha nks. The Mayor then to, the of the corps, i\Ir. J Eastland, the ASSOCiatIOn 5 :'.I ed.dllOn solid aold as a mark of esteem from his colleagues. He expressed In complimen'tary terms his sincere appreciation of .the splendId accomplished by the corps under the able superIntendence of Eastland, who was so worthily filling the post left by o ne of s greatest heroes-the late. Mr Troughton. 1\1r. SUItably expressed his tl1'lnks, and 111 urgll1g the :alue. the servlc.es lendered by the corps, mentioned in parti 7ular th.e wdlll1g help given by l\Ir. John Kevis, and that of the polIce. Haddo\\' also spoke of the good work accompEshed by the corps, espeCIally 111 the removal of .the sick poor which came under her observation as a Poor Law Guardian. She proposed a hearty vote of t.hanks to the 1\1ayor, and thiS was carried with acclamation, and termll1ated the proceedlDgs hI BIRMINGHAM AND DrSTRTCT AMB ULANCE BRTGADE.-The mont y meetina of the committee of this brigade was held on May 1st, at Chief Fire Station: 1\1r. A R. Tozer presiding. Two hun?red an :;eventy-one cases o'f first a id were reported for last month fhe d h h I d 1 donation of treasurer announce at e 1a recelvel a " b k from the Severn S creet Div ision. A sub·commlttee was formed to ma e d · 1 k I . June 'IVe have receIved arrangements for a ISP ay to ta e pace 111 : a copy of the rules of this organization, \:h lc h It. that objects are :-1. To afford hulders of. FI.rst Aid ro m ! St ] ohn or Kind!·ed ASSOCiatIons of together ior ambula nce pracLIce, and thus to comb111e d for the public advantaoe. 2 To render first aId to the IDJuhre on b f I P I· e tnct other aut orIlles p u blIc occaSIons WIth the sanctIon 0 tIe 0 IC , d ' and to in readiness for such duty a body of tfame men qua li fi ed so to act.

FIRST NOTICE

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FIRST AID

JUNE 1, 1899.

TilE proceerlings of tlle Peace Conference

PEACE AXD convened by the Czar of Russia, and now _UrBUL.lXCE. sitting [It The Hague, wi1l be wH tched with a c )willerable amonnt of intel'est by all First-aiden,. ;:- peaking in Septembel' In:st of the Czar's pl'oposals, we yen to make the follo,,-ing remark :-" We feel sure tklt ,11l1bnlance wOl·k is, and as time goes on pl'ove, an illlp n·tant factor in the growing desire, which is becoming mOl'e <md 111Ol'e Intense, to do awny with the horrors of w n." The forecast there giyen is now about to be ful:filled.

Acconling to the B?'itish ..Llftcl£cal JO'LWlwl ambulance wode both on sea and land will form one of the subjects to be discllssed at the Conference, and as that on land has been, to some extent, provided for by the Geneva Convention, the attention of the Conference will be directed to ambulance work at sea-in other words, the dealing with the wounded in a great naval engagement.

ShOl'tly, it is suggested tb::tt thel'e should be vessels f01' the purpose of rendering aiel to the sick [-'nel wounded at sea to be cnlled " Reel OI'OSS Ships," and painted white, no matter wllat their nationality, with a red Cl'OSS on their bows and stern. These ve::;, 8Is would not be permitted to sa\Te ships, but only the crews of ships; and other limitations are also given, the object of which is to render tbem entirely non-combatant.

The British Central Committee of the Red Cross I-ecently appointed by Lord Lansdowne, the Secretary War, and on which we are pleased to see tha.t Viscount Knutsford f1.nd Silo J olm Fmley repI'esent the St John Ambulance Association, is another indication of the desire to minimise the h01'1'ors of war,

.A gI'eat of doubt seems to be felt in some qlUl.l'ters as .to the genumeness of the Uzal'\; moti"'es in promoting thIS PeR.ce Oonference, and the l'ea,son appu,I'ently is, because so fa.r there has ?een no alteration in the Russian Policy. But we can readIly understand that in a matter of this kind llO Power- Russia, 01' any otber-could for obvious reasons p,)ssibly reduce its R.rmaments 01' altel' its policy alone Ehero mnst be an agl'eernent amongst all or the proposal mllst fall to tue ground.

In our opinion this Peace Confel'ence will do O'ood eithei' now 01' ultimately. Supposing, for instance, the Powers cannot agree on plan of disal'mament, or even on any plitn tor a further il1crease of their pre;::;eut fightll1g cap!Ol,lnhhes, we maintR.in that a great advance has been made, by the mere fact that these matters have

Fl'csh ideas will have entered the minds of t.he statesmen of the Powers concerned and there is no doubt .will ultimately bear fruit, in the next gel1eratlOn If Dot III onn;.

When two oombatn,nts, hefore they begin to fight, have a prehmmary conference to see tInt they do not hurt e"ch yer)' lUnch, there is a hope that a little mOre talk show them thel'e i::; l'enJl.y no necessity to fight a_t ''I.!l, III fad the?, \\'111 soon pel'ceive that fighting it; ery foolIsh a;lL1 out of elate, and that theil' differences Cctu be settl ed by <t1'bitmti on

113ritisb (tentraI (tommittee of the 1Rcb (tross.

A work has been carried on for many years by volun_ tary agencies for the relief and succour of the wounded in war. On the Continent the voluntary aid associations have been organised underthe Committee of the Red Cross and kept in touch with the arm)' medical services, bt.:t in this counfry there has been a want of organi_ sJtion, with the result that a great war would find a great deal of proffered help in an unorganised and comparatively untrained condition until costly experience came to be gradually acquired as in the Crimean days. In view of this state of things the Marquis of tansdoll"nein. vited representatives of the National Society for Aid to the Sick and Wounded in War, tbe St. John Ambulance Associat ion, and tbe Army Nursing Reserl'e to meet the heads of the Army Medical Service \Var Office, and with them the lines upon which a cen-tral organisation for bringing voluntary aid throughout the British Empire into touch with army medical requirements might be created. As an OJtcome of this conference, a Central British Red Cross Committee has bezn formed, and has now been recognised by the Secretary of State for \Var as the official channel through which offers of voluntary aid in time of war will be accepted by the '<Var Office.

As at present constituted, it is composed of representatives of the abo\'e-named Societies and of the vVar Office; Her Royal Hig-hness Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein and Miss Wedg-wood have kindly consented to act as representatives of the Army Nursing Reserve; Lord Wantage, V,C" Lord Rothschild, and Sir William MacCormacas representatives of tbe National Society for Aid to the Sick and Wounded in War; and Viscount Knutsford and Sir John Furlc>y as representatives of the St. John Ambulance Associatton; while the War Office is represented by the Deputy Director-General (Surgeon-General Muir), and the Assistant Director (Lieut.-CoL Gubbins, Royal Army Medical Corps), of the Army Medical Service, and by the officer in charge of Mobilisation Services (CoL IIon F, W, Stopford, C,B,) Lord Wantage has been appointed Chairman of the Committee, and Major W. G. Macpherson (Royal Army Medical Corps), secretary.

This Committee are at present holding- their meetings in the Board Room of the Medical Division of the War Office, 18, Victoria Strei!l, Westminster) and their efforts will first be directed towards the org:tnisation of voluntary aid in time of peace, so as to farilitate its being placed at the disposal of the military authorities in the form which is most likely to meet the supplementary requirements of the Army Medical Sen-ice in time of war. It is hoped that ultimately the form ation of this Central British Red Cross Committee will have the effect of bringing local committees of the societies wbich are or may he represented on the Central Committee ani estlblished throughout the Empire into touch with the conditions which the military authorities must of neces<;;ty impose upon the popular desire to aid the sick and wounded, It is felt that throughout Her ':'lajesty's dominions the resources of voluntary aid are very large, but that some organised effort is necessary in this country to enable full effect to be given to the humane impulses upon which they are based, and to make them eonform to the princi pies that have been formulated in the Gene\-a Convention under the emblem of the Red Cross

NURSE TRAINING.-:\n extremely interesting development in the preliminary training of nurses has just come into effect at the London Hospital, which, under the direction of its accomplished and popular matron, Miss EvJ. Liickes, ha s take - foremost rank amona the various institutions in which ladies can acquire their knowledge Some four years ago the Hospital Committee established a sci1?ol for probationers at Tredegar House, Bow Road, where those deSirous of proceed ing to the wards recei veel preparatory instructions in duties, sick_-room cookery, bandaging, as well as enjoying facIlities to attenu uselul classes. An adjoining house has now been taken, which will enable all probationers to be received [or periods of six weeks' teaching before they pass into the institution [or their mo?,th's triaL This brief period of preparation, under the active supervlslOn of an experienced sister, Miss Li.iC'kes says 5he finds of the utmost benefit both to the pupil probationer herself and to those with whom she will be subsequently associated in the wards. The six ,weeks' ?ourse of instruction is followed by examination in the varIOus subjects taught, and towards the end of the sevent h week those who are deemed suffici.ently promising to be worth Iurther tri"l are transferred to the hospital itself. In worki ng resu lt, this system out early unsuitable candiuates, and s ince m uch misapprehensIOn seems to eXist among lauies as to how they can enter the profeSSIOn without having to wait an indefinite time for admissio n to a hospital, 1\1ISS Li.ickes points out that she has with automatic and unfailing twenty-.eight ,:,acancies to fill here every seven weeks, prellmll1ary test IS available gratuitously to any candidate glVJllg reJ.sonable promise of suitability, and applicants can obtain the neces, sary forms and other papers from the matron London IIospital, \Vh itecha pel Road, wh ile ladies in teres ted inn are welcomed either at the home attached to the areat h ouse of b ealing or at Tredega r II ouse itse lf. eo

June, 1899.J FIRsr Alb.

}portrait <Baller\?

SUPT SECRETARY W. HUi\IPilRIS

E.E., CORPS, ST. J OlE Al\IBlTLAXOE BRIOliDE.

As we are now on the eve of the Annual Conference of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, our l'eaders wi ll , we arc SlU'e, be pleased to recognise in Olu' gallery this month the portrait of til e indefatigable Uonference Secretary, Supt. Secretal'Y Winny.

\V inn y, who dainls London as his birth-p l ace, and the rear of his birth as '1867) was educated at th e Bl' ewers' OOlllpany's Grammar School, where be succeeded in ta liillg honour8 in the Cambridge Local :Examinations fOl' Mnthematics, &c He subsequently studie(l Engineering at the bury Technical Oollege and afterwards unc1envent further tmining in the Engineering Workshops and DL'awing Office. In 1890 he appointed Sub-Editor of the 'iif'ctrzcian, and hter 011 received an appointment on the Testing Staff of the Post Offico Telegnlphs. TIe has f;ncceeded in winning tlle Bronze Meda.l for Telegrnphy aml Telephony in connection with the City Guilds Examination.

It Wl1S in 1886 that the subject of Olu' sketch fi1 st took np Ambulance \York, when he assi:::.ted Dl'. D undas Grant with cl asses formed in connection with the vYest India Docks. CIn. ses nt the King Echval'c1 In.stitute followed, and in 1886 ))11' Winny organised 1l10nt,hly practices in connection with the Institute for men holding the first aid certificate. In 1891, mainly tbl'ough his endeavours, the King Edw;u'd Institute Di,-ision of the 1Hetl'opolitan COl'PS was formed. In 189 the Head Qum-teI's of the Diyision Wel'e tmnsfel'l'ecl to Toynbee Hal l , by which name it has since been known, Naturally fond of hard '\"Ol'k and energetic, the sel'vices of :L\Ir: Winny are constantly in requm:t, and in 1895 he was appointed Assistant Confer ence Secretary, receiving further p r omotion n 1896, when, on the l'esign::tti on of MI' Edwards, he was appoirted to the senio r position. That the confidence of the de l egates was not m isp laced wa,s proved at the Blackpool Conference, the arrangements for which were carried ont by Mr. vVinny and the Local Oommittee in a manner that has ne,-er been equall ed at previous meetings.

I n 1897 he was appointed successor to Supt. Secretary Eel wards in the Metl'opolitan Corps, a.nd it is needless to t. h at the cl uties of ttlis important ollice ;\'1'e ctUTifll out in t he smne carefu and painsta.killg mltllnDl' t h n,t is 0 cbn,l'acter i stic of any WOl'k w h ich M I'. Winny takes in hand

A T 0ynbee Ha ll Un i, ; ersity Settlement, w llere M r. Wi nny is a r esident at Wad h mn House, h e is on the Executive Educational Oommittee, and b as organised Amb ul ance Olasses and a N n rs i ng Gu il d, he is a ] so SeCl'et,uy of tbe Science UOJl1m iiteo, anlI in h is capacity h as hn,d the s n pel' ntendence of the Uhemical L,tbol'atOl'Y since 1894 _ lIe 18 aJso Lect u r e r in Mathematics a,t the N orthn m p toll I n sti t u te, <1. 11<..1 DemollstratOl' in Magnetism a n d El ectri cit y

By way of passing, it may not be ou t of place to mention that Mr Winny s a keen and ardent amateur photogmphel' <tnd being also fond of travel, his rooms at Toynbee cOlltain many charming pietl1l'es whicb testify to his snccess ,yith his " Kocl:1.k."

From the brief ?'eswne of his life which \ove have given, it will be seen that altbough a young man, J\h. Winny's life has been by no means an idle one, and the variou friends he has made dming hi look fOl'wal'd to his still fLUther advancement. Of a, quiet and omewhat reti r ing natUl'e, he is yet \yitbal vel')' firm and decisive in matters of business, and his tact and courtesy in dealing with all SOI'tS and conditions of men, have won for hint the respect and esteem of ::t11 of those ,,-ho al'e associated with hiUl in the societies with which his name and wOl'k al'e FO indissolubly connected. That the ConferenCe> this :rein' may, undel' his skilful engineering, be a mme pronounced success than any that have preceelleel it, is a wiflh that ,,,ill be re - echoed by all who realise the valuable voluntary work undertaken by its Secretal')'.

H lbot11e 1b\)Qien e "

By W. J- i\IcCGLLOCH ETTLES) :'ILL., ABERD.

Hon. Life ;\fember, St. John Ambulance Association. Lecturer on Ambulance, University Settlement, Toynbee Hall, PART II.

As is the case with many other familiar terms, an accurat= verbal definition of has yet to be obtained. One might, it is true, speak of it as " nydeparture from health" ; but then the equally great difficulty of defining the latter term at once presents itself. it is not necessary that we should possess an academiC definitIOn, and it will suffice if we think of disease as meaning the presence in tbe body of any condition detrimental to its health or existence. , Now, hygiene, as alreauy said, has as its ol:>ject tbe of disease, \ Ve can, therefore, only know what it is capable of by haying some tangible idea of the amount o[ preventable am cting the community.

Already) we know something of what hygiene has done, Lut ItS possibilitie.3 are indeed, for no less tha n o n e ! o un h of t he w h o le o f t he d e a th s f r o m all e au ses S du e to pr e venta b le di sease. This proportion, is constantly altering, for day by day and research is addin a to our knowledae of the hfe history of disease, and thus enabling us translate non-preventable maladies to the preventable class, consumption for instance.

I t may seem hardly necessary to point out that the terms" pre\'entable and" infectious" are not quite synonymous, yet tbey are contounded. l\Iany, if not preventable diseases are l?fec[Jous, certainly all the infectious ones are pre\-entable, b,ut there IS a mort:tlity from non-infectious hut i?ehrllun h'ell/ens resultinO' from excessive alcohol dnnkl11g, IS an III stance ; Sl) also the occupation diseases "phossy jaw," "needle grinders' lung," and so on.

A cause of mortality, which perhaps does not one at first sight as preventable, is acciuent, Theoretically, all aCCidents al e prel-enlable, practically and humanly they are not; but a much proportion of easily preventable accidents than 'popular Op1l11On allows for. There is an Oriental fatalism ll1 the read1l1ess With which one allows the reservation" bar accidents,"

The Factory Acts, and other enactments providing for tbe of dangerous machinery and places, are thus to be regarded as hyglel1lc measures.

The death rate in Enaland and IVales is roughly 600,000 a year. Of this, about 127,coo are from infectious disease" consumption alone claiming +7,000; wbile about 17,000 due_ to Amona the ancient Greeks the term 'Parasltos was used, not to denote any person obtained living (sit?s) at another's expense. The term p a raslt e 1S now applied. to such animals or plants as depend for their existence on other al1lmals, or plants known as ho s ts. :'I lan may be the host of many, some of which exist in the interior, others on the of body Consequently we may divide t?e.m ,the diVISions alllmal and veO'ewble, and each of these subdiVide ll1to ll1ternal anJ external.

Exte rnal Anim a P e r as it e s. Some of thesc act as temporary parasites only, but are none the less dangerolls, 10'0: exalllpte, Ross and others have now clearly proved tbat tte mosqlll.to IS the ch lef agency by which the parasite of malarial fever (plaslllodwlJl lIIalana:)

WI:\NY, A ,M.I

FI RST

is transferred to man, anJ it is this disease which makes the climate of the 'Vest Coast of Africa fatal to Europeans,

The bed bug, again, is uEually more disgusting than barmful, but the deadly tubercle bacillus been found in its interior, derived from its attack on a consumptive perwn, and its potentiality for tbe transmission of this disease is therefore manifest.

Lice are less likely to transmit such disease, but the irritation caused by their presence prodllce3 sel'ere eczema, This condition is invariably present in the still all too frequent cases of systematic neglect of children by inhuman p'lrents,

The louse deposits its eggs (Jllts) along the hair shafts, so that each indiyidu:ll hair looks like a willow twig in bud, The head appears as if it had been powdereJ with coarse meal. Thus, among the minor hygien;c agencies, we may f ,i dy class the inval uable Society for the Prevention of Cruelty LO ChiUren, i\no'her pest is the itch insect. It burrows \\,herel'er tbe skin is thrown into folds, as at Lhe flexure of joil1ls or between the fingers. It is rarely seen, as it is difficult to dig out, and is then only visible under a lens, The distribution of the affected :lreas, the lines and blood spots produced by scratching are chalacteristic enough.

The Internal Animal Parasites are mainly the Yarious " \I'orms,"

Tare Worms obtain access to the rody by e:lting of the diseased and improperly cooked of the pig or co\\', These animals act as ";ntermediary hosts," hat is to say, the ovum or egg hatches to an intermediary stage in tLeir muscles, and only attains full deyelopment in the intestine of the final host, man, It is difficult for an unskilled obsen er to sa, II hen me:lt is diseased, but it is easy to kill tbe eggs by proper cooking, The" round wor111" is often a foot long, and is not unlike the lob worm oeen on the turf in the e\'ening after a shower.

I, Thread worms," (or "seat worms," are very troublesome, and not uncommon in children, They set' up serious general symptoms, such as conI ulsions, as well as local irrithtion, i\Iothers should, therefore, frequenllv inspect th, motions, when, if the worms are present, they appear like masses of chopped \ybite thread, each individual worm I eing about one inch long, The other internal animal parasites are rarely met lI'ith, in this country at least. These are the H\'datid, or " bladder worm," the intermediate Etage of the tape worm of the dog, muscle worms (trichil/a) from uncooked pork, liver flukes, and minute animal organism", found in the blood, causing various tropical diseases.

The External Vegetable ParRsites are fell' in numher. The only one frequently met \\'ith is that miscalled" ringworm." This is not a lI'orm at all, but a fungus, It attacks the hair shaft, causing it to sll'ell and tecome briule. The hair breaks off, and a diseased stump is left, looking lI'hen n1:1gnified, llke broken cane, The hair loses its vitality, and may be painlessly plucked out. Stumpy, broken hairs, easily removable and lound in patcbes, are, therefore, characteristic of ringworm. Indirectly it is a serious for, being infeclious, the child cannot attend school, a nd, as it often takes months to cure there is a falling off in education.

T he Internal Vegetable Parasites constitute wbat are popula:ly know as "Gern-:s." By paying attention to the heading, you will be from the excee,dingly common error of regarding germs as a11JmalS, an error comltlJtted by many who ought to knoll' better. Germs are plants, In the course of his researches on fermentation" Louis Pas.teur, the immortal French scientist, was led to study the m1l1ute fungi he found present, From these investiaations the Germ theory" (it is now no longer a theory) which has medicine, surgery and hygiene, has been evolved. There is no department in the whole fie d of applied science which can compare for a moment with this in rapidity of growth or incalculably valuable results , The germs are ,exceedi,ngly minute, so minute that twenty or thirty thousand placed 111 would not reach across a shilling, They can only be seen and stuJled uI.der the highest powers of the microscope, "'hen so studied, we find that we can distinguish between those causing and tbose producing abscess, Typhoid fever, leprosy, dlphthena, cholera, are the names of some diseases in which the presence of a distinctive germ has been proved to demonstration. Now thes,e germs may occur, as minute balls (micrecocci), as sausage-shaped (bacteria, baalh), or as wavy bodies (Vibrio, spirillum). vVhen they are p.erpetually in motion, twisting and wriggling, but only shghtly Germ produces germ, like produces like, A tubercle baCillus owns Its existence to a parent tubercle bacillus, and a tubercle bacillus onlY.i and the micro -organism of typhoid, for example, can no more ongll1ate from the decay of refuse than a clean run bull pup can be the offspring of a rhinoceros.

How do the e germs cause disease?

,If a portion of brewer's yeast with the microscope, you Will fin? It IS of numerous oval cells, It is a plant or germ.

Now! you mnocul,ate solution of sugar with this yeast, it rapidly IS set up, carbon dioxide is evolved, causing frothll1g, a leo,h 01 IS If you drink the alcohol, you w,lll become Il1toxlcated (,POIsoned), and if you take sufficient, you will ?Ie, , Disease act 111 the same way, Gaining access to the body mtenor, they multiply rapIdly and set up fermentation. The product

ALb [ Jun e, 1899.

is not alcohol, but a sullstance analogous to it whi,'b intoxicates the indivicual, and is therefore called a toxi n. If' this toxin exists in small amount, the host mt:rely feels unwell, but, if in large quantity, he may die. The alcohol, again is an antiseptic, that is, it is inimical germ and ,causes fermentation to cease; similarly, 111 the fermentatIOn of dIsease, the germs, as the result of their own existance, elaborate poisons which bring about their own destruction, These poisons are the A n ti-toxins , Recovery from disease is due yery largely to the manufacture in sufficient quantity of these antitoxins, and their continued presence accounts for the immunity from a second attack enjoyed by those surviving the initial one.

,\ Russian observer, i\letschnikoff, has formulated an ingenious t leory-the phagocyte theory-which enjoys great popularity, Accord· ing to this, as soon as germs gain access to the body il'terior, they are set upon by large numbers of white blood corpuscules (leucocytes) and by otber independent protoplasmic bodies, all of which, when on active seryice, are termed phagocytes, If the phagocyte proves the stronger, the germ is simply digested, and the debris extruded i but if the germ has the upper hand, it multiplies in the interior of the phagocy[e, so that an active and youthful colony is let loose in the blood.

Tnis phagocytosis does tJ.ke place, but only to a limited extent, <Jnd hy no means invariably, Consequently it fails to account for many knoll'n facts, Buchner has found that if the red and white corpuscles are removed from lil'ing blood, leaving only the structureless fluid medium (the plasma) and germs be introduced into this living plasma, the organ isms are destroyed , By what? Not by phagocytes for there are none, but by tbe anti-tOxins they tbemselves manufacture.

There is no doubt that the anti·toxin treatment of germ diseases promises to be one of the most fruitful of good results in the history of medicine, In the case of dipbtheria, for instance, horses have been inoculated with the germ; on recovery, their blood is very carefully sbed, and the serum containing the anti-toxin is removed, This anti· tOxin on injection into the bod:/ of sufferers from diphtheria, kills the germs present, and the patients recover, Of late years, the death rate of diphtheria has come down with a run, and thousands of children ha\'e been saved from otherwise certain death.

Of course, well meaning but ignorant busybodies, thrust themselves in the path of such progress. Among them, one regre:s to find certain peers, spiritual and temporal. Of the latter, one does not expect much, but the attitude of tbe former is inexplicable. They claim th:tt horses have as much right to live as the children, and consequently such methods of treatment are \\TongfLll.

Still \ye have a higher authority than the Episcopal bench for the statement that we "are of more value than many sparrows," and we doubt very much if any parent, prelate or not, \yould be swayed by the "equal rights" argument, if such a treatment could snatch from the jail's of death a dear one suJIering from the fell disease.

'Veil, to return, you now see why vaccination confers immunity from small pox. A modified attack of small pox is induced by an attenuated "irus, a slight temporary disorder sets in, and the necessary anti-toxin is stored up, so that when the small pox attack cumes it is successfully repulsed, ('1'0 bf'; continued).

<tolonl aI Bnlbulanc e.

THE annual meeting of the South African Centre of the St. John Association was held at Cape Town, General Butler presldll1g, The report referred to the loss the Centre had sustained in the death of General Goodenough. The results of the examinations throughout SOULhA!ricn were on the whole very satisfactory. A class had been established at the Sou h African College in connectidn with the School of Mines. The Centre, after a period of inactivity, has resumed work with renewed promise of success, and it was hoped to fO:.lnd a Centre in Rhodesia. The Colonial and Free State Railways were eq uipped with stores from the Association. Both the African Council and the Oolonial Centre had balances in hand. General Butler, in moving the adoption of the report, spoke of tbe good work done by, Gener al G?odenough, IIe had had the privilege of a ong personal frIendship With the late General Goodenough, and was well aware of what a living example the late General was. Both in his profess onal capacity and his civil life he was everything that shou l d adorn a gentleman and an officer. Nobody fIlling any position wbich the late General held could go far astray by following in his footsteps. Those present could congrat ul ate themselves upon the position of the Centre a n d the good work it was doing,

NATIOI AL FIRE BRIGADES UNION.

be <tonference anb 'tl'(Llorh at Sea.

THE RUSSIAN PROPOSA LS,

FIRST Ehnbulanc e

AID .

THE AUSTRIAN RED CROSS SHIPS

A"lONG the s,ubjects to be discussed, says the British jlJedlcal JOltl1lal, by the InternatlOnal Peace Conference, \\blch opened at the Ilague on Thursday, the r8th ult., there ale two propositions \",hich directly affect the conditions of naval warfare; these are the fifth clause which proposes, to apply to navJ.l w,'lrfare stipulations of the Geneva ConventIOn of 1864, on the basls of the artIcles added to the Convention of 1,868 " ; and the sixth :' to neutralise ships and boats employed in sav111g those dUrIng or after an engagemen t." I tis impossibie yet to form any practical outcome of the Conference but it is thouaht hy many of the chief results will be in reference to 'these two and it will therefore be interesting to indicate briefly what have been proI?oseo for witl? the wounded after a naval engagement. So far as thlS country IS concerned these, it must be admitted, are at present very imperfect.

It is, indeed, to be feared that even on land the arranaements for I'oluntary medical aid woulJ be made hurriedly and at no doubt there would ?e m,any defects, although money, and would be fonhcomlllg 111 abundance, The initial difficulties on land would soon ,be f,or "oluntary aid is already more or less and IS stdl further centralised by the formation of J. BntJsh Central of Red C,ross, consists of representatIves of the NatlOnal Society for Aid to rhe Sick and Wounded in War, th" St. john Ambulance Ass?ciation, t1:e Army ::\ursing Reserve, and the 'Var Office. In addltlon to bodies, there are the members of the \"olunteer Medical Staff Corps and the trained officers and men of each volunteer reaiment in which the suraeons are keen and know their work. There"'exists in these bodies nucleus of a and far-reaching system of yoluntar), help-men, matertal and money-for our land forces, A:\[BL'LA:\'CE ,,"ORK AFLOAT, At however, it is very. different. There is at present no central commlttee to act as an officml ch.annel by which offers of help in time of ,war can ?e made to the Admlral;,y, Yet assuredly such ,"oluntary assistance WIll be needed as urgently after a great sea fig-ht as after a battle on land Two years ago the sixth lnternation;l Conference of Red Crnss Societie,s, held at Vienna under the presidency of Count Franz Falkenhayn, dlscus:ed the application of the articles of the Genel:a to na \'al warfare, and the part which tbe Red Cross [\ssoclatlon should take in succouring shipllTecked and wounded seamen, The Italian Red Cross Association submitted a series of articles defining the nature and limits of the work of Lhe ReJ Cross Associations in nan 1 wars, The chief suggestions were:

That all yessels intended for the purpose of rendering aiJ to the sick wounded at sea should calle,d " Or,oss Ships" and painted whlte, no matter what their natlOmtllt}', With a red cross on the bows and stern.

That the? sho,uld be equipp::d with the latest improvements in boats, electnc medical and surgical requirements, etc" and should have a hlgh rate of speed and be able to go to sea at all seasons,

That t,he name and description of each" Red Cross ship" should be comrnul1lcated to the other States by the GO\'ernment to whom it belongs,

That the ships should be manned by a crew under the command of i:L captain appointed by the Minister of Marine, and that the hospital services sh?uld be under a delegate of t:1e Red Cross Association, the former havlllg complete control over the movements and destination of the shiP.' and the latter over the medical and surgical details.

That 111 naval, battles near the coa st, smaller bolts, steam yach ts, etc" might be permitted to succour the wounded under the Red Cross fiaa (yellow with a red cross). The\' need not be painted II'hite but would still be " Red Cl?SS. ships-," a.lthough their neutr:llity only b; 1I1 battles IV,lthm metres fror:1 the coast. Thepersollild s,.ould ha\e an IGentlcal ul1lform for all nations :lnd should wear the international brassard of neutrality, '

That medical pusIIJlIl11 of hospital ships belonging to the regular mIlitary or naval serVlces as distinct from those be\.:)11O'incr to the Red Cross Voluntary Aid Associations should also be neutral.

The Red should not be permitted to s.,ve Jhips, IJut only the crew of shIps, and would not be authorised to attempt sall'acre of or t? carry letters vI' orders, or to help the of shIps gOlllg mto actIO,;, even if the enerny were not in sight.

That Red Cross ships should not hoist their national ensian in the presence of opposing- fleets or ships, '"

That they should be permitLed to enter the zone of fire only when they were signnlled 1'01 to aid a ship in danger of sinking or on fire, the powerto Signal for help bell1g left exclusil'ely to the cO!1lma:Jder of the ship in distress,

flnt all shlpll'reckeJ or wounded person5 taken on coarJ dwulJ le landed at the nearest port, and that all such persons lI ould enaaoe upon t h eir honour to takp no further part in the wnr. Co '"

Maj?r R.A.M C" tbe Britisll at tbe Conference states 111 an apper:dlx to the Army Medical Dep;trtment Report for 1897 upon the of Dr, Lijw, that the Austri'!.n Red Cross lIon has n:alntalned, for so:ne years past and equipped a hospit Li shi; for the SIck and wounded at sea, of any I Con,ventlOn, The project was formed by the Ladies' Assor.l;ttlOl1?f at Trieste, one of the local branches of the Austrian Red SocIety. The hospital ship was instituted for the sea transport of slck and wounded belonging to the Austro-H ungarian navy and army from pon to port, or from a fleet at sea to land, Tbe Austrol:-;,unganan Lloyd and the Government co-operate 'A Ith the Red Cross 111 I11stltuti?g and maintaining the ship, The Comp?-ny place gratUItously at the dIsposal of the Association a vessel capable ,of ?eil1g fitted with 100 hospital keeps It, ready for sea, and mall1talnsand pays the ship's crew, includincr the and cooks, The Association maintains the medlcal and surgical equipmel1l, while the State supplies the medical pCl?'sonnel-namely, two nal'al surgeons, two l1,)n-commissioned officers as ward m:.tsters, tweh'e hospital orderlies and a non-commissioned office,r as accountant, with a retired officer to represent the Admlralty , and also as delegate of the Red Cross Association, The Inspector General, of Voluntary Aid (a War Office official) selects and appomts the latter, who \\'Ill be responsible for the sen'ices performed, and generally administe: discipline on bOlrd, The State also pays the expenses of dieting the sick and wounded, as well as all the vessel durin cr its employment in time of war or as a hospual Ship , ?ther times the Austro-Hungari1n Lloyd Steamship Company keeps It m a. state of repair. The ship is exempt from paymen t of harbour dues 111 of the Austro-Hung1l'i In Ports, but pars the customary dues J.t foreign ports.

TIO:\',

The Red Cross hoseital ship, like all other Red Cross institutions, is under the command ot the Inspertor-General of '·oluntary Aid to the SIck and wounded, and the procedure on mobilisation or partial mobilisaLion is as fo11ol\s:-

The Inspector-Genera.l, at the req _!est of the Y1inister for War issues an to, the Ladies of Istria to prepare and the hospItal shlp for the partlcula:' sen'ice required, the sbip [or mobilisatIOn purposes being berthed in Trieste harbour and the nature of the eqitipment being dependent upon whether thp. 'sen'ice is evacuation of the sick ships sea, or of the sick from hosplt1.1s on shore at any porI. \' hen shlp has been fully equipped tbe Ladies' Associ:ltion notifies the mIlItary commandant at Trieste, who is the director-general of transports, It is then taken over by a staff officer of the Nal'y and it is at the dispos:ll of the military and nal'al authorities at headquarters, THE" GRAF FALKE:'<HA\'\',"

A vessel named the Ora! Fr.lllwllha!ln after the first president of the Austrian Red .-\ssociation, has recently been gil'en to the Society ?y Bal.'on "an who has deyoted a sum of 50,000 fllJrins towards Its maIntenance ll1tJlne of peace, The new ste:lmer, which has an estimated speed of nine knots, has an isolated wing 1'01' infectious cases, tll'O I'athrooms and all tbe modern hygienic re:juirements, with four lifeboats, and t\\'o disjointable rafts,

During the recent Spanish-,-\.merican war a similar ambulance ship was fitted by the U Stares under the Red Cross regulations, but the ment of establtshll1g the first permanent na\'al ambulance in Europe appears to belong to Austria.

)lEED OF SHIPS FOR THE BRITISH NA"Y, Suchan ambulance ship might well be proyided for the British Tavy , It would have to be a national gift at first, but if the ship were once ob:ained it could soon be officered and sen'ed by l'oluLHeers, There is no doubt that it woulci prol'e a most useful departme, for even our hospital ships cannot be said to bal'e as yet passed beyond the st'lge of experiment or improl'isation, and they ha,l'e been used mainly in connec[ion with expeditions ashore, I\' e ba I'e no ambulance ship, so that of [his kind of melical aid to sailors Great Britain would seem to hare had no experience.

Our hospital ships hitherto ha\'e been c0l1l'erted warships or liners. In the i\shanti campaicrn of 1873 H :'I1 , S, rlctor Emll/lltei, a. wooden screll-steam line-of-battle ship built in 1 55 was cOlll'erted into a hospital ship at an estimated cost of £3 ',000, In 18'5 the p, and 0, Co,'s 3teamer GaJl[(cs was for a similar sell'ice with the expeditionary force to uakim, and so rapidly were tbe necessary structural a.ltel'ations and additions carried out that the ship \\'a" ready for sea Il1 twelve days, During the .\shanLi campnign of r '9:)-6 tbe p, and 0, steamer CoromiT"dd Il'as chosen as a hospital ship, ;lnJ agalO many changes had to be made before she was fit for inl';tlid;.

A nell' deplrture \I'a.s made in the Soudan expedition last yen when the one of the largest and swifte,;! stern-wheelers on the Nile, Il'as equipped to carry 52 patients, anJ made three I'oyages from Assouan to Cairo, the expense being defr;jyed by the Red Cross :':o"ietl",

The experience g:lined in these .,nd other clInpaign,; h IS ShOll 11 that it is most desirable to construct special hospiLal ships. Ste:ltllships built for ('ommerce or for plirposes of offence lend themseh'es badly to

.THE Annual Fire Brigade Camp will take ,place at Perry Hill Park tbls year, from July 22nd to 27th. A capnal programme has been arranged, and it is anticipated the meeting will be more successf ul h an even the one last year.

Jun e , 1899 .] [

FIRST AID.

the needs of the sick The large n umber of men who are nva ided annually from India and from other stations would give full occupation to them -in times of peace, whilst their services would be inval uable in war

The first essen tin. I is that all decks for the sick shou ld be above the water line, for it was noted in the Suakim expedit!on that the watEr in the harbour rose to a temperature of 900 F., and It was consequently impossible to keep the wards on the lower deck cool until the ship was sent out into the open sea. The engines should be of sufficient power to drive the ship at a considerable speed, but they shou ld be placed far aft, so that the central part of the ship may be available for wards

There should be a minimum height of 8 feet belwcen the decks, and one larcye ward should occupy each of the three u pper decks Every ward sh"'ould accommodate 30 patients, with a superficial area of 60 feel for each paticnt, that is to say the wards should measure 60 feet in length by 30 feet in breadth Special attention "hould be devoted to perfect the ventilation, both by natural and mechanical means, and in every case punkahs must be to be worked by machinery. The closets should be placed close to the decks, so that there may be no excuse for not getting rid of excreta at once, whilst the cooking galley ought to be on the uppermost covered deck, and should be provided with a "lift " to distribute the diets as quick ly and as conven iently as possible.

st. Hnbre\\f £; Hmbulance B£;£;ociatioll.

ALLoA,- Recently the Alloa Centre of the above Association W::IS pn::sented by an anonymous donor with a handsome silver c up for competition purposes The three teams or corps entered -compris ing five members each-were : - The County Constabulary, the Burg-h Constabulary, and the North British Railway. The examiner for this was Dr. John Kennedy, Glasgow This year the County Police headed tbe list with 520 as a grand total. T he Burgh Police carne next with 46:, and the North British Railway was a little behind , Miss Thompson presented the cup, amid loud applause, to Chief Constable Scott, who accepted it on behalf of the winning team. The following comprised the winning team :- County Police Team - Sergt. William Husband (captain), Constables Andrew Wylie, William D uncan, James Miller, and Donald Go\\"

NORTH BRITISH RA1LWAy,-The fifth ambulance competition for the Railway Ambulance Cup and the :'.Iarchioness of Tweeddale Ambulance Prize took place in the Waterloo Rooms, 41, Waterloo Street, Glasgow, on the nnd April. The competition was conducted under the auspices of the above Association, and consisted of a practical demonstration ot treating the injured, transport of the injured, and an oral examination, The examiners were Professor Annandale (Oversman), Professor Clarke, Drs. Macphee and Dryden Moffat (Glasgow) and Drs Proudfoot (Dewar) and p, A, Young (Ed nburgh) Tbe corps at following places were represented-viz, Airdrie, Aberdeen. Alloa, Berw ick, Bonnington, College, Cowl airs, Oowlairs vVorks, Fort William, Galash.iels Hardeng-reen, Haymarket, Ladyl)ank, Linlitbgow, Lochgelly, Patrick, Perth, Portobello, Queen Street, St. Mar;-arets Shettleston, Sunnyside, Tay Bridge, T hornton and "Waverley. The cup is held by the winning corps for a year, and each member of the ten.m receives a gold medallion This year the cup has been won by the team from St. i\Iargarets, the names of the men being- James Tavendale. William Heron, William Dickson, William Chisho l m, and Alexander R, Gourlay, The team from Cowlairs Station-winners of the badges preser.ted by the Marchioness of Tweeddale-was second; and the team from College-winners of the siLver medallions presented by the Company-third. The competition has hitherto been in Edin burgh, but in order to meet a desire which was exp l essed, and to encour:lge the staff generally to take an ncreased interest in ambulance, it has been decided to hold future competitions in EdinburCYh and Glasgow alternately, This arraI;gement seems to he with approval by the servants of the company, as more teams entered for the competition this year than on any preyious occasion, The total number of sen'ants who hold certificates of proficiency in ambulance work is 1,623, of which 117 qualified during the past year. The arrangements in connection with the competition were made by Mr. Andrew of the general manager's department in conjunction with Mr. Henderson, secretary, and :'1r. Aitken, assistant-secretary ' of the St. Andrew's Ambulance Association ,

THE A,mbulance Station at, the Annc:al Sh?w of the R oyal AgriculSOCletyat :'1aldstone thIS \Ylll 111 charge of the Brigade ChIef Supenntendent, who will be aSSisted by detachments from London and Westgate-on-Sea. Surgeon-Captain Pye-Oliver will be the II onorary Surgeon

The A nnua.l Conference of the St. John Ambulance BriO'ade will be held in London, on Saturday, June 2+th, in the Board Room, kindly placed at the dispos:tl of the Commil tee hy the Holborn Board of GuardIans, The Conference Dinner wdl be held at Fr::..scati's Restaurant on Friday, June 23rd, at 7 p,m, Full particulars as to Hotel accommodation &c can be obtained from Superintendent Secretary vVinny, St. Gale, Clerkenwell.

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No Ambulance Man or First Aider should be without one of these.

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It is of no practical use being a. FirstAid Cert ific at e Holder without having ne ces saries at hand to tre a t any immediate cases requirir g Flrzt Aid Practice.

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(Empowe l'e d by Sp ec ial Act of Par li a me nt ,)

AUTHORISED £1 000 ODD RESERVES - - £650.006

CAPITAL - - •• Dec, 31st, 18 98-

SUSSCRI SED 421.200 819,529

CAPITAL - - Capital, Income,1898 £736,947. Fidelity Guarantees. Workmen s Compensation and Burglary Insurance, Employe rs' Liability Insurance Sickness Insurance. Mort gage I ns uran ce Third Party ot hers) I nd e mnity,

Th e " Combined" Policy of th e Ocean Accide n Cor poration in sur es Aga inst A.ccidents a nd Inf ectious Diseases is World-Wide as to tr a ve l, a nd pro vid es a n Annuity. SEND FOR PROSPECT US,

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to whom Notice of Claims, under the followi ng conditions, must be sent within seveu day, of accident to the above address,)

I n a ccord a nc e w ith th e r eq uir 6 m e n ts of M es sr s Marsha ll Brothers, th9 ne w P u bli s her s th e j o urn a l wi ll in futu r e b e p ubli s h ed o n th e 25 th of th e m onth, an d the E dit!) r a ppe a s to c o rr esponde nt s b oth i n L o n do n an d the P rovinc es t o se nd a n y ma t ter for in ser t on n o l a te r t han h e 20t h of ea ch mon t h a fter whIch d a t e lt s in sert i o n cann ot b e g u a r a nte ed in th e c urr e nt issue, No effo rt s wili b e wantin g to m a k e th e J o urn a l as in t e resting a s p o s si bl e t o the a m b ulan c e h e l pe r s in all th e various 01' ganizR. t io ns over w h ose d es tini e s a re p le ased to wa c h , a nd we ask our r eader s t o ki ndl y help us w ith suggestion s a n d a ny i te m o f news like l y to int e r es t our readers , O ne mpo rt a n t e v en t w hi c h w e r ust w ill r es ult f r om the chl'lnge n th e publi s h i n g a nd adve rti si n g depart m en t s w i ll be t he en l argi n g of the Jo u rn a l at a no dista nt d a t e,

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AN unfortunate dispute has arisen in reaard to the judges' decision at a competition arrangel'by the St, Andrew's Ambu ance Association in connection with the Scottish Railways. The controversy has reached the public press, and is too lengthy for us to discuss in detail, but we cannot too strongly deprecate the action of the secl:etary of the agg:ieved team ir: pitting his judgment agamst th:1t of the Judge-a mechcal man He hould have remembered that doctors differ, and altbouah lle covers his action under the somewhat plausible tlleOry that he is quoting a much higher authority than th-e udge, still it is only too palpable that it is evidently his own opinion that he is backing up for all it is worth, "A little knmyledge i a dangerous thing," is an old quotation, but the first-aider who indulges in a controversy in medical phraseology goes far to pro\-e that it IS not " the little ., that is dJngerous, but it is when the first-aider attempts to cross the limits of first aid that he becomes the example which proves the rule.

600093

£100 will be paid by the above OorpOl'ation to the legal representative of anyone who is killed by an accident to the Passcnger Traiu (within the United Kingdom of Channel Islands), ill which the Lleceased was a ticket bearinl4 or paying passenger, or who shall have been fata,lly injured thereby (shuu ld death result within ninety clays after sllch accillent), PROVIDED that the person so killell or injured had upon h is or her persoll or had left at home this ticket, with his, or her, usua l signature, wr itten priur to then.ccident, on the space provilled below, which, together with the givillg of notice ",,;thin the time as hereinlJefol'e mentioned, is the esseuce uf this contract This insurance holds good for current issue only. aud c>tlTies tbe benefits of and is subject to, the conditions of tile" OCEAN ACOIDENT & COMPANY, Limited Act, 1I:l9U," Wslts Nos,

rFms month rnnl'k::; the commencement of the Rixth year of the exi'tence of thi:-; Jomnnl, and :-;eems an appl'op{'iate time to sa)' a word 01' two concerni.ng its progl'ess and its illfiuence on the ambulance wodel. The <1i.tliculties that slll'l'oundell the Journal in it:::; eal'ly lhlYK 'wel'e great. Although origi.nated hy [t f8'\- 'connede(t 'with the yel''y heart of <lmbnlant:e wOl'k, nucl supplying a wilnt that hal long been felt, yet oppo ition hom nn unexpected (lUnrtel' was exp81'iencell amI attempts \yhich were fOl'tunateh- hustmtetl , H'l'e made to stifle it It woulll not be to mention this little histOlicnl mattei ', except fOl' tho fact that the opposition i s still nctivo, hut \\'8 hope that in time \yi:::;el' counsel s will pl'evai l. Tbe succe s of J oUlnnl has boon almost phenomenal in the annals of jOllmalisl1l Tbe necessity of a journal of tIliR pm ticll lar kiwI ::;0 app<ll'ent, thnt the Pl'opl'ietors felt ('ol'tain that it l\'HS on l y required to acqnnint thoso interested in ambulance of the exi:::;tence of snch a joul'llal to ensure its success; t h e past £lye years baye fu ll y justified their opini01I '1'hi:-; J om'nal has l'eadeu; that <:nn be mUD bel'ell hy thousands; its pages m'e pel'llsecl in a ll om' Colon ies, a,ll(1 nre I' end by an classes Thel'e is one point we should hke to impress u pon our rC;lc1erR, this J om'un l cannot remnin 8ta,tionar)" it must go a-head, and in on el' to keep the pace we lllU:-;t ask all our hiends to he l p UR by ll1c1'8nsi ng tbe cin'll l atioIl, AR \ye m'e not the orgnn of nnV' association 01' bOl y, the opin ions expresseLl wlll he perfectl)' Ull biassed and \.-hel'eYel' Pl'[I,j:-;O is dne i shall be ,)w<H'de(l , ,ll1l1 Wl )el'l'n'l' f;mlt:-; Ol' wrongs a r e commi tted h ey w ill be poilltl'tl onth Of;(, il t' e o n r ]ll i llc i p l cs l1m b y h em We' stilll<1.

TALKIXG about Competiti.ons, we have been somewhat struck by ome remarks which fell from Lord Stalbridge, Chairman of the London and orth iN estern H ailway, at the presentation of the International Rail,yay Challenge Shield, to the Voh-erton Team, recently. In the course of his remarks, his Lordship said " he did not arri\'e in time to see their own team do the work, but he saw the Great Northern men do their work splendidly, and he thought it WJS impossible to better it," Now, strangely enough, tbis was the general com'en u of opinion amongst a large n'lmber of "'ho were present, from many of whom we have received letters on the subject, including some from medical men \Ve should not ha\-e referred to the matter were it not for his Lordship'S remarks which seem to call for some comment on our part. Of course. it mu:.t be borne in mind that a competition is il1\'ariably won on the indiyidua l \York of a teJt11 , and we can onl\' assume that in this portion of the \\'ork. the London aJ;dl'\orth W estern R ailway men were superior to Lheir opponents of the Great Northern Railway. The words ot the Chairman of the former rail,,-ay should proye:lll encouraging to the Great Xortl-iern 1r:en to go one better next year. It is gratifyillg to note the differenc.e on the part of the competing team in the two competltions referred to abo\'e-tbe Great N orthern Rail"'JY hayc 10i-allv accepted their defeat, not one word of complaint hicome from tbem, while their Scottish confreres are still engaged in a newspaper warfare. But the Great Northern men are sportsmen.

A;-IBCLAXCE YORK IX THE BoYS' BRlG.mE,-c\ Chn.llenge Shield was presented to the Edinburgh battalion of the Boys' BrigaJe t\l'O years ago by one of its o\\'n officerE, "'ho. conSidered am bulan:e \l'ork to none which the boys of the Bngade could their attention turned to. Last year, when it \l'a.s first <:ompeted for, awarded to the comp::Iny sholVing the profiCiency, and was ga.med by loth compa.ny with 92 per cent. This year t he 2n:\ rompa'l), \\lth 92 'S cent. have Wall the shield,

tl111011Iance

CALEDONIAN RAILWAY AMBULA, CE CORl'S(STrRLINGSECTIO ).-

A social meeting for the purpose of presenting the Challenge Cup and other pnzes to the successful competItors was held in the Ambulance llall, :.'IJay 19th, when between 50 and 60 members with their lady friends, sat down to an excellent tea, provided in :.'I1r. Elder's best style. i\1r. Thomas i\IcLaren, captain of the corps, presided, and was supported by l\Ir. Wilson, goous agent; Mr. :.'I1acLaren, permanent way inspector; :.'IIr. Wilkie, plant inspector; and Smyth and Jamieson, ISt and Lieuts. respectively. Ample JustIce ha\'Jl1g been done to the good thlllgS, the chairman, after a felY remarks on the lesult of the competition, called upon the honorary rap:'Ilr. Wilson, to make presentation. (Applause,) l\1r. Wilson, 111 a few happy remarks, saId he had much pleasure in handin a over this handsome to. :lUr. Smyth's keeping for one year.

Mr. Smyth replIed, Jl1 a happy manner, on behalf of himself and the other members of the squad. The following are the names of those who receIved. badg-es : Messrs. Charles S. Smyth, John In'ine, Robert Munro, ArchIbald Loudon, and Patrick Scott; and sleeve-slinks to Robert Blackwood, Peter Leslie, David ;\lcLaren William Anderson and Richards?n, junr. Glees, songs, al.d ;ecitations were dered 111 .a most effiCIent manner during the evening, followed by a dance whIch was kept up with great spirit until an early hour next morning.

GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.- The success of the ambulance work carrie? on by the at Cardiff, under the supen'ision and in.of Mr. Hul1l1 (statIonmaster), is evident to all, and at a meet1l1g held lU one of the station waiting, rooms on June "th [luther proof was afforded of the skill and resourcefulness of mem ber; of the classes in. aid in case.s of emergency. :\lr. J. J. Leaning (dmsIOnal superIntendent) pr.eslded, and, an encouraging address, handed to the successful reCIpIents medallIons and certificates awarded to the men. During the }?roceedings the chairman, on behalf of the class, to ;\1r. HulIn a case of gold links, &c., and to 1\1r. A. IV. as an artistically finished metal inkstand, in recogmtlOn of their ser\"lces. nir. IIulin, in a description he aave of the that of the accidents that received attention during the ,eal, mne happened to passengers and fiye to sen'ants of the company.

& YORKSHIRE RAILWAY.-A meeting of the members of the class which has recently been held in connection with the goods at Salford, was held in the Goods OfGee on l\lay I.J.th. The ('\1r. A. Ormrod) ga\'e a \'ery interesting account of the hIstory of the Ambulance moyement. Subsequently a "ery handsome umbrella presente? by Mr. Collin, on behalf of the class, to Dr. as a. s!lght recogmtlOn the great in terest a nd care he had taken athe tUItIOn ?f th e class had resulted all the members pass. mo :he .A SImIlar presentatlOn was made to Mr. BeSWIck, of' StatIOn, who has shown great inlerest in the class, and, as an experIenced man, had rendered great assistance to the members m the preparatIOn for examination. l\lr. Grundy then on behalf of the members, handed similar present to :\Ir. Collin. the taq'. of the clas3, a:ked hIrrI to accept it as a small token of their gratItude and appreCIatIOn 0.£ .the very able manner in which he had filled the office. All the reCIpIents suitably replied. The certificates badges. were then to the members by Dr. Cran, the recIpIents bemg- l\llchael Collm, '''illiam Scarnell, John Pemherton Wall, Thomas Archer, J ames Duffy, Peter Chatterton' \\ Ilham Hardman, Damel :\1 0rris, Joseph 'Whalley, James H Eccles' Thomas SmIth, Thomas. B. Grundy, John R. Dawson, Albert E: Johns?n Charles H. GrImshaw passed the first examinatio Th followmg also passed first examination: John McHuoh A\f d On., de J oh;\l W'll' SI k B b' re Imro n assey, I Jam ac,. enjarr:in Gay thorpe, Jesse Burton and W. Cogan. The chaIrman, 111 conclusion pointed out th dUrIng. last rear g6+ of the. Company's employes ha'd received of whIch per cent. had successfully passed examination and that first had been rendered in 316 cases. After a vote of t'hanks to the chaIrman, the proceed in as concluded by the I d' have their photographs taken. h c ass a Journmg to

MIDLAND RAILV\'AY.-On May 14th at the Oue 'V lk S h Nottingham, on the occasion of the s a'fi cool, the successful me b f h j\A'dl le certl cates to m ers 0 e I' ll and Railway Ambulance Cor s MI. J F. Blurton, ;\T.B., was the recipient of a small , case a.s a token of the In which he is held by the members If the COl ps. Ou the conclUSIOn at Leatherhead of th flo fi 'd h" -" e COurse 0 12 ecture on <l:1 to t e inJu.rell m with the St. John AmbulASSOCiatIOn, and a senes of SIX lectures on nursin 0 en ance honorary secretary, Mrs. Davis on behalf ofth g P \\omen, the ;\1r. James Dunbar-Brunton .f\I' B Edin wi-h ose.t ten presented priately inscribed, as a mark of reciati'on 0' f h a sl 11: 'stand, appro• IS gl atUltous serVIces.

I\ORTH BRITISH RMLWAY:-:-The challeng-e cup and rizes WOIl at the recent ambulance competItIOn 'were prese t d hP t b '1\1 C h n e to t e succecsful eams) r. onac er, general manager, on May 19th. In the

of hi s remarks Mr. Conacher said he been told that in the opini of the it wa.s the most varied .test o f their had been applIed dur'ng any of the prevIOUS competItions. That II' very gratifying, as the examiners had always expressed th.eir pleasu:: at the extent of kno\\:ledge of the competItors, and It might be regarded as conc\us"'e eVIdence that they were gettino- more ablet render first aid in cases ofa.ccidenl. He understood the lllent whereby the compet?tlon was to be held alternaLely in Edinburgh and Glasgow had \\lth general presenting the cu to the St. ,\T argaret s team, Mr. Conacher saId thIS 'was the 5th year' P which the cup had been gained. On the last occasion a team from tb n same were in the second place, and he. thought to be second on: year a.nd the next wa.s a very proper th1l1g, and he congratulated them 111 such a hIgh place. (A.pplause.) In presenting the seeond prIze to the team from Cowlalrs, 1\1 r. Conacher said the :l1edallions presented. by the l\1archioness of Tweeddale showed the mterest her ladyshIp took 111 ambulance and other good works.

Gourlay, on of tl:e team f.rom St. Margarets, thanked 1\lr. Conacher for hIS k1l1dness 111 presentmg the prizes to the successful competitOrs; who, in said that he had taken note of the occupallo:1s of the vanOlIS pnze-\\lnners, and was [leased to see that. they represented a number of grades in the Company's serVIce, and hoped that an l11creased number of servants would al'ail themsehes of the opportunities offered of acquiring a knowled&e of ambulance work.

']Lonbon & 1ROtth llUlc5tern anb thc 3nternattonaI 1RaHwa\? $biclb.

1:-1 connection with the recent successes of the 'V oh'erton Carria.e Department Ambulan.ce Team in the. L. & N. W. Railway at and .the CompetItIOn .at Portman Rooms, London, a very ll1terest1l1g celebratIOn took place 111 the It1stitute Larae Hall when the shields and me?allions \\'on by the mem bers of the were pres;nted by. the Right. Hon. Lord Stal.bridge, Chairman of the L. & N. W. RaIlway. :\1r. C. A. Park (PreSIdent of the Di\'ision) occu pied the chair.

In opening the proceedings the Chairman said he felt very proud of the fact that the '\T 01 verton team had been sllccessful in carryll1O" off L. &;". W Railway Shield, and also the open to raIlways ll1 E:ngland. II.e hoped they would do equ1.11y well next year, and have theIr l1":lme.s tWIce on the Shield, and if they could go one than theIr fnends of the G.E.R. he s:IOuld be all the more delrghted.

Lord Stalbridge, who was well recei :ed, he was very glad hedid come them.as a and he occupied his present ploud POSItIon as ChaIrman of theIr great RaIlway Company, he hoped to come among them often. One of his pleasantest moments was when he at the Portman Rooms and saw their own team win the Shl.eld. It aroused his enthusiasm. He did not arri\'e in time to see own team the work, but he saw the Great :L\orthern men do theIr work splendIdly, and he .thought it was impossible to better it. He. knew how Dr. Bull had strIven to teach them the rio-ht way and theIr success showed how inteliigently they had worked fo his ins't;uc, tIOns. He was so glad to know how useful the first aid had been 1t vVolverton, Crewe, and places where there were larae numbersof men. It taug-ht?- man krndness, discipline, and how to keep his head.

J:ie hoped the sj:llrit of would spread allover their great He thanked them o.n hIS behalf for doing the L. & N. \\'. RaIlway the g!'eat honour 111 bflngmg the Shield to Wolverton.

Lord Stalbndge then presented the Shield and medallions.

Other speakers followed, and the evening conc luded with a soiree and dance The whole arra·ngement!3, which were carried out by memo ber? of the " 'olverton centre, reflected the greatest credit on the various ladles and £!entlemen engaged. Refreshmen Ls were provided in the Tew Large. II all. 1\1r. D. Browne's stnng band provided the music of the evenIng.

THE poli<:e force for the <:o.unty of Devon numbers 422 officers and men,. e.xcluslve of three addltJonal constables appointed tl11der speCIal condItIOns. Of these 337 members of the force hold rertificates from the St. John Ambulance Ass.ociation. Plymouth Police force 'numbers 136 officers and men, 116 berng ordinary constables. 6+ me:nbershotd the St. John Ambulance certificate.

the German was riding recently the a was thrown vIO!ently on the g-round owing to the sudden shy 111g of hIS horse. The Emperor at once dismounted and lifted up man, head was somewhat severely cut .,\fter waitin a a m111utes. tIll ;he had a little, the Emperor rode off first tel1111.g tne calc.\llver to let hIm know If eIther hinlseJ[ or his vehicle bad sustmned any permanent injury.

July, 1899. J FIRST

$1.. 30bn tlll10ulance :fi3rigabe.

:.'I1ETROPOLITAN CORPS.

EAST HAi\l.-The members of this Division were invited to attend a meeting of t'le Little R.atepayers· Association recently in order to be congratulated upon \\'lnn111g the challenge shield. The Chairman s id he had no douH they would be most pleased to tender a hearty \I elcome to them, and wish them every succe5S in their good \l'ork. The of the COlys were unable to be present, but on their behalf, Supt, Hodgson replIed, thanking the \ssociation for the year. the corps were in the competition , belllg three P01l1ts beh1l1Ll.'Aelll\1gborough, but thIS year they defeJ.ted Wellingborough by 2G pomts. (A]Jplause). He would brin a the shield to the next meeting of the Association. In addition to the each man £5 as a prize, and :\1 r. Dewar had also giyen a' large framed certIficate

PROVl:-\CIAL CORPS.

ACCRI:-iGTO;\l.-On Saturday, June loth, .\ssistant Commissioner Derha1.1 impected .tbis Corps 'and Division. There " 'e re +g men all parade, \\Ith IIon. Surgeon Clegg, Supt. Ogden, and First Officer Spencer. The nursing sisters under Lady Superintendent ;\liss Fletcher, numbered q Later in .the afternoon the Mayoress ('\Iiss Illgham) presented the srlver CLIp gIven by the :'IIayor for competition. The members of the winniDg squad also received medals. In the course of a few the Inspecting Officer testified to the efficien :y of and said he had never seen a more efficient body of Jlurslng SIsters.

HA\nS\\"ORTH A:lD S:\lETH\\'lCK. -:\ competition for a O"old medal presented by :\[r Holden, t00k place on June 17Lh, the of the Birmil:gham Carriage and Company's dIVISIOn of the BrIgade. Dr.", H. Stephens and Mr. \V. II. \Velsh· man were the judges. The competitors first underwent a 'l.'OCe txam ina tion, followed by tests in practical bandaaing. .\t the conclusi')n Mr. \Y H. \Yelshman announced the as folloll's:vVinner of gold medal, 1\[r. J. Harkness, he having made 85 points out of a possible go. :\!edals a\"arded to i\II·. C. Turner, 75 points' C. Swinden, 60 points: and :\[r. J. Courtney, 59 points. laLter three medals were presented by the employes of the Carriaae \Yorks Company. b

HEA:-.IoK.-On Sunday, May 21st, this di\'ision, numberin a about 50, had a church parade. r. eaded by the :\Iadpool Brass they marched through the princi pal streets, the di \'ision being under the supellntendence of i\Iessrs. W. IIolmes, Charles Holroyd, and John Wood The men had a smart appearance, being dressed in their new ul11form. There was a large number of spectators all alon a the route. At the Parish Church" the Rev. C. E. L. Corfield, rector, preached an apprcpriate sermon.

PLYMOUTH -On Sunday, June +th, :\1r. W. '·ernon, :JI.R.C.S., Assistant Commissioner No.2 District, held the annual inspection of the (G. W .R.) l\lillbay Division. The men were first examined in the treatment of different nj uries, in bandaging, stretcher work, arti ficial respiration, and fireman's lift, after which they formed the different hand The Assistant Commissioner expressed the opinion that more of the inhabitants of Plymouth should witness such an exhibition of the care and the treatment ot the supposed injured. He also hoped Plymouthians would do all they could to encourage the different ambulance teams by subscribing towards a cup or a shield, to be competed for annually, as was done ill other large towns ITe cono-ratulathe men and Dr. 'Webber, their instruct;r, upon winning chan,plOnship of the Great VVestern Railway two years running.

RpSHDEN .-A field day in connection with this Division was held on June 3rd, at H.ushden, in aid of the Rushden ursing Division.

The gather ing took place in the beautiful grounds at the Hall, kindly placed at the services of the Brigade by .\Irs. SarLoris. The proceedings commencer! at three o'clock, when a procession was formed at the Midland Station, and, headed by the Temperance band, paraded the town. The Divisions repre sented were Ru shden, lJignam Ferrers, Wellingboro u gh, Wolla ston, etc., in all about go men, who were under the com manll of Chief Superintendent T. H. Hilton (Wellingborough), the officers were as follows :-Rushden, Superintendent Cave, Officer Swindall; Higham Ferrers, Superintendent Higgins, hrst Officer Groome; Y'lellingborollgh, Chief Superintendent lJilton. A cycle litter wa s shown in the procession. Arriving at the Park, there wa s a good campa ny present, among whom we noticeu : Mrs. and Miss Sartoris, 1\1rs. Ourrie, l\1ajor and Mrs. Pratt (StanWIck), 1\11'. F. Newman, l\1r. John Claridge, etc The men were then put throug-h several tests, a party of patients being provided by a nurnber of boys. The Chief Superintendent then put the men through the various drills, stretcher, &c. The various e\'olutions were gone through with great exactness. During the afternoon and evening l\Ir. J. Smith's May Day Choir Rave exhibiLions of pla;ting the ;\ ay Pole\ etc. The members of the visit in g divisions were entertainell to tea by the Rushden division, and at the close of the drill the men were COI11·

A I D 3

plimented on thei.r by ChIef Supenntendent Hilton and ?thers :\luch praIse IS due to the local division for arranging the Il1SpectIOn, and also to local secretary PIr. J. Wright) for the excellen.t arrangements. [he men ",ere photographed after the day's proc,eedll1gs were over, the band played for dancing in the e,·ening.

"ATFORD.-At a meet1l1g of the members of the .-\mbulance recently at the Public Library, it was resolved to assist in the of. a division of the St. John Ambulance Brigade. SUIJennlendent "ood has kl.ndly promised the co,operation of the polIce, mar;y of whom are to wear the official badge as far as the .regulatIOns of the force wIll allow. All men \yho are qualified bv certIficate, and who are ready to assist in this matter are cordiall'v i11\·ited.to in their names to .\fr. Woolman, at the Library. A ",Ill be then called to make proper arranl;ements for the carry1l1g out of the \york.

1bo\\) ']Long shall 1Lonbon 1

THE painfully sudden death of Dr. W. Walla :c almost within the precincts of the House of (:ommons should gi \ co our legislatOrs room for fruitful reflection. Comingasit did.withln so short a period of the recel:t lecture on first aId delIvered 111 the House to :\Iembers of ParlIament by :'IIr. Sam Osborn, it is an object lesson both as to the 11ecessity of :,n Ambulance training- for the Official Staff If not to the :\[embers themsehe:, and it also still funhel: proves the necessity for a proper Ambulance ServIce for the :.'IIetropolIs of London. Doubtless now that want. has been urged in S0 tragic a manner within the walls of Itself something may be done. "'e are glad to see that the Tunes had a small editorial in its issue of the 17th inst. \V e quote it below :-

II After the late :.'Ilr. Wa.ilace bad. been carried out of the Ho..!se by i\lr. Burns on Monday nIght, ChIef-Inspector Horsiey, who was in prompt attendance, despatched a messenger .-wi tho u.t a delay to Scotland yard for a polIce ambulance, whlcb arrIved on the scene as rapidly wasyossible. But the interval of waiting, short as it was, ?eemed ll1termma?le, and the question was asked ,\"hy in so Important a bUlldlIlg as the Palace of ,,'estm1l1ster provision could not be made for an emergency of the kind. :.'Ilr. Tomlinson one of the onlookers, is so impressed the inadequacy of arranaements that he will to-morrow invite :.'IIr. to whether an ambulance cannot be kept at St. Stephen's for use when necessi ty arises."

In referring to the same subject our contemporary the HosjJltal indulges in some plain speaking. It says :- ,

"'Yould it not be well that the members of the House, or at least its attendants and the policF: on duty there, should possess elementary knowledge how to proceed in case of sudden illness? The action of our elected lepresentatiyes, and the amount of unwisdom displa yed in the face of an emergency such as this, "ould be comic were it not so o\en"helmingly pathetic. Think of what happened. An elderly man staggered in his speech, sat down, and rapidly lost all power and consciousness. '''hat was the matter? It might be a sudden failure of the heart, or it might be apoplexy-an artery bursting perhaps, within the brain, and tearing up its substanc.'!. \\'hateyer, was the matter, and we do not expect our legislators to be diagnosticians. To keep the patient quiet was the first essential, and when lifted he should have been carried by m:1.ny hands so as to be disturbed as little as possible. ..:\n)' policeman who had gone through an ambulance course would h;l\'e known as In lIch as this, and e,'en the instinct of the sufferer led him to say in his half unconscioLlsness 'Let me alone.' Instead of which, we are laId that he " 'as picked up by an active l\lemrer, who took hold of tbe bulky and heavy form of the fallen man, and carried him out of the House.' A triumph of athleticism!but, of all things in the world. what a thing tc do !"

WE have received from the publishers, l\[essrs. Sampson, Low, Marston & Co., St. Dunstan's House, Fetter Lan e, E.C , a copy of a new work on first aid. The book, whi c h is compiled by Dr. J. A. Austin, author of Ambulance Sermons, &c., is entitled" A Manual of First Aid." It is written in a comprehensive and interesting- manner, and besides being a valuable aid to pupils going in for their first certilicate, it should prove a capital work of reference for members of the St. .T ohn Ambulance Brigade and we should recommend its being in· cluded in the library of any corps or division who may be fortunate enough to have one. The number of works on first aid is now almost legion, but there is <llways room for a book which may be accepted as a standard WOIk and the present .\I anlial under review answers thiS description in e\ ery detail, it is carefully compiled, and written in a style that makes it interesting to the reader who will find in. it many practical hints whi ch it will be of distinct advantage to retaJ11, indeed, we may say that there is not a dry chapter from start to finish. The illustrations are good and the printing is clear and distinct. It should, we anticipate, have a l a rg e sale

NOTICE

.

All Letter s and communicatio n s to the Edi t or should be a d dre sse d to him a t t he Publis h er s, 10, Pater no ster Ro w, E C

Sub scrip ti ons and Advertis eme n ts sh oul d b e sen t t o the Publi sh ers dil'ect.

FIRST AID

JULY 1, 1899,

Two eyents of more than passing interest

way on the road t o solving the question of ::trbitration or war. One life-saving society in this coun try, and a very much younger one than the t:vo und.er review , has never lost an opportunity of invlt1l1g foreIgn repre senta· tives to its congresses-we mean the National Fire Brio-ades Union-and there is no doubt that the \'alue of course is proved by the kindly and fraternal feeling whicb. is shown to exist to-day amongst firemen of all countries. First aid may be a "ery small mouse compared wilh the lion of diplomacy, but the old fable of the Lion and the Mouse must not be lost sight of, and We are still sanguine enough to believe that life- sayi ng societies may yet play an import::l.l1t part in helping to secure peace to the world.

$ltpplement to JULY, AID.

1899.

TWO USEF UL B O OKS.

.New E(lition. Illust1'Ctt ed u ith 49 Wood Bng1'Cwi 11 fjS. Cloth GiLt, 38. tid.

T HE BEA R E R' S CO M P A NIO N.

FIRST A ID TO THE IN dU

R

ED

" ORLD.

THE PEACZ to those connected with ambulance work OF THE have occurred durino- the past month. The one, the annual PI; entation of certificates bv H .R. H. Prince ss Christian to pupils of the h eld in connection with the [\ational Health Society, the other, the Annual Conference of. the St. John Ambulance Brigade. Both these meetmgs were undoubtedly succes ful, and the guiding which steered them to that goal rlesen'e our heartIe st cono-ratulations on the success which has once more th e result of their hard work and splendid organization. B ot h meetings are fully reported ill our co lu mn s, and ,,'e do not propose to cnticise ll1 detail the many exce llent suggestions which were m ade by sp ea ker s at both this. we for sO:lle future occasion. Our ml SSlO n now IS to POll1t out, WIth all re spect, to th e committees of both Societies, what a splendid chance they have missed in taking their part, albeit it mighl only be a s mall one, in the deliberations which are now being held on the all momentous question of " Peace or 'vVar," for it rnust not be supposed for one moment that the meeting wgether in solemn and secret conference, of so me of even the ablest diplomatists in the world, is going to effect all that is nec essa ry to banish war from our mid st. That the representatiyes of the; yarious nations now assembled at the Hague are desirou", nay more, are keenly anxious to find some real solution of the question which will enable them to give practical effect to the Rescripl of the Czar , We do not doubt, but there are other factors in the movement which have apparently been lost s ight of, or perhaps ha\'e been regarded as of little or no value in this veritable game of life or death. The \'o ice of diplomacy is- and we do not question it-a very powerful factor in the solving of the problem which has been agitating the minds of men for many years, but behind diplomacy is another factorthe people; and we use this word in its ,yidest sense, we should say in its international sense, for we mean the people of every country let them be educated up to the value'orthe moYement,and they will push it on with a ze s t and zeal which the oft'-time strained and dilatory methods of diplomacy will never be capable of attaining.

And now to show where the promoters of both meetings failed in gra'3ping an opportunity which would have added to the laurels of their success, and enabled them to to tak e their part in the Czar's crusade. Advantage should have been taken in both instances of the opportunity to invi te represent a ti ves offoreign life-sa \' ing societies to be present, and speak in support of the value of life-saving work; we want Lo bring n a tion s clos e r together in connection with work of thi s character, which arfects the liYes and health of countries all clin:e , we know by long experIence that dlfferent natIOnalItIes only require to meet each other oftener, in friendly discllssion on such poinls as first aid and sanitation, to go a long

1l1atiotlaI lb eaItb

A LARGE, and evid e ntly int erested gathering, assembleJ at Gro sven or [--louse, kindly placeci a the disFosal of the Society by its Presidem, the Duke of Vestminster, to witnes s the presentation of d'plomas, &c., by H. R .H. the Princess Christian. The chair was occ upi ed by the President, who was s upp or ted on the phtform by the 13i s h op of L ondon, Sir William and Lady 13r oadb ent, Sir Ri chard and Lady -rhome, SIT Ralph Th ompso n Sir Samu el Wilk s, Sir j. Crichton· Browne, Sir John and L ady Furley, Sir Her be rt C. Pe rrott, Bart. (Chief SecrEtary, ::'t. John Ambulance \s sociation), Dr. R. Farquharson, Lady Priestley L ady Gooch, Lady Edward Ca\"endish, Lady Du ckworth, Lady Loch, Dr. Schofield, Mr. Frederick Treves, F.R.C.S., Pre bendary Ridgeway, :'li ss Lanke s ter (Secretary) &c., &c. Princess Chn stian was attended by the Baroness von und za Egloffstein and :,Iaj or fran ;\1artin.

The President, in a brief speech, opened the pro cee dings then asked the Prin cess to present the a\\'ards. A large number of studentl, both ladies and gent lemen, attended from all rarts of the country received their diplomas at the hands of Her H.oyal IIig-hness. After the presentation, the Bishop of Lond o n proposed the first res olution, which was as follows :-

"That this meeting cordially approves the objects of the X a li onal Health Society, and of the methods by which theY:lre being carried out, and congra tulates the Society on the results obtained from its system of instruction."

In the course of his remarks the speaker referred to his slight kno\\· edge o f the s ubj ect, and stated that as he unJerstood he was to be followed by Sir \Villiam Broadbe nt, it W::IS necessary that h e should be very careful in wh:tt he sa·d. IIe r eferred to th e close connection between the Church and Sanitation, inasmuch as cleanliness is next to godliness, and concluded a most interesting discourse by strongly advocating the claim s of the Society to further publi c s upp ort and recogni tion Sir William Broadbent, who seco nced the resolution, remarked that the Bishop had practically left him little to say. He warmly eulog-ised the work whi ch the Society was doing, both by instruction and in the dissemination of literature dealing with the rules of health. The proposition was supported by Sir II. O. Perrott, Bart., and Dr. Farquharson, M P., and ca rried unanimously. The next resoluti on , which was a vote of thanks to the Prince ss for so kindly attending and prese nting the diploma s , was prop osecl by Sir Ri c hard Thorn/:!, K.C.B. In the course of his remarks the speaker alluded to the "varm interest taken by the member s of the Royal famil), in associations of thi s kind. He referred to ITer Gracious Majesty's telegram to the recent Congres s sitting at Berlin on the subject of tuberculosis, and sa id that IIer Royal Hi!:;bness's presence there that afternoon was a practical proof that the kindly interest taken by I1 er Maje s ty in that Congress was an evidence of her kind y thou ght for all those who were engaged in any way in grappling with important subject Alluding to the great decrease in the mortality from phthisis which has taken place in recent years, he stated that much was still left undone that called urgently for reform. Daines were now kept beautifully clean, but little or no attention was gi ven to the cow house in which were kept milch cows, in some instan ces these were badly vent lated and dirty. It must be remembered tha t in the large cities the milch cows were practically confined to the se sheds from one year's end to another, and lt was absolutelv necessary thaL they should be on· equal footing with the dairy in pornt of and ventilation. He bad much pleasure in proposing the Sir Ralph Thomp so n, K.C.B., seco nded it, and it was carried With acclamation. Votes of thanks were also proposed to the Duke and Dll.Chess of vY ewn imter, and Miss Fay Lanke s ter (Secretary), the several speakers all expressing their high appreciation of tbe \'aluahle work which was rendered to the So c iety by the latter lady Tbe meeting. which was one of the most sLlccessful we have yet attended III co nnection with the Nationa II ealth Society, hen terminate d

Being a Text Book for Ambulance Classes an d a Work of Reference for Domestic and General Use.

By DR J A. AUS'l'IN, Lecturer to St. John Ambulance Association, and Author of 'Ambulance Sel'mons.' Illustrated wi t h Dittgram. Decl ic..'Ltecl by pel'mission to H.R.H. P r i ncess Olll'istian of Sehleswig-lloistein.

R eady

01'o'wn 8vo., 38 6d

•. Dr. Austin's little book i" w e ll an(1 IyriLten

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"Medical Officers engaged in training: Volunteer Bearer Companies and th ose in struccing classes in administering First Aid will find this little book inv al u able."- P all Jiall (-/ a::ette.

Crown 81.'0., profnsely Illn8t7'Clted, cloth gilt, 68. PHYSIOLO

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"The hook is the result of a 'e ry thoughtful and painstaking attempt to soh'e tbe problem along the lines of experimental work. Eyerysub· ect Jeall. \\ ilh is in troduced by a practical question arising out of e\'ery-Jay life, and the hygienic; application of everything learnt is al way s insisted on.'· -Th l' 0I1iol'7'SitV Co l'l'I'SPOIIdcnt.

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A TE XT-BOOK OF FIRST AID WORK AND HOME NURSING ·

Edite!l hy W I LL I A 1 lL SlII'1 II, i\1.D., Medical Officer of 11H Schoul Board fo r Llll1doll BriglHl e Slll'O'eon Litlut-l'ol. l(lU llages, croll n 8\ 0., 'iIlustl'aLe<l, cloth, gilt. Price 2 • nct.

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A short Recount of various Organs of the Human Bocly By OWEN L.i:-<·

KE ''l'E H, M RO.S. lllu trated by a Mov eab l e Fi gure ho\\ing the exact position anct ,·elath·e iz e of th'n Organs of he B ody PriC (:' 2 • net.

DIAGRAMS.

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Price 26 / 'et.

Nos 1 and 2. nUllv:1o. t:; k eleloll, &C'.

No 3 llll by 26. int e l'l1al Organs of Chest and AlHlol1lrl1.

No 4. 8ho\\ Helatiolls of Interllal Organs.

No 5. LfLrg(' DlOOll vessels o Trunk.

No 6 Er:ul1, 8pilml ConI, Ear, Eye, Tougue, SInn

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PHYSIOLOGICAL DIAGRAMS.

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Makers of t he St. John Ambulance Association Challenge Sltielrl Prizes ) !ce

TO St. john Bnlbulance <tonferencc.

[FHO:11 OUR SPECIAL CORRESPOXDEXl'.]

f"; Thc fifth Annnal C'onference of Officer;; of the St. ,Tohn Ambulance Brigade was held in the board room of the HollJorn on Saturday, Jun c 2<:lLh, at 10 a.m. ,!,he Nursing Sisters turned out in strength, ImL the attendance of Offi cers was rather meaOTe

Among those the Ri aht Hon. Viscount Knutsford

Chairman and Director Dof the Se. J ohn Colonel Bowc1ler, \\"11 0 presirled; Deput,y COillJ1l1S;;1OI1ers-Inspector General BeloTayc Ninnis l\I D RN. (No. Brigu<le Surgeon G. 'i .n: ( o 3 Capt. C. H. Mil burn, ill. B. (No.6 Di trict); As,.;i;;tant COmll?lss.lOncrs- 1:". D (No. 1 Di trict); J. C,No. 4 DI tnct); Cinef Surgeon-G. Thompson (Olllham'; H OIl. Su:ge.ons---:-Jam,es (Metrop. Corps); F. cle B Pim (tlarrowCh;ef anel other Corps Ofii cers-W. H. Morgan ( 0: 1 Dlstnct); J. Perry A. J. Trimmer (No; IV H. Winoy (Xo.! District); 1\1. H opper (Hull); E.]. Krause (H ull); H. W. W arin g (Warring·to.n) and T H. Hllton (II ellIngton). Supts. Divisional Officers-J. Lllles E. Evans (l\letrop.); E. H odgson (Metrop.); C. 1(;: ll1.sford); W. H. Reeyes (Northampton); H. Yaughan (Hull), w. llkmson, J. H. Roche (A ylesbury ) ; C. E Clinch (Fayer.P. (Metrop.); W. Sharman (l\l etrop.) ; R. Potter (Hm eIhIll), ]i. B. Solly J. A. H arrison (Gateshead) and Alan Paull Ofl:icers of Jursings Diyision: lietropolitan\ov J. Church BrasIer, Mrs. Gent, Mrs Lines, Miss B. Bourke ::'\11ss E. B.ourke, :..'IIrs. Brunning, 1\1rs. Timpson, Mr s. Paull, Miss i 1\1ann, 1\l1ss. E. l\Iann and 1\l.iss Danks. H ull--Mrs. Laveraek: Howard and 1I1Iss Parker Barrowford-Miss R. PI.e:.ton Oldham-Mrs. Jones and Miss Mones. N orthalllI)ton1\11ss Wh Itney.

The minutes of the last Conference havil1O" been taken as ] letters of apology from Chief ::Surgeon and others by the Chall"man. <

l:aving the members the COlllmissioner struck a note like the knell of the Conference as a factor the. Olklllg the Bngade. "K oW that the Brigade is better there IS not the same necessity for the usual conOTess bu he < . would urge the meeting to l et it busmess be from the scientific standpoint , rather than it should be cntIcal of the organisation of the BrigaJe."

'" I n of Mr. Osborn, his paper on "tbe Limitations of F.ust. AId .was read from the cbair. The necessity of such limitaJhe the public, of the medical p'rofession and of rs !"l pUpl s. was first on ,"Yh en an aeeiuent occurs in a publlc place there are vanous sources from "which a d b obtained Th bl· 1 may e e pn IC expects that such aiel will be )rom t 1 but i does not demand that full sUl"aical be adlmm;; t erec1on the spot · itonl"\'eXI)ects th:t ffi· t . ( hall b 1 1' e CIen asslstan c e e I.ene ereCl untl such treatment can Le 1" 1 I a t·obPelrly con Metropolitan e (! n m u aD?e does what it can. '

In the 111 umform on public duty it now kno,, ha t no IS Ce al e for such duty until his' efticienc has b ascertallled by examination and maintained by annu I y .een tion. The assistance, hOWeyel, lllay come from one of th? St Joh n guarantee. Lapse of ti m·e .ha.s the same of tIme The pol" ( er a cel tam lapse ffi. t · fi y'e, agall1, ale al\yays present. but are they a ll e CIen m rst aId? By no means yet· th· ( ination is most necessary ,111 ell" case annual examI n regard to the abuses of first aid b th place that this body is alwa' " .y e pubhc, It IS a commonth I' J" anxlOUS to get someth· . f no mg. t Cloes not unclerstancl th r t. ll1g .01" Hen?e ambulance pupils are often Im at,lons of Fl.rst Anl. and 111 a number of cases yield to tl p 1, exceed then dutle" of the first aid movement is rimle'·lemp atlOns; Now success operation of the Medical y due gratmLo,:u; eofirst aid workers yalnable eO.ldjuto .1:.. {/le FlOfe !::;]on reeogmzes in sufferin g; but if ambulance 1e essel1mg unnecessary out-patient departlllents the p r ofes , e to turned 111tO H ospital the Association, and the'result will 1 to countenance

Mr. Osborn then aave the excellent e c 10US to the appeared in our in Nove b al(l which immediate relief of sufferi:a el, AIel ll1]unes sufficient to enable :he tempolary dre Sll1g of adyice can he obtainee(lsr e1er to to wbere lam some CJ.llCllIhC'cl me(ljcnl

FIRST AID. [July, 1899.

man, or remain on the spot, when r emova.l is unjLl stifictble until that aelVIce can be obtain ed "

'1'he laxity of a nd perfuJ1ctory signin g of certificates were then strongly ammadve rted on. Could a n examine r make affi(layit that the certificclte b e issued was true in substance and fact.? W oulrl he himself to be temlec1 by Lhose ,,·hom he certIfied to be qualIfied to render first aid? As illnstratiye of the of the to go beyond his proper sphere he would a where one of the prizes \Ya,s a pOcket surgIcal case. No first aiel pupil has any right to posses su?h a he has morc title to carry a dr es:,;ing Gase than 11 pl'lyat.c a Baton (Did not Napoleon say cvery s.olm.er carn.ed one 111 Ius knapsa ek 7) So long as fir;t md IS consclenbo llsJ yg lv eu '1,nd ri gi dly a(lhereJ Lo the c ons equeuces be wh.at they work of the studen t ca nno t be called lllt? questIO n, l[ the arc exceeded, Lhe person so rendermg hlll1Self to .an :l1ly injury :esult 110m such of IllS legltImate hllnt:,;. I n one mst ance, however, IS snch departure admissibJe; in the ca:,;e of those" who go to the sea in ships." A ship wit 11 crew and benl1p; less .forty is n?l. obliged to carry a sUigeon. Lsually thecapta1l11sIgnorant o( lIrst aiel, while shi owners are ci:Lllons a long as ship, cargo, and profits come if r egularly. 1

Mr: paper was on somewhat similar lincs to the fore· gOlllg, postponed until it h ad been read. Mr. Cantlie was recelvedwlt.h cheel:ing·, then read his paper OU

An Ambulance In stItute for L ondon (m connection with th e 't John Am?u,lance The scheme was on the lines of 1\1r. CantlIe s letter to l! IRST AID of January last.-

" I lIaye been and,I am sure all lecturers and exam iner are constantly belJ)g asked : "Can't have some farther can I never have any opportunities of:practising or seein g the most recent achanees III ambulance ,,·ork except by o·oino throuD"h ABC of elementary course again"? One' IS farther, theTe is no except a ho;;pital go to any further ll1structlOl1 can be gIven." T think thi IS a great nllsfortune. I would like to sec a central institution llev.oled t? .ambulan?e practice, where pupil::; ,,-ho taken all theIr certlficates, mIght assemble from time to time, and be shown a n d go tlU'ough all practical details from time to time, and WCl"e 1 c.alled upou to formulate a scheme it would be on the foll o\\"in!1 1111es.

1. That an I nstitution to be termed" The St. John AmbLllance First Ai d Institute" be formed.

2 That the be located in OIlle central place which London and Provll1cIal pupIls can reallily reach.

3. the Institute be open from, :;ay, 3 o'clock in the afternoon until ten!"t night. so tha,t at any time during these hours am pupIls could go and practi se their work or see wh a is new 111 wagons, stretchers, appliance, methods of lifting and carry· 1110· &c

4'.. A Superintendent to be on duty to help I?upIls WIth then practIcal work A retired Serg·eant I nstructor from the Medical I::ltaff Corps of the ATlllY \\"oulc"l be the proper person to act as Superintendent.

5. At the Institute, which !ihould consist of one larg·e room and one or two would be tored splints, clc n?t merely hosp.ltal apphances, they arc not nmch wanted, buL all kmc1s of materials which can be cmplo ) ed for Jir;;t aid ,,:ork. It IS t.he latter, n?t. the former, tbat arc important, for first aIel has notlung to do WIth hospital work.

6. A model of an ambulance wagon, a railway carriag-e, and a country cart, for practice in loading, woulc1 also· form a 'necessary part of the equipment. All kinds of regula.tion al1(l impro,ised stretebers, and means of making the JaLter should be at hand, so that they can be demonstrated.

7. A Yery attracti\'e feature of such an In stiLute " -ould 1>e a collection of " lay" ban.dagec1 or :;plinted in a pproved so as to serve as typlCal examples of how s11ch appliances should be employed. Anyone who remembers seeing tlIe hospital ward at the "Medical and Sanitary Exhibition" at South Kensinatol1 will acknowledge and serviceable such a, ,'\'oulrl be. At the .exhlbitIOll some 70 lay figures were laid 011 beds, and every conceIvable apphance utilised in medicine and suro·ery wn, demonstrated upon thcm. In the <, Ifirst Aid JJl stit11re ,,' only matters to first aid w0111(1 be dealt, wilh, but thc,'c alone suffiCIently numerous and important to make an ample dIsplay.

8. J'h e of sncb an Institution woult1 be maintained by thooe who the bail(ling. The method of payment co·uId he tletermll1ed hereaIter, but there are thol1sancls of first aiel qualified men and WOlllPlI who would gInrll.\' avail of the opportu n.ity of a11(l actunlly fir"t (.1id rrou\ inDe to tll11e, P

July, ] 899.J SUPPLEMENT

D. Not .only first ::id demon:;trations, but nursing instructi on co uld be glVen the b eels, the cba.ngillg of sheets, taking fillll1g 111 charts, making poultices, fomentations, and all the practIcal part of t he work taught in the cour e of nursing lectures conld be clemonstratccl."

H? was that the £12,000 necessary to found such an coulu eaSIly be obtained, proYi(lcc1 that the value of tbe In tltute could be brought home to the public. Like Chief-Suraeon H on - Surgeon. insisted very strongly on tbe ab:;;lute for r e -exammatlol1 ]'i.rst aid Certificates ajJplied to the lllchndual .when gra.ntecl, hut then value dwindled to nothing in COlme. of Con ·equcntly they constituted clanger to the public to the mc11vldua 1 and to the Association.

As;:;istant Commissioner Derham saiel be was much with tbc vaIue of the papers reacl and thought they ought to be printed and Clrc ul ated throughouL the whole of the org·ani::,ation. He consi(l ered, however, that the provincial students be debarrec1 by the expenses of trayel from taking advantage of the IlI:.tltute.

Chief Surgeon G. Thomson doubted .that the money coulL1 be got so ea;;lly as secllle(l so tlunk Jevertheles the idea ,ronlcl proye, If carned ont, of enormon::: (lchantacre. Subsidiarv it1tititutions might be formed in the provinces t> • Lorel Knub;ford endorsed the necessity for re-cxamination and thonght that certificates sometime., too leniently granle(1. He thou g ht tbat :,;uch an Insl.lLnte would be of great value and similar one,; be spread over the country. No doubt if the Grand Prior could.be inc1:lCed takc the matter up, no great diJiiculty would be cxpenellced III ralsmg the fund.

Superintendent C Heathcote (Wi n ·ford) agreed tbat many first alders were totally unfit to render proper assistance, and that they \\'crc often hard pressed by the public to redrp. s an injury

TO FIHST AID. ."

111

repute some of the amusing instances he cited ,vas the case Of the who, having been told by the lecturer that in t ?ometlme? with snow the nose of a, Jel' on g Ivmg of bemg affected with frost bite was b tl:cexc:mmer what treatment would adopt the toes fro:;t -b lLten and ga"7e the startlIng answer" rub his nose with snow"l case a, medallion holder was a ked to look at a football field; "poorfellow," exclaimed he , "take him home a nd dId no more. The man was tak en borne b kinder tl:ongh less educated hands and the ",imple fracture heY suffered fr?m was cOllverted m transit into a severe compound He to, if an improvised stomach pump shouic1 be used that he read-too rapidly-a long list Im.pI ovlsed a ntidotes 1Il cases of poisoning, and concluded with 1emalks on, "plmts: stretcl?ers, litters and ambulance wagons. Deputy CommlsslOner :\Illburn tllat in no case ouaht ambulan,ce to attempt to use a stollladl pump. b Sllpenntendent H eathcote then }Jointed out the desirability of a Camp fUl1(l. A Camp should be held, but their pre,·iou-" experience unfortunate from thefiuancial point of Yiew, and before startmg another they ought to have a defi ite guarantee that the would be met. This " 'as f>econded by Superintendent ln mmer. Comm s:ic:ner stated that the Association had kindly granted the of £20 to. the out tanding debts,· and if th'l mattel .,,"onld be left m bu; hands he would do what he could to aseertall1 the feelmg of the Brigade upon the point After the usual vote of thanks, the Conference broke up.

'[be <tonference IDinner.

0

Superintendent Sec. Krau::,e (Hull) agreed with As:;. Com. Derham th',lt the expense \yas a great obstacle, 'and thought tbat if the oflicc rs performed their duties properly there \youh1not be so much nec cssi tv for I:;uch an ins ti tu te o Superintenclent J. A. H<t.rri!;on (Gate:;head Fell) said. v,·ith regard to shipowners, speaking as one, he had long come to the thnt the general objc("t of tbe Boarel of Trade was to make their a.burden. In i\orth arrangemellts are made for tuition of but he di<1 not know if tbey had becn Chief SuperintelHlent Hopper had not experienced, in the Xorth, th e clifticulty of 1\11'. Ot; \.Jom \\ ith re o·a1"<l to re-clres::,inQ for tbey rig-i <llyadherecl to the in trnctiol1s. In 'lIull attempt:> had becI: made to found sailor but o,ying to their con"talltl}T leanl1g port the roll sho\vecl a Yery bad attellllance.

W aring (W arrington) :;aid that he had had cuarge of a ,lnp for many years and had come to the conclusion that sOllle training was ab;:;ollltcly nceessary He thougbt all captains should go to a. ho"pital for six months before they obtained the master's (;ertiJicate

Chief Superintendent l\I:)rgan founel, as secretary for a South LOIl <lon district of the as:;ocia.tion, that the instructions varieLl very m11cll in stanc1anl. In competitions q l1estions were often asked, the <111;;\\"e1":'; to which could not be found in the as ocia,tion · handbook Deputy Commissioner :JIilbnrn thought that the abuse of first alll was carried on mostly by those who, ha\ ing 011CC obtained a certilicate of first aid, had noL properly continued their studics. He (;]te<l seycral instances of re-(lressing which lhac1 come under his noLice. A· to any nutsider being accorc1ed hospital instruction, it waH quite out of the qnestion. No first aid was eaniec1 out in the hospita.l wa.rd. IIe \Yarned the confcrencc thaL medical men were by 110 means not organised, and tlla.t there wa,s cL feeling of discontent in the profession which ought to be set at rest "f)y the firm snppression of re-c1.ressing. alHl the insistance of the strict limitation of first aid. He lamented the absence of an ofticial paper, and of ollicial standing. In Germany the Emperor alHl Empress took a keell iuterest in tb e movement, and the many congres es had a proper official a:,; well as educational standing.

Superintendent Bull proposed that 1\11'. Cantlie's schellle should be referred to the Commissioner aud D epuLy COlllmissioners for cOl1si(lc ratiol1 a nd action.

Chief Superintendent Perry seeondec1.

Au a,melllllllent, proposed <"I nd seconded, thaL on c OfliC8l" from each clistrict sho uld bc added to the cOlllmittee was lost, and t h e origina.l motion was accepted.

JIr. Cantlie was then asked to reply; but as this was not until after tile voLil1O" his reply lost somewhat ill value.

C Heathcote (Winsfonl) then rend a paper on <, [Illjlrovlsecl First Aid." }first he pointc(l out Lhe varyiug standanl of teaching, one lecturer giving five lectures of an bOllr each.

Lwcnty lectures, some lasting three hours. '1'11e same c1l.l!crences:wcre shown by examiners, some of whom asked only three <l,bs1U"elly simple while ot h e'rs gave a ,.;carching examination.

Disloyal and ineifieient Jirst -aidc rs brougllt the or gcw i za, Li oll into clis -

[BY OUR Owx COHlU] PO);"DE);"l'.]

To say that the Annual Conference Dinner on Friday, June 23rd wa;; as. ncces;;ful as any of prec1eceeors is to say that once more the umon of hearts amongst ambulance workers was cemented by the usnal good fello"iVhip which exists amonast first-aidcrs. The Commiss,ioner in the Chair, supported either side by the peputy Com.mlssluners of X os. 1 and 3 Districts and by altogether, oG,?E the Bngade repre:;entatiYe:; from yarions part::, of the country. he t?ttst the Queen ,,·as loyally honoured and subsequently the chalflllall lU a \-e r y witty ·peech said that for the protection of the ladles and the destruction of microbes, he "iVould beg the gentlemen to ,;moke. The toast of the Order and its several branches was re;;,ponc1ed to by th e genial Deputy Commissi0ner for X o. 3 District (Dr. G.S.Elli"ton) \yho alluded to the foreshado"iVedalterations in the (lrill manual and expre sed the earnest hope that the Order of St. J take steps to provide suitable accommodation a tlSt.J ohn's Gate, WhICh would make that place an efficient bead -quarters.

Dr. Ninnis proposed the health of the chairman and sta.ted that he' ha d al\yays bee n treated with utmost courtesy and con ideration an<l he was astonished at the amount of patience the Commissioner exerei ed towards all sections of the Brigade.

I II reply th'l Commissioner proposed a yote of tbanks to the l1bresponsib le for the arrangements of the dinner, coupling WIth It the of Superintendent I\,inny, who briefly replied a.nd expre · ed hIS mdebtednes to Superintendents Trimmer and Line::; for their valuable assistance.

The speeches \\·ere interspersed, and the enlivened, by cxcellent music arranged by Supt Line

1Ro))al Sbow at

The Ambulance detachment on duty at the Royal Show at l\1aidstone, und er Brigade Chief Superintende o Church Bra ier, haye had a husy week of it, 107 case have been tr eated, none of which, however, were of a serious nature. Messrs. Borroughs and W ellcome again kindly placed at the disposal of the Brigade one their Congo Medicine Cases. Tbe Med ical Officer Captalll Pye of the l\1aic1 stone Company V.1\I.S.C.) , is l oud in his praises of this admi rab e adjL1l1ct to :ambulance eq uip ment in connection with stat ons of tbis character, and he introduced it to the notice of seye ral medical men of the distri ct Whil e we are discus::,ing the Show, which we hall hope to report mor fully next month, we cannot refrain from ing ho'y pleased ,ye a r e to welcome as adherents to the cause of mternil lional peace, not only the Royal Agricultural " ociety and tbe courteons aud energetic manager oC tbe S.E.R. a!lt1 L.C.D. R. (Mr. 1:-, II. but H .R. lJ. the Princc 01 ,Vale s is lumself a pIOneer III the new crnsa<le, and all tho:>e who have bad the pleasure of meeting Hi s Royal Hi g hn ess will have recognized the almost marvellous

UPPLEJUENT TO F I HST Alb . [July, 1899.

faculty he possesses by his O\YU inc1iyic1ual personality of c1ra\Ying toward:; himself the natiyc:; of cOllutrie:i otber than hb OWll. ,"ben he entered the prize ring 011 Tuesday it (lid one's heart good to hear our l'rench ('ou"i118 yieing ,,-ith the Engli.'h pectators as to "'hich should giY6 the heartier \yelcomc to the popular and clearly lo,-cc1 Prince of the Eng-li::;h nation; in the coursc of his pre"ic1ential aclt1rcss the said :-

,. Let me extend a welcome here to the rcpresentatiyes of the French and German Agricultural i::locietib "'hom I am pleased to see on this platform, the }Ianlnis cle Yog-ue as the i::loci6t6 des Agriculteur.., (le France, which was i'ounc1e(l in Sti'3, amI llO\\' bas more l11l'lllUer::i than Ollr 0\\'11, and lIerr yon Amim, \\'110 is the honorary director of the great German ;::)ociety, anc1 I hope that, in future they and lllany of their compatriot::; may \i"it onr :ihow."

}l. de Vogne and Herr yon Aruilll, stall(ling ,.,i(le by :ii(lc. were loudly cheerecl \\'hen they rose to reply, They (1cscriLcd a common interest in agriculture as being the l)e.'t g'uarant(;e for union a111ono' nations, '"

The meeting then l..noke up, and ",hile the Prince of \'IT ales \yent off to luncheon to the Royal pa\'ilion, the director::; of the South Eastern ]{aihyay entertained a large party in a marquee at the elltrance to the sho'Y. During Inr.cheon the magnificent French band knO\YJ1 a1:i the Granc1e H,al'lllollie d? Roubaix. consisting of 110 performer::;, played a. "clectlOll uf nHblC, \\'lth \\'hieh the Prince was::;o plea::;ec1 he ,ent for the conductor and comphmentecl hun \"ery C01'(11a 11y., These \\'ere not the only foreigners present, for, thanks to the hberalty uf tlle and L Olld"ll. Chatham. and Doyel' Railways, "Ol11C 500 :Fl"enchmen and Belgians had been brought oyer at almo::;t nominal rates from ('alai::;, ane1. after spencling the (lay in tbe sho\\'yarc1, \y ere to !.!'o on to London and ha"c a couple of days at the Earl's Court Exhibition, and the Cr3-"tal Palace. The Granc1e Harmonie de Houbaix played at Earl's Court Exhibition and at the Cr,stal Palace before returnillg to France: "

H lbOlne 1b\?giene."

By w. J ETTLES, :'I1.G" ABERD. Hon. Life Member, St. John _-I.mbulance Association. Lecturer on .-I.mbuiance, Gni\'ersity Settlement, Toynbee H all.

PART If I.

From pre-historic time s, man has reCOGnised in bis surroundinGs an il1\·isibl.e something: "hich termed As\\ind or tempest it interfered With hiS cO':110rt, dUring fine ,reather it was unnoticeable, so he co ncluded ,-\.Ir was a mab'olent spirit. The anc.ent Hindu philos?phers said It was an element, and chief of the elements, for it ga\'e nse to and water, which the "odd was composed. /lst?I11ShlUg m:ty seem, nothlUg wa.s known of air until the great :tstlOno,mer the end of the s,lxteenth century, proved that it had weight, by weighIng: a contalI1i,ng air, then pumping in more under pressure, and agaIn wC1C7hInG the II1crease beinG the weiGht of ad,ditional yolume pumpea"'in. "'Repeated and carefully conducted welghl:1gs sho\\'e? tha.t 13 cubiC feet \\'elghed one pound, On Galileo s death'.111 r6+2, hiS aSSistant, Torricelli, continued tbe researches. F or before his day pumps had been in use, and the risinG of the wat er 111 the barrel"of the ,pump was explained by the dictum '?l\'ature abh?rs a v:t.Cllum. TOrIcellI, however, found ch::tt if he made the tube of a pump sufficiently long a point was reached where nature s abhorrence was o\ ercome. In other words, he found that water could never be, sucked up a t:.Ibe beyond a height of 3+ feet. The cons ancy of thiS level was very striking and he set himself to find an explanatIOn

Plainly some force was at, work of which 3+ foot column of water was the measure. From th S be ar that If he useJ a liq uid heavier wate: the column ,would not be so tall, and the height would be 111 proportIon the weight of the liquid, lIe took the heaviest liquid me allIc mercury, and carefully weighing it found it was 136 times as heavy as water. If his argument was correct, the height the column would be the 13.6th part of 34 feet, or 30 in ches, and so it to be.

H,e a glass tube sealed at o ne end, and Careful! filledlt,to the brIm With ,mercury Placing his thumb on the end he the tube 111 a dish of mercury, and, when so placed he r emoved hiS thumb. Tl:e mercury fell, but it did not run altog:et?er, after a few oscillatIOns it remained at a height of 30 inches the Inches at the top being the most perfect vacuum va;:uum TTe bore in mind Galileo's researches on the welEht of and to the c mcl usion that the force which kept the \\,tS the plessure of the air on the open end of the tube. In Ihls youthful bllL Immortal obselTer died, and, in r6+8, Bbise proved that hiS theory was correct. reasoned that if the all was the agency, the height of the column would var accOldll1g to the pressure o[ the atmo5phere, so that if he took column to the top of a mountain, where the pressure of the atmosphere

would be le ss, the column would be shorter than at the base, ACCO.ll. p a nied by his friend Perrier he journeyed with two such columns to the Puy de Dome, a mountain in Auvergne, The columns at th e foot were identical in heigh t one was left, and, taking the he mad e the ascent. The higher he '"ent, the lower fell the column until at the summit its height was thr ee in ches less than it was when started \S he descended, it rose in proportion regaining its original hei ght ai the base The proof was complete ThiS for measuring th e atmospherIC pressure w?,s subsequently.:hnstened the Barometer by Boyle (fro m baros, weIght, and metroll, a mea s ure). If the cross sectio n of the tube is exactly an inch sq uare. then the pressure of the atmosphe re on the sq uare inch is the weight of 30 cubic inches of mercury. this weighs I+,7 pounds, so t hat the pre ss ure of the atmosphere IS about IS pounds to ,he square incb, An ordinary person has,: total area of about 16 sq uare fee t , and the total pressure on hiS body IS therefore 35,560 pounds, or about r6 tons! Ho'v is it we not only support are of this enormous weight!

It IS the pressure IS exactly balanced by an equal and opposite InsIde ,the body, the bod y fluids being incompressible, If the a ll' s,urround1l1g us were sudd enly removed, we would suffer the which o\'ertoo,k ,the Rajah who swallowed separately the con stltuents of the seldlJtz powder. The same thing in a less degree 111 the case of aeronauts who are suddenly transporte d to a thll1 ,atm osph ere b y the rapid ascent of the balloon, the expa.nsion causll1g blood vessels to .burs t. By tte way, history informs u s that the Raph was ab le to dispense with the balloon A less disa strous of :he pressure is as follows :-Procure a square tll1,cal1lster and place 111 It a small quantity of water, affix the lid which has a small hole punctured through it, ane boil the water. o ut the co nt ai ned air, and l when freely issuing, the hole IS closed With a drop of solder. The pressure o f the contall1ed steam the external air and nothing happens, but if CUl11ste, be suddenly coo led by pouring co ld water on it the steam condense s, a vacuum forms, and the atmospheric pressure cru shes in the sides.

The derived from t he Greek a/mos vapour, and sjhamt a sp h ere, .I S a bollow gaseous caps ule or envel o pe surro unding the earth, "V:lth o ut It, there cou ld be neither animal nor \"egetable life, no rivers, or ocean, no sound, no twilight, the fierce sun rays woul d bea: ul11mpededon earth's cr u st and would speedily melt it. The atmos. phere mth the earth, if it did not, the friction would le\ el off eVery and. the heat would dissip ate the world gases. ,\ hat IS the thIckness of thiS capsule-at wh at poin t do the upper strata of atmosphere shade offinto the limitless ether? \Y ollaston endeavoured to guage it by measuring the duration of twiligbt ,Vhen the upper edGe of the sun has s un k below the \Ye stern horizon, his rays are reflected on the earth by the layers of atmosphere above us and the lower the sun sinks the higher must lie the reflectin rr W o llas ton c::mcluded it was 45 miles thick, but \\e now knbow it s much thicker than that. is familiar with the, phenomenon of a " shooting star. " Now thiS IS by a meteorite, the detached p ortion o f some other rush1l1g t?rough the firmament at a n unthinka b e pace, coming In,to. contact WIth the upper strata of the earth's atmosp h ere The fnctlOn generates so much heat that it is set on fire and the lon G tail of blazing gases is seen by us. '" have dete.rmined th e height of such a shooting star by utlllZlng, the the Il1 str ument by whi ch the navigat or calculates the su n s a ltitude 111 the heavens, and they have found th at the atmosphere must be between 500 and 600 mi les thick. Do not thin k that. a h eigh t it possi.ble to breathe, so rapidily does it dlmll1ISh ll1 denSity that life IS ImpOS SIble beyond an altitude of seve n miles, If t?e were as dense in its top layers as it is where we breathe It, It would be on ly six miles thick

When the s vertically above us, his rays pass through the atmosphere at rIg,ht ang le s to the strata, that is by the most dir ect hence noon 1s the h ot te st part of the day Towards mornin g and evenll1g the rays pass more and more slantingly through it and co nsequently are more absorbed by it. This holds good with reg ard to as well as he a t rays so those readers who are ph otog raph ers wIll understa,:d why exposures shorten as noon i s approached.

TI:e eart,h IS full of elementary rock at a temperature far beyond it; meltll1g POll1t, b ut from becoming liquid by t h e enormous press ure to which It IS subjected.

Strange as it may seem, we derive no heat from th is source, except near, la va streams; all earth 's heat comes from the rays of th e sun pass1l1g through the atmosphere.

(1'0 Of! cont'inued)

A COHRESPO:-;rDE){T writes :- " Allow me to point out a mistake in the names of the L. & N.vV. Team which recently won the St. John Amhu· lance Challenge Shi e ld, the names should have read as follows:-'

M. Lewis, J, ;..r, Fe ssey, F. V , Jones, J. H Adkinson, W II Costiff.

Jply, 1899. ] SUPPLE:MENT TO FIRST AID.

<!orresponb ellce.

[ We clo not necesea?'ily hold OIl?'seZves ?'esponsibZf' /01' the opinions of 0111' co?'?'esponclents, ]

THE SHIPMASTERS' SOCIETY.

1'0 the Erlit01' of FIRST Am.

Dear Si:,-Perhaps the following informatfon will int erest those interested 111 the spread of d First Aid" know led Ge

A Committee appointed by the Board of to revise the fo: Merchant Vessels has reported-" As, regard Merchant Shi p s whIch carry no medical man, they are of opinion that it would be highly desirable that no ship sho ul d be allo\\ed to proceed on a long voyage un less h ere be some one on board who has passed thrOUGh a co ur se of in st ru ctio n in First Aid to the \Vou nded : they think this mig ht gradually be broug-ht about if lt were made compulsory on e..-ery mate who presents himsel.f for examination for a :'Ilaster's Certificate to evidence that he has passed through such a co ur se of instructIOn.

The Commi ttee of this Society cordially endorses the recommendation and hope to see it carried out soon.

60, Fenchurch St reet, Lond o n. 2+th June, 1899.

I 31l\)uIibs, ano th e lPr ep aration of tb eir jf oob.

RejrintC'd by specz'a Z P{'I'llllSsio1l oj Jjz ss Catllerz'llc n-oo d, Aut/z or of H mzdbook on l.Yur sz'lzg," ce

(Continued.)

,e B eyo nd s uch use as an artificial digester of farina, or starc:1, malt extracts have a lesser utility. They c )I1tain the phosphates of the gra in and a certain portion of the starch converted into sugar or dextrine, consequently they are h ighly nutriti\·e. They can thus be ad\'antageously adde::i to milk, either for infants or invalids."

;\Ia lt foods alone are insufficient for nutrition from the deficiency in Llt and nitrogenous matter, and partly from lack anim d element; this deficiency may be supplied by the addition of cream or new milk.

It is of importance fOc:>ds should be estil11nted at their just y:tlue, that more may not be expected of them than they are able to do. In their pl'oper place they are valuable additions to the imalid's dietary; but if put fOI'\\'ard as summing up in themseh'es e\'erythin G necessary for nutrition, it is gi\'ing them a character which they canno"'t susta in,

Yours faithf ully, A. G. FROUD, Lieut. RN.R

:tl1n bul anc e.

SYDNEY.-The Fresh F ood and I ce Company's A mbula n ce Corps numbe r s about fifty members, all of whom holl!" profic iency certificates" of the St. John Ambulance "\ssociatiol1, whilst many hold cer tifi cates and medallions of the British Li fe Saving Society, issued from the {\,S. \V. cen tre. About eighteen months ago Mr Geo. H. ,Yilliam s, of the Com pan y's h ead office, recognising the necessity and utility of h av in g a body of men properly tramed 111 all methods of rendering first a id to the sick and injured on and about the works and branches, so as to render s u ch ::tsslstance to fellow employees and others, he immediately se to w o rk, and formed male and female classes under the auspices of th e St. J ohn Ambulance .-\.ssociation from each and e \'ery department of the wo rks and suburban branches. These were successfully instr u cted by Dr. Reuter E. Roth, and duly examined by U ajor R \'ande leur Kelly, Dr. Jarvie IIood, and Colonel ,V, D. C. Williams (princ ipal medi ca officer of the Victoria Barr:tcks) Classes were lik eWIse formed und e r the tuition of Dr. R. E. Roth in the various methods of "resc uing ,J and "resuscitation of the drowning" and "apparently dro wned, " whi ch were examined by Li e u tenant R. i\1. Shears (instructor in-chief) and :'Ilr. Chris. (his deputyof the British Life Saving Society, N .S .W. centre. Very efficient anc! effective first aid has been freque ntly rend ered by the ambula n cers to their feLlow employees, who in purs uit of their a\'ocations, unfort unately often experience slight and serio us accidents, The dissemination of this undoubtedly useful kno wledge amongst the v arious carters and £ervants of the company, who, twice daily, traverse the whole of Sydney and suburbs, fr0111 :\ lanly to Parramatta, is m ost desirable and valua ble , and has on n um erous 'occas ions been th e mean s of sav in g life and allevia.ting a great amount -of s uffering [n N ovem bel' last a corps was formed known as the N ew Sou th W a les Fre sh Fo o d and I ce Company's Am bulan cers Pra ctices, lectures, and socials are reg ularly conducted, a nd all members are tho rou,ghlyearnest in their ende::tvours to in every way improve their knowledge of the very best and efficient methods of rend er ing suc::our to suffering humanity.

SYDNEY.-The monthly me et ing of the Committee of the St. J ohn A mbulance Association, was held at the office, Imperi a l Arcade, yes terd1.Y. Dr. Vandal eur Kelly occupied the chair. '\1r. F, P. Woddrell (hon. sec.) wrote stating that a full cl ass of 30 mem be r s wa s for med at Broadwater, with Dr. Tomlins as ect u rer. It was repo rted tha t a first aid class was being formed in connection with the 'ol unte e r Fire Br!gade at Braidwood, and that Dr. George Read had cO!1sentel! to lecture. Mr. T. D. Hutchinson reported that a cla:s was being for med at Kemp sey; Dr, Erson will be lecture r. L et ter s with regard to the establishment of a fir s t aid cla ss wer e received from Quirindi, It was reported that a class had been constituted at \Vest I, Iaitland wit h Dr. Frank Lil!dell as instructor, and Mi ss E. Blair, h o n. sec. l\1ale and female classes are in course of formati on at Dun gog The following lecturer s have been ap pointed :-Dr. Frank Liddell, vVes t -"1aitland; Dr. Sincla.ir Pinlay, Dungog; Dr. F, II. Kyngd o n, Torth Sy dney A fir s t aid class for ladies, it was rep o rted, es tabli shed a t IIornsby by Mi ss L. Pullin g Lec t ures will commence on Friday. The Sydney Comedy Club wro tp. stating that th ey intended t o produce -the comedy" 'd c ne y 'at the Palace Theatre Rb0ut the mid d le of May, in aid of the as soc iation's fund s

Peptonized Foods are foods artificially digested by the aid of the animal digestive fluids, so that they should enter the stomach partially digested. Strictly speaking, peptonised ff)ods were those foods in whi ch the nitrogenous ele :nents were cOlwerted into peptones by the action of pepsine, ,e" gastric juice, and they were dist1l1ct fro:n pancreatised foods wherein the bts were changed into emulsion by the act ion of the pancreatic juice.

Recent rese:Hches ha\ e disco\'ered that pancreatic juice will act upon the nitrogenous elements as \\'ell as the bts and starches, so tbat foods treated with the L iquor are peptonised and pancreatised therefore the term ,. peptonized" covers the "'hole ground It is certain that in the case of a weak digestion, or of a. stomach weakened by an acute illness or feyer, the action is facilitated by a previous digestion that which it was unable to do for itself is done before the food en tel's the stOmach.

The digestive action is in creJ.se:i by the action of he:l.t, and for this reason it is that a definite temp erature is insisted on in mixing the pancreatine ,vith the foed, .-\.dded to the milk without preparation it is found to aid in the digestion of the milk, probably by p:l.ssi'1g the milk into the stomach already supplied with its digesti\·e. This is a great addition to the means at our disposal for nourishing a delicate frame.

In planning the IJlMII of an im'alid, the great object to be aimed at is ariety; that is half the battle , On what mutton is sen'ed lip in the wards of workhouses and infirmaries and in some hospitals on 365 days in the year passes comprehension; the patients, especially those with prolonged illness, must eventually turn from with loathing. It has tbe character o( being more digestible beef, and of cont::tining more nutrition; but if it is refused by the patients, or eaten without an appetite, it had better be still running about as a sheep.

It is a good road to Sllccess to send up al\\-ays a surprise dinner, some little delicacy th::tt the patient is known to fanc:-, or e\'en so ordinary a dish as a chop, if c:trtfully cO::Jked and daintily sen'ed, "ill tempt the appetite To worry the il1\'alid some\\'here about nine or ten in the morning for the orders for tbe day is a great mistake.; a great deal of contrariness will be called into action, and the relish tor the food lost. If im'alids have any particular likes and dislikes, they will certainly volunteer them, for as a rule they think too ulUch ab r)ut their foud , Another mistake in dieting an in\'aliJ is the endea\'our to the appeti;:e oy some savoury but un\"holesome dish; as a rule, highly spiced and seasoned dishes are quite out place; :he should be simple though tasty, and the food SUitable for ItS work" ::iausa,ges, saveloy.s, and such-like compounds of meat, are not In the sense of th e word and t:tke the place of more nourIsh1l1g malenals. P otted meats, if they are carefully done, are quite admiss i b e, and are toothsome relish. There is scope for much ingenuity in the dietary's of the ilwalid, and all such efforts are highly prized by those who have to dra.g on a wea ry and monotonous existence

The s u bjec of food in acute illness has purposely bee n omltt7d.' it is be y o nd the province of this U andbook to enter th,e p hYSI CIa n s territory; b ut it may be bid d ow n as a. s:1h rule fluid, food. mu st be given in a ll fevers and in illn esses tha t set I n. se.\·en ty; It ca n never be amiss to Give milk freely until the patient IS dieted, beef-te:t or g ht soup if seems much all so.lids, ea, coffee. and cocoa, must be out of th e q u estion untIl the IS made, \\ hen the d octor takes charGe of the case, he WIll lay down the rules for feeding, and it is to S:1.y that they must be str ictly obeyed

CO OK ERY

I N the preparation of the food there is mLlch that is of application that the two bra n .hes o f ,the ca n best be dealt \\'Ith in one c hapter. In bot h is the same ll1telllgence reqUIred, for both the same exactiitude and attention to detaIl, for bo th the same scr upul o us

cleanliness and nicety. It is difficult in hospitals to have these points attended to; the materials are dealt with in bulk, the c?ok does not follow her cooking to its destination, and moreover IS ?1Uch t.o be done and few to do it, so that when any marked IS or alteration suO'O'ested in the usual mode of prepanng a dish, the kitchen are apt to resent the intermeddling. vVhate\'er cooks may be in the politica.l life, in their kitchens they are always eminently conservati\'e. The qualifications for a good cook are, scrupulous cle:tnliness, exactitude, guickness of percepti?n, an. elementary knowledge of the substance whlc? she handles, an IlWentl\'e ta3te for her work, so that she may not Just follow on a beaten track, but that the rather she may think out for herself how best to reach tile enj in view, quickness and promptitude with decision in her work:

The object of all cooking is to render food palatable by Im?rovJl1g its taste and appearance, to make it digestible by commencing the precess of disinteglation by agency of h.eat,. to Jeve!op its nutrient qualities either by comblllatlOn, or by plac1l1g Jts parts III new relations. The aim of cooking should be to retain as much as possible of the juices in the meat, at the mme time the meat is H well done," not on the one hand dane to rags and hard, or on the other, half raw and unappetizing. The mode adopted should seek this end by the intelligent application of means to an end. For instance, old and tough meat will be rendered tender by stewing, when boiling or roasting would harden; boiling will develop and conserve the nutrition of chops and small parts I)f meat, whilst roasting or frying would shrivel them up, and so on.

Cooking must not be hurried; its arrangements have to be \yell thought oyer, and its yarious conducted with deliberation; a cook who is always behindhand will never be efficient.

The processes of cooking are roasting, baking, boiling, stewiilg, broiling, frying; of these roasting is the most appetizing, boiling the more economical-in both cases, the meat must be first subject to great heat for five or six minutes, so that the albumen on the surface may be hardened, which prevents the escape of the juices inside; the heat must then be lowered, and kept at s/on', so that the interi )!' may be subjected to its influences and the meat all rendered tender; if this process is continued too long the flesh becomes hardened and indigesti ble The usual time required is fifteen minutes to a pound of meat. It is a mistake to put a fork in to test the tenderness of the meat; this makes holes, through which the juices escape. The meat cooked for invalids must be rendered quite tender, or it is unfit for to be eaten, and its nourishment must be conserved as much as possible. If a slice of meat is the food, it should be taken from the middle ot the joint and ha\'e plenty of gra\'y.

Sten'z'1Zg is an eco nomical, appetizing mode of dressing meat; it mu s be done slowly in a closed vessel, so that all the aroma and juices, &c., may be saved. If vegetables are included they make a sa\'oury nourishing dish. The vegetables must be boiled separately, as they require boi/mg, whilst the meat must be kept from boiling.

To be continued.

DARLINGTON.-LADY DAtE AND RAIL\\'.-W "WORK.-

Lady Dale made a suggestion at the gathering at West Lodge on June ,I)th there should not be much difficulty i:-; following out. 1 hat IS reason, and, of course, Lady Dale means nothinO' more. The suggestion was to the effect that the secretaries of railway ambulance classes should supply the newspapers with particulars of the cases dealt with. This would show the public the extent and value of" first aid" in relation to the railway service. Well, the speaking generally, refer extensively to the excellencies of the raIlway systems of. the country, their directorates, officials, and employees. 1. hey occaslOnally-:-very occasionully!-say hard things of obdurate directors that decline-doubtless for good and sufficient grant all the requests of districts yearning for expansion.

ThiS by the way. of the " work on the railways workshops connected With them might sometimes be published WIth benefit. J was not stated in Saturday's speeches, but go per cent. of th.e "first aid" given by railway. men is. not heard of by the general p,ubl.lc: The other IO per cent. IS supplied by the travelling public. CollISIOns other la,rge not reckoned in the 90 per cent. estimate. It ueals with the mamfold cases that arise m the daily work of the railway system-the cuts, bruises, slight limb fractures, etc., that only need to be mentioned to be understood although the number may strike the average reader with the more serious cases, or the fatal cases, become pLblic property. For ho",: many people would credit it that during the past month thirty aCCIdents happened C1.t shops DarlinO't,on?

I,n Darlington district during 18g8 707 cases were to Secretary. Last year.4,933 cases were reported as having been treated over the system, and, It would appear, the secretaries do not hear of all the An effort is being made to remedy this latter, so that exact statlsocs may be available. The figures quoted tell eloquently of that

TO FIRST AID.

humanitarianism to which Sir David Dale referred. The public will be none the worse for knowing something of them, for of all movements of recent times that have had for their object the acquisition of know_ ledge, the elevation of sentiment, and the like, one especially that has eventuated in practical results is that of " First Aid to the injured."

NORTH E..iST LASC.\SIIIRE COUN'l'Y Corms, S.J.A.B -An illustra_ tion was afforded on June I7th of the growth of ambulance work and especially of the progress that has been made by this Corps. It is nine years since a demonstration of the corps was held at Ple sto n. On that occasion only some 2(0 were present, but on this 800 fully equipped members took part in the competition and review. The turn out was a splendid tribute to the on>;anising powers of those who have h;.d to do with the [ormation of the Corps. The proceedings opened with competitions, which took in the Crush Room of the Public Hall, at the Ist Vol. Batt. Depot in St. Wi[(rid's-street, and at the Baptist Schoolroom. In the Crush Room the nurses from each division, who were examined in detachments of seven, competed in first aid teets set by the judge. \t the Volunteer Depot squads of one officer and five members-all certificate holders of the SL. John Ambulance Association-and hailing from different parts of Xorth and North-East Lancashire, attended with stretche:'s, splints, &c., were put through a variety of manocuvres to test their skill and address in rendering first aid to the injured; and at the Baptist Schoolroom squads of police officers assembled from Preston, Bla c kpool, BootI e :\Ianchester, Rochdale, and from the Lancashire County Comtabubry' to compete for the Leonard :\Iolloy Poiice "\mbulance Challenge Cup: This cup, which is held fOf one year, is competed for annually under the direction of the chairman and committee of the North-East Lancashire County Curps. Major-General Sir Charles'lYarren, G.C.:\I.G., who was present at the imposing review which took place on the ?\ orth End Ground, in comp:ll1y with Dr. Sellers, chairman of the committee, Dr. Trimble, deputy-commissioner +. North-Western Dis trict) :\Cajor Little, R.A., local hon. secretary, .:IIr. Derham (Chief of Blackpc>ol), and other gentlemen closely with the St. John Ambulance movement, visited the "cenes of the various competitions. There was a brilliant gathering on the X orth End Ground and the first to take up their positions in the field were the ladies l\'ursing Division, who began to form up in front of the grand stand about three o'clock. They numbered at least 500, and they looked "ery trim and neat in their reg-ulation uniform. The follo\\inO' towns were represen ted. the names being those of the officers in charge :-:\Iorecambe, .\frs. Ta.ylor; Xelson, Dean; II alton:\Ess Whitehead; Blackpool , '\Irs. Orme; Barro\\ ford, :\flss Preston; Padiham, .:IIiss Gregson; Burnley, :\Iiss SteyellS; Preston, :\Irs. Howard; Accrington, Miss Burgess; Oldham, .:IIrs. Jones; Foulridge, 1\1rs. Richmond; Colne, :\Iiss Frankland. the meantime the police contingents and the other members of the brigade, assembled at the County Police Buildings, and under the command of .\1r. Derham, Il1arched through the principal streets to the "cene of the review. Their progress up Fishergate, Church Street, and Deepdale Road was watched by thousands of people. First came the cyclists corps, then the police, who were followed by the of the 1st Vol. Batt. L.N.L. Regiment, and the 5th L.A .Y.; then came the members of the brigade, the horse ambulance carriae-es bringing up the rear. Shortly before four o 'c lock the whole of 'the brigade were on the gr.otllld, and the:general salute was given. Am ong those pre£ent were l\laJor-General SIl- Charles 'Warren Colonel BawdIer (Commissioner of the St. John Ambulance the YI ayo and Mayoress of Dr. Brown (president), Dr. ,'ellers (chair. man of the CommIttee), Dr. Molloy (vice-chairman), L ieut.-Co lond C. J. Trimble, Mr. Derham, Mr. S. Swanton (superintendent hon. Mrs. (Clitheroe), president of the Nursing Divisi on; MISS Fletcher (Accnngton), hon. sec. of Nursing Divisions; Dr. Sellers (Rochdale). Dr .H ewling (Leicester), Dr. Jones ( -orthampton), Dr. (Wellingborough), Major Freer (Birmingham), Surgeon. Captalll Arhdge H Veevers (chief superintendent, ley, Dr. Dunn, :'I1'lJor Carter, and others. The March Past.-1he past was a of manCI!uvring, the nurses especially bemg cheered agalll agall1 as they passed the saluting point. of the Competltl<?n.-At the completion of the inspectioll , whIch was conducted by Lieut.-Colonel Trimble the briO'ade "was addressed by Colonel Bowdler and Sir Charles in'" exceedingly c?mphmentary terms. Both spoke very highly indeed of the precision displayed by the nurses. Lieut.·Colonel Trimrle then announced the result of the competition, as follows :-Police Competition for the Molloy CUP-I 2 :\1a.ncbester City Police, 3 Preston Police. Squad OompetltIOn Jor won by Preston, 2 Blackpool, 3 Oldham. Squad Competition tor Nursl'.s-The Silver ChallenO'e Shield goes back again to breezy Blackpool 2 Barrowford 3 RevieV; Prizes-Men's Squad: r Preston, 2 Accrington, 3 Bbckpool; Ladles: r Blackpool, 2 Walton-Ie-Dale, 3 Preston. Sir Charles Warren then distributed the prizes. At the close the Mayor proposed a vote of to Si: Charles, which was seconded by Dr. Bro and the proceed!l1gs, whIch had been of a most enjoyable character, were brought to a close

July. 1899.J SU PP LEMENT TO F I RST AID.

B5s octatton of 1Rational 1b eaItb "UUlorher s.

A GENERAL Meeting of the members of the Association of National Health workers was held recently at the offices of the National Health Society, 53, Berners Stleet, Miss Ravenhill (Hon, Treasurer), in the chair. Arter the minutes of the last meeting had tee n read hy Miss Gray (Hon. Sec.), Miss Lankes.ter (Secretary of the Health Society) suggestpd that Dr. Childs, \\'ho had recently JOllled the Committee of the Society, and was much interested in the work of the Association , should be askc:d to become its president, and a resolution was passed unanimously agreeing to this proposal, and deputing l\liss Gray to make the request. Miss Barker made some suggestions with regard to the practic:tl results of hygiene lectures. "No doubt," she sa'id, "many of my fellow workers in this cause ha\'e felt how extremely difficult it is to ensure the practice in the houses of the people of the points which we press them. At a class we our pupils make beds and poultices, &c. The first ,lid classes do theIr bandaaes under our eyes. This is not the case with hygiene. The people and perhaps enjoy a pleasant evening, but except for the weleo.me siaht of a few open windows, we ha\'e n:) knowledge that our preachmg isbc<Lnied into practice. J t is useless to speak of cisterns or sash-windows to people \\'bo do not possess such articles; we need to kn.ow the. the very life of the people to be ofreal use to them 111 their difficulties. Tow, without raising any new organisation, may I suggest a further development? Just glance at the position. A health lecturer comes into a village, she finds a mmmittee interested in the cau::e of health, and she speaks to the people themseh'es. Here is a ready made Why sh<?uld not inspection follow the lecturer's VISit, on the lllles of the lectures, prizes beIng offered at the end of the year? " Miss Barker went on to describe three years' work ot this kind in a 1110untainous district in Ireland, antI proposed its extension on the following I.-People to be asked at health lectures to enter names for inspection and prize.

2 -Two laJies to visit cottages (surprise visits) four times a year. Open-window inspection on a fine day once a month.

3.- Prize of £1 to be offered at the end of the year for every twenty cottages entering for competition. Certificate" of to be also giv.en.

-t.-Points of inspection to be :-(a) Infant-reanng; (b) beds, bec.ldll1g and night clothing; (c) food, and tbe st<?ring of food.

,,\1 iss Barker asked for further suggestIOns, and assured the audIence there should be no difficulty in collecting the money for prizes, since /., I would ensure twenty object lessons 9pen to public inspection for twelve months.

[\T a \yell attended meeting of ambulance men (possessed of the necessary certificates), held in the Schcolroom, on May 17th, a Lli\'ision of the St. John Ambulance Bngade for Denaby and Cadeby Mai n was inaugurated.

PRESEXTATIO::\S TO MEDICAL l\IEx.-l.\Ir. James l'IlcKay', 1.\ I. B., Ch.B. Aberd., of Towie, has been presented by the lo cal class under the St. Andrew's Ambulance ASSOCiatIOn, WIth a Silver kettle, vvith a spirit lamp, as an acknowledgment of his first aid instructions to the class.-At l3lackburn, the ambulance c13.ss conducted by Mr. Edward Oliphant, M.B., C.M. AbeI'd., was brought to a. close .by an" \t home" held in the Drill IJall, on :\lay I9th, when the certIficates were to the successful members, following which Dr. Oliphant was the recipient from the class of a marble timepiece in recognition of his services.

T HE NATIONAL FIRE

TJ4.E ILLumNATIONS 0:-1 THE Ql'EEN'S BIRTHDAY.·-The illuminations in til:! \Vest End were this year exceptionally fine, and attracted large crowds of si\' htseers. Regent Street appeared to be the favourite promenade, and the regulation thing was to provide oneself with a bag of p::tpe r confetti, a scent squirter, and a short cane carrying a feather, with which to titilate th e ears of passers by. Everybody was goodhumoured, and the constables who stood in pairs at the corner of the streets had little to do but look on. The Quadrant made a brave show with its blaze of light, but (or once the top of the Criterion building was in darkness. Had the gasman forgotten to light up the braziers which on other birthday nights had burned like signal-fires high up in the sky. IIowever, the County Fire Office made amends with its beautiful lines of gas jets, which are always admired as a conspicuous object at this point. A curious effect was produced by the bombardment of confetti in Regent Street. Not only the coats of promenaders but the pavements soon became covered with the paper pellets, which formed tesselate:i designs in varied colours, over which the people walked as on a carpet. It was the Carni\'al on a small scale, without the masks and dominos. In clubland the handsome gas brazier3 blazed away with an energy before the ordinary gas lights, and even the electric lights, c, paled their ineffectual fires." The Volunteer Ambulance Corps, with their Red Cross wagons, attracted some attention at Piccadilly Circus. Happily their services were not needed. It was late before the people dispersed.

THE following from the Echo will, we are sure, be of interest to those of our readers who realize the sterling worth of Sir John Furley, and who still regret his abstention from a more acti,'e participation in the work of that branch of the St. John Ambulance Association which was mainly his own creation.-" It may not be gtne!'ally known that oneof the founders of the St. John Ambulance Association was Sir John Furley, a Knight of the Red Cross. AccorGing to the Wmdsoy Jlagazine, Sir John has had an exciting career. He spent some weeks with the Danish Army during the Schleswig-Holstein ,Var of I86+. He went through the Franco-German 'IYar, and through the still more. terrible conflict that followed-the war of the Commune-and he was In 'Spain durinO' the last Carlist rebellion Sir John is not a military man. But he is ba wide-world on all matters concerning ambulance work, both civil and military. He has attended every international conference of the Red Cross Society since r869. His life has been de\'oted [or more than a quatter of a century to the succour of the sick and the wounded and it \\'as in recognition of his services in that direction tha t he kn ig h ted. 0 ne of the most in teresting even ts in his career was the rescue of O'Donovan from a Carlist prison. The British Government could do nothing without recognising the Go\'ernment of Don Carlos. So Sir John obtained credentials from Dona 2vlargita, wife of Don Carlos. He her t.hat was charO'ed with havin a come to Spall1 wIth the Il1tentlOn of pOlsonl11g Don Carlos. At lengthbhe found him imprisonp.d in a loathsome hole at Estella, having a prisoner for more than six under the most wretched conditions. One morning as a column of pTisoners was passing throuO'h the streets he thought he saw his man. After much trouble b he O'ot an order for O'Dono\'a n to be transferred to him and to be taken in his charge as a prisoner to the Carlist 'heaolquar!ers, where the question of his liberation was to be settled. "'hile the question was being discussed the enemy swept down on DuranO'o and the" King," his ministers, and his army skeJaddled. Eal1y'in tbe morning ir John and started off and did not stop until the prisoner was safe on the other Side of tbe frontier.

BRIGADES' UNION.

P r esident: His Grace the DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH ,

Fire Brigades' Camp, JULY 22nd to 21th, BARR , 1899.

Review and Exhibition

PERRY HALL PARK , PERRY near BIRMINGHAM .

(By kind permission of Lieut.-General Hon. SOl\IERSET G01;GlI-UALTIIORPE.)

CO MPETITIONS FOR THE NATIONAL CHALLENGE SHIELDS. EXHIBITIONS OF THE LATEST IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE APPLIANCES. TORCH -LIGHT PROCESSION AND TATTOO.

On WEDNESDAY, JULY 26th, GRAND FIRE BRIGADES aEVIEW. ONE SHILLING. Cheap a n d fr equen t ex tra Speci al Tra ins w ill run with l a te r eturn fO r a ll par t s by Midla n d, Great W estern and L & N W , Rallw a y Compa me s. lIOHAC'h , '_ FOLKER, Han. (fen. Sec., TmNITY GUILDFOl\O, FrolJl 1r1/0111 all fll?'tll(J7' P(wtiClilMS 1lIaV lie ootal/lNl.

These been)dopted at)he Head-Quarters of th(St. John Ambulance Brigade, Clerkenwell, London.

{portrait (Saller\?

MOr\S1EUR CLEME'\"T GAIl-<.Al'D (G. CLET), SECRETARY AND ME:'IBEH. OF THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE (, R':\ UE nu SAUI'ET:\GE" (PARIS .)

THOSE of our . readers, who ourseh-es, deSirous of a closer connection between all coun tries in the gran d work of alleyiating human suffering, ,"vill welin our Gallery, thls month, the portrait of a gentleman,who,in France, is striving earnestly to promote in that country a similar movement.

Monsieur Gair3ud, who ,vas born at :\[olltpellier, on August, 186-+, is descended on mothe·r's Side from a Spanish famih'. He \\'.as educakcl Jt the college of St. Francois-de-Sales, an d 111 entered on a diplomatic career beinoattached to the Vi ce. C o.nsulate of Portugal, in ment of .A.nde HIS lIterary bent soon asserted itself, and by: IllS observ:1.1lce of, and his ZlquaintZlnce with many Import :1l1t points in connection with the commercia l and maritime interests of Southern America. he recei ved an official yote of thanks ;-. nd in 1 the \ ellezuelan Goyernment appointed him its Consul at Cette, and \vith the full approyal of tbeLegation,in March, IRqr, he accepted the po s t of Editor of the" GZlzette de Venezuela," a journal which is under the direct patronage ?f the of tlut country. In December, 189-+, 111 COl1Jt11lctlOn wltb others interested in the national ca.use of Venezuela, Monsieur Gairaud founded the "Echo of the United States of Venezuela," which he edits in Paris, under the 110m de plullle of G. Clet. In the early rart of this year, in conjunction \yitb :\I. Poncerot (who is well known to first-aiders in London), he took oyer the (. Revue du Sauvetao-c" which was founded in 1890 by .l\Ionsieur E. portrait has already appeared in the Gallery of this jounul. ;\1 onsie ur Gairaud, in addition to being on the editorial SLlff, is also the Secretary. It will, we are sure, be of interest to our readers to learn that after the disastrous Franco - German War, the father of the subject of our sketc h, the late M. Godefrey Gairaud, was appointed by the French Red Cross Society, and further commissioned by Count t3erurier to tender to the English nation itsgratefu l thanks for the valuable help and genuine sympathy which had been shown to France in her time of need, and also to present officially, as an everlasting memento of that gratitude, a. sO llv e nir, which l1Zlcl been raised by public s ub sc ription. Tncid enta lly. we may mention that like hi s son, the lat e 1\£. G. Gairaud took a warm interest in all that appertained to the s<1 \'ing of life, and was the founder and president of the A.nc1e Society, and had been officially presented onno Ie s than four occasions with medZlls from the French GoYernment, in recognition of the courage and devotion shown by him in saying life. Space precludes us fro111 enumerating all the

AID. 5

n,umer.ous both literary and life sa\'ing, of which ,\ \. IS but among the principal we ' mentlon LIfe Sav111g Societi.es ofthe Kiene, and Cognac, of whIch he is the tl\'e a?o a Member of Honour. He is an Associate of the Lisbon Fire Service.; the Haute-Garonne Society of Hungary; the .Institute Umberto 1., and the .Royal Geographlcal_ SOCIety of Lisbon and :\ladrid. He 15 also a .:'Ilember ot the Syndicate of the Colonial of the American Order of the Liberator, Kmght the Order of Christ of PortuC'al Officer of the Afncan Order?f Liberia, Knight ;nd'the RepresentatIve and Delegate 111 France of the Knights Hospitallers of St. John the Baptist of &c.

Few men ha\'e done more on the other side of the Channel tb.an Mon.sieur to foster and encourage the formatlOn of hfe savll1g SOCIetIes, he has an intense love for the cause, and a sincere reo-ard for all of those who are .engag.ed its promotion;' indeed, no matter what their or creed, anyone connected with the work " hlch has for its aim the relief of sufferinohumanity, is sure to receive at his hands a sincere and greeting. That he only requires to be kllo\Yl1 on thIS SIde of the to ensure for bim the personal of EnglIsh first-alders we are assured, for he has a gel11al and and a. thoroughly sympathetic nature, quahtles which at all tlmes commend a man to the English people. In 1 9 00, if not before, we trust of o.ur readers WIll have the opportunity of making IllS acquall1tance, for Monsieur Gairaud is one of the prinCIpal promoters of the InternZltional Cono-ress of r\.mbulance and Life Savino- Societies which will in Paris during the Great E';.bibition. In conclu ion, on behalf of English first-aiclers, we offer to our confrere across the water our best wishes for the continued prosperity of the noble societies with which h e has :;0 closely identified his life, and express the \"ish thZlt his career of usefulness commenced under sLlch fa\'ourable auspices may be extended long enough to enable him to see the consummation of his greatest hope "the Brotherhood of Nations."

._\ CORH£SPOXDEXT \\' Iites :_!I In your issue for \[ arch, you mention

:\ re distlr competition that tock place by the G.X .R. division of the St. fo hn Amhulance Brig-ade. Thos a who would have liked to have it, can see now an e'Xcellent moving photograph of it, at a shop in on the right hand side of the way going west."

AKD DISTRTCT A:-!BULANCE BRIGADE.-The tisual monthly meeting of the committee of the above was held at the Chief Fire Sta:.ion on :'Iontiay, t\by 28th, i\T.-, Tozer presiding. There were ql cases of first aid for the month reported from eight divisions. r\rral1 crements \"ere completed for the Annual Demonstration, Display, :1n J at i\lah-ern Park, Solihull, on June loth.-[n delightful we:1 ther, the mem bers of the corps ga ve a demonstration of the principles of first :.tiLl to the injured in Park, Solihull, which had kindly been en by Messrs. J. Troman and D. Cook. There was a brgt: attendance of spectators from the Birmingham District. The demonstl'ation took place in front of the hall beneath the shelter of the trees in the avenue. and the members, over roo, wh.) took part were drawn from the Birmingham Fire Brigade, Pulice, G.W.R. Snow Hill, Severn Street Hicrhcrate, Hockley, Kynochs, Belmollt Row; M.R., Lawley Street', Hall, Curzon 'treet, L. & N.W.,. i\li dbnd Railway (Central), Sm<lll Heath and Nelson Street. the procrramme were i\lessls.]. R. Stamp, Han. Secretary, F. Gilbert, Hon. Treasurer, and J. DlId!cv, and the work wasjlldged by the Hon. i\ledical Officers attache 1 to the division, who praised the work which was done. After the party been amusem.ent was yrovided in the shape of athletiC sports. 1 he Hockley Ratlway ;,Ilhtary Bar.d, under the conductorship of Mr. T. S. Pountney, played :t pre-gramme of music during the and for dancll1g Jl1 the evening; and Mrs. Harvey Brooks distrIbuted tbe prizes.

st. 30bn Bnlblllattc e BssociatlOll .

BELGRAvTA.-On :'Ilay 30th, Viscount Knutsford presided over the annual distribution of prizes to the successful candidates in the St: John Am bulance examinations, which were held recently 111 connection with the Belnral'ia centre. The meeting was held in Lord Knutsford's residence in Squ:tre, S.\V., and was well.attended. annual report. stated that the affairs of the centre were Ih a very SatlSbcLOry conditIOn, there beina a balance of £-+0 to carry forward to next year. The cbairman, in addressing the meeting, said one of the most striking could be add uced to prove the gre;Lt ad vances made by the AssocmtlOn was that in the Queen's Jubilee in rS87 there were only 70 ambulance men on the London streets, while at the Diamond celebration of 1897 there were as 'nany a!; 800, :wc of ,yhom came from the provinces. The real attractiveness of the work of the Am bulance Brigade was proved by the fact that they were enabled to in BelgTa,:ia, acciuents were, from the nature of the locabty, few, as well aSlll mllll11g districts, where accidents were much more frequent: IIe the men on their successes, and concluded by payll1g a hIgh tnbute to the excellent work done in the centre by Colonel Tufnell and Dr. ;\larsh. Colonel Sir H. C Perrott having addressed the meeting, Visc0untess I\:llLltsford then distributed the certificates and badges. anti the meeting concluded with a \'ote of thanks to the chairman, on the proposition of Dr. :'IIarsh, seconded by Colonel Tufnell.

l3ELPER.-It having been decided to eShblish a branch of the St. John Ambulance .Association in Belper. tbe duties of hon. secretary are undertaken by Mr. T. :'II. Jones. a railway sig-nalman, and member of the Urban District Council. For some considerable time there have been classes in training, and a good number of men have obtained certificates for proficiency. :'Ilr. Herbert Strutt gal'e away another batch of certificates at the Convent on Friday night. The class has a balance in hand of about £5. Towards the formation of a bl anch of the Association 1\1r. Strutt promised ;£ro. Dr. R. A. Johnson was presented with a. weighing machine for his gratuitous services in training the class, and :Mr. :'IIapp, the station-master, received a walking stick.

BRTSTOL.-At the Zoological Gardens, on June 3rd, the second annual display and cup competition, promoted by this centre, were held under most favourable conditions. Tile centre, which was establiohed in rg8g, is well organised, being divided into four divisions with a. view to more effective work, and each has its working secretary. 'I he hon. secretary for the Bristol centre is Dr. W, B Gubbin, and the hon, acting secretary Dr. F. H. Rose. the latter superintending the competitions on Satunlay. L1.st year, the first year of the competition, a slh'er cup was offered by:'llr. C. Beavis, of Totterdown. This was secured by a team from the :\'etham Chemical \Yorks, captained by .\lr. Robelt Hall. The cup was again open for competition on Saturday. 1\11'. Richardson Cross presided at the gathering, and the judges ofnciating were Dr. Harvey (of Westbury), Lieut.·Col. W. W. Tomlinson, R A.M.C., and Lieut.-Col. 'N H. Steele, R.A.M.C. (both of Clifton). The teams competing were two from the j\'etham Chemical Works and I two from the Brigade) the head-quarters of which are at Broad Plain) the order in which they wers inspected being as follows :-

1st Brigade team, captained by :'Ilr. J. Phillips; rst Netham team, captained by 1\1r. Robert Hall; 2nd Brig.lde team, captained by 1\1r. B. Hallett; and 2nd Ketham team captained by 1\1r. Alfred Cook. Dr. Harvey, at the conclusion of the competition. informed 1\1r. Richardson Cross that the 2nd team, captained by l\Ir. Hall,l had again secured the cup, the 4th team coming sec'Jnd, the 1st third and the 3rd last. Mr. Richardson Cross having expressed his pleasu)re in being present) called on M 1'. H <til to accept the cu p on behalf of the winning team, and congratulated the winners of this year on their success, ami having spoken of the work done, .remarked that it was a great thing for a person to be able to give aid to the injured To the members of the medical profession no credit was due-they were paid for what they did-but the men who did it for the love of their fellow creatures ought to secure the gratitude of :tIl. IIe wished the Association every success, and hoped that more would take advantaae of it. ,',1r. returned th:-l11ks on behalf of himself, his and competItors and concluded hiS remarks by moving a vOle of thanks to 1\1r. Rtchardson Cross. 111'. Phillips, captain of the Broad Plain team, seconded the motion.

CLEVEDON.-At the recent examination in first aid, conducted by Dr. Vernon, of Weston-super-Mare, the students who presented themselves for examination at Clevedon all passed successfully. The class was instructed by Dr. I-l. Roger3·Tillstone.

IrSWICH.-The annual meeting of this centre was held on June 15th the c;hamber at the Town IIall. The .\Iayor (E. P. h.ldley, Esq.) presld.ed, by .\Ilss Coulcber (hon. secretary), Bngade-Surgeon LIeut.-Col. (one of the Deputy Commissioners of the Bngade), Mr. W. 1'. hyer) .\Ir. IIossack, Rev. G. Bohun

<:=oulch::r (Maidstone), Rev. W. J. Garrould, Rev. W. S. King, ami Sergeant Offord; and amongst those present, the hall being filled, were i\Ir. H Jackaman, Mr. A. Ranson, il l r. F. W. Canham, and several promll1ent OddfellolVs. The '\layOI, openinO' the proceedings in a brief speect,.called. upon .l\liss Coulcher to read report. Coulcher) who was recetved WIth applause, said that ambulance work

AID. [July, 1899.

had now been carried on in Ipswich for 20 years, next August, so that it could not be considered a passing or temporary movement.

The local centre, she went on to say, had had a very sa t isfactory year. Tn her last report she cr ed for the moon (Laughter.) She wanted a Challenge Shield-and they had not got it; she w;Jnted a hall for ambulance work, drill classes, etc., and she had not got that. But the Association h<td pr<tctically acquired the horse ambulance carriaae which she also said they wanted. (Applause.) At a Committee'" meeting the Committee voted £30 straight off for this purpose. Other subscriptions were invited, and the amount was raised to £g[ lOS. 6d. There was "enough in hand to pay for the carriage(applause)-which was to come next month. (Applause). Another £10 for this purpose was much needed, however, and she hoped it would be raised. :\-[iss Coulcher went on to give a detailed account of the work undertaken, thanking many gentlemen and heads of firms for the assistance they had rendered in various ways. The .\1ayor then proceeded to distribute the certificates, medallions, etc., to members of various classes. Brigade-Surgeon Lieut.-Col. Elliston, in proposing a vote of thanks to the :'Ihyor) said they were much indebted to his worship for the kindly interest he had taken, duringhis year of office, in the transport service for the SIck and injured which they had been trying to establioh in the town. About a generation ago, I..,.hen he was first at the Suffolk Hospital, tbe maimed and injured used to be brought up in a way, and in such a state, as would scarcely be credited nowadays. Patients used to be brought up on shutters and hurdles, in tumbrels and in cabs. The result was that many fractures which were simple in the first instance were made compound on the way to the hospital, so that much unnecessary suffering was caused and lives were lost. :'Ilr. H . .\1. J ackaman seconded the motion. The )Iayor having briefly a.cknol\led!5ed the vote of thanks, the meetillg separated.

flpS\\'lCH -TLe Central Executive Committee of St John Amblllance Association, ha\'e adde.:l Dr. Hoyland's name to the list of honorary life members in recognition of his able and valuable services in ha\'ing given four gratuitous courses of lectures for the Ips\1 ich centre.

l\1IDDLESBRO(JCH -On June -+th a meeting was held at the N.E.R. Ambulance Hall for the purpose of presenting Dr. Phillips with a silver-mounted walking stick as a small token of appreciation Jor services rendered during the course of lectures to a class of railway servants. :vir. Hill, in a few well-chosen remarks, made the presentation. Dr. Phillips, in accepting the present, said he should value the walking stick as a token of the kindly feeling of the members of this class, as this was the firs! course of lectures he had given on ambulance \\'ork. He congratulated all the members on their passing successfully their examination. The following officers were then elected for the :'I1iddlesbrough Centre for the ensuing year :-Captain, J. ; deputy-captain, 1'. Kirt0n secretary, R. "reaver ; assistant secretary, A. E. Barratt; treasure!', T. i\loore. Mr. A. E. Barratt was also elected as delegate to the District Council for the year. Votes of thanks were given to the retiring officers.

SOUTH SHIELDS.-The annual meeting of the 'ursing Di"ision of the St. John Ambulance Association was held on June 2nd in the Baptist schoolroom, 'Yestoe Lane. The Mayor (Alderman :'[arshall) presided, and there waS good attendance of supporters. The Mayor expressed pleasure. at betI1g present. The division, thanks to the admtrable efforts of ItS lady mat,agers, was doinO' a really charita.ble work in the borough among the sick poor, and was alad to see that it was being so well supported, (Applause).

Mr. J. on behalf of the hon. secretary, [\11-5. Robertson Crease, read the roth annual report of the committee. During the year the nurses attended 175 patients, and paid 4,68r visits. Good ambulance work had been done in removing several bed-ridden patients to the Infirmary and Workhouse, and from Shields to other towns by rail and ambulance.

.June, 18g8, Mrs. hon. to the Benevolent Society, JI1tJmated that tbat Society was to be gIven up, and offered a number of sickroom for their a.cceptance.. This opened the question of accommodatIon [or these artlcles, and It was decided to take the Depot, 9, Catherine Street, for the head-quarters of the Divi-ion anu to'.appoint a caretaker capable of cQoking efficiently for the kitchen. Mrs. Miller was appointed, and had discharaed her duties 10 the satisfaction of the committee. The useful of the J:1Valid kitchen is entirely supported by contr;bution3 from many kind friends and the tradesmen of the town. The annual ,. At l lome" re-uniwl old friends at the beginning of the session. and proved a stimulus for good feeling and work in the winter. Cordial thanks are due to Drs. Crease, Goudie, Gowans, McDonald, and Mr. C. F. Sutcliffe [or lecturing the winter session. In concluding the report' the commIttee reJOlced to find much cause for thankfulness the finances hau incre'7sed.without any special effort being made during the year.

T he diVISIOn IS s.upported by volunt8ry support alone, and LO the same source the commIttee look for future help. They desired to make it more ":'Idely that the services of l.he nurse the use of the req'lisites stnc.tly for the of t ,e SIck and Jestltute poor. The report of MISS Anl1le Fox, hon lI1spector of stores, was received The bnancial statemcnt prepared by Miss 1\1. E. B uc kl and hon. treas u rer was received. Dr. B u rton paiJ a high tribute to the ladies w h o so

Jul y , 1899 ] FIR

ST

devoted to the work o( that society, and moved the re-election of the relir.ing officers c?mmittee.-Re". C. Burbridge seconded and the motIOn w:tS carned w th acclamation On thl" proposition of Mr. ,\. T. Flagg, seconded by Chief Constable Morant the commIttee and officers were thanked for their past services. The Mayor then preto the members who had successfully passc:a their exa,r:'lI1allon, and the proceed Ings came to a close.

SllEPSHED.- I he annual meeting of members and supporters of this branch held in tbe.National School, the Vicar (W;IO is president of the society) occupylI1g the chair, supported by Dr. G. C. Still, hon. lecturer to b.ranch. The medallions and certificates gained at the recent exa.mlllatlOn we.re presented to the candidates by Miss Goodall. DUrIng the evelltng some exorcises in ambulance work were )?'one through .by members.. An address was given by ;V r. VI. H. F. Ilep\\'orth settl!1g for.th the .Im portance of the association, an d rema rks made by Dr. Still dUrIng exercises. Dr. Pope, of Leicester, was. the examlnel: ?f the clas.s Votes of thanks were given to the chairman flJr presldl!1g, to MISS Goodall for making the presentations, and to the hon. lecturer for his Thanks were also tendered to. illr. Smith, the secretary of the branch, who was also presented \\ Ith a p;pe.

BrsHOP O.F .WAKEFTELD, on ;,\Tay r8th, presided at ,he annual meetlllg of the :'IlJsslon to Deep-Sea Fishermen, held in Exeter Hall. There \\'a.s a large attendance, and a feature of the proceedings was tne presentation by Lady Dodsworth of good-conduct stripes and St. John Ambulance certificates to skippers and members of crews of mis.;ion vessels. The expenditure for the year amounted to £22,621, wbich exceeded the income by £r,306, and 1r,800 had been taken from the reserve fund. An an.onymous donor has given the sum of £10,000 for the purpose of butIdll1g a fully-eq:.Iipped hos?ital ship.

TO!{\Jl'AY.-Dr. T. D. Cook has ueen conductina an ambulance class the past winter at the Gymnasium in with the At t?e close of the series an examination was held by Dr. Dom\"dle, of Exeter. Dr. Cook rearets that there is no ambu'ance competition in the to\\'n. He thinks that a competition would be a valuable fillip to the work

.AND \'ery interesting course of lectures on nursll1g by Dr IVI. K. Hargreaves has just terminated with s:ltlsfactory results. The valuable knowledge acquired by Ihose ladies \\'ho the course and the beneficial influence arisina from its to daily life and home surroundings cannot be highly estImated. quI' contemporary" :\Iunicipal London," in an article rece!, tly pu bllshed, places Wimbledon amongst the prem ier local bodIes for advancement in housing, snnitation and hygiene generally, and 1I1 acceptIng this as a just tribute to our honest endea vo urs, \Ie cannot bu t feel that it is ina measure due to the educati.on of the on matters pertaining to personal health that thiS much deSired condition of affairs is The honorary secretary of the abol'e division, ;'\lrs. :.\1. J. Darker, has supplied us with the following details: 38 ladies attended the course of lectures.

25 Lhe.msel\·es for examination, and 2:) Ladies deslrous.at members of the di\'ision may receil'e particulars on appllcatlon to the lady superintendent, Mrs. M. Simpson; the honorary trea;;urer, l\lrs. Hotston; or the honorary secretary, '\lrs. Darker, 39, Hardy-road, Wimhledon.

Deputy-:'Ihyor (Alderman W. H. B. Fletcher) made an Illterestlllg speech at the TO\\'l1-hall on the occaoion of the presentation of medallions and certificates to members of the local ambulance classes. There was a farge attendance, including the and Mayoress (Councillor and Mrs. Parish). The alderman referred to the great importance of the work, and the brae number of up in a.ll P:HtS of the country. This the techmcal nsl ructIOn com III Ittee of the towe council had been able 10 associate with the work; and as ch:lirman of that committee !t had been his privilege to occasionally visit the classes, and it gal:e hIm great pleasure to see how thoroughly the pupils entered into their work. As a member of t\yO of the county betlches of magistrates, It was always a great ple.asure to him to see them wearing the badge of the Ambulance ASSOCiation, because it showed they represented llOt only the strong am', of the law, but that they were qualtfled render any help that might be required in times of accident and rna)' be to save life. At the conclusion of Alderman Fletcher's s;)eech Ihe i\layoress (Mrs. Parish) presented the medallions and certificates.

1\1r. W. S. Simpson and the Rev. Werwick Elwin briefly addressed the meeting, and a vote of th:l.l1ks was accorded the :'IL.yor and :'IIayoress. The Mayor, in a brief reply, explessec his deep interest in the St. John Ambulance Association. Votes of thanks were also pm,sed to the .technical instruction cOlllmittee and to tbe medical gentlemell \\'ho had ll1structed the claoses.

YAPTO\'.-On Saturday, May 21st, the successful candidate:; of the held in the \'illage some time ago, were presemed With theIr certIficates at the Lodge, where Brooke had kindly Illl'ited them for the ('1ccasion. The certificates were pres=l1teJ Ly '\lrs. and, J\'I r. Strickland expresseJ thanl.s to '\lrs. Brooke for bel' kindness in offering them her house for the occasion, and to ,\ 11'5.

:'IlcKenzie for her kinqness jn presenting the (,ertifiptl;:s,

jfirst Bib 1Recorb.

CYCLIST named William 1\leynell, of Bedale, met with a serious aCCident near Thlrsk on was descending the dangerous Mount before enterIng Feltsklrk, ""hen he lost control of his bicycle. 1 here was no the machine, which violently collided at the bottom of the hIll WIth wme posts and rails. The cycle was smashed and Meynell, who.;e head came in contact with a tree was badly cut and bruised. IIe was conveyed to the house of p'oJice consta ble H all, who rendered first aid. H IS in juries were afterwards dressed by Dr. Longford, of Thirsk, who, removed him to a relative's house at Thirsk.

A LITTLE girl, five years of age, was run over by a Beeston Hill 'bus 111 Meadow Lane, Leeds recently. One of the limbs was neady severed from the body, and the child miaht have bled to death tut for timely aid of,\lr J Booth, of Be\l'erley Board School, "'.ho happc:ned to be on the 'bus. He immediately jumped off, and puttlng hI;, thumh to the main artery prevented further loss llt blood untd Dr. Rock arrived. :\1r. Booth holds an ambular.ce cer:ificate, and his action was greatly admired by those on the SpOt.

A:\'OTHER test of ambulance skill was brouoht under' notice on l\Iay 26th, in \yhich the skill of an candid:ue in the late examination commended. It appears that \Villiam Sharples, aged 35, a_carter 2n the employ of :'Ilr. ""illiam Duxbury, prov;sion dealer, of h.nowl Green, br .ke his left leg abO\'e the ankle. Assistance was close at hand, iHlprOl'ised bandages and splints, composed of wool scarves and ratlll1gs. Dr. Pache,t was soon in attendance and upon examination of the limb, gal'e great praise to Duxbury for the' skill displayed. Sharples was removed homc in the cart and is proaressin(T satisfactorily. ", ",

HA);'DS\\,ORTH.-A serious accident occurred to the Handsworth Fire Brigade on June 6th. About 10 o'clock the Brigade were informed th:tt the coffee-house, opposite the parish church, ;md kept by F. Edwards, was on fire. The men, with the manual, in charge of Captain Roberts, turned out smartly, and the road being clear proceeded at a dashing pace along the Stafford Road. The turning into the ..\Iontague Road was, however, taken too rapidly with the result that the engine overturned, the firemen being thrown on the roadway. Fortunately, beyond a few abrasions, none of them were much hurt. The engine, howe,'er, was smashed, and the men returner! to the station. Then, manning the steamer, they proceeded to the scene of the fire, and there being a plentiful supply of water the conflagration was in about half-an-hour extinguiShed. An examin:ttion of the scene of the accident showed that the e\'entual ol'erturning of the engine was undoubtedly due to the "heel passtng ol'er a brick lying in the roadway just off the kerbstone. On returning to the station the men, \\ ho h;t\'e all received an excellent training in ambulance work from Superintendent Perry, attended to one another's injuries.

[PS\\·TCH.-The County Borou;: h CoronEr held an enquiry at the hospital, relative to the death of Joseph l'pson, 72 of ;\ge, li\'ing at 7, AlbeIt Cottages, Rope "'alk, \lho succumbed at thatinstitutioll, on Monday morning, as the result of burns sJstained on Saturday, l\lay 13th. The jury returned a verdict of" accidental death," alld added a riJer to the effect that they desire to commend the prompt action of the police, especially of Police Constable George Lake, who used, to the best of his ability, the knowleJge of amt,ulance work 'I'hich he had acquired. The Coroner concurred, and expressed tbe appreciatIon of the action of the police in the matter.

LtYEHl'OOL.-On .\Iay 26th, three labourers, Frederick Flood, John i\lackerith, and William Halliwell, were fixing some gas pipes in Seel street, for the Gas Company. The end plug in one of the pipes fell out and before the men could escape they were ol'erpowereJ by the aas' and fell insensible. A message was sent to the Police Station, and P.C's Austin, Bowe, Mason, and c.l'Donnell at once \lent to their assistance. Flood and ..\lackerith were restored to cOllsciousness by means of artific!:ll respiration, skilfully used by the. offic::ers, who are members of the 51. John Ambulance class, but they failed 111 the case ot HallIwell and he II'as cOI1l'eyed to the :\orlhern hospital.

Golderson, an employe of :'II r. Thomas L\.itken, Irwell \Tale. was playing near the mill last week '.lI1d ing across some water when he fell in. His coa'panlOns r.used an alarm, and George Barnes, operatl\'e! gJ.t the lad out of the water in an unconscIous condItIOn. He \\'as earned mto the house by, and several members of the St. John Ambulance r\ssociatlon ren dcred first aid. Later in the day he \\'.tS taken home on the cllllbuhnce litter. He now recol'ered.

REDHILL.-Thom_ls Palmer, carriage examiner (\\'ho II'a; one of the class instructed by Dr. Palmer last year) rendered timely :t:d III Sellin,; a child's life. The mother by mistake 11Jd gi\'en the c''1t!J It,UIJ 'lmmonia instead of couah mixture, and on tinJlI1g out C:ITO] ;It sent for the doctor, the same time rcquisllioning the sen' ice,; of Palmer. On the doctor s al ril'al he at once said tbat l'almer de,erl'eu the greatest <:redit ior what he had done to re\iel'e the chilJ,

\V ESTO:-1-SUPER-MAIUl. -A the goods s t ation, a t about 9.10 p .m. on Friday, June 2nd, a guard Ford (25) .atlempted dismount from some trucks which were bell1g shunted, hi s left leg bell1g ca ugh in the wheels and torn completely off abol'e the knee. Assistance wa s at once rendered by the railway contingent of the John Ambulance Brigade, and the injured man was subsequentlv conveyed to the hospital, where he is progre3sing favourably. But for the assistance of the am bulance brigade the acciden t must hal 'e proved lata 1.

$t. tlnbrew's tl nlbula nce flssociation.

A BRANCH of the St. Andrew's Am bulancc : ssoc iation was formed in ill arch last of the railway sen'ants of Gin'an Station and a class of 3 1 members enrolled. Dr. Girvan, was elected lecturer, and .\IIr James B ecket, booking-clerk, gave instructions in first aid. Tbe class was brought to a close on Friday el'ening by the presentation to Dr. M'Dou O"all o f a beautiful dressing-ca:;e bearing tbe foll o wing inscription :_1, Presented to Dr. ,\I Dougall by Gi rvan and South Western Railway Ambulance Class, Session 1899 ." T he presentation was made by :\lr. Prove n station -l1l:J.ster. ;\ Ir. :\1 Dougall accepting it said the present so kindlyan.:l he arti ly gil'en,and he tbanked the ambulance class or their handsome gift. :\Ir. B ecket W:lS the recipient ofa similar gift. t, oo, had on a nea t silver plate, the fol1/lwing inscription :-" Presente.:l to l\1r. James Becket by Girvan GlasgoI\' and South- Western R aihvay Ambulance Class, Ses sion r 899. Th e pre:;en talion was made by 1\1r. R obert Scott, engine driver, and acknowledged by :\1r. Becket. The Class having a conside able amount of musical t alent, the meeting W'l.S enlivened by se\'eral good songs.

FORT-WILLTA:-.r A:-JD DISTR1CT.-Mr. Andrew Henderson. Gl.:tsgo\\', Secretary of the St Andrew's Ambulance As soc iation, delivered a lecture in the Masonic H all hereon :rIay 29th. 1\lr D. :\l acleish, Bank of Scotland, oce u pied the Chair, ann there was a "ery fair attendance. :VI r. Henderson g'l.\·e an excellent e cture on ambulance work Addresses were delivered by Sberiff Davidson Dr. '\!li ller, :\lr. G eorge Inn es, Monzi e \ Tilia; and "1r. John :\Iacdonalrl, Kevis Bank. It was unanimously agreed that Fort-\Villiam be formed a centre o.r local co mmittee to be cal le d the" L ochaber Cent r e." It is in te!'esting to note that this centre is the first that has been formed under the charter of in corporation given in favou r of the St. Andrew's Ambulance Association in April last.

PERTH.-On May 19th a benefi: concert was held at the Co-operative B all, under this Centre, in aid of the funds of the cen tr e. Ex -P rovost \V ilson presided, and there was a good attenda:nce. l\1r. H enderson, General Secretary, delivered an address, at the outset of which he referred to the satisfactory result of the Perth examinat on He then sketched briefly tbe hi story of the St. Andrew's Am b ulance Association si nce its in 188 2, and referred specially to the wagon sen'ice in Glasgow. During tbe evening an musical programme was provide d. At the close it was stated that the "Ie ss rs. Pullar hid contributed £5 towards the funds of the Perth Centre.

T A Y BRIDGE - The annual business meeting of this corps was neld on Sunday in the Am b ulance Hall, Esplanade Station. The Secretary reported the corps to be in a flouri s hing co ndition, and also staten tha 97 had been tre:tted at Tay BridiSe Station during The year. The fullowi ng were elected office -bearers for the ensuing year :-Honorary PreSIdent, Dr. Lenn ox; Pr eside:Jt, Dr. RoO" ers; Vice-Pre;;ident , James G;ant; Ca tain, Alexander Gray; R obert (,2uarner and Henry Summers; and Sec ret:J.ry and Treasurer, John 1\1. D ot t, 93, Ar broat h Road Dundee.

B ELFAST AND AiIII3ULA:>lCE WO RK. -Att ention has rece ntly called to the ne ee:;slty for addItIOnal ambulance accommodation for the city, and to the bct that an appeal for funds to procure one had been made by Mr: Ro bert :\I eyer, ot the Tow.n Hall. The cost of a new wagon is estimated to be £120. CounC Illor Curley, the Chairman of the Police Committee, has headed the list wi th a subscription of £ro, and there should be no difficulty in raising the amount. At a meetinO" of the PO.lice Comm.ittee !vir. Curley intimated that a sum of £65 been paid o r that was a further conditional subscr ip tion of £2j. The Belfast Eventll/{ Te!cgrapll says -" We would make an ::lppeal to our and manufa ct urers to provide the cf the m o ney the ambulance is urgently reqUlred: and sh o uld be In active se rvice now. Th e good w or k by the two wagons now in .use can scarcely be ovel. -e:;tlmated. T?ey are 111 dady u se, and assi s much in the alleVlatlOn of the s uffenngs of men and women who are the victims of accidents It wou ld be im.po sslble n o 1\ to do wilhout such wagons, and the \yond e r IS tbat outSIde cars were used up to so late a dale as 892 Both wagons are sometim e s in u se when an accident occurs 'lnd this is sufficient lestimony to the necessity of adding to the corps: a re hor3ed and manned hy the Fire Brigade, and the pub.Jc shou d n oth:l.Ve any qualms about sllpplying m o ney for many as are reqUlr ed.

A rD. ONLV-PRAGTIOAL POCKET AMBULANGE CASE.

No Ambulance Man or First Aider should be without one of these.

Made of Strong Durable Leatiler, and fitted with 4 Glass S , oppered Bottles, Gusset Pocket and 3 loops for insuuments

It is of no pra ctical nse bel og a FirstAiu Certificate Holderwithont baving at ha.nd to treat any im med at e ca.ses requiring First iL.d Pmctice.

T EE. MOS l' USEFUL CASE ON 'l'rlB !YlAKKET.

PRICE 3 / 6 or fit ted complete 6,'6 including Scissors , Twee3e rs, Chemical Lint, Tap').r WoOl, etc.

Posta l Order MUST N a e only addressR. L. HARROP q OstD. 44, Sbelley Avenue, East Ham, Es::;ex.

FOUNDED r87r.

'{the @cealt Elccibeltt anb (Duaral1tee <torporatioll ;, 1Ltb.

( Empowered by Special Act of P ar liament.)

AUTHORISED £1 000 000 RESERVES £650.006

CAPITAL - - •• Dec. 31st, 1898-

SUBSCRIBED CAPITAL 421,200 FUNDS,31stDec 1898 819529 (c:\clusi\"e uf Lllcallcll • Capital).

Income, 1898 £736,947.

Fidelity Guarantees. Workmen's Compensation and Burglary Insurance. Employera' LiabIlity Imuran ce. Sickness Insurance . Mortgage Insurance . Third Party others) Indemnitv.

The" Combined" P olicy of the Ocean Accident Corp oration insures Against Accid ent s and Infectious Diseases, is World-Wide as to travel and provides an Annuity.

HEAD OFFICE: R J PAULL, 40 to 44, Moorgate Street, Lo·ndon. (:elleral JIwIIIgerL)"Secretal'Y

COUPON TICKET

SPECIALLY GUAR.AKTEED BY The Ocean

Accident & Guarantee Corporation,

LIMITED, 40, 42 , & 44, MOORGATE STREET, LONDON, E.C. to whom of Claims, uncler the following conditions. must be senh within se l'en clayti of accident to the abo 'c

600093

£100

will be paid by the above Uorpomtion to t hI' lpgalrepl'psentative of anyone is killed by an acei<lent t o the Passe nger Train (with in the United King rlom ot Channel Islands ), ill which the ,lece<lsecl a Licket hearinl{ or passeng er, 01· who s hall ha\'c iJeen fatally ill.1l1recl tllereby (siluu ld death resull within ninet v clays after such aeeirlent.).

PROVIDED tllat the p erson so kill!" ,lol· injured harl upon his or h er person or Ilarlleft at h ome this tit!icet, ",it 1l his. or her, usual sigllature. writt en prior to theaccirlent., on thc space provirled lIelow, which, togpt llPr wiLh t.he gil'ingo n otice within the time as he l'e inl>efore mentioned. is the essence of this cOIlt.ract Tilis insurance hollIs goo,l for ('I liTe lit issue oll y. ant! cl1rrit:'s he henefits of and ib subject to. the conditions of tile" OCEAN ACCIDENT &, G COMPANY, Limite rl , A.ct, Hi sks Nos. 2 & The Corporation ;:ulmit t.hat the plll'chase of this Paper is the

IMPORTANT NOTICE.

In accordance with the requir6ments of Messrs. Marshall Brothers, the new Publishers, the journal will in future be published on the 25th of the month, and the Editor appeals to correspon.dents both in London and the Provinces to send any matter for insertion not later tban the 20th of each month , after WhiCh d a te lts insertion cannot be guaranteed in the current issue. No efforts will be wanting to make the Journal as interesting as possible to the ambulance helpers in all the var ious organizations over whose destinies we are pleased to watch, and we ask our readers to kindly help us with suggestions and any item of news likely to int6rest our readers. One important event which we trust will result from the change in the publishing and advertising departments, will be the enlarging of the Journal at a no distant date.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION.

For I Z months, IS. 6d ., post free, to be sent to the Publi shers.

:fi3rcvitics.

,VE understnnc1 thi1 t it is proposed by sOllle prominent nmbulance ,,,ork81's to O1'iginnte yel'Y soon a Society of Fir.;t Ail1c r s, the 111;\,in object of which will be the (liscl1ssion of nIl mn.tters J·elating to first n.ic1 W01·le It will be open to nll in te reste d in the movement, such as membel's of , 'ol nntccl hern'ei' co:npanies, members of the St. J oim Ambulance Association amI St. J olm Ambulance Bl'igade, nrgeolls, ntH} others not connected with ;my Society, in fact, to any houy who wishe::; ambulance matters disrl1 'se d openly and freely.

THE need of suc h n. Society, which will pl'Ob:1.bly be run upon similar Jin es ,\,s tlw medicnl societics, ]1,1 8 long b ee n felt. At prcsent, as feLl' as can be seen, this jOHl'llnJ is the only medium through which any new i(Ien. 01' scheme can be venti lated, and correspondence is not quit.e equnl to n. frep dii-icuss ion at n. meeting.

H ']lancct" anb the St.

30hn flnlbulance tlssociation.

The following is a p o rtion of a leading article in " Th e Lancet" of the 5th ult., and it is of such importance, and make s s uch charges against the St. J o hn Ambulan ce Ass ociation that we feel our reader s ought to be acquainted with it. Our opinion ba s b ee n given some time ago on the question of in suffici e nt payment of the medical profession; on the other matt ers we re se rv e o ur Com ment s for the \V are not certaip (, Th e

J ,ancet 'I is quite right in some of the fact but it ,,·ill doubtless be set rigbt by the St. J ohn Ambulance A s ociatio11 1 which will, we su pp ose, reply.

" The St. John Ambulance Associalion is the Ambulance Department of the Grand Priory of the Order of the Hospital of St. J obn of Jerusalem in Englar.d. Th e St. John Ambulance Brigade is apFoved by tbe Order as affording a 'union in one body of the Ambulance anu Nursing Corps anu Divisions connected with the Ambulance Department of tbe Order cf St. John for combined drill and o ther purposes' (we quote from the General Regulations of the Brigade), and the objects of the Brigade may be briefly summarised as follows: (r) to afford bolders of first aid certificates fro III the bt. John Ambulance Association opportunities of meeting together for ambulance and nursing practice; (2) to render first aid to the sick and injured on public occasions, and to maintain in readiness for suc h duty trained men and nurses; and (3) to enlist c:vilians qualified in first aid to be placed at the disposal of the military at home or abroad. The qualification for membership of the Brigade is, says General Regu lation Lt, the obtaining of a certificate in first aid from the S t. John Ambulance Association \V e see, therefore, what the \ssociation is It is a body with local centres \\hich first trains and then examines laymen in ambulance matters. L'pon the result of such training the successful candidates alone are qualified to join the Brig-ade. The Brigade thus recruited by the Association has for its object slIrgita! Itorli-that is, it exists to p rovide for the use of the community in pe:J.ce or war a body of cil"ilians who shall be able to assist the surgeon intelligently.

"

Wh en the relation of the medical profession o wards the St. John Ambulance is conSidered in tbe light of the General Regulations of tbe St. John i\m bulance Brigade, it wiil be seen that if it were not for the medical profes ion, tbe Ass oc iation could n ot exist How, then, comes it ahollt th,lt \\'e should hal'e to chronicle a position like tbat at Stockport, or to publi s h a corresponde n ce like that which recently passed betlleen )1 r. Valentine :\!::tuhews and Sir Herbert Perrott, the Chief Secreral"\' of the St. lohn Association? In eacb case a tone s adopted r.y the lay officials of the Association towards their medical examiners 1\ hich is not only very offensil'e in manner, but \'err extraordinary when \I'e consider that the St. John Ambulance Association is to this eXlent a medical body-that its only \'alue whatel'er to tbe community is c\eri\"td from its medical examiners In our opinion we ha\"e here the old story of the medical r:nan making- himself too cheap, and findjng as a consequence that hIS sen'lces not reg-al?ed: LOO much I\'or k is done gralLlitously by the medical prolesslOn lor the St. John Ambulance Association, and occasionally \I'e fe:lr that some of this work is not done from the best of motil"es. To be a leclUiel for the Association is a method of becoming kno\\n to the publi c and young men starting praclice in localities. where are quite unknown ha\'e seen in the office a II eful IntroductIOn. The t. lohn Ambulance Association ha s found out the weakness of some of profession, and has been able to o btain readily men wh o .will do its w ork for nothinO" enaolintT it to money by placl11g the former examiners it had pay ll?On the shelf. The medical profession should not do the \lork of. St. John 1 550ciation gratuitc.usly, and if the knell' better 1t seems to know holY to advance its oll'n pOSitIOn and the objects of the Brigade on behalf of which it recruits, it 1I'0uI.d recogn.ise the necessity of exercisinO" e\'er)' care in the selectIOn of Its lecturers. Efficiency should'" come first and economf St. fohn Ambulance Association should mall1tall1 a uniforllllty of for examinations, and the way to do tbis \\'?lild he to keep the Examination Board a::; small as possl.b.le. Then the examiners, knowing what IS reqUlred of them and famill.ar wi rh the rules of the Association, would not be likely to make mlSI t is el'ident that m::lny of the present examiners do nor know what is required o f the candidates. .The St. .-\.ll1bulan.ce Association should also remember that It owes pO.liteness to ltS medical colleag-ues, if only because proper am?ulance lI1strUCtion for the good of the community can be gwen \\"lthout the the A ssoc iation, but not with o ut the aid 01 the medical profeSSion.

1 I( The La n cet," Jline 3rd, T399·

3nbepenbent ambulance <torps.

AMBULANCE CORP: FOR BROADSTAIHS.-A meeting was summoned for July 4th by 111'. H. W'. chairman o.f the Broac1sLairs and St. Peter's Urban DIstnct CouncIl, at the Hallway Hotel, at 8.30, to consider the achisability of an lance corps for Broa(1::;tair:>. A large n 11m bel' Of lllfiuentml in the town and :M1'. Brittull being yo ted to the chm.r, It was resolved on the Illotion of :Mr. Em ery, seconded by COlUlCll1or J '1'. :Jlay, to form an ambulance corps. It was also on tbe motion of Councillor George .I3lackburn, seconded by CounCIllor Idiens, that Lhe corp;; be not affiliated to t;t. J ohll. Am bnlance BriO'ade. It was also resolyecl that to qualIfy as an actlve member a mllst ha\'e obtaine(] a certificate from the St. John Ambnlance Association that he had passe(l the examination for firsL aiel to the injured. :Jlr. H. " -. Britton, J.P., was elected president for the cun'ent year, and Councillors J. T. May, J. Il1iens, and G, Blackburn. :;\11'. James EmErY, Cromwell Hou se, ]lroarlstair:::.. wa" eleded honorary l\Ir. 'iV B erry, Lloyels' Bank. Broadstair.;;, trea nrer; :Jlr. Frank BrIghtman, }I.JtC.S., L. RC. P., honorary surgeon; ]I,lr. W. B. Ste,ens, superiniPllelenL: with G. S: Bishop, A. Gillett. H. Goldsmith. T. H. Gammon, J. Price, 'iV. Day, J Emery and Inspector 'iV. Stanforcl as active melllbers. A Sllm of £11 lIs towards the initial expenses Wi1.s subscribed in the room, and it wall resolved to appeal to the pllblic to furnish the necessary fund (from £30 to £50) relluirec1 t.o conlplete the outfit of the corps. Tile proceedings coucluded a \"ote of thanks to the chairman in taking the initiative in calling the meeting and presiding c1nring the evening. Sub criptions may be sent to the trcaSUfl'l', hon. secretary, or superintendent of the AND DISTRICT ,\MBULA:--ICE BRIGADE.-The monthly meeting of this Brigade 'was held recently at the Chief Fire Station; Mr. A. R. Tozer presiding. There were 3+8 cases of first aid reported for the month of June. The secretary announced he had paid to the hon secretary of the St. J ohn ASSOCIatIon (Birmingham Centre) sum of £30 res Id., .the profit derived from the comp e tmon held at the AthletI C InstItute Jl1 December last. It was decided to obtain drawings and estimate of the cost of a button-hole badge, which it was proposed should be worn by the members of the brigade The hon. "as instructed to pay all outstanding accounts, the financial result of the recent display and sports at Solihull enabling that to be done. A wheel -litter was ordered to be made, three having been returned to the local centre of the St. John Ambulance Association. The treasurer gratefully acknowledged the following donations to the funds of the brigade: £2 I8s. 6d. from the Birmingham City Police, and ro s. 6d. from the Midlanc. Railway (Lawley Street Division).

l\LI.RGA'l'E,-The Committee of the Fire Brigade Tournament held in connection with the South Eastern District National Fire Brigade union, have voted the sum of £5 to the .Ma,rgate Ambulance Corps in recognition of the valuable se rvi ces they rendered at the recent tournament.

$t. 30bn Bnlbulance Bssociatiotl.

BRISTOL.- The annual distribution of medallions anri certificate s for the Bristol Centre was held on the 28th June at the Y.M.C.A. Hall, St. James's Square, the Dean of Bristol in the Chair. Dr. Gubbin (the secretary) gave a short account of the work ot the yea r. The Dean pointed out that a new feature in the work was the holding of demonstratiom of ambulance work in various parts of the city. A uniform had been provided for members of the brigade, a n d their services were frequently soug ht for at the professional football matches and on other occasiol's when large crowds were assembled. First aid had been rendered on several occasions for minor injuries in various parts of the city and neighbourhood during the past year.

FENTO;>l -A distribution of medallions and certificates to successful students in recent examinations took place in the Town Hall on 30th June, under the presidency of. the HOll. and Rev. L. F. vicar of Fenton. There was a faIrly good attendance, and among those present were the Rev. Inglis C. R. Scott, vicar of P enkhull Chairman of the Committee of the Nort h S taffordshire Centre' Mr' Sydney W. Malkin, Hon. Secretary and Treasurer, and Assistant Commissioner of North Eastern District of the St. John Amb u lance Brigade; Dr. J. F. Arlidge, Chief Surgeon and Chief Superintendent oftbe North Staffordshire Corps, and Superintendent Gi l br id e. On the conclusion of the first part, the Chairman congratulated the centre on the success which had attended ambulance work in the districts of Stoke and Fenton. Much of this success was due to Dr. J. F.Arlidge, who nad takel1 the greatest interest in the movement, and al so to Mr. Sydney W. Malkin, the Loc:l1 H on. Secretary and Tre asurer. The distribution of the certificates, medallions, &c., was made by \1' rs. I nglis Scott, and Dr. Arlidge also received at Mrs. Scott' s hands an

ad dr ess framed and illuminated, presented by the students in appre_ ciat ion of his services in imparting instruction to the classes. Mr. Bate Jones was presented with a silver-mounted ebony walking stick in acknowledgment of his services .as class Dr. Arlidge, in the course of a few remarks, saId people Imagmed that members of the Association were members of the Brigade, but that was not necessal ily the case. The St. John Ambulance Ass?ciation t?-ught first aid, and those who had passed could then enrol In the Bn gade, but in the Stoke district there were only some 60 men enrolled and in uniform.

GOSPOHT -Abundant testimony of the excellent work accomplished by this branch was forthcoming at the annual demonstration at the Thornaate Hall on Wednesday evening, 12th July. Deputy Inspector H. C. \{Toods R.N., presided. The Chairman recounted the origin ani history of the movement, expressed, at the proaress which had been made In theIr dIstrICt. 1 he DlnslOn had, up to the present, formed part of the Centre, as the district h'ld increased largely in importance It wa s deemed deslrable. to form a separate Centre for Gosport, Fonon, and Ah'erstoke, WIth which Fareham and Lee-on-the -Solent would be amalgamated, and probably Titchfield T o this scheme the appro\"al of the Central Executi"e Committee had been obtained, and H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught had kindly consented to act as their first President. They were endeavourina to aet an ambulance wagon for the district, not for infectious or ctses, but for im"alias, the estimated cost being £82 Towards ttis object about £+0 had been collecteci. 1:I1r. A. W. White had promised that if the accommodation was suffi cient the carriage should be kept at the tramway stables, and he would provide a horse free. The Ch.tirman added that since 1882, when the branch was instituted, from I 8 to 20 classes had been formed, and they had passed throuah over 1,000 persons.

.-Princess Louise 1\farchioness of Lome, who was accompanied by the :.1arquis of Lor.ne, on the 7th ult., atter:ded th.e annual meetin a of this branch of which Her Royal HIghness IS PresIdent and disfributed the medallions and certificates gained in the nurslna and first aid classes of the 9 District (Metropolitan Centre) of the'" St. John Ambulan ce Association. An exceedingly cordial welcome was offered the Princess on her arrival at the Town Hall, where she wa5 recei\"ed by Viscount Knutsford, Dr. Martin, Dr. Hardwicke and other members of the Committee. A novel guard of honour was by the girls of the S?ldiers' Daug-hters' who, wearing- white capes and dresses, lIned the passage leadIng- to platform. After the Pnncess had accepted "1. bouquet from l\lIss Constance Hardwi cke, General Lowry gave account of the work of the branch which has been in eXistence for elghteen years; and, after the of the certificates, Lord Knutsford sketched the history of the Association as a whole. Acknowledging a Yote of thanks to the Princess the Marquis of Lorne cited the bungling way in which the late Dr. Waliace was handled until Mr. John Burns lifted him out of the H ouse of Comm ons as an indication that Members of Parliament would benefit from a course of first aid instruction.

I SLE OF WIGHT - The annual meeting of the Isle of Wight Centre was held recently under the presidency of the Mayor of Newport (Mr. R.B. Cheverton, J.P., C.C.), at the Guildhall, Newport. Mr. Drew read the qth annual report. There were 329 members! 14 of for examination, 19+ being successful, 37 galll111g their medalllOns. Classes held under the grant of £30 made by the Technical Education Committee of the County Council were arranged at Godshill, Whitw ell, and 'i"'roxall and all were much appreciated. The ambulance wagon has been use'd 14 times since the last annual report, and it is found to be of great use. An impetus has been given to. the forming of ambulance di\'isions of the St. John Ambulance Bngade by Col. Bowdler, Commissioner who has twice recently been to the Island and \'isiled the vari:llls which have been or short ly will be enrolled in the Briaade. The·thanks of the Committee are gi\'en to all the Lecturers. whg so kindly devote so much time to the work, always taking great interest in their classes. Thanks are also due and accorded to all those who help on this excellent work, especially to the local secretaries, who do so much in the arrangement of classes. 1\1r. Drew announced the receipt of a letter by Miss Evelegh from Col. the Chief Commissioner of the Brigade from head-q u arters, statll1g that ,Dr. Victor Blake, C.A. (Ventnor), would be appointed Chief of the I sl e of Wig ht Corps, and M!· H. L. Lawes, Superintendent of Newport Division, acling Secretary. .The Mayo: s,lld he had the pleasure of that Pnncess President of the Centre, had graCIously promIsed to present the certificates, &c., gained by members, on the 17th of August at Ryde, where a demonstration would be given LEEDS.-In the Leeds Victoria H all, on 4th July, the Lord Mayor (Alderman IIarding) presented a large number of medallions and cert fica:;es to members ot' the Leeds City Police Force who haye passed the examinations of the St. ] ohn Ambulance Association. Out of a total strength of 491 of which the 460 me? now hold either certifIcates or medallions, showll1g theIr effiCIency 111 the of rendering first aid. J n the course of a. short address, the Lord

August , 1899.J FIRST

observed that the Leeds Police Force was one of which the citizens had good reason to be proud. At the same time, he pointed out, the members.of force be jealous of their because faults whIch mIght be conSidered small in a citizen were much more ferious in a policeman. the objects of the Association, lhe Lor.d i\1a yor. remarked abJilty to render first aid was of srecial

I'alue to the polIce It was SUld that a little knowledge was a dangcr" us thing, but in his opinion a little knowledge was better than no knowledgp at all.. the course of the proceedings Dr. Heald, who has acted as medlcalmstructor to the men, was presented by the Lord WIth a purse of gold, subscribed for by the men, in appreciation of hIS lectures upon ambulance work. On the motion of Dr. Atkinson, Lord :\!ayor 'was thanked for his attendance, and with a similar expresslOn to Mr. \lV. Rowley, the proceedings ended.

L!VEl\POO.L.-At a recent meeting of the Grand Priory of the Ord('r of the H ospltal of St. John of Jerusalem in England, the following resolutIOn was passed :-" That the special thanks of His Roy al the Grand Prior, and the Chapter-General be herdy conveye? to Mrs. A. J Fairrie, Liverpool Centre, for valuable and dlstmgUlshed rendered in furtherance of the philanthropic work of the Order, In connection with its amr-ulance department, the St. John A Associa lion,:' A copy of the resolution, engrossed on SIgned by the Pnnce of 'iVales, has been received by Falrne.

WAKEFJELD.-A some\l'hat novel departure in connection \vith CommercIal Travellers' Assoc'ations is being initiated by the "\Nakefield Branch. lt has beeT) during the coming winter months to form a class m connectIOn WIth the St. John Ambulance AssociJ.tion.

YOl\KTO\\'N A::'D CA;\rllERLEY.-There was a pleasant termination lO the wmter sessIOn of this branch on yd of July ,\'hen the anmn 1 distribution of l1'edallions and certificates was made in the beautiful grounds of Heathcote, :'I-1rs. Stotherd, who takes a keen interest in the work of the classes, having- granted the use of these grounds for the There was a large attendance over which Col. BowdleI', the presldent .of the branch, presided. Colonel Bowdler explained the wfnk of the St. John Ambulance Association. The first questions that to them were: What are these certificates, where do they come [rom, and what do they mean They came from the St. John Ambulance Association, which was a department of the Order of St. John o.f Jerusalem Throughout the Colonies and in many foreig-n Cf)untnes as well as In England there were centres or branches of the \Ihere instructit.n was given. During- the seventeen or eIghteen ):"ears' \I ork. of the :\ssociation about half-a-million perso!1s b.d been Ill.stru.cted In first md and about fifty thousand had passed the ,hlrd exammatlon and so gained the medallion. With reference to what the certificates meant, the first thing to bear in mind was what fi:st aId was. Speaking generally, first aid was giving immedlale to persons received injuries and were suddenly taken Ill. It SImply. meant glvmg first aid-not attempting to treat tbe patIent as a medlcal man would do, but giving- first aid until the set\'lces of :l doctor could be obtained. This work was not done in opposition to that of the medical men, but onlv for them in the sense of preparing the case for the doctor. At the "same time first aid was liable to abuse. Some \l'ho had the certificate would 0'0 to treat a case the second time. This they should never do; first should never touch a case the second ti me. Having emphasised the value of the work, Colonel Bowdler added that he 111.d not the sliahtest doubt that within the next years every chi .d that went through the Board Schools would dunng the la st year be compelled to learn a certain amount of first aid. In conclus ion he reminded those who were about to receive cer.tificates their business was only in caze of necessity to render assIstance UntIl a doctor could be obtained. .Mrs. Stotherd then presented the awards. Medallion for third examination-Mr. Thomas Look, Yorktown.

at :fJ3Iacflbeatb.

On Saturday, the 22nd ult., 70 ch ildren, after enjoying themselves at a school were se Ized with symptoms of poisoning, and about 50 were admItted to the Seamen's Hospital at Greenwich. nn reception the were collapse, cold extremities, cyanosis, aboured breathll1g, and SIckness and diarrh a::a The contents of the stomachs were pumped up quite fluid.

11. H, Cotman, the house-surgeon, had the little patients to the number of + with two adults laid on-blankets on the floor of the I li s treatment (which comes under fir :t aid) consisted in brandy and Ipecacuanha wine with small doses of strychnia to t ose who were very bad. vV c are glad to say that no fatal cases are reported up to the presen t. h It was found that the food these children had partaken of about an OUr befor ehand was milk (so u r), cake, scones and cherries. Doubtles!! an analysis will be made, but up to the time of writinO' it h as not bee n publi she d. b

.A 1 D. 11

The above symptoms point to poisoning by ptomaines, which are alkaloids produced by the decomposition of animal substances. Sometimes these animal alkaloids are formed in large quantities and accumula' e in the system and then cause poisoning such as we see above. Possibly the sour milk had a good deal to do with it, anyhow a careful examination of the vomited matter will clear the case up. :\<1r. Cotman is to be conl:;rat ul ated upon the prompt and efficient manner in which he treated the cases.

1Railwa\? ambulance.

RAILWAY The annll:d competiLion in connection with the .\" drti1ern Division of tbe :\1 idland Railway Ambulance Corps took p!a"e on the Skipton Cricket Ground on Sunday, 25th June. Eight team, took part in the competition for the cup and medallions. After a very keen contest, wbich was witnessed by a large and appreciative crowd, the followin '! results were declared: Hunslet Sidings (A), silver cup (to be held the year) and gold medallions; 2, Skipton (A); 3, Leeds (.t., : +, Keighley; :i, 6, Leeds (B); 7,Skipton (B); and 8, Bradford Goods. The ] udgeswere Drs. Jackson and Patterson,of Carnforth. :\lr. C. P. Charlesworth, 01 Gargrave, presided at the competition, and Mrs. Charlesworth presented the cup and medallions to the successful competitors.

KORTH-EASTERN Saturday, June 2+th, the men of the above Centre had their annual field day at Londesborough Park, by kind invitation of the Earl of Londesborough, who took an active part in the operations. One of the chief event s was a competition for teams of five men, for prizes to the value of £10, arranged with 1st, 2nd, 3rd and +th pri z es. Eight teams entered, "ix being from Hull, one from Bridlinaton, and one from Beverley; all contested. Result :-I:ot, Drypool 2nd, Hull Goods, Xo. class: 3rd, Beverley Station class; +th, Hull Goods, NO.2 class. :\.t the close the Countess of Londesborough kindly presented the winners of prizes with their rewJ.rds.

G.X.R. A::IIBULANCE CO:\IPETITIO:\,.-.\ competiti-:;n for the Challenge Cup and Prizes took place recently at :\Ielton Constable between eight teams from \ari ous counties on the joint line. Dr. S. Osborn, of London, acted as judge, and [he competition \\'as witnessed by the princip:ll officers of the :\1. :lnd G.X. Joint Railway and others inte"ested in th e teams. After a se\'ere tes the teams were placed in the followin a order :-South Lynn (X 0.1) 325 points, X orwich Locomoti\'e 319, Smton Bridge 3IO, 301, Traffic :\Ianager's Office 297, Lynn (No.2) 293, Xorwich Goods Department 2 9, :\lelton Constable 263. The judge at the close of the competition congratulated the teams on the way they had performed their work. The President said he was pleased that so many teams had entered, that the competition had been carried out successfully. The way III which ambulance work had been taken up on their line of late was very encouraging. and he was bound to say this was due to a very great extent to ;\Ir. Petrie, the traffic manager, who had shown great sympathy and helped them in e\'ery possible way. The. Vice- President. he had ambulance work yery llIuch at heart, and ltwas \'ery to him that the men had displayed such smartness III the competltlon that day. He hoped that more first aid classes \,"ould be formed on the joint line. A vote of thanks to the judge and the doctors who had interested themsel ves so much in giving lectures to the "anous classes was received with appreciation, and acknowledged by Dr. Coleman. The teams then adjourned to tea, provided by the Company.

SO UTH EASTERN RAIL\\·,AY.-On the 13th ult. Sir :\Iyl es Fenton presented a number of certificates and medallions to the members of the Redhill Railway Ambulance Brigade, at the Superintendent's (Mr. Geo. Swann's) office at Redhill Station. In making the presentation Sir said he need scarcely remind. them he bad a gre:lt experience of their work and had taken a keen lllterest 111 the movem.ent. I t gave him gre'lt satisfaction to learn that there Ivere so many qualIfied men to render first aid. There were now 29 ambulance men at the station (several having removed),eight men who had won the medallions, eight who passed the second year exa minati ons, and 13 who pas.sed the first year examinations Last ?rear the that wen.t to compete for the S.E. DIrectors Cup and pr.l zes came 111 fifth, .thlsyeal the Redhill team occupied second eIght teams compet1l1g trom different stations of the S.E. R. He WIshed to mO I'e on behalf of th e briaade a sincere vote of thanks to Dr. Spen cer Palmer for all the trouble he i1ad taken over the ambulance work and the admirable manner in which he had done it. Sir :'.Iyles hoped that the Joctor would be associated with the brigade for many years to come and he would soon see the te:Ull in which he took such a lot of mterest \\,111 first place in the competition (a pp lause). Dr. 'pencer P almer, in reply, said the ambulance work had been a source of great pleasure lo hIm, especially in legarn to the lectures in whi ch the men bad shown much intelligen ce. It was gratifying to him to le,nn that the Redhlll team had won second place, and he hoped, as Sir J\lyles had hoped, that the team woulJ next time come out first.

FIRST NOTICE

All L etters and com.:n uni cations to t he Editor should be a ddre ssed t o him at t he Publi she r s, 10, Paternoster Ro w, E .C.

Subscri pti ons and Advertisements sh ould be sent t o the P ubl ish ers direct.

FIRST A I D .

A TT(!-U;:;T 1, lSDD.

AT the .A nnl1al Conference of the St. Job n THE AmbuhU1c.:e Bl'igmle, n t'pecial l'epol't of LDIJT.lTIOXS which a ppeal'etl in 0111' last bel', two OF papel'S wel'e I'ead, both of whIch cle::;erye FIRST AID, t'peeial attentiOl: at the bands of tbose engllgec1 in tE'(lrllll1g <1,111 bulance wode. The (11l8stioll m'ose some tim.e ngo the m.eamllg of first n,jcl, ill '01 ving also the limIt to ,w 111ch m:strud,lOll should 0'0. ::\11-. Oshol'11. Chief Smgeon of the COl'PS Zf the, 't J aIm AJIllmhmc e Brigade. in K lm,t it llefinition in the follo\\'ing wOl·d :-" Fll'St COllSI>-ts in the immediate l'elief of suffering nnd the tempOl'al)cll'es:-;ing of injlll'ies sLltlicient to enalJle the to pl'Oc.:eed to \yhn'e Hl1tbOl·itatiye H(lnce can lw olJtall1ed hom ql1alificl1 medicalm<lll 01' to l 'el1U:in 011 the ::;pot remo\'<.d is unjustifiable, nuhl tbat adnce can be obtamed. definition hils never been contet'tell ancl. gOO\1. The ohject of )11-. O,,\)Ol'll':-, 11"1,P<:'1' "'as to mSbt on definition, aml to i111p1·ess npon <llllblllance .the unl)orb nce of not O"oi11O" 11e yond it, notwlthstallChng the < Itl htl fl' r. Tl ,Ye temptc1,tions in t lC b ape 0 l'e( 1'eSslllg, LICe. b tho1'oughly endol'se. .., IIII'. Uant.lie·R pn pel' dealt cillefiy 'nth lns P1'op o:::e ll Fu', t Aid Institute, but in the l'e pOl't he seems to all.ude to the limitations of fil':-;t aiel. It is not stated what IS meant b'y « fal'tllel' com' e" 01' in:-;tl'uction," we presume It means something in ach'ance of first aid, but do not tbat it is p1·oposerl to teach any fartl-:cl' COU1'se In tute. If tbe Institute becomes a gOlllg concern. tllls POlllt "will IlH\'e to be cleal'ell np. The Ambul<U1ce Institntc ,,"oulLl l)e lllllc.:h ;tppl'eciated nl'st-,lillcl':-; <md '\\'e bope that ::\11-. Cantlie will be able to l'<lise the l'e(Illisite fund::;. It is a hsolutely nece:-;:-;alT to limit the n:ea ning of fin;t aid, so thHt certificated pupils cOillpl'ebentl what they have to l10. It lllllst be l'emembel'ed that lt was nevel' intenclell that. amulllance pupils should he medical :-;tuclcnts, elllbl'Vo 01' othelwise. When a membel' of the St. Jolin

13I'igmle goes on duty, 01' an first· aidel' attends to case, he generallya,ds 011 Ins own l'esponsibilitY" itllOllt the :"ul'eni:"ion of a llledic.:ul man, it is only l'easollClh1t' that hi:-; lespon:"ibilit), should he hll1lted to first ai(l pmply, and it i:-; not l'ight 01' In'opel' that he should do ,\ll)Ttlling ill the ,Ya." of fLuthel' tl·eatmeI?-t. If anything flU' bel' is l'equinL1 It is certainly first ald, and needs consirlel'ing hom a differeut staml-pomt.

Usborn made OU8 exception, and that is in the ease of ships th lt aJ e not ohliged to cal'l'y fL s"lIl'geon. But this again i1> not a question offil'st 'l irl, it is a of what })e tangllt to seafm'illg 11W11, such as eapt,uns and mates, III the way of merlical nnel slll'gie-al treatmellt of w'gent casel-, th;\t OCl'\ll' Oll l)o<1nl Sllip \"hell they ;u'e (\. long "'ay hom n port and call1lot obtain )llcdicnl a:-.:-.istHllce. These c01umlls Ire O]1l'n to a di:-'l'lI:-.:-.iull (It' 1hl' 1l);ltt('l'. nm1 we :-.ha1l1le p1eased TO heal' tlle \ il' \\ s of dodOl':-' alll] l'<lptaills.

A ID. [August, j 8 99.

[TVe do not neces&arily hold ollrsch·es ?'esponsiOl/,jor tile opinions oj 0111' COr7'cspollrients, ] -

To tllC Edlto1' of FIRST A TIl.

DEAH Sm,-:'Ily letter anent first aid certi.ficates for seamen, appears in your current issue has brought me mto a medical man interested in tbe movement. and deSirous of aldlllg It, He however, that the Syllabus of the St. Jobn Ambu.l ance A ssoc iat:on 's First Aid Course, is not well adapted for the parti cular requirements of l\'fariners. .'

;:,ome few months ago by your courtesy 1 han an OppOi tumty to pomt ou the shortcolll ings of that Course so far as regards seamen.

From my point of view, it is little short of to a seaman, who, when the knowledge is wanted, may be 111 rllld AtlantiC, a.nd tbree or four days or a week away from a surgeon! to stop bleedmg' an artery by the use of a toltrnirltet withom at same time how long it should remaIn applJed ; and many like SituatIOns could be l!',entioned .,. " S

The great importance of "First AId, supplemented by some econd \id" knowledCTe to seafarers is shown very frequently. :, Bullfinch" on"board which a terribly fatal accident occurred recently h ad no surgeon on board. The Coroner's inquest WIll, in due tell us what followed the accident.

Perhaps some of your readers will help,.to a of the problems: "How much the limIts of tbe ord1l1ary First Aid Course may be usefully extended in the case of seamen ? " and "Which is the best way to prove tbe necessity for, and to make It compulsory on, every sea-goinCT vessel to carry at least one perscn possessed of such knowledge on her ? " ."

This subject needs bnng1l1g mto promll1ence before the Governnt ent, the general publi c, the shipo:vning c?mmuni ty, all grades of earnestly ask for your assIstance 111 tbe work, and subscllbe myself,- Yours faithfully, .-\. G. FROUD, Lieut. R.N .R. SHIP:i\J..\STERS' SOCIETY, 2+t7 JII(V, 1899, [Cou ld Lieutenant Froud giye any information as to the number and cbaracter of cases arriving in the Port of L ondon whIchha,,:e for want of "First Aid," or, as he calls It, "Second Aid treatment.-ED ]

IDolunteer Bnlbulancc

The annual competition for tbe above Challe'1ge Shield took pl,ace last Saturday, the 22nd ult"at \Vellington Barracks, underthe auspices of tbe Volunteer Medical Association.

Nine teams of regimental stretcher bearers from following Corps :-\ Vestmoreland Yeomanry, Ist l\Ilddlesex, R:E \., Ist Bucks, R.V., 1st V.B. Suffolk Regiment, 1st V B. Devon Regllnent, 2nd V B. Hamps. Regiment, 3rd V.B. The Queen's, 2nd V.B. Royal Fusiliers, 22nd Middlesex, R-V. Tbe proceedinO's lasted about three hours and consisted of examllla· tion in stretcher wagon drill, first aid, anatomy and bandagll1g. A 1arO"e staff of examiners attended. winning team proved to be 3rd V.B T he <.Jueens" R oyal West Surrey Regiment, the second team beIng that of tbe Y iomanry.

The Surrey team bad been through a course at the '\ olunteer Ambulance Scho ol of InstructIOn, wbere they had already taken pnzes. The 2nd \T.B. Royal Fusiliers held the shield for the last two years. T he arrangements [or the competition were under the supennten· dance of Briaade SurCTeoll Lieutenant Andrew Clark; :-IaJor .General Trotter. the Home District, was present dUring the p roceedi n gs. •

METIWPOLITAN ASYLUi\IS BOARD'S AMl3 ULANCE \VoRK.-The work of the ambulance department .18g8 was not so hea\'y as III the previous year. The number of certificaLed cases of, fever .and diphtheria removed direct from their homes the Board s hospitals amounted to 20,923. To these home-w-hospltal remo \ als must be added 6437 convalescents transferred to the Northern and other hospitals' and 6,671 recovered cases removed [rom the conva}escent hospitals'to town hospitals for discharge. These numbers With ;he addition of 128 other transfers between the acute hospltal.s; 7 patients from hospitals to homes; 7I from the. out-patient de f partments of CTeneral hospitals to their howes, OWIng to want. 0 in the i''lanagers' hospitals (these were lhe day); and 133 enteric [ever cases conveyed from b?mes to th CTeneral hospitals give a lotal of 34,680 fever and d phth ena remol als by the of Lhe Board during 13g8 we're also removals of small-pox patients to and from the hospitals of Boar effected by the horse ambulances, and 326 of patJer:ts veyed to uther destinations than the Goard's hospnals, making ,he grJ.nd lOtal of removals, 35,0-+3

Supplement to + jfirst Btb/

AUGUST, 1899.

,-

u 1b o1l1e 11)\?gienc."

By W. J. :'TcCPLLOCII ETTLf..5, :\1 fl., (;[1.:'Ir., Hon. Life :'1 ember, St. Jobn ,\mbulan ce Association. LecLurer on I\mbulance, l 'n il'e rsity Settlement, Toynhee ILlll.

PART [V

Of the composition of the atmosphere, nothing was known until the ureat hlglish chemist Prie stley discovered oxygen, in 177t, Ilis were amplified by the immol tal French sa \'ant La\'oisier, anJ air was shown to contain t\\'O gases, oxygen and nitrogen. During this time cne of the men in this country, the Ilon. lIenry C:l1' ndish, was devoting his means and great abiliLy to the determina· tion cf the exact composition of air, and he succeeded in proving that the oxygen and nitrogen ahl'<lys exist tngether in a delil1i:e and con swnt proportion parts of oxygen in roo parls of air) ; also that lbey are simply mech:Jnically mixe\I, and not locked in chemical combination. Most substances that \\e ,He familiar with can, hy chemical processes, he divided into simpler 0 es, and these again into still more elementary bJdies. This process is known as " analysis "; anJ when we ohtain a substance which, on the application of all the resources of amlysis at our command, can no lonLer Ie resnhed into a simpler form, \I'e ha\"e i solated an deli/Wi.

Chygen is an element. ft is the most important and the most abundant of all tire elements. The e:JI th, as you kno\\', is constituted of solid material, of waler, and of the capsule of atmosphere. 100 parts (by weight) of air conLtin 13 parts of oxygen; 100 of water, ,9 of oxygen; and rco of the solid earth crust, -+5 or oxygen Thus yOll Sl:l.. there are 157 parts of OX) gcn in 300 of e\'erything else; that is to say more thall olle-hall cl the 7i.ho/e n'or/d (OilS Isis 0/ O,tygeJl.

Oxygen has the power of combining "ilh other elements, and Sf) stronR is this that nearly the whole of it is locked up in chemical unioll, only a quite infinitesimal amount-the Ilto·lIlIl/iollth part of the total quantity-remaining free in the atmo:;phere. Yel it is on the existence uf this minute fraction of unsatislied oxyge n that all animal and yegetable I ife depends. The I\'eight of the free oxygen is oyer ,me 'lIId 11 Ijltartel' /Ji//ZOIlJ oltol/s.

You cou ld not, by mere inspection, distinguish between a ja:- of 0xygen and one of ordin<try air; it has neither colour, odour, nor taste. Blll it' ),011 light a splinter of wood and plunge it into a jar of oxygen, the flame blazes up mllch mOle brilliantly. If you blowout the Ilame and inLroduce the charred red-hot end, it again hursts into flame. I t is el'iJent that the oxygen !'iU ppons com bustion much more Yigorously than does orJinalj' air. You are familiar, no duuht, with the weakly blue !lame th"t h,wers over the surface of burning sulpb ur. The lightest- breath extinguishes it. .\ head of blazes with hrilliancy in oxygen, and, \Ihen the sillphur is consllmed, tbe jar IS filled \litb a cloud of gas formed I'.y lhe comhinat ion of the two elements. Jf the jar cont:l.in a little W<lter, and be agitated, the water nuw smel ls slrongly of bil1'ning sulphur, and has an aciu taste The 5ulphm h:l.s become oldi,\/'d, and the gaseous uxide, dissoll'ed ill water, has produced an I/t'id-wlphurous acid. Thi s power of forming acids led Lavoisier to hestow on oxyg-en its name (Greek -o,\'/{s, acid; gel/lIl/o, I procluce). But lYe now kllO\\ that dissol\\.:d oxides are by no means ilIYariahly acids; ill many cases they are n eutral, and in some cases are the antithesis of acids namel)" a/ha/if\·. When a candle hums in air, it gets shorter and s h orter until, in course of time, " it all hurns away" As a candle, of co llI'se , it is no !onger existent; bUl equally, of ('ourse, it cannot baye been dissipated Into mere nothingness, for mattel is indestructible. [t is nol a difficult matter to enclost the candle in a chimney, from Ihe top of which a lube will conduct the vapours gi\en off ill bUlnil1g throug-h chemical absorbents The chief products are larhon dioxide and watel', so as we use broken lumps of fused calcium cbloride 01 pieces of soaked in strong su lphuric acid, either of which ha.s a great affil1lty for water, while the carbon dioxiue is seized upon by small fragments of fused caustic soda. The apparatus is now placed in one pan of a balance, and exactly counterpoised by weights in the other pan. You will fincl that as the candle burns and so gets smaller and smaller, lhe scale pan in whi c h it stands does 1101 rise, because of loss of we ig ht, as you would expect. On the contrary, the shorter the candle gl;ls the more it jil/ls, sho lV:ng that consumption is hringing about an increase of weiCTht.

Both wax and tallow belong to the class of known as hydrocarbons-that is, they are constituted of hydrogen and carbon. During the process of combustion the oxygen of the air unites with the carbon of the candle to form carbon dioxide (CO,J ancl wilh the hydl'ogen of the Nax to form water ( I f.20). TIence, so far from losing :lnything,

oxygen has been abstracted from the air and <-dded to the components of the candle, anu this is e\'idenced ry the incre:tse of weight already sholln. \Iuch the same thing takes place in our bodies. During rortiuolls work the respirations hecome deeper and increased in freT quency, while the skin exude, a quantity of perspiration. \\'hat h lpl't'ns is this: Pra ctically all our food contains carbon and hydrogen in the form of fats (hydro-carhons) or starches :tnd sugars ( carbo. 11\ LlI,ues). By the processes of digestion these bodies are so altered as t) hel nme sol uble and fit for introduction into the tissues. Tbe blood take, them up and conducts them to the muscle or other cells, where the highlY-'Jrgallised cubon containing- food stuffs await combustion. The nece,;sary oxygen is brought from the lLngs hy the red corpuscles of arterial bluod. During a mo\'ement the combustion takes place, Lbe oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen instantaneously uniting, while the energy so proJuced is evidenced as muscular mO\'ement and heat. The carbon·oxygen compollnd (CO.,) is at once taken lip by the red corpuscles wbicb, t:-le \'eins and right side of the heart, take it to the lungs to be got rid of, while the hydrogen-oxygen compound (ll'20) is taken up by the fluid medium of the blood and withdrawn by the excretory organs, the kidneys and sweat glands. Combustion is the union 01 oxygen with some other element; in other words, the o.\'ulatioJl of the latter body takes place "'hen this takes place with intensity, heat anu light are produced, as in the flame of the candle; when less actiYely, heat only is produced, as in our bodies and when yery slowly, no appreciable heat is produced, in the rusting (,f iron.

::\itrl)gen, the second great constituent of the air, was disco\'ered by Rutherford in 1772. It constitutes 77 per cent. of the atmosphere, and is also an important constituent of plant and animal tissue. Like oxygen, it is a colourle<;s, odourless, tasteles", ill\'isible gas which does noL hum; hut which, unlike oxygen, cannot support combustion. It is, then, chiefly distinguished by its illactive or negative qualities and Its duty in the atmosphere is "impi.\' to dilute the po\\'erful oXyCTen. H o\\ such dilution is a moment's thought \\ill show. If you heal the poi'H of a filelnol pllln:::e iL in a jar of the steel will burn hrillil11tly, gi\ing off a scintillating shower of sparks Ii a fire were lit in an atmosphere of oxygen, the coals would fhre up like gunpo\\'der, while the ircn grate itself wuuld bura like tinder. Xl)thing' could stop the conflagration set up, :1.11d in :l "ery short time the habitable ,,,orld would be LUll3umed. lt is interesting to note that nitrogen, the indolent, in:\cti\·c diluent, IS the main constituent of bhsting gelatine, of uynamite, and all the hter pO\\'ertul explosil'es. All living tissues, whether plant or animal, contain carbon, \\'hile the inel'itable accompar,iment of life is combustion or oxidation; and thus it is that carbon di-oxide, or carbonic acid gas, tbe chief and poisonous waste product of life, so strongly engages the attention of students of hygiene. Every day human existence alone ,,'ithdraws_ million pounds of oxygen from the atmosphere. 2'or IS thiS all. Animals u sc two thousand million, another thousand million is needed. for combustion and fermentation, while the processes of decay utilise a further four thousand million pounds. Each day, then, the oxygen hill amounts to 8,000,000,000 pounds, and, if "'e dre\Y' on capital only, we should be bankrupt in less than a million years. Correspondingly this wilhdrawal of oxygen frol11 the air for oxidatior. purposes means the return of an equivalent amount of poisonous c;\rbon dioxide. Xow il unly one part in a hundred of oxygen were permanently removed, existence would be compromised; and if carhon dioxide were present in more tban four parts in ten thousand, the same \\ould happen. To prevent this, Dame J\" awre has arranged a ch"'m!c:d laboratory, so Yast as to be heyond our puny human comprehensl.on, and yet imple in its broad design, as all her great works are. punng you childhood many of you, doubtless, ha"e grown cr 5S on pieces of wel cloth, or carrol tops in a suspended saucer of w,lter. The cress seed sprouted, tiny green shoots were put fortb. leal'es ,unfolded themseil'es at the e\tl'emity, and yct thcre was no \'lsible the cloth was just kept <lamp. Similarly, in c:Jse ot the car.rot top, lu\uri anc green restoons hung o\'er the sallcer, it illto a m:tss of exquisite greenery; yet it contallled nothll1g but :t liltle water,

[I' you examine a portion of leaf micr'oscopi:ally, you will find nllmhers of tiny mouths (stomata) formed of a green matenal.(chloroph)'ll) leading to the interstices of the leaf which also contain small masses of this g'leen substance. .1 chlorophyll the extraordinary po\\'er of ab.orhing the carbon diOXIde from the all' ,lnd, in the presence of dayligbt. of splitting it up. T!le carbon IS retained by the plant for the forn11.tion of its own tissues; I.t feeds. an.d grows on it; while the oxygen, the sine If/rtl lLOn of alllmal hfe, IS liberated as ,( useless wa ste produCL, Animals, then, absorb oxygen from the air and CTenerate carbon uioxide; plants absorb carbon dioxiue and liberate

S PPLEMENT

As already said, the main .constituents of the air are oxygen G) and nitrogen with an admIxture of several other gases, notably of carbon dioxide. This last has a more or less constant presence of + parts in ro,ooo. The other minor constituents are water .vapour, ammonia, ozone, and suspended matters. It was urged. against the researches of Cavendish that if the atmosphere leally consIsted of the mechanical mixture of crases he claimed it to oe, these gases "'ould, because of their densities (weights), sort themselves into layers. Nitrogen, being the lightest, found in the. top layers, oxygen in the lower strata, and carbon dIoxIde the heaVIest, would rest on the earth's surface.

'What this would mean is shown, for example, IO the Death Valley of Java where invisible, but almost pure, carbon dioxide issues from fissures'in the rocks. Any!i\'ing thing precipitated into that valley meets an instant death from suffocation. There is a philosophical toy known as the" jar of the elements." n it a layer of water floats on one of mercury, and on the water floats another of oil. The contents may be violently shaken, yet, on standll1g, they at once resolve themselves into strata as before.

Dalton, in r803, showed, however, that gases uo not in the same way as liquids and Thomas Graham, the last SCientific :.\tIaster of the .\lint, enunciated in r832, what is now known as "the law of diffusion," It is too abstruse to be considered fully here , but generally speaking it means that gases ,n'ilf mix .toaether with mc;re or less rapidity in proportior; to thetr dtfference 111 wetght. A balloon containing hydrogen become.s deflated because the gas has a tendency to pass through the membrane, a.nd to pass .oui much more rapidly than air can pass 111. We wIll .aga ln refer to thIS when ing respiratory phenomena. What chteny concerns. us at. prese.nt IS the fact that aases ha\'e a natural tendency to mIX untIl a untform constitution is" obtained, and on this account in great cities like London, where the formatIon of carbon dioxide is vastly increased while the vegetation necessary to cope with it is correspondingly scanty, the gas cannot o\'erhang the c ity and its inhabitants. (To btl continued).

<!oIonial tinloulance.

branch of tlle St. John Ambulance Association is numerically strong, and amlJlllance classes are almost constantly undergoing tuition, lhaL firt>l aiel theoriet> are very popular. The want of an am bulance litter Ita been felt for some time, and the sum of £3 lb. :ld i ' in hancl toward its purchase. In order to raise the balance-1Jct\\'een £11 and £12-it has Leen decided to holel a demonstration in the TO\\'n Hall during the present month. )11'. C. B. Cairnes, the president and treasurer, is taking up the matter ,,-ith energy, and the result i felt to be assured. The committee for the v eal' are A. Carruthers (secretary), Drummond, Cox, Hail, Granger, I ddle!:i, Bartlett, and Willis; and the as ociation is in a sound financial position, and ably assisted by local medical lli'ln as lecturers.

board of the Civil AmlJulance and Tran!:iport Brigade, met at the rooms in Railway f)(luarc, on Thurselay, 11th May.

Mr. S. T. 'Whiddon, M P. , pre "ided. The resignation of IIIr. George Christie from the position of hon. treasurer ,',as receiyed WIth many of regret. It wa::; resoh'ed to pre::;ent 1\11'. Christie with a valedictory addres. ,and he wa!:> elected a life member of the brigade. :\11'. Thomas Da vi::; was elected hon. treasurer in succession to )I r. Christie. Dr. Li t Llejolll1, 1\11'. Dobbin, and Mr. Scott were appointed a sub-commiLtee Lo deal with the matter of the new central ambulance 5tation. The case-sheets disclo"ed that during the month I)f April ll() cases of accielent and transport had been attended, the Ulen and hanel-wheel amlJulances travelling 255 miles.

THE RUYAL ARMY illEOICAL CORl's.-The new Manual for the Royal Army Medical Corps has recently been published. Considerable alterations and improvements have been apopted in the stretcher drill. NO.4 bearer is now in .he rear rallk :.Inu acts as a supernumerary as long as the Company is in close order. [n moving to a flank the stretcher is carried at the slope by 2 bearer only. In extended order 0. 4 bearer takes post on the opposi te side of the stretcher so that the changing of the numbers is much simplified. A new method of lifting wounded on stretchers, as wggesLed by the staff of the Volunteer Scho.ol of fnstru ction hJ.5 been auopted; each squad halts when .1'\0. I arnves one pace from the patient's head, Nos. 2 and 3 correctly co\ering in a line with the patient. There is no chanae in t?e hand-seat drill. In the wagon drill, Nos. 2 and 4 are n ow the TIght of the stretcher. In the plan s or the dressing station and field hospital camp a new operating- tent i s shown, the lenath of which is 20 feet, the \\ idth 14, feet this. gives. far more room than the old pattern bell tent. Semaphore stgna1lll1g has been author sed for the and \\iUno doubt be most in the dressing statton WIth the field hospttal and collectll1g stattons and fig h ting line.

TO FIRST A.I D. [A ug u st, jfirst 1Recorb.

GR IlIlSBY.-On Saturday, 15th ult., two hoys naIDed Jllriace Tomlinson, aged 13 y ears, and John Easton, 16 year,,;, both livio" with the ir parents in Oxford Street, I lkerton, were watChing propeller of the steam trawler Titonia being held up. The Loys were standing on the "lop of the graving dock at the }fish Docb when Tomlinson, turning dizzy, lost his footing, anel feU to bottom of the dock a di tance of 18 feet. The injlll'cel Loy was lifted to the top, when it ",'as found that hi:s right thigh was broken, and several of the ribs on the left side fractured. First aid wa" rendered by Sergeant Thompson of the Dock Police after which the sufferer \yas ta k en to the hospital.

SO G TH SHIELlls.-On Saturday night the I5th u t. about 10 o'clock an old man named Peter Hall, 72 years of age, residing at Low Ro\\ Percy Main, fell into the river from the Commissioners'St aithes: ,\Vhitehill Point P.C. Lodge, of the R.T.P" \l'as at once communi. cated with, and on his arrival at the staithes he found the man had been got out of the \l'ater, but was apparently dead. The officer, however, at once set to work and used artificial respiration, and lIith the aid of a fe\\ willing workers, 'was ultimately successful in bringing the man round After hour's work, the I?an was sufficiently recovered to be removed to hIS home, .where he IS no IV. progre ssing fa\ 'o ur3bl\,. The man was foreman tnmmer at the stalthes, and it at pears that while he was walking along the quay he was suduenly seized with a fainting fit and fell into the water. This is the second case of the kind that has happened on the river during the past three weeks, and it speaks well for the R.T.P. that they shoulu, by their ambulance be the means of performing such good work.

'\VALKBR. - On :?7th June, about seven o'clock, a boy nametl Tolson, age(l years, fell into the Tyne from Bell Bro:::. Ql1 ay at Low " Talker. A man named John Green promptly jumpcfl in to the rescue, but \H1S una hie to find the boely. P .C. " Tbite, uf the River Police, a1'1'ive(l on the cene, and by Lhe aid of Grecn and a boat hook, succeeded in hringing tbe little fello\\' to the sllIface apparently dead. He at once set to \\'urk aml u:sec1 Dr. Marsllall Hall's method of restoring animation. He also sent for Dr. Da mson, ThR offi0el' conlin ned his efforts to re::.lore animation, al111 after working for 10 minutes t,[1e lad was brougbt round. On the arriral of the eloctor he expressed himself highly \\'iLh the cOllflllct of the officer, and the man Green, who, by their timely had sayed t.he lad's life. The boy had Leen iu the ",'ater for "eren He wa conveyed to his home at Mitchell Hlreel, Lm\' Walker, and it it> expected he will soon be himself again

OF THE NEW HOSPITAL. -On the of Jnne, .iust too late to notice in onr last issne, tlw new Connty Hospital at Bedford was opened by the Duke of Bc(li'onl, who was accompanied by the flm1 Adeline, Ducile;;" of Hedforn. There were also present the High Shel ift· (Mr Harold Howard), 1I1r. anll Lady Isabella Whitbreacl, Lonl HLHl Lady ::It. John, Sir Frederick Howard, Mr. Guy Pym, M.P" Mr. J. F. Nutter (chairman of the \yeekly committee of rnanageme[.t), Bishop 1\1(1<.;rorie, the :\layor and MaJores::. of Bedfo r d, 1\11'. 'i V. W. Marks (hOI1. sec. of thc County Association), &c. The Duk e an exhau.ti\-e account of the origin and compleLioll of th e new HO!:ipital, which, he saio, ",as brought up to the late:-.l knOWll of snch an institution, and he predicted for it a long Cel.reel' of usefulness. After the customary "ote of thank:-. to Hb Grace, moved by the High Sheriff, and seconded by t.he l\1ayor of Bee1f0nl, the \'e ry large gathering of town and country folk il1\'itell made a yisit of inspection to the hospital, a work of DO ::omall magnitude, secing that to cover e\-ery room one must d evole t \\'0 hours to the task. Foreseeing this, 1\1rs. Alfred Paine, Lhe energ'eiic ano enthusiastic uea(l of all ambulance work in Bedford atHl the regioos rOlll1el about, underLook to provide afternoon teas and light l'efrcshlllenL for the yisitors. She secured most liberal a sit>tance in the shape of fmil all(l cream, ices and eyeryLhing necessary for tea, and Lhe cordial co-operation of numberless ladies a n d gentlemen \1'110 ha ve passecl through ambulance classes to act as wa i tres;lcs and A large marquee was erected and a number of libLle tal)les were cla.intily set out for the convenience of the weary ones, and iL is no more tban truth to say that this thougliLfu l lo the day's great function rendered the whole afIair the snccess it was. The Dnches of Bediord, an(l Acleline, of l:Ie(lfonl, hoth partook of tea with 1\1rs. Paine, Hnd expressed their pleasure at the arrangements made for t,he comforL and refret>hlUcnb of the hnndree1. of guests. The same ample pro\'ision was conlinued 011 the three following days, when the hospital w(t:; open for inspection, the result of these efforts Mrs Paine had a cleitr prnfit of O"er £30 Lo be clevolecl to Lhe purchase of invali(l appku1ces for the comfort of the inmat.es. On the following Friday a detachment of Lhe SL. John Ambulance Corps of Bedfo r d, unc lel' the superintendence of Mrs. Paine, k i ndly undertook the 1'('111oval of thc more hel pIes!:> patieu Ls from Lhe old I nfirmary to the llew H o;;pi(,al.

A

ugu s t, 1899 .J

3n"altbs, ant> tbe ]preparation of tbeir jfoob.

Rcprz'nted by speda l permission oj ./.Vz ss Catlzert',te TVood, A u tizor of "A H andbook 07l l\Tltrsz'ng," ce. (Colltillued.)

is a quick an.d ready mode of cooking thick fleshy parts of meat tf done over a qUIck clea r fire, the albumen is hardened on the surface, retaining the juices, and the result is an appetizing nourishing meal. The meat must be turned frequently, not wl,h a fork :lud it should not be sprinkled with salt unti l taken [rotll the fire. ' f;Yl1lg is a much more delicate, risky operation; if done with overheated fat and an insufficient quantity, the fibrine becomes hardened and tough; it requires enough melted fat to covel' the meat when it may be fried witho u being hardened. The meat is never so as that boiled. b

The flesh of young an mals is nQt so nourishing as that of maturer age, mutton is more digestible than any other meat, but beef contains more nutriment- -veal, lamb and pork ought not to form part of an or child's food The flesh of poultry is light and dtgesttble, but It does not contam the same amoullt of nutriment as beef or mutton, but it is good food to start with when the stomach has we?-kened by acute illness and therefore is not strong enough to dtgest rIcher food. The flesh of game is richer, more savoury, and has less fat than that of poultry; it is as a rule a welcome variety in the diet of an The hare is very savoury, and though not the most dtgesttble It can be eaten with advantage as a soup it is palatable and nourishing. Salted meat is not nourishin a as fresh meat· the process of .salting- has extracted some of the albumen, and the is harder; thIS makes it unfit for children and invalids. There is an exception to this rule in bacon and bam, which are rendered more \I hol esome by the process of curing- the fat is easy of diaestion and the flesh is nourishing and dtgestible - the rich qualities of the pork have been impro\'ed by the process of curing.

The fluid preparations of meat require care and exactitude in their preparation where possible they should be made over night, when the fat has time to cool and can be taken off. If the fluid is wanted at once, the fat may be "MoILed" off Ly a piece of kitchen paper. A greasy beef-tea or broth ",ill set a patient against the fooel, and is certainly a sign of careless cooking.

In preparing pounded meats, care must be taken to have the whole reduced to a fine mass, so that it can be pa-:;sed through a sieve the object of pounding is to break down the fibIine, thus passing it into the stomach more ready for digestion, also to take the place of mastication \I here the teeth are deficient.

Raw meat pounded shoulu be quite free from fat, sinew, or gristle, anu if properly Jone is like a pulp. It may be eaten with milk or beefLea, or sweetened with either white sugar or confection.

Fish has at all times been looked upon, and with reason, as a good form of aliment for the sick and [or children, though the kind of fish selected and the mode of cooking must have careful thought. An exclusive fish diet is not to be recommended it is not sufficient, and lIlay induce an eruption of the skin Among fish, the red and white fish is the most suitable as an article of food; it should be well cooked and made tasty. Boiling is the most wholesome mode of cooking, but iL is the least palatable; if frj'IIlg be resorteu to, it is better to use cil tha n fat or butter fish so treated is highly nutritious and yery appetizing. A good cook should have no difficulty in dressing var ious dishe:i of fish so as to combine variety with digestibility, and anything is better than the monotony of fried fish, boiled fish-boiled fish, fried fish. Among the white fish, the cod is not suitable [or a weak. digestion, as it is hud and dense if preferred it should be cut in small pieces and dressed as steaks, being made quite tender. The salmon at the head of the edible fish tribe, may be eaten if cooked thoroughly.

All sheiL-fish must be put upon o ne side except oysters these, when eaten raw, are nutritious and easy of digestion it is well to take away the hard m uscle at the conjunction of the shell. Oysters when cooked are not d igesti ble.

Great cleanliness is necessary in the preparation of food. :\ [ eat when recei ved from the buLchel's should be washed, but not by yiolen taction, as thJ.t carries aways the juices; it must ha\ e contracted some fou lness fr :>m the shop or from the various means of transit; besides, it clears away the remaining particles of blood. Fish, likewise, should be thoroughly examined and washed a cook cannot be too fidgety in these particulars.

/dl articles that are destined for consumption by either infants or il1\ alids should be quite fresh; a healthy sLomach may not suffer from tainted or sour food, but it may be most pern iCious to the delicate. Great care must be taken in the storage and use of milk; the fluid readily decomposes, and any vessel not scrupUlous y clean, or a n y mixture of sour particles w th sweet, will start the degenerative changes anu spoil the whole quantity. The vessels must be scalded overnight .emu kep t in a cO\'ered phce for use.

TO FIRST AID.

111

I n u s ng the milk for infants' food the food should be made fresh each time, and always in a clean vessel it is a mistake to stand" baby's saucepa n " on the hob t o keep it warm between times. as the remnants left in it will certainly begin to decompose. This rule should be to through the night. ihouah it may be irksome to get up on a cold l1lght to :nake the baby's food; however, it tS quite possible to keep a vessell\'Ith water hot all night, which will much facilitate the process. The temperature of the food should be about that of the mo t her's milk. viz. about 95° to g8°, certainly no cooler. Attention to these details will be rewarded by the good health and content of the nursling; a nurse wno rears a babe successfully by hand and starts it well on its career may well be proud of her work. All food prepared for the nursery should be thoroughly well cooked, and yet not oyerdone, as the substances become hardened by over-cookin a The farinaceous preparations should be mixed free from lumps, for lumps do not become heated equally, and so are a source of irritation in the stomach when eggs are used it is better to make the mixture an hour or more before it is cooked, as it becomes light by standing when making a batter, beat the eggs apart 1'CI:V lightly anci pour them into the mixture, they will rise whilst standing.

As a rule all past':I' is indigestible because of the action of the o\'en on the fat contained in it, and tbough a \'ery popular article of food, especially among the young"it ought not to find a place in their dietray, nor should it be eaten by those with weak stomachs.

Boiled p uddings in which there is fat are also indigestible.

Baked flour is the best form in which to use it for the delicate; it may be either baked by simply putting it in the oven, or by tying it up in a with boiling water around it the flour co llects in a hard solid mass and it may be scraped or grated for use. The effect of heat is to break the starch granule s and prepare them for the digesti\'e fluids '\lilk thickened with this flour and sweeteneJ is a nourtshing wholesome dish

Some stomachs find that milk is too hea\'y for them; the fault may be either that it is too richor thJ.t the re-action of the stomach is too acid; soda-water or lime-water will be useful for uiluting the milk and correcting the acidity of the stomach, or the milk may be made into wh!!y. Whey is the liquid left after th.; curd has been separated by the action of the rennet; th e whey may then be used as a drink, or as a gruel with some of the prepared flours.

Bak·d milk is more pJ.latable than boileu milk, and those who ad\·ocate its use assert that it is more digestible.

:Jelfus and gelatinous preparations are great fa\'ourites \\ith some, as representing a \'ast am'Junt of nourishment in <l small bulk. The squire's wife makes jellies for her si ck dependants, and places them on the same leyel as beef-tea. This is a mistake; a good jelly is not a sian of nutriment, for all that is needed to mJ.ke a jelly s gtilatmo, no whether you have it in the fresh state by stewing bones ane. cartilaae or whether you buy it as the gelatine of commerce. Jell), is useful a vehicle, for it lend s itself readily in combination with various nutritive substan ces; it is agreeable to the palate and is ea ily diaested Beef-tea made into jelly by the use of isinglass or gelatine, will combine with port wine, J.nd is both stimulating :1.nd nutritious.

J ell}' for the sick-ro o m should be made from fresh materials, cah·.es' feet, and fla\'oured with sherry, only enough sugJ.r to he used to gl\'e a sliaht taste of sweetness moss, which by some is recommended fO.r consumptive patients, the scrofulous, and for !::D.me of cough, may be made into a jelly and eaten wah mtlk, or the :l1l1k mJ.Y be combined in the jelly. If the jelly ;s nnde w!th \\·.Her, tL may be flavoured with lemon-peel , white wine and sugar.

(To /It' (OIL/zJ/l/fd.)

POLICE PRESENTATIO:-.r.-:\!any members of the 51. John AmbuI e Briaade that have taken duty ,tt 't o Paul's Station will remember t.e. Pepper, 108 (late +0 ). .and \\ ill be inte,'ested t? he:1.r that he has just retired from the City Poltce after c:; rears a many years of which he has spent rOllnd St. Paul 5 , and If at any ttme assistance was required at the 'tation r.c ..Pepper always there to help On \ Vednesday even.ing, qth, III the dll1lng room of "Blue Last," Ludgate IItll (kmdly lent by .\[1'. Stone), InspedOI .\[ arshJ.ll made the presentations in the presence of a number of officers and friends, aI1101:gst whom \I'ere ex-Tn"spector illIl'$ (who came u from Dorking for the occa sion), Inspector Swatton, SeriSt. Bodman. ex-Sergt. James. fnspector i\1ar.shall spoke. most. of manner in which P C. Pepper lMd discharged hiS 111 the fOlle, and then made him the presentations on beh:tlf of the olnrers an.d men -an arm-chair, with inscription QIl ; diamond .1l1d I uby nng flu i\[ rs. Pe er; a marble clock anJ sct, at ornaments from Dean and ChapterP;nd friends round Sl. Paul s. P.C. SUItably replIed and the happy evening wa s brought to a close With a concert, and amongst those. that kindly ohliged P.C, 1Iolton, \\ho ga\'e th e "Ho ly C ity" 111 very fine style, and se\et.ll othets

G)ur <BaHer\?

r)111E t-.ubject of 1.. om this mouth H, gentleman who is not only wcll kno'wn in the Fil'e BI'igac1e world, 1mt is known and appl'8ciatecl by all fil'staic1el's, Capt. Ron"" who l'esides in Huthin, X Oloth \\ '<1,les, occupiesmanYl'espollsiLle positions in that town, and in all it is eVel' his em'nest tluty to discharge tIl em in a way that sball mel'it the approbation of hi:-:; fello'wtownsmen, As l'egal'ns the Fiu'> Bl·igade which he hal'; the hOllom' to cLJmmand, it i8 sujnc:ient to say tbat it has earned the pn1ise of the leHtliug 11l'ef.;s of the C01Ultt-y, an(1 no Fil'e Brigade meeting of any extent would he complete without a chsplay hy the Huthin Bl'iga(le 'with theil' Pompiel' htdclel's . The men of llis In·igade have heen carefully anfl tho1'onghly tl'aine(1 in this mo,t valuable method of lifes:wing from .firo, :md the way in wIljch they al c<lny out the detmls of the (h·ill::-; proves that they must 11a,,'e had mOtlt capel,ble and cal'efnl instruction, MOl'eover, the gone1'ous applause, 'which is at all times oesk-weel upon them, shows how thoroughly the public appl'eciate amI l'ecognise tbe skill and dining displclyed by the team in the clischm'ge of this :'Iomewlmt diflicult and yet valuable method of rescuing life from fire, On the Oontinent and in Amer ica it has been for many yean; one of the best metboc1l-i of fil 'e rescue, clnc1 when \\'itn es:sing the RutLin meu one cannot help wondering how it is that this thill has not been adopted by ot]ler bl'igcldes in thi ' country, Ai:) lllany of am' readers m'e not only first-aidel's, but fil'elllen a lso, a ol·ief ;]cconnt of this (h·ill will, no doubt, prove of interest to them: "The l(lng hook on the laddel' il-; force d tlu-ough a window on the fin;t fioor of tho threatened building, a11c l c,ltcbe::; on the ledge cUl! l sill mall at once mounts neady to the top , and l'ocoives a second la.ddel' from n, companion bimilm·ly etFlipp ed, This i t: hItched to the next window n bove, and ill thi::; ,yay any altitude may be If a pm'son to be l'esc.;netl is fully conscions, h e is low el'cel by lllenn::; of the )·ope. If unconscious, one of the pompiel's-they \YOl·k at least in twos fel stens the rope to several t hin gs in t h e rooUl, tlll'owing the othel' en d out of the window, H e thcn twists the I'ope seveml times t hrou g h the h ook attachecl to Ili R belt, Putting on the leat h e}' glo,-es- fOl' slilling down the l'op e would cnt the lmnd s to pi ec:es, often, though the glove::; al'e veq thick, a. pail' bas been wom out at one drill -tb e pompiel' gets out of the wimIow, ana d escen d s until h e is level ,\ it b the Rill , wh en his compan ion puts the lUlconscious om'den across his shou lders Th e l'eSCUel' then sl ill es clown tIle rope. Twi st ing the rope ronn el the hook l'e(luC'cs the f.;peed to snfeL, " When the til'oillan's tctsk is clono he mel'ely puts 011t' in the rope

the hook? and then, standing on the ,ill facing the wmdow, he sprmgs .far out as he can, arrivilLg ?n the r;l'Olll1cl on hIS feet m <1 .few t:;econds. Telling this In cletml, the process ::;eel1l:-. tedlOu ' ; but when thOl'Ou crhly lem'ned, it is clone a utol1latictl lly amI with li<Thtnin 0' l'al)idit),,,,, I 1', 0 b n 11S own town, mcleecl evel'y"'here, Captain Ronw i most but we qne&tioll whethel' any of his hienc1s hold hun 111 greatel' esteem or entertain for 11im a more kindly feeling than those whom he has made in tho ranks of the St. J obn A.mbu1ctnce Bl'igade, cl,ne! on his P<ll·t as an Am hulance fil'eman and the holdel' of the I':\t. John Amhuhuc:c the captnin entertains for his hienc1s in the :-;istel service an eClllully W81'11l regal'cl. Captain Rou\\' htl,;:; on seveml occasion ' formed one of the British contingent who haye paid vi:-:;it::; to foreign brigade. and in him tll c moyelllent fOl' a closer connection between the life:lxing ::,ocietie. of the wmld hac; n, warm supporter. In coo clu:-;ioll , we can only exprcs:" the hope that Capt. Rouw ,yill for many yean; hene henlth and stl'ength to cany out the I.l uties of his volllntm'Y 'a,mat·itan selTice He is one of those unselfish ,\'Orkel's who helieve' ill doing all that In.ys in power to render assistance to othel's <mel it is to ::inch men as him that we look for the promotion of n, kimUier and more genel'ou feeling between the nation: of the world,

\l)oIunteer tlnlbulancc.

A:vrBULA::\CE DISPLAY AT STO:-;Y STRATFoRD.-Con sidera ble interest was taken in the annual combined drill of the Brigade Bearer Company of the Home Counties Volunteer Brigade, which ,ras held at their headq..!arters at Stony Stratford on Saturday aftern oo n, the ::! [st June, The men gave a capital display and went through their movements in a smart manner. The Company is composed of three sections, one (2+ in number) being on the :;trength of the 1st V.B, Royal Berks Regiment (Reading), another (2+ in numbe r) on the strength of the 3rd V.B. Beds Regiment (Bedford) and the remainder (24. and a sergeant-major) attached to the Ist Bu c ks R.V.C. (Stony 'tratford). The Beds and Berks sections arrived at Woh elt o n Station soon after noon from their headquarters and proceeded to Stony Stratford, under their commanding officer Surgeon Cap ain S a nkey (2nd V.B. Ox on L.I.) and Surgeon Lieutenant Deyns (Brigade Bearer Co .), headed by the Stony Stratford Town Band. The whole company fell in at 3.30 at the Drill Hall and proceeded to the parade ground (St. Oswald's field), under the command of Brigade Surgeon Lieutenant-Colonel W. H, Bull, V.D , F.R.C.S., accompanied by BrigadeSurgeon Lieutenant-Colonel Giles, V.D., F.R.C.S. (Welsh B:>rderers' Brigade), the ambulance wagon following in the rear, The company was put through the various mo\·ements of stretcher drill by SurlJ'eon Captain Sankey. The company next fell in and stood to strefchers and were ordered by Surgeon Captain Sankey to" search for wounded, 'and com'ey them to the collecling station (which was indicated by a Geneya Cross Flag), and placed in the ambulance waO'on \\ tth the idea of being conveyed to the dressinO' station, After inspection by the Brigade S'urgeon the wounded men were unb:ll1thged, slretcheIs folded and placed in the ambulance wagon, and the company fell in for the march past, after which they returned to their headquarters and sat down to tea in St. Paul's College dining hall. The Heds and l3erks sections remained the night at Stony Stratford and spent a very happy eveninO' and slept in St. Paui's College. Guard was mounted from of Stony Stratford section. A "smoker" \\ as held at the Crown Inn on Saturday, and was largely attended, Some capital songs were sling and a merry e\'ening was spent.

ROYAL INSTITUTE OF Pl1llLfC HEALTH. - The annual Congress will take place this year at under the presiuen.cy of the .\[arquis of Lome In conneXIOn WIth the Congress there WIll be from Sept, 21st to Oct I.j.th an of appliances ".Ith public health, and spectal attentIOn \\Ill be paid to a seclI.an II1cludll1g all appliances for the of smoke. There WIll also be a section devoted to public and private means of prel entmg fire; appliances for sa\'ing life from displays of the t. John and ,Red Cross Ambulance work; and hre brigade competitIOns. '" C. Larkins has been appointed curator and. manager of the e,l(hlbllJon and Illay be communicated \\'ith at the Publrc Health Office, Blackpool.

TJIEODORE Rovw, UmEF OFFICER [lVTIlL\ BnWADB.

st. 30bn thnbulance CORPS

TonmEE IJALL. On Wednesday, July 19th, an Ambulance Sociable was held ill the large Quadrangle. The students of the various ambulance classes were present in force to the number of about 200. The remo.rk bas often been made that no one would imagine that only a, stone,,'s th.row away. was naked .sqlJa.lor misery of the East End. Certamlyon this occasIOn l.tapplJed with. mOle than usual force. The meeting was held informally 111 the open all', the eveni!JO' "vas deliahtfully fine and cool, while the ivy-clad walls were with m)Tiads of fairy lig-hts; tbis, with the music and the academic surroundings, gave an indescribable charm to.the.gathenn.g-.

Among those present were Sir John Furley, dlstnbuted the medallions; W. J. McCulloch Ettles, M.D., Purvles Stuart, M.D., Lecturers on .\mbulance; VV. H. Winny, Superintendent Secretary St. John .\mbubnce Brigade, who organises the T oynbee Commissioner :\lcKenzie, while among the residents were Dr. Hutchison, Mr. Douglas and 21 Ir. Urwick.

Sir John Furli'y, who was well re:eived, after giving out medallions said :-I must first cong-ratula te you all upon the results you' have obtained in your fi st-aid and hygiene and this may say is due panly to the energy of :\1r. \V1I1ny, as well as to the excellent instruction of the lecturers. Doctors, I may say, form the backbone of the Association; they give it their earnest support, and they desen'e our .hearty thanks for. the instruction they so willingly and generou;;ly give. [myself feel1l1terested ?eCaLlSe I ha\'e no\\' had thirty years of ambulance wo;k, and the development of the Association is well known to me. At the close of the Franco-Prusslan war we came to the conclusion that there was needed a service [or peace as well as for war, and that was the starting point of the St. John Ambulance Association. \\'e then found that sufficient work was not done to enable the men to be real and efficient first-aicers, and the outcome was their formation into corps; these again became so numerous that they were brigaded together. I must not forget the nursing corps, the ladies who so skillfully and intelligently carry out those parts of the \york for which they are so eminently suitable. These corps, I believe, were first formed for the benefit of the mining districts, and they have now spread over the entire country, and are very val;;able and usdul institutions. :\1y advice to yeu all is to follow instructions given to you, and to limit yourselves to that. Do not attempt to become amateur doctors, or to do other than implicitly obey [:-Ie surg-eon's directions. The transport of invalids is an important of the Assoc:ation's work. Some time ago I had occasion to lemark that we had moved persons in e\'ery state of except Royalty, but I can now say that we ha,'e done e\'en that. I should no\\' like to say a few words to those \\ho have taken certificates, and even to those who h ave medallions. I would impre ss upon you the necessity of keeping up your knowledge, so that should you come face to face with an accident, you would not turn round the nearest corner, fearing to bee the responsibility. Keep up your practice and then you will find that s h ou ld an occasion require your services, you will not lose your heads.

Dr. Ettles, who was g-reeted with cheers, said :-T am sure that I echo the se ntiments of everyone present when say that we are deeply grateful to Sir John Furley for his kindness in coming here to di stribute the medallions, ana for the kindly words of encouragement he has addressed to us. Tho se who have studied ambulance problems have 10nR regarded Sir John as the" father of British Ambulance Work," of that work under the Red Cross which has done so much to lessen the horror of war hy ensuring the prompt and skilful removal of wounded soldiers from the battle field. Of the present class I will say this only, that 30 of the 32 attending, satisfied the requirements of :'11'. Cantlie, an examiner who is known not to err on the side of leniency. \Vith so enthw;iastic an audience as this, and the splendid facilitie3 placed at my disposal by the generosity of the authorities of Toynbee Hall, it cannot be wondered at that these cla. sses have been a success.

Dr. PU/Ties Stuart, in seconding the vote of thanks, said:.\fter what Dr. Ettles h as saill, and said so well, there is nothing left for me to do but to thank Sir J ohn for his great kindness in com ing here. I t is to me a great pleasure to associate myself with this most useful undertaking; especially, as in the women, J have a class it would be imp ossible to beat in efficiency and enthusiasm. Commissioner 1\1 after dwelling o.n the necessity of keeping up th.e knowledge gamed, thanked the reSidents for the charming evening they had them spend. Dr. Ilutchison, replyi['g for the reSIdents, sa id that as a reSident, and also as a lecturer on first aid he \\'as glad to hear that the Association freely acknowledaed its indebtedness to the gratuitous services of the ProfeSSion. had heard that there was some want of appreciation, but he had not personally seen 1 t. r. Douglas also sp.oke a few words of welcome. During the evellln;:; songs and musIc were rendered by Miss Broadbent, Mrs. 1, R.A.1\1., 2Iladame Barrington and Messrs. Buckland and (j illeLt.

A I D. [Augu t, 1899.

PROVINCIAL CORPS.

CREWE,-iYIuch useful work is being done at qrewe, and every opportunity taken of forward ing the interests of Bngade On J line 1st Private Fisher was ca lled to a youth who had fallen III the street. Fisher found the left fore ·arm broken, and aftel; applying splints and bandages, conveyed the youth to Dr. s surgery, where tbe doctor ,-omplimented Fisber. On July 2nd Privates Fisher and Thomp son observed a boy fall from a wall. They went to his assistance, and found the boy's elbow dislocated. They treated him and co nveyed him to a medical man. On July 1st, at 11.30 p.m., a large railway accident occurred at some fourteen miles from Crewe, involving tremendolls loss of rollmg stock on the L: &.N.W. Railway. News was conveyed t o Crewe by telegraph, and wlthm five minutes after receipt of telegram, Privates Roberts and Earnshaw, with a large quantity of material, conveyed by special train to the scene of [he accident, where they found that Police-Constable Wood. ward, o[ Moul ton, was enRaged rendering first aid. The injured were attended to, and by this time another special train from Crewe, con. taining Dr. Atkinson anJ the Railway Hospital Staff, ?ad The persons who required imp1.ediate treatment were pOInted Ollt to Dr. Atkinson by Private Roberts. Fortunately the whole of the injuries were of a superficial nature, and only a few persons sustained injury. The injured were conveyed by train to Crewe, and two cases detained in the Railway Hospital. Dr. Atkinson, of Crewe, was materially assisted by Dr. Le:J.k, of WiPE ford. Much praise is due to Constable \!\lo odward, of Moulton, for the effic ent way in which he attended to the injured prior to the arri\'al of Crewe men with bandages, &c.

DERBY.-This newly formed Division 0f the Brigade was recently inspected by the Commissioner, Colonel C. Bowdler. The inspection took place on the g-round, by kind permission of 2Ilr. Francis Ley, J P. Th ere was a full attendance of the members. Among those who assembled on the ground to witness the inspection were Colonel G. Gascoyne, Surgeon Lieut.-Col. T. L. Gentles, Lieut. IIayward (chief constable of Derby), &c. Th e Commissioner first inspected the men drawn up in ine, and afterward they were put through stretcher and other dr;lls. Col. C. Bawdier tben addressed the men, saying that he was astonished at the progress they nad made in so short a space of time. 1£ they continued in the way in which they had begun they would form as smart a corps as there was in England, and they had the services of an excellent drill instructor in Serjeant-l\hjor Moreton. He might here remark that the Brigade were not soldiers, and they were not going t::> be soldiers, but it was necessa ry that there should be a thoroughly qualified man to give instruction in drill and keep the officers and men up to the mark. The uniform the men wore was 10· tended to be worn when on duty, and it was in no sense for show. The ad van tag-es of the un iform would be found when doing work in a crowded place, it enabled them to recognise each other, by it tbe public and police recognised them, made way for them, and helped them. The men must remember above all that they \\'ere orga ni sed for first aid, ,vas the work they came together to perform, and drill and every" thing else must be subservient to it. This concluded the inspection, and the division was dismissed.

KETTER!. G.-The ann ual meeting of su pporters of this corps was held at the headquarters, Richards Leys, on the qth ult., under the presidency of iYIr. J. T. Stockburn, J.P. There were also pre5ent Chief Superintendent Trenery, Superintendent C. W. Lane (hon. secretary), Mr. W. F. eilson (treas urer ), Mr. F. Berrill, Mr. T. G. Fraser, Captain W. Riddle, and Sergeant Savage. The report of Chief Superintendent stated that the total stlength of the Corps was 139-1 2 privates, 10 officers, and 7 non-commissioned officers. There were 2S reserve men, there being a total increase of one. At the ann ual parade 110 men turned GUt. The new ambulance wagon has been ordered, and will cost about £roo. The reports having been adopted, Sergeant Savage was again appointed collector.

The following committee was electp.d :-Messrs. F. ash (Co-operative Society), 1\.. Panter, A. Cleaver (Working Men's Club), Captain Riddle and Inspect or Dixon (Fire Brigade), i\[r. 2IL T Gorman, :JIr. J. Jarvis (Midland Rail\' ay Company), Mr. Ra1-,y and Sergeant Savage (Church In st itute), Mr. Eyte and 1\1r. J. Dellow (Fuller Institute), ;\Ir. T. Seddon a n d :'1r. J. G. Mobbs ( Rifle Band Club).

On the motion of tbe Chairman, hearty thanks were accorded the hon. surgeons. It was decided to h o ld the anllual meeting in Janu ary. Thanks to the officers and the c hairman closed the meeting.

LEELlS - PIWl'OSEJJ LEED S COl{L's.-Colonel Bowdler, the Commissioner of the Sl. J ohn Ambulance Brigade, paid a visit to Leeds 011 the 8th July, in order to promote the interests of the Brigad e in general, and the formation of an ambulance corps in particular. The meeting was held in the T empera nce IIall, Armley, before a small but repr esentative gathering of ambulance workers. Mr. George Arm i tage, the Superintendent and lIon. Secre tary of tbe Armley and Wortley Divisio n, occupied the chair, olhers upon the platform being Dr. McNab, Councillor Walker, Mr. W. Priestley, and Mr. J. Sharpe. In opening bis address, Colonel BowdleI' pointed out that the St.Jobn Ambulance Association and tbe Sl. John Ambulance were quite different

Augu t, 1899 J FIRST

bodies. so to spe:J.k, but they had quite different objects 111 "lew. [he object of the j ssoc iati on was to provlde instruction in first aid. The Brigade guaranteed the efficiency of the ambulance worker, and at the same time, provided a systematic 01'aanisation for the benefit of the public The BI igade now numbered of 10,000 member ;;, They were sometimes asked why the" adopted a uniform and military drill. The answer was that was found absolutely necessary in order to enable tbe workers to recognise each other, and also to secure the recognition of the public and police. The drills, too., were found necessary, whilst the minimum of twelve atlendances at drill had been fixed as ow as they dared go. The officials had no wish to turn out soldiers, but rL certain amount of dl;ill and had been proved to be absolute ly essential to their work. Such a town as Leeds ought to have a corps of its own. After several questions had been answered, Dr. 1\10. ·ab mm'ed a vote of thanks to Colonel Bowdler [or his lucid and instructive address. The BI'igade \l'as a most worthy organisation, and all wbo aspired to a knowle,lge of first aid should join it. The speaker, however, declared that seeing the ambulance \\'orkers gaye so much of their time and attention to the ,Public ,CtUse, the public should at least pay something in return. CouncIllor Walter, who seconded the Yote of thanks, thought that [nunicipalities shoLlld subsidise the brigade. which was bent upon the best form o[ public \\·ork. M 1'. Sharpe su pported, and the yote was carried with acclamation, the Commissioner replyll1g and expressing the hope that the Brigade would shortly be able to boast of a corps in Lee ds. LETCESTER.-At the kind in\'itation of Mr. Colson, manager of the Gas Works, a Luge number of ladies and members of the St. John Ambulance Brigade met at the Aylestone-road Gas Works to witness an interesting and instructive demonstration of first aid. Amongst those present were Ald. Lennard, Mr. Colson, Dr. Pope (chief surgeon), Dr. Pratt, Dr. Davies, Chief Supt. King, Supt. Sec. Turner, Supts. 1IIobbs, Clayton, Spencer, Green, Salmon, and Lar.gham. The programme consisted of a "railway a locomotive add.ing to the realism of the effect, :J.nd a colliery accident. A temporary wooden hut had been erected and elaborately fitted up a5 a hospital; six beds had been placed therein, to which the suppose d sufferers were con"eyed after the acciden ts. The nursing sisters, under the lady superintendent 1\1. Noble), were in charge of the hospital. At the conclusion of the demonstration Dr. Pope congratulated the members of the Gas Division on the manner in which they had carried out the programme. Th e G:J.s Department Band played a selection of music during the evening-. picturesque p:J.rk:tt Debpre W:J.S on the 8th ult., by kind permission of i\Ir. J, Cooper, J.r., tbe sceneof the annual parade and official inspection of the members of ths ConJs. The weather was delightfully fine, and the Ambulance Band, under the conJuctorship of i\1r. Trolley, played selectio.ls of music. The inspecting officer was Bri.g-ade Surgeon Lieutenant-Colonpl Elliston, \'.D., M.R.C.S., Deputy Comnlissioner NO.3 (Central and Eastern) District, who was :J.ssisted by Assistant-Commissioner T. H. \\' oolston. The lollowing l..j. di\'isiol1s were represented, and, including offi.:ers and men, between 0 and 200 members were present :-IIeadquarters Division. Fire Brigade, Ecton, Earl's Barton, I-hrdingstone, Kingsthorpe, Little Houg-hton, Moulton, Paulerspury, Blisworth, Roade, Stoke Bruern e, Spratton, and Far Cott on. The Cyclists' Branch was represented by eight members. The Headquarters new amhulance wagon and that stationed at Earl's Barton were brought to the grounds and their use fully explaintd. The Far Cotton new rubber-tyred litter wa s used for the first time. The members first assembled at the Infirmary grounds, and then proceeded, headed by the band and under the command 01 Chief Superintendent Perry, to Dehpre. After g.:.ing through several evolutions very smartly, Deputy Commissioner Elliston warmly complimented tbem on their worK, and the Marquis of Northampton said he was proud to be president of such a corps. He hoped their success would contin ue, and he assured them he would never lose his person:J.1 interest in their success. Mrs. Hughes, wife of the Rev. Canon H nghes, in the absence of 1\1rs. Cooper, who was in London, then proceeded to distrIbute the medallions, nursing and the prizes in the local squad compet ition, which was won by Serge:J.nt Gee's squad. The annual dinner was subsequently held at the George Hotel, Chief Perry presiding over a company numbering ::!oo, w11lch Illcluded the Mayor and ex- :\1ayor. An enjoyable evening- was spent, and Mr. H. T. Fracy, the oca l hon. secretary, had tbe ple'asule ofal1!'!ouncing that tIie successp.s of the past year in the Northampton centre nad sl<lrpasseJ all previous records.

OLNEY.-The annual inspection of this Corps took place on Saturday, the 15th inst., at tbe Lindens, by kind permission of lUI' ]. C. Hipwell. The R ev. J. P. Langley presided. There were also present Col. Bowdler, Commissioner ()f the Brigade: Supt. Fellowes, Olney; Chief Supt. Perry, Northampton; Chief Officer '':::ooper, Olney; Dr. J. J. Grindon, Olney, :J.nd Dr. R ogers, Emberton. The men were put thmugh their drill by Supt. F ello\\'es, and acqllitted themseh'es I\ell in the practical part of lheil \lork. There was :J.lsa present a detachment Orthe Ladies' Nursing Guild, who gave an exhihiti0n of

A I D. 15

in gooJ style Colonel B ow(,ler, commenting upon the work done saId he was exceedlllgly pleased with the way the banduCTinO' had been done, but he shollid liked to have seen more smartness in 7heir drill. It was a very n.ecessary thing for them to keep well up in drill, and in a case of mag-l1ltude they would find it of great sen'ice to them. He would also like to see the men in uniform, as the uniform made the men and they received more re=pect when on duty. He expected Jl1 the near future to put the Olney Corps in 1\0. 3 District, and they would then be connected .with Nor.thampton. In concluding, he urged all .to keep up tbelr Interest 111 the work, as they never knew when theIr servIces might be required.-Dr. Grindon said they were pleased to hear that Olney might be connected with Torthampton That was what they wanted.-Votes of thanks to the Rev. J. P. and Mrs. Langley, 1\11'. J. C. Hipwell and Col. Bowdler concluded the proceedings.

OXFOHD.-T n connection with this Division, a series of interestina team competitions, the of the which have taken place Oxford, \\'ere recentl:." held In the drill hall. The competitions were open to members who had attended eight drills Three teams competed, and prizes to the , alue of lOs. each were offered for the winninO' team. The judges. were ;\1r. J. O. Sanker and Dr. Turrell, and d.rtll \\ere gl\:en by First Harriss. posSible number of POllltS was 260, and 111 each competItIOn prIzes were awarde? for neat and rapid application of remeciies, care and skill III handllllg patIent, and careful attention gi\·en to supposed InJUrIes. The competItions resulted in the teams beina placed as follows :-Ist, G. Heatherington, F Narroway, C. and T. G. Smith; total numher of points, 2C). 2nd, Police-Sergt. Brooks, P.C. J. Co111l1s, P.C. R. :'Iedcalf, and P.C J. Gomm, 187 points. 3rd H. H. Carter, \Y. Owens, F. Dearle, and T. Jones, 178 points. ROCHDALE.·-The weather being- of a genial character, there was a large concourse of peJple on Saturday, the 15th ult., at the Rochdale Athletic Ground to witness the third annual re\'iew and competitie>ns of the South-East Lancashire County Corps. The numbers from the districts represented were :-Bacup, 17 ; Rochdale, 56 ; Preston, IS; Accring:on, 42 ; Bury, 13; and Oldham, 32. There were also ladies from all the nursing distri<;ts, Bacup sending Ii Rochdale, 33; Accrington, 14; Bury, 20; and Oldham, 37. These together comprised a total of 229, ,,,hich speaks very highly for the enthusiasm with which the cause has been taken up. Lieutenant-Colonel Trimble, Deputy Commissioner of No. + District, acted :J.s inspecting officer, and T. H. \\'oolston, Assistant Commissioner of 3 District, Xorthampton; Dr. A. A. G. Dickey, Colne; and Dr. F. De B. Pim. Barro\\'ford, officiated as judges. In the competitions Rochdale secured the premier phce for renderinR first aid according to the direction of the judges, Okih:J.m gaining the second place, and Preston third. Placed in order of merit after the review, Oldham were first, Accrington second, and l{ochJlle third. The result of the nursing- competition was :-Accrington. ; Oldham, ; and Bury, 3. Addressing the \\bole of the corps, the Inspecting Ufficer said that the loyal support and <lssisrance gil'en to this noble cause had produced a corps such as Lancashire should be proud of. Colonel Royds, ;\1.P ., in presenting tbe prize;:;, said he wishec! to thank the members for the great compliment they had paid him in asking him to take part in the proceedings. As far as he knew, their work merited all the praise that had been given them. The scene before him reminded him of one he had the honour of witnessing three weeks before at the festi\'al of St. John in the beautiful grounds of the Charterhouse. This was on the occasion of the re"ie\\' of the corps perhaps a little bit stronger than theirs. There was evidence there of efficiency and careful training in the work. IIe had seen that day a. spectacle quite equal to that. It was a most interesting gathering altogether. The Order of St. John and the Society had lost a good friend and generous supporter in Lord Latho:71. His Lordship was interested in that, as he was in e\'erything he undertook. He (Colonel Royds) congratulated them· most sincerely on the strength of the corps and tbe interest taken in it. The :\! ayor said it was a treat to Rochdale to have such a demonstration there. Un the motion of Dr. Sellars, seconded by Chief Constable Barry, of R ochdale, a hearty Yote of thanb was accorded Colonel Royds. WARl\lt\' GTO.\'. - The third annual competition of this Corps took place at the Gymnasiulll for the ih·er Challenge Shield and \'arious other prizes, to the yalLle of £10, the gift of Sir Pe,er Bart. The chair was occupied bv 1\11'. James Cro field, and the pnzes were distributed to the successful competitors as follows: Cheshire Lines, Central Station; 2, Cheshire Lines Engineers; 3, Latchford.

HER E BA\".-The Pier Pavilion at Herne Bay was crowded on Tuesday evening, July th, the occasion being the ;th A.nnual Concert, O'iven by the Herne Bar 1\Iinstrels (;\lanager Arthur aid of the funds of this Division. EvelY item 01. the long and up- to-da te programme \\'as \\' eli rendered.. Su penn tenden t Shelley, on behalf of the Di\'ioI011, thanked the Illi thelr kindness in giving the Concert, also the audience theIr 'ery kllll! patronage. The proceeds a III Gllll ted to the SLIm of I- IT.

FIRST

THE ;'Ifrr,(,H'I:'\T SEIWfCE Gnr.n A:-m FfRST Arn.-The tar' of the \l erchant Sen'ice Guild, in a letter to the ASSistant Department), Boord of dnted June "'l ·s ._,1 Your letter cf the 7th inst., tOgether with 'the re ort of the medical committee that mates ;resen tin a yes for exnmination for master s shou Id required to produce el·;dence that they h:l\e passed throug course 0 instruction in the subject of" aid to the wo.unded," has een full' considered by the guild In reply J am directed to state t,hat woJld strongly deprecate, and object :0 a further bein a laced upon those officers ,yho now hold certificates t! conditio;! under ,,·hich they exist, and t1:e "retch:d ren um.eratwn receil'e for thei r important and responsJl,le services to their err:plo) els d the State renders it impossib le for them to devote m ore and an 0, h' h t' s The a uild ho\\,- money to the preparation for the Ig er examma. IOn b.J ever fully realise the value of a knowledge of this su bJect on boal ,11 p, and suggest, indeej, respectfully urge the t fda earl ,time require that all candidates for a first exommatw n ou 10 a' fir;t ::tid certificate ei ther from tbe St. Joh n Am bulance crher authority as might be approved by the Board. At. IS stat;,e of their professicnallife there I\'Qllld be no d! fficul ty, and there IS no ?oub: but that. if such a step were taken, all those officers \\'ho had pIe.\ d I , I··heneyer their circum<::tances permitted, olun tall I) obtam passe u,' sllch certificates

THE F IRE BRIGADES AT PEHHY HALL PARL-The .great fire and exhibition in Perry Hall Park, which opened o n uly camp, b h h P ) l-eadyexcItll1 a a ?lst(whilethis fournalisgoingt roug t e ress,lsal,. -. t;,' dealof The muster of firemen will be "'. tl" exceedinrr thelllimber undercanvasslastyearat Blenheim l2:rea J'" •. ddt a"etheopportulllty ,roodstock. The camp, by the way, IS mten. e 0 ",1\ 0' to the men for a holiday, the drill and fire exhibitIOn affO! d the professional touch to the proceedmg's, as far as those. 111 camp are-concerned. A return was publisheda fe\\ months a$o deallllg with the efficiency and cost of the fire brigades 111 London m

In London the staffnumtJered 42, the calls made were 4,::>89 dUlIn:;, the year, and the cost was £ r55, 000. In Boston, U.S., the numbered 849, the calls made were 1,897, and the of the yeaIhs k r? - 000 [[ o\\' much of the lare-e exp upon e wor- was ., fi a' Boston Fire Department IS occasIOned by the use of moto! re - en",lI-:es and chemic::tls, it is, of cour=e, impossible to say, but the cost of ma1l1taining such apparatus in this country "'ould be a dead to the ratepayers. Excellent arrangements are 111 to ensul e camp perfect in every way at PerrY n . ;:;'. Folkel, the energetic hon. secretary ofthe otlOna I. FlTe Bngddes T..; has matters well in band. Thanks to hiS untmng energy and an f· \y ork and detail the Union has made rapid stndes.

passIOn 01 " ..., H d h d

Those ascociated with the vanous dlYISlO n S "I Ll1e S\I O.I t an SmethlYick Centre of the 5t. John Ambulance ASSOCIation wIll learn wi:h pleasure that Captain Folker wears the medallion of the St. 10hn Ambulance Associotir)ll,and the hadg e of St. Bri!:!;ade, and in other directions he has shown ll1terest ln educatlOlI tl and County Council \york especially. The local hon secs, Messrs:

G. J. Kitteringh3m and F W. Rlchardso.n, hal'e eng::tged days at the Council House, Hands\\,orth,. In comp'let1l1g th.e details and arranging for tne various matters which reqlure attentIOn.

DERBY VorXNTEEf,.·S SrLE:-;DIn REcORD.-Dr. Gentles, who was born on June 7th, r83<), became a p ri vate in A .Company ?f the First Derbyshire Vr.illnleers in 1872. H e recel\'ed .hls commISSion as Assistant Suraeon in r875. was promoted Surgeon Jt1 r 877; l\'laJcr In r 8 90 Colonel and Brigade Su rgeon. in 189 5 H e .has attended el'ery camp, both brigade and regimental smce 18.80, he raIsed the reaimental A mbulance Corps in r 886, and chiefly in organizing the Bri gade Bearer Company In r 89J In r8.92 bls sen' ices in connection with ambulance work were recoglllsed Illth the Order of St John of Jerusalem, and the officers' \ r. D. \\'::ts conferred upon him in r89+ i\Jainly by his enere;y also funds for tbe pu r chase of an ambulance waCTon for the Derby \' olunteers at a cost of upwards of £80 were raised. In 189 at the nspection of ::tmbu lance corps, held by Lord W olseley in Wollaton P ark, Liell.t:-Col. Gentle.s commanded the Brigade B earer C omp any, and was by L ord \Vol seley On th e occasio n of the Quee n s VISit to Derby III May, 189 r, Lieut.-Co l. Gentles, then surgeo n-maj o r, wa s called upon to carry o u the a rran ainrr of ambul a nce stat ions along the Royal route, and mann er ig which this was done obta.in ed for h m special commendatIOn from i\lajor-General Wilkinson, C.B the officer comma nding th e North Eastern District. In February, 1894, he qualified for the Volunteer officers' long serv ice decoration, a n d this was pinned on his breast by Brigadier -Gen era Sir Henry Wilmot. In July, r8;8, Lteut.-Col. Gentles was elected a vice-president of the Am bu lan ce S c ho?l. of In struction London and in the same year was placed on the examlnmg staff of the'St. John Ambulance Association. H e h as attended every camp of the Derby Volu':lteers, and the course every year until the withdrawal of the l'1artlt1l H enn nfle nt the end of 1897, ;111d inv1.riably stood high 111 the list of marksmen.

A I D. [Allgl]st, lS!Jg --TFIE ONLY--

PRACTIOAL POCKET AMBULANCE .CASE.

No Ambulance Man or First Aider should be without one of these.

Made of Strong Durable Leather, and fitted with 4 Glass Stoppered Bottles, Gusset Pocket and 3 loops for instruments

It is of no practical use belng a First Aid Certificate Holder without baying necessaries at hand to any cases reqUlrIng First Aid PractIce.

THE MOST USEFUL CASE ON THE MARKET

OR Fitted Complete 6/6 incluaing Scissors, Tweezers , Chemicals , Lint, Tape Plaister, Wool , etc, Postal Order MUST accompany each order.

N ote only addressR. L. HARROP, 44, Shelley A\'enue, Ea st Ham Essex.

F OUNDED 1871.

IMPORTANT NOTICE.

CLOSED.

'@cean Bcc{be11t al'"

£650.006

The" Combined" Poli cy of the O cean S;orporation insures Against Accidents and ,s World-Wide as to travel , and prOVides an AnnUity.

HE ADO FFie E: 40 to 44, Moorgate Street, London .. E.C,

COUPON TICKET

SPECIALLY GUARANT lU;]D BY

The Ocean Accident & Guarantee Corporation,

LIMITED.

40 42 , &,44, MOORGATE STREE'r , LONDON , E.C, to Notice of Claims. under the following condit ons, mu t be sent with in se\'en days of accident to the above address.)

600093

£100

will he paid vy the above Corporation to the l egal e p.r esenta tive of s killed by a il accil1ellt to the Passenger Tralll (wlth!n the iII" Channel I s land s), iu which the ,1 'ceased. was a tICket bear1l11!: or P Y5uIt passenge r, or who s hall have been lata lly 1l1 ,) ur ed th ere by (shuuld death re within llinety days after s uc h aCCident). .' r50Il PROVI D ED th a the persoll so killed or InJured had,upon illS or 1el pe riol' or hacll eft at home this ticket, with his, or' b e]'! us ua of to then.cciclent onthespace ]JrovidedlJelow, whICh, together With the.,1 tf.lct notice ':.,; ithin the time as h e reinb efore mentionec1. is tbe of thi S of This insura n ce h o ds good for c urr e nt is ue on ly. and carnes the bene

In accordance with the requirements of Me ssrs. Marshall Brothers, the new Publishers, thejournal will in future be published on the 25th of the month. and the Editor appeals to correspon.dents both in London and the Provinces to send any matter for insertion not later than the 20th of each month , after whIch date its insertion cannot be guaranteed in the current issue. No efforts will be wanting to make the Journ al as interesting as possible to the ambulance helpers in all the various ol'ganizations over whose destinies we are pleased to wa tch, and we ask our readers to kindly help us with suggestions and any item of news likely to interest our re ad ers. One import ant even t which we trust will result from the change in the publishing and advertising de part ments will be the enlarging of the Journal at a no dista nt date.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION.

For 12 months, IS. 6d., post fre e, to be sent to the Publishers.

H lbOll1e

By W. J. McCULLOCH ETTLES, :\1. [,., CH.l\1., AUERD

Hon. Life Mem ber, St. John £\mbulance Association. Lecturer on Ambulance, Uni\'ersity Settlement, Toynbee II all.

PART V.

Vith Dio xide , or, as it was ,formally I; Carbonic Gas, we have al:eady some acquamtance, but thIS gas occupies so a m body economy ::tnd in the problem of ventIlatIOn that It IS deservmg of our m ore minute ::tttention. As already said it s formed duri ng the combustion of all carbon C011subst::tnces, that is of all 'ing tissue, and it is a constant constituent the atmosp h el:e to the amount of 4 parts in IO,OOO (o'0iper cent.) 1\ ot only does It exist in the atmosphere in its free state but,. chem ically combined, it exists in nature in enormous quantities,' for lImestone, chalk, and marble are simply the products, of its chemical combinat on with lime (calcium). With this latter, i forms what are known as \I carbonates," and we may break up the uni on by me ans of any ncid. Thu s if you pour some spirit of salt (hyurochloric ::tc id ) on a lump 0f marble, the re is a " fizzing" ca u sed by the evolution of this gas. Marble is a. carb.onate of lim e a nd we m:ty represent g raph ically what takes place In thiS way.

i\1arble. Hydr ochloric Acid. Chloride of Lime

Ca CO a + HCI Ca + Carbon Dioxide.

'Vater.

II 2 0 +

Now if we collect this ga s we find ha t it i s colourless, so heavy that it can be poured like water from one vessel into another, that it has an ta.s te and '.' cho.ky" smell. A t.aper pl ung ed into it is Immedtately extll1gl11 s hed, and herefore It neIther burns nor supp o rt s Tbis property .s made u se o f in the hand g ren ades, extlt1cteurs and cbemlcal engllles u sed to put o ut conflaarations' at the sam e time it is he peculiar property whi ch makes it poison'ous to anima s

If a little lime water(CaO H 20) be int roduced into a vessel containina carbon dioxide, the lime water turns milky beca u se the carbon and lime unite to form the carbonate of lime which we have j ust seen how to sp lit up.

Carbon Di ox id e. Lime W ater. Chalk. W ater.

CO + Ca = Ca

Another intere s.ting pro perty of carbon dioxide is its great sol u bility In water, At ordll1ary pressure an d temperatu re, water absorbs it s own

vlIlle of gas. Gases are very" squeezable," and, since it is not a question of weight but of bulk, we may press three cubic feet down to o n e cubic fo ot and dissolve this in one cubic foot of water. 'Vhen dissolved the cork closing tbe vessel is wired down, and when it is removed is spark lin g and effervescence, as id soda water, caused by the expansioll and consequent liberation of the ga

Fel mentation is a fertile source of carbon dioxide and it is this which gi ve to the aeration 01 home made ginger beer, champagne and such like. Such formation of the gas together with its weight, which causes it to accumulate in hollows, occasionally gi ves rise to accidents in breweries. A man descends to clean out a vat, the liquor of whiCh h:ls been run off, and becom e s asphyxiated. Another, looking down, obsen'es his mate senseless on the bottum, and, seeinCT no ostensible ouse, decends to the rescue, and is himself ol·ercome. '" It is the ]:l.Va yalleyagain. To deal with such a condition several del'ices have been suggested Open umbrellas have been r::tised and lowered so as to circulate the air, and, in one case, bundles of straw weI-e successfully used. The slfety of the air at the bottom of the vot is ascertained by lowering a lighted candle If it is extinguished, it is Ll5eless to descend, hy doing so the list of will only be added to.

Oz one is another constituent much heard of in connection with sea side resorts. It is another, and very energetic form of oxygen, represented by the formula O 2 so we mar regard it as concentrated oxygen. I t bas a smell so peculiar and pUIlgen that it can be detected if present only to the amount of part in 2,500,000 The ancients noticed this smell pervading the vicinity of trees or buildings struck by lightning. Th ey concluded it was the Devil himself. ;\'ow·a-days, although we often moke the acquaintance of the devil of a smell, fel\' of us have an opportunity of so doing in regard to the smell of the Devil. Anyhow next to seeing his Satanic Majesty, hearing and s:nelling him must be taken as a proof of his participation.

Ozone is one of nature's greatest disinfectants. It gets into the rect!sses of the I ungs of consumptives and renJers the lot of the perse"ering tubercle baciltus a very unhappy one, to the benefit of the sufferina host. It is so actil'e that it attacks such a resistant substance as rendering it hard, brittle, and inelastic. You may delect its pt'esence by mOistening strips of blotting paner with a solution of iodide of potassi um and starch. The ozone goe.; for the potassi um, liherating the iodine, "'hich, in its turn, attocks the forming the deep blue iodide of str,rcb.

Water Vrpour is always present in air. \\'hen a of wa tel' el'::tporates, the water ascends as Yapour to ::tdd to that present in the atmosphere. You become alyare of the presence of aqueous \'apour if you happen to he wearing glasses and enter a warm room from tbe cold outer air. The moisture instantly condenses on the cold glas es ::tnd you ha\'e to lake off before can see anything \Y aler I'OPOur is yery lIghter thaI: alr,.so lhat t?e. more It IS present the less will ::tny gJlen bulk of all' ,yelgh. ThiS IS :\'hy the barometer acts as a weather prophet. \Vhen the mercury falls, It shows that the air pressing on it is lighter because of its with light aqueous vapour. Since that yapour cannot remam long III the atmosphere, we kno,,- that the fall of the will soon \.)e followed by ::t fall of rain The all1our.t of water conC!ensed from the atmosphere durin CT twelve months bas been estimated to be sufficient to fill a vast inland lake one mile in depth and a quarter of a million squ.tre miles in area. Th::tt lI'ould be about the size of France. The mass of water passing under your feet as you look o\'er London Bridge is condensed \'apour from the ::ttmosphele co\'enng the T"lmes valley.

Ammonia, with its first cOllsin mtnc IS yet valuab!e constitllPnt. I is present in but very qyantttJes; 32 pans 111 10,000,000. Yet we could not dispense. It. All anll1lals and \'egetable tissues contain nitrogen, thiS nitrogen, the cres.s or up, mentioned in the last lesson, from the.amn:onIa (l'J.Hg) present in the oir W e in 0111- tun: ob.tam the of our tissue bJ' enting plants, \Ihlch obtams It from the air, hence llS Imp ort:mce is manifest.

Solids. Lastly we bale solid or suspended matters in the atmosphere. They are 'lsille to as the" smuts" do sO"much enable laundresses to enu their days III affluence, 01 os the motes aancing in a shaft of sunlight penetrating a darkened room through a crack or hole in the shutter.

If a [elY drops of rain water be e\·apor.tted on a gloss sh?e an? th e deposit eX:1mined microscopically, a helerogeneous collecllo n \\'Ill be

FIRST

seen. Tiny cubical crystals of salt on the wi?d enormous distances from the sea, pollen from AOlI'enng- plants partIcles of .cotton and flax, ma<;ses of soot, sand, coal and fhnt, and mynads ot tiny germs.

Fortunately all g-erms are not dIsease germs, otherwIse we stand a bau chance, for it has been calculateu that a Londoner dunnothe uay inhales about 40 million and germs..

One of the chief advantages denved from a shower IS the washll1g of the atmosphere.

You are now in a position to understand the followll1g table of the constitution of the atmosphere which surrounds us.

'l.'able of Atmospheric Constituents

Oxygen

Titrogen

AID. [September) 189 9. September, 1899.J FrRST

aid to the injured. The divisions were examined under the heads of bandaging, stretcher exelcise, altificial respiration and oral questlOns. The result detailed was as follows :-London and North Westeln Railway-Bandaging: Efficiency 100; Neatness 100; Rapidity 90 • Stretcher Exercise : Attention to Patient 90; Evidence of Practice 100; Discipline 60. Oral Questions: General Knowledge 100. Artificial Respiration 100. Grand total 740. Croxley Fire Brigade-Bandaging: Efficiency 80; Neatness 70; Rapidity 80. Stretcher Exercise: AtLention to Patient 90. Evidence of Practice 80; Discipline 80. Oral Questions: General knowledge 90. Artificial Respiration, go. Grand total 660. C. Herbert Hall, M.D., Examiner.

AID. 19

To get a person whose clothes are on fire, laying on the ground s the first and great principle in extinguishing the flames. This stops tbe draught, and places the person on lire in the position most convenient to take subsequent steps to smother the burning clothes. Take a wax match, light. it till it burns freely, lay it down on a table for a few seconds, then lift it up again, repeat this a time or two-observe the result, and you 'will have acquired an uncommonly meflll piece of knowledge. in asking questions on this important point, men >"ill explain to me how they will get rugs, seize upon blankets, use their coats to envelope the patient, and if asked would they not first lay the patient down, they say "Oh yes, certainly," but fe\l can gi\'e the correct reason for this preliminary procedure.

20.61.

77-95·

Carbon Dioxide

'Yater Vapour

Ammonia } Nitric Acid

Ozone

.04I.+O. traces, Resume of the Atmosphere. The atmosphere IS a hollow sphere enclosing the earth and rotating with it. It is about 500 miles thick, and consists of a mechanical mixture of gases kept uniform by diffusion. It is mainly composed of I part of oxygen diluted with 4parts of nitrogen. There are also present carbon dioxide formed by the combustion of carbon conta ining substances, or by animal existence and on which vegetable life feeds, ammonia from which the vegetable world obtains its nitrogen and enables animals to obtain it, aqueous \'apour which keeps the whole of the water in nature in circulation, and solid impurities, the cbief of wbich are germs. These are low forms of plant life which attack animal or vegetable tissues causing their decomposition into simpler hodies which can again be used to reconstruct living tissue. One pound of atmosphere occupies a space of I3 cubic feet, and the atmospheric pressure at sea. leyel is IS pounds to each square inch, Besides enabling life to continue, and acting as the storehouse of water, the atmosphere conducts sound, shelters the earth fro::1 the Sun's rays, and renders gradual the transition of day into night.

St. 30bn timbuIance

l\1ETROPOLIT AN CORPS,

THE SATURDAY IIOSPrTAL FUND DIVISION of the St. John Ambulance Brigade had a half-day outing to Bricket \Yood on Saturday, August 12th. The weather was all that could be desired, and after drill lig-ht tea was partaken of. A most enjoyable evening was spent, the mam feature of which was a five mile drive, initiated and carried out by Lhe amiable, 'uperintendent of the Division, Mr. A. R. Rundell. The Lac1y Superintendent, Miss Julia C. Mann, and four of the nursing sisters were of the party.

EAST LO:--<r.ON DrvIsION.-The members of the East London Division had their annual inspection at the IIugh MyddelLon Schools, Cle:kenwell, on T?ursday, the 3.rd ult. The inspecting officer was CommIssIoner MackenZIe, who was accompanied by Chief .\I?rgan. Afte.r the inspection, the men were put through vanous dnlls by Supenntendent Hayman, such as marc-hinD" turning and forming-, stretcher drill, treating and carrying patients stretcher, and the two, three, and four-handed seat drill At the conclusion of the disf;llay, the. division was addressed by the Inspecting Officer and the Ch;ef Supenntendent, who expressed their satisfaction at what they had seen.' and, in mind that the division has only been formed a. short Y:ne, conSidered the progress made very credita ble. On Bank HolIday, eIght members of the division under Superintendent Hayman attended at Hampstead Heath, No. 2 Station, for duty. Twenty-four were treated, five of them necessitating removals to Hampstead HospItal, wbere three were detained as in.patients, PROVINCIAL CORPS.

.Sunday, July 23rd, this division turned out in publIC for the first tllne. A Church Parade being held in a id of the Orl?han Fund of the Ama.lgamated Society of Railway Servants, the dl\'lSlOn attended Churc? 1I'.lth them, fully equipped with two stretchers, read.y to render fil:st aId If reqUIred, happily their services were not re9ulr.ed,.although It the largest demonstration of its kind held in thl <:: cilStrICt for some tIme.

lJEANOR.·-On Saturday the 12th ult., a competition between ambulance corps was held on the Ileanor Town Re creation Grour:d, before a moderate attendance; Mr. Thomas Butler, g-iving a valuable cup be for, and to be known as the "Butler Challenge Cup, the wmn.Ing team also to have medals. The following corps and bands w;.;e ll1 attendance for the challenge cup :-Oakwell Colliery Ambulance \....orps, under Sergeant Davis, Tibshelf; Heanor AmbuCorps, under Sergean; J. W. Holmes; Sergeant Cuyway's team, Tlbshelf; Charles Hoylan? steam Heanor; Serg-eant Ilolme s' team, Eastwood; and for a dnll cup competition: Sergeant Major Lee's

1Renlarns on Bmbulance 3nstructfon.

By A "Sl'RGEON EXAMINER."

Having examined a large number of classes in first aid and nursingheld under the regulations of the St John Ambulance Aswciation, and also pupils of lay men and women, under the rules of other Associations in nursing and "mental" nursing, "[ may with authority give my impressions of these courses of instruction, and what appear to me to be the omissions in teaching these impOltant subjects to the general public.

The course of instructi on in nursing is a practical and systematic one and leaves little to be desired. It is usually imparted to a better edu cated class of people (notably to schoolmistresses, who make most excellent pupils) the results are good and the examinations show a high standard of practical knowledge which cannot fail to be useful.

First aid classes, however, are attended largely by a comparatively illiterate class of men, such as railway men, policemen, and labourers generally, and rouch allowance has to be made fo:-not so mllch a want of knowledge as a want of power to express what knowledge they possess. It is hopeless to expect to get any exact knowlerlge of Ele mentary Physiology out of such. An amorous constable once gave a fellow examiner of mine the i"ollo.\'ing answer to the question" \Vh at is the use or function of t.he heart?" "The heart is a hollow pump full of blood, and is the seat of love.! "

The only knowledge oj Anatomy that can be fairly expected is a somewhat crude though fairly accurate description of the skeleton, and a demonstration of the position of the main arteries of the arm and leg, and the proper position to apply pressure to these blood ressels in cases of severe bleeding.

Coming to the practical teaching of first aid my experiences as an examiner leads me to think that too much pains are expended upon acquiring deftness and a s'Jmewhat too ehborate expertness in bandaging and appliance of splints, to the neglect of the principles of first aid, and of the rendering of it by means of the hands alone without the use of appliances.

To exemplify this point of mine aEk for "How would you render first aid to a person bleeding freely in jerks or spurts from a gash in the palm of the hand?" To my mind the man who replied that he would at once raise the cut hand above the shoulder of the injured limb with one of his own hands and with the other press his fingers hard along the inner edge of the biceps or arm muscle of the wounded, would have given a much better reply than the man wh o glib ly explained how by an elaborate system of pads and improvised tourniquets he would stop the bleeding. The one a.cts promptly with the appliances nature provides him with and the other loses valuable time in seeking wh,t may not be available on the spot.

The element of position in arresting serious bleeding- is not ground Into pupils as it ought to If this principle were instilled on el'ery occasion into learners until it becomes a fa.miliar belief, first aid cbsses would learn a great and useful piece of knowledge. As an installce what I mean very few examinees when asked" What would you do In a case of ruptured or bleeding varicose vein of the leg?" give the proper reply" lay the patient down and raise the foot." 1n most cases would at once control the bleeding, but no, they go on to show me how ligatures and pads should be placed on a point farther away from the heart than the wound, &c. No doubt correct theoretically, not practical. Very rarely am I answered giving the proper posilIon to place the patient in, and the simple expedient of subsequemly plaCing a pad and bandage on the wound itself.

Bleeding from the nose, scalp and temple wounds, require the converse posiLion to wounds on the limbs, but this is by no means given in most answers to practical questions on this point. The simple expediof holdiug the arms high above the head in cases of nasal bleeding IS not so generally known as it ought to be, and the placing of keys behind the neck and ice to the nose (when is ice always availabJe ?) and SUch like, seems to be more generally im parted to classes,

The only practical and efficient method of rel'1oving an accidental obstruction to the windpipe sLlch as by a piece of beef which has" gone the wrong way," is to push a finger n the mouth and dislodge it. I ilnd this is more knolln tbn it used to be, but J also find thal tLe barbarous and futile custom of pressing the poor cboking mortal's abdomen witb the knee and weight of the body, is still taught. The precaution of placing some substance between the teeth to prevent the teeth closing upon the finger and :hus dimbling the operator, is rarely told me in replies.

The use of that most excellent appliapn: .ue triangular bandage is well taught, but sufficient stress does 1:( t appear to be bid upon the proper method of folding the triangle into a ,. broad " or a " narrOl\' " bandage as laid down in the text boob. This is a comparatil ely small point, but in this as in everything else, there is a right :lnd a wrong- way of doing it.

The placing of the one end of the triangular bandage Oil the sound shoulder and the "point" consequently under the arm pit Q[ the injured limb, in making a" large arm sling," is a point I give good marks for, but they are only earned in about half the cases. True, the other way makes a sling, but it is not so neat, sound, or comfortable, and moreover it is wrong. This is one of the things that more attention in tuition sb:)Uld be given to, to ensure proficiency.

The application of splints to fractures is usually well and neatly made, and with an intelligent knowledge of their purpose but on the other hand the application of what I may call natural splint> is neglected. For instance, the knowledg-e tbat by tying firmly a fractured leg to the sound one, or binding a fractured arm to the chest with the forearm across the body, the hand bigher than the elbo\\', you secure the limb from further mischief, is of more use than the acquisition of methode; of applying splints to an uninjmed limb in such a manner as to compel general admiration,

The fear of hydrophobia is justly a terrible one, yet when I ask as I often do, the question thus" A person is bitten by a st ange dog, wbat would you do to tbe dog?" I rarely get the proper anSI\"er, "Keep the dog under observation, or take him to the police for veterina.ry examamination," instead, the most inhuman methods of extermlDatlOl1, I am told ouo-ht to be practised on the unfortunate animal.

I not to be understood in making these remarks, tInt I am casting any unfa.vourable reflection. or: medical men w1:o lecture to first aid classes. I haye c.. great admiratIon and regard for these gentlemen who ,,-ith self-denial devote a large portIOn of "almble tImeand remuneration,'too--to the diffusion of a great and useful knowledo-e, tending as all their efforts do to tbe ameli.oration of human ills. In fact, I strengthen their hands by pubilshlllg the observations of a professional brother and a practical man, whose criticisms are directed not against their devoted efforts, the demonstration of points in which the general system of ll1structlOn is to his certain knowledge deficient.

THE ST. JOHN AMBULAl'ICE ASSOCIATION ITS STOCr.;:PORT CENTRE.-At last it appears probable that a limit "ill be set to the policy Ilhich seems to have been sel.ected. by the local secretary of th ls Centre as the best method of deabng Inth the unpleasant sltllaLon In Stockport. "·e understand abollt.<I. fortnight ago a forlllal applIcation was made by the ,\1 eclt cal SocIety of I?cal chairman of the St. John Ambulance ASSOCIatIOn for an lllC]lllr} Into the way in which the ambulance of .the Ilert! conducted. The reply of [he local chairman belllg el'aSI\'e It lias .sent to the Central Executive of the Association when answer \\,tS recell'eu from Si r Herbert Perrott saying that ,the Centre must hold an inquiry first, and that until such an Il1qUlry wa.s held the Executi ve could not act as a court of appeal. SIr II el bel t Pen otL s letter went on to stale that desiring a speedy terminaLiOl: of Lhe "unfortunate differences" at S tockport, the Central Executl\e II ere prepared to appoint as arbitrators three wholly if all concerned would agree to be bound. by theIr deCISIOn. ThiS of,el has been accepted by the .\iledical SocIety With .the that there should be adequate representation of the medIcal profess.lOll ?I1 the board of arbitrators. If the local secretary no\\' refuses he will occupy a position in the eyes of all men to defend. If he accepts arbitration there 1:'111, we feel certall1, qUickly be an adjustment of the matters so acrimoDlously at Issue.

[The above is ta16eJJ j/'OI7l the LANCET. ]

FIRST NOTICE.

All Letters and communications to the Editor should be addressed to him at the Publishers , 10, Paternoster Row , E.C.

Subscriptions and Advertisements should be sent to the Publishe rs di.rect.

FIRST AID

SEPTE-IIB ER 1, 1899.

TlJE J:>eace Confel'ence flt the B,lgue has THE PE.iCE come to a. conc1ll::-ion. amI it bebo,'es <111 COXFEREXCE, fil'::,t-aider:-. as being es.'entinlly interested in the preselTatioll of peace; to glance at the result of that Conference to ee if any progress has been made towal'ds the npplic,ltion of m'bitration to intel'national disputes.

If "'e look at tho opinion!=; expl'essed by many of the daily papers, magazines, nnd we are led to belie\e that the Oonference was an utter fnilure, Possibly it is l'\, failure in the minds of those ,yho hoped that the Powel's 'would agree not to inCl'case their al'lnmnents and to accept the principle::; of clrbitmtion in theil' dispute, It ''',as impos:,ible to expect result::; at fil :-.t, wu n ust he sab::;ned to proce ed slowly, and be thnukful that tbe POW€l':-. ha\e appointed a Pel'manent Court of .A l'bitration, and haye agl'eed that the article of th e Gencya COll\ention shall be applied to 11<1Y<11 as I"yell as military mll'ful'e.

Although thi;,; arbitration ic; not compulsory, yet we maintain that a gl'eat l1Jal'k has been macle in the history of the ,1'01'1(1 hy the mere fact that :such l'\, Court has been e::,ta;Jlisher1. it opens n, way, it creates a means, by which it is possihle to :-.ettle di:-.putes ,,,ithol1t bloodshed, and, moreOl'er, itpl'oyic1e ,\ perio(l dmingwllich the allgryfeeling:; of nations can sub::,ide and gi,e way to l·ea:,;on. C'm we say then that this is a failure? Xo, fa1' from it.

In a most eloqueilt article on the tiulJject in the Re'l:iew uf Revie'ws, 1\11', W, T , Stead insi, b; that eVel'yone should help to persuade our Govemment to open negotiations 'with the other Powers in oHlcr to make [tl'hitration ol)ligatOl'Y, If this should ever be brought alJout, the time tIlen have arri,'ed for the padial or total clisal'lnamellt of the Powers, and the dreadful incubus of lllilitm-if;ll1 \\'ith all its attendant burdens will be lifted from tbe shouldel's of all nations.

In the meantime, let us as nl'st-aic1en;, do all we can to llelp the cause by pl'omoting gool1 feeling between othel' nations and oUl'seh"es, This is the policy we ha,e always advocated, and we trust that the Pari Exllibition of 1900 (if not interrupted by internal rlissensions) ,yill help to l)l'ing in to closel' contact France and this counb')

(torresponbence.

[ We do not neces8a7'ily holel ourselves ?'csjlonsibll' Jor tile opinions oj Oil?' em'respondents,]

T " the Eddor O/FIRST Am, DEAl{ SIR,- :\Iay I venture to take exception to the concludincr paragraph of the leading article in the last issue of" FIRST Am ""}

There it is contended that the question of special instruction to seamen is not one of first aid, but the tuition of medical and surgical knowledge, Let us take the lI1stance suggested by Cantain Froud in his letter. A seaman is wounded, on the high seas, arterial bleeding has place and has been tem porarily arre sted by a tourniquet, It wtll probably be days before p o rt IS t o uched and assistance can be obtained: To leave the o n, for so long means gangrene, amputatIOn and probably ?eath. :\ow If the officer of the ship relax tourniquet to a certam If b leedlllg ha s ceas ed , or plug the wound WIth gauze, or , In effect, take any ste p to minimise this dreadful eventuality, he is, to my thinking, rendering 6r s aid, All that he is doing ,is th.e oLject of patient proceed to where may be ohtalll ed, and tbat \\Ith tbe least possiLle IOJUTY and sufferll1g, Une must not imagine from Captain Froud's

AID. [September , 189 9.

letter, hO\\" e\'er, that mariners have no guidance in.medicaland surgical emergencies, the powers conferred upon It by the " Shipping Act, r867," the BOJ.rd of Trace has d:'awn up a iJst, Or " sca le," of medicines and medical stores to be earned on board ships This list was hst revised in r89+, and, contrJ.ry to general opinion, is very complete, as well as larcrer thJ.n that issued by any other govern.

N ot only this but the accompanying hand book'.".The Ship Captains' Medical Guide," originally written bY,a physlclJ.n to the Seamen's Hospital, and edited now by the Medical InspectOr of the Board of T rade, is published under its aegis, The. ast edition, r890, is "ery clearly written and deals with emergencIes. A still larger and more complete manual is "A i\ledlcal and Surgical Help for Shipmasters and Officel;s in the i\lerchan,t Navy," written by Mr. Johnston Smith, F.R.C,S., Principal Medical Officer to the Seamen's Hospital, Greenwich, a gentleman II ho for many years has .had excep. tional opportunities for gaug-ing the requiremel1ls of manners. The contents of these books set at rest the question of the limits of the teJ.chinO" asked for. One point he borne in mind, and that is if exercised more care in the selp.ction of seamen fewer c:tsualties would occur on b03.rrl. Distended bladders, ruptures, groin abscess an::! so on, are usually the result of contracted or easily recognisable ashore; and under the Act mentioned, the captain may bave the crew tboroughly exami ne d by a medical officer t,efore the ship hauls out of dock, The case now narrows down to the desirability of g ving oral instruc" tion and the particular organisation to undertake it, The St. John Ambulance Association seems well fitted to undertake such a. course, but it must, as an essential preliminary, obtai the recognition of the Board of Trade, without which such efforts are doomed to utter failure, Apologising for the length of letter,

I am, Su,

6, The Crescent, E.C, Allg ll st, 1899

September,

A 1:b. 21

IT

Yours, &c" WILLI.\:\l ETTLES, :\l.D

31lbcpenbcnt Bnlbulance (torps.

BRIGADE,- The monthly meeting of the Birmingham and District Ambulance Brigade, was held August I+th, :\Ir. A, t{, T ozer, pres iding, There were 300 cases of first aid rep orted from the several divi sions for the montl1 of July, A.rrangements were completed for the Brigade: to be represented by one officer and ten men at the Charity Sports on the 26th ult. The annual picnic of the members and friend5 was arranged fer September 9th By an unanimous resolution the Secretary was instructed to con vey to the Chief Constahle ('\Ir. C, II. the wngratulations of the committee on his appointment, It was shown that membels o[ the Brigade baj attended to 49 cases at Northfield during the "Pearson's" Poor Children's Outing; to five cases at the Severn Street Early School at to one case at the Juvenile Foresters' outing at the Edgbaston Reservoir; to two cases at the East Birming!:am Band of Hope outing at Washwood Heath, and to 28 cases at Perry Hall (Burlington Early Morning School), and the Church Lads' Brigade Camp, Stanfield, Worcester.

The '\lidland Railway (Lawley Street) Division of the Birmingham and District Ambulance Brigade held their tenth annual plcn'c at Stratford on-Avon, The journey was made in specialiy resen ed carriages, and despite the unfavourable weather there was a large muster. During the day an illuminated address and a purse of gold WlS presented to Mr. Joseph Dudley in recognition of serv ices rendered to tbe cause of first aid, more especlally in connect ion with the L awley Street Di visio n as h onorary secretary, The president of the di visio n (.Vir. J. Bowker) made the presentation, and spoke of wo rth of nIr. Dudley and of the manner in which he had promoted ambulance work in Lhe di Messrs. Bartlett, Groves, and Stamp a lso bore testimon y to '\1r. Dudley's serv ces,

\)aluc of jfirst Bib.

A remarkable illustration of the value of a knowledge of first aid waS given recently at Battersea Park Inspector Bell, of the County Counci l P olice, was called to a case of apparent drowning. Early in the morning, a girl-Bessie King, of i\larylebone-was taken out of the [,lke The inspector immediately resorteu to artificial respiration, and notwitbstanding his exertions, a doctor, who arr iv ed half an hour later, pronounced the case hopeless, "l he 1nspecLor, however, persisted in his efforts, and after an hour and fifteen rlt1111ttes was rewarded by the return to of his patient, The girl is now restored to her friends. apparently in the best of ealth. We are glad to learn that Inspectul' Bell (who is a member of the St John Ambulance .\ssociation) bas heen the recipient of numerous congratulation [or hiS praisewor thy efforts, including a letter from the Chief Ofneer of the County Council, and one frem Dr, \Vatts, of B atters ea,

is an old and true say ing that blood is thi cke r than water, and there I S no doubt that III th e late se rious trouble between the United States and Spain the sympathies of this country were largely with the men of our ow n race across the water, but ambulance workers whether in the ,;Vhi te or Red cross field know neither nationality nor creed and are ready at all times to extend to any fello\\"

helper e n gaged in the C1me grand cause, tbe right-hand of genuine fellO\\'ship and friendship.

This Journ al has e\"er aimed at promoting the international character of our work and seizes its opportlmities for bringing into closer harmony the \"arious countries of the world engaged in the same great \\'ork, that (\f minimising of human suffering, In this se n se our readers will, we are sure, be pleased to welcome in our ga llery th is month the portrait of a gentleman, who, in his own country, h as lab o ured long and earnestly in connection with Ambulance work.

Dr. Ferdinand Calatraveno, who was born at Valla, dolid, in 1861, studie d a t Madrid, obtaining hi s degree at the early age ofrq years. H e is one of the mo t popular and conspicuous figures of the Spani sh capita l, for his career has been a series of triumphs, and his fa me continues to increase,

He is a powerful orator and distinguished writer, and during the last twenty years has written man y article' whi ch have been accorded high encomium in the scientific press of hi s country, In addition to this he ha s published man y books w'hich are recognised as s tandard works, and ha\'e largely added to the renown of the author.

, Dr. Calatraveno is a Member of every Sci en tific Societ y Madrid, and he wiIi s hortly b e elected a Member of Its Medical faculty. As showing the warm interest that he tak es in that grand movement which has done so much t? lessen the frightful horrors of war, it may be m entIOned that he WJS sel ected to officially r e present his country at the International Congre ss at Vienna, in 18 97-

In recognition of his work and hi s un se lfish devotion, ma ny honour s have been conferred 1.1pOn him, amongst oth ers we may menti o n th e Spanish Orders of the Militarya nd Nayal Merit, added to which h e is also a Comma n der of the Order of Chri s t of Portugal.

As a Member of the Suprem e CQuncil of the Red Cross Soci ety of Spain, Dr. Calatr<w e n o enjoys a well deser ved popularity, H e is eve r working ill the interests of

the cause, and there is no doubt that his p ersona l influence has h3.d much to do with the success of the mO\'ement in Th at it may go on and pr os p e r , and that our frIend Dr. Calatr a\·en o-for we hail him as such -m ay be spared for many years to assist in its further b y the of his prestige and sp lendid talents, IS a wlsh Lhat Enghsh firsL-aiders will unite with us in sending to him,

3n\)aIibs, anb tbe ]preparation of tbeir jfoob.

R eprx'nted b)1 speC£aZ permz'ssz'01l oj Jjt'ss Catizerille lrood, A u tlzo l' of "A Handbook Oil Ce. eCOJltinued,)

Vegetable!", especially potatoes, must be thoroughly boiled, and all woody, fibrous parts and remo\·ed. It is a good plan to dry mash potatoes for invalId, and pass them through a sieve; they may be lIghtly browned 10 the. O\'en, which gives them a tempting look, ,Potatoes not b e cooked 10 any other way for invalids, ;\l uch care IS necessary 1I1 cookmg a potato, and for this reason few people do it well. Potatoes better steamed than boiled when properly done they should look hke a ball of flour, and be soft all througb, It waxy or sodden, they not fit for weak people; this fault may be from carele ss cooking, t,e, keep10g them too 10nO" in the water after they are cooked, or because the potato is not a kind. Steaming is more economical than boiling, and it is easier to carry through properly. A potato as a rule takes half an hour to boil, and, except in the case of new potatoes, they should be placed in boiling water. The best potatoes should be selected, with few eyes and with no sian of germination, which makes the potato waxy They have a fi;er taste, and waste less if cooked with their skins on, Green 1'egeiab tes require care in washing and in stripping the parts used must be fresh and tender, all animals and insects removed, a delicate appetite is very sensitive to the corpse of a young slug or sna'il ; before bemg served they must be well drained, and be sent up quite hot, :'lelted butter is not admissible for an in\'alid, but a substitute ma y be found oil maybe used instead of butter, Eggs will adapt themseh'es to any style of cookery; they are most useful in the i11\ alid's di etary to diet an invalid Iyho cannot eat eO'O"s presents a most dIfficult In whatever way they are they should always b e done lightly, otherwise tbe white hardens and is indigestible; an eRg poached is the best form of cooking; it should be served with the wbite just set. Fried eggs, though tasty, are not wholesome; likewise hard-boilep, eggs are indigestible, There are many ways of cooking eggs that will suggest themseh·es, either plain or in combination with some other material. Beaten up raw in milk, with wine, or in beef-tea they are nourishing and stimulating; with beer and water and some flavouring spice they make egg-flip \Vhen they are taken raw, Ihey should be beaten very thoroughly by this means air is entangled in the fluid, and the glairy consistency is done away with, rn the form of an omelette they are agreeable and nouris hing. Only few can make an omelette well; it requires promptitUde and decision, for if you let the bappy moment pass by whilst thinking about it, it turns out leathery,

This chapter on coo kin g can hardly conclude without drawi ng atte ntion to the Jewish mode of cooking and style of li ving, I ts admirers claim for it great wholesomeness and adaptability to a weak digestion, and it is certainly worthy of note that the Christian child ren compa re unfavourably with the Jewish in healthiness, longevity, and power to resist disease, There are many factors in op era tion to account fo r this; but undou bted ly the diet must have something to say to it, Readers of the Bible will be acquainted with th e list of animJ.ls allowed for food, and the mode of killing prescribed, These precepts are still observed, especially among the p oor Jews, Their meat s most minu tely inspected, to ensure its cleanliness and healthiness , by an independent authority all tha t is diseased, tain ted or bruised is rejected a nd destroyed Very strict cleanliness is insisted up o n in their slaugbter-houses, and the slaughte re r has to learn his work systematically, being taught a slight outline of anatomy before he is allowed to try his hand upon the poor beasts, Th e weapons used mu st be of the keenest, as any bruising or lacerating in the wound m ade re nde rs the food unfit for consumptio n, In the comuin,tion of their food , they never mix milk or its products with meat; thi 1'\' them is reglrded as a breac h of tbeprecept "Thou s halt not seethe a' kid in its mother's milk j" the principle is that food killed by violence should n ot ,be mixed up wi,th that wh!ch is r-! ndere d up peaceably; the mixture IS a n abommatl?n" The Idea may: see!n fanciful but at least it has the ment of ant iqUity, and my object Il1 drawing attention to, the subject is that it may receive some consideration as a syst em of dle ta Jy,

DR, FERDIXAND CALATRAVEXO, COX8"CLTIXG PHY SICIAX OF TIlE R ED CROSS SOCIETY OF SPAIX,

The rule laid down may at first sight but the of a Jewish cookery book will show that their dishes wIll e9ual ours. In variety and taste, and good meal maybe plannec: andcarned out by an intelligent housewife. We might certainly take a lesson fron: thell scrupu.lous cleanliness, 'which accompanies the meat througl:: ::dl Its stages untIl placed on the table, and any system that would strike at the root of our n-:onstrou5 dinners, so unwieldy, so unwholesome, a.nd so extravagant, IS to be welcomed. An article in the National Rev/ew has drawn attentIOn to this modern failin a ; it is to be hoped that the word in seaso.n may be heaTd. Some who from imperfect digestion, _ ha ving tned the J eWlsh system affirm that it suits them much better, and the of it asse:t that the secret of its healthiness lies in the absence of mixed foods, that for this reason it makes blood, and that the whole vital system is purer. .' .' , Considerina the great diverSity of IdIOsyncrasy, and the valled Clrcumstances that surround the human family, it is not to be expected that everyone should feel alike; the great secret of maintaining the health, or improving it, is to bring common sense bear upon the question. Our food should not occupy a great place Jl1 our nor should the amount taken exceed that which we require for repair and nourishment; we may have likes and dislikes, w long as they are in subordination; but fancies are inadmissible, bemg their name implies, baseless and wayward,. in the ael of eatll1g an? drinking we may find scope and If we make it a means of controlling oUl·appetltes. And so, we bId. falewell to the Infants and Invalids, both of importance m the history of a nation, the one representing its future! the some of its used material that may have much to do 111 mouldmg that future If only some of the obstacles removed; 'yith the hope that some of the hints in these pages may give a fresh Impetus to the one and soften or ameliorate the life of the other.

$t. 30bn :thnbulance association.

MANCHESTER. - At the Town Hall. on the 17th July, the Lord Mayor (Mr. W. H Vaudrey) presentee certificates of the St. John Ambulance Association to 131 members of the City Police Force, rOI of whom had passed the first examin ation, and the remaining 30 the second. Mr Alderman Rawson, in asking the Lord :'I1ayor to dislribme the said that nothing could. be more important than that the police should be able to render first ald. Such knowledge might mean the saving of a limb-it might .mean the preservation of a life. He was asked by the Watch CommIttee to say that, as a token of their great interest in this department of their work, they were willing to give a handsome medal to all those members of the [urce who passed the third examination. The Committee were anxious for the advancement of the men in every way, and to show their interest in them they had prepared a scheme of evening classes, in which they had been very generously assisted by the School Board. The Lo.rd Mayor expressed the pleasure it gave him to distribute the certificates. Policemen, he said, were cDnstantly -meeting with accident cases, and their knowledge of first aId -must prove invaluable. I twas highly desirable that the corporation should encourage them, and he had great pleasure in his capacity as Lord Mayor in handing them the cE:rtificates. Including those now before him there were 825 members of the force who had successfully passed the first examination of the Association.

MlDDLE SBROUGH.-An exceedingly interesting gathering took place at Wilton Castle on Saturday, the 12th ult., when, at the invitation of the Hon. Jas, Lowther, M.P., a review was held by the members of the Middlesbrough ,a nd Cleveland Centre. The day was brillialltly fine, and the large crowd of visitors who gathered to witness the review, a crowd which was added to by those attending a garden party given by Mr. Lowther, gave th.;: beautiful grounris of 'Vilton Castle an unusually animated and picturesque appearance. The members taking part in the review includec. 525 men and Ss women. The Eston Miners' Band and the ChaUoner Band, including 23 members, were also present, and rendered several selections during the afternoon. The men were inspected by Surgeon-Major Hutton and were put through their movements by Mr. Waynman Dixon, president of the centre. They were ran ged round the edge of the lower terrace, and various illustrations of bandaging were given. Then on the firiilg of a gun several men told orf for the purpose fell to the ground as if shot, and the stretcher parties proceeded to attend to their supposed injuries, and conveyed them away on stretchers. At the concl usion of the review the medallions to the third year and certificates to first and second year studehts were distributed by l\[rs. Wharton. This ceremony was to have been performed by the Marchioness of Londonderry, but the. to L ord Castlereagh prevented her being present. Captam Swam proposed a vote of thanks to Mrs. Wharton 1'1 doin .=,' so, he said while they all deeply regretted the absence of Lady LondonJerry they sympathised with her in the cause which prevented ber being present. The accident to Lord Castlereagh had cast a shadow on what must otherwise have been the happiest day of her life

THE FIRST Am PACKAGE IN MILITARY SURGERy.-I!;l. a paper on this subject read at the recent meeting of the American Medical A%ociation at Chicago (Phil. lIIell. Jo/wn), N. 8enn stat;d two things were broug ht out clearly the R,:sso- rurk.l.sll' war-namely, tlle value of a first aid antlseptlC dres smg in the p r eyention of wound infection, and the Importance of immediate immobilisation of compound gunshot fractures. He the following first aid package for field use and emm:gency work: Two pieces of lintin, a fonn of cotton, 4 1.nches wide ancl16 inches long, sterilised and tWIce ; .a teaspoonful of boric salicylic powder III a small aseptIC envelope; between them a piece of sterile g.au ze .44 H:ches with two safety pins, folding to s:ze w1th the.1mtlll compressed; all the articlcs wrapped 111 two stnps of rubber adhesive plaster an inch WIde and mches long, the. whole to be sewn in an impermeable canvas or lmen cover. In package the powder was to be applied to the wound! when was used as a compress, held in place by the stnps of adheS1ye plaster, and the gauze bandage over it If two ,-vounds were to be dressed at the same time, as was usually the case III modern ',aI'fare, the contents of the package were which could be done without materially impaumg the effiCIency of the dressing. The slight hremoxrhage in wounc1s I..>y calibre bullet would soon saturate a part oE the dressmg, wInch by evaporation would 50011 convert the powder and the cotton into ::\. dry crnst, the very best protect 1011 for the w01111(l against infection, 1\1any military surgeons had expressed them· selves recently as being opposed to the. ?f the aid package by anyone el e except men. Ib1S POSlt lOD, Seun thought, would be found untenable the number of wounded would greatly exceed the capacity of the limited l:umber of .surgeo ns. be emphasised the followll1g conclus.lOns: (1) Ii Il'st aId are indispensa ble on the battlefield m modern (2) rhe first aid dressing must be sufficiently and hght to b\3 carried in the skirt of the uniform, or on the mner surface the cartridge or sword belt to be of no i11eon,enience to the sold;l.C! or in conflict with the military regulations. (3) gular bandage is of great value in the school of ll1structlOn, but, m the first aid package it is inferior to the gauze. banuage. (4) first aid package must contain in a waxed Ctwel?pe an anllseptic powder, such as bOl'Osalicylic powder, 12llls wrapped in tinfoil, and between this package and the ?utslde cover, two strips o[ adhesive plaster an inch and e1ght mC.hes long. (5) The first aid dressing must be apphed as SO?l1 as p.osslble after the receipL of the illjury, a part o[ field serVICe Wlll?h be safely entrusted to competellt (6) ] he first aiel dressing, if employed \.1e luud the finng should ve employed withonL the H'moval the .ove r IIlJlUed par t: and fastened to the surface of the skm WIth stnps of rubhcI a.dhesive plaster, the bandage being applied over and 110t um1er the clothing. (7) The first aid dressing must be dry and. should remain so by dispensing with an i:upermeable cover over as not to interfere with free evaporation of the ,vound secretl,ol1. (8) The first aill dressing should not buL any d efects should be corrected at the first dressmg statlOn.

FIRE BlUGADE DrsPl.A Y AT LEYTON STONE ,-The detachment of the Ambulance Department National Fire Brigades union under the command of Chief Officer Church Brasier was on duty at the Fire Briaade Tournament at Leytonstone, on Bank Holiday. There but few casualties. One .of the Royal Suffolk H USS3TS came off his h orse, and after exam matIOn It w.as deemed advisable to remove him to the Walthamstow Cottage II osp ital, where he remained some days. Hon. Supt. of Leytonstone, was on duty, with the man t? the hospItal. In the, evemnfi' prizes won dUring the day were pi esented by Mrs. Preskit.t, the the popular surgeon of the Ley ton and L.eytonstone FIre Dr. Preskitt and Chief Officer Church BraSier were also the reclplent9 of hand some cups presented by the officers and men of the Leyton ant;! Leyton stone Brigade, in recognition of services rendered.

Se ptemb er, 1899.J FIRsrr thnbulance JDeparttnent, 1RationaI jfire 1llnton.

The newly formed ambulance department of the Union bids fair to be one of the most popular 'units of the service. Although organized so recently, the work done by the department at the recent Fire Camp proves that the working staff is a capable and practical one. It is open for any member of the Union holding the certificate of the St. John Ambulance Association to pass the necessary qualifying examination, and thereby earn the right to wear the new ambulan ce badge of the Union and many officers and men took advantage of the recent Camp to qualify. The object which the Ambulance CDmmlttee of the Union have in view is the formation of ambulance classes in connection wi th every Brigade in the Union in order that a percentage of the men may be availa"ble for ambulance duty; in addition to this, it is proposed to have at least 32 men who oh all be enrolled for this duty in connecti on with the various district meetings, annual camps, tournaments, &c. Several members have already been enrolled in this s p e c a I corps, which it sh ould be stated wi II in no way clash with any other organisation, as it is intended solely for service with the Fire Brigacies, in the same way as the Volunteer Medical Staff Corps is the ambulance corps of the Volunteer Service. Intending members may obtain full particulars on application to Secretarial Superintendent J. Norfolk, Catford Bridge, Kent. The

form of the depa r tment which is of the Fire Brigade pattern with slight modifi cations, has been de signed and car-

A lb. 23

held from July 21st to 28th in the grounds of Perry H all Park kindly placed at the di sposal of the Union by General the lIon Gough S'omerset Calth,crpe. Unfortunately the which had hitherto given prom se of a fine week, was not and Saturday, the opening day of the Camp, was by a senes of heavy showers accompanied by a thunderstorm, which almost effectually put a stop to the competitions wh!ch were then in progress. Sunday was also showery and no doubt militated largely agai.nst the of ,:,isitors to Camp, with the result that although With a view of benefitll1g the Widows and Orpha;ts' Fund of the Union two Sacred Concert.s had been arranged, and for whIch the Mounted Band of the Royal ArtIllery had been speciany engaged, we are afraid that financially the Fund will not benefit to the extent that it was hoped. In the morning a church parade was organised in one of large tents, when a most eloquent sermon was preached by the Rev. the Archdeacon of Stafford. After this, and between the showers, the visitors inspected the Camp, and much interest was taken in the Ambulance Encampment, which was situated in a corner of the park near to the grand stand, Here was pitched the Hospital Tent and seven tents forming the sleeping quarters and store tents'of the staff on duty, these had been admirably pitched under the superintendence of Superintendent Trimmer (Quartermaster ). A day tent fcl' the Ambulance Sisters also

Frcm Photo b!ll [H-M/lock ,\' Co., IJirlJlill!lham.

found a place in his enclosure, and standing jus t within the rails ready for any emergency was the new ambulance wagon, which had been built for the Union by the Military Equipment Company of Waterloo Place, London. It is a light but very serviceable wagon, capable of taking two regulation stretchers or six patients seated with two attendants inside. It has painted on either side the handwme Badge of the Ambulance Department of the Cnion, and presented a very smart appearance, and naturaliy exrited not a little atten tion at the hands of visi tors interested in ambulance work; by special permission of the President, TllE DEPARTl\IENT OF THE

ried ou t by.\1essrs, IItbbert & Co.,} ames Street, Haymarket, and the , orkand fit has given complete satisfaction to officers and men alike. The same fir m ha s also manufactured, to tbe designs ?f Supt, Pon cerot, Asst. SUP!' of Stores, a dressing pouch, It IS one of the best dressing pouches that w" have seen, roomy and yet not cumbersome, and renders ea.::h man in a position to more effectually deal with sudden illness or accident even if single-handed , The Sisters' havresac, which was designed by Lady Supt. i'll'S. Church Brasier, is also a gTeat addition to the personal equipment for it is light and can be easily carried either in tbe hand or across the shouJder; like the men's dressing pouch, every available space has been utilised to the best advantage, and lady ambulance workers will find this a uselul adjunct to their personal equipment. It has been manufactured by l\Iessrs. Reynolds and Branson, the wellknown finn of surgical instrument makers, Briggate, Leeds. The Ambulance B adge of the Union, whi ch is a red cross on a white enamel ground with the word s" l\"ational Fire Brigades Union Ambulance" round it, was manufactured by Messrs. Dowler and Sons of BirmingI t is a striking badge, and is needless to say has been produced 111 the usual hi g h-clas s manner which is so characteristic of all work turned out by this well-,;:nown firm,

NA TlONAL FIRE BRIGADES' CAMP.

The Second Annual Camp of the National Fire Brigades' Union was

H is Grace the Duke of Marlborough, the wagon has been nam e-d " The borouO'h." In this enclosure we found Chief Officer Church BraSier , who in command, Hon. Surgeon Becker, who was in medical charO'e, Supts. Trimmer, Poncerot and:\' orfolk, Lady Supt. l\Irs. S:hulch Brasi':!r, Calvin Lines, and i\Irs Sleath Gent (Am bulance SIsters), with Sergt. Elam (Drill Instru ctor), and Sergt - Flowerday (Bandage Inslructor), and two ambulance orderlies. Supt. Heat!1cote a.nd f0":lr men of the Win sford Division , St. John Ambulance Brigade, III ptalll clothes, were by special permission of the Executive also prese nt. In the evenin a there was a better attendance to hear the Sacred Concert, and the splendid music of the Royal Artillery much admired At II p.m. a detachment of officers went to meet the contingent of French Firemen. The contingent, wh ,lch, under the com mand of Capt. Mi gnot, President of the French FederatIOn, was accompanied by Capt. Tinne (Tunbridge Wells) and (London) , was received on arrival by Col. Dixon and Capt. olKer on behalf of the English Union. The officers were at once escort€.d to the Grand Hotel and the firemen conveyed to camp. On theIr arrIval here a warm welcome was extended to them by their English comrades , and after a good meal they retired to rest, tired with. thei: long journey. Incidentally it may be mentioned that on their arnvalll1 London French officers and men were received by l\1r. Kusel, the in England oft he Federati.on,and prior theirdepar ture fbr Blrmlng_ham they were entertained by h\ln at the Cafe Royal. M onda) and

NATIO:--.'AL FIRE BRIGADES' eNIO"

were devoted to steady hard work, with the intention of wiping off the arrears which had accumulated owing to the rain on Saturday. On the In.tter day Dr. Ettles, one of the. surgeor;s the Fire Bri!;ade, visited the camp, and It was hIs kmdly l?tentJOn to have delivered to the ambulance firemen in camp a special lecture. Unfortuuately the various ambulance officers and men who have appreciated the lecture were the very ones wh0 were engaged mother duties. This was unfortunate as in consequence of the meagre attendance the lecture had to be postponed-might we suggest .to Capt. Dyson that it would bean interesting lecture to give to the provincIal firemen ,:"ho may take part in this year's Lord Mayor's procession. An extemponsed stretcher formed of four ordinary pieces of wood fixed together at each corner by a clamp designed by Dr. Ettles, with a life-line lashed between the poles to form the bed, wasan obje.:t of much interest in the ambulance enclosure. On 'Wednesday the official inspection of the firemen and their appliances took place. The Duke of Thfarl borough, was announced to make the inspection, but his Grace was unable lo atten n , and the duty was performed by Lord Calthorpe. There was a very brge gathering, and for the greater part of the aftern oon the proceedings were witnessed in beautiful weather. The company included many representatives of local governing bodies and several members of the Birmingham \\':1tch Committee. Headed by the band, the men marched round the ground and past the saluting point in front of the large stand, which was well occupied. Then the steamers, of which there were 29, in addition to the two belonging to the French contingent, and the patent fire escapes, all fully manned, were driven slowly past, and afterwards at a gallop. The proceedings were watcbed with considerable interest, and the plaudits of the onlookers were frequent. The Frenchmen and the representatives of several of the English Bligades and the Ambulance Department came in for a large share of praise. At the close of the inspectioq, Lord Calthorpe presented to each of tbe French representatives a medal as a souvenir of their visit. Then followed the ordinary exhibition drills, and these seemed to provide more entertainment than the inspection. They included turn-out steamer, rescue and hose drills, in adrlition to a display by the Ambulance Department and frequently the gathering showed their appreciation of the smartness and quick action of the men by outbursts .of applause. Subsequently the ambulance Sisters held a reception at their tent in honor of its being the birthday of their Lady Superintendent. A large number of the officers, both English and French favoured the Sisters" ith a visit and partook oftea and light refreshments. The French visitors were welcomed in the name of the Sisters by Chief Officer Church Brasier, and the welcome was cordially acknowledged on behalf of the visitors wbo assured their fair hostesses that they would be proud to welcome the Ambulance Department of the English Fire Service in Paris next year. In the evening the French officers and other visitors were guests at the officers' mess, and at the conclusion of the dinner the usual loyal and other toasts were honoured.

Colonel Seabrooke presided, and was supported by the Right Hon. Lord Leigh, the French Military Attache, Capt. Mignot (president of tbe French Federation), the American Yice-Consul, Major Fox (London Salvage Corps), Mr. S. G. Gamble (Metropolitan Fire Brigade), and others, upwards of a hundred fire brigade officers being present.

On Th.ursday at luncheon time a very pretty ceremony took place, when Col. DIxon, on beha!f of tbe officers of the Union, presented to Lady Supt. BraSier a gold bracelet. In making the presentatIOn the Colonel said he had been asked by his brother officers to a. very duty, namely, to present to Mrs. Church BraSier, the Wife of their gOOl friend and valued comrade the Chief Officer of their Ambulance Department, a small token of their esteem and regard for her personally, not only did they esteem her because she was. the WIfe of a valued colleague, but they entertained for her asincere feelIng of rega.rd and on account of tl-Je kindly interest she bad always taken In the Ul110n and its. ambulance requirements. He (the sp<;aker) Church BraSier not to regard theil gift from the pomt of Its IIltnnslC value but to value it as an evidence of their regard. her, he trusted that she might live many years to wear it and to assIst III the ambulance work of the union. Mrs. Church Brasier having acknowledged the gift, Chief Officer Church Brasier Col. .DIxon for his very kind remarks and in conclusion stated that If the Union would only back him up their Ambulance Department should be second to none. In the afternoon the prizes were pres en ted to the various successful Brigades by Her Grace the Duchess of Marlborough. 1t was. to be regretted that on her arrival the staff officers were ,not. p r esent In full force to welcome Her Grace, for all those in the .Servlce who had the pleasure of meeting her last year at Blenheim reall.se how thoroughly she seconded the efforts of His Grace the noble to make their visit a happy one, and it was he'r winning personalIty as much as anything that will make that Camp live in the of all as one of the happiest meetings in connection WIth the FIre Serv.lce. (\s a further proof of her undoubted popularit a.mongst those reSIdent In the vicinity of her historic home, a very ceremony took place, when Capt. Ban bury of the \V oodstock presented to He.r Grace the Cup which had been won by her own BrIgade from Capt. Banbury is a typical fireman, and his face was WIth pleasure as he handed the trophy to Her Grace, who In turn was VISIbly touched by this spontaneous ma r k ofloyal

affection. At the conclusion of the ceremony a hearty vote of thanks was paosed to Her Grace, and as she drove away the cheering was sincere and hearty. On Friday commenced t?e work of Camp, and the ambulance workers, who always pItch and theIr own, were not 10nO' before, under the same able direction of the officer who erected the and" Bisleys," they were packed up and on their way to Birmingbam. Tbe majority of tbe officers and men had left after the presentation of the prize s, and it \"as a very small party that gathered under the old tree for a final glass together and to re-ecbo the wish that it might not be long ere they might meet. again It should be mentioned that amongst the officers present In Camp was Capt. Bellamy, of tl:e Selangor Fire and Dr. Liebaert, 2nd officer of the Johannesburg Fire Brigade. Dr. Liebaert, although not present in bis medical capacity, occasionally, in the absence of Hon. Surgeon Becker rendered valuable service, as also did Surgeon Major Harrison, of Chester.

Incidentally it may be mer.tioned that in the processions which took pbce daily were a number of fine machines by Messrs. Shand, Mason & Co., tbe London firm of fire engine makers, who sent, in addition to other machines-all horsed and equipped by the firm and manned by fire brigades affili1.ted wi t h the National Fire Brigades' Unior.-a 750 gallon steam fire engine, just built for the Grimsby Cor, poration, a 450 gallon engine ordered by the Birmingbam city authorities, a 350 gallon machine for the Burton-on-Trent Corporat ion, and a special double-expansion steam fire engine as designed and built during the present year to tbe order of Com mander Wells, of the Metropolitan Fire Br:gade, and for which organisation we undentand Messrs. Shand, J\1a so n & Co. are now constructing five additional engines of the same type. The steamers which l\lessrs. Shand, Mason & Co. provided for the competitions were of their light" Double Vertical" type, the capacity being 200 gallons per minute through jet pipe, and the weight only 2+} cwt. Altogether the firm had seven steam fire engines at the Camp, the collective pumping capacity being 3,000 gallons per minute. They also sent four manuals, three escapes, and a large quantity of " Bear" and" Southwark hose, accessories, &c.

NOTES THE FIRE CAMP.

By SPE CTATOR

While giving every credit to the local Committce for the efforts tbey had made to promote this year's gathering, I cannot altogether co mmend them on the selection of site, the mist which enveloped the Camp eveninlS, in addition to being unpleasant, suggested rheumatism and bronchitis for those who had a tendency to contract these ailments.

*

Capts. R'Jberts, Kitteringham, and Ricbards mus have had an anxious time, and it was a pity that the weather was such as did not tend to the success of theil well-intentioned efforts.

*

Capt. Du Cros, of the Dunlop Brigade, deserves special mention for the splendid efforts he made to ensure the success of the gathering but the arena was too large. The 1\layor of \Y oo ds toc k (Capt. John Ban, bury) also deserves a special meed of praise, as also does Capt. Hill (Bedford), they worked hard and well. There were, of course, many others who also rendered good serVIce, but we feel that one and all will appreciate my com mendati on of these gentlemen.

*- '"

It goes without sayingthatthe General Hon. Sec. of the Union, was, as be always is, well to the fore, byt what with the Spec ial Committee at the House of Commons, and tbe Camp, he must have been working night and day.

* Mr. Clinton, 'the Contractor, is sometimes blamed because the mess runs short, but Chief Officers at times are much to blame. It is rough on your contractor when he expects to have, say, thirty in to a certain meal to find tbat he is suddenly called upon to provide for double that number. In spite of many little slips of this character, Mr. Clinton, never once showed any feeling in the matter, he was always polite and only too anxious to remedy any cause of complaint brought to his notice. His pleasant look and cheery voice never once altered.

* '"

Our French friends say that one of their pleasantest recollections will be the reception at the tent of tbe Am bulance Sisters, and this view is endorsed by their English comrades who accepted the hospitality of the Sisters.

A capital selection of photographs was taken by Messrs Whitlock Street, Birmingham, and in their representative I was pleased to renew an acquaintance 'with Mr. Turner, of Islington, who has been responsible for years pastfor the splendid portraits taken at the Military Tournament. Mr. Turner's pictures on this occasion are some of hIS best.

FI RS AD

In a c c or da n ce with the requinments of Messrs. Marshall Br oth er s, the new Publishers, the journal will in future be published on the 25th of the mon tho and the Editor a pp eals to correspondents b 0th in London and the Prov in ces to send any matter for insertion not later than the 20th of ea o h month , after which date its insertio n can not be guaranteed in the current issue No efforts w ill b e wanting to make the Journal as esting as po s sible to the ambulance helpers in all the various o rganizatio n s over whose destinies we are pleased to watch, and we ask our readers to kindly help us with suggestions any item of news likely to interest our readers. One evant which we trust will result from the chan,ge In the publishing and advertiSing deTlartments , WIll be the enlarging of the Journal at a no dista n t d ate.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION.

For 12 months, IS. 6d., post free, to be sent to the Publishers.

:fJ3rcvitics.

The of an hulance selTice in LonLlon has been so often pomtecl Ol:t these colulllns that it l1 1most to gn'e lllStl1 - but a couple of glaring cases Just come ullllel' notIce and desel've attention . In one ' tha.t an. elelel'Iy wom a.n \;-as knocked down in the City "und su:,t;lLmed. n. fmctme of the thigh. A police Ie alTIveLl, some twcnty minutes wel'e wnsted lU cltsctlssmg the l<tt'illy injUl'ecl \\'oman the price of a cab to the hospltnJ. Th o woman meam\-hile lay in the street, a. pitiable object, the centre of 11 anllilltr \ t. I tl 1 l'ffi I b b 1"\ eng 1 t 10 (1 cu ty was sol vcd by a p.H;::;ing· femtlle ,y ho findlllg constable to act, ambulance 111 the shape of a ,Yhe elbano\\' herself' COllY""l'llCT th " 1 .' " "'. b e l11JTIl ec ,yoman to the bo splta l. Aftel'\\'anls she '''at; rsm o\-e cl a. second time to the infil'mnry in a en b. She (hetl. In. the second a medical man on alTiving at his door, ,\'as by a hansom. On looking inside be '11,\,- a. P?hceman holcl111g up an insensible man \\'ith bloo(l Oyel' hiS head, face and clothes. On being asked ,\"hy be had not the ambulance, the p oliceman l'epli e(l th,lt he could for th: ambulance <1S .the man i:>eelilell 80 bad, anll 1e get lllm to the hospItal quickel' in the enb-the hospltn,l was about three miles off.

Th e a.bove two cnses are positi\Tely a disgn,cc to this City. Why Ci.tnnot we hase an alll bubnce service? 'Yho way? It would cIo some gooll if our meh'opolitnn a?el's would pInce thci:le all!l similar eYel'Jday facts before theIr local County Councillors.

The question of first aid on bOlt I'd ship l'ecei,--

iug Komc a.ttention in .Padiament, >mc1 is probably the outof the gwen I):T :2IIr. S. Osborn. The BClanl of Tutele m'e llllltter theil' consideration, so that aonbtless somethmg \\,111 come of it.

* * f.

The St. John Ambulance bas not so far made any l'eply t.o the charges brought against it by the Lancet. If the pubhc and thc me<lical profession treat tbo'e chal'cres as p10v.ed, the Association ,,"ill only haee itself to Acc.?l'Clmg to that joul'nc1l the (liffel'ences at pl'esent existing at StockpOl·t between the local branch of the As 'ociation and tl:e me<1ical Societ:' are to be }Jl1t to the al'bitration of thl'ee mc1ependent gentlemen, pl'o\-idecl theil' decision be acceptod as :final. We that the matter may be silti: ,factOl·ily :;ettletl.

At competition at ebon, Lancashire. some dlssatlsfaetlOn seems to be felt because the Colne ladies did not win first prizo: The judges were Major Tl imble and Dr, Plll1. Accordmg to a ,niter in a local papel' prizes were offere(l for the filllm-test an(l neatest tm'n out and :oIne gO.t the "rebuff." The writer says tha't the Judge.s lhll not g:ve an opinion. :r 0 details are the Oolne ladies failed. The only IS that Dr. Pim gave the second prize to lllt-- "(fl'len<ls: 1:1w "'.liter maintains that the .iudgment of the (.olne people IS lJ.1.ute as goorl a Major Trimble's, awl abo that the ,! ambulance ladies were youngel') :llnl-ter and neatel·. allllm one 01' h,o points cleaner than elthel' of the corp::; which were awarded prize " He also th'.lt ,; it ,,'asn't a beauty TIl!" opinion of the Co1negentleman 011 tbese detmls ma\" be valuable but ili not 1w.ppan to coin.cide \vith that of the judges. , c bope that the future mterests of the Colne ludie will not he pl'ej ntlicerl by tIle incliscl'eet utterances of their friellll. It cloes no good to gl'um ble at the verdict of a. jLHlge unle:::-s some can sho\\'n -amI here thel'e m'e n.olH': it be pI'oved that Dr. Pim unduly fi;,-ourelllns 111\'181011,. the Wmn81'S of the second pl·ize. The C ;1111lm1<1nce 1::tlhes h<1,-e our sympathy, amI \\'e tru t thnt III the next competition the.' ,,,ill come out at the top.

:\JEDTCAL SCALE FOR :\lERCHA:\T SHIPs.-Am TO ',"O UKDED I;-';]UI{EIl.-!he Board of Trade ha\'e recently forwarded to the "anous local boards an extract from the report of a committee reee.ltly appolllted to re\·ise the medical scales for merchant and passenger "esse Is, and request the obselTation of the various local boards upon the sug-gestions. The following is the extract :-" The COml11lt.tee \·enture to ,lake a few suggestions which, though perhaps nO.t falllllg dIrectly within the scope of their reference, would, they thmk, tend largely to the benefit of Ihc health of passengers and crews. As n:erchant which carry no medi-::al man, they are of Opll1lOl1 that It would be hIghly desirable that no ship sbould be allowed 10 proceed on a long "oyage unless there be someone on boa rd who l1as pa<;sed thro:lgh a cour.3e of instruction in first aid to the wounded' they Ihink thi:; might be gradually brought about if it were compulsory on eyer)' \\ho himself for examination for a m,lStel·'s certilicate to produce c\'idence that he has passed throuah 5:I.ch a course of instruction." This suggestion is signed by :::\est"or 1uard, Sydney Phillips, \1.D., \Ifred Willett, iU.R.C.S., F. Richard son Cross, F.R.C.S., A. J. Phillips, \rm. Spooner, J. P. Gannon.

[TVe {lo not necl'ssc&?'il,l/ holel O1t7'selves ?'espollsiull!f07 tile OJ)iI170nS oj 01/.7' C01·7·('spondcnts.]

PRACTfC,\L RE:\fARKS .\;\1B llL\ UCTIO:\".

To .Iie 1:.ddor of FmsT Alfl.

SlR. - The "ery " pr.:tctical remarks" that a ppeared on this subject in your issue of September, will at once commen? themsell'es to .all who have any kno\dedge of the be he 01: she Instructor, exam1l1er, secor pupil. But \Ihat IS "anted IS to find a remedy for the defects stated. That there are defects el'ery first·alder wIll at once admit, that they exist must be allowed by has had a little experienc; in first aid classes, and the fault lies \\'Ith the St. JO.hn Ambulance AssoClation, the examiners, the lecturers, and the pupIls, all are to blame, more or less.

Undoubtedly the majority of me:lical men.who to to a class do so without any experience. It IS undIsputed that first aId is a part of medical knowledge that is net taught in hospitals or elsewhe,e to medical men, and as an instance of the want of kno\\ledge on this point, only rerently I asked a to a course of lectures to a class. I prefaced my requcst WIth the ll1troductory remark "of course you know all about first aid and the St. John Ambulance Association," and was staggered to hear in reply "Oh yes! once received a circular from them, they undertake the remov l of p::.tients at rates that struck me at the time must be highly remunerative." It follows then that a lecturer can only be guided by the "Syllabus of Instruction" issued by the Association, and can only lecture on the contents of Shepherd's Handbook. If we turn to that very valuable manual we shall not find anything- mentioned in regard to, at all e\'ents, the majority of the" Practical Remarks of Surgeon Examiner," and it is the want of experien::e in the lecturer coupled with the dearth of information supplied in the "Handbook" that is responsible to a large extent for the condition of affairs that exist. Want of time with many lecturers is an0ther great factor, and pupils receive in consequence a more or less hurried lecture. and are referred to their "Handbooks" to read up the subject.

to say" Surgeon Examiner' approves of the way" Bandaging and Splinting" is usually taught: perhaps he does not know that this practical work is frequently ldt to the" Class Secretary," assisted by a few members of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, the surgeon contenting himself with looking on and nodding approval. Even in the case of medical men \\ith great experience in first aid work and Class Instruction, I haye never seen the various bandages, splints, 6.:c. shown more than OnCe, Turning now to the Examiners, the methods of examination are so different that it is almost impossible for the members of a class " attended largely by a comparatively illiterate class of men" to satisfy an examiner, unless they are given a chance of replying to questions on all points of first aid. I have been told by an examiner" I do not lay much stress on knowledge of poisons, they are cases for treatment by medical men," and on the other hand I have witnessed an examination where 80 per cent. of the questions were on poisoning alone. I have been present at an examination where the" viva voce" occupied a few minutes only, and the rest of two hours 'was taken up by practical work, and I have seen just the re\'erse I shall be told, no doubt, that pupils should learn everything and then would be able to pass any examiner, but my contention is that no examiner should lay stress on anyone part of the instruction and others; and in proof thereof I take the examinitions T have seen conducted by two examiners who go right through" Shepherd's," and who are able to pass a larger proportion of pupils than those who single out a particular branch. The writer of your article can, of course, only judge from the replies he receives when examining, and as no lecturer can examine his o\\'n class he cannot tell what answers his pupils may giye :he examiner, standing that they have been well ground in " practical ,. replies. To quote a recent experience on the subject of nasal bleeding, pupils were tolJ " the simple expedient of holding the arms high above the head," and no! hing else. Yet at the examination on being asked "'\\'hat would you do in a case of bleeding from the nose? " the answer came without hesitation, "put a key down his back." And this is where pupils are at fault because they cannot forget popular fallacies (the cobweb for arresting hremorrhage is one that takes a Jot of eradicating) and because they listen to teachings of outsiders instead of /Siving their undivided attention to the lecturer and studying their "Handbook."

As to the remedies, the want of inlormation in "Shepherd's" may easily be remedied by the St. John Ambulance Association issuin a a pamphlet with hints and instructions to lecturers. To begin with,"'let them publish a reprint of " Surgeon Examiner's" article, and issue a copy with each ,. nominal roll of a class," \\'itb instructions to the IIon. Sec to hand same to the lecturer. This alone would be of invaluable help towards remedying the want of experience on their part. Then let e,'ery examiner determine to examine on all parts of the "IIandho?k," and the pupils a chance of showing their kno\>vledge on all pomts. lwd 111 regard to lecturers an 1mprovement might be made if

the Association would get together a body of lecturers who alone should be qualified to lecture and whose fee should be fixed at one g-uinea, not for each lecture but for the course; such fee to be paid by the members 1f they can ;tfford it, and if not by the Association, so that Class Secretaries would not to have to beg the help of medical men, but could apply to the Association; and I venture to think that many secretaries would raise that one guinea who know that it is useless to attempt to obtain from pupils the present prohibitory fee.

In I ,t that n? one \"ill construe my .remarks as c.asting any refiectIOll on thell' efforts 111 the cause of first ald. My object is merely to show how the present system of "Am bulance Instruction" a ppeals to one who has himself been through many examinatiollS, and h,lS, as secretary, been present at innumerable lectures, to bring out the defects as they present themselves, knowing that everyone COli· cerned, like myself, is only anxious Lo help forward the good work to which we are all devoted.-I am, &c., CLASS SECH.ETARY.

To the Editor of FIRST AID.

SIR,-I must confess to having read with mixeJ feelings the article on Ambulance Instruction by "Surgeon Examiner" in your Septembel issue

It is not for me to deLract anything from the value of the article taking it from an educational standpoint, but I must emphaticall): object to " Examiner's" remarks when dealing with the various First Aid classes that have passed from time to time before his watchful eyes. As a railway man, I entirely deny belonging Lo an "illiterate class of men." even though it be "comparatively," for, taken as a body, it is generally recognized that, outside Government service, there is no finer body of working men to be found in the United Kingdom, or I might even say in the whole \Yorld, than that employed by the great Railway Companies of our country. It would be an insult both to the masters and men for anyone in a lower position than that of" Examiner" to suggest such a thing.

Surely" Examiner" does not expect to receive from \\ orking men who take up the study of first aid during their leisure time, for the sale purpose of procuring sufficient knowledge to render immediate assist· ance to their unfortunate fellow workmen, such answers as would be expected from a student in a school at medicine, yet I am very much afraid that" Examiner" may be one of those, who, instead of inspirin cr the confidence of men, who, hating the very name of come with fear and trembling beFore the august examiner, who in the lanauage of every question says, " Oh you little know-nothings, behold much more knowledge I possess than you."

Is it any wonder that heads are sometimes lost and ?vt//-kllomz im· pOl·tant points go slipping away in the mist of confusion caused by the unintelligibility of tbe question. Surely examiners might have a little compassion with th0se who walk in a humbler sflhere of life, and instead of endeavouring to frighten and confu5e, bri ng the self·same questions to a better level as far as language is concerned.

\Ve are aware, too, that an absurdity can be placed to any ans\\er, however correct, if looked at in the proper manner and at a propel time, say during the course of an after Jinner speech. To prel'ent any increase to those al ready in existence I should prescribe a plain, straightforward question.

It is not my intention to take up the cudgels on behalf of our grand police force, they are well able to protect themsehes, 1 esides finding time to watch over the interests of others who may require their pro· attention.

The labourer, that much abused class, of whose assistance" Examiner" is someLimes willing to avail himself, is often not so black as he is painted, nor so ignoran t. and if you find any such willing to undertake the trouble of acquiring knowledge in a first aid class, as no doubt there are many such, all honor to them, say I, for wishing to elevate them· selves

Apologising for intrusion on your valuable space and thanking you in anticipation. I remain, London & North '\Vestern Railway Yours truly, Carriage Works, Wolverton, RAILWAY A:\1BULANOE. I2th September, I899.

FIRST AlD EFFICIENCY.

To the Editor ifFIH.ST AlD.

DEAR Sm.-Having been a reader of FmsT Am since its C011lrnencemerlt, I can heartily testify to its usefulness and to the benefit conferred upon first-aiders throughout the country, not only by the record of meetings, &c , but also through the many reports of lectures and papers upon ambulance work contributed by "Cbirurgus" and other friends.

In the July number, however, I have been somewhat specially interested in the report of the Annual Conference, and the remarks of Lord Knutsford, Dr. Cantlie and others relative to the actual position of generally as regards efficiency.

October, 1899, ] FIRST

Lord Knutsford remarks that" he is afraid certificates are sometimes toO readily granted."

Now, Sir, having the pos.ition. of District Secretary under E::l.stern Railway Ce.ntre Sl11ce Its it has been my prIvIlege attend exam111atlons, and whIlst feel111g most grateful to the medIcal profeSSIon for the val uable services aiven to us both in instruction and exami I think it may be to st;1.te that I have occaSIonally had to come to a conclusion similar to that of his lordship.

O.f ,ve can recognise that it is hard upon one's feelings to have to dl.squahfy perhaps one a class of candidates, hut yet, Sir, if We:' cons.lder grant a certificate of proficiency to a man who is really lack1l1g, IS to nsk the erroneous treatment of some unfortunate sufferer we cannot be too partie-ubr in our examinations and it would be more kinJ to disqualify in some cases, since erro'neous tre::l.trnent in the eyes of the tends to bring ridicule upon the operator and mistrust in the ASSOCiatIOn generally.

That this may not appear so likely. 50 far as ()lIr southern brethren and tbose having in the Brigade are concerned, is possible, but speak now more directly respecting our provincial brethren \\'ho li\'e .far removed. from Brigade Centres, and "hose opportunities to attalll to perfe::tlon are not so favourable Even in our O\\'n Centre it is quite optional to a man whether he tloubles to make himself more per.fect in first aid work or not after he has secured the certificate, and whIlst we to-day claHn to haye a membership of about I,300, the number who are regular attendants at their respective class practices, and :vho seek to efficiency is very much below that number; and It IS a gener::l.l Op1l11?n amongst those 'who are thoroughly interested in the work that somethl11g more in the matter of examination is needed.

Even in the case of a man who has earned his medallion, which it is generally understood constitutes rne'Ylbership for life, of what real service can such a man expect to be, if after the day he recei\'es his med:dlion he troubles no iurther with his class practice, and I am sorry to say there are many slIch. '\Vould it not be possible for the Association to add to their examinations, first, by making the first three somewhat more :Jnd second!.>. hy introducing- a course of periodical re-exammatlons for med:dlIon holders, upon \yhich continuity of membership should JepenJ. there is already a grand to practice in Brigade memoerslup, amI we belIeve that Bngade work would be a ·,"seful remedy for the present apathy of some, but most unfortunately the heads of the North Eastern Railway Company have not yet seen its necessity, If a manjoins the local corps he becomes in a sense bound to attend the. drills, he soon becomes to accept it as a duty, tbe result be1l1g addItIonal knowledge gamed and gleater proficiency displayed, .and it is with the hope that, by my expression of the opinion of a few mterested members, both the St. John Ambulance Association and the North Eastern Railway Company may be induced to take such as shall at rate add to the security of the prestige of the ASSOCIatIOn and the effiCIency of ItJ members.

54, Pease Street, Darlington, 30th August, r899.

I am, Sir, Respectfully your;:, H. G,\.RRETT.

*** vVe ha\e to thank our correspondents for cuttings, &c. May we request all extracts to be sent as soon after publication as possible.

1RaiIwa\? Bll1bulance.

GREAT VVESTERN RAILWAY.-At the waiting room, Great \Vestern Docks, Plymouth, the prizes won by members of the Plymouth branch of the G:e'1.t 'Vestern Ambulance BrigaJe, which is connected with the St. John Ambulance Association, were presented by Mrs. Adye, wife of JlIr. H. Y. Adye, traffic superintendent Mr. T. H. Gibbins, district engineer, presiJed The Secretary pfr. A. LloU) presented the annual report of the class, which referred to the loss sustained by the death of Dr. 'V. A. Buchan, the esteemed medical instructor, and the late secretary, Mr Evans, who had removed from the district. Dr. ,\Vebber had ably taught class. with the result that the district prizes were IVon, the first place secured at Paddington, anJ the (lymouth team reached sixth place in the open railway com petition. During the year had rendered first aid in several cases. The hon. secretary haVIng handeJ Mrs. \dye a charming bouquet, the chairman, in requesting Mr. Ilott to present Dr, 'Vebber with a handsome barometer on behalf of the class, said tn\.! present was a token of the members' respect, and an expression of hope that he would long continue his connection with them. Returning thanks, Dr. '\v ebber said the enthusiasm and success of the members was surficient reward for his a nd he should Jike to see ;Jill bu bnce instruction more generally gIven throughout the system. l\Jrs. Adyc then handed the hon. secretary a handsome walking-stick, a present from the members in rec ogni tion of his energetic efforts in connection with the class.

Bnlbulance $er\)tces.

vVe are to inform OUl.' that we are making arrange. for publlshmg a full descnptlOn of the ambulance services in the vanous. prov1l1clal This is for the purpose of informing those m LonJon, mterested In ambulance work what our provincial.b.rethren are doing, and with a. possible "iew to their mutual b:!nefit and Improvement.

The first town selected is ;-

BIR:\[I:\GHA:\I.

Public ambulance work in Birminaham has promoted by the Birmingha;n Brigade, and IS now on by that body In conjunctIOn WIth the Police and Fire Brigade. Up to January last the Ambulance Brig-ade was attached to the St. John .hut 0:v1l1g to dlffe:ences(which it is not necessary to entel 111tO 111 thIS article) It separated Itself from the parent briaade in that month, and now has about 1,200 certificated member; The is managed by a committee consisting of a chairman, deputychalrn;tan, seeretary, and representati \'es and deputy repre. sentatlves of the I:; dIVISions whIch make up the briaade.

The street ambu.lance \York is carried out by Police or any member of the public who cnooses 10 render first aid, in WIth the FIre Bngade. Out of 700 police in Birminaham 6" I are men. Each policeman is supplied with a .)pouch contaIl11ng OIlskin, Esmarch bandage and a lint pad. The members of the fire brigade have also a pouch with ambulance materi::l.l in it. Each fire engine also has an ambulance box upon it.

Litters.-:-Wheeled litters of the. most improved pattern are placed at all fire poltce statIOns, railway stations, theatres and ether public phces, and are amilable at <lny hour of the day or night. In a.ddltIon there IS a Horse Ambulance at the General H03pital. Ambulance Boxes, pall;ted red, placed at nrious paris of the Lown, ani are kept filled \nth matellal at the expense of the donors. The key IS kept close to the box. In addition to the boxes the fire alarm .boxes contain ambulance material, and in case of emergency the public al:e all?wed opel: box communicate by telephone \I'lth the ChIef FIre BrIgade StatIOn statl11g the nature of the accident and ask ing for assistance.

Method of communication.-As mentioned above, when an accident happens in the street, anybody can open the nearest fire alarm box and communicate by telephone with the Chief Fire Brio-ade Station, and the message is telephoned on to the nearest station, from which a litter or suitable vehicle is sent, All the stations are connected by telephone so that in the event of a serious accident, whereby many people may he injured, facil:ties are afforded by \yhich Lhey can be moved to hospital without unnecessary delay.

the of a public demonstration, sports, etc., I11tlm::l.tlOn IS gIven to the chaHman or secretary of the committee of the brigade which makes arrangements for the special duty. The members required parade at the Chief Fire Station, receive their official armlets (the BrigaJe h::l.\'ing no uniform) and march with the ambulances, each of which is in charge of an officer and four men, to the st::l.tions allotted to them. 'Yhen the duty is done they return to the Chief Fire Station and are dismissed.

A Record is kept of all cases attended to, and is reported to the Committee at their monthly meeting.

Staff.-There appears to be no permanent paid officials, and there is no staff beyond the Committee of the Local Brigade which arranges and carries out all the necessary details.

Cost.-Many of the wheeled litters (twelve) are the property of the local centre of the St. John Ambulance Association, and are lent to the Birmingham and DIstrict Ambulance Brigade. Up to January last t'1e local centre supplied all material free of cost to the Brigade, and also purchased new ambulances when required, and paid an annual sum to the fire brigade for cleaning and keeping in order their olin ambulances, but of late the supplies h::l.ve been stoppe.:l flam this source and the Brigade no\\' finds its own material. The Police receil'e their material from the \Vatch Committee, consequently this is paid out of the rates, :1I1d so also is that used by the Fire Brigade. The Ambulance Brigade is not subsidised, and depends for funds upon occasional displays given by the members. As fun.ds. accumulate newambuia.nces will be purchaseJ, and 111 the meantIme 1t 1S hoped that some philanthropic person \\"ill make a donation worthy of the name, so as to enable the work to be kept up.

Last yeal' the cases recorded were 1,051, an increase of 369 over the year.

SO\[E of your readers II ho may have no.iced a little paragraph in the iUay number" Perils of First .\id \York," \\'Ill, [ am sure, be pleased to hear that the hel:oine of that e\'ent was, on the Bank lloliday found to be suffering frol1l a relapse, and on being carned into the tent, excbimed, " Bedad, yer killeJ me on Easter Monday."

FIRST NOTICE,

All Letters and communications t o the Editor sh ould be addressed to him at the Publish ers, 10. Paternoster Row, E,C, Subscriptions and Advertisements should be sent to the Publishers direct.

FIRST AID

O( TOBER ::, 1899.

In our la:-t i:;ue thel'e appearell :-orne Pwctical Remarks on Alll1Juinnce 1ushu<:tioll" TE.lCHIXG by a" SlU'geon Examinel'," an <.uticie 'which h:lS pl'Oclncecl 1'8plie._) and two of these m'e selected as of the cliftel'ent ielen' that are held 011 the :>uhject 1))" those ,,,ho ha"e 'nlte.heel t1:e of chtsses and the results £i'om a non-mcllIeal pomt of new. All1buhtnce teaching may be tli\"icleu illtJ two p,nts: yiz., thc impm·ting of insb'uction and the of the kllOWleclo-e that is ginm.

1'1Ie :.:ende11ng of fir"t aill is a snbject tllat is taught amI Clill only be taught by lllemiJel'" of the llledical pl·ofe;-;sion. and it entil'ely depend,:; upon them to define the tenl1 fix the limit nt ,,,hich the teaching shonlcl stop, lll'e:-ent the term has been lletinell,ancl whether that Llefiuition ,yill holll good for the futm'e, or ,yill begenemllyaccepteLl ambuiauce we do not know, hut it cedainly holds the held until ::;omethiog hettel' i" pl·opo:,;ed. .is l'eganls Wl1<1 tough t to be taught and the line that ought to be ch'<l.wn, the difiel'ent ,'-ritel'S ,we not cJuite cle:!T There are many text-book::; Oll the .ubject, but the one thfit "eems to l)e generall,n1cceptecl and from which most of the teaching is gi\'en, i", Shepherll':-:

Fir:t Aid a published by the St, John Ambulance .d.::;"ociation. But this book is adlllittedly capable of great impro\cment, and we believe it is an open secret that the .Association is about to bl'ing out a new version. It is a curion. anomaly that this Association 'ilhich fit pl'esent seems to contl'Ol ambulance teaching, is an association compo.:'ed not of medical men but of laymen with a few medical men on its executive cOlllmittee, and the:o;e gentlcmen are not elected by the geneml body of pl'actitiol1el's but selected by this committee itself. A medical text-book on a subject of this kind, issued for the use of the lay public, ought to be authoritative and to be accepted by the medical profession ns such. A book of this kind I',h(;)Uld receive the sanction of cL committee of medical expeds, and we cannot admit the Central Executive Committee of the st John l ance Association to be an exp81·t authOl'ity. Any numb81' of rules and regulations m'e being constantJy issued for tLe guidance of teachers and examiners, but the reason is not very apparent why medical men should lJe guided by ,1, lay association

A s no precise line fot' limiting the teaahing of fil'st aill has yet been dnl.wn, it not to be wondered at thH,t i s some difference i n the instl'uction given, and it il::\ that the views of teachel's and examiners on some points not be ex,wtly id entical, sho:"in,g again how necessuq It 11:; fOl' a text-hook to be uuthOl'ltatin , We do not believe tha.t men popnhn' fallacies-they mny not qmte succeeclm emdicatmg them, aml this is IJl'obal)ly the l'eason for the stmnge answers that al'e sometimes given by

On. other part of illstruction, viz., tilt, ('xammmg, a gl'eat de,d l'emal11S to he said. All thosc who l'e(luil'c a cel·tiIit·atc of the tlL. John Alllhulance As:-)oeiatioll must pass t h e exam incl.tion of llil.t body. The eXalllillat.iOll

A I D. [Oct ober, 1899.

i.e:. held lw one of their examiners of "hom a Jarge m :unbel' h<lye 1ee'n <lppointed, Of course they are all medical men. R1Ch examinel' has to follow certain rules laid c10\\Il hy this As"ociati on but the metho(l of examining is eft to hi" own and he c;m 01' pluck according t'o Iii" indivic1 ual ideas. and Hccol'lling to his 0'D1 tal1ltud. It "eem:--- to us ::t g1'eat pity that at pre<;ent no effort ha, been m<lde to ':'t:1 nd<l.l'llise the tee:.ts to be pn. ed, so as to secure some eq ualit), in the ,-alue of the certificatcs. This of itselr ,,-ould tend to allay a certain amount of initation that has been felt by "ec retaries of cla,se and others at the (liffel'ent modes of and of the different re oUlt8 that are obtain eel. \\Till the t. John \ mb ul a n ce Assori[l, tion accept any hint':' from out!'ic1e, 01' will it still go on in the ::,ame olll ,,'ay ?

$t. 30hn tltllbulance :association.

IrS'YICH.- The mOl'ement haying for its object the provision of a hor e for me in Ipswich and the neighbourhood has at been consummated. ,\t a gaLhering of subscribers at R osly n S, It les the ambulance was dilly handed ol'er to the :'I [ayor, as official custodi:tn, on behalf of the borough. :\ l1l imber of subscribers gathered 'It Roslyn "tables to take p::nt in the formal presentation, includingtbe :'Ia}or (E. P. Ridley, Esq.) and the :\byore -s. Surgeon Li eut.,Co!. Elliston, :\Ir. H. }I. Jacbman, :\Ir. ,-\. Gibb, SuO(. 'Wheeler and otbers. :\[135 Cuulcher, whose zeal and energy in p;o"idin cy Jpswich "ith trained ambulance workers and applictnces, is gratefull y recognized by the inhabitants, multioned that she had receil-ed letters of apology from a number of sui)scribers unable to attend, and said as local secretar\'to the St. John ,-\mhulance Association it \\'as her duty to present-the c:nriage LO the :'I Iaror, 1Iho \"as President for the rear of the Ipswich Centre. The offer of :\Ir. Canham to house and horse the "ehicl e tree of charge ,,,as made in February; when .that offer was laid before the r'olllmittee the answer I"as £30 at once; at the end of .-\pril they were able to order the carriage. [he cost \\'as £S+ 9 .; they had re ceil'ed £9 1 lOS 6d. :he Great Eastern Raih"ay Company had com'eyed it to I pSII'ich free of charge. and the East ,lng/ian Tzmes had gil'en the ad,-ertisements. She also mentioned that money was needed to defray the cost of another litter for the Park, in aid of which :'IIr.

::\ llr5e had obtained. subscriptions Another £20 could certainly be \Yell spent in further making prm-ision of ambulance appliances in I ps,yich ill iss Coulcher, amid cheers, handed the key of the vehi cle to the i.\layor, \\'ho said be was yery pleased to accept it. They hac! to thank those who bad been veryacti,-e in this matter, especially :\liss Coulcher and ;'vIr. Canham. A contingent of the Ambulance Brigade, acting under Staff Sergeant Offord (hon, instructor), then g31'e demonstrations of the utility of the yehicle, which were watched with e' iJent by a considerable gathering of spectators:

'!Drill

VOLUNTEER A:\1BULANCE SCHOOL OF CLASSES FOR THE TRAINING OF STRETCHER B EARERS.-Courses of Instruction to be held at the Head-quarters of the London Rifle Brigade, 130 Bunhill Row, E.C., commencing at 7.30 p,m" o n M onday, October 2nd,1:'99, by permission of Colonel H, C. Ch olmondeley, commancing the London Rifle Brigade, NEW CLAss.-:'londay, October 2nd, Introductory L ecture on the Skeleton, Joints a.nd 1\1 ufOcles.-Monday October 9th, The Heart, Blood 1,7essels and Circulation; The Position of the Viscera, Brigade, Surgeon Lieut.-Col. p, Gil es, V.D -i\l onday, October 16th, Th e Lungs and Respiratio'1.-Monday, October 23rd, Th e Trea tment of the apparently drowned; Burns and Scalds; Shock, Surgeon -Captain A, Ducat, i\1.B .-l\londay, October 30th, Fractures and di slocations and their treatment.-ADVANCED CLASS of In str ucti o n for passed members will commence on the same date (October 2nd), and will be Linder the charRe of Surgeon-Captain E , M. Calle ndar, M .D ., 12th :\liddlesex (Prince of Wales' Own), R V., and Surgeon-Captain E. St. \ 7incent Ryan, London Irish Rifles, a l,d will include t be following subjects :-:'lonJay, October 2nd, at 7.30 p.m., the rules for using an d the varieties of the roller bandage .-Monda y , October 9t b the Carriage amI Nursing of helpless Patients.-:\Ionday, October 16th Head and Fing-er Bandages,-:\! onday, October 23rd, The Obsen'ation of the Sick and the uses of the Clinical October 30th, Bandages for Hand and Arm,

October, 1899. J FIR S TAl

(Baller\?

SUGEOx-C.apnIX C. PYE OLIYETI. :JI.f>. LO,\D. D.P.H., :JI.UD TOXE CmIPAXY YULCXTEEH :JIEDIC'.lL ;:'UFF Cor:r".

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l:Ul:nculull:, he obta!l1ed hOllOl1l':- ill .\natt1lm-.

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In 1 85, aft.el· the eX('l'lltionally bl'ipf p'l':od of tIl u,l{lll of hospIt.nl. Ite succeedl'Ll in pr tll

:-im'gel'Y HIllI :Jlitl,,-ifen"." lIbll

l'eCel:-eJ. to practice, beillg :-;hOI-th- "Ite:l ... Deputy Pc lice Sm'genn to thE' IIoxtOll f-:nh(ImSlOll of the G Di,-i:-;ion of the :JIetropolitllll Police.

In the year 1887 Dl', Pye OliYel' wns admittell a :Jlcm l)el of R oyal College or :-im'geons of Eng-land and a Li centwte of Royal College of Phy of Lomloll. and. nftennll'Lls he "-as 11ll1Hlilllon:,;ly a:-; Re::adent }lol1se to tl:e C:kll'ing- llnspibl.

t;lldng np lH'lyate practice III hi:-; l1atiYe to" 11 of }Ia ulsto,ne, pI': OliY(,l' continued to appl." him::--elf to the study of mechcllw and its allied scit·nec.;. ,1llLl in lIe gralluated a Bachelor of :Jlcdicine at tlw [ni'-l'l'"it,- of s,ubsecluent1y obtaining the of DOctO'I' of 111 the year 1 9:3.

Dr OlinI' has siuce this pel'ioel larg'el\" intel'ef;ted 111 the s;ully l,)f Snnitnry Sciellce, in the B.lCtcntl Ln.1JomtOlies of the HO RI:ntn l umlel' l)l'ofes:-;o1' Codicld, (1]Hl as a l'L'snlt lS II?- posseSSIOn of the Diploma of Public Hen ln1 of the conJomt B oaI'll of the Royal Colll'ge of Pbysicialls ,Hill Surgeons of England. 'Ye m.ay mention til,l1, hc h,lS also b een appointed hy tlle IIlillll' SIX'l'ct:Jn" to the po of Goyermnent fo], the Uisb'id of :JLniilst011L' medicnl t1,lld :-;nl'gicnl C,)Ses ;u'isillg 111111C'1' V\ Ol'..r men s CompenStl.tioll .Ad.

In t l;c yem' he \Y <lS gazcttc(l Sm-gl'oll to ihe Mnill of Yol il':t1 Stall' ,lUll

In 1895: h,:vmg Ol)talllctl In::-; Pl'Olil:Wl1C',\ l'l,l'tilic:lte. he was promote d lJO the of Capt:lill "ith the C0111of the com pa 131''' ;lr of na.:;:.;ill" it w'p- h" of 111t t . I • 1:' (, Ol'es 0 tInt the )l;1idstOllC company llOhb ;l. umQl1 e positioll, il);}:---lnlll'h :lS It i" lltl' ulIh'

Provll1cllll company posscs:sing its own

III the yeaI' of TIel' :Jh]·e.;t\-·" Dinmoll'! J 1'1 , '1) )1' ,. l • un ee. >llll-l apt yt' C. 1\"1'1' un!lel·t 'ok 11n'"Y

of lll::-- \

t IE' 1)1<111 1 111'1 In')i ,'(' Cvll1ll1E1l1CJ1.•1tion

tlo,,€' HIlLleI' hi" t: 'mmalll1.

f)l' ILlltt> 1 L1lt:el' of '1' Fir t C'l'tiul'ate of ,- .T'hll •. .\,,:-p'iatillll. wen' !,!T,llt0l1 the !J.·Olllt? 1 r..."';ll('\ tll fl' . It' lIiJCl' ut tlle .•John _buhulllll'l' bl) aI, ) ill1 1.llty on t!l,lt hi "till il' Illll'n"iOl1, thE' '.' i· " l'l'l 11elt' 1 t) tht' l'ommullit\" it .lll:-+ 11.()t 11(' ttl 111 'n+iOll t, E' net·,:, (·tiicient uon of a •,1£1 of l,IUlltll'l' m'110 Ill11· C..; ,,110 undl'l'took lln+: l.1td'lllg- tl p .mllPll ahle YplHlid epideL.lic. which vCC'lllled ,tt .\lai 1-+011 in The ail thu,,:-o :-ponly l'P!ld l'P 1, at; tilllP ,1'11(,11 prl)fe", 'onal mn';;6 in !tICl ll\unllt:'l''' ('o'dd 1'e' ,lily lw hOlhE..J, "ft..; pnhlich' lW' I:.!' l"t'll ly thE' C"lltI,l1 Ht>lief C011lmittee. whibt tl;L' (\;1 i'omt:.{),11 ot t.hp gPllP1'ow.;1y p1'e"E'ntL'll their 1., (,l' -0 n:: Ylllullta1'y "Ol'k(,l'S ,dw had bl'c"1l :>1 e ·wll.,- l'ecl'lllll'l')lll(,ll 1)\" Ih·. 01i'-\.'1·. FOl' some ten ,\"e<1r, P;l:-t Oli'-el' has he en n ZI.',dl1u ,., "'O:'kl'l' in the' <11111mbncl' l'.lll,..;e. llm'ing ,dIil'h pel'iod Ill' h'b tit lIn'l'e(l 110 than thil·t."-folll· com· l·" of lectul'c;-; Ott ai,l :1llcl the flll pnpil.:; p",.;:-;ing thl'LH1gh L'l,b,;e,; m't'" .lllll. them mall\' l',nil, "." employet>,." tu ,dlO"l' in,.;h·nl'tiLlll he 11(-\"')tp(l of hi llntl:1\ J.ftt'l·no'llls. This killdh' l'01{('t:"'. ion t') till' l XigPllCit·" 0'£ l'aih, ,1\- tlun- wa.:.; thll1't)ll<dll\l' 'C' )_lli.,ed Iy I)i PUI 11" Oll U!}E' "hen he wa,,"'th'\, l'E'l'ipiPllt <'1'. It·mt1 c '.l'" awl 1);11'0 llf tf I'. a11,l 011 another U('t" i m hy 1-h" pl ·"t"lt.tilllll 0f ..... ih-el iak-..t mtl. [11 iL of Iti,.; 't'l',icc::-. J )l', 1\ C' Uli, t'l' '\"" ('hl't 'd .Ill H'H'Ol .1'.'- Litl:' Jlembt,1' l,f tll' ';:--.t. ,Tu111i _\"""11L'ia.Lillll. He i" <111 eXal1lim'l' of the _\:.." l,ia iml ,lllLl ol'cu:lip 1,,0 tht:' }Jll"itioll of ol1e of tltt' IIlHl. of tIlt> ('ommitteL'. as all ,lble r :JIt-. CLmd(' ILunilt,m "hitI.'. Olll' L1f tile pl'im'ipal sLlhutOl'" III the AhI-il,n; l'ea,ly to in the amhulancc ("lUsE'. on the Ol'C l,.;ioll of the l'CCE'nt 111l:>l'tin£Y of the Rnynl A£YI icultU1ill S,)c'id.,- at :JI:.ill:-tc'lH?, nr, Pn:l O]i'-L'I' l'C'<llliiy the pr sitiOll llf :0IE'llil'<ll Ollieer t'o the St.ltiLlll of the .•1Lllm. _lll: lH111.l1cC ,11111 the tr "PC'1 k in ,,"<nm tel'Ills of Ins bnllly asi"t<lllCe tll them ,lUll hi;-; stl'ict to d nt,'.

Fc,,- lllen ha,:e tak('n :l t:TcatCl' in the aLJnmceIllC'll: ,If <lllllmla11c(' wOl'k rtlllong':-:'t, nIl anll hut few 111.1'll1l'al mcn h;),'(' SL) 'l1ishh- llcYot('ll so much of their littlo leisure to its 1\) Dr. 1\-1,) Olin.T it ha" l.ll'cn n bbolll' of 10'-0. lw lllls l':'cog'llisell it; '-a1nc to the comIII unit." ott 1m'g'c, nud h'IS lI11"hI'illkillgl.Y gi,'cn ib fllrthel'llllce :111 n:,;,.;j,.;bllce by in its power. It must llc <l gl'atif,-ing fnct to him that the wol'l.;: hns ol'ong-ht him fl'i<"llLls, fo1' it can hnthfnll)T be said thnt "ul"t-aidel'" ",ho It IS hn,cl thc of >;cITing with: 01' unlle1', Dr, Pye Olin'l' would willinp;l.r so ::;elTe again. lIe po::;c;cs:---es that kiml1illl':-s of lIW11l1Cl' ,yhich instincti\eh- tlr;nn:; all to" <ll'll:-; him, hcnce his pOpnllll'ity in' the county tOWll of Kt'llt. )101)" he long contiuue to pilot the ambuLll1l'l' 'YOl·!.;: in tho:-;e pm'ts, and ,\Ol·k in connpction with the ,..;en iCl' th.1t I)"C:.; ;-;0 mudl til lli:-; popllbrity 11llll c"jlJ'it de COI'j)i:!, •

AT:1 recent l1ur5i'lg the follolling nther amusing reply was gi\'cn to the questiull -Ho\\' d<) )'ou stop a leech bite? •. This C:lT' he dune tJ}' plaCl11g the tUDe oj a IOllle :1tar thc mouth of the I<ecb, '\nd attracting the leech into lhc tube, anu from there it ,yill pass into the bottle! "

H 1bOtne 1b\?gien e."

By w. J McCULLOCH ETTLES, :\UJ CH.1\J., ABERD. Hon Life Member, St. John Ambulance Association. Lecturer on Ambulance, Gniversity Settlement, Toynbee Hall.

PART VI.

LIFE cannot continue in the absence of oxygen. Even the animalcules seen under the microscope in a drop of pond water cannot exist without it. The oxygen is dissolved in the water. A magnified insect is seen to be permeated \\'ith a system of tubes, called !'>piracles, whose duty i t is to conduct air into the body interior. In fishes we find a mecha.nism by which the water is swept in a succes6ion of regular wa ves o\'er the gills. Each gill is a feather -I ike structure containing a fine netwOI k of capillaries having very thin walls

By this means, a large area of blood is exposed. In the land animals, the gills are placed inside the chest, ",hen they are known as lungs. Ascending the animal scale we find that this spreading of the blood by conducting it through a fine network of vessels, and the folding of the for the sake of portability is ir.creasingly greater until, in man, It reaches its extreme. The total blood areR exposed in the human lungs is about one hundred square yards - that is about the size of the iloor of a large dining-room. It would be very awlnvard to carry so huge a sheet in a spread-out condition, so it is thrown into folds n such a way that, although air can permeate freely its recesses, it can be placed inside the bony crate, the thorax, out of harm's way

In of respiration there are t,,'o tides of gases setting in opposite directIOns. A stream of oxygen is being constantly taken up, another of carbon dioxide is obtaining its discharge. The agency which conducts these gases to and from the tissues is the substance which gives blood its distincti\'e colour-h.:emoO'lobin. RemerJ.lber carbon dioxide is not formed in the lunes, it is sim"'ply got rid of there. The seat of formation is in the muscles and other active tissues-the lungs are the seat of exchange.

ordin.ary Ol-:e breathes through the nose. By dOl11g. so, .contl11ues ul1lmpeded during meal times; also, the aIr! whIch contains many germs, is fi tered as well as warmed before It rea ch.es the lungs. The germs adhere to the sticky mucous me m brane the nose, and are there destroyed. Sometimes they are not easily destroyed, then one gets inflammation and catarrh constituting the familiar cold in the head In itself this is not of'much moment, but if allowed to have its way fres1-j areas of mucous membrane bec?me a.ttacked, leading to bronchitis, inflammation of the lungs, stomach, ll1testll1es, and so brth.

By its the. nose also we become aware of the presence of contamll1ated an. The air now enters the O'reat main shaft to the lungs, the windpipe or is a tub"'e kept from collapsing b:y rIl:,gs of elastic cartilage On entering the chest the wl11dplpe dlndes ll1to the two main bronchi one bronchus t o each luna On entering the lung it gives off branChes', which in turn divide into more and smaller permeating and honeycombing the lung UltImately each tiny air tube (bronchiole) ends in a small globular air cell. Over the surface of each air cell a rich network of capillaries ramifies .The plan. of the air passages, then is somewhat hk.e a tree turned upSIde down ll1 the chest except that trunk, branches, tW igS, and leaves are all hollow T he veins, into fewer and larg.er channels, convey the impure b ?od t? the light upper chamber (auncle) of the heart w h ere i s dnve n mto the lower chamberl(ventricle). T his in its turn contracts and t he bl ood is the pu lmonary artery into t h e ungs T he pu mo.nary artery dlvldes.mto two main branches, one to ea eh lungRunnl11g alongsIde the an tubes, these vessels divide becomina more more numerous they. merge in the capillary networkI:> of the air cells T.he chemical excha.nges having here taken p ace, the now punfied blood IS by tmy vessels, merging into greater ones, back to the reachll1g Its left upper chamber by mea n s of the pulmon.ary vel11 (All eading to the heart are veins, and all conductl11g away are Hence the apparent anomaly of the pulmonary artery carryll1g venous blood and the pulmonary vein artenal blood ) You see th'l.t functionally speaking there are two hearts. The n g-ht heart wholly dealing with impure blood and the left heart engaged II: the J:ropulsion of arterial blOOd. Nature has joined them l or co n vemence ll1 packing inside the chest.

T he thorax is a bony crate formed of the ve r tebral column ribs and breast bone. The spaces between the ribs are filled witl:' sheets of muscle Bel?w the floor is constituted by the dome-like muscula o.f the diaphragm The interior of the thorax is ined b a n:ert,lbrane, the pleura, which permits the lung to glide It W thout fnctlon, In thiS waY.three air-tight cavities, two for the un gs and one [or the heart, eXist 111 the thorax.

D uri n g t he act of respiration the muscu lar fibres of the d' h t • Th I ap raO' m con rac.. IS ow en th e do m e a nd t he depth of the che s is

I }\ vacuu m is formed bet ween the lu ng an d t h e thorax

The l u ngs bemg elast C are by h e a ir e n te ri n a the trache

A fte r a short pause the m u scular of the "'di aphragm I relaxed. The contents of the abdomen, which have bee n pressed down force tl?e diaph.ragm into its arch, wh ile the recoil o f the lung tissue dnves out the contal11ed ai r. If the pleura l cavity is as in the case wounds or stabs of the chest, the air rushes 111 e.'astlclty of the lung causes it to collapse. SUbsequently all: IS dnvenll1 and ?Ul of the dur ing breathing, but none mto the lung. \ hen both Sides are penetrated,the injured person IS suffocated

Vhile br.eathing under ordinary circumstances, from 20 to 30 eubic of <:If enter and leave the chest at each inspiration and expiratlOn ThiS ebb and flow is known as Tidal Air. If you take the deepert you can, in addition to this Tidal A i r, 100 cub i c inches enter. fhls IS the COlllplllnental Air. Aaain on breathin a out all the possible, J OO cubic inches more uc;ual are 0 expelled. ThIS IS the ir If th e deepest breath be taken and air be unt i no mor: can be sent out the bulk will be found to be 230 cubiC Il1ches. ThiS IS the Vdal Capacity

If the Chest measur.ed with a tape at the beginni.ng and the end, a d ifference of wlll be fo u nd Frve P1l1'ts of a l' remain in the small tubes and .alr cell.s, so that only a small part of the air in the chest, ab?ut 1.Pl11t fillll1g .the trachea and large bronch i, passes in and o u 111 ordll1ary breathll1g

The pure a!r d!ffuses or mixes, with this larger bulk, and thus the of respiratIOn affect t?e air in the hrge air tubes only; near the aIr cells a ceaseless even Interchange is going on.

If air be blown by of a tube through lime water, the clear solutIOn becomes white and opaque. This is because the carbon diOXide 111 the expired air has combined with the lim e to for.m chalk. If a cold deca.nter or. spoon is breathed upon, the surface "Ith mOIsture. Thus, in audition to carbon diOXide, air contains water. A cold su rface when breathed UP ()11 some time becomes warm, and this shows that heat is also lo,t from the body by means of the breath.

The o.llowing table shows the difference between inspireu and expired a1l' :Inspired. Expired. Oxygen 20 Oxygen..... 16

79 Nitrogen

79

Carbon dioxide trace Carbon dioxide +

Observe that (1) the nitrogen, the dilutin a aO'ent, remains unchanO'ed' ox:y:gen is lost in with the in the tissues, (3) the dIOxIde;. (+) there a loss of oxygen hlch has been absol bed to buIld up grow111g tissue ar.cl to form water, Following these changes into the blood :Arterial bloou. Venous blood.

29 Oxygen 12

2 Nitrogen 2

C<l;rb?n dIOXide 40 Carbon dioxide 46 m th.e v.enous blood the loss of oxygen is greater than the gam 111 carbon dIOXide because of its use in forming tissue and water.

By l.he air table., you see tha for every 100 pints of air a man breathes, he takes m 5 of oxygen and loses 4 of carbon diox;de.

By the tab !e, for every 100 pints of blood passing hrough the lungs, h e gams 8 pmts of oxygen and loses 6 of carbo n d ioxide.

A l so after passing: through the t ss u es every 100 pints of b ood lose 8 of oxygen and gam 6 of carbon d oxide

1£ a man .takes l of a p int. of air the chest at each ordinary b;eath If he breathes f8 times a mmute, he will breathe 1 2 pints of a Ir a mll1ute o r a little over 17,000 p ints a day.

Of this total ,. he takes in gso pi n ts (100 gallons) of oxygen, and gives o u 680 Pl11ts (80 gallons) of carbon dioxide.

T he amoun of carbon present in th is qua nt ity of Garbo n dioxide would b.; represe n.ted by.a bloc.k of charcoa weighing ha l f-a - pound. T he water lost dunng the same t i me wou ld measure h a lf-a-p in t

The ro u te taken is :-

Oxygen. f\tmosphere-air passages--a ir cell s-pu monary veinl eft h ear t -a l teries-tissues.

Carbolt Tissues-veins-right heart-pulmonary arteryair ce lls - air passages-atmosphere.

(To be contin1tcd).

EXTENSION LECTURES.-On October 6th, at St. Stephen s Hall, Poplar, Dr. W. J. McCulloch Ettles commences a series of twenty-five lectures on Phys;ology entitled II The Laws of Life and II ea l tb ."- T hes<! l ectures will be d el ivered on Fr iday ev e n i ngs at 8 p.m.

October, 1899 .J FIRST

$t. 30bn Bnlbulance :JBrigabe.

METROPOLI T AN CORPS

ST. J OHN'S GATE ( N O I) DrvrSION.-The postal section of this division· h ad their first annua inspection at St. John's Schools

Titchborne Paddington, ,V on Thursday evening, 27th July:

The Officer was the Deputy Commissioner, assisted by Chief Supenntendent ;\10rgan. During the inspection the members were put thr?ugh their drills, such as company, stretcher and hand-seat by Liddell. At the close of the display the Inspecting- Officer complImented. the men upon thei.r smart appearance, and expressed very great satIsfactIOn at the way 111 which the whole of the movements had been carried out, especially taking into consideration the fact that the section had on y been formed a few m?nths back. Il e concluded by congratulating Superintendent L ddell, First Officer H o lm es, and Sergeant Stone upon the fruits of their labour in bringing t?e up to its. high state of efficiency

The annual the section 111 first aid, &c., took place a few before the 1I1spcctlOn, and Dr. S. Osborn, who conduct.ed the examination, expressed himself as being hiO'hly satisfied with the intelligent replies and general knowledge of men. This section, although on ly. a felY months old, already possess their o\\n eq ui pmen t, stretcher, surgical havresac, &c and have turned out in un:form for public duty at the Duncan Ambulance Station, Strand \V.C. the Greater Britain Blackl1eath Common (on Bank and the Royal Review of Volunteers on the Horse Guards Parade

CORPS

BRADFORD .-The Bradford City Police I' B" division of the above corps, is perhaps one of the most efficient forces in the country, out of a total force of 282 officers and men 266 hold first aid certificates leaving only 16 to qualify, a number of the 266 hold second and third certificates and medallions. Tbe chief constable, 1\1r. R Ross, gives every encouragement to the movement by granting one day's leave to every man ;tttending the lectures, and another on passing the examination. The force send teams to all competitions in the district, and as yet ha\'e alw;tys been successful in being among the prize winners. As the city will be considerably enlarged by taking in several outside villages in l\ovewber next, the force will be increased by a number of the Vest Riding constahles, the majority of whom hold ambulance certificates. This success is greatly due to 1\[1'. \Valter Frith, \\ ho started the movement among the members of the Police force about si x years ago, and \\'ho has worKed incessantly until tbis spleildid result has been achieved.

-The annual competition of the Bradforu Centre took place on a re cent date The I. William Edward i\ykroyd " Challenge Shield, presented by the Mayor, was \\'on by the Bradford City Police, whilst for second place St. John's A and Bradford Foresters \vere ueclared to be equal. The winning team consisted of Police-sergeant Rohson, Rnd Acting-sergeants Sutton, i\Iorphet and Cruse The junior competition wa s won by Bradforu i\loor Board E,'ening Continuation Class.

CrrrCHESTEH.-Colonel Bowdler, commissioner of the Brigade, on Sep te mher 14 th inspected one squad of the local corps. The Superintendent, :\11'. Eugene E. Street, put the men through their work .•\Ir. Turner (instructor to the brigade) and :'>11'. F Skaife (l1)n. :3Urgeon) were among those present at the inspection, which was brought to a close by an address from Colonel Bowdler, who expressed his pleasure at the manner in which the \\'ork had been carried out, and congratulated the members of the brigade and their instructor on all he had seen. He expressed a hope that the roll of membership would increase as time went on, and referred to the advantages of obtaining a regular uniform, which at present the members did not possess. A distinctive garb was usetul on occasions when the members had to do their \Yort in pub lic, and the possession of a uniform, besides giving the members an aduitional touch of keenn e ss in the work, appea:eu to arouse more interest on the part of the public in the d oings of the brigade. lIe trusted, therefore, that it might be found possible to obtain uniforms for the members at Chichester. After mentioning that in a case o[ an ou tb reak of war St. John Ambulance members would be required to work wit h the Volunteer and Reserve ·forces who might be called out to defend our shores at home, gallant Colonel i:npressed upon tho se present the necessity of regular urill and of keeping themselves thorollghly disciplined in the noble work of the brigade, for though it might seem a dull business, they never knew when their services might be called [or.

HANDS\vOl{TH.-On Saturday, 26th Aug-., 1\11'. T. II. \I'oolstol1. assistant commissioner of the Br igade, paid ,1 ,'isit of inspection to certain di\'isions in the Handswonh and Smelhwick Corps. In the afternoon, in Messrs. Tangye's dining-hall, \\'oolston (accomp:lI1ied by Dr. Darby \Veston, chief brigade surg-eon of the Ibndsworth and Smethwick Corps, :\ fr. R. IT. Kirton, Chief-Superintenuent Beck, and Councillor Lempriere) examined the members of the Tang-yes Ambulance D vision also the memhers of :'Vlessrs. Best and Lloyd's (Limited). The men were inspecteu i ll stretcher dl'ill allll also g;\\'e exhibilions of Vari04S l)i n cls of bl1ndag ng. T. H. Woolston expressed himself

AID. 31

as well pleased with a ll h e had seen It Ivas eminently satisfactory t o find h at firms such as Messrs. Tangye encouraged h eir workmen to acqUlre a of the art of rendering first aid, and every convenIence 111 the departments for the prom pt can yll1g out of ambulance work m case of an accident. He was pleased to the JIandsworth and. Srr.ethwick corps progressing so and a greG.t deal of thIS was no doubt due to the zeal Supenntendent Beck. IIe was very gratified at the result of hiS VISit It may be stated that selected members of the Handsworth Smethwirk Corps in.tend to cO.mpete for the Dewar Shield, which IS natIOnal trophy ll1 connectIOn with the St. John Ambulance Brigade

IIA VERHILL.-- T he first annual inspection of this division was held 111 IIan;let Croft le.nt by Mrs. Simpson) on t>eptem be r 16th, the 1I1spect1l1g 0F?cer be1l1g Bngade-surgeon Lieut. - Col. l:lIiston, V.D., Deputy-commiss oner NO.3 District. Uf the 23 members 20 attended an? the officers present were the Hon. Surgeon and Superintendent: DI II. Goodman; 1st Officer, :\1r. R. PO.tter: and 1st Supernumel al:Y Officer Inspector Smith. After Col. Elliston had been received and had Il1spected the divisi on was put through various squad and m all of which the members were proficient. mspect:on coccluded With the march past, which was a yery creGltable performance At the conclusion Lieut. - Col. Elliston spoke of the pleasnre it had afforded him to be present that day. and congratulated both. the officers :J.nd men their smart appearance, The dnll and the stretcher exercises had been done, he said, wi th a preCISIon which really have aiven credit to a much older corps. Tew from quarters required the men to attend 12 drIlls dunng the year, to pass an examination each year, anJ to be present at the annual inspection. He had no doubt they \Yould be able to conform to lIe was particularly pIe, s d to bear of the. formatIOn of thiS diVISIOn, as, with the exception of those. at 1pswlch, they stood alone in the county of Suffolk. H men tlOned that the Prince of \\'ales as G rand Prior of the 0, had instituted a seT\'ice medal for members of the St. J Ambulance Brigade who should serve years continuously, and hoped many. of those present would be able to gain it. In conclusion he pro,r11lsed t? send.a favourable report to he:1d quarters He hoped at lhelr next IDspectlOn to bring his Assistant Commissioner to show him how they could do things in Suffolk. Dr. Goodman thanked Lieu t.Col. Elliston for the kind way in which he had spoken of the divi"ioll. In the they had attended up till now the members had behin·ed very effiCiently, and he had every reason to believe they would be prepared whenever called up on lYe should add that Sergt.-Instruclor Game, of the 2nd VoL Batt. Suffolk Regiment, has efficiently assisted the Supenntendent In 1I1struct1l1a the members in the foot and stretchn drill, and their proficien cy in respect is largely uue to him.

H UDDERS FIELD-By the kind im'italion of :\Jr. Wiiliam Bro o ke, J. P. their preSident, the members of the Corps underwent their second annual inspection in the grounds of l\orthgate Mount, H o nley, on SaLUrday afternoon, Sep tember 9th. There \\'ere a fel\' friends of the Corps present during the aftemoon, incluuing, in addition to the predent, :\[1'. J. [\. BrOOKe, ]. P. (\·icc-president of the Corps). the ReI". R. T. Heygate (vicar of Hunley), anu :\J rs. _ ornun Porri tl, whilst the members of the Corps on parade \\ere Dr. Rolfe 'ch id surgeoll Dr. Norman Porritt (surgeon of the nursing di\·ision , Superintendent :\lbert Smith, First Officer G. ,I'. Garside, First :\ul's ing Ufficer Ilaru)', Second :\ursing Officer :\liss Heaton, in addition to 37 Pri\'ale s and 20 Xurs ing Sisters. :\1r. Sydney \Y. :\Ialkin, of Stoke-on-Trent, Assistant - Commissioner of the X orth-Eastern district of the Brigade, inspected the Corps, the members of which were put through stretcher drill ancl the various methods of applying banuages At the conclusion of the inspection, i\l r. ;\Ialkin, in addressing the officers and men, expressed the pleasure he fell in being present to inspect them. lIe was well satisfied with the work that had been done, though he could n say that there was no room for improv' ment. IIe said he would hale liked to ha\'e seen them in uniform It \vas of great ad\'antage to a Corps, especially when called upon to do public duty. They were mOI 'e easily recognised by the public, and it \\as of great advantage when they had to work in conjunction \\ith the police He understood that a movement was on foot to prQ\'ide unifOlm, and he hoped that if he was deputed to inspectthe H uddersfield Corps next year be woulll hal'e the pleasure of seeing them in the Brigade uniform.

lLKESTON.- On 16th ulL, in the beautiful grounds adjoini"g Shipley llall (by kind permission of [I'. E ,;\1. :\[undy), a highly succes"rul Ambulance Re\'iew, organi-ed by this Di\ision, with .\11'. Stuart C. \I'ardell as deputy commissioner, :\Ir. Guy H. _-\shwin superintendent, :\11'. Arthur Dobon a" hon. surgeon, and '\Ir.J. Herben as 10c 1I secretary, was held. The inspecting officer was G neral John Ross, G.C,B The following Corps were present: -Bircbwoou, 80 men; Derby, +3; Eastwood, 50; BeanoI'. +c Tibshelf, 100, Ilkeston, ;6; Lincoln, 10; "'esthouses, IS; and 1 rent, 2 Three bands were present, viz., Tibshelf and Birchwoou Ambulance, and llkeston \ 'olunteer. ;\ number of nurses (in ch:trf>e of :\ [iss Dean, m;tllon of the llkeston IIvspital ), also took part in the proceedings. General ROSSI at the cOl1dusiQn of the manreu\,res, s(1iq he thankell

hot h o ffice rs anu men for the exccllcnt nsl'"uction afforded him that afternoon. It had nC\CI ]'een good fortune on any othel occasion to see the same k ind of tbin.s lIe could to the keen attention paid by h e men to tI'e orders gi\'en, it "'a indeed creditable that they should have the \yelfare at.beart .of th.e men engnged. It was a g ralld thi ng- to see so fellows come forward and study tbe bes t means of gll'lIlg relief 111 of A m:111 "'.ho had aained the kno\\'ledae they had done must be ot Immense senlce to a:;'yone who had met witll an accident. He had been specially interested by the neat way in 'shich the bandages had been put on, a nd he saw hy the practice that afternoon that the men were thoroughly CO ll\'e r sant wit h what was required to he done in case of any calamity occu rri nO'. I1e conar:ttlllated them 0'1 ha\·in.g' I:een so well instructed, an d complimented t11cm for ha"ing paitl so mucl:. attention detail. Before he closed he must thank :'Ilr. :'I I undy and SJI' lIemy Y\ Ilmot for havina been so kind as to afford h!m the opportunity of "i tncssing what he b ad never seen befOl'e. He "ery much congratulated bC)th officers a n d men on having been able to make such an excellent play, and hoped to meet them ag-ain on some future similar occasion. (Applause.) On the motion of -:\Iajor 'Yardell, votes of thanks \\'ere accorded :'IIundl, General Ross. and Sil IIenry \YilmoL IpswTcH (:'\l'HSI:\'G Dlns To:-l) -The ann ual. was. held on th e 18th ult. at Beechholme by Deputy COmll11S51Oner G. S. EllIston, who is also Hon. Surgeon of the Division. Eighteen were present. 1\1 r. Elliston was pleased wi th the ,york done, and passed all as efficien t. are Goming in \yell for next year.

\YARRT'lGTO:-l.-With their usual generosity :'IIr. R. A Naylor and :'IIiss ::'\:l"lor renewed their ill\'itation to the members of the Ambulance Corps to pay their annual \'isit to Cuerden. Hall, and this event took place on Saturday, August 19th, In beautiful weather. The Corps went through the usual exercises, under the direction of Superintendent Buckley. This \\'as followed by stretcher drill, wbch was admirably done, notwithstanding a little apparent nervousness at the commencement. Forty men and five officers wore uniform, many of them for the first tiT-e, aild therc were about fifty men \\ho are not yet supplied with it, in plain clothes. The men, who are connected with the various works, railway companies of ,Yarringtoll, and the Ship Canal, look "ery smart and are enthusiastic in their \York. At the conclusion of the inspection the men were dnt\\'l1 up in line. Major Trimble addressed them and said he was perfectly satisfied with e\'erytbing he had seen that day, and particularly "'ith the work of the men in uniform. lIe knew from \\hat the Chief Superintendent had told him that some 01 the men had just heen put into unifo:-m for the first t:me, and their \\'ork was particularly smart. The public could IIOt expect ambulance men to sho\\' the precision and smartness of \'olunteers, or he exactness of trained but it \\'as expected frol11 them that they should exbibit some degree of smartness; in fact it was absolutely necessary that they Ehould do so, as they could not go from place to place with their stretchers and other appliances 11111ess they moved to some extent as the military did. The importance of drill was particularly impressed upon his mind on Jubilee Day in London, as it was there seen that if the ambulance men had not possessed some military knO\yledge it would ha·.'e bem absolutely impossible for them to h:lYC taken up their Yarious positions. As he had already s1.id, the drill that day had been IXlrticularly good for ambulance men, and the Supelintendent seeJlJed to ha\'e a good kl1O\rJedg-e of the work, being able to hanrile the members "ith satisfaction to him (the inspector). Captain \Yaring then asked '\liss :\aylor LO make a presentation to :'.1r. Hardy, who in reply, said he did not expect that a presentation would be made to him for what he h:ld done, although, of course, he was pleased if he bad been of any service to the Brigade.

Captain Waring said tbat that was the third time he had had to propose a vote of thanks to their kind host and hostess for their great hospitality. Three hearty cheers tal'ing been gi\'en, ;\1 iss Naylor, who was recei\'ed with hearty cheers, remarked that the applause which had just been accorded to her was much longer than the speech she intended to deliver. l\1r. :\a)'lor, ,\·ho ,vas also "ell recei\'ed, responded, and remarked that, of course, it was yery gratifying to know that one's work was appreciated as it appeared to be from the rapturous applame which had been given.

\V ELU:-:GBORocr;H.-Tbe annual inspection of this Corps took place on the Grammar School Grounds, London Road, on 2nd ult., the inspecting- officer being the COInmissioner, Colonel Bowdler, Knight of Grace of the Order of the II ospital of St. John of re'us:t1em in England. The parade included 172 officers anri men of the Drig-aue, representinrr tbe Divisions of Wellingborollgh (hea.d rtllarters), Big-ham Rusbden, Finedon, Bozeat, lrthlingborongh, and Wolbston; 2+ nursing sisters, under :\ursing Lady Superintendent ;\1iss \\'oolston and Whitney; and I,' policemen from the .:'\orthamptol1shire County Constabulary, under Superintendent Alt.xander, of Wellingbor'JlIgh-a total paradc of 2l.j. The in attendance were as follows: Commi"sioncr C, \\Y. DowdIer. ,\s:;istant Commissioner T. lJ. Woolston, Chid Surgeon \Y. E. Audhnd, Chief T H. Hilton, Superintendent F. Trener), (Kettenng), Superintendent C. NIcholson, Superintendent T. e

AID. [October, 1899.

(Wellingborough Corp!) Superinteurlent A. Cave (Rushden) SUllcrintendent Cruickshank (R u shton) First Officer A. (Higham Ferrel'S), First Officer J, Perry (Ringstead) , a nd a number of supernumerary officers. The men m arche d from the town t o the grounds, headed by the Ban,l of the I and K Companies (Welling. horough) of the 1st Volunteer Battalion Northamptonshire Regim ent (under Bandmaster Cla.yson), and accompanied by their sp end id trans. port wagon and other equipments. Arrivcd o n the ground, there was a s:l1artly executed general salute, followed by an IIlspection of lines and field hospital tent and equipment. A cap ital tea was partaken of in ala.rge tent, and the Corps was drawn u p in hollow square and addressed by the Commissioner, who said he had long lookeel Ionyard to seeing the ':Velling-borougb Corps, and was son',)' he had not been ahle to see more of their very c reditable" small"

\\'Oll\: that clay. He had heard a good deal of the Corps, and thou ght a great deal of the excellent \y ork they had done, n otab l y on the occa, sion of the terrible railway acc id ent which occurred in Wellingb orough 12 montbs that day. He knew they were a very good C orps but he hardly expccted to find sucb a well set-up and well turned-out body of men. Their marching was excellent and he was quite with the" small soldiering" they did, so far as that went, whil st the prac tica l demonstrations of work were excellent On the initiative of Chief Superintendent Hilton, three cbeers were given for the Commissioner, and the interesting proceedings terminated.

DARU);GTOC\.-NoRTH EASTERN RAIU'>AY- The cert ific ates an d medallions gained by the men attending the St : John Am b ulan ce clas'Oes held in ronnection ",ith the Eastern R ::u lway at Darlin gton, wt!le distributcd on the roth ult. by the :'I[ a:,oress. Th e ce remony took pbce in tbe general waiting room at Bank Top Station. After a few remarks from ;\11'. RoU, the ;\Iayoress observed that s h e felt t a very grcat honour to have been asked to present t h e certificates . N o ethe r Christian work came up to this, :IS by it they were able to help thr.se who were in suffering, ,lnd thus perform a very va luab le service. In cases \\'here medical aid was not at hand, the instruction obtained at the classes must he of the greatest sen'ice and she h oped that those who had begun woulu continue their s tud ies. The Mayoress subsequently presented Dr. Kirsopp with a handsome silver-mounted walking stick on bebalf of the class, in recognition of hi s services in instructing the cbss Dr. Kirsopp acknowledged the kindness which J11.d r rompted the class to make him the present, and remarked tbat th e work had been a labcur of Im·e The ;\Tayoress also presented :'1[1'. G. Alcock, the Secretary of the class, with a handsome writing desk, suitably as a toker ,of apprec.iation of his services from the members of the cla55. .\lcock, in ackno\\ledgingthe gift, rem ,trked that during the four years and nine months he had been Ser re tary, he ha recei"ed e\'ery help from the mem of the class, and the pre sent thev had just made him \vas an indication that they were well \\'ith his'seI'I'ices. \ifr. lackson then made a few remarks on the PI' J.gress Of amhulance since it was taken up on the l\'orth Ea stern were no\\' held in eyery part of the syste m, from B"r\\'lCk to ::'\ Or,naI1lLln, alld in course of time, the\' hoped it \Voul d be ,'err difficult to find a .\' orth, Ea3tern sen'am who "as not an am bubn ce man also. Thc Genera: \l:lIuger and Directors did all they could to further the work. Unl\' rec::ntl), they had pnwided wheel litters in \'al'ious parts of the "y"tem, tvelr of "'hich would come to tbe Darlin gton (htrict. They had also pro\'ided 66 sets of splints. Th e Darlin gton district h'ld 11een kept \\'ell up, owing to the energy of the Secretary, :'Ilr. Garrelt. The :'Iiayol added some words of congrat ulation on the success of the class, and remarked that he W;tS glad to know tbat the rail"':l), men were ready to apply their kn') \\ l edge for the benefit of the general public. From \ h '1t he had see n that afternoo n, he co nclu ded that tbe men em ployed on the 1'\ orlh - Eastern Rai l \Va y were very proflcien' in rendering first aid, a matter which wa s of great imp ortance where were numerous. On the motion of 1\1r. Garrett, seconded I,), \11'. E\'ans, a hearty Yote of thanks was pas sed to the :'Ila1'or and ;\Iayoress for their presence, and also to Mr. R olf for presidin.:.;. Se\'eral of the members ga\'e an exhibition during the proceedillgs of tbeir skill in rendering first aid.

DISTIHCT l\:,muLANCE BRIGADTI. - The mon thly mceting of the cOl11mittee of [he above was held at the Chief Fire Station on September Mr. II. J. Li"ingstone presiding. T here were 217 cases of orst aid reported for the pa st month. It was resolved tInt in future, jf time permit, a paper be r ead by one of the members 01 the cummittee·at the monthly meeting, on any subject connected with first aiel, an,1 which may be for the general benefit of t he com· mlltee. :'Ilr. Arnolu, \\'ho \\',LS in charge of a d etac hment of men at the rLtent charILY sports at Aston, reported hav ng attende d to Lukem ,n, who sustained a compound fracture of the right forearm with shock. He described the difficulties under which the case was treated, owing to the huge crowd breaking on o the track; the ambu, lann tent which was sent down not heing allowed to be erec ted.

FIRST AD

IMPORTANT NOTICE.

In accordance with the requinmen ts of Me ssrs Marshall Brothers, the new Publi sher s, th ejour n a l will in future be published on the 25th of the mon tho and the Editor appeals to correspondents b0th in London and the Provinces to send any matter for insertion not later than the 20th of each month , after which d a te Its ins er tion cannot be g uaranteed in the current issue. No efforts will be wanting to make the Journal as in te resting flS possible to the ambulance helpers in all the various J1'ganizations over whose destinies we ar e pleased to watch, and we ask our re aders to kindly help us with sugge stions and any item of news lik e l y to interest OU r re ade rs. One import a nt event which we trust w ill result from the ch Rnge in the publishing and advertisiDO> dep a rtments will be the enlarging o f the Journal at no distant date.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION.

For 12 m o nth s, IS, 6d , post free, to be sent to the Publishers.

113I'C\) 1ties.

The t opic that is in everybody'S mouth is the ,V ar a in which .mLlch bl oodshed is taking pbce, and whi:.:h WIll cost the hye s of many Englishmen and Boers. A,s an ambl:lan ce journal it is out of our pro\ ince to dl SCLlSS tbe nght s or wrongs of tins dreadful strife we can only lamen t fact that this nation is engaged in war. In acc ordance WIth the llumanit aria ni s m that has ari::en of late years, this nation is m a kin g ,great effo rt s to alleyi:1te th e suffering that mu st nece ssarily ensue. Tn another column, details will b e fOllnd of the work the Britis h R ed Cr oss are doing , and we are proud t o note that th e BntIsh and Boer wound ed will be tr ea ted alike.

1\.nut;ford and Sir J ol111 Fm'ley , as tatl\'es of the St. J ohn Ambulance Association " 'i ll we are confident, do be st in the cau se, and' \V e regret tb a t m ore partIculars are not publi shed of the ,york that the A ssociation is doing. *

It is quite in accorcla;;ce with the internati o nal character of ambl:lance \\'ork that an English first-aider should save th e lIfe of a French fi s herl11:l11 althouo'll he was practically a prison e r in one of our hdrb ours. 'V e to the case of th e French fishing boat whl c.h was ?erain.ed at Lowestoft for tre The detaIls are glven !n another co lumn, and lye the FIrst Office r of the Barking Di\ i slOl1 011 Ill S perseverance and success

\Ve are informed th at litt l e oro'a niscd RriCTade work is in Northern' Coun ties. b Th e re i a sma ll dl\'ISlO n 111 Durham, and none at all in N orthumbe rla nd: There ha\'e been plenty of clas se s ,md hundreds of ce rtIfi cate haye been granted, but th e re i s no

organised Bri gade work for the benefit of the public. \Vhere is the Urganising Oommissioner of tbe St John Ambulance As ociation ? Tnere seems to be a larCTe field open in these counties. b

H lholne lh\?Qlene."

By w. J. McCULLOCH ETTLES, :'ILL., CH.:'l., ABERD. H on Life Member, St. Jobn Ambulance Association. Lectnrer or. Ambulance, University Settlement, Toynbee Hall. PART VII.

lY e have seen that in a candle the carbon and hydrogen containing substances UJ1Jte \YIth the free oxygen of the air to form, durina combustion, carbon dioxide and water. If the candle be placed in a"'dosed jar, the flame diminishes in size and is soon extinguished. In the same way, we absorb carbon from our food, and oxygen from the lungs, The com bustion takes place in the tissues and the waste carbon dioxide is thro\\'n back by the lung-s into tbe air. If this air were breathed over and over again, it would become loadeu witb more and more carbon dioxide. In a short time, this would cxtinguish the life of the indi"idual, as h appened, for in stance, in the Dlack Hole of Calcutta ",here 123. died out of T46 persons imp risoned there for one night.

Even pure air co nt ains, as we now know, four parts of dioxide in TO,OOO It bas been found that ai r becomes unfit to breathe when it contains o,'er 6 parts in 10.000 and this latter propoltion, the "Sfalldard 0/ Purity," is the limit of contamination 3.11owed by la\\' in public institutions. In "stuffy" rooms, where se veral people have hee n congregated for some time, tbe contamination may increase to 7 or D parts in 10,000 without their becoming aware of it, although anyone entering from the pure air outs cle finds it extremely unpleasant. Let us again compare the air entering with that issuing from the this time in quanti ties large enough to enable's to judge of effc ct on the air of a ro,om.

Pure Air. I3reathed Air. 10,000 parts contain. 2096 10,000 parts contain.

Oxygen 1603

Xitrogen 7900 7900 + Carbon dioxide +38

Expired air contains, then, o\'er 100 time, as much dioxide. Ligh[ed gas jets also use up oxygen and foul the air. An ordinary burner burns three cubic feet of coal gas per hour. In doing so jt uses the oxygen contained in 2+ cubic feet of air and gi\'es off q cubic feet of carhon dioxlc1e, (or as much as three people), as well as three cubic inche.; of sulphur dioxide. The poisonous character of polluted air is not altogether due to the carbon dioxide. 1f pure carbon dioxide is added to air so as to rJise the proportion to 20 parts in 10,000 the resulting ai r is much less harmful to breathe than if the same amount h;!d been prod uced by respir:ltion. There are organic \'apours given off from the lun gs which are difficult to analyse But in as much as their prc::;ence is always proportionate to [be amount of carbon dioxide, the latter is accepted as a reliable index of impurity.

lYe ha\'e now to soh'e the problem of how to drai n a\\'ay the foul gases from rooms or other confined and keep the indi\'idual surrounded "ith air fit to breathe; in other words \\'e have no\\' to consider the subject of ventilation.

Each hour an adult person gi\es off to the ::tir of a cubic foot of carbon dioxide ('6 cubic feet). Suppose he were allowed 1,000 cubic feet of air in that bou!', 1,000 cubic feet of air contains, to begin with, + cubic feet (4 in IO 000) of dioxide. \t the end of the hour, the air contains '6 more, altogether one cub c foot. Now the standard of puri:.y is '6 per 1,000 (6 in 10,000) and hence the air to Su ppose we double his allo wance. Th e amount of diOXIde. ongma.lly presen t is also doubled, and at the end of the hour the all' conta1l1s C"+X2+' 6= I'+) 1'4 cubic feet ill 2,000 01" 7 per 1,000. Not yet our stanchrd been attained Let us raise his allowance to 3,000 cubiC feet per hour. , \ t the end (+ x 3 t- '6=I S) r 'S cub c feet of dioxide are present in the 3.000 of air, or '6 per r ,ooo. Each adult Ihm lIlust he allowed 3,000 cubic feet offresh all' pol' hOllr.

A room 30 fcetlong, by 10 broad and 10 high, conta ms (3 0 X IOXIO =3000 ) this quantity. But this s a large room, and It WOldd be

FIR8.T

inconvenient for the solitary inhabitant to have the whole air extracted and the room refilled with fresh air at the expiration of each hour. If he were in a n apartment 10 feet long, by 8 broad and 8 high (rox 8 X 8=6+0 cubic feet) the air would have to he renewed about 5 time s an hour to preserve the standard. t has been found that if the air is renewed oftener tban tbree times an hour, the inrush of cold air causes an uncomfortable draught, hence the individual requirements consistent with comfort are a space of 1,000 cubic feet to each individual with a ventilation permitting the air of this space to be entirely changed three time s an hour. If the entering air is warmed, a quicker interchange s obtainable, and consequently a smaller cubic space can be allotted to each person.

To 3scertain if the standard of purity;s exceeded. T akea pickle or ather wide mouthed jar of fluid ounces capacity. Place in It half an ounce of lime water. Expose for some time to the a ir of the room, then cork the bottle and shake it. If the amount of dioxide is in excess, the lime water will become milky.

The smallest amount of space for each person in a dormitory is 400 cubic feet. To ascertain how many may sleep in a room, multi Diy length by breadth and then by height, dividing the result by 400. For example, if the is I6-feet long, by 10 high and 10 broad, four persons can sleep 111 It.

16 X 10 X 10 1600 =+ +00 400

In calculating cubic spac:e, allow three cubic feet as being displaced by each person. The cubic space of a person is his weight in stones di vided by four.

In many ordinary dwellings only 300 cubic feet are allowed to each person, especially in poor neighb.ourhoods, this includes the lightIl1g as well as the space occupIed by furmture. In hyO'iene disease treads close on the heels of indifference, b ,

In carrying out ventilation, we are assisted by three great natural agencies; wind, and temperature: the greatest of these is temperature.

Wind, by blowing across chimney tops, dra\vs air out of the rooms even in the absence of a fire in the grate. It is also much used at sea to ventilate ships' saloons and engine rooms, being directed into these p laces by funr.el shaped cowls In dweIlinO's it is utilised durinO' pe 1:flatioll. In the morning, when the are vacated the and windows shou ld be thro\\'n wide open. The wind carri'''!s out the oxidises the impurities, and sweetens the air.

DIffUSIOn IS the mentlOned tendency of gases to mix. This tendency.d,raws air m and out of eyery small chink, eyen through purous bncK or concrete walls.

The th.ird agency .may be explained in this way. Stand a Its stIck: on and. place round it a glass 'lamp

1 he and, If the chImney is narrow, it wlil go out. Just as It. IS on the point of being extinguished raise the chImney, and support It on t\Yo wooden matches laid on the table at the flan:e rises and burns brightly. The flame diminishes use the ca.nnot obtain exit, but when an opening is made below, theThot aIr. n.se s, IS car;Ied away, and fresh a irgains access to the flame.

When a.lr IS heated It expanJs Be,ing expanded, bulk for bulk, it must be lIghter than before. ThIS bghtness is well shmm by the ascent of a fire An inhabited room has always a higher temperatur at the celimg than at the floor level.

If the door :>f a room is set ajar, and a candle be held m the centre of the openinO' the flame points vertically as usual. place the candle on the floor the fl ame s blown horizon ta lly towards the interior of !he room .by the inrush of cold air, as show n 111 dIagram. If held at the top, the flame IS blown hOrIzontally outwards by the outward rush of heated air.

There .must al\\'ays be two openings in a room, an mlet near the ground for pure air and an outlet near the ceiling for effete air.

(To be continued.)

ACCIDE:-JT TO A fisbing boat Pltcenix, from Ostend, \yas detamed at Lowestoft, Norfolk, for trespass some few b;JCk. One of h.er. crew, Achille Vasse, had the misfortune to mto the harbour, ancl It IS reported \\'as under water a"out seven mll1utes. Ile .,,·as rescued by some 01 the members of the creIY, and they at once did what they c.ould for him, but found no results from theIr efforts, and wIth a tarpaulin for dead. The first o.fficer Of. the DI: lsl?n was passing-, and at once asked permissIon to tl) artl.ficlal respIratIOn. Ile commenced with the Sylvester \Yltho':!t result, a-d then tried the Marshall Hall as a final Alter at hIS patIent [or nearly an hour he was rewarded b bre?thll1g setllng up. He repo:ts that many willing hands, pohce, set \York under hIS lI1structiom, and the doctor who told h101 he sa yed the man 's life. Ire I\'az conve)'ed a pollce btter to hospItal. upon

A I D. 13tb [November, 1899. 3nternattonaI (tongress of 'lLife Saving anb jfirst Bib.

By de:ree dated IIth June, 1898, the ",Iini ster oi Ct9mmerce has in stituted the above Congress in connect ion with the Universal Exhibi_ tion to be held in Paris in 1900. The Congress which will last a week will sit from the 17th July to the in the P;tlace of Conaresses' Intending participants should send notice (billet d' Adhesion) with the sum of five francs , to :\I. Felicien i\I ichotte, Secretaire du Congress, 21, rue Condorcet, 21, it Paris, who, when acknO\dedO'inrr will send an official programme as well as a ticket, signed b}':> President. This ticket, by the way, is strictly non-tran\ferable and does not carry the right to gratuitous entrance to the ExhibiLion. Th e personal liability is sLrictly limited to .the five francs subscripLion, which IS leVIed to carry secretan;tl expenses; If the sum so ottained be exceeded the deficit will be charged to the next Congress to be held in Nantes in 1902.

?f the wiII be performe? .in public and pril'ate meetmgs, Sltt1l1gS of sectIOns, lectures, competItIOns. demom.trati o n of apparatus, and visits to places of interest. This work is divided among eight to any, or all of which members may belonO' The sections devote themselves to ,he study of life-saying in the i.n ri\'ers, prior to the arri\'al of the fire brigade, on the pub!Jc \I'a y, 111 l11ll1es, .\. c, ; also to the duty of ambubncers in time of war, assistance to rescuers who have been injured or killed at their posts and competitions in life-saving and first aid, :'\0 0r:e will be allowed to take partin or read1l1g. papers, who has not before :\Iay 1st, 1900, a resume of hIS work for the a.pprO\·al of the Committee of OrO'anisati on. \Ye hope English nrst-aiders will take part; any who to do so are at liberty to communicate with the EDITOR, who will endeavour to b ring them in touch with each other and with the Congress officials.

\I)oIunteer ti1nbuIanee SebooI of 3nstruetioll.

President: MAJOR ANDREW i.\1ACLUHE, V.D., late L.S.R.V. Office: 8, Portman Street, W. LECTURES, TEW CLAss - Saturday, Ko\'ember 4th, \Yound s and IIremorrhage; The Fll st Field Dresslllg; Parade III DI ill Ord er at +·3<? p.m.; Surgeon-:\Iajor \Y. Cuh'e: James, 1\1.D., the Honourable Artdlery Company. :\l on day, November 6th.-The Cluses and treatment of insensibIlity. :\I o nday, :'\o\'ember I3th-Poisons and their treatment; Surgeon-Captain A. Eddowes, :\I.D, 2+th :\liddlese x R.\'.

::'Ilomlay, November 20th,TheTransport of Wounded' Surgeon-Ca ptai n R. Sleman, Artists' R.V. :\lon'day, No\'ember 2ith 'Parade for O'e'neral instruction in the application of Splints and Bandages. ,'\ovember 4th, at 4.;Q p.m., the contents and uses of the :\ledlcal Companion and SurgIcal Haversack; Uni form, Drill Order.-:.\Ionday, l\'ovember 6tb, Bancages for Foot, Leg and Thigh.:\Ionday, 13th, of Sp ints and Tourniquets.::'IIonday, ::\ovember 20th, SpeCIal Bandages for Jaw, Chest and P erinaeum. :\I onday, ::\'o\'ember 27th, Prize competition Entries to be made in writing on or before :'\ ovember 20th. C niform, Drill Order.

The winter \\'ork of the School commerced on ::\londay, October 2nd at the headquarters of the Lond on Rifle Brigad e, when two :..!nusllally large classes paraded for instruction under Brigade Surg-eon Lieut.-Col. P. B Giles, Senior :\1edi ca Officer. One class, consistinO' of men in. possession of the Army Ambulance Certificate, bis being In tbe use of the RJller Bandage and the duties of Hospital OrderiJes; the othe r class, consisting encirely of untrained men, is being through the ordinary course of First r\id, Stretcher and Wago " Drdl as laid down for the Royal Army :\Iedical Corps. Among t he corps well represented In both classes are: the London Scottish R.V., the London Rifle Brigade, the ;rd V.B. The Oueen's ReO'iment ami the Cadet Batt. Royal Rifles. Th e take place on :.\o\'ember 27th and December 4th, and the OffIcial InspectIOn on Decem bel' !th.

BIR:--!I:\'GHAM A:-.lD D1STRICT .\;\113ULANCE BRIGADE.-The monthly meeting of the committee of the Birmingl1am and District Ambul;tnce was held on October 2nd at the chief fire station, fill'. Lacon presldll1g. It was reported that 267 cases of first aid had beer, rendered during the past month. :\11'. Baguley, a recent member offered to affix outside his residence in Upper Dean Street, an box, which would be at the service of any ambuhnce man. The offer \\'as

;J.ccepted. It was resolved that the property of the brigade, conslstll1g at present of one wheeled litter, ambulance material, and tbe Challenge Shield, be vested in the committee, and thnt additIOnal purchases he similarly vested. It was resoll'ed to hold the competition for the challenge shield on either December +th or 11th.

November, 1899.J FIRST Umar tlll1buIanee.

The following letter has been sent to the Press :AID TO TIlE SICK A;'\D WOU:\"DED.

SIR.-Permit me to draw the attention of your readers to the existence and objects of the Central British Red Cross CommitLee (han. president Her R oyal Highness the Princess of Wales), \1 hich has been recently formed at the request of the Secretary of Slate for War, as the of ,:onjunction and c?-operation previously existmg Red Cross SOCIetIes, namely, the ongll1al En?bsh Red Cross National Aid Society (chairman Lord Wamag-e), the St. John Ambulance Association (chairman, Viscount Knut sford), and the Army ;{ursing Service Reserve (president, Her Royal Highness Princes s Christian).

This Central Committee, with its three above-named affiliated societies, is the only officially recognised Z1:nd channel through which the publIc are enabled to take theIr part Jl1 the work of succour to sick and wounded in time of war, and to do this in co-operation with the Army :\Ie dical Department.

The first mentioned of the three societies, namely, the Red Cross National Aid Society, owes its origin to the Franco-German war, when it received from the British publi:: the sum of a quarter of a million of money. The surplus remaining after satisfying, as far as possible, all the requirements of that war, has been from time to time del'oted to Red Cross work connected with other campaigns, inel uding our recent war s in Egypt and the Soudan, and the Soutb African campaign of ISS I. The Society has al ways retained a reserve fund [or A most legitimate occasion has now ari:>en for utilising that which still remains. But the existing funds are inadequa-e to meet the requirements of the present emergency Preparalions have now to be made for meeting sudden demands, which can o nly be accomplished by ha\'ing a certainlY of available funds.

Relying upon the ne\'er hiling liberality of the public, the committee has committed itself to pro\'ide in South .\frica t\\'o hospital railw a y trains for the transport of sick and wounded, anLl instructions have been gi\'en for the manufacture o[ the necessary fittings for the above purpose, and which are already on th::ir way out. It is also proposed to fully equip a hospital ship, thus supplementing the transports now being prepared by the War Office for the cOl1\'eyance of sick and wounded from:\" atal to the Cape and home. Those desirous of contributing to the fund which is being raised for these purposes should communicate "ith the secretary of the Central British Red Cross Oommittee, IS, lctori.1 Street, \Yestminster, or with the secretary of the English l\.ed Cross National Aid Society, S' York Buildings, Adelphi, Lond o n. The following contributions have already been received by the Red Cross :\"ational :\id S ocie ty :--The Duke of \Vestminster, [r,oJo; Lord Wantage, £1,000. Lord Rothschild, as a member of the committee, has raised the sum of [I I,OOO among friends, whose names will be in due course communicated to you [or publication in the usual manner.-l am, Sir, yours, &c., WANL\GE, Chairman of the Central British 2, CaIlton Gardens, S.\V. Red Cross Committee.

:\ Ul{SES A",D THE \VAR .-Xearly all the nurses who wilt be sent out belong to either the "\rmy :l\'urslllg Service or the _\rmy Xursing Reser\'e, as do the eight nurses who are now on their \\'ay. The preference gi,'en to the Army Nur s ing Reserve is explained by the bct that the members, of whom there are 100, \\ ere selected lly Princess Chr'slian, who examined their qualifIcations .vith the greatesL nre and minuteness. The nurses II ill receil 'e a salary of £+0 a year, with::tn allowance o[ 13 s. a week in lieu of boanl and \\'ashing. In the matter of uniform an allowance will also be made. If a service rendered by a nurse s of a satisfaccory natl\J'e, and certified to by a cOlllmanding otlicer, she will at its termination recei\'e a gratuiLY of £20.

AID FOIZ THE Wo u:--<nED .-The Army :\ledical Department not the power of prol iding comforts [or the woundeu beyond the limits laid uuwn by \V ar Uffice Icgubti ons A perf(;ct system 'Jf organisation by the Hritish Red Uro ss has now bee n completed by which the lhree great factors of work- the National Society for \iJ to Sick and Wounded in W ar, the Army Nursing Resen'e, and tbe St. John Ambulance Association-have b een brought together, and the work of these several bodies made to act in conjullction the one with the olher. The Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein and :\[iss WeJgel\l ood represent the Army ursing Resen'e, \'iscount Knutsford and ::iir John FlIrley represent the St. John \m bubnce A'i50ciation, whilst Lord Wantag-e, L ord Rothschild, and Sir \Yillilm }'IacCormac represent the ;'oJation:tl Society for £ id to Sick and \Younded in War. These are further assisted by Surg-eon -General l\1uir, representing the Medical Service; Colonel the Hon. F. W. Stopfold, officer l\1 charge of Mobilisation Services; and Lieutenant-Colonel

.A 1 D. 35

Gubbi.ns, Assistant Director of the Army :\Iedical Service. _-\ large quanlltyof stores, bandages, splints, and stretchers, &c., ha.ve already left Sl. John's Gate, on the order of the Capetown Centre of the St. John. Ambulance Sir John Furiey, during the last fortnight, has been dady occupied in endeavourinO' so to arranae railway carriages, as to torm a tr'lin. detaIl has been carefully .w orked out, but It now appears doubtful wbether any wagon buddIng company can execute the work within a although it is recognised that e\'en if completed some tIme hence It would be of inestimable ,'alue hter in brinainO' down invalids from up country. It is the intention of the British Red Cross Committee to fit out a hospital ship \\hich "ill be used for the purpose of carrying invalids betv:,een Durban and the Cape, and the Cape to Englan.d. The ste.amer mtended fur this purpose will probably be deten11lned upon thIS \\·eek. So many are anxious to be employed 111 some work for our soldiers that It IS rather difficult for the Comto keep pace with correspondence. However, we may that. If any lady or workll1g party of ladies wishes to be occupied in garments, the best way would be to send a p1.ttern to [8, Vlctor'a Street, S.\V for appro\'al, which if a('cepted would sen'e as a copy for further work. Such action as this would prove of the greatest help to the Committee.

[ We do not necessa1'i4/ holel ollrsell:es 1'espollsibl,: j07' tile opinions oj Oil?' cOl'l'esponclents.]

PRA.CTICAL RE:\IARKS O="l' A:\lBULA="l'CE IXSTRUCTlO.\'.

To ;;he .Edlior 01 FIRST AlD.

SIR,-If the Lalleet cared to seek further justification tor its still undefended indictment of the Sl. John Ambulan'.'e Association, it would find it ill the letter of" Class Secretary," as in your previous iss ue. It is true that first .tid is not taught as a separate sul-ject, but e\'ery medical stl1.dent le.arns how to immediately control hremorrhage, how to extemponse splll1ts, how to reQ1O\ e foreign boJies from the accessory c:1\'ities, how to utilise readily available substances [or the imm diate tre:ttment of artificial respiration. Gi\'en that in five years of diligent study he will ha\'e some definite idea of the skeleton and disposition of the soft parts, the only remaining points are the application of the triang'ula" bandage and the transport of wounded. As a matter of fact he does learn to use the tri3.ngular bandage as an arm sling, its only meful appliration in general surgery, and he is told the principles o[ as applied to heJ.d and spine injuries ,Yhat remail1s, then, to justify the s\\'eepi ng c..ssumption of 1\ Class t:)ecretary"? rn the e\'idence he adduces, he sigmUy bile;. Jgnorance of the Associa.ion and its works is kl' 110 llle'l!15 evidence of ambu'J.nce ignorance. I h ea rd ,1 remark, similar to that which he quotes, from an officer of the :'>Iedical Staff Corps, who could scarcely be said to be ignorant of first aid. But while one can excuse misapprehension of the details of the medical curriculum on the part of tho;e ha\ ing no practical knowledge of it, what are we to think of the prep Jst erous statement that medical men are to be remunerated at the rate of one guinea for the course of teaching? "Parliamentary language fails." .'l'o wonder your correspondent is tired of begging the sen'ices of medical men if this is the <.ipirit in which he approaches them. If he is as "anxious to help forward the good work, " as he professes to be, he will refrain from gratuitously insulting the men who ha\'e made, and who, by the way, can unmake, the Association Let him bear in mind the words deliberately spoken by the most responsible organ of our profession, "the St. John i\mbulan ce i\ssociation should also remember that it owes politeness to its medical colleagues, if only bec lllse proper ambulance instruction for the good of the community can be gi\'en lVithout the aid of the AssociatioL1,"-and of its class secretaries-" but lIat Without the aid of the medical profession ." I am, Sir, &c.,

\V,\::-\TED TO KNOW.

Tv the Editor of Fr RST \ ID.

DEAR shall esteem iL a favour if allyone \l'dl kin?.1y g:i\'e the following information :-\\'hat ale the necessary for being made H on. Liie :\lember and Hon. Associate of the Order ot St John, for members of the medical profession and laymen; also, are there any medallions issued for either of these honours.

I remain, Yours faithfully, FIRST AID.

[ We c:tnnot tell you, but belie\'e they are elected by. the C'entral Executive Committee for services rendered, but e\'en thiS we are not sure of. Distinctive Insignia is given to the Hon. Associates, and Dipl omas to the lIon. Life

FIRST NOTICE.

All Letters and commllrucations to the Editor should be addressed to him at the Publishers. 10. P aternoster Row. E.C.

Subscriptions and Adve rtisements should be sent to the P ublishers direct.

FIRST

Tnl::> J OUl'nal has al ml'.- 1Jeen in the fo1'eW J..R. front in it:; dE.'"i!'e to the longing of a large pl'0lJur'rion of the ,na tion' ot the ",odd to find ;':Ollle lJ1e:l.1b \\-he18by an era of peace m]ght be rnaugl1nLtecl before the of anoth8l' century, Since the rescl'ipt of the C'z,u' ,md the Conferel1ce at the Hague; "hich fo1lowed a:':l result of his initiati,-e; ,ye are com-inced th,lt ,l ;.;iucerp de:::irE' ha' actuated the of mo:-t t.) a,oid; if po .:.ible; the deadly :lllcl honible <.lrbitrament of s\\-on1 ill the settlement of International (lue:-;tions. We belie,e that all thi'(JU!!h the ne!!otiation in connection with the cl'i:>i: in the Imns,aal this feeling has In l'Q'eh' !!o,erl1 eel th c'.ion of our own Go,el"lllnen t in its nc;otiations \yith the South Aft-ican Republic; and the fact their patient and per':;i.:tent efforts in the cause of ])eace 1n;.; had a llt::f!"atiye r'esnlt can in no \Ya:-1Je laid ,It the cloor' of the Cabillet, "-e Jeepl:- r'egTet thelt the Pl·e.ident of tLe Doer' Republic .o;horud haye declined the OYe1'ture::; ha ,-e hom time to time been lllclcle to hilll fOl' a peaceful solution of all (lne:-tion:, be ween the byo anc1 we c<:tllnot but feel; that in adopting the com'"e he ha:" Pre"ident Kruf!'er' ha" incul'r'ed a tenible fol' the and racial hatred ,yLieh mu"t iue\-itaLly occm' in connection with thi_ unhappy amI unnece:-'sarT Wai·. Thi,: country ha entel'ed on the conflict ,,·ith a hea '-y heal'!, but once ha yjng accelJted the gauntlet thrown down by the Boer Republics it owes it a a duty to it. elf, if not to the whole civili eel wodd, not to heathe the sword until it ha. made it impo 'sible for the peace of South Afr'iea to be again jeopaHlised l)y the actions of ignOl'ant or ambitious men, "'"hile writing the:se fe'\' line,' one turn. "'ith a hea\-y heart to contemplate tl18 tenible l'e:-:ults of this unhappy ("onflict. and '\'e wi:h that om' deal'ly loverl anrl ,en era 1)1 , "';oH'leign llli,:!"ht haY,' l)een ,1Imec1 thi", tragedy in tile 8yp.nti(le of her long anrl bel1Pficpnt reign: that hel' thonght. all(1 prayers will be 1m' IH'1' troop" ,;-110 m'e uow engaged ill uphol(ling the honom' of her name em(l eonntlT "e are ct.' and ill thi:s eli-.;i" it "'ill be a :-:atisfaction to her to feel that 'he is Suppol'ted by a loyal and uncli.-ic1e(1 Elllpu'e, In conelu ion, we de. i1'e'to call attention to the good work that is being done by the ne,,}y formecl Bl'itisb Red C1'OSS Societ:" as well as by those of other countl'ies-it i the one b1'ight spot in thi::; da1'k hour of shife to know thnt the wounded, no matter what theil' llatiollalit,\·. will be eal'efully temle(l and. l1ccoured in theil' hom' of noell. ".JIall,\' <.:uggestiol1. 11<\\-0 been made to us afi l'eg;(]'(ls the oo.'el' of imbulance It!S!::'istance; but as fell" as wc Call at tIle present time the Ar'my Medical Department is fully able to cope with any cyentualities that may ensue, Thm'e is one .phel·e. however, in which the Kur.sin'O" ui:-;ten; of St, J olm can do arlmimble work. It is a kno:vn thing, that the ll1obi1i. atiOll of om troops and the (;,tlllIlg out of tlw 1'('S('l'\'(,0;; JnPHns grpat (li.tress in manv a hllmble hon:e, when' the bread-winner is suddenly called awa.y to do duty for his country , To cope with this distr'ess there i.' an admil'ahle Society called the Soldiers' and Sailor's' Families As. 'oeiation , and which i:::; cOllb'olled oy Oolonel

AID :XoY8mber, 1 99 .

James "Tilc1ea. who himself an ohl _\n:.lmlance aIltl me of the , t meml er , of the Order c! '-:':t. John, He L ,,; i""l1ed an earnest ppeal for help tor the au 1 appeal bas been ;;;nougl:- -UPpOli:ed both :tinauciall;- all 1 lene1' h:- T,R.H, the Prin..:e and of \'i-: 1e;;;, "Yill om' nr"ing l'e"pond cO iand back ('ol(,uel "Tildea up in Lis e ,,, enrially Sarnai <in work? The,- lCl.n do "'0 either 1.,- (; Bettill!:!, or b, making- fer di:-rrilmti ,)ll Ll..llC;ng tbe little Ol.e 0;' who nUl:- pt'lL q s 1,e left in :;o1'e ;."tl'air::, h:- tbe callu" out of their 1o led IHo·". The nen few month will. douht: wimes many of p:tthetic despah' and mi et:. which a Jittle timely help might a'le,iate, \\ e feel "tue we do not make this appeal in nlin

1liationaI jfire tlnfon.

:\:\ TIO:\AL FIRE BRIG.\.DES· X:JIBCLA :\ CE

Claoses in First Aid are abou: to be fvrmed in the nrious disiric;., comprised in ,he Cnion, Intendin<T pu:,ils should forward their names to the Chief Officer of the Department, H, Chremont Road, Hiahaate, London, S who will ad\'ise them of-a class,

It is notified the information of intending recruits for the Ambt:lance Department of the Union that it is incumbem upon them :J be in possession of the First .-\id Certificate of the St, fohn :\mbulance A.ssociation. In the e\'ent of this certificate hayina been acquired at a Ion O'er period than twelye months since it will be necessary for the candid:lte to undergo a further examination in first aid at the hanus oi either the Hon. 'urgeon of his Brigade or some mher duly qu:-..lified medical nun. The Ambulance Badze of the Cnion WIll not be issued except on comphance this re'7uhtion TntenJm; candidates for the London Section of the _-\mbubnce Depanment who will form the .-\mbulance Contingent for duty at Fire Camps, Tourn::ments, raris Contingent, O;:c,. are notified that they will ha"e :0 purchase their own uniform and equipment. Prices c:tn be of :\Iessrs, Hebbert 0;: Co. tile Official Contractors, q, Cecil Cour:. Ch:uing Cross Road, London. -,,,', _-\rrangements are now in ;,rofor the Ambulance Depanment of the C nion to attend the Fire Congress in connectit n with the "'orld's Exposition. P.uis. 1900, Full particulars 1\ ill shon!y be :tnnounced,

1RaiIwa\? Blnbulance.

LO:\DO:\ SO-'TH WESTER.' R.,UL\\AY.-r\. yer)' interesting ceremony took pbce at Sine EIIns Loco, "-orks on aturday, :3rd September. when :\[r. D, Drummond. C.E., Loc'1moti,'e Superintendent. presented the certificates gained l:.y the members of the class recently formed at Sine Elms Locomoti\'e Works. under tbe instruction oi Dr. :\lorri;;, C':tpharn. :\1r. I:rurnmond in presenting the members with their certificates. and \Iith a photoZlaph of the \\hole class, said he \\':ts glad to hear the secretary that they had all successfully passed their eX3111inati'JD, LIe \\'as sure there was nothing:t young man c,)U'J ',elter pass a ie,Y hours a week at, than in learning what is necessary to giye proper assistance in first aiJ to the injured, He hoped many more young men connected "'ith the \yorks would take the opportunity of leaming what to do in this rerr Jesirable direction and if he coulJ assist them in any \\'ar in gaining the necessary information they had only to let him know through their secretary, and he ,,'auld find great p:easure in assisting them, He hoped that each shop would haw its representati\"e ,' :Ur. Drummond then presented the members ·\'ith their certificates giying a word of enconragemeut to each, After this had heen done, :\lr. Badcock, the indefatigable Secretary,thanked :\[r. Drummonel on behalf of the clas:; for the many kindnesses and assistance lecei,'ed at his hands and the encouragement he had given them to proceeel in this l'seful study , and begged of him to further favour them by presenting a g-olel penci:-case, suitably inscribeel, to Dr. Morris, Dr. .\Iorris, in reply, said he need hardly say how very pleased he was t9 receive their token of esteem after their first course of study. the result of which showed little fear for their progress in the future in a work so good and useful in such a large establishment as this, He must thank :\Ir. J3adcock for the help he had given, and he thanked them all for their token of appreciation, and he also particularly tbanked .'lIT. Drummond for his kind help and appreciation of the result, ",hIGh more than repaid him for the tuition he had given them,

SPAXISH RED CROSS -_-\t the moment of going to press we learn that the Di anJ I nsign in. of the Span ish Red Cross have teen conferred on Dr. ,V. J, Ettles ,

1899 .J Our

-£:\"on Do:\" JEA:\" PIERRE CRL\DO Y ECRETARy-GE:\"EhAL THE. R!":D CRc,S:; OF PA.I:\".

1--theI:35Ue

it 11'35 our ple3.sure to present our rl.3.ders the portr3.it of l'r. C 13.tmyeno, one of the le3.Liing members of the Sp:lllish Red '(lcien-. and thi:; mLonth. I[ i:: 3ll cqtlal pie3:3Ure to us to in5ert in the Jour113.1 the portr3it and a brief biography of the courteous and 11.1 rchr(lr king ecretan--General of [hat ocien-, enor Don Je:m Pierre Criado y Do mi n gut:z "'3 born 3t in in r... 0 3.nd i:; 3. 3.t L3"3.nd Judge of Fir;:,[ In::-trl1ctiun, He 3. "'ell-k,no:Yll nun 3.mong the Y3.rious leJrlled 3.nJ literary sooetIeo;. :ll1d is him:;elf 3.n 3.uthor of some st3.nding, _-\11 nutter:3 connected \yith the Red Cros:3 moyement 3.nd the Gene\-:l Com·ention. he Ius, perh:tps: 3. gre:1.ter knO\dedge almost 3.ny other m3.n. 3.nd in his O\1"n country he 1rerrarded as the soul of the moyement. In the ye3.r he \\"3.- elected one of it- represent3.tiYe' at the \Tienna Congre::s,

In the I. 0 Criado \ns appointed pro\';ncial judge, an offici3.l appointment ,,·lnch his ,yithdr3.\yal from :\bdrid The Red Cros' at once re31ised its 10 s and eyer', effort ,,'a' nude to .:ecure hi' return to the Capital and to the ,,-ork he io\-ed 0 \yell. and eyentualh- he ,,'cl- en3bled to return and once more a ume its cru'idance and control. lL i' an admitted fact to 5:1\- that his ab:::-ence the . ocitty felt acutely the loss 'of his splendid sen'ices, hence the enormous efforts th3.t were made for bis rec31l. He i' a member of many literan- and scientific ocieties. princip3.l amongst "'hich 'Iye ma,--mention the Ro'·3.1 of Fine and Letters o} Se,·ille He is' a Knight o-r the Sp3.nish Orders of the \I Milit3.ry .:\Ierit" a.ld the Nay3.!

"

Co urteou s and of a 'i nguhrly charming Senor Criado has made a ho,t of friends not only 111 hIS o\\"n country but in others affili3.ted to the Fed Cro_ s t1lOyement. - I e has a warm admiration for the ambulance w o rker s in this country, and a ll of those ,dl0 h:l.\"e come in cont3.ct ,yith him, either person.:tlly or through Initten commlll1icatiol1', ha,-e recognised him an earne t ,,-o rker in the ca u e of man humal11ty to m3.11. jIay the So ciety i1). whi ch take' ':0 an il:tcre t, continue to grow and f10unsh under Ill S skIlfu l and it is with heartfelt wish that " 'e ,ay, may Its benefice nt aims as carried out br its ardent ,mel philanthropic Secretary-General , lead -to its pbci,ng in the forefront with other "'dl-disposed natIOns. 111 the efforts which 3.re now being made to mitigatt.: the honorof war.

de$c i tl n oi :r.e .1111bt.l.lIJ 'e in :he YJrio s.pro\·i;1\·I:;: [hi- 15 • r ::.e : t:rp "",01 iniolmmg :h Ee In Lon(1on, n:eres;ed 111 mbu, lhe wor.- \\I1.It our plO\'inci:!l re:h"en Joing .• n! \\li.h .• Ie \\' to:11 :r m' ::lI1C i::nproHment. The seconJ to\\"O se;ected 'PRf '::T0:\, Preoton C'IH. of fIe t YlE in L .1511 re th.t h 15 r ,'enth' e5: li-!1e 1 an Am ubnce Serllce :11 L'l1peC.ILn \'ith -he F. i e '\\here' \' Jccidents bod: in s:rc:e:" • nJ c n loe il.ll11eJl teh· ;:crended to and remo\'cd (ii ry') :0 the nfirm Y Ambulance w.):··· in was ('jJ;inJ. teL: y tnt' loc:d c' ri'5 ,j :he St. John Am ul.lnce Bri:::;'lde 11 b-t yetr It W.1· :. '-en up L y the Chlt'f (LnS!.1ble, "L '. w:th :he .15sist:ll1ce n 'lJ How rd OIL: 1"5 :',r,e .1;] in 'he :oc .\ml:u:. nee (\ rp3). inau,;t:r. led :1 Systehl \\ 'lic'h 5ce 1:'.. mt.c't .he .'11 l.1. pee (f tbe tOwn \'ery IYeli. EXFaien.:e, u .ime \\;" sh \\ If .,ny impi \ements can be made, Horse Ambul ances -T 1"0 hor5e ambul.mces Ie placed ,: fferen;: par:s of tbe l0nn, In case of :·emol". I in ,)11':: oi .hese h.,rge of 2 (- is nuC:e , rl:cuup • he LI\ e: y :c' Pr '\ rie •.)r for the hJr$e and dri\'er, hi: if the p:ltIenc C'lnn ': ::::l;'d this .1mOt,n:. it .5 cielrJ'yed at;: of ,he Corps fund" In ,he ct' 115 i551.eJ, i: 15 requested du: they" s:lOulJ n t be r2ered i r "h ,Ji:::t:1llce lFneys unless the C.lnnOt \\ithLu: risk of fur:her IIljury 1:e lell o';e.1 :"y stretcher litter or cab,"

Litters. -Three f r band it:er5 \\ith a first aid box :!re proyided at the Police Yard. the Gas "'or:-'s Yald. and the .\m'ulance :3ta,ion Dock, Stretchers,-Stretcbers a'ld first :lid toxes :.re pbcei J.t "ix fferent poin". l1.1mely manuiact HL5, anJ ::It I ur of the-e [he store, n,aY , eO' ained dur!n:; tbe ni,;ht, Firs t Aid Boxes -Fifteen 01" the-e [oxes .He pl.1c d in char"e of L.ri us 111!llsan office5,incluJing the Fire Sta:ion and the Free Lib!.ll"\', III 11105, oi the ulaces there is .1 \Dtchm n 'r other p '" n ill : :be premises 50' ;:h.le the C(,l tent=; c:\n Oha!'led in .the day time Tbe L.:>xe;; cont.un- :-I),lr trUilgU .Ir tan "") ones: six roller banda Ye5. piasttr,-a ScL of 51<iI1:5. oz.. I cale oi Friar's BJls. 111. 0Z, bo"le L,i Carron lH .J. oz, "i Buric Ointll1ent. tourniquet. \"'01. lil'l. 0..::,

Method of COllmunication.- There is no 5pt.ci:11 method oi cal. 'uch as is arranged in some towns, It has fl'lll1d that accidents ahno:it always occur in large mills. .tnd in the main streets. where the telephone is eitber on the 0r in tlte immedi:1te, icinin', and is made use oi to summon the neare"t litter or horse :lmbubnce to the nalure o. the ca5e, Staff,-:\o p:l.id offici.lls are required, loc:!l cO,rps takes charae of tbe stores and replaces them as ree;Ulred, _\s jar as tbe J.re the c,hief ,constable is in .::h:t.rge. and he hJ.s rubli$hed a card ,glnng a Itst 01 tbe a::lbubnce Statlups, and al50 the io\lO\\lnO' l11structlOl1s:-

""\[embers )r Illily any of the Hares in case of ;lccldenr. but must return th<.!nl clean and \I"ithul delay, The horse am?llbnce should not be ordered ior shon distance journeys. unless the patient cannot. \\irhollt risk of further injury, be renio-.ed by stretcher, litter or cab, So i!1\"alids (other than accident. ca:::es) must be remoyed in the horse ambulance except by perm15slon of senior surgeon of the Preston Royal Intirmary. or :\1 r, \\ alter D:l.Y1es. secretJ.r), of the Infirm:l.ry Board, Const:l.blcs ai'e to ae.::ompany the horse ambulance when to an J.ccident \\ itt1in the and, must ascen:l.1Il tor ,the driyer the name and address 01 the patient or responsl,ble persoll. so thaI he may book to cost ,1,1 the hire. Stretchers, co\"er-, 0.C,. to be left read] 101 1Il1l1ledule u"e, ,Yhen patients In\"e sutTered from h:c:monbage. all [[:lCeS must be at once irom tht: stretcher, or ot the ambulance, C onstables anJ member" are wh,ne\'er to attend J.ny patient after the dale ot " The police force l1ulllbel' IlD, ,anJ ot certificates \.ll members are requlleJ to obtam .1 n;llJllL.Ut: IIlthlll t\\"eh'e months of joining the force. '.' , Constables canya triangular bandag-e., not )11 'L" ll !lt of the "tores :lnd It!. .lid boxes belllg pbced 111 necessary L •. e 'J posilions as to be e:t,dy accesslble, record is kept by the Ckrk at the It\"ery stables I? the number of -limes the Iwrse :1ml'ulanc<' is called out: :lnJ a repol t IS nude llpon e'lch case by the l'unstable \lltO .lccoltlilallies the :lIububll<'e.

, Tbe total l1umba of acciJent:J attended to by the members :lud police

F IRSrr

averaae for the past three years about per annum, including over 60 re;'o\'ah in the horse ambulance,

Pu bli c Dut v.-The Corps undertakes duty on extraordmary occasions, I"hen there is a strong proba!:>ility o[ and the mem bers are to be found in almost every mJlI and workshop III the town. Cost. -The expense of finding n;aterial i.s met by t.he local ambulance corps which experiences .no proc.llrIng any funds required, chiefly throug-h the polIce I?entlfied the ,York Be,·onei. bowel'er, the cost of estabbshm,!; nell' st:ltlOns, there IS no to the local corps, as the "01 un ta ry subscri ptions (£ro to .£r made at the workshops ,,,here the boxes and are quite cover the renewal of material and any expense tor workmg the horse ambuhnce.

L.Next month the ,\mbulance Service of Li"erpool will be dealt with.]

$1. Bnbt'c\\fs Blnblllance Bssociation .

The first g-eneral meeting of the members of St.;\ndrel\"s Association under Royal Charter was held on 17th October In th,e Reliaious Institution Rooms. Buchanan tred, Glasgow The :\IarqUls of K.G , PresiJent. occupied the chair, and was a large attendance. The sixteenth annual report of the ASSOCIatlO:: '"as submitted by the secretarY.': :\Ir. .-'l.ndrew It stated on 18th April last ber :\IaJesty the Queen, In CouncIl, I\";::S pleased to grant to the Association Charter of I nc:orp?ratlon

During the PiSt year 252 classes on First l\ld and HOl.ne l\urSlllg and 11 vgiene had been held. The number of pupIls traIned was 5,+83. making a grand tOtal since the formation of the c\ssociation of 77,9.10 The wagons of the .\ssociation had been called out +,332 times dUling the year, and the total number of patients conveyed since the tion was started no\\' amounted to 35,992. The number of calls III had been increase of 216 as compared I"ith the year. The income for the year :including a balance of 1'393 16s. 6d at the L1edit of the Association at 3Ht 1899) had heen £1.,+9 165. c,d.: expenditure £r,2,9 95. 7d., leaving a balance 011 hand amounting to '£.j.;-o 16,. The chairmalJ, in moving the adoption of the report, said dlat since last had the annual meeting of the members of the :\ssoclatlon, Her :\[aJesty lud been pleased to permit the .\ssociation to be incorporated by Royal Charter. The :\ssociation, no\\' being a corporate body, had the po,Yer to hold hnds, recei\'e ami :n\'est r:"onie;, :lI1d held a legal status it did not before pO"5ess. It had furtber the pO\\er to award medals, badg-es, certificates of honour for special sen'ices rendered 111 the cause of humanity: and especially the saying of life on land at imminent personal risk. He urged the Council to value any such rewards, and that they should be charily given only after c::Lses had been thoroughly investigateJ It was also intended to invite the County Councils and School Boards to co-operate with the in extending a knowledge of first aid, and it was further hoped, now that the Association was incorporated, that t:le number of classes for the purpose of giving instruction in this branch of ambulance work would be largely increased. Turning to the statements in the annual report, he said it was ,'ery gratifying to find the financial afLlirs of the Association in so prosperous a condition, Donations had amolli1ted to £172, annual subscriptions to .6'633, and subscriptions from employees[317. The demandson their funds. however, were ever on the increase, and It was therefore earnestly hoped that the wealthier classes throughout the country, to "hom a pound or t\lO a year could make but little difference, woulci contribute somewhat more liberally and in greater numbers now that the Association was incorporated, and that their progress would not be retarded for want of (Applause). Dr. Dlummond seconded the motion, ,,,hich was unanimously agreed to. Dr. Beetson mOI'ed a resolution to the effect that the meeting ordain the by-laws submitted by the Council to be the by-laws, rules, orders and ordinances necessary to the aood aovernment of the Association and its affairs in terms of the Rboyal Cbarler of I nCOI porat ion. The reEOlution was carried, and office-bearers and councillors were afterwards elected, the :\Iarquis of Breadalbane being appointed president.

\V -T.he .value of first aid was notab ly brought before the publIc lJ1 thIS dlstnct On September 25 h, a man named Tay lor made a murderous attack on an old man named Rose with a garden fork, inflicting terrible injuries, wbich no doubt would have pr?\'ed fatal, ha.d not first aid been prom,rt.ly rendered by Charles MIddleton, a drl\'er on the L. and 1'\. \V. h.adway, who found no less four ,;'ounds. in tbe head from which. blood was flowing freely, 11lddleton Immediately t!le bleedlllg, and on examining the body. found a fractured \I[!st, which was a.lso attended to. There is no doubt that had Rose been moved home before first aid had been rendered he \lould hal'e suffered seriously from loss of blood, :\liddleton is c!ass ;,c.cretaryand captain of the \Yarwick ambulance class. Tayl?r hO.me a?d committed suicide. Rose is progreSSIng favo u rably consldenng hiS age, as he is 75 years of age.

AID. [November, 189 9.

$1. 30bn tlnlblllance Bssociatioll.

The Prince of "'ales has nominated the Marquis of B readalbane as .-\ssistant Director of the .\mbulance Department of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, and Deputy Chairman of the Sl. John Ambulance Association.

$t. jobn Bnlbnlance :fi3rigabe.

:,IETROPOLITAN CORPS

No v' emb er, 1899.J F I RST

PR OVI NC I A L CORPS

mark of honour and respect. It should hang in his room, and would be a constant reminder of the good feeling it carried with it, both on the palt of t!Je Brigade [01 brin!!:ing it and the :\s50ciation for granting it. The diploma was handsomely Iramed by a member of the Brigade.

EAST LOc'WON Dn'ISION

-We heartily congratulate our old friend Supt. Hayman of the East London Di"isian on having acquired bead, quarters at the J e",ish ,Yorking Men's Club, Great Alie Street, E. This is. we think, a step in the right direction. lIe will have the Use of a large hall for drill purposes, an"; this fact a lone will.ensure greater if terest on the part of the members. Supt. Hayman IS arrang1l1g a strong and varied programme for the winter :ession, and we heartily wish him and his Division every success ill their new home.

THE THA:-IES IRON 'VORKS A:-mULANCE CORPS - T he members of the Thames Iron 'Yorks Ambuhnce Corps held a meeting on October 3 rd , at Canning Town, with a view to forming a Divis on of the St. J oh n ,\m bubnce Brigade for South 'Vest Ham and district T he chair \\'1.S taken by Francis Payne, Chall'man of the Thames Iron Yorks Federated Clubs. The Deputy-Commissioner of the district, Inspector General Belgra \'e ;\,innis, '\ l. D ,R.N., and Chief S u pt. W. H. Corps were present on behalf of the Brigade. The Chairman, on introducing the Deputy-Commissioner, spoke of the splendid work which the abO\'e Corps had done in the works and nciohbourhood, special reference being drawn to the rescue \\ork at the of H lf.S. _lIb,oll, which alone had justified the existence of the C:::>rps. This Corps was formed 011 Jubilee Day, 1897, and trea;ed about 500 cases per year in the 'Yorks alone; a large number of these are taken to the hospital, and great praise is given by the doctors for the smartnessanLl efficiencv with \\hich the \\ ork is can ied out by the members in rendering first- aid. Hitherto the Corps has been unattached to any other body, .lnd the members no\\' feel the time has anived to become attached to the St. John ,\mbulance Brig.ade, :,ll1d \lith this object, in view the the offiCIals of the Bngade to l'annlllg Town. The Deputy-Commlss10l:er expressed a hope tint a Dil'ision would bl! formed in connection mth the Brigade, and was glad to see there was a nucleus of a first cbss division there that e\'enin a because the members had already been trained for public duty, a;d had been engaged in organised first aid work for some time past, According to the Brigade Regulations there \\ ould be a certain n umber of drills and lectures to be attended every year and inspections to undergo, and the officers would ha \'e to furnish returns of the work done. They would be re-examined every year, for men who wore the uniform of the Brigade would have to be thoroughly reliab le In conclusion he hoped they would make a good Division, and at his inspection next year would render a good account of themselves. (Applame). The D eputy - Commissioner then presented the first aid certificates to the following :-J G Thompson, C Woods, J. West, J. C. Cropp, \Y. C, Huzzey, A. Ronkin, A. H Ihryott, J. l\Iumford, '1'. MernflelG, T. Devanny, F. Hold, B. D. Griffiths, F W. l\lunden, E J. Gathercole, T. Y EYerctt, \V L arge, Chief Supt. 'Y. H ?\lorgan gav(; an instructive accuunt of the details in connection with the working of a Division, and ga\'e man)' useful hints as to the provision o[ equipment, raIsing funds, &c. 1\ [ r. E. J Drew, Superintendent of the Iron Vorks Corps, spoke of the great deolre of those present to see a Divis ion formed, and remarked that a large n'.lmber of medical men, Aldermen and Counc illors of the Borough, were in favour of the project and would render Divis ion every assistance, and that funds for the Division might be obtained by a grand review of ambulance men at the J'.l emorial Grounds, arranging competitions, &c. !\Ir. Payne, in moving a vole o[ tbanks to the Brigade officers present for com ng to Canning Town, spoke o[ the splendid work done hy Dr. 'A, Kennedy, Hon. Surgeon of the Corps, and he tendered the tha.nks of tbe Corps to 11im 1\ [ r. Dre w seconded the motion, which was carried unanimo usly. Nearly 20 s ignat ur es \\ere received for the Division

TOl'NBEE 11 ALL.- The opening Conversazione o[ the winter session took place on September 30th, and was attended by some 1500 students. The entertainment included displays or X rays, wireless telegraphy, and the cinematograph. O[ especial interest to our readers, were the exhibitions of first aid given by the Toynbee Division of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, and tha.t of the NursIllg Guild, organised by Mr. W H Winny An exhibit o[ good specimens and models used to illustrate the Home H ygiene lectures, was l ent by Dr. Ettles, who, during the evening, was presented with a mass i\'e rose·· wood consulting-room chair, carved by a member of his class All instance of the enthusiasm with which amb u la n ce wo rk s p r osec u ted at T oyn bee II a ll is the fact h at no fewer t han 72 ladi es a re a tt endin g D r. E ttl es fi r st a d class.

BLACK-POOL II EA.L TH CONGRESS.-Apart from the Sectional Conferences on Satu.lday, main interest wa; ce.ntrel in. the '.\I??ulance Demonstrat ion, glven by tbe Bl?-ckpool (Ladles) a.nd the Blackpool CivIl plale) DI\'lslOn at RaIkes lhll under the dIrection of the Chief Constable, :'Ir. J. C. Derham. present ;.yere the :\Jayor and of Blackpool. the :\larquls of Lorne, k. T., Sir Charles Cameron, Professor \\'. R. Smith, F. R,S., Hutton of t.he.St. John t\1l11,luiance tion), Colonel 1 rimble (Deputy CommIssIoner), Dr. [-lynn Inspector for the Local GO\'ernlllent Board, and i\[r. \I., (T_ Larkins (curator and of the exhlblllOn). The :\1arqllls of Lome expressed the pleasure It gaye h1m to be present at the parade of that corps of the St. John Amhulance .Bri,!.!alie, which knew the Oueen was the preSIdent and the Pnnce of 1\ ales the Pnor. Jt was;' mo,'ement, too, in which his (the noble :-Iarquis's) took a \'er" great interest. Cqear, The had heen. JI\'lded for the" purpose of that I.nto fi\'e dlstn.cts. He was ther: were about 9,000 members oelong1ng to that Bflgade, and the :\orth-\\ e5tern District to which the:;- belonged had about 3,000 men and 800 women yolunteers enrolled-(applause)-or nearly one-h:llf of the whole membership which existed in England. He referred to the distinctions o-ained by the Blackpool Corps of the Brigade during the p,lS! !weh'e and to the of accident that had been treated by them Tbey always In office., so to speaK, and al\\ays. ready to render aid II' hen requIred by the pu blIc. 11 e had been deeply Interested in the eyolutions tbat afternoon, and. was impressed ':ith celerity of their mo\'ements, WIth which ther dId Lhell work, and the gentleness With whl2h the" handled theIr patIel1t3, (Applause). Sil' Cameron moyed a \'ote of thanks to Marquis. Comment1l1g .on ambulance 11101'cmcnt, he exp.resseC1 regret that the youn£! ladles did not get. as the n1'1le dId. the capitation grant iVhen tbat the apphanres they made use of, and tbat the tIme whIch tbey expended -many of them bein a actively engaged in nrious occupations throughOut the given voluntarIly, without fee or and all for the lo\'eof t h eir country people and the nohle work In \lnlch they were engaaed they could hard ly measure the extent of their indebtedness to th:m.' He h ad a word of praise for the constabulary \\'ho were present in such numbers, and who did their wo:-k-as it appeared to him a.s a medical man-most efl:iciently. The of Lorne hanng acknowledged the vote, this part of the proceedings was brought to a close with the N"ati0nal .\nthem. ,\ relUrn of the cases treated sbows that first aid was rendered by the police to I Clses from:: [st.-'\ ugust, r 98, to 21st September. r·99. it is needless to say, wele of a YJ.ried character. Ten c.lses of IJrst <J Id \\ere also treated hetween February 20th, 1099, and 22nd Septemher, rS9'], 1,) nH':ll1bers of the Blackpool :\"ursing Division..

BOLTO;\'.-The first annual InspectIon of thiS corps took place on Tuesday night, 3rd ul!., in St. George's School" the he:ldqu:trters. ,,\ large number t1?e mem t:ers and tbe Il1spect1l1g officer \\':ts Lieut.-Col. C J. fnmble, I'l..nlght 01 Glace of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem and Deput}: Commissionel' of lhe St. JO.hn Ambulance Briaade [or the Nonh- \\ eSlern Dlstnct. l\t the conclUSIon of the tbe inspecting officer addre:; ed the men, and said he had been extremely gratified with the done. The corps \las conjucted on lines which augured ,yell [or Its success, :1 nd he should hal'e pleasure in forwarding a most tn'oumble repolt to headquarter. Dr. Thompson and 1\1r. F. also the and thanked the i:1spect ing officer for hiS obsen'atlOns regard1ng the corps. Lieut,-Col. Tr imble then m:tde an ll1specl1on of the storesand all books, and said he \V as well pleased with the way in \\'hich el'erything W:1S kept. Th e money subscribed by the public was being put to I'ery good lise. T h e store's reaister showed that three street boxes are no\\' completed and four i.n the CGl'rse of constrllction. occurrence bo!)k showed t'Jat first aid bad been render, Ll by members 111 the following C:1ses :-concussion I, fractures four, severe burns,I, epileptic fits 2, fractured skull I strangulation and severe Sprilll1 1. fransport dUly had also been undertaken, Se\,er.\l of the I:lell hy the doctors on their hrst .:Ild to the. Lieut.-Col. Trimble gave hiS sanction to the 10rmatIOll of a dl\ Lion o[ the corps at Astley Bridge.

Drv sTO, ,-This Di\'ision was on r8th by Dr. \ Ternon , Acting Deputy Commissionel, J After a brief inspection, he congratulated Dr. Bro\\'ne on the of the Brigade Division generally, and hoped the men would cont11lue to persevere in their sphere of llsefulness, that \\hen he came to inspect them next year they \\'ould he el'en betler prepareJ to render aiLl to the injured under any emergencies th,tn they were at present. Dr. \'emoll then distributed certificates and medallions to the men recent ly examined, and also the of an of the St. John Ambulance ASSOCIation to Dr. G. II. DrO\\,lle. D1. Browne sa id he had been taken by sl.rrrisc a s he was not a wa re hat the men co n temphted any slIch honollr for hil:): l Ie had le:trne,l flom it tha t men cOlJld k eep a seCleL, ll e felt gratlfted ill ecei\'ing such a

1·\'R:>IlJ:-s.-DJ'-oTRICT CO:-'lI'ETlTfO.·.-For a long time Dr. E. B'_lrdett Pooley, of :In examiner and under the St. John Ambulance has endea"oured to secure a competition for the District. £lis effolls \,ere cro\\:ned .\I·ith success anLl the competilion took pb:e recently. 1 he beautiful slh'er challenge cup presented by Lieut.-Cc,lonel C. Trim1·le, \'.D., Dep. Com. t. Amlubnce Brigade, and that gentleman was expected to be the.adJudlcator. Unfortunatel\' he rmrld not come to the conte't. The Inspectina officer was Dis-triet L. \Yhittaker, St John Brio-ac1e, of Preston, Se\'en teams entered the competition. Dr. Pooley saido the inspecting officer had informed !lim that ::\0. 3 squad-Sergeant ,:'on the Chal\en.ge Cup. (.\pplause). The \\"lnners ot the second prIZe the squall Ill. ch1rg-e of '\1r. lames Therewcre only t\\'O prIzes, but he mIght say that squad, trom l'll'erswn were pbcel (:\pplaus.:). r';:ennedv's prizes for miners were \\on by \\ IIlIam .\skew John nell 1st (from :\lr. squad,-(Ioud -and :\Iessrs L. ,-'l.tkinson and R. "iekel's 2nd (Irom \11'. J. U,ln'lgg S sqmJ). (Loud applause.) IIe \\ould ask Supt.. \Yhittaker to address the COI11petitors. Supt. said: .and and gentlemen of the St. John .\mbuIance Bngade, It h:r.sgll·en me cCJllSlder.lhle pleasure to be !Jere this afte·'noon. The work that h'.ls been h'ls I een I'el"\' s'ltisbctor\, indeed, and reflects g-reat credit on the officers and mln-alike. Thereare onc or (\\'0 POillLS I lo. points that ha"e occurred to me as your work has proce,edlng this afternoon. ou want to pay 11l'lre :tuentIon to [he'1. ar:-ain, some of the squads attended to tbe fractured limls III a I'en' careless fashion. You w:tnt to pay more anent'on to tha.t "\nd then a word as to ,'our material. You should see to the organJ:;ll1g' of your ;Tlaterial a little more ponable shape. 1>:1ndages and padrling got o,'er the field. Then I should like to call the atten tion of the su penntendent of store.s to the of the st1etch.el which hal'e been paraded befolemethlsafternoon helargelpOrllo.n of them are out of repair, and n')l a le\\ are tied up 11'lth stnng. It IS most essential ha these stretchers should be ready for elt-I.y emergen.,y. The superintendent of stores will perhaps excus: me attent.lOn to this matter. In conclUSIOn I wdl agall1 expre"s my pleasuleat here to \\itness your display :111d thank you [or YO;lr. \'ery attention. (:\ ppiause) :\ Ir.Kenn.e,ly then maLe the 01 Dr. Pooley proposed a yole c tbanks to 'l,1l \\'ho had gl\ help In 11l.lkillcr the competitions so successful. IIe lllcluded the cI:lcket for lend ill£!, tlle field. to the to\\'n band fLlr Iree to tne

'''Hious subscribers, \\'hose :;ubscriptiol1'S !t·.l\e beel1 In the I' - I ) I) 'r- 1I1d to the inspectill oY olficer. (.\pplause). He IlIlght say ask for a penny the COllll'eLtions: 1m he recei"ed about '£12. That Shlll\'ed yelT great interest readllless help 011 the part I)f the general puHic (.\pplause). Ihe vote ha\'lng been :lcl'orded the proceedlllgs tenlllnated., _., GATESHFAD FELL FELLl:\C,:\ hsr:-;c; ISIO:\.The 'oint inspection or these Di\'isions took on 23rd I J . Fell On the J::!nd Septembt.r Capt. :\Idl'urn, Deputy at. ,?\I t: "0 6 District accomnanied by J. Adolphus !:larrIson, miSSIOner 0 -, r, ,,-. '. d I r II' d Superintendent oi the Gateshead l'ell D_1\'ls!On, t le 'e ll1g, an ins )eeted the stores of the Felling sa\\', N I. c· ao lhrouah a course of bandaglllg. The JOInt InspectIOn -'" '" , I II \' I H on .::!'l,n:t"'September Iras to ha,'e place .twe ,a e but tile indemenq' of the \Iea ther 0 llrgc:d d,le DlI'15:on, tak: ad \ l.l",C of the school-room. kindly placed at their b,\, the A .r. [.1 \-'" 01' "t Lo\\" Fell. 11 Oil. ChapL11l1 to the F",tterson, 1 Ic.li J. -, 'i I G" 'head Fell Diyision. In consequence of the .t 1e \\'as dispen,sed \:·ith. the Gateshead F,ell beIng

'JI. .' I'ncr wnh ulllo;lded, ami .lftel\\alJs \\Itllloadcd e\.erclse In ill.liC 11 ,,' - 'I· . b k> stretchers the l:ltients being marked tor broken eg, 1st te.lm, 10 en hirTh te'l!1; and hroke;l collar-bone with scalp, 3 1:d te ;lm. was place,lunJ..:r the ca.le of the [-ellmg- DlnslOn, at the east cnd of the room, while the hst-named r:1l1 to an )jrised bed aL the \I'esc end, where undel the e),e::. .0J 60 exte1l1f. d 011 'lnd 'llwut the platforms, the [< elllng DI\'uon, of ':\11'5. Douglas, the undt:1 1tile. .' ,'tll roller banllacres. .\ dro\\,llll1g scene had bec.1l treatel t Ie \\1 "', I I)" 'd' IT 11 b 'a Ilumber of the younger members 01 le 1.\ ISlon,.1I1 \\ ,1S Seen carried outon the Harrison's lall'n,?lll t1:IS\\:lS 'put a ,stop to ;1\ '. I' At the cllnciusion 01 the ll1;pectlOn, Capt, to .by the sto \I e.ll \I'lnt he had witnessed, and in the 01 J'.!J1burI1 "ear' he had inspected the he Jound hiS Ie 11.11. s nr"able from the early stages 01 tUItion; these faults I\'htch :Iele. 'surel' bein a eliminated. and this year, 110tfa.ults well'e gl \\ hich the BrigaJe had bad to contend, wlthstam ll1g t: l,1 C, ,') 'rO\'elller.t. LIe had ne,'er yet seen the lhere w:ts a most S.lllSl.lClOI) 1I1 P 1'. 'd 1 of \\'hat '1 HriO'aJe oLwht BI'igade I"hich conld come up to 11::. e.l ",.., "

to ':e. Yet that 1.fternoJn he was delighted at what he seen.; and be .:omplimenred the members most warmly upon their proficlenc!" Be had always wondered at the indifference by In .:\e\\"castle and the .:\orth generally to \york of thiS descnptlOn. .l'\ ewasLie had a!ll;Lvs been associated in his mind with industry and a go-a-head spirit,- hut in this particular branch its population sbowed a lamentable lack of interest. He did not why In the north country they should not ha\'e equ:lllv suc.ces;ful as they had in Lancashire and tbe outh. He compltmented the ladies who had taken part in tbe work of the afternoon, and said he felt sure their co-operation W1.S of tbe hig-hest value. There wa" a humanitarian side to their Brie-ade. Drill was only a means to an end, and was only a mode of perfecting themsel res. -In addition to these Brigades they had a Home _-ursing Branch, which was a and was capable of doing a very noble \:'ork: Aller the members of the tWO Divisions with their fnends and otber \,1';ltors. adjourned for tea at \-ale'rrouse. Among the yisiwrs "'ere Col. Proctor, 5th Y.B. T) .L.I. (a kind friend of the Gateshead Felling Di\'i:ion ).Chief Constable T otter. of Gateshead. :\1rs. and .\liss H urison,:\Irs. Ralpb Thompson. of Low Fell. :\lrs.Young-, :\Irs. and :\Jiss filltOll. oiLo·,\· Fell,:\liss Harris, of _-ewcastj,., of Oporto. and manr representatives of the neiahbourinQ' bcron' classes.

Saturday. 30th September. the annual competition for the Bayley Lees Ch;llenge Cu-p IOok place amongst. the members of the Hands\\'onh and Smeth\\'ick corps. The n.nous divisions entering the competition were the Handsworth Parish Church (holders), Birmingham Railway Carriag-e and \Yagon Company, Limited: Best and Lloyd, Limited; .:\ettlefolds. Limited; and the Hands\\orth Adult Bible' Claos. The judges were Dr. Young, Dr. "-hitcombe, Dr. F. Craig. The chairman announced the result of the competilion as f01l0\\'s Birmingham Rail\\ay Carriage and I\'agon Compa:l)', Limited, 122 points; :'!nd. :\lessrs. Best and Lloyd. Limited. II9 points: 3rd. HandsIYorth Parish Church Class. J r6 points: -+tb. Hand'iworth Adult Bible Class. IIO points: 5th .:\ettlefellds. Limited, 9') points. He theD, amidst loud cheers, banded tbe cballenge cup to :\lr. J. Harkness. tbe officer of the winning team, \yho, in acknowledging the said the Birmingham Railway Carriage and \\-agon Company's class recognised that tbey had had very worthy opponents, and therefore felt all the m8re satisfied \"ith their yictory.-Lieut.-Col. Elliston, responding to the toast of the St. John Ambulance Brigade. said he was sure that in the eyent of this country being in war the of St. John An::bulance men would be sought. \Yhen this event happened he was confident many of tee members of the IIandmorth and Smeth\\'ick corps of tbe St. John Ambulance Brigade would readily \'olunteer to assist the A.rmy :\Iedical Corps.

KEIGIlLEY.-Tbe annual meeting of the Keighley di"ision of the St. John Ambulance Brigade was held at Ihe head-quarters, Lawkholme Crescent, on the 9th ult.. Capt. H .•-\. :'larriner, chief sUt.lerintendent, presiding oyer a good atLendance of lauies anu gentlemen. '\ 1r. :\larriner thanked the Brigade for the compliment they had paid him in electing him chief superintendent of the hrigade. They seemed anxious to ba\'e a quasi military man at tbe head of affairs, hence his acceptance of the position. He considered th:;t ::he year wbicb bad just closed had been a red -letter year for the brigade; and he thought the time bad arrived for the brigade to be hoked upon as a necessary adjunct to e\'ery large gathering in the town. The brigade desired to impress upon the people of tbe to\\'n that they "'ere always will'ng to attend any large gathering: they looked upon themseh'es as public servants and expected-instead of going cap in hand as it "'ere and asking if they might attend -to be iO\ited to any large gatherings wh ch might take place in tte town. The past year had also been notable inasmuch as it .had seen their first annual inspection Though perhaps the men.JJers dId not altogether understand the affair, the inspecti.ng officer reg-a rued the inspertion as quite satisfactory. Captain Marriner proceeded to urge the impJrtance of attention to drill. He thought It would tend to the improvement of the brigade if they could meet, say once a monthin the Drill Hall [or the use of IIhich he could arrange. Personally, he intend e d to take a more acti\'e imerest in the brigade in the future than he had done in the past As to their finances. they were in a satisfacto:y condition. [hanks to tr.e handsome allowance made by :'I I I'S. Brigg from the performances of D iplo'nac.l! -(applause)-they had been enabled to purchase equipment as p roa nd in a few days hoped to complete arrangeme n ts for t h e fiXIng of an ambulance box 111 a recess on Messrs S uaden Ke io- hl ey & C o.'s premises at the j unction of Coney Lane and T hey hoped also to put a squad of the bricrade into uniform and n order to r'lis: the m.eans they to a great effort. At the inspection mspectl'lg officer pOll1ted ?ut YE'ry strongly the importance of keepll1g the management of the bngade and the :\ssociation separaLe . T bere was to be no actual separation, for witboUL the Association the briaade could noLli,'e. Tn conclusion, M r. Marriner said that S. T Scott was resigning the ,:ecretaryship of the brigade, in which capaci ty he Ihad uone servICe for a long llme.- \ 11'. John Thornton suggested the d lstn bULlOn Lo vano us cel1lres of In'e am bulance bags j u st p ur chased

-T he Chairman promised that th e matter sho uld hav e t he Co m mittee's considerat ion -A question asked by '\Ir R hodes Grace, as to whether members of a brigade had a right to accompany a hos pita l van on its ",ayo u t, was replied to by Dr. Tyrie, ,,·ho said that the m e mbe rs had no prescripti\'e right . T he majority of cases for \vhich the a m bu la n ce Was used were medical and not surgical cases the purpose of making an endea \' our to esta lish a :\' ursing Di\'ision of this Corps a meetin g of ladies was recently held in the out-patient building at the Infirmary. There was a good attendance Dr. A H. Jones preSIded, and he Was supported by Cbief Superintendent J. Perry, '\ I r. H. T. Trarey (han. secretary to the Northampton Corps). and Second Officer II. \Y ilkinso n _\t the outset of hs remarks upon tbe advisability of establishinO' a .:\ursing Di"ision, 'Cr. Jones spoke in eulogistic terms of the sen'ices of .\1i s5 Osborne in connection with ambulance work. H ayina referred to the regulations, he said the new departure would an era in the .:\ ortharnpton Corps, an? CCln fer a. still higher honour Upon tbem than they had had before. Chief SuperIn endent P erry ha"inO' referred to tbe lead the .:\ o:tham pton Corps had taken in \york said they ,yantc::d the ladies to assist them in transport \York ",hile there were reasons why they should keep up their practices and take a personal interest in the \YorK. It had been suggested to him that '\1rs. Perry sbould be the lady superintendent and :\Ir s. Reeves the first officer and secretan'. at any rate for a lime. The meetinO' cecided to establish a i\ ursing Di " ision, and \YednesJay e\'enings fixed upon as the practice nig-hts, and it was stated that the I nfirmury Go\"eruor s had kindly placed that room at the disposal of t h e ladies.

I, T ABLE TALI\." says :-" A mo\-ement is on foot to compel all cyclists to go throug;l a course of ambulance instruction, for use on their yictims. First aid to umpires ought also to be part of the curriculum of footballers. :\'O\'ices in sbooting parties should be pro"ided with Rontgen Ray apparatus and surgical instruments."

the practice of a boys ambulance class, with improvised material. A supposed case of \yound of fore -a rm, with arterial bleeding. was treated by one of the members n t h e follolYincr ingenio u s be his handkerchief m'er the tucked up a fold of the sh11t slee\'e ll1 the bend of t h e el bow an d then forced. the doubled-up arm down t he slee ve of t h e pa ient'S j acket, and so effectually compressed the brochial artery

SD[PER PARAT(;S. - -\ corresponJent "Tites :-" One S unday mcrning during the recent hot weather. as people were we n dioa therr way to church, I noticed a smail crowu, and crossing the road a young woman i n an epileptic fit J list as she reco ,'ered a gentleman came up and e.nguired ,,,hat "'as the On hearing he p roduceda bOl t le from hIS pocket and asked It a little brandy "auld be useful; I had hardly declined his offer wben another gentleman appeared on the scene and also produced a bottle from his pocket and asked if a little whisky would be of :Ise. t?en told me they were friends, and that they always carned a httle stimulant with tbem when e-oinO' for a walk in the hot weather, in case they should feel fai!lt."

THE BELFAST A:-'IBl'LA:\'CE SYSTDl.- Th:s sntem. which is \yorked by t he fire br igade, is one of the institutions of all the ci t izens are pi·oud·. During the year ending June 30th, 1899, 1803 calls "ere received, and the time occupied in attending to the cal ls by t b e ambulance was 8 59 hours 31 minutes, giving an a\'erage of minutes per journey from h e receipt of the call until the carriage retu rn ed to its station. T he d istance, ho \re \' er, was -+ ,-1-+8 miles, or a n a \' eraae of \\' o a n d a ha lf miles per sing le journey Anothe r new wag-on is abo u to be presented to the city corporation a n d " ill b e ready for acti \'e se n 'ice in The n u ml-er of calls r ece i ved be tw een the hours o 6 a.m. :Iod 6 p m. was 1,03-+, and betwee n the ho u rs o 6 p.m. and 6 a. m 769 .ca ll s were rece i,'ed. The " alue of a n in s tuti on like this in a city where a'.:cidents are of such freq u ent Occ ur rence is inestimable

P RI NCESS CHR STIAN AND FI RST AlD.-Princess Chr istia n who was accompanie d by P r n.cess V ictoria of Sch l es \l an d attended by :\I iss Emi ly L och, visited the Wi ndsor Al be r In s titu te on Saturday afternoo n , t he 2 1st ul L, fo r h e p urpose o f d istri b utina m edalli o n s and ce rti ficates to t h e successfu l ca n di u ates o f th e local of h e S t J o hn Amb ula nce Assoc iat on Th e D ean of \Vin dso r, Sir Jo hn So un d )" and th e v icar of E t on w e re a m o ng th ose prese nt. Her Roya l IIi ah n ess on reachi n g the h a ll was p r ese n te e! wit h a bas k et of fl owers by A m y Fa rbank, daugh er of l\Tr. \\T. F a ir ba nk s urgeo n i nstructor of the c1asses.- \I r. San d by, hon treas ur e r r ea d th e report which was of a highly sat isfactory charac t er, a nd stated ha t o n ly fire out of S-+ cand idates had fa iled to pas s t h e eXa mi nat io n ,-The P rincess then d istributed the awards, the recip ients, 79 in num be r, in cludi ng ladies and policeme n -Upon t h e motio n of Sir J o h n S o un dy, a h ea rty vote of ha n ks was accord e d He r R oy a l Highn ess a t the close of tb e

For 12 m on ths, IS. 6d., post fre e , to b e sent t o the Pu b lish e r s

An Inquiry ba lat ely b ee n h eld at. tc ckp or t concernina the that h n., e [n 'isen betw een t h e l oca l :Jlelli tL11 ociety a nd th e 10c;11 Centre of th e t J oh n bulance Asso ciation , In )larch last th e f oll owi ng app f'arell in t his column.-" Th e point of di ::; pute wh1 ch ha s l ed t o som e word is hardly 'Yol'th menti olling in thi s J ourn ul, b u t i t seem;:, to U <.1. groat pity th at 30 me di sin te l'{;ste ll fri end \\,<18 not asked to put th e m a tt er str ;1 1gh t : ' ince t h en th e report of this inquiry ha :,; bee n wiLlely publi sh ed, so w e h a,Te de em ed it necessary to g i\Te a r eport of it in our \\' e ar e yery glall to ee that t h e COUl"e we propo 'e ll '-htl been followed out, although it 1S som ewh at stra n O'e that th e thre e arbitrator are m emb er s of t h e ( 'e ntl'a l Exec uti ve Committ ee of t h e On l er of t, J ohn. Any wa y. 'lY e th eir d eci -ion, whi ch is n ob y et pu bli sh ed , will calm tIns lIttle s torm ;t: *' *' The work ll one by our ambula n ce me n , ,,h en on duty in co untry, [tnll t ht1t r eq uir od of t h em ,,-hen t h ey oft'er their in wa r , i well exem pli fie Ll ill the crISIs At h ome, ,1S a. rul e. i t 1S p ur ely fil'St a i ll 'wod". th at is, atte nding t o injUl'ell pel solls L1t t h e t'<:ene of accill ellt bnt ill war our civili,m nl'st-a i ll er3 ,ne not a ll ow ed to go to the fl'o nt _ T heil' llu ty to act a s h ospitn 1 ol'll el'l ie::; to a"i:-;t in tl'llnspor t ,yor k. A llcll!ui te right too , fOl' it m )ttlLl ne\-e 1' do t o pl ace our men , wh o a,r e unaccu::;to lll ed to t h e honible scen es amI t eni fic r onr of th e battl e field ill t h e lin e of fir e , "'*,';'

The impol'ta nc of in stru ct ion in tll'sing fOl' M en , is full y s hown at th e pl'esent t im e as se \'cl'l1 1 member s of t Le St. J ohn Ambula nc e Bri ga d e ha ve been ca l1 ell u po n fo r en -ice on boa rd th e R eel Cr oss IIos pi ta l S h ip a nd th e holding of th e :r ur sing Certin c:a t e i s quit e l ig h t ly a l1ecess[1 1' 5' qualification for a ppoin t m en t '1'0 Chief- urg eo n Osbo rn is th e credit of introdu cing Nursin o- L ect ur es'" f or into t h e Th e firs t course Wi'\, : g iven by llim m 1894- , and contmued a l mo·t eyery , yinter sinc e , It is sin cerel y to be h oped that a large numb er of m e mb er s will atten d those now about to b e giYen . \ Vh e n t,h e 1emb eH, of t h e Brigade, in em er ge nci es , su ch as t h ose occ urrin g a t the present time, a r e caIl ell upon t o tak e t h e plac e of hospita.l orderli es 01' bem' er comp,mi es of th e H OY'11 ArlllY :\Iec1ica l Co r ps, t h e i mportance of th eil' is demonstrated . .

H lbOtlle 11)\?(lienc."

By w. J IVl c CUL L OCII ETTLES, i\l.D. , CH.1\f., A BENn Han Life Mem ber, St. J ohn Ambul a n ce As so cia tion L e cturer on Am b ulan ce, Univ e r s ity S e ttlement, Toynbee Hall. PART VIII.

t h e g e at m a o rity: of cas e s the " e ntilati o n o f a n a partmen t is ear n ed o ut 111 th e fd o wmg m a nn er. Th e chi m n ey acts as th e ou tlet fo r th e air , whil e chinks be t\\e e n the wind o w sas h es a nd aro un d the doo r ac ts as inlets l\lo s of tb e in com in g ai r e n ters in th e space bet" ee n the d oor and th e fl ooring. The co ld a ir u shes ac r oss th e 11 00r, enter s th e fir epla ce a nd as ce nd s the chimn ey N ot a ll of it, h owc 'e r, lhe upp er l ayers tmvel les s swiftly and be come w;>rm ed, Being

warmed. they and rise so. tbey ascend in front of the fireplace iO the cetlll1g, there lO mIX wllh the bot effele air aiyen off from lu n gs and gas jets Tra\'ersing the ceiling- 111 a direction to f1?or now to sUFply the inmates of the lmpur.e aIr sltghtly pU;I.hed by being diffused with the pure aIr whIch found Jts way to the cetl1l1g. (FiO'.

F

g. 1. Fig. 2 F ig. 3.

Tbis 'entilation. is became th e feet are ke pt cool by a dra ug?t o.f cold alT, whIle tbe are supplied with i mpure air for resplrallOn. uch a room could be considerably improved by tackina cloth stuffing rcund the top and sides of the door, while a niat out,ide could be made to cl02e the gap below. The lower windo w is then raised and a board four inches wide and the lenO'th of the sash bottom is inserted the sash being then lowered upon it. (Fig. 3).

The result is the formation of a gap het·.,·een the sashes. 'V n d blowing against the \"indo\\' " ill ha\e ils force brO Ken by the tort u ous course it must follow. \lhile entt!ring air is given an upw'ard direction This air seldom or neyer reaches the ceilino- but falls in a cyentle cascade into the room at about the le\'e1 of Ihe heads '" f t is a cardinal rule in 'entibtion that all inlets should be about six feet from the floor, and all outlets as near tbe ceili ng as possible. I n rooms constructed \lith a due legard to sanitary requirements three common types of inlet are in yogue.

The S herringham v a lv e consists of a caSt iron bo x , ope n a t he sides, wbic h passes through the \\ all. Th e o u ter side is co vered w it h a grat ing tb oug h \\ hich can fr eely pass, while the in n er side is prm'ided w ith a door o r flap hinged belo w (F ig -+ a ) B y m ea ns of a co r d and pulley at tac hm e n t, the flap J113y be g iv en a ny u esired incli natio n so as o p rojec t th e e n teri ng air u p wa rds, or be clo sed alt og e h er.

fh e Ellis o n b r i ok i s pe r forated with a ser es of trum pe sh a ped h o es , the na rr o w ends poi ntin g o u twards. Any dra ug h t th rou a h th ese is bro ken u p and diffused in p a ssi n g th ro ugh tbe inner w ider portio ns. (Fig -+, n.)

A sti ll be tter methoj is to m a ke he air cbmne ls c) li nu lica a nd not conical passing them diago n ally throucrh the brick so as to b rea k up curre n ts a nd deflect tbe s trea m u pwar d s.

T obi n 's tube is a square cond u it, lbe ower en d o f w hich pass es tb ro u gb he wall, w hi le t he up per e nd opens into tbe room so m e s ix fee t abo ve t b e floo r. Th e an g le is often fitt ed with a d ra wer by m ea ns o f \l hi ch the d u s t may be r em o \'c d fr o m t h e in terio r , a nu in wh ic h, dur i n g h ot weat h er, ice m a y be p laced T h e a mo unt of a ir pass ing thr o ug h l1l <ly be re gula te d by m ea n s of a fla p o ye r he mo u th. ( F ig +, c.) It s se do m a d visab le to b ave on ly on e inl et. In ord er th at fr es h ai r may uiffu se even ly t h ro u g ho u th e ro0 111 se ve rn sh o uld be in use i t is n ecessary t o oblai n th e enteri n g a ir h roug-h the door o r p assage wa ll. I n s uch a case car e m us t be .ta ke n to c ross ventil a te closets in o rde r th a t n o se wer gascs may obta m en tra nce, and a ls o to pro id e aga in st th e aspira ti on of gro un d a r i nto t be basement ; b u t of t hi s m ore a n o n S o fa r, we hav e rega rdc d t he fire place as t he on ly o u t le t In mod ern room s , h owever, pro per out le l v en t ila to rs are provided n ear th e ceil in£"

FIRST

and these conduct the effete air directly ir:to the h ' 't hould be remembered acts both \I'lth and wIthout a fire In c Imney 1 s h 't' t' of the the grate, in the latter case by means of t e aSpIr:l mg ac Ion wind, Thi5 fact demonstrates the folly of stuffing up bedroom chlmnevs with baRS of shavings, as is so often done, The disadvantage of the fire place as an on ,of its nearness to the floor, hot and already respIred aIr neal. the ceding, ultimately descending to be again used Boyle s mICa flap outlet overcomes this, It consists of a rectanRular box, open at the sides, through the wall bet\\'een the rhlmney and the ment, A wide meshed g-rating CO\'ers the room face, and It a diaphragm perforated \\'ith se\'eral holes, Each h')le IS pro"ided behind with a mica flap or co\'er. hmged abo:'e so as to towards the chimlley, The natural tendency of hot :1.Ir. to find an :Xll, causes the flaps to open and allow the escape ?f the aIr. Any re,urn of smoke into the room is prevented by the closll1g of flaps. Th.ese outlets work better in 10\\'er floor rooms because the hIgher the chlmn ey flue, the greater the draugh t. 1n a II cases ou tlets should be as I,ear the ceiling as possible.

I"hen the ceilin a of a room IS ImmedIately below a roof M cKlnnell's may be used. This is made up of two tubes, one within the otter. Tbe inner tube is separated from the outer by a considerable space. Effete air ascends through the central aperture, and is replaced by pure air passing down between the tubes. The upper end is furnished with a c?wl protect tbe from weather while tbe lower ends are dllated Into funnels whIch dlffuse;the enterind and collect the outgoing air.

The "'above methods of ventilating are known as 111. contradistinction to artificial. In the latter process, IS dnyen 111 to. a room, or extracted from it by means of m.achmery: It IS much used I? large buildings and factories, but rarely 111 dwe1l1l1gs. I.n all cases. It is less useful than natural processes. because any system IS bad whIch necessitates constant watching. Xot only that, but the air spee?, ing from five to t\,enty feet 'per second, ,Proper "Enaine-drivinO' columns of aIr through a bu!ldlllg IS not "enulatlng it." "'1 n good air does not moye more rapidly than two feet per second.

(To be contin1led.)

f or lb Oll onr of St. !fobn. '

(Under the Authority of the "'ar Office the St. .Tohn:\ mbulanpe Brigade i" calling for Yolunteers [or Amhulance ernee 1lI the Tran,,·aal •.

( D edicated to he O ldham Corps.

Come, buckle on your pouches, lads, Your bandages renew,

There's seventy thousand men at war, And work that waits for you; There's many of Old England's sons

Lie bleeding swift to death

For want of first aid tourniquet

To stay the fleeting breath.

There's many a broken, shattered form That groaning waits Ior aid, But great the task, the labourers few, And help is long delayed;

Then buckle on your pouches, Jads, And volunteer to-night

To help the soldiers in Transvaal, Who for Old England fight

You've practiced at your weekly drills, All forms of mercy's work, When stricken brother::; need your aid, You'll never d u ty shirk?

Nor leave in pain thro ugh dreary night.

Untended and alone, The lads who've bravely shed their blood

For England and for home.

Not to glory or to honour

Is the call upon you made,

But to mercy's gentle pleading

"Give our wounded heroes aid,

Bind their wounds and splint their fractures, Ease their pain, and gently bear

From the field where honour called them

This work is your noble share."

Buckle on your belts and pouches

For the honour of St. John; underneath the Cross of A1trey, bravely toiling on ; Glory may not be your portion, Hardship certainly will be, But perchance you'll hear the whisper"_Ye have done it unto Me." H AL CAXTON.

A

I LD ec emb er, 189 9,

U:be $t. 30bn tlnlblllance anb tb e Stoc fi port 3nqun·\?

THE Inquiry on behalf of Ambulance Association by Colonel Bowdler, Sir James .'\. Dick, !",.C.B." R.N., and Inspector_ General Belgrave i\'innis, R.X., as arbltr.ators 111 matters of differ_ ence which had arisen between the executIve o[ the Stockport Centre of the St. John Ambulance Association the Stockport and District :.\Iedical Society, was held in Stockport on October 30th and 3lst, and occupied the whole of both those days.

:'\[r. Boydell Houghton, barrister, appeared on behalf of Earl Egerton of Tatton president of the centre, and for 1\1r. A. E, Ferns, hon. secretarr of centre; :.\Ir, C. H. :'\I. represented the Medical Society; and :\[1'. IVilliam Cobbett, solIcitor, on be?alf of :'\[r. A. H. Sykes, chairman of the centre. The partIes to the dIspute had a<Treed that the decision of the arbitrators should be fin;).l.

:\[r "-harton, for the :\Iedical Society, explained .that the points alleaed aaainst the hon. secretary of the centre wpre toat he had mis. manOaged"'the centre, had behaved in .his dealing-s as ?on. tary to persons entitled to ask for lI1fOrmatlon deal WIth In connection with the Association, had taken upon h1l11self to do tblllgs which should be done only by the Committee, anrl had not made reports to head-quarters reqllired by the rules of the Association.

The controversy began nearly three .ago when 1;1'. Porter, medical officer of health for the borough, lllC'Julred at the office of the hon. secretary by instruction of a committee of the Corporation for an explanation of a charge of five guineas made by. the local centre in respect of a police ambillance dass D.r. dId. not meet han. secretary on that occasion, and the deSIred not bell1g as promised by a clerk he wrote the same I11ght to head-quarters In London, the reply being that the amount charged by London to the Stockport centre in respect of the class in question was £1 I3 s 6d, IVhen the t\"O aentlemen met there were hard words on the subject, angry following. Subsequently matter take,n up by the 'IIedical Society, whose declll1ed to contmue services as lecturers to classes pendll1g a settlement of the matters In dispute, and the work of the Association in Stockport came to a standstill.

Dr. Rayner said he was an original member of the local centre. It \\'as a great many years since he received a summons to a meeting. He had given 10 or 12 courses of lectures. He dId not know that by reason of this fact he was to be a life member of the Association. He knew the resolutions that had been passed by the ;\ledical Society, and he supported them.. There was a resoluti,on in which the members refused to lecture untd there was some expressIOn of rearet from i'I1r. Ferns. This dispute ought to have been settled in minutes; it was a miserable dispute. It had all arisen in conse· quence of a non-medical man dealing with medical matters witbout havin a any advice [rom a consultation with medical men. If the hon. had taken the advice of some of the medical members of the Committee, nothing of this sort would have arisen; but when a layman took charge of things where medical men ought to have a \'oice he was bound to go wrong and to tread on the loes of medical There had not been any allegation that there was anytbmg wrong In the way of the hon. secretary making any profit out of the office for himself.

Drs. Marriott, Christian, Smeeth and Rogers, the :.\Iayor of Stockport (:-1r. Thomas Webb), and two working men, :.\Iessrs. Armitage and Cartledge, were also called in support of the case put forward by the :\ledical Society.

Mr. Arthur Sykes said that be had become chairman of the Stockport Centre at the request of Mr, Ferns, who had been the life and soul of the society in Stockport, as the committee very seld0m met. Ferns had expressed his willingness to explain the matter to the Wa,tch Committee, and had disclaimed any desire to quarrel witn the ;\ledlcal Society.

After the eyidence of various other witnesses, Mr. Ferns said that,he had been honorary secretary of the Stockport centre since its in 1883. Previous to the beginning of this controversy he had asslst,ed Dr. Porter in tbe formation of the police ambulance class , and he diS' claimed any intention of insulting Dr. Porter. It was u sual to cbarge five guineas to some classes which could affcrd to pay more than poorer classes, 11 order to hel p the latter, and he had informed the town clerk that he thought the Corporatiou ought to pay more than ordinary

The chairman of the arbitrators said that the charge of five gUIneas was not unreasonable so far as the Association was concerned.

In examination by Mr. B::lydell Houghton, representing Lord Eger· ton of Tatton, President of the Centre, Mr. Ferns denied having used various insulting expressions with regard to Dr. Porter whicb had been attributed to hilT,. He had not said that Dr. Porter had letters of vital importance, but if he had said so it was a remark thtt should be withdrawn. 'With reference to the statement that PoO balance sheets were sent to London between 1883 and 1890, he said that it usual with centres when they were not doing much work not to send !D balance-sheets which were in fact part of the report.

The inquiry then closed, and the arbitrators announced that they would take time to consider their decision.

December , 1 8 99, ] FIR S T tlnlbulanc e Services.

No. III.

We are pleased to inform our readers that ,\'e are making arrangements for publi3hing a full description of the ambulance services in the \'arious provincial to Ivns. This is done for the purpose of informing {hose in London, interested in ambulance WOI k what our provincial brethren are doing, and with :l possible view to their mutual benefit and improvement.

The initiation of the ambulance sen-ice is due to the efforts of :\Ir. Parker, late Superintendent of the Belfast Fire Brigade. The town selected this month is :BELFAST.

Previous to 1892 Belfast possessed no public ambulance, all injured and wounded persons being removed to the Hospital on cars or any other vehicle that happened to be convenient. About the month of lull' that year the City \I'as presented with an ambulance wagon by one of its philanthropic citizens, and shortly aftenyards .)3 of the men connected with the Fire Brigade received first aid certificates.

The first ambul ance wagon so efficiently filled what was reco 17 nised to be a ;ong felt want that in 1895 it was determined to a second \\ agon and after a surprisingly short time one was purchased by public subscription and a third wagon has been purchased this year and was handed oyer to the Corporation a few days ago. (Par. ticlliars of the ceremony are given below.)

No. I ambulance, known as the" Allan," \\'as presented to the city by JIr. C. Allan, of Workman &: Clark's. in August, 18g.!; and :-l':>. 2, the" Londor!derry," was purchased by public subscription, and presented by the :-Iarcbioness of Londonderry, on the 30th :-\ pril, 95· Each wagon is supplied with two stretchers, also splints, bandages, a rack holding four quart glass-stoppered bottles, containing carron oil, carbolic oil and carbolic lotion. and a bottle of sal volatile. .-\Il cases of accident are remo\'ed direct to the Royal Hospital, except those o.:curring in Harland & IYolff's ship-building yard, wbich are {,(ken home if desired. No charge is made for removals within the city boundary, for those outside a charge of £2 3S. is made.

Stretc h er s -:!+ are in use.

Method of C omm u nicat i on is by telephone. The Headquarters of the Fire Brigade are in direct communication with seven sub-stations situated on the main thoroug-hfares in various parts of the city. B.ach police barracks is in indirect communication with headquarters. Numerous fire ambulance alalms are situated throughout the city and are in communication through the ::\ational Exchange wires. \Vhen a message is received at head-quarters an alarm is sountled (one bell for ambulance, two for fire), and the men on ambulance duty for the day (usually three) take charge of the wagon. When on duty the men are still more or less under the control of head-quarters, for the moment that a \\'agon passes a SUb-station. either going to or coming from scene of accident, notification to that effect is received per telephone at head-quarters. In the event of both wagons being out and another message is sent to head-quarters one of them is stopped at the nearest sub-station or police barracks, or in the e\'ent of a wagon not passing- a sub-station or police barracks the message 1S sent to the Royal Hospital where it is delivered to the m1.n in charge of the first wagon to arrive, and they then proceed directly to the scene of the accident. i\hlch ble time is thus saved. By means of this arrangement a wagon has been known to attend four accidents and bring the patients to hospital ,\'ithout once returning to headquarters

Sta ff. -As will be noticed above the Ambulance Service is worked by the Fire Brigade, under the direction of the Police Oommittee of the City Council.

Sta ti s ti cs.-The value of tbe ambulance and transport services performed by the Service cannot be over estimatetl ; some idea of tbis excellent work will be gleaned from the statistics since its inception

During the first 12 man ths (ending 30th June, 1893) the men responded to l67 calls, and the number has since steadily risen each year In the report of the year 1898 we find that 1,6+3 calls were received and the Division responded to 1,639 calls (being uwable on l3 occasions to do so owing- to the staff being engaged at fires). In this year's report we find that 1,803 calls were received, and the department responded to 1,790 calls (being unab e on four occasions to do so, owing to the staff being engaged at fires), occupying 859 hOUiS 22 minutes (being an increase of 117 hours 31 minutes [;om last year), showing an average of 28i minutes per journey from the receipt of the call until the carriage returned to the station. The ?istance traversed was +,++8 miles, or an average of miles per JOurney.

Oo st. -N 0 statement is made as to owing to the Sen'ice being wDlked in connection with the Fire Brigade OF A KEW AMBULANCE FOR BELFAST TO THE CORPORATION

The ceremony of n aming th e new city ambulance, wh ich has re e n

AI D . 43

purchased by public subscription, and hantling it oyer to the Corporation, took place on the l7th ult. at the head-quarters of the Fire Brig-ade, Chichester Street, in presence of a representative gathering. The new ambulance was placed in the centre of the engine-house, and was yery much acmired. It has been built by l\Ir. Frank C. Johnston, 27, 29 and 31, College Street Svuth, and is the most modern construction of a carriage of this description.

Shortly after half-past tweke ,\11'. ;\Ieyer requested the Lady :\Tayoress to name the ambulance and present it to the Corporation to take charge of.

Her Ladyship. on rising to do so, was heartdy receiYed, and named the ambulance, which bore the follO\\'ing rlate :_ This Ambulance, Purchased by Public Subscription, was named "THE SYMONS" By the Lady Mayoress.

.-\s a token of respect and admiration for jlajor-General Sir IV. Penn Symvns, who commanded the British forces at the Battle of Glencoe. 20th October, 1899, when he was mortally ,\'ouuded. l7th Xo\'ember, 1899. Otto jaffe, Lord ::J-Iayor. Her Ladyship said she was yery much gratified to be asked on behalf of the subscribers to name the new carriage in memo: y of :he late General Sir IVilliam Penn Symons, who. alas, in the hour of \'ictory at the bv tde of Glencoe had lost his life. They mourned his loss yery much, and they hoped that the new carriage would be an honour to the memory of the gallant soldier after whom it was called. It was with the deepest feelings of re\'erence and sincere sympathy 'with his bereayed widow that she now named the ambulance" The Symons," and asked tbe Corporation of the County Boro..!!<h of Belfast to 'lccept it on behalf of the subscribers. She wisbed it from all her heart on its mission of help and mercy

Councillor Curiey, chairman of the Police Committee, said it afforded him very much pleasure to accept the gift on behalf of the Corporation, and more behalf of tbe Police Committee, under whose care and superVISIOn It WIll be placed. He had also to thank l\Ir. Robert :'\Ieyer for the great trouble he had taken in the matter. He hoped the noble services which had been rendered by the two pre\'ious ambulances 'yould be equalled by the new one, and personally thanked the Lady :'\Iayoress for her presence that day and the encouragement she had given them.

Alderman H litton moved a vote of than ks to :,\1 rs. Jaffe for her sen ices that day. The vote was passed amid the ringing cheers of the firemen, and was suitably acknowledged.

:'\Ir. W. H. Dixon and :-1r. Curley paid a Tribute to the builder, :'\lr. Johnston, for the excellent way the ambulance had been designed, and the Lord .\layor ha \'ing added a few words, the ceremony conclude9.

To OlJR items have been sent by our frienus, and whilst thanking them, we sorry. tnat ther.e is not the space in the Journal to insert all. -rhls speCially to tbose paragraphs about the departure of the St. John .-\mbUlance men from the "arious towns.

:\IR, CHRISTlE.- Thank you for your note. lYe shall be glad to receive them.

:.\J. Lewis' and other correspondence held over till next momh.

AND DISTRICT BRlG..iDE -The meeting of the committee of this Brigade was held at the Cblef FIre Station on the evening of the 6th November, J\lr. A. R. f ozer! I?residing. There were 228 cases of first aId reported from eIght dl\'lsI.ons for the past month. The annual competition for the Challenge Shield will this year take place on rth the Centra.1 Hall, J\lr. Councillor W. \'raters (ChaIrman ot the 'I atch CommIttee), \\ III preside. Very tasteful button- hole badges are i.n course. of man ufacture, and will be largely worn by tbe members ?unng the 1\'.lnt.er and fO.Il.o\\'ing months. The Brigade is in an flounsbmg condltlon, and large numbers of men :1.re bell1g added to the roll. It is contemplated forming a medlc:1.1 b03.rd and first aId centre for the formation of ambulance classes.

VOLUNTEER A:'.IBULANCE."- The 3rd Volunteer the Oueen's Royal IVest Surrey Regiment, who the fledical Association Ambulance Challenge ShIeld m the competItIOn for 99, had the honour of presenting, the trophy to Lord J'dayor-:who is one of its tl.ustees-and he 111 turn It over to theIr popular commanding officer, Colonel Samuel B The team, with serjean t-instructor and sW'geon-ca ptam, are 11:1 thel, honoured by being invited to meet the Elcho Shield team an? officers of metropoli tan corps, and to parta of the CI VIC hosplta.btr at the House. The competition thIS year has been keen o\\'ino' to the number of pro\incial teams present. The eXamll1allOn \Ias at Wellington Barracks on July 22nd last.

All Letters and communications to the Editor should be addressed to him at the Publishers, 10, Paternoster Row , E.C.

Subscriptions and Advertisements should be sent to the Publishers direct.

FIRST AID.

DECEJIBER 1, 1899.

OSE of the most remarkable outcomes of THE WAB. the p1·esent war is the amount of voluntary aid that is being given in the shape of ambulance Msistance of every kind. A brief ?'esu?ne of what has been and is being done, will not be out of place.

The l'ational Society for Aid to the Wounded, the St. John Ambulance Association, and the Army l' ursing Reserve have fOl'me(l themselves into it (( Oentral Red Oross Oommittee " under the supervision of the vVal' Office. All voluntary will be under the direction of this Oommi ttee. The officers and n Ul'3es of the new Red Oross Society will have no share in the work on the field, but "ill specially attend to the organisation of the trclllsport of the wounded. The, 'ociety will establish f;ick transports" in the form of sick convoys by road, rail and water, including the formation and management of supplementary rest stations a.long the routes travelled by the sick and wounded, and supplementary hospital accommodation in the form of 1'e erve hospitals, convalescent homes," &c.

The work of thp voluntary Societies will be under the supreme direction of 8irWilliam ?IacUormac, President of the Royal Oollege of Surgeons, "'hose experienee on the field, combined with his skill as a Sl1l'geon, \vill point him out as the right man in the right place. One of the special objects of this Oommittee will be to supply those creature comforts Sl) particularly valuable to the sich: and wounded, which are not always to be found in connection with the hardships of a military campaign.

So far as the transport and the base hospitals are concerned, it may be taken for granted that a1l that can be done to make wounds and sickness more beflrable will be done. A hospi hi ship-the "Princess of \Yales" - is now on her way, and a hospital train is approaching completion. This train will have 100 beels distributed along it· Pullman can-iages, and will have arrangements for cooking, wiih a complete medical and surgical staff, composed of five surgeons - two of the Army 1\J eelical Oorps, and three of them civiliam;. '1'he1e win also be four nurses and twenty hospital attendants. When we say that the train is being equipped and fitted out under the supervision of Sir John Furley, it will be felt that everything is being done thnt ingenuity can suggest. To sum up the alTangements for the adequate reception and t.reatment of the wounded, it is necessary to add that there will be twelve field hospitalsfour stationl1ry or base hospitals, and 4 general hospital., each with its complete staff. The disb'ibution of these hospitals will be deteL'lnined by the officers commanding in South Africa, an(l must depend on the ml1nnel' in which the military situation develops.

It is a matter of congratulation for the St. John Ambulance Brigade that it is able bring forward at a short notice a large number of men fitted to act as hospital orderlies. It is true that as yet they have had not actual expel'ience of the duties, but the instructions they bave acquired, combined with common-sense, and stl-ict attention to orclel';o;, will, we feel confirlent, make them It valuable set of men. We wish them all-those already gone, amI those about to go -God-speed, ancll'1 qnick and Bafe retUl'n.

AllD. [December , 1899.

1RaiIwa\? Bmbulance.

\Vith a vie,"\' of encouraging ambulance work among their employees, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Company have this year instituted a Challenge Cup to be ?y.teams from yarious stations along tjelr line, the condItIOns WIll be SImilar to those of the St. John Ambulance Association for the Railway Shield prizes 'Will also be given to individual members of the winning team.

LO:\"DoN BRIGHTO:'i' AND SOUTH COAST RAIL\\'AY (NEW CROSS) very successful smoking concert, in aid of the of t.his division \,,-as held on Saturday, November 18th, in the Mess room adjoininO' the '-:ew Cross station. Owing to the unavoidable of Mr. W. Trangmar, the Superintendent of the Locomoti \'e Department, the chair was taken by Dr. Carvell, the bon. surgeon of the division.

CALEDO:-lIA);, RAIUYAY A:>1B'('LA);,CE CORPS.-On Saturday, the .J.th ult., in the Albert Hall, Stirling, took place the annual competition for the Caledonian Railway Ambulance Challenge Cup, which was contested by I'; telms representing the following stations or districts:Ardrossan, Buchanan Street (Goods), Bridgeton, Carstairs, Coatbridge, Dundee West, Edinburgh, Eglington Street, Ferryhill (Aberdeen), Grangemouth, Greenock, West, MotherwelI, Perth, Polmadie, St. Rollox Locomotive Works, StIrling and Tollcross. The examination, which was held under the auspices of the St. Andrew's Ambulance Association, consisted of oral questions, folI·Jwed by a practical and very interesting demonstration of ambulance treatment of almost every species of casualty. The competition resulted in the Stirling corps, consisting of five meo, being declared the winning team of the challenge cup-tenable for a year-and the individual gold badO'es, followed as a second by the Buchanan Street (Goods) corps, who""thus secure the silver badges. The victorious team has the name of the corps engraved on the cup. The examiners were Dr. D. N. Knox, Dr. Angus :\1acphee, Dr. A. Dryden Moffatt, of Glasgow, and Dr. Charles KenlJedy and Dr. David ·Wallace, of Edinburgh. The following officials and others were present during the rontest :-:\Ir. Irvine Kempt, general superintendent; Mr. Arch. Hillhouse, general goods manager 1\1r. 'William Cook. ;\Ir. James Drynan, :vIr. Robert Millar, :\Ir. J. ;\lacCauli. :\Ir. T. A. Gentles, Mr. \VaddeIl, Mr. Joseph Graham, :\1r. Crystal, solicitor, Stirling Dean of Guild :\1ilIar, :\Iisses Kempt, :\Ir. Henderson, :\1r. Aitken, :\lr. Watson, and Mr. ;\1 orrison, of the St. Andrew's Ambulance Association, were also present. The whole arrangements the competition were successfully conducted by :\01r. W. H. Blackstock, of the general manager's office.

THE :UmLAND RAIL\\·AY.-The annual report of the Midland Railway Ambulance Award presented at a meetiog held at Derby on the 17th ult" Lord Belper, one of the directors, presiding, shows that there was a steady and increasing desire among the servants of the company to acquire a knowledge of the principles of first aid. During the year the committee received 69 applications for first aid given in connection with 53 accidents, a great number of which were of a serious nature. The number of applications sent in during 1895 was 2+ 1896, 31 ; 1897, 39 and in 1898, 50. The work of examining these applications, together \\'ith the medical certificates, expressions of opinions, &c., has been one of some magnitude, and the committee, of which :\Ir. t. \Y. Wells is chairman, and Mr. H. E. Richardson hon. secretary, are to be thanked for their labours. Lord Belper presented 2+ gold medals and 25 silver medals to successful applicants.

COLLISro:-l" AT MANCHESTER.-On Saturday, the 18th ult.,an alarming collision occurred on the viaduct outside the Centr1.l Station, Manchester. The 8.35 a.m. Cheshire Lines train from Urmston was run into by two Midland light engines. Mr. D. Meldrum, manager of the Cheshire Lines Railway, gives the following official account of the disaster :-" The 'offi cial position," he says, "is simply this. Duringa dense fog this (Saturdaj) morning two Midland light engines ran into the rear of the 7. IO passenger slow train from Liverpool to i\1 anchester, which was standing a\,\aiting the signal to proceed at the Viaduct Cabin. It is understood that fourteen of the injured persons were taken to the Royal Infirmary. Only four, however, were detained the remaining ten, after having their injuries attended to, were sent home. In regard to the other injured passengers the officials are not yet in a position to make any statement as to the extent of their injuries it is assumed, however, that they are of a very slight character.

Jn addition to myself, l\1r. W. J. Scott, chief engineer, Mr. R. Chorlton, manager's assistant, and Mr. W. Kirk, station master at Mancbester, were present at the scene of the disaster during the morning, and rendered all possible assistance. Fortunately, a very large proportion of the stat:on staff at Manchester have qualified to render first aid under the St. John Ambulance Association. These men were immediately on the spot and rendered valuable assistance in removing the injured.

Mr. R. Stalston, who appears to be a member of the Manchester Division of the Volunteer Medical Staff was a passenger in the train, and his services were at once placed at the disposal of the injured passengers

December, 1899.J FIRST AID.

<baller\?

SIR WILLIAM B,lRT., PRESIDE);,T OP TIlE RO"'f,lL COLLEGE OF SURGEOSS OF E);'GL.iXD CHIEF SURGEOS ST. J OllS ...1 BmGADE.

OF all those who have gone out to the war connected with ambulance work, the name of Sir II a ill )IacUormac stands out tbe 1l10stpro minent, and om' readel's will be pleased to see him placed in Our Portrait Gallery. It take more I'>pnce than we ha,e at Ollr command to 1'ec:nmt all the degrees and honours he basobtained

FKU)l PHUTU Bl'J lLAFAYETTE, BO::-iD :;T!tEET. and the distinctions that have been showered upon him by Foreign Powers, and it will Le sufficient to mention a few of the most important events in his career.

In 1871 Sir Wi1liam took the degree of Fellow of the Royal Oollege of Surgeon', and for the last two years has held the position of President, one of the highest honours in the domain of urgery. For many years be has been one of the Sm'geon of St. Thomas's Hospital.

He went through the Franco-German ,Var of 1 70 - 1, and it was during thnt campaign that he aoquired his great experience of military surgery and of ambulance and transport work on the field. He ha' written many works on surgery an(1 a!llbulance, some of which have been translated into lIther languages.

He possesses many honours, including stars a.nd crosses of the Legion of Honom, of the ol'Cl e1' "; of the O';:'own of Prussia, the Crown of Italy, St. rago of Portugal, a well as Spanish, Danish, and Turkish decorations

About four years a,go SiJ' Willinill was appointed Ohief Surgeon of the St. John Ambu lance Briga.de. He bas offel'ed his services in the present war, and has gone out as Director of the voluntal'Y societies who are helping the sick and wounded.

It falls to the lot of very few men to gain such a unique Gxperience as that pos es 'ed by Sir W. 1\lacOormac, and we as ambu lance workers are proud tha.t the services of our Ohief Surgeon are so much appreciated by the Government and the country. Such a wan needs no praise from us, his work-his life work-speaks for itself.

'UUlar Blnbulance.

A CIVIL A:\IBGLA:\CE FOR THE SICK IYOl)..\'DED

A movement bas been set on foot for providinO' a civil ambulance for he sic"- and wounded in South .-\frica. .-\ meetinO' in furtherance of thjs object was on Tuesday afternoon, the 1+th at 26, Hertford ;,treet, the reSIdence of Adelme, Duchess of Bedford. Amongst those present were the Duchess of ,,'estminster. Coun,ess Grosvenor, Countess Somers, Lady 'Vantage, :\Irs. Bagot, :\Irs. R. Crawshay, ;\1r. \Vernher. and ;\Ir. Langman. It was announceci that upwards of £8,000 had been received from private sources. .-\ letter was read from Lord "'anlage gi\'ing the approval of the Red Cross Central Committee to the proposed scheme, which will be known as the African Red Cross Sub-Committee. The ambu!ance will be despatched in the first week in December. The Secretary is Captain Bagot, :\1.P.,.P, Lowndes Street, .\V., and the freasurers are Lord Henry Bentinck, 13. Grosvenor Place, S.I\'., and :'Ilr. J. L. Langman, 6, Stanhope Terrace, Hyde Park, "'. Further information can be obtained from Dr. George Stoker, q. Hertford Street. \\' and :\liss Gallaher, 26, Hertford Street, \Y. The ambulance will consist of a train specially fitted for the humane work in which it is to be engaged, and will contain a sufficient number of hOSpital tents for the accommodation of twenty beds, which will be amilable for the wounded These tents will be erected along the lines of communication used by the train when carrying the wvunded from the field or battle. A skilled surgeon and an ample staff of nurses will be in charge of the ambulance. The .\Iinister of War has gladly accepted this "aluable and necessary aid for our wounded soldiers, and the Red Cross Society has expressed its willingness to co-operate in every way with those eotru3ted with the management and control of the ambulance train. It was hoped that Dr. Stoker would be placed in c.harge, but the military authorities have ordered otherWIse.

THE PRI:\CESS OF W.-\LES·S HOSPITAL SHIP. The yachting steamer the .\lidnight Sun, whi::h will hencefol th be known as the Hospital Ship the Princess of "-ales, reached the Thames, and sailed on the 35th ult. Chartered by the Central British Red Cross Committee, the vessel has been practically reconstructed " hi 1st lying in the Tyne. Between seyenty and eighty first class cabins have been remo\'ed, and accommodation has been pro\'ided for nearly 200 wounded and cOD\'alescent soldiers. The planning an': fitting up has been carrieci out under the direction of .\lajor \\'. G.

.\Iacpherson, R.A.:\1 C., the entire cost haYing been borne by the Princess of \ \' ales, who has de\'oted to this purpose- the l'alance uf £9,000 of the fund raised by her Royal Highness at the time of the Sou'ian Campaign. The Princess has taken the greatest personal interest in every detail of the fittings, and has added another £1,000 to be spent in luxuries and. comforts for the wounded.

Assisting her Royal HIghness has been a Commntee, whIch for carrying thIS out has worked as a branch of the Red SocIety This committee is composed of :\IT. Sydney Holland, chaIrman, the Marchioness of Lansdowne, Yiscountess Yolseley, Lady \Vantage, t'.lrs. Wilton Phipps, Sir Donald Currie, Sir John Furley, and Macpherson.

ROYAL I2'lSPECTIO.:'f.

ThePrincess and theRoyal party arrived punctually at a quarter to one on the nnd and passed between the lines formed of tbe hospital orderlies of the Royal Army .\ledical Corps, the contingent drawn from the St. John Arwbulance Brigade, and the ship's company to tbe gangway, which was draped \yith tbe national flag and the blue ensign. The Prince a,ld Princess, with Sir Dighton Probyn and '\Iiss Knollys in attendance, took up a position on the poop'. together with sev.eral members of the special committee who have her Royal HIghness in her labours. Amon a these were the MarchIOness of Lansdowne Viscountess Wolseler, Lady 'Vantage Mrs. Phillip Phipps, the Sydney Holland, Sir John FurIey, and Major \Y. G. J\lacpherson, R .•\ .\I.C. There were. also prese,nt Lord Wantage, as President of the Red Cross CommIttee, and' Iscount Knutsford, on behalf of the St. ] ohn Ambulance Association. 1\ number of presentations were then made to the Prince and Princess including Major Morgan and Captain Pearse, of the l\Iedical Staff Captain H. Martyn Johnson, has and general of the ship and hIS chIef officer, LIeutenant Freeman, R.N.R., and the nurses. brief ceremony over, the Princess to make the most thorouah inspection of tbe vessel in every detaIl, By a charmmg her Koyal Highness desired that the Jour wards should ?e named after herself and her <.laughters. The chIef ward on the mam deck is to be known as the Alexandra, and has exceIleotaccommodatlOn for forty patients. The Princess Louise Ward is on the saloon ?eck, and this will be employed for less gra.ve case:" as hmos. Accommodation for four officers only IS pro\'lded m the Pnncess Victoria Ward, on the upper deck, a.nd ea.ch. bed .be screened from the others. Thi s relatIvely lImIted prOVISIOn IS explamed

FIRST

by the fact that the Princes:> felt. that .other ships. were more fully meeting these needs, and her especIal desIre was to gn;e the ,-ery best nourishment. comfort, and skill to the rank and file. 'When the Pnncess finished her long round of in::pecti?n ,,:as in mess -room, .:\ursing ChadwIck to JOIn the Royal party and bein a CYi,'en a seat besIde her Royal HIg-hness. But one most ceremony remained to be I?erformed. TI) all the orderlies and the St. John .-\mbuhnce men the Pnncess presented a brassard of khaki, wito the Cross. in red. of St John of Jerusalem, bearing in its upper arm the Princess's c?ronet and the letter ;\, while below it the Geneva Cross was also em brOIdered in red on a while ground. The employment o.f this detach.ment, who number twenty-three, and are drawn from dlstncts of .the is very noteworthy, as it is the first tIme the fraternity. which was re-incorporated by the Queen 10 IS 8,. the Prince of Wales as Grand Prior, has been called to ser\'lce In the field. and great enthusiasm has been sho\\n by the men for their task. Similar brassards only in white linen, were gi\·er. to the nurses by the Princess who sho'ok hands with each one. and told her that it could be worn either as an armlet or lastened to the fron: of the dress. ,\'nile all were formed up, the Prince said:

" :\len, I am anxious to say a few before the_ departure of.the ship to South Africa, in the name of the PrIncess of \\ales, who hasJust presented you wilh these .In dO.ing.50 she bas shOI\n the great interest she has taken In the ShIp, IS a compl.etely new de· parture. and which has been founded with the able assIstance. of :\Ir. Holland, :\lajor :\Iacpherson, and others who ha\-e a great in this work. You are already accustomed to nurSIng and hospItal work, bur this is new. As r have said, I feel little doubt that all of you ,\ill do your dUly in what lies before you in tending and ministering to the sick and suffering in the campaign that is no\\' going orl. .-\ll I can hope is that the \-essel will go safely out, and will return safely home. and that as many as return horne of the sick and wounded will relurn home well ani fit for duty It remains only for me, on behalf of the Princess of" ,Vales and her daughters, to wish you God speed and a safe return.

"Vith its yellow funnel adorned with a huge red cross, the vessel, as it lies in Tilbury Dock, appears prominently amongst the other shipping. She is a vessel of 3. r 78 tons, with engines of 3,500 horse power, and ba, had an interesting career. First she belonged to Sir G. W. Armstrong and Company. and then she was :lcquired by the A.lhion Steamship Company for yachting purposes, and carried many a merry party of tourists to the :\Iediterranean cities. :'\ow ils luxurious fittings ha,'e given way to the sober surroundings of a complete fj.:>ating hospital. Wards have been fitted up for the wounded rank and file and one for the officers. The privates and non-corns.' wards are neat and clean, with a soft green and white colouring, and illuminated with electric light. The beds, which are attached to iron pillars painted with pegamoid, are made to rock gently with the motion of the boat, and may, if necessary, be unfastened and carried on deck to give the cona breath of the keener air.

The officers' ward is hardly a more pretentious apartment than that of the privates'. It is on the upper deck amidships. The neat white curtains bung about each of its four beds serve to distinguish it from the men's wards; otberwise, pain is a great leveller, and all fare alike. Altogether some 200 beds are provided

The most suggestive of the chambers is the swall operation room, and labels, packages, abundantly strewn about tell their own tale. In the middle of the room is the operating table-a structure of enamelled iron, fastened securely to the floor. It is in four pieces, to support the various parts of the body, each capable of bcing raised or lowered for the convenience of the surgeon. Above it are two arm rests for the unhappy patient.

This table is the gruesome article on the boat. by rest the bandages and ana:sthetics and a particularly fine installation of the Rontgen-ray apparatus, fitted up by :\1 essrs. Cox, of Cursitor Street, E.C.

THE ST JOH::\ DETACH:\1E:\T.

The following are the names of the first twenty-three men who have volunteered and been accepted for service in South Africa, and who sailed in the" Princess of ,Yales" :-

F.S.O.'s-Cox, H. F., ::\0. 2, St. John's Gate, :.'.Ietropolitan Corps; Cowin, L. B., ::\0. I, St. John's Gate, Metropolitan Corps' Lecycye H. G. B.,:\o. Gate, :\letropolitan Corps; Head Quarter DIVISIOn, Northampton; Ryall, H. B., \\'imbledon and :\lerton Division,:)letropolitan Corps; Lamb, T., :lull Corps' Panter A. Keswick Division; Slater, IV., Corps; Basworth, 1:.. C.: \Vellmgb?rough Corps; Holmes, W.,Wel.llOgborough Corps; Saunders, A. E., and ':\[etropo!Jtan Corps; '\'atkins, F. H."

DIVISIon, .\lelropolltan Wellard, R. E., Reading DIvIsIon; :\Iaden, E., :\elson Corps; Brookbank G. W. Merton and Wimbledon Division, Metropolitan Corps; Hunt,'C. L. 'Hull Corps' Field, Wellingham, E., IIull Corps; Hoyle: J. H., HasllOgden DIVISIon j Lanchbery, W. E., Westgate-on-Sea

Al D. [December,

Division; Lister, C., Armley and ,Vortley Division.j John, Dewsbury Division; Paterson, A. ,V., R amsgate DIVISIon.

The pay is 3 's. 6d. a week to supern umerary officers, 2.3 5 {d. to to the first grade pri\'ates, and 2IS. to the 2nd grade of privates, the first grade being those who hold tbe St. John Ambulance Association certificates.

It will be seen tha t the men selected come from all parts of the country. They have all had most "send-offs" from their respecti"e towns, our columns are !Jmlted,.we can n ot find room for the various accounts we have receIved.

\\'e may just remind those who .are \Vil.ling to. and have not yet been accepted, to pe.rsevere WIth theIr. applicatIOns, as dOubtless many more 'will be reqUIred before the war IS over. "

On going to press we learn that 55 more men have saIled 10 the " Simla.'

TO THE :\IE.\IBERS OFF TO A.FRICA.

On Saturday evening, the 18th ult., the members of the :\0. Division (which comprises the Central and :\Iildmay Clubs) met at the Club Gnion Hall, Clerkel1lvell Road. to gi\'e a good send off to their Staff Sercreant and members of tbe provinces who were going on the Princess ;f \Yales' Hospital Ship to Soutb Africa. The members of the division, seeing that it was the first time the St. John's had the Opportunity for service and that the Head-quarter Staff were so busy, took upon themselves the duty of gi\'ing them a token of their good wishes. The concert gi\'en was under the managemen t of the Central Club Entertainment Committee, and was most enjoyable. During the e\'ening the President announced to the audience tbat several members of the _-\mbulance \vere in the hall who were bound for South Africa, and the reception that was given by the 500 people in the Hall proved tbat the savincy of life was being understood by the working-class. Durincy tbe on behalf of the 2 Division, a presentation to Staff Sergeant Cox and Private Hunt (from Yorkshire) was made in the form of a handsome kangaroo pouch filled witb tobacco and a silvermounted pipe. The singiDg of Auld Lang Syne and God Save the Queen brought the e\'ening to a successful close

st. 30bn Blnbulance BS50ciatiotl.

BELFAST. - Tbeannual :\1eetingofthis centre was held on 30th Oct. and the report showed that 10 classes. were held. which were br pupils. of whom 9I certificates. Tbe Belfast DIVISion ot the St. John Ambulance BrIgade responded to 1,799 calls, and the following were among the ca.ses :-bit.es. dogs, 3; :vound.s. 2 0 suffocation, 2; fractures, 1; mternal mJunes, 61; dIslocatIons, 23; scalds and burns, +5; scal? wounds, 382; bruises, 192; sprai?s, 22; apoplexy, s; concuss"ions,.+.I.; epllept!c 68 ;. drOl\'ntllg, 3+; aO,d poisoning, +I. 1 he.dlvISI?n has been. dtpTl:-ed of Mr. s assistance through hlsleavlOg Belfast, but hIS servIces were recognIsed at by his being made a " se;vir:g brother" of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem m England.

LucEsTER.- The annual meeting of the members and subscribers of the above centre was held at the Old Town Hall. A::lOngst those present were the Rev. Canon Sanders (in the chair), :\Ir. \V. S. Lovell (vice-chairman), Chief Supt. J. L. King, Superintendent. Secretary F. H. Turner, Superintendent of Stores 1. G. Mobbs, SuperIntendents Brise, Salmon, Ely, Freeman, Hall, Spencer and Green, :Messrs. Armstrong, Chapman and Taylor. The annual report, cash and balance sheet were submitted to the meet1Og, and, after dISCUSSIOn, were adopted. The assistance received during the pasL session from Drs. Barlow, Dodd, 'Waite, iUcA. Hewlings, :\Iacleod, ,Vest, Hancock, Shearer, Henry, Sevestre, Clarke, Hunter 'Vi.gbtman, P?pe and Pratt was acknowledged and Drs. YIcAlhster IIewl!ngs, Shearer, Clements and were congratulated on being appointed hon. life members of the St. Jobn Ambulance Association, in recognition of tbe gratuitous services they had rendered. The report stated that tbe past year had been characterised by important changes in the ?[ficers of the corps. Chief Superinte:1den.t .and Lady Supenntendeot i\Iiss Fullagar, of the .0l'ursing DIVISl<;>n, feel! ng that not conscientiously carry out duties .whl c? a large and 1I1creas1Og demanded placed thelT resJCYnatlOns In the hands of the commIttee. The ch ief 'superintendent, i; his report,. the ""ork of reoraanizincr the corps had been engagIng hIS attention, as well as the allimbportant question of equipment, past e:ents h.a "ing. forc.ibly brought to notice its utter inadequacy. A move 111 the nght dIrectIOn had been taken in providing the corps with a properly. fitted out emergency hamper designed and made in the town, and Lhls was found to be most the last Infirmary Sports. At the annual inspection of the corps and nursing division the inspectin&, officer, i:1 addressing the men, said that he was exceedinCYly pleased With what he had seen, and he should have great in reporting to head-quarters tbat Leicester corps had greatly impmved. Referring to the nursing dll'lsion the inspector thought the corps ought Lo be proud of it. He had

December, 1899.J FIRST

never better Iwork .-During the evening Chief Sup erintendent King paId an eloquent to tbe of the late Mr. Wilkinson, who .for years ha.d 10 of secretary to the Working :\[en s College dlvlslon.-:\l!ss ElliS, Miss J eUey, :\1iss Rodgers, and Mr. W. S. Lovell were elected to serve on the CO'Tlmittee to represent the subscribers.-Votes of thanks brought the meeting to a conclusion LnCESTER.-On :\londay, 20th Chief Superintendent ]. H. Buckley was presented, behalf of the subscribers, by Superintendent- ecretary Turner, a handsome Gold ,\'atch-chain in recognition ?f the. services had rendered the Brigade. Jn ban:ling O\-er the testimOnial Supenntendeot Turner referred to the lencyth Qf time :\1r. had been connected with the Leicester Corps the great sernces he had and hoped that he might long be spared to wear the present whIch he had so much pleasure in handing to him. The annual centre was helrl recentlyatthe Cutler 5 The '\. Clegg) presided, supported by Dr. :\1artto, :\Iessrs. A.". '\:lrner (asslstaot secretary). J. E. Townsend, H. C. Chambers, H. C. Else, and otbers. :\Ir A. W. Warner (assistant 5e, retary) presented the annu:tl report, which s[ates-Tbe institution of the Compensation Act made it more essential than e,'er that all establishments h:lving responsibility under the Act should' have ambulance men and appliances at band in case of accident. During the past year 69 more members of the police force had received instruction in first aid, and had recei I:ec! the certificate of proficiency. E\ ery member of the force was now tostructed in first aid. and tbere were numerous instances of the value of this knowledcye. The ambulance carriage and litters .belonging to the centre to be larg-ely user!. Tbe commIttee reD'retted that owin<Y to the limited funds at their disposal they were able to add to the stock of con\·eyances. and they respectfully suggested to the ,Yatch Committee rhe ad-;is:lbil.ity of .prO\·iding additional means for the transport of injured persons, lI1cludtog horse ambula?ce carriage of a more modern type than the one now use, and whIch was purchased by the centre 1+ years ago. They had pleasure in announcing that the present Earl of \\'h:lrncliffe had kindly accepted tbe position of president; and also tbt :\1r. B. A. Firth accepted the position of secretary in place of _\lr. Emmerson Ba!nbndge. :\l.P., \"ho had resigned. The statement of accounts showed that the income by donations. class fees, &c amounted to £1+2 12S. ; the expenditure £I27 3S. 6d.; leaving a balance of £1) 85. 6d. The Lord :\1ayor moyed the adoption of the report and the statemenl of accounts. He \-entured to think the 5?ciety had been instrumental in many cases in saving life. In a large cIty I!ke ours, wbere we h:ld thousands and thousands of workmen employed at dang-erous occupations, the yalue of the :lssociation is selfapparent, and he was glad to find th:lt in the larcre works of Sheffield the. employers bad seen that it was to their advantage to encourage theIr workmen to become members, and make themseh'es qualified to render first aid to their colleagues. He had been very much struck in listening to the report by the fact th:lt our own police force had taken up the work so thoroughly. It was a step in the rig-ht direction, for one knew that a police officer was constantly called upon to assist lhose people who met with accidents of eyer)' kind day by day. The resolutIOn was seconded by :\IT. J. E. Townsend. and carried unanimously. The "arious officers of the association were elected. A Yote ot th:lnks to the chairman brought the meeting to an end.

st. jobn Bnlbulance CORPS.

HOSPITAL S.ATl:RDAY Fr'XD DrnsIOx.-The members of this division and others, under the direction of '\Iisses Julia and Edi th Mann, h ave recently made a considerable number of g-armentsand other useful articles for the use of the wounded in South Africa. The cost of the materials was defrayed by donations from the members of the division and tbeir friends. The working party met se\'eral times ar the head qua rterE of th e division, 5+, Gray's Inn Road, W.C., and some of the garments were made at home. The work :It head qua rters was greatly facilitated by the Singer Manufacturing Co., who kindly lent two sewing machines, and by :\l essrs. ,\'heeler & ,\,ilson, \Tho favoured the workers with the use of a machine also. H.R.H. the Princess of \Yal es, was graciously pleased to accept the garments, &c., for her hospital ship, and the case of goods was duly despatched to the to the Tilburv Docks, on 15th. "The Princess of ,Yales" wil.l cany to South Africa the result of many hours of careful unostentatIOUS labour on behalf of our stricken soldiers and sailors, and we venture to think the articles will be appreciated none the less because they were maie by unknown women of England and distributed from the hospital ship provided by the Royal wife of the Grand Prior of the Ord:r of St. John of Jerusalem in England

\, ATERLOW DrvlsIOx.-The third annual compet ition for Departmental Challenge hield, presented by DJ.\'id S. Waterl ow, Esq took place on Saturd a;-, 21st October, 1899, at Schools,

47 Finsbury. Each of the four teams who entered. did their best to have the honour for thei.r this much coveted prize. T he competitIOn of With closed stretcher, first aid treatment o.f conveyance to an imaginnary hospital, and brIef 1'zva ,,'OCI! After a yery close contest the result was as follows :-first, :\larket team, 30 points; second, HIll Street team, 29 pOlDtS; third,. Appold -creet team. :!. points; kl.nner treet team. 20 POlOtS. The maximum number of POInts obtaInable was -+0. drill judged by Chief Superinten:\Iorcran, and Sergt.-:\hJor SmIth. Tbe first aid was set and Judged by Dr. of ::\orton Folgate, Bishupsgate, Hon_ Surgeon to the dlVlslon.

LORD ,\LWO.R'S DAY .-The members of Xo. I District, St. John were on duty at +1 stations along the route (IncludlO!:; nurslDg sIsters 206 all told), had comparati\-ely few cases of fainting from crushing to attend to.

'\1r. E. R. Goodwin, of Friern Road. East Dulwich, the local superintendent for South Lond?n .ofthe t. John Ambulance --\ssociation, has been awarded the ...i.ssoclatIOn's medal for 2I years' sen·ice. Onl. two of medals awarded. Duringhis tong and distingu"ished sernces to the ASSOCiation, :\1r. Goodwin has done a yery larg-e amount of valuable \,ork both in South London and elsewhere He was on duty at the Jubilee processions, and upon almost all other occasions of verr large crowds disturbances in LonGon during the past twenty years. PIr. GoodwlD has our hearty PROVI:,\CIAL CORPS.

CO:\,FERE:\CE OF :'\0. + Dr TRICT.-The annual conference of the :'\ orth \Y estern District. (X o. +) of the St. J obn .-\mbulance Brigade, was held at St. :\1ary s Schools, Rochdale. Deput\--Commissioner :\Iajor Charies D. Trimble, '-.D., presided o,'er an of about 60 delegates representing ambulance di\'isions from Cumberland L:lncashire. Yorkshire, Cheshire and Belfast. Resolutions in favour of a bye.law conferring ?n the same po"-ers in regard to honorary secretanes gUilty of mlsapprobation of monies as are enjoyed by registered friendly and ca.IlIng for pOlyers to ex-members of an ambulance dlYISIOn to glye up their uniforms on retIrement, were c:lrried Strenuous objection \\"as taken to the excessi"e of clerical work i.mposed 'on local secretaries by the orgamzatlon, and a resolutIOn embodying a formal protest agalOst the present system of making out the quarterly returns was carri.ed. :Yhen the place tor next year's conference came up for consIderatIOn, :\1 r. Hargreaves, on behalf of his division, im'ited the delegates to visit :\10recambe. An alternatiye im'itati on was to Ratcliffe, and on a sbow of hands. the latter was declared by the chairman to be accepted nn a recount, ho\\'e,-er, the yoting was :\1orecambe 26, Ratcliffe I The next ye:lr's conference \yill therefore be held at .\Iorecambe. The date has been left with the :\Iorecambe division This concluded the business. The delegates were afterwards entert:lined to tea by the Rochdale di\'ision, and the remainder ::If the proceediGCYs took the form of a social evening.

DL'DLEY.-The first meeting of this corps for the "'inter session of practice and instruction. was held in the TO\m H::ll. lI'ben Chief Superintendent later, :ntroduced to the members the newly appointed Hon. Surgeon Dr. J. Howard ,Yilbnson, "ice Dr. Rhodes Dr. ,\'ilkinson, in his opening remarks referred to the troubles in the Transvaal, and the possibility of the St. John Ambulance Brigade being called upon to supply trained ambulance men for military bospital Juties in the eyent of a hea\'}' drain upon the Army .\Iedilial Staff Corps for duties abroad He thought it would be well for those men who expressed their \\'illingness to sen'e in military hospitals, to have a clear idea of what 1Y0uid be required of them. The hon. surgeon then ga\-e a very interesting and instructi,'e lecture upon the duties of military hospital orderlies, sanitation, ventilation and the C:lre of the sick, much of the knowledO"e being alike useful in our o\\"n homes. The series of lectures will be continued on alternate \\"ednesday e\-enings. Seven nell' members joined the di\'ision, and there is evenprospect of a successful winter session- COL':\TY The annml competition amoncyst members of Ambulance Corps in ::\orthampronshire for the Couuty Cballenge Cup given by :\f r Arthurs, of Xorthampton, took place at the I,'i.:toria Board Schools, \\'e llingbOlough. on a urday ..j.th November. when no less than ten teams competed, and the proceeding elicited keen interest. The judges were Surgeon-Lieutenant Deyn, 'Of Fenny Stratford, and Dr. '\IcAllister Hewltng, of Leicester. At the close they "'ave their decision as follows :--1, "-eliino-borougb Headqnarters under Staff- erge:lnt Francis, 232 points out ofa possible 26o; 2, 'Yollaston, 21+; 3, Rushden A, 20+; +, :\orth:lmpton Headquarters, 199; j, Higham r95 ; 6, L. &. :\. W 193; 7, Bozeat, 191; " InhllOgborough. I 1; 9, h ettenn cy , 15i ; 10, Rushden B I53. The cup has no'l- been won by Wellingborough four years in succession. The .com petition of .indi \-idual. trea tmen t of. tbe wounded, squad drill, 10adll1g an? unloadll1g, and \'Ira eXamlll3tion. At the dose of the competItIon Dr. Hewli::g spoke 111 terms of warm praise of the smart appearance of the. men, and. rhe way in which they had done their work. On the motIOn of :1sS IstanC- C0111-

missioner T. H. Woolston a vote of thanks to the judges was pas.sed. and a similar cJmpliment to '\frs. Audhnd, who tea for all the competitors. was carried by acclamatIOn on the motIon of Chief Superintendent Hilton. It should be added that tbe first three teams each received prizes ot books on ambulance work by 1r. Lawton Roberts.

W ARR[:\,GTO:\'. - CROSFIELD CHALLE:\GE SHIELD

The competition for the challenge shield 'p:e.sented b{ J Crosfield & Dons, Limited, to the corps and dn'ISlons In 4- dlstnct of the St. John Ambulance Brigade took place at the GymnasIUm on tbe lIth ult. The Shield is to be held by the winning team for twelve and it is to be delivered to the central brigade io time for the competition every year. Dr. .\10110y (Blackpool), and 1\1r. (Accrington), were the judges. Five squads entered representmg .Warrington, PrestOn, Oldham, Rochdale and N .!Ison Dr. TrIm ble announced the result as follows -lst, Preston, 89 pomts; 2nd, Oldham, 72 ponts; 3rd, Warrington, 71 points

THE foUowinO' 'extraorc:inary case is reported from Ireland :- DrBourke Coroner b of East Cavan, held an inquest on tbe body of Peter Brady, died after his removal hospital in the ambulance of the union. This was the fourth patIent wbo succumbed under Tbomas Brady deposed that the deceased was hIS brother. He was 2+ years of age, was agric ul tural and lived five miles from the workhouse. " Tltness accompanIed the van with his brother on the previous day to the fever hospital, and heard him moaning along the way.-Mr. Thomas Connolly, master of the :vo.rkhouse, stated that he sent out the fever van by orde r of the rehevmg officer. The outside lenath of the van was + feet 8 i:Jches, the breadth 2 feet 9 inches, and the height 3 feet.-Dr. _\L'Quaid said he saw th e deceased at his own house, came to the conclusion that he had typhus iever and ordered his removal to hospital.-i\Ir. James J. Hennessy, officer, produced a report from the medical officer stating the van was altoO'ether unsuitable, and that an ordinary cart would be safer. He read the of the board of guardians adjourning the matter till they would see how four-wheeled ambulances would work in uni ons.-Dr. T. H. Mooreheau deposed that when the fever van arnved and the door was opened the air was suffocating, and he thought the patient was dead. The man was lying on his back. His legs were drawn 1-'P to allow the door to shut, and his arms were lying- out from his body "Then carried into the hospital Brady was totally unconscious, his respirations were shallow, his face and hands were blue, and his temperature was 96 He never rallied and died about four bours after admission. The immediate cause of death was asphyxia from depril ation of air in the van. Witness belie\'ed if there was a proper ambulance the deceased would not have suffered by the journey.- The jury four.d that the deceased died from asphyxia c:lused by the insufficient ventilation of the van in which he was conl'eyed They added as '1 rider, ':,The present mode of conveyance of patients is neither suitable nor safe.

lDo[unteer Bmbu[ance 3nstruction. Scbool of

The following Officers who have been under instruction from the Staff of the School have recently passed the Proficiency Examination, held by Army Officers, at the Headquarters of Regiment al districts, there.by earning the higher capitatIon grant for their Corps, Yiz.-

Surgeon Lieutenant-Colonel F. J. Pearse, V.D. 1st Middlesex ( \'ictoria and St. Georges) R.V.; Surgeon-i\Iajor J. E. Davies, 2nd V.8. Welsh Regiment; Surgeon-Major C. H.IHough, Army Medical Reserve Officers.

Surgeon-Captains E. F. Bindloss, 1st V.B. Bedfordshire Regiment; A. Cosgrave, 9th Lancashire Volunteer Artillery; J. E. H. Davies, 1st 'l:B. Royal Welsh Fusiliers; L.T. Brrett, :'Il.D., r..P.H. 3rd V.B. Queen s Own Royal West Kent Regiment; B. 1.. Stivens, .\1.0., 13th ;\liddlesex Queen's Westminster R.V.; IV. Howatson, .\1.0., +th V.8. (Black Watch) Royal Highlanders. Surgeon-Lieutenants P. Wood, 8rd i\lid:llesex Volunteer Artillery; J. Cromie, Tynemouth Volunteer Artillery; R. G. :Nesbitt, 1st Cornwall Volunteer Artillery; D J. P enney, M.8., 1st Argyll and Bute tillery; W .\IcClelland, l\I:8., 4th Lancashire Volunteer Artillery; r. Harper, '\I.D., 1st AyrshIre Galloway Volunteer Artillery; E. T. Cox, 1st Sussex Volunteer Artillery; A. Y.P ringle, 1st Suffolk a'1d Harwich Yolunteer Artillery; A E. Watson, M.D., 1st Fifeshire Volunteer Artillery; J. Wilson, M.B., Fouath Division Submarine

.\liners Royal Engineers (\Tol s.); T. Cacwardine, 01.S. 2nd Gloucestershire Royal Engineers (\Tol s ; H. Waite, 2nd Leeds Royal Engineers (\'ols.) W. Lawton, l\1.B., 2nd Royal Engineers (\-015 ); II. Mc aughton Jone<;, .\oLD., 1st .\hddlesex Royal Engineers ('lois.)

W X Evans, 1st V.B. Middlesex Regiment; G. Cohen, 1St v.B: Regiment; C. A. nI.?,.13th ;\liddlesex (Queen's V" estmmster) R.V.; J. GoddIng, 15th Mldulesex R.V. ; P Edmunds,

GARROULD'S

FOR ALL KINDS OF

Nurses' Uniforms Caps, Gowns, Cloaks, Bonnets, &c.,

AS Sl PPLJED TO The Principal li t spit als.

THE RED CRO SS Catalogue (Regd.) with 250 I llustrations, post free.

Estimates given for All Kinds of Requis ites.

INSTITUTION BEDSTEADS TICKS , SHEETINGS , Washing Mate rials of aU kinds for Nurses Dresse s. (Patterns Free.)

E.&R.GARROULD

, 150, 152,154,156,158,160, EDGW ARE ROA D, Hyde Park, LONDON, W. Telegrams: GARROUJ n. Telephone, :3 1i' Pad,lington.

'\I.B ,26th Middlesex(Cyclists)RT. ; J. IYayte, '\LB., 1st V.B.Queen's Royal "'est Surrey Regiment; F. Korman, :'l.D., +th V.B \Jueen's Royal West Surrey Regiment; A. lIl. Hickley, +th Y.B. Royal ,Vest Surrey Regiment; R. J. Swan, 1st Surrey Rifles; .\1. J. Foster, liLA., '\l.D., 2nd \ T.B. Royal Fusiliers; E. Ayton Marrett, Ist lower Hamlets R.V.; IY. T. Brooks .\L\., ,\I.D., Oxford University R.V.; C. J. Martin, M.B.,+th V.B. East Surrey Regiment; E E\'ans, '\LB ., 1st V.B. Welsh Regiment; E. R. Williams, lst r.B. Regiment; O. L. Davies, :\i.D., 2eu Y.B. Welsh Regiment; A. P. Swan son, 2nd V.B. Royal Welsh Fusiliers; J. N. Patterson, 1st V B. South Lancashire R egiment; W. G. Brett, 1st \ T.8. Dorsetshire Regiment ; J. B. Masson, 3rd V.B. Norfolk R egiment; A. Morison, 1st V.B. Durham L.r.; G. Stephen, 2nd V.B. Durham L.I. Surgeon-Lieuts.-1. W. Ticholson, 1st V.B. Lincolnshire Regiment; J. H. Perry, 2nd V.B. Lincolnshire Regiment; C. C. Bullmore, 1st V.B. Duke of Cornwall's L.I ; J. C. Mackay, M.D., 2nd V.B. Duke Cotnwall's L.I.'; J. B. Yeoman, M.D., 1st V.8. Cheshire Regiment; J. E. Wells, 1st V.B. Regiment; F. Ward, !\I.D., 1st V.B. Suffolk Regiment; A. Clark, 3rd (Camb.) V.8. Suffolk Regiment; J. P, Graham, +th V.B. King's Liverpool Regiment; A. S. Tindal 3rd L anark R.V.; J. C. Taylor, 9th Lanark, R.V. ; E. D. Paton, 1I.D" Sth V.B. Bl ack Watch (Royal IIighlanders); J. H. Murray, M.D., 4th V.B. Princess Louise's (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders); J. P. Brown, 5th \T.B. Princess L ouise's (Argyll a,nd Sutherland Highlandgrs); T. J. Burton, M.D., 1st Dumb:uton R.I.; C. F. Spinks, 1st Dumbarton R.V.; W. Stedman, M.D., 1st V.B. Northampton Regiment.

For

TERMS

H lbome lb\2Qiene."

By w J McCULLOCH ETTLES, i\I.D., CH.;-'r., ABERD.

Hon. Life Member, St. John Ambulance Association. Lecturer OIl Ambulance, University Settlement, Toynbee Hall. PART IX.

Warm ing of the Hous e -There are three ways in which heat may be communicated. -

(a) By radiatioll from a hot substance, the heat rays passing directly from the substance through the intervening air to be absorbed by the body warmed. An ordinary coal fire warms in this way.

(b) Byconvpctioll. In this a column of air or water is heated; being hot, it is expanded, and being expanded, bulk for bulk, it is rendered lighter, hence it rises. As it rises, it is replaced below by cold air or lrater, which in its turn is warmed. Ordinary gas sto\'es act in this way, as do also hot water pipes.

ee) By conduction. This is not much employed in house warming. \fa cold poker be held in the hand and the other end thrust bet\\'een the bars of a fire, the end held will become warm, and then too hot to hold, by conduction along the metal. A room warmed by proximity say, a baker's oVen in the next house is warmed by conduction. Apartments. then, are warmed by cOI1\'ection and by radiation. In conrection, the air is first heated and then the walls and occupants. Ir radi:ltion. the heat is directly transferred to and absorbed by them, the air being heated by radiation from the 'Yarmed walls. Radiation the more hygienic method because the air breathed is less hot and ilierefore less expanded than in the case of convection methods. A cu bic foot of air at 70°, for instance. contains less oxygen than a foot of air a t :;0°.' Besides, in radiation the :lir is not contaminated with products of combustion or rendered de\'oid of moisture. The zemperat:lrc of a room should be about 60° Fahrenheit; il should not be below iio. on the other band a temperature abm-e 67° is injurious. It is generally agreed that the best, the most comfortable, an. [he most I\asteful method of warming is the ordinary, English, open c )al fire. Its main adl antages are that it warms the room by direct rajianon, keeping- the air moist and cool. c\.bo it acts as an efficient ventilator. Thus to burn up one pound of coal, the oxygen contained in 160 cubic feet of air is required.

In an ordinary fire place the usual consumption of coal averages Sibs. per hour. thus needing 1,20 cubi c feet of air. ::'\01\" the velocity of the air maybe between + and feet per second. that is between 1,-\.00 and 40 000 cubic feet per bour. In this efficient \'entilation lie its main disadvantages for, as the air is I\-armed, an enormous loss of heat goes On in the chimney, \\'hile the \\'ithdra\\'al of so much air causes draughls of cold air at all available cre\·ices. Again, the room is not warmed equally. Persons near the door are not sufficiently warmed, whereas those near the fire may be rendered uncomfortably hot. It has been calculated that on Iy from t to 1 of the tot:ll heat of the burn t coal enters :he roOm.

Jlany inventors haye tried to diminish this heat loss while retaInIng the advantages of the open fire. One of the best is Pridgin Teale's C I I grate .(fig. j): T fire place I contams as lIttle Iron a, possible as this is a bad radiator of heal. Fire brick is used for the sides and back. The back leans forward at the top at an angle of 70°, thus deflecting the heat rays forward. The space for fuel is deep, and the front bars are vertical to prevent ashes

..J.L------""'-'-Lfrom accumulating on and Fig. 5. behind them. .\s soon as Ihe fire is well alight and the column of air in the chimney in rapid as:ent, the space below the grJte is covered in by an "economising lhhl eld ." This cuts off the direct upward current of air and renders e fire" slow combustion."

r

Galton 's G:-ate. In this, h.eat is economised by warming the entering a.ir. Behll1d the fire place IS a chamber communicating with the aIr. It a.lso communicates with the interior of the room by an openll1g some distance ahove the mantel shelf. This space is entirely separated from the fire and chimney. The air is drawn throuO'h th e \,all opening .an? ascends behind and round tbe hot fire place a;d flue In dOIng so It IS warmed and enters the room as hot air. It now ascends to the ceilinO', traverses it, falls to be respired by the occupants and is then extracted by the chimney.

In ordinary slow combustion stoves, much fuel is saved, and a much larger amount of radiant heat is evolyed for each pound of fuel burnt, but they are not perfect. The air is dried, carbon monoxide and dioxide escapes into the room, and they are only suitable ror large awy apartments. ...,

Stoves heat by radiation, and. to a much larger extent, by co nye,::tIon. great luajority are injurious to health, partly for reas o ns g1\ en, and also because they are often made of sheet iron. Thill I:on when become porous. This permits poisonous g:lses, chief of which IS carbon monoxide, to permea te throug-h. Thin Iron, then, should always be lined with fire cla\,. A aood stO\ e is shown in Fig: 6. The fire box is surrounded wit'h an jacket which draws pure aIr f:om the. outside and projects it into the ro o m. tbe product of combustIOn passing off by the stoye pipe. A dish contain ing water fixed abo,-e the sto\-e pre\'ents the air becoming unduly dr\,. StO\'es so constructed are more economical than open fires, but are less cheerful.

Gas Fires are ,'ery commonly used now. They consist essentially of asbestos lumps brought to redness by means of a large :ltm o spher ic burner. PrO\'ided they are placed in an ordinary fire place they are healthy, but they do not gi\'e off so much heat and are much more expensive than coal fires.

Hot Water, Steam or Air Coils are not much used for li\'ing rooms, but are of yulue for heatIng h:llls and p:lssages. The\- have the advantage of warming the air without addinO' any deleterious substance. Heating by steam pipes is much used in tl:e Cnited States, but there is a prejudice against them. on account of their supposed danger, in this country.

Lightin g may be natural or arfl/ici:zl. Ll r;htllll{ is by meaos of glazed windows. A northern aspect is the best as then the light may be obtained from morning to e\'eninO', and is at all times diffused. A.ll windo\ys for purposes of \'entilation, reach nearly to the ceiling, and should be made to open in order that the exterior may be cleaned. The area of the window should not be less than olle-tenth of that of th e ceiling.

A rtlJiclalllghtillg is carried o ut by means of el ec:ricity, co:tl gas, oils, or candles. The incandescent electnc light is far the best. It does not alter the air and is instantly anilable. Its chief ohjection is its expense, although I l:.a\·e heard that its uselessness for lighting a cigar was a greater one. The commonest method of lighting is by (oa/ g<lS. This pollutes the air, as mentioned und er \'entilatioo. The \Yelsbach inctlndescent malllliJ, howe\·er. has gil'en coal gas a new lease of life. Byits use, the :lir is less polluted, while much more light can be obtained from the same consumption of The best arranO'ement for nc;!utralizing the dra\l b:lcks of gas is tba t

Fig. 6. Fig.7.

FIRST

sho wn in Fig. 7, this exhausts effete air from the room, adding to the outcyoincy air its own impurities.

Candles and Paraffin give a yellow and more dioxide tban coal gas. They do not,. however, gwe off s ulp hur \\hich blackens gildin°- and metal objects. they are much u,ed in libraries. Candles are much more expensive than coal gas.

Whatever illuminant is used, t;le direct rays should not be allowed to the eye during reading?r This may be preven.ted by the use ot' shades, or by allowmg the llg-ht to fall oYe,r left Side, thus keeping tbe hand and pen sb.dow away the \\ork

{tbe SWi55 Sanlaritan Blliance, ITS AIMS AND CONSTITUTION.

Recently by the kindness of Mons. Clement Gairaud, of" La Re,:ue du Sauvetage," a copy of the amended rules of the SWISS Samaritan Alliance was sent to me, amI, as apropos of the recent attention given to first aid tcad1ing in these colum,ns, as well as they are of interest to all first-alJers \\ Iw are desHous of knowlllg- how tbe work is carried out in other lands, I have extracted from them the following- condensed statement.

It would appear that the need for ambulance teaching on some well ordered plan has been strongly felt throughout the various of Switzerland. In consequence, Dr. Robert Vogt, an phys'clan of Berne was conJmissioned to draft a set of rules. ThiS was done, but Dr. 'Vogt's suggestions, excellent in. themselves, failed to offic ial sanction, The m ain difficulty lay In the fact that the Samantan Alliance, a civil body, had undertake'1 to .work in conjunction with the Swiss Red Cross Society as well as With the Health Corps of the LanJsturm (Army Reserve)"

T he title of "Samaritans," as applted to Red Cross workers, 15 generally in use thr0l!ghout the German speaking. world. The " Ambulance" is used on the Contment generally 10 a very restrIcted cause while the duties of first-aiders are liberally interpreted. Thu s, first a\d means the rendering of to those in danger of their lives by reason of accident. .,

Even the code of teaching pursued 10 thiS country cannot ngldly confine itself to ambulance; as, for instance, the instruction on how deal with cases where the clothing has caught fire, ,,·bere strong current are .:ausing nj ury, or when poisonous gases, are o vercommg the victim. Abroad, these directions are pushed to their logical sequences, and pupils are taug-ht how t o rescue a dro.w?:ng an preliminary to the performat;ce of. artIfiCial respiratIOn-and 1t 1S essential, when you come to thlOk of It.

All instruction given by the Swi s s Sa.maritan Alliance is gratuitous, even the lecturers being granted Lra\'elltng expenses only

Tbe duties of the Samaritan are clearly defined, any mdlscretloPl. being liable to in the cancelling of his certificate.

" His legitimate duties are:-

(1) The liberation of the victim of an accident from his dangercus position.

(2) T he prevention by any available means of his imminent death.

AID. [January, J 900.

o-entleman who se si ngle minded devotion to the Red Cross is while in the list of foreign memb ers o ne n otes with partiCular the h onou r ed name of Nightingale.

It will be seen, then, that SWitzerland not o.n ly tJossesses the prOud honour of orig in at ing t h e Re d Cross., but stdl leads the van of tbe o-reatest humanitarian movement of thiS c1os 1l1 g cenfury, b

W J. McCULLOCH ETTL ES,

A Nr,.\\, AR:\i\' A:\IBULANCE. -\Ve learn from the BOS/OII .lledical and Surgical Journal that a Board of medical officers of the United States Army, consisting of Colonel Dallas Bache and Captains G. D. Deshon and E. L. Munson, have .approved of a new type of ambulance, The ambulance, it is 1S very roomy, the wagon body being much broader than in prevIOUS models. straps, a fixed s u pport in front and hinged 111 the rear, pro. vide means by which two ordinary service lttters, In addition to those placed on the floor of wagon body, n:ay be utilised fo; patients, this feature of great practical value for u se Il1 the held, s in ce moyement of a patient from the lItter on wh ich was t:ansported is unnecessary. To facilitate the .handl1l1g lItters 1n pbcing them in position, the back ?f seat 1S h:nged. T he ambu. lance is capable oftransportlllg, In ad diti on to the and one sitting patient, or two recumbent and SIX Sl ttll1g pattents, or eleven sitting patients. The top and seats are covered with " pantasote " a new preparation found far superI o r to canvas or leather for these Small hammocks,capable of. being suspended from several points are provided for the better carnage of the effects of patients. A I'arge box L:nder the drive:'s seat affords ample for the carriage of food, dressll1gs suppltes. wheels with unusually broad tyres, whIle the front c ut ,under, turnincr. The ambulance is very easy when 111 motIOn, and IS prOVided with spring-s, which come into action under load greater than 500 pounds. The tail gate is fa.stened With an ock, which is opened by a single m.otlOn. The water IS In two laroe crah'anised iron tanks behll1d the rear axle, each 50 poun"ds filled, They may be filled in situ, or may be reacil), removed when desired. They are so placed as to be protected frem in jury, especially when tail gate is lowered, as when The vehicle is strong and soltdly bUIlt, yet "hen complete weighs onl), I,600 pound".

0.] P IRS l' ,- $1. 30bn Blnbulance :J13rigabe. METROPOLITAN CORPS.

January, 19 0

BAR KING.-O n Tue sday evening the 18th ult, a n exce ll ent concert, which had been arranged by the members of the Barking N'ursing Division in a id of the sick and wound ed in South Africa, was given in the or th Street Board School. Unfortunately the at tendance was not so large as might have been expecleJ. Superintendent \V ells, in explain ing the object of the concert, stated that Sir Herbert Perrott, the chief secre tary of the St. John Ambulance had asked the nursing siste rs of divisions thr oug h out the Brigade to form working part ies to get together some funds to help the a::d wounded in the war. Th e nursing sisters of the B arking division found that they could n ot possibly organ se a working party; the best thing they could do was to get up that concert, the proceeds of which would be handed over to Sir H erbert Perrott. Already 50 men had gone to the front from tbe Brigade, some acting as bospital orderlies, and others with bearer companies in connec t ion wi th the Red Cross Society. A capital programme was rendered which was mas, creditably carried out.

CHILDl{E1\'S H OME TU RSING DH lSIO;.J ,-At tbe suggestion of Lady Superi ntendent Miss Blye B ourke, a working party was on Uctobe r l7 tb , for making garments for tbe sick and wounded in South Afr ca , and the work wa s well in hand when the appeal from headquarters was received. The members of this division all worked admirably both in collecting money amongst their friends, and i n assisting to make seven dozen gar ments. A parcel containing- dresEing gowns, fla nn e l sleeping suits. nightingale suits, bed jackets and handknitted socks, was sent to the Red Cross Society on :'\ovember 13th in time for t he first consignme nt, and another \\'as dispatched en the 13th D';!cember by the JfaJestic for the use of the Portland Field Hospital, per :'lrs. Bagot. That lady, who was a member of this division, sailed with Captain Bagot, M.P ,on De cember 9th for South Airica, to assisc in starting the Portland Hospital. An intimation being re ceived th at no more garments ",ere requir ed, the balance, £H 5s. 3d ., from the amount collected for clothing, was sent to the chief secretary, for the Reci Cross Society, to ",ards pro'.·iding extra comforts and delicacies for the sick and wounded. Several members of this div sion wo uld g lad ly give their sen'ices in helping to nurse t he sick, notice to that effect has been communicated to the secretary of the Portland H ospital.

A I D. '[be \l)olunteer Blnbulance Scbool 3nstruction.

of Py,s'idp.n t :-:'1ajor Andrew :'1aclure, V.D., late London Scottish R.V. Office: -8, Portman Street, \V

The annual entertainment and distribution of prizes look place at St, fllartin's T own Hall on Th ursday, December 7th.

(

3) The mitigation of his environment and assuaging of his pain.

C+) The lesser.ing of serious consequences by-

(a) lmmediately summoning medical aid

(6) Pre\'enting the interference of unskilled persons.

(c) Rendering every assistance to the doctor.

Cd) Preparing t h e means of and assisting in the transport

1)[ the injured,"

or is this all Local Centres organise classes, Samaritan Corps, and first a id stations.

Each member must attend ten practices a year, every drill lasting two hours.

Hygiene and Nursing a;e also taught.

Female classes, resemblmg our Dorcas SOC ieties, manufacture roller and triangular ba ndages, ambulance bags, hed clothing, and patients' bed garments. In peace time, these latter are distributed to cases, while, during war, they are handed over to the Red Cross Society. Libraries, specially devoted to ambulance works and journals are al 0 organised

One interesting departure from our methods is tbe instruction of laymen as assistant teachers of Samaritan work (fnstructeurs Aides), Another is the holding of mixed classes (or the theoretical teaching, experience having shown that such mixed classes present no inconvenience w hatever. The course of teaching in am bulance work alone embraces forty Itours instruction, being thus considerably more h an four times the time devoted to it in England The Berne Confederation aids these classes by lending all stores and teaching material free of charge, while the Federal GO\'ernment grants the Allian ce the right to free transmis,ion of letters on business affairs passing between the Central and local Committees The final examinations are held in pubrc, invitations being issued to the local authorities, to supporters of the movement, a n d to soldiers as well as to pupils.

The affairs of the Allianc e are presided ove r by Mr. Loui s Cramer, a

BIRMlNGHA:\[ A:--l'D DISTIUCT Al\IBl'LA:--l'CE BIUGADE.-The annual challen ae shipld com peti tion promoted hy the Bi rm ingha m and District iigade too k place on the I rth ult., at the Central Ball, Corporation Street, in the presence of a, large and I:lterested Councillor \V aters (c1n il man of the \\ atch Comm l tt:::e) pres,lded, and was supported by :\11 C. H, Rafter constable), Superintendent Tozer Dr. l\1orri son, ,\11'. Beck (supel'lntendent of the Hands\\'orth corps)', &c. The ex:am'ners being Dr. c\. Price, ?f Liverp:>,ol (formerly surgeon at Winchester Green Gaol), and Dr. VI!son of Ten of the d visions had entered for the competlllOn, VIZ, :-I:ynochs (Li:nited), G W.R. (Snow Hill), :vi, R. (Lawley Street), Hlglgate, Police, L. and N,\V. (Aston), and Severn Street; but un [ortu.nately the Aston cont;ngent were compelled to Withdraw. After the vanous teams had marched past, an illustlation was gi \'en of the w.ork done after a railway accident. Three teams were enga.ged at one tune, the pallenls bein a labelled with the nature of the In JurIes. The scheme was for the persons to be gi\'en first aid, cal'l:ied a stai.rcase, acr03: a platform, down another staircase to an ra Ilw ay carnage, and subsequently removed to a stretcher and carned to hospital. The next even was the bursting. a a battleheld. wounded men were supposed to be 1I1Jured 1n vanous parts of the,bod}, particularly the head, and their wounds had to be dresseJ. The highest number of points which could be obtained by a Learn was 20:), and shield was won by the Great Western Railway (Snow f:Iill ) t:a m With 177 points, the G.W.R. (Hockley) tea.m belng.second wI.th Then followed the Police with 168 P01l1ts Ml d l i-lnd RaIlway (La\\;e}, Street) 10+; Highgate, 15 8; Kynoch's, 1;2; Se\'e rn Street, L. and N. W. (Curzon Street), q8; an.d Belmont 13 8 result wa.s received .with applause Dur1l1g the even.ll1g the ba o'S the Birmlno-ham polIce force played a select on of mUS1C, and the b} of Gem Industrial School, accompanied by their dumb-bell display under s uperintendence of Mr. S. P. T. Klrk,an,. and a squad of 1st Birminaham BiHtalton of the \V orcester Regci ment Church Lads Brig<lde, Captain Fred Gilbert, enteltatne the company with the bayonet exercise, ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. tion

THE" OSBORN CHALLENGE S I ELD" is for competition amongst the Divisio n s of th e Metropolitan Corps, as Chief Surgeon Osborn has been attach ed to that Corps since the first inauguration of the St. John Ambulance Brigade. I t is for first aid work by a representative team from all Divisions; a sort of" go as you please" competitio n , where bandages, splints, st r etchers, &c., are all to be of improvised character. This ii the true principle of first aid, and the competition will be very interesting. Th e s h ie ld is of s ilv er, monnted on ebony. The centre plaque represents first aid, as mercy descending into darkness with light and co mfort ; winged for celeri ty and crowned with stars, and lili es to indicate celes ti a l character :tnd earth y presence. Around th is are the sev eral silver s hi elds for the names of the successful annual competitors, a nd on a scroll above are the words" Osborn Challenge Shield, 1900."

PROVINCIAL CORPS.

Surgeon-General J. B. Hamilton, :\1.D., late P. M.O., Cape Colony, distributed the prizes, and subsequently said that he was well aware of t be useful work carried out by the school under Major Andrew Maclure's presidency. Referring to the medical aspects of the war in South Africa, he stated that Sir G. Whi e was accompanied to South Africa by his p, i\1.0., Colonel Exha::1, R.A. :'1.0 , who, as the could confidently assert, was the right man in the right place. He was of fine physique, an excellent surgeon, a n d a first-rate organiser. He had turned churches, the town hall, school rooms, and other buildings into carefully fit:ed-up hospitals, and had erected tents and marquees hard by for an overflow The large hospital had been fitted with electric light, the operating room with eyery known scientific appliance,and a Rontgen ray apparatus provided,as bad been everything,in fact. that was possible, for the care of the sick and wounded. At the battle of Elandslaagte the medical officers had exposed to the deadly fire of the Boer marksmen, and one of their number, :'Iajor Gray, had ceen killed a few days later in action. After Elandslaagte, in torrents of rain and seas of mud, they attended to the wounded, and brought them in the ambulance train. to Ladysmith. They had still to toil on, though overcome by fatigue and want of rest, for there were -+00 wounded men satu rated with rain and mud. Sir George White, ",hen presenting the prizes at the termination of the last Netley course, had spoken most !"indly and sympathetically of the labour, of medical officers in the last frolltier war in India, and said" he had seen reason to recommend more of the medical officers for the V.C., than any other branch of the service, and he did not think he would be wrong if he said J than all the other branches of the service put together.'" Surgeon-veneral Hamilton said that he mmt regretfully add that the gallant officer's recommendations had been set aside by those in power in the \Var Office, and that many acts of valour performed by medical officers in that campaign had gone unrewarded. He considered the medical service of the army to be in a very unsatisbctory condition. Some forty years ago the medical officers numbered over 1,100; at presen t the executive ranks were barely 800, much below the re cognised During that period, too, the European army of England had been increased by some 70,000 men; but with this large increase in strength there were 300 fewer officers to do the work Of the 800 medical officers, 408 were on foreign service and 2+0 in South Africa; and when the two further divisions no\"\' being mobilised were provided for, 'be R.A.M.C. would have closely approached its vanishing point in the United Kingdom. The medical staff in South Africa had been supplemented by seventy civil surgeons, and nearly all the available retired-pay officers had been called back to duty. Civil surgeons were being largely employed in every camp and garrison in the United Kingdom, and i.f the war continueG for long, :-vith its inevitable drain, there would not be a full-pay medical officer In reserve. It had been argued by some that as most of our troops had gone service, necessity for a large medical staff at home no longer eXisted; but It W:IS app:trently forgotten that tht sick .who had been left behind. required attention, and that larger bodies of wounded were returnll1g. 1n addition, some -+0,000 militia had .been emb?dieJ, ar.d as tbese reaiments had no medical officers of their own, their care devolved on attenuated ranks of the R.A,_\I.C. Quite recently the Secretary of State for War had granted military titles and the P?sition of a Corps to medical officers, yet these valuable conceSSIOns had 50 far to attract eliRible candidates, so that the ranks o f the R.A.M. C. remall1 unfilled. There was no lack of military ardour amongst the members of the profession, as was proved by fact that 70 surgeons were now serving with the troops, but It was equally eVident that the R.A.i\I.C. was not popular in the schools. Eve.ryooe m.,·st allow that a skilled, con lented and numencally str?ng: medical serVice, with a well-traine:! and adequate reserve, was to efficiency of the :umy, and it was the duty of the au.thOl'lt1es to wi thout delay the ca u ses of its present unpopulanty, and prov1de an efficient remedy. .,

SUl\GEON MAJOR H UTTON. -We are sor ry your commulllca b' arr i ved too late [or last month, and s somewbat out of date for t IS mon th o I an who II. BA R:--l'ETT ,-Your letter been forwarded to a gent. em, work will most probably aLtend to It , when the present pressUle of becomes less.

. h going

LA C -Your su o-gestion is certainly worth a tnal, but w 0 IS d b ? V\TI d 't yo u sen to do it , and who IS g01l1g to stand the expense. lyon nam e and add res s?

BOLTON.-Lady Dobson formally unveiled :lnd opened a new street ambulance box which has been provided for the Doffcocker district by this Corps The case, whi ch has been fixed against the outside of the boundary wall of Doffcockers, immediately opposite Marklands Hill, is the first series of similar ambu lan ce repositories which tbrough the agency of the Corps and the assistance of various friends, it is contemplated p la cing at Cou n ci ll or W. H. Brown's mill wall at Daubhill ; the wall surro undin g the mill of Mr. John H arwo 1d, J, P., at Great Lever; on a site not yet determined on Chorley 1 ew Road; at Burn den Park at the junction of Ai nswort h Lane and Bury Road; and near Bradshaw School. The boxes will contai n military stretcher, lamp, and a complete eq uipme nt of first aid requsites. A large company assembled to witness the open ing of the Doffcocker box. Lady Dobson unveiled the box, whi ch bore the inscription" St. John A m bulan ce Brigade, Bolton C o rp s," surmo unted by the cross of St. ] ohn. She observed hat it gave hel' great pleasure o unveil tha t box, which was a useful provi sio n, and should prove of great assistance f any c.ccident occurred in that neighb o urh ood.-D r. Hilt on Thompson proposed a vote of thanks to Lady Dobson, observing that the kindly inter est she h ad taken in this work wa s o nly one of many acts of public utilit y she had taken part in. Dr. John sto n seco nded t he propositi on. He observed that the re was no need t o advocate tbe claims o f ambulance work, inasmuch as it wa s es sent ial in a com mer cia l and manufacturing own where accidents were bound to arise, although be believed they would be fewer in future than they had been in the past. \Vhen an accident occ urred t ime was often of the most vital importance to the patient, and the interva l o f precious time between t he occurrence and tbc arnva l of the doctor could be bridged over by ambu lance work. He trusted tbat when ever occas ion required it, the box unveiled that afternoon might prove of great service. The proceedings closed with the si nging of the National Anthem.

Durina tbe evenina an excellent prcgramme, conslstlDg of recitations, instrume"ntal and music, combats of Bayonet fl. Sabre, and of"foils took pllce, and the recitation of Absent-:'1Il1d ed Beggar by i\liss Eugenie Fox prod uced a collectIOn that amo unte d to o,'e.r /., 17 for the famil ies of the Re servists. T he proceeds of the ent ertall1ment itself were handed over o the British Red Cross Society, ORDE RS :-

The next Class for the training of Regimental Stretcher Bearers will be held at the Headquarters of the Queen's Westminst,e r R.V. by miss on of Colonel Sir Howard Vincent, K.C, M.G. C.B., commandll1g, and will commence at 7.30 p.m. on Thursday, February 8 th.

Application Forms can be obtained of the Hon Sec., Sergeant H. J. Ru sse ll, 13, Gower Street, W ,C. order)P. B. GILES, F.R .C. S., Briga de Surgeon Lieut.-Colonel SenIOr Medical Officer.

NOTICE

,

All Le tters an d comm uni cati on s t o the Editor should be address ed to him at th e P ublishe r s, 10, Pat er nos t er Ro w, E ,C, Subscriptions and Adv ertisements sh oul d be s en t t o the P ublishers direct,

A ID

J_LYCART 1, 1900,

THE year that has just clo:-ed ha not 1899. pre:oented many remarkable e...-ent, in the am1mlullce "ol'Jd, with one exception, and that i::, the Wal', whie11 ha- fnlly taxed the re.ources of om' HTubuhmce ol'!:!ani:)ation:>.

In the of the year owing to di£fel'ence in legal'r] trJ elI'ill: Ltc., the BinJlingham Divi ion of the St. J ob11 Brigade -.ecetled awl fonneel it:elf into a COl']JS callerl the Bil'lllingllal1l anfl Di. trict Ambulance Bl'igade Tbi:-,; }'bult, although lUnch to lJe regretted, may po:--,.,il)ly do gooll to both partie:--. In April S. Osborn had the pl'iYilege of giying an addre:-- to :--0111e mem bel'" of the Hou"e cf CODnl1on:; on ambulance matter;:" and it i , pos:--ible that the :-ieed then ..;own may blossom into huit I1m·ing year.

In 'JIay the !lnnual competition of the, 't. John Aml.Jllhnee Brigade took place in London. In the Railway Section the GI'eat Ea tern Railway team had to put up with thil·d place, the London and X orth -" e.te) n bein 0' fil'st, and the (';'l'eat X orthel'n second. In the ;5ection the \Vellillghorough Diyision had to giYe "av to East Ham. Changes like theue prove neces ary it is fol' victOl'S to keep up their pl'aetice if theywi::,h to maintain the premier position. The Bl'igade Conference took place in June and was I'endel'ed somewhat remarkable by the hint thrown out by the Uhairman that thi,' method of di:cus.·ion might be closed for the future.

In ovem bel' an enfJuiry "as held at Stockport wi.th the olJject of .ettling some (1iffel'ences that had between the, 'eCJ'etary of tbe Local Centre and the medical men. As fa1' as ",e can ascertain tbe decision is not yet

Th e Lcmcet in tbe last year has been interesting itself m01'e than usual in ambulanoe matteI's. In July H. stronO' al'ticJe on the methods of the J olm Ambulance ciation appe;-u'e/l, and up to the pl'esent betS not been l.tlls,vered, Thl'ee weeks ago thel'e was a leadinO' al'ticle H.,lvoca.ting tIle employment of Horse at the Lonc1on Hospitals, and although the scheme of ambulancing this city diffeI's from what has appeared in tl1is Journal, we note with satisfaction that the writer has a f n11 knowledge of the req llirem en t of the metropolis and' admits that we m'e far behind the times.

The War has now beGn going on for months, and has pl'Ovcd a much tougher task than was anticipated. One C<ll1not but expl'eSI:i admiration at the "'ay in which our am bnlance societies haye worked and at the manner in they been helped by'gifts of money and matenal. All praIse IS due to the Red UI'OS8 Society and the St John Ambulctnce Brigade, whose officials ll<LYC l)een, a.ncl m'e now) wOl'k ing clay and night to get tlleir volunteel's fit n,:lll to go to the Cape . It is :,>uppo:::;ed that 500 St . J olm AmbLllance men will be wanted, hut we should not be surprised if many m01'e wel'e l'ecluil·ed.

1899 past and gone-let us hope th8t 1900 althouO'h

1 f 1 b

It IS J01'11 111 gl'le am f>Ol'l'O w to US ae:; a nation wi]] become lJl-jghtel' as it gl'OW:::; ok181', and hring although pedlap::, KOlllewhat :::;ulxluecl, to all om homo:::; and families.

.d.ID. [J anua r :-, 1 900 ,

S ur }portrait

DR. \,L YERXOX, DEP'C'TY' ST. JOR..'i B(UG.lDE.

o'C"R readers will be please'l to ee this month the pOl·trait of Dr. \\. Yernon, who 1$ well known in man) pan " of England a's [l hilrLl workinO' Deputy ComInis:--io11er.

Dr. Yernon has been in the medical about 24 Years. but hi::, ambu. lance careel' date' from 1 9, "hen he lectured and ex· amine(l for the St. J o11n .Ambulance tion and reThe Yollmteel' ServIce I'eceiyed some of his attention, for he ,,-as SmgeonLieut. I-t Y. E, 'uffolk Regiment , and Surgeon Captain AI'my Re ._eITe in 1 96 he "a appointell Hon. Surgeon to the Bitton ,'t. John Alllbulance Brig,tde. and in Decembel' the authOl'ities at St. J ohu', Gate ai)preciated ::,ernces and increased his wOI·k by appointing 11im :;si:--tant Uommisionel'. In thi Y8m' he Wlt' fmther honoured bv being elected Hon. A::,;ociate, ancl he ,Ya made Acting Dpputy ComIni ',loner of o. 2 Disb'ict in Augu -·t la t. There i one thing that Dr Vernon seem' to be fond of and capable of doing, and that it> hard work, and we lJelieve tbat he getting a portion of bis wish I·eali.ed at the tnne hy the e::-...-tra put on the Brigade mused by the llemanc1 of Yoll1nteel' ambulance men for the "al'.

\\- e do not know what it is. hut Dl'.Yel'llol1 POS!:)P charm of manner which alway' gain:-- for him the frieudtihip of those ,yitb wbom he come' into contact, and thi', coupled \\ith the enel'gy nnd wOl k he put,; into the cau:-;\" l'encler bim a mO lt prominent member of the Brig<1de, which we trust will long henefit by his st'rvices.

consequence of the large amount of interestinO' matter in ",\Var Ambulance," other matter is held over. .,

1borsc tlnlbulances at 'J!onbon 1boap it aIs.

take ['he following extracts from an excellent article in the Lancet of .the 9th ult.-. But if we cannot, therefore, entirely aCCIdent from the causes of death, at least it is our duty to mitigate Its effects, to fatality to injury in the very best and most manner ppsslble. Is thiS done in our large towns? In do ou.r arrangements for speedy aid to those or taken suddenly til .in the streets nearly approach the perfectIon which we shoultl aim, and an approximat on to whIch we have a nght at the present tlay to expect? Cons idering the wealth of London, its position as a cen tre of civi l isation, and the enormous number of its street accidents, there is probably no city in the world where such inadequate provision is made for dealing with these misfortunes The unhappy victim of accident o r sudden illness in our streets depends for his safety on the intelligence of the chance passer-by and the nearest policeman. Yet there is absolutely no n::ethod for bringing such aid to the injured, and as a comwe rely sImply on the dangerous alternative of getting the Injured by the best means that chance to be available to the nearest place whele we may expect to find medical aid. So far as lbe police are concerned it must not be supposeJ that we consider them

J an uary, 190 0 ] FIRS T

s.low to appear on the of.accident or unintelligent in mg assIstance. very opPoslte,lOdeed. is the case in London, where pO!lceman ad with more promptitude and llltellIgence than IS to be fo.und In ,any similar body. The policeman, however, has a multitude ot duties, and it is tOO much to add to them those of a per,ipatetic unqual.ified physician and surgeon. The treatment of aCCIdents and Jllnesses m the street should not be left to him. I t should be his duty merely to watch over the sufferer's and. to pr?tect from molestation or injudicious intert'erence tiil n;edlcal aId arrIves, and there should be a system by \\hich medical aId and proper means of transport can be quickly summoned. The on \yhich the police wheel invalids to the hospital are Ill-adapted to the purpose. They are n o primarily intended for this use, but for the conveyance of the intox.icated or the \'iolent prisoner. For these they are, no doubt, admirable, and to the:n they miO'ht with advantage. be restricted, horse ambulance wagons with suitable mattresses bemg used for the removal of the vi c tims of accident and illness, In ::\'e\ · York and other large to"'ns of merica 'he ad\'antage d ar:angements as these is well recognised and acted upon. essentIal IS a ready means of communication "ith medic:ll aid such means being freely distributed over the town. '\\-hen ad accident happens in a :'lew York street someone fO ,he ne:-trest streetcall a.nd rings .it, the r; e are5t hospital receives a signal where the call was given, and 10 a very short time the ambulance wagon with its house and dres:;er, bed is there and the patient is belng dnven back to the hospItal by the time that a sufferer in a simibr case in L o ndon would be huddled by a policeman and a chance assistant into a jolting four-wheeled cab or on to an inadequate stretcher. There has been imprO\'ement in recent years. so far as the number of available stretchers is concerned at least. These are ,0 be found now elsewhere than at the police stations, but they are still not of the bes: pattern and they are still all wheeled by hand. Horse ambulances are a dream of the future fur the injured Londoner.

Before we can riyal ambulance arrangements such as those alluded to, thre e are ob\-iously neccessary. First of all-and this seems to us to be the most important-there must be horsez.mbubncewagons and they must be stationed at hospitals. Only in this \\'a1' can- we bring aid which is both speedy and medically efficient. Secondly. for these ambulances to be of full sen'ice there must be ready mea s of communication from the streets to the hospitals where they are stationed. And thirdly, an adequate system of telephones must reO'cer communication from numerous offices and from prin.te houses to hospitals so readily accessible as to obyiate deby when a street "call " is not near or available. All these provisions are made and are of daily service in towns in l1'I.erica that are far behind London in size and importance. Some approach to them is evident e\'en in cities of our own, v,here the inhabitants have, at least, relltsed the for horse ambulances. I t is time, then, that tlle merropolis- e\'en if an adequate telephon e system must remain a ...-ague desire-should at least contrive to supply its hospitals with horse ambulances and arrange som e means of bringing them to the service of street accidents. That on the part of hospital authorities would be wanting we cannot suppos e Such arrangements as we recommend would not only be for the benefit of the public safety, towards whi ch every hospital striYes by its very existence to contribute, but would also stimulate in the younger medical men that zeal for skill and knowledge in the treatment of accident and disease which is heightened by nothing so much as by the constant chance of summons to cases of emergency.

To tlu EdItors if THE L-\NCET.

S IRs,- I have read with great interest your leading article on this subj ect i n T HE LANCJ<:T of Dece m ber 9th (p 1599), the more so as for so me years past I h ave advocated the establishment of an ambulance service capable of d ealing with the accidents that occur in the streets and manufactories of London. It is a matter that is so evident and the n e ed for su ch a service is so apparent that the only surprise is that it has not been set going long si n ce. I quite agree with you that the police have too many duties to perform to add to them that of rendering first aid to our street accide n ts The subject has cropped up on and off for years past, and many p ans ha ve been put forward, but so far no h in g of an y co n sequence has been effected. I suppose the reason is th a of h e want of money, for a system of any kind whateyer must cost some th ing, and even the limited plan you put torward will require an o utl ay for the purchase of ambulance carriages and for the laying do wn of th e telephone calls. I is only a matter of detail, but you do not say wh o i s supposed to go o u t with the ambulances, whethtr the first-aiders w ll be h ospi tal st u den ts o r paid assistants, Another point me-v iz., the distance of som e of our populous suburbs from a hospita l in some cases .four Howev:r, these are only minor m atters-the mam pomt IS to establIsh somethIng to remove thIS blot fr om o ur city Considerntion for your space deters me from saying mo r e, b u t I sincerel y tr u st that now you have taken up the matter you wi ll b rin g to he notice of the Government or the L ondon County Co u nci l. Dec. 12 h, 1899· am, Sirs, yours faithfully, THE EDlTOR OF" FmST Am."

AID. 53

lUlar Blllbulancc.

T. JOH::\' A:'IIBCL.-\2\Cl:. BRIG_\'JE. call on the Brigade for during ,he w:lr W:lS recel\ed trom the \\ ar Office on :\oyemher 3rd. within tell d:lY3 23 men were. :Lsemb!ed a: headquarters in Lond'Jn ,tt S,. John s fully with the Brigade uniform, as \\'ell as with khakI aRd serge SUits. underclothing, and complete "e:-t kits. On ::\' o\'ember 1st thes; men em".arked. on the Pri'l<1;" (1/ WI hospitJ shIp, of which they tor.m two-thIrds Ot the hospital staff. The next call tor ';5 men was recel\'ed on ::\' o\-ember 20t h, :lDd on the '::2nd the yolunteers selected all P:1rLS of the kingdom" ere as>embled J.t headquarters ready lor embarkation. This deochment s:liled in the S:lIliz on '.he '::3th, being intended for work in the base hospiu15 in :::;outh the .:: men were requisitioned to man the Duke of Ponland s h,)spltal, and on December -tth the selected men were at he:1dquarters t'ully equipped, :-tnd the,' sailed in the .: on the 13th December. \Y hile on men will be under the order- of officers of the Ropl ,-\rmy :'Iledical Curp5, and will recet\'e at the same rat.es as the _?t!YW1:I:d Coops. Each man pr'\\·:de5 hIS own underclothlDg 3.nd umtorm, the khaki SUitS. nJ he:d Or Sea kit ?eing p:-tid for by the :L John mbubnce As,;ociation. or, 'n the case 01 men: by Pvnbnd Hospital Committee. It i" understood, that \\ ar Office probably call lor slill larg-er numbers ot men ot the BrIgade. \\"ho. It should be !,oted. are tr:lined in the army stretcher dri!l. s) that they can. ,\"!thout further instruction work with the men ot .tbe Royal :'-!edic:-tl Corps. It should be added that yerr conslder:-tble numbers )t the nursing- sis:er" \ f the Brigade haye yolunteered for sen'ice in outh Africa, owincr to the ,-\rmy :'I more th:-tn equ:l1 to meet the re'Fli;ements of the publIc sernce. the" ar Office has no: iound i: neCeS53.f\· to c:lil ior \'olumeers irom the nursinO' divisions of the briO'ade.

'\YE :'IIr. Osborn, F.R.C S. Eng., the ch:et surgeon of the :'.Ielr opolltan Corps of the S John .-\mbulance BriO', de, \'o:unleered for sen'ice at the Cape before hostilities were declared. \Ye cannot understand why :'Ilr. Osborn's offer was not immeJi,ltely h.is his special experience, :1l1J hIS past gool \York alIke entitling him to accompany ro tbe seat of \\'ar the men "hom he has trained.-L.z'lai.

H :'II. uanspo.rt "hich sailed from Li,erpool on the 13:h ult. took materIal and most of the ."e'·s,Jlm<l t'or the BaO'ot-Bentinck _-\mbulance, by order of the \Yar Office, induding- fi\'e or possibh' six surgeons, two non-commissioned officers ot' the rmy :'Iledical four non-commissioned officers ot' the t. John _-lmbuhnce, tweke 1st g-rade orderlies (St. John'. melYe grade orderlies (mos ly St. John" two cooks, sen'ants, etc" waggons, ten:s, stores, etc., four Army Resef\'e nurses, secretafj and treasurer. The CHI.'.! sailinO' from the same day, took a ponion of the party. urgeon:'-Iajor h.ilkelly, Grenadier Guards, "ill be ,.,11\. :'Iledical Officer in administrative charge. Ci,il surgeons will be :'Iif. Bowlby, :'Ih. Cuthbert Wallace, :'Ill'. Call'erle", and Dr. Tooth. :'Iai or-General Hon. Herbert Eaton, late officer" commanding the Guards, has taken O\'er the duties of hon. secretary of the London committee from Capt. Bagol. The expedition on its arri\'al at Cape Town will be under the order;, of the principal medical and military officers as to its destination and "ol·k. L:-tdy Hem), Bentinck and :'irs. Bagot tOOK passages in the J':JJI'7 J Crst',', by which ship the nurses \"ere sent.

ARRA:-lGE:\[ENTS FOR OF \\'OC::-\DED TO HO:3P!TAL

The local centre of the St. fohn mbubnce ssociation has O'Ot into working order O\'er a scheme' for affording assistance en rVlftc' to the sick conveyed from the Docks to the General Hospit:d. At the Docks, where the men are entrained, it has a trained nurse, with three bdy assistants, and at \Y) n erg -t,llion, ,,,here they are detrained for conveyance by ambulance wagO'o n to the hospital, !l trained nurse with five lady assistant. A. waiting room is prO\'ided at each place, with a. paraffin stoye and light refreshments, such as bon'i!, milk, tea, coffee, coco:-t, and aerated waters, with stimulants. Lounges ana chairs are fixed lip in each depot, and they furnish not only a place where the men can be kept in pri\'acy, but tbe opportunity of a little refreshment before the journey is undertaken. •\ t \\\n berg, ad\'antage of this pro\'isi'Jl1 is obvious, as the hospital is fully a mile distant, and the ambulance waggons can only convey about twenty -fo ur each joulney, so that a nnmcer must always have to remain in \\aiting for a time. The hearer detachment of the .\ssociatioll has not ret been made use of, bu is ready whene\'e r required Very much more yoluntary aid is al'ailable, but the authorities haye, for the present, declined It.

THE HOSPITAL SHIP

THE ladies of America, as our readers know, have presented us with a fun" equipped hospital ship, and on aturda}, the 15th ult., tbe Duke and Duche s of Connaught, who were :-tccompanied by the :'I[archioness of Lome, visited the Jiaillcat the \Yest Docks in order that his Royal Hig h ness might publicly present in the lJueen's l13.11le a Cnion

FIRST

Jack to ,he The ceremor,}" took place in tbe presence of. the Lord Chancellor, Lord Charles Beresford, Lord and Lady Essex Ir ullivao, General H. F. Eaton. Captain F. tone. urgeon-LI.eutenantColonel Hensman. A.:\[ .S in :\[ilitary Command .surg-eon - :\faJorCabell, Commander, J. :'f. Caulfield. R.X the Duchess of Yfarlhorouah. Countess of traff. 'rd. :\lr5. Hug-h Reid Griffen. }lrs. Blow. :'1rs: Leslie, :'[ore:on frewen, :\[r5. T. L. Field, :\!rs. :\forgan Richards: :\[rs. Haldemann, :\lr5. Ronalds, :\liss Hibbard. superintendent ot nursing corps, :\{rs. Hrown POLLer, and others.

Tn the e\'ening a ban'juet took place at the CarltOn Hotel which realized about £2,000.

Provision is aFforded on the fault fur nearly lAO patients (this provision can he ex.en led ii necessary), who wIll he distributed in fi,e wards named respecti\'ely Britannia, Columbia, ,\Yhitelaw, Reid and Baker. :-\n isolation ward is also pro\'ided in case of need. There are also a perfectly fitted operating room and all other necessary offices aRd fittings. efforts ha\'e teen snared to secure to the unfortunate sufferers e\'ery pos:-ible comfon. On mai:1 deck are the beds .for the patients arranged in rows. each beIng sheltered by sliding while ventilation is provided for by special o\'erhead tubes. The cblet saloon is luxuriously filled.

The whole of tbe medical outfit has been supplied by :'riessrs. Burroughs, '\Yellcome 6: Co. One of the medicine chests by this firm is in tooled leather desig-ned by :\Ir. Henry S. \\-ellcome On the top panel appear the union Jack: and Stars and Stripes entwined. portraits of George \\'alihington, \-ictoria, and. McKinley. and representatIOns of the American Eagle an? LIOn, The front panel ponraitsd Lady Randolph Churchlll (preSident), :\1 rs. Ronalus (honorary treasurer). and .\1 rs. Blow (honorary secretary of the Arne Ican Lacies' Hospital Ship Committee), a picture of the Hospital Ship JIa;lIf, a scene the. British .L.ion wounded by an arrow which lies broken br hiS Side) being admIDbtered to by Britannia and Columbia-Cclumbia pouring a healing balm upon the wound whi15t Britannia tandages the paw. .-\. frieze is formed by a representltion of .-\merican Indian \Yampum u")on which are depicted Brother Jonathan and John Bull grasping Rands. The other panels bear equally suitable designs descriptive of the bond of union between the English and American peoples. Prominently inscribed on the rhest are Keble's !ine, distance breaks the tie of blood," and Ambas3ador Bayard's notable phrase, "Our kin across the sea."

Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel Bensman, A.\1.S., will represent the War Office on the Jiainf', while Surgeon·:\lajor Cabell will direct the services of Dr. George eugene Dodge, Dr. Harry H. Hodman, and Dr. Charles H. Weber.

A LETTEIl has been published flom Lady Chesham and Lady CurzoQ proposing tbat the Imperial Yeomanry about to sail for Somh Africa should be equipped by voluntary contributIOns with a perfect field hospital ambulance and stretchers-bearers. We heartily hope that the ladies' committee \\hich is being formed to provide the ambulance equipment will be as generously supP'xted as the other charitable agencies which th is war has called fonh The ladies are endeavouring to supplemen a very real deficiency, for witho1l.t their the Yeomanry will start unproyided with any special medical equipment.

1:>1 addition to those members "ho went out on the 'i11' la, twenty-two men left the headquarters at St. John's Gate for where they will have the opportunity of seeing real military hospital work before they set sai:.

Another fifty will also leave during the present week; while some hundred more from various parts of the country are under orders to report themselves for active service 0 headquarters.

As a rule, these volunteer members of the brigade will serve in general hospitals or hospital ships, or at different points on the line of communication. They will be under the orders of the regular officers in charge of the unit to which they are attached, and will be under the sllme regulations as the Army :\ledical Service Corps.

STAFFED FROM THEIR RAl':KS.

That the authorides have perfect confidence in the St. John men is ho", n by the fact that the Portland hospital, as well as the hosp tal train which Sir John Furley is tak ing to the front, are both staffed from their ranks. The latter will require probably over orderlie,.

A certai? number lIf the me!'! will be employed as assistant ward masters, dispensers or clerks. They will rank as sergeants of the R.A ;'-1.C., and must hold the St. John Tur sing certificate and be ab:e to drill their men.

The rank file will be rated as ward orderlies of the first or second grade; and their work will be the ordinary routine of a male hospital nurse, as well as the removing of tbe sick and wounded.

At headquarters there Rave heen far more volunteers than there is at present any for, though the conditions, for men in civil life, are somewhat strIngent.

Eac.h rr:<ln m.ust be unmarried, between :<1 and 35, aHd not less than Sft. .610. 1m height, and have a rigorous inspection by a medical officer to show that he IS "10 perfect health," of good physique,

A I D. [J anuar:-, 19 00 . with fa;r eyesight. and teeth." HIs s.up.:rior officer mu<;t certify his exemplary ch3.racter and '" ,\Yhen he is at length accepted a kit IS proYlde? for him tree. IOc1udino- twO of khaki, a worsted C3.p. a serge SUIt, a great coat. two tOwels"a hanecac and a kit baa to contain the whole of his effects, as no are allo\\:ed. " Such trifles as knife. fork, spoon, shaYing-brush, razor. hair-brush and comb. clothes-brushes. hlacking, SO:lP, and needles and are 11.1=0 part of the tree kit, while each man must prO\'ide himself with tw" sleepinO' suits and a p3.ir of sort felt shoes forward duty. In m1.nycases the local or corps to which the men belong are bearinO' this expense, so that the men will not be out of pocket through their patriotism.

The officials at the" G,.te" are workmg night and day at the huo-e task ::>f fittlna out so many men; and when the next hundred come up, their comrades expect to gi\'e them a rousing send -off.

THE Portland Field Hospital, which has been fitted out by pri\'ate enterprise for sen-ice in the field, consists o( a complete hospital UOIt. The staff includes one military and four ci\·ilian medicalofficers._\1 r. Anthony Bowlhy. f. R.C.S Eng., is the senior surgeon, and he \\ill be assisted by Dr. HO\mrd H. Tooth. F.R C.P., Lond., as physician, :\Ir. Cuthbert S.'Wallace, F. R C S., Eng and Dr. J. E. The commanding officer is :\Iajor Charles R. Kilkelly. R.A.:\1.C.

I); 1he Lancet of XO\'ember 25th, at page q67, will be found a letter from Dr. P. :\1. Braid'Yooe, calling attention to the necessity for a spe.:ially organised and instructed analogous tothe St. J?hn "-\mbulance "-\s-oClatlOn, and In the TUlles of December 12th there IS a letter from :\1r. S. Osborn, F.R.C.S., Eng , askino- whether one or more hospiral ships should not be kept perin commission. The idea is one which should receiye earnest attention. and tht= delay which has occurred and is occurring in the dispatch of pri\'ate hospital ships emphasises the urgent need of the proyision for which Dr. Braidwood and }1r. Osborn plead.

ABOUT 90 men of the Royal Borse Artillery and Fie'd under Captain Talbot, Royal Horse Artillery, and members of the St. John Ambulance Association left ,\Yaterloo on tbe 29th ult. for Southampton, to embark on the steamship Orient for South Africa. The artillerymen are all Reservists, and are being sent out to fill the gaps createn by casualties at Colenso. The detachment .was in .the best cf spirits, and evidently pleased at the prospects of The ambulance men looked very smart and workmanlIke 111 khaki uniform. The readiness for service ir: South Africa may be judged by the fact that li\'ing in \'arious parts of the cJuntry, they quickly responded TO a call for volunteers. The ultimate destination is not knol,n. It is expected that a number cf them will be sent to the front immediately upon arrival in South Africa; whilst Lhe others will be retained either at the base or station hospitals. The men are efficient, having undergone special drilling during the past few weeks. Lr. Ninnis (Deputy-Commissioner of the Brigade), and :\Ir. W. J. Church Brasier (I3rigade Chief S:.;perintendent), were present to see them off, together with a large number of relal1\'es The St. John Ambulance Brigade has already supplied o\'er 220 men for Somh Africa, and this number it is intended to increase to soo. :\I en are now in special training in London for the purposes of the nmpaign.

THE arrangements for sending a Southampton ,\'olunteer Ambulance Corps Lo the Cape are in an advanced stage It only now remains to complete the details. The Red ClOSS Association received a number of app lications from different parts of the country to send out ambulance corps, which had reluctantly to be declined. An exception WHS, however, made in the case of Southampton, probably becauc;e of the close connection of the port with the embarkation of the troops, a work of immense importance which has hitherto been carried out with unprecedented sutcess 1 he corps will be composed of two medical men, one superintendent with the rank of non·commissioned officer, and twen ty men. There has been no lack of volunteers. Dr. Lauder and Dr. Purvis will be the medical officers

MEDICAL FOR THE ARMY IN SOUTH AFRICA.

IN view of the large numbers of men now with the army in South Africa, the Ar lD y M ed ical D epartment have considerately published for the information of the public details of their medical arrangemen:s. The whole or part of tbis document have already bee n publisned in many daily papers. It informs us that every regiment, battalion, artillery division, and engineer company, h as a m edical officer attached to it, ami he it into action with his orderly in order to administer first aid to any man who is wounded, w 1ile the regimental stretcher bearers are ready to carry the sa me to the dre ssi ng station or field hospital. There will be 45 surgeons in immediate charge of th e men composing the Army Corps. They are also responsible for the sanita':ion of th eir respective camps. There is a bealer co mpany for eac h brigade of cavalry and infantry; th is is composed of 3 officers, the officer in charge being a major, a sergeant-major, 12 sergeants and

January, 19 }.] FIRST

cor?orals, -++ private3 a:1d a hug-Ier. all of the R .\. :\r. C , ill ad:iition tJ which there are for uanspon ::,:-. of Service Corp. under a warrant officer. The mode Ot workmg is descrit'led as follows :_

Two stretcher 5eCtlOn3 under an officer, each section consi:ting of stretcher squads under a collect the wounded and carn' to tbe collecting station, a spot ch05en as near the fiO'htino- tne as possible, but sheltered from the enemy's fire. The station is in charge of a sergeant, \"ho has a supply of dres:;ings, &c ,t replenish the ha\Tesacs of the. stretcher Here also are placed the of the first lIne ready to recel\'e them. under the sergeant's directIOn, and bear them back to the dres5inO' s'.ation. The dressinO' station is on a site selected as being, if out of fire. near a supply, and also near a road. \Yhen a\·aila.l-le buildinas are chosen and if not, the operatinO' tent is here pitched. and cines. and medical comforts are arranged for use. and a tire f?r heat.ing water. It may be the most importam POSition In the Journey of a wounded man from the field tuwards the camp, as it is here the first opportunity occurs for a careful eX3.mination of his condition. The .major of the company and another medical officer are here placed. With a :;eparate sergeant-major, three non-commissioned officers and four pri·,·ates. including a cook. The wounded. being carefully attended to and dressed, are now placed in the econd line of ambulance and taken to one of the field hospitols, which are encampments -::heu. to each brigade. or each body of troops larg-e enough to render It deSirable. The equipment of a field hospital is for 100 beds, but it is so arranged anc. pJ.cked that sections of :!; beds can be utilized separately if required. it must accompaw: its brio-ade on the m'Jrch it is mo\'eable, being supplied with means of but it is equipped with a view to make it as comfortable and as its mobility will permit of. From the railway line the sick and wounded are com'eyed to the base, which is at or near one of the ports of embarkation.

THE" PRT);CFSS CHR1STJ..\);·' HO:3PIT.-\L TRAI:\.

WITH the idea oi hospital ships the British public is now thorouO'hly familiar; but a hospital train represents something new to us, On" the Cont!nent hospit:ll trains are well France, Germany, RUSSia, and Italy all possess them. rhe finest are proDably those of France and Austria. but the "Princess Chrislian " nOl\' bein u sent to South Africa by the Central British Red Cross Committee r;Presents the sum total of all" modern impro\'ements," and could hardly be surpassed for the excellence of its arrang-ements. The fundamental objec:s of the train is not merely to prO\'ide a means of conveyinu the wounded from the front to the coast. but to ha \'e a perfect hospital on wheels, so that if it should be shunted on IO a siding, or otherwise get blocked. for e\'en a week at a time. the wounded will be just as comfortable, and just as well nursed, 3.S if they were in hospital. Doctors , nurses, attendants, medicines. tood, comforts-all will be there. This will be a great improl'ement on th e existing though these ha\'e been good so far as they go. As soon as the war broke out iron frames, adapted from the Fre nch pattern, were sent to South .--\frica by the Centra 1 British Red Commit,ee, and these ha\'e been of O'reat sen'ice in enabling th e Royal Army Medical Corps to bring the wounded speedily from the base of operations. Each of these frames carries three stretchers, and 1"hen the interior of a railway carriage has been cleared out these frames can be placed in position and made ready for the wounded in a few minutes. This system might ha\'e served the purpose if one could have relied on such trains proceeding direct to the last; but the existence of only single lines of rails, with the risk of interruptions, stoppages, and shuntIDgS, rendered a selt·contained hospital on wheels a neces31ty. The original idea of adapting existing trains to the purpose also had to be abandoned, so that the train, which has nOI\' been put together, is an absol u tely new construction. The greatest difficulty lay in the bet that tbe train will ha\'e to run O\'er narrow gauge lines, which allow of a total width for the c.lrriages of onlyeiaht feet, and the problem that arose was how, within this space, rows of sufferers could be placed on each side , with a free passage along the centre. The beds are in three tiers-one on or quite close to the floor, one in the centre, and one ne::tr the roof; but although ordinary travellers might climb or creep into such beds without much trouble, it became a serious question how helpless invalids were to be placed sideways, on beds completely enclosed except on one side, with a gangway only 2ft. 6in. wide to operate in. The difficulty has been 0\ ercome by an arrangement of pulleys fixed in the roof, by means of which one attendant can raise or lower e:lch bed Lo the desired le\'el, while alJother guides and pushes it into position. T he train consists of seven bogie corridor carriages, each about 36 feet in lenglh. The first is divided into three compartments. one for linen and other stores, one for two invalid officers, and one for t\\'o nurses. The second carriaae has also three surO'ery, a diningroom,and a room for two medic al officers The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth are each const ru cted to carry 18 invalids and four hospital orderlies. Each of the carriages mentioned is pro\'ded with a store, a !avator/, &c., and the ne ce ssalY storing lockers. The se\'enth carriage is occupied by the kitchen and pantry, including bert h s for two coo ks and a compartment for th e guard. There is thus accommodation provided for a tOtal of 97 persons, wbo may have to depend for a week together on ,he

AID.

supplies the lrain r.3.n carry. The cook in!:!, are a man'el of completeness. There are se\'enl cisterns fur l' )ld "'.Iter stO:age _upplemented bY' two Iar:::e fi:ters, and there is a refrigerator wIll ensure the the me",t. Of linen. wire and medical stores, cuden-. g-I crockery. provIsions there \\111 be ,n ample supply. .-\ \'en' cheerful effect IS produced by. the enamel.Jed white ir01lwork of the train and its rltting-s. and by the draperIes Externally. the centre panel of each side of. e\'ery carnage a con;:plcUOU.3 red cross p3.inted on white g-roun-1, the words .' PTiIlCeSS Christian Hospital Train" in royal blue 3.nd g- ld. In sockets at the head of the train are :he Cnion Tack and the Red Cros Hag. in wilh :\nicle of the Cl;D\'ention of The" creacor of this_ most admirable h";pinl train is John F urle}', the hon. treasurer ot the Central British Red Cross Committee, who pla'1ned the train, and watched O\'er the carnino- out of almost e\'ery detail. In arduous wOI:k he has had the 'unfllg-ging personal LSlstance of :'I1.r. Fieldhouse, a dlrector of the :\li!itary ment Company, hut neither, ptrhaps. would ha\'e been :lble lO achie\'e so early and so complete a success had it not been for the zeal with th: Carriage 3.nd Wagon Company. LImited. trom manag-m u director down to the humblest mechanic, hare pushed on with the work in the intere"l5 of our sick and wounded

The original contract bet\\een Sir John FurleY, on teh·df of the. Cross and the :\Iilitary Equipment Compan\' (Limned) was slgr..ed until October th, and it was stipulated that the construction 01 the train-which in ordin3.r\· circumstances \\ould.takeat least.eight months - should be completed b\' .l:-tnuary I3th. I n pOint of fact It already finished. .-\fter the inspection it "'Ill be at once taken to pieces again, packed in seclion- in larg-e case-. and sent Out to the Cape. where it will be reconslructed ana m;!de ready for running to any pan of the battlefield as circumstances may requ.ire Ear.iy. in January Sir John Furley will go to the Cape speCial commissioner of the Central British Red Cros' Committee. in order to watch further O\'er the hospital on "heels, and see th It it fulfils all the objects which it is intended to sen·e. It ma\- be added that the train will take, besides [\'1'0 surg ons, [\\"0 of the _\rm\' Resen'e, :\liss Creighton and :\Iiss .fr.;ne-, and also two llpernumerary officers and len Olher officers of the -I. John .-\mbulance BriO'ade. Princess Christian lra\'elled to 'methwick on 20th ulr.tO make an tion of the hospital train which the Central Britis:, Red CroEs Commiltee are about to despalch to outh Two 5J.loons I\ere resel \'ed for the Princess and? part\· oi hdies and !;entlemen accompanying he on the express lea\'lng EustOn at 9.20. The party included :\hjor :\lanin (equerry). Baruness \'on und zu Eg-loffs,ein bd\' in I\aiting- Yiscoul1t Knutsford, Lord Loch, and :\lr5. :\[uir, hhn and Lady Fudey, :\lajor and :\lr5. :\Ir. and :\lrs. Fripp, anJ :\li ss \\'edgIYoo.:l. On arri\'ing:lt the works the Prince-s W:1S recei\'ed at the entrance by:\lr. Edmund Fowler, rhe managing director and of the company. _-\f-er :\[r. FOlder had been presented, :\I r \Y. J Fieldhouse h:tndeJ her Royal H iahness a bouquet. :'Il r. Fowler conducted the party thnugh the carn.lge shops to the train. It being the dinner hour the were at IIbert\·, and large numbers of men and boys thronged the I·icnit,·. I n deference to the expressed desire of her Royal Highness, no manifestations were indulged in. The p:1rty were coiducted throuO'h the train by :'IIr. \\'. J. Fieldh:)U5e, a director of the .\Iilitary Equipment Company, to whom the contract for the building and titting oi the t ain \\as entru led. The \Yorks ambulance corps wa in attendance, unJec the command of :'Ilr. J. Harkness. and ga\-e a uemonstration of the 1\'orking- of the tra"elling ho pita!. One of the ambulance men \\'as laid on a stretcher, his limbs bound in bandages, and \\'as borne to the train by way of illustrating the actual operations ir. the field. ,-\t the receiving doors he was transferred from the stretcher to one of the llH'\'eable heds \\'ith \\ hich the train is fitted. These beds are no more than flat metal frames iurnished with mattresses. Being laid on thiS he was carefully lifted into the interior, a pulley attachmen: was set to work. :lnd bed and occupant were raised to the appointed place with the III ill; 11111111 of labour and discomfort. This operalJon I\'as \\':llched \\'ith keen interest by the Princess, ,,,ho also scrutinized "ery closely all the i.lternal arrangements of the train. suggesting slight imprO\'ements here anJ there. -he expressed much \lith the I\'ay in which Sir John Furley had planned out the space at dispm'al, declaring that nothing rould b:: better calculated to meet the objecls in \·iew. :\11'. Fowler also received congratulations on the celerit), with which the train had been built and equi p ped, the \york ha I'ing been I)' carried out \\'it hin the space of ten weeks. The meciical and surgical stores and appltancesha\'e to be added, other wise the train is virtually complete in e\'ery detail. X early an hour W:1S occupied in the inspection, and the Princess was lhen conducted to a spot close by, where a wagon constructed 01' plates for use on the .:'\atal railways had been fitted with a loopholeo superstructure to illustrate hoI\' colonial rolling stock is ulilised for armoured trains. Between 300 and +00 of these wagons have been buill in the \yorks for the X atal Government, but without tbe loopholed SCleen which is fitted after delivery. As her Royal Highness left the carriage shops the 10Ft! and patriotic enthusiasm of the work people broke bounds. and cheer upon cheer wa s raised,

$t. 30bn BnlbllIance Bssociation.

REDFORD.- The annual meeting of the Bedford centre took place under the presidency of the Mayor of Bedfor:! (Mr. Hedley Baxter), at the Town Hall, on Monday afternoon the r8th ult. There was a very g'ood attendanre and great interest was evinced in the proceeding-so Those S11pporting- the Mayor upon the platform were Her Grace Adeline Duchess of Redford. who had attended to distribute the a,"ards. the Mayoress of Bedford, the Ex-;\Iayor (Mr. George Wells), Mrs. 'Veil s, Colonel Josselyn and Mrs. Josselyn, the Rev. Paill W. Wyatt, Mrs. Harold Howard, l\Tr. Harvey Goldsmith, Mr. Bowling Trevanion (hon. treasurer) and Mrs. Al fred Paine. the hard working secretary of the Centre The Mayor first of all offered a bearty welcome to Her Grace Adeline Duchess of BedIOl-d, whom he said they were all pleased to see with them. (Applause.) lIe thanked Mrs. Paine and the ladies ofthe centre for the excellent help they had rendered upon the occasion of the recent parade, and for the splendid amount realised. The Rev. Paul 'Wyatt then read the reports of the Brigade and Nursing Divisions. Ducbess Adeline tben 3 ddressed the meeting and she well remembered the last occasion-now eight years ago--on which she had been present with them. Since that time she noted the great progress which had been however, which she could not say had sllrprised her, because she recollected that they had all the time been under the guidance of their g-ifted and admirable secretary, "frs. Alfred Paine. (Applause.) Then g-oing- on to speak of the war, Duchess Adeline said she was snre they would allow her to congratu late them upon the splendid way in which they had helped towards the equipping of the hospital ships which were sent to South Africa, and with which she herself bad had a g-reat deal to do. (Applause). Her Gra ce also spoke of the readiness and ease with which the money and articles needed to equip the hospital ship were got tog r ther. In connection witb tbis she also wished to mention one thing. It was her duty to receive and select applications for the several posts of !1urse for the hospital. There were only four posts vacant, but one morning she was much astonished to see at least a hundred letters awaiting- her, all applications io the posts. It was however, remarkable that all those applications 'were reduced to about nine or ten, for the reason that only that numhel had put ill all the oualifications which had been deemed necessary, one qualificati0n being that they should have been tbree years in a general hospital. It was thus an instance of the need of every nurse learning everything thoroughly, for onlv those who had done so in this instance had had the opportunity of taking wbat was un-dou btedly the bl ue rib bo n of the profession (hear hear), and nursing the sick and wounded in the war. Proceeding to enlarge on this lesson the Duchess sa.id that the thoroug-hness was the heart and soul of work, and she besought them all to see to it that whatet'er they did tbey should do thoroughly, and make themselves tborough masters of their profession. There were some old words whicb were very familiar to them "Be ye also ready, for in the hour when ye think not your work will be teste::!." Their work at Bed ford had been tested, and she was pleafed to be to say that it harl stood the test, and 0" ing to the fact that iI1 ordiI1ary d ays lhe Bedford w0rkers had str iven to do all that was possible, tbey had not only been able to help those in the cou.ntry villages!n their tir.ne need, but they had been able to help theIT hrave soldIers, 10 a far-off land. (Applause.) Th e :\ Tedallions and Certl ficates were then presented to tbe fortunate winners The :\[ayor, in proposing a hearty vote of thanks to Her Grace Adeline Duchess of Bedford, for so kindly coming there that day to present the prizes, and also for her splendid address to them, that Her Grace would always receive a most hearty welcome at the bands of the people of Bedford whenever she was pleased to come among- them.

BTRMTNGUA:-1 - The annual meetinO' of this Centre was held at the Council House on December r8th. Leigh had been announced to but in consequence of the death of Lady Leigb's sister, his lordship sent a.n apology. The Lord Mayor was also unable to be present, and 111 consequence Dr. Nelson was voted to tbe chair. those present were. C?lonel Bowdler (com missioner), Mr. T. H. "oolston (de puty commIssIoner ) Messrs. J. T.J. Morrison, Underhill, S. H. Knyvett, 'Y. E. Adlard, J. R. Stamp, l\1apperley, and J. R. Rogers (hon. sec. ) 1\1r. J. C. Lord (chairman of the First Aid Committee) also sent an apolo.gy. The chairman, in moving the adoption o.f the repor!, hIS regret at the small amount of tbe subscriptIOns, Mr. Underh.lll seconded the motion. Mr J. R. Stamp moved an amendment refernng- the report back to the committee for further conHe said he could uot understand why the purchase oi wheeled htten had been made from revenue insteld of from the accumulated balan?e, which amounted to about / r60. He complained, too, that those lItters were purchased for the BirminO'ham brigade and ret when the split occurred they were required to "'be returned. He also co mplained ?f the course whi ch had been taken with regard to Mr. and him self. They had been elected se"ving brothers before the splIt. took place. though as a matter of fact M r. Tozer had been allowed to the roll after that time. Shortly after they received letters saying h"d acted detrimentally to the order, and had not upheld ItS dIgnity. Tbey sent an explanation, but this was not accep-

ted, and this week they had been informed that t h eir names were erased from the roll. That, he thought after so many years' servic e, was nothing less than dastardly. Another complaint he ra sed was with reference to the £50 cballenge shield, tbe money for which, with the exception of £5 voted by the Birmingh a m centre, was found by the members themselves. The holders, the Great 'Vestern Railway Corp s received a peremptory order to return it to the lo ca l centre. Fortunately a good friend, Mr. George Cad bury, had provided them with another one, and he should have liked them to have seen the first competition. Finally , he complained that the Birmingham ambulance men had not been allowed to volunteer for service i n South Africa because of their secession Mr. LivilJgstone seconded the amendment. Co l onel Bawdier at the chairman's request, replied to the remarks made about the He said he had notbing to say about the examinations, because it Was admitted that the lo cal brigade had four each y e ar, whereas only one was required The rule as to drills wa s accepted everywhere else, but it was n ot so strict as to disqualify a man wbo found it absol u tely i'11possible to attend more than 'line, or even eight, provided his tendent returner.! him :IS efficient. T he same condition applied to the annual inspection. They expected the men to be present, if possible but they exercised reasonable common sense, and did not expect to every man present. If there were any possibility of reconciliation he would be delighted. He denied that he had any desire to turn the association into a military organisation, and that the members were Iia ble to be called upon for foreign service. They were asked to volunteer, and 500 men 'were waiting to go. The reason Birmingham men were not accepted was because the W ar Office declined to take any but St. John Ambulance men. Mr. Woolston also spoke and tben the , 'o ti.ng was taken! and eight voted for and eight agamst; the chaIrman, therefore gave hiS castJng vote against it. The rep 01 was adopted. Lo rd Leigh was thanked for his services as president and re-clected. .;\11'. Rogers waG re-elected secretary, and the other officers were re-appOlnted.

Mr. and i\Irs. W. J. Church Brasier desire to return thanks for the kind condolence expressed with them in their recent bereavement

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION.

For 12 months, IS, 6d., post free, to be sent to the Pu blish ers.

:JBre\)ities.

THE matter published in the daily papers and weekly JournaJ s IS so voluminous and so intere8ting to ambuhnce that it is very difficl!11t for us to select the most important articles, but the best on the wor-kinO' of the service at the fr?nt is the series that is bei:g pubhshedll1 The Lancet, wntten by Sir W. l\1acCormac. Extracts fron1. these are published on another p;lO'e and we draw our readers' attention to them. b , * "'-

*

Til ERE is like exp81'ience for gaining knowledge, a11(1 the ex,Penence that officers are now undergoing in South AfrIca shows that Improvements can be made in the of transporting the wounded on the field of battle. SmgeoL-Major Cavel'hill has brought out a scheme of orfor the ambulance service of mounted h·oops. Tlw Idea 1S to mounted bearel' companies to follow the c;l\'H.h-y and take charge of the wOllndell-as Suro'eon-General Evittt pointell out at Plymouth the of the wounded is gl'eitt obst.acle 10 an following up an n.dvn,ntage aftel' a battle.

* * A fOl' a flying hospital fOl' the Yeomanry has been hy Dl·. IIOl';lCC Manders, who is it Cnptain and hon Major of tbe lst olllntccr Battalion Royal Berkshil'e RegIment. He has dCf-ilgned a bospitnl cm' and an Flmbu.cal·, each constructed on the principle of the Irish JlHllltmg car; each CHI' wonld be drawn by two hOl'ses, to a t)ole on that modification of the cUl'l'icle prinCIple ;,dopted 111 the cape C;'l.l't, which allows of great lio-htness, speed, mobility Hml facility in tl1l'ning, com bined safety against the l'isk of oyertl1l'ning The ho pital and ambulance cars would WOl'k together and in action would haye their plrtce in l'em' of tIle upports and in £i'ont of t.he reserves When casun1tie:::; began to occnr the cm's would stop in a suitab l e place and fonD the centre fo1' a oollectinoand dressing station, towbich the woumled would be bl'ought in on the stretchers taken from tbe ambnlnnce cal' After ree eiving attention at this station they would be calTiec1 by the mnbul ance CfiI'S, ::mcl those able to sit up by tbe hospital cal' n180, to the nem'ef>t field hospital. The staff reql1i1'cd would be tw'O surgeons, one oHlerl)" [mel one non-commissioned officer, all mounted; one non-commissioned oflicer and eight bellrers en the hospital CHr, and t\\'O on the amhulance car, anel t\yO ch·i,-ers We are infol'ln eel that a committee has been fOl'med to calTY the pIau sugo'ested by Dt'. Manders into execution. 1:>

.

TrrE weekly illustl'flted papers contain plenty of illustrahons of fil'st-aiders at their Black and White for 20th Jal1l.1 lu'y has a capib'l picture of the bospitul train nftel' the battle of 001enso, nncl also y:u'ious sketcbes of the hospital cam p a,t De Au)'. The Illust9'I'£tecl London News for 6th Janunry gave a, photogl'nphic gl'OUP of the Pietel'm:tl'itzhul'g Hvm e Guard .Am bul:uwe COlP-;, a.nd in the

cantre as Superintendent is our old friend 111'. Albert. who has our best wishes in his humanitarian work. Mr' Arledge, late of ]':\ 0l·thal1lpton, is <;econd in command. The Graphic of 8th has sketch of )Iajor Genelal Su Owen Burne wlshm a the SIxth contingent of the St. John Ambulance "God speed" in St. John's Square, Clel·kenwell.

*' "*

A VERY well known teacher SurV'eon-Captain R: R. Sleman, has to will be greatly mIssed by the ASSOCIatIOn WIth whlCh he is so closely connected, and we wish him a safe return.

'* * *

THE Boers also have their ambulance trains. In the G1'clphic for 20th January is a photograph of the arri,-al of ?' Red Cl'OSS train Pretorin. It gives one a very good Idea of the manner 111 v-hich thp,y treat their wounded.

*: * "'-

TilE arbitrators in tIle dispute have at last given their decision, which appears to be in favour of the local Society. Now that it is all over we hope the breach 'VIll be healed, and that matters will go on more in the fL1ture. It is unnecessa ry foe us to dIlate on the facts of the Cilse, which was one which ouaht never to ha ye appem'eel in the public press, 0 *

TilE members of the St. J 01n An1bnlallce Briga(le will be pleased to heal' that SLlpel'il1temlent Tl'il11mel' going to Bonth Afl'ica as "Varnmt Officer (Sergeant MajOl') uncleI' Colonel Sloggett, in chm·ge of the 100 men detailed for t.he Yeomanry Hospital.

THE ST. JOHN DISP (1TE AT STO CKPORT.- fhe arbitrators in this matter, Sir James Dick, I"::.C.B., Colonel C. Bowdler, and Inspector General Belgrave Ninnis, :.\LD., R.N., wbo sat in Stoc kport Court-house to receive e\'idence on October 30th and 3rst last, have delivered a lengthy award. After gi\'ing expressio'1 to the effect which the eviJence and statements of counsel produced in their minds, they" award, direct, and determine as follow s :-(r) That the Stockport Centre bas not discharged its duties in a satisfactory manner or in alJY way calculated to promote the best interests of the Ambulance As soc:at lon or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem; (2) we determine that \1r. Ferns (hon. secretary and treasurer), though, in our Opinion, not always acting in a manner calculated to promote the dignity of the Order of which he is a member, bas carried on the work of the Stockport Centre under great difficulties with perfect integrity and with a zeal which has outrun his discretion; (3) we do not feel oursel yes at liberty to express any determination as to the course of of the l\Iedical Society of Stockport, that body being altogether independent of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, but lYe wish to record our sense of the liberality of the members of tbe profession at Stockport generally in lecturing to ambulance classes gratuitously in the past, and our belief that the difficulties which have recently arisen will prove to be ephemeral (4) we direct the Chairman of the Centre to summon a meeting of those gentlemen who are on the list of members of the Com11lit:.ee, and to consult with them as to the best method of reviving the Committee with a view to its efficiency; (5) we recommend that this Committee should at once proceed to the election of a sec ret ary and treasurer, and recommend the re-appointment of Ur. Ferns, provided tbe Committee are reasonably satisfied by :\11'. Ferns tbat this can be done consistently ",;th preserving satisfactory relations with the memhers of tbe medical profess ion at Stockport; (6) if Mr. Ferns is unable or unwilling so to act as, in the opinion of the Committee, to mak e satisfactory relations with the members of tbe medical profession po ss ible, toe recommend that a new secretary and treasurer be appointed."

A I D. LFeb ruar y, 19 00 11{a Hwa\2 tl1nbulance.

Febr uar y, 1900. J FIR

S ':t (BaIler\2.

AID. 61

direction of the Central British Red Cross Committee at the seat of war and at home.

All Letters and communications to the Editor should be addressed to him at the Publishers , 10, Paternoster Row , E.C.

Subscriptions an d Advertisements should be sent to the Publishers direct.

FI RST A ID

FEBRUARY 1. 1900.

TilE war upon wbich we are engag ed, and which up to the time of ,.t'iting hns not been remarkable f01' the succes::; of om' a rill 1';, DO engrosses one's attention that it i::; difficult to concentl'ate one'::; mind on any othel' outside subject.

RESOURCES,

There is no doubt that the strength of the enemy was very much underra ted at the commencement, and the rude awakening that our military ;),dvisers received, has caused such a strain to be put upon the resources of the Empire, that we al'e surpl'ised and pm'haps at the same time ignorant of, our own strength and c,'lpabilities

If there is one department more than a,llY otller that has fe l t this tension, it is that of the Army Medical V epal'tment The exigencies of modern warfal'e, and particulady of this present conflict, demand that the :fighting force shou ld be capable of quick movement, and not be encumbered by its sick or wounded, and in 01'(ler to effect this, the wounded h£1,\' e to be attended to immediately, and removed as quickly as possible to the field hospital aml then to the base For this pmpose an anny of btretchel' beal'ers is l'equil'ed in addition to the la,rge number of hospital orderlies and nurses for the hospitals and hospital ships. This demand, extraordinary and beyond all expectation, is so enOl'mons that the War Office has been obliged to ask for outside help by appealing to the Red Cros8 and similar societies.

It must excite tbe a.dmiration of evel'yone to see the result of this appeal, firstly as regards the money that has been subscribed to provide two hospital sbips, the P?TnCeSS of Wales and the Maine, the bospital train of the Princess Ohristian, the Portland Hospital, &c ; and secondly, as regard, ' the trained men whom the St. John Ambulance Bl·igade bas been aLle to :find at such short notice. vYe understand th:1.t, about 500 men. have l'I.1ready been. provided, and we are certain that as many 11101'e men as al'e req uil'ed hy the Oovel'l1ment will b3 found to vohmteel' for this service We oursel ves feel proud that thiR Bl'igade in which we have al ways taken sllch interest, and which we have tried to help notwith:,tanding the difficulties placed in om' way, has pl'oved to be such :1 source of be1p and comfOl't in the pel'iod of trouble tbl'ough which ,ve are now past:ling

The medical men who have taught the men, and other official s at St J olm's Gate who have got them fit and ready for this work have our warmest congrl'ltulation.

This call t.hat has been made upon om' ambulance \VOl'kers, shows what our ambulance resources are, and a.1so the amount of latent patriotism there is in the country, prepaled either to :fight or to take part 111 the humanitarian b ut l ess showy work of saving life

AND AMBULANCE BRIGADE.-The monthly meetmg of the COmlTIlltee of thiS Brigaue was held at the Central Fire Mr. Hickman lIawkins presiding. Ic was reported that durmg December 183 cases of fir s aid had occurred. A new division had b.een formed amongst the of the Metropolitan Railway Carnage and 'Wagon Co., SalLley, representatives being Messrs. D. Adams and J. Hdlman. An IllvltatlOn \vas extended to all members 10 volunteer for ambulauce service in S o uth AJlica.

NEW CRoss.-The annual rep.ort oftbe New Cross Division (L.B, &. S.C. Railway) shows that dUrIng the hvelve months of bJnk holidays and public duty, a total ?f ha,:e been treated. There was a case of rescue from drownll1g In which Private Sands Was successful in restoring animation after +0 minutes of artificial respiration, Public duties were Easter Monday, Blackheath, 21 members; Whit Monday, Blackheath, q; Bank IIoliday, Blackhcath, 14; Volunteer Review 9; Lord s Day IS, and three Sunday duties at St. Paul's Cathedral station The annual outing of the members and friends took place in Septem ber to Hastings, and on November 27th, the annual dinner was held at the Marquis of Granby, New Cross Road, Sergt. IV. Pearson ha.s been promoted o Staff-Sergeant in place of Staff-Sergeant Jordan retIred. The great effiC iency of the Division is largely due to the lIon. SUI'geon, Dr. J. who is lInlirinO' in his efforts to keep the men up to high standard. The of the Company: have.recently for competition amongst the centres of ambulance In their system, a silver cup and other prizes, The New Cross Division have entered th r ee teams, and hope to be successful in bringing the cup home. During the year eleven new members have joined the Division bringing the strength up to 40, and the funds show a satisfactory balance. A new class is now in course of formatiun, under Dr. J. Maclean-Carvill, hon surgeon, The concert and ball in aid of the divisional funds will take phce early in Marcb. The Division is available to attenj any local demonstration where their f ervices are liKely to be required on application to the Superintendent Mr. E. W. Trangmar,New Cross Station, LB. & S.C. Railway.

lDolunt ee r Blnbulance Schoo l of }natruction.

President :-Major Andrew l\Iaclure, V D., late London Scotti sh R.V. Office :-8, Portman Street, IN.

CLASSES FOR THE TRAINJNG OF Sn:ETCHER BEAREHS. Course of J nstruction to be held at the Head-quarters of the 13th Middlesex (Queen's IVe stmin s ter) R,V., James Street, Vi ctoria Street, S.W., commencing at 7.30 p.m. on Thursday, February 8tb, 1900, bypenni ssion of Colonel Sir H. Vincen t K.C.l\1.G , C,B" Commandir,g 13th ILV.

NEW CLASS LECT UREs-Thursuay, Feb. 8th., IntlOductory lec ture on the Skeleton, JOll1ts and :vIuscle s Thursday, Feb. J5th., the Heart, Blood Vessels and Circulation, the PositIOn of the Viscera, by Brigade SL1rgeon Lieut.-Col. P. Giles, V D. Thursday, Feb. 22nd, the Lungs and Respilation.

PRESENTATlON OF MEDALS TO AMBULANCE OFFJCERS.-At Marlborough House on Saturday morning, the 6th ulL, the Prince of Wales (Grand Prior of the Order of the lIospital of St. John of Jerusalem in England) presented the service medals awarded by tbe Chapter to nine Officers of the St. john Ambulance Brigade. The ceremony place in the salo on, the recipient s of the medals being introdur.ed to His Royal Highness by the Rig-ht IIon. Viscount Knutsford, who, in presenting the two Leicester Officers, remarked Ihat Leicester was one of the best Centres in connection with the Order, a fact upon which IIi s Royal Highness cordially congratulated them, The following were the recipients of the medals :-Colonel Sir H erbert C. Perrott. Bart., Secretary of the Order and Chief Secretary of the Ambulance Departm e nt; W. J. Ch !rch Brasier (Brigade Chief Superin· tendent); Samuel U s boll1, F. R.C.S. (Chief Surgeon ofthe l\IetropolitaJ} Corps) ; John H. Buckley (late Chief Superintendent of the Lei cester Corps); Fraqk H. Turner (Superintendent Secretary of the Lei cester Corps) ; Edward R. Goodwin (Superintendent of the Norwood Division, l\1etr opoli tan Corps); Francois D. Iackenzie (Assistant Commissioner for the No. 1 District of the Brigade); Lieut.-Colonel Charles J, Trimble, L.R.C.P (Deputy Commissioner for the NO.4 District of the Brigade); Charles H. Tamplin (Honorary Surgeon, Ramsgate D ivision) Sir John Furley (membe r of the Council, formerly Director of the Ambulance Department, and Honorary Director of Stores, St. John Ambulance Association; Life Member, hOllon's causa, of its Central Executive Committee), would likewise have eceived the meda,l, but was prevenled from attending- at l\1arlborougb IIouse owing to hiS having leEL for South .Mrica as a Special Commissioner of the Central British Red Cross C ') mmillee. Major-General Sir S t an l ey Clarke was in attendance on hi3 Hoyal Highness

THE Chapter of the Order of St. John the Baptist of Spain have conferred the title of Knight IIospitaller on Dr. W. J. McCulloch Ettles, surgeon to the National Fire Brigades Union.

IT was reported some time since that Private C Ross, 55, St. John Ambulance Brigade, died from enteric fever, but we are p leased to lea.rn that the Superintendent of his Division ha£ rcce ived a lette r from him dated 30th December, in which he states that he is thoro ughly fit and well anG going strorg.

LAWRENCE WIlITTJiKEH, E8Q OHIEF DIVISION', ST. J Oil::\' Al\IBuLANCE rr"'UE subject of our sketch, Ohief Supt. L vYhittaker, No.4 Distl'jet, St. John Ambulance Bl·igade, is the son of .A lclel'lnan Th 0 111 a s W hi ttal{ er, J P., an Ex-1Y1ayor of the Borough of Accrillgton, Chief Supt. Whittaker is 30 years of age, and is engaged in the machine making inchl.' try, being a Managing Director of tbe well-klwwn trick making machine fil'm of O. Whittaker &; 00 Ltd., Dowry Street, Accl'ington. 1111-. Wbittaker has passed his time since leaving . chool at works named, which were founded by bis fathel', and 1,' a yel'y astute business man, known and respected by bis townsmen and other friends for his aeniality and common sense. K otwithstanding the l'esponsible position occupied by lIir. 'Whittaker in his evel'J clay businest:l life, he has lJeen able to aIronl consiclentble time to the ambulance movement.

lIIr vVhittakel· obtainccl his :first ,tid cel·tifiL'ate in 1892 ill connection with n tletn.ehell cla , s helel in the tmYll of Accrington, and lla\-ing seen the advisability of extending ambulR.nce knowledge and wode, illlUlellintely devoted his energies to those objects.

The ACCl'illgtOll Uentl'e of the St. J olm Ambulance Association wai3 about this time revived, lUI'. Whittaker took a pl'Ol?inent pm't in its resLlscitation, also becoming a ot the Ambulnnce UOl})S, since which time the movement has ma,de tl'emenclous stl'icles in the town, thanks in a large mannel' to his ::;el'Vicet:l.

lIf1'. Whittakel' bn.s tn,ken vel'Y gl'cat intel'est in tIle "'ork of the at. John AllllJulance _A,Jisocicttion, as the lllelll bel'S of the Accrington Uorps tet:ltify, anel it is ple<lsinO' to note tlw t his services and genel'Cll becu'ing recollmend tllemsel ves to the :mpel'ior oilicel'::; of the No 4 Dist.l·ict, Ueputy OommissiullCl' 0. J. Tl'illlble taking steps to seCUl'e bis appointment as Ubief Supel'intendent of hi:,; Distl-ict. Since his appointment ns Uhief Supel'illtenllent of No. 4 Distl'ict in 18%, 1\h. \YJlittakel' has extended his acquaintanceship with £il'st-a.idel's to a gl'eat extent, having inspected numerous OOl'PS <l,nd Divisions since that time.

1\11' WhittltkOl' endeavours to pel'fOl'lll his dutics entil'cly III acconlance with the l31'igac1c l'egu]atiolls, aml SUO'D'ests the ad visability of working stl'ictly 11 pon 1I11lital'y V\Te take the libel'ty of stl ting that if the Bl'icrade were to obtain JIlOl'C officel':'; of 1\11- vVllittnlcer's the progl'ess made in the 1H0\-emcllt c.hu iug the next few YCHl'S, would be equal to that of the last. years ill tho'e towns where the Association's is not yet to the foro 'OOlar Z:l111bulancc.

THE RED CROSS SOCIETY.-ITS WORK IN SOUTH AFRICA. We are asked to give publicity to the following letter from Lord Wantage :-

Nationa l Society for Aid to the Sick and vVounded in War, S, York Buildings, Adelphi, Jan, loth, 1900.

"SIR,-It may be a matter 01 interest to the public to have some lnformat on respecting the work that is being carrieJ out under the

1. -:r:he CommissioneJ: of the Red C;oss Society, Col o nel J. S Young, IS carry1l1g on the work 111 South Africa and is workinO' in touch with the Army iVledical Service there, and with the local committee at Capetown under the auspices of Sir A :\lilner. He is supplying comforts' and appliances of various kinds for the sick and wounded at the front.' an.d has visited the .;\Iodder River Camp and lines of commUTIlCatlOn. He IS also supplYlllg warm cloLhing for invalids on their return journey, and carryinR out many other forms of aid. :'[1'.

G. Bonham Carter and :llr. Chepmell have recently joined him as subcommissioners. and will aid him in carrying on and expanding the work, Two letters from Colonel Young are subjoined which O'ive interestinO' details of the ",?rk he is doing. The hosp;tal ships and hospitals : _ <>

2, The SocIety has chartered and despatched the hospital ship Princess {if TVales with every comfort and app:iance, and with a spe c ial staff of surgeons, nurses, and orderlies. The' fittinO's' have been supplied b:f the Princess of Wales from a special fund ;t her di sposal, and the ship has been named after Her Royal Highness in recoO'nitioll of her special and co-operation. This ship has reached Ca petowrJ , 3. :rile So.clety has con.structed and fitted up a model '1 ospital train, ll1 which patients can enJoy the repose and the comforts of a hospital for use on the lines of communication. Sir John Furley has O'one out with this train, which will have its own staff of surge o ns, &c. It is called' Princess Christian's Train,' her Royal Highness ha\'ing taken a special interest in everything connected with it, al'd the BorouO'h of 'Windsor having largely contributed through her Repl its construction and nttings.

+. T he Society is now engaged in equipping a Convalescent Home at the Cape for both officers and men. A large extent of ground, with suitable houses, belonging to Sir James Sivell'right, has been o-enerously placed by him at the disposal of the Society at We st-a beautiful and healthty site 30 miles from Capetown. and 18 from Wynberg, with railway communication. It can provide 2CCl beds, which can easily be increased by huts or tents, A nursing staff, consisting of two superintending nursing sisters-:lliss Page, lady superintendent, and Mrs. Makin-with five nursing sisters (one Army ursing Sister and four Army Nursing Service Reserve Nurses) will Le in cha rge, with orderlies under them.

S. The Society is engaged in establishing a Convalescent Hospital consisting of D cccker huts in he near vi cinity of :'\etley Hospital.

6. l'IIoney grants have been made o Sir Alfred :'Ililner at the Cape General Sir Archibald Hunter at Ladysmith, &c.

7 The various pri\ ately equipped hospitals, such as th e .lfaine (American) hospital ship, the P ortland, the Van Alen, the Lll1gman, and the Irish (Lord heagh) hospitals are working under the regulations of the Central British Red Cross Committee, and are affiliated to it.

8. A supply of more than 3,000 daily and weekly newspapers in regular sequence is being sent to Colonel Young each week by the Society from London for the recreation of th e sick and wounded in the various military hospitals, These papers are sorted by a committee of ladies at Capetow ,l and despatched regularly throughout the Colony. The only recognised channel :--The abJVe statements will give some idea of the m;tgnitude and variety of the work undertaken by the Soeiety. It acts in connection with the meuical authorities both at home and. at the seat of w;tr, and this forms the only recognised channel for providing' comforts,' &c., for the sick and. wounded beyond those which are supplied by the Army :'IIedical Service.

Lord Rothschild and his brothers have te legraphed to Colonel Young at tbe seat of war that he may draw on them fo" £10,000, to be followed, if necessary, by further sums from the Red Cross Society fnr the service of the sick and wounded in South Africa.

As, however, luxuries can be in most cases purchJsed mcwe easily and economically at home than in South "\frica, it will be found more expedient to expend part ;tt lea s t o f this generous donati o n in sending out things from England in:;tead of relying on the markets of Capetown and elsewhere. When Ladysmith is relieved it will be our ende;tvour to supply the hospitals and the needs which we know must exist there, The Commissioner of the Red Cross Society assures us that comple[e harmony exists between him and the officers of the Army '\1edical Service. The promptness shown by them in bringing the w:)Unded from the battlefields to the hospitals at the base deserves the highest commendation. Indeed, the excellence of hospital field oraanisation in this campaign seems to be greatly In advance of hat previous wars.-Yours obedient servant, IVANTAGE, Chairman."

"Tt-iE LA:-rCET" HAS THE FOLLOI\'I r G INTERESTING NOTES FROM SIR l\IACCOR:-IAC.

T HE Field Hospital at PietermJritzburg is Il charge of LieutenantColonel Johnson, R.A.M.C. There Jre under his command a varying number of officers of the Royal r\rmy Medical Corps and fi\ e civil surgeons, also a staff of army nursing sisters and volunteers, This hospital originally consisted of go beds, but the increased to 550 by convertIng some barrack-rooms m the VICIClty mto hospital wards. More barrack-rooms are dally bemg SUitably eqUipped, so that the number of beds available for sick and wounded (including 50 beds at the College Hospital, 70 at the Assembly House, and 50 at

FIRST

Grey's Hospital) is being increased until the total number of IO:!O is reached. Tne situation is a commanding and healthy one on the LOp ofa hill just the tOwn, site panly occupie?!n the old,days hy a fort. There was no operaung--room 1D the orJCTmal hospItal, so a suitable ward has been com'erted into one. The messroom of the officers of the th Lancers has been con\"erted into an officers' hospit;d. the ante-room large making twO beautifully \'entilated and comfunaLle wards:

The many paths in the hospital compound are still obstructed by barriers of barbed I\"ire and barricades. They were constructed about a fortnight ago on the vccasion of a threatened attack hy the B?ers on Pietermaritzburg. This scare impeded to a great extent the equIpment of the hospital, as the whole of the pasollliel had to be transferred at \'ery short notice to the College Hospiral, the fort being completely as a hospital and occupied by troops. On the retirement of the Boers beyond Estcourt a return journey cf the hospital stores had to be made and much changing was needful. but the equipping has gone on rapidly since. There is, besides, "ithin easy reach at Durban the hospital s 'ip Spar/all with r 30 beds, and a register is kept of the transpons to which the sick and wounded may be sent as well, and of the a\'ailable medical staff and nurses. The ambulance is capable of taking 9 2 sick and wounded-32 lying down and 10 convalescents. Colonel T. J. Gallwey, the Principal .\Iedical Officer, thinks this considerable provision is not altogether adequate to the possible requirements should a great battle be fought shortly on the Tugela ri I·er. X o. + Stationary Fi·:dd Hospital arri\'ed at Frere on the eYening of December 1 Ith. It \I'as detrained immediately and a site was chosen in the immediate vicinity of 'he railway line as being a convenient pla:e for entrainin a the woundee. This hospital is to be the first stationary hospital on the lines of communication and will be the refuge of the ::ick disgorged .by tbe fou: iitl.d hospitals with th.e four brigades as tbe latter mO\'e on JO tbe fightlL1g ltne. The next statIOnary will be at Estcourt. Se\'eral of the bell tents were equipped ready for tbe reception of sick on the eyening of arri\·al. By noon on the (ollo, ing day most of the tents were equipped and ready and ba1 already receiyed about -to sick from thl'! brigade field hospitals. This hospital consists of a fully equipped field hospital with the of eight large marquees. Its arrangement has been designed by _\lajor R. Kirkpatrick, R.A .\I.C, who is in command. The other officers are :'lajor _\Iallins, Captain F. A Symons, Lieutenant Simson, of the R.A .\l.C., and Lieutenant-Quartermaster Short. There are 3 noncommissioned officers and men of the Royal Army .\Jedical Corps, including compounders, cooks. &c., and als.J two army nursing sisters. At -t p.m. on the e\ening of December lIth this hospital (packed in trucks on a special train) was making its way into the railway station at Frere, and at the same hour on the 12th, a hospital ready for ISO sick(or more)distinguished by theGenevaCross flag,occupied the ground. \\'hen the expected action on the Tugela river takes place tbere will be a body of 1200 ci\"ilian stretcher-bearers, under the command of regimental officers. whose duty \\ill be that of conveying the wounded half way from tbe fighting line to tbe hospital, the first balf of the journey being performed by other bearers of the same "ariety attached to the bearer companies. Each stretcher will be supplied by a squad of 2:; bearers, this large number being- told off so as to provide for frequent relief during a journey of possibly 30 miles. This arrangement bas been de\ ised by Colonel T. J. GaJlwey, R.A .'I1.C., whv has expel ienced the usefulness of this plan in Egyptian warfare. The country surrounding the Tugela river is 50 rougb that the carriage of serious wounded men by mule ambulance waggons would be extremely distressing to the Each bell tent is supplied with four stretchers, each patient haying a stretcher, mackintosh sheet, knife, fork, spoon, basin, &c. The marquees are .equipped with eight stretchers each, and are reserved for the more senous cases.

We (myself and my secretary, Captain F. A. Symons, RA.i\l.C.) put up our tents in rear of the stationary hospital, arranging for our cooking, &c. lYe have also been provided with mules and carts for our O\ln use which are following us from Pietermaritz!:lUrg in charge of a subconductor of the Army Service Corps. lYe therefore form a separate little unit of our own, free to move as we like, taking up our head quarters at Xo. + HospitaL The \-yater here is very scarce and muddy and requires careful boiling or filtering before use. Baths at present are practically disallowed.

Dec. I2th.-Our mules and carts arrived this morning, but are not yet ready for use as the wheels of the carts have become injured. Through the kindness of '\Lljor Ricket,s, KA."\I.C., commanding 1\0. 2 Bearer Company, we obtained the use of an ambulance waggon for to-day. This waggon is drawn by ten mules. It is a ro-feet can\'as covered, heavily built waggon, filted with two front seats and two side seats running tue length of the waggon. The is painted \\"tth a large red Geneva cross, and the waggon also carries a Reu Cross f'laa on a staff. Ollr waggon was driven by two Kaffirs one handlina reim and tbe other wielding a huge whip-like I8-foot salmon b rod. We were also by t:\'o ::Jf Royal Army :\Ie dica l Corps We first VISited No. :2 Bngade and Jl1spected the encampm ent of the field hospital and bearer company attached thereto. These always work together and move with their in action. The

AID . [February, 1900.

bearer company pick up the wounded. their .wound: as \I ell a" possible and Jend them on to their own held hospital. :'\0.2 Bearer Company is under tbe command nf :\Iajor Ricketts. R .-\.:'I.C ,he two other officer being Lieu:enant Palmer. R -\.:\I,C and IYroug-hton, R.A :'I1.C. This company is of the usual sen'ire and equipment. and its description applies to the other companies I\ith this division Tbe officers and sergeant -ma jor are all mounted. Thert: are thirty -two bearers. making eight stretcher squads, and these. with the remainder of the company. performing the different duties descrir:ed in the list below. march in front. These are follo\\"ed by tbe water cart and then come ten ambulance wagaons. These bearer companies march into action (each with its own brigade). form their own collecting and dres!'ing stations. pick up the ""ounded, apply first aid dressing-,. pass the wounded to tbe lear through the collecting and dressinostations they ha\'e formed. and Ihus complete the transit of tbe wounded from the front line to the field hospitals. The 300 ci\·ili::tn bearen mentioned above are shown as accompanying- the comp:my.

StJ't?Ilg!h a/ld Distrif,ut;"oJl 0/ a Bt!ar,;r COllljJaI.:;·.

:'IIaior I Corporals Lie'utenants Pri\':Jtes

ergeant-'\Tajor as cooks

Q uartermaster-Sergean I as bearers 32 Compounder I as sen'ants Sergeants + as supernumerary Bugler I I To':11 C.:. -:'00 ci\ ilian bearers.

The field hospital of :lnd Brigade is under the command of :'IIa;or j. C. Cuning. R_-LJI.C., thejunior officers Captain H. J. Parry, Captain J. \\-. Jennings, Lieutenant]. \Y. Leake, and Lieutenant and Quartermaster H. packman. R.A.:'I1.C. It consists of the ordin:try field ho,pital of 100 beds, about +0 of which are filled "ith cases of local complaints. These patients are being sent to Xo. -t stationary hospital as soon as possible so as to allow the field hospital to mo\'e off with its brigade After inspecting the hospital, which has been already carrYlng on its duties here for a fortnight, we again set forth in our waggon and droye to the Brigade Here \ye found the field hospital and bearer company enclmped and arranged in exactly the same manner as those of :\0. 2. The field hospital is under the command of :'Iajer G. T. Grog-gin, assisted by :'-Iajor F. S. Heuston. R -\.:'Il.C and two lieutenants. The bearer company is commanded by :'bco r E. O. :'lilward. R.A.:JI.C Ire found them all ready I'or a sudden departure and fully equipped and prepared for all en{ergencieE oi the field. \Ye then dro\"e a',ay in the cirection f a hill about three miles distant from which we were told we could see the Tugela river and tbe Boer tents on the far side. The ground is yery undulating and bumpy for an ambulance waggon, which latter fact proved to us the efficacy of the 2+00 bearers enaaged by Colf)!1el Gall\\ey.

Sir II'. :'lacCormac describes the effects of wounds caused bv the :'Ilauser bu:lets, which differ entirely from those m other wars-in many bones are pierced without being broken, hence the mortality is much les5. Frere, Dec. qth, 99.-This morning the camp here is practically no more. The striking of tents and the mo\ing off of the corps began at p m yesterday and continued this morning, so that by 6 a.m. nothing remained of the .::!.::!,OOO men of yesterday but a long snake-like train ot bullock com'eying commissariat supplies winding as far as the eye can reach along the Chieveley road. IVe breakfasteJ at 6 a.m., and before 6.30 we had taken the road in our ten-mule waggo n ell route for our hill of obser\'at;on about tbree miles along the Chieveley road. The road \las blocked with heavy waggons escorted by weary baggage guards, and the dust and heat was terrific. lYe gradually worked our way along until \Ie managed to get clear of the rest and by a side road succeeded in reach'ng our hill about 7.30 a.m. IVe saw with ease the whole army yesterday at Frere, already re-encamped beyond Chieveley, and apparentl\' about two or three miles from the Tugela. The long train of com missal iat \I aggons reached the \\ hole \I'ay along from Frere, by a winding road, to the new camping ground, and long after we couid see the first waggons entering the new camp the seemingly endless succession was still issuing from Frere A bearer company flying its Red Cross flags was seen heading tbe procession The reasons for the slow movement of an army in the field were vividly demonstrated to us as we watched this interesting mO\'ement. \\'e could see nothing- of the Boers across the ri\ er, but about 9 a.m. several of our guns opened fire at the range of hills betlleen the river and Ladysmith and we watched the shells bursting far away without any response. Are the Boers in cODcealment or have they really relired as has been reported? We returned to camp ahout noon. The place now looks very d reary and deserted and consists of practically nothing but half an infantry battalion as a guard and our No. Stati0nary Field II ospital on the lines of communication. The hospital train, under Major Brasier-Creagh, R.A.M.C., has just moved on to Cbieveley awaiting events. :0l"0. 4 Stationary Hospital received a warning this evening from the principal medical office r tbat the hospiwl must be ready to move at s h ort n otice w as to be as near as possible to the battle which was expected to take place on the morning of the IS tb.

Feliruary, 19 00,J FIRST

booming of big guns :md the rapid repons of <he qUlck - finn a machme-guns comme.nced at daybreak. About S a.m. a message was recel\"ed from the prInCipal medical officer to entrain the hospital and proceed to Chiereley, tbere to await iunher orders :\ f:niaue party was at once applied for from the Ro\'al -COts Fusiliers and the work cf stOring the impediments and strikin a the ,ents was comme?ced at once sick (including two officers) in hO<J=ital were dispatched to Pletermantzburg, so as to lea\'e us ready to recei\'e the sick and wounded in our new quarters to-night, where\'er tbose may be Dec. I6th.-IYearri\'edat Chie\'eley station ab::Jut r ·30p,m, yesterday, The cannonading had ceased about Io·clock. 'lYe found the statiO'n occupied by a train under :'IIa,ior Brasier-Creagh. R -\.:\1.C :Jnd e\'eryone a\'allable helping to pro\'ide C0mfons for tbe freiaht it c:nried. There \\"ere 1 I;J wounded in tbe Lrain. The\' had been un board direct from the field, the train run into the actual scene of action; in fa.ct it, \I" a 5 ordered back by the principal medical officer. twO shells ha\"ll1g lallen close to iL Thi- train carried the first result:: of the battle, and it was a yer: distre,:oing sight. The wounded filled the carriaaes just as they had come from the fie'ld; el'er\, wound had been dresserl, anJ had been dressed extremely well, under fire. _-\ noticeable feature was the fact that yel)' iew of these dressinas needed re-adjustment. Rifle splints, tourniquets, and other dressinas"'had been adj usted carefull y and deiiberatel y, under circumsta:lces of di fficulty and danger. There had been. we learned,a rush with the to train, -which was rapidly fillea and had then immedi:nely steamed away, and \ hen we saw it at Cbiel'eley, four miles from the battlefield, the men were still under the excitement of the action. The wounded \\'ere cheerful and thankful for their treatmen: many remarking that their anxiety to get to pay the Boe.rs out., ." saw the t::.Hn start a'.\"ay 10.r Estc:oun (it was back again Chle\'eler last mght). O.n Its :nfl\'al .\0. + Hospital was Hnmedlately unloadeJ and the erectlon of the tents began at once. before the weary officers and men of the Royal _-\rmy .\Iedical Corps had had a chance of sleep. The Stationary Ho pital W<iS yesterday therefore, of SIck at Frere. the whole packed and brought l0 Chleveley, thc tents re,erected, made ready tor 100 woul'lded, and almost they reeeil'ed so-all this being completed between i a.m. and midnight (streng!h 4 officers and 3i men of the Royal :\rmy :'Iedical Corps). -

To return to ourseh'es, having obtained Ihe necessary ll1formation and permission we walked to the field hospitals of the +th, Sth and 6th Briaade" situated ab )lJt three miles from Chie\'eley under the crest of a hillcck about +00 yards outside the fire zone. The state of these at t.he time of our I'isit is almost beyond descriptIOn. Captain Symons and mysel1 \'JsJted the three operatin a tellts one after a,nother. where. my \\:as continually by the officers 1n charge-:dalor Cog-gm .\fa,lur HeustOn, :'IIajor Cullina.

i\Iajor :1.nd '\Iajor Young-about nrious case-so .each the three oper:nin cy tents contained t\l"O operating tables and as faSt as a patient was taken orf the table another tock his place. _-\waitina their turn the \I'0unded were lyillO" outside in rows which were continually augmented by the ci\ilian bearers coming in from the fielJ. As each wounded man reached the hospital he W:1.S sen'ed with a hot cup of bO\Til.large cans of which were boiling outside the tents. T he way in which tbe wounded had been aressed upon tbe field and each man ticketed \\ith the nature of his wound, bisname and regiment, ITas excellent and was Yery useful for This also sa\'ec much time at the field hospitals, because the seriously wounded could be at once discriminated from the more tril'ial cases. The latter went a\\'ay at once to the tents and the former were re-dressed anJ operated upon when necessary by the four officers of each of the field hospitals and tbe three surgeons ot each of tbe bearer companies. The praise of the regimental .officers and men in resp.ect to the way in which the Royal Army r.ledlcal Corp;; had done their duty under hea\')' fire was unanimous and unstintcd. ,\n officer of the Devons, \\" ounded in tbe foot, told me that he managed to get tJ a hut near the bank of the ril'er which was used as a dressing station. This hut \\"as continually under hea\'y fire, and he described the beha"iour of the medical officers as magnificent.

The spectacle at the field hospitals was most painful. Ambulance waggon after waggon and stretcher squad after streteher squad came in while I was thel e, pouring in the wounded, some of whom had died on the way and could tely only be carned to the mortuary tents The k performed In tbe operating- tents was, in my opinion, of great effiCiency, the operations being deliberately carried out witb skill and despatch under the \'ery trying circumstances of intense heat, hurry, and excitement all round. The Ropl A.rm)' :'Iredical Corps officers of these hospitals had started surgical work about 3 a.m. , and when I visited them in the e\'ening they were still hard at it, haying had no food meanwhile and no time for rest, :lnd the work went on for hours afterwards. I ga \"e ad "ice in many cases \\ here I was asked, and advised aglinst operation in the case of a poor fellow wi th a fearful o.f the hip. Altogether some 800 patients passed through the field hospital dunog the day The men showed the utmost pluck and endllrance; there W::IS not Lhe smallest despondency, th e pre'!o minen t feeling bein g anxiety to to return and fight again. This was

A I D. 63

yery spl€'ndid of them 'after such a dar as the" had experienced anu makes one feel \'ery proud of t:leir fine mettle.

The bos!Jital trains rapidly took them awa\". E:lch train carries on an a\'erag<: 100. cases and is equipped \yitb' e\'ery possible requirement, ICed ch tmp:lgne, soup, :tnd QLher co:nfons in ab.undance, so I am certain that all that human io:-esiaht could accompllsh was done during the journeys ior the mitigation of the sufferin.s of the wounded. The first train. which was for a ti;ne under fire. tne immedi::te I'icinity of at c p.m,. WIth [H) wounded: a second tram was despatched at a. m. on the luth a third at p.m. on the 16th: a fourth :,>.: daylight on tbe r and a fifth:Jt • a.m. on the 1 \'e:-y quick Succe3-"ion. :\ll the field were empty <it daybreaK. on the I;-th, and thiS was done. notwlthsl:1.ndino- that the\:\'ere obliged to the bo::pitals in the mic!::t ot' I\ oll to e5cape Irom the zone ot fire.

Poor Captain Hughe". R.o-\.:'['C.lon General Bullers st3.ff, an officer of the highest merit and promise, was killed b\- a which se\'ered the innominate artery, and :'IaJor Brannig:1.n: R.:\.:'Il.C., wa" seen b\' me shOt through the :'Iajor Rifle Brio-ade. who officered the \'olunteer am ubnce bearers,- did splendid sen'ice and I heard htm report a ,om 3.30 p.m. th:lt the whole tield was cleJr of wounded, which was ,oery r:!pid and gvod work. \\'hen I "aw tbat I could do no niOre personal work lor these hospi ta Is we re:urned to :'\ '). + tationary Hospital at Chie\'eley and manaaed to O'et a shake dOlm 111 the deserted and dismantled hOlLe of the st3.tion-master. During the I a 7sisted .\!ajor perform a laparotOmy on a man whose Intesune had been p}e:ced 111 twO places a yery ul Issue up t o te uf WTltll1g nd<: recorded It .15 worthy ot.note that the. was pertormed 10 a ,eqUipped WJ[h el'eryth.ng needful) III a hosPJlal whIch had been In full activit\· eig-ht miles <1\\,1)" on the morning of the ::ame Jay. The COl1\'eyance of thewounded by stretchers from the field hospitals and from the field tv this hospiLl1 has teen going on the whole e\'ening nuny beina carried r"m !1\'e to se:'en n;iles with great comfort and a the time more marquees are pItched. so rhat .:'00 reds m,!y be ::hortly ready. the marquees are pro\'ided with iron beds, wire spring bottoms, and ha ir mattresses, the gift of a Durban gentleman. T,, o nursing sisters ammut and :\riss .'Ilanin) are hard at work doing excellent sen ice under difficulties. One of the ambulance waggons which wenl tOo br under fire in the morning was bl )\\n up by a shell (1ccidentally, no doubt). Fortunately. there were no patient" in it, and the dri\"ers escaped unhurt,

Dec. lith.-Yesterday and the day before were indeed day::. of hard work. A hospital train, tilled \yith wounded. had arrireJ from the field hospital about' a.m. (lbtb) and Jischarged many oi the more se\'erehwounded into our station:1.ry h05pitaL A hospital has no\\" been added to ours under the command of :'Iajor Baird. R -\. a5sisted by Captain Begbie. The tllO operating tents are constantly busy. I was consulted about many C:l;,es and aS5istfd at se\'eral operations. In the :1.fternoon r performed an amputation of the right tt;iuh for a fracture of the femur i01 \\hich gangrene of the leg bad supc'nened. There were many abdominal and lung cases. but comp:ll-:tti\ely fel\' of these required operation. being either a ia\'ourable char:lcter or the patient being tOO ill to allo\\' of interierence.

_-\n order ha\'ing been gi\'en last e\'ening for the brigades to retire on Frere, Xo. + Hospital became oi neces_ity crowded by the \\'ounded of the field hospitals belor,ging to those By 10 p.m all the wounded h;,.d been found leeping places, but [here \I'ere no more beds to spare. Tbe medical officers nOI\" no. more till mornIng th:ln Sl.!e that the serious cases obtatned morphIa, milk, and u 'erul CJmfans. E\'er\,one was exhausted and almost iell asleep at his dllties. This mornil{g the brigades h,l\'e kit and we hear that the whole army is to retire on Frere. \Yater is \"ery scarce indeed. There will probably be no further 5o-htin a for the present, and as:1.ll the wounded will ha\'e left the front by to-night th,! princip:1.lmeJical ofiicer (Colonel Galiwer) has ad\"ised me to return La Pietermaritzburg. Considering the o-reat strain of the work and the number of the "oundee after this hotly engagement (where both rifle and fire were something, it is said, nel'er been :;een before), I like to.drawattention to these bcts: -I. The skill and care dlspbyed 111 tre:H1ng compound fractures and injuries requiring calm attention and time under hea\"}" fire. 2. The skilful and efficient way in \lhich serio LIS major oper .ltions \\"ere performed on tbe same day as the baIlie c':JJ1siderabl.e pressure and by the medIcal of.£icers ot the held hospitals. ;. 00 wounded were cleared from the held by () p.m., tbe action ha\'ing- finished at 2 p m. -to By midnigr.t on the second day after the battle-Cta-night) the last wounded man \\"111 ha\'e left t.he h05P.itals at the front and \\ til have been conyeyed to E.stcourt, Pleterma'ltzburg. Durban, and the hospital ships. 5 Eight train loads b\'e been taken away in the ho pital trains in t\\"o d:1YS. There can be no doubt: in the of those \\ho ha \'e watched tbe proceedings at the front that a trying emergency bas been met. under circulllstances oi extreme tension, with complete success, and I know the army has had the arealest confidence in meJical corps and teels that all has been done for the wounded that could ha\'e been done. I accorJingly returned this morning in the hospital train (com'eying 100 wounded) lO Pieler-

FIRST [February , 1900.

______________________ _________________r---------------------------

maritzburg. The heat has been intense. IVe have had three very husy hard-working days and returned weary and sad for such grievous loss and suffering.

THE IMPERIAL YEOMANRY HOSPITAL. A meeting of the general committee of the Imperial Yeomanry Hospital Funci was held on t.h,e r 6th ult. at 20, Curzo.n Street, W Lady Georgiana Curzon preslOed, and those present mcluded the Countess of IVarwick, Viscountess Valentia, Lady Chesham, the Duchess of De\'onshire, the Duchess of Marlborough, Adeline the Duchess of Bedford, the Countess of Dudley, the Countess of Essex, Lady Rothschild, Lady Eb ury, b .dy Gerard, L ady Maud R ollesto n Lady Ethelreda Wickham, Lady Boston. L ady Baillie-Hamilton, Lady Edmund Fitzmaurice, Mrs. Blair, Mrs. Cookson, Mrs. Farrar, Mrs. W. H. Grenfell, Mrs. Heath, Mrs. Lucas, Mrs. George Coats, and Captain H ao-gard Lady Georgiana Curzon stat ed that most encouraging reports had hee n received from every ocality of the amount of money that was beino- subscribed, and they were eve r y day ch eered by letter s of sympathy donations enclosed Th e hospital was intended primarily for the sick and wounded of the Yeomanry force, which was composed almost exclusively of men who had and stron.g ties at home, and yet who had come forward so. wIllmgly at theu· countly's ca lL They appealed to men and woman alik e, and to all who were parting with friends and relations to identify themselves with the YeomanryCorps by givingmbscriptionsand by ass sting and r ais ingfunds for the scheme, ,vt.Jich was theequi pment and maintenance of a perfect base hospital of 520 beds, with am bulance and stretcher bearers. The tradespeople of Birmingham and London had come forward in a most generous manner and made most munificent gifts. Th eappeal for the equipment of beds had been most li berally responded to, and they had now got the equipment of some 300 beds subscribed. L ady Chesham, who intended shortly to proceed to the Cape, had consented to be the honorary superintendent, '"hile Lieutenant-Colonel Sloggett had consented to be the honorary medical superintendent. The total amount which it was absolutely necess:ny to raise torthe carrying o ut of the sc h eme was£ 50,000, and toward5 that sum about £30,000 had alr eady becn subscr bed Th e surscriptions included £250 se nt by the Princess of ·Wales, which sum her Royal IIighne ss h'ld recei\'ed from th e l adie::;' Kennel Association. Many oflhe hunts in En gland had s ubscribed beds They hoped to despatch the fir st unit of the hospital on the 27th inst. Lady Shelley, Lady Beatrice Rawson, and Lady Bolton were added to the Committee. The members of the Birming-ham Conservative Club has s u bscribed £roo towards two beds in the hospital. It is stipulated that the beds shall be designated the" Birmingham Conservative Club " beds

Th e Marquess of Breadalbane, Assistant Director of the Ambulance Department of the Order of St. John, has forwarded to the St. John Ambulance Association a contribution of £roo from tbe Earl of Rosebery in aid of the Red Cross Fund for the relief of the sick and wounded in the South African War.

l\Ir. Horace S. Folker, Hon. Secretary of the National Fire Bri gades Union, has received a telegram [rom Lady Georgiana Curzon accepting the Union's offer to provide an ambu l ance detachment of 28 men for the Im perial Yeomanry

AMBULANCE WORK IN THE FIELD.

On January roth, at the the bead-quarters of the Plymoutb detachment, 2nd V.B.D.R., Surgeon-General G. J. H. Evatt Principal Medical Officer, Western District, lectured to a large compa n y on" The Organisation and Working of the Army Medical Service in the Field." Lieut.-C o lonel Snell. presided,. and those present were SurgeonColonel May, Capta1l1 and Adjutant Parlby, Surgeon-Captain Mariette Captain Butcher, Surgeon-Lieutenant Rendle,Lieutenants Paseoe,R.N.: Marshall, Bulteel, Clark, and Vosper Second Lieutenar.ts Brown Phillips and May, Drs. Corbett, I iVard, Hanney, and Webber, and members of the Great Western, St. John '5, and PoliceAm bulance C la sses Surgeon-General Evatt began by pointing out that until recent times the wounded in the field were the greatest impediment in the T?ovement of an. army. wounded were. taken from the fighting Ime back to own regiment, .eaeh battaIton having its own regimental hospital. Consequently, If 30 batl alions went into action and each suffered on ly \'ery few casualties, every regiment was at once encum b ered with its w?unded, and advance of the army prevented. In the whole of the Cnmean campaign only 3 ,000 men died of bullets but 18,000 perish.ed from diseases resulting from bad commissariat and defective medical se rvice.

Since those great bee n made. Th ey had taken away [rom. the their doctors an::i h os pita ls and orgalllsed m their stead the Army Med cal Corps. Besides their st ri ctly medical duties the doctors acted as sanitary advisers to the commanders of regiments on matters of the health and comfort of the men-a most important matter in the field. When an umy corps took the field wo bearer companies were attached to each of i ts three divisions termed bearer s, non-commissioned 0!TIcers and men of a company of the Army Medical Corps a ll tramed in ambulance work and able to render first aid to the wounded. Their function on the battlefield was to assist the medical officers in attend ing to the wounded on the field and then as speedily as possible to carry them to the field h osp ital, situated.abo ut two miles n rear of the fighting line. There we re thlee fie ld h ospita s for each diVISion, an d there at ence t he

be made fairly By this me a ns the fightIllg army tn front was freed of Its wounded and unencumbered in it s m ovemen s Each fie ld h osp ita l accommodated a hundred patients and its sta ff consisted of four doctors, one guarter m aster, and 34 ants. The lecturer described how the wounded were removed from the field !ho spita by a.mbulance trains or ot her sui table means of transport to a larger hospital at the base, ,,,here they remained un til suffic!ently .conva le scent .to be sent in one of the sp endidly_ fitted hospital. sh ip s n ow prOVided As the great im portance of attentIOn .to the of orga!11zatl.on, and the defi Ciency o f the ar my medical service III thIS respect untd quite recently he men tioned that during the campais-n of r882, when a of o ur troops were stricken down. WIth fever, there was no provIsion made at the hospita ls for washJllo- the clothino- and beddinoof the s Ck. Many thousands of Eventually they were sent from Egypt by steamer to Cyprus to be washed. But too, it was duty to see to the washing, ar.d they were shipped back to A lexandna , where finally they were washed by the marines of the fleet.

Now, however, every field hospital hadi:sown washermen a n d washing appliances Still there were some deficiencies in the am y medical service. He feared ?earers were not numerous enough, and when they. h eard of ;men missIng after an engagement in S o u th Africa, it meant that some of the wounded were laying in the field, not havlllg been found by the bearers. The re was not in the whol e of England a s ing-je field h ospita l yet. All the field hospitals and bearer companys at the front were on y temporarily organised, a nd the result was very often a want of th a t cohesion and trust in one another which came from organization and a knowledo-e of the men. In the Western District, stretching fr?m Land' s End to"'Gloucester, there were only two army doctors left -himself and another. But th ere were civilian rioctors com in g forward to assis t them, and they were ol"cranisino- a militia medical corps to take the place of the regulars who go i;g abroad. I n London an pndeavour had, wi th some success been made to form a volunteer medical corps, and if there were fellows in h e neio-h. bourhood of Plvmouth willing to join in for;ing a local corps, he sho ul d be happy to assist them with advice. (Applause).

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION.

For 12 months, IS. 6d., post free, to be sent to the Publishers.

:f13 re"f ties.

commenting on" 1'h e use of the Ambulance 111 Oiyil Practice, by Reginald Hanison, F. R.O.S.,·' the Bntish J[eclical J OU?'?z:tl " "',"Ii,! e fear the Ry:;,tem of hospital nmlmlances \yln ch It ably n,nd tersely advocates is still far from hrwiug beenl·ealiser1. The admuimble syptem of civilian am bulanc es mana.ged between the police and the hospitals in even compnrfltiyely small towns in Americ::l, puts even the gl'eatest of our cities to sh ame Th e system is bl'iefly this, as exemplifi ed in l' ew York. The city is cli yided into precincts, to which are as::;igned different hospitals, havll1g a n ambulance always ready. vVhen an accident 01 othel' emergency occurs, th e police communicate by tel ewith :the hospital, 8.l1clnll ambulance, with clue smgical asw;tan ce, S at once d e.' patcherl to the point indicn.te(l ; the per::;on i s thus removed with the gl eate::-;t expedition and ease Contrast this with our barbaric police stl·etchel·s. or wheelbarr ows, whel·e the pOOl' pati elJt, often supposed to be drunk, has to endure llot only phy::;ical hut mental torture at the hands of a l·ibalcl crowd Can nothing be don e to r emon) this l'epron,ch from us? "

* *'

MESS RS vV. O Winclm'er, Turrill & Sons, of Long Acre aml Sout h Audl ey Street, ha,'e ready for shipment to South Afl·icfl., two "Mandel 's' Flying Hospital Om's," and t ,y O "Mandel's' Flying Amoubllce Cars," as mentioned in our last iss u e, fOl· se n i ce with the I mpel·inl Yeomanry. The firs t- named cm's are somewhat similar to the Irish jaunting carp, a nd t.he vvollndell are 11l'evented from £<tIling hom the Rents, on each of \"bi ch tbere i s accommodntion for fOllr men, the ch'essings, watm', &e. al'e placed, ::Ind tbere is also a settt fOl' the sur geon The flying nmbuhnce cm's m'e en,ch fitt ed with six stl·etch ers An the cm's are fitted with springs specially constructod fOl' trn,yolling OV01' rough roa(ls. ;j; ;j, .:if

TH ERE is a r epo rt from tbe frolJt that i,h e Boer mnbnhnce wagon are better than OUl·S. If tbis is COl'l'ect it is it great r eproach to u s We hope that the C<ll'S mentioned will do someth in g to )·emoye the stigmn,

« * *

VVE are glad to see that the Annual Ooncel·t of the l\Ietropolitan Oorps, St. John Ambuh1llce Brigade, was exceeclingly well n,ttended. Th e presence of tbe "gentlemen in Kh nki" helped to make it su ccessful , an d tbe Clmil'manshipof the Marquess of Brea dalbane was greatly appl·cciatecl by the members of the Bl igacle

A:-'fB(1LANCE SO:\,G.-IVe ha\'e rec eived a song c. The Ambl'iance Bligade," from the auth or, 1'11. 'V. A Noble, 25, St. Peter's Street, Hu t!dersfie ld. He is a n xious that it should be used for tbe benefit of the Ambulance m en who h ave gone to the front, or for the benefit of the Brigade. Communication sho uld be addres?ed to bim direc t.

H 1bome 1b\?qfene."

B y.W _ J McCULLOCH ETTLES, :'\1.D., CH.l\f., ABERD Hon. Life Member S1. J ohn Ambulance Association. Lecturer on Ambulance, University Settlement, Toyn bee Hall PART XI.

.Rain Water - As described in the previous article, some of the ramfall at once runs off the land surface into streams and rivers while remainder, by underground routes, ultimately joins the rivers by of spnngs. Now (lirectly water comes in contact with the lana surface it s.omething, because possesses in a high degree the of substances. If It percolates through a chalky sod, It dlssol\·es the lime and becomes a "hard" water. If it falls on arable land, it dissolves the ammonia from the guano and other mal:ure and becomes laden with organisms of putrifaction diselse. If land surface COl:t1ios iron ?re, tbe water becomes" chalyheate," If the rock contall1s magnesium. or these substances pass solullon. The c?ntamll1atlOn?f rn·er water is greatly Illrreased by the dlst:harg-= Illto It of.sewage effluent from selt ling tanks, crude untreated selVage, and the pOisonous refuse from factories. It is th us seen that un boiled and un fi Itered ri ver water is very dan o-erous to drink. '"

:::lurf.ace Well 'Yells I?ust invariably be looked upon With great Susp ICIOn, Inde ed the maJonty may be unhesitatingly condemned. Unfo rtunately, both landlord anu tenant find their attractIOns too great to deSist from making or llsino- them. The soft friable and easily ,,·orked soil enables a supplybto be obtained fo; a small outlay, while the com·enienceof having a well at the back-door the householder. Just as it is easy to dig a well, so IS It to dl.spose or the refuse of d,,·elling by allowing it to percolate Illto the subSOIL A proper dral11age system is complicated and costly, ,,·hile a cess pit for the retention of the more soliu constituents the refus.e may constructed at a EmaIl cost. The liquid selvage rapidly finds Its way mto the surface well; in one case chemicals thrown down the house closet appeared in the well water in half-anhour! I n another case, a co stly drainage system ,,"a s adopted in a district near London, and immediately the sewers began working, all th e shallow wells up. Again, in a country town was a group of small cottages possessmg a common pump. One day the pump failed to give water and remained perman:'!ntly dry. I"hy? Because the landlord had done away with water-closets and substituted eallh ones in stead!

A famous case occurred fifty years ago in St. James', \V estminster. In a sirgle week nearly h\'e hundred people diet! of cholera within a radius of two hundred yards of the Broad pump. It was found that the sewage from a house in "hich there had been se,·eral cases of diarrhcca found 8n entrance into the well. The pump-handle was removed and no more cases occurred.

Deep Well Water is usually pure. At any rate it is free frem orgl1lic contamination. The dissolved orgar:ic substances by long per co lation through rock and sand becomes oxidised into hJrmless ni trates. The composition ot the water ,'aries acc:Jrding to the nature of the ground through wbich it passes. If the rock be limestone t!le water will be hard; if sandstone or slate it will be "ery pure ,\rtesian well water belongs to this class.

L:?ke Water.-If the lake basin is in a mountainous district, it is usually pure. Perhap s the purest watel· supply obtained by any community is that of Glasgow, which is supplied by Loch Katrine. Lake Vyrnl\y which supplies Liverpool, and Thirlmere, which supplies :\ fa nchester are other instances.

The relatil·e v;:tlue of the various waters has thus been staled by the Ri"ers Pollution Commission :-

\" 1 I \ I.-SDP:·ing". 11 I palatable.

10 esome J.- eep e I

13· - Upland Sl!rface 1. :.\Ioderateh· palatable, \ +--Stored Ram!Suspicious I s.-Surface from Cultivated Land)

D o- , 6.-River IVater with Sewage [- Palatable. an::,elous L7. -Shallow \\'ell )

Stor ",ge.-Water may be taken from a brge ri"er or lake. If there is but a small stream, this may be dammeLl; in which case, the dam sho uld be at a height sufficient to distribute the water by grayi-

FIRST

tation all over the district. In many flat or low lying such a supply.is not obtainable and the water has to re pumped mto artdiclal reservOirs. To obviate a drought these reservoirs should .be large enouO"h to hold a three mon'.h's supply. From the reser-.'olr or da.m the passes !nto fi.lters consisting of brick tanks open to the air. The bottom of the tank is covered with 4 or S feet of coarse gravel or sand arranged in the following ord.er from the bottom lajer of bricks 6 in.ches.deep, then 6 Illches of ane! then of sharp sand. FiltratIOn proceeds through thlsat the rate ?f 4:1 cubic feet per hour. From these it passes through cast Iro:1 mains which run down the yanous streets, from these mall1S lro.n pipes are led to the houses Inside the house the water IS conducted to the taps through leaden pipes.

In the !best water service, the house water IS draw;) directly fro.m the main. The ,Vater Companies, howel'er, endeavour to by turning the water on intermittently. When the I.S tu.rned on, cisterns are fille::l which supply the house when the servlOe pipe IS closed. The cistern should be constructed of a rr.aterial which will not be affected by the water, such as slate or galvanised iron. Lead or w0.od cisterns are injurious. The cistern is generally stowed 111 an 111accessible position and is usually uncovered, pernllttll1&" dust and dirt to freely enter while pre"enting due cleansll1g. TheCistern then should be of proper material, accessible without undue dlffi.culty, and be prO\'ided with a properly fitting cover. T?e oyer-flow shoul.d pass through the house wall and open dmcdy mto.the outer all". serves the double purpose of preventll1g the pollution :)f the water WIth sewer 3.ir aed of drawing attention to any fault in The water used for flushing closets should be stored III cisterns separaLe from t.hat the drinking- water, Am.?unt req ulred .:An adult reqUires for dnnklng t gallon, cook.mg a gallon, washmg and bathing 5 gallons, share of domestiC washing 3 gallons, share of clothes wa:hing 3 gallons; total 12 gallons.

In estimating the supply for a community each adult ;'S allowed this quantity with additions as follows :-DomestJc supply 12 gallons, <feneral baths 4 crallons, \\'ater closet 6 gallons, una\'oidable waste 3 gallons, town and trade purposes (including animals) 5 gallons; total 30 gallons.

Pu re W a er.-(a) Should be clear and bright; (h) Should be aerated. The bubbles produced by shaking- should rise quickly to the surface If they rise slowly organic impurity may be suspected; (() There should be no smell when fresh or after keeping; (d) When \'ie\\ed in bulk it should be blue in tint, a brown tint is bad; (e) On addition of a few drops of a solution o[ Permanganate of Potash the purple colour should be retained. If the wa.ter is impure the ,ol.ution \I'ill turn brown; (/) I t should not contam more than grall1s of salt to the g-allon, excess indicating sewage.

I mp ur i ies.-As water is the most universal solvent known, it must frequently contain impurities. Thesp are by no means always injurious.

G ases in solution impart to it its sparkling appearance and refreshing taste The gases are mainly oxygen, nitrog-en. and carbon dioxide. When water is boiled these are driven off and the water is then insipd. Sewer gases, containing ammonia and sulphides are r eadily dissoh'ed and are deleterious.

M lllerals are largely dissolved. The chief are chalk (cal bonate of time ) and gypsum (sulphate d lime). They are insoluble, but in the presence of carbon dioxide contained in the water, they are chancred into the soluble Jicarbonate and bisulphate. Their presence to water the quality of Ie hardness." Such water is expensive for ing purposes because it necessitates the use of a great deal of Soa p to form a lather. The hardness is in part got rid by boiling the water. This drives off the carbon dioxide causing the insoluble carbonate to fall as a deposit. The" fur" on kettle interiors or boiler plates is formed of this. When the hardness can be got rid of by boilincr it is called" temporary," but \"hen it is due to sulphates or to magn:sium salts it cannot be so dissipated, and is then known as "permanent hardness " Another method of treating hard water is to add lime This takes up the carbon dioxide forming the insoluble carbonate which falls along with any carbonate previously held in soluti,)U ( Clark's process).

As ou t by the East London 18 ounces of freshly bl1rnt Cjulck lline IS slaked to a powder. It IS then watered to a thin cream and poured into a cistern containing So gallons of water to be softened.

\Yater is then added up to 700 gallons. 1n Canterbury 110 000 o-alfons are softened daily with 1I,?00 gallons of lime water, and impurities are reduced from 23 g-rams per galion to less than 8. To soften so much, water one ton o[ soap, c.osting.£, 20, would be needed, while by Clark s process the same result IS obtained by 8 pennyworth of lime.

Peaty \Vater is dangerous on account of the ease with which it dissol\'es lead It may be treated by passing it through layers of flinty gravel \\hich hardens it.

A p e r e n used ?ut unsuited as an ordinary supply, are met With In 10cabtJes containIng magnesium (Epsom) or sodium (Glauber) sLllphates. may be present in great.quantities \ire have already seen how ea5ily chol e ra may be transmitted. Another instance is afforded

A I D: l Th1a r ch, 19 00.

by the great epidemic of Hamburg (1892) wbich was traced to. evacua_ tions thrown into the E l be. In the same way t Y I?hOl d may be spread. r hus in Over Darwen the stools from one patient got into the water supply through the blocking of a drain As a consequence 2000 cases occurred in a population of only 22,000.

, D o m es ic F il te r d -In most tO\\ns

the supply is no\\' sufficiently pure to render home fllteration unnecessary. "l he best mode of purificatioll, howe\"er, is boi lin g'. This destroys any germs. Of the fi lte r s, the only two that are quite reliable are the Pasteur-Cumberland and the Berkefeld. In both of these the water bas to pass through a stratum of fine unglazed porcelain:. The water is so free from germs that It IS used as sterile water in bacteriological research and surgical operations. The filters made of charcoal, sponge, felt, or tow are all had. In time, they become filled with organic matters which decompose and then add impurity to the water.

Filter.

St. 30hn Bnlbnlance :fBrigabe .

METROPOLITAN CORPS.

METROPOLITAN CORI's.-The annual Bohemian concert of this Corps of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, took place at the Ho lbo rn To\\"n Hall, on Tuesday el'ening, Jalluary .;o.lh. l\larquis of Breadalbane presided, and \\'as supported by Sir Owen T. Burne, Inspector-General Belgrave 2\innis, Chief Surgeon S. Ost.orn, and Colonel Sir Herbert C. Perrott. There was a large audience. A special fe lture of the proceedings was 1:,e attendance in khak i of anout 50 members of the brigJ.de, who are going to the front In to a vo e of thanks, the chairman referred to the great lI1crease 111 the importance of the metrop::,]itan brigade, which, he s(iid, had no\\' +1 divisions, with a strength of 900 members, including hon. surgeonsand officers. At the present time the Brigade, throughout the United Kingdom and the colonies, numbered 11,000 members, including 2,000 nursing- sisters. Everyone was gratified at the manner in which the mem had yolunteered for foreign service, and to a 11 \\ho were going he Ivished "God speed," and a safe return. (Applause. ) The musical programme was pleasantly diversified, and reflected credit on the Concert Committee. The vocalists included i\liss Alma Jones, Miss Lizzie Telfy Dal'ies, i\ladame Gertrude Barrington, and Miss Clara Hardy; \I·hile the other entertainers comprised sllch favourites as Mr. lIarry Hudson, Mr. \\' alter Churcher (wbose recitations are always diverting), Mr. Fred Russell (with his e\'er-,Yelcome "Coster Joe "),1\11'. Harry Briden, Mr. \\'ill E. Edwards, Mr. fyred Lewys, j\I1'. Charles J. Nell', I1Ir. Tb0111as Lynes, and ':\lr. R. E .\Iiles. The Concert Committee consisted of Chief Superintendent 'Y. H. ,:\1 organ , Superintendent Secretary \\'. H. \Yinny, and Superintendents A. J. Trimmer, T. A. Painter, J. J. £\lley, W. J. H. Pont1l1 E. Hodgwn, 'Y. L. Liddell, and J. E. Line:. Supelintendent 1::). B. Piers acted as hon. secretary, and Pri vate Charles J. 2\ e\r as the musical director.

PROVIKCIAL CORPS.

BRISTOL.-At the Redland Park Hall on the- 13th ult., a yocal and instrumental concert was given under the auspices of the Division. There was also a demonstration of ambulance work. Dr. Vernoll, Deputy Commissioner for NO 2 District, prior to the commencement of the concert macle a few remarks with regard to the St. John Ambulance Association and the Brigade. Many people, he said, did not understand th'e difference between the Association and the Brigade. The Association was the teaching body, which granted the first aid certificates. It had sent out several thousand articles to the soldiers at the front. The Brigade was totally different, and whereas the Association might be .likened to the hospitals where medical men obtained their instruction, the first-aiders might be looked upon as the medical men. The Brigade was for the purpose of forming a body of ::-Jen who would be thoroLlghly trained and efficient to render service to their neighbours at home. As an example, the speaker referred to the visit of the Vueen to Bristol, when not on ly the Bristol Division turned out, but members of the Brigade from other towns. The Brigade was also utilised in time of war. Up to the pres e nt they had sent to South Africa close upon 800 men. That morning he had a notice from the \Var Office calling upon them to send out another 100. These would have to report themselves at heau.q uarters on Thursday. They had in Gre<.t Britain about I2,000 men, besides 2,000 nurses. They were now recognised as one of the :.tanding boJies !n the and by the War Office, which was showing how weak It was 111 the Army Medical Corps, or they would not be sending to them so of ten. Before the war wou ld be over they would probably hare from 1,000 to 1,500 men belonging to the Brigade at the front I-laving referred to the trying part t hese men had to play in t i me of war, the

\f a r ch , 1 900 , ] FI

RS T

speaker announced that the Bristol Division was formed four years ago, but at times had g-reat difficulty in keeping its head above water OIling to opposition and wan: of funds. He must say that the present state of that DivisiGn was entirely due to the untirin.g efforts of Dr. Griffiths, who had been loyally backed lip h) the men. He hoped that concert was the forerunner of many \1 hereby the Division might obtain funds for the p'Llrpose of carrying Out it': objects. they hu: wishe .::l to benefit the funds and to assist the wounded soldiers \\'ho "ere to be conveyed to the Convalescent Home, and to see that they ""ere taken there in comfort.

DE\"'·SBURY. - On Tuesday, the oth ult., at the Drill Hall, the quarterly parade of this Div:sion was held, and there was a competition [or the position of supernumerary officer. The Judge was Superintendent Armitage, of the Armley and Wortley Division of the Brig-ade. F,) rty members were on parade. The competitors were: Privates H. FOII'Ier, R. Fox, and ;\11. Thompson, \I'ho went through a course of drill, and answered a number of written questions. At the close, Superintendent [\rmitage announced that [1. Fowler had scored 13+ points outofapossible ISO. Fox obtained 130 and Thompson 10+ points. Superintendent Armitage, in addressing the men, said they had all done yery well, and he W1S pleased to see the Dewsbury Corps in such a flourishing- condition.-SlIperintendent Hemingway, of the De\\'sbury Corps, proposed a vote of thanks to Superintendent Armitage, Supernumerary Sheppard and Privates Wharton and '\Iyers, from the Armley and Wortley Di\'ision, for their kindness in coming over to judge and inspect the Dewsbury Corps.

HANDS\\·ORTH.-The competition for the silver cup and tl\"O sets of meda;s for the members of the IIandsworth division of the St. John ;\mbulance Brigade, took place in St. James s School, on Saturday afternoon. the 17th ult., the examiners being Dr. Lind (Hockley), Dr. Benter White (Fdgbastol1), and Dr. Crabbe (Grave lly Hill), \Iith Dr. Croll, of Handsl\"orth. in attendance. This 11"1S follol\"ed in the el'eni ng by a concert held in the Sew In T1 s Assem bly Room, lIa.,nds1I"0rth, when the prizes \I"ere allanled. S!ll'e r Clip (presented by Chief Superintendent H. Beck, the \Yagon Company (Limited) first set of Tangyes ( Limited); second set of medals, Parish Church, Handsl\"orth. '\[r. T. E. Sill-ester (\Tice-President of the Centre) presidell over a hllge [n response to the ., ,\bsent-minded Beg-gar." £1 ss. was wntribllLed in aid of the St. John Ambulance Wal Fund.

LErCESTER.- The annual Competition for the Challenge 'hield took place on Thursday,.!anu:lIY 25th, atthe Old TOIIll Hall. Deputy [n,pector General Coates, '\LD., officiated as Judge. :\fter a searching examination, both in practical work and theory, the following al\ards were made: 1st, L.:\".\\'. Di\'ision. 349 marks; 2nd, Town Dil'ision, 3+7 marks; 3rd, The \Yheatsheaf Di\'ision, 31' marks; ith, 1he Working :'lIen's Club and Institute Division, 283 malks. The maximum number of marks was 400. The \yinning team each receil'e a silve r medallion and the slim of 505. goes to the Dil'isional Funds. A bronze medallion is awarded to each member of the second team. The arrangements \\ele carried out by Mr. F. H. Turner, Hon. Sec. of the Committee.

(boi ng t o t he "UUlar ,

By CEIl RCRG US.

.LV 1lJDIlE,';"S TO OCR },]B"-T-_1TDEfl,' {;ULY(/ 10 so ("TIl _lFRT('_1.

1\L the request of the Editor I take up my pen t·) say a fel\' \\'or s to those about going to pel fOi m ambulance duty in South Africa. I hope these remal ks will be taken in the se se they are m,lde, tha.t of earnestly desiring to help, and 1l0t taken as reflecting in any \\"ay 011 Ihe gooJ intentions of Ollr self-sacrificing volunteers.

1\S at the time of writing there is el'ery probability of the W,l[ lasting some months, and also e,'ery probabilit,v of many more firsL-aiders being required in addition to those alre:1dy sent our. l think [ cannot do better than refer at some lengLh to t\l'O points that are important to their well-being.

By the way [ would advise all those for service in the war, to send in their names to the Superintendents of their divis ons at once, so that \Ihen the funher calls are made they will stand a good chance of being selected.

One o f the points thaL strikes me as being most important and wonhy 01 a great deal of attention, is that of CLOTHING.

I see the Brigade Heg-ulation "B.O. 16, Volunteers for Sen'ice in South ;\frica," says. "Each man wi:l provide his OIl n woollen or flannel underclothing- (two sets), tl\'O flannel shirts, four pairs of socks, one pair strong laced boots (\I'i th spare laces), GIn vas shoes, slippers, and Brigade uniform.' l\llhough this order seems pretty distinct and Jefmite, it is astodishing how it is el'aded, and how men come to the heaJ.-quarters indirrerenLly provided, or Hen altogether minus some of the articles me n t ioned. Each Superi n tendent ought t o make it his personal b u s in ess to see t hat the men he sends u p have a proper o u tfit ,

A I D. 67

which is just as necessary as hiS certilicate uf efficiencY--It woulJ. save t.he hard official::; at the head-quarters a great deal of time and worry :\ote It SJys " Iloollen or flannel underclothing," and not menno or ca]lco or any other substitute Also" flannel shins," take care that the shirts are flannel and not flannelette, which is onl\cotton prepared in a particular manner, and is not to be compared the re.d article. :\150 take care that these garments are large enough. [or you know, or if you do not, your women folk \\'ill tell you, that flannel or woollen shrinks at every washing. Flannel garments do not need washlDg so frequentiy as cotton ones, they allow the emanations of the skin to right through the material. It is a good plan after taking off yom flannel \'est or shirt at night, to turn it inside our, shake it well, and lea\"e it exposed to the air, by this means all the perspiration i3 got riJ of, and it is practically sweet again by the morning. think one of our Generals once said, that a soldier only wanted one fhnnel shirt, which he was to wear a fortnight oneside, then take it off, sLake it well, and wear it the other side, and so on until it was worn out. I hope our \'olunteers will not be reduced to these straits, I only menlion it to show hOI\" necessary it is that the clothing should be ventilated and as often as possible.

lOU will find it very useful to \"ith you a few extra needles. cottons (although these are pro"ided in the hold-all) and some butcons similar to those on your underclothing, and some darning worsted for your socks If JOu do not knOll" how to darn socks, get YO'Jr sister, or somehody else's sister to gil'e you a lesson.

Four pair of socks are required-get woollen ones-those made of Scotch fingering are yerf good-see that they are not too big or too small, and don't forget to take some ot the same material for mending. Cotton socks are unfit, perspiration renders them hard and uncomfortable

In selectin,g your laced boots, rememberthat it is impossible to get a good pair tor a small sU'11-pay a proper price and you lI'ill then not be disappointed. The Capital &. Counties Co., of .\[ilton Street, E.C. (which advertised in this last year, or Crisp &: will suppty " good and reliable articles." Remember also the supply of sp:Lre laces-it looks "ery bad to tie up your hoots II'ith stringstring is exceeding-ly meful in its way, but it should not be seen on any part of the uniform.

The canl'as shoes should ha"e leather soles and not india-rubber.

I think I need not say anything about the uniform, for I hope that e\'ery member of the Brigade who presents himself at head-quarters would t"lke a special pride in seeing that his uniform is complete in el'en' deLail, enn dowe to his buttons and boot laces.

The second of my points is, that:!os regards the P erso n a.l Health of the c:tndidate. J rake it that no one would think of volunteering for this service who uid not feel in good health and fit for any kind of sen·ice. The conditions are-he must be" unmarried, between the ages of 21 and 30 years. between :;I"t. fiin. and 5 [1. loin. in height, in perfect health, of good physique, free irom hernia, with bir eyesight, and rerv iceable teeth," and he has to be minutely examinell by a .\Iedical Officer of the Brigade. I may also say that varicose vein:; will bar anyone from being accepted. :\s the question of" sen'iceable teeth 11 is one that has caused a good nuny cmdidates to be rejected, r would advise all those who intend to present themsel\'es to h1Ve their teeth examined some time beforehand, so that the bad ones can be extracted and false One::; put in their place. This may take two or three weeks, so the :"Joner it is attended to the better. Before you present yourself for medical examination it would be aJ"isable to ll1:1ke a little preparation by retiring early for tl\"O or three days beiore anj taking a fair amount of exercise, eating moderately :tnd drinking alcohol verr sparingly, and unless you areaccu,tomed to the morning tub, you ought to ha\'e a warm bath on th: morning of the inspection. By following Ollt these directions I hope that all suitable candidates wil I be accepted.

There is one other point I wish to mention, it is only my own opinion on the malter, and probably a good many people may hugo at the idea. Our ambulance men all going out as hospital orderlies, and are not supposed 10 act as stretcher bearers on the field or to come within the line of fire. ,\t the time th,ll reguht:(,n was issued, it was not thought that such a large army would be required, as is at present found to be the case. In all probability LGrd Roberts will hare to ligbt one (at least ) big b:tttle, and it is pJssible tint there wili not be enough stretcher bearers. If that is the case I should not be sUiprised if \'olunteers for the front are applied for at the \'arious hospitals and hospital ships, and then will be the opportunity for our civilian firsta iders to render real first aid. [on I)' hope a ud trust that Prol'idence will be with them and help them to fulfil their arduous task.

The St. John Ambulance Association which is entrusted by the Central British Red Cross COl111lJ ttee Ilith the reception and forwardi ng- of material for the sick and wounded to the seat of war, has al ready dispatched 5,855 pyjamas, 9,293 shirts, J3,603 handkerchiefs, 2.319 pillows, 7,330 pillol\' slips, 6,+0; pairs of wcb and 6,2 IO slippers,tI1d shoes, I,+7I knitted caps, nightcaps, &:c., palrsot and mittens 1,080 jackets, woollen wa.istcoats, and 4,735 1,021 nighti n gales a n d hospital capes, 69+ cnshIOns, and other articles.

Fig. g.-Berkefeld

All Letters and communicatio ns to the Edit or should be address ed t o him at th e P ub lis hers , 10, Pater noster R ow, E.C.

Subscripti ons and Adver ti sements sh ould be sent to the P ublishers direct.

FIRST A ID

JLIIU'JI 1, 19(}O.

"\YE spoke bst month of the \,ondel'ful THE ambulance l'e"OUl'ces of this country, al1l1 TO TIlE C.iLL. of the llnl)l'ececlentecl call thelt held been made upon them by the military authOl'ities, This lllonth we ::;houlcllike to clnn, the attentim:< of om thouglltfull'ca<lel's to the l'eml;wkable l'espon 'e to the call.

F)'om all parts of the country. north south east and \,e,t, hns the l'eSpOIJ e come, eaJl heard in all the cornel',' of our little island, ancl bas been answered nt t1, moment's notice by young men from the factory and \yol'l;::shop, the office and the countel', "ho al'e ready, aye, willing: to give their to the \,ol1l1cled ancl sick, and, althcngh non-collluatant", m'e ready to ri k their liYes on the lXlttle-.fi.eltl in the pelJOl'manee' of their duty Up to the present ahout GUO men lw,-e he en "ent out b,? the St, ,Tohn Alllbulance Bligacle, nml although this seel;ls il lil)'ge numLer, "'e belieye that m01'e ,\'ill be 1'equil'ed. at the tlHl t mnnifested at all local tbe1'e to be not the slig-Me::;t tliB-icnlty in obtaining \'olunteel's, the only trouble i::; ;-;0 many m'e clis;1ppointec1, The milit:ny mllhulance <ll'l'angelllentl'; in tbe pl'esent ,,'aI', although good, haye not been in any 'my perfect aSlleulOn::;tl'atccl 1)), the st1'ai11 pnt on tbe civilian bo<1ies. (1,nd it is a great satisfaction fOl' 11::; all to ::;ee the manner in which the response bas lleen made to this ('all.

The ,Pl'e, 'sm'e on the officials at the head-quarters, lws, we been so great that they haye had Lo wOl'k night fOl' months P;lst. "\Ve only hope that, at the te1'Jnll1atlOn of our difficulties, when not ollly those who baye b01'11e the hl'unt of the battle, but nl::;o those who hetve \\'(jl'kec1 quietly behind the scelles ha\'e ])een 1'ewal'Cled, our commdes the Gate, whom at present it is not lIecessm'y to name, \\'111 meet ,nth all the l'ecognition that is clue to thelll fOl' their unflagging elevotion to ,,-ode

The folloll'ing paragraph is taken from the" Ph)'Siclllll :lIld Su-geoll," TII,E A.,n :tnonymous donor has g-enelously, presented to s HOSplt::t1,111 New York City, an ambulance, which I,S probably the first in use anywhere fOI amb,ulance work, The gear IS of the valiet\- similar to that which, formerly used for the street cars, The' is steered by Its Iront wheels Two motors of t horse-power each are used, these being suspended, on a real axle, The battery box under the bou)' of the ambulance carnes ++ cells ot accumulator, Its maximum speeu IS IS mlies an bour, and it is expected to run more than 71 miles on one The tyres 'Ire of solid lLIbber, and raw-hide gearing lessens the nOise o[ the machinery lo some extent. I l1side it is comand lighted hy, a marine lamp of 10 candle power. Its al'peal<1nce <In,d COnSl! uctlon IS neat and simple [or so large a machine, It cer,tamly ought to be more comforlable than the ordinary amb,ulance, pro\ Jded the nOise of the machine can be reduced to a mll1lmu':!, Expenence alone nn justify its appearance." [\Ve recommend thiS to tbe.,notlce of Lhe Secretary, the County Council, or an? other IS responsible for the well -being of this City, J;t I,S Stl ange, bUL thiS I,S kind or "chicle that was advocated by tbe of tbls journall!1 bls scheme for ami)ulanc:ng in London, New \ 01 k has :lOW an am bubnce sy stem for abou t twenty years and up to the present It has iJeen impossible to gel any public m;n in lOllllon to move III the matter.]

\Doluntecr OOebicaI Staff (!orps.

The annual distribution of pr izes to the members of the Londo Companies of the Volunteer Medical Staff Corps took place on Saturdan night, the 17th ult., at the head-quarters in Calthorue Street, SurO'e/ Lieutenant-Colonel J, Edward Squire was in cO,mmand, and was ported by Surgeon-,:\faJor l\1atthews, and C:\ptain L. Way, R .\, :\I.C. i\ccordll1g to the report, IS regarded as extremely satIsfact?ry, the strength of the IS +:l9 compared with 413 in the prevIOus year, the number of efficlents bell1g P9 as against +0+, The grant for the year amounted to The number of recruits was lOS, an of 33 over precedil1g year, and the resignations were only 87 as aga1l1st 129 Smce the end of the \ 70lunteer year no less than 110 recruits have joined, this increase being due to the fact that the transport section had been largely increased. As a tentative the? had at only a transp,ort section for one company, but With a Vie1\' of rebevl11g the Army Servl.::e Corps of medical transport duti,es which they now perform it, was p,roposed to haye a transport to each of the fi\'e compaDles, which would necessitate the pro\'ld,l11g of storage for 10 wagons, +0 sets of harness, and 1+5 horses \\'hlch would have to be increased in the event of their taking the field to so wagons and 2$0 horses" A hundred and fifty men would be requIred for the transport sectIons, :tnd there was reason to believe that these places \\'ould be entirely supplied by students from the Royal College. As an instance of the patriotic feeling now prevallll1g, a large number of past officers had offered to rejoin and no doubt if a Volunteer Reserve were decided on these would a very valuable element. A very Jarge number of qualified medica men had also offered their services temporarily, and these offers had been filed so that they could be accepted in case it was found possible to utilise the services of thes'! gentlemen , On the outbreak of the war 74 men of the \'olun,teer Medlcal,Staff Corps sent in their names as being willing tc serve 111 South Afnca, and though they could not be accepted at the time, it was held lhat some of them might be employed in connection with the Yeomanry hospital bearer companies and field hospitals, Among the prizes which "',ere handed the successful competitors by Surgeon-General H, S, :\IUJr, Deputy Dll'ector-Gener:tl Army ;\ledicJI Service, the prizefor the essay, the subject of \\hich was ''-To \\Lat extent should the bearer company render assistance in the fiO'hlinO' line during the progress of an engagement," was a\\'arded Slaff Sergeant Stapleton, No, -I- Company, which company, commanded by Surgeon -Captain J. Harper, won the challenge shield, and the prize for the senior non-commissioned officer cf the \\'inning company, prese:1ted by ;\lajor G. T, Rawnsley, R.A,:\I.C" went to 1st Class Staff-Sergeant p, W, Read, Surgeon-General Muir subsequently addressed the corps, anJ he \\'as deputed by the Director-General to promise that he \\ould do all he could to obtain for them a better grant for transport, and he bad eyery reason to suppose th:tt the recommendation 1yould be acceded to, As regards Volunteers for active service , there was very little doubt that anyore who wished to go to the front would have an opportun i ty of doing so in the near future

'[be \Dolunteer tllnbulance Scbool of 3nstructon.

President :-Major Andrew :\1aclure, V,D" late London Scottish R,\'. Office :-8, Portman Str eet, W, CLASSES FOR THE TRAINING OF STRETCHER BEARERS, Course of I nstruction to be held at the IIead -q uarters of the 13th ::\1iddlesex (Queen's Westminster) R V., hmes S treet, Victoria Street, S,W" commencing at ,,30 p,m, on Thursdays by permission of Colonel Sir H, Vincent, K,C.:'Il.G-" C.B" Commandir.g 13th j\-fiddlesex R.V. NEW CLASS LECTlEES- Thursday, March I st.-The Treatment of the apparently Drowned, Burns and Scalds, Shock, by SurO'eon - Captain A , Ducat, M,B" London Rifle Brigade , Thursday, 8th, Fractures and Dislocations and their treatment, Thursday, ;\Iarch I sth, Wounds and IIxmorrhage, the First Field Dressing, by Surgeon-Major W Culver James, i\ l. D " the H onourable Artillery Comp:ll1Y, Tuesday, March 20th, the causes and treatment of Insensibility, T uesday, Ma r cb 27th , Po isons and the r treatment, by Surgeon-Capta i n 1::, C,dlender, M,D" 12th (P ,W,O, ) M iddlesex R.V.

SUPERIORITY OF BOER AMBULANCES

There is a marked differencc between the character of o u r ambulance wagons and those of the Doers. Ours appear designed to combine the O'realest clumsiness and the ieast comfort with the min i mum of accommo" dation. f takes ten mules to draw them, and they carry two men lying down and several sitting They jolt like a quar ryman's dray. T he Ever ambulances, on the other hand, are b u t s,tro ng ly built, provide con,fortable accommodat ion for e Rht men IY!l1g down. Being mounted o n spr i ngs, lhey scarcelyjo ltata ll.-Cl?airy Cltro1l1de).

[We wonder if any re ia n ce ca n be placed on th IS s t a tem e n t ,-ED. ]

C3alIer\?

SU l' E 1U N'IE};,DENT C , HEATHCOTE. DIYISIOX, ST J OJIS A:lIIBULA::\CE BRIGADE ",,-' nOSE of our J.. readers who haye 1-)(>en present at the Annual COD feI'of the Rt, J olm Am hlllance B1'jga(le will easil y l'ecogn ise f:l n p e l' n ten c1 e n tJ Ueatheote and 'will he glntl tl;at he has been placed in out' Unlk'l'y this month, 'Yell::)

bOl'n at Sandbach. iu Cheshire , on 5th A ngust, 1849, came to VV insford in 1871, and obtained a tion in the .t\.malgamated Salt VV Ol'ks Co" Limited, nntil the Salt Union L imIted Cclme lllto exibLence in 1888, r:;ince wh ich time he has been one of the official::; of that company, ha.ving charge of a dcpartmeitt.

It was in 1885 that Mr, Reatlleote becnme connected with ambulance work, obtaining the medilllion in 1887. The vVin 'fol'll Diyi:;;ion was fanned in 1886, and joining U;-';1, pl'inlte, he became Sllpel intenc1ent the next yea1', and held the oflicc eyei' since. Tbe efticlenc:y of this Di,-i:-;ion is enti r ely due to the effods of the Snpel'illten<lent "\YhE'll he accepted the post, the1'e ,\,,1,::> only 011e <:t fe,y splints and bandage::;, nolY the1'e ewe fOUl' tatiOll:3 fitted up with wheeled litter (complete), six more stt-ei.ehe1's, emel'gene), bags, &c , and of the men are in unifOl'Jll and supplied with the regulation haITesacs.

S u peri ntendent Heathcote makes it H POillt to atteml all Bri ga,de and District Conferences. He took a squad to London on Jubilee Dtq, for \yhieh they 11<1.\'e the medals. The Order of St. John m<l.eked tlleil' appreciation of his servi ces by electing him Hon. Sen-iog B1'othe1' in 1897.

M r H eathcote is so enthusim.,tic and wol'le' so hard at the cau 'e t h at all othel' honomry offices he hI :3 held in the tow n have had, one by one, to give WelY to ambulance, ,,'bich now occ u pies a ll h is sp,u'e time, Being a mauufactm'ing town "l:.he l·e a l'e p l enty of accidents, and the Superintenclent is genel'all y somew h e1'e about when he is \n'\l1ted.

If w e were asked t o name a town ",hC1'C one man hn,ll made h i mself so we ll J:;:nO\\'n, n nd so re:3pected by eyel')' botl y inclu d ing the med1cnl pl'ofes:-;l'Jn, it would be 'YinsfOl'rl. V\' e onl y wi sh t h at every pl'oyincial to\\'ll pos:sesse(l n man so full of energy amI sympathy, and so 'Iyilling to giye np h i s spa r e time for the sake of others, as Superintemlent H e11,t hcote, an d we kust tbat hi" valuable :-;en"'ice will long be at t h e of his fe ll o\\' town5111en of vYinsford.

'UUlar

Btnbulancc.

hll'EHIAL HOSPlTAL.

It is not many weeks s nce the scheme for the equipment and mainte n a n ce of a p erfect base hospital, with an am bulance party and stretcher beare r s for our ga ll an Yeomen was set on foot by Lady Chesham and L ady G eorgiana Curzon, and it well [or the whole-hearted effo rt s of those wh o took the malter Jll hand, and for the generous sy mp a thy of those who sup p orted it, that',within so short a time, compl e e s u ccess sho ul d have cro wned L,he proJect. h as b ee n sai d t h at th e p roceed1l1gs were o f an Il1for m a na ture, and certainly, in thei r n fo rm al i ty lay lheir ch ef ch a rm A ll h e same, the

"inspection," as it was officially called, had its ceremonial side. Thus in the spacious fronting- Devonshire IIouse, the men, their khaki uniforms concealed under their greatcoats, were drawn up as a guard o,f honour, to the numbe: of about 80, and the duty that awaited the corps was the Simple one of saluting the Prince of Wales upon hiS ai I'l\'al. ,\ccompanied by Sir i\iO'el KinO'scote his Royal H,ighness De',onshire House shortly o'clock, ane: havll1g' been received by the Duke and Due hess of Devonshire and promin:nt members of the Committee, was at once escol ted up marble staircase to the beautiful receptIOn-room on the north side overlooking the ';;ell-timbered g:trden \\'hi:h, albeit in the heart of J\layfair, yet gives to the ducal residence Guite a rural aspect. Into the apartment to which the Prince of \Vales "'as conducted there had marched the khaki-clad men of the St. John now their greatcoats, and presenting an appearance: !11 every way 111dlcatl\'e of theIr physical capacity to endure whatever hardships and wear and tear may be in store for them, Upon the appe:trance of the Prince, Lieut.-Colonel Sloggett, R A,:\f C" the military comm:tndant or the hospital, who is to act as principal medical c:tlled for three cheers for his Royal Highness, and these were gl ven-and " one cheer more "-\\ ith a O'reat display of heartiness and good\\'ill. The gallant colonel who it "'m'lY be in recollection, escaped death from a bullet wound at Om'durman unde r almost miraculous was next he:trd callinO' fo; c,heers for the Princess of \Yales. and e\ oked in response a to the uni\'ersal popularity of her Royal Highness, which was in the hiohest degree impressi\'e, 'I'hen came a few simple, straightforward, ;nd vastly appreciated words from the lips of the Prince of \\'ales, \\ho said: "r am "ery glad to see you here to-da), I am sure you will all of you do your duty, and I do hope you all will ha\'e a O'ood out and return home in good health," '" '"

Wholly delighted, as well they might be with this kindly and encouraging Godspeed, the men then filed out to make way for the nurses who were to parade before his Royal Highness, WearinO' dark blue navy uniforms, with scarlet hoods, a:Jd dark blue tied with white ribbons, these mem hers of the nursing sisterhood then pas sed before th;;) Plince, one by one, curtseying as they made their way into the inner apartment, \\?itb '\liss Fisher, the m:ttron superint.endent, and '\liss Brereton, night superintendent, his Royal Highness s poke a few words, remarking to the last-named, who comes fl OI11 Xorfolk, that he was gbd to know that this county \\'as to be repl esented at the front. Thereafter, it \\'as the turn of the surg-eons, nlll:1bering 27, anJ headed by :\lr, Alfred Fripp, ,he chief ci\'ilian medical officer acc o mpanying the Yeoman:r Hospital, and Dr, \Yashbourn, to be presented, while other presentations foliowed in due course, The Prince of \Yales remained some time after the close of the ceremony, cOl1\'ersing with Princess LOUIS of Battenberg, \\ho had been an interested spectator, :\bjor-General Trot tel', Surgeon-General Jameson (Royal Army .\Iedlcal Corps), CJ)lonel Sloggett, Lady Georgiana Curzon, the chief organiser, and other ladies who had helped conspicuously to bring to a sllccessful issue :t movement in e\'ery way \\"ollhy of the splendid c luse with which it is destined to go lund in hand,

The N arrung (Lund's li ne, Transport :'{ 0, ? 3) sailed on the loth ult. with various ca\'alry drafts, details, and remounts, to the number of six officers, 196 men, and 190 horses, and a party of one officer and 10 men belonging to the American Field Hospital Section, The last desen'es special notice. It represents the gift of an American gentleman, :\Ir. Van .-\ien, and consists of a complete hospital section of 23 beds, The officer in charge is Captain E, G, Powell, of the Royal .-\rmy Medical Corps, appointed by the \\'ar Office, tbe chief medical officer is :'Ilr. Sam Osborn, Chief Surgeon of the :\Ietropolitan Corps, St, John Ambulance Brigade, the orderlies are furnished by the St, John Ambulance Brigade, but the whole expense is borne by ,\11'. Van Alen, 1\ ho has placed this generous Red Cross conll ibulion at the disposal of the War Office and made :til arrangements in conjunction with them. The section \\'i:l, of course, go where\'er it may be ordered.

I:\"SPECTIO)l BY SIR E, :\I.-\SSEY H.-\\\'.

A body of men, cirafted jointly from the St. John ,-\mbulance Brigade and the Ambulance Department of the Xational Fire Brigades' Cnion, ·who h ave volunteered to assist in tending the wounded in South -\frica, attended the morn in 0' service at St Jobn's Church, Clerkenwell, on the 28th Januarv, The'" detachment, of which Colonel Bowdler was in command, 75, nearly a third of whom belong to the Nation:tl Fire Brigades' Union, At the close of the ser:ice, Brigade Chief Superintendent B"asier, St. John Ambulance Bngade, assumed the command of the detachment, which \\':l.S paraded in open column in the sq uare fronting the church, where they by Sir E, ,\Lassey haw late Chief Officer 0f tbe :\Ietropolaan r Ire Bngade, Among those'on the ground were General Sir O\\en Burne.' Colonel Dixon, Major Fox, of the London Salvage and Supenntendent 'p ett , of Exeter Brigade Accompanied by Chief BraSIer, Sir E S h aw passed slowly down the ?olumn, closely the men, and complimenting the commandll1g officer on thelf smart appe:trance

and fit condition. They were drawn up in half columns, and Sir E Sha'lI addressed them, as follows: II You are going out to undertake the important work for which you have volunteered, anJ I believe you wIll carry out the duties in a manner worthy of yourselves and worthy of the union of lI'hich we are so proud, worthy of vour Queen and count;}' in II hose ca use you serve ,\Vhen you an iYe in South Africa you wIll be posted hy the Imperial authoritief either in the hospital or field tents, and possibly under fire of the enemy in the open veldt ane: Irenches. I know you will beat yourselves in a manner worthy of true men, and in a II ay tbat will do credit to the cause that has you out. I long, with a longing indescribable, to place myself III your numbers, But that is impossible. T hupe to be present here on your return and o ffer you a welcome, and thank rou for your good sen ices in the cause of humanity [n Africa you 'will witness scenes that probably will appal tbe stoutest heart, ; but to·day as you knOll', • pirit of God is in vour nostrils, and instead of being appalled you \\'Ill Jo your duty felrles5ly and with a spirit far beyond your own, Our President, the Duke of :'larlborough, has gone out already. In the name of tbe {'nion 1 wish you' God speed,' a happy journey, and a safe return to your native land. I wish you good-bl e for the present."

As the men filed past on the return to head-qnartera, Sir E. hal\' shook each one warmly by the hand.

DEP.UtTl'RE OF A;\IBULA)JCE FIRDIE:-.I.

At an early hour on Saturday morning, the loth ult., this contingent took their departure. All told, the men in khaki, who were undcr the command of Colonel Bawdier, numbered close on eighty, fifty of them belonginG to the St. John Ambulance contingent, and the remainder to the ambulance section of the Xational fire Brigades union. To Brig-ade Chief Superintendent Cburch Brazier fell the task of marshalling the forces, and, such was :be businesslike discipline displayed that, by five minutes to eight, all had fallen in, prepared for the wore of command that was to start them on their way A couple of bands were in attendance-that of the Great Western employees and that of the Ce'1tral \Vorking :vren's Club Union.

[he procession I\'ended its way along Clerkenwell road, Farring-donroad, tbence over Blackfriars Bridge and through, 'tamford-street to the South ·'\\'estern [erminus, in the neighbourhood of which, by reason of the presence of a dense throng, progress became a matter of no little difficulty. In readines s to r eceive the ambulance party were Colonel Dixon, vice-chairman 01 the National Fire Brigades l..'nion, Captain Folker, itshon. general secretary, and other officers; while not a few well-known people, among- them Viscount and Viscountes'i Curzon, Lady Tweedmouth, \Irs Sloggett, and other ladies who have borne a prominent share in organising the Yeomanry Hosflital, were also to be noted. At five minures to nine, amidst the strains of "Auld Lang Syne," and a striking accompaniment in the way of fervent cheering, the I. special" steamed out of the station.

THE ROYAL AR:lIY :'IEDIC\.L CORPS

The following letter from The TUlles Correspondent with Lord ?llethuen's column, is very interesting. Among the various dellanments of the Army of which it was felt that the present war would prove a test, none was regarded as equally momentous with the proof of the :'1edical Corps, its organisation, its efficiency, and its mobility. On paper the various grades and divisions may perhaps seem overcomplicated, but, as will be shown later, the entire and universally efficiency of the i\leJical Corps has fully justified arrangements whIch have cost more earnest thought than tho se ,jf any other branch of the service. Theo etically the corp·, divided into field hospitals, base hospital, and lines of communication hospitals, is under the supreme control of the principal m::dical officer of the expedition (in this war Surgeon-General Wilson ) to whom are directly attached tbe eminent civilians who are now wOlking- with the troops as consulting Beneath him, the field hospitals first, IS the medIcal officer of each diVISIon, having entire control of the practIcal work done by the field hospital, with its attendant bearer company and the staff of doctors appointed on the outbreak of hostilities to each regiment, to each brigade of artillery and to each company of engineers and service corps T he field hospital, itself ?f receiving 100 patients, is under the management of a senior medica l officer, generally a lieutenantcolonel with a full staff of officers-major captain, and lieutenant as his assistants.; the bearer company, under a surgeon -mo jor and captai n, possesses, beSides stretchers, ten ambulances, each nominally cap:lb le of carrying two patients lying down and three sitting. Base hospila s are similar to fltld hospitals in organisation, but, of course of far greater size, and are relieveJ by hospital ships Hospitals 011 lines of communication are useful in a double manner; they relieve the field hospitals of cases as are not too se,erely 1V0unded to travel and retai.n simpler until. either the base or the ship is able to receIve them, or the he,dlng of the wound permIts the patient t'J rejoin his. .in field. is kF.pt up by hospital trams, WhiCh, In theIr present perfectIon , ha ve eXIsted only in the war

AID. [March, 1900.

now being waged. They can carry 100. men, are unuer the charge of two medica l officers and two nursIng Sisters, and are fully equippeu with beds, medical comforts, and a perfectly supplied p'1armacy. 1n the kitchen are a couple of chefs, anu every possible kind of food is provided,

If we nolY follow a 1\'0unJ"d man from the firing line, we shall see him picked up by the stretcher· bearers of his own reg-iment, a first aid dressing hal ing been hastily applied, and carried back to the collecti[]Q' station, which, so f ,l[ as possible, is out of the immediate range of fire, though in some of the recent engagements it has been found im. possible to do more than pla ce it behind a screen afforded by a clump of bushes. Here the fir'::t dressing is carefully inspected, anu if ne c ess:lry renewed, and the sufferer is carried, as soon as the stretchers and am bu. lances can do 50, tn the field hospital in rear of the action. It is this first collection a!Jd dressing of wounded that has gil'en rise to su ch anu recrimination on the one side anu the other So:ne time ago Cronje formally intimated thlt he 1V0uld pay no further attention to the Red Cross w:-ten in t.he firing line; and there is no doubt that on a strict construction of the first paragraph of the Genel'a COIll'ention he is fully entitled so to refuse.

T he appearance of amhulances in the fire zone is open to two seri ous objections. FirsL, they :lfford, intentionally or not, protection to men near them \"ho are only doing- tbeir duty and ca;-rying- out their orders in firing upon the enemy, who is placed in an unfair difficult), in re p iy, ing- to the fire. But a more seri o us objection is that an unscrupu lo us enemy can make use 01 the Red Cross privileges to supply ammuniti on to the men among whom tbe bearers are working, Probably, therefo re we should rather regard the occasional shooting down of a bearer or doctor as an unal'oidable accident than an act of wilful savagery, and ,,'e must only regaru tbe risks that the H.:\.:\I.C. run in any case as incre,lsed by this the most urgent and neces::;ary part of their entire work. For if, as urged by tbe Boers on one occasion , no collection of w0unded should be permitted u'ltil the fall of nig-ht, the work thus thrown on the ambulances, diffi c ult at all times is doubled by the dlrkness tnl by the a jded co:n pi ication 5 to the \ronnds caused by delay. Sometime') it is a 050lutely lll1avoldable that 1V0lln ue. 1 men should lie out and th F! re is no saudet' rate of mortali ty than that among those whose wound;, sel'ere at first but i" no way dangerous, hal-'e, unJer the heat of the day and tbt: cold of niRbt, developed a mortal character that might have been al'erteu, Ho\\'e .' er, this is one of the inevitable hardships of \Yar, anl the splenuid \York of the medical sLaff has reduced the probability of this misfortune to a minimum.

From the field hospital, where tbe dressing5 are again looked to anu medical comforts other than morphia or hrandy, both of which ar e always c::nripd by the ambulances. are administereJ, the \Youndeu a re carried to the central hospit1.1 camp- lill'aY5 pitched near the raiiluyfrom which the hospital trains begin to run e.'en before tbe conclUSI on of the fight. Those whose wounds are e\trt:mely severe anu th os e wbose wounds are slight are alone kept at the fielJ hospital. The latter require perhaps but a visit or two more to tbe surgery. and ca n be as well looked after at the fron as elsewhere The former are oo ill to stand the journey, and must. even at the cost of suffering- min or inconveniences, wait till the shock has passed and the wounded ma n begins to pick up the strength necessary for the operation.

Hospitals on lines of communication, as Ius been already .st·lteJ, rt:ceiYe men for I\hom there is no room at the front. TneY:1.1so JIlsp ect tbe patients and remove from the trains any who !"how signs of sinking under the as it is-of the journey. They relieve t he pressure upon the field hospitals, and are themsel\'es reliel'ed by the base hospital.

Of the base hospitals, which require special treatment, it is enough to say that they are Stted lip with a luxury and abundance that testIfy to the generosity of public and private enterprise alike. Here the wounded are cared for until they are restored to health, or their ina· bility to take further part in the campaign is proved, \Ihen the hospital ships carry them hOTY!e.

,\VITH THE KDIllERLEY RELIEF COLU;\l:-l AFTER THE FIGHT AT 1\1 AG ERSF00lTEI0I

By Special War Correspondent of the Nottingham Express.

The ambulance and hospital arrangements from fu'st to last are the most perfect ar.d well organised that I have yet seen 111 any campaign, and they seem to be so perfect in the arrangemen ts for the comfort of the wounded or sick solciier that they can hardly be bettered The presen t mo::le of warfare n11.kes it exceeding-I y da ngerous, often impo s sible, to assist the seriously hurt till some arrangement has been made with the er,emy to bring- off the wounded, or till they can be m oved under cover of night. At :.\lagers[ontein and elselyhere heroic deeus have been done in suc:ouring tbe wounded by comrades anu surgt:ons during tbe batde; but, as tbis compaign progresses, it will be seen whetber this heroic folly can be allowed to go OIl. It seems excessively inhumane and un-Englisb to leal'e comrades on, the fielu, but the wounded in this war have seen the necessity of being left, anJ prefer being left alone till after the fight. Th ere has alreauy been

Mar ch, 1900.J FIRST

many instances where bearers approaching wounded have been earnestl y requested :lOt to come nea r by the man they were about to succour, owing to the danger of being shot again when being lifted from cover on to the stretcher. Out of innumerable instances there have come under my notice-if I may use the expression-heroic folly in succouring wo·unded Colonel Keith-Fa l coner was killed as he lifted his bead from cOI'er when he heard that Bevan of tbe Sth was hit. Bean, Eagar, and Ray, of the sth were hit in attempting to succour wounded, I came across an excellent Colonial Ambulance Corps, the King Williamstown Volunteers, who, next to the Guarrls' Ambulance, was doing work in the field. Wounded arriving at the ambulance \Iere immediately seen to, given a cheery cup of beef tea, cocoa, or other stimulant, when they were lifted into the a;nbulance wagon and taken down to the IIotel Dieu, at Modder Ri\'er, 1\ here they awaited the coming of the ambulance train, and were eventually taken on the first stage of their journey en route for Cape Town. The Red Cross trams have every comfort within them that a saloon passenger enjoys on the Canadian Pacific Railway. The wounded soldier hobbling or carried tOwards this car has lIkely ne,'er seen or enjoyed, or even dreamt of the comfort ard luxury "hich awaits him, when faint and weary from the long waiting-, huddled next to dead and dying in the shade of the Hotel Dieu, he is tenderly lilted out of the train and is placed into a sweet snowy white berth, and is undressed and spong-ed and made comfortable with a cignrette and some soothing draught. \Yomenkind, bu sy about the cars, in the shape of smart young Xetley nuroes, sporting the bright scarlet jacket of that institution, and soon a hot 'L!eal is prepared. the delicate cooking of I\'hich Tommy has pmhably never experienced in all his life. Surgeon-:'I!ajo: Flemming, recently of Soudan fame, is responsible for all the little dodges and in\entions in these marvellously fiLted ambul.!nce trains, to the desription of which I must devote more space in another letter. For three davs the dead, the dying, and the wounded, thronged the Crown and Ro}'al Hotels, and when the sun declined. the steady tramp of men With rel'ersed arms was heard moving o wards a little spot about a hundred yards west of the hotel where the uead I\ ere intelled. By the side of fifty of his uallant Highlanders, poor, unlucky :.\lajor-General Wauchope, the idol of the brigade, \\'as laid to rest Xext to him was huried the gallant Lieutenant-Colonel Goff, of tbe Argyle and Sutherlands, \Yho fell near to him on that fatal morning.

:.\1A:\·S AT THE FRO:'olT.

:'oIr. Charles Boson Caple, late of Cardiff. who went to South Africa ome time ago, has joined the \'olunteer Ambulan ce Corps seT\'ing in :\alal. In tbe course of a letter home after the battle of the Tugela, he says :-" ,\Ye arrived at :'olaritzburg: on :'!onday., and each of us had O' i\ en to him a waterproof sheet, hlanket, mug. klllfe. fork. spoon, and plate. The spare shilts, &c., \\'hich \\'e took \\'ith us were kept .at the military stores. and we had to go alra}, 111 wbat we stOod up :n.

,\Ye left thp camp at 10.+5 at night, anu started off for the front, tra\'ellinG all niGht in cattle trucks -three trains. There \I'ere di\'ided into companies of 300 each, and then red:\'ided in to sections of :3 5, and ther e I\el'e t \\0 stretchers to each section, makincr twell'e men to each stretcher, II ith a le:1.der for each section.

I rere reached about nine in the morning-. Two mornings a fterwards lye were up at three o'clock, and started \\ith the transports lo r Chieyeley Camp: about nine miles away. troops had gone before us. \'\ e were up at :L30. It was sull dark, but already the artillery were on their way to the front, and you could feel the earth tremble under your feet. :\T::tsses of infantry Il'ere moving here and there, all going forward, with no sound except tbe tramp, tramp, of thousands of feet ,\t 3.1;; all the transports were on theIr \Yay, and lIe 1\ ere \I'iLh them, lYe pulled up just before four l)'clock behtnd a s mall hill, about half a mile from our guns, ready to do our dut}' at a moment's notice Tbe hospital tents \I'ere soon up ready for the \I'ounded. By tnis time the Battle of the Tugela had co.mmenced. It I\as not lnng before the 'unbulance wagons started, and JI1 two and a half vI' tbree houls they returned laden \\ith wounded, followed by men \\ho Il'ere able to come in by themselves, as they were \\ounded only slightly. Other \\ounded were brought in on stretchers, and more were carried in on the clasped hanus and arms of tl\'O comrades. These bearers were done up, but they kept on bravely: they were helping their comrades. After a while about a dozen of us st:lrted out, and went to the top d tbe hill. I shrI.i1 never forget :he sight that met ,my eyes. Right in front, to the left, t\\O or three b:1.ltalIons II'el;e adlanclng to the ri\er in close column, across the open ground. ,\ p could see the shells bursting all O\"er and around them, ane: men throwing up arms and falling do\\ n Ambulance men were a,lready atter them pick!ng lip the Iloumled. At last they reached the river, and stopped J. moment. It was like an hour. But the Boers openeu a. ternble riAe fire upon t11em then, anu the men began falling by the dozen. In the micist of this my section was called upon ,\ Ye started to go for· I\'ard,and soon came aCloss lots of wounded. Some I\ho were so badly hit that they could bardly stand were helping and .we offered to help, replieu" o. no, my lads. Lower down you II hnd hundreds \\ho cannot m0ve !" "Ten carrying stretchers were \\ c undeJ

AID. 71

and ready to drop All ro un d us we heard cries of" '\Y:Iter, for the 101'e of God!" An d when we gave them some they would take just a little, although we told them to have more, but they would reply, " :\0, there are others in front! " :\ot one of them thought of self. I belped to carry several to the hospital tents, and then found myself seplTated from my section. Filling my water bottle, I started off again. After giving a description of the fearful upon tl:!e battlefield, heaps of dead, groups of wounded struggling to get to the tents, and so on, and the action of the ambulance corps and the doctors, the writer says :-" [ started off to the front again, and had not got half-way across the field before I heard three or four slight whistling noises close to me. I thought they were caused by bullets, and was not mistaken, fer when 1 got back to the doctors again they said, • they ar e firinG on us.' By this time it was not a few shots, but a reglliar fire. A Red Cross FIIG was brought up and hoisted. I started forward again, the whistling around me. Two fell within a yard of me. I stooped to pick them up but: they were white hot, so I got an empty cartridge case and put them into it, and pocketed them. All arouud I heard cries of • \Vater, for God's sake, water 1 had laken 1\\'0 b'Jttles with me. When I saw the look that came to their faces as they drank (some had been lying wounded for hours under a broiling sun) and heard them say. 'thank God!' r felt that I I"as doing my ciuty. I started a COllard, afraid of bullets, but the prayer God gi"e me strength to gil'e one water' was always in my mind, and I forgot everything but my duty. I went back, filled twenty bottles of water at the ri\'er, and started off again, leaving one bottle here and another there with the men Bearers with stretchers c:Jme further forward with Red Cross Flags, but the Boers kept firing at them. Some time aften\'ards Il'e saw ISO or 2eo horsemen galloping across the field. They were Boers. I took a flag and started forward again, and the Boers still fired at us. Two shot5 went through the flag I was carrying. Dozens of Boers came forward, s)me on horseback and some on foot. They had no shirts on, but carried their rifles. '''hen went over tbe field after taking the wounded ir:) we found th:lt the Boers had taken all the equipment from the bodies, their boots, and in some cases had nearly stripped the bodies, whilst those" hose clothes had been left on had the pockets turned inside out, and in some cases completely cut al\'ay. :\11 the men killer:! (except those kil1el by shells were shot through the head. . Early in the day I came across t!:e body of a man, and it had a ring on the finger; in the afternoon I passed the same body, and sa II' that the ring and the finger had gone. The finger had been cut off.

A Committee has been formed. of which Princess Christian is Presid"nt, to send comforts and necessaries to the St. John Ambulance BriGade men on actil'e sen'ice in South Africa, who already number 6eo. and have gone out a: great sacri ,ce. \'iscountess Knutsford is chief of tbe committee, and \ Iscountess Falkland, :'Ilrs. Crawford, :'oIl'S, E, Colegra\'e. '\Irs. Francis Holland, Yiscount Templetown. and sel'eral others h1.\'e joined in the morement. Articles most needed are jerseys, socks, flannel belts, tobacco Parcels should be addressed to " St. John Ambulance Bngacie 'Yar Fund Depot, Crystal Palace, Sydenham," the directors hwing gil'en a room there. Contributions in money are receil'ed by the hon. treasurer, Colonel Tufnell, +6, taton Square.

::\E\\' I:\':iTRCCTIO:\,=';.

The subjoined Special :\rmy O:der has been dated feb. 3.:-

A\lRl'LA:\'CE \-OLC:\'TEER5.-Lnder the head of \ olunteer :'oIedlcal Staff Corps and Bearer Companies of \-olunteer .Brigades. for in South Africa it is stated th:!t after the :lltestatlOn recruIts \\'Ill JOIl1 the Royal Arm)' i>1edical Corps !?epot A,lder hot until requ!red for embarkation Each yolunteer \1 III receJl'e from the date of enlIstment pay and allowances including messing of his rank as a sold:er of the Royal Army Co:ps, .ratlOns .and clothIng, Sbould a marriec man be accepted, hIS famIly wIll be to sep;1ration allowance. On completing his period of sen'ice he wIll receIve a gratuity of £5, in to any gratuity given to tr?ops at the end of the war. If discharged 111 con.seque;1ce of wound: InJurIes,. or dlsa· bility receil'ed or whIle on sen'!ce he wdl be entitled to a pension in a.CCJrdance With the Royal \\ for pay\ c',c., of regular army. E\'ery volunteer must enlIst Illto the h,o}al Arm} \l edic:lI Corps for one year or for the war FOR SER\'ICE.--\-olunteer :'ledical Staff Corps for servIce home is another heading, under. which it is stated ":ill be railed qut for six J11onthsor lor such :.s their ser.l'lce may be required. They \"ill be attached for. duty the \'anous hospitals, and each officer and yolunteer 1\'111 recel\'e pay and allowances.

LIFE 1:0-: PORTLA1'D HOSP1T.-\L.

:'oJ r. \I' J, :.\bcEamara, of Leicester, who volunteered for service !n South .\fl ica, and went out as a First Class Officer III December bas been attached to! he Duke of Portland s base hospllal. He has a most interesting letter to '\Ir. Frank H. Turner, superintendent secretary of the Leicester Corps St. John Brigade, dated January in which he says :-:. We.had altogether a "elY pleasant time. ,\ie landed at Cape To\\n b) tug, got our

FIRST

personal bagga);e ash)re, anJ formed up on the quay. Henry Bentinck and his wife (the CaptaJl1 Bagot and bls wIfe (the with the doctors and the fou'" sisters (one of whom was in the Greco· Turkisb), and a fell" of our cases had landed from the Tantallo;l Castle a few days before our arrival. They met us, and we then found we were for Rondesbosch for a short time. ,V hen we swung round the camp ground gate imagine our surprise to see a crowd of St. John '5, with outstretched hands and cheery voices to welcome us in. Rondeshosch is an ideal camp. We are just at the base of Talbe l'.lountain which lies between t s and Table Bay thick forest all round, but all way to Cape Town houses (Stoneygate and New-walk size) dotted in the trees standing back from the roads in their own clearing-s. The streets are all' Xew.w!tlks,' but electric lighted and having thick hrest on either side between the road and tre houses, no causeways here, :wd very thick thickets at short inten'als.

The NO.3 Hospital have about 80 tents, 179 patients, qo officers and men; tents are military, magazine, and bells. They pitched in a fortni?"ht, reckoned a smart performance, and we know they kind of smiled when we started, I think, that we should have to ask their help. However, on the Tuesday we sent a fatigue party down to Cape TOWl to get our tents, etc., off the Victorine, which had docked the day before. The following morning I fOllnd tl:n well-loaded am bulance wagon' on the ground, the mules tied up to the wbeels and the Kaffirs snoring under the wagons. About G a m.-we had turned out about of the boys strolled in and informed us tha.L a traction engine, with fi\'e buge wagons had camped out about half a mile from our camp, nnt daring to cross a little bridge because of weight, so we went down, and got there by wagons on to ground. This took till dinner·time. Then tbe boys started unpacking, ;.\Iajor Kilkelly taking a man and myself to measure up ground, and find centre spots for tents, so as to get correct dressing. We have between 30 and 40 tents, q s q uare double-lined marquc::e". They make grand ,yards. will hold eight comfortably, ten at a pinch, and gi\ e plenty of room for getting at each bed. They open at each side, a great con\'enience, the military open front only. The rest are square, bells, and tortoise tents. We started pitching on Thursday morning. On Saturday night we had the lot up, but we hz,d worked hammer and tongs, doctors and e\ erybody else, in khaki breeches and singlets, from 4 a,m. till 12 midnight each day. Late on Saturday night our Major pegged round the camp wi:b the Duke's racing colours, and on Sunday morning we (before breakfast) stit ched his colours as favours on our helmets, and at J.30 the church of E portion of the Duke of Portland's Own paraded for church with blistering arms, faces, and necks, but as fit as fiddles, and in clean khaki, as much as to say to our friends, the Tommies. over the way, "How's that for St. John's?" I was to takE' the Catholics to Ronde5bosch In ter in the morning, but news came in that ,younde:l ,yere on tbe way from the front, so we had to start work at once. had got to get surgery and operation theatre kit unpacked, arranged, etc.

On Tuesday we got the first batch of wounded, Sir John Milne and two officers, and 28 men, mostly from .:'I Lodder River, lcth Hussars and lnniskillings. one [eirester Reservist (Northampton Reaiment), employed at Desford School, not wounded but They had been tr<welling since Friday, and were done up. Two of the worst cases were wounded at 7 a.111., and lay on the field till 8 pm. were found by a Dutch doctor, and handed to our ambulance. The drivers missed the way, and took them a detour of 36 miles, instead of about 10, "hich was the of the held of action from their camp. One has an explosive bullet wound in the arm, and another an explosive bullet wounei in the leg. The first entered the upper arm, missed elbow, and sbattered .ra.dius and ulna; the other entered thigh, mis£ed knee, and shattered tIbIa and fibula. It was touch and go, but I think he'll pull round witbout amputation. His cbum was shot th r ouah both legs and abdomen by IIotchkiss shell splinters. The otbers arebroken arms, bullet wounds, dysen tery, and so on. One of the officers has been shot in four 111'0 toes gone, through tbe back, through the shoulder, and thIgh. ,Ve have bad many distinguished visitors this week T.he P.:'I1:0. (pr.incipal medical officer in Soutb Africa), Sir Alfred :'Iltlner, SIr WIlham :'IiacCormac, and yesterday Lord Roberts and Lieut.-Colonel Prettywood. Cecil Rhodes, when at home lives within a stone's throw almost of where I sit" ritilJO" this, and does the Cape Premier. Things will come all right, buf it will take time. \2uicklyand quietly, but none the less ollIel}" a continuous stream of troops, English, Irish, Scotch, and Colonials, keep flowina Ihrouah Cape Town for the front. The man in the street does notbsee the';l1 but there it is; they keep going. Coal £4 JOS a ton, anJ 20.0CO Ions in Table Bay can't be unloaded, because of transports and Go"ernment boato. taking all dock space. i\1any things are very dear Our boys, I'm pleased 10 S:ly, take kindly tc nursing ,Ve are getting uetler settled down no\\".

\\'itb regard 10 mess (lrrangements, we are allowed bread and coffee at se\ en o'clock, q·lb. meat and pot:ltoes for dinner, an:! bread and tea at +30 Anything else we have t(l buy, but \\'e haven't been able to buy often when wanted but th.ings are sbaping up now, and the Secretary, Captall1 IS arrangIng toallow 3d. per diem per man for mess fund. ThIS mil make all the difference. VVe bave,

A ID. I 19 00.

in spite of Lhe privations suffered, mnch to be thankfu for; Rood fresh bread, Rood fresh meat, legs of mutton, ribs of beef, and a plent ifu l supply of good water laid all over the camp, just as you have i n dear old Liecester. I'Ve have had some German military attach es r ou n d the camp. I've heard nothing- but g-ood words from officia l vis :o r s for Our general arrangements. I have had many nice tbing, said re su r gery, and one gentleman of very hig-h military medical rank said i t was the best arranged he had seen on the field. Our major told him that I was a civilian, and that it was my profession vVe expect to move up country in a month, and that another bospital will take our p lace here. We get no news at all; you know much more than we do. T h ere is more news in a "Chronicle and Mer,:ury" which I have just got than aD v paper I can get here."

In connection with the Langman Hospital which is being prepared through the generos i ty of Mr. Thomas Langman, the Brigade are finding 13 hospital orderlies under tbe command of Superintendent Baker, who for this service reverts to the ran k of Ist class Supernumerary Officer.

For the Moseley or Princess Christian Hospital 30 hospital orderlies ar.'! being provided who will be in charge ot" <::upfrintendent Abelwhite, who for the purpo e of this sen·ice reverts to the rank of first cla ss Supernumerary Officer.

A further draft of $0 has been detailed for tbe War Office, consisting of +$ Orderlies and 5 Supernumerary Officers.

About 600 men have been sent lip to the 22nd February

FIRE BRlGADRS UNION

The Ambul,t[1ce Sisters of tbe raLionnl Fire Brigades' Union are engaged in collecting comforts in the way of Baladava C1.PS, Jerseys, &c , for the contingent from the Fire Brigades Union, Ambulance Department. They should be sent to Lady Superintendent Church Brasier, H, Claremont Road, Highgate. May we hope that all our Fire Brigade readers will respond to this call. Tbe General H on. Secretary, we understand, is shortly issuing an appeal for this purpose.

(tonlnlents on tbe 1llllar.

By OH I RURGUS.

When I wrote hst montll befOl·e :Majuha Day, I ventured to say that LOI·d H.obel-ts would have to fight one (at least) big batt le, Rnc possibly the l·e would not be enough S ince then has been occupIed, and the battle wi ll take place H,t or near KI·oonstad1j vVith l'egarll to the second point, I I·ead in the lh' itish 11Ieclic(6l of March 3rd, the Special COlTespondent at Oape Town says that "the pe7 sol7nel of the RA.U.O., both officel·s ai.J.d men, is in ufiicient, and without automatic machinery fOl· exp;l.nsion," aDd also that they fire" undermanned." Now what does this mean if we read between the l ines? It means that the medical or ambulance lImchineq is in chll1ger of breaking down and shong measUl·OS w ill have to be taken to avoid a catastl'ophe

The R.A.M .O will not be ahle to provide suffinient mell for the hont, thel'efOl·e, a can will have to be made on the base hospitals The Station Hospital at Cape Town is also ullllel'mamled, and the mention of "<,tten1.lated staff" and " ovenvol"l{ed ordedy officers" bea1·s out opinion.

It is strange l·eadi.ng n.b01.lt the British and ambuhtuces. Ale the Boer amlmlnnce wagons t-mpenol' to ours 01' not '? It is l·eportec1 that om·s appear designed combine the (Yl·eatest clumsiness n.nd tlle least comfort WIth t11e of accommoll ation. It takes ten mules to draw them, and they cuny two men lying clown and seyem1 sittina· they jolt like a quarryman's dray. The Boer a.mbul;nces, on the other hftnd, m'e liglltly but stl'ongly built, and provide comfort<"\.ble for eight men lying down; they m·e mounted. and scarcely jolt at a]]. 1£ this repOl·t be tnle It IS certamly not altogether t;l·cllitable to ns.

The1 e was a question aHkecl in Honse of and Nil-. P owell Williams snid "It accommodates eIther two men on st r etchers amI four seated 01' tweh-e seated. It contnlsts favourably with any ambulance wagon of a European nation. K othing is. known of the Boer, wagon,. 1'\0 complaints have been at the vVar Office from South Ah·ica." From all tIm; I gathel· that OUl' ambu lance WH O'ons are out of date . Some of the newly de, ignecl Ambulance O,1.1'S " h,lTe been sent out with the Yeomanry I-l::lsp ital find [ hope w.ill of use.

I11 th is respect one of our Co]omes H.bead of Oolonel Cam pbell W illiams, of Sydney, PUllClpal MedIcal Officer of t h e Medica l 001'PS, of the New South vVnles FOl·ces, bas ol·gani::ecl cl. Meclical Staff Corps. One of its notab le featmes is a cavah-y am Imlal1ce, tbe of wh ich wel·e c1e:-,iO'ned flnd built to Colonel vVilha1ll8 plans, and in a telegmlll Modelel' River, Febl.uar y 19th, describing t.ile rapId of Ciener;)l French's l·elief col umn, t h el·e IS the fo ll owmg refe l·ence of the New South Wal es Medical Oorps: T h e New South Wal es Amb ul ance (Jorps , n uder Lieutenant Edwm·ds, dl·awn

by Austra,lian horses, kept pace with the column and picked up many wounded. They were complimented by the b t·igadier as being the first ambulance to cross the Modder River."

Sir J Sivewl ight.'s Ambulance Corps, Ol·ganized for ambdance service with the Boerf';, has come to a curious ending. When it. anived at Delagoa Bay, it wa informed thl1.t it was not reqnil'ed ns there 1.ve?'e no Boe1' 1Vu1.mded, but the sel·vices of the Afr-ical1der members of the COl·pS would be accepted if volunteet·ec1 individually fll1cl not collectively, find they volunteerell. All I Rfly ie;, what pl·ice ambulances?

H lbome 1b\?qi ene."

By W. J. t\1cCULLOCH ETTLES, :'I1.D.,

CH.:'IL, AHERD. Hon. Life :'I1ember, St. John Ambulance i\ssociation. Le cturer on Ambulance, University Settlement, Toynbee IIall. PART Xfr.

The energy of the body would quickly come to a stand still were not fresh fuel contin ually supplied. Tissues undergo wear and tea r and these, also, have to be made good. Thus far the body re sembles a steam engine. In this, water must be pumped into the boiler and coal must be introduced into the furnace, in order that steam may he raised and kept up. In course of time, the engine wears and fittings have to be replaced to preserve its efficiency. Fire bars get corroded, water guages break,journals get worn down and so on Food, then, is required for the purposes of producing beat and energy, 1!1 the form of mental and muscular work, of building- up tissues and organs, and of renovating these, ,,,ben in need of repair.

These four duties are all provided for in milk, Xature's food for the young dnd growing animal..

A rough esttmate of the constItuents of mIlk may be arrJved at by noting the following points.

(1.) If milk is allowed to stand for some time, a layer of fat, In the form of cream, rises to the surface.

(2.) Hthis is skimmed off, and some rennet be adde d to the skim milk, coag-u 1ation takes place. The mIlk separates IIlto curd and wh-:y. The curd cont.lins casein, which is an. or pro dd substance. The wbey is slightly sweet It contaIns a carbo-hydrzte in the form of milk sligar. 1 also the sa ls of sodium, potassium and lime. Lastly, the whey 15 tbll1 from the presence of large quantities of 7M/er.

A Dit/is a collection of food-stuffs, arrang-ed In such a W"ly as to con:ain, in proper proportion, the fa t, carbo-hydrate, salt, and water. These essentIals nre collectl\·ely known as the j1'o:uimate prillCiples of food. All, or nearly all, food-stuffs. contam t?e elements carbolJ, hydrogen and oxygen, but the protelds are dIStinguished by cot1taining nitrogen in addition to these.

Ni troge n ous F ood -S t u ffs are represented by theIr type, eggalbumin, the familiar glairy white of egg. Otber are the casein of milk, already mentioned, the and fibnn of bloo d and l1lu , cle, the gelatine of bones and the gluten of the cereals and the legumen of the pea and bean tnbe..

The duty of nitrogenous bodies. is that of up the body organs and repairing broken down To a mlllor extent, they produce eneray and assist in the storIng of fat.

Fats carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, carbon belllg tbe predominant partner. Fats are found amongst anImal fo?d-stuffs as butter, suet, fat, lard and dripping; in the vegetables as ods, such as olive oil or nut oil, palm oil and cocoa b:'ltter.

The duty of fat is to produce animal ?ea:. of carbon necessitates a good deal of combus.tton to use. It up. ,Vhen accumulated in the body, it acts as a cllshlOn to vanous parts and also as a reserve, which can be drawn upon III case of need.

Carbo-h yd r a t es are the starches and The.same elements, carbon, bvdrogen a'1d oxygen, are 111 tbese as III fat, hydrogen- and oxygen are in the proportIOn of tIVO to one, that IS, 111 tbe proportion to form water. H. he

Thus starch is represented by the formula Co; H 1,,0:,. ele t. hydrogen (H) and the carbon (C) could form five moleculeo of water

FIRST

(s H.,O). Similarly, grape sugar, could give rise to 6 H.,O. The carbon is burnt up, combll1lng .I,vlth the free oxygen in the blood and tissue5, and forms carbon dioxide.

Carbo-hydrates are almost exclusively l1:et with l.n vegetable foods. Their function's to produce movement and. energy 111 the body. They may also be converted into fats, thus stOl'lI1g up and energy.

Salts are essential to life. The mo<:t abundant IS common salt, or chloride of sodium. Other are chlorides and phosphates of potassium, and calcium, as ,yel.l as saltsofiron. Vegetable acids enter largely 111tO food as the cltrates, malates, aretates ar.d tartrates.

Salts have many duties to fulfil, as the J;lol?eS, rise to the acids and alkalies of the dlgestl\'e JUices, asslstll1g 111 the absorption of foods, forming parts of tissues, such as iron containina' haemoa'lobin of the blood, and the phosphate contall1ll1g nerve and wbile tbe Ealts of the vegetable acids, being decomposed into carbonates in the body, preserve tbe alkalil11ty of the blood and lymph.

W ater is daily being lost from the b?dy 111 large while the body contains 70 per cent. The mam duty of water IS to dissolve diaested foods and carry them to the tissues, also to dissolve and carry of the body poisonous waste products. The daily water loss takes place by the following channels. From tbe skll1, 25 ounces, from the lungs 10 ounces, and. from .tbe kidneys, 53 ounces; a total of. 88 ounces, or nearly 5 Pll1ts, which must be replaced by a correspondll1g intake.

In studying the various foods, it be .to them into animal and vegetable. be agam dll'lded lI1to those containin<Y and those not contall1ll1g 11ltrogen.

Nitrogenous Anlmal Foods.-The flesh of animals is of two kinds, red and white. The red are beef, .mutton, lamb, pork, veal, salmon and g-ame:. The whIte meats are white fish and poultry. The white are more digestible than the red..

All flesh foods contain a large amount of proteid, that IS. of nitrogenous substances, a good deal of fat, many valuable salts but hardly any carbo-hydrates.

Bee/contains tbe most nutriment, but IS less digestible t?an mutton, tbe fibres of which are shorter and finer. The best beef IS from the rump of a four-year· old animal, the next from the sirloitl, \\'hile tbat from the neck and shin is the least nutritious. 'Yhen an animal is killed, the body soon tecomes hard and s.tiff! from tbe of the fluids present in the muscle cells. ThIs IS 1'1/(01' mortis. J[ eaten during this state, the meat is tough and Indigestible. Doon the stiffness passes away, It'aving the meat tender. This is why meat has to be hung for a variable time before it is consumed.

.}/UtlOIl and lamb are more easily dig-ested, but are less nutritious than beef. '1 he best mutton is from a three-year-old animal, and taken from the leg.

Pork is very fat and difficult to digest, while bacel/ may be digested where no otber fat will agree with the person.

Fish may be divided into three classes-red, white and fatty. The red is the salmon, the " 'h ite haddock, cod, plaice, sole, \Ihiting and turbot; tbe fatty, mackerel. sardines and eels Shell-fish are very nutritious but notoriously difficult to digest, with 1he exception of the oyster. The oyster ha s a large yellow liver containing glycogen and a digesti\'e ferment, so that it is almost self-digesting. Moreo\'er, ten oysters contain all the nitrogen an adult needs, as an ordinary rule.

Game has a rich flavour, but. must be hung a long time before it is tender.

Eggs are a richly nitrogenous food. The hen's egg is that usually eaten, but duck's, turkey's goose's, and plover's are also used. The ordinary egg weighs about two ounces. Tbe white part consists of albumen and water, the yolk of fat. phosphoric ncid and sulphur as well as a little sugar. If you dissol\'ed a heaped up table-spoonful of salt in half a pint of water a:ld place tbe egg in it, it will sink if fresh.

If it floats or remains suspended, it is stale.

Milk as already said is a perfect food for infants but not for adults, for it contains too much water. After standing a layer of cream should rise to the extent of one-tenth of tbe whole. A pint of milk contains only ounces of dry food, and as a man needs 2..J. ounces of dry food eacb day, he would have to take over nine pints. This would make him" tight" physically.

Cluese is made by adding rennet to milk This causes tbe casein to clot and a curd to form. The curd contains in its meshes the fat globules. If the milk be previously skimmed a hond leathery cheese results, sucb as Dutch or American. If unskimmed, the cream makes it richer as Cbeshire or Stilton. Bulk for bulk cheese contains twice as much nitrogen as beef.

The Nitrogenous Vegetable Foods. -These are the cereals and the pulses. The chief cereals are wheat, oats, and barley, while the chief pulses are peas beans, and lentils.

Bread is made fi om flour, wbich in its turn is produced from wheat. 'Vhite flour is wheat from which tbe bran, or brown coating of the wheat grain, has been taken away. In whole me;tl the external coat is ground up along with the interior. The action of bran is tJ remedy constipation by irritating the coats of the intestines. However, it

AID. [April, 19 00.

irritates the hiaher parts o[ the alimentary canal in some and hence cannot always be eaten. On the other hand, it would be well if Some o[ tbe bran could \:'e eaten for it is rirh in phosph<ttes. 'When bread is manufactured, the first step is the knead.ing?f the flour with water. The gluten, or nitrogen-containing body, IS dissolved out, and being tenaceous, makes. into tough. If baked and eaten so, it would be very mdlgestlble, for the digestive ferments act On the outside only. Bread is therefore made spongy by callsmg carbon dioxide to form in the dough. This gas forms chambers and causes the douah to "rise." Tbe carbon dioxide may be intruduced either by forci;g the gas in a.s is done in. so-called" aerated" bread; or. baking powder which is a mixture of bicarbonate of soda and tartanc acid may be the effervescence when these powders moistened pro: ducing the gas; or yeast may be inserted, by fe.rmentatio n lI'ill cause the gas to be evolved. and l-eTiTIlcel h are nearly pure gluten.

Oats are rich in proteid and in fat but they do not contain gluten hence a tenaceous dough cannot be obtained. The Scottish make oatmeal imo a paste and roll it out into thin layers, which are then roasted on a hot plate, often they boil it with salt, when it is known as porridg-e.

BarflY is not much used as a food. Pearl barley IS made by decorticating, that is by removing the husk.

.Ifell:U or Indi<tn corn is not much eaten In thiS country but IS much eaten abroad, especially by natives of bot regions. It is chiefly eaten here as osweg-o flour or biscuits.

P"lses contain the vegetable albumen in the form of legumin. The chief are peas, beans and lentils. They are. bowever, defi cient in fat, and hence. hose are added during cooking. For example, beans are eaten with fat bacon, lard or butter.

Non-nitrogenous Anim al Foods are tbe various [ltS, such as huller made [rom cream by cburning until the fat globules adhere; Cream, the fat lz.yer which rises on the surface o[ milk; Lard, the melted fat of pigs, ana .IJIlrgarille the and punfied lat o[ offal. This latter is a wholesome and cbeap substitute for butter. Sugar of milk, sometimes used to sweeten infanrs bods, is an example of the rery few animal carbo-hydrates

Non-nltrogenous Vegetable Foods include potatoes, sURar, rice, tapioca, starch, sago, arrowroot, cornflour, green vegetables 111d fruit. Potaloes are tu bers growi ng undergro und and are the most useful of veaetable foods. Saxo is obtained from the pith of the sago palm. A from grinding and washing the tubers containing it. The starch settles down from the washings and is collected and dried. Tapioca is obtained hy heating Cassava. and hominy are obtained from maize.

Cane sugar is obtained by e\'aporating and crystallising the juice of the sugar cane. It occurs as loaf-sugar, fine crystals, brown sugar, treacle and molasses. Other sugars are beet sugar, maple sugar and honey.

Greel! VfgetaMes owe their usefulness to certall1 salts. potassl-!111 salts, which prevent scurvy. When fresh and well boIled they are very digestible.

Pi'll/Is such as oranges, apples, grapes, and so on, are not yery nutritious, but they are rich in potash s:1.lts..

C071cimlellls are mostl y used to stimulate appetite and digestion. The Germans term them" genussmittel," enjoyment medicines. .The most common are the pungents, such as pepper, and the aromatics, as cinnamon, clove and spices, and aCids, as vJJ1egar and lemon juice.

AKD COOKI:-.lG OF FOODS.

In cooking there are several objects:-

1st To make the food more pleasant.

2nd To loosen the fibres, coagulate the albumens, and make it more digestible.

3rd To chemically change some con.stituents

..J.th To destroy any germs or parasites present 111 It.

Boiling -There are two methods. First that by which. nutriment is retained in the meat, and second, that by which It 15 exb-acieci from the meat. In the first case, the mass is throll'n into boiling water. In about five minutes, a bud casing of coal;ulated albumen is formed on the exterior. The pan is drawn away from the fire, [0 that the cooking is linishedat about 1700 If.kept boiling all the time, the meat will be tough and difficult to dlgesl. In the second case, where broth or soup is to be made, the meat is cut into small pieces and coveled with cold water. The temperature IS then grad ually raised to about 170°, but never to If bones are present, and it is deSired to extract their gelatll1e, tbe broth must be boiled for some time.

Roasting.-Dy this process, the nourishing juices are beller retained than by boiling. Like boiling, tbe main idea is 1.0 coagulate the albumen by exposure to sudden a:nd great heat, so as to form an impermeable casing, in which the interior may be cooked. To prevent scorching, the outside is frequently" basted " with fat.

Baking is practically roasting, carried on in a closed oven. There is less loss than by roasting, belt the meat is not quite so digestable., SteWing is economical, inasmuch as all parts are used as food.

Apl'il, 1900, ] FIRST

Themeat iscut up and covered with cold wa'er. rt is then allowed to simmer, the meat being cooked in the rich extract. To the latter, vegetables are often added.

Broiling or grilling, is ronsting on a small scale. Frying is boiling in fat or oil. The meat is cooked at a higher temperature and is not very digestible. THE PRESE1{\'ATTO"," OF FOOD.

The main idea is to prevent germs or putrefa'.:tions from acting on the food.

Dessioation is the process of drying food. Germs grow badly, or not at all, unless water is present. In some countries meat is dried in lbe sun. being then knowll as jerked beef or pemmican. Freezing stops germs from glowing but does not kill them.

Sal ting has the mme action as drying. Salt is not a germ destroyer but by withdrawing water from the food and bardening the fibre, it retards putrefact!on.

Antiseptics are not much used now. The chief are boracic and salicylic acids. These are dusted, or their solutions painted, over the exterior of meat which threatens to become tainted. Smoking acts partly by drying and also as an antiseptic The volatile and tarry bodies contained in the smoke are absorbed by tbe meat and act as germ destroyers.

Coveri n g is mostly done in the case of fruits. A layer of melted wax or fat may be floated on the surface

Sterilising.-The food is placed in a glass jar or tin canister. The contents are then heated until ste:tm escapes, when the vessel is sealed.

1RaiI\\)a\? Btllbulancc.

CHESHIRE .\:"<:-\UAL A\lBl'LANCE annual ambulance competition in connection with the Cheshire Lines Hailway, took place on Friday. February, at the Central Station, Ranelagh Street, Li\·erpool. Dr. F. de B. Pim, of Barrowford, Lancashire. acted as judge. Squads, each consisting of five men, were present from H L1skisson, Bruns wick,South port, \Y arrington (stores department), Warrington (engineers), 'Van ington Station, .\ranchester, and Cadishead. At the conclusion of the examination of the different squads by Dr. Pim, ;\1r. ;\Ieldrum addressed a few remarks to the men who were assembled in the room. He said it was most gratifying to find the staff of the Cheshire Lines taking such a deep and warm interest in ambulance work. Tbis had teen kept up from the first, and in fact be thought tbe men of the Cbeshire Lines Railway were among the first of the railway companies in Lil'erpool to take an interest in ambulance work. TIe was sure he had always been pleased to learn how eagerly the mer'l had entered into this annual competition. They were aware that within the last few days a number of their comrades had left the country for the seat of war in South A.frica-(loud applause)-with the object of tending the wounded on the field of battle. They would join with him in wisbing those men every in their mission of mercy, and they trusted they would give a good account of themselves. So far as he was concerned, he would be pleased to gi \'e the men e\'ery assistance in his pOller towards acquiring:t knowledg-e of first aid treatment. (Applause.) ;\!eldrum then announced the prize winners to be as follows :- 1. \Yarrington Station; 2. Cadishead; 3. "-Arrington Stores. The prize winners recei \'ed a gold medal each in addition to a valuable silver cuP. suitably imcribed. ;\Ieldrum said last year a team was sent to the Crystal Palace to compete in the ambulance competition, and he was confident that another team would be sent up this year. On the last occasion the Cheshire Lines secured fifth place in the competition, and although at a disadvantage in some tbings they would give a good account of themselves .his year in London. Dr. Pim picked the following six men to take rart in the Crystal Palace competition :-l\lessrs. Fryer, Roberts, Greaves, Williams, Ellison. and Fogg. A vote of thanks was accorded to Mrs. Jleldrum, Dr. Pim, and 1\1r. E. O. Lloyd (hon. secretary), after which the proceedings terminated.

LONDON AND NORTH \VESTER RAILWAY A,,1IHTLAl':CE COllIT'ETITloN -Chester and IIolyhead District, at Chester Town Hall, 23J"d March. Examiner, D1'- Fox Russell, Ilolyhead. Permanent \Vay Department, Bangor, :)79 points; Goods Department, Chester, 377 points; Locomoti ve Department, Lland ud no Junction, 292 points.

LONllON AND" ORTH 'VESTERN RAlu\'AY CENTRE, \VALSALL-

The annual disLrict competition in connection with the challenge shield given by the Directors of the Company, took place at the Crystal'Palace, Sutton ColdAeld, on lIth March, nine teams from various stations in the district taking part in the same. Dr. Brown, of Norwich Chambers, Edmund Street, Birmingham, officiated as Judge. The winners of the District CompetitlOn were afterwards given out by the 1.0 be the Aston Loco. Department team, with 582 marks out of a possible 600. Great Bridge mixed team secured 535 marks: Curzon Street Goods Department, 521 ; :'lonument Lane Loco. Department, 51;; Wolverhampton Goods Department, 515; HaTborne mixed team, Soc; Pleck mixed team, ..J.92; Tipton Goods Department, 430; Walsall permanent way, 3I5.

A I D. 75

LO:-.lDOi\ ,\:\1) l\OH.TH-WEsn.H:\ RATL\\'AY, LI\·EHPOOl..-The annual ambulance. competition for this district took place at Limestreet StatIOn. FII'e teams took part in the com peti tion - Lime- street (Traffic Department), Ellesmere Port (ST.R. and C.Co), Birkenhead (goods department), \\'idnes (traffic department), and Canada Dock (goods department). The competition was conducted by Dr. A. Fisher, of Mount-pleasant. team selected as the best belongs to the traffic department at 1\ Idnes, and consisted of james Barrow (captain), D. Jack:;on, J. j. Firth, H. Corwell, and E. Young. Tbe n;embers of thiS team .wdl attend final competition, to be held at on. the. 28th The d!rectors of the company have again offered prizes, 111 additIOn to tbe Challenge Shield, which is competed for annually, to the members of the winning district teams, with a I'iew of keepll1g up the mterest of the men in the important "ork of rendering first aid injured. The prizes will be presented at the close of the at Crewe. The names of tb? winning team in the final Will be engr.aved upon the Cballenge Shield, as in previous years, and such team will have the honour of representing the company in the St. j?bn Ambulance Competition, open to all railways, which will be held 111 next: The proceedings closed witb a hearty vote of thanks to FIsher, which was proposed by Bingham, and supported by :'Ir. .1 o.ngue, who each addressed a few words of encourage::1ent to the com petltors.

LO:'mo", Axn i'\ORTH-\YESTER:-< RAILWAY, -The ambulance competitions among teams connected with the London and 1'\ orth- Western Railway in this district took place at Ruaby on Wednesday, and resulted in Rugby being placed first witb 375 marks out of a possible 500, i\'uneaton second with 330, and Northampton third with 295. It should be mentioned, howeyer, that the :.\forthampton team was badly handicapped by having to provide a new man at the last moment. their captain, Sergeant Gee, having- left for South Africa last Satureay

Lo,Do'l A'lD :'\ORTH-'YEsTER:\ RAIUYAY, \YATFoRD.-The \Yalford district competition took place at Ascott Park, on Wednesday, :'Jarch 7th, by kind permission of Leopold de Rothschild in the spacious Pavilion in the presence of a large number of spectators including Mrs. Rothschild, 1. Groom, Esq., Euston, W. Williams, Esq., Watford, - Shillington. Esq., l\orthampton, &c. The competing teams were \Yol"erton, Broad Street, Camden, Euston, 'Vatford , and Haydon Square. Dr. J Harris, of Leighton Buzzard, assisted by Dr. l'hignell carried out the adjudicat;on in a very able and painstaking manner and complimented the teams on the improvement they hacl made during the last twelve months, but awarded the first position to the 'Wolverton team, who it will be formed the London and North '\Yestern champion team last year, and also succeeded in securing the Challenge Shield of the St. John Ambulance Association Competition open to all railways. The members forming the team \\'ere ]. H. Adkinson (car-tain), .\1. Lewis, F. V. jones, J. N. Fessey and R. S.

B Motor Blllbulancc.

THESE FURTHER DETMLS CO'lCER);J:-<G THE MOTOR LANCE ARE TAKE:"i FRO\I A XE\\, YORK PAPER.

A motor am bulance is the latest thing in horseless \'ehicles, and the one delivered last I"eek to St. Vincent's Hospital by Frederick R. Wood & Son is said by the maker to be the first automobile ambulance to be built and put in service in this or any other country. "An ambulance of this kind," he says, "possesses many advantages over its horse·rlrawn prototype. A gre:,.ter speed is attainable; there is more ease and safety for the it may be stoped within its own leng-th when running at full speed, and on account of its weight it runs ,,'ith greater smoothness." The gears in use are an adaptation of the carriage gear, but improved and made identical with tbe pedestal gear used on loco· moti"es. Tbe wheels are of wood, and are furnished with 3-inch solid rubber tyres. Tbe rear wheels are forty-two inches, and the front wheels thirty-six inches in diameter. The motors which dri\'e the rear wheels are mounted on tbe rear axle The steering is done with the front wheels by means of a small handle close to the driver. Under the body, in a box, is carried the iorty-two rell storage battery, which has sufficient power to drive the vehicle twenty-five miles on one charge, and at t he rate of speed varied by the controller from a slow walk to fifteen miles an hour. The ambulance is trimmed inside with leather and has room for tll'O patients, besides the surgeon. Twenty candle pOI\er lamps are fixed.at either .side of the dri,'e(s seat, :ll?other lamp.of the same power IS placed 111 the roof and lights tbe ll1tenor. The l\'lndoli'S and the back door are plate glass. A new feature about the a.mbulance is the bed. This is arranged so that it may be pulled out and still remain attached to the body of the ambulance. 'Vhen the vehicle backs up to the sidewalk the bed is out and ress like a shelf over the sidewalk; when the pat:enthas been lifted on to it the shelf is moved back into its place. The new ambulance is supplied with all the modern fittinas, and on a run to Grant's tomb and back it made the fourteen'" mile trip to the perfect satisfaction of tbe builders.

FIRS T AID .

APRIL 1, 1900.

Ix November, 1898. we had occasion to senOOL make some stronO' remarks on the ::Iction BO,lRD of the London BOnl·d in advel·tising A.lIBVL,lXCE. for medical lecturers on Finit Aiel and Honle Nursing at the remuneration of £3 3s. for a COUl'se of six lectures, each lasting byo houl's. vVe then expressed a hope that no medical lllan connected n ith the St. John Ambulance Associa tiol1 01' the Brigade would haY8 anything to do with it, ,Ye are plea8etl to say thc,t the comments then made haye b01'11e fruit. It seemed t.hat the School Board experienced great difiiculty in ge<ting and to that fact and to othel' l'epl'esentatlOnf', the Evemng Continuation ScllOol,.; Oommittee of the School Board reco1llll1endetl increased pay, which ha been accepted by the Bom·c1. ,Ye believe that this incl'ea ced pay is about doub Ie tbe l'em lmel'a tion.

But the Board has gOlle far1,hc1' thRn this. The fo1lowing pal'agl'<lph has been published :-" It has been ::tgreed that tIle London School Bom'd shall hold an examination of their own on Ambulance and Home Nursing, and tb::tt a medical supe1'intendent be appointed to organ iRe and supervise this instl'uction in the Evening Oontinuation Schools at a salary of £100 a year."

This means that the Boarel has decided to become an independant ambulance teaching and certifying body. The value of this ne,\- will be det81'1l11ned by the Rtanc1ard set np by the examining board, who will doubtless be appointed by the medical supel·intendellt. It is possible, indeed pl'obable, that the School Board ambulance cel·tificate may l'equire a greater degree of proficiency to obtain, and therefore may be w01·th more than that of the St. John Ambulance Association.

This step on the part of the London School Board will have some far reaching effects. One of these will be that thousands of young people of the lower class, or the lower middle cl::tss will h::tve an ambulance tmining as a part of their edncn.tion, and this example will doubtless be followed in other schools, both public and private, throughout the countIT' Anoth81 is, how will it affect the St John Ambulance Association? y.,r e anticipate th::tt in the COUl'se of two 01' tlu'ee years the number of certificates annually granted by this bocTy will materially decreaRe, although at tho same time it mtlst be remembel'ed tba t many of the classes of the Association are not composed of that class of society that derive their education hom the Board Schools. This Association has done good work in the past, and we hope that its cal'eer of usefulness in the future will not be curtailed, but reforms al'e needed in it, especially in its method of examination, and we hope that either the infusion of new blood 01' pressure from outside will bring about the necessary alteration.

It is a TIatter of congmtulation to us that this J oumal first sounded the note that has produced such a change We shan watch this new move wit,h interest, anrl trust that for the futm'e the London Scboo1 Board will not a,ttempt to s\o"eat the medica] profeesion.

A D DrSTRICT AMBULANCE BRfGADE - The monthly meeting of t?e. committee w.as. held at the chief fire station, 5th March, i\Jr. H. J. LIVIngstone presldlllg. There were 229 cases of first a id reported fO.r the month of February. Arrangements were completed for a smokmg concert to be held a.t the Crown Hotel, Snow Hill, on the J 6th. At thIS concert tbe medallions and other prizes. won at the recent. Challenge Shield Competition, will he presented. The Treasurer C.\Ir. Gilbert) presented the fil st annual balance sheet, sbowinO' tbe receipts to be £21 7S" and expenses (exclusive of a twelve ambulance) £18 17s. Iod., leaving a balance in hand of £2 9s 3d

AID. [A pri l, j 900.

$t. 30hn Hmbulance :fBrigabe.

EAST LONDON DrVISJON.-A number of Certificates in" First Aid" and Nursina were presented to pupils of classes in connection with this divisio; at the Divisional IIeadquarters, Jewish Working Men's Club, Great 'Alie Street, f<Jo, o? the I+th ult., by Mr. L. Alexander. President of tbe Club and 111 connectIOn therewIth members of the Division, under Hayman, gave display of FirstAid, showing the drill which is pI:actised at w.eekly meetings, the methods of treating patients wIth supposed 1l1Junes and carrying them on stretchers and hand-seats. The" Firemen's Lift" was also sbown and the application of artificial respiration brought an ina display to a close NEIV CROSS DIVr TON.-On Saturday, the Joth ult., the New Cross L.B. and S.C. Railway division gave a Bohemian Concert at their headquaners adjoining New Cross Station, under the presidency of the Superintendent [\ l r. E. W. Trangmar, whr> was supported by tbe Hon. Surgeon, Dr. J. Maclean,Messrs R. i\lott (\Yillow Walk), T. Rose, Patten, Cunningham, James, &c. An programme, by the Concert Committee, was ably .out. A smart display of First Aid ",as given by memhers of the dIVIsion, who were deservedly applauded. The Chairman, in moving a vote of thanks to the arti 3tes, announced that as so many had been unable to gain admission, another concert would be given on April I4 th MORECAMHE.-On I3th March a social evening and ball ",as held in the AlbeIt Hall under the auspices of the above brigade. The principal feature of the el'ening, however, was a. sham electric car accident. At a given signal the room was thrown I11tO a state of great excitement by the hearing of a loud crashing nOise, wh.ilst men shouted and women shrieked Men rushed out of the audience to render assistance to the supposed injured passengers. The body of the hall was instantly turned into a temporary hospital,. beds were run in, while nurses passed backward and forward, prepanng them to receive the patients In three minutes f.rom the time the accident, beds were ready to receive tl e patIents. One mll1ute later a p.atlent was brought in suffering from compound fracture of .thlgh, other patients were brought in from fractured nbs, forearm, dislocation of the ankle, severe h<emorrhage and vanous other ailments. All the splints amI bandages were improvised, making promuch more difficult. Patients who were suffering. only slightly were carried in on hand seats and some few walked Jl1, where they were critically examined by the hon. surgeon Dr. Oldbam. The whole scene was realistic.

lDolunt eer :ambulanc e Scbool of 3-nstruction.

CLASSES FOR THE Tl{ATNING OF STl{I:TCHER BEAREl{S. Course of I nstruction to be held at the Head-q uarters of the I3 th Middlesex (Queen's \Vestminster) R. V., J.an;es Street, Yi ctori.a Street, S.W., commencing at 7.3 0 p.m., by' penlllsslOn ?f Colonel Sir

II. Vincent, K.C.i\1.G., C.B., Command.lr.g I3 Lh MIddlesex R.\!. NEW CLASS LECTUREs-Tuesday, Ap.!l 3rd , T.he Transport of Wounded Tuesday, April I7th, Parade for III application of Splints and. Bandages Saturday, Apnl 21st,. Competition; Parade 111 Dnll Order at 4.30 p.m _+th, Rehearsal for Inspection. T.uesday, May 1st, OffiCial I nSP7ctIOn and Examina<ion. Parade 111 Drill Order at 7.30 p.m The (fficers class will be h;ld the Head-quarters of the 20th Middlesex (Artists) RT, Dukes Road, Euston Roac, by kind perm.ission of .Colo?el R. W. Edis, V.D., commencing 7th, a of which appear later. During tbe aDsence 111 ::,outh Afnca of Surgeon - Captall1 R R. Sleman, S. M.O , C.I.V., i\1. M.D., Prince of Wales's Own I2th Middlesex (CIVil Service) R.V., +0, Connaugbt Square, Hyde Park, W., is detailed as Adjutant to the School.

1Re\)J 1Raval Hll1bulance <tar.

A drawing in the Locomotz've Alagazine shows a new ca: which bas recently been built ;,t the and South Western works at Eastleigh, from the deSIgns of Mr. W. Pan Le.r, th.e carnage and wagon Superintendent, for the conveyance of navalll1valld<; from ampton to H aslar and Netley The the IS 45- ft., width 8-ft. and height inS ide 7-ft. 41-ln., It IS camed. on two steel framed bogies having 8 -ft. whed centres. The car accommodat ion for twelve cot pat ients, and cases, with add itional h in ged seats for the atte n.dant£! med Ica l sLaff, &c The .beds are arranged longitudinally in tI ers wIth two long n ar r?w ta l windows above each, g azed wIth ground g l ass. cot IS 2.-ft. wide by 8-ft. long, and the passage-way IS 2-ft 9.- 111. clear. The car is warmed by a gas stove, to which. IS a burner for heating food, &c. It is l ighted by ( Plntsch.s od gas). SIX la:n ps with double burners. A locker for bandages, splints, &c IS .provlded where shown on plan, above whic h are ;,vr fcedlll.g cupsi and other utensils. The floor is covered WI th cortlcene. The framing is of E n glish oak wilh.mahogany and extenor IS furnished in mahogany, var m shed and. embellished the Naval Arms. Particu ar aLtention h as been paId to t h e ventd atJo n

April, 19 00.J

FI RS T <Ballcr\?

SUPEIUN'l'Ei'l'DENT WILLI8.1I: H ilIA.u:\'DER.

)1O:\'(;; the \-a1'ious l'ailway officials who have been engage(l in pl·omoting ambulance ,York on their respective lines, one of the mo.·t nota bl e is Mi' VY i1liam H MFl.under, of Padding ton )11-. l\Lumdel"sA mbulance career coincides with, and l' cally f01'1118 pm·t of the work on the Gt. Western Rai1wa.y which started in 1888, but it was not until Xovember, 1896, that the DirectOl's sn nctioned the form,,tion of the G.vV R. Centre of 1,he St. John Ambulance Association, and agreed to c1chclY the expenses of the fOl'lnation and maintenance of classes amongst theil' staff.

Pi'ior to this, boweyer, an allowance was made to members of the staff who ",ere successful in gaining the certificate of 1,he Associa,tion, towal'Cls the expenses incuned by them

On December 3lRt, 1899, the Membership W;lS: 1st ye:11' (certificate ), 5039; 2nd (youchers), 1825; 3rd year (u,erlalJions), 909; sho'Ying a lll iU'kecl incl'ense in 4: ye::trs.

R R.H Princes' Ulu'istian, as.; Pl'e::;ic1ent, :-;igns each Gel-tificilte, and since 1896, upwal'Cls of 2500 cei'tific;;1.tes ha,-e teen issned to the staff beRring H.R.H 's signature.

On the formation of the n.\V.R. Centre Mr. H. Maunder, ,,,ho is an official in the Audit Department at Pac1rlington, was i:Lppoillted Oentre Secretary. lie has had f\, military tnlining, viz., as 11 non-commissioned o1:l:icer of the 36th (now 18th) Middlesex Rifle Volunteers, ;lncl a trooper in t h e Berkshit'e Yeomn.nry, which expel'ience should proye vn.luable to him a.s Snpel'intendent of the newly-formed G.W.,R. Oorps of the John Ambulance 13l'ignde. Divipions of the Bl'igade n.lready exist at Birmingham, Dowlais and P l ymouth, and the acceptance of neady 50 members of the Oompany's staff for scl'vice in South AfricR, has given a gren.t impetus to the formation of the G.vY.R. corps, the ;1,rlva,ntage of which has been pm-ticnla]'ly llllwked in the bet t bat teams of the Oompany·s staff at centres where divisions of the Brigacle' already exi, t, han been amongst the smartest i n the G.\rV .lt. <md other competitions.

On the formation of tho G.\V.R. Ooq)S of the St. John Ambul ance Brigade: a fe\\' month . ago, MI'. l\ln.undel' was app ointed Sl1pel'intenclent, anel ,vo anticipnte fOl' him a speedy promotion when the Bl'igade work is more fully deve l oped on this important R1ilway.

Painstaking in his work, courteous in his nanner, and O'en i a l to everybody, Mr. :Maunder is a tlVol1l'ite with all, we are certain t h at the interests of the O.W.R. , as far as amb ul ance is concerned, coul d not be placed in better hn.nds, and we hopc that his sen-ices in this direction will long be a t the disposal of his Oompany

FIGURED BANDAGES VERSUS PLAIN BANnAGES.-A corresoondent wishes our :)p nion in the following- question: Whet her" St'. John Lriang ul ar figured bandages are allowed to be used in competitions whic b are carried out according to St John Ambulance work, or must on l y p lain triang u lar be used? At the moment are certa in wh ether there IS any rule to the effecl, but we certall1ly think that o nly plain bandages ought to be llsed in competitions-figured ba n da g es ou g h t to b e completely barred.

A I D. 77

$t. 30hn thnbl1[ anc e Hssociation.

ABRADFORD -The annual meetin a in connection with tbis Centre was held on tbe 22nd ult. in the P_lrlour at the Bradford Town Hall. The chair was ?ccupied by tbe president, the i\layor (:\Ir. \Y. C. Mr. Chippendale read the annual :eport, from which the follOWing IS extracted :-The Bradford City Police Force is perbaps one of the most efficient in the country; out of a total force of 282 ?fficers and men, 266 hold first aid certificates, leaving only 16 to quahfy. A number of the 266 hold second and third certificates or medallions. Tne Chief Constable Roderick Ross) gi\'es every encouragement to the mOl'ement by granting one day's additional leave of to .every mall the lectures, ant: another on passing the exammatlOn. The force IS represented at all competitions in the district, and has always been successful in being among the prizewinners. Fi.rst aid has been rendered in 5+ cases by the police during the ye.ar.elld1l1g 30th Septe'llber, 1899. The committee, being desirous of enhstlng the sympathy and of the employers of labour in the district, issued a circubr suggesting the utility of providing boxes containing ambulance in their mills or workshops. The ;\Iayor, in mO\ ing the adoption of the report and balance sheet, said that the documents disclosed tbe useful character of tbe Association. 11 would be more or less generally known that qmembersoftbe Centle had gone "to the front" (applause). A little entertainment had been held, as the result of which it had been possible to find fo r them the uniforms, and he esteemed it a great privileg-e to have had the means of insuring the lil'es of seven ot these meu for £2:"0 each, along with the Bradford \'olunteers who went out (applause). The first "even ambulance men had gone before the insurance fund, and the insurance could not be effected after they had left. The motion was agreed to. On the motion of '\lr. J. Gill, seconded by the :\1ayor, a hearty VOTe of thanks was accorded to the hon secretary, and ;\Ir. Chippendale, in responding, said the Bradford ambulance men at the front had been highly complimented. One of them, a police-sergeant, was occupying a very prominent position at De Aar. He took the responsib:lity for the" box" movement, and he must thank '\Ir. Suthers for the co-operation which he had received trom him. He had also to express his delight with the ready way in which the employers of labour had responded and supplied ambulance boxes for cases of emerg-ency. He was ver:> pleased that the" oc currence register " had been :;0 well kept, and he must compliment the Chief Cons able as to the occurrence books. He hoped the time would come when the work would be facilitated by a subsidy from the Government (hear, hear).

CHESTER.-The annual meeting of this branch took place in the Assembly-room of the T o wn Hall on Thursday, 8tb March. The Mayor ( .-\lderman H. T. Brown) presided o\'er a comparati\ ely small attendance, and was supported by the Bishop of Chester, Dr. Duff, Dr. Gladstone Clarke, AideI'm III George Dickson, and the ReI'. A. E. Farrar. The ;\Iayor, in speaking of the obje cts of the association, remarked that he could not imagine any time in the history of the coun try when the work of sllch an association ",as more valuable. From a document which had been handed TO him by Dr. Duff, he observed that the St. John Ambulance Association had sent out to South Africa no less than 600 members. who \"ere now engaged in that noble work of tending O\'er wounded and sick soldiers. The Lord Bishop, in distributing the awards, said thaL as the :'I.ay?r had gll en him a lead, he must yield to the usual temptatIOn at thiS to to public e\ ents. He supposed they all felt from a patriotic. pOll1t. 01 view cheered and arateflll at the news of tbe further great stride whIch had been achieyed"'by Lord Roberts tolrards the pacification. of SOllL.h Africa, and they read with loyal heart.s the account of theIr Queen s progress through London that day, whtch must hal'e a most. so.ulinspiring scene; and tbey read also of Her i\laJesty s self-sacnfic111g resolve to stay at horne and go across the channel to Irelan J for her holiday. His Lordship t? dilate upon the value of work which had been carned on dunng the present war, and of the great advantage III it was (0 those \\'ho acqUired the intellioence of first aid to the IllJured, and of the sympathy sho\\n by men who were good enough to 5uperl'ise the 1I'0rk. On the proposition of the ReI'. A. E. secon?ed by Dr. Duff, a of thanks was accorded to his lordship for hiS presence, and a compliment was paid to on the .motion of (i. 8lckson. The followina were the pnnclpal awards 111 connectIOn With ge!1eral ambulance :-Ist prize, Yerburgh \V. Jones; 2, r. T. Milton' " i\ l iss Frances Bradshaw; 4, Mrs. Docker;. and 5, J. i\Iyatt.'" The two prizes for the best team.s 111 stretcher were given to the London and North Western Radway team, .conslstlllg of j\Iessrs. Jones, iVIy <ltt, Underwood, and Edwards, who ga1l1ed tbe first prize, and the Hawarden team, consisting of,\[essrs. Roberts,J. Gnffiths, R. Griffiths and Jones, who secured the second.

A TSWERS TO CO

Our thanks are due to those who have sent us cuttlllgS, a>1d also oriainal letters from the seat of war. Tbes.e letters we. a:e alwaY7 &,lad to L.A.C.-There is nothing partIcularly or ong1l1al n yo u r article, and our column.s too crowded thiS month. Thallk you [or your pre v ou s commU11lCatlOns.

UU'lar Bnlbulance.

THE HOME-COWNG OF WOUNDED WARRlORS IN THE" PRINCESS OF \VAnS" HOSPITAL SH1P.

The Prince of \Val es, the Princess of 'vVales, and the Duke of visited on the 26th February the hospital ship Prill cess oj' nates, on the previous day reached Southam pton with a party of 175 1I1vallds on board. They afterwards made a tour of those of etley Hospital in which earlier victims of the war are now makll1g rapId p:ogress towards convalescence. Colonel. Sir. igel Kingsrote, Emily h ingscote, and Miss Knollys were 111 attendance on the Pnn ce and Princess, while i'l1ajor the Hon. Derek Keppel the Duke of York. Their Royal Highne<;ses were accompa!1!ed by the SiJney Holb nd, representing the Red Cross SocIety. The reached the Empress Dock shortly before noon, and drew up wlthm a few yards of the shed beside which the Frt"ncess 0/ TVales was berthed. The ship-formerly known as the Sun-looked and trim, in sjJite of her voyages of 14,000 .mlles H er hul.lls pall1ted white, except where the red Geneva. Cross prommently dIsplayed as an indication of the purpose for whIch she IS employ.ed. A long pennant bore bel' name in full and she flew from her maJl1mast the Geneva flaa. The vessel was dressed rainbow fashion in honour of the Royal visit and the briaht sunliaht which streamed upon her accentuated the smartnes'; of her ;ppearance. On the deck ofthe hospital ship arouped the ofiicers, the medical staff, the nursing staff, the St. J'Jhn Ambulance men, the ship's company, the men of the R.A M.C. i\lrs. Morgan, wife of Major was on board, to the Princess a beautiful bouquet of lilies of the valley tled wIth long streamers of red and ,,,hite-the colours of the Royal Hou:Je of Denmark, as well as the Geneva flag. 'With a delightful absence of ceremony or formali ty the Royal party proceeded at to inspect the wards. The description of sufferings of men went straIght [0 the heart 0f the Princess. <3nd she repeatedly exclaimed, in the course of her tour," Oh, this terrible war; this horrible war!" Noting that in some cases the patients looked pale and weakly still, Her Royal Highness promptly directed that all who cared to do so should be seated, an act of thoughtful kindness that was keenly appreciated bv the soldiers. Not a single invalid was overlooked, and thE: in stances quoted are e.xample.s of the cases in which Princess manifested her sympathy. Meantime, the Prince chatted with the wounded men, endeavouring to learn something abollt the dangers each had passed through, and cheering them with expressions of commendation and sympathy. The Duke of york showed the same kindly interest. illr. General Russell, and other officers followed the lead of their Royal HIghnesses. The Prll1ce and Princess were very pleased with the excellence of the a.rrangements of the hospi tal shi p, and wi th the evidences of the care and skill for the men. At the conclusion of their errand of sympathy, the patients who were sufficiently well on deck and cheered the visitor s heartily. One man played" God bless lhe Prince of Wales" on a key bugle.

PRTNCE AND

PRINCESS OF

WALES AND THE YEO;\1ANRY HOSPITAL.

On the 12th March, the Prince and Princess of Wales inspected the officers and men to be attached to the field hospital of Imperial Yeomanry, as well as the Bearer Company All told about ISO men had the honour t·) be drawn up before the Royal visitors. F or the g-reater part they belonged to the Volunteer Medical Staff Corp, whose band was in attendance, mem bers of the St John Am bulance Association making up the baht.nce, and all were arrayed in the serviceable khaki now so familiar to the eyes of the nation. Formed in open order they occupied the full length of the lawn at the rear of Devon shi re Hou se from east to west, and a brave show they made. Major C. Stoneham, H..A.M.C., Commandant of the Field Hospital, and Major G E. 1-lale, R.A.M.C D.SO., in charge of the Bearer Company, were in command, the other princ ipal mem bers of the staff being Doctors T. H. Openshaw, \Y. H. Sheen, A H. Evans, and A. PlIt'ves Stuart, with AssistantSurgeon A. Scot Skirving and Lieutenant F. Green and Assistant Wardmaster H C. Jeffreys, of the Bearer Company. As dressers a number of the students of Westminster Hospital had been pressed into sen'ice, and the appearance of the whole body of men was such as to command admiration. 1t was just after three o'clock when the Prince and Princess of \Vales arrived at the scene of inspection, the r Royal Highnesses, with whom was the Duke of York, being formally received by the Duke and of Devons hi re. The Hon. Sidney Greville and Miss Knollys were in attenda::1ce, and among others present were Viscount Curzon, M.P., and Lady Georgiana Curzon (who has taken so active a part in the promotion of the Imperial Yeomanry Hospital), the Countess of Warwick,also a leading spirit in the movement; Lady Jeune,. Trotter (commanding tbe Home District), Captalll WhIte, A.D.C., Colonel Fludyer (commanding the Scots Guards) and Mrs Fludyer, and several members of the of the Yeomanry Hospital Fund. The Prince made a close and thorough !nspection of ihe men, and asked a number of questions of the officers command at All the officers enjoyed the honour of presentatIOn to hIS Royal Highness, who, before quitting the lawn, addressed the men on parade ae follows: "I am gratified to think that you are

AlD. [A pril, 1900.

g-oing out to South Africa to assist in the good of aid to those who fall in battle and requIre medIcal ald. [n thIS way you are aoing to serve your country, and I have no doubt you will all do YOUl'" duty. I trust you will have a pleasant voyage out and that you will return safely when your labours are done." Needless to tell with what enthus iasm those to whom these sym path et Ic words had addressed responded to the call of. "Three cheers for IIis Royal Highness!"

There still remained a little ceremony to be gone through 111 the presentati on by the Princess of \Va les, to each member of the hospital staff of a parcel corJtaining a muffler, a shir't, a cholera belt, and other small comforts, to the cost of supplying which a nu.mber of friends of the movement had cheerfully subscnbed. To receIve these welcome gifts each ma:1 past in turn before he.r Royal II ig h ness, had a aracious smile for one and all the recIpIents. The proceedmgs thus a pleasant conclusion, and a few minutes later saw the Royal visi.ors drivin a away from Devonshire House amidst the loyal cheer s of a great of spectators ass€mhled in Piccadilly.

THE BRITISH RED CROSS CO:.rmTTEE.

Lord \Vanta ae, Cbairman, writ.es to the press as follo,,"s, concerning the work of Committee in Soutb Africa. Sir Arthur has authorised the establishment, and has himself become lIon PreSIdent, of a Good Hope Red Cross Committee, to consist of three members 01 the Good Hope Society, one of the St. John Ambnbnce Associati on, two ladies of the Army Nursing Service Reserve, and three memb ers and the C'1ief Commissioner of the British Red Cross. The Red Cross Society is also receiving aid from the" Absent-:\Iinded Beg -.ar Fund" in the matter of supplying warm clothing for the men returnin g home in hospital ships. Large and co nstant s upplie s of various kinds, such as medical comforts, &c., needed at the field hospital at the Front and in the hospital trains, are also being se nt up by o Uf Society Sir John Furley writes that Colonel Byerson Cummissioner of the Canadian Red Cross Associati o n, has h:l!1ded to our Society at Capetown a valuable consignment of useful gifts and one hundred p0un ds Colonel Byerson kindly placed himself at the disposal of our Society and went up to Orange River, taking with him a large consignment of our cases as well as the Can a dian contribut;on. lIe will thus be enabled to look after any Canadians who may be in hospitals on his lin e of route In one day Sir John Furl ey received visits from Colonel Byerson, representing Canada; Colonel \Yilliams, Australia; and Colonel Vandaleur Kelly, New South Wales, with all of whom he has been co-operating in Red Cross and ambulance work. The Red Cross Hospital raihvay train, which bears the name 01 H.R.II. Prin cess Christian, is now, we hope, doing good work in Natal, where the authorities consic:ier it will be of more use than in Cape Colony. The followin a Hospitals are working under the auspices of the Red Cross and in with the Cer;tral Committee, and receiving aid in tbe way of warm clothing ard comforts from it:- The Portland H ospitai, The Irish Hospital (Lord Iveagh's), The ImperiallYeom;tnry Base and Field Hospitals, The American Section of a Field IIospital (,\1r. \Tan Alen's), The Langman Hospital, The Princess Christian IIospi tal (M r. Moseley" s), The Scottish South African IIospital (Lord Provost of Edinburgh), The Scottish National Red Cross Hospital (St. Andrews Ambulance Association), The Welsh Hospital, The Southamp ton Ambulance Corps (which is doing duty in one of the ,\1 il itary Hospital s) Through the auspices of L ord Rothschild, who is a member of the Central Committee, we have been able to distrib'Jte one thou sand pounds among the men of our Army who are prisoners in Pretoria where they are believed to be s uffering great hardships, 1.nd a second sum of one thousand pounds is now being transmitted to them, the first thousand pounds having been expended and vouched for. Many other matters also engage the attention of the r'entral Red Cro ss Committee, but I will not trouble YOLlr readers with further details.

BO USE OF COM;\lONS-A.MBULANCE WAGONS.

Mr. Hedderwi1:k asked the Under-Secretary for War whether his attention had been called to the statement that the ambulance wag ons atta ched to our forces in the field were in P1any respects inferior to those of the Boers, and whether the British ambulance wagons were without springs and, in co nsequence, were liable to jolt considerably, were so heavy in their build as to require ten mules to draw one wagon, and were so constructed as to provide accommodation for only two wound ed men in a recumbent position in each wagon as against eight in the case of the Boer wagon; and, if so, whet her he wou ld consiuer the propriety of taking steps to secure in future an ambulance wagon of a deSIgn better adapted for the requirements of the field and l ess likely to inflIct unnecessary pain upon wounded men.-Mr. Powell Williams.-The British ambulance wagon has excellent springs, and in the Long at Aldershot can be drawn by a pair of horses It accommodates eIther two men on st retchers and four seated, or I2 seated. I t contrasts favourably with any ambulance wag-on of a European nation. Nothing is known of the construction of the Boer wagons. 1'\0 complaints have been recei ved at the War Office from South Africa.

The Belfast Centre ha s forwarded to Sir Herbert C Perrott, Chief Secretary , £60 collected in that district in aid of t h e Red Cross South

April, 1900.J FIRST

African Relief Fund (siCK and wounded) Ina letter t;> Mrs. Magowan, Treasurer of the Be lfast Centre, Sir H C. Perrott, after acknowledging the receipt, and thanking that lady, Miss Black, the S ecre tary, and the subscribers to the fund on behalt 01 Viscount Knutsford and the Central Executive CommitLee. says cash has not heen coming in of late so freely for the sick and wounded as they could desire. They could, therefore, all the better appreciate Belfast generosity, especially when the heavy calls upon the public purse were remembered.

VVE hear that the last medical units embarked for South Africa had very few trained men of the Ro) 21.1 Army MedicaL Corps, but were chiefly composed of men of the militia and Volunteer Staff Corps, and of the St. J ohn Ambulance Brigade. It thus appears that the men, active or reserve, of the Royal Army Medical Corp6 are equally and entirely used up, as are the officers. The employment of these different bodies hastily thrown together cannot, of course, be conducive to the highest efficiency.

MEDICAL ST UDE:-{T VOLUNTEERS.

\\'e have recei,'ed a communication from a correspondent who modestly hides his identity, drawing attention to a letter of complaint which has uppeared in a daily paper as to the duties assigned to medical students ",ho have volunteered for sen'ice as ho spital ord erli es. One of these gentlemen on joining at \'{oolwich had, it was stated, been set to scrub floors and clean windows; another was set to sweep out an officer's room, and was given by the officer's wife. It is added that" members of the Ambulance Corps, largely made up of artisans and small tradesmen, appear to be exempt from lhe infliction of such labours, and for some imcrutabb reason, apparently claim a higher status than their comrades in the Royal Army Medical Corps."

\Ve can quite understand that these young men, who have volunteered from patriotic motives \\ hich everybody must <'dmire should feel much disapl'ointed at being set to do the work of charwomen, but the reason is not (, in sc rutable." The St. John Ambulance men have passed an examin"tion in nursing, for which they are able to produce a certificate, whereas the medi cal s tuden+s are unab1e to show anything of the sort. The re s ult is that the St. John man \\'ith his certificate, though perhaps a n artisan :1.nd of no particuLlr education, is a I, first class orcierly," whilst the med ica student, who may by chance be in his fifth or sixth year, rank as" third class orderly." On the other hand, the medical .tude nt may be at the beginning of his first year in medical work, and therefore absolutely ignorant of nur s ing. In the R A M.C. the third class orderlies h:1.ve to clean the windows and do the fatigue work generally. These thinas will probably soon right themseh'es in Africa, a nd even no\\' th e St. John of J er usalem serg-eant ranks as corporal in the R.A.M.C. lt is quite easy for a medical in the V.M S.C. to get a single stripe, or eVE:n two stripes, and a single stripe protects him from all fatigue duty. If a medical student has been for a full year, or say two years, in the \'. '\l.S.C. without getting a stripe he ought to h:we got one; probably he has been. a Going from the T.;\I.S.C. into the R.A.:\1 C. he takes hIS stl'lpe, and holds a O'ood position. So it comes about that cleaning vl'indows and fatigue may be part of the duty of a stripeless man I"ho enlists in the service of the Empire. He must set to wo rk to get his stripe. (British lled/ral JOllrnal.)

SCOTTISH HOSrITAL.

The St. Andre\\ 's Ambulance Association has organised an excellent scheme whereby Scotland will not only provide a national hospital at the seat of war but will also add permanently to her own hospital lesources in time of peace. The Marquess of Breadnlbane is president, and an influential executive has becn formed in Edinbut'g h, with strong local committees in the counties. Those desiring to assist the Scotch movement may learn particulars from ;\Irs. G. \Yals on, ]6, Ch<lrlotte Street, Edinburgh. Lady Helen :\I cGregor of McGregor has been enabled by the generosity of the inhabitants of the parish of Balquhidder and those connected with ar.d interested in it to send to Albert Butter, Union Bank of Scotland, Perth, £120, the sum required to equip, name, aud maincain a beJ in the Scottish National Red Cross Ilospital. Under the auspices of the local branch of the St. Andrew's Ambulance Association, a meeting was held in the Christian Institute. Falkirk, yesterday for the purpose of furthering- the appeal to assist in the establishment and equipment of tbe Scottish National Red Cross llospital at the base of operations in Soutb Africa. The meeting was hrgely attended, and was over by i\Ir: Robert Wils on of :'I1aylielJ, Falkirk. The meetIng adopted a resolution that steps should be taken to further the object of the Red ClOSS apl eal, and those prese nt were formed into a cOllll1littee, with power to add to thcir numler. Mr. J. IIowarCl Sempill was appointed hon. secretary, and Councillor Why:o hon. treaslll er. The proposal to erect a Scotti s h National Red Cross Society'S Ho s pital at Cape Town has been warmly supported in Aberfeldy, Lock Tay, I';:illin, Glenlyon, and Rannoch distncts. Sir Donald and Lady Currie of Garth have contributcd handsomely and named a bEd. :\1r. J. C. and ,\Irs. Bunten of Dl:nalastair huve done likewise; and it is fully expected that sufficient funds will be collected in the other districts b y Lady Breadalbane to name three or four ndJit ional beds.

A I D. 79

THE BOER AMBULANCE S YSTEM. From the SpeciaL Correspondent o/the British MedicaL am indebted to Dr. T. G. Hall, a graduate of the University of Durham, who been. for some time District Surgeon of J acobsdal, for some l!1terestlllg partIculars about the Boer system of attendance on the wounded at that place, which was the principal medical base for CronjeJs whilst barring the road to Kimberley. At the outset of the war, Hall, who, I mention, is not a Free State burgher, was appo!l1ted to work at thIS hospital. J acobsdal is about a dozen miles from Modder River, about twenty miles from :\1agersfontein, about twenty-five miles from Graspan, ana about forty from Belmont. The original hospital was the schoolhouse. It consisted of three wards, ha ving about fifteen beds each, an operating, reception, and administration room, dispensary, and offices. To this were added from time to time three adjacent cottages, ea1h accommodating about ten patients. The whole was under tbe charge of Dr. Ramsbottom, the Principal Medical Officer of the Free State forces, with Drs. Bidwell and Hall as assistants. These were aided from time to time by the various doctors attached to the commandoes in the field. For the last three weeks, hQ\.\,ever, Dr. Hall was absolutely singlehanded, 'he other medical men having been withdrawn elsewhere. The nursing staff at fir;t consisted of the matron and two nurses from the Bloemfontein Hospital; later four other nurses from Bloemfontein and several Jacobsdal ladies were added. There were several ambulance men recruited from \arious places, but none of them had had any previous training, although two \-"erc; chemists. One of the chemists was in charge of the x-ray apparatus. The supply of instruments was good. The fittings generally were fair, and the beds were spring mattresses sent from and Pretoria.

Just before the British occupation of Jacobsdal, the whole place was taken O\'e r by the German ambulance, which was splendidly equipped with tbe very latest appliances, including its own oil engineanddynamo for the x-ray. The staff of this ambulance consisted of three surgeons, four nurses, and five trained ambulance men, besides;J. ,nan ir: cbarge of the x-ray apparatus. Operations were few. No major amputations were performed. Se"eral fractures of the thigh and upp er arm healed perfeGtly in two months. One ca e of a compound smash just above the ankle was very notable. The bone had been comminuted most extensively, and the wound of exit "ery large. The patient was a man of the Lancers. The wound healed perfectly. It may bE. melllioned that the climate in this part of the country is dry, and fa vourable in every way to aseptic surgery and to convalescence.

To under,tand the general working of the B oer system of medica aid, one must look at the military system of the Republics. The units are commandoes from each district, \\'hich act more or less independent of each other, and maintain their own persollnel in everything. This organisation led to what is practically the old Englisb regimental system of medical admin istration. Ou t side the. h0 7pital there was nothing that on e could call a departmental organIsatIon. Each commando (or part thereof when divided, as was occasionally done in the case of large commandoes), had a doctor att<3ched, as long as the medical supply lasted, which was, in the case of the Free State longer than with the sister Republic, owing to there being less prejudice against Enalish surgeons. Each of these doctors had four to eight ambulance almost entirely without training, employed mostly as dressers

The bearers were generally Kaffirs. A spring wagon was used for conveying wounded. ,\t Jacobsdal were three or four more other sprina waaO'ons, which were sent out from time to time to the battleTh: surgeon remained with his (lolllmando, that is, actually with the fighting line. First aid was rendered to the wounjed men on the field, and splints roughly applied, but nothina of the nat'Jre of an operation was performeJ. The then at once either to J acobsdalvr to B03hof, or I\. offyfonte!l1, where hospItals slmd:n to those at Jacobsdal were established. The surgeon of the commando usually accompanied his O\."n wounded, at the for some days. This prOVided each hospital WIth :1. staff of floatll1g assistants after each battle. At i\lagersfontein, which, as your readers know, was held for a long time, there were wha.t migh.t be called" field hospitals," established in whenavadable,lI1 tents when they were not. It will be seen from thIS sketch of the medical arr:iI1gements o n the \ Vestern border-and they appear to have teen substantially the same elsewhere-that the Boer organisation has been practically that of corps surgeons renderin!; first aid and stationary hospitals. On the Natal SIde there has been pra:ticdly a base hospItal added at Pretoria and Johannesburg. But no organised system ot collection existed, although it may have answered .fairly well With .Boers defending certain positions at which theX rema!!1ed for I.ong and which they only retreateLI to POll1ts nearer theIr stationary must utterly break down with large of wounde9 o,'er a ing area of COL!ntry, as is the ul:der whIch fightlllg IS now aoinO' on 111 the l'ree State. Even earlIer It has begun to break the splitting up of the B oer force between Colesburg, and the Eastern Frontier. The amount of suffering whIch such a I, system" would bring ab?ut .If the Boers move far away (rom theIr base, and clear of a rail\\ay line IS awtul to contemplate. But, on lhe wh ole, the Free State arrangements were better thought out.

LETTERS FRO.\I TIlE FRONT.

1\1r. W. H. Morrish, of qI, Cheltenham Road, Bristol, has just received the following interesting letter from his son, who is one of the St. John Ambulance Corps in South Africa:-No.2 General Hospital, Wynberg, S. A. February 28th, I900. duly received yours, and papers. This week we have been extremely busy. I have been up at 5 o'clock every morning, and hard at it all day, and two nights. We have had. four lots of sick wounded.up this week and are a lmo st full up agam. We are enlargIng-the ho spIta l by putting. up 18 more marquees, whicl:: will hold ra8 more patients. Rudyard Kipling has been here again this week; he came in my ward and had a long chat There is not the least bit of pride in him; he chatLed with me just the same as he would with an old friend. In the evening-they g-ot up a concert for the patients. and he recited a poem he composed. They all encored him so much that he came back and asked them what they would like. They all sh uted "The AbsentMinded Beggar," so he recited it, and it was a hU6"e success. I fancy he is aoing to write a book on this war; he was asking the patients any of questions. After a lot of red-tape and bother three of us managec1 to get the half-day on Sunciay. \V e went to Simons Town, about 18 miles from here. reason of our going was to see the Boer encampment, where the pnsoners are. At present there are nearly 6co of them there. Of course, they don't allow you to go right up to the camp; in fact, they will allow no one to go beyond a certain fence. There is a large board up ,yhich says: "Persons going beyond this fence are liable to be shot," and, as there are sentries all round the camp with loaded rifles and fixed bayonets, a man would not have much chance. They are all under cant'as, and there are large electric lights all over the camp It is impOSSible for them to escape, and the way it is prevented is very ingenious. There is a fence that runs round the camp, which is composed of any amollnt of barbed wire, with a lot electric wires intermixed, so that if anyone tries to get over, it immediately starts a lot of electric bells ringing. Even if he did manage to get over, there is still another fence. The wires are yery thick and close together, but the three top ones are made of copper, and there is a very strong electric current running through them all the time, so strong, in fact, that when he touched them to get o,'er, which he must do-well, he would never live to touch another. Did you ever hear of .\{ajor Sheil? He is a prisoner; he was captured at the battle of Elandslaagte. After that we returned and went on board H.;\I.S. Po\\·erful.

FR_-\NK MORRISH.

The following is from a well known St. John Ambula.nce Brigad e officer :-

" union Steam Ship .Norman, Cape Town, 28th February, 1900. Arrived at (i a.m., after a very rough passage across the Bay of Bis:ay. but very good after leaving Madeira. Many of the men suffered much from the 'Jad weather and crowded condition of the ship. One of Lord Loch's contingent received a compound fracture of the leg, and a quartermaster had his forehead cut open by being knocked down by the sea. There are on board 104 men of Lord Loch's contingent, under Captain Brown; r 7 men of the Berks Yeoman rv; r6 of tbe Bucks (Wycombe) Division, and 116 of the Bucks (Buckingham) Division, under Lord Chesham ; and r03 men of the Yeomanry' Base Hospital, 75 of whom are St. John's Gate men, and 28 supernumeraries, under Colonel Sloggett, R.A .\I.e., besides many passengers and nurses, under Sister \Villiams. The temperature in cabin taken e,'erv morning at 7 a.m. is very interesting :-February I rth, temperature 53; February 12th, temperctture 61 ; February I3th, temperature 09; February I.j.th, temperature 69; February I5tb, temperature 72 arrived at Madeira at 8 a.m and landed wounded man' February 16th' temperature 72. off the CanalY Islands, passed the P; i1lcess OJ ll 'ale; Hospital ShIp homeward bound about 6 p.m.; l-ebruary 17th, temperature 69, Cape Blanco; February 18th. temperature 74, off Cape de Verde, servIce on board at 10 a.m

February 19th, temperature 80 off SiemL Leone; February 20th, temperature 82, off Cape Palmas February 21st, temperature 81 crossed the Equator last night about 12.30 ; February 22nd, temperature 82; February 23rd, temperature 77 ; February 24th, lemperature 75, the constellation of the" Southern most beautiful last evening-; 25th, temperature 73, servIce on boat deck at 10 a.m., 1,000 mdes from Table Bay; February 26th, temperature 73; February 27th, temperature 73, yesterd<ty Mr. S. Osborn gave a first aid lecture on "Hoemorrhage" to the Yeomen on the troop deck at 2.30 p.m., and which was also attended by many of the officers."

ON going to press we have received the following from a correspon_ dent in South Africa :-

"SHOCKING A rCIDENT.-A YEOMAN'S DEATH. - WORC ESTER Iv1ar ch 6th -(From our Cor re spondent.)-Sergea nt Vassie. of Imperial Yeomanry Hospital Corps, fell out of the train near Goudini. road on Sunday evening and .vas killed. His bodv was much muti. lated. He was buried with full military honour s yesterday. Lieutenant Macaulay Commandant) and Lieutenant Spence of the Duke's followed the bier. The band of the Worcester attended. and the service performed by the Rev MI Sheard, of the English Church. A large number of townspeople were present, Deceased was thirty-six years of age."-Aj7'icalz Paper.

The death of on e of our men is a sad ber:;inning, he fellvut of the t rain whilst asleep, and was only found missing next day.

Chief Surgeon Osborn proceeded to join Lord Roberts at the front near Osfontein, to the east of Kimberley, on Saturday, March ro th, as Civil Surgeon in charge of the Van Alen Flying Field IIospital. A more glorious position for one interested in first aid work it is impossible to conceive. He is attached :0 the Homehold Cavalry, 12th Lancers and Dragoon Guards, forming the yd Brigade.

\Ve regret to announce tlut Private Malkin of the Warrington Division died of enteric fever. His relatives have our deepest sympathy and we understand that bis serVices were highly appreciated. We also regret to say that Private IVoodham of the Wellingborough Corps is dangerously ill with enteric fever.

The St. John Ambulance Brigade at the end of M arch has sent out 868 men to SJuth Africa, the last batch sailing on the 1st April.

[Owing to p1'essw'e On au?' space we a1'e compelled to hold ave?' an inte1' esting lelte1' [1'om the P 01' tland Field Hosp ital, S outIL A j?·ica. ]

For 12 months, IS. 6d., post free, to be sent to the Pu blish ers.

<!omments on tbe 'UUlar.

BY CHIRURGUS.

The big battle that I ventured to predict last month would to be fought by Lonl Roberts has not yet taken place, owmg apparently to his in ability up to the present to again take the offensive The enemy in the south-east corner of the Free State is giving some trouble, but at the moment of writing there seems a good chance of thousands of Roet's being prevented from returning to their base. In any case they must be cleared out (by captmoe or otherwise) of this portion of the country before a move can be made towal'ds Kronstadt and from thence to Pn:toria.

I notice that many of the Hospitals are moving nearer to the fl·ont. I think the Langman and the 'Van Alen Hospital::; are at Bloemfontein, and as many of the St. John Ambuh,nce men are in these hospitals, we shall ,oon heal' of the stirring events they have seen 1 have had a lot of lett81's hom our men placed 111 my hands, and lllallY I should like to quote, but space forbids. However, one \uiter who is well known at St. John's Gate, says, "The fellows who have come from the front can't 'peak too highly of the St. John Ambuiance Brigade men." The medioo.l officers say" they work harder and better than regulars." All this is praise indeed, and compensates for a deal of hard work.

The correspondent of the speaks in Yel'J complimentary terms of the Portland Hospital. With tbe exception onlajor Kilkell)" its nominal military head, this hospital is managed e ntirely by civil surgeons andciyilians. Its inception 1mstluetothe energy and fOl'esight of lUrs. Bagot, who it will be l'emembered was one of the Bl'ign de nUl'ses and \\orked very hard on Jubilee Day. This lady and Lady Henry Bentinck practically live in the camp an(l han11y eyer lea.ve it. This hospital seems to be a mark of envy for the other hospitals, and its tortoise tent · are works of admimtion. 'rhe death rate of the war is b0th sad and interesting to )'e(1.e1. Roughly speaking up to date about 2,700 offic81's and men have been killed or died of their wounds, and about 2,000 died of disease, but the percentage of the latter deaths i" increasing, and J: take it that, by the time the war is at an end, more men will die hy di8el'lse than by wounds. It is impOl'tant to note that the death mte from wounds is extl'aOl'dinn,rily low, and this is due to two causes, fir tly, the wound caused by the l\1culsel' bullet being penetrating and not smashing the pru i.s, and second ly , the atmusp heric conditions nnd the antiseptic pl'ecnutions are extre mely favolll'able to recovery. If, boweyer, the Boel's u'e expanding bullets, we may e:xpect the death rnte from this cause to increa se Anothel' ambulance hand is l'epOl'ted. The Chicago COl'pS on arri\Ting in the Trnns\Taal soon showed Its true colours, which wm'e nQt those of the Reel Cross, and joined the fighUng ranks of the Boer anl1Y, Personally, I feel gl'iey('(l to think that the Red should givc shelte even for tt !3hort time to men of tl1iR clnss.

The lettel' from Chief Surgeon O. born which the Editor has shown to me is very intel'esting l' eac1ing and what he SR-icl about the sanitaq anangements fOl'the Boer prisoners hR-s come true-they will be much better off at St. Helena.

Over 1,100 men sent out by the St. John Ambulance Bl'igade! And still mOl'e m'e required. When I wrote in this journal a couple of months ago that thel'e was evel'Y probability of many more fil'st-aidel's being requll'ed, we had no idea that so manywould be wanted,--,sUl·ely everyone who wishes to to South Africa can do so now I heal' it whispel'ed that some of the later additions al'e not so good Ul:J.d not so well up to theu' WOl'k as the first thatvolunteel'ed. Of COUl'se, this is to be expected, as the best and most enthusiastic al'e bound to come forward in the :first instance and are bound to be selected If, howe,el', the superintendents of divisions, and those in control of the men, and the D1tm also, would read over carefully, and act up to, the hints I gm'e in the March number, R- great deal of trouble would be saved to the ofticials at headquartel·s. If the recruits sent up from the country are not up to the mark, it is the:,;e gentlemen \,,::'10 h<1.\-e to beal' the stl'uin and l'esponsibility anc11ick them into shape as it \ye1'e I hope this hint will be taken, if only for the t:lake of the officials who tIn'eaten to bl'eak down over the strain.

I fully expect that by the time I w-rite month a gl'eat change for the better will have taken place in the milital'y situation.

H lbOnle lb\?qiene."

By \V. J. :\IcCULLOCH ETTLES, .\l.?! CH.'\f. ABERD Surgeon-in-Charge, Ambulance Department, 1\atIOnal FIre BrIgades Union. PART

XIII.

Water is absolutely essential to life. ;\hn requires to 4 pints a day; the quantity varying according to the amount of water present in food and in the atmosphere.

Tea contains a stimulating substance. known as theme, and an astrin<Yent-ta-Jlnic acid. The htter is a barr.ltul ingredient, of which India; teas con tam more than China, and are thus more liable to cause dyspepsia,

The theine is more SOluble than the aCId, and may be drawn from the leaves by careful infusion. Thus Indian teas should not be infused more than three minutes, \"hile China tea may be allowed to stand eight minutes. In all cases tea has to be set aside for some time it should be drawn off the leaves mto another pot.

The dyspepsia by be :elie\'ed by discontinuing its U';e for a time and takll1<Y a tIl1y pIl1ch of blcarbooate of soda after meals.

Coffee contains a Ca-./I'eille, very similar ItO theine. To obtain its true aromatic and exhilarating properties, coffee should be freshly roasted and C?ntrary LO general belief, it not infrequently causes dyspepSIa, espeCIally theT of black coffee now fashionable after dinner. At one tIme UIlC07'Y "'as added as an ;).dulterant, but the popular taste grew to plefer tbe mixture and coffee is seldom drunk pure in this country.

Cocoa is more nutritious th;).n the foregoll1g. In adc.iItIOn to tlleobro7JIiJld, a slight stimulant. it contains, especially mixed.,:·ith sugar and mill" proteid, fats and carbohydrates. It IS thus a lalrly complete food.

Alcohol is the acti"e ingledlent of most 1l1to:(Jc.atll1g !Jquo.rs. In some, such as in Sp;).ten, Pilsen or Lager It IS IJ1 s.uch small quantities as to be The EnglIsh beers cont:un a_lI:tle more, about 31 per cent.; Bass s .and the Ales about pel cent.; Claret 10, Sherry 20, and SpIrIts +0 per cenL.

In quantities less than It to I } day, alcohol IS probably Thus a m;).n Ill;),)" dnnk dUrIng the one or t\\'o

FIRST

pints of beer. or (not and) half a pint of claret, or wine(51ass of spirits

In small amounts alcohol causes excitement and stImulatIOn In larger doses. stupor. and in still greater quantities i.t cames inse?sibility The feel iner of warmth is misleading. Alcohol dIlates the skIn blood loss of heat by radiation. Arctic explorers or hunters ne\'er dream bof taking alcOhOl. Experiment that troop,s or workmen can act much better when not served \\'lth stImulants. "hen taken in excess for some time, alcohol causes hardening and disease of the digestive tract of tbe li\'er, the arteries. brain and nen·es. These almost always cause death sooner or later..

The chief drawback of alcobol IS the unendmg mIsery It causes among the poorer classes. I haye known men e.ar.ning two pounds ten a week to seldom haye more than twenty-five sh!llIrgs left to support the home, tbe wife and children. The insufficient clothing, bad food and moral degradation cause much disease Statistics have shown that half th.e crime in the country is due to drInk. asylums owe one fourt.h of theIr patients to it, and it is respollsible for three quarters of the ll1mates of the workhouses.

The D ig est iv e Pro c e ss. -T he ford is taken into the mouth, ground between the teeth, and dur!ng that process, termed mastication, it is mixed with the saln'a from the yanous.glands Some of the saliva acts as a lu bricant, making the dry food Into a slippe r y paste, another portion of the which contains the digesti\'e fe;ment ptyalillc converts the starches Into grape sugar. By a complIcateJ act, the first portion wh ich is voluntary , and second involuntary, the mass of food IS sent dow.n the 1I1tO the stomach Tbere for a short time the ptyal1l1e contmues to act o n the starches wbile the alkaline reaction of the sa iva stimulates t he stomach' and secretes the acid gastric ju i ce. Hf.re h e prote id substances of the food are changed by thepepsine and hydrochloric acid into soluble p":!ptones. these peptones in their being chan(5ed by the mucous membrane of the stomach 1I1tO albumm and globulll1, the t\\'o proteid constituents of the blood The chyn1e fron: the 5tomach is further acted on by the alkalme pal1creal7c Jlt1ce whIch manufactures more peptones from the proteids, and fror;t the starcbes. .F.ats are split up into glycerine and fatty aCIds, 111 soluble condItIOn they pass through the mucOUS membrane of the canal: r.n transit they are in great measure reconstructed 111tO fat, whIch IS gathered by the lacteals or lymphatic yessels and thrown into the blood stream iust before It enters the lungs. The sugars and alb u mens from tbe capiilaries of tbe digestive tract are gathered by the portal vein, and sent into the li\'er, where fat is partially formedandglycogen stored up. This glycogen is doled out to the blood as th e organism needs it. Glycogen is an animal starch whIch eaSIly changes into sugar. The sugar from digested starches is stored up as glycogen, but the Ii ver can make ammat starch from proteId substances; thus dogs fed on meat and water only show large quantities of glycogen in the liver.

The Ce11. - The unit of the body is the tiny mass of living protoplasm known as th.e cell: Although the ?f the cell has never been ascertamed, It IS kno,Yn to be a proteId or nItrogenous substance. A p la nt can obtain its nitrogen from the ammonia and nitrates of soil, but the animal protoplasmic cell cannot do this, it mu:;t have a supply of animal or vegetable proteid. The activityofthis nitrogenous protoplasmic cell determines the activity of the body.as a whole. Thus the activity of the brain depends on its ner\'e cells, 01 the muscle, on its muscle cells, of the glands on their secreting cells The storage of fat is not merely the heaping up of absorbed fat, it is the swelling of protoplasmic cells by their assimilation of fat. The deposition of glycogen in the liYer is brought about by the secretion in their interior of glycogen by the li\'er cells All the body processes then go on by the influence 01 the protoplasmic cell. As tbese cells require oxygen, so oxygen is taken into the blood by the lung capillaries. L iebig thought that the amount of oxygen inhaled determined the amount of oxidation going on in the tissues, but the researches of Pettenkofer and Voit have shown that the absorption of oxygen is determined by the activity of the cell elements.

The Income a nd of the body - If a man could be placed in the pan 01 a yery finely hung balance and accurately counterpoised, his weigbt wo u ld be fo u nd to undergo alterations. It would gradually diminish until a meal h1.d been partaken of, when i would immediately iacrease to the extent of the weight of tbe meal eaten. These ups and downs would continue, but at the end of 24 hours, if the average be taken, it will be found unchanged

Suppose, howe\'er , that we place a baby in tbe balance, there are rises and falls, but. as there is a progressive ncrease of weight, there is an equal upward tendency of the average. J[ on the other h and a person suffering with influenza be placed in the scale, the rapid consumption of tissue by tbe fever process, produces a steady fall. The greatest factor in the loss of weight is water. The daily body loss is about 8 Ius., of which no less than G lbs. is water loss. One is not surfl ised at this when it is borne in mind that a 12 stone man cvntains <:i stone of water in his body.

\ Yaler acts as t. h e great carrier. It dissolves the soluble food stuffs and conveys them t o the issues, tbemseh'es soaking in it, and, dissolving up the waste prod u cts, carries them o u of th e system by the skin, lu ngs and kidneys in a state of sol u t on

A I D. 19 00.

T he loss occurs by fcur channels By the bowel, kidneys. skin lungs.

The solid ,,'aste thrown out by the bOl\'el is merely the unCigesled debris of the food, it has ne\'er passed through the blood, and oe)'ond stating that the total weight loss by this channel is 5 ounces, \\'e may dismiss it. The total loss is made up in this \I·ay.

Fr:::m the bOlYel-:, ounces of f::cces.

From the skin-2 S ounces of sweat.

From tbe lungs-35 ounce5 of gas and vapour.

From the kidneys-55 ounces of urine.

The loss from these sources 'e will divide into solids and liquids.

From the skin-:25 ounces of water and { ounce of solid.

From the lungs- I o ounces of water and 2) ounces of Co .).

Fi om tbe kidneys-:i3 ounces of water and 2:1: ounces of soli us.

T he solids of the sweat are mainly salts those of the kidney are ounce of salts and 1:1: ounces of a complex organic crystalline body knOI\'ll as Urea.

Ur e a !s the form in .which waste X from tbe ?ody.

Its chemIcal formula IS CO(:--;HJ2 3 or C.O.::'-l "1 representl,o-a mole cular \yeight of 50, of Iyhich :\ is 28, or more than half. "

If flesh is burnt, ammonia (:\,H:l)' carbon dioxide and water are given off. Tbe close association of urea and ammonia is shown by the fact that if the former is chemically combined with t\\'o molecule s of water, ammonium carbonate results. or ( TII-\)2COa (Urea ) (Water) (Carbonate of ammonium.)

The powerful ammoniacal smell of decomposing urine is produced in this way.

\ Ve see then tha if we prod uce the combustion of an i mal tissue artificia ll y, ammonia, dioxide and water are evoll'ed, aDd if that Combustion goes on during life, urea, dioxide and \.\ ater are formed. To make good the loss, the elements must be replaced.

As stated above. Il ounces of urea are lost daily. This is equal to ounce of nitrogen.

Again,25 ounces of carbon dioxide are lost, representing the OUtgoing of 8 ounces of carbon.

·Without counting \I·ater. then. t ounce and t lb. C. or, to be accurate, 300 grains ?\ and +.800 grains C, have to be repla ced in the diet

The buil d in g of a d ie t .-A p'ant could live on soot and gas. but the animal tissue demands that the nitrogen shall be brought to it alread y worked into proteid form ,and the carbon as a fat or a carbohydrate.

If flesh only were man "'ould be loaded 'rith nitropen and stan'ed of carbon for flesh contains parts of C. to I pa;t of X

To get sufficient carbon, -I- times too much K. would be taken in. To put it another way, to get carbon, -I- pounds of meat, an impossible amount, would ha\'e to be eaten. ,,,hile the nitrogen would be proyided in but pound.

Take another proteid, eggs for instance. An egg weighs It ounces, yielding:2 per cent. nitrogen or IS grains. To obtain the requisite 300 grains of nitrogen 17 eg-gswould have to be eaten.

Try bread. :3 pounds contains all the carbon, but 3t pounds must be eaten to get nitrogen Tbis ol'e rloads with carbon.

Note the proportion of nitrog-en to carbon in the body waste It is as I is to IS, or thereabouts. lYe can obtain this by giving pound of lean meat and::! pounds of bread. On this, with 'alt and water (a i\lafeking diet) a man can exist.

liTe have now con<;tructed a \\'Orking diet from our knowledge of the income and expenditure of the body. :\lilk is a perfect food for infants. but not for adults. If we look at the composition of milk, we find that it contains proteid, fat and carbohydrate in equal proportions, i.ti., Io i proteid in :2 of carbonaceous food. Tbis high proportion of nitrogen is useful for the growing infant, because of its needs for a tissue builder; but for an adult, h e carbons :J.re too low. Tbe Scotchman adds the necessary carbon in the form of oatmeal (q bs.), the Irishman as (3 lbs ) pot toes. In the Arctic regions, the carbon is ta k en in, not as starch or sugar, but as fat Cbem!cally, fats and carbohydrates are interchangeable in the diet, but really all diets contain both.

Dlets .-If a large number of plain meals of different races be examined they will be found to contain the prox i ma te principles as follows :-

Proteids

Fats 3

Carbohydrates 1+ Sa l ts

I Vater 2 2 + 65 oz dru n k

This d et s for an adult under ordinary conditions, and is that of 2+ hours.

Vhile resting, he would need less and while work ng hard, would require more.

Itest Ordinary H ard Work.

P roteids 21 4} 6i

12 14 16

Th.e amount of combined IYater is, roughly, equal to the weight oi the solIds.

It must not be imagined that flesb food is a vital necessity. So called ., vegetarians" endeavour to deri\'e their nitroerens from plant albumen Strictly they are non-flesh They have done much good by sbowmg how the poorer classes could lessen their expenditure on food and obt:J.in eqmtlly crood or eyen better results b using more vegetables. Of course thev their hobby to deatb this on their ?eads. -Some meat. howe\'er. ought to enter 111tO the dIet. Thus dunng the construction of the Paris Rouen English and French nav-.-ies were empt::ryed. The English dIe far more work; 20 EnglIsh dOIng as much ,york as 30 French The yrench were fed on. :'egetable diet, mostly soup and lentils; the EnglIsh ate large quantItIes of meat. \Vhen the French navvies were fed on the English diet, they did as mu c h work as the Enerlish. Several conditions influence diet. ""

CI/Jllate.-Cold means ox:idation to combat co01ing. Thus the Greenlander eats bear s fat or blubber; the Malay eats rice, and tbe Kaffir, mealies.

OCClljJalioll.-It was at one time thought th2-t the end product of muscular work \vas urea; but of course it is now known to be CO., and

Still, more work means more wear and te:J.r on the muscular macbine, and, in the long run it means a errealer need for rebuildiner material, th,lt is, nitrogenous food. Proteid food tberefore must increased during hard\\'ork.

J'

I2 months .of age. milk contains all that is necessary for the Infant. After weal1lng, a lIttle boIled bread crumb should be added Then ?read crumb and gravy should be given, later still. eggs and mIlk meal should be small and gi\'en frequently

Ar 10, chIldren reqtllre halt as much as a woman, and at I-I- as much as a woman. From IS to :?o tbe body is worki;.g hard growing and needs more food than adults whose growth has ceased.

Sex.-\Yomen need ]10 l::ss than men.

.-lrral/gemel/t o/meah.-:\'ot more than four meals should be taken eacb day at inten':lls of three or four hours. A rest is desira ble after each meal. :\s an example of a good and simple diet the followincr is eri\'en.

Bre;kfast, 8 f pint i water (as coffee), ± pint; bread, + 6 butter, :1 ounce; sugar, £ ounce; eggs,::!. Dinner, o clock.-Soup. ? ounces; meat,S ounces; potatoes, S ounces; bread, o.unces puddln E, ounces; .cheese, i ounce; ,Yater, pint. Tea, i 0 y ounc; mdk, :2 ounces; brtad, 3 ?unces.; butter, ;I ounce, ,\ater (as tea), 'f pInt. Supper, 9 p.m.-:.\IIlk, plllt; oatmea.l, ounce; bread, 3 ounces. (To be continued )

1RRtlWR\? thnbuIRItCC.

LO;\fDON A:\D i\ORTH-IVE. TERN RAfL\YXL-The annual competition amonz employees of this Railway for p ossession of the h'lndsome shield offered by the directors for proficiency in ambulance work took place. at Crewe on the 29th _ Elel'en teams competed, these con:l11g fr?m all parts of the ;\orth-I\ estern system. The team representIng 1\ oh'erton Carriacre \Yarks \vas acrain successful in \\inning Ihe shield b b Lo:\'noN, BI<IGHTO)1 A:\D SO UTH COAST RAIL\L\Y .- The Chairman Directors of this Comp;ll1Y recel:tly instituted a competition, tv take place :ll1nually, to encourage effiCIency In ambulance work among the employees of the Company For this purpose they ga\'e a very handsome Challenge Cup and prizes for the members of the team. The first competition took place at the end of :\Iarch 111 .the Mess Room at New Cross, between teams of five, representing Bnghton L ocomotive and Carriage Departments, Bognor, Crystal \alace, Eastbourne, New Cross Locomotive Department, and )few Cross Goods Guards, and resulted in the team representinrr Bricrhton Locomotive and C arriage Departments being adjudged the and .they became th e holders of the cup for one year, and rece Ive mdlvldually a. handsome silver teapot suitably engraved. The members of the wmnmg team were Messrs. A. G. Dunn, J. B. D. Gro u nds, \y Girling, G. Tamkin and A r. ·Whitehouse, i\Ir. J Davey them as reserve. The arrangements were admirably car n erl. o u t by M r. Tra n gmar, of New Cross and the l\ edical Officer of th e St J o hn Am b u hnce Association was the Examiner. L ONDON AND SOUTH-WESTERN R AILIVAY. - The res ult of the exam i nat i on of the teams tl:e Ce?tra T raffic D istrict of th is R a lway, at. the RaI way InstItute, East elgh,at thee n d oD arch,in connection WIt h t h e S t.John AmbulanceAssociation Competition,wasrecentlymade known, the following the order of merit :-Ist, Eastleigh traffic; :nd , Fareham :)rd, Eastlel&, h Vorks; 4th, Southampton Docks I ; B o ur nemouth; 6th, Gosport No. I; 7th, Gosport No.2; 8th, Ba s1l1gstokej 9th, Southampton Docks To :1 i loth, Ringwood i 11th, Brockenhurst 12th, Dorchester. The East e igh Traffic team will have to meet the best team in the I Vestern and London Traffic Districts to dec de sha ll represent the South Vestern Rai lway in the ann u al competitIO n for t he Cha ll e n ge S hi el d The wi nners of the district compe ti ti o n s h a'/ e met t<)gether in L o nd on fo r a fu rt h e co nt est in order to

A I D:

"'bich team shall represent the company raihyav to be held on ::!)th and 26th April at :\[anchester and h.mg s Cross The general manager (:\lr. C. J. Owens) and. the goods of Nine Elms Station were Fesent to wItness the comp.etltlOn bet'\'een three teams from :'\ine Elms goods departmen.t, Eastlelgh, and Ex eter which was held on the 17th ult., m the large h :1.Il the. Brunswick Institute -\fter a close contest betwe en th.e ::\ me Elms and Eastleigh teams. the forme-r won narrow m:J.rgm of ten points. Dr. O,II.lld conducted the and hIS award wbich gave. general \\as as fo1.o,\ s_:-::\ me Elms, 200. POlllt,: EastleIgh. 190; Exeter, r65 points. The ::\ me Elms team ,\ dl, therefore, repre>ent the South-\\'estern Comp:J.ny at the Ke e n intere st is taken in this by the chaIrman, directors, and g-eneral manager, and chief oFficels of the company, who h1.\·e leunt WI th crre1t pleasure of the succe;s al r eady and are desirous of many of the empl?yees. as the holders of tbe St. John A.mbulance certificate for FIrst aId to the InJuled.

_GREAT NORTHER:\' RAIL"'.--I.Y.- The annual competition for the cup by tbe officers of thIS Comp:lny, and to decide which of the te.lm::; ,hall represent the Great :'\orthern Railway in the competItIOn the challenge shield bv the t. John Ambulance Assocl.atI o n, \\'.as held at King's Cross, on Tuesday, the 20th :\Iarch ThIS year nll1e teams entered for the competition. and local cOmpetItIOns were only necessary in the Gr"ntham and Peterboroucrh districts. The .:\ottingham district were again unfortunately unable enter a team thIS year. The teams competing i;) the final co mpetition were :.omposed of men from Sandy, Louth, D o ncaster, Drighlington and I'l..ll1g s Cross. In the local competitions, which was held at Doncaster on the ith \larch, the team fro:n the traffic department beat the teams tbe locomoti\'e and engineer's departments. and in the competItIOns held at Peterborough on the 13th .\larch the Sandy team came out first O\'er the two Peterborough teams Tbe result of the final at King 's .Cross was as follolYS :-IYmners of cup and first p.T1ze 1'l..l11g s Cross wInners of second prize, Doncas te r; winners of thIrd pnze, Sandy; fourth, Louth; fifth Drierhlinerton. The winning tea.n: (King's Cross) will therefore the Company in the competlt1.on for the. St. John Ambulanc e Association Railway Challenge ShIeld Judges were Dr. Brown, of Clapbam, and Dr. of Catford. I!' Henry Oakley, in presenting the cup and prIzes to the competItors, referred to the very satisfactory result the and sta.ted it .\yould be necessary for the men to If they were to retam theIr presen.t position in the railway He also stated that tbe team whIch would represent tbe CO!flpany 111 the contest for the St. John Ambulance Railway Challenge ShIeld had for the past two years occupied second place. and he hoped that thIS year they would be more successful and win the shield. :\lr Ross (the Company's engineer) a vote of tbanks to the chairman, with which the proceedings terminated.

GREAT \"\'ESTERN RAILWAY.-The annual competitions ha\'e taken }Jlc:.ce at different centres throughout this Company's system, and the su.ccessful teams, composed of fiye .men each, from Birmingham (Snow HIll),. Gloucester, Plymou.tb, SmIthfield, and Swin20n, competd at Pllddlllgton for the selectIOn of a team to represent the Company in the annual for a challenge gil'e n by tbe 't. John :1.mbulance ASSOCIation, the Plymouth team pro\'in cr successful. Another competitioll was for indi\'idual work, for which a medal is -lnnually presented, and thIS \\'as I\'on by Inspector C. H. Overbury, of Birmingham. Earl C:J.\\'dor, the Right Hon. "'alter Long, :\l.P., and Colonel the Hon. C. E. Edgcumbe, among others, took part in the proceeJings

The judges were Drs. J. Brown and J. J. :.\Iarsh, of London

GREAT EASTER:-I R.-I.IL\L-'.".- T he prize distribution of this Railway Corps took place on April 23rd at the :\Iechanics Institute. Stratford The various useful and ornamental articles a warded were distributed by Lord Claud Hamilton (chairman of the company). Thirteen teams entered for this year's competition, and the winning team will represent the Great Eastern Railway in the inter-railway competitior. for the challenge shield. J n the competition the challenge cup W:J.S won by the Stratford team, Colchester coming next with only six marks less. The i ndividual prize was won by ;\ 1r. GreeD, of Colchester, wboscored fortytwo marks out of fifty. Lord Claud Hamilton said that one item in the report which redounded to their credit was the announcement tha t thirteen of tbeir members had gone to the front, and he knew that the good wi s h es of them a ll wen with them Referring to the approachinginter-railway ambubnce competition, he said he was certain they al l hoped that the winning team n their own competition would wrest the challenge shield from last year s winners.

T he result of the semi-fina Competitions at ;\Ianchester and London on the 25 th and 26th ult., is as follows;- I, London and N :Jrth- Vestern Railway; 2, Great \V estern Railway 3, :North - Eastern Railway -1-, Great Northern Railway; 5, Cheshire Lines. These fire teams will clJmpete in the final contest on the 9th inst The following teams obtained badges - London, Chatham and Dover and Great Eastern R ai l way, l\ I ersey R ai way

W e under s tand that there w ill be no Br ig:J.de Competitions this ye.II·, or at any rate ul1 til the me n have ret urn ed rom h e war.

FIRST AID .

.ilLiT 1, 1900.

IT hardly seems credible in this age cf SIIAiI[ ci,-ilisation thHt any boel.y of mell could A:llBULJ.XCE. be found 0 b[lse as to make use of mnbnhnce as a m C <1llS of g:lining a<1missian to a country in Ol'del' to fight on beh<11£ of that countr)' , l1ut it seems now to 1Je proyed that a number of Amel·ic tns, callino' themseh-es the Chicago Amlmhnco (j Ol'l)s·I)l'oceec1ec1 to tb; TransYiu\,l, and on m'l'intl, remo, ec1 their l'ed Cl'OSS badges and took theil' places in t,be fighting ranks of the Boel·.'.

Speaking on behalf of ambulance generally, this J omnal cannot take sides in international qU<l.l'l'els, and an [lmbulance mon should take up the same -When fighting begins, it is their duty to ,tancl a ide and ofi'er their help in a Salllfll'itan sense to either belligerent, l'emembc1'ing that the 'wounderl ellemy cle, erYo the same care and consideration as the soldiel's on their own side. 1£ :l11)T man wishes t') fight, and there are :lpp:u'ently plenty "'ho llo, he has no business to pose as an amhulallce man f0r the object of gaining some m!'-al1 or tempol'<1r)' advantage 0;- 01' theother side, The action of snch men is contcmptible, co\ywc11y and treacherous, and we hope that if they m'e captul'ed they may recei,-e their deserts in as speedy and becoming n manner a::; possiLle,

But what cue we to think ot the connhy that accepts sen,ices off'erell undei' sncb conc1itions? .Katurnl1y, as Englisbmen, Oul' sympathies are :vith our own countl'y, but it is quite possible fOl' us to adrmre, 01' even to bonoUl' an enemy that fights fair, and does not hit below the belt.

To be beaten in a fail' fight does not necessal'ily mean to be disgraced; but it. is a disgr<.lce, a sbameful disgrace, to any people or natlOl1 that they should abuse the methoc1s of modern w<.l.l'fal'e as laid clown by the Geneya OOlwention, Tlle Boel' nation, if it e:sists much longer as sucb, bould for the future be despised by other nations l,vhoal'epal'ties tothisConyention,aml its actions condemned by all right thinking people, But not ,yith , tanding all this, do not let om first-aidel's who may be engaged at; the front trent the Boer wounded with any less sympathy-show these people that, aho,-e e,-el'ythin§y, Englishmen eng<.lgeLl in the llllmalle of succouring the wounded areEnglislllllen and men of hOlloUl' :<.md will not yield to the temptatioll of making repl-i::; ilb in any shape or form.

st. 30bn Bnlbulance :n3rigabe.

HOSPITAL SAT C'R DAY F\ :\D 2'U<S I:\ G DI\ Isro:\,-A. \'ery pleasant entertainment, to be correct an "at home, " was given by the sisters of the above-named division recentLy, at 5+, Gray's Inn Road, IV.C. an early hour in the afternoon the 2I1isses Mann and some sisters took possession of the premises, and in the course of a few hours transformed the Board room into a tastily decorated ball room, and the room above into a most enticing refreshment room. It is surprising what a transformation scene can be made by skilful hands, with the help of a few curtains, potted plants and carefully selected cut flowers. Patriotic faYours too, were en evidence, for the gratifying news of the relief of Lauysmith was fresh in everybody's mind. Chief Superintendent and Mrs. Morgan, i\1r. ,Vyatt Sargeant, chairman of the Ambulance Committee, ;\1r. W. G. Bunn, Mr. A. W. Davis, and many officers and fIiends of the sisLers attended, and thoroughly enjoyed the excellent programme of dances, songs, instrumental solos, recitations, &c., rrovided for their entertainment. It wouLd have been strange indeed, if the admirable arrangements made and the gracious reception given by the nursing sisters to their gue,ts had resulted otherwise After " Sir Roger de Coverly" had been faithfully honoured, Mr. Bunn, on behalf of Miss J\lann and the Nursing Division, expressed, in his usual happy manner, the pleasure the sisters had experienced in being" at home ,. to so many friel,ds, whose hearts and minds were so devoted to ambulance work, and likewise the pleasure the IIospital Saturday Fund had in accommodating the sisters and their guests on mch a happy occasion. It goes without saying, that the National Anthem and" Auld Lang Syne" were heartily rendered; but it must be added that the recently received news from K accounted for the patriotic rendering of" Rule Britannia" and the giving of cheers for the Queen, General Buller and the brave garrison of Ladysmith.

I'J

A I D. [:NI ay, 1 900.

St. 30h n Bnlbul anc e Bssociation .

BATH,-A meeting was held at the Guildhall at the end of March to take the necessary steps with a view of forming a centre of the Alsociation in the city. The chair was taken by the Rector (Canon Quirk), and among those present were the Rev. E, HandLey, Colonel Bingham \\ right, Dr. IVohlmann,.l\lessrs. A. F. :V.albrook, F: Sprawson, and <\, B. l\Ioore. The chaIrman, 111 explammg the object of their m eeting, said, one thing which seemed important to him was that they should get into touch with the police. He thought every policeman ought to be instructed in first aid, as they were often the first to come into tou ch with accidents. As they were shortly to have a new Chief Constable, he hoped that he would see his way to throw his interest into the work, It was done in a gre;tt many towns, and he hoped it would be done in Bath. He trusted they would be able to do a little practicaL work by their endeavours that day, Dr. Wohlmann said that for the past five years they had been carrying on work, as it were, unofficially. For some time past Messrs. 2IIoore and Sprawson had undertaken the removal of the sick persons who were sent to Bath The Rev. E. Handley heartily supported the idea, and said, that if they could get better means of conveying persons suffering from accidents and those who were seriously ill, it would be a great act of charity, Colonel Wright also supported the movement. BRADFORD. -The annual meeting of this centre was held at the end of :-Iarch in the Town Hall, Bradford, the Mayor (Mr. IV. C. Lupton) presiding. The annual report was read by the Han. Secretary (Mr. George Chippendale), and stated that the Bradford centre continued to be maintained in a satisfactory condition. During the year ending September 30th last, 35 classes had been held. Since the formation of the centre in 1887, the number 01 persons who had received certificate:; for first aid and nursing had been 3,830. The Bradford City Police was, perhaps, one of the m05t efficient in the country, out of a total force of 282 officers and men 266 hold first aid certificates, leaving only 16 to qualify. A number of the 266 hold second and third year certifi· cates or medallions. Fir s aid had been rendered in 5+ cases by the police during the year ending 30th September, 1899. Analysis as foilows :-Wounds, 21 ; fractures, 10; bleeding, 6; broken limbs, 5; burns, +. fits, 4; scalds, 2 ; cut-throat, 1 drowning, 1. The statement of ;eceipts and expenditure showed £122 6s. 8id. received, and a balance in hand of £10 +s. 1d. The proposed the adoption of the report and balance sheet, and said he had great sympathy with the good work done. He also pointed out that q of the members had gone to the front. Mr, F. Pries man seconded the resolution, which was adopted, and subsequently officers were elected.

DUNDEE.- The second annual competition of this centre for the silyer shield, took place in the Drill Hall, Dundee, on Saturday, April qth. I teams entered. The first prize, consisting- of the silver shield and silver medallions to each memoer of the team, was awarded to Perth Railway employees; and the second prize, bronze medals to each of the men, to one of the Downham teams; Carden ham team was third; and the Boys' Brigade and one of the Carmollstie teams were fourth. Lord Provost Hunter presented the prizes to the successful teams, In the course of a few remarks he said it had afforded him areat plea sure to watch the competition. The training would be of great ad\ antage to the men themselves, and also o[ incalculabLe benefit to any who should r equire their services. He instanced the case a gentleman who fell down a stair at a railway s.tation and who h ?J that he knew by the way the first rail way offiCIal that came to hiS aid touched him, that he had been trained in ambulance work. :gis Lordship then proposed a vote of thanks to the judges, and the proceedings terminated.

THE report of Surgeon-i\1ajor ]. de Z. ;\Iarshall, A.M.R" and. Mr, Charles J, Trimble, the judges for the St. John Bngade between the teams competing for the ambulance competItIOn, conducted at Crewe on'March 29th, is of considerable interest to ambulance teams. After expressing their satisfaction with the general effiCiency shown in the most important, but often neglected, part of ambulance train ing-namely, stretcher work-the go on to state that. the treatment of bleeding wa!' generally practical and good, espeCially where the operators, without removing one hand from pressu:e the main artery, converted a triangular bandage or wto a tourniquet with the disengaged hand and ol?e foot. In Il1stances, however, no attention was paid to the bleedll1g vessels, With result that when first aid was rendered the judges were of the Opll1!On that the patient was dead. They also point out that more care should. be exercised in placing the patient in a recumbent and in rals ll1 g a bleeding- limb. On the other hand, the resUSCItatIOn of the apparently drowned was not S(1 satisfactOrily performed It is suggested that nervousness and anxiety to exceL in the were in cases responSible for the failure of the competitors 111 thiS latter portiOn,O[ the examination. The report states that the Wolverton team, being the champion team of the year, will again represent the L ondon North-Western Railway Company in the St, John Ambulance Asi'oWtion Railway Competition, the preliminary [or which will be held at King's Station, on April 26th.

SYDNEY @ur W. MALKIN, ESQ., AS8ISTAKT Srr JOIIK AMBULANCE BRIGADE.

THIS month it gives us gl'eat pleasUl'e to place in OUI' Gallel'}" the portmit of 1\11-. Sydney 'vV .JIalkin of Uh eadl e, Staffordshire, a gentleman who I:::; well known in that countv and abo to tho,/e member, of the t:t, John Ambulance Brigade who al'e in thebabitof attending the Annua.l C011ference.

A1D 85

3nternattonal of )!if e Saving an b jf lrst Rib.

tlle tollowing record shows that duties have considei'ably increased, bas been rapid,

Mr. Malkin's active interest in ambulance work began about ten years ago, and during that pel-iod bis and that his promotion

In April, 1890. Mr. l\lalkin was appointed Hon. tSec. and Treasmer of the Bootben, Trent Vale and Penkhllll Branch of the Pott81'ies Centre of the Association, and in August of the same year he was appoint811 Local Hon, Sec, of the Centre in to 1\1e. Geo. 'vVal'ing, and in 1896 Tl'easmel' to the Centre. In 1897 he a.pplied for and obb ined pel'mission to enlal'ge the m'ea of the Centre which now comprises one-half of the County under the style of the ( North Staffol'dshire Oentl'e."

As Brigade wOl'k Mr. ha l)een equally energetlC. He the P?ttenes Corps in Septembei', III 1893 was [lppomtecl Local HOll. Dil'ector, a title which however was not recognised at Head-Quartei's and tlI81'efoi'e in November, 1896, 1\11'. Malkin was Chief Superintendent of the N Ol'th Sta:ffOl'dshire COl'pS a position which he re igned in Mal'ch, 1898, when he succeeded by Dr. J. Freel Arliclge.

In April, 1897, Malkin wa:::; electell an Hon. SelTillO' Brother of the Oretel' of John, and in ::\Jny, 1898. l'eceivec1 notification of his appointment a:-. ....l.::;sistant Commissionel' Since hi:::; nplJointmellt as an ..::\.::; 'oeiation OftiCicll he has signed and issued no less than 3,662 cel,tificiltes.

Buttheseambulancedutieshayenot been sufficient to satisfy 1\11'. Malkin's thirst for work-he takes 11 keen intel'est in local affairs,such as Technical Church and Schools.

That Mr, Malkin's senices and hard in connection with the BI'ignc1o have been appreciated is eyic1ent hom the above , His tact, kindness and geniality al'e well known, and we hope that his yaluable service. may be lon o retninell

the Centre and Corps in ,,-hich he take:::; (leep an mterest

DEATH THROUGH WANT OF FIRST AID.-An inquest was held on Saturday, Apri! qth, at the Cheltenham .Gen.eral Hospital, on the body of a labourer, named J Ohl1 Harns, slx.ty.-one years of age.

On the prevIous Thursday the deceased was dnvln a a skim over a field at Wing-moor Farm, Bishop's Cleeve, when the horEe bolted and knocked him under the skim. lIe \las dragged for leo yards O\'er field, the kI?ives making a terrible gash in his thigh, and fi\'e mll1utes after arnval at the hospItal he died from hccmorrhaae. The medical evidence showed that if anyone with a knowleuae of work had tied a handkerchief tightly above the wound the man's life would have been saved, The jury returned a yeruict of "Accidental death," and one of them wondered what the Cleeve School Board was doing, seeing that a fifteen-yea!'-old "itness was unable to write his name

in dated. June,. I898, the 2I1inister of Commerc e instituted IS? 111 connectIOn \\'Ith the Universal Exhibition f InternatIOnal Congress of Life Sayin and F'" 0 an from the I7th to the 2'rd f J 1, g h P list \Id. to h old Its slttmgs th h .) 0 u ), m t e alace of Cong resses Th IS congre<;sdevotedtotbesesub'ens :\1 b : <; parLlclpatma must notify:\1 Felic' :ill' - of Congres 2I'" C d -. le.n IC otte. se cre talre general du f. ..' rue on orcet, 2 I, Pans, and enclose a fee of five francs or of francs for donors (clonateurs). J?e reSIdent of the organlsm a commiuee is \1 Bou h C d PreSident of thc Chamber at the of App I l t' S c er- a art, The sub t' ea. a e enator t' f. SCTlP I.ons are to cover the cost of printina, postaO'e 'publicaIon tlansactIOns, &c. If there is a surplus itwill b '" el'· d orgal11sll1g the next I'ongress to be held in in 190/ e\ote to The work the \l'I11 be divided among eight sections, 1st.-\1anLime (a) Shipwreck far from land :-Sianals pIgeon. posts; col.lislO:: apparatus; materi:J.I and methods of (b) Sigh t of boats, steam, sailina and rowina: and .llfe boat administration and o"'raanization b of st;tl?nS, services rendered dunng 1899. (c) Founderinc- "'on coasts'S.atIOns and crews for rocket and hand savina' to apparently drowned; general statistics. '" , e 2nd -River section: -Life saving in inlan::l waters; stations; apparatus: rules regulating water traffic. yd.-:Flre savIng :-Dealing with fire before arrival of bnga?e, methods and .applIances for private and public buildinas' teachll1g of fire preventIOn. '" on the. public :-Prevention of accidents caused by man, or ;. polIce m.easures first aid to, and transPOrt of the" ounded org.anlz1l1.g first al? in the country, on high roads at dangerous .spots; .lIfe at raIl\\ ay accidents, expl osion s &:c" tl a_nsport the slck.d unng epIdemi cs. • savmg 111 factories. Pre\'enti\'e me;J.sures to take.

b.tn:-Duty. of during war :-Relations to red cross socIetIes; eq.ulpment of ambt:lance field hospital service. .7th.-Asslstance to. firs.t-alders, Ylctlms of their de\'otion to duty :_ Life assurance; orgaDIzatIOIl of benevolent societies and funds and. life saving competitions :-Competitions will be orgal11sed WIth, a.nd WIthout special appliances, for rescuers, stretcher bearers, first-alders; as well as practical demonstrations of the la :est appliances.

.\[.er:n?ershiPT of the Congress does not give right of entrance to the {\() paper I?ust I?ore than 15 minutes, and no reply allo\\ed excepl }-oy speCial permiSSIOn of the meeting. \Yithin twenty<our hours after the reading of the p1.per, a proce s-\'erbal (summary) ?e handed. to secretary. Th:s may be subjected to further leductIOn, and will be dlstnbuted as soon as p03sible to the men:bers.

'U\Lla r Btnbul ance.

THE Scorrr - H 2'.HIO:\AL RED CROSS IIOSPfTAL. The Xational Red Cross Hospital, which has been accepted for servIce 111 Africa, is being pro\ ided by the St, Andrew s Ambulance ASSOCIatIOn, ,which is incorporated by royal charter, and ,?,:er Scotland. The. first section of this hospital, \\ hlch makes pi 0\ lSlon for 100 beds, sailed from Southampton in the Caslle Saturday, ..:\pril 21st; it will be utilised as a ba se hospital or a hospItal 011 the lines of communication. The officer in charge appointed by the Office is Deputy-Surgeon-General Cayley, the late Profes.sor of at ;..retLey. Professor Henry E. Clark has been app01l1ted ChIef Surgeon, and will be assisted by IIlr. Duke, Dr. .John M. C;0wan, and Dr. A. S. Boyd will act as physicians, while JUDlor medical officers are Dr. Aitken and Dr. Garrorl. Six nurSll1O' have been appointed, dond will be under the supervision of Shannon, who. been the ni.ght matron in the IVestern Infirmary, Gbsgow; \"hile eighteen medical students from Glasaow University and St. Mungo's College go out as dressers and orderlies. The remainder of the which numbers 60 in all, ",iIi be made up of Civilians. The hospital \\'ill take tortoise tents, ha vlng 10 beds In each, and the first section will provide 100 beds. In additIOn, accommo.dation is provided for the staff, for cooking, &c., a spec.ml ope.ratmg tent. The hospital, which has been acceptec: for service for SIX months, is equipped with all modern requirements, fO.r example, ray apparatus, electric light for operating tenL, refngelator, &c" anu will be \'erycomplete in all its details. The St. Ambulance .\ssociation, besides providing the hospital, is to pay the staff and all the expense of the upkeep of the hospital, while the \Va r agrees. cOI1\'ey the hospital and staff from Glasgow to South Afr.lca, to usual. rations, and to send the hospital home agalll at the termmatIOn of SIX months or when the services of the hospital and staff are no longer required. It is expected that the second section of t.he hospital, which will provide 200 aJditional beds, wIll te ready to saIl early next month On Apnl 11th a special service,

May , 1900.J FIRST

AID. 87

86

F IRST

conducted by the Rev. Dr. McAdam Muir, Story, PriI:cipal Marshall Lang, and the Rev. Dr. George Adam SmIth, was held m t.he GlasaowCathedral. On the same afternoon the staff, tents, and eqUlpmentof the hospital \yere inspected by General Chapman, the Commandin a the Forces in Scotland. In the evenmg an enthusIastIc meetin er was"'held in the Queen's Rooms to give a "send off" to the of the s taff. Addresses were delivered by the Lord Provost of Glasgow, Sir William Gairdner, and others; and the proceedings concluded with the singing of " Auld Lang Syne."

V.lE regret to announce the death of Pte. IYallace R. Richardson, a member of the Hampstead Detachment of the St. John Ambulan.ce Brigade, which took place at on ill arch 30th, from 'pneumonIa. On Monday his parents, resld.e 10 He<:tb street, receIved a letter from him dated i\Iarch 18th, 111 whIch he saId, "Do not worry my health; I in splendid and on Tuesday they notification of hIs death. The aeceased man was only nmeteen years of age.

the numerous funds which ha\'e been organised in all parts of the British Empire on behalf of the sufferers in tbe African Campaign, one raised through the effort of i\lrs Lyster, wIfe of Colonel T. Sanderson Lyster, Acting Q.D.F., :lesen'es mentIon. At tre beginning of the \yar tbls lady wrote a le.tter to the Bnsbane CGltrier, urging the women of Queensland to contrIbute small amounts, from a Id. to a IS. in order to raise money to send an ambulance wagon to SOl1th, Africa In to her a sum of nearly £5 00 was subscnbed, whIch to prov,lde two wagons, sets of four-in hand harness, beSIdes medIcal applIances. A team of SIX horses was presented by the Hon. John '\Ii ister for Railways a.nd Public IVorks, whose generous example w?,s by so that the ambulance " hich left Queensland w1th the thIrd contl11gent of our brave colonials \o\'aS well provided for in every way.

AN Ai\lBULA:-.1CE FRm1 I;\DTA.

The tonga ambulance train offered by a Parsi gentleman for service with the troops in South Africa left Pindi for Calcutta by special train on February 9th, It comprises 50 horses with harness and belongings, and 20 vebicles, 12 large with stretchers, and 8 small without stretchers. The animals are country bred, thoroughly trained and broken to hamess. The tonga is built to supply a want much felt on field service as a means of quickly transporting sick and wounded of mounted troops moving faster than the rest of the army The tonga is hung with springs, and can be used either with or without stretcher. In the latter case it accommodates two in a recumbent posture, or, if the patients can sit up, the large conveyance can hold five and the smaller three, The stretchers, easily foldable, can be packed on the splash board. Each tonga bas waterproof purdahs on all four sides. It is adaptable to bullock draught with slight modifications in harness. The tent is a simple two-fold cloth stretching from the arch or the tonga top to the ground, the outer fold made of millerained khaki drill impervious to rain, the inner fold of mi:lerained thin lining. The lightness enables it to be rolled up and carried on the tonga cover. The tongas were freely used during the Tirah Field Force operations for bringing sick and wounded from front to ba lt e, and were mOS[ favourably reported on. They were also tried during the cavalry camp exercise at Delhi and at Attock manceU\Tes, and, under the orders of the Commander-in-Chief in India, are in daily use on cavalry field days.

A correspondent Ihas kindly sent us the following lette r from Mr. McNamara :-

"Portland Field Hospital, South Africa, Saturday, January 20th, 1900

No doubt you wonder at not hearing from me before this I have commenced several times to write, but something has invariab ly turned up to prevent me getting a letter away. We had a very good ve-yage , Several were down, most of the boys in fact, for a day or two. I myself was as right as a trivet until the second week out, when I felt a bit queer for a day or two, caught cold, however I got all right before landing. Several officers and our crowd disembarked at Cape Town

The Majestic swung round, almost as soon as we left her side, off to D urban with troops. On landing Lord H Bentinck,Capt. Bagot,&c met us; we marched to Cape Town station and off to Rondebosch. T his is the centre of South African swells, and the residence of Cecil Rhodes can be seen from the camp When we reached the camp ground of NO.3 General Hospital, we were met at the gate by the St. J ohn's boys who are attached, SLaff Sergeant Dash,Sergeant Cooper and tbeir crowd 'vVe had to borrow a couple of magazine and bell tents and wait till ours arrived T he V,ctoria came in on the Tuesday, we had a very busy time tent pitching and g-eneral fatigue work. Our first lot of patients came in on the following Tuesday, Sir John Millbank Lieutenant Gibson, l\lajor Alexander and 30 non -commissioned and men, last night we got in twenty more 'vVe have several badly wounded men explosive b ull et wo unds. One man , ball entered upper arm m ssed elbow , fract ured ( shat ter e d ) ra d u s a nd uln a anoth er

A I D . [May

, 190 0. entered bis thiah missed knee, shattered tibia and fibula. He is going on all riaht but it was a near shave for him having arm and leg removed "'but bis are saved and he is in good spirits. We have two in next tent to this and one doubtful one over the way. Ollr camp is an ideal one, good bread, good meat, and good water, bath rooms and as much water as one wi shes for, it is laid on from mains The messina arranaemf'nts \I ere rather rough, of course we didn't' expect a but "dry bread and I-lb, of potatoes and dry and tea came a bIt strange. Thmgs are better now the Committee are allowing us 4d, a day mess money. The boys with NO.3 have fO.r puggarees, la.n:v ards , &c., and have got them, we ll1tend followmg SUIt. Our khakI IS not at all up to the mark, the shape of the tunics does not conduce to that appearance we know you wish us to show, and tbe smart cut mIlItary tunics sbow tbem up more. Evans and myself have bought puttees and tunics from stores , \Ve wear the Duke's racing colours on Ollr helmet s and the flags are the same ( black and white). IVe killed several snakes in camp. I killed a small one under my chaIr 111 mess tent the other day. 'v,"hen we went aboard at Liverpool, the St. John's Supernumeraries were sent to troop deck, each WIth a mess. ThIS deck was the worst in the ship as odd details were all told off for it. The se rereants of the R A.M.C, were sent 2nd class saloon, if you please. Fo;;'unateJy, colcnel---, the IVarrington Deputy Commission er' came on board to see us off, and he saw the l\1ajor, so we got a four bunk cabin and messed in sergeants' mess. 1 have got a very fine surgery. I Ve have had many visitors, Sir Alfred Milner, twice, Lord Roberts, Count Gleichen, Prince Adolphus of Teck, the P.i\1.0., several times Sir Ellis Ashmead Bartlett, &c. The :'f"jor brings visitors in, and and the doctors alslJ, quite proud .of the arrangements The duties are very long for me, 5.30111 t he mornmg, all day, and often called during night (I sleep in surgery) sometimes. I get down to Cape Town for an hour in the evening, but I am not often more than 100 yards from my tent day by day. Lord Kitchener hls issued strict orders re visitors, and it was necessary, we used to see them in crowds, without practically any check in NO·3 Hospital, this is a district in which one does not know whos ",ho-teemlllg with traitors and spies. lYe get very little war nel:s. The papers a month old from home tell us more than the Cape dally, but we do hear and see I ittle side lights of the ,,·ar that you perchance may never hear of in England, and are only spoken o f in whispers here. A sergeant· major and two men wel:e shot the last three weeks, four miles from this camp, traItors to thelf Queen. One of the Princess of Wales bJys came up othe: evening.' they some work, he says they are so tired of clomg nothll1g. ThIS camp IS very fine, but ·we anxiously waiting the orders to move, \ye expect t o go up countrY.lIl about a month We are undermanned, but 1st and 2nd grade orderlIes have taken to practical ward work like ducks water, bu t they really haviner too much, I doubt whether all wIll stand the stram. Peat was and the first patient in our hospital. Johnson has been down with dysentery, nolV up. Harness went in ward yesterday, same "'Ie cannot get muc!l fruit, I paid 9d. for a d,)Zen plums (Id. lb. III LeIcester). shIrts, boots, and s?cks can be bought in Cape Town as cheap as 111 London, but other th1l1gs are much dearer. Bass, IS. bottle; Guinness 's stout, IS 9d. a bottle; whisky, good, 60. a time, they ;you. the bottle and you take what you want. They don t measure SpIrIts lIke at home, pass you the bottle, Mackintosh, extra rug, matC:1es soap and more than two shirts pants &c should be brought, there is no difficulLy getting them here al e very u seful. You this ?isjointed letter but it has been written under dIfficultIes whIch you WIll understand', We shall have some good photos for you The civilian physic an Dr. Took, is a great friend of Dr. Pope's (Dr. Pope signed my paper and severa of the men's on our staff at home) Hoping you are qu ite well and not worked to death I remain, yours truly, W. J. Mc AMARA.

We have received the following interesting letter from Mr. Sam Osborn Chief Surgeon of the Van Alen hospital :-

'A VISIT TO THE BOER PRISONERS AT SIMON'S TOWN, On Wednesday, March 7th, when wa i ting at the Civil Serv ce Cape Town, with the Rev. A. P' ,Bender, Captalll Pr?ctor: the ASSlsLant M ilitary Commanuant of the PrIsoners of 'vVar at SImon s Town, very kindly gave me a letter of i ntroduction to t h e Military. Commandant, Captain Perkins, wh ich I u,se of on followlllg day. The journey from Cape Town to SWlon s Bay occ u pIes abou one bour and a half by train, passing through some of the most beautIful of the Cape. Running through the beautiful gardens and. park-lIke surroundings of Wynberg and ewlands, the .tram the sea bathing place for the Cape, and WIth ItS httle bathl.no boxes, reminds one very much of the. bathmg places on the BelgIan coast beyo nd w? lte sand hereabouts ,blown over the land makes it look as If whIte WIth snow. At last, wlth the blue sea beating upon the beach, the trai.n the Bay, and the several me n or war a n d tr an sports come 111 [0 VIew , for at h e present LIl11e

Simon's Bay quite a busy aspect, the number of "essels at anchor there bell1g by the five transports with Boer prisoners on On SImon's Bay .station, I jumped into a Cape cart driven by two lIttle blac.k boys wearIng red fez, who conveyed me, for 6d., to the camp for prIsoners, laId out a short distance from the town. T he serjeant on duty came to m= and very kindly accompanied me to the tent of the commandant It being mail day, he was with his secretary very busy readlllg through the letters of the prisoners previous to their being sent away, the letters being left open for that purpose, and as some were in French, some German, some Dutch some Norwegian, i.t required a good of foreign la nguages to undertake thIS work. When fil1lshed, he, with the greatest courtesy himself accompanied me in my tour of inspection. The number of Boer prisoners amounted to 800 in this shore camp, which was pitched close to the sea: The ten ts collected together were surrounded by a doub l e wIre fenclllg. The mnermost o ne was low and could have been eas ly got over, and at an in terval of six feet the outer one arose a tall wire fencing some six feet high and interlaGed with barhed Any prisoner stepping into this space cetween these two fences was liable to be shot at once without warning One prisoner is said to have been shot, but the authorities re "ery reticent upon this point \ 'e passed the sentry on guard and togetber entered the enclosure. Eight or ten men occupied each tent whi ch are arranged in rows. The men in one position and the officers in a row apart at the other end. They were all con grega' ed at the gate, as we passed in, re cei vi ng letters which had arrived by post, and ,,:e had quite to force our way amongst them. I n appearance they reml11ded me very much of the irregular troop s who fough t during the Greek war. No one in uniform and all looking like farmers in a bad way. The ground of each tent was sprinkled with san:l the sea shore ,t? prevent t h e bla,ck soil rising and settllllg upon theIr clothes and spoIlmg them. TheIr ages varied from t h e youngest aged 14 to some over 70 years of age. Each row of tents is under a Hne captain, also a Boer prisoner, one of whom named Klerksdorp proved to be a brother mason of the Scotch constitution He was very pleased to find me to be a Freemason and introduced me to two others. I remarked" I thought they should oreranize a new masonic lodge und elect me their first worshipful at they all laughed greatly, They seemed ve.ry happy and jolly, In fact, one man named Barry, was so cheerful and Jolly that I thouaht he was some official connected wilh the Department, and he lauerhed greatly at m): mistake. J:1e proved to ?e a.brother of.Sir Jacob a colonial knIght. He wlLh my I11:1S011lC frIend occuped a prIvate tent which was boarded, and altogether better furnished with camp furniture, the others sleeping with rugs on the.ground. This tent had been the private property of Jeppe and RISSlk, two very influential and wealthy prisoners,who are now out on parole under a £30,000 bail bond each. Outside one of the tenls a man hac! planted some melon se eds, which were coming up and were enclosed in the way of a little garden. The officers were ocated t\\'o or four in a tent, and their tents were apart from the an,a were allowed ?fficers The officers were difficult to dlStInglllsh from the privates, and dd ID some cases look Jess respectable. The ration s supplied to the privates is better than wbat our men receive, and cons ists per man of I-lb. of tobacco a month, Ii-lbs. of bread per day, ·lb. of fresh meat , of \'egPtables, of \\'ood and one tin of condensed sweetened milk between eight men per ,day, and jam three times a !his is supplemented by fnllt and other thIllgs ,ent by theIr frIends. fn fact, a brge cart load of fruit arril'ed yesterday, and some sheep haloing also been sent them, they had really more than they could eat, and a large quantity of it its way into the II(tste baskets. GO\' ernment also supplies them WIth clothes, and therefore theIr lot IS not a particularly bad one The hospital in camp and tbe for the sick 'lnd IIlJured was not sallsfactory. There was certa1111y a surereon, also a bu t no hospital orderlies or nurses to keep the in that condiLion in wbich it ought to been The doctor hImself confessed the dIfficulty and asked me If I could m any way help him. There was no diffierence in t?e rations for sick, and no sick dietary, and therefore for those suffering from entenc fever thele was only the sweetened condensed milk apprcpri:ne to the::!. Of course those that have means can get anything they want, bllt those sick whom I visited had no such means at their disposal. There were five surgica l cases in one and tw.o enteric [e\ e r case,s in the other, one of these latter was eVIdently dyIllg. Of the surgIcal cases two were very interesting; one man was through the back part of his pel vis and the. had out m correspondll1R. part of the SIde, lllJurmg the cord Jl1 ItS passage. , llls water had to he drawn off repeatedly, hIS bowels were never relIeved naturally, ancl he had also loss of power in both legs. IIe was gradually regaining the use d all these parts. Another man was shot through the IIp and the shot had then passed through his left shoulder when in the position of holding his gun to fire; whil.st a third amI fourth had bullet in the thigh 1 shook h.,nds WIth them all and we I\ere most frIendly.

I Vhy these Sick and wounded are kept here and not at \Ilynberg hospital, I am unable to understand. There one man, E. Z. frlank, aged 3; years, taken Elandslaagte, wbo SI11ce leavIllg I I ynberg hospital, h:\.d not practIcally spoken for three weeks; a case of melan-

wbich will eventually find its way to some lunatic asylum, a nd posslb ly.the sooner the better. There were some two or three cases of entenc fever aI?ongst men in the tents, and one with so high a temperature an.d III so senous a condition that I recommended his removal, at whIch the others I11 the tent were much pleased as they .me .to the fear of infection to themselves The te'nts after beIng III POSItIon .ror a should be shifted if there was room so to do, and I fear, If not, there may be a serious outbreak of typhoid amon g st these men. There had teen much dissatisfaction amongst them,. and a to attempt. an escape was detected, and even last.lllght thIngs looked rather ommous, and again to-day when I was taklllg lunch at the officers' mess, there was erreat excitement amongst them of the alteration in the of the tents for the of more tents for further arril·als Under these tents was dIscovered the tunnel.

BOER PRISONERS-ATTEMPTS AT ESCAPE

"Simon's Town, March 9 (Special).-Some of the Boe;' prisoners of war in camp have mak!ng a determined attempt to escape Yesterday afternoon It was that a t.unnel wa; being made from under one of the officers tents III the direction of the shore. Fortunately the t':lnnel was discovered in time, but it is underst ood that a c?nslderable dIstance had been tunnelled. The Cape Garrison ArtIllery, .from tbe Barracks, were called out on Wednesday nIght, as It was, antIcIpated an attempt to es cape would be made by some of t.he pnsoners. There are now five transports in the Bay full of Boer prIsoners of war from Paardeberg." (Colollial Paper.)

:Yhen wi.th this disposition it seemed hazard o us to trust these WIth and hatchets, ready :mplements to beat down the WHe fenc111g. I wa s told there was 137 soldiers in charge, ISO artillery men lD the .town and a battery of three 6-inch guns commanding the camp , A boat patrols off the coast at night time; when also all the .sentnes are doubled. T he camp is also commandd by the search lIghts lrom. men of war,. and with whom the camp is in constant commUUlcatlOn. The shIps here being H,.v1.S. Powerful the Niobe and the Doris.

On leaving the camp I walked along the beech, passing- eicrht little black piccaninnies having a swim, who remarked, "I' was jolly but very cold , " Here meeting ;\lrs, Gutbrie, wife of Member of ParlIa'11ent for Bow, wantmg to ero to the we took a sailing ?oat togelher to visit subsequentlyl:> the transports whIch more pnsoners are located. A strong breeze was blowiner and we shipped much water, both of us getting wet throuerh in loner sail out to these ships. The Orient had 1,100 ; 500; City if Cambl'1dge, 800; the Jfamla 00; and the JJoJlgoz,all, 1,000; on the latter 'essel a yellow flag was flying, there being some cases of measles on board; and a total. of +,200 on board ship, and 800 on shore. The camp pllsoners seelllg the yellow flag flying, said, they were certain yellow fever was on board, The prisoners are not allowed any friends at present, and tbe \\'ife of one. was highly indignant that she was not allowed on board, as she saId, "i.\lr. Roberts (meaniner Lo rd Roberts) had said that sbe might go on board." The J.fantla the best ship to visit, so we accordingly Iyent on board of her, '\lrs :'lurray Guthrie being the first and only lady who bad as yet been on board. In fact the captain said that no lady had set foot upon his ship ror three years. Tbe prisoners on board looked more sullen and bad tempered those on sho.re. It is said that they did at first strongly object to be1l1g on board ShIP, many of them ne\'er ha\'lng seen a ship before. They were much struck by my lady companion's appearance dressed all 111 whIte, even to her shoes, and in the most fashionable attire. " 'be n yisiting the Hospital on board in which were some six or seve:! cases of enteric fe\'er, one patient raised himself upon his elbows to gaze upon so beautiful a vision. The captain of this P and O. I'essel was most kind in showing us round. The prisoners here receiving Admiralty rations, whicb are superior to what are provided for the ship's company. A sail bath had been provided for the prisoners, which they are getting to appreciate, when they get over the novelty of the principle of ba.thing at all. There were two boys, brothers, on board, aged respecllvely 13 and q, and three old men over 70. They were all sitting and gazing about the deck in an aimless sort of way, haying notbing to do. Some were amusing themselves fishing, at which they were so sLlccessful as to pro\'ide sllfficient only yesterday for each man on board to have twO each. lYe did not see Cronje nor any of his family, as they are on board the Dort's, and he never leaves the Admiral's Quarters without some friends call especially u pon him.

OFF TO ST. HELE:-IA.- CRONJE & CO. TAKE A LITTLE TRIP Cape Town, IY ednesday.-(Special.)-Quite a little fleet of tmnsports will set sail from Simon's probably to-morrow, bound for t:>t. lIelena. The vessels are five 1Il number-PlIldar., Oneil', J.fallila, City of Cambridge, and J.fOJlgo/iall, and between them they will convey to the island the whole of the latel;: captured by Lord Roberts at Paardeberg, the authonllCs havlI1g arnl'ed at the decision to send the prisoners there of harm's way. COl1Jmandant Cronje will accompany the force whIch he lately commanded, to St. Helena. 1I. '\1.S .\'lObe, which s now lying in Simon's Bay, will convey the flotilla to the island, There appears to be no question th:\.t the receni

FIRST

attempt made by the prisoners on the mainland at, Simon's Town to escape, might very easily haye been crowned with success, 'Yith wonderful secrecy and inO'enuity a tunnel had been constructed for a distance of 80 from' one of the tents, and so calculated that the prisoners'should"'be able to emerge at a point outside t?e double fence, and well hidden by scrub, Luckih the was covered in time to admit of its frustration. These pnsoners, It IS understood, will remain encamped at Simon's Town. (Colonial Pajer , )

BOL TON AND TH,E WAR

Dr, Johnston, Surgeon to the Bolton Ambulance Corps, has jest received a letter from Staff-Sergeant " Ta lkden, dated March 3rd (published in the Boltoll Chrollicle), from NO.3 Stationary Hospitai of the South African Field Force, De Aar, in which the writer says :-Many thanks [or papers and letters from you and received by me yesterday You must excuse me not having written you before, spare time being very much at a discount, Perbaps it is well that it is so for there is very little in the neighbourhood of De Aar that is at all interesting, I mean in the cO'lntry itself. Tbe 600 miles of train journey between here and Capetown consists of alternate desolate kopje and veldt,scarcely a tree or animal being seen except near a few small towns on the railway line, The journey was interesting to liS, because of the great contrasts it presented compared with our own country, It took tbirtysix hours to reach here, only short stoppages being allowed for making tea, &c, lYe were well treated by all the Colonists on the stations through which we passed, food and fruit being giver. to us in abundance, loyalty to the Mother Country being much more in evidence here than at borne. Our party of fifty St. John Ambulance men was split up at Capetown into four sections, viz,: De Aar, 'Vynberg, 'Voodstock, and Port Elizabeth respectively. Our section for De Aar comprised myself, Sergeant Briggs (Darwen), and thirteen men. Since then this section has again been split up, eight men havin}? been sent on the ambulance train to take the places of Royal Army Medical Corps men who have come [or duty here. The hospital here was formerly a day school, and this part is used for the most serious cases of ente ric fever, and is capable of holding about thirty patients. Oth er wooden erections bave been put up, and there is now room for some 400 patients. In addition there is a rest camp where convalescents are kept till fit for duty or tra nsfer. We have seldom more than a dozen beds to spare at a time, fresh patients being brought in as fast as <Jthers are moved, sometimes :learly ISO wounded and sick coming in in one batch. You can form some !dea of the amount of work for the 50 orderlies and r.urses when I tell you that on week's return we have 75 of enteric fever, about 64 cases of scarlet fever, and many cases of wounded and dysentery, making a rough total of 380 , 'Ve have had some help this week, the Fifth Stationary Hospi ta l having been waiting orders here as to their destination, and consequently doing duty here till these orders came. To-day these men (including 20 St, John Ambulance men) go to Britstown to form a field hospital for the men engaged in suppressi ng the rebels at P r ieska, thirty miles away, \Ye have received a lot of wounded from Paarde berg and Jacobsdal, ana the kit of these men b.ears e\ idence of the they must baye got, coats, mess tl11S, helmets , and other artlcles ha\,l11g bullet h oles throuO'h them in many pla:::es. We have very few dea ths in hospital, and nearly all these haye been from entenc fever. Those wounded by the :\1auser bullets get round very quickly indeed, manv goinO' to their duty acrain in a days' time, My work here is chiefly the lot o["'day and 111ght \\'ardmaster fa1l1l1g upon me about once each week-a continuous day of 36 hour s We are always supposed to be near at hand ifanf ?r sick We canno,t get far away in fact, for nl1r tm llaw IS st1l1111 eVidence here, and st nct bounds have to be kept. All the captured army of Cronje, except a few sick, passed throuO'h here on their way to the Cape, and it is only such matters that are b at all interesting here, IVe have a few Boers in hospital here, one or two being rather dangerously ill with enteric feveL Few of the wants of the sick here fail be suppli ed, [or foo d and clothinO' o[ all kinds are sent in abundance. I am in excellent health, and myself A I for all the har,d wo rk we get. r ?ave taken a good fel\' photographs, though I don know h o w they Will turn out, I am havinO' them deyeloped h ere bY,one of in charge of the X rays ap"'paratus, on account of the dlfficulty 111. gettll1g parcels of any kind through the post here and the expense enta!led, but w11l let you have prints from them when I reach home. I am glad Bolton is being highly favoured with regard to lheambulance men, IVith best of wishes loall, Yours &c " 137 Staff Sergeant W a lkden,

The following letter. publishec in the Leicesler Post, has been recei\'ed by, Supt,-Secretary F. H, Turner [rom Private W. Martin, of the l:elcester Corps of tl:e St. John Ambulance Brigade, \\'ho is aLtached to ::\ 0 ,6 Generaillospltal, Na a uwpoort, South Africa:, Dear i\1r. here we are rather roughing it-twelve of us a tent, With a c(:>uple of blankets to cover us-ewe only had one till thiS week)-and ly1l1g on the ground, with our kit bag for a pillow,

A I D. LMay ,190 0.

a fairly hard bed to lie on, and as for food we are allowed jam three times a week for breakfast and tea, and for the other four days we have bread and coffee for breakfast Anything else you have to buy, and pay pretty dearly for. Taking everything into consideration we are well treated, and we must not grumble so long as we can do a little good to our suffering brothers, I am glad to say that the St. John Ambulance men are giving great satisfaction, in fact, each of us, with about three exceptions, have been put in charge of a tent containing patients I have a surgical ward with men from Modder, two having bullets through their shoulders, through the foot, and the thigh, and the others having contusions and rheumatics. Besides our ward duties we have to do special duties in the night. It comes each week, so when we are on night duty we have a stretch of something like forty hours without any sleep, Notwithstanding, we are all well, with two exceptions. This is one of the healthiest parts of South Africa in the valleys of the mountains, east of De Aar, which is 500 miles up country, and 30 miles south of Colesberg, in the rea r of General French's column, Soon after r started wr iting this I was told 0[[ for night Juty. so now I am finishing it between my watches at two in the morning, I am watching five special cases of dysentery, which is very prevalent. As for news of the war, I have no doubt you get to know what is going on at tbe front Ion .., before we do. IVe learn the news from soldiers who come in wounded, and all sorts of rumours they bring us, We ha ve just heard that the reservists and volunteers are to start home in six weeks' time. r rather doubt it, for instead of lessening the hospita ls, there has been another pitched near to us - the Irish Hospital, a private gift This looks as though we were to have more patients. There are over 700 in hospital here, so there is something to do to see to them."

St. John Ambulance Brigade, up to the time of going to press, has sent out 1,113 men to S ,)Uth Africa.

GARROULD'S

TilE Annual Railway Competition of the St. John Ambulance Association, the final of which was heJel at the POl'tman Rooms on the 9th ult" has again pl'oduced a surprise, vVe have to congratulate the Great :r orthern Railway team on their victory, and the Gl'eat \Yestern H,ailway team in running second. L ast year's winners (the London and North Western) only got to the fourth position. This is the first time the Great Northern has secured the coyeted prize, and we are glad to see that their pel'severance baR at In:st been rewcu,decl ,

WE should like to elra,,' our readel's' attention to a sel'ie of articles by Dr, Ettle s no w appem'ing in Fi?' C'

({llcl Wate?' on " First Aitl in the Fire Sel'vice ," They are well \uitten and well i11usb'ated, and contain lllany new and ideas, D.lHl go a little off the beat ell track. His illus t rations of the methods of using t,yO or three h;mdkel'chief:s instead of the teiangabu' bantlage (,,-hich is not nlways pl'e:s ent in emel'gencies) are vel'Y gOOll.

'rVe note that the'e articles are going to he nsed 01' are sugge, tell to be m,ec1 as tile otlicial text book 01' guide of the National h'il'e Brigades' Union.

The Ambulanc e Department of this Union is at present in a 'tate of change, amI ome alterations are ;Lbout to take place.

BIRMINGlIAM is also a town where the local bl'anch of the John Ambulance Brigade secfded en bloc and formed a brigade of its own. It seems that two of the most prominent members, Messl's Stamp and 'r ozel', had been elected Hon. Serving Brothers ot the Ord81' of St. John in 1897, and when the secession in 1899 took place the Order held that theil' action was derogatOl'Y to its intel'E' ts and l'emoYed their names from the 1'011. Consic1el ing that these honcUl' s are conferred fOl' wOl'k donR in the past, and are a 1'8Wal·d fOl' such wOl'k, it is difficult to see how the future conduct of the holdel' of the diploma can affect it, and it is a some,dlat arbitrary act on the part of the Order to tttke the steps it ha. Then came the \Yal', and Mr. Stamp rel1ll er ed \-aluahle Fervice to the Brigade in finding reliable ordeL"lies for service in South Africa. ::\lay we hope that 1\IOS.TS. Stamp and 'l'ozel' will be rewal'ded fol' theil' patriotic conduct by haviug theil' tlel:ol'ations retmned.

THE abo\'e sketch represents a. detachment the St. John Ambulance Brig-ade who, on the Sunday (Easter Sunday) thell' departure to South Africa, partook of the Holy Comr:nunlOn at the hlstoncal of the Order o[ St. John, Th e sight wa s a very Im presslve one, as the. khaki-clad members of, the Brigade filed silently and up, to altar ralls t? of what mlght be perforce thei r last CommunIOn 1l! thell' native land, "e for th.e photograph to M1'. Finchem, Senior of St. John s, \\'ho the picture in order that the men senJ a home as a som·emf. Thi S kindly forethought \\as much by the at brge, one and all of \\ hom speak \'err warmly lhe kmdness, th.ey havc at the of th,e kind hearted Rector and hiS staff. Thi S IS the verdlct of the men ha\e proceeded on active se rvice, and we feel sure that this kindly feeling is reciprocated by the Re cto r, the Churchwardens, and ot her s of the Church Staff.

'VVE are very pleased to see thnt the dispute at which was the subject of al'bitrfltion by some of the officials of the St , John Am bulance ba at last been satisfactorily m'l·nngcd. The late Hon. Sec. is now Ohail'man of the local Centre, and it is hoped that all cause of friction have now been removed,

TilE J o11n Ambulance Bl'i gml e rujoic ed Q'l'eatly oYer the reli ef :JI ;lfekiog, and peciaJly all the members ,\'h o "ere in the neighbomhooc1 of the Oll that night. It ,\'as a time will be hel'erl lw all of Ui', \\'h en become old, \\'e can tell to a younger g'C'uenltion h;w the of the l' elief of this .Afri can village \yas rec ei yed , How all rejoicctl, and the part we encl! took in the ,e:en eral festivitie , Slll'ely :Mafeking Day will be kept each ye'lr ;IS a g.o>neral holiday.

TilE Lomlon School Board has liOW giyen official notice that the fees for lectul'ing on First Aid and Nursing

are £1 1s. for each lectul'e, and lecturers are requil'ed. vve are glad to see the increa::;e of, rem\1lleratiol1 fo1' the lecturers for which ,ye agitated some tune smce ha been conceded, * La t month 135 more the St. John .Ambubnce were sent to South Africa, making the total 1,318. The first batch of 2:'5 men who wel'e sent ont at the beo'innino' of the war haye now l'eturnelL o 0

H lbome lb\?Qiene."

B y w. J McCULLOCH ETTLES, i\1.D.,. CH.fII , Surgeon-in-Charge, Ambulance Department, Tatlonal FIre Bngades Union.

PART XIV.

Heredity plays an important part in determining the of an individual, but it is by no means the ollly factor. A may inherit a robust constitution, and subsequently by excess, or by dIsregard of hygienic rules, may wreck this constitution; I hile, on the other hand, the member of a family in which consumption is hereditary may, by wisely controlling ways of life, build up him.self a perfect immunity from that It must be In mlr:d that. few diseases are actually transmItted from parpnt to chIld, what IS heredItary is the tendency to some diseased state. 'With the except ion of consumption, the majority of the tendencies are in the. of. mental or ot her diseases of the nervous system. T he chIef are Insall1ty and e?ilepsy, and leso. frequently chorea (St. Vitus' and ast?ma, which is a n en'e dIsorder. Nor IS the partIcular dIsease always lIable to reappear, for the child of an insane parent may be quite sane but yet liahle to ep ileptic fits.

In the case of a child, the descendant of a mentally deficient stock, much may be done to eradicate the tendency, eSiJecially during childhood. Often such a child is ur.u sually intelligent and fond of study. That should be kept within limits, and life, as well games, as much as possible in the open air encouraged It should ha I'e plenty of companionship; for solitude with such a child brings introspection, melancholia and ultimat.'!ly the outbreak of the malady. Its re igious education mu st also be supervised , for an undue exaltation of mind is, like genius, ,I kin to madness."

The same encourage ment to indulge in open air sports, combined in this in stance with residence in a house having dry soil and subsoil, sbould be given to children suspected of consumptive tendencies. In adult life, the possessor of a heredi ta ry tendency to disease may prevent its further propagatio n by living a celibate life. Xo person, in other words, who is ::t lyare that in him self or herself the seeds of hereditary disease h al' e become actil'e, should marry; yet in thousands of cases in this country, the callousness to parental responsibilities inflicts misery on the unfortunate descendants.

I di o sy n c r asy denotes a peculiar condition of con,titution shared by a relatively small section of the community. rt may not be so :-:larked as to constitute insanity, but so much so as to stamp a perso n as "queer" or eccentric. It may be less and elicited only by some harmless object c'lusing extreme

Thus some object strongly to the smell of roses, others to the sight of a red coat (a distaste common outs:de the British Empire), others again cannot bear the presence of cat.

Another form of idiosyncrasy is a peculiar intolerance or susceptibility. The pollen floating in the air, of which most people are quite uncon scious, will cause hay fever or asthma Some druO's also elicit this. I n one case came under my notice an old lady had had a belladon na plaster applzed, and soon after, she exhi bited the restlessness dilated pupils and. of throat, characteristic of poi<;oning by that drug. CertaIn artIcles of dIet may produce discomf0rt. Netllera sh produced by mussels is not uncommon, but in these cases th e susceptibility is, more probably, to a ptomaine than te the perfectly fr es h article of food.

T e m pe r a me n t indicates a certain phy s ical appearance or type, under whIch many persons may he grouped. It is quite seldom th:lt typical instances occur. The following are however useful for purposes of description and classification.

(a) The sangullle.-Fair hair, blue eyes, pink complexion; excitable but generous in temper, vigorous and quick in movem e nt.

(6 ) The biholls - Dark hair, olive skin, dark eyes, strongly marked features; mentally strong but pessimistic, pbysique powerful.

The pale, ?ody inclined to stoutness; stolzd and unresponsl ve In manner, slow In apprehension and movements.

( d) The llervolIs.-Small or thin in build, delicate featured' mental capacity great, imaginative, excels in intellectual a ttainments more than in bodily ones.

infancy the from improper feeding is very great. The chIef eVlls are feedzng on condensed milk, and the givinO' of starch foods the age (8 months ) when th e digestive juices change starches 10 to sugar.

During chil1h od rickets, an absence of earthy salts in the bones, and a re"ult theIr ben.d1Og u.nder weight of the is frequently about by ll1sufficlent. or Improper food. Dzarrb cea, which dunng hot weather often constItutes an epidemic amonO'st children is .on by food and accounts for many Dur'ing thI;; tIme of lIfe .there IS g.reat IJability to infectiou s diseases, although It IS qUIte a mIstake to ImagIlle that children must" 0'0 throuO'h " measles scarlet fever, chicken pox, &c. b b

YOllth is the period when the orO'anism is crrowincr most rapidly and food is to supply the as as to develop the great phySIcal energy characterIStIC of thIS tIme. Dur ing manhood,

AID. [June, 1900.

the health and activity of the body atta ns its maximum, and that maximum is dependent on the habits of life followed in the previous stages.

Olcl Age marks the onset of tissue degeneration. The heart beats slowly and more feebly, the joints become stiff, muscular a:tivity is less the muscles being tremulous, the voice is quavering, the lens of the loses elasticity and the brain is less able to grasp and retain ideas. In the ideal case, as the years pass by, the physic l and men tal energy gets less and less, until the feebly moving- heart ceases to beat at all, and the tired wo r ker passes to his rest as softly as the twiliaht of a summer evening changes into night this is seldom the case nowadays, tb e stress of competItIon, the IncreasIng struggle for eXIstence, the growing artificiality of life with its temptations and indulgences, has shortened the average span of life, and some particular tissue or organ, irretriev_ ably damaged-the arteries, the kidneys, or the heart-gives way and prematurely rings the curtain down

H ab its , as is cle:u from the foregoing , are of incalculable value. Like the marriage knot, a habit is easily formed and difficult to break.

The habit of self control, "the establishment of the throne on conquered self," which stamps the man of breeding, is the most ya luable of all.

Reg!tiari{v of meals i.s a habit wb ich does mnch to maintain a good dIgestIOn. The functIOns of the body have a tendency to mo\'e in regular cycles and that is taken advantage of both in eating and in attentioll to the hon·tls. Ina well ordered person, the intestines undercro a peristaltic mOl"ement at. regular inten·afs. If the calls are they soon disappear and chronic constipation results In this case, the fluid contents of the excreta are reabsorbed, together with the soluble waste products, into the blood, causing poisoning of the organism as evidenced by loss of appetite, furred tongue, headache and rapid fatigue on exertion. Purgatives should be avoided and fruit eaten in quancity. Brolyn bread, salad oil, which is easily eaten with sardines or saLads, ste\\'eu fruit, especially figs, are very useful.

EXerCIse is of the greatest importance in the preservation of health. The mere fact that the muscles contain one quarter of all the blood in the body illustra tes their important part in the economy The chief, indeed the only result of the of physical enercry, is oxidation. Life cannot continue unless tissue is oxidised, in exercise this all important process takes place with mLlch increased rapidity. Now increased oxidation means more active tissue buildincr there is increase in hardness of the bone, in bulk of the muscles, in purity of the blood, and activity of the brain and organs generally There is the sense of " bien et re " of general to tackle the tasks of life. To be more precise the bones increase in weight and become harder. The muscles become harder and more powerful. They are abl.e to withstand much greater demands upon them without evidencin g fatIgue.

The Illngs enlarge in capacity and elasticity, while the tendency to lung disease is correspondingly lessened.

The skm has a clearer appearance on account of its various gland s, sweat and sebaceous being kept at wor k and therefore in order for nothing keeps good order. either inside or outside the body, so well as does continuous use. The increased circulation through the skin brings about a better o ne of the subcutaneoLls tissue, so that the skin looks healthy and feels firm.

The dlgestloll participates in all The needs of the tissues, and the absence from the blood of deleterious substances cause increased digestive activity.

The nervous system takes on a better tone. The temper can be kept more under control, nor is a despondent view of affairs so frequently indulged in

The amount of exercise an individual should ake over and above his daily occupation depends largely on what that occupation is. The energy expendeJ in work is equivalent to a walk of about 25 mi es on level ground. For the average town dweller, a walk of at least six miles is needed over and above his occupation.

During exerCIse, there is a special liability to chill, for the skin is flushed , and a warm garment such as a sweater, should be donned as soon as the exercise ends. The loins should especially be kept warmer.

At one time I made a number of observation s on gymnasts during violent exercise, and i n many albumen appeared in the urine, pointing to a congestion of blood in the kidneys whic h a cold or chill could easily translate into real disease T he exercise should be taken at regular intervals, not in bursts, and feats of endurance s ho u ld never be entered upon without preliminary train i ng. The town -d we ll er who sits at his desk month after month and puts i n a strenuous fortnight on the Alps, or cycling- across Europe, or tramping to the Lake Country has only h i mself to blame for a dilated heart and its serious co n seq u ences. Nor should exercise be taken after meals, for the blood in the muscles is needed in the abdomen to deal with the food. That form of exertion which limits the movements of some part of the body only, should not exclusively be indulged in. Cycling should alternate with rowing, or even the humble dumbells, to give the arms the proportionate of work. Lastly, where possible, exercise shou l d be taken in fresh aIr. Fresh air and sunshine better sti ll. Hence gymnasia are not or not be the temple of muscu ar cult. Fort u nately i n this country It IS not On the Continent the gym n astic exerc ses a r e t h e rule, and

Jun e, 1900.J

FIRST

naturally ex ponents attain skiil. The Angio-Saxon race, IS mOie ?evoted to c:thiett cs, to games of contention carried Ollt. In the open. a1r. Ou r seemingly never weary of our attentIOn t? theIr superIonty III gymnastic work or, as they call It, muscular exerCIse.

ow gymnastic: wo:k is muscular exercise, but the latter phrase is by ?O means summed up In the former. Secondly, that vaunted superiority 15 not borne out by th e facts of the case. :'II an)' British gymnastic teams can beat, and have beaten, the cream of other races. M oreover, el'en ifit were true, our games teach healthy lilalr}" generOSIty to opponents, modesty In Ylctors, a sense of honour and fair play which is. as and as marked as the immense phys:cal advantages gamed, and It IS the sum of these which bas done so much to stamp the national character.

To be cOll illtled

1RaiIwa\? tllllbulance (tOtllpctition.

The final heat of the competition amongst Railway Companies of England and Wales for the Shield and prize presented by the St. John Ambulance AS SOC IatIOn, took place un the 9th ult. in the Baker .Stre 7t, the reports of the preliminary COTnpetltlons of \yhlch were gl\'e n In our last issue. At the invitdtion of riscount Knutsford, the Chairm:1l1 of the Association. a number of ladies and gentlemen were present to witne ss the proceedings. Tbe Judges were Drs J CollIe and G H. Darwin. The competition open to of five. men. entered by any Railway Company, Joint RaIlway! or JOInt CommIttee In England and Wales. Fifteen Railway entered tea.ms, and five had been selected for final competIt Ion Badges of ment had been gained in the preliminary trials by the South and Chatham and D ove r Railways, represented by E. Fl.sher, Stevens, G. Griggs J. Stevens, and A. Jones; the l\le tro p olztan Razlway repre sented by :'Ilessrs. H Pri ce, H. Skinner, F. Bacon, J. Judd, and G. Lloyd; the Great Eastern, represented by A. Burrows, F :\Iee s, II. A.ldred, and H. Bate; and the :\[e rsey Railway, represented by :\le ss rs. T. Buchanan, " Reynolds, A. Lydiatt, A. Clapp, and S Harden. It was decided that the best team \I'aS the Great Torthern Railway, which received the Shield and first prize, represented by z\lessrs.W. A. Codd, A G. W alker, J. IV. Halls, A H ollis, ::t?d G , IV. Bryant. Great. West.ern team won the second prizes, the 1'\ cn h Eastern team the thll·d pnzes, the team from the London and i\ o.r th (which won the shield last year) the fourth prizes. The ShIeld WIll, be he ld for one year by the Raihyay represented .by the .wInnIng tetm. At halt-past five Lady Onslow presented the :,hleld, pnzes! badges of merit , The prizes consisted of te:. serVIces, lamps, bISCUIt boxes, &c. Each recipient I"as loudly applauded.

Lord Kn utsford, in mO\'ing a vote of thanks to the Countess of Onslow, who had distributed the prizes, said that the :\larchioness of Breadalbane, who was to have performed the ceremony, was una.ble to be 'Pre sen t, and Lady Onslow Iud kindly taken her placenta moment 's notIce Over 1,100 men of the St. John Ambulance Bricrade had 1:J een sent out to South Africa, and there had been no case of man failincr to do his duty. The Director-General had told him more than once of the extraordinary good work the St. John Ambulance men had done and t hat their work was highly appreciated by all those out at front. It was a great tribute to their work to know that the JJallle hospital ship authol:ities had thought better to d o away with their nurses and to SubstItute elel'en o rderlIes of the :3t. John Ambulance Brigade. The resolution was carried. The :'Ilarquis of Breadalbane acknow edged the on On slow s and, in moving a of thanks to the JLld.ges, the adnmable wor k done by the vanous The .calllng ot railway men was an extremely dangerous one, and It was certamly most necessary that all the companies s hould have ambulance workers In Scotland tbey "ere folIOIyincr in the footsteps of the southern companies. Lord Stalbridge, chairman of the Lond on and );'orth I\Testern Railway, in seconJiu a the re so luti on was c.arried, said he differed from the previous wh en saId t?a.t work was so dangerous. Familiarity bred contempt even 111 raIlway work, tut there were many careful men who had spent many years engaged in railway work without any ill result. He stronO'ly urged the m en not to risk h eir lives rashly, but to take care of

$t. tlnbrewts Bnlbulance Bssociation.

COMPETITIONS FOR TIlE PRESIDENT'S Cl'P. - The president's cup presented for annual competition by Lord Breadalbane and a of the Vice -Presidents, was competed for in the 'Vaterloo Rooms, Glasgow, on Saturday afternoon, May 19th. The was restricted to team.s taking first and second places at local railway ambulance corps competItIOns con d ucted under the auspices of the association during the year e nding on 30th ApriL Twelve teams competed Tbe medical board ap p ointed by the Association for the purpose of the competition Were Professor D M. K nox,Dr.D unca n l\l'Cartney,anJ Dr. , ngu3 :\ I'Fie.

• The cup was wo n by th e t ea m fr om B uch ana n Street Goo d s Stat ion.

A I D. 91

BnlbuIRllce 'U'U1ork in 'U'Ulat.

T the Royal. G nited Service Institution on +th ulL, a paper on "The kl1IIShts Hospltallers and Am bu lance 'York in 'Yar " was read by A. C. Yate, Indian Staff Corps, Earl Egerton of T atton Chancellor of the Order of the Hospital of St John of J erusalem England, presided and there was a iarge attendance.

LO!'d Egerto.n, in lecturer, said that :'laj orYate had by practIcal expe nen ce In IndIa obtained his kno\\'ledae of ambulance work :\lajor Yate, after alluding to what the Order of the Kniahts of St' John of Jeru salem had done to protect Christendom from saitl that in the early part of the qth century the branch o.f the Order appeared to have attained the staius of an E nglzsh corporatIOn ur:der the style of ,. The Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem In England." The work which the order carried on in time of peace it extended also to the sick and wounded in \\'arboth our own trOOps and to those of other ciyilised P owers. Durincr the 1<ranco-German war it initiated an orcranisation for the relief of both combatants, whi ch had since become "'known as "The ::\ational S ociety for Aid. to and 'Y ounded in War," or, more briefly, I. The Red Cross SOCIety, and dunn a the Russio-Se r yian '''ar I, The Eastern War Sick and IYounded Relief Fund." The existence of the South African centre of the St. John _-\mbulance .-\ssociation proved most opportune when the present war broke out. Through its centre and on behalf of the 'Yar Office the association had supplied, and was still supplying, a large quantity of ambulance stores for the use of our forces there. It had iurthermore sent out up to the present abom r,300 men of the St: John Ambulance for duty with our hospitals, and for the aId of the Iyounded and SIck In future there was reason to hope that when our troops were engaged in war entire unity of action would be shown in utilising the private ambulance rf'sources of the Empire. In bringing this about the Order of St. John had been mainly instrumental.

Under the British Central Red Cross Committee were nOlI' workin cr the St. John _-\mbulance Association and Brigade, the Red S ociety the Army ::\ursing Reserl'e, the St. AndrelY's Ambulance Association, and a number of private bodies The needs of the present ,rar had made both the mtion and the \Yar Office thankful for the magnificent I, ambulance resen'es" which the foresight of a few and the generosity and e nterprise of the many had been able to send out to aid our sick and \younded. _-\Ithough the St. John Am bulance A ssociat ion did such grand \\'ork in the C nited Kingd om and in the colonies, it had established little or no foothold in India. Chancing to spend the la >! hot weather in Dalhollsie, he established two .1 first-aid" classes-one for ladies and the other for officers and non-commissioned officers. The results WEre most satisfactory. and he regarded the response to his appeal as a proof that the want of these classes 'YaS generally felt in India. If, howeyer, the Central British Red Cross Committee extended its sphere to India, as he informed that it would do, it must hal'e material to work upon. .\t this moment, if the Indian .-\rm)' ,ms invol"ed in war with a European Power, there was absolutely no pril'ate ambulance resen'e to aid the 'urny medical sen·ices. It was, aDoI'e all, the sen'ices of qualified medical practitioners that the Order of t. John required, and I"hich it was most prompt to recognise and reward. The maintenance of an ambulance transport or beare r corps was a useful work, to whi ch natiYe chiefs, desirolls of aiding the Imperial Go\'ernment, might be inyited to del'ote their attention and resources. As far as his knowledge went, the volunteers, the police and the missions I\'Quld readily adopt" first-aid" instruction

1Re\)iews.

PR_\CTlCAL FI RST ,\1D, by ROBERTSO:--;r :\I.D D.P H.,

Publi shed by Alex.Gardner, Paisley and of 20,PaternosterSquare,E.C.

I n the Preface to the book, the Author says, "Though the bOOkS on First l\id are many I have tried, in this small yolume, to treat the subject from a purely p'actical standpoint." This is the key to the boo k and the Author appears to bal'e succeeded in his object. The boo k is small, well printed, and with one or two exceptions well illu strated. The illustrati o ns of the I'ar ious bandages for br,Jken limbs and are taken from photographs, they are distinct but rather small. We think it is a pity that the illustration of a fractured thigh, showing splints and bandages should only be 2t-in. long, and that the patient is placed standing up. The symptoms and treatment of the different accidents and illnesses are up to date. Dr. Robertson's remarks on the liiting and transport of the injured are worth reading, if only to show that the drill exercises cannot be carried out in all railway acciJents, and that the treatment may be excellent although not carried out quite in the orthodox way. There are more roads than one that leaJ to Rome.

On the whole this book is well worth perusal by first -aiders, and we recommend it to their attention.

BmTII.

Or the 20th May, 1000, at The Pines, l{ed Hill, n ea Birslall, L eict' lershil'c, he wife of J ED WIN ROPElt, late 'l'nlllSport Sllperinteudeut, Leicester COl'PS, of a SOil.

FIRST AID

JUNE 1, 1900.

The work done by the St. John Ambulance TllE FUTURE BrlO"ade in the present ,YilT has been so OF TIlE ma:nificent and the services that it 11as BRIGADE to the Government and the counttT have been so absolutely nceclflll, that the qnestion will as w,hat will be the of the B]'igade It is qmte eVIdent what has transpll'cd. that if the 1 300 members of the St John Ambulance Bngade had not' been sent out to South Africa, the medical authorities 'would have been llnable to find a sufficient stitfI' for the Hospitals It has been abUl:cbntly pI:oved that a medical 1'e8en'8, a.nd; moreover, a medICal reserve been discoYel'ed, the extent of whIch nobody had any Idea of The St John Ambulance men doubtless lack the training of the Royal Army Medical Corps, but they ha"e given satisfaction and ha\'e done good ,,-ork. IS paJpa,ble, for we hear that in some hospitals four men have had to look 0\'81' more than 60 enteric patients

What is to be the lesson of the \var as rcgm'ds ambulance work? Are these men after being publicly thanked, &c., to be allO\ved to cll'ift aW:1y imcl lost sight of, or will the authorities rise to the occasion and take the matter in hand and put it on f\, sound footing? .

There are probably many ways of treatmg the matter, and ,ye should be glnd if the Government could secure the services of these men in the future, We suggest that they and other members of the Brigade should be placed on the same footing as t.he Post ?ffice that is they ,,,ould be under theIr own ofticers both Mechcal and Ambulance, and a register of them ,,-ould be kept By this mean::; the Goyernment 'would hn.ye at their disposn.l a bod) of men, trained in ambulance \york and of great use in time of '\\'al', and who could straightway be called up in the event of national emergency.

As this WR.r which has put such a strain on our reSOUl'ces is now nearly O\-e1', the time ha come when we shoul d look around and see what lessons we can del'ive from it This is pcrhaps one of the minor matteI's, but we think it is one that would be appl'ecinted by the Army edical Department, and one thn,t would pln.ce a lal 'ge reserve at the disp0:-'R.l of the a.uthorities at a very little eXl)ense If anything is done it should not be left too long, and ought to be tartec1 soon after the men come home

St. 30bn :ti1llbulance :fBrigabe.

FELU:\'G KUHST:'<G AND GATESHEAD FELL.-The Annual Ins p ection of these divisions took place on Tuesriay, May 8th, in the Board School, Lol\' Fell, Captain l\lilburn, M.B., being the inspecting officer. The Felling nursing division being represented by nine members under the charge of the Lady Superintenci::nt, Mrs Douglas. The Division, which has considerably increased in numbers since the deferred inspection last September, mustered :-Ron. Medical Officer '\1r. Davis, Superintendent J. A. Harrison, lst Officer T. F. Forster, Supernumerary Officer the Rev. E, C, Williams, M,A" and 2 1 rank and file; 6 members were absent on leave, serving in South Africa, 2 absent without leave, total strength 34. The I nspecting Office r expressed h imself we li satisfied with che wo rk done by both div i sions, and remarked especiall y on the smart manner i n whi ch t he D ivis on went t hroug h the mi litary evolu t ions , After the in spection 5 names were subm itted to the Deputy Comm issione r of me n desiro u s of serving at the seat of wa r. At the close of the proceed in gs a short meeting was held, when the certificates and medallions gained by the studenL s at the class held during the winter were presented by Mrs. R. Thompson, of W oodlands, The same lady, on behalf of the members of the class, presented Dr. Davis with a cage of pipes; and on behalf of the members of the division, she presented lst Officer T. F. Forster, with a aold medallion, as a token of the esteem in which he is held by all men on t h e Fell. On \ Vednesday, 10 men under Deputy Commissioner 11ilburn and Super intendent Ha r rison, t ook duty in the streets of N ewcast e on he occasio n of the vi sit of the Duke o f Conn aug h t.

Sir,

A I D . [Ju ne , 19 00 c.torr esponbenc e.

To the Editor of" FIRST Am."

As an old worker for the St. John Ambulance Assoc i ation in connection with \Tolunteer Fire Brigades, inasmuch as I have been a local ambulance Secretary for many years, I view with misgivin g the action of the Cnion in deciding to undertake Ambulance work in opposition to the St John Ambulance Association,

\Yhat reasons induced our b.te Chief Superintendent of Ambulance Department to resign I know not, hut I do know that if anyone could make Ambulance work go amongst firemen it was :\Ir. Brasier, who was himself an old fireman, and 1 fear he did not get that ready support from officers and men that he was entitled to expect after the hard work that he has put into the movement since the Jubilee year.

I trust the idea of opposition may be :lropped. T he Union has its 01\'11 special functions to carry out to safegu<Lnl the in Lerests of the Volunteer Fire Service without trenching on the province or work of an Association which, whatever the views of certain individuals may be, the general public in this country will agree, in the present crisis, has done its work well, and earned the gratitude of all those who are interested in humanitarian work , whether in peace or war.

Apologising for the length of this letter,

I remain, yours faithfully, "A VOLU. TEER FIREMAi-l', And Member of the St. John Ambulance A<;sociation,

St. 30hn Blnbulance Bssociation.

F AR_ that in consequence of the war the military authorities at Aldershot were short of ambulances, :-his Centre vo lun · teered to send oyer their ambulance van whenever a special train of sick and wounded was broug'lt up to Aldershot, the offer being accepted.

On .\10nday morning, the 21st ult., the Honorary Secretary received a \\'ire, asking him to bring van over to Aldershot Station to meet a special train bringiug about 200 wounded soldIers who had landed that morninO" at Southampton from the s.s. Nile. No time was lost in O"etting squad together and the van horsed, and .\lessrs vVinsbde, Hon. Sec., McConnocbie, Smither and Thorp were at the station, a distance of three miles, within three· quarters of an hour from time of receiving message There were only byo serious cases needing stretchers and the Farnham members hau the honour of moving them to the Cambridge Hospital and then drm e back and and took up three convalescents on a second journey. Previously the same morning Messrs. Vinslilde and Swayne had been to IIale, two miles out, to brina an invalid to station en route for St. Bartholomew's Hospil::tl, Worsham and Swayne taking patient by rail to Waterloo and in ambulance van from there to HospitaL

L ISKEARD.-Once again a class in "first-aid" work under the St John Ambulance Ass(1ciation has been successfully cor:ducted by Dr. Hammond at Liskeard. Between 20 and 30 students attended a course of six lectures at the Public Rooms, and 2.1 were examined on the IIth ult. by Dr. J. E. Webb, of Looe. It is hoped to form an. Ambulance Section in connection with the l.iskeard Company ot

Volunteers

STOCKPORT.- The differences between the Stockport and Distric Medical Society anu :\[r. A. E. Ferns, the late Honorary Secretary d the Stockport Centre, have now been arranged. It"'ill be remembered that h e arbitrators in their recent award blamed i\1r. Ferns for having entirely lost sight of certain de,finite duties in his. official position .as secretary and expressed the opll110n he had the dutIes of se(:retary, anci afterwards treasurer, 111 a. somewhat arbItrary nunner. and that in his dealin a s with various medical men in the to\\'n, in co n· nection with his he comported himself in a manner which cannot be said to have been courteous or conciliatory. Finally, they recommendeu that if .\ Ir. Fems were unable or '_1l1\\'illing so to act as, in the opinion of the Committee, to make satisfact?ry relations with the med ical men possible, a new secretary be appOlnted. l\fr. subsequently addressed to the Chairman of the ,Local Centre.a letter III which h e stated that as he (Mr. Ferns) knew, It was the WIsh of the President ( Earl Egerton) that he shou d conti n ue to be connected WIth the Centre and , "act in g i n what he conceived .to be the. spir i t of the award, h e was p re pared in an y rart he l:nlght take 111 matter s in the future , to work amIcab ly WI h all concerned 111 promoting t he best interests of the Order , &c " T his was c,onsidered at a recent meeting of t h e Stockport a n d D lstnct l\:1edlcal Society, and in a spirit of conciliation to "hich the of Mr. Fern's friends had contributed, it was resolveu that, prOVIded :\I.r, Fern inserted the words II the members of the medica l pro fession, III Stockport and," before the words" all concerned," the Medical SocIety 1V0uid not oppose h s re-election. 1\1 r. Ferns nserted these words, ,and ata subseque n t meeting of the Stockport Centre Mr Art hur Bnggs was elected S ec r e tary and Mr, Fern s was a ppo inteu Chairm a n.

June, 1900.J FIR S T @ur (Baller\?

J , H. STAM P , ESQ., Hox SECRETARY AXT) DISTRICT A BRIGA.DE, JOSIAH REES

ST.A1I1P \Vas born in 1850 at Suney, n.nd educated at ,Vimbledon Collegiate Schoo1.

Mr . Stamp settled in Bil'mingham in 1875, and here he ,'.:as brought in contact with the ofticials of the Great Westel'll Rail wa y and in conjnnction with :MI' C. W. Noble, formed in 1 884: the Snow ni1l Cheat Railway Ambulance of ,yhich he continued Secretary t ill 1889 III 1890, Dr Augustus Olay, of Bil'mingba.m, an ambulance lecturer, suggested the formation of a division of the BrigR.c1e and called a meeting of Secretar ies of Ambulance Olasses. A comm i ttee ,,,as fonned on 11 t h , 1890, and the fil'st meeting was held on A pril 29th, 189 0 , at which 1I1r, Stamp Fl'esicled On October 12th, 1893, Dr. Clay, o\ying to preSSl1l'e of professional duties, resigned the ",ecretaryship, and ,j11'. Stamp uLldertook the post, and he was added to the Committee of the Loml Centre as ex- officio member The work increased by leaps and bounds until th8 membership numbered 1 160, n.ncl there were 18 Diyisi ons, including of the Birmingham Police, the Fire Brignde, Raihmy 111en , and workers in Factories, &c The ca es treated n1il.mbered consi d emblyovel' year, and the COl'pS was more than onC8 publi cly thanked for the seryices rellllel'ed nt public demonstrations, &c On July 1897, :Mr Stamp had the honour of being eledeLl an Honorary Sen-ing Brother of the Ol'del' of St. J o11n and duly received the Diploma. and Order In the In.ttel' part of 1898 the Brigade Oommittee resolyed that the Brigl1de Rules as disclosed in General issnetl from ileaclqnartel'S 1\01'ember, 1898, c;oulLl not be adopted, This l'esolution ,ms subm i tted to the Commissioner of the Brigade, with the result t llat at the next llleeting of the Committee, l\L1rch 6th, 1899, a letter was read from him accepting the resignation of t h e B il'mingbam Corps. A meeting of those interested in the "york took place on Apl'il lOth, 1899, and an Ambulance Brigade was fonned under the title of the Birmingha.m an d District Ambulance Brigade, consisting of nIl pel'sons holdin g a cel,tificnte of In'oficiency in a.mbubnce work , Tb e Committee formcLl cOll::;isted of the members of the disband ed Co rp s, so that practimll y the wOl' k went on uni nterrup tedly with :Thh. Stmup as H on. Sec" 1L po t whi ch h e accepted h owever only after consi d erable It i::; to be r egre tJte(l t h at sb oltly after the ne w Brigade IJ:1d been formed :Thh, Stamp an d M r . T ozer wel'e informed by the Ord er of St J olm that t heir actio n was consid el'ed del'ogatory to t h e int81'ests of t h e Ol'del', and thei r nallles had t h erefore been stl'llCk oft' the rol l. This decis ion ca used deep regret a m ongst l ocal am bulnnce men, i t being cOlJ.sidel'ecl a very a r bitrar y p roceeding, whi ch sh ould n ot h ave been ttlken in vie w of t h o spl encliu servi ces l' eml el'ec1 by these two gell t l emen in the past,

A lD . 93

At the commencement of the South Afl'ican War and when mon "'ere required for ambulallce duties, application was made to the Red Cl'OS£; Society fOl' permi::;sion to send men to base hospitals, &c. A reply was received that men could only he accepted t11l'0ugh the medium of the John Ambulance Bri;jac1e The desil e of the men appears to h,1ve reached the ears of Col.. B?wdler, who promptly suggested the fOl'matlOn of the BUllllngham Oity Di,-i. ion of the St. J olm Brigade, to be com posed of mem.bers of the Bn'll1mgham and Di , trict Ambulance Brigade, anel he ;ike,,:ise suggested , 'tamp should take the post of Supel'mten(lent of the DJV1SlOll. The matter waS at a Committee meeting of the Birmingham <mel DJ'tl'lct Ambulance Bl'igaLle and lea\-e gIven ,jIr. Stamp to undertake thdol'mation of such Division, Puttil1O' pel':onal on one side, Stamp work€'d ll1Llefatlgably, and III tlu'ee batches ent up 2t) men to st. J olm's Gate, all of whom have O'one out to South Africa the and Deputy being loud in their of the appearance a.nd conduct of the continO'ent )lay the reconciliation of the Birmingham Brigade "with the parent body soon be an accomplished fact, and in l'EJcognition of the genel'ous spirit ,,-hich has been displa\'e d by )11'. Stamp and his confrel'es, ma)' the Order of St. make the amende ho,wwable by "retul'ning to )le:::; 1'5 • tamp Tozer the decorations which they had so honourably earned

To that i popular in the of the ) l lclland IS but fallltly to express the ec;teem in ,,-hich he is held. Kindly and com'teou' to all of those Iyith whom he comes in contact, he has made ambulance ,york a part of his natUl'e, and it him no empty complnnent to _::!'y that the '\YOl'k III thIS pad of the country owe::; much to his indefatigable energy andloye of it.

t'an BIen jfi elb 1boBpital in South Bfrica.

By CHIEF S l'R GEO:-.l OSBOR,\",

:'IIetropolitan Corps, Sl. fohn Ambulance Brigade.

AN account of this Field Hospital \rill interest many of your readers by reason of the fact that this is the first time in Irhich mem be rs of the St. John Ambulance Brigade haye sen'ed with Imperial Forces at the front in any campaign, and it will also se:-\'e the purpose of sholl'ina how Field Hospitals are, or sho u ld be conducted, as this is undoubtedly one of the most perfect of its kind. "-hilst for first aid work the field hospital is the only position in the whole line of medical arrangements \,here this branch of the \york is to be seen, and it \yas on this account that I specially desired to be here located, haying giYen my :ntention lar?ely to the first aid relief of the sick and injured.

The first surgical assistance is g-iyen at the rear of the fighting line by the bearer comp:ll1ies, \\'ho bring the wounded to the dressing station and from there convey them to the field hospital, \I'here the inj ured have their wounds properly dressed and all necessaryoperations perform ed

It is of course legrettable to one interested in his \York that after performing some surgical operation, the patient has to be passed on down to the intermediate hospitals on the line of communication and thence to the base hospital i but it is of course absolutely essential that a ho'pital required to mOI'e forward at any moment and rapidly, cannot be hampered with patients \\'h0 require compleLe rest and \\'ill not be fit for duty again in less than three or four days

Operative surgical \york is to be got only at field and base hospitals, and more largely at the latter than at the former. So purely first aid is the work at the field hospital tInt caser. \yith high temperatures a r e frequently not classified, but are sent away by the convoy to the intermediate hospital and certified 1 .Y,D. (not yet diagnosed)

Patients are best arranged in three groups :I -In Hospital.

2.- Detained for the day.

3.-Attending Hospital (.\ l edicine and Duty).

The first are the serious cases, either those with sel-ere injuries :md those surgically operat e d upon, or those seriously ill in a medical sense, The second group would be out-patients at any L ondon hospital but ha\'il1O" no resting place are lodged and boarded for the day Th; third are tru ly Out- patie n ts wit h th e m ost trivia l a il me nts, a n d ab e o do p art of their duty,

94 FIRS'T

The existence of the Van Alen Field Hospital is due to the philanthropy of an American gentleman, J. J. Van Alen, Esq., of Xewport, Rhode Island \\'ho entirely at bis own expen"e has not only fitted out, but maintained, tbis perfect Field Hospital for twenty -five patients, and ot which I now purpose giving a description.

It is worthy of notice that \\'hen :-Tr. \'an first to.ht out this field bospital, his offer absolutely declIlled as hemg qulte unnecessary by the Army :'Iledical ,1uthorities. Tbis is much to .be regretted as this field bospital wou!d ha\'e been at the seat of operatIOns, and the great and .serYlce whlc? It has rendered would ha\'e been experienced much earlIer 111 the campaIgn than it was Hearing of this refusal Dr. Leyds IHOle at once [rom Brussels .to sa!, that tbe offer would be gladly accepted by the f mnsvaal AuthorItIes If offered to them.

Second and better thoughts ultimately pre\'ailed at the \i' ar Office with the sanction that it was to be limited to the requirements of t\\"entyfive patients. However, .what is considered for the I:equirements of tlYenty-fil'e patIents, may, by the elastIcIty of regImental cilcumstances be enlarged to the accommodation of even seventy-fJ\ e or fifty. The \Tan Alen Field Hospital eventually left London and S outbampton in the week ending February roth, IgoO.

I per30nally left Southampton on the Norman with :-11'. I-an Alen and his Secretary on February roth, the remainder of th e personnel tra\'elling by the _1-arJ'll7lg whilst the ambulance "'agons, tents, &c., came by the Sicilialt. It is desirable to menl.ion this because the late arrival at the Cape of the Sicilian so delayed our departure for the front that the 3rd Cava!.!y Brigade with Lord Roberts, to which we \I-erc originally attached, left without us because we were not ready to start; another hospital taking our place which we were most loath to relinguish. This may have been unavoidable, but my experience has shown me that it is always better to carryall you may require with you and under one'sown scpervision, and if necessary or unavoidable to delay one's departure for the front until itis possible.

Accompanying LIS to the front are :-Ir. Van Alen and Lord Dungarven, who is acting as bis private secretary The working staff of the Hospital consists of Captain Powell, R.A.M.C ana Sergeant-.\lajor Ottaway, R.A .1I.C. The first officer is compulsory, by order of army regulations, as thereby the red tape of tbe depart m ent is efficiently carried out sufficiently to hamper and retard our operations, and which it would be quite impossible for any ci\'ilian to do. The latter noncommissioned officer is a most useful addition to our number, because the rest of tce person!1el consisting of mem bers of the St. John Am bulance Brigade, although perfectly willing to do what they are called upon to do, and well up in first aid work, are not of course conversant \\,1th the routine of camp life and the necessary discipline of the Royal Army ,\ledical Corps. It is not to be supposed in the least that I say this to their detriment because [ had the pleasure of instructing many out of those 500 or 600 whom the St. John Ambulance Brigade have sent out to South Africa, but it is the case of a pinch of practical work being worth a pound of theoretical.

The excellent service rendered by civilian surgeons a n d by the hospital orderlies supplied through the St. John Ambulance Brigade in the present campaign, can never be forgotten by the Army Department, as it is largely due to their "aluable assistance that the whole of the medical arrangements have been carried through with the completeness that they ha\'e.

Staff-Sergeant Hancock, Sergeant Guy, and Messrs. Blackband, Graham,Kenyon, Lingard, :-lorris, and Stonier, are of the St. John J\mbulance with a cook, valet, Murray the conductor, and twelve native boys, with myself and ;\1r. :'I [ummery, my dresser, c')mplete the staff.

The transport consists of three tortoise wagons, each carrying it s ow n tent and drawn by four pair of mu les, a water cart dra\\'n by four mules, and two buck wagons each drawn by five pairs of mules, with two spare ones, making fifty in all ; we have also six ridinO' horses for th e chief officers of staff. '"

Each tortoise wagon carries its house 0, tent on its back, hence the name, and a very excellent arrangement it is. \Vhen on the march one half of the tent can be let down and pitc h ed very speedily, and on many occasions has made a very cool and comfortable mess tent for the midday or supper afford in g. a cover ng for anyorJe sleep ing out; and as tbe ll1tenor of the wagon IS always kept empty to pick up the weary or sick on the road, this affords a good sleeping place for two persons. If the whole tent IS to be pitc h ed or the other half et t he o.f tbe '.vag?n in the centre greatly facilitates the operat:on before It IS ultImately WIthdrawn from the interior.

The sides of these tents have a lining which renders them cool as well as watertight, over the patients sleep in g around the s id es; 3. leakage does take from the top in the centre, which I fJ1Jnd out to my cost, for, havll1g had a stretcher suspended between the two ce n tre flol.es as an operating table, several of my instruments got wet. This 11l1111g was sou.rce. of danger on one occasion. An oil lamp, h aving been lef alIght 111slde the wagon, got upset and set fire to the waO'on cover and eventually to this tent lining which han gs in folds. Thi';;gs looked serIOUS for the tent and wagon. I luckily found a bucket of

AID. [June, 1900.

dir ty water and a sponge bath which had been recently made u se of and throwing thi s water up inside the tent, the sloping sides brought down again and put the fire out.

One of these tent s, arranged with six Norton stl:etchers on each side, a ll ows of sufficient space between them for the patIents to be attended to on either sid e of their bed, an d having three of th ese tents, we can accommodate, without the slightest crowd ing, 36 patients. When the luggage labels, with the number or eac h bed and the tempera ture chart, &c., were suspended a bove each st re tcher, 'we h ac! a s perfect a little h osp ita as any Surge o n co u ld desire. Thi s wa s the arrangement at Newton Camp, Kimberley. A portable l at rine s placed outside eacb tortoise tent, with three enamelled ware bed-pa ns and three urinals, a ll of which are kept properly disinfected and in spected daily at my morning visit at 9 a.m.

These po rtab le lat rin es are of the greate st service to the patien ts, who otherwise would hav e to wa lk a long distance to the camp latrine. In otherbospita l camps I hay e see n patients walking to and from the camp atr ine and stopp ing every six or seven p aces with th eir h a nds across their abdomen in severity of pain, when by the u se of these portable l at rine s this might h ave been avoided.

A Bisley te nt is used sol ely as a mess tent when encamped anc there are two M. E. (l\1ilitary Equipment) tents u sed for Officers, one of which I use as a consulting' and sle eping room. Thi s M .E. tent I find absolutely necessary, as in it I can see patients privately, wh.ich is more agreeable, especially to sick officers, and in some instan ce s have taken in a sick officer and looked after him myself all night. An M.E. tent is wa rmer, but not so roomy nor so well ventilated as the r egulation bell tent.

We have also five A or shelter tents which can ce hastily pitched at night time, when on the march, and afford protection from rain or damp c omfortably for one b ut on an emergency two persons. These are made out of \Vill esden rot -proof canvas F aIding tables, chairs or camp stools beds and washing· basin, tri pods "'i th shee t s of green Wi llesden rot-proof can vas, collapsi bl e baths and buckets comprise a ll the camp furniture that is necessary. Folding-up bedside tables are decidedly not required, when every pound I)f weight in creases the amount to be tra n spo rted

The se tents, wagons, stretchers, latrines, &c., were s uppli ed by the Military Equipment Company, Victoria Street, \Vestmin st er.

(To be continued.)

'Umar tlnlbulancc.

COl\1.:\1ESTS OX THE \VAR

By OIIIRURGUS.

A g reat change has come over the scene . This last month Lord Rob e£ts ba.s a dva nc ed by lea. ps and bounds, and a.t, the mom ent of wl'iting some of hi s troops have crossed the Vaal and entered the South Afl'ican Republi c. It has Leen so well mi::\,naged that t he Boer s dal' e not stay and fight a pitched battle; it has been rumoured that they would stand at various places, but so fa r they have f a llen back It almost looks no\".. as if they are lo sing heart and will not offel' a sel'iou s r es istance, if so, so many 11101'e liv es will be spared and there will be so much less misery, I am very p1eased to see that the Irish American ambulance corps which took to fighting was llem'ly annihilated at Kroonstadt. I think the Boers put them in the front, which they ev idently think is the position to be occupied by f oreign vo lunt ee r s a,nd mercenaries.

'vVe have heard a good deal about the Boers fil'ing un the !-ted Oross flag, an d thel'e is no doubt that so me of our ambu lances h ave hem fired on, but whethel' by accident or d es ig n is not easy to say . I should think it would be a difficult matter to see a Red Oross flag two or three miles away, es pecially if the wind was blowing in a line with the two po sitions A correspondent in the Daily Gmphic suggests a vel'y good improvement on the {la.g, viz. :-a three sided fr ame on the top of the flag pole with the r ed cross on each side, so that the cross on one of the sides will be visible from any posi t ion (see Daily G1 Ctl'hic, 25th May, 1900).

, ,:i: An appeal is being made on behalf of the Indi a n stl'etcher bearel's, who, in th e clisc hal'ge of th eil' duties h:.we ignored wounds and death, and have taken our wounded out of the

June, 1900.J FIRST

firing line, and on the battle field have shown a courage not surpassed by any of own people, and it is all given for four -pence three fa.rthmg s a day. The cold weather is now coming on in South Africa, and extra fo od and warm clothihg will en able these native Indians to bem' it with a little more comfort, Any of my readers who would like to contribute should send to the Editor of the Globe.

The Oape Town correspondent of a medical paper writes as follows :-

" The number of enteric cases occurring a mon gst the orderlies is a lamentable feature and is the fact that th ey wzll not take the trouble to properly dlsmfect theIr hand s after h andling and urine. Th is is especially true ofthe St. J oh n 's men, and other auxlbanes who have suffered more heavily in proportion to their stre ngtb thar: the R.A.YI. C On the whole, the re sults in t he enteric cases are fa Irly go od considering the difficulties under which the a uth ?rit ie s. labou:. Th e of these s unquestionably the defiCIency 111 n ur sll1g stre n gth . I t IS abunda'1tl y evident that the St. John's men and the volunteers, whilst intelligent a n d wiliinO' are extremely poor substitute s for the trained R. A .l\1.C. men so as hospital wo rk is concerned, a l beit they make excellent bearers' the R.A.M C: .man can exerc ise some discretion, and will act upon his' own responsIbllzty when ne cessa ry, the aux ili ary will do n ot hin O' with out speci fic instru ctions ." '"

The se rema rk s are somewhat strong, and how tl'lle they al'e of course 1 do not know, but I have lettel s fl'om our men and others which s how tha,t their services are hiO'hly appreciated, and go fen' to pl'ove that the comments of\he above correspondent are totally at yariance with facts. If any first-aid er with a taste fOl' statistics cares to take the tl'ouble to wOl·k out the percentage of deaths amonO'st the two bodies, I think h e will find that figures do not the assertion of the conespondent at the Cape.

Ohief Osbol'll ha s sent a, very interesting l etter to the Edltor,. and I strongly advise eYel'Jono of my readers to l 'ea d It t hrou gh yery <.;aref ull y. He just tell;:; u what a Fi eld llospital is and ought to be.

Th e following case from one of the medical journals is interesting :-

"Private--, of the Inni skilling Fusiliers, had a bullet wound th.e knee wound ing the popl iteal artery This man undoubtedly owed hIS bfe to tbe fact that he had been carefully schooled in the art of. rendering first aid to the Thu s during the voyage out he, WIth th e ot her men of the regIment, had lectures on first aid from officers from the R.A.M.C. From these lectures he learn ed the nature of arterial h remo rrha ge, and a l so h ow o control it where poss i ble therefore , h e .found the blood streaming from his wound, he rethat the maIn .had been and taking the strap of hIS water bo ttle he applzed It as a tourlllquet around his thiO'h thus stopping the h remo rrh age and undoubtedly sa ving his own life.';') ,

The writer of the note comments upon it in theRe tel'ms :_

« This case is an inte resting object lesson, and shows the extrenle importance of instruction in first aid for a ll soldiers. It miO'ht also be as compulsory course with .great advantage'" to many mechaniC S, bUllders, and ot her s employed 111 dangerolls trades The good whi ch th e St. J o hn Ambulance classes have been able to accomplish il: this amo ngst \'olunteers, railway employees, and others 111 South AfrIca has come und er my ow n observation a!1d while in South Afri ca I gave many co ur ses of lectures in with this ad mir ab le Association," with a ll of which I cordially agree.

I notice that last week 's Sphe?'e has a photograp hio gronp of the Birmingham ambulance men attached to the Imp erial Yeomanry Ho spital.

Our friend Phillips, well known at St. John 's Gate, h as gone out as StaB:' Sergea,nt, 2nd in cOll1mand of the Rhodesian Field Force Hospital in General (laning-ton's Divi sion.

A co rrespondent h as sent us the foHowing letter:No, 3 Ho spita Tr a in , S o uth Africa, iI/arch 31st

I. Before we left London you said you would be pleased to re ceive a letter from any of the boys, so as I have a few minut es to spare I will let you know howwe are getting on. 1 came out with the fifty on the

A I D. 95

.as you know Well, when we landed at Cape Town we were dIVIded 111tO four sectIOns, fifteen goinO' to \Vinb eru fifteen to De A ten to P ort Elizabetb, and ten to \V oodstock I one who De We day.s ra,tionsserved out to us (bully and biscuits) ar: d then the servIce began \Ve left Cape Town Saturday mId-day, a n d arnved at De Aar dot 4- a.m. on Monday. Th e scenery as rode along was .beautiful, and I must say my first opinion of Afr.lca wa.s a good one (I.t has altered now) 'Veil, when we got to the ThIrd Sta.tlonary Hospl.tal we were posted off to Our different duties, I was put che EnterIC Fever \Vard. I did not relish it at fin:t but of course I d.ld not grl!mble. There were twenty-five patients in, and [ tellyo.u It .was a I never forget , Enteric Fever is an awful thlI1g, It IS e Ith er live or dIe soo n when one gets it. I had been here ten when I (along wi.th eigh.t more was told to pack kI t, a.nd go on to the Hospl tal Tram. Th IS IS a train fitted out with nInety-sIx for medical appliances, and a kitchen and pharmacy, 111 fact It IS a travelling hospital. The work of the train is to run to the front and take .in sick. and woun:ied and cany them to the base. As so?n as a patlen t IS carned on to the train he is wa shed (and bandaged up If needed) and presented with a O'ift from the Good H??e and Red Cross .Societies' consisting ot"'a suit of pyj lmas, shIrt, slzppers, and tozlet bag. This is a boon to unfortunate Tommy, a.nd he is very pleased with his prize packet as it is often SlI1ce 1 have heen on the train it has been to the front twelve tlz:nes fOl: wounded. lYe brought down 52 patients, and our mzleage IS about 1,300. \ve have been to KImberley several times and our next Journey is to Bloemfontein. .:\0 matter wbere we 0'0 we members of the St. John Brigade, which showso Yery plaInly that the St. John Ambulance IS ltldeed a useful orO'anisation I think I am justified in saying that wherever our'" men 0'0 they get a good name. 1 o\'erheard the :-Iedical Officer in of this team say to officer, 'the St. John 11mbulance men useful, and do t.hey do well.' What do you thlI1k of that? There IS one thll1g whIch I am sorry to tell you about, that IS that we have lost one of the men that came out with us bis name. was Pte. and he died in "Woodstock Hospital 'with entenc fever; our traltl to be down at the Cape at the time, so I was able to attend hIS funeral. It is hard for those he left in the "Old Country," but it is God's will, and \ye must submit to that There has been a great change in the climate since we came to Africa; first It awfully hot and dry:, and nOI\'. it is just the opposite , and I thlllk the woollen soods whIch are comll1 U out for us (according to tbe newspapers) will be \'ery acceptable." '"

Tbe follOlYing amusing letter from a St. John Ambulance man is published by the

At mid-day. a South African sand -storm swept past us in the dlstance,looklI1g lzke a cloud of hown smoke borne upon the bosom of the wind. \Ye had just finished our Sunday's dinner, consistinO' of a tin of Australian pressed beef, that looked like cut into nice pieces, then forced into the tin,.baptised witb a spoonluI of BO\T.il and soldered down. 10 follow thIS we had a dumpling, With a capItal D The storm that was brewing soon broke, the wind whistling ..!p in truly dramatic style, a \\'arm sand-laden tropical g-ale. Then came the rain with a fier"e, hissing sound, as though the heated sandy \ eldt was greedil,Y lapping the falling drops. Suddenly through the storm came the vOIce of the lusty- lunged sergeant-n:ajor-" Fall in! ,\l en to the rescue," for tll'O of the nursing sisters' marquees had blown down They had complete ly collapsec: on the top of their fair occupants, who were just about to enjoy an after-luncheon siesta, or '"ere unpacking th eir letter cases to write home, saying that they had arri\'ed safely at last, after a month on tbe journey, that naturally they liked Dielfontein, aud were only disappointed with the shabby supply of trees which almost bordered on meanness. The dust was truly all'ful, like the sands of Margate or Ostend in a whirlwind. lYe ll, under the cam'as we di\ ed pell-mell amidst beds. dresses, boots, shoes, chairs, u mbrellas, parasols, needles, teacup" and-a bottle of champagne. Had it not been Perrier J ouet, the neck would not have come off so quickly. A teacup was handy, and when the tea rs had cleared from my eyes I saw my chum's red face approaching me. "Gi\'e me a hand with this," says he, :lis eyes expanding eagerly, the n soLto "Let's have a cirink, you greedy beggar." He looked strong enough to bea r delay, so I emptied the cup before passing t he bottle. The bottle was drained a.nd thr ust into the sand, and then we crept about a ittle longer, finding a lot of useful things for the sisters, and finally, broiling hot, e merged once more into the broad daylight. M ore rain threCltened, and as more wind was wbisking about, it was useless to try and remedy matters for the present, so we made things riO'ht with a tClrpaulin or two, covered up obstrusive objects, and we nt into the mess ten t, wh ere-great marling spikes !-tbey were clearing off the luncheon and throwing away more luxuries than would ha\'e given an extra course to whole camp. Ri ce and stewed figs and raisins for the dust-bin! Shade of M agog! I snatched it from the maiden's grasp and ate in o ne Illspiration six stewed figs, and with the expiration two dozen raisins had gone on,their way rejoicing. I passed on to where n solemn

state, lay two sardineo in a neatly-opened tin. A cup of coffee sped them on their way By the gi\'er of corned beef and dumplings, 1 was surfeited I could but master the semblance of a laugh and say it was the oddest corner I had ever been in. "\Ve don't mind pitching tents so long as they fall down about midday, and so long as we haye timely warning not to make fools of ourseh es ,,·itb corned beef and dumplings. The :isters afierwards adjourned to the sbelter of the empty wards, and the men to their tentf to spend the remainder of the day in delightful indolence and dust. The were re-erected next day, hut although the breeze blew yigorously they refused to fall.

YEOilIANRY HOSPlTAL.-:'I1esdames Church Brasier, Calvin Lines, Sleath Gent, and Barnes, the Ambulance Sisters of the Ambulance Department of the National Fire BriO'ades' Union, have been busy since" the lads" went away, and on Monday, 28th inst., dispatched a box of comforts for t.he use of the staff and patients in the Hospital at Dielfontein. The box was forwarded to Sergt. i\Iajor Trimmer and contained many useful gifts, the \\,or]( of willing helpers of the ambulance moyement amongst the firemen. The annourcement of the resignation of Chief Superintendent Church Brasier of his position as Chief Officer of the Ambulance Department of the Union has been received with genuine regret by the" boys" out South. It is felt that he has had an uphill fight to bring the moyement home to firemen ever since the first tournament and now when success appeared likely to Cl"own his efforts he resigns and the whole system of the department is tLl be revolutionised.

The following are extracts from a letter by a member of the Brigade well-known at St. John's Gate. ",Ve trust that the poin:s he mentions will be noticed by our Brig-ade authorities :The Langman Hospital, South African Field Force, Bloemfontein, AjJr l20th, I90o. ""\Ve arrived at C \pe Tmyn in good health, I was not in the least sea-sick, though all the orderlies, and well , the whole of the troops were, for t,, o days going round to Queenstown. "\Ye were not allowed on shore and lay there fil'e days. Then \\'e went to East London and from thence to Bloemfontein, four days and four nights in the train' rations: two dry bis c uits a day. Oh for the grub of the" Coach and Horses," "Baptist's Head," or c Lockharts." "\Vhen we arril'ed we were sent to the Cricket Ground Ramblers' Club, in the theatre of which I ha\'e 69 Enteric patients, in one of the club rooms I have ten officers. "\Yell the patients came, 2+ wounded, 'ill the rest enteric. Orderlies did'nt know how totake temperat.ures, make beds, chang-e sheets, LIse hed pans, medlcll1e, or anything at all. If I had the men who sent them to the gate, wo uld ha\ e given them food for thouaht certainly did not know the responsibility that rests on thei; shoulders in sending men up who are entirely ignorant 01 the first principles of and in ",hose hands. the liyes of men are put. Had they been \l1 my shoes, wllh 69 enteriC cases in one ward and only two orderlies by day and two by night. they would have then realised what it meant. [thank God that (at least knew what to do but it took nearly a \\eek to teach the ol:derlies, which I onl): had n11le hours sleep. Of course I practically admit \Ie had 110 riO'ht to ha\'e this num b er of patients put upon us, but had these orderGes been properly inst r ucted how much work would ho.l·e been sa\ ed to them and myself, and aoo\'e all how much more comfort to those who suffered. Such little th1l1gs as sponging a man's mouth out with lime and they h3d ne\'er hea.rd of, yet how important these th1l1gs are III gll'lllg comfort to a patient and may at a critical time just turn the balance of life and death. Hot water bOLtles to the feet &c., of critical cases they had never heard of. I was ashamed, and not express myself. strongly enough on the subject, ""hich to the credit of the Order to which we belong should be seen into, I had to layout

JUST PUBLISHED-Cloth, 142 pp. Is. 6d. Net.

With 60 Illustrations from Photographs.

PRACTICAL FIRST AID.

By WM. ROBERTSON, M.D., D.P.H., Lectw'e?' to the ,'t. 11 ncl?'ew and St. John

all those poor fellows who died up to to-day, but I don't intend doin'" so any more as I have no\\' taught the orderlies how to do this. ha"e been flooded Ollt here and 1 ha\'e been Lo the camp where Robert's column is. Nomen in the whole wide world could stand what Our brave soldiers have to go through, to see battalions of men, some of which ha\'e no tents and most of them hardly any clothes or shoes sleeping in a couple of inches of \\'ater simply wrapped in a blanket. it \ras a wonderful sight, 92'°.00 sleeping in mud, officers no better off th<1:n the There IS a bIg engagemen t pending and they are arrangmg to sblft all paLJents who can be moved down to the bases to room for the wounded here at Bloemfontein. We have no cigarettes, and cannot get them, all are 70ld out. You can get a :\1auser flfle,. a Boer saddle, and on the qUiet sometimes a Boer horse for a ±-Ib. tll1 of tobacco. Vile are now learning wisdom, and commandeer that comes our way. The w.erd is a very g<;od one, It d?es not mean stea111liS, but Simply takIng what you want troublll1g to find out who IS the owner. The patients of COurse milk, bl!t. we. do eot, so If a cow strays it is at once driven in and milked, provldJl1g It has not already been commandeered earlier. Should a fowl, duck, or G. turkey, sheep, or anything that can be killed and eaten across your pa.th. out come the knife and the pelt you swap for a cigarette, then there IS JOY and a bove all a rare, very rare sensation, of a full I, of course, have lost all my cellular adipose l1ssu.e and very thin and well, not genteel, m)' clotbes hang upo n me !lke.a but I trust when they are which they want badly, they WIll touch me somewhere else beSIdes the shoulders. Lord visited the hospital the other day with his staff, and almost ImmedIately after I was snap-shotted in the ward with Dr. Conan and Dr. Sharleib an enteric case. Dr Conan Doylewas Sltlll1g on tbe bed and I was standIng taking notes at the bedside. The correspondent. of tl:e iliitstrated Londoll News did it and by this time i oug-ht to be 111 print, so look Oc't for it

P.S.-It is not s[lfe to go outhere after dark the Boers fling stones and b ottles at you; they are cowardly beasts, and you can never see where the. bottle come fr0111. Theyare dead against us because we seized theIr club.

thnbulances.

department, containing- four nal'al Th f C?t benches eIther "Ide, two over two, with the special fittings pre-

e transpo.rt 0 foreign ninoal invalids from their port of arrival in vlOusly deSCribed.

England hItherto, says the B7'itisk Medical J01l7'nal, been ordinary At th f d f h b I I 11 G e ore?loro en .0 team u 3.nce carriage is a sm3.11 compartment, ral way carnages or sma O\'ernment steamero, whence t.hey have been with \\'1l1dow 111 .roni, 111 which on one side is a la,'atory, on the other if unable transferred to hospital or walk, In some cases, as

The lighting is provided at Liverpool, it was nece1>S- for at night with the ary to transfer the more ordinary gas lantern railserious cases to local hos- way carriage lights, but pitals or sick quarters until attached woollen cowl exthey were pronounced fit tinguishers are provided to travei. for use if desired.

UnJer the present pro-

Altogether this" medical

The ambulance carriage . 1 is built in the best !<tyle of gress\\'e nava medical the South Western Railadministration, a notable adl'3.nce with the :imes way (;ompany's carriage has been made at South- works; the exterior is of am pIon for the transfer of at the centres with the Hospital at Haslar, naval erown over the St. some twenty· five miles John Ambulance badge. distant.

At Southampton noll' (and surgical) comfort" may be seen an ambulanc e reflects great credit on the railway carriage built by nal-al medical administrathe South \Vestern Raii- tion, the d-:signer, and way Company for the the builder.

Royal avy in January

The Royal :\"ayalCot.last. It is somewhat Here the superior adl'ansi ze of a Pullman Car, tages of this long estabal?out 55 feet in length. lished cot may be de-

,l'Ith bogey wheels, four in scribed; it consists of a number, at either end of flat wood frame of some the carriage. Access to ]' .' .' ,ft' 1 th d 1 ft the ambulance is (1l7))'odllced by the lunclZJ I.'?·IJI?SstOn of the JIanaga ot the ., British .liN/leal JOII?·/U"z. ') 7· 1!1 eng an 2'2 in width; the frame is at the sides of the at the rear end by double doors opening out- secured in CtnV;lS, which hrms the bottom, sides, and ends; the latter, wards fOi the ready of nal'al co t cases. On entering the am b u- abOl' e the cot proper, are brought up to an apex, \\ ith suitable ?n the rear en.d IS noted a small locked cupboard, evidentl), for arrangements for slinging it to hooks on board ship, or to a ridge IT!edlclnes, &c.; forward of the do o rs of entry, on either pole for hoisting it in Jr out of a ship by the wooden frame it can Side are covered cushioned seats lor convalescent pa,ients, be hane carried; the patien t , if necessary, can be laced into it by the well sho'l n 111 the Illustr:ttion of the interior' in advance of this com- cal1\ as sides; it would apparently be impossible to improve on it for partn:ent, which can be screenedoffifdesired; we find naval cot benches, the transport of helpless patients, and we have known of it being four Jl1 two on either Side, one above the other, presumably extremel), valuable, if not indispensable, in remm'ing a critical case for officer pauents. from her bed at her residence to a mail steamer at a foreign port, the The arrangement for the comfort of n3.\'al cot invalids in transit is nanl seamen and midshipmen in charge prol'ing themselve3 perfe ct most excellent; on each bench is a spring-supported flat wooden frame, bearers in that case.

WORLD'S AYlBULAifCES /I.T TnE PARIS EXHIBITION.

A dis\?lay to which considerable prominence is gi\'en in the Exhibition of I900 IS that of ambulance work. One thing that militates against a comprehenSive comparison of the various exhibits is the fashion in which they are scattered all ol'er the Exhibition. The Union des de France has its hospital sbip on the ril'er and a special paVilIOn. Then, some distance off, the Societe des Dames Francaises has a series of little r?oms with :tmbulance appliances on view, while here and there III the Immense ;\'aval and ;\lilitary Pa lace one comes across wagons and otber appliances. At the other end of the E,xblbltl,on, near the SecLion d' AlimenLation, is a special Russian eXhl?lt. l nless one is prepared to spend the whole afternoon in making a of all tbese sections, it is impossible to compare the articles ?n vIew. Barring this inconvenience, the exhibit is complete. E"erythlllg connected with the treatment of the sick and wounded is on wagons, sLreLchers, medicine chests, bandages, splints, surgical and so on. One of the best ambulance wagons was one 111 which there was a large box fastened beneath the wagon.

This was divided into three compartments, one containing water and a healing apparatus, anotbel; ice, and the intermediate one the medic.ine chest. G nder the driver s seat was a second receptacle conta1l11l1g sixty litres of boiled water for washing wou.nds and yet medicine chest. This wagon can carry four men ly1l1g down or eight seated. In another section was a disinfecting stove, which is large enough to contain a and which can be heated to qo centigrade. This is the in\'enlion of Dr. "aillard, There is also an apparatus c3.lled the Autoclave Chamberland, for sterilising surgical instruments. The Russi;tn exhibit is a full fielll bospnul equipl1lent. There is a hrO'e hospital tent. with tables on \\hich are placed a samovar for making tea and other COOklllg The ambulance :vag on which accompanies tbis is much heal'ler bu.ilt than a.ny.other 111 the Exhibition. This, it was explained, was OWIng to the 1l1?lfferent roads in Russia and the necessity on accoun 0f the \\';lOt of rail ways, of often ha\'inO' to send wounded men 10nO' distances. This requires wagons of I sol idi tr There is also<>exhibi ted in this section an ingenious stretcher made with a couple of poles and four knapsacks.

.A rnuulance Associations.

ALEX. 26, SQUARE, Lm\Dox, E.O., AXD PAISLEY; AND ALL BOOKSELLERS.

WI TDSOR CASTLE AMBULANCE LITTER.

All ambulance litter of the most recent design has just been provided at IVindsor Castle. It consists of a light oak frame, furnished with a kbaki covered horsehair pillow, collapsible hood, hingeless bandies, rests slings and low wheels. The apparatus, which has been expressly constructed for the Palace by Mr. J. \Vard, of Tottenbam Court Road, is of a similar pattern to that supplied to the War Office for the easy removal of the sick and wounded soldiers in South Africa. Several of the Lord Cham berlain's employes under Her lUajesty's inspector are to be instructed in the use of the litter, which will be kept in a glazed oak case witbin the equerries' entrance, in readiness for any emergency.

THE QUESTIO T OF HORSE A:\rBULANCES.

The Lallcet has the following annotation :-" Our recent reference to horse ambulances has stimulated a fresh interest in this important question, and among the correspondence relating- to the matter which has reached us is a note from the Han. F. Dudley Leigh calling our attention to an article from his pen in the /\'i,lle!f.ellth Century for OCLOber, 1896. The author succinctly sketches the work that has been done in this direction in other countries; his descriptions of the celerity with which the American ambulance starts out, picking up a sureeon on the way, being as thrilling as an account of the almost instantaneous receipt of a call ;.nd the turn-out of the New York Fire Brigade. i\Ir. Leigh concludes his paper with suggestions that various public bodies miaht interest themselves in the question, pointing out that our hospitals are too over burdened already in the matter of financc to take tbe matter up themselves. It is cenainly to be regretted that, in an age when every possible effort is apparently being made to alleviate suffering, Loncon should be behindhand in providing that rapid means of transport in the case of accidents which is provided not only in America and on the continent, but also, we are happy to know, in Belfast, in Bolton, in Oldham, and which will soon, we trust, be pro\'ided in '"Ian chester. Oxford, too, as will be seen from a letter in anotber part of The LaJlce.:, h1S done something towards providing transport of the kind in question. Surely if the matter were taken in hand by some responsible body there would be no lack of funds for the wiping out of what is now a biot upon our city."

$eriotls 1RRi[wa\? Hccibent at Slougb.

The Slough Station of the Great "Testern Railway was on Saturday af:ernoon, 16th lIlL, the scene of an accident as a result of which five passengers lost their lives and more than 100 were injured, many of them seriously. Two trains were invoh'ed in the accident-the 1.5 VVindsor tDin and the 1.15 VVest of England express. The former, which runs from Paddington without calling at intermediate stations, arrived safely at Slough about half-past o'clock, the distance being covered in 25 minutes. Here it stopped while the tickets of those proceeding to Windsor were collected and the Slough passengers alighted. .\ minute or two later the 'Vest of England express was seen runnina apparently at full speed on the line on which the Windsor train, which consisted of eight carriages, several being occupied by race-going and other passengers, w"s standing. Seeing its dangerous position a porter. ran .up the. line and a signalman waved a red flag from the east cablil wll1dow m order to attract the attention of the driver of the express, while the people in the station shouted to those in the carriages. Some, thus warned, were enabled hastily to leave the carriages, but others were not so fortunate, a moment later there was a fearful crash .as " The Kennet," the the \Ve st of England :an mto rear of the statlOnary train, telescoping WIth terrible force Its t\\'o rear coacbes, and smashlna the end of the adJoll1ll1g carriage. The iron framework and wheels the rear coaches mounted up on end, cutting away portions of the platform roof and footbridge, and scattering the broken glass, and then rested upon the front of the locomotive, which, although it did not leave the rails was wrecked,whilst portions of the carriages whence the had been unable to.escape were set on fire. Three of the passengers appear to h.ave been killed Instantaneously, and \V oodman, the driver of the engll1e of tbe expreiis his fireman were much .injured. Rendell, of the general manager s office, happened to be In the Wll1dsor train in conjunction with :VIr. Page, the Slough stationmaster: ImmedIately set the r:lIlway staff to work in order to rescue the injured an:! search for the dead and dying.

1\1r. vV. Fairbank, who is the instructor of the Great "Western ambulance classes at Windsor and Slough, was i mmeJiately telephoned to,

AID [Jul y, 19 00 .

and the services of Drs. Meggs, Brickwell and Charsley, and of other Slouah medical men were requisitioned. Drs. Holderness, Bruce and Miller also ha stened from vVindsor to the station. noise of the collision and the escaping steam and smoke attracted many of the residents, and crowds gathe,:ed round the place, many anxious inquiries being made after relatIves and friends who Were known to be travelling by the two trains. Deputy Chief Constable Sutton, of the Bucks Constabulary. aI:d Head Constabl: Carter, of the Windsor Police, alld of theIr men asslste? 111 clearing- the platforms and restrall1Ing the spectators who beSIeged the station. The members of the Slough Fire Brigade, who were quickly on the spot, extinguished the burning woodwork and helped in the removal of the injure.1 passengers several of whom were carried into the waiting-room.

A large proportion of the Great staff at Slough possess the ambulance certificate, and valuable assIstance was rendered by them to the injured Un their.arrival at Padd!ngton they were dealt with by the Great ''''estern RaIlway Company sambulance corps at that station with an ample of stretchers and other appliances. The authorities of St. :'IIary's Hospital have spoken highly of the work done by the Great "\Vestern Railway Ambulance men, and the injured have expressed gratitude for the treatment which they. received: The Great \\Te stern Railway Company have devoted speCIal attentIOn to the ambulance work among their employes, and upwards of 5,5 00 members of the staff possess the first aid certificate of the St. John Ambulance Association.

"F.R.C.S.,·' a Plymouth surgeon, sends his experience of the accident:

"I started for the West by the 1. IS from Paddington, being the sole occupant of a first class compartment, in the second coach from the enaine. 1 had just discussed the contents of my luncheon basket, and in the act of filling my pipe, with that complete sense of comfort which comes of a g ood luncheon and the anticipation of a smoke. Crash! through one's skull, down my spine, and to the root of every tooth in my head. I hurled on to the floor of my carriaae, and then came crash two on the rebound, which shot me back into seat.

Aflerwards, for a moment, the silence of the grave! 1 think I must have been dazed for a few mOll:ents, for when I eme.rged on the platform the engine fires were up dnd the debrIS of the smashed carriages were well alight. My first conscious feeling was that I wa s a doctor and might be of use. 1\1y second thought, how helpless r was to be of any service. However, I soon found that even the presence of a doctor had a good moral effect, and I was a ble to shake back into sanity two or three poor women, who were rushing about unhurt, but frightened out of their wits. But I soon got to more serious work.

First I came across one poor chap, gone beyond all human aid-dead. Next a man who had the whole of the front of his foot cut off, as with a hatchet, the tarsal bones protruding through the remains of his boot. \Ve got him on an improvised litLer of a carriage cushion, and carried him into the waiting-room. The next was one whose foot and JeCT were simply smashed to a jelly. We got him out and placed him comparative ease. Both these cases will, of course, come to amputation. My next experience was very dreadful. I was asked to go and see a man who was under the engine of our train, on the off-side. Afler scrambling through the smashed carriage I got at this wretched one. He was lying on his back a::ross the with one foot imprisoned beneath the fly-wheel of the engine. His face was terribly scalded.

The fire was buming fiercely above, and the Fire Brigade, \\ho had come with great promptitude, were pouring on water in large quantities.

Steam from tbe engine was escaping with a terrific roar. It was a choice hetween death by fire, drowning with water, or scalding by steam, and beyond all this there was hanging above us the floor of one of the telescoped carr iages, which looked like coming down at any moment. Nevertheless the men worked with a will, and after twenty minutes we in getting the man free.

By this time many medical and nurses, with dressings, &c had arrived, and I cannot speak too hIghly of the admirable way in which the wounded received first aid and were stipped off to the Windsor Hospital. My work, little as it could be, was done, and 1 started once more for home. r had lost all my luggage, which was in the carriage with me, and I had on a lig-ht brown holland dust coat and no hat. When I joined my friendsat Newton Abbot 1 looked more lIke a stoker than a member of a learned profession.

One ortwo praotioal hints for ambulance classes, and, indeed, for the public. Many of the cases I saw were suffering frqm mere shock. But the shock was extreme, and in one or two cases dangerous. To put a man at once on his back and to loosen all his things are obvious precautions which were neglected in most of the cases 1 saw. There is a knack, too, in administering stimulants to an unconscious peroon which might well be taught. Even when it is impossible to swallow, the rubbing the lips, gums, and nostrils with brandy has a good effect. One other hint: vVhy shou ld not railway companies have a supply of splints, bandages and dressings at their stations;> Much needless suffering have been avoided if such things had been on the spot,"

July, 1900.J FIR S T

\Dan Hlen jfielb 1J,ospital in SOlltb Hfrica. ( II. )

By CHIEF SURGEON OSBORN, Metropolitan Corps, St. John Ambulance Brigade.

I n the centre of our little camp are placed two flagstaffs, which, during the day carry the Red Cros:; flag with the Union Jack below it on one, and the Red Cross flag with the Stars and Stripes on the other, in token of our American benefactor. One of these same flagstaffs carries, atter sunset, two signal lamps to guide the sufferer to our whereabouts.

The "Norton" stretchers that we have in use I have a very high opinion of. They have all the requirements of the regulation stretcher and much besides. The handles are telescopic and having moveable supports below make excellent beds raised one foot above the ground. 1 have no means of actually comparing the respective weights, but my impression is that the" Norton" stretcher is but little, if at all, heavier than the other.* The hood at the top end of these stretchers wi'h the patients clothing placed therein makes a good pillow, keeps the tent tidy by not having the clothing lying about, and if the patient has any valuables with him they are immediately under his own control. The" Norton " stretcher is maoe a little too short for a tall man.

:'Ifuch impro\'ement is called [or in the construction of the present ambulance wagon employed in our army. The regulation wagon of our army cannot compare with that in use by the Boers, which is said to be of German pattern; and the Tortoise \vagon is only slightly better than the regulation one. On each side of the latter is carried a long round water-can kept cool by being covered by Wiilesden material. In both wagons, only two patients can be carried comfortably lying down, and any seated patients would have to be placed :.tbove them, with the seats themselves too close above the lying down patients. In an emergency, two lying down patients could be placed at right angles to the t\\'o lying on the floor of the wagon by resting the stretchers across and on the sides of the wagon. An arrangement like we have in our St. John Ambulance wagons arranged for four lying down patients would be much better. The upraising apparatus used would allow of the first two being elevated and two others placed below and with a seat at the back of the driver's seat would allow of seating those not so seriously wounded. I travelled a distance of some 7 miles in the interior of one of our wagons and the jolting across the rough ground of the veldt was too awful for words even to one perfectly well, and what it would have been to an injured man is horrible to contemplate.

In civil life we instruct the first-aider to improvise ambulance wagons by swinging the stretcher inside country carts, even when roads are good; but here no such thing is thought of, whilst the injuries are in many instances more severe, and the ground to be traversed is as bad as it could be. I make these remarks hoping some one in England will effect an improvement in our ambulance wagons at present in use, and it seems to be that if constructed upon some swinging principle, like cots on board a yach t, they would be far less painful to the wounded men placed therein. Ambulance wagons should also be horsed by the Army Medical Department itself, so that their means of removal may not be requisitioned by any o'her branch of t he service, and the removal of the wounded in any way retarded or interfered with.

The hospital orderly has multifarious duties besides looking after the patients in the hospital. The camp itself has to be kept clean and tidy, assist in the cooking of food, keeping of stores, filling up water tanks, filter and water bottles, dispeming of medicine, trimming lamps and acting valet to officers; guard on picket duty has also to be done There is no picket duty in the day time, but only at night, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Each man is released every 3 hours.

We have charge of Divisional troops which include artillery with ammunition column, engineers, cavalry (including Imperial Yeomanry, Diamond Field Horse and Kimberley Light IJorse), alld Army Service Corps.

The Dietary used in a field hospital is best classified as follows:-

r. Milk Dut.-3 pints of milk, + ozs. of arrowroot.

Beef Tea Dzet.-3 pints of beef tea, tea with sugar, biscuits.

3. Camp Diet.-Ordinary rations- - lb. of meat with extras as below Tea with sugar, biscuits.

E.vtras-Pea soup, Thursdays and Sundays.

Jam, Thursdays and Sundays.

Lime Juice, Thursdays and Sundays. Compressed vegetables to be soaked for five hours, ;\1onWednesdays and Saturdays.

Rum, served only on General's order. One tin of Jam to four persons.

A 4 oz. tin of Extractum Carnis makes 4 pints of Beef Tea. One tin of l\lilk ([deal) makes 3 pints of ;\lilk.

• I have just had Lhe two stret.chers weighed, aud tile Army HeL:uiatioll Stretcher wciglls 32105., ami the" Norton" Stret.cher los.

A I D. 3

The following things are by regulation carried by every field hospital of 25 beds :-Two medical paniers, Nos. and 2. One fracture box:. antiseptic. box. 9ne mOI!key box and two surgical haversacks, beSides 1 speCIal surgIcal pamer and I reserve medical panier when transport allows, and the following medical comfort panier:COlltents 0/ a .lIed/cal Comfort Panier.

Arrowroot I.\ Ibs. Matches 2 boxes

Bovril, invalid(in +oz. tin:;) 3 lbs. I Soap bar

Brandy bot. Spirits of Wine q pts.

Meat, extract (in +oz tins.) 6lbs. Canisters, tin 7 :'IIilk, condensed (half un- Caster, pepper sweetened) 16 tins Corkscrew, folding 2

Mustard 8 ozs. Forks, dinner

Pepper 8 ozs. Knives, dinner

Port... I bot. Knives, opening tins +

Sago lb. i\Ieasures, F.H. (nests of Salt... lb. 4) nest

Pot, mustard

Tea... 21bs. Tin, spiritsofwine(rtpints)

Whisky 2 bots. Warmer. food (spirit i::tmp, Candles 2lbs. mark I.)

Sugar 6 IbS' 1

Weight about 90 Ibs.

The medicines carried by medical panier NO.1 are as fo110 \\'s. .\ly reaSon for giving tbem is to show what in the opinion of some surgeons might an\'antageously be carried in a supplementary" Congo Case" such as I carry myself. I have personally found tabloids of Hyd. lad. Rubrum. Chlorate of Potash ;'Iag. Sulph. Pot. Iodidi. and Soloids of :'IIercuric Pot. IoJ Alum and Cocaine. the most useful amongst others, and could have done \\'ith a larger supply than \"hat r brought out "ith me. I should also have found some form of ointment such as Zinc Oxide and Lanoline most usefui, as we carry no ointments of any description.

1 found the Higgenson's enema, ball and ordinary glass syringes I brought away with me very useful as well1.s an ordinary tape measure.

The cooking is done by means of the" Congo" sto\,e, and in addition the ordinary ant heap of the country makes an excellent stoYe, easily lighted, and keeping alight for a long time without attention.

Contents of .liedlcal Pailier No. T.

Acid, Boric... 2 oz. Pil., Blaud + doz. Acid, Carbolic (rrystals) 8 oz. Pil. ar.d Tablet tin

Acid, Tannic 9 doz. Pot. Bicarb, gr. 5 doz.

Ammon., Carbo 16 doz. Pot. Bromid, gr. 5 8- doz.

Antipyrin 10 doz. Pot. Permang., gr. 2 16 doz.

Argent, Nit. oz. Puh- Ipecac., co gr. 5 21 doz.

Brandy 16 oz. guinice, Acid Sulph.,gr. 2 92 doz.

Chloral Hyd. 16 doz. " " " gr·5 33 doz.

Chloroform... 20 oz. Sodze, Bicarb, gr. 5 9 doz. Ext. Opi.i. Liq. + oz. "SalIcylas gr. 5 19 doz Hyd. Perchlor. Soloids 12 doz. Sp. Ammon. Arom. 8 oz.

Ipecac. Pulv. (sine erne ine) 3+ doz. Tinct. ,-\coniti m. v. Ii doz.

Iodoform dredger in \'ulcanite 3 oz. "Chlorof. and :'IIorphini 2 oz. ;'Ii stura pro Diarrhcca + oz. ., Opii + oz. Oleum., :'IIenth. Pip. oz. Zinci. Sulph. gr. 10 +doz. Olivo:! 8 oz Scissors I paIr Ricini 16 oz I "pare bottle.. "Terebinth + oz. Irrig<itor ,iDd Tuhing.

Finally, I should mention three things which have proved of the area test service to us as well as to others.

:;, An excellent Pasteur Filter, which although costly, has well repaId its outlay by supplying, not only ourselves .but others \\'ith water fit to drink. ane! for charging our" Spaddets" \\Ith.

Secondly "Bovril" which is invaluable. A large IS got ready directly we that \\'ounded are con:l11g 111 and of which a large cupful IS gIven to e\'ery wounded .man, BlItal: and Boer alike, immediately on arrival, and very mUl:' h It IS appreC'lated, I can assure you. 1

Lastly, and by no m.eans IS my ea.sIly portab e "Conao' case of tablOId medlCll1eS, gl\'en me by .\le ssls. Burroughs and ,,7'ellcome of Snow Hill, IIolborn. I really do not what I should have done without it. "With it handy on 111 I1:Y tent I can always supply any patient me the required and the drugs 111 the medIcal e so limited in vanety the addItIon of others selected. by self In my "Conao" case are' a most valuable addition. I saId thIs before wben speaking of work done during the Turco-Greek and I see every reason to endorse those remarks, for in no campaIgn \\ould J, or should all) one else, be without one. "

Such is the outfit and working of a Field IIosplta!, and the experIence and surgical work wh:ch one has been able to obtam, I. shall e\'er f:el most arateful for to 1\11'. J. J. \Tan Alen, \\'ho has eqUipped and mall1whole from start to finish.

THE END.

FIRS T AID.

JULT 1, 1900.

THE deficiency of our metropolis in LO:\,DO:\ the matter of ambulance carriages for Al\lBULA 'CEo the cOlweyance of the sick and wounded in our streets to the has again been brought before the public. The Dai(l' Jimi in the middle of last month had a few articles gi\"ing different "jews on the subject. "Cp .to the. time of writing nothing more Ins been done, and It remaIns to be seen what will be the result (if any) of the discussion .

Is it at all possible to interest the London CounLy Council in the matter, or are the hands of body too full at present to spare a little time to this w'Orthy object?

The Lancet has issued a special supplement in sUfport of the Hospital Sunday Fund, and on looking o\-er it we find that some yery interesting figures are gi\"en which affect the of an ambulance scheme for London, and help one to form some sort of an idea of the work to be provided for.

Statistics are gi ven for the year 1899 of the patien ts treat.ed at the London Hospitals, and under this heading of "Accidents and Emergencies," we see that 28-+,688 cases were treated at the General Hospitals of London.

The quesLion is, how many of this great number would require to be moved to in an ambulance wagon. Lookmg at statistics, ambulance work in other countries, and at other details which it is not neces:,ary to mention here, we venture to express an opinion that 50,ooc cases would require treatment in London if there were a thoroughly efficient ambulance sen·ice.

It is appalling to think that these 50,000 cases are c3.rted about over streets in cabs, carts, barrows, and police ambulances (antiquated as they are now fully admitted to be), and all kinds of unsuitable vehicles.

Every day serious in which easy transport is a maHer of life or death, are jolted for miles through our streets on that wretclled arrangement, the police ambulance. Eyery day serious cases, in which prompt and efficient first aid is absolutely necessary, are left to the mercy of the police, who, although admirable at their proper work, are not trained ambulance men.

We hope and trust that before long Government or some public body will take the matter UD and aive us something wor"hy of a great City and a Empire.

$t. 30hn Blllbulance Bssociation.

IpSWlcH.-:-Some twenty-one years since Miss Coulcher, of Beechholme, Ipswich, became hon. secretary of the centre and ever since has been most indefatigable to make arr.bulance work be'tter understood better appreciated, and more readily undertaken in the town and district. On June r 3th, :'Iiss Coulcher presided over a meeting at St. Pansh Room, on which, at her invitation, Deputy-Com:\1r. G. S. Elliston, the :\ledical Staff, and officers of the Corps, and memhers .of the 1st (Ipswich) and 3rd (St. John ) DlvlslOns partook of a substantIal supper, and at the same time offered a hearty welcome to l\1e5srs. \Voods and Brereton un their return from active service in South Africa. The vice-chair was filled by the Rev. G. Bohun Coulcher, and others present included Mrs. and Miss Bohun Coulcher, Dr. Elliston,}\Ifr. Eades, :vIr. F. Ward, Mr. Ilossock, &c. After the tables had been cleared, and" The Queen" duly honoured, MIss Coulcher proposed the healths of Messrs. Woods and Brereton, the toast being with musical honours, and briefly Deputy-Commissioner Elliston proposed a vote of thanks to :'11SS Coulcher for her kindness, which Mr. Eades seconded and was. most enthusiastically carried, the lady's health being mUSical honours, and l:esponded Subsequently a d,scusslOn took pl.ace on the deslrabdl';y of rrovldll1g uniforms for members of the and! on the proposition of Mr. vVard, it was resolved to a committee to arrange an out-door exhibition o( ambulance work, With bond and illuminations with a view to raisina a .um with which to purchase uniforms.' '"

SHEPSHED -The annual meeting of this branch was I5th ult. in the National Schools. TJ-:e occasion was doubly interest_ ina ol\'ina to the f.lct that a certificate was to be presented on behalf of Humane Society for saving the life of a boy, and also two certificates for ambulance work after the boy was got out of the water

The president (Rev. W. II. F. Hepworth, :'1.A.), occupied the chair' and said he \\'as pleased to be again elected. as president for the coming year, although he thoug-ht perhaps they might have placed the honour in younger hands. IVith reference to the certificates to be presented that night thought. very great was due to Mr. Tapp for which ha.d resulted the Royal HumaI?e Society forwardll1g the certificates to him (the preSident) [or presentatlOn. The certi ficates "'ere then presented as follows ;-Joseph Th'..lrman for rescuina a boy from drolVning, and J. Briers and J. iVloo'e, forappl'yina meallS fo restore animation. Each of the recipients suitably

A cord ial vote of thanks was accorded to the chairman and the meeting closed.

\YARE.-i\lembers of this division and friends were entertained at tea in the H:1I1 on Tuesday, the I2th ult., by the kindness of the presi-ient (Mr. E. S. Hanbury). A. G. Sandeman presided, and a letter regretting inability to attenc;l was read from i\I.r. E. S. Hanbury. '\Irs. Sandeman presented the certificates snd medallions. The Cbairm ll1 presented to Dr. Boyd, on behalf of the subscribers, with a very pretty pair of candlesticks, and a penholder. The next item on the p:ogramme was a lecture by Sir Vincent Kennett-Bal rington. Sir Vincent dealt with the work of the St. John Ambulance Association in various pMts of the world, and instanced the advantages to be derived from attendina the lectures in being able to attend to an accirlent when perhaps doctor could not immediately be procured. In the name of the president and committee, and the members of the Association, '\Ir. J . .\latson presented Mr. Barkerwith an easy chair. The Chairman joined with \Ir. ;\latson in thanking ;\Ir. Barker for the attention which he ga\ e to the classes, and every matter intimately connected with the welfare of the people of Ware; and :\[r. Barker having suitably returned thanks a yote of th:1l1ks was passed to the president and committee, to which '\Ir. Burgess responded, and the proceedings closed.

1RaiIwa\? Blnbulance.

GREAT )l'ORTHERN RAILWAY.-This year, after many years of patient endeavour, the Company has been successful in winr.ing the challenge shield offered by the St. John Ambulance Association for competition amongst the railway companies of the United Kingdnm, the King's Cross team being the holders of the handsome trophy. In order to celebrate the event, the directors invited a. company numbe r ing ab'Jut one hundred to meet the team at dinner, this event taking place on Thursday, the qth ult., in the Gordon saloon of the Hol born Restaurant. The chair was occupied by Sir AndreII' Fairbairn, who was supported by Lord de Ramsay (director), Col. Sir H. Perrott, Bart., :'Ilr. :'lorgan and '\Ir. Church Brasier (St .I ohn Ambulance Association)

:'I1r. Chas. Steel (general m:1nager), :\1r IV. Latta (secretary), '\1r. W.]. Grinling (chief goods manager), Mr. J. Alexander (superintendent of the line), Mr. J. IV. Brooks (mineral manager), l\1r. IV. T. Weeks (stores superintendent), Mr. G. T. Cooper, T. A. Painter, :'Ilr. A. J. Constable, and Mr. \Valker. J n proposing the health of the successful team, which composed of Messrs. A. Hollis, G. IV. Bryant, IV. Codd, J. W. Halls, and A. G. Walker, Sir Andrew Fairbairn, after gi ving a brief yet intel esting history of the St. J ohnAmbulance r\.ssociation, paid a high compliment to Messrs. G. T. Cooper and T. A. Painter, who were mainly instrumental in the success of the Company. Formed in I893, the G.N .R. ambulance class had attended to 2,i-50 cases, no less than 272 of these having occurred since last October. The Great Northern team had won the St. John Ambulance Railway Challenge Shield by a large number of points, as they scored 373 marks to the 337 of the Great IVestern team, who were second, the orth Eastern being third with 328. Messrs. Cooper and Painter responded. "The St. John Ambulance Association" was proposed by the Right Hon. Lord de Ramsay, and responded to by Col. Sir Herbert Perrutt, Bart., the f.)rmer remal king- that he had no less than sixteen relatives at the (ront. Mr. Chas. Steel proposed the health of tbe chairman. The concert was contributed to by Messrs Linwood, \Nil! Edwards, and Rouse.

THE MIDLAND AND GHEAT NORTHEH.N RAILWAY COMPANY offer a handsome silver challenge cup for annual competition by the ambulance classes at various centres on their line. The competitio!1 was only instituted last year, when South Lynn became the owner of the trophy. Eight teams of five men each competed at Yarmouth on 21st June, to decide who should be the holders for the next twelve months. The tests gone through by the men included viva-voce, practical work, stretcher practice, artificial respiration, and firemen's li ft. The competition was judged by Surgeon-Lieutenant Brookes of the Ist Suffolk Volunteer Artillery (Harwich), and the result was j-South Lynn (No. r) 420 points, Sutton Bridge 399, Norwich Loco. 386, • orwich Goods 309, Lynn officers 302, Yarmouth 281. At the conclusion of the competition Dr. Brookes addressed the men, and complimented them upon their work.

July, 1900 J FIRS'!:

A I D. 5

A. R RUKDELL,

'l'HERE are few more earnest adyocates in the ambulance world than the subject of our portrait sketch this month.

S tl per in tendent Alfred Robert Rundell, who ,vas born at Plymouth on St. John's Day, 1854-, first took an actiYe interest in _-\.m bulance work in 1891, ,yhen in conjunction wi th J\lr. \V. ]. Church Brasier, he assisted in the formation of ambulance classes in the North of London or Highgate district, subsequently he took an active part in the formation of the St. John Ambulance Centre of the London Hospital Saturday Fund, which body subsequently formed the Hospital Saturday Fund Division of the Metropolitan Corps of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, when, in recognition of his earnest work, the Committee of the Fund recommended Mr. Rundell for the post of Superintendent. In connection with thi:i branch of the work of the Fund, Mr. Rundell arranges the classes and issues the first aid boxes to the various firms which take an interest in this branch of the philanthropic work. He is a well-known attendant at most of the principal football matches in and arollnd London, and although he can scarcely be described as a " black flag," the presence of Superintendent Rundell and his" bandy men" in the vicinity of::l football or cricket match, is alrnost a sz'ne qua 7lO71 that there is an element of danger either for principals or spectators Earnest and actiYe in the propagation of the doctrine of man's humanity to man, Superintendent Rundell may at times desire to move omewhat quicker than the rules of authority may admit, but none will deny his de\Totion to the cause he has so 111 uch at heart, and we feel sure one and all will join with us in the desire that he may for many years yet occupy the proud position of" Ambul.ll1ce Commandant" at Barnet Fair, where he has earned for himself, amongst the nomad frequenters of that spot, a distinctive position for his kindly and courteous nature. Among other posiLion held by Mr. Rundell, we may mention that he is a Governor of the French Hospital, appointed by the Hospital Saturday Fund, and a Governor of the Royal Free Hospital and its representative on the Board of the- Fund.

'ij:m ar Bl1l 0 ul anc c. COMMENTS ON THE VVAR_ By

CmRURGUs.

TIlE pl'ogl'ess of the wal' dUl'ing tbe past month bas been a stel'1.c1y success for LOl'cl Roberts, and his entl-y into Pretoria, on the 5th June puts an end to the serious resistance of the enemy. The Boers, with that" slimness"

they cue noted, hn,ve avoided trying conclusions m a pItc?ed battle, the fighting now being confined to of. the worrying and nul' lines of commumcatlOn WIth, hO\veve1', little success. is nothing much to l'epol't that is particularly mtere::;tll1g to am bulallce Enteric Fevel' i::; still ravoc with om men, the c<1sualtiet> hom this disease bell1g gl'eatel' than those caused by shot and shell.

Anoth81' in:tallllent f1'o111 Chief Surgeon 08b01'n clescribthe. WOl'kll1g of the Van Alen Field Hospital is most to read and well digested by all lll'stc1.1clers, espeCIally hlS reL11cu'ks about the Boar ambulances and ours.

I notice that the National Fire Brigade Union is ending out ambulance men, some haying left on the nIt. A good many of the St. John men who 'vent ont <It fir t have now retm'necl, theil' term of sen-ice baying expired. Although the men ·1.1'e a 'ked to sign on again for another term I Eee that many <'1.1·e cowing back.

The following are two letters which will be re:1d with p leasure by many of our readers :-

HOSPITAL, ORA:"' GE RIYER .lEa), I5th, 19 00.

:'IIy feelings as write this are of a some\\'hat "mixed" na ure. It "eems as if all my letters to you must contain ne,,"s of a sad and disco uraging nature, in this I refer to the recent death of t\\'o of our little band here at Orange Ril er, Private s Sawford and Clarkson; we buried Clarkson yesterday, and thanks to the arril'al of our kit were aLle t o give him a true St. John's burial, that is, we foll o lred him full briaade We are g:a?ually bei.ng r.educed to a mere handful, by God s help we remall1ll1g few mil stdl uphold the bonour of our corps. Our" return" at present is :-\roodbams, Sall'ford, and Clarkson deceased; \Vills, Perryman, and Goldsworthy, invalided' Peaker' suffering from enteric, will be invalided if he re cov e rs" Pealey' Ferguson, Kingston, :'Ilullins, Green, Johnson, Beehy, returning home on completion of term; Jonas, Byford, Butcher, "\Vheway, Taylor, Dixon, and SErif remaining. Xot a very encouraaing " return," truly, but nevertheless a stubborn one. ;:,

Sergeant Charnley has recently joined us , he is a splend e d fellow and an admirable c. chum."

Personally, I am doing very well indeed, I, after six Ireek's ward duty, was drafted into the office , and speedily won tbe confidence of my officers, much so that the P.:'II O. recently asked for my services as clerk to himself, I therefore hold one of the best positions on the staff. Since writing yesterd'1Y I have received a lI'ire for men to proceed to Kimberley, this has resulted in S. S. Jonas being sent up country. r suppose you are all" fed up" with this affair at the c Gate."

HOIYerer the prospect of a speedy termination is now "ery briaht and I hope the results will comfirm the c. shadows." <> hope and trust I may have the pleasure of meeting you all again at the Gate before the end of I900.

:'Ilr. Trimmer is at Deilfo 'l teib, not far from here, but I ha\ e not had :1S yet an opportunity to see him. I met Oldham at this tation en route for Kimberley, it was a treat, can assure you to meet one of my old friends and townsmen.

C. II. POWELL.

: now close with the hope that I may not have any further bad news to write you.

HOSPITAL, FIELD FORCE, ORA:'<GE

FREE ST.4.TE , JEay roth, 900

Since writing you last I have migrated as you 1\ ill see by the above address.

\\ e (i.e. the 35 N.C.O s and men I told you of in my last) hal"e been joined here by the advance party of NO.3 Gener'll Hospital men) from Orange River and are forming a .+00 bedded hospital, though I expect we shall increase it to lOOO. J myselt (the only St. John man he!'e) was ordered by the P.;\LO. to layout and pitch the Hospital, a rather ticklish jol:!, but did it, with a party of IO men, and our efforts ha ve been met with every praise.

Springfontein, although an important junction, only consists of about lO houses and is situate about 5o.miles in the .Free tate, on a stubbly piece of ground, surrounded by .and kopJes. At present, things are rather lively here as there IS 1\'lth111 SIX miles a commando of 700 Boers. I might say our hospital is on the actual field where the engagement took place some time ago, and just on our left flank are the Boer entrenchments and wire entanglements.

I expect ere this my live men will ha \'e reported their arri val to you and you will be in possession of many items of valuable information frgm them.

ESQ., ST. J OH:-J Al\lBCLA:-\CE BRIGADE.

To-day the nnd Field Hospital left here ,0 go up but, they have left behind for us to look after a St. John man WltR scarlet lever. I don't kn ow his name yet but will report on him later. Give my kind regards to all. R. J. DASH, Staff-Sergeant.

Another g-eneral hospital is in course .of preparation at Aldersh?t for seavice in Natal. The hospital, which IS to be numbered 13, WIll be in charg-e of :,Iajor Butterworth, R.A ;'.I.C., and will be compose? of Reaulars Volunteers and St. J obn Ambuhnce men. Ten medIcal with it,' and the rest of the staff, consisting of civilian doctors, will join in South

$t. Bnbrew's Bnlbulance Bssociation.

CALEDONIA);! RAILWAY A;\IBULANCE CORPS - STIRLING SECTlO);!-

On the I rth ult., on the occasion of the handing over of the ambulance wagon given to the Stirling Section of Railway Ambulanc e Corps by its hon. :'I1r s. \\ hltela:v of Alangrange, a company of gentlemen assembled. at the StatIon .Hotel, and Illspectirlg the wagon we re served WIth cake. and \\'Ine. Mr. W.hltelaw presided. The wagon is one of the finest 111 the country, and IS fitted up witb all the newest appliances and improvements for tbe comfortable conveyance of injured persons. In over the wagon in nam<=: of his mother, Mr. vVhitelaw referred to the Importance of ambulance trallling, and expressed his conviction that tbis work of first 'aid 1:0 the injured could not be satisfactorily carried on without an ambulance. The two essentials of good ambulance work were that the patient sbould be removed with the utmost possible degree of comfort and with the utmost possible speed, and neither of tbese essentials could be secured excep!: by using an ambulance. :\IIr. Samuel, stationmaster, accepted the present on behalf of the officers and members of the corps, and asked :'lIT. Whitelaw to convey to his mother their sincere thanks. EDI.'lBl'RGH.-The executive committee of this Association has subscribed for a challenge shield for annual competition, open to all recognised corps connected with tbe Edinburgh centre, whic:..t includes a wide area in the east of Scotland. It is expected that the annual corr:petition for tbis shield will stimulate the corps to greater perfectioll. The first and second squads in this competition become eligible to compete for the" Breadalbane Championship Sbield." The first competition took place on 26th i\1ay, in the Drill Hall, Grindley Street. At the close, Dr. i\lillar congratulated the competitors on tbeir excellent work, which had been of an exceptionally high character throug-hout. 100 marks had been allowed in each division, so tbat the possil:le was 300, atJd he had to intimate tInt the sbield had been won by Squad B, with 289 marks, which squad represented the Caledonian Railway (Princes Street Station) Edinburgh Corps. Second place had been gained by Squad C, with 273 marks , this squad representing North British Railway, St. Margaret's, Edinburgh Corps. Third place was gained with 227 points by the North British Rubber Company's Squad. Tbe winning squad was presented with the shield, to hold for one year, and eacb member of the squad received a gold badge. Their names were :-James Anderson (guard), John Telfer (station inspector), William Jeffrey (breaksman ), Angus :,lcKinnon (carriage inspector), and Robert J. Crow (clerk). The result of this competition places the Caledonian Company in the proud position of holding all the St. Andrew's Ambulance Association tropbies. The challen6e cup for all corps in the west is held hy Buchanan Street Corps, and the same corps hold the" Breadalbane Championship " Shield. And now the Edinburgh (Princes Street) Corps holds the Edinburgh Distri ct Challenge Shield. This position should be very gratifying to the directors and officers of the C aledonian C ompany.

FIFE.-,Vi th a view of promoting ambulance study among- its members, and enabling them to render first aid in the case of accidents, the Fife and Kinross ;'1iners' Associ ati on some time ago offered a handsome silver cup for competition among colliery teams, and the Fife and Clackmannan Coalowners' Association, readily acquiescing in a suggestion that they should provide badges, agreed to provide these in g-old, s ilver and bronze. The first competition took place in the Drill Hall, Dunfermline, at the end of i\1ay, in presence of a fair number of spectators. The following nine teams entered :-Cowd enbeath Halbeath and Kingseat No. I, Halbeath and Kingseat No.2, Kelty 'NO.1 Kelty No.2, Lochgelly, Cardenden, Balgonie, and Muirbeath. winners ?f the cup and g?ld badges were team No.8 (Balgonie) , with 228'5 pomts out of a pOSSIble of 250 The winners of the silver badges were team TO 9 (Cowdenbeath), with 205'5 marks The bronze badges went to 5 team (Halbeath and King seat No 2), with 200 ' S marks. The pOSitIOns of the other teams were .-No. 2 (Halbeath and Kingseat TO. 1), 198; No. (Cardenden), 197'5; 7 (Muirbeatl-j ), 182'5; No 4{Lochgelly),I73'S; Tbe \1 em bers of the Balgon ie team Who won the cu p were:-John P rovan, Frank Simpson, J ames Laing, David Spiers and Robert BkrelL

$t. 30hn Bnlbulance :fl3rigabe.

:,IARKET HAR BOROUGH.-A very interesting exhibition was given here on June 7th, before some thousands of spectators. Soon after six o'clock the ambulance men, with their :quipments, including stretchers, ambulance cart and van, were paraded ll1 the sheep market, and, headed by the Volunteer band, marched to the cricket field, followed by a long procession of interested civilians. T he exhibition consisted of handseat drill, under Supernumerary Officer Tooth; bandaging, durina which a selection of music was played by the band; drill with closed stretchers, under Superintendent Green; litter drill, Supernum erary Officer T o oth ; drill with prepared stretchers and method of ho oding wagon, Supernumerary Officer Sbore. The display concluded with a demonstration of the method of removing wounded from the field of battle, in which two detachments of the Volunteers, under Sergeant Instructor Acheson, and Sergeant Sedgely, took part. The detachments advanced to drive the enemy from their cover, and in the op erations several fell. The ambulance men went smartly to their aid bandaging imagin ary wounds, and removing them to a place of safet/ Assistant Commissioner Woolston and Chief Superintendent Trennery inspected the men and their work, and at the conclusion the former addressed the men in compliment<lry terms. He said he was very pleased to again inspect the Market Harborough Division, and to note the wonderful improvement they showed. He had much pleasure in saying what was a fact, namely, that they were one of the smarte st divisions in the Eastern and Central District Altogether, hethought he mig-ht congratulate both officers and men on their appearance and work, and it would be a pleasing duty to report this to his Col onel. It was very gratifying that from such a small division so many had volunteered and gone to the front, but he was still more gratified to hear such good accounts of the work they were doing in South Africa. Over roo ambulance men were sent out last montb, and 70 more were about starting for hospital work with Sir Frederick Carrington's force in Rhodesia. It \\ould be a red letter day when they returned, but it would not be yet, as there was a good deal of sickness in South Africa which wonld keep them busy for some time. Never the present war bad wounded men been so quickly removed to safety, and their wounds dressed, with the skill which ambulance men had acquired, a nd he could only say that should he be unfortunate enough to meet with an accident, he should only be too pleased to have the assistance of some of the men of the Divisicn. A collection was made on the field to provide a stretcher for Great Bowden. The Di vision was entertained by Superintendent Green, at the Angel Hotel.

(!orresPollbence.

NATIO. AL FIRE BRIGADES UNIO::\'

To the Edztor of" FIRST Am."

"Ir,

The p01ver to undertake the tuition of firemen in their professional duties is clearly defined in the articles of foundation of the N ational Fire Brigades U nion.

The reasans which induced it to undertake the promulgation of that important part of a fireman 's education which is devoted to the rescue of persons injured at fires, are set out with minute precision in the last Annual Report.

The approval which tbat decision met with is evidenced by the fact that the unanimous resolution ot the Council was adopted "/lemme contradicente ," at the Annual Meeting, by the endorsement it has received by the fire press, and by the lact that within two weeks, 86 brigades throughout England and Wales have communicated with the Department, regarding the formation of classes.

These points will, I trust, dispel the misgivings of "A Volunteer Fireman." Asto the other points in his letter, I find myself in cordial agreement with hif\l. The Union sustained a great loss when Mr. Brasier retired from the chief officership, and a resolution expressing its deep regret at his doing so, coupled with one of gratitude for his co -operation in establisbing the ambulance department, is recorded on its minute.,. As to the reasons actuating Mr. Bra sier, although none were officially given, they are patent to all. It is principally owing to his ceaseless exertions that the organising of so splendid a contingent for service in the South .Ca!l1paign has been carr ied on; a lab our of duty and love, whIch, whIle It reflects the highest h onour upon him, has absorbed every moment of hi s time, even to the detriment of his health

As to the Union, there is no question of opposit ion to the propaganda of the St. John Ambulance Association Applications for the holdina of classes by the police and by brigades not affiliated to the have been set Union :will simply set up a very hig-h standard of profiCIency 111 the speCIal branch of fire duty already surely. an attitude i. if furnishing of a war servIce contmgent IS a necessary condItIon of eXIstence the Ambulance Department of the Union may also hope to be permitted to survive.

IN BENEFAC:TO- FRATRES NON HOSTES.

July, 1900.]

FIRST

(!oroner anb the $t. 30bn Bmbulallce Bssociation.

has .been forwarded t.o us some newspaper correspondence and cuttmgs WIth reference to an lllquest lately held at Oldham showing the strar:ge po.sition that has been taken up by the St. John Ambulance ASSOCIatIOn WIth regard to the conduct of a local ambulance man which had been called into question by the coroner.

The facts lie within a small compass and may be gathered from the following extracts of the report of the inquest :_

A.n inquest was held at tbe Oldbam Town Hall on Monday, 16th

A pI'll, before the Borough Coroner (Dr. Geo rge Thomson) on the body of Jchn Tattersall, age<;l-J.9 years, at the Inhrm ary on Saturday from the re:;ult. of an It'Jury receIved whilst following his employment n.t the Glebe i\Itlls, Hollmw ood. Dr. James H owarth, junior house surgeon at the Oldbam Infirmary, stated that the dece<lsed was admitted that instituti?n on morning suffering from a badly crushed 1:lght hand, whIch was bleedIng very hadly, although efforts had prevIOus!)' been to stop t.he bleeding. The injury was such as to necessitate operatIOn, and m the presence of Dr. Martland witness put deceased under chloroform. Deceased, however, collapsed before he was properly under the influence, and riied almost immediately.

Witness considered that the diseased condition in which the man was, together with the loss of blood and the excitement from the injury, was responsible for the collapse and death. In answer to the Coroner a witness said a doctor wa s !lot sent for as the mall n:/IV IlP the limb 7vas all ambulance mall. The Coroner, in summing up, saId he regretted very much to hear that a man \Vas remo\'ed bleeding to the Infirmary. It was one of the great ad\-amages of ambulance work that ambulance men should be able to apply something to stop hccmorrhage, as the ambulance man in the present case seemed to ha ve done, ana in a prop er sort ot way, bitt the first and most lJ11jo7'tallt thing that an ambula/lce man had 10 do 1vas to 8lfe that if there n as a surgeon amihble he s/ztJu/d be got 'in order that could See that the 71'Orlt 7t'ClS proper{v done Unfortunately, he had seen during the past t\\'o or three years that there had been a growing tendency amongst ambulance men to negle ct that essential thing. It was a very serious matter, and after the house surgeon's evidence there could be doubt that the h ::e mOJ rhage and loss of blood was very serious indeed, and had a share in the man's death. He had a great deal to do with ambulance work, but he was speaking as Coroner when he found those cases came up, and the ambulance men were to blame in the matter. H e was going to bring this to the knowledge of tbe aUlhorities St. John's Gate, and ask them to deprive this particular ambulance man of his a!l1bulance certificate. That sort of thing should eot be allowed, and It would not be allowed so far as he could control ma tters as Coroner. Ambulance men were trained to do ambulance work up to a certain point, aed they ought not to take it upon themselves t o do more than they should do, and allow human lives to be risked-and unfo rtunately sOllletimes lost. If no surgical assistance was available then the ambulance man had done his best, and was entitled to no blame if anything further happened, but if he neglected what he was taught to do-and that was securing more skilled assistance at the earliest possible moment-then he was not fit to be an ambulance man. It was a rule of the association to secure medical attention at once, and he would sec that that rule was enforced. A verdict of" Accidental death" was returned, the Coroner remarking that he did not want the jury to add anything in the way of censure to Nhat he had said in regald to the ambulance matter, as probably his remarks would be sufficient. He felt ve ry strongly that the thing had occurred, and therefore he had spoken as he had done.

[The above i,alics are ours].

We have given tte remarks of the Coroner pretty fully as puttingfo rth the opinion which he a medical man holds on the matter. Our opinion coincides with tbat of the Coroner, for there can be no manner of doubt that in a serious case such as that above described it is the absolute duty of the first -aider to s=cure surgical assistance as soon as possible.

Apparently some communication was made to the Central Executive Committee of the St. John Ambulance Association and we presume the facts we re laid befole them, for we find in a subsequent issue of the local paper the following correspondence :-

THE FATAL ACCTDEr T AT GLEBE :'lILLS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE CHRO. lCLE.

SlR,-In your issue of April 17th you published the of the Coroner's inquest held to inquire into the circumstances C0nnected with the death of John Tattersall, who met with a serious accident at Glebe Mills on April I.l.th. The Coroner said in his remarks that he was going to ask the authorities at St. J obn's Gate (meaning St. John Ambulance Association) to deprive me of my certificate. Well, r suppose he has asked them, or if he ha.s not someone else has, for in a letter to o ur manager, dated May 5th, the secretary says tb:lt their

AID.

7

has been dra,,:n to the matter, after which he goes on to say that as at present adVIsed the committee does not feel that any action shou ld such"as the extreme measure of requiring Jackson to retu:n hiS certIficate. I heard nothing further of the matter until I receIved a May 14th, copy of which I enclose answered that letter glvmg the 1l1formation asked for, and in reply received a second one,. dated May 21st, coPY of I also enclose. Will you them both along WIth thIS 111 your next issue so that the publIC may Judge for themselves as to whether thc Coroner's remarks were necessary, and may see that my honest endeavour to do my duty was better at St. John's Gate tr.an the Oldham Borough Coroner thought It would be.-Apologing- for troubling you, I am yours, ROBERT JACKSON.

" St. John's Gate, Clerkenwell London E C

" S!r Perrott,. Chief Secretary of the St.' J Ambulance ASSOCIatIOn, his. compliments to ;'1r. Robert Jackson, and would be greatly obltged If he would be so kind as to inform him for the information of Viscount Knutsford and the Central Committee, when and where he obtained his certificate of the association, and if he has passed tbe subsequent re-examinations and recei"ed voucher and medallion also. The committee has heard with satisfaction the good work done by :'Ilr. Jackson for many ye rs and the h.e has earr:ed for hin; se lf in the district by his long and gratuitous seJ'\'lces In rendenng first aId to the injureci.

" qth :,lay, 1900."

"St. John Ambulance Association, " St. John's Gate, Clerkenwell, London, E.C., " 21st :'IIay, 19 00

"De;;,r Sir,-I. had the ple<lsure of reading your letter of the 16th mst. at the me.etmg last week, and un requested by ,-ist'ount KnutEford and the to th :l.l1kyou very. much for your full explanation. The very kll1d wordIng of your letter much impressed the commIttee, w?lch. feels mdebted to you for the great interest you have and are takIng 111 first aId work -Yours faithfully, HERBERT C. PERROTT, " :'IIr. Robert Jackson, 702, Oldham-road, " Failsworth, near i\1an chester. "

" Chief Secretary.

The point at issue in this case is very simple, and is this-did J do. his duty or not? According to the report he did not send for a medIcal man on the spot, but trea'ed the case him self and sent the man off to the hospital. and on arri\'al the hand was found to be bleeding very badly This is not in accordance with ambulance and sh.o\\'s that .took upon himself the responsibility. which m a serious case ltke thIS, ought to have hllen on a medi cal man. If the letters of Sir Herbert PerrotL anyth ing, they mean that the Centra l Executive Committee of the St. John Ambulance Association considers that Jackson \\'3S perfectly right in his action, and that Dr. Thomson had [;0 reason to interfere.

As this is a matter of more than lo cal concern, affecting the interests of both the medical profession and tbe St. John Ambulance Association , and one, moreo'rer, that may be far-reaching in its effects on the former, we feel bound to speak strongly atoUl it. It will be within the recollection of our readers that this is not the first time that the Association has sligbted medical men. In August last we published an article from The lan cet referring- o similar charges against the Association, tbe la st sentence of whi c b read as follo\\'s-" The St. John Ambulance Association should also remember that it owes politeness to its medical colleagues, if only because proper ambulance instruction for tbe good of the community can be given without the aid of the Association, but not ·.\·ithout the aid of tbe medical profession." To that article we beg to remind our readers the Association has up to the preoent made no reply.

L et the medical men who 1V0rk for tbe Association tbink over their position and consider what this action of the Central Executive Committee means. \\Tith regard to this particular case at Oldham, we have Dr. Thomson, who has been working for the Association for 16 years, and is the local H on. Sec., who bas sent many offcers and men to South Africa, and has raised £+00 for British Red Crvss purposes, snubbed by the Central Executive Committee for seeing that the instructions for rendering first aid are strictly adhered to. It may be the turn next week or next month for any medical man to be treated in a similar manner The Central Executive Committee of tbe St. John Ambulance Association does not to realise the power that is possessed by The lancet, and, judging from the' peculiar tactics towards some of tbe most earnest supporters, as demonstrated m the case of Dr. Thomson, is, apparently, unable to see that it is estranging its best friends, and seem:: incapable 01 IInderstandmg (:hese words ought to be written in red on ItS walls) that \\ithout the medical profession the Association cannot exist.

Doubtless we shall hear more abl ut tbis matter, and it is possible that further light may be thrown IIpeD If only to show that Committee apprecIate the efforts of tile JlW hcal profc:'slon,anJ espeCially of those whose he.Hts lnJ are In tbe work.

]public Bnlbnlancc.

Ln-ERPoor..-From the annual report for q9 the Establishment of Li,-erpool. it appears that the system ofh'lYII1Z ambulances stationed at the g-eneral ho!;pitals controlled hy :he pe-IIce dates April, 12 9 ,and the present.is therefore the first repon. deals with a "ear's \\·ork. IX ambulances fully eqUIpped are 10 hUT being- at the Infirmary, .the the -"Grthern. and :he Stanley respectl\·ely. \\ hen ca.led to a case the ambulance is accompanied by a surgeon. One "hich is onh' used for night senice, is station<:d at t.he Central tation, and another for the out-lying- districts. IS stationed at Ole Swan Police Station. The number of turn-outs amounted to 2.339 III the ,-ear. The total strength oflhe police force amounts to 1. 0+, ofthese holn certificates from the Sr. John _-\mbulance _-\SSI)CIatlon, a.nd :; hold medallions in addition. First aid was rendered by tbe P?lIce 03 time". and in +q+ inHances the sen'ice rendere? was especl::tlly commended b,- the doct!) r recei"ing the ca::e::. The polIce also rendered as:;i:;tance other than fir5l aid to in cases of accident su Iden illne.:;s b,- remo\ing- them to hospiral. etc ntaking a tOtal ot 3. 3: persons as:isted. These fig-ures .inclu.d.e +Q f;-om or droln1inO'. Instruction classes in co nnection \11th tbe haye} recently fo rmed. and. as ::t result 105 sta l-- Ies and others h'l\'e recei"ed cel_ificates from thIS of theIr efficiency for tbe rescue o f drowning deputation from tbe Charities Commitcee of the attended the meeting- of the \Yatch Committee of. the :\fanchester Corporation on :\l1'lY tJ giye reasons for l?e proYlslon of horse ambulances. :\1r. _-\lfreG impson. chairman or. the Committee of the Iufirman-. said that in January last, on the ad\'J(:e Professor D. J. Leech. the question ,\"as brouaht befo;e th Red Cross Society, and a resolution was passed JO\'Iung the m U11lcipa: autborities to provide horse ambulances and the resolution _ hnd appro\'ed by the Sanitary _-\ssociation of :\lancheste.r and Saltor? Li"erpool and other places in this country and \,anous .towns I.n America are far better pro\'ided as regard ambulance ser\,lce IS :'I1anchester. Alderman Ra \\'son. cbairman of the commlt,ee, a5sured the deputatiJn that tbe committee were in sympathy ,,·ith them. and that a ;;ub<ommittee was alread,: in for the purpose of the \\"hole question. \\ e m.ay hope tb::tt before IJng :\Ianchester will not be thought laggmg behInd 10 the m:llter.-_\t the end of :\Iay se,-en g-entlemen representing the :\I:tnche,ter Board of Guardi::tns paid a \'isit to :\!orecambe_ '.'·i.th the ohien of inspecting the \'an \-oeiong-ing- to the :\Iorecambe D:I'JslOn the S John Ambulance Brigade. The party \\ere met by I?c: :' Supt. :lnd :\1r. Erringwn (sec. of the DI\·15IOn). The amculance \'an had been drawn up in the station yard where it was critically examined by tbe \'isitOrs. SUI?t. .Hargreayes tha: several imprO\'ements might be made ln ICS construction, as affecting the \·entilation. Other suggested improyements meluded an alteration ot' the dri"ers seat and placing of an alarm bell near the same. impro\,ements to the door at the rear of the ,-an, th.e proyision of more seating accommodation inside the van. and a qUIcker a:rangement for attaching and detaching the sbafts. th.at the "an mlgh.t. be altered from a one-horse to a t,\'O-horse \'ehlcle with more expedltlOn th tn is at present the case. The visitOrs. amongst other questions. asked the Superintendent ho\\' far the \'ehiclt bad tra\'elled, and expressed much surprise on being told tbat :\1 r. Hargreayes had tra\'elled .).00 miles in it and had not been to every case. They thought it was a great credit to the tOll'n and to the Di\'ision to see the interior of the van kept in such a splendid condition it really did not look as though it had travelled 20 miles. and. in fact, almost looked as though it had not been useJ at all.

JUST PUBLISHED lHoth, 142 pp. Is. 6d. Ne t .

With 60 Illustra ti ons fr om Ph ot ographs.

PRACTICAL FI ST AID.

By WM. ROBERTSON, M.D. , D,P.H

to the ,'t. .111d, II rlld St. John A mbuZonce .1'.,(wi

On the mJrning of 2Jrd June. a further detachment lance firemen left \Y:J.terloo f,w outhampton. whence. on the AIII/auils Ca tle. they proceeded to outh :-\frica to join comrades at the Imperial Yeom:lOry B::tse Hospital at Dellfont.elO. The men were drawn from roe foilowing fire higades (Cornwall). DUI\·en. Brierfield (Lancs.). elY :\falden and COCklOO'ton (Torquay). At the station. where tbey pa;aded with of the \Tol.mteer :\Iedical Staff Corps under the command of ChIef Officer Dr. Ettles, they were inspected by Lady GeorO'lDa Cu:zon, wbo ha.nded each the hospital badge and who was much pleased with the. efficIency and smartness of the men. The firemen had been by the kmdness of the Churchwardens and Ol·erseers. quartered at the \-eslr), Hall, :\1inories. and drilled, by permission of the Trinity House. in the Trinity Square Gardens. The men were trained by Dr. Ettles and :\1r. Poncerot. Second Officer. On Friday. the 22nd. they \I-ere inspected an_d .examined by _\bjor Francis Russell. Chief urgeon to the. C nIon. The despatch of this coming-ent possesses more than usual Interest. inasmnch as the military aUthorities haye thus officially accepted the certific:lte of the Ambulance Department, of which these men are the first recipients under the ne,,' scheme.

1Ro\?aI BgricnItnraI ShO\\).

THE John Ambulance Brigade again undertook ambulance duty at the Royal Show at York. The station, which was as usual furnished by Crisp & Co., of London. attracted a great deal of attentio') -amongH the large number of "isitOrs. During the week upwards of 70 c:tses, none of which were of a serious nature, treated :It the station. The fo!lo,,-ing gentlemen acted as taff :-Drs. E\'e!yn, Forster, Hood. :\letcalf. and LonO', and "ere most assiduous in' their duties. The ambulance consisted of ambulance men from London and York. and 1'.'ursing isters from Hull. Brigade C:-.ief uperintendent Church Br::tsier was as usual in ch::trge.

-\Ye rearet to announ.:e that the Article on Home Hygiene," by is nna\'oidably held O\-er this month.-Edito<

:ffire\)ities

TID country ha- again been scorched by a "heat-wa,e ." call-ing the list of ca among t men and animals. If we only had thp courage to uit our clothing to the weather. how mnch suffering v-ould be si1ved. It i . ing to :::nen mo\ing about the treet in the u nal black frock cout, wai and ,ilk hat , Tho e were sen.:::ible enough to wear straw bat'. thin and a waistcoat bad a distinct advantage o,er their bretl1len. ,Y e think that the medical ought to set the example in the matter of wearing clothing allapted to the tropical weather. The gentler certainly score o,er the male kind in respects. They throw on one the cloth gal'menti"., changing them for the cotton and silk. and we hope they are equally sensible in regal'll to their other clothing

.Ax American doctor who* made orne til' in London twenty-three year ago just died . W e refer to Dr. Benjamin Howard of X ew York, the originator of the "tlirect ,. method of artificial renpiration Donbtles:, there we many firt-aiders who are acquainted with thi method, but 'we think that it could, with ad,antage, be taught more generally in ambulance cla than i t is at pre ent . The L(lllcet says;-

., Another subject in which Dr. HO"'ard took an abiding interest \Ya that of ambulances for large towns. His attention had been firE[ drawn to the matter when on the battlefield of A ntietam be had suddenly become responsible for the ambulance sen'ice there. London. lS he said in his paper upon the subject read before the Society of London, is a quasi-battlefield and needs an efficient ambulance serrice; I8 years haye elapsed and lYe are but little better off than before in the way of horse ambulances, altbough mying to Dr. Howard's efforts a meeting ,ns held to consider the matter, when the general hospitals \vere represented and the Duke of Cambridge was in the chair.

*'

WE haye to congratulate *the Great N orthern Railway team on winning the "jJas ey<:'Iainmwing Cup. Thi team 'eern to be the best in the country at pl'esent, and ha earned the position by real hal'll work and unti l·iug perseyerance.

••

1b0t11e 1b\?O i ene."

B y w J. :\1 cCULLOCH ETTLES, :\ I.D., CH.:\I., ABERD_ Surgeon - in -Charge, Ambulance Department, i\"ational Fire Brigades Union.

PART XV.

Rest.-Repose and activity alt e rnate during life, the exhibition of energy with its of tissue and tear a period of rest when such t Issue may be repaIred. and fresh o Xldlsable mate r ial stored up Some bodies, or portions of bodies, do not appear to cease activity, and y e t they a ll ha \-e periods of rest; periods short indi\-idually yet so numerous that, when added up, a respectabl e total of rest is attained. Thus the heart, which is constantly beating, has, between each pair of b eats, an inten'al o f pause lasting about T\ of a ;econd. T hat is to say, the heart rests oyer 13 hours in the 2+ imibrIy there is a pause between expiration and inspiration w hich allows t h e lu ngs and muscles of respiration 3 or + h ours a day. It

would be ,-ery inconvenient for us if we had to take our mental rest in such small and frequent snatches, and nature has so arranged it that the body generally shall have its brain and muscle rest in one long period of sleep. Rest of course is not synonymous with sleep. Rest may be partial. and tbat is secured by aitering the channel in which energy is being given off. Thus the mechanical hobby of carpentering will give rest to the brain of the mental worker and, similarly, intellectual study will be d pleasant change to the artizan.

S/2.ep.- The phenomena of sleep are interesting. In tbe first place. tbe muscles relax and the relaxation of those ele,-ating the upper lid causes the eyes to become closed. vision, then, next disappears. The thoughts wander and the faculty of mental concentration becomes 105l. Last of all, the faculty of hearing is lulled "-hen sleep is not \'ery deep, the thoughts are generated, but not being corrected by the senses d hearing or seeing. they run riot in the shape ot dreams. Dreams take place with great rapidity, and what may seem to be of great length and full of detail has in reality occupied but a few seconds.

All the body is not at rest during sleep, thus the heart and lungs are working. also the digesti"e organs, but not ,-ery actiyely. The nen-ous system is partiallya,vake sending treams of impulses to the yisrera and TO the tissues. It would seem that the br;,in is in some degree conscious of the passage of time, as most people can wake at an unusually early hour if they wish to.

The tWO main features of the sleep condition are (r) oxidation and the body temperature are less, and (1) the repair of worn tissue, tbat is assimilation, is more actiYe.

Too little sleep results in a lowering of physical aCti,-ity accompanied with a feeling of cold and misery. _-\ sign of great fatigue due to this is the inability to sleep wben an opportunity presents itself.

Too milch sleep brings about a dulnes:; of apprehension and a lessening of the will power of the indi,-idual.

Age - The ne\"dy born infant sleeps all tbrough the 2+ hours, and only wakes to be fed. The waking bours become longer, but the child of a tweh-emonth needs 4 hours during the day; at 2 years:! hours; and, at 3 years. the day sleep can be done without.

Sr x -On account of their o\,n highly sensitiye systems. women require more sleep than men Howeyer that may be they rarely get more.

Templ!rament. - The sanguine and the neryous type sleep less long but more deeply than the lymphatic type.

Timi!.- The time nries much. _-\s to eating, a meal should not be partaken of less than t\\'O hours before retiring. As to duration, it mries with the occupation and surroundings. .-\ town dweller needs more sleep than the peasant, A brain worker needs more than tbe manual labourer. The old prol'e r b is based on sound sense: Eight work, eight hours play, eight hours sleep, and eight shillings a day.

It is yery important that the bedroom should be well \-enrilated so that tbe sleeper illay be surrounded with clean fresh air.

Insoml/ia or is a common result of the stress of competition existing in large One of the best m.ethods of treatment is to take more muscular exerCIse, the body energy IS used up and the brain cannot manufacture crowding thoughts. The worst method is the habit of takinO' narcotics or soporifics, these make tbe e\'il worse, the unfortunate becomes addicted to their use and often dies suddenly of an oyerdose

Oleanliness.- The skin of the body 1S dJ\'Jded IDto two main layers the true skin or dermis and the scarf skin or tp idi!1m is. T he bears on its surface number of finger-like projections or p::tpillae. Packed between, around,. and Uyer a:ethe cells of the epidermis. f hose nearest the dermiS are filled WIth hnng protoplasm and rapidly grow by di " id ing; those at the surface are dry, dead or horny.

The dead cells are always l:Jeing remo\-ed at the i.n the form of" scurf," and t h ose at the deep layers are constantly dlVldtng to make up the loss.

Penetrating tbe horny layer are n umbers of mlDute tubes, endtng below in a coil surrounded by blood \'essels. These are the sweat glands or ducts They are so minute that, unra \'elled and stretched out, each is onl':}' about a qU:lner of an mch m length, yet so numerous are th,}' that it has been calculated that there a re about 2 miles of tubes in the s k in. Thlls in the ::tggregate they represent a larae excretory organ.

LectureI'

FIRST

In addition to the sweat glands, the skin con.tain.s hairs. b.air is embedded in a small tunnel at tbe base of whIch IS a bulb contalnmg blood vessels. Attached to the sides of the hair tunn els, as well as opening out to the. skin where hairs do not are tiny glands secreting an ally material termed sebum. The ollfice of thesese baoe? us glands sometimes becomes clogged, and the contents accumulatmg behind cause the familiar "black head, " wben very numerous they inflame and the sk in disease known as "Acne" is set up. This sebaceous material becomes mixed with the cas.t off layers of epithelium, and with dust and dirt. Sweat a ls,o mto the position of this refuse layer and, unless the d ebTls were by L'equent washing, skin disease would soon result. greasl.ness of the mixture resists the action of water, and to overcome It soap IS used. Soap is manufactured on the following lines :.-A fat or oil is up on by an alkali, such potas.h. The s'pltts up the. fat mto glycerine, and a fatty aCId ThIs lat.te.r unItes With the alkallOe to form soap. If a potassIUm IS used a soft soap results, .If. a sod ium alkali a h ard soap. There IS al ways a soa p, so that when a solution is appl!ed to the skin, free splIts up the sebaceous fats with glycenne and fatty aCids, all of which are so luble and may be washed away. The water softens the dead horny superficial ce lls of the epidermis, and the friction of the towel removes them. At the same time the orifice of both s weat and sebaceous glands a re opened and freed from obstruction.

Baths are necessary in order that the skm of the lImbs and trunk may receive proper cleansing. T?ey are also because of their refreshing and pleasurable actIOn. The tub, now suc h a national institution, was not always charactenstlc of the race. The most noble and exalted Order of the Bath, so we are informed by Sir Edwin Chadwick, owed its in cep tio n to the fact that some Norman Knights refused. t? associate. with great but unwashed. fellow courtiers AdmISSIOn to theIr fraterntty could only be obtamed by devotion to cleanliness.

When the temperature of the water of a bath is above t he n o rmal body temperature (98.4° it is known as.a hot bath, when below this point but above 95°, It IS a wa"!Jl bath, while the tep7d bath ranges roO below this. Below 85° it is a cold bath. The warm and the cold bath have quite opposite immediate effects upon the body.

T he warm bath is the most efficient for cleansing- purposes, as it more readily softens the skin debris. The skin blood vessels are dilated, the skin becomes reddened, and perspires more freely. Following on this is a reaction, during which the skin vessels become contracted and there is a sensation of chilliness.

The cold bath, on the o ther band, produces a shock due to the sudden cooling of the body. The skin vessels are contracted. During the reaction the vessels dilate so that the skin becomes red and there is a glow of warmth and freshness. The cold bath, indeed, is le ss a cleansing agent than it is a tonic, thoroughly awakening the system and hardening it against susta ining chills easily.

Swimming is a delightful method of combi ning bathing with muscular exercise. It is not so ill uch a n accomplishment as a necessary part of a well ordered individual's education.

Fortunately for the community, the public baths and the atten tion bestowed to the teaching by the Board School are doing much to secure this In the poorer classes it may safely be said that roo per cent. more of the children can swim than of the ad ults. There is a sudden pi unge into the water and then, by the progression, fresh layers of water are constantly coming in contact with and cool in g the surface of the body.

It is dangerous o dive in soon after a full meal, at least two hours should elapse, and it is also bad to swim with a n empty stomach. If sw imming before breakfast, a few biscuits should be previ ously eaten.

A know led ge of this art is of especial value to the first-aide,. He is taught how to resu sc itate the apparently drowned, and to complete his knowledge he ought to know h ow to rescue the patient from the water.

The hair ought to be brushed and com bed daily. If brushed sufficiently, the sebaceous glands surrounding the bair shaft pour out their oily secretion and gi"e the hair its natural glossiness. It is not wise to wash oo often with soap and water. To wash away this fat is to leave the ha ir dry and liable to break easily.

The nails should not be rounded off at the corners but these left a little sq uare to prevent ingrowing and give strength to the nail. The scarf skin at the base should be pushed back so as to expose the white "lunula." Any redundancy of this skin sh ou ld be removed with curved scissors.

The teeth ought to be taken great care of as they well repay the attention. ,Vben not cleaned, food accumulates between them and soon decomposes, causing offensive odours in the breath a nd produc!ng rapid decay.

The cleansing should be done after meals, or at least at niahts as the fo?d does not. then lie in contact with .during sleep.' Two are done a.t the wrong. tlme-wmding the watch at night and cleanmg the teeth 111 the morn mg. Any holes in the teeth st?pped by the d e ntist as as The decayed portIOn IS dnl.led away and a hard enanlel or other stopping is ThIS makes the tooth practlcall y as good as new. If neglected, the canes extends so that the crown becomes a shell exposing the tender pulp and making the tooth worse than useless.

AID. [August, 1900.

'UUlar tilnbuIance . COMMENTS ON THE WAR.

By CHIRURGUS.

THE most important matter that has occurred this last month is the charges of neglect, &c., that have been brought a:'ainst the military authorities by the Special Correspondent of the Times, Mr. Burdett Coutts, published in that Journal on the :n'th Jime. His lettfll' is a long one (one of a series) coverinO' thl'ee columns, and difficult to condense. The hospitaL" he refers to are situated at. Bloemfontein, the Capital of the late Orange Fl'ee State, wInch was captured by Lord Robeds aftel' a long forced march and held by him as an advanced base. The charges are, shOl·tIJ: insufficient accommodation in the way of beds, mattl'esses and medical supplies, improper methods of transport of sick soldiers, overcrowding of the hospitals which were also ur.der-staffed. I give one 01' two extracts, but my readers to the article itself.

f)n that night (Saturday the 28th of [ this reiers to the night of the dinner of the Reform Club when SIr W. MacCormac :lI1d Mr. Treves spoke] hundr eds of men to my knowledge lying in the worst staaes of typho id, with only a blanket and a thm waterp roof sheet (not even the latter for many of them) between their aching bodies and the h a rd grounJ, with no milk and hardly any medicines, without beds stretchers or mattresses, without pillows, without linen of any kind' without a' sin ale nurse amongst them, with only a few ordinary soldiers to as "orderlies," rough and utterly. untrained to nursing, and with only three doctors to attend on 350 There were none of the co nditi ons of a forced march about thIS. It was a mile from Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free St a te, a large town which we had occupied for more than six weeks, with a line of railway to two sea ports, along which thousands of trooFs and countless trainloads of stores and equipment of all kinds, and for every J ne except the sick, had been moving up during the whole of that leisurely halting time. About the same day a convoy of wounded men were bemg subjected to nameless torture for want ?f any transport or the s implest comforts, huddled together m rough spnng less ox-wagons, jolted aver spruit and drift for 40 miles; the road being strategically safe and their destination this same Bloemfontein, provided with most things except appliances. for the wounded. we re two typical instances 01 the state of thll1gs here on the 28th A pnl.

The following refel's to a field hospital at Bloemfontein:There is no need to pil e on the agony, but worse remains behind which must be told. Therefore I will pass over an incidental visit to the hospital aftera heavy rain, many. of the had increased-were to be seen lyll1g three Inches deep 111 mud, and come to my last visit, four days ago, on my way down to the fr.ont. The chief medical office r had been changed; from all reports thIS one was as painstaking as the last. He told me that at one time patients h ad increased to 496! Three hundred of the se were typhOId s The few trained orderlies had been mostly taken away; in their place were 25 untrained and ignora nt privates from an infantry regiment, most of whom were them selves" convalescents," to do the whole of the nur sing.

Let the" Manual" throw its own light on this. The patients here were within 24 of the number (520) allotted to a general hospital. A general hospital has 20 medical men 78 .trained .nursing orderlles,. 27 untrained privates, and 9 nurses. The Sick far more at,entlOn and nur si ng than the wounded; the gen er al hospltal:o at equipped as aboye, were occupied by wo unded. Here wa s.thls hospital crowded wi th typhOId left to three doctors, 25 un trall1ed privates and no nurses.

\iVith one more incider.t graver than all the rest, the dark history of a field hospital at Bloemfontein must close. On the occasion 01 my last visit the had been almost emptied, as it was to move on to the fron t. I n the course of this process 20 of the worst cases were removed to a more permanent hospital a mile and half off. How were they taken? They were lifted out of their tents and put in to rough ox-carts-all typhoids and many of them dangerously ill-and then jolted across the veldt, which in this place is much broken by spruits and gullies. One case was in a state of " hremorrhage " when moved. The order had come t o evacuate the hospital; the medical officer had no choice but to obey; there were no ambulances. In three days four of these 20 were dead men.

These are very grave charges to bring against the authorities. Whether thbse conditions n,re a natural re s ult of war or whether they aFe avoidable is the object of inquiry by a Commission appointed by the Goverl\ment and which will proceed to South Africa to hold an investigation.

A u gust , 19 00. J FIRST

In reference to the undel'manning of the ' hospitals. I see that I wrote in the A pl'il issue of this J ommal "Now what does this mean if we read between the lines? It means that the medical or ambulance machinery ' is in danger of breaking down and strong measures will h ave to be taken to avoid a catastrophe." Were my words prophetie? In face of the inquil'J now being held I refrain from any further cumments.

A BOER AMBULANCE IN NATAL.

Mr. G. O. Moorhead , an Engli sh meJical man who was commandeered by the Transvaal Ambulance Servi ce to accompany the invading army into Natal, sends the openinschapter of his experiences t o the Corllhill Magazine, and very remarkable those experiences were. W.hatever the defects of your own ho spita l arrangements, they wip compare favourably with those of the enemy, whicb were least in those early stages of the war with which the writer deals. It was of no use appealing to officers, or even to General Joubert himself, for necessaries for the wounded. The on ly result was a promise that the matter would be looked into or they would see what could be done, and there was an end of it. After T a lana the narrator and a German doctor did their best for seventy wounded Boers, two British o fficers, and three pri vates in a farmhouse. "The night was dark a nd sto rmy, there were no lantern s and everybody was exha usted, so I had reluctantly to postpone the search for the wounded till the morning. The Boers, moreover, were frightened to go out. M orn ing at last broke, and my first thought was about the unfortunates who might be lying out where they fell. I found the kitchen already full of B oers drinking co ffee, and at first not one would stir a step, but by hustling them out ro ughly, dashing their cups from their hands, and in other ways startling them, I forced three stretcher parties out to look for their bret hren. Nor was their search in vain, f(ilr three or four men were found and bro ught in, one of whom had been forcibly robbed by natives of his macki ntosh the night before." There is much more in this contribution that forcibly con veys the attitude of the Boers at th e begi nning of the war and during the siege of L adysm ith.

The following letter is very interesting :-:\Ir. Chamberlain, of Newark Street, Leicester, has received a letter from Private F. W. Cox, who as a member of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, volunteered for serv ce in South Africa, and was attached to the I mperial Yeomanry Field Hospi tal. On the 7th June, hi s ambulance was captured by the Boers, when on the march to Teifonte in. The writer, who dates his lette r from" The battlefield of R oodevaa ," says: They ordered us not to move until they had reported it to their commandant. This was abo ut eleven in the morning. There was a big battle going on higher up, at a station named R oodeva l. A bout two o'clock one of their field co rnet s came to us, and said we co uld come up and attend to our wounded men, as the rest of them had had to surrender, and I thank God we were so near to them, as I don't know what the poor wound ed men would have done. At the station we found eight killed and fourteen wounded. The Boers had taken everything at the place, and were looting right and left, and the worst part of it was there ",e re five truck lo ads of letters and parcels for our troop s out here. [ 0 see t he ca kes, chocolate, &c., lying a ll over the place-it did seem hard indeed, b ut we had not come to the worst part of it yet. About two miles from the statioll, the Derbyshire Militia were guarding one of the bridges, and when we arrived there we found over thirty killed and more than one hundred wounded men, and they had taken over seven hundred prisoners, I am sorry to say. \Ve were at it all night, attending to the men, and fetc hing them in, and I shall never forget the sight in all my life. But I must have a word to say in refer ence to our treatment by the Boers. vVe could not have been treated better when the commandant, De \Vot, was his name, found out for himself we were really a hospital, he gave orders th at none of our stores were to be touched, and he sent in twenty sheep for us, and promised to send in some more if timl! would permit, but it d id not do so, as, on the loth he sent in word we had got to clear out three miles away, as there was a larO'e body of troops coming, and a big battle expected. It started on the of the I rth, but the Boers did not stop to face the music, and at 2.30 Lord Kitchener, Lord Methuen, and Lord Chesham rode in at the h ead of a large force, and we are still here, as we have a lot of sick.

The following letter has been received by Ur. Turner. of Leicester, from Private H. Garner, 4th General Hospital, Moo i River, Natal.Dear 1'.1r. Turner-I have now a few minutes to spare, so will pencil a few lines to you. It is now ten minutes past midnight, Saturday, June 9th. I am putting in another 36 hours at a stretch, but cannot grumble to·night, as most of the patients are sleeping well. I did my usual duty to-day Then, just as I was going, as I hoped, for a comfortable night'& rest, I was called out for special duty, having five tents to walk rou n d eyery h alf-hour. We have some of the Leicester Regimen in

A I D. 11

hospital here. Well, one thing I am pleased to say, we get very good food, and plenty of it ; a little bit rough, you know, but n othing much to grumble at. We are at one of the best ho spi tals in Natal , supposed to be the highest and healthies t. This is where the Boers first commenced operations, I have beeri up to see the spot where the British first planted their naval gun. The Boers fired on a ra il way bridge about thirty yards from here , but did very little damage. I went to see General Woodgate's grave the first day we landed here. They gave us the day off, and afcer travelling so long I assure you we wanted it. G enera l Woodgate died in this hospital, and is buried at :'Iooi Chu rch I am quite satisfied with my place. The weather is very treacherous at present, it is about eight degrees of frost at night, then unbearabh' hot in the daytime Oranges and bananas were growing simply Iwild at Durban, where it is warmer. Fruit is very cheap, pineapples can be purchased at twopence each. I do not think at the ra te we are going on the war can last much longer. J hope we shall all be at home for Christmas. The majority of the cases here are enteric and dysentery The hospital is situated in a lovely spot, hi gh hills cover us in and shelter u s Kindly remember us to all the office rs of the Corps, and say we are very happy and have plenty of work to do.

The following is a letter from Staff-Sergeant Graham who is with the 21st Field Hospital:r thought I would take the liberty to write a few lines to you, having a little time on my hands. We had a very nice passage to the Cape, arriving there on April roth. After staving there three or four days we embarked on the Pavonia for Port Elizabeth, which port we reached in about three days. We entrained for Edinburg the day after, where we left our kit bag, and the day after we commenced marching to try and catch our Brigade, the r6th, to which we are attached. \Ve caught our Brigade at a place called DelVetsdorp, after a har l week's marching, we then marched on with them till we reached Thabanachu, where we pitched H ospital. That was on April 28th. On May 1st we were shelled out by the Boers and had to remove our camp to the ot her side of the town out of range of the Boer guns. It was rather a rouah experience pulling the tents down and the shells d ropping all arounbd u s, but r am glad to say that none of us were hit although one of the shells dropped within a few feet of one of our men. \Ve stayed at Thabanachu un til May 8th, then jou rn eyed on to a place called Eden, and then on aO';lin to a place called Trummel. vVe stayed at the lastnamed place about a week, and then got orders. to march (;)11 with. the Brigade to a pla ce called S enekal, the Boers being reported to be a strong position. \Ve arrived there on ;\lay 28th, and on the followmg morning \\ e marched to a place called Biddulphsdorp, where the Boers were. The Artillery then opened fire with twelve guns but the range was too far and they could not dislodge the big gun of the Boers on t.he top of the hill. The General then gave the order for the GrenadIer Guards to take the hill, so off they started, but before they got to the foot of the hill they r eceived a deadly rifle fire from the Boers, with the resu lt that they were shot down by scores, and to make matters worse the Boers set fire to the veldt and many of the wounded that ,ver e helpless were roasteJ to death. It was an awful night for us, the wounded be in O' brolwh t in all through the night, and by 8 o'clock in the mornin a had ove r 100 wounded in, so you may judge what a night we habd. I managed to get an hour's sleep between three and four in the morning. The next afternoon we fell back on Senekel, the authorit ies turning a Church into a hospital. We left the day after and at present we are at Klip Drift Nek and we shall probably stay here a few days as we haye the Boers all surrounded.

Our readers will hear with great regret of the death of Li eut .-C ol. James S. Forrester, Royal Horse Guards. He served 111 the Egyptian \Var of, 18 2, a.nd has. been in the. present war in c.harge of Princess Christian s H ospita l trall1, work which he greatly enjoyed. He died in Cape Town. He wa s an Esquire of the Order of St. .1.ohn of Jerusalem. He occasionally officiated as Judge at the competitIOns of the St. John Ambulance :\ssocia tion, and will be remembered by many in that capacity.

BIRMTNGH.Ul AND DISTRI CT AlIfBULANCE BRIGADE.-The annual demonstration and sports in con nection with the above to?k place on Saturday, June 30th, at l\lalvern Park, Solihull, near Blrmlllg.ham. Exhibitions of first aid was rendered by members of the fire bngade police, G.W.R.; Snow Hill, Severn Street, Highga te G.:V.R.; Ho ckley, Kynochs, Belmont Row, l\I.R. ; Lawley Street, Burh.ngton Hall, L. and N.W.R. Crozon Street, l\1.R., Central Sparkhlll, L. and N.\V.R. ; Aston Lo co., L. and N. W.R.; ;\Tonument Lane and other divi sions The demonstration was as follo\\'s :-(r) Treatment for scalp wound. (2) W ound of the chest. (3) Shoulder. (.!-) (5) Fractured collar bone (6) Jaw. (7) Fore.arm. A,rtlficlal respiration. (9) Treatmen for fractures, WIth st.retcher exerc,se and methods of carrying inj ured persons. The medical attached to each division were in attend wce. After the demonstratIOn was over, sports were indulged in.

FIRST FIRST AID

A lfBlfSl 1, 1900.

Whether it was wise at the THE SOUTII present time on the part of :Mr. HOf;PITALS ENQUIRY. Burdett-Coutts to bring forward his charges against the Hospital administration in South Africa is a very moot point. Our task in South Africa is, apparently, far from finished yet, and it may be months before Lord Robel'ts consents to the depletion of his force by a single

With the general scope of the enqUIry we do not at present propose to deal as it is much better w.hile the matter is sub j ?ldice that comments should not blj mdulged in too fl'eely, but we do venture to suggest to the authorities at St. John's Gate the necessity for carefully following the evidence which will be given before the Commission; indeed it appears to us that the Brigade should ask for permission for a representative to be a llowed to accompany it to South Africa. OUT objec.t in suggesting course is two-fold. In the first place It m'J.st be borne 111 mind that the Brigade is now, for the first time since its inauguration, engaged in carrying out duties for which sume people consider its members have not been l:'>dequately trained In his evidence the other day, Dr. Watson Cheyne is reported to have said that" he was satisfied with everything he saw, except at Paardeberg where he thought the ordel'lies did nov seem up to the work. On enquiry he was told they were St. John Ambulance men." Now this statement is so diametricfLlly opposed to reports which we have received from time to time that weshouldlike to see fnrther enquiries made as to its authenticity and a lso as to some proof of the statement It seems strange, on the face of such evidence, to learn how a large number of St. John men are engaged in the enteric wards, bearing in mind that this disec..se requires the most careful and skilled nursing. Our second reason for desiring the attendance of one of the senior officnrs of the Brigade in South Africa is that we think it is highly desirable that those connected with the future wOI'king of the organization sheuld see how the }lresent system works and ascertain from the members at the hont details as to their duties, treatment, &c. It will be borne in mind that the services of the otl:icers of the Brigade-either medical or ambulance·--could not be accepted by the Army Medical Department, supernumerary officers and men only being permitted to volunteer. This hard and fast rule natura.lly, at the time, caused some heal't burning, as it was felt, and justly so, that the officers, many of whom had given both time and money to p6rfect the members of their respective corps in ambulance work, should have, been granted facilities to proceed to the front with their men. This is a matter which we know many of the leading officel's in the Brigade desire to see remedied in the future, and this can be more effectually secured if the interests of the Bl'igade are safeguarrl ed by the presence of one of its heads at the Enquiry now proceeding.

tinlbuIance anb lbome:::=1F\ursing.

ADDRESS BY DR, COLLIE, LON DON SCHOOL BOARD SUPERINTENDENT.

At the meeting of the M.B,T A, at the end of June, Dr. Collie, the newly-appoinleci Superintendent of the London School Board Evening for Ambulance and HomeNursing, gave an address from which we extract the followi ng :_

!he subjec:ts of ambulance a nd home-nursing, said Dr, Collie, are dady ,thrustIng themselves more and more prominently upon our attention; and It has occurred to me that a few words this evening

A I D'. [August, 1900.

upon the scope of these subjects will not be unwelcome First of all, allow me to say with all the emphasis in my power, that although for many years I have been deeply interested in ambulance and its teachina I flatter myself I am not a blind enthusiast. In the Board's of 29th May, there appeared the announcement of my appointment as Medical Superintendent of the Board 's Ambulance and Home-Nursin O' Classes, and side by side with it this paragraph :-

" Resolved, '" that teachers assisting the doctors, hold the Board's certificate in the subject they are to teach, or, for the present, be other. wise qualified in the opin ion of .the Commi,ttee. ,In to affo rd opportunities for teachers to obtam the s It IS to hold a course of six lectures by medical practitIOners, commencmg immediately after Whitsun tide."

Now I can well understand and even sympathise with any here who like the early Christian, resented additional ,( heavy burdens and to be borne 11 being laid upon them, and I frankly confess fhat the rrrowinO' accumulation of subjects to be taught, and therefore firqt to by you, justifies this apprehension. '.'

The School Board for London has n ow resol ved to Issue Its own certificate of proficiency both in First Aid and Nursing , The course is to consist of twel ve lectures, six tc be deli vered by the doctor and six by the teacher. The Board has also decreed that all intending teachers shall h01d the Board's certificate (or for the present be other· wise qualified in tl:e opinion of the I now 7?0 teachers undergoinO' short courses to qualify for the certificate, and III a few weeks I shall"'have the pleasure of meeting these 700 ladies and rrentlemen at what I confess used to have a most abject horror ofthe examination table. The amb ulan ce and nursing classes of the Board have up to the pre sent consisted of twenty-fo.ur, and even more, meetings. It was feit that thiS an unnecessanly prolonged course, The various ambulance sOCIeties content themselves with about a fourth of this number of lessons. VVhen I tell you that thousands of classes are taught outside the of the Schoo l Board for London, that these are composed of boys' railway servants, miners in pit villages, that the course consists of five (with occasionally a couple of coaching les.sons thrown Ill), you WIll readily understand the difE.:ulty.in prolon.glng .beyond twe.lve lessons su bjects so necessarily as F.lrst AI,d and ursmg. In teaching nursing, 1 know It IS the Wish of IllfiuentJaI members of the Board that the subject shall be taught from what I may call essentiallya utilitarian point of view. ,., We must reme::Jber that in teaching the poor, It Will be WIde of the mark to teach the well-known and expensive appliances of the hospi. tals or the homes of the well-to-do, Our object (and here our art as teachers will show itself) must be to show how the common inexpen sive things of everyday life may be utilised in We sha,ll to show how to chanO'e the sheets without disturblllg the patient In extreme exhaustion. "'That a clothes-rail with a blanket or a gre.:.t coat ove\' it is as good as the best hosp!tal screen, .that. a stone filled with boiling water and jacketed With a stockmg IS a? effiCIent as the india-rubber hot water bottle and that to open the wllldow and shade off a draught is a thousand' times better than the rich man's patent ventilators, clogged with dust, and more than open, One feels almost inclined to smile at these sllnpbcltles, Those who know the poor (and one member at least of our Board, I am thankful to say, does) know well that it is in teaching simple homely everyd ay methods of extemporising what may be to hand that we shall be most helpful to our pupils and their future charges

And now one word about the examinations and I am done. BeSides organising the Board s classes-a duty arduous I find, b:lt J?ost pleasant-I have the responsibility of conducting th,e My experience as examiner of s?me years stand,lllg has irresistibly forced upon me the that these subjects are favourite studies, and are eagerly, Illtelhgently, and thoroughly studied

August, 1900.J

FIRST AID.

HON. SURGEON JOHN BROWN, L.R.C,P., L. R,C.8" CYCLIST DIVISION, CORPS, ST. AMBULANCE BRIG.ADE.

THERE are few more popular Surgeons in the St. John Ambulance Brigade than the gentleman whose portrait we reprod uce in our gallery this month.

Dr. Brown commenced his medical career in the Royal l' avy, and while in that branch of Her Majesty's forces he served on the N Ol'th American and V\Test Indian Stations, also with the Channel on the Mediterranean Station. On returning to Englrwd in the year 1870, he went into general practice in the South of London, in whieh neighbourhood he has resided almost continuously since.

It was in 1892 that the subject of our sketch fil'St commenced to take an interest in ambulance work in connection with the employes of the Post Office, in which service he holds the position of medical officer. In 1897 he was appointed one of the Honorary Surgeons to the Cyclist Division of the Ietropolitan Corps,

Dr. Brown is an Honol'al'Y Life Member of the St, John Ambnhnce Association, and an Honorary Associate of the Order of the Hospital of St, John of J erusalem, and as a pi'oof of his unselfish devotion to ambulance work, ,ye may mention that he has now for some years past lectured gratuitously to ambulance classes in connection with Railway and the Fii'e Services, and among the members of the latter force, there is no more popular personage in ambulance work t.han their chatty and genial lecturer. As a naval man, he comes amongst them as one of themselves, and we know of no other medical man who could so thoroughly gain their confidence and attention.

During the mobilisation of the Rt. J uhn Ambulance Brigade for service in South Aft-ica, Hon. Surgeon Brown gave several courses of lectures on N ul'sing to men proceeding to the front, indeed it is undoubtedly due to this gentleman, and to Chief Snrgeon Osborn and Hon. Surgeon Carvell, that many of the men who wel'e sent out were so well posted in their duties as hospital orderlies, and that they bave so thoroughly mainta.ined the prestige and character of the Brigade, and wo sincel'ely trust tha.t at the proper time this signal and unselfish devotion to tho work will be adequately l'ecognised.

Mud: more could be wi'itten about lJI'. BI'OWn'S earne t efforts in connection with the voluntary work 11e loyes 0 well, but many of our l'eaders already possess pl'oofs of this, and we are sure that we are but voicing their wishes when we velltUl'e to express tho hope that it may be many a long year befOle ambuln noe work loses the valuable aid f\,ncl genial presence of one of its most popular and courteous exponents-Dr. "Navy" Brown.

(torresponbence.

PROPOSED MEMORIAL FOR ST. JOHN AMBULAKCE MEN.

Sir, To the Editol of" FIRST AID."

S,ome of t?e St. J Ambulance Brigade who proceeded to South <l:t their c.ountry s call, have sealed their devotion by their lives.

I thll1k It only fight that some notice should be taken of their heroism and would suggest th at a brass tearing their names be placed in Church of St. John.

I shall be to give a subscription for this purpose and also to receive from any others like subscriptions, no matter however small, to the memory of those who ha ve so well upheld the old traditions of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in England.-I have the honour to be, Sir, yours obediently,

SAM OSBORN.

10, Devonshire Street, Portland Place, W.

Dear Sir, FROM SOUTH AFRICA.

1 wish to point out something which has no doubt been overlooked by those in authority of the St. John Ambulance Brigade.

The Staff Sergeants who have come out here on active service have a small grievance, they only get the same pay as the St. John Ambulance Brigade Sergeants, but have to undertake far more responsible duties, Originally they intended to do duty as sergeants, but they have had and are domg duty as Staff Sergeant Quartermaster Sergeant, Divisional Ward master, Chief and also as Sergeant lVlaJor, Now th ey do not grumble at the work and I believe all are giving satisfaction in the way their duties are carried out so I think these men deserve some recognition for these services. I would suggest that they should be made Hon, Serving Brothers of the Order, or that they should have a bar for" special service" given with the John Ambulance Brigade medal. should like to hear the op;nion of a few more on this snbject.-I remain, yours faithfully,

Field Forces, South Africa, 4th :July, 1900.

To the Editor of" FIBST Am,"

S.J.A.B, THE OLDHAl\I CORONER AND THE ST. JOHN Ai\IBULANCE ASSOCLO\ TION.

Sir,-I have read with appreciation your remarks on the in q uest held by me, and its results. l\Iay I say in your co lumns, that immediately after the inquest .r .w rote to the Chief Secretary , enclosing newspaper report, and pomtmg out that Jackson ought not to ha\'e abandoned his patient in such a case until he was in the hands of a Surgeon acd forwarded him also a letter published by J;ockson, which impudently held that in putting the man in a cab and sending him off to the Infirmary t\\"o miles away, he had done all th at was necessary, and asserted his own competence to deal with h remorr hage I asked that all this should be laid before the Committee. The ap pearance of the astonishing letters from the Chief Secretary to Jackson was therefore at once followed by a letter of protest from me. The resulting correspondence will shortly be published, and your readers will have an opportunity of judging how far the Central Executive Committee have succeeded in justifying themselves -1 am: Sir, &c., Oldham, Jltl)', 1900. GEORGE THOMSON.

1RaiIwa\? tinlbuIance.

SO UTH·EASTERN RAri_"';'Y A:--IBULANCE ARRA0:GD1ENTS,-The following cutting from the Hospital Saturday FUlld Journal will be of interest to the men in the employ of the South·Eastern Company at Ashford who have taken up first aid work :-" The Ambulance arrangements at the Longhedge Works of the South·Eastern and Chatham Railway are deserving of special notice, There are four of our Ambulance Boxes here, under the charge of Messrs. A, L. Cummings, G. E. Fuller, J. Ward and T, vVright. Other men at these works well known for their active interest in the work of the Fund are Messrs. W. F, Chalkley, E. Banks and W. H, Trimlett. Stretchers have been made to pattern, and are kept with the Ambulance Boxes and other appliances in lockers made for the purpose. An Ambulance Coach has been fitted up and is kept ready for use. There is a larg:e staff of competent aiders, In amb ulan ce matters we do not think that even WoolWIch Arsenal can compare favourably with the Longhedge 'Yorks."

RAILlVAY MEN'S AMBULANr:E COMPETITION, The annual competition promoted by the Northern Division of the Railway Men's Ambulance Corps was held on June 24th, in the Belle Vue Rink, Bradford. The following teams competed :-Hunslet Sldmgs

14

(two), Bradford (two), Leeds local, Keighley, Skip.ton and Shipley. Dr. Dickie of Colne and Mr. Oaden, the Supenntendent of the Accrington'Corps, the judges. Leeds wel:e credited with I9? p.oin.ts and Keighley with I94 points of a possible 20? Dr. DIckie, III addressing- the men afterwards. said that on the prevIous day at Nelson he had the pleasure of examining a Lancashire Corps. He. r.ould honestly say that his task that afternoon had been a far mOle difficult one. Dr. Browne, hon. surgeon of tne Bradford Ambulance then presented the challenge cup and gold medals to the Leeds team, and silver medals to the Keighley team.

LIVERPOOL RAILWAY A:\TD A11BULANCE WORK.-

Recognising the great and increasing importance ?f ambulance. work, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Company are anxIOus that their ployees in the Liverpool district should take a thoroughly practIcal interest in the subject, and make themselves fully competent to render first aid to the injured. Accordingly, it was resolved to form a comprehensive ambulance brigade, each station of the Lancashire and Yorkshire in the district to be provided with a corps. 1\lr. W. J. Carmichael, who presided over the inaugural meeting, welcomed the formation of an ambulance brigade, and expressed his willingness to assist the movement in every possible way. M r. Carmichael was elected president of the brigade, :\1 r. F. 'Vindle, vice-president, and :\[r. C. 'V. George, secretary. It was announced that the C'ompany wOllld plesent a shield for competition, and that every facility will. be afforded with a view to ensuring the desired success of the new organisation. During the evening presentations were made to Dr. \Vilde, of Bootle, Dr. Courtney, and Mr. Smith, for the valuable assistance rendered to the ambulance class. A programme of music was also gone through.

:\1IDLAND RAILWAY.-At the :'IIidland Railway Institute, Derby, on the 26th ult., LO"d Farrer distributed the certificates and medals to the sllccessful members of the l\lidland Railway Engineers Ambulance Class. and hriefly dwelt upon the importance of ambulance work, and commended the men upon their self-sacrificing motives. He pointed out that there were over 1,000 of the employees of the :'rlidland Railway at the front, and that of the 32 members of the St. John Brigade who had gone out to the war in South Africa, half were from the works of the Company.

THE ORDER OF ST. JOHN OF JERVSALE;\I.-As Grand Prior of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in England, H.R.H. the Prince of "'ales, on the lIth ult., presented at :\Iarlboroug-h How:e the medals and certificates of honour awarded by the Chapter during the year, and the service medals recently granted for conspicuous services to the Ambulance Department. Earl Egerton of Tatton (Chancellor) having announced the name in each case, Viscoun t Knutsford read a brief statement of the actions awarded, and the medals and certificates were then handed by Major. General Sir Owen T. Burne to his Royal Highness, who bestowed them on the recipients. They included Miss Stone Milestone (i\ledical Practitioner, London), silver medal, for conspicuous conduct and presence of mind displayed at the Belgraye Hospital for Children, when, at imminent personal risk, she endeavoured to save a nu:se at the hospital whose rlress har! been set on fire by the breaking of a spirit lamp; Thomas Prince Millward (Police Constable, Liverpool), silver medal, who, under circumstances of considerable gallantry, twice descended a manhole at Liverpool and finally rescued a man namec: Harver, enveloped in flames through the upsetting of a paint pot on a hand-lamp; Sam Dakin (Inspector, Lancasbire and Yorkshile Railway, Halifax Station), silver medal, for very conspicuous conduct and presence of mind displayed at Halifax Station in rescuing- a man who bad fallen on to the rails in a dense fog just as a train was approaching; Henry Pond Thomas (late Gunner, R.H.A., now ticket collector, Metropolitan Railway), bronze medal, for very courageous conduct and presence of mind displayed at B1ackfriars Station in rescuing a man who fell on the rails as a was .approaching; Thomas Clark (Porter, Furness Kirby. StatIOn, bronze medal, for gallantry and presence of mmd 111 rescull1g a man engaged in shuntina operations; Enoch Lusty (A.B., her :'I1ajesty's ship, Ex ::ellent, Whale Island, certificate of honour. for stopping a runaway horse; IS at on service in China; HerbertLivick (late Sergeant, MIlItary PolIce, now Caretaker, Aldershot), certificate of honour, for courage and presence of mind displayed at Aldershot in rescuing a boy was thrown under the wheels of a cart; Corporal Michael Charles Hickey (Army Reservist, Royal 'Velsh Fusiliers), certificate of honour very c?nspicuous conduct displayed on May I rth, I899, in pl11g a pall' of runaway horses; Hickey is just now in South Africa. The service medals awarded for conspicuou5 services to Ambulance Department were presented to :\[r. 'Vaynman Dixon l\liddlesbrouah' lIIajor C. R. Fletcher Lutwidge, Tunbridge 'Wells; M'r. Walter Leeds; i\Ir. Stewart Crawford Wardell, and Mr. William Achrill, Stamford, M. R C.S., Honorary Surgeot; of tbe Tibself Corps. Among th.ose plesent at the ceremony were SIr H. C. Perrott, Colonel James GIldea, Colonel J. C. Dalton, illr. Edwin Freshfield Earl Amhurst Sir Villcen.t K.ennett Barrington, Major General Terry, Andrew Falrbam, L ord Mostyn, Sir James Dick, and othe r s

AlD. [August , 190 0.

$t. Jobn Bnlbulance Rssociatton .

BRISTOL.-The annual meeting of this Centre, for the distribution of medallions and certificates, took place on the 9th u t.., at the Y.M .C.A. Hall. There were present on the platform MI. F. Rlcha.rds.on Cross, F.R C.S., in the cbair, the Lord Bishop of Bristol, who dlstnbuted the prizes, Mr. Frank H. Rose, M.R.C S., L.R.C.P. (hon. secretary and clerk), Col. Steele, R.A M.C (hon Dr. Harvey, Deputycommissioner Vernon, Dr. Gnffiths (supenntendent), Dr. Rogers, and Dr. Heron. i\1r. F. H. Rose, :\LR.C.S., L.R.C. P. (hon. sec.), said they were pleased witb the work of the past year. There had been 95 male pupils, 66 of whom had gained and I32 female p u pils, 59 obtaining certificates. Since the formation of the Association in Bristol some three thousand odd men had completed their course in first-aid, between seventeen and eighteen men, and nearly a tbousatld women had completed the nursmg course, making an army of nearly thousand qualified to render first-aid in case of accident. A display was then gIven by an ambulance team from the .Netham Chemical Works The Lord Bishop, haYing distributed the prizes, gave a short address, that he regarded the work of the association as velY important. Smce the last annual meeting their work had risen to pre-eminence in the eyes of tHe nation, the Empire and the world. They heard a great deal of the generals, transport service and other things which the English people regarded as of great importance in a campaign, but one thing went nearer their hearts and was of equal importance - such work as those present had been trained to do. He thought the war had shown what individual effort could do for the nation His lordship referred to some who had aained distinction in the war and the manner in which their individual was transfused into others. They saw it, he added, in the case otB. P., as he was commonly callee, at and Gene:al 'Yhite at Ladysmith, but these leaders told them that It was on every Il1dlvldual that the success of whole t..!rned. He was glad to know that they had already sent men to South Africa from Bristol in connection with the ambulance work, and he felt sure they IVl1uld not be be h indhand. Each individual 'was responsible to God and to man. He liked to see individual training accompanied by discipline as it was in their instance. They saw the guiding hand of Providence had been them in time of peace for what they had not expected, and Bntam s successes were laraely due to their being able to meet these emergencies. tbey had to do let them do it in the most admirable manner they were capable of, and they would not only be learning to do thing excellently well, but they would be uSll1g the methods whIch ,vould help them to achieve success in whatever else they might have to do. None of them present could say in what manner during tbe next few years it might be possible for them to serve the British Empire. Thanks were accorded his Lordship on the proposition of Colonel Steele, Dr. Rogers seconding the motion

IpSWICH -The great amount of interest taken in ambulance work in Ipswich found expression on Monday evening, July 9th, when tbe annual distribution of certtficates, vouchers, and medallions took place. There was a large attendance, over which the :\1ayor (M1'. A. Churchman) presided, being supported by Brigade-Surgeon Lieut.-Col.

G. S. Elliston, Miss Coulcher Chon sec. of the Ipswich centr e of the St. John Ambulance Association), Mr. H. M. Jackaman (the borough coroner), and Harry rones (president of the Great Eastern Railway ambulance class at Ipswich). The Mayor, after a few introductory remarks, called upon Miss Caulcher, who he said, was the life and soul of ambulance work in rpswich, to read her report. "1 iss Coulcher, who was most cordially welcomed on rising, said the horse ambulance carriage had proved a very valuable adjunct to the town, having been in frequent use, not only in accidents, but for removals. The £20 granted by tbe Town Council for classes had been well spent, two classes were formed. Women's First Aid and Men's Nursing, because was expected that some of the latter might have to go to the front.

The employes of Messrs Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies, ought to be very grateful for the firm's splendid generosity in the matter of am bulance work; they paid regularly for the hire of rooms for the members of that division, and in every workshop there was a beautiful little cupboard, fitted with all the appliances that might be required. She did not suppose there was another business place in Ipswich so admirably equi pped Altogether, there were I30 certificates, against I29 last year. The great event of the year was the departure of Messrs. Woods and Brereton for South Africa. With respect to the Ipswich C orps, she still wanted a challenge shield, wh ich would cost ab o ut £20. It was an enormous incentive for all divisions to be pitted against each other in friendly rivalry. Another thing sadly wanted was a room in which they could have their meetings for practice. A great deal was paid in this way, but she had found that in other places rooms were granted free (Hear, hear. ) Coming to the question of uniforms, Miss Coulcher said it would be rather a shame that Ipswich ambulance men could not form a guard of honour for the visit of the British Medical Association, because they had no u n iform. They w u ld not have a g uard of honour of men in all sorts of uniforms. A big fete was be i ng arranged wi h h e view of provid in g fu nds for uni fo rms. T h e u se of th e g ro unds o f th e U p p er A rbo re t um had b een granted for

August, FIRST

l a st Wedne ['ida y in August, and Sir William Gatacre had promised hiS patro n age. I t was to be h oped the public would attend in large I n conclusio?, Miss Coulcher expressed the Centre's deep 1I1de!:'tedness to the med Ica l for lectures, examinations, and other se,rv lces re n dered, nearly all entIrely grat uitously, and she also paid a tnb u te to good servIces of Ladi.es' Nursing Division. BrigadeS ur geon L Ieut.-Col. G. S. EllIston, Il1 proposing a vote of tbanks to the Mayor (after his Worship had distributed the certificates, &c.), remarked that this had been an eventful year. He was sure that the pub lic would help in providing the Ipswich Corps with uniforms, wh ch he regarded as essential. The utility of the horse ambulance had been abundantly proved, and the town was indebted to Mr. F. W. Canham's generosity supplying driver, horses, and s'abling accommodatIOn. T he motIOn was then heartily carried. The Mayor su itab y returned thanks, and also paid a tribute to the work of M r. E ll iston and. Miss Ooulcher, being assured that, without that lady's efforts, t h e I pSWIch Centre would not be in its present flourishina condition (Applause.) b

$t. Jobn Bnlbulance 113rigabe.

THE report of Colonel BowdleI', the on the mobilisation of the St. John Ambulance Brigade for service in South Africa, states that for the first time in its history the hrigade has contributed to the defence of the Empire, and the experiment has proved entirely successful. The approximate strength of the brigade was 6,5 26 officers and men, and of that number 1,3I3 are serving in South Africa.

Colonel Bowdler expressed the hope that in the event of future mobil. isation of. the forces the members of the brigade, including, perhaps some of grade than those employed in the present war, may be deemed eligIble to supplement the ranks of the Royal Army Medical Corps MhTROPOLITA. CORPS.

WEST HAMPSTEAD.-H.R.H. the Princess Louise honoured \Yest Ham?stead with a visit on Wednesday evening, 4th July, when she came to the Town Hall and presented the medallions and certificates to the successful studer:ts of NO.9 District of the Metropolitan Centre of St. John Ambulance Association, of which she is president. Outside the hall a g-uard of honour was formed b y members of the Hampstead Division of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, commanded by Superintendent E. H. Evans. Her Royal Highness was received and conducted to the platform by Lieut.-General Lowry, C.B and other members of the committee. The Misses Eva and Kathleen Lowry, granddaughters of the general-who were charmingly attired as shepherdesses, and carried crooks adorned with beautiful nosegays of pink carnations and asparagus fern tied with pink ribbons-preceded the procession, and when the Princess was seated little girls presented the flowers from the crooks, which together formed a 10\'ely bouquet. The effect of this little ceremony was exceedingly pretty, and was evidently appreciated by the Royal visitor. General Lowry, vicepresident of the district and chairman of the committee, presided, and among those present were the Rev. Canon Duckworth, Sir -incent Kennett Barrington, Sir Owen and Lady Agnes Burne, Sir Herbert Perrott, Mrs. Lowry, Dr. Morton, Dr. Barter, r 1'. Allen, Dr. Hardwicke, the Misses Platt, the hon. secretaries, &c., &c. In opening the proceeciings, General Lowry sairi: "The Ninth i\letropolitan District of the St. John Ambulance Association esteem themselves highly favoured by your Royal Highness once more presiding at their an::ual meeting ann graciously consenting to present the certificates and medallions. Undoubtedly the demands of the war in South Atrica have aroused the greater attention of all classes of our people to the need for anrl. advantages of being qualified to render first aid to the in jured; and the fact that close on fifteen hundred well· trained and well -conducted men have gone forth to tend the sick and wounded within the past or eight months has i nspired the whole nation with deeper appreciation of the untold value of well-tested ambulance instruction. The circumstances of our country at this juncture seem to the committee to render it imperative to make greater efforts to meet the demand, and to train more and more men for future, and, alas, all too probable emergencies. Capable and most I\'illing medical men will we are confident, never fail, but funds to supplement and de\"elop the work are needed too. The litter and appliances in connection with the district are in good condition, and available at their several stations for street acc dents. Authority has been given to the police for the use of our wheeled litter and stretcher to take sick poor to hospital, and their service has been s u ccessfully conducted on different occasions during the year." The Princess then distributed the medallions and the certifica tes which she herself had signed.

HIS many friends will be grieved to hear that Brigade Chief Supt. Church Brasier recently met with a somewhat serious injury, being struck in the eye with a wda water cork He at once proceeded to St. Bartholomew's Hospital where the injury was deemed so serious that he was detained for some days. \Ve are , however, glad to say that it is now hoped that the injury is not of a permanent nature.

PROVINCIAL

B LAC KBURN.-A meeti n g was lately held in the Parish Church Scho ol s, Bl ackburn, fo r t h e pur pose of consider ing h e advisab ili ty of

AID. 15

for:ning a corps or division, in Blackburn, of the St. John Ambulance Mr. Turn.er The Chairman said so far as the raIlway company With wblch he was connected was concerned the" a ambulance He impressed upon all those 111 theIr names the necessity of working hard for the success of the corps, or they.woul? find the.mselves deficient in time of emergency. From places lIke Rlshton, Clltheroe, Accrington, and Bolton, men had been sent to the Tra.l13vaal to render aid to the soldiers, but although Blackburn had a large number of certificated ambulance men and several of them they were not accepted because they did not bel.ong to a town bngade. In conclusion, he sd.id he was sure if they dId form a .corps they do well. Mr. 'Whittaker, of Accrirgton then explamed the workll1g of the Ambulance Brigade and at the outset said it was to be regretted that Blackburn shou'td have been so neglected of tbat useful w,Jrk. There was a difference between St. John Am bulance Association and the St. John Ambulance BrIgade: The former was started t.o spread knowledge in the work; to examll1e claoses, to conduct examlTIations, and grant certificates 10 those who proved proficient. Its work ended there, and was taken up by Bngacle. The work of the latte r was to keep fresh in the mll1ds of Its meI?bers the knowledge they had acquired, for, at ambulance \york <1: lIttle was dangerous. They would first need to .appo.ll1t an organlslTIg and a superintendent, and in connectIOn WIth the latter he said it was advisable to have a aentleman in a good social position in the town, who could comma nd not only from the men, but from the townspeople. With reaard to the uniform Mr. Whittaker said it was advisable tor the to have them, so that would be some uniformity in dress, and that in case of a demonstratIOn they wf)uld be better recognised. As for rewards there was a long service medal given after fifteen years' seTl"ice. Later he explained the difference between a corps and a division. If they had oyer 72 members they would be called by the former l!ame , and if under tbat number by the latter. The Chairman said 34 gentlemen had volunteered to assist in the worK. UPO;} the proposition of 1\Ir. by :Jlr. T. HorsfIeld, it I\'aS decided to form a corps or diVISIOn 111 the town, and ;\Ir. ]. Leeming was appointed hon secretary pro. ti!nl. The question of electing the superintendent was deferred until another meeting, but a temporary organising was elected as follows :-:'IIessrs. J. H. Turner, C. B'Ittersby, T. Hindle, W. Ryden, A. Wild, R. Balderston.;, R. W. Hargreaves, and H. Collinson.

BOLTO)/.-The :en th annual demonstration of the ]\; orth East Lancashire County Corps took place on Saturday, 30th June. The various corps antI police companies, mustering about 600 strong, and accompanied by tbe Bolton, Farnworth, Horwich, and Westhoughton horse ambulances, assembled on the Wholesale :\Iarket, about 2.30, and preceded by the band of the 9th "olunteer Artillery, marched between deep lines of spectators in the principal thoroughfares to Burnden Park, where a march past and a display of ambulance work, including bandaging and the procedure followed in drowning cases and railway accidents, took place before a faidy large company of officials and opectators, including, in addition to 1\Iayor, Ald Dr. Scrolycroft, J.P (president), Colonel C. \Y. Bowdler (chief commissioner of the St. J obn Ambulance Brigade), Lieutenant-Colonel C. J. Trimble, V.D. (deputy commissioner for the :.'\orth-Western District, Preston), Chief Constable Derham (assistant commissioner, Blackpool), the Depllty :'IIaror, Ald. Xicholson, J.P. (chairman of Committee), Dr. Leonard :\lolloy, :\1.A., of Blackpool (\'ice-chairman), ;\[r. S. Swanton, Preston (superintendent hon. sec) At the close of the exhibition on the ground the "layor distributed the prizes to the winners of the various competitions held during the day, and which were as follows :-Police Challenge Cup, for general ambulance work, 1st, Manchester City; 2nd, Bootie; 3rd, Preston. Sick nursing- 1st, Barrowford ; 2nd, Blackpool; 3rd, Preston. So etcher bearing party1st, Accrington ; 2nd, Blackpool; 3rd, Preston. General smartnessAccrington. After a few observations from the Commissioner, tbe i\1ayor congratulated the County Corps on the effective display they had made tbat afternoon, and expressed the pleasure it afforded him to perform some share in the proceedings. Colonel Trim ble also addressed the assembly. He referred to the excellent work done by Lancashire ambulan'ce men in South Africa, and added that Bolton had established a record by sending 90 men to the front. C nfortunately the ,yeather, which had been threatening during the a.fternoon eventually developed into a rainfdl, which interfered with the operations towards the close of the programme. the evening the the.guests of the :\I[ayor at dinner In the Town Hall. HIS Worship preSIded oyer the post-prandial proceedings at the opening, and submitted the loyal toasts. Dr. Johnston having recited a poem of his own composition, entitled "The St. John Ambulance Rrigade," Colonel Bowdler responded, and bore testim.ony to the &"reat development of ambulance work in this part of the kmgdom dUrIng the last few years- -a growth not only in numbers but in During the wa.r now in progress Lancashire bad been exceed1l1gly well to the front 111 the number of ambulance men it had placed at the sen'ice of the'Var Office, one in five having already gone out. Out of total of I,313 now out not a sin ale case of crime had been reported. In regard to the Chll1ese had intimq.ted to the Royal Army Medical Corps that they

would try to relieve them for work in China by providing further contingents of ambulance men for South Africa to take the place of Army Medical Corps men now serving in the latter campaign Lieuten ant -Colonel Trimble also responded, and stated that of the I3 13 men now serving in South Africa 516 came from his district, the majority of them Lanca shire lads. The readiness with which they were forthcoming was sbown in the case of the hospital ship A1ame }\fen were wired for on the Sunday, and they were dispatched from Bolton and Preston and delivered in London free of charge on the Monday. Colonel Trimble afterwards proposed "The Town and Trade of Bolton" in a humorous speech After yarious speeches the National Anthem closed the proceedings.

DEWSBURY. - The Secretary o f this Corps has this week received from Colonel Bowdler, Commissioner of the Brigade, information that the following officers of Dewsbury Corps and the divisions of the Dewsbury Corps have been sanctioned and promoted by H. R .H. the Prince of Wale s, K.G Grand Prior of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in England, namely :-Dewsbury Corps, P B. Walker to be Chief Superintendent, dated April, I897; E. Lee, M. R.C.S. to be Chief Sur?"eon, dated April r8th,Ir 899. Borough Division, C D. Garrett, to be Hon. Surgeon, dated March 27th, 1900 E. Hemingway to be Superintendfnt, dated April 5th, I898; H. H Greenwood, to be First Offi ce r, dated April 5th, r 898; H AUott, to be Second Officer. dated April 5th. I 898 Well house Division, Rev. R. Zippell, re signs Third Officer, dated October 1st, 1899. NurEinO' Division, R. Beattie, M.D., to be Hon. Surgeon, dated November 1st r899; Mrs. 1\.1. A Walker , to belLady Superintendent, dated November 1st, 1899 Mrs. A. Cave, to be First Nursing Officer, dated May 29th, 1900; Mrs R. Stead, to be Second Nursing Officer, dated May 20th, 1900

GATESHEAD FELL Ernest Wilson ofthisdivisiC'n, who has been serving as 2nd Grade Orderly in the Portland Hospital at WynLerg and Bloemfontein, has o b tained Lady Bentinck's prize for the cleanest and most s:tnitary ward. He has a lso been promoted to be 1st grade Orderly.

GATESHEAD FELL NURSING DrVISroN.-The memhers of the FellinO' Diyision under the c harge I)f Lady Superintendent Mrs. DouO'las, and the M.embers of the Gateshead Fell Division, under the of Supenntel,dent John Adolphus Harrison, First Officer T F Foster, and Honorary Secretary John Kirk, ook duty on the Leazes a n d thro ughout the route of the Royal procession on the 20th June and were instrumental in alleviating the sufferings of about two per.sons, principally cases of fa inting. One case, whi ch was more was taken to the R oya l Infirmary, after having received firstaid treatment from the members of the Gateshead Fell Division. The Volunteer Ambulance Corps also attended to several cases. Much sy mpathy is felt iniambulance circles with the esteemed Lady Superinte ndent, Mrs. Douglas, in her bereavement by the death of 'I'I r. The members of t he Gateshead Fell Division have, through theIr Secreta ry Mr. John KIrk, sent her a letter of condolence.

IVTrLLoM. --:- At a mee.ting of Ambulance men in Millom on Monday, the 9th ult., It was deCided to form amhularce divisions of certified men. ,vaughan said the Hodbarrow Mining Company would form two dlvlslOns, the and Haverigg, and would provide the apparatus, &c. A diVISion has also been formed at the ironworks and one for the town, independent of either of the works, will sh ortly ce formed.

L EICESJ'ER.-The Annual Inspection of this Corps took place on the Ground, on the 19th ult., the inspecting officers being Dlstnct ChIef Surgeon Audland and Assistant Commissioner T . H Woolston. T he turned out about 203 strong, includin g some 33 of the sIsters. At the conclusion of the inspection the C orps drawn up 111 a hollow square, to hear short addresses from the ChIef Surgeon and from Mr. T. E. Woolston. Dr. Audland ob-

JUST PUBLISHED - Cloth, 142 pp. Is. 6d. Net.

With 60 Illustrations from Photographs.

PRACTICAL FIRST AID.

By

WM.

ROBERTSON, M.D., D.P.R"

to the St. A ncZ? ew (mcZ St. John A A ssocicttions.

ALEX. GARDNER p ' 26, PATERNOSTER SQUARE, LOND ON, E. C., AND AISLEY; AND ALL BOOKSELL ERS

A I D. LAugust , 1900.

served that it gave him gr eat pleasure to be prese n t t h at ev e n in g to inspect t h e work of the Corps He bad been in Leicester p r eviously on ambulance work, and he bad seen the wo r k of in d iv id u a j visions, but he had never befo re seen the work of the whole Corps. H e h oped to see all the men before him turn out in u n ifo r m on a n ot h er visit He knew there were difficulties in the way, but now their good word had been sho Nn he felt sure those difficulties would d isappear, and they would soon find means to obtain uniforms. He was sorry to hear, too, that such a fine corps h ad not a headquarters He could not hut think , if representalions were made to the proper authorities that they would be willing to build headquarters, and he was sorry the Mayo r was not present that evening Dr. Audland concluded his re marks with a reference to the work and services of the brigade in South Africa. Assistant Commiss io ner Voolston also spoke, emphasising the need for headquarters, and the need for a plentiful stock of applian ces The band of the Gas and E lectric Lighting Department was in attendance and played selections during the evening

P':-':'E STON.-On T hursday evening, the 12th ult., the members of thi s Corps and Nursing Division assemhled at the Public Hall, Preston, for their Annual Inspection by Colonel Trimble, the Deputy-Commissioner for the North Western :!::listrict. Chief Surgeon Sellers was in command, and there were also p res ent Honorary Surgeons Collinson and Durham, Superin te ndent Newman, Officers Kelly and Williamson, and :'Ir. R. Crombleholme, head of the St. Ignc.tius divi sion There were on parade fifty u niformed members-including the cyclinO' section of the St. Ignatius division; 3I non-uniformed members. !4 members of th.e 'p?lice section, 21 of Boys' J?rigade., and.., 37 of the Nursing DIVISIOn. At the concluslon of the I11spectlOn, Colonel Trimble adthe members, and said .he was pleased with everything be had seen; Indeed the cOlnpany dnlls would have been a cre dit to any volunteer battalion in t he country.

W ALME R .--HOLIDAYHOME for

fectious) and ol hers. Comfortable house facing sea Terms moderate. Miss Howard, 7, The Strand, almer.

··lJJo111e 1b\?gi en

PART

Man one of the few animals that is ab le to exist with health and c? mfo rt .111 any part. o.f the glo?e. In the Arctic region s he clothes hlt?self 111 111 the tropi cs in li g ht cool garments.

HI S adaptatIOn to envIronment IS large ly a question of clothinO' fhe body remain s at a constant norrr:al of 9 8.4'degrees

FahrenheIt, and the person be ID a refngerating chamber the temperature of whIch IS below zero, or in the h ottest room of a Turkish bath, that normal temperature r emains constant within a fifth part of a deg ree. -

When the of the body is interfered with by disease the temperature vanes greatly. In rheumati c for instance, it 'may mount 107 degrees or .even beyond. At thIS temperature, the tissues are burnIDg up more rapIdly and he at is generated. During the c?nva lesce nce from an attack of 111fluenza the body is weak and the :'Ital are so much devoted to reconstruction that oxidat on IS mu ch dlm1111shed and the temperature will on ly ayerao-e 97 deo-rees for a week or m ore '" '"

Hea.t is l,?st ,crom the body. by many ch an n els. Evaporation from skl11, fl om the entire body surface, the warming of expired aIr are all sources of loss. But the Ekin i s the ma in 111 dlmlDlshlDg temperature and from it 90 per Cellt of the bod heat y

This lakes 'place in three separate and di stinct ways :-

Con d The transference of he at from a warm to a colder body as when SlttIDg' on a co ld seat.

pas3age of he at into space

E va p o r a lO n .-fhe cold produced when skin watel passes into aqueous vapour

These three are acting simu ltaneously but under certain co nditi o n s one may act more energetically.

During hot ?oeather! for instance, perpiration is profuse and evapora tlon very actlYe, whde the warmth of the surroundinO's diminishes radiation and conduction. '"

Durin.g .weather, on the other hand, to ot h er surfaces and 111 to proceed rapidl y, but the perspiration is almost abs ent ItS correspondingly low.

Cloth111g has the follo"'lDg five objects in view :-

1. To the body temperatl1l'e by lesse ning radiati o n and conductIOn

2 To allow evaporation from skin to proceed with the least pOSSIble amount of hindrance.

3. To permit mO\ ement to take place as freely as possible.

4· To protect the body from undue heat or cold. and from the weather.

5. To adorn the person.

Maintenance of tempera turei s one of tbe worst conductors of heat, i.e., still air, A th Ick overcoat IS warm, not somuch by the thickness of the material. of the stagnant air in its meshes. If feeling cold on a ra ilway Journey, a newspaper spread round the leg s will be found as comfortable as a 1?!1g.rug This air containing is llm lted. If too porous, air clfculates throuO'h it and then cold is In winter cold .is chiefly felt on da.y s, as then the co ld.alr penetrates the ; .not on.1y does it blow directly tbrough, but It the emmeshed 111 circulatIOn and quickens lo ss of heat by On cold wl11dy days mackintoshes are especially useful.

:rhe wnter finds when chub fishing in winter, a mackintosh coat IS better than a thl.ck one, for the wind cannot penetrate it. It would be most unWise, however, to go In for hard muscular exercise in Euch a for then the sweat cannot evaporate, and chill, not to say rheumatIc fever, may re sult.

Radiati()1.I.-:-Ju5t as a.ir in a .garment h nders conduction, so it les sens radJa.Jon. But 111 th\s a th lrd fa.ctor is utili sed- Colo ur. A s urface the sun s heat, a whIte one reflects it. So a black lS hotter 111 summer than a light coloured one. Franklin placed stripS of black and of white cloth on the snow-covered ground and found tha t .the snow melted s?o ner under the black strip. Hen ce, also, a black u11lform so very unSUItable for summer wear.

PerspiraiToll.-Clothing ought to mop up sweat without becominO' damp to .the tOUC? This property is known as its hygroscopic three times as hygr oscopic as linen. -

Dunng all arduous exercise in tbe open, su ch as cricket, rowing and so on, flannel should be employed throughout.

The warming powers of clothing be evenly distributed. In wo men the lower part of the waist is covered to excess, and the upp er part no enough, sometimes not even covere d at all.

One cannot help feeli.ng indignation at the common sight in winter a complacent father, 111 top coat and gloves, leading by the hand his little s? n of four with two inch socks, and bare legs and arms mottled blue WIth cold.

Clothing be too lo.ose nor too tight. A very loose allows air to cl rcul ate, a tIght one permits rapid radiatio n. Thus ti ght gloves are not nearly so warm as looser ones Garters also , are usually abominati ons S co res of times [have seen stockings kept up by s:ring, orw hat was once a band of elastic and now is a circular cord.

vVhat a of tr o uble in the way of chilblains, of varicose yeins .other CIrcu latory troubles does thi s lay up! Suspenders a re 111finltely but best of all are good stockings. A stocking that fall s down IS one that ought to be sent to the jumble sale. Corsets properly fitted to the figure, are very useful articles of clothinO'. coats a n d ski rts are this weight r,nust be carried "'either by shoulder: or the IS bet te r to take.lt OT! the latter as the spine IS left more ,ree. TIght lacmg- now-a-days, IS done a\\'a, with. A few girls, it is true, still" draw in ," but th-=y are usually of that class which will do senseless things anyhow.

The best form of underclothing is the" combination" oarment and e specia lly that made of pure undyed or "natural' wool. °The Chinese have a d elightful form of underclothing. It cons ists of a silk net and si lk garment over it. Clamony garments cannot touch the skin the air is perspiration is free ani the weight is very small.

(To be contiulled.)

j£ritisb m ebical Bsso cia tion , MEETING AT IPSWICH.

XA\'Y, ARi\1Y AND Al\1BULANCE SECTION.

Th s sect ion held its sitting in Ga!nsborough Hall, on Thursday mor11lng, 2nd August, Inspector-General Belgrave Ninnis presidino-. The .di sc ussi on for the day .was confined to the First Aid and of Slck and In jured 111 clnl hfe and large to \\ ns. Surgeon-'\laj or IIutton, J.P., Organizing Commissioner, St. J ohn Ambulance ASSOCIation commenced bis paper by describing the rude methods of removinot he sick and injured previ ous to the introduction of the ambulance work by t he St. Joh'1 Am bu lance ['\s soc iation. Tn 1877, the St.John Ambulan ce Association came into existe n ce as a department of the old Order of St. John of Jerusal e m. A depot was established at St. John's Gate, Clerken\\'ell, London, for the supply o f stretchers and other ambulance and first aid material, and to that \'e teran in all ambulance, Sir John Furley, belonged the credit for improv ements in the design of ambulan ce stretchers, whe e led litt ers a nd h orse amhulances. As showing- the importance of the s ubje ct, in the rear 1890, the Prime l\linister, the 01 S a lisbury, c alled for rep :: rts from Her Majesty 's representatives at all the European capitals, and from the cons ular offi ces in the principal cities of America, as to the means adopted n these va.rious places for the ambulance tra nsport of civil ian si ck and injured. T hese reports were presented to boch Hou ses of

by c ommand of H er Majesty, in August, 1890. Surgeon-Major Hutton then sketched the ambulance system carried out in New York IIe next called attention to what had been done in this country 'with reference to ambulance service in towns. In B irkenhead, as in New York, the municipal autho!ities had taken up the duty and worked it through the borough fire brigade. Last year (r899) the brigade rece ved 433 calls, all of which were responded to, and the superintendent reports " the work is still increasing owi n g to the public recognising the advantages of obtaining the services of the horse ambulance when accidents occur." In Liverpool, the ambulance service had been remodelled on much the same lines as New York There were five police ambulances attached to the Royal Infirmary, the Northern Hospital, Stanley Hospital, and two others at fire brigade stations, besides a private ambulan ce at the Southern Hospital. They were all under the police headquarters, an:! in telephonic communication with it. T he cost of the police ambulance was borne by the City Council (Watch Committee). The conveyance of private persons who were in a position to pay was not encouraged, as h ere was a firm in the city which had a well equipped horse ambulance for hire. :\1r. R. Harrison an eminent Liverpool surgeon, said" he was quite sure this ambulance service had been the means of giving, not only great comfort, but had saved not only many but many lives."

Surgeon-Major Hutton gave an account of the ambulance service in Halifax, York, vVellingborough, and Northampton, and how those various places managed; and went on to say, that it seemed from the evidence adduced, that the proper authority to carry out an ambulance serv ice in large towns was the municipal authority, through the police force T he pol ice were always on duty night and day, and were the r efore available at all times and hours. The Home Office and chief constables throucrhout the country had recognised that it was essential the police force be instructed in first aid and ambulance, under the St. John Ambulance and by thi.s means they were capable of rendering skilled assistance In case of aCCident. He recommended that the police should be re-examined in ambulance duty by a medical officer appointed by the St. John Ambulance Association. He next alluded to the of aid into villages and country dl stncts, and directed special attentIOn to the I nvalid Transport Corps established by Sir J ohn some ago, at St. John's Gate: London. This corps, he said, was prepared to remove invalIds, on payment, to any part of the United Kincrdom and also abroad. He mentioned how this corps, some vears a:o the late Lord Cardwell, all the way from the to Eaton Square, L ondon. the I 898, number of removals by the corrs was 8SQ , .7ro I.n prevIOus year. He concluded by sayll1g that hiS deSire 111 bnngIng this transport service before the meeting was to draw the attention of the members of the British Medical Association to the practical use of this ambulance service for no peopl.e were so in intercourse with the sick and injured as medIcal. profeSSIOn He sure also, they would find it of Immense aSSistance, espeCIally In difficult cases requiring removal not only.in our large but everywhere throughout the country.

Bngade-Surgeon Lieut.-Col: G. S. Elliston, V D., V.M S., in opening diSCUSSIOn, s,:ld he had lIstened to the paper with great interest himself, because It had touched upon g:-ounds that he had been working on for.a great many and he might say at once that it was his old friend Sugeon-MaJor Hutton, years ago, invited him to take up this work of ambulance in civil life. He fearecl that they were only now at the. commen.cement of this movement. T here were a great many towns 111 the MIdland Counties where the transport arrangements very pe;·fect, many towns in the Southern and Eastern Distncts were still tern bly behInd In Ipswich, however, thanks to the energy of the local Hon. Secretary, they were making good and gra.dual progress At the present moment they had a horse ambulance, whIch had been very freely use.d. Litters were estab li sheci in many par.ts of the town, and he partIcularly noticed the Great Eastern RaIlway Company's keen.ness in this .work Surgeon-Major H utton had touched upon the subject of the police bell1g properly instructed in every town. 1n some towns were classes, and the police obtained certificates, and perha ps, went Il1 for second and third certificates b then they dropped it. They they were perfect men, and reqUIred .no InstructIOn. He, however, pointed out tbat there was reqUIred so much continuous study as ambulance work by the police. It was a subject easily forgotton or became rusty, and perfectly use ess. In the St. John Ambulance Associat on they held that no man ought to go about do ing ambulance work unless he knew how stop bremorrhage by digital pressure. Effic iency could only be obtall1ed by monthly meetings of members, and practice themselves. In a .great many towns the police were not doing they .could .not find The authorities expected them to do th,s work 111 .thel: own time, and, as they were not paid for it, they gradually let It slide. The speaker went on to detail the excellent arr.angements at Welli ngborough, where it was put to a practical test.In the ternble railway accident at the Midland Station there, and which proved wonderfully efficient.

Dr. Harper, Surgeon-Captain, V.M.S., called attention to a litter by members of the S t. Joh n A mblliance Br igade at I pswich

AID :. [ Septenlber, 190 0.

He explained that it WaS a modificat ion, and in h s opinion an i mprove_ ment upon the Ashford litter. T he whee ls were considerab l y lighter there was a tin case underneath the carriage for carrying t h e n eccessary apparatus for fi r st-aid relief and a small window a the side through which the patient cou d be observed on the way

Miss Coulcher, Hon. Secretary of the St. John Ambul,l.l1ce Associa_ tion at I pswich, upo n the invitation to ladies to speak, touched upon the fi nancial question, which, she said, was at the bottom of the difficuhy. The suhscriptions in I pswich were extremely small, and she ridiculed the idea of raising £ roo a year in Ipswich. The working men, she asserted, were the backbone of the movement, and complained tha t the police did not keep up the work here.

Mr. John J. de Zouche Marshall, L.R.C S. I. , Surgeon. - Maj or 3rd V B. East S urrey R eg., submitted a paper, which was read by Dr. Harper. He said that dividing the community into those who were very unlikely to be on the scene of an accident, and those most likely to be on, or called to such a scene, one migat be pardoned for designatincy the former when they went in for first aid instruction and certificates " amateur," and the latter under similar circumstances" professional" ambulancers. The amateur ambulancer (mostly ladies) invariably paid good fees for instruction, and was entitled to get the best-the fees however, being seldom of benefit to the instructor. ambulancers were of real importance tv the public, and should be carefully selected by the local authorities. K ot on tbe existing " tec h nical education" system, whereby scores of idlers joined a clas s on anything, just to see if they would like it, and invariably drop it when they found it required brains and pains. The same local authori ty sh ould pay the fees of instructors for such men, and should remune, ate the pupils for time spent in training. Owing to the lamentable fact that, as eyery man thought he could manage a farm, so every surgeon newly fledged or otherwise, thought he could instruct an class. It was consequently recommended, so as to make sure of always securing the service of experienced instruction, that the St John Ambulance Association should call together and establish a Council fr om the most experienced ambulance instructors and examiners, to edit a fresh edition of Shepherd's handbook as the official ma<1ual, to fo rm a school of instru ction in first aid for surgeons desi rous of undertakin g the instruction of classes, to examine some candidates, and isme surgeon instructors' of efficiency, without which, no medical man could be appointed to instruct a class; branches of St. Jnhn Ambulance Association Scheo l of Instructi o n to be established in arge cities; the St. John Ambulance Association Council to consider r,nd report on the best steps to be taken so that the police force in every district be thoroughly trained in first aid and stretcher work; that an addition be made by the authority undel which they served to each man's p':ly according to the Class 3rd, 2nd, or 1st, which he maintain ed, efficiency to be tested by regular periodical examinations; third class to receive in addition to pay say 3d. daily on passing for the St. John Ambulance Association certificate; second class more difficult examin ation, and to carry 6d. daity extra pay; and first-class men to pass for the Army Medical Certificate, and be entitled to gd. a day. Simil ar extra pay to be due to all public servants or professional ambulancers. If the authorities continue to excuse the police as "having very li ttle t.ime" for such work, that t.he risk be no longer run of bringing ambulance work into discredit by hurried and imperfect teaching, and that the St. John Ambulance Brigade take the entire ambulance protect ion of the people into their hand s and that they be organised and paid accordingly. Other public servants to be properly educated in am bulance, and receive proportionate pay, the men of the splendid forc ethe coastguard, fire brigade men, railway men. That all officers of the mercantile marine ships which do not carry a surgeon be also instruc ted classified, and paid; that special courses of instruction for these sai lors be granted by the St. John Ambulance Association, so as to ena ble them to compete for the Certificate after five lectures in one ",eek, or while the r ships iue in port; that a modified course of instruction on the resuscitation of the apparently drowned, be held for all lock-keepers on rivers and canals and for boatmen on the same or coasts; th at intelligent men of good physique be enrolled all over the country und er the banne r of the St John Ambulance Brigade, so that every vill age may have its own squad and .every town its company, and that medi ca students be thoroughly instructed in first aid. Surgeon-Major Hutt on, in summing up the discussion, recommended that there should be an ambulance examination by a medical officer, in conjunction with the usual inspection of police forces.

Surgeon-Major T. F. S. Caverllill next read a paper entitled, On Cavalry Ambulance Service. The salient points of the paper were tbe following That the present bearer companies were on foot, therefore they could not keep up with the cavalry. This system been condemned by experienced cavalry commanders. Major -General Sir Herbert Stewart in Egypt had bed this arrangment as" absolutely unsuitable." He had, therefore, improvised a mounted bearer company which did excellent service Surgeon-General Evatt, in r88r in E gypt, stated that an infantry bearer company could not keep pace with the mounted men. Lord .i\-1orley's Committee in 1883 recomm ended mOlJnted bearer companies. The Br it7's it JlIfed ical :tournai had

Se p te mb er, 1900.J FIRST said, in noticing of mounted bearer companies in New South vVales, that It was II1credib le that the d·d t t· h f h· same I n o eXls III e serVIce 0 IS country Mr. VVatson Cheyne had particularly com liment.ed the South Wales ambulance, without wbich the Medical DepaILmentwould have been in diffi It· Th b· Y to the present system were (r) tactical (?) h cu e()o JectlO11 1 s and med· I I () d anan, 3 surglca

Ica ,an , 4 a mmistrative. The wounded often hampered the a cavalry general. The materiel should be divided (r ) and 2) reserve. He recommended the followll1g; (r) the addition of a second surgeon to all cavalry regiments in the .field (2) that cavalry ambulances should be specially trained and e(ui Pped ; (3) that and litters should be provided for the use ( 0 )a \ cavalry;. (4) a speCIal pattern of light ambulance for cavalry· 5 tl:at the mspector-general of cavalry should annually inspect cava Iy ambulance· (6) th db· [ d f a mounte ealer companIes should be orme dram Royal Army Medical Corps to act with cavalry and mounte men m the field· (7) th t d rtf h a 111 certall1 con tm crencles the cacolets an It ers 0 t e m.ounted bearer companies should '''be made use of; alnd (?) that expenenced surgeons and assistants should be always c.ose 111 the rear of the fighting-line. The proposa.ls should be conslldered two (I) regimental medical aid by trained am buance men 111 each recy'ment and (2) I b d ",., non-reglmenta medical aid crlven y a m h 0dufnte bearer company of the Royal Army Medical Corps atlac e or duty to a cavalry regiment.

Valentine Matthews, V.M S C also contributed a On Cavalry Ambulance Service based on samewhat SImi ar meso

The papers were well recei ved and were favourably discussed b the .folloWIng gen.tlemen: Lieutenant - Colonel C. B.Maitland, Major E. WI,lson, Surgeon-Major Hutton, SurgeonT. F. 0 Dwyer, .Pnnclpal Medical Officer of the Aldershot Istnct, and Surgeon-Major Ince.

L: F. Stephenson, V.i\I.S.C., contributed a a er on the Cycle the FIeld for Medical Service. This paper ,f.as aGlso well and was favourably commented upon by SUTcreoneneral 0 Dwyer, brought the meeting to a termination.

Surgeon Lieutenant-Colonel J. E Squire V D comm d· L d C V I .., .., an mg on on ompal1les 0 .Medlcal Staff Corps, formerly Senior Medical Officer Red Cross Society. Suakim Field Force r88s read a the Augme.ntation of the Royal Aru:y Medical Corps: He an advanCing army should be relIeved of·t k d d d dl. 1 s SIC an woun e as rapl .y as pOSSible, that a large medical personnel was therefore requIsIte He considered untrair.ed medical officers and nurses would pffi1o,:e a hindrance, and a reserve should be arranged for whose e C1ency should be prOVided fo· b th b· b . h V I I Y elr elng orne as supernumerary III teo unteer forces WIth a retaining fee for efficients and with a voluntar.f subsequerltly He deprecated Il1colForated With 11111.ltar1 units, though they should be under militar '" con tI 01. Mr. F freves observed that transport for field hoZ p:tals had bepn questIOned, but that all field hospitals have their own and that transport is admirable. The present campaian has sown t .e of a large mobile field hospital (takincr 300 to 600 ?eds) to Immediately the column. This hospital'" should have ItS t.ranspon ThiS was so in Natal, and it made the efficiency of That the R.A.M.C. and the civil surgeons worked )n lelfeckt halmony throughout, a fact largely due to the unselfish attitu e e.n by .the former officers. He considered the uestiol1 of olderhes IS a difficult one; that the present campaign that n urses, as their services were appreciated, could not WOI k 111 but. that in the base hospitals their number could be gleatly Increased With advantaae In h · I [ f 'I:>. IS opmlOn t 1e ormatIOn 0 an army medical reserve IS one of importa n ce, and such reserve :ould well be formed by recently qualified medical men who could agre.e to sTerve three years.-one year with the colo:Jrs anJ two with the resel ve. he one year WI th the army wo uld th with the routine of the R A 1\1 CdR ve em an h an would be no mean trall1ll1 a for e membe:s of the reserve themselves. This reserve would hel b the Army Department to meet the emergencies of war and It the time grounds lessening the perS01lnel of the Royal I my Medical when ?n Its peace strength. The reserve wo u ld be upon only 111 the t.lme of war, and wo uld enable the Arm Med.lcal Department to ava.II of a body of speciaU trainea mfedlcf l who, from their POll1t of view, would have the favantage o suc 1 as the Army provides. Surgeon-Major G. A. H utton ]. ' conSIdered that the Army Medical Department had roved a.bl.lt-t y to. the Royal Army Medical Corps by lans. m t e war, and feared no inquiry into the efficiency of t e service m South Africa. Dr. John Forbes feared a R o al Army lY.edlcal Corps Reserve would starve the permanent ment both as to and pay As a colonist he advocated the of an epidemiC of enteric fever in a campaia-n by placina the SIC on lecently d ug of soft earth, covered a wate r'" roof sheet, as a prevel.1tatlVe ?f the spread of the d i sease when b dd· a coul d 110t be effiCIently dI si nfecte d ,e m ",

A I D. 1 9

Sdurgeon -Captain James Cantlie (Seamen's H ospital Albert Docks)

Of kow the medical services of aux iliary forces rmy edlcal Corps. He pointed out the diverRence In systems. 0 the former with that now obtaining in the latter serVIce, which he desc.ribed, and proposed: (r) that the medl.cal services be organised on the same footing as tbe e Ica

(2) That there be a :'lilitia medical corps and a 0 unteer corps. (3) That in the A 1'1ny List the Arm :'ledlcal should. 1. Royal Army Medicfr DlVlslon 11. MIlitia Medical Corps, affiliated with the RAM C III. Vol.unteer Corps, affiliated with the R.A."M. C (4) That all officers }oll1mg the auxiliary forces be gazetted to one or other of theIr respective corps (5) That a medical officer of a corps be seconded or told off for special (it may be perm'lnent) duty With the battalion in his district. (6) That in the event of or of a national eme:-gency, that the officers and men of the auxIliary forces corps be conSidered the first line of medical reserve for regu lara\my. (7)Thata cadet company of medical students be formed In every medical s<:hool in the kingdom, and the whole organised into a (8) That It be urged on all surgeons and physicians in our hospitals to attach themselves officially, or to take up duty in ·th the cadet corps of their university or school, or in the corps. (9) the services of no civil surgeon or physician who has not attache9 hImself for duty or professional training in either of these corps, be a.ccepted for d u ty Il1 the field o r during national emergency In conclUSIOn he m.oved that th.e.Army, Navy, and Ambulance the CouncIl of the BntIsh Medial Association to appoint a committee t.o d;aw up a scheT?e, to be forwarded to Government for the.reorganlsatlOn of. the medIcal 3ervices of the auxiliary forces, the baSIS of he In the Royal Army Medical Corps, and for the of the medical services of the regular and auxiliary forces ums.on. JamesHarper, V.M.S.C., seconded the T?otlOn, which supported. i\IajorWilson,R.A.M.C. conSidered the ralsed by Surgeon-Captain Cantlie deserving of careful conSIderatIon. H. S. Muir, C.B., M.D., R.A.M.C., supported the motIOn, and felt sure the Director-General woul.d welcome opinion of the Council of the British ASSOCiatIOn Bngade· Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonel G. S Elliston, V.D., read a paper on volunteer brigade bearer companies on. his t,,:enty-eight years' experience of the Volunteer MedIcal ?erVICes, whIch he sketched in this connection; he considered that a company should be a distinct unit, with its own officers, ca plt,:tlOn grant,. and other. allowances, and as companies should affiliated to then present bngade for mobilisation, &c., that these should not onJy their own headql!arters, but a paid Major WIlson, R.A :'LC., conSidered a reorganisatIOn of the present system desirable. Surgeon-General O'Dwyer (P .\tJ.O., Aldershot). advocate? a system of training for th.e bearer and m theIr poslt!On. Brigade -SurgeonLleutenant- Colonel KIng, V. M .S.C., expressed similar views. Bri o-adeSurgeon - Lieutenant-Colonel Giles, V.D., read a paper on the dweiling on the experience of the present war, pomtmg to an Il1crease of the stretcher squads and their efficiency beiocr improved, and suggested a scheme with this view. b

<torresponbence.

POLICE AND FIRST AlD.

To the Edit01 if" FIRST AID."

Sir,-A question has arisen among members of the Brigac!e, which, If answered through these columns, would, nOldoubt, be of interest to many.

Vve are rightly instructed, in case of serious accident in the street, to at once send for a doctor, and to render first-aid in the meantime. But who is responsible for the doctor's fee? Should he be in sympathy with first-aid he may feel disposed to give voluntary help, but unless this were the case the fee must be paid, but, should the patient be unable to pay, by whom?

Yo ur views on the subject would greatly oblige.

A NU R SING SISTER.

[T he answe r to this question exposes the relations existing between the pol ice and t h e med ical p rofessio n as regards street acc idents, and which are not very satisfactory to t h e doctors . I t may be stated at the outset that f the constable in charge of a street accident calls a medical man, the po li ce will pay his fee. But, however, that is not the question asked, althougb arises out of it. Legally, the person sending for the doctor ig liable for the doctor's fee The practical answer to "Nursing Sister's" query is Do all you can to persuade the police to take over the case, by telling the constable that will arrive the case waS serious and required a medical man's assistance. The police are quite willing to avail themselves of the doctor's advice and treatment, but will not pay h is fee unless they have sent for him or u n less th e case is serious. All t h is shows he n ecessity for a public ambu ance service, where the doctor woul d get paid no matter who sen t for h im.-Editor.J

FIRST AI D

8EFTElIIBER 1, 1900,

AID. [Se p temb er , 190 0.

3nt ern ation aI jftre <Longr ess.

<Dur IDortrait (Baller\?

OAPTAIN HENRY GEORGE MARSHALLSAY, ALDERSllOT FIRE BRIGADE,

umar Blnbu[anc e. COMMENTS OK THE "YVAR.

TllE ADVA::-ICE OF

At the beginning of last month the British Medical Association held its annual meeting at Ipswich, undeI' the pl'esidency of that well-known supporter of t.he ambulance movement, Dl', Elliston, Deputy Oommissioner of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, To all those interested in om' WOl'k, it is atisfactory to observe that many papers wel'e read ambulance matteI'S both ciyil and military, Sm'geon-Me:1.Jor Rnttoll opened discussion by ': p,:p,er, or.. ,First Aid and Tl'anspol't of Sick and IUJmed m CIVIl lIfe m laI'ge towns, in which, after sketching what many of our 1arg,e to'YllS are doinO' in the matteI', he advocated that the polIce were the best of the system and thell' efficiency ought to be maintained by an annual course of He does not s.eem to have touched upon Lond6n and Its gl eat want, It was out that the extension of Rystem was merely a questIOn of money, de Zouche Marshall contributed a paper Qn FIrst AId 111 civil life, cbiming the support of the local authorities and the payment of the working of " pl'ofessional ambulancel's," and their instructors, He proposed a scheme for t1181r efficient instl'uction, and that pay should be regLllated by the efficiency attained. He thought that instruction with pay accOl'ding to efficiency should be given to the uuanl, fire brigade, railway men, officers of the mercantIle lock-keepers, boabmen, and intelligent men of good physique all over the country, Not every medical fledgling was really able to teach ambulance work who thought that he could do so, "Shepherd's Handbook" should be re-edited by a committee of experts, who would also form a sehool of nmbulance lllstl'llCtion in first aid for surgeons desirous of qualifying as instl'llCtors. Surgeon-Major Oaverhill and ::5urgeon-Major Valentine Matthews read papers on Cavall'J Ambulance, and thel'e was also a discussion concerning cycle ambulances and the use of the cycle 011 the field , Although this is the fil'St time that there has been a section for Navy and Army Ambulance, it has created a good deal of public intel'est and has proved a gl'eat success, Everyone will admit that the movement has made a distinct advance when we see that a. large and influential body, such as the British :Medical Association is, has devoted a separate section to the discussion of ambulance matters,

The war, in which we are still engaged, a.nd which has bl'ought so much SOl'l'OW upon the nation, has appal'ently been necessal'y to show to our authorities their defects, not only in ambulance and tra,mport, but in other military details 9f gl'eat importance, Is it also necessary that we should have some cala.mity in our st,feets by which valuable lives may be sacl'ificed in order that we should thoroughly appreciate our deficiency in civil ambulance? "We hope not!

BRISTOL MARINE AMBULANCE CORPs.-At the Bristol War Fund

Sports at the County Ground on Saturday, 18th ult., the Bristol Marine Ambulance Corps, consisting of three officers and 23 men (who recognising the charitable object of occasion paid for admission), were officially on duty with a tent, four stretchers, and all the necessary appliances, and were stationed in ·he most likely positions where accidents might occur. Fortunately their services were not requirec!.

It should be stated that they are in no way connected with the Brigade, b ut ali members are holders of first aid certificates granted by the St. John Ambulanc.e A ,; sociation,. some having medallions. They meet weekly for drIll and practice, are under medical and surcrical superv sion in all details of " First Aid to the Injured," Each subscribes weekly to tbe Corps funds,

ON Saturday, Aug-ust I rth, a strong contingent of .British officers and men left Ch,u-;ng Cross to take part in the In ternatlOnal Congress, Chief Officer T, G, Dyson in command, The Brigades represented were VVindsor Ley ton, Alton, \Vorthing, Longton, Leicester, Lyad, Stroud (Glos,): Bury (Lanes,), Great Grimsby, Eastbourne, Chipping Norton, Hove, Sittingbourne, Bury St. Edmunds, Lancaster, Bournemouth Sutton, Aldershot, Coventry, Barnes, Danven Basingstoke, On arrival at Paris, .the officers were quartered in the College Chaptal, Boulevard des Batlgnolles, the men were driven in brakes to J oinville-Ie-Pont, where under Second Officers Poncerot and i\lillington they had quarters, Accompanying the detachment were the Mayor of Wll1dsor, Mr Tovey of New York, Chief Officers Gibbard of Napier, N,Z., and Smith of Christchurch, N,Z, Dr. Ettles was in medical charge, Chief Hale of Kanzas City, U.S,A, with his team of firemen also travelled with the British contingent,

On Sunday morning, the officers attended the International Congress in the Palace of the Trocadero from 8 to IO, and in the afternoon from to 7 o'clock, many papers were read, the Russian delegates taking a prominent part.

On Monday, the 13th, the various contingents visited the cemetery of Mont Pamasse, where exquisite wreaths\were placed on the tomb of the Paris Firemen who had perished in the performan:e of their duty, and in the evening at 7,30, a grand official banquet was given to the visitors at the Restaurant Ducastaing in the Exhibition.

Tuesday was devoted to contests between the various contingents and preparatory drills,

\Vednesday was a red letter day, A grand review and processi on was held in the Hippodrome of Vincennes before President Loubet, Tt was estimated that over 6,000 firemen marched past. Thel President subsequently bestowed decorations on many prominent officers, Captains Dyson and Miller receiving gold government medals of the first clas s In the evening, the Conseil General du Department de la Seine, and of the Ville de Paris, received the contingents at the Hotel de Ville,

On Thursday the officers drove to St, Cloud and thence to Versailles and the grand Trianon, At Versailles there was ,an oi?cial reception in the Hotel de Ville by the Prefect and the Munlclpallty,

On Saturday further competitions were carried on at Vincennes, and on Sunday the British contingent journeyed to Courbevoie, where the members were received with great ceremony by the Mayor and Council, the Fire Briaade and Town Guard, A procession was formed and at the cemetery a wreath was laid on the gra ye ofthe late Captain Leroux, an officer who during his visit to England had endeared himself to hi s British comrades, Afterwards a reception was held in the Town Hall, All agreed that no part of the to more or more indicative of warm fnendshlp than thiS VISIt to CO..lrbeYOle, The detachment then returned to Palis where divine service was attended at the English church, After lunch at Vincennes, the members witnessed a magnificent display by the Fire Brigade, and after th a the prizes were given out by the MinIster of War. Subsequently several delegates attended the" At IIome" given at the Elysee by the President of the Republic,

On :'londay, officers and men dined together at the Corazza, Palais Royal, and entertained as guests the President of the French Fire Brigade Federation, C:aptain Guesnet, Captain Mignot, the President of the Italian FederatIOn, the Portuguese Commandant, the EdItor of the J oumal des Sapeurs Pompiers, the British Chaplain and other high officers, Many of the officers were handed the insignia of" Member of Honour " and I IIonorary Member ., of the French Federation

An interesting feature was the presentation, by the men, of cigarette cases to Superintendent Poncerot and Lieutenant Millington, Both of these gentlemen were greeted by enthusiast!c prolonged cheering, for the men felt how much they owed to their tireless exertlOn and seliabnegation Mr. Poncerot undertook cheerfully and uncomplainingly the drudgery, leaving the honours to those. ",ho sou!Sht them, and had it not been for his immense personal exertIOns the VISit would have been marred by some unpleasant recollections. For instance, on arrival at Vincennes at 2 a,m" no proper sleeping accommodation had been arrancred for the men, and for two days after the detachment left on Monda; afternoon, he was busily engaged setding with the various propnetors and recovering engines and apparatus from the ClUtches 01 the Customs officials , We have said so much on this point because we feel that his splendid services did not meet with the recognition they deserved, at least from the officers, and to show that ambulance officers can do good work beyond. the purview of the R ed Cross, The International Jury awarded the first prize to the Portug uese and the second to the British, but as the prize was restricted to voiunteels. the Portuguese being paid, and as the winners of the first prize never got engines to work at all, the awaru was not satIsfactory to the British, In future similar competitions it would be well to have as members of the Jury, officers with some knowledge of the lang uage,

LJAP'fAIX REXRY G, )lARSJIALLS.i Y of th e

AJc1 Brshot Fil'e Bl'igctcle, the subject of this month's sketch, was bOl'n Chickel'ell, neal' Weymouth, in l857,andec1ucaterl Flt the Oollegiate School at the latter town Oaptain Marshallsay, who is a dentist by profession, bas a lal'ge pl'actice in the milit,u'y town w::ich he has made his home, and is deservedly popular among both the Military

and Uiyil popUlation,

It was in 1888 bhat he fil'st took up "thewol'k of Fire Extinction, soon after the fOl'llJation of th'e .lUder hot Fil'e Brifirst aS,a SUpel?lUrneral')', and being drafted mto as a fil'ernan III subsequently he was appomted engmeer, and on the retu'ement of the fOl.'eman he that appointment, being further promoted on the of Oaptain ,Roxley, to the position of assistant supel'lntendent, It _Will thus be seen that Oaptain Mar. shallsay has succeSSIVely filled each O'l"Clde in the Blicrade in which he take so keen an 111.t81'est.o 0

It here .be mentioned that when a boy he was much Il1terestecl 111 the fishermer and cO<lstgunrdmen at W and he 'was taught by them various knots and splIce ' , the knowledge of w'hich has proved of the O'l'eatest value to him in connection with his fire service, °

In 1894 Mr, accompanied the oflicel's allcl members of the Bl'itish Fil'e Sel'\7ice who went on what was. called the. Vienna h'ip, and suhsequently was the fil"St to mtroduce lllto England the Pompier laddel's, life lines and belts as used in Germany and Austria,

It was in 1889 that Oaptain first went in for ambulance WOl'k, a.nd, being convinced of its O'l'eat value to those connected with the fire sen"ice he ha Be,el' since taken a warm intel'e tin eV81'ything appertaining to first aid, is the inventor of a, vel')' handy portable stretcher whICh can be easily cal'l'iecl in the hose box of <1 fire engine, and in addition to this he ha.s invented an instantaneous buckle which ha.s been largely adopted by the brigades of this countl'y,

Steps are now being taken to form a di vision of the St. Jobn AmbuBrigade in we are glad to learn that Mr. i\Iarshallsay 1S as lts chief officer, for we have realised by personal ?bservatJ.on bow thorough he is in everything he takes an active 1nterest 111.

Among ?ther posts held by Captain l\farshallsay in the fire world we may mentlOn first that of Hon. Dental Surgeon to the National Fire Brigades Uni0n, and in this capacity he carefully exarnined the teeth of many members of the Fire Brigades' Ambulance Contincrent who are now doing duty Africa , He is Hon,OSecretary 0 the Southern Dlstnct of the l nlon, holds its long-service medal, and 15 a Membre du Honneur of both the French and Belcrian Federations. Frank and genial, a thoroughly good fellow all round, Captain Marsballsay make,S fnencls where ever he goes, he is an enthusiastic Free,mason and thiS no accounts in great measure for kindly charItable nature suffice to say that the friends of Harry l\1arshallsayand they are legIOn-trust that for many years he may be given health and strength to come amongst them and take the san,e active interest in bot h amb ulance and fire work which has Jone so l1ll';::h ior the promot on of their userulness in the past,

By OUIRURGLS,

w;n' is dl'<.l,ggillg .<llong t;lowly without anything pal'twulal'ly OCCl1 I'1'll1g, ] t 8eews a pity that It cannot fil1?shed and the enemy subdued at one full swoop, but cOllsldenng the enOl'mous extent auc1 the nature of tbe country, the in bl'iuging it to a mlU,t not Le undel'-et;tIl11atet:.1. I sincerely hope that the measures Lonl Robelts seems no,y to be prepcu'll10' for the benefit of General Botha may be successful. tl

, South Ahican Hospital" Oommission has had some Slttll1gS and heal'd some evidence and will hold its next meeting in South Africa, '

The e:idence that has been bl'ought fOl'ward up to the IS, n?t very: damaging to the milital')' authOl'ities, although It IS admItted that when there was a rush of cases the fm a short time was inadequate,

The pomt that I am most interested in and I think also that my readers are, is 'whether the St', John's men l?l'o:red efficient. evidence that I have got hold of so far IS conflIctmg, some doctors saying that theil' lack them failures. Mr, Watson Cheyne in hIS eVIdence saId, "as to the orderlies, it was generally remarked that bhe St, John Ambulanee men were not O'ood owing to their want of tmining, but the Slll'O'eon commissioned officers wel'e vel'y good," °The (medical) correspondent of the Physician and lhwgeon bays one cloe:-; not like to reflect unkindly on a yel'y deselTing hotly of men, but one is bonnd to say that the Y,.JI.S,U, and f:t, John's men are lamentable failures in h03pital wOl'k, despite the faet of their often being men of supel'ior education, Such first aid tl'ained mat81'ial ,vas better than nothing, but, as we cannot expect to have a regulal' medical COl pS sufficiently large fOl' big campaigns like the present, the next thing is to create a resel've which shall be p,u ,tially paId and undergo a period of hospital training each yecn. " ow these two gentlemen apparently haye not \vorked with our 111en ,-I should like to hear the opinions of those doctors w}1r) have, ,Ye know that an efficient hospital orderly cannot be tm'ned out in a week or two's training, but our men must have done yery good sen-ice if we look at the of respon ibility they ha,-e held, and at the fact that many m'e asked to stay on at pay, Fl'om what I have heard ancl Ileell of the men who have rebl'l1ed, 1 firmly believe that om' men have done work that is thoroughly appreciated by our sick and wounded soldiers, and apart from inch \Tic1ual instances of bad beha,iour (which al'e bound to occur in a numbel' of men ) 1 shall want a good clea.l to conyince me that our men al'e very far behind the R,A,M,S,

In pl'oof of what I say, I append the following letter which has been forwarded to the Editor by the recipient hom the North of Enghnd:-

Xo , II GE::\ERAL HOS P ITAL, JUli e [8th, I900,

"You \\'ill doubtless be surprised to receive a letter from me, a stranger to you; but I felt that in writing I should only be doing my duty to the m<>mbers of the St. John Ambulance Brigade who are out here in South Africa (especially in Kimberley Hospital), I am at present in Kimberley Hospital convalescent, after an attack of enteric fever, but with good nursing ancl attendance by a St. JOlIn's man, I ha ve managed to pull through When they are on duty they are :l.lways ready to do anything for our co mfort, It does not matter what ward you go into, you hear the patients speak well of the Brigade and theilnursing, I trust that you will read this short letter to the members of the Brigade in Kendal to show holY much Tommy Atkins appreciates your men out here, I wish especially to speak of Private Leighton who is in charge of my ward, he is so willing to do anything for us that will in any way do us good, IIe is a good nurse and a man that [ shall respect and think well of. I now conclude, wishing the Brigade every success ,"-Yours &C ,-Ist Border Regiment.

FIRST

lDolunteer Bmbulance $cbool of 3nBtruction.

The 40th class for the instruction of :Yledical Officers in the subjects of the Proficiency Examination will be held at the Head Quarters of The Prince of Wales's Own, 12th Middlesex (Civil Service) Y.R., Som.erset House, Strand, W.C., by permission of Lieut.-Col. H. B. H Commanding Prince of Wales's Own, 12th i\1idrllesex (Cml ServIce) V. R., and will last five days, commencing on ;\1 0nday, .September 24th, Ig00, at 2.30 p.m. precisely, and concludIng' on Fnday, 26th, Igoo, at ).30 p.m. The instruction will include all he subJec.ts of the examination, also the duties of Medical Officers generally In Camps, Quarters, Bivouacs, with Brigade Bearer and. oth.er Units on the line of mHch and elsewhere. PractIcal InstructIon In Company Dlill will form an important part of the w.ork. of the class Officers who are unable to attend this class can obtaIn ll1struction by correspondenr:e. These classes will be under the instruction of Surgeon·Capt. E. M. Callender, M.D., Prince of Own. 12th :\Iiddlesex, (Civil Service) V.R to whom all officers WIll apply, at +0, Connaught Square. Hyde Park, Lonrior., 'y., who intend to either class or who wish for further informatIOn, at the same tIme stating their rank and corps.

The Autumn Classes for the training of Stretcher Bearers will commence on October 4th, I goo, at 7.40 p m., at the Head Qua rters of the London Rifle Brigade, 130, BunhiIl Row, E.C by permission of Lieut.-Col. K i\1atthey, commanding the London Rifle Brigade. There will be the usual class for new memb::rs, and also a class for passed members under the charge of Surgeon-Capt. E. M. Callender, M.D., Prince of Wale s's Own, 12th Middlesex (Civil Service) V.R., and Surgeon-Lieut. G. Cohen, M.B., 1st Volunteer Battalion, Middlesex Regiment. Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and Men will be permitted to the classes on presentation of application forms, properly endorsed by tbeir Adjutant or Captain. Application Forms can be obtained of the Honor;:ry Secretaries, Ambulance -Sergeant J. H. Bussell, 13, Gower Street, W C, or of Ambulance -Corporal E. G. Davies, I, Lombard Court, KC., or at the Office of the School, 8, Portman Street W. (By Order) P. B. GILES, F.R.C.S., Brigade-Surgeon Lieut.-Col. Senior M edical Officer Instructor. .'\ ugust 16th, IgOO

BIR:--lIXGHA;\I AND DISTRICT BRIGADE.- The monthlv meeting of the Committee of this AS30ciation was held July 31st, at th-e Chief Fire Station, :'11'. A. R. Tozer, presiding. There were 12+ cases of first a id reported for the month of July from nine divisions. The usual arrangements were made for the Charity Sports at Ashton Lower Grounds, on August 25th. An officer and ten men will be on duty. I t was resolved to send a letter of congratulation to the Chairman of the Brigade CommittEe (Alderman Edwards) on his selection to the Lord Mayoralty of the city.

CERTIFICATES FOR MERCHA:>IT SE1{VICE OFFICERS.-

The follIowing correspondence has passed between the Assistant Secretary of the Board of Trade and the Mercantile Marine S ervice Association :-" July lIth, 1900. Sir,-r'am directed by the B oard of Trarle to refer to your letter of the 8th July last, respecting the proposal to compel candidates for masters' certificates of competency, to show tbat they have passed through a course of instruction in 'First aid to the injured." The question was considered last year by the B oard of Trade, but, in view of tbe opposition of certain representative associations which were consulted, no action was then taken in the matter. The Board have, however , receivedacon:munication from the Chamber of Shipping, dated the 5th inst., stating, on behalf of the affiliated shipassociations of the United Kingdom, that they consider it to add th.is subject to those in which candidates are at present examIned for certIficates of competency They are of opin ion it should be an optional subject in the examination for a secon d mate's certifi.cate., bu.t that it should be an obligatory subject in the first mate 's 10 al.1 where the candidate has not already passed in Flr,;t a Id to 111Jured.' In these r.ircumstances, the Board of Trade would b: glad Ifyou would be so good as to favour them with any further whIch the association may desire to offer in this matter -

J. HOWELL."-" Aug. 14tb, 1";00. Sir,-I am directed by the of this association to acknowledge your letter of the lIth ult., respectIng the proposal to compel candidates for certificates of com petency show th:'lt. they have passed through a course of instruction in' First ald.to the 111Jured,' and desiring to be favoured with any further observat.lOn.s from this association upon the proposal of the Chamber of that this subject should be optional for the second mate's certIficate but obligatory in the first mate's examination. My coun ci l

A I D. [Septemb er, 1900 .

again reiterate the view expressed in their letter of the 8th .July, 1899, and while agreeing that it is most desirable that officers 111 the mercaptile marine should have the requisite knowledge to apply first aid, they are still of opinion that the amhulance certificate should be voluntary and not a compulsory qualificat ion [or a certificate of comp eten cy. It does not appea.r clear to this on what gro'.ll1ds even an elementary knowleJge of surgery or medICIne be demanded from candidates for certificates of competency as navigators and seamen, but if such compulsory requirements are justified on the score of humanity, then the qualification should not be confined to first mates, but should be extended to the engine-room staff, where in larae modern the risk of accident is somewhat greater than on deck :'ly council are informed that it is the pradice of some of the great railway corr.panies to give a bonus to such of their employes as possess the ambulance qualification, and they have no d(;ubt that if shi powners express a bona-fide desi re to eng8 ge officers wi th ambulan ce trainina, they will find that a large number will readily qualify To enable them to do so, however, it is necessary that facilities should be offered by the B oard of Trade in the establi>hment of regular ambulance classes at each of the large ports where officers, engineers, and seamen can obtain the requisite in first aid' requirements-C. P. GRYLLS, Secretary."

$t. 30hn Bll1bulance :f13rigabe.

:'1:e.TROPOLIT AN CORPS

HOSPITAL SATURDAY F ui\' D DIYISlO • -The following medical gentlemen have just been officially app8inted Hon. Surgeuns to the Hospital Saturday Fund Centre and Division :-Dr. Abbott, L.R.C.P., L. R .C.S., Reginald Ingram, Esq., L.S.A.

CO PS.

BELFAST.-A _ INsPECTIo:\'.-On the nnd ult., Lieut.-Colonel Charles J. Trimble attended the Belfast Fire St.ation and made the a nnual inspection of the men connected with the St. John Ambulance service in Belfast. Sir William Quartus Ewart, Bart., presided at the ceremony, wbich took place in the engine room of the station before upwards of one hundred ladies and gentlemen. Of the fifty ambulance men thirty-eight were paraded and put through a number of exercise s by the Assistant Superintendent (:\lr. Stafford) and Engineer Re\ ill. The exercises, which embraced bandaging, transporting, and stretcher drill, were watched by the audience with Rreat in terest, and at the close Lieut.-Colonel Trimble, addressing the men , said he was gratified to know from the Superintendent (:\Ir. Smith) that the strength of the division would be considerably increased by the addition of those who would receive certificates in first aid that day He would briefly refer to the marked assistance rendered by that division to the terrible accident at Belfast Lough a short time ago through a collis ion of t\\'o steamers He had not the particulars before him, but he understood that their wagons made eleven trips, and removed some thirty injured people to the Royal Hospital in the most expeditious and perfect manner. That was a capital performance, both as regarded the turnout of the wagons and the removal of the injured to the hospital. He sho uld like to say, without disparaging any other di visions under his charge in England, that he did noL know a ci y or a town bette r supplied or better equipped, so far as the transport of injured and rendering of first aid was concerned, than Belfast. He congratulated Superintendent Smith on the condition of his men, and it would be a great pleasure to him to report upon what he had see n that day.

(Applause) The Chairman then distributed the certificates won by the ambulance men during the year. Proceeding, he said, if people could imagin e what. Belfa st was before the ambulance centre was formed, when there was no sucb skill as there was now, they must acknowledge that it was a great advantage to have in their community so many persons who were trained in that most important work of rendering aid to those who met with accidents. With regard to the ambulance carriages, their first carriage wa s presented by a kind-hearted citizen in 1893, and two had been provic!ed by the ratepayers s ince. Colonel Trimble had referred to the most valuable services rendered by the men in connection with the recent lamentable collision in Belfast between two st::lamers. On that occasion the three ambulances were brought in to use, and most effective aid was rendered by the firemen, under the able superintendence of Mr. Smith. As Colonel Trimble had observed, that was the only place in Ireland which was qualified to recei ve a visi t from him. Tn Belfast tb ey did not blow their own trum p et, and, being Scotch people, they did not appreciate themselves thorougly-(Iaughter)-but he boped the example they had set might be taken up by Dublin, Cork, and other centres, ane! that they might show a similar desire in regard to the alleviation of suffering. Councillor Curley submitted a report by Superintendent Smitb regarding the ambulance work which stated that the work was still increasing. No fewer than 1,875 calls had been received (showing an increase of 72), occupying 991 hour s and 12 minutes (being an increase of 131 hours

September, 1900. ] FIRST

50 minutes from last :year). This was an average of 32 minuies per Journey from th.e recelpL of the call until the carriage returned to the -r: he traversed was 4,5 99!t miles, or an average of 2! mIles per SIngle Journey. The number of calls received between the hours of 6 a .m and 6 p.m_ was 1, 078, and betweer! the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a m. 797· Councillor Curley formerly moved a vote of thanks to Colonel Tnmble for attcnding there that day and making the inspection.

BOLTON -,T he Annual Inspection of Corps was held recently a; George s School, the headquarters. LI eutenant-Colonel Trimble, KnIght of of tbe Order of St. John of Jerusalem, commanding the North-west DIstrIct, conducted the inspection. There ,vas a good parade of men, and all 1V0re the reaulation uniform. Colonel Trim ble having made an inspection of uniforms and equipment, said he not leave WIthout sayll1g how well pleased he was with all he had wItnessed. The stretcher.work was excellent. He congratulated 1\1 r. Lomax on the of hIS work, and on the hct of his ha\'ing the record for. the number of men sent to South Africa The Bolton Corps had. furn}.shed more men than any other Corps or Division in the U nlled h mgdom 620 men had gone out from the Torth-west District, and gg Bolton men were included in th:l.t number. The two H on.

Drs. Thompson and Johnson, must have de\'o ted much time a.nd pnyence to the branch of the work. The Corps was conducted on fight lmes, a n d he should forward a satisfactory report to headquarters

HEA:\'OR.-On Saturday, the lIth ult the annual of this Corps took place on the Heanor Football Ground when t\\"o silver cups were gi\'e.n to be competed for. The following' Corps competed for the cups, VIZ., H eaton, IIkeston, Eastwood, Bircbwood, and Tibshelf, and Dr. Lunde of Smalley, Dr. Barber of Eastwood, J?r. Tarton and Dr. Caines of Heanor, officiated as judges, ar:d awarded tne pnzes follows :-.Challenge Cup to Heanor Ambulance Corps, and the Dnll Cup Lo Tlbshelf Ambulance Corps. Three prizes were :llso gl\'en the best pl.ayed quickstep on the march witbout corps accompanylllg, and the Judges awarded the prizes as follows :-Tibshelf, I ; Heanor Band, 2 and Ilkeston Band, 3.

Saturday, the 4th ulL., the Annual Review of the i\llddlesbrough and Cle,'eland Centre of the St. John Ambulance Association took place, by the kind im'itation of i\lrs. Chaloner of Longhill, in the Priory Guisborougb. After a slight the afternoon turned out fav o urable for the success of an out -door fete and the passeu off without a hitch. Special trains brought men to G;l1sboroug-h, and when they arrived a procession, marshalled hy 1\1r. II m, J P., of Guisborough, was formed in Bellmangate, outSide the statIOn gates. The grand total on parade was 733. The process ion paraded up Fou;ltain Street, Chaloner Street, i\1arket Place. and Bow Street to the grounds, where tee classes were arranaed in double file 3round the lawn which occupies the site of the Priory. The inspecting officer was Surgeon-Major Hutton (late P.C. R. Rifle B r igade). commissioner of the St. John Ambulance Association. Su geon-:\lajor Hutton, who afterwards adcressed the members, said it had accorded him very great pleasure to accede to the request of hIS old and valued friend, Mr. Waynman Dixon. to be present at that most interesting gathering. This country had been engaged for oe\'eral months in a war in South Africa, and this war had brought home to him recollections of his own service in South Africa The depart men t to II hich he had the honour to rmy i\ edica I Corps-had been se \'e rel)' criticised during the last month or two by Burdett-Coutts, i\l.P., in his con espondence to the" Times." That gentlemcdl had also said that their system was inelastic. lf there was anything on whicb he felt strongly it \I as this, for in his opinion this "ystem had been most elastic For this 'e ry reason that they had bee n able to command in a very short the assistance of SOD medical ci vilians, as well as 1,500 am bu lance men who had done yeoman service in the hospitals in South Africa. ,Vhat did that gentleman expect? There was no system they could put down on paper that could meet all the exigencies of war. Before the battle of Colenso it was thouaht that lh.ey might 1ave sixty wounded men in that engagement, but that very nIght they had 700 men recei\'ed for treatment, and properly attended to. He gaye them this fact on the authority of Mr. Treve s, ,,,,horn he had met this week. He had met many ambulance men wh o had horne from .the war,. and had cross-questioned them, and they told hlln that everythl ng pOSSIble was done fer the sick and wounded. Il appeared to him that a mal' who could wri te as 1\1r. BurdettCoutts, l\l.P., had done expected the Army ;\1edical Corps to be a superhuman in stitution. \ll olher member of the I10use ot Commons Sir.,Yalter Foster, bad becn suggestIng that one or two leading tanan s ought to have been sent out to gi\ e aJ"ice as to the epidemic of enteric feyer. But eyen if Sir \\Talter F oster had been there himself could he haye prevented the contamination of the i\lodder River by dead bodies or the cutting off of the water supply? It was most unfair that he shou ld attempt to throw blame on them in this respect He bad the testimony of many fellow officers, who bad told him that they never expected to be treated on the field as well as they were. They did not expect to receive the comfor ts as they might have done in

A

I D. 23

hospitals at horne. But they had received treatment and attention of a hl15 h order, and i\1r. Treves, Sir McCorma c and others had testl.fied to .the able manner in which the Army Medical Corps had carned on ItS work.

NORTH WESTERN DISTRICT CONE'ERENCE.-The Annual District Conference will held at the headquarters of the Morecambe Division, on S<l:tur.day, .September 22nd, 1900. Tbe Deputy Comof the Dlstnct, LIeut.-Col. Charles J. Trimble, V.D., will take the chaIr at 3 p.m. Tea, to be followed by a concert and dance, will be served at 5 p.m at headquarters, to which the delegates are invited by the officers and members of the i\1orecambe Division For this tea and entertainment a limited number of tickets will be issued to friends of the at an inclu<;i,'e charge of 2S. each. A museum will be organIsed In one of the rooms at headquarters, for the exhibition of ambulance appliances accessories, and of curios, trophies, photogra phs, &c., connected wtth ambulance work. The museum will be o.pen during the afternoon and evening- to delegates and holders of tIckets to the tea and entertainment. Contributions to this museum are invited, and any loans accepted will be carefully returned after the conference. Hospitality is offered by the members of the f\lorecambc D.ivision for Satur.day and Sunday to those delegates who may WIsh to stay the mght In i\lorecambe. It is hoped it may be possible to make arrangements for the delegates staying over Saturday night to at breakfast on Sunday and after breakfast to take part 111 a church parade to the pansh church. Dr. Oldham, the Hon. Sec. will. pleased to hear from a - yone wishing to be :present. Any exhIbIts for the museum ca n be forwarded to Superintendent Hargrea\'e:: Albert Ha.11.

fourth annual re\-iew and competitions of the No. + district o f the Brigade (wh ch includes the greater p3rt of Lancashire) took place on Saturday, the IIth ult., at Oldham, and in respect of the number of competitors and also of the interest taken in the proceedings by the public the affair was a \ ery great success. Squads of police and corps uf ci\'ilian nursing sisters and ambulance men competed from Manchester, Blackpool, Bootie, R ochdale, Roy ton, Bury, Bacup, Tottington, and Oldham, there being 176 men and 107 ladies-:.t total of 2 3 -in the march past and review. Considerable interest was taken in the presence of five members of the Oldham branch of the in khaki uniform, who had lately returned in the town after doing six months' duty in the field hospitals in South Africa. The nay's proceedings began with the competition for the Lees sih'er challenge cup and medals, open to squads of fi\'e men from any police force in the district, for which there were four entries-fr om :'1anchester, Oldham , Bootie, and Blackpool. The examination was conducted by Dr. F. de B. Pim, of Harrowford, and Dr. Colin Campbell, of U ppermiU, assisted by i\1r. J. S. Jones, superintendent of the Oldham district. The afternoon s competitions included practical demonstrations in bandaging, artificial respiration, and firft aid to the injured in a supposed railway accident. At the close i\lajor Trimble announced that the prizes had been awarded as follows :-The Lees P olice Cup: First prize, won by the Oldham sq uad with a total of 181 marks out of a possible 200. The second prize was \Yon by the Bootie squad. The third prize was won by B lackpool, the i\hnchester squad coming nex t In tne sisters' competition :'1rs Dr. Thomson's Oldham band \Ias the WIl1ner, Mrs. Ashford's Rochdale class being second. In the ambulance men's competition the first prize was allotted to th e Oldham Corps, under Superintendent J. S. Jones, the second prize to i\lr. Lambert's Bacup Corps, and the third prize to l\lr Hartley's Rochdale Corps. !\Iajor Trim.ble said the parade had been everything that he could expect. Refernng to the drafts of am bulance men sent to the seat of war, he said that out of 1,600 sent by the ,,,h ole Brigade the district had sent 630, and that had really furnished far more than their share; and, WIth the exceptIon of a small number from Keswick and K endal and some from CheshIre, they were all Lancashire lads. He was glad to be able to say that not one of them had had to be brouO'ht before the officers at the front for bad behaviour. They had well behaved, and their work had been highly appreciated by the officers in comm3n::l and by the " Tommies" who had com e under their treatment. I would gIve him great pleasure to make a favourable report to the Commissioner. !\Ir. Charles Lees presented the prizes to the successful competitors.

RO CHDALE.-ROl'AL LAr-:cASHTRE AGRICULTURAL SHO\\· -This Corps had some of its members in attendance at the show, their stand being one of the prettiest, in its interior, on the ground. The walls were adorned \",ith a number of photographs, one of Lord Roberts occ upying a prominent pl ace. There were photographs of local ambulance men nOlI' sen'ing at the fro n t-Pnvates Tweedale, Rushton, Harrop, Pullen, Brownbridge, and Knott; and o.ne of Pri \ ate D. J. Applegate, wh o recently died in S.outh Afnca. ?all1tdy arranged ante-room is fitted lip for the receptIOn of lad): vIslt?rs. or patients. The doctors were represented Dr. ellers, i\lIi.ls, \\ alker, Jefferson, Lord, an d Baillie; and tbe nurs1l1g sIsters by FIrst Officer Mrs. Ashworth and the Mi sses A. and E Clough,.r\. Lord, and G. Taylor, 1\1rs. Vhipp, Misses i\ l artindale,Grindrod, SImpson, .:\shworth, Mrs, Scott, lUrs. Kenyon, l\Iisses H, Clarke, Hordern, Bmns, and

FIRST

\Voodhead. Dr. Sellers, chief surgeon, writes: "\Ye pro\'ided a t\'."o roomed hut with a connecting door in mid partition, each room ha\'ing an outer dfJor. One room was for general and contained a long narrow table 6 ft. 6-in., a rack of six containing number of splint5, bandag'es (roller and trIangular), plaster, Imt, aosorbent wool, tow, &c also necessary bottles of simple drugs and lotions, a board on II hich the necessary orders were fixed. The other roam was fitted up with a bed. eacy table, commode, &c. ; outside was a wheeled litter and rack containing- six r am glad to say there were only accidents, chieAy of a slight character, which. consicering- the number :;f on the ground with moving machinery. horses, :Xc was surprising. I quote from tbe Rochdalt! Ot,sfrur the following figures :-

Turnstile record

Other admissions

total 6+.356.

Deputy Commissioner C. J. Trimble. Knight of Grace uf the Order of St. Jobn of Jerusalem, \'isited and inspected the station on Friday, Jllly 27th, was very pleased. writing in the visitors' books: 'The station seems excellently organised in e\'err respect.'''

\\'ELLl.·r,r,OROl'GH.-Thanks to the characteristic and thoug-htful kindness of 11r. and Wm. Le\\in. the officers and men of the headquarters di\,ision of the \\'elling-borough Corps were on Saturday, the r8th uil., entertained to an enjoyable holiday in the lo\'elr grounds of Sunningdale, their Charming residence at Hat.ton Park. Gpon the arri\'al of the guests at thf! grounds they were entertained to tea, which \\'as served at little dotted about the pretty gardens alld terraces. ror the special inlerect of the men a number of competitions were these being. howe\·er. watched by equal interest by other g-uests. The yarious com pe<i tion e were gone throug-h under th'=! direction of the officers, among-st whom \"ere Chief Superintendent

T. H. Hilton. Superintendent C. ::\icholson. Superintenrlent Trenery (Kettering), Superintendent Caye (Rushden), :Xc., and the adjudications were made by the medical gentlemen as follo\\' :-Stretcher Detachment Competition (for teams of four men): r B. Jeffery's team, 2 W. Page's team, 3 L:1.wren ce's team. Roller Randage Competition (single man): Bugler hancis, 2 Corporal Hillyard, 3 Cyclist Lawrence. Stretcher Detachment Competition for Recruits: [ Private Speech ley's team, 2 Private Swannell's team. Turn- out Competit.ion (single man): ryclist B. Jeffery, 2 Bugler Francis, 3 F, Cathn. Triangular Bandage Competition (sing-Ie man): Cyclist E. Jeffery, 2 Private Braybrook, 3 Private J. \Y. At the close of the tea, Chief Superintendent Hilton expressed on behalf of the officers and men their gratitude to 1lr. and :'IIrs. Lewin for their great kindness in entertaining them in the way they had done that day. Chief Surgeon Audland, in seconding, said how much the Corps appreciated :'lIT. and :\lrs Lewins kindness. It was :'IIr. Lewin "ho first put it into the heart of :'Ilr. Grayely \Voolston tfJ sec?nd gre3.t gift .of the CottaQ'e Hospital by gi\'ing a sIte for that buddlDlS, and had It not been for him they might nol ha\'e h.ad a Cottage Hospital. :\1r. and :\1rs. L e\\'in had also helped tbem In many other ways. and had done noble and philanthropic Tbe yote. haYIng been accorded with ringingcheers, 1Ir. LeIYID, :n reply, saId tbat :'I1rs. Lewin and himself had tried .to disc?:uge a duty that had been a yerr pleasant one. They had In a slIght manner recognised the debt they owed to the Ambulance Corpe. \\ho were engaged in a yery noble work: fellow-helpers \l'ho were trylDg t? help forward humanity, and they could not do better than by. trylllg help suffering humanity. After a yote of thanks to SuperIntendent Hilton and the judges, the ba:ld played the ::\atlOnal Anthem, and the happy proceeGings were brcu !lt to a close.

JUST PUBLISHED - Cloth, 142 pp. Is.6d. Net.

With 60 Illustrations from Photographs.

PRACTICAL FIRST AID.

By WM. ROBERTSON, M.D. , D.P.H .. Lectu?'e?' to the St. A nd?'el (md St. Ambulance .A 88ociations.

A I D. LSep t ember. 1900 .

LEYTO:\.-The annual excursion of Ley ton and Leytonstone Division of the St. John Ambulance Brigade took place on Saturday, 18th ult. the e\'ent being graced with yery favourable weather. Two were chartered to cOl1\'ey the party to its destination-Lam bourne. The party numbered fifty, and included Superintendent Olley. ;\[rs. and ;\Tiss Olley, rirst Officer A. F. Paddon, and Second Officer \Y. :\fagnus. After a substantial tea at tbe "Retreat," there was a little speech-making. The Superintendent announced that ithad been decided to admit honorary members to the division, and that his wife and :\Iiss Ada B. Olley were the first to enrol themsel\'es as such, each with a subscription of half-a-guinea. ;\Ir. E. Reynolds, of II ford (whose son is a member of the Brigade), also applied to be enrolled as an honorary member, and his request t\'as cheerfully complied with.

::\ORTRAMPTO:-'--.-Her Majesty tbe Queen has been graciously pleased to confer the honour of Honorary Sen'ing Brother of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in England on l\Ir. Henry T. FTace),. tbe Honorary Secretary of the ::\orthampton Centre.

A XE\\, improved ambulance for cases of accident has been purchased by the Sheffield Corporation. The new ambulance will be housed at the Fire Station, and will be at the call of the public any hour of the day or night.

A \YARD .-H THE PA RIS EXHIBrTTO:\. Our hearty congratulations to :\1 essrs. Down Bros. of St. Thomas's Street, Borough. This firm has ?een the .Grand Prix i-: Class r6 (:\Ie.dical and Surgerr), for Its exhIbIt of SurgIcal Instruments and Asceptlc Hospital Furniture. This success is all the more pronounced when it is borne in mind tbat tbat the jury was an International one, composed of foreign medical men.

Wfor KlJRSES(notinfectious J and oLher . Comfortable hou e facing sea, Terms moderate. Miss Howard, 7, The Strand, '.Valmer.

F or I2 months, IS. 6d., post fr ee, to

PART XVII.

?f a D welling.-When opport unity offers for a ?Welllllg th.ere a.re sevf!ral conditions "'hich may be usefully bo rne m mmd. SunlIght IS an essential of health, and the aspect of the house, therefore, ought to be such as to permit full advantaae to be taken of this fact. In this country, a house with the livinofacing south or south-west is to be preferred. 1:0

t: house facing is usually damp, and nearly always cold; one facm.g east or west IS warmer, but subject to damp; that facing south obtalll s more sunshllle and less damp than any other, and this for all seasons of the year.

Trees should not. surround the house too closely, for by doing so they keep off sunlIght and prevent evaporation of moisture. If remO\:ed CI. sufficient trees act beneficially by sheltering from the WInd, more especlally If they are placed to the north and east.

Sozl.-A dry soil is of the utmost importance. The site of tbe house, .t herefore, ought to be On a soil which permits ,,"ater to run directly off Its surface, or permeates it to such a distance as to lea\'e the house situation dry. A rock foundation is one of the best because water runs directly off its surface. Gra yel or sand sites are healthy provided that the level of the subsoil water is more __ than ten feet below the surface if it rise higher, the basement of the house will be permanently damp. (Fig. ro). ::\ot only that, but the rise of subsoil water will dri\'e unhealthy g-round air into Fig. IO.-a, GRAVEL. b, ROCK. the dwelling. :-\ clay soil, orone composed of hard marl, or IS the worst, because while largely impermeable they soak up a suffiCIent amount of water to be permanently damp.

If the soil be sand with an underlying stratum of clay, the underground water will be unable to penetrate the clay, and thus again the foundations will be damp. (Fig, r I)

r ...:!J b

Fig. 12. - :\UDE SOIL.

b, PIT WITH REFT!3E. a. CLAY. drainage of the sub-soil.

h?use ":3.5 more less consta'ltly filled "'Ith the pOIsonous gaseous exhalations. Tb.is fermentation may proceed for a long time, and not until at least three years haye elapsed can a house built on such a site be considered as fit to be inhabited. (Fig. 12 ), EYen a geologically bad site. such for example, a5 loose marl with a substratum of clay. may be rendered habitable by' proper

In a well plann.ed sy:tem o.f tbe sub-soil water is drawn ¥ff through entJrely dlstmct from tho!>e com'eying the se\\aae. f n sOdmeh tbe selvers are used to conduct this water oun at t e se'\'ers get full.

the sewage oyerllolYS intO the sub-soi I drains and con taminates the soil. Sub-soil drains should be loose at the joints and made of pen'ious material so tbat the water may ohtain an easy entrance. Selyers, on the other hand, ought to be hermeticallr sealed :lnd be impermeably glazed (Fig. 13).

It has been found tbat in damp districts which hal'e beer,

Fig. 13.-BAD ITE a, :\L\DE sorL. b, CLAY. c, COXCRETE FOl:::\D.-HlO:\. d, SUB-SOIL DRA1:\. on the aboye lines, the mortality from consumption and rheumatic fe\'er bas fallen to less than balf of what it pre\-iously \\'as. House C onstruct.ion.-Ha\·ing obtained a suitable site and aspect, the. bouse constructIOn ought primarily to be such as to exclude mOIsture a,nd carb?n-dioxi.de laden ground air. or seiter gr..s or escaping c03.1 gas trom neIghbOUrIng mains by l:.eing laid on a damp course of concrete or asphalt. The walls may be of brick stone concrete, or ., half timber," that is, of brick and timber work A sound brick is about 9 inches long by 3 inches thick and inches \\'Ide, h.ard and hea \,y, and ringing "'hen struck. Bricks aie more economical than stOne, not only becauseofthe ease with ,,·hich they can be manIpulated, but also because they maintain the \\'armLh of tbe dl\'ell1l1¥. A. stone wall permits heat to be lost ttree times as rapIdly as does a bnck one. On the othl"r hand, bricks absorb more moistu,-e than stOne -nearly t.wice as much. ordinary brick will suck up a pint of water, whIle a block of granne the same size "'ill absorb only twO ounces. The ll'alls of tl:.e house should be at least q inches (a brick and a half) thick. A sirlgle brick wall ( 9 inches) permits heat to be lost too easily and this is cold in winter and hot in summer.

They should be bound witb good mortar composed of three parts sharp sand and one part slaked lime. E,'ery third or fourth course be ?lIed up witb "grouting," that is mortar worked to a more lIqUId consIstency, to enable it to permeate the cre\·ices. It is imnortant that the sand used should be clean. If it contains many gra,.'elly stones or some earth its binding qualities are much lessened.

A well built wall then is thick, Lhe brick are hard, and only enouah morlar is used to maintain adhesion so that the bricks take up the pressure.

A badly built wall is thin (" one brick "I the bricks are red and soft, the mortar is mixed with unwashed sand or e\'en road scrapings. and the bncks are buried in much mortar so that wben this is washed away by driving rain the security of the is threatened.

Fig I I. -a, SAND. b, CLAY.

illade Sozl should always be regarded witb suspicion. Local authorities are now more active than they used to be in superintending house const ruction, but even now the method of the" jerry builder," who has secured a plot of ground not infrequently, to dig up the sand and gravel from the to be utilised for making mortar or concrete; any surplus beIng sold at so much a load. Then, having exposed the to up a brJard-:-" Rubbish may be shot here "-and have the site with all the heterogenous collection of organic Inorgalllc materIal known ;IS" rubbish:' The alternate moistenand drying of this" soil" sets up slow decomposition or fermentatIOn of the organic portions, with the result that the basement of the

(To be cOlltiIlUed.)

\YE regret that a mistake should haye inad\'ertently occurred in this column last month. The President of the Annual :\Ieeting of the British ;\Iedical Association was Dr. Elliston of Ipswich, and not his brother, the Deputy Commissioner of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, as therein stated.

ALEX. GARDXER, 26, PATERXOSTER ,'QUARE, Lo::mo::\, E.C., AXD PAISLEY; AKD ALL BOOKSELLERS.

FIRST (tarr\?ing Sheet Str etc her.

d b J 0 DERHAM ESQ. Cht'el" Constable of, 1nvente ?' \ '. '.J II d elllarr;ed and rOll7lerled to Streicher, 1vith poles, &c., as 7 d Usb,ate 1,)1 \1 FIlFD PAI"!F. n'h'll'jfd,le, Bedfor

AID. [October, 1900.

It is composed of a sheet made of pliable and strong brown 0: white canvas. about 6 ft. 4 in. long, 2 ft. 4 111 and along each SIde are laced brass eyelet holes, through which passed a soft and strong p tt pe knotted at certain dista nces 1D such a way as to form co on ro d d h h h' h handles or loops can be easily graspe ,an roug w IC a bamboo pole is threaded. t is claimed that this Stretcher possesses ad.vantages over all it imparts a feeling of perfect safety to tbe .pallen t; the length or \vldth can be instantly modified where the space IS The senes of side loops can be used as at an? POll1t, so that mor.e. that: tIVO bearers can assist if the welgbt of the patient render!:> It tbe oles also can be grasped at any pOint throughout. thetr length, b p D' closed in the sheet like other stretchers, and It can be used with em", en h one or both transverse bars or without elt er.

1900.] FIRST

It bas also been found from practical exjJen'e7lce that anyone can be most comfortably lifted into an open Victoria on this stretcher. A narrow board with cushion should be placed slant-wise across tbe seats (so leaving room each side [or friends to sit), one of the helpers should get into the carriage at the far door and assist the bearers to lift it oyer the side, the poles should rest on the back of one s id e of the carriage and on the opposite corner of the otber seat; extra cushions being pJ.cked under the shoulders and round the patient as required

These, then, are the merits of this new Carrying Sheet Stretcher, and we have n o hesitation in recommending it to our friends, and especially to all Institutions where invalids dwell, br it is in s'lch places where appliances of this nature are mostly required.

It is sold by Messrs. Bailey & Son, of 38, Oxford Street, and the prices are very moderate.

'UWar 11111bulance.

C01YUIENTS ON THE WAR.

By CHIRURGUS.

It is great relief to eyerybody to see in the last week or two th e collapse of the Boer forces, and it i ... to be hoped now that Lord Roberts will soon declare that a state of peace exists. It 'will not be very long before some of the men begin to return, and then the rejoicings will begin, and the people, parents and relati\'es of our soldiers, will giYe voice to their long pent-up feelings.

IT aives us "ery areat pleasure to place before Ollr readers the merits of thist=oCarrying Stretcher,. invented by Mr. I)f and en brged, &c., by l\lrs. P ame, of Bedford.. It IS :rery .slIn p.le a nd seemo to supply a want that has been long felt If carry ing !TIvahds up

The carrying sheet can be either used alone or in conjunctIOn with a Furley Stretcher and Ashford Litter.

When not in use, the sheet can be folded up, and the P?les stand In a corner, taking little or no space and attracting no attention..

There are so many cases where the removal of helpless patients IfI bed to another room, if only for a shart time, would be of .the greatest benefit, not only to them, but to those in attendance. ThiS can be so easily done, as will be seen from the illustrations, which Mrs. Alfred Paine has kindly sent us.

The illustration r) shows how it can be used as a carrymg chair-the poles are passed through the end and. middle loops. It is a most valuable aid in the removal of patIents by rad, and illustration NO.2 shows the method of lifting into a 'When used in a stairc:1se the poles can be dispensed with, if requIred, as sr.oVJn in the illustration 3.

The South African Hospital Commission is continuing to receive evidence, but at present it is n0t yery damning to the authorities. Different experiences are giyen by persons 'who ha\·e not presented themselyes to the Commission, and, as might be expected, some praise some blame. Dr. Ryerson, the Canadian Red Cross Commissioner, and who has returned to Canada, bas communicated the following to the Press :(. While all England may perhaps be ringing with Mr. BurdettCoutts's charges against the Army .'vledical Service in South Africa, Dr. Ryerson, sirrfilarly to many of our gallant soldiers invalided home, has nothing but praise for the conduct and management of tbe medical part of the war. The small and scattered bands which have been lately arriving have been enrYlI'here met by enthusiastic and admiring crowds, an:i no one has heard a complaint of the hospital arrangements in particular. Shortly after Dr. Ryerson's arrival in Soutb Africa, he was appolllted British Commissioner at Lord Roberts' headquarters, where he had unusual facilities for observation. One of his interesting statements is to the effect that Lady Roberts' hospital for the sick and wounded soldiers at Bloemfontein is almost entirely fitted out with supplies furnished by the people of Westmount, which is a suburb of the city of ;\lontreal. Dr. Ryerson has gi\'en his opinion as to what foundation there was for :\Ir. Burdett-Coutts's charges, amI he declares them to be absolutely incorrect. :\Ir. Burdett-Coutts had met Dr. Ryerson in South Africa, and while there he had never made any complaint to the Canadian Commissioner, although he knew that Dr. Ryerson had almost unl imited stores and money at his disposal.

Dr. Ryerson states that the hosp:tal arrangements, when one considers the difficulties that had to be surmounted. could not have been more admirable. Canada, as a portion of the British Empire, will be proud of the usage which her volunteers-for they are only volunteers-have received at the hands of the regular army of Great Britain, and of the ho spital ity extended at home by the British people." Of course Dr. Ryerson could not be everywhere at once and could only speak of what he saw.

The most serious charges against the hospitals are made by 1\1rs. Richard Chamberlain, who, however, not submitted herself to be exami{Jed by the Commission. I have not seen it stated whether her assertions are going to be inquired into.

" T include in the term trained orderlies men of the St. John Ambulance Corps, whose intelligence enabled them to acquire rapidly the knowledge essential to a qualified male nclrse, but exclude the untrained soldiers, who for want of better material were in const;tnt employment at the hospitals. These men, often convalescents. were practically useless; their places could have been filled hy coloured men without detriment to the hospitals; and though they were not in any way intentionally brutal or rough, their manner of treatina patients was not all that could be desired; for instance, perse,n,J cleanliness was not their strong point, and their sense of humour was sometimes out of place. Had I space should like to prove, which would not be difficult, that the St. John Ambulance men, against whom a prejudice seemed to eXist in the minds of the authorities of the R.A.M.C. were, as a class, capable, industrious and sympathetic True , they were not masters of the R A. M.C. system of returns that bad to be compiled daily and weekly, and perhaps that may account for the lack of appreciation of them displayed by the authorities; but I am convinced from ",tat I saw that they were as useful in the wards as the R A :.1.C. men. The St. John Ambulance Corps is perhaps the branch of the Red Cross Society that was the most useful of any of the organisations of that admirable institution, and it would be un becoming tl) criticise the good work done by it but I would venture to assert tbat had an intelligent agent o[ the Society, with power to spend money, been allowed to accompany the various columns on their march. much that woulJ have b'.Oen beneficial to the sick might have been done. As it ,,·as, the Red Cross depot was nut established at Bloemfontein for some time after the occupation of that city, and there were no signs of the Society in Pretoria fiye weeks after the arri\'al of the troops there."

THE TRA:\'svAAL 'YAR Ft;:-\D.-The Lord :\Iayor has received from Lord Wantage, chairman of the British Red Cross Society, the following information as to the application of the sums sent [rom the Mansion House Fund to the societj1 :-Since .0l'o\·ember last the society has been represented in South Africa by a chief commissioner, Colonel J. S. Young, and since his return home in :\larch, by Sir John Furley and by two assistant-commissioners, i\lr. Gerard Bonham Carter ;tnd Dr. Chepmell, also for limited periods by the Hon. George Peel and Colonel Ryerson. This staff had been employed in superintending and organising the work of the society at Capetown and in Natal, and in visiting hospitals and distributing relief throughout the seat of war. Several travelling agents, :\1r. Abbott, Mr. Kenworthy, &c., and other employees had also been engaged in the work of sorting and forwarding and distributing along the lines of communication the medical comforts, clothing, and other stores sent from England or purchased locally The British Red Society had throughout worked in touch with the Good Hope Society at Capetown. The society had purchased and equipped a hospital train of seven carriages, with kitchen and all necessary accessories, which was despatched from England in January last, and since that date a further train had been put together in Natal, and was also being maintained by the society. A hospital ship-the Princess of "-ales-was fitted out and equipped in the early p:ut of the war, and was still in the service of the society, and would probably be maintained for a iurther period of three months or more from tht present date. Towards the cost of that sbip the Princess of \Vales' branch contributed £ 9,000. The nurses despatcheci from time to time to the seat of war by the army nursing service reserve had been partly equipped at the expe n se of the society. The ambulance officers and hospital orderlies of tbe St. John Ambulance BriD'ade, which had been supplied from time to time to the War Office by St. John Ambulance Association, had been equipped, and also had their billeting and rail way expenses paid by the society. The society had also arranged for the purchase of Doecker huts which had been supplied to the military authoritie:: at Tetley and elsewhere. In addition to the supplemental aid given to mJitary hospitals in South Africa, the Red Cross Commissioners had had instructions to gi\·e assistance as needed to the so·called private hospitals and ambulances which had been working under the regulations laid down by the Red Cross Society. Grants had been made to the extent of nearly £6,000 in aid mainly of the sick and wounded prisoners at Pretoria. The society's expenses to date under the foregoing other heads had amounted to £roo,ooo.

No.2

and down stairs and other places where the ordinary stre t cher s very awkward to handle.

NO·4·

And the next, NO.4, shows how luxuriously a convalescent may enjoy fre sh air and sunshine.

Mr. Murray Guthrie, late M.P., in the XIXth CClltztl')J for this month (September), bring s so me serious charges against some of the hospitals, pointing out the want of absolute nece ssaries for nursing. TIe says he was c:llied before the Commission before it left England, but cannot remember the evidence he gave. Apart from what Mr. Guthrie says about the hospitals he gi\-es u s some very important information concerning our own St. John Am bulance men. I give the extracts in full, as his testimony is most valuable, and will be appreciated by the whole of the Brigade ;-

ASHFORD.-:'lr. William Rowlands (secretary), and :\Ir. J. E. Giles (captain) of the South and Chat?am Ambulance tean:, at the Ashford works, whIch won the tblrd prize m the competition between teams selected from all parts of the company s system, waited upon l\Ir. Harry S. Wainwright, the Locomotil'e Engineer the Ashford works on Friday, September: r st, and handed m·er to hiS charCTe the handsome silver cup which was won, together with a photograph of the members of. the. team and certificate in connection with the trophy. l\lr. \Vall1wn ght, on recelnng the troehy, whIch has bem Iplaced in his office, expressed hImself n:uch satIsfied the success of the Ashford works teams, and promised to take contmued interest in ambulance work, which appeals so closely to all railway men.

.

st. 30bn Bmbulance Bssociation .

THE l'ecent operations in South Africa, inyolving thehanclling of nearly qual·ter of a million of men and extendmg over a tract of countl'J as large as the Bl'itish Isles have pl'Ovell that oLU'system of militm'y a.lnbulanceis far hom' perfect. At the recent annu:11 meeting of the Medical Association (referred to in our last number) varIOUS SLlO' (>·e tiOllS wel'e ma,c1e to remedy the defect. Two papel's read l'especti,Tely by Smgeon Lieut.-Colonel Squll'e and burgeon-Captain Cantlie, which we i'egret not to have the sp'lCe to set fOl·th in full, and proved to be exceedingly intel'esting and instructive Dr. maintains that thp,re shoulLl be a large reserve of trall1ed men attached to the R.A.M .C., and a furtber reserve of medical men might be ensmed by 8110wing officers of the Volunteer Medical Staff COl'PS aftel' five years service to remain in the Oorps without being required to fulfil all the duties of company officers, so long as tIley attend the necessary ell-ills, &c., to earn their efficiency. Dr. Cantlie proposes tbat the Militia and Volunteer medic:11 services be organised on the same footing as the Al'my Medical Service, and also, th:1t it be ul'ged upon the surgeons and physicians in our hospitals to attach themselves officially or to take up duty in, either the Cadet Corps of their university or school, or in the Volunteer Medical Corps, and that the services of no civil surgeon or physician who has attached himself for duty or professional training in either of these Corps be accepted for service in the field or during na,tionaJ emergency.

These He two of the most important of the many suggestions that were put forward, :md it is probil.ble that some modification of t.hem may be adopted, but it is a question for military medical experts to settle.

During the discussion that followed, the fact of 1,500 St. John Ambulance men being sent to the war could not be avoided, and it was generally il.c1mitted that although they had not hnel the training of the R.A.M.O men, they did their wod;:: ,,veIl. ,Ve did not see any suggestion as to "That is to be clone with these men when they return SUl'ely the tmining and experience they have had must now count f 01' sOllletlling and their services are worth retaining fo1' the futme, and with this object in view that we shall be glad to Ree if any effOl't is going to be made to keep them in resel'Ve eithel' on tl::e lines suggested in these columns in June last, 01' in some other way that may be deemed be"t suitable by our authorities.

Whether it is possible to keep in reserve a large boely of trained men attached to the R.A.M U. capable of fulfilling milital'J in the event of our being engaged 111 anothel' large and senous war, we do n0t know but in any case, it seems to us that it would be Ii, great mistake if we now lost our hold on these men who have already proved themselves to be capable and efficient.

NATIONAl: FIRE BRIGADES UNJON-CAmbulance Department).-

A new mamfesLo prepared by Dr. Ettles, setting out the objects and :nethods of the new Ambulance Department of the Union, has been Issued by the Honorary General Secretary Particulars are O'iven under .the headings :-Educational work, Honorary Surgbeons, Exammatlons., T:ansport aud Stretcher Drill, the Badge, the Chief Officer, ApplicatIOn for Badges, Ambulance Staff Corps, and finally the .Cross On the fourth page of the manifesto is printed a pnce list of books, diagrams, badges, materials, &c. From the con" litters, ambulance wagons, &c prices on applicatIOn, It might appear as though the Department ll1Lended to enter into the trade pretty Lhoroughly.

GLOUCESTER.-A meeting of the Committee was held at the Guildhall on Thursday night, the 11th ult. The objec.t. of the meeting was to make arranaements for the annual competition for the Gloucester ChallenO'e Shield. Thursday, December 6th, was fixed for holding tJe competition, which will take place at.the Public. Baths, if available !or that date. It was resolved to obtam the servIces of Hutton, as judge, if he can come on the named The Cha!rman said as regards prizes he ,,,ould offer I 5 artIcles-that IS, Lhl ee pnzeseither books or medals, to be competed for beL ween not less than two teams to be drawn from the Railway Corr:panies in Gloucester; two teams from any local works (each member of either team to be drawn from one works) and the remainder to be competed .for?y any otber teams in the city. The suhject droppcd An applicatIOn was received from the ambulance corps at Sharpness to be allowed to compete for the Challenge Shielrl In the. discussion which followed it was pointed out that the trophy ID questIOn was called tbe Cltyof Gloucester Ambulance Challenge Shield, and it was thoug-ht that would bar the admittance of the Sharpness team. We are informed with reference to the Sharpness the .representativ.es of the Classes decided that owing to the shield bell1g given to the city teams only, Sharpness would be unabley) comp:!te, but would be made to hold another competltIOr. for Gloucester and dlstnct at a later date, when the Corps will be a?le to enter.

Classes represented at the meetll1g.were the St. CaLhanne s, Police Great Western No.2. Midland Locomotive Depllftment, and & Co., Limited.

IpSWICH.-The promenade concert in aid of the fund for providing uniforms for some of the Ipswich ambulance men took place on Wednesday evening,August 20th. The charming grounds of the Upper Arbor.etum were available for the good purpose, highly attractive and successful. There are five dlvlslOns m the I pswlch Corps, and the Superintendent and Secretary of each constitu.ted the .Committee to carry out the arrangements, Mr. W. Keeble bell1g ChaIrman and Mr. J. H. Cuckow, Secretary. The concert was under the patronage of the Marquis and Marchioness ?f Gwydyr, ot her influential ladies and gentlemen, IDcludll1g M"Jor-General SIr v:v F. Gatacre, K.C.B., D.S.G., and Lady Gatacre, and through the kindly influence of the popular General, the services of the fine hand of .the 2nd Battalion Warwickshire Reaiment were secured for the occasion. In addition to the performance the band, there was an of lime-light views of war and ambulance scene.s, a powerful lantern most efficiently worked by Mr. J. C. Wlgglll. Several of the Views which numbered about fifty in all, were received with much applause, especially the local ones, which included a portrait of General Gatacre, " Our two men at Wynberg," ., An Ips·wich Squad at work," and "The Essex Regiment at the battle of Driefontein." The weather,,:as beautifully fine, and the company included the .Mayor of IpSWich CW. A. Churchman, Esq.) and a large.number of reSidents in Ipswich, who attended to show their sympathy With the efforts of Miss Coulcher to provide a distinctive dress for ambulan?e men on public duty. Miss Coulcher, of course, took a In the arrangements, while the Committee rendereJ good va no us ways, including the taking of the money at the gat.es, Il1 whlc.h latte: duty they were assisted by two members of the Ipswich Corps 111 dress-Mr. vVoods and NIr. Brereton-who had been at the front In South Africa on ambulance work.

AMBULANCE TRAINING FOR OFFICERS OF THE MERCANTILE SERVICE.-Further prominence of late has been given to the question of requiring officers of the merchant service possess a knowledge of ambulance training', by a communication whIch has been addressed by the Chamber of Shipping of the Kingd0!ll to t?e Board of.Trade, recommending the inclusion of thiS subject In. for certificates of competency. The Chamber of Shlppmg had preVIOusly ascertained the views of the shipowners' organizations throughout the kingdom and also of the Merchant Service Guild as representing who would come under the requirement. The latter body, recogmSl?g the beneficial nature of the proposal, expressed identical opinions With those previously forwarded al the invitation of the Board of when it was urged that all candidates for second mates' Ion should prove a knowledge of ambulance work, and that by t.hls means Lhe knowledge would spread throughout the profeSSIOn. The guild, however, strongly objected to any. further compul.sory. upon those officers hol.ding who, In active employment, had neither suffiCient time nor remuneratIOn to themselves to a matter of this sort. It was suggested that, provlded.a voluntary examination were inst.ituted, the.se officers would enter fo; It when circumstances perro itted. The counCil of the Chamber of Shlppmg also consider that Lhe scheme should not be retrospective. The Boar.d of Trade. have informed the Guild that the matter is receiving their careful consideration.

October , 1900.]

FIRST AID. <Sa lI er\?

SUPT

HARRISON

whose portrait appears in this month's Gallery, is one of the most enthusiastic firstaiders in Tyneside.

Mr. H,urison who is in pri\'ate life a Merchant and Ship-owner, is a member of one of the oldest established firms in K ewcastle. His first introduction to first aid work was in 188-+, when as a patient he met with serious inj uries owing to a tricycle accident, and lay for three days in a miner's cottage. On this o:::casion he W:IS tended by members of the Durham County Police, who were certificated pupils of the St. John Ambulance Association, and who conveyed him home on a by his father, nn proper stretcher bell1g avaIlable. On this occasion the deftness and skill of the bearers so impressed the subject of our :::,ketch that he was anxious to learn morc of this humanitarian work. It was not, howeyer, until 18 90 that he had an opportunity of taking up the work, when he attended a course of instruction at Hexham. Since this date Mr. Harrison has been most perseyering in his efforts to spread the work in the northern count,· of England, and mainly owing to his initiative, many classes have been formed for both policemen and ciyilians. In 1894, acting under the advice of Sir H. C Perrott, the Chief Secretary of the St. J ohn Ambulance Association, Mr. Harrison started the Gateshead Fell Division of the St John Ambulance Brigade, and was appointed Superintendent, and right worthily has he maintained the position. Backed up by his estimable wife and daughter, he has striven at all times to promote amongst all holders of ambulance certificates that brotherhood which alone can ensure the success of a movement which has for its aim the relief of suffering. In and around his home Supt. Harrison is constantly advocating the work of the Brigade amongst the numerous merchants and ship-builders with whom he is brought into daily contact, and we trust that one day his earnest advocacy may be successful, and he may have the gratification of seeing as a result that Tyneside has one of the most fully equipped and best drilled corps in the country

It may be of interest to our Metropolitan readers to know that Mr. Harrison was for some time a Metropolitan officer, being in charge of the South Metropolitan Gas Company's Divisio n , and since his severance he has al ways taken a warm interest in his London colleagues.

In the early days of the volunteer movement Mr. Harrison took an active interest in the formation of the Tyne and Derwent Rifle Volunteers ( 9th Durham), in which he was appointed a Sergeant; owing, however, to his many pressing business engagements, he resigned in 1864, and although offered a commission on more than one occasion, he has had to forego further connection with our a u xiliary forces, much to his reg r et.

subje.ct ?f our sketch has never taken an active 11l beyond. speaking or presldmg at 1 ellglous or philanthropIC meetincrs he has ambulance work his hobby, and finds' that the t1:n e he can spare from an business life is very profitably empl?yed on behalf of hIS fellows in maintainmg and the Division of which lle is so justly proud. Showmg how much can be accomplished by even a Division,. i.t is interesting to note that on the occaSlOrJ. of the VISIt of H.R H. the Prince of 'Nales to Newcastle, the Gateshead Fell Di\'ison which undertook duty fO.r the first time, upwards of 200 cases, .12 nncl pally. fam ts. Three of 1ts members are sen' ing in :::'Quth Afnca, and are, we have no doubt maintainincr the prestige of the which they b'elong. b Earnest and entl1uslastlc 111 the cau e which he has taken up with so much spirit, Mr. Harrison is popular amongst all classes of the community, and we know of no more abl.e advocate for the extension of ambulance work than. thIS gentleman, who, having first realised in so practIcal a manner. the benefit of the instruction gi yen, afterwards determmed to do what he could to ensure its promulgation amongst his fellows. i\Jay he be blessed for many years to come with good health and strencrth ultimately his persistent advocacy mg frUIt 111 the formatlOn of good strong divisions in Tyneside. He has our best wishes for success he deserves it, and ol:r readers who n-:ay ha.ve t.he of kno\Ving Mr. Harnson,. and appreCIate hIS kmdly and sympathetic nature, and hIS capaCIty for hard ,vork in the cause will we are sure, echo and endorse our wish. "

$ t. 30bn :thnbulance

\Ve much regret to announce the death last month of Sir -\lfred Jephson, R.N., the Secretary-General of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.

CHESTER.-On Saturday afternoon, the 15th ult, the annual inspectIOn took place at the Town Hall of this division. The inspection was conducted by the deputy-commissioner for the North ·Western district, ] C. Derham, chief constal:Jle of Blackpool, WHO also acted as Judge 111 the Yerburgh competition and other e\'ents. The Chester.corps, with its sections at Saltneyand Shotton, numbers over 6C? and IS under the of the Rev '\.. E. Farrar, superintendent, With Mr. F. IV. ManllIer, of Saltney, as second in command. There a.re three surg:eons attached to the division. The competitIOns were of an mterestlng character, and they were keenly contested throughout. Amongst others present were Dr. Duff (honorary secretaryof the Chester centre of the association), the Rev. A. E. Farrar and F. \V. Matillier, all of whom assisted in the proeeedinO's which lasted hours. For stretcher drill six teams The first pn.ze was secur.ed by a team composed of. Messrs. J. W. Davis, J. T. Mtlton, A. received 71: marks, ha\·ing theIr task 111 I 01111. I3 sec. [hese men were approached very closely by l\Iessrs. T. Large, J. Jackson, S. Chid low and A. Priest who t<,J the Great Raihl'ay, Saltney, and gained second WIth marks. They went through the various performances 111 1 mIn. 57 sees. tllr. Derham expressed himself very well pleased with the \Yay in which the winners acquitted themselves. l\Iiss Bradshaw, who WOIl a thi:·d prize last year in connection with the individual contestf, and is a member of the ladies' nursinO' division of which Dr. Duff is instructor, won the Yerburgh iVledal, this being announced with cheers. The inspector said all his Questions in to work had b.een answered extremely well, and MISS Bradshaw Just managed to WIn the medal on one point only, 17 members competed for the Yerburgh Medal. At the conclusion a hearty vote of thanks was proposed by Dr. Duff to Mr. Derham [or the trouble he had taken as inspector and examiner; Sergeant Middleton seconded, and the proposition was carried with aCClamation. 1I1r. Derham suitably responded, and remarked that his opinion of the work done was very favourable. meeting of those interested in ambulance work took place on 12th September, in the Minor Co-operati\'e Hall, under the presidency of Dr. R. Holgate Shaw. The object was to take into consideration the advisability of forming an ambulance division for Heckmondwike and Liversedge. bearing on

SUPT. JOHN ADOLPHUS HARRISON, GATESHEAD FELL DIVISIOK, ST. JOHN AMBULANCE BRIGADE.

FIRST

the subject were delivered by the- cha irm an and 1\Jr. E,. A, \Vhart,o n. Over a score oave in their name" as intending- members. The meetmg then proceede"d to the election of officers, \\'hich, resulted as follows :Chief suroeon Dr. Shaw' chief officer, 1\11'. \\ harton; secretary and treasurer," :'Ir. 1\1. Grainge; committee, Nlessrs. G. ,Yo IIalmsha,,,, A. Hewitt, C. Scott, T. ;\iann, T Pickles, H. Beau.mont, F. dington, and H. Taylor. The appoll1tmen.t of a. president and vlcepresidents \\as deferred, as also was the cons Id eratIOn of rules.

HUDDERSFIELD.-On Saturday afternoon, the 8th the members of this Corps "ere inspected by 11r. Sydney W. :'Ialk1l1, of Cheadle, Staffordshire, assistant commissioner of the NO.5 (North-Eastern) district of the Brioade. There were on parade 19 male members of the Corps, under First Officer Garside (including l\Ir. 1:' E. Rushworth the energetic secretary), and 22 nurses, wh? were In charge of the lady superintendent, !\liss A. Mellor, and MISS Heaton, se,cond officer. At the close of the inspection the members and several frIends were entertained to a substantial tea in the recreation-room by Colonel Carlile to Wh0111 a very hearty yote of thanks was accorded, on the of Mr. Garside, and ably seconded by 1\1r. !V. 1\£. Drake. Colonel Carlile, in reply, assured those present that It had been a real pleasure to him to bave them p' esent that afternoon. He ":as sorry, too, for the absen.ce of the gent!emen connected with the local corps, who tooK s.uch gre?t 111 the welfare of that association-Dr. Demetriadl, theIr chief supenntendent, and Drs. Rolfe and Porritt. Ambulance work was of the highest importance. In the first place it made them think of which was an excellent thing to do. as we were only too apt to thmk or of ourselves. They tried to qualify themselves order that If an aCCIdent happened -and accidents, of course, were liable to happen to an:y man-they mioht be able to render assistance. C;,re for the suffering of others of the essence of our Christianity. Th ey did not find it in heathen lands, they scarcely found a trace of it in :'1ohammedan roullLries, but where Christianity 'vas, there they would love, kindliness and thouohtfulness for those who were suffenng. He hoped Lhe' association "would in numbers and usefulness, their own lives briahtened 111 every way by the work they dId. ;\lr. Malkin was pleased to .again the Corps. He well recollecled the prevIOus Occa.S lon. and certa1l1 suggestiolls that he then made. IIe did noL ktlOW how far they mIght yet see their way to adopt a uniform. He could assure them the adyantage to them as a corps wnuld be very great. He urged. them to lay oreat stress on their drills and meetings because noth1l1g could be done unless they had a thorough discipline throughout the mo\'ement. The nursing division turned out yery smartly, and theIr bandaging work Il'as very good indeed. IIe the of the senior officers, and trusted that on a future occasion he might see the chief superintendent there and of the surgeons of the .corps. The question raised after the last a.s to the electlOn. of office rs he feared might crop up after thl.s 1l1SpectlOn. He should .lIke to assure that that matter was entirely ruled by the regulatIOns which governed the brigade. The appointments of officers made by the commissioner. Under the old system, before the bngade was put upon thoroughly organised business lines., certain of these appointments were made enly by the local commlt';ees. He thought they would agree with him that to follow out entirelJ: the genera.1 regulations governing the brigade was the thmg to do m every instance. He should report upon the 1I1spectIOn to the deputy-commissioner for the district, and he hoped in the meantime the rules might be passed and approved and the divisi'Jn put on a thorough, sound, working basis They had excellent materials and officers, and he saw no reason whatever why H uddersfield should not rank a first·class corps in No. 5 district. He thanked Colonel Carlile for the keen interest ue ha:J. taken ir: the inspectior:, and also for h!s hospitality, and hoped it would be hiS good luck to Inspect them agall1, and be the guest of Colonel Carlile.

HULL.-This Centre, on the 22nd ult., in the presence of a large company at the Park Street Technical School, held its annual competition for ihe Silver Challenge Trophy, inaugurated a new horse ambulance waO'on for the public use, and made a series of in teresting presentations past or present officials. The wagon has been constructed on the ne\\'est principles by Mr. E. S. Annison,coach builder, of Witham, and affords accommodation for three lying patients, two sittmg patients, and one attendant inside, in addition to the driver and a second attendant outside. Either one or two horses can be harnessed to the conveyance, which, being fitted with solid rubber tyres and springs, will move with a minimum of discomfort. Colonel Pudsey formerly ina ugurated the ambulance with a few happy remarks, including a trioute to Mrs. L averack and other ladies for their part in collecting subscriptions to defray the cost. Upon an ac.journment to the schoolhall, Colonel Pudsey took the chair, in the unavoidable absence of the Mayor. The first business was to present to Mr. J. French Thompson two silver candlesticks and an illuminated address as tokens of the members gratitude and regard.

E. F. Krause, Superintendent ·of the Hull Brigade, was next presented with a purse containing £12, in recognition of his arduous labours, more especially in the ambulance

A i 1)'. [October, i900.

scheme. The result of the competition, which had previously taken place in the playoround, was now announced Out of the six teams the first detachment of the Central Division (Private F. H. Vaughan) came off victors with 83 marks, The other teams came out as follows:- The Ambulance Detachment of the 1st \T.B. East Yorkshire Regiment ( Private W. B. Healey) 57 marks; third detachment of the Central Division (Sergeant 'V. T. Atkinson), S-t marks; second detachm ent, Central Division, 5 I marks; Drypool Detachment of the NorthEastern Railwav Company's employees (Private T. M. Coates), '27 marks; and the "\Vithernsea Detachment (G Sleigh), 20 marKS. The meetino closed with cordial votes of thanks to Dr, Soutter and Colonel PudJe/ MORECAlvlBE.-The annual conference of the N ortb -W estern District of the Bri oade was held here on Saturday afternoon, the 22 nd ult., when about ISO" delegates from v>trious ambulance and nursing brigades in Lancashire Cheshire Westmorland, and Cumberland were present.

The was held in the Albert Hall, and presided over by the Deputy -Commissioner, Lieut.-Colonel C. J. Trimble, V.D. The business of the meetino included a paper by Supenntendent C. Heathcote, "\Vinsford, 0(: "The Profession and the Brigade," after which resolutions were adopted to the effect that ranks equal to corporal and lance-corporal be instituted; that, as a means of secu:ing order and discipline, persons should not be admitted a Corps or Division without the written consent of the officer 111 of the Corps or Division; and that steps be taken for the of a Camp of In structio n at Blackpool. A.vote of With the f.flends of those who have fallen in South Afnca was p,,-ssed In solemn Silence.

",- 'otes of thanks to the local Secretary and Committee for the arrangements of the conference, more especially Dr. Oldham and Superintendent Hargreaves, concluded the proceedings. In the a tea, entertainment, and soiree took place, On Sunday morl1lng breakfast was partaken of at the Park Hotel, followed by a unif,orm. parade to the Parish Church. At the close of the serv ice a co!lectlOn was made on behalf of the "\Vebe Victoria Cottage Hospital.

I\ORTHAMPTON.- The annual inspecti on of this Corps took place at Delapre Park, Nor thampton, on Saturday afternoon, the 8th ult., and in the evening the annual dinner of the Corps was held at the George Hotel, Northampton, The gatherings were the most successful of the kind that the Corps has ever promoted. The inspection took on the lawn in front of the picturesque old abbey at Delapre, 111 very pleasant weather; and the dinner was a distinct success in every way. The Corps mustered at the Northampton General Infirmary about three o'clock. There were 122 men on parade, and the officers of the Corps present were: Chief Superintendent J. Perry (who was in command), Superintendent C. F. Olney,Superintendent W. Harvey Reeves, Superintendent T. F. Thorpe, First Officer J .W. Beale, Second qfficer H. Wilkinson, and Third Officer F. Gardner. About 20 minutes past three, a procession was formed, and the Corps marched to Delapre. Upon arrival at the park the Corps formed in parade order on :he Ia\\'n. They were joined by the nursing sisters of the Corps, unCler Lady Superintendent !.\Irs, Perry. The sisters who were 'present at the in spection for the first time, were attired in a neat undorm somewhat resembling the dress of hospital nurses. Nine present ,,:ere from Northampton, seven from Earl's Barton, and ten from Houghton Soon after the men had paraded, the inspecting officer, Lieutenant-Colonel G. S. Elliston, V.D., M. R.C.S., Knight of Grace, Order of St John of Jerusalem, Deputy Commissioner of the NO.3 (Central and Eastern) District oftheJohn Ambula.nce Brigade, the ground accompan ied by the i.\1arq uis of I\ ortham pton (Pr.e sl.dent of the i"{orthampton Centre of the 8t. John Ambula.nce ASSOCiatIOn), the Mayor of Northampton (Councillor J. Jeffery), Assistant Commissioner T. H. Woolston (Northampton;, Dr. W. E. Audland (Wellingborough), and the Hon Secretary of the Mr. H. T Fra cy The inspecting officer, accompanIed by Commissioner \Voolston, inspected the Corps, who performed vanous marching evoluti ons before him. There was a march past then stretcher drill, followed by bandaging drill, &c. At the conclusl.on of the inspection, Lieut.-Colonel Elliston, in a short address, saId he regarded tbe NorthampLon Corfls as the senior corps of his d.istrict, and therefore he naturally expected a higher standard of effiCIency from them than he look ed for amongst the younger ones. He congratulated all of them upon the smartness of the turn-out. He was extrem ely pleased to find nursing divisions in the Corps this year. He was glad to find that everyone of the 30 men sent to the war from Northampton and district was alive and well. (Applause.) He congratul<t;ted and thanked the officers for their work during the year. In after congratulating- Lord I\orthampton upon being recently mace a Knight of Grace of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, he moved a hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Cooper [or lending the grounds for the inspection. Lord Northam pton seconded the vote, and said that the distinction conferred upon him was paid as much to Cent:e as to him. He could not imagine a more ideal place for the 1l1SpectlOn than Delapre Park, or a more ideal host and hostess tban Mr. and Mrs. Cooper. The vote was carried by acclamation. Lord Northampton then distributed the medallions. A hundred a nd five have been gamed

October, 1900.] FIRST

this year! but some divisions have already distributed theirs. The annual dmner of the Corps took place at the Georae Hotel in t.he evening. Lord Northampton presided over a company numbering about 200. Lieutenant-Colonel Elliston proposed" The N ortha.mpton Centre of the St. John Ambulance Association " in eulog'stic terms. He was, he added., very glad to see the police present. ( Applause.)

In Northamptonshlre, he thought, we had some of the best ambulance police, b?th county and borough, i? any part of England. (Applause).

In coupllllg- the names of the ChaIrman, Dr. Jones and Mr. Fracy, with the toast, the Colonel cong ratulated Lord Northampton and the Hon. Secretar,Y upon the clistinctiol1 :ec.ently conferred upon them by the Queen, m the name of the ASSOCiatIOn. The toast was leceived with music','-I honours an.d three times three. The Chairman first replied. He saId he would like to add a few words to Colonel Ell ston's remarks the honour paid to lv!-r. Fracy in his being made a Han. Servmg Brother of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. For year after year Mr. Fracy had done hard and consistent work with a tact whi ch w.as not found in with an energy and which had m.lrked hIm out for speCial hono urs, and Lord Northampton was glad that head quarters had recognised the fact that in Mr. Fracy, the Northampton had. a active servant who had done splendid \-v.ork HIS lord.shlp did not WIsh to say anyth ing unpleasant, but he did thmk that 111 the pase the great work of the Ambulance Brigade had been rather looked down upon by various in authority-he did not mean individuals, he meant rather departments, If the country had !earnt one lesson fro,m the war it is that we must not be un prepared, and If we Iud any fault to find Wllh those in authority it is that at the present mcmen and during the many past years they were not prepared. Thank God that the bravery of our men had brought us through at last.

At the present moment re-organization was in the air. IIe did not belIeve that the mbulance required re-organization, \l'hatever departments might require of It. But th1.t '"as no reason that they "hould not strengthen themseh'es and he believed that that W.1S necessary. He had been rea.ding a short rf'rort, sianed with the name" \V oolston " (loud applause), in which mention \\'abs made of the drones having- been excluded latelv under certain new reoulations And a good thing, too! No drones were wanted in the Brigade; they wanted busy (Hear, They had got these, fo r saw all around hIm that evenll1g. Concluding, the noble Pr eSldent said he knew that the work of the Brigade would be done well. Let them work hard at It, and the country would find II' hen the comes apain, and there was a great call upon men for their couTILry s sake,. the answer would lIOt only be as it was recently-a very good answer mdeed, and a answer - but it would be a answer, and the country would find them e\'en better prepare::! In th.e future than they fO:1l1d them in the past. (Loud cheers) The PreSident had to. leave Immediately he finished his speecl: In ol:der to catch .the tram to Kineton for Compt':ln \yinyates, \Varwl ckshne, where hiS family are at present residina As he left the hall he. was heartily cheered Chief Superintendent Perry then took cha ir. Jon es then rep!led to the toast. At that gathering, he salo, somethllll; was us.ually aJ:>out uniform. This year there \I'ere tll'O new kll1ds of ul11 form 1ll evtdence. The first indicated a fresh badge of service and honourable sefl ice, for there \\'ere some "aentlemen in khaki ordered South" present, the other instance o"f new uniform belonged to the gentler sex-the nursing sisters of the Cf'ntre, wh om they gla.dly welcomed at their first inspection that afternoon. (Applause). The lIon. Secretary .dso replied, and proposed" The St. John Ambulance Brigade " in suitable terms. Colonel Elliston and Assistant Commissioner \\'oolston ackno\\'ledged the toast, each of them making a capital speech. \\Toolston s;:cid th;:ct the work of the I ·00 ambulance men who served \\'ith the army in the war "ould in history so long as this country lasts. (Applause.) The Chlil man proposed" The WorShipful the May or and :'lag istmtes," and the Mayor made an appropriate reply. Rose We igail held an At Home at S outhwood on Tuesday the -tth ult., when the certificates and gained by the. members of Ramsgate Division of the John Ambulance Bngade, were dlstflbllted by the Countess of Guildford. There was a large assembly to witness the ceremony, and amongst those were: The :'1ayor and :'Iayoress of Ramsgate, Lieut.General SIl' Charles W 'LITen, i\1r. II. \Veigal!. 1\1r. H. W eioa ll in the Countess, to those who knell' her he 'say nOlhlng, but to lhose who dId .her he could only say that she spent the greater part of her life 111 dOll1g good ar.d kind a.ctions to her neighbour s Tha.t no person;:cl incoll,'enience ever slood in her way, he thought her presence tbere tha.t day a.bundantly justified, ared they were very grateful to her for amongst them. They had also the :- re sence of the :\hyor, and thIS showed the interest that the Corporation of Ramsgate was taking in the movement, and he mioht tell them the Corporation ha.d further shown their interest in object by allowing the Technical Schools to be used for the work of the brigade, whic!:: was at the present time in a very efficient condition They had that <.!.ay to wel come amongst Ihem Sir \\'arre:l, of Her Majesty s most d stmg ul shed generals, and although h e

A I D. 31

an officer held high rank in the order, he had chosen this to be the first tl.me he .had shown himself in public since his return from South Afnca, which showed the interest he took in the movement

The Countess, who then proceeded to distribute the certificates and medalhons, was presented with a handsome bouquet of flowers by ?ne of the :\Ir. Scott-White, honorary local secretary, the organisation of the Brigade in Ramsgate. The commiSSIOner came down last year, and the result of his visit was that he the of Ramsgate division into one corps, and appomted as chief supermtendent., Dr. Courtney, and himself as secretary. They had now in Ramsgate one large corps conslstlllg of from go to 100 men and women who had been train.ed and enrolled in ?rigade Jf England. The Ramsgate cor ps town diVISion, commanded by First Officer Conconi, diVISion, commanded by chi.ef. c,011stable, and the railway divIsIOn. There ""as also the nurs1l1g dIVISion, which was under the command of :'1rs, Cotton. They had amongst them th'lt day a doctor who .had won the long service medal-Dr. Tamplin. 1t was awarded to hIm for fifteen years' service, and he was the fortun.lte recipient amongst those who were the first to receive it at the hands of His Highnes s the Prince of Wales. Sir Charles \Varren, in propOS1l1g a vote of thanks to the Countess, said as an officer of the order he could assure her that it was a matter of great importance that and who had influence in the country should preside on hke the plesent. It was especially gratifying on this occasion to have one who had taken so much interest 11 the welfare of sick and wounded, and who had done such a lot of oood in the country He could tell them tha.t the lea.rning- of aid to the wounded had been of the greatest sen'ice to offi('ers and men ip the war that was noll' going on in South Africa. lIe could assure them that a very great number of lives h'ld been saved by officers and men be1l1g able to bInd up the ,munds of lheir comrades. He beliel'ed that tr.e celerity by which the \\'ounded had got oYer theil injuries had been perfectly ma.n'ellous; and had been in deO'ree due to the care with "hich their wounds had been bound up in early stages, and he could tell them that some of the greatest acts of gallantry which had been reported had been cases \\'here officers and men had run forward and bound up the wounds.of their comrades under ,'ery heavy fire (applause). On several occaSlOns he had had the oratification of reading out tf) the loth and IIth Brigades acts of performed by officers and men during severe fighting-. Some of the deeds were those of binding up wounds under very heal'}, fire (applause). He speaker) was glad to see the police constables were learning first ald. There was no doubt that constables in this country were among- the first on all occaSlOns to be on the spot when accidents happened, and it was of very great importance that they and the employees on the rail\\'ay should go through a course and keep it np every ye:l.f. He had very great pleasure to propose the yote of thanks to the Countess. The :\Iayor, \\'ho \Yore his chain of office, seconded, and nated that he \\'as very pleased indeed to find that they had such a pmctical institution as this. Demonstra.tions were then aiven in stretcher drill, imprO\ ised seats, band:tging, restoration of th,e dro\\'ning man, &c., &c all of which areused keen interest amonost the spectators At the close cheers were given for the Countess Lady Rose Weig<ll!.

annual inspection of this Di,·ision anJ the Tursino Division took place on Ist ult., at the Central BO:Jrd Schools (lent the School, Board), the inspecting officer being Deputy CommiSSIoner :'11'. '\. Ternon , :'\I.R.C._. (Honorary .-\ssociate of the Order of the Hospita.l of St. John of Jerusalem in England). There were present the hon. surgeon. Dr Holden (Hon. Life :\[ember of St. John Ambulance Association), one superintendent, one officer, one supernumerary officer and eleven men; and one lady superintendent, one lady officer and eight nursing sisters of the .:\ursing Division. The inspecting officer expressed himself very pleased with the ,york done and the progress mad.': during the year. The stretcher work was excellent, and he strongly advised the division to send a team for competition for the" Dewar" or "Brigade" shields, as they were far in advance of some teams th;:ct he had been called upon to judge in stretcher \\'ork, He also hoped the people of Reading would, as people had in other towns, come to their aid by opening their purses in hel;Jing to provide uniforms, as this greatly assisted the men on duty and also lendered a greater amount of efficiency and discipline in the Division. S HEFFlELD.- Tbe first public a ppearance of the Corps was made on Saturday afternoon, the 15th uk, when a paraue, preparatOry to inspection, was held at Hyde Park, The following officers were present :-:'[essrs. H. C. Chambers, Else, Davy, Ross, Jackson, and Dr. E. B. Harber. 30 non-commissioned officers and men attended, and the parade wa.s formed intO t\\'O companies. Before leal'ing head-quarters, Pri,'ate H. :'brrison, who returned from South Afri ca on Friday, \Vas welcomed back to the Corps. On arri"ing at Hyde Park, the usuai in spection movements gone through. The ma.rch past was most excellently perforil,ed both III column and quarter column. Dr. F, B. Judge Bald\,·in, of Rotherham, one of the promoters of first aid work in this distric::, came over specially to lear[)

something about the Sheffield Corps. He acted as inspecting officer, and addressed the men upon their return to head-quarters, giving them very high praise for the way the work had been done. The Corps is open to qualified recruits any drill night. The following letter re ceived from Sir Howard Vincent, M.P., will be of interest to many who are working for and subscribing to this object. The writer is well qualified to about the service tbe St. J obn Am bulance men have rendered in South Africa, as whilst there he covered as much ground, and mwas much, as probably any man in South Africa :-" Dear Mr. Firth,-I enclose a cheq ue in response to your appe::tl on behalf of the Sheffield Corps of the St. John Ambulance Brigade. I only wish the enormous length of my subscrip'ion list in Sheffield and many other places, enabled me to multiply it a hundredfold. It would be money well spent. The St. John men have done splendid work in South Africa, Ea ved hundreds of Ii yes, and brought comfort to thousands of sick and \\'ounded, been as much heroes as in the van of battle A r eserv ist writes to me from Bloemfontein: "I cannot speak too highly of the excel len t work performed by the nursing sisters and the St. John \mbulance men. " He is a private in the 12th Royal Lancers, but he kn o ws , [or he was in the Raadzaal Hospital with enteric fever, pleurisy, and pneumonia. Our Order of St. John, and I feel sure His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, as Grand Prior, and one most deeply in its great work, will wiEh you, as honorary treasL1rer, and Mr. IIarry C. Chambers, as chief superintendent of the Sheffield Corps of the Brigade, every success in your efforts to make it worthy of Sheffield That over 40 of its members should have vol un teered, and been selected for South Africa, is proof of the spirit whic h animates them. I n all our works there should be St. JaIm men to render first aid, as an insur::tnce, for a stitch in time saves nine, as the old proverb Eays I am sure our great and little masters will recognise this and promote it to the best of their power."

'YEl.LTNGBOIWUGH.-fn pleasant weather, and in the presence of a large number of interested towosfolks, the annual inspection of the Welling borough Corps took place on Saturday, the Ist ult., on the Grammar School Cricket Ground, the Inspecting- Officer beinoBrigade-Surgeon Lieut.·Colonel C S. Elliston, V.D., Deputy-Com': missioner of the NO.3 District, who wa s a ssisled by Chief Suro-eon IV. E. Audland and Assistant Commissioner T. H. Woolston The membe rs of the Corps were under the command of Chief Supt. T. H. f-! ilton, the ot?e>- officers present bo ing Supt. Nicholson, Su pt. T. E. (Welllllgborough), Supt. A. Cave (Rushden), Supt. Hi ggins (HIgham Ferrers), Supt Perry (Ri ngstead), First Officer Swindall (Rushden) First Officer Groonle (Higham Fen'ers) and Hon. Surcreon \V. 1. ·Watson. There were on parade nearly IS'O officers and omen a strong cycling deta chment), beside a numerous staff of nur s1l1g sIsters. The ambulance wagon was on the ground and there was al so a fully -equipped hospital tent, the latter Lbeino- 'under the charge of the nursing sisters Included in the ranks about haifa-dozen men in kh::tki, who have seen service in South Africa. A number of drills were afterwards gone througn and at the close the men, having been formed into square, were by Col'onel Elli ston, who expressed the pleasure it gave him once more to meet the It been, Eaid, two years since he last inspected them, and JI1 that tIme he noticed a number of new faces, whilst he missed several old one;, althoulSh he was pleased to see some were aaain turning up looking fit and well after their service abroad. He ':nust congratulate Hi.lton upon commanding such a fine corps; he expected to hnd a hIgh standard at Wellingborough, and he had not dlsapp01l1ted. ReferrIng to the events of tne past year, Colonel EllIston said they. were aware how the brigade had been mobilised, and they had been g01l1g throu.gh events which had aston ished the :::ount ry. Th.ey had come to the ass.lsstance of the country at a dark moment; at a tl.me when they as a natIon were down the brio-ade had come to the assistance of the country at a critical moment; the work they had

JUST

PUBLISHED - Cloth, 142 pp. 1s.6d. Net.

With 60 Illustrations from Photographs.

FIRST AID.

By WM. ROBERTSON, M.D., D.P.H., LectU?'e?' to the St . Ancl?'ew and St, John Arnbulance

A I D. LO c tober, 1900. done had brought the movement before the country m ore th a n ever it had been brought before, the re sult being that their movement h ad been made a national institution More than I,500 members of their brigade had gone t o SouLh Africa, and of those more tha n 200 were fr om h is district, an d he could ass ure them that bo th Mr. Woolston and h!m self were proud of the because they knew tho se men were good picked men who could be relIed upon, and proof of th at wa s s hown by severa l. of. them being som e of them to high grades. It must be gratifyIng to kn ow that their co rp s had contributed abo ut 40 of that num be r, one-fif h of those who had gone from hi s di str ict, and it was very credItab le to t hat nei ghbourhood that i-, sho uld hav e co ntribut ed so many. He h oped they would keep gree:1 th e memories of tho se who died in Sou th Africa, and in cidenta lly the Colonel, after congratul atll1g those who h ad .safely returned fro m the war, suggested th at a board should be pl aced 111 the headquarters, on which should be in scr ibed the name.s of who h ad distinguished themselves by volunteering and servIng 111 the wac Passing o n Colonel Elliston paid a high cO.mpltm ent to the admirable proficiency of the nursing sisters, a nd said what was wanted now was that more attention should be paid to nursl11g, and be hoped that there woul.l be nursino- classees for the men ,:v ell as cl asses f?r instruction in first a id. military authOrIties had told him that this was the great need, that the men be m c-re effic!ent in nursing, for it wa s impossible for the nursing sIsters to take <;luty 111 the field. hospitals, altho ugh he was glad t o say they would still be of value 111 the b ase h osp i ta ls. In concluding, the ga llant Colonel thanked the corps for the. display they had given, and the officers and s:aff. for th e kll1d receptlOn they had given him. The cor ps were then dismIssed, and were s ub seque ntly entertained to tea, which was provided by the Coffee H ouse Company

for NURSES(notinfectlOus) a nd ot.hers. Comfortable hou se facing sea. Term s moderate. MISS Howard, 7, The Strand, Vlalm er.

LOND., M.R.C .S. ENG. No.

NOVEMBER, 1900. PRICE ONE PENNY.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION.

For 12 months, IS. 6d ., post free, to be sent to the Pu blish ers.

113revities.

THE War, or rather the g u eri ll a warfare, is sti ll dragging on in South Africa, and stern measures seem to be required to subdue it. A good many of the St. John Ambulanc e m en h ave now returned and we hope t o publish next month some p er so n al narratives of their experiences.

" '**

WE beg to call the attention of our readers to a short series of articles headed" A Hospital Nurse's experience in South Afri ca," which are being published in another column. The y are written by a Nurse who is at present in Pretoria, and the description of the scenery and the kind of life that is l ed out there is very graphic.

* * '*

WE hope that the Hospit:ll Saturday Fund has received the support which it deserv-es. Amongst the l audab le objects of thi s Society is the formation of ambulance classes for th e in str u ction of men and women working in firms where accidents are likely to occur, and the supply of ambulance b oxes to enable those who have the ce rti ficate of the St. John Ambulance Association to render firstaid to the injur ed . Ninety-two of boxes are now in u se

THE annual meeting ofthe Hospitals' Association, which doe s a certain amount of ambulance work on the str eets of London, has b een recently held, and accord in g to Si r Henry Burd e tt, it h as provided a "practical, well-organized and mo st efficient amb ulance system," "handlin g twothird s of all th e accidents" and doing its "w ork more effectually even than it was done in Paris." It is quite possible ther e may be a difference of opinion as to the value or efficiency of th e work, but in any case the As soc iation, and Mr. Bischoffscheim who provides the funds, dese rve every cred it for making some at t emp t a t relieving th e ambulance necessities of London.

* * ,\!

DR. Andrew Wilson, a well-known writer of medical articles in lay journ als, advocates in th e I llustrated L ondon lfe'W s the wholesale t eaching of ambulance. He would have it tau ght in every schoo l , preceded by a course of phy siology IIe also tells some good a mbul ance stories, of which tbi s is one.

present. In another column it will be seen that Manchester is going ahead in the matter and is going to haye four more horse ambulances. When will London have one public horse ambulance?

1; *

* TH E competition for the Shield presented by Dr. Samuel Osborn 'will be held soon. We understand that it will be somewhat realistic, the conditi('l1s oftbe contest being: such as to make it as much like a real accident as possible. Th ere can be no doubt that this is a much method of conducting competitions, and we believe WIll come more in to fashion in the n ear future. 'We note that a t Vincennes in France a competition of aid to the wounded was recently held on these lines. Walls, hedges and sl opes had to be negotiated and it is reported considerable skill was shown * * ;I;

We understand that the Order of St. John is arranging for some memorial to be placed in St. J ol111's Church in memory of the St. J ohn men who haye died in South Africa. There seems to be a feeling that the members of th e Brigade would lik e to do something to show their appreciation ot the services rendered by their comrades. It is highly probable that in a short tIme some proposal will be put forward. If this Journal can giye any help in the matter we shall only be too pleased to assist.

B 1bospital 1Aurse's in Soutb Bfrica.

(SPECIALLY CONTRIBUTED.)

GREAT excitement was caused in Hospital among- the Nursing Staff by Matron receiving a letter from the Secretary of the A r my Nursing Reserve, asking her if 5he could recommend hve nurses for active service in South Africa. Like he good :.\I atron she is she pinned up the letter on the notice board in the front hall, and gave any sister or fully trained nurse permi5sion to send in their names and necessary papers, promising all the aid in her power to get them off cumforta bly at a short ::otice. After careful consideration only twO of us, myself and another sister, felt free to offer our sen ices so we sent in our papers and testimonials as soon as we could get them tOQether, and then vve heard nothing more for a week. At the end of that time, however, about 8.30 one evening, we had a wire from the Secretary askina us if we could be ready to sail for Africa on the following Saturday, for service in the Imperial Yeomanry Branch Hospital. We bo h wired back" Yes," though how to he ready in three days was quite beyond our comprehen s ion However, thanks to our good matron and the kindness of el eryone things were made as easy as possihle for leaving hospital, a nd on London and g o ing.to the Army Nursing Reserve Office in Vlctona Street, we obtall1ed no delay full instructions fa I' getting au: u.nlform, and. all thll1gs necessalY both for the voyage and for our lIfe J11 South AfrIca

AND ALL BOOKSELLERS

" But the gem of my co ll ectio n of ambulance stories relates to a member of an ambulance class who was being examined in that part of h er Maje sty's dominions known as the ,. kingciom o[ Fife." Asked what he would pr oceed to do if he came upon a man lying unconscious in the r oad the man from Fife replied promptly, 'I I would go through his po ck ets, Sir !" I hope no reader will regard this story as in any sense reflectIng on the motives of people wh::>, like myself, hail from the north s ide 01 the Tweed " Dr. Wil so n says that every policeman h as :l tra1l11l1g in ambulance work. If thi s were really th e fact and if every policeman made u se of hi s training, we hould find Qur street a:;ci<;:lents mpch better treated th a n they are at

On Saturday morning, therefore, we were ready at the appoll1.ted time to meet the remainder of the nursing sisters o n Vater.loo StatIOn, and to travel with them to Southampton for embarkation on the R.i\f.S. iVon-llan Two saloon carri::tges were reserved [or liS and [or any of our friends who wished to come to the boat t? us off, 50 that we had a very comfortable journey doml. On arnvll1g, we were shown straiaht to our vessel found our cabins, and then went to the dining where IUlIcb was provided for us and our friend,. There was just time then to go over the vessel before the bell rang for to leave the boat (long before all the last rr:essages had been g iven), a nd at 5 p .m. on a Saturday afternoon we said to all our friends and dear old England.

AL'EX. 26, PATEltNOSTER SQUARE, LONDON, E.e., AND L AISLEY;

FIRST

After tlVO or three days of squally weather, on VVednesday we found we were quite close to land-the island of Madeira-which lpoked in the like huge masses of barren rocks piled up, but on coming nearer we foune small houses and gardens wer-= plentifully dispersed in sheltered nooks, and on rounding a point a natural harbour and the town lay before us. \Ve had scarcely anchored before our vessel was literally surrounded by small boats from the shore, in which were Portuguese men and boys of all sizes and ages, some with goods to sell, but the majority only coming to beg. It was very amusing to watch them dive for pennies thrown by our passengers, half-a-dozen going after a coin in a moment, and one never failing to bring it up with him. \Ve watched these with unflagging interest until it was time for us to go on shore, then getting into small boats in a few moments were landed on the steps of the quay. Our four doctors had invited us to go with them to see the sights, so we had no trouble whatever, and the natives were politeness itself.

The chief thing to see was the Convent, which is situated at the top of the hill, so we went by tram to the station, and by the train, a funny open carriage thing, up the mountain, past lovely gardens of flowers and fruit, bananas and grapes seemingly most abundant, to the top, where we were glad to rest at a picturesque wine-garden, from which we had a most glorious view of the town and its surroundings, with the sea stretching brilliantly blue beyond. Our ship the l\Torman although Yery large in reality, looked quite small, and the other vessels in the harbour seemed like pleasure boats After resting and being refreshed with strawberries (which bv the by, do not taste so nice as ones) and :'1adeira wine, we saw the Convent, where the lovely Madeira embroidery and shawls are made, and, as a favour, we were taken over a large house and garden, which the owner, a Portuguese gentleman, has offered to the English Government, for a convalescent home for the troops from South Africa It is an exquisite place, and we should have missed a tre'lt if we had not seen it. The ro0':1s are large but not lofty, and lead from each other in a very quamt way, but although exquisitely furnished I liked the garden better than the hO:Jse. I t was well cared for but not too cuI tivated with a natural stream running through to a lake at one end, and terraces, the view from which was glorious.

On returning to the station we had our choice as to how we should descend, by train or by toboggan, and we all chose the latter. \Ve sat down on wicker chairs, each large enough to take three passengers. Every ch.air ha? wooden sleigh runners under each end, and a stout rope at eIther SIde, and was pushed or pulleJ, as the case might be, by two down. a cobble-stoned hill at a tremendous pace. We all enjoyed oursel ves Immensely, except when our charioteers insisted on stopplDg at two half-way houses for refreshments refusin a to 0'0 on until they got some. V'l e could not understand a they said nor they us, but when they wanted drink:' their signs were unmistakable. However we reached the bottom in safety, and then aettincy into bullock carts which reminded us of pictures we had otsedan chairs only placed on wheels and drawn hy two oxen; we drove t.he town, past the church, in which are some windows worth seeIDg, dId some shopping and then made our way to the quay, where we so0!1 scrambled (literally for they gave Uo: no time to get in comfortably), mto a boat and were rowed back to the ship after a very enjoyable morning.

They had just finished taking in coal on board, so in a very short time we were again under weigh and suon were out of sight of Madeira.

The next morning the Canary Islands, quite close to Gomera, an unIDhablted rocky Island on the west side of the !5roup, but ?nly just caught sight of the peak of Teneriffe bel'ond, as It was a ml.sty mor?ing. Later on in the day we passed a hospital transport Ship, but did not speak to her as she ,vas some distance off. FlylDg fish were to be seen in great numbers all day, and it was reported that one of the passengers cauaht sight of a shark but nobody seemed quite certain who it was.

After leaving i\hdeira, the gentlemen formed a committee for gettincy UD sports and games, and for the next week everyone ":Vas fully plaYIDg bucket, deck quoits, or bull board, or watching others play. a concert or dance was arranged for each evening, the concerts alternately in the 1st or 3rd class quarters, accommodatIOn hemg greater there. The dances were held on deck and the band being at the 2nd class end of the 1st class deck, all could'hear equally well. The sports came off on Wednesday and Thursday of the last week, and. took the whole of the two afternoons, and were t?orough!y apprecmt.ed all. The prizes were extra large, contributIOns havmg 111 owmg to everyone deciding to give the nurses a very good and to make the voyage a ti me to be looked back on With unmixed pleasure.

A fancy bal! was Arranged for the last Friday on board and although we Jomed 111 none of the dancing, owing to havincy been not to do .so befo.re hand by the Yeomanry Committee, yet we had ¥eat fun ID. helpIDg others to dress and in watching the dancers. he first was by a lady who went as a brown pa er arcel all stamped, tied up With string, anc! se<\.led. The second I;;>

A ID. [No vemb er, 190 0.

one of the nurses who was a Welsh peasant woman Then seven smaller prizes were given, as really the costumes were so good, especi_ ally as they were all made on board, practically out of nothing, that it was hard to decide which was the best. The deck where the daGcinCT was looked sple7\did. beincy shut in with tarpaulin, as it was a very windy night, the walls hung with flags, and brilliantly lit with electric light. After the dan(:e a very nice little supper was waiting for us in the sa100n The whole thing was thoroughly appreciated by everyone.

I enjoyed the service on Sunday mornings. The bell rang at IO.{O and all the passengers who c:tred to come and the officers and crew assembled in the dining saloon, where the captain was waiting to conduct the service. The ship's doctor read the lessons, and the band played the hymns, which were heartily sung by all the congregation. Everyone seemed in earnest and altogether it was a most impressive scene. In the evening the band played sacred music.

,Ve were most fortunate in having the wind against us all thevoyaae sa that the heat was not once distressing, a thing, the captain told for which we ought to be very thankful. ,Ve also had the moon nearly all the time, it being new the day after we left England. ,Ve were very glad, especially after we had crossed the equator, as the daylight went so very early, the sun setting before six o'clock, after \Nhich there was almost immediate darkness.

\Ve could not have found a nicer boat or kinder captain if we had tried. The boat is no':ed for not pitching and rolling, and the food and accommodation were all that couli be desired, so even through the Bay we had a fairly smooth passage.

One day the captain took the yeomanry all over the vessel, from the forecastle to the poop, the latter be1l1g used for the accommodation of the troops then going to South Africa. The kitchens were most interesting, as so much had to be done in such a small space, but keeping everything so spotless and each thing in i's pla ce was the secret of the success of the cooks. The engine-room was rather aweinspiring, as there was platform after plat[orm of hUCTe revolving wheels, al.d the heat was terrific. How the engineers stand it for the hours they do is marvellous. They have shorter hours than any of the officers, being fO'lf hours on and eight hours off but eve.1 that mllst be terribly trying for them, as they all look very pale and worn. J preferred the bridge, from which we could see for miles, unfortunately, however, there was nothing in sight. 10le were up thet'e just at 12 0 clock, so watched the officers take their bearinCTs by the sextants. We then went into the captain's cabin, and saw his treasures, most interesting snapshot photographs bein;- among the chief, and then we peeped into the first officer's room, but he seem ed busy finding out how far we had travelled in the last twen::y-four hours, so we did not disturb hi m.

They carry two cows for fresh milk for babies and invalids, ordinary people having sterilized milk for their tea or coffee.

The band, which is formed of stewards, most of whom play so me instrument, was splendid, and went a long way towards making our journey so pleasant. It played every morning on some part of the deck, and in the evening after dinner, was always ready either La entertain us itself, play dance music, or accompany songs.

vVe reached Table Bay at 5 a.m. on Tuesday morning-16 days, 10 hours, 10 minutes after leaving England-but found cold wet weather, and owing to the stronl?: wind then blowing, could not get into dock until p.m. \Ve then found we were to live on board until the next evening, when we were to SO up to Deilfontein by train: on our way to Pretoria.

(To be continued). (torr

esponb ence

.

To the Edzlo1 of" FIRST AID."

Sir,

As I am given to understand that certain medical men returned from service in South Africa have criticised adversely the orderlies of the St. John Ambular.ce Brigade doing duty here, and knowing how highly" Tommy" appreciated the" Johnnies" of St. John, I am going to ask you to publish in your next issue the following paragraph, quoted from an on Nursing :-

" To be a 'good typhoid nurse' is to have reached the Mecca of nursing, for to carry.hese cures through successfully argues much skill on the part of the attendant nurse. The first point to realise is the length and exhausting nature of the illness, and fmm the first hour to economise the patient's strength and keep him well fortified with f10d against the long siege."

Now, Sir, if the St. John's men were" such poor nurses," how is it that we find the majority of them put in the whole time of th e ir service in the enteric wards?

Yours truly, A "JOHl'!NIE" AT THE FRONT, South Africa, S eptember, 190Q.

ETTLES, M.D., CH.M., ABERD. Surgeon-1I1-Charge, Ambulance Department, National Fire Brigades Union.

PART XVIII.

The following points, then, should receive careful attention when arranging for the construction of a residence or contemplating the occupation of one already built.

I. The site should be healthy

2. The aspect !=;hould be such as to obtain the largest possible amount of sunshine.

3. It should be warm in winter, yet cool in the hot seasons.

4 It should be dry under all circumstances.

5. The ventilation should be free.

6. The water supply should be good and constant.

7 vVaste water and refuse should be at once removed from the dwelling.

Th.e j01171dat ion of the house must be carefully considered Dampness 111 the basement always renders the dwelling unhealthy, not only by of. the damp, but because the water destroys the air porosIty or ventIlating actIon of the brick walls The ground is excavated over the entire basement area and then should be covered wi th a layer of concrete a foot thick. T'his seals off ground air from the house and prevents the walls sinking Concrete, however, is porous, and S01l/{j ground air will leak through. Thi f , being damp, would cause dry rot of any flooring laid in contact with it. Hence an air space should be left between the two.

lf the house p05sesses cellars, an rea should be constructed around ,end enclosing them to provide sufficient air for ventilation, and to keep the cellar walls dry. In some cases, r.owever, it is not always possible to obtain the necessary extent of site to permit the construction of an area, in which event the cellar walls should be built of a double thickness, an intelspace existing between the outer and inner walLs. (Fig. 14.)

Moisture is further sealeCi off from the walls by inserting in them a clall/p jn'oof rOll'l'se, a layer of impermeable material which traverses the entire thickness.

AID. 35

the drain by a side conduit, protected hy a water seal. Solid material falls into the bucket, which can readily be removed and emptied, and the efficiency of the trap preserved. The oldfashioned bell trap should never be used, for reasons which will be given in a subsequent article. The floors should be of wood, with the exception of the cellar floor, which should be of conFig. 16. crete. The upper floors consist of a doubie ro\\' of joists, nailed to the upper surface of which are the flooring boards and below they uphold the ceiling of the room underneath.

The wood flooring is usually match planed, or tongued and grooved so that solid particles will not be able to penetrate into the floor and ceiling, which space should always be ventilated by an air brick. (To be contillued.)

Fig. q.-a, DA::-'IP PROOF CO(TRSES. b, AIR SPACE.

A layer of asphalt, three-fourths of an inch thick, is usually employed, and is probably the best material, although slates, sheet lead, and hard glazed brick are often used. ,Yalls may, however, become damp from other causes than ascension of the ground water. If the window sills do not project sufficiently beyond the walls the rain water will trickle down and become 3bsorbed. Similarly if the parapet walls are not protected with a prOjecting coping

Driving rain may soak the surface of a wall, and when the rain comes most freguently in a .direct.ion it is a good plan to have the wall of that Side rendered 1m pervIOUS el ther by a coat of cemen or a vertical layer of asphalt. In the latter case the \laU is built double, an interspace eXlsung between the inner and outer walls, which is filled with the asphalt or slate, thus forming a vM·tic'al damp p7'oof cOllrse.

The lloof must always be weatherproof.

Many materials have been used for its construction, but nowadays slates are always US ed for sloping roofs and zinc for flat ones. The water' [rom the roof runs into an open gutter, from w hence one or more rai n pi pes or spouts descend. These spouts should always l:e fixed so as to stand several inches a wa y from the wall and prevent the wat.er from coming in contact wi th it in even t .of a stoppage. As sho\\ n in the accompanying figure, the rain spout should discharge into the open nir immediately above a gully or trap.

The rain-water spout should never be in direct communication with tbe drain, for if it is, sewer gases ascend it and are drawn from its upper end into casements or attic windows, injuring the inmates or even spreading infectious disease The same thing happens when rainwater pipes are utilised as ventilators of the soil

Fig. IS pipe. a hea\'}' rain, a.lso, the pipe runs nearly full bore, so that the SOil-pipe gases are driven past the water seals into the house, causing offensive and deleterious odours.

T he best form of gully trap is that shown in Fig. 16. A square box cov ered wi t h a grid , and h aving t he bottom removable I t opens into

FHO::-'l THE WAR.-The following extract from a letter in the Blad/pool Gazette is interesting :-" Now for the second part of our adventures. The next day we were split up into parties of d.bout ten each, and sent to various places, some to :\la.ritzburg, Mooi River, Hawick, and Charlestown, and some to ::\ewcastle. ,Ve two, after a lot of scheming, n:anaged to get t ogether, and were sent to i\ewcastle. \Ve left Durban at + p.m., and travelled all night. "lye arrived at Newcastle about noon on Saturday, August th, just in to fir:d them packing up for Standerton. "'e, therefore, had another night in the train. Starting at 10 p. m. we arrived at St"nderton at 5.30 next day. On the lVay up to Xe\\castle we passed over the ground where most of the big battles were fought. \Ye went through Pietermaritzburg, 1100i River, (where the battle of Pieters Hill was fought), through Colen so and across the Tugela, where ',ve saw the remains of the old bridge. lYe passed Ladysmith, Elands Laagte, and were with in sight of the fam JUS i\Iajuba Hill. At Glencoe we stopped for breakfast. All along the line we saw signs of terrible bloodshed and slaughter that had taken place. There were skeletons of horses and oxen along the whole length of the line, and many plots of ground fenced round, where the bra,'e men, who bad given their Ii yes for their Queen and country, were laid, with rude wooden crosses placed at their heads, by their sorrow stricken comrades. After leaving Newcastle we came through Laing s Xek tunnel, which the Boers had attempted to blow up the night pre-"ious. ,Ve were delayed for six hours at Charlestown, as the Boers had troyed a length of line during the night. We arrived at all safe, and after two nights in the train, we had to sleep \\ahout blankets, as all our baggage was packed in the train and it was too late to unload. We have no mattresses. \Ye just sleep on a blanket and waterproof sheet. The veldt is very soft, 1 can assure you. During the night we heard firing not ,'ery hr a\\'ay, and the next day heard of fifteen prisoners being captured quite close to our camp. 'vVe have no arms whatever, our only being the red Several niahts we have heard firing, but nothing very alarming. It is on Iy a distance to Standerton Bridge, which was blown up by the Boers. 'Ye are now in the Trans\"3al, being, [ belle"e, the only St. John men who have entered the Transvaal up to the presen t. \\' e go down to the Yaal river to wasb-about a quarter of a mile-:-as water is not very plentiful. The Royal Engineers, ho\\'e, er, are laymg pipes from the town. The town is well nigh de erted, the few remallllng people are supposed to be loyal Dutch We have no fa.ult to find with either food or work. The days are very hot, ?ut the nIghts ar.e cold. Vile find ice most mornings in our buckets, which we leave outSide our tent. , Ve have had several sand-storms, and Lhey are yery unpleasant. I is no use fastening up our tent, as the sand every\\ here, even into our kit bags. Our bread and everything else IS co,:ered With sand, and if the old saying is true, that we have a peck of dirt, to eat before we die, we hare eaten our share and part of sorr.eone else s. At present our work is putting up hospitals, and as soon we finished and equipped we move on somewhere else. i\hhtarr dlScIP.lll1e is not very strict. Anyone can smoke at work, and, as sha\'lng, well, \\e are all growing beards. Our ser!?eant:major IS a thorough gentleman, and the men, who are mostly Colonlals-membe,rs. of the 1mperi:d Hospital Corps-are very sociable and good-natured, Indeed; and it will be our own fault if we do not enJoy ourselves. "e are in excellent health and hope to continue 50. And now ab?ut home. How has Blackpool been this summer? I often thIl1k about it, and wish I were there for just one night. Please remember us to all members of our cia,s, and tell them If they want a re::.lly good time to volunteer for active s.ervice. It's just grand. The leLLer concludes 1\ith the usual good w1shes and the stgn.a.ures of ,Yalter Chapman and Harry S. Hall. There is a pOSlscnpt by the lalter, containing the following: "If y?u could only send of those pies like we had on the Saturday pre vIOus to our stall, I aS,Ule yo u it would soon be eaten."

No vember, 19 0 0.J FIRST

··1bollle 1b\?gi ene."

B y "!. J McCULLocn

FIRST AID

NOYElJIBEIl 1, 1900.

When the scouts nnn the lancers and othe,' peoplf> ride in procession through London, have a thought for the sallow onlerly, who bas also "iven of his hest for his country. He is not a fancy man - you do not find them fn entl'ric wards but for solid \york and quiet courage you will not beat him in all that gallant army."-DR.

COXAN DOYLE,

WE hear Lily join with the whole HON'JUR TO WHOM of Lo n don in the splendid reception HONOUR IS DeE. accorded to the City Imperial Volunteers, for they have proved themselves worthy sons of the sires wbo made the Empire, and London is justly proud of her citizen soldiers who have done so much to keep the integrity of that Empire unimpaired. It should be remembered that we are welcoming them in this princely manner not because they are braver, or have done more to uphold the Empire than any other section of Her Forces, but because they are not professional fighting men, and because they are young men taken out of the office, counting-house, and workshop, who ha,'e shown by their endurance and pluck that they are equal to the best fighting machine j they are, in fact, our sons and brothers who ha,'ing voluntarily left their ordinary vocation in life to fight their country's cause, are nolV returning to their homes.

While according full honour, therefore, to our kbaki fighting volunteers we must be pardoned if we compare their reception and general treatment with that accorded to another class of khaki-clad volunteers who have also risked their lives and given their time to the service of their country, the members of the St John Ambulance Brigade. Over fifteen hundred of these volunteers have been doing duty in African hospitals patiently and uncomplainingly, working at times both night and day in succouring our wounded soldiers and tending with a devotion, that has earned the gratitude and esteem of " Tommy," those stricken wiLh that most insidious and deadly scourge of an army in the field, enteric fever.

We maintain that the hospital orderly, in other words, the St. John Ambulance man, is deserving of some I?ublic recognition. Although he is not placed in the forefront of the battle, where bra\'e deeds are performed under the excitement pro::luced by the boom of the cannon and the rattle of the rifles, yet he undergo::s jL1St as much risk of death in the enteric ward. Is it nothinlT a man should go into these wards, in many of whIch the very atmosphere was soaked with the germs of that fatal and foul disease, and attend to all the loathsome details of a case of enteric fever? Is it nothinn that he should do all this, and be overworked and 'underfed as well? "\Ve do not bear of the Victoria Cross or Albert Medal ?eing ven to the hospital orderly, who at Bloemfontell1 and Kroonstadt performed his daily duties with death staring him in the face. Look at the roll of the St. John men who have died of this fever, and at the number of those who have been attacked but are luckily spared. Surely these men deserve some public reception? What we wish to know tberefore is what :vill be done in .order to give to se.rvIce rendered by the St. John men? Wlil thelr home comll1g be absolutely ignored ?-it has up to the present the case of those drafts that have already returned-or wlll a grateful country decide that in the case of England's civilian volunteers the old maxim " Virtue .is its own rewa:-d" shall not apply? The MetropolIs and more espeCIally the Oity might well Lake

A ID. [Novembe r ,

the initiative in this matter; on all pub lic fu nctions such as Lord Mayor's !Jay, &c" the services of the Brigade are always placed at the disposal of the police authorities of both City and Metropolis. Surely, then when an occasion occu.rs should be considered only graceful act to recognIse In some way the work, which having been done for so many years quietly and unobtrusively, bas eventually found a fitting climax in its record of splendid service acco rded to the "Soldiers of the Queen."

AMBULANCE ARRANGEMENTS FOR CHINA.-Major T. McCulloch

R.A.M.C., will shortly proceed, says the ilIad-ieal Reco'l'cz' from Simla to China, taking wilh. tim, by order of Surgeon - General Taylor, a new s,earchlight acetyltne lamp German invention by KreISS for search1l1g for wounded men after TIlghtfall.' The lamp is a very portable one, and its utility is likely to be strikingly demonstrated if there is severe fighting in Chi-Ii. Major McCulloch also takes one of the collapsible field stretcher-dhoolies, with a series of bamboccarrying poles, mounted by Major A. G. Kay, R.A.M.C. Thi!' makes the specimen ?f Major Kay'S invention to be tested in China, two havll1g been sent WIth the troops some weeks ago. The chief features of the new dhooly are its portability power of .being split up into four component 50 as to permIt of four disabled men being removed out of actIOn at one time. The total weight is 6olbs., or 201bs. less than the old-fashioned dhooly, and in addition it makes an excel len t shelter-tent for the bearers when not in use Eiaht bearers accompany the dhooly into action, but only one man is to carry it, as it is compactly rolled up, and can easily be handled. In this way there is no good t'3.rget for sharp-shooters to aim at whereas the bIg, clumsy dhooly in common use is an object which d'raws fire at once. This was clearly in the Frontier operations of r897-98, when men were belllg earned to the rear. The eight bearers are tralDed, so that each knows the work allotted to him when the order is given to search for and carry off men who have been hit. rhe component parts all got ready Il1 a few minutes, and then the of removal begms. Two bearers have charge of the stretcher portIOn, two of the hammock on the bamboo-carrying pole and two each use the two end-pieces which ingeniously form seats. 'In other eight me.n remove four wounded soldiers, as against six men carryll1g off one Il1 the old cumbersome and rigid structure. In these days of financial difficulties an invention which thus reduces any item of cost a campalg? should be welcomed by the authorities here the savmg IS 111 the ratio of three to one. It would not surprise us if Major Kats handy stretcher-dhooly became the dhooly of the future, and supplied the want so long- felt for the quick and comfortable conveyance. of sick and It can be used in time of peace as well as dUrIng war, and It IS adapted for hill warfare, as the seats, stretcher and hammock portions meet all requirements Where are in a tight p!ace, and. it is essentia! to get the wounded away rapIdly before a retirement IS thIS. dh?oly would prove its value at once. As a conveyance Il1 the plams, 111 all countries where shelter from the sun ray's is spe.ciall}T desired, it is vastly superior to the present pattern;, the shade gl IS not only greater, but there is a free CirculatIOn of air, and the patient can be viewed at all times-a matter of the greatest importance. If the reports from General Gaselee's force are satisfactory, and they are pretty sure to be so Major Kay's invention should be officially adopted by the army India WIthout delay.

A.N'D DISTHICT AMBULANCE B1UGADE - The monthly meetIDg of thls Bngade was held at the chief fire station on the 1st ult. Mr. A R. Tozer presiding. Four hundred and eleven cases of Erst aici were reported as naving bee? attended to during the months of August and September It was deCIded to hold a .competition for the challenge shield at a date 111 December.. suggc.stlOn as to the advisability of uSll1g the dispensaries and Similar as first aid stations if the permission could be obtained, was favourably the Idea bell1g that patients might be treated at these stations a n d subsequently removed by horse-ambulance to [he hospital.

We understand that .the bedsteads which were kindly loaned by Messrs. M.aple to the Brigade for a short period dunng the mobi lization of the Brigade were, 111 vIew of the lengthened period they were reqUired [or? subsequently purchased by the authorIties at St lohn's Gate. TheIr term of service havll1g now expired they are for sale. Doubtless many men having- a sentimental liking for the bed on whicl! ?e last prio: to his departure for the front 'would like to pos:;ess It as a relIc. ThIS could be we should say, if app li cation were maJe to the Bngade authon LI es.

Novemb er, 1900.J

FIRST @ur lPortrait (SaI!er\?

TH E LATE CAPTAIN SIR ALFRED JEPHSON, SECRETArN-GENERAL OF THE ORDER OF THE HOSPITAL OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM IN I

T was our melancholy duty last month to announce the death of Sir Alfred J ephson ,Secretary-General of the Order of St. J ohn,and this month the portrait of the deceased gen tleman appears in our portrait gallery.

Sir Alfred, who W:1S born in I 8+I, was educated at Lea mington Ooll ege, which he entered in 1854 as a naval cadet, being subsequently appointed to H M. S. Queen, on whicb VEssel he served in the Black Sea during the R ussian War. His next service was on the Sa7ls Parezi, st ationed at Calcutta during the Indian Mutiny. In 186 0 he was promoted to the rank of Sub-Lieutenant and saw service in China, being present with the Naval B rigade at the assault and capture of Canton. For these services he received the China medal with the clasp for Canton. Prom0ted Lieutenant in 1861, and appointed to the Euryallts, he was wounded in the attack on the batteries at Kagosima, Japan, in August, 1863. During t his campaign he was also specially mentioned in despatches for the assault on the stockades of Simonoseki, J ap'1n . In r873 hewas promoted Commander and retired in 1889 with the rank of Captain. On the promotion of t he Naval Exhibition 111 London in 1891, Captain Jephson was invited, and agreed to undertake the arduous labours of Honorary Secretary, and at once threw himself into the work with his accustomed energy His business t act and administrative ability stood him in good stead and the Exhibition was a most pronounced success, and in recognition of his arduous voluntary labours he received t he h onour of Knighthood on ovember 28th, 1891. Sir Alfred afterwards acted as Agent-General to the N iaer Coast Protectorate, and during his visit to the Coast took part in the operations against Chief N a n a, for which he received the general African medal wit h t h e Benin River 189-+ clasp. Subsequently he was for a short time Assistant-Secretary to the Imperial In st itut e I t was, however, as of the grand old O rde r of St. John that we "First-Aiders 'J appreciate Sir A lfred and revere his memory. During the t im e that h e h eld the appointment, enjoying as he did the friendsh ip of the Grand Prior, H.,R H Prince of Wales, th e Order continued to flounsh and lI1crease Its sphere of u sefu l ness, and it was hoped that he had before him m any years of useful work in connection with various Departmen ts, ill all of which the greatest in t erest He was a universal favounte WIth those officers a n d me n of the St. Joh n Ambulance Brigade with whom h e ca m e into personal co n tact His bl uff sa il or- li ke

AID. 37

manner appealed to them as Englishmen, and his presence them on any oc:casion w;as sure to evoke for him an enthusiastic reception.

yv e are certain. that his loss is greatly felt by the Bngade, who. wIll long remember him, and all ranks would hke Lady J ephson to know that they sympathise with her mosL fully in her great sorrow and bereayement.

1R etur n of th e H <t.3. W. ' s."

By AN AMflULANCE OFFICER.

To-day London has seen the biggest crowd that has ever filled its streets, and has witnessed a scene of wild enthusiasm such as has never before been equalled even in this large city. That will be the erdict of to-day's show, and it will be difficult to imagine anything more capable of working up the populace to such a degree of excitement, unless it be the return of Lord Roberts.

When I took my place at the station assigned to me in Pall Mall I found the crowd orderly and amenable to reason, although on going there I got an inkling of what it was going to be like by noticing the enormous number of pedestrians making their way to the 'Vest End. On walking in the middle of the roadway toward St. James's Street one could see that the clubs were being rapidly filled, and lh.lt there was a great difficulty for those who were rather late to get to their respective houses. By the Duke of York's Statue people were pouring in and fiding up that portion of Waterloo Place very rapidly, rendering it extremely difficult for the Guards and police to keep the crowd back. The same thing was happening at the other side of the road, but by the help of a couple of mounted police, the enormous b'llk of people ccming down from Regent Street was for a time kept in bounds. I can give one instance of the extreme difficulty of getting through the crowd. A lady informed me that she had been for two hours trying to get to the Athemeum Club, although she was only a few yards from it. The cases of fainting and of being crushed were somewhat numerous, and kept me busy for some time, but personally I had nothina more serious to attend to. At one station my three nurses were kept "'very busy; but what a pity it is that the gaping crowd cannot be kept back and give a little more room to the ambulance helpers. A few yards away at the bottom of the Haymarket we could see that the crowd had broken through the line, and it was with the greatest difficulty that the soldiers, I?olice, :..nd restored a-d kept anything like an open road until the arnved. At length the hoarse sound of cheers rent the air, and we knew that the" C.I.V.'s·' were close at hand. I pushed my way to the open roadway, finding that the soldiers an:i. police. had been forced down from the direction of Regent Street until the 11l1e of route was nearly obliterated 'With great efforts, however, a narrow channel was restored, the of the procession came along. It m.ade heart beat more quickly, and caused your 'whole frame to qUIver With excitement to feel that you were now going to see your fellow townsmen who had been bearing hardships for months, and this sensation in a mass of people found vent in hoa:se yells ,of At the head was Colonel Mackinnon With hls staff, lOoking pleased and Surpl ised at the mass of people collected in the roadways and swarming over all the houses shouting, nay, screaming, and waving flags, handker;::hiefs, or anything- that would flutter. ext came the big ouns and on the carriaae of one of them was a little monkey. The 'looked very whether owing to astonishment vr certain amount of pride controlling their I cannot say. VarI?us and many halts were made, and I had time, to look carefully.at their faces, and also at those of all the men, and thIS was the ImpreSSIOn they made upon me. They looked thoroughly bronzed and tann ed, but the eyes were bright and the general appearance heallhy; there was no suverfluous flesh on their bodies, and I only spotted a .half dozen the outSide who looked sfckly. l\Iany of them seemed tired, and did not carry themselves so upright as might have been expected" but that would be explained by the many halts and the wearyIDg Journey they were making. h d' d

I t was evident that the UDlforms had seen muc wear, Irtyan soiled tunics here and there; hats, some evidently new, some all shapes, 'with handkerch!efs of all coiours twisted rJund them; bandoliers, some practically Il1 rags, and I was told commandeer.ed from the Boers. ow and then someone In the crowd would recog o:ze an old comrade in the rank" and rush forward to shake hands w (th bim once I saw a policeman and once one of my own men. I saw a d to SU.rg-eon i\Iajor. Sleman, "ho looked very fit and well, although I think a bttle thmner.than fOlmedy.

To describe adequately the rIght royal welcome they received, the wild and reckless enthusiasm that was displayed, the made. by thousands to see them who bad no earthly chance o[ seemg anythll1g but those on horseback, is beyond me, "nd I must leave the reporters

of the daily papers to. the.la!lguage for the descri ption. All I can say IS thiS, that It IS the grandest Sight I have seen and I have seen most of the crowds for the last te:l years, and It one feel after having witnessed it that one could never see anything- that would surpass it. As I am writing this only a few hours after It ha.s occurred, I am unable to give the casualties. Although I had no serIOUS I hear rumours that the crush in the City was great, so that 1 an.tlclpate that the accidents in that part of the town were many From what [ saw it was e"ident that the force of polIce, sold'ers, and volur.teers combined was not pOlI'erful enough to prevent the enormou,s mass of pe'Jple from breaking through the line at many places, and If no deaths have occurred we must be thankful. \\'e shall all long remember the return of the" C.I V.'s."

On going to press we have received this :-The following figures will give some idea of the state of the crowd. They represent the number of recorded cases dealt with by the St. John Ambulance Brigade at some of their stations: Marble Arch, 37; Apsley 4 1 (r serious) ; Waterloo Place, 4-0; Trafalgar Square,36; Welhngton Street, ro; St. Clement's Dane, Bell Yard, 187; Circus, roo (7 serious); Wood Street, 86; L?thbury, lIS (r senous) Altogether about 1,100 cases were dealt With by the BrIgade. favourably with the number on the occasion of the Jubilee processlOn and the wed:ling of the Duke and Duchess of York, which were r,5 3 and 1,5+7 respecti vely. But it must be reme.mbered t the two latter events took place in very hot weather, 10 the height of summer.

LEEDS A:-.lD FIRST AlD.-It is a gratifying fact that no fewer than 4+2 out of 500 of the men composing the Leeds Constabulary now hold certificates of efficiency in the rendering of First Aid to the injured from the St. John Ambulance Association

Since his appointment, ;,lajor Tarry, the Chief Constable, has given the humane enterprise of the St. John Association his cordial support, and of the mem ber.; who have attended recent classes in First Aid no fewer than 176 gained certificates and medallions, therebv bringing up the total to 442. Tbe Lord Mayor (Ald. Gordon) was requested to distribute these aW:lrds,and this agreeable duty he recently discharged. Before doing 50, however, he entertained tbe whole of the successful men in his rooms at the Town Hall. The Lady Mayoress graced the gathering with her presence, and the Chief Constable and the DeputyChief Constable (Superintendent Dalton) were also present. Tea was first served, and after the generous meal came the distribution. IIis Lordship heartily congratulated the force on the position it had attained, saying that it was all the more creditable seeing that it was purely voluntary work. Alluding to the appointment of Major Tarry, his Lordship said it was gratifying to him, as it was to many other citizens, that Leeds had obt'lined the services of such a capable chief d the force. Major Tarry had already more than justified his selection for the responsible office, and if the force continued to progress as it had been doing of late, it would very soon be able to regard itself as second to none in the country. He added that it afforded the Lady Mayoress and himself great pleasure to entertain so large a body of deserving members. Major T arry responded, warmly thanking the Lord l\layor and Lady .:'IIayoress for their hospitality. Acknowleciging the compliment which his Lordship had paid him personally, he said that he had endeavoured to do his duty Although he might, in the discharge of it, tread on some toes, still, from what he knew of the spirit that animated the force, he was quite certain that he had the support of all ranks, and that they were within measurable distance of attaining the high position to which the Lord l\1ayor had referred.

At the req'.lest of :vIajor Tarry, the company gave three cheers for the Lord ;'I1ayor and Lady Mayoress. Songs were afterwards sung by a number of the men, and selections were creditably played by a band composed of members of the force, under the direction of Inspector Hendersc·n. Thus a very pleasant evening was spent.

EASTLE1GH.-I.n interesting ambulance competition, open to any local ambulance team, was brought to a decision at the Railway Institute Hall on Saturday afternoon, the 13th ult., the prizes beino- a silver-plated tankard and silver medals, given by a local The teams entered represented the traffic and engineers' department staffs and the carriage works, but the latter afterwards withdrew. The examiner was Dr. W. P. Purvis, who recently returned from South Africa with the Southampton Volunteer Medical Staff, who put the competing teams separately through a variety of drills, mainly dealing with cases of apparent drowning and a variety of fractures, as well as viva voce examinations. The highest possible number of points attainable was 200, to which the traffic team with 172 came nearest. whilst the engineers follo\\'ed a close second 163, nine points in arrear. The teams were :-Traffic: ':\lessrs. Chapman (captain), Appleton and Ward (stretcher Bushrod and Earridge. Engmeers: Messrs. A. Bennett (captam), Moger and Matthews (stretcher bearers), and Booth and Benham. Mr. C. G. Stretch took an active p art in the arrang ing and carrying through of the competition.

A I D. [November, 1900.

St. 30hn Bnlbulance :fJ3riga()e.

BARNOLD5WlcK,-T he members of this division were not favoured with specially fine weather on the occasion of their sixth annual demonstration, but altogether the competitions 'were good. Such corps as Accrington, Nelson and Colne, were present, and several nursino- diyisions. The procession started from the drill h:.t.ll on about three o'clock, and went through the principal st, eets of the town. Afterwards the squad competitions took place in the Queen's Hall, and a dance followed, at which the prizes were distributed to successful competitors by the Rev. L. B. Morris, J.P., C.C., who s'Coke in the highest t"rms of praise of the large number of men who had left Barnolds\\'ick for the war during the pre5ent year.

Results :-Ambulance company, Accrington (I); Nelson (2). Squad, Telson (1) ; Accrington (2). Nursing divisions,. elson (r); Colne (2). The ambulance divisions were judged by tbe deputy commissioner, 1\1r. Sydney Malkin, who expressed his pleasure at the nature of the work done and also at the manner in which the Barnoldswick Division was There were over 450 people present in the evening, and the total proceeds for the day amounted to £25.

BURY.-The preliminary rOllnd for 4 District of the Lancashire Corps for the Crodield Shield took place at Bury on Saturday the 13th ult. The competition was for squads of one officer and bur men, and squads from Edenfield, AccTlngton, Brierfield, Bacup and Bolton con,peted. The judges were Chief Supt. \Vhittaker and Chief Secretary Garnett. After a stiff competition, Accrington was declared first and Edenfield second, Brierfield, Bolton and Bacup being placed in the order named. Accrington and Edenfield will take part in the competition proper at \Varrington.

EAST HAM -The church of St. Michael and All Angels', Little Ilford, ,,'as crowded to its utmost limits on Sunday morning, Oct. 21st, when there was a church parade of members of this division, and a special service of thanksgiving for the safe return of the members of the division who have been engaged in hospital work in South Africa. The ambulance men-some of whom came from Barking, Leytonstone, and other neighbouring districts-paraded at the Manor Park Board Schools, their strength being as follows: Supt. E. Hodgson (commanding ) Supt. Wells (Barking Division), Supt. Olley (Leytonstone Division) First Ofiicers Atkins and A. Paddon, five supernumerary officers,55 privates, and 13 lady nurses. Headed by the [!ford Rifles Volunteer Band, the muster marched from the schools to the church, the whole of the available seats in which were occupied some time before the service commenced. As a r esult many late comers were unable to obtain admission, even to the porches, ,,,hich were full th roughout the service. The servicp. was conducted by Rev. P. 1\1. Bayne (rector), assisted by the Rev. E. C. H. Pyemont (curate).

HULL CORPS, EASTERN This division has now been formed, and the first meeting was held in the. large. dining hall at Messrs. Reckitt's works, where the future meetmgs will be held. A large number of members have joined. An interesting syllabm, has been arranged, and it is hoped that all " first aiders " in East Hull will attend, and so maintain and extend their knowledge of ambulance work

KENDAL.- The annual meeting of this Division was held at their Head-qmrters. The chair was taken by 1\1r. J. II unter, hon. member of the Division, supported by Surgeon-Captain Cackill, Supt. W. Harri son, Supernumerary C. W. Heslop, Supt. Graham (county police) and Mr. W Wilson, both hon. members of the Division. About thirty members were present. The ordinary business haying been disposed of, the Chairman asked Supt. Harrison to present his report on the work carried on during the last twelve months. In presenting his report the Superintendent said that not one of those present at the last annual meeting could have the slightest idea that within a few the Division would have increased from 15 to 50 members, and that no less than 16 would be 01.lt in South Africa assisting the Royal Army Medical Corps in the arduous duties entailed by the campaign with which we were now so familiar. It had been a year of exceptionally hard work for the Division, but to no one more than their Hon. Surgeon-Captain Cockill, who had given up a great amount valuable time in order that the men who had gone to the front might be as efficient aE possible under the circumstances, and that those who were not so fortunate, and had to stay behind, might receive the same instruction. The Division was, as might be expected, in a flourishing condition; not perhaps financially, for a great amount of necessary expenditure had occurred, but by reason of increased interest in drills and practices, and a feeling of comradeship throughout. During the year first aid has been rendered seventeen times, transport duty litter or ambulance wagon three , and the number of (hills held was 47,showing an average of 17.1. The Chairman then called upon Surgeon-Captain CockilJ, who said: "It is a great pleasure to me to be here to-night at the close of another year's work. During the last few days 1 have held the annual examination, to which all the members pre,ented the,mselves save one. It is in my power to present to the Deputy-Commissioner of NO.4 District a very satisfactory report. Let me impress upon you once again the importance of none exceeding their duties. F ir st aid,

November, 1900.J FIRST

ane first aid alone, is your province. The man who begins to under. take re-dressing is a traitor to the good name of the and though he may for the time beiDg earn a spurious reputation for cleverness, soonE.r or later he will find himself in difficulties. .\s a medical man I should be exceedingly jealous if I found members of tbis Division taking upon themselves medical responsibilities. You must bear in mind that your position has been assured to you by the medical men of the country, and you must be loyal to them, and in doing such you will be loyal to yourselves, to your Brigade, and to the public at large. \Ye are all of us proud to think of the men who have gone forth to minister to the sick and wounded in South Africa. \Ye have certainly gi\en of our best, and who have seen active service have brought nothing but credit to the name of the Kendal Division." Supernumerary Officer C. \Y. IIeslop then proposed a vote of thanks to the Chairman [or the able manner in which he had performed his duties, which was heartily adopted, and the proceedings came to ;J close.

LT NCOL:"1.- The Division in the last twel\re months has made great prog-ress in brigade work, a contingen being at all public gatherings and other places where accidents are Iikely to occur. Several foundries and works have taken advantage of the members employed in their works, and given them a free hand in all accidents with beneficial results Over fifty cases of First Aid have been rendered by the Division in the last nine months, and four men sent to the warSergt.-Major Healey, of the Division, at present chief ward master of No.7 General Hospital, Estcourt, one of the hospitals which has not lost a single patient where human aid could be of any avail; Private A Vinter, ward master of the Imperial Yeomanry Hospital, Deelfomein; Private A. Boam, 7\0. 5 Base Hospital, Capetown; and Private Sedgwick, who has been invalided home through blood-poisoning. The men of the brigade accepted for service in South _-\frica were not enlisted in the army, but each man entered into a civil contract to serve for a specified time, usually six months. The approximate strength of the non-commissioned officers and men of the Royal Army i\ledical Corps, who have been and are serving in South Africa for the present war, including :\lilitia, Volunteers, and Brigade men, is +,853, and of those r,142 are men of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, serving directly under the \Var Office, or, in other words, about one man in four ( r in 4D has been supplied by tbe Brigade. In tbis calculation 17 r men serving in private hospitals and paid by them are not included.

1\1 ANCHESTEI{.-A corps has been formed here called the :\1anchester and Salford Corps. The Chief Constable (:\1r. R. Pearock) has been appointed the Chief Superintendent, an:.! be has placed rooms at the police-station, Alben-street, for use as headquarters, besides allowing the use of the drill-g-round attached to the police-station. The Chief Surgeon is Dr. R S. Wallace, L.F.P.S.G., L.S.A., with Dr. ;'Ilitler, L R.C.P., i\I.H.C S., as Hon. Surgeon. Over 100 men holding firstaid certificates have joined tbe corps, and they attend regularly at drill. The question of ulliform has been taken in hand, and the Committee bope to see a number of the members soon fully equipped.

Sir \Y!lliam :-1ouldsworth, Bart., :\I.P., has consented to become the President of the corps. The Watch Committee of the City have decided to purchase four-horse ambulances, in addition to the one already in use. They will be by the police, and will be at call fhis corps will be an excellent auxiliary to the police lor dealing with all accidents occurring on public occasions SHEFFlELD.-On the loth ult. this corps paraded in uniform at the Corn Exchange before the commissioner, Colonel Bowdler The officers in charge of the parade were Supt. Else and Hon. Surgeon A. Young and Sergeant-Major "'ehb. There. was a good muster of the corps, and 100ked smart in new u niforms. ChIef Supt. Chambers, 111 1I1troducll1g the commIS!>loner, said that Colonel BO\,-dler was not making an ofticial inspection, but was paying a special visit to the corps. Colonel Bowdler said it afforded him great pleasure to see the Sheffield corps agalll. It was only nine months since he saw them last, but in the meantime they had made splendid progress, which reflected great credit on the officers. The brio-ade had been oi great service 10 the War OfficI': and the country in the South African and had thus gained the best recognition they could deSired All the men who had been .out to South Africa would receive medals from Her 1\ I::qesty. On all Sides the men had gained tbe best of characters. Chief Supt. qhambers expressed to Colonel Bowdler, on behalf of the corps, their bearty appreciation of the visit he had paid

St. 30bn Bnlbulance Bssociatioll.

BARNSLEY.-On the rrth ult. 1\1r. Joseph Walton, the member for Barnsley, distributed tbe certificates and medallions to the successful members of this branch of the Association. The chair was taken by Councillor R. D. Maddison, J. P. (chairman ot the School Board), and he was supported by Surgeon-;,IaJor Hutton, Dr Black burn Rev. Canon Kirby, Rev. Dr. Lawson, Rev, \ V. Kent, Rev. E. H , R eynolds, Mr. T. Baldwin, Dr. V. K. Blackburn, Dr. E. Biackburn (h on. secretary) , Mrs. Walton, accompanied by. friends, a lso present. The Chairma n spoke of the the medical

AID. 39

profession to give \'aluable instruction to students, and expressed the hope that the benefit would be more widely appreciated. Surgeonl\Iajor Hutton, in the COurse of an address, alluded to the hospital requirements in South Africa, and said it was not possible for the War Office to cope with the requirements without outside help, and they were anxious that all so.::ieties should render hel p when needed. ,:\1 r. Burdett-Coutts considered the hospital system during the late war had not been sufficiently elastic. He (the speaker) thought it \\'as, for only a short time after war had broken out the Army :'Iledical Department got 500 medical men and 1000 trained ambulance workers to render assistance at the hospitals. So far as the evidence had gone, it showed that no body of men coulJ have done its work more nobly than the Army :\Iedical Corps had done, and he mentioned the fact that :\0. 5 District (to whom Barnsley Centre belonged) sent 29+ assistants to render aid during the war. (.\.pplause). He trusted a good Corps would be formed for Barnsley, and they would be as ready to do their duty :I.t the front as any other town. C-\pplause). ;\II'. \\'alton, who was cordially received, rose to distribute the certificates, remarking that it was pleasant again to be on a neutral platform. He expressed his appreciation of the efforts of Dr. Ernest Blackburn in such a cause, and argued the importance of ambulance training, the hon. member urged greater attention should be paid to such work in the elementary day schools to the boys and girls. Instruction should also be given in the evening classes and secondary schools, which, he hoped, would be established throughout the land. It was also of imro, tance that IDstruction should be o-iven to workers in factories, collenes, or railways, and he hoped they would take advantage of the instruction offered, and trusted that the Barnsley district would DOt be behind any other dislIict in takino- a warm interest in the work. ppplause). .'.Ir. \\Taiton then the certificates and medallions to the successflil members. A vote of thanks was accorded to .\1T. \Y alton for his services.

BELGRAV1A.-It has been arranged to hold a first aid ladies class on Thursday, the 15th at 3 o'clock precisely,. at IS, Ebury Street. Ladies wishing to ::tttend are requested to wnte to the Hon. Secretary, Colonel Tufnell, The Grol'e, \\'Imbledon P.ark,. and enclose the fee of lOS. for the course of fi\'e lectures and examlDatlOn.

GRDlSBY.-A gratifying gathering took placf' at the Old Connell Chamber, Town Hall, on Tuesday evening, the 9th uit., wben Mudd Chairman of the Watch Committee, distributed the certificates earned by the first police class in connection with the and.also on behalf of the members of the class, presented Dr. Br .lce WI th a sIlver cio-arette case in token of the reo-ard entertained for him Alderman ;'Ii"udd saId the Chief Constabl; approached the Committee on the 9 th january last. They to form an class amongst the police for 111 First Aid to the Injured and appointed Dr. Bruce to act as lllstruCtOr. The commenced on the r6th February, and from week to \yeek IOstructl?n l:r as o-iven. On the conclusion of the course in April last, an exammatlOn held, when 28 sat for examination <I nd pa 7sed the test of the AssociaLiol1, which entitled them to the certdlc.l te That result was satisfactory to the \Vatch Committee and creditable to the police and to their instructor. They were very glad to .hear the Chief Constable of the wi Ilingness of the force and thelr.leadmess to apply themseh'es to the study of first aid in of and so on. He (Alderman :\Iuud) had great pleasure III congratulating Dr. Bruce on his success Their friend, Dr. Dennie, as the local of the l \.ssociation, was yery pleased with the step in progress tnat had been made. He congratulated him, as Secretary, and he ",.as sure he would be always glad to assist both the men and doctor III matters affectinv the Association. Inspector Moore, who with the members ?f the ambulance class s.tood to attention, in retu:nll1g thanks said it was very gratifying to hiS brother officers and blm:elt to hear the kind words that had been o-iven expression to that evel1lng. They felt proud to belong to the Police F orce He would like the Chair:11an of the \Vatch Committee, on behalf of the class, to present Dr. Bruce with some small tOken of their esteem and regal'd [or him (Hear, hear.) \.lderman .'-ludd, on of th.e then handed Dr. Bruce a sih'er cigarette on was Il1scnbed the fol1owin et :_IC Presented by Grimsby Police to Dr. John Bruce, on. hiS full passing in first aid, April, r90o.': Dr Bruce , wh,o received the cio-arette case a'Uid hearty applause, Said that he had enJor ed teachi";]O' a class so much as he had done that of the Gnmsby Poltce. He did "'not know that it was not a record for every member of a class to be successful and for there not to be one failure. hear.) presentation to him had come with the greatest surpnse them very much for their expression of esteem. The C.uef onsta e returned thanks to Alderman Mudd and to the other speaK.ers, and the proceedings terminated. I h HANDS\\,ORTH.-On Saturday afternoon, the 6th u t., crse ambulance carriage, costing over £100: which had been subscnbe? by the inhabitants, was formally handed over to the District Council by the president, ;'IIr. J. H. Pearson, an 1ll t e evenino- he entertained a large number of gentlemen at a at tht: Inns Hotel. Amongst those present were Co!onel V.D. (deputy fllr. T. H. Woolston (asslslqnt

sioner) Dr. S. T. Darby Weston, &c. Mr. J. H. P.earson asked the of the District Council to accept the carnage on of the local centre of the St. John Ambulance Mr. "Ydl1am Roberts (chairman (If the District Council) said he did not thmk the carriage could be in charge of better hands than that of the firemen. VVhenever it was wanted it would be turned out promptly, although he hcped it would be a long time before it was required Darby \Veston presented the Bayley-Lees to the Railway Carriage and \\lagon Company s divISIOn and silver medals with aold centres to each member of the team. The I;Iandsworth Church club had silver medals, they being second ID the competition, whilst b.<:nze medals were g-iven. to the tea;m, Messrs. and Lloyd's. The medals were the gift of Mr. OlIver Floyd. At the banquet in the evening the principal toast was that of the 8t. John Ambulan<:e Association. and this was proposed by Dr. Darby Weston, and responded to by CJlonel Ellist?n, V.D., orwich, the deputy commissioner of the Brigade, who said they might truly be that in this courMy at the presen t time hey such an aSSOCiation, ind ed it would have been a very sad thlDg If they had not done so. The Royal Army i\ldical Corps was no doubt adequate to meet the requirements in times of peace, but past months had shown clearly that in times of war they were not suffiCient to meet the necessities cf the battlefield. During the past year no less than 1,500 ambulance men, members of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, had gone to South Africa and had renderea excellent service, quite equal to that of the Army Medical Corps. He wa.s glad to say that no less than 200 men went from the No.6 Dlstnct, of which Handsworth formed a part 'What the War Office would have these men he did not know. IIe was glad to see the assoCIatIOn so strong in Hands\\'onh. Assislant Commissioner said he hoped after the experience the \Var 0 f?ce had of the utilIty of St. John Ambulance men, they would recogmse them more fully than they had done before and give them a capitation grant so as to enable the men to go into camp, the same as the Volunteers were able to GO.

HASTINGS.-In the absence of the lIayor (Alderman Tuppe:mey ) through an engagement outside the borough, the deputy-Mayor (Major-General Sherer) presided at the meetIllg of the Hastinas centre of the ASSOCiation, held III the Council Chamber of the To\\,; Hall. The attemlance included Mr. George Locke, M.R.C.S (Hon. Secretary), the i\layoress (Mrs. Tuppenney), and Mrs. Sherer the Chief Constable (i\Ir. C. F. Baker), and ,\ir. F. F. Moore, 1\1.R.c'.S. The chairman explained that he took the chair in the unavoidable absence of the ;\if ayor and the Hon. T. A. Brassey, the President of the centre. 1\1r. Locke read the annual report. An effort is aaain to be mace this winter in the direction of establishing a local ambulance brigade, as it seems a pity that Hastings should be behind Ashford, Chichester and Tunbridge Wells in not having at command such a useful contingent. The chairman commented upon the value of the work, praised the police and railway men for devoting their little leisure to gaining such knowledge, and expressed gratitude to the lecturers. The Mayoress then presented certificates and medallions. The i\1ayoress heartily praised the work of the Association, and instanced a case in which much good might have been done for the sufferers by an accident if ody the people in a rural place had had a knowledge of first aid. 1\11'. :'Ioore, i\1.R.C.S., in proposing a vote of thanks to the i\hyore5s, said it was a flity that a large community like Hastings and St. Leonards did not enter more thoroughly into the work. No class of the com'!lunity was more fitted for the instruction than the police, and lit repaid him to find so many pass the examination. He had instructed over 600 men connected with police forces and railways, and he did not think he had ever had greater evidence that the instruction had not been thrown away. The motion was heartily adopted, and the Mayoress responded. The chairman proposed a vote of thanks to the lIon. Secretary, upon whose shoulders rested the burden d the work. VI rs, Sherer seconded the motion, in acknowledgment of which Mr. Locke referred to the aid he received from other medical men who acted as lecturers.

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PRACTICAL FIST AID.

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WALMER.--HOLIDAYHOME for NU R SES(noti nfectious) and others. Comfortab le house facing sea

Terms moderate. Miss Howard, 7,

The JO\Jrf\al devoted excl\lsivel':j to Work.

F or

m o n

IS

, post free, to be sent to the Pu blishers. :fJ3r

e"fties.

TilE occasion of the reception of the Oity ImpeI ial Vo l unteers peoved a reconl for the St John Ambulance B1'jgl'lde, about 350 offic81's and men and InU'ses were on duty at 28 stations, and about l,600 cases were treated. In add ition, nearly 3( 0 cases were treated by the hospitals, and we regret to say there were two deaths. At the procession of the Duke of York's Wedding, 1 ,544 cases were Httenc1ed to. The most 8el·ious accirlent occurred at Ludgate Oircu::;, whel'e l'I. mail overturned, severely injm'ing somo half-dozen pe ,ple. At some of the statiom, pspecially those in the Oity, the cases were so nume1'OUS tbat we believe it was not possible to keep count of all of them.

THERE is no doubt tlmt on account of some misman:igeID8nt on the pal·t of the police or the soldiers or the Yolunteers, tho enormons nowels li.ning tho btl'oets got out of control and broke the linentmanyplaces The O.I.V.'s had a hard struggle to get to the destinn tiOll at a.ll, and ultimately arrived there some tlu'ee bOUl', late . In all probability the mistake arose thl'ough the soldiers and voluntee1's not taking theil' places until the streets were packed, and then it was impossible fOl' them to form and keep the line of I'oute. The volunteel's ougbt to have taken up their position two hOUl'S before the time advel·tised for the procession to come along, instead of which they tempted to get to tbeir positions on ly some half-hour before hllnd. It will be a l esson for onr authorities, and we hope they will pl'ofit by it .!. * *

TilE competition fol' Mr OsbOl'n's Shield has not yet tn,ken place, * * *'

IN consequence of the numerous requests that have been made to us in toe last few we have. asked " Ohirmgus " (who bas kindly consented) to write a sm'ies of articles on " TUl'sing" commencing next month. '-IVe hope that om' lall y readers will be specially interested, and menti on it to their fl-iends.

··1bonle 1b\?gfene."

PART XIX.

I n the chapters devoted to ventilation, we have arranged 'for the removal from the dwelling of the gaseous excreta, and we now have to turn our attention to the mer.ns by which we may efficiently remove the liqu i d and so lid waste prodllcts,

An adult during the of twenty-four hours parts with about four ounces of solid and two-and-a-half pints of liquid excrerr.ent. In addition to this, be uses about sixteen gallons of water in cooking, bathing and washing. There are also incidental waste substances such as the cooking refuse, broken crockery, old paper, ashes, bouse sweepings and 50 forth.

There are many methods for removing the refuse from the d\\"elling, but they all resolve themselves into two main systems :-

I.-The water carriage system.

2.-The dry or "conservancy" system.

In whatever system is adopted, it is a sim qua lion that the excreta shoulJ be retained in and about the dwelling for as short a time as possible, because freces and urine undergo decomposition giving off sulphuretted hydrogen, ammonia and other gases very deleterious to the community.

Dry refitse -In towns the water removal system is found to be much m)re convenient than the c::mseryancy method, and therefore the dry refuse to be dealt with consists mainly of that from the house aDd kitchen.

The ashes or cinders should be riddled, the cinders being reser\'ed in order that they may again be used in the fire, while the ashes are thrown into a dust bin. Into this receptacle, dust, sweepings, and all kinds of odds and ends are thrown. As regards the bin,

(a).-It should never be a fixture. A gal\·anised iron pail is far superior, as this, if of moderate size, can be taken away by the dustman and emptied; thus securing a thorough remo\'al without loss in tr.lnsit. If a fixed structure, it can seldom be thoroughly emptied and cleansed without much trouble and loss of time.

(h).-It must be kept covered. Dry refuse, kpt dry, may be retained for a much longer period than if it becomes mOIst, if this occur', offensi\'e putrefaction of the organic contents soon sets in.

(c).-It should be frequently remo\'ed. This is Jone by the local authority. In some cases, as for example in Shoreditch, dust is almost a saleable commodity. It is burnt in a huge ,( destructor" which by combustion reduces it enormously in bulk to an inoffensive inoraanic ,( clinker" which is a valuable constituent of brick or morta;. The heat e\'olved in destruction is utilised in boilers, which supply steam pressure to engines dril'ingdynamos. In this way the thoroughfares can be inexpensively lit with electric lamps. The sa ving in the rates is so great that many towns a nd are following this excellent example. In the country, the dust-bill should be kept in an outhouse containing a privy. Through a small door the ashes are shot on to a liddle, which separates the clDders. The ashes

Fig 17 which fall through are then mi>;ed with the excrement il: pail of Ihe privy, The contents of the are removed perIodically and either spread on the land as a (contrary to expectation, it is a poor fertilizer) or are b:lfled. A better. method IS the Earth Closet. In the earth closet, each time the handle lS pulled, a pound or so of dry earth (loam) is dropped into the pail. It is.a curious f:let that earth mixed with f::cces 1I1stantly suporesses all oflensl\'e odour, and shortly converts it into a compost in which no tqce of the original constituents are discoverable.

B y W. J McCULLOCf-T E T TLES, M.D., CH.M., ABERD. Surgeon-in-Charge, Ambulance National Fire Brigades Union.

The earth used must be a loam or mould. Sand, chalk and gravel are quite useless. The mould has to be dried and sifted so that it will

AID. LDecember, 1900

tl lbospital 1Aurset s in Soutb tlfrica.

(SPECIALLY CONTR1BUTED.)

Our first impression of Cape Town was not favourable, the muci being thicker than any we have ever seen in London; but it dries very quickly here, and the next morning we were able to shop in comfort.

De

cemb er, 1900. J FIRST

AID. 43

17.-CLOSET CONTAMINATING WELL.

not cake and choke the delivery apparatus, moreover, if it is dam p, putrefaction soon takes .place. So,?e earth closets are so tha t the act of sitting or rismg mechamcally deltvers the reqUisite quantity of earth For isolated country houses and small villages it is a very excellent system, but in large towns the cost of frequent re::1oval of the pail contents and of keepir.g- the hoppers filled with the necessary earch is almost prohibitive. In the above cases, has to be made for the disposal of the slop waters. The worst way IS the usual one of throwina them outside on the ground to soak in and soon become a nuisance, or to throw them into the dust hole, where they cause putrefaction of the contained solids. The best method in a country dwelling is to conduct the slop water into a sealed tank which, when full, spontaneously syphons off its conten:s into open drain pipes, laid in the kitchen farden.

The intermittency of the flow allows the soil to take up and remove the nitrogen from the water and to become dry before the next irrigation. Also as itocclJrs in considerable quantity ani force the fluid is spread over a large area.

The Cess()ool System.- rn the early part of this century the usual method of dealing with sewage was tu conduct it into a subterranean chamber, or cess pi t, so constructed that the flllid co n tents could make their exit into the surrounding earth through the rough and pervious walls, the solids remaining, It is manifest that tbe sewage must putrify andin courseoftime percolate widely.

As described in the

Fig. I8.-IMPERVIOUS VENTILATED CESS PITS. chapter dev.oted to water,typholdgerms have bee.n convefed and produced epidemics of the disease Tn the country It IS. sometimes found advisable to use a cess pool. In such the pit sh0uld be constructed of cast iron or some glazed Impermeable material and it should be ventilated. From time to time the can tents are pumped inLO a conduit pipe or a proper vehicle for conveyance to the land

Cape Town consists of one principal thoroughfare - Adderley Streetin which is the Post Office, a very fine building, and two or three large stores, which we found fairly reasonable, and where we were able LO get anything we askedJor. Provisions were most and hotel accommodatlOn we were told was rUInOUS, and very mfenor in quality; fortunately we had not to try it ourselves. In the afternoon we went by train to Sea the favourite place for visitors in summer, a small village about three miles ant of the town. The houses are very picturesque, being nearly all built on the ground floor , and surrounded hy like Indian bunga.lows. The shore reminded us of the CornIsh coast and the AtlantiC breakers rolling were grand. We returned to the ship in time for dinner at 6.30, after which we had to gather up our small baggage and get ready to start. We assembled at the station at 8 o'clock, and at 9 o'clock said good- bye to Cape Town and a crowd of passengers from the boat, who, with our good captain, had come to see us off, and getting into the Kimberley mail train, started once more on our journey.

About 10 o'clock the guard carne in with the clothes for our beds, and showed us how to make them up. The top part of the back of the seats pulled down and formed a shelf which made a most comfortable upper bed on either side of the carriage. He then placed a thick blanket all over for a mattress, which with a large sheet folded in an equally large blanket, [or the top and bottom bed clothes, made an excellent bed, so good that we soon fell asleep and did not wake till too late to see the most beautiful scenery on the line. The guard told us next morning that the moon had risen about 2 a.m. and had liCYhted up the Eerste Mountains, and Sip Lowrig Pass, over which were travelling, most beautifully, making the train, which twists backwards and forwards, look like some illuminated snake, while far above gleamed the snow clad peaks. After this, the country grows uninterest ing, and once on the Karroo, only a kopje here and there breaks the level surface of the ground. Occasionally we passed a Kaffir village, the houses being mostly built of ml'd, and anything but tidy.

took a chill, anci at the end of fo ur days, when once more the sun came out, everything- dried up quickly, and looked fresher and cleaner [or the soaking it had undergone. The hospital, which lies a t the foot of a, kopje, is composed of wooden huts covered with galvanized iron, and tents. Each hut or ward holds about two dozen beds and each tent from eigh t to twell'e, 50, as there are fifteen huts and twen ty-seven ten ts, oyer 600 patients can be accommociated comfortably. The acute cases are nursed in the huts and then transferred to the tents to make room for fresh patients.

The hospital consists of nineteen doctors, six dressers and forty nursing sisters, over whom tbere is a superintendent; while the management of the ward maids, catering, &c., is undertaken by a lady who fills the post to perfection. The ward maids are servants for the staff, as all the minor nursing is done by orderlies, who are splendid workers, and very good to the patients. Over the whole hospital is the Commandant, the right man in the right place, without a doubt, as one word from him settles the greatest muddle, and smooths away any friction that may arise in any department.

The chapel is built of wood and iron, like tbe huts, and is used by all denominations. The little cemetery, which is about half a mile from the camp, is very pathetic, being alone in the middle of the Karroo, with only a few white stone or wooden crosses to mark the spot where a bandful of Englishmen lie. It contains fifty-two such one over a young doctor of 27 years, who died of enteric, much to the regret of the whole camp.

saw none the day. We stayed for l unch at S pr ingfon tein, t he largest statIOn town we had seen since eaving Cape Town. Our nex.t stoPPll1g--place. was at Edenburg, a good sized village, the houses bUllt mostly of bn.cks and stone, ,:¥itb very nice gardens and trees. Twent.y after leavlllg Edenburg we came to RletTlver, a small statIOn lylllg near the River Riet, over which was another good .bndge, ?oth ends well by guns and trenches, the further SIde havlllg a strong picket stationed there. All the kopjes on either side oi line were fully fortified, and at Kaffir River, there was a large encampment and splendid fortifications, the earthworks thrown up encircling the whole and reaching a,5 far as we could There were smaller camps and pickets all along the line, and we notIced there were extra rails lying alongside the track for miles, in case the lIne was damaged by the Boers.

The ground was thickly covered here for a good distance with mounds from two to three in height, which we all thought must have been thrown up by the troops for protection from the enemy, but on enquiring we found that they were" white ant-heaps" 'which we were told the Kaffirs used a great deal to bake their bread in, as when they were hollowed ?ut sP.lendid ovens. We passed, during the day, two Hospital trall1s WIth patients from Bloemfontein the second having evidently been an old Boer ambulance train, as it unmistakably not English built, being very clum sy looking and inconvenient. As we passed them both, we happened to be going very slowly, so had time for quite a nice talk with the soldiers, who told us they were going to Wynberg, the camp at Cape Town, and hoped to be drafted home as quickly as possi ble, on transpol tE.

Fig. 19.- PIG STYE, CO:-lTAMINATTNG

Middens, stables, or piggeries should never be allowed in contact with the DWELLING. house wall as the liquic. drainage will soon soa k throue-h this and the basement.

(To be cOlltinutd).

Nearly all swarming with little children, poor, unkempt, dirty little urchins, who seemed for all that perfectly happy and healthy. We stopped for breakfast at Matjesfontein, a small place nearly 200 miles from Cape Town, where we had sam.:! delicious porridge and coffee, which made us perfectly warm and wide awake. Vhen we were tired of looking at the Karroo, we got out our work and books and had a most enjoyable day. If we stopped at any place for ten minutes we got out and walked about, and when we were tired of being ineoors we strolled out to tbe platform at the back of our carriage, from which we h ad a love y view and plenty of fresh air. We had dinner at Beaufort ·West 339 miles from Cape Town, and supper at Victoria West, 80 miles further on. Tea we made for ourselves, on the train, as we were all armed with spirit stoves and kettles. The stations struck us us as very odd, most of them consisting of a small cottage Ol :\1\'0 rooms, built about fifty yards away from a wooden platform, against which the train somet i mes stopped, but as often as not completely ignored. It reminded me forcibly of Jerome's" Strange Train," for we seemed to be able to slow up just when and where we liked, and although we were due at certain p aces at certain times, yet we might be a few hours late, nobody could tell whether or not we should be. Every few miles we passed the" pickets," usually consisting of half a dozen men, except when a bridge or an extra important piece of line wanted guarding, when it was increased to ten or twenty Poor fellows, they looked so lonely and seemed so truly grateful for the cigarettes, chocolates, and papers, which we threv.; out to them; it must be terribly dull for them. We reached Deilfontein in good i me, II.lS p.m., and as we slowed up we could see the li£'hts and fires of the camp on the right nand and the hospital on the leit of the line, while figures of nursing sisters, with lanterns, appeared hurrying down to meet us, accompanied by a coup e of dozen orderlies with stretchers. for the lug-gage. It looked al so quaint and p icturesque that we could scarcely believe i was to be our destination for the time being. In a very short time we and all our Iuggage were safely escorted to our quarters, and then after hasty visit LO the sister's mess h ut, where we had some nice hot soup, we said good -night, and retired to our var ous tents, where we had a spleudid n ght's rest, although it was our first u nder canvas, T he next night was not quite so peaceful as the wind rose suddenly, and the sand blew in clouds, simply smothering everything. We ate and drank it in a l our food, we washed in it, and our beds and clothing were full of it [or about 36 hours, then the wi"d dropped as sucidenly as it had risen, and in its p ace culd, driving ra in, which for four days, converting h e wh o le cam p into one huge mud puddle. As we were nut to go on for some days I went on n ight d u ty, a n d lonked after II tents, so had full be nefit of he rai n and co d. Howeve r m u ch as Wf; fe l t it none of m;

It was consecrated about a month ago, and It WIll surely be a comfort to the friends of any lying there to know that they are sleeping in a sacred spot, after being buried with all Christian rites. After a funeral at sea, I think the 1Tl0st solemn and impressive sight is one from a camp hospital. The wards are lighter now than they have been at all, so the whole staff is living in hopes of seeing England before Christmas, as after all, there is nl) place like home, but [ am quite sure e"erYOI:e will look back on their stay at Deilfontein with although they have worked very hard and had a lot to p u up WIth. No one looking at the place now can realise state it was in at first. when there were no paths anywhere, and the soIl was so loose and shallow, having solid rock just under the surface, that at every gust of wind the tents collapsed. Now they are fairly secure, although on extra blustering days some still come down, but on the whole they are safe. Each tent is marked round with large smooth stones, which are plentiful all over the Karroo, and whitewashed to show in the dark, as otherwise there is great danger of tripping over the tent pegs and npes at night, and quite nice little gardens are laid out round each dwelling.

There is a plentiful supply of water, brought by pipes, all over the camp, from the well (from which Deilfontein takes its name), which lies on tbe further side of the station, and is pumped across by an engine. Milk and eggs are obtained from a Boer farm house, kept by people who are exceedingly k!nd to all here, althoug.h there are rumou:s that they are staunch Iebels, and have firearms hidden all over their buildings, and need but a word from De Wet to be quite ready to go to his help.

I am afraid it will be many months before peace 111 Its true sense wIll reian. There are a few birds about, something like our English but no domestic ani mals of any sort. A stray dog belonging to a Kaffir may be seen at times, but it is most ursociable, and will not allow anyone to come near it. Rats are :ather abundant, but although they are most objectionable, yet they might be worse, as they are clean looking and not very large.

We are not idle all 01 us being on duty, yet I know we shall be glad to be settled' in our br,\nch bospit;].l, and 1 will give you a full descri ption of it and our d01l1gs there.

'vVe-7 Sisters and myself--and one Doctor. left Dedfonte1l1 at a few hours notice by the mail train at II p.m., and alter a very night, it being too cold to sleep, we reacbed Colesburg at 7 a.m., where the Guard brought us some very nasty coffee which, wanr;ed us nicely. The country from Ihere was very lllterest1l1g, be1l1g really the scenes of all the engagements III the Orange Free State. '1/Ve reached Norvals Pont at 8.30 and stopped for breakfast (and had the nicest breau, butter and tea that we had had sin.ce landing in South Africa). It was a very good station, so clean and tidy , and there was a convenient store attached to it, where we could buy most useful things. There is no town to speak of, but a large encan'pment stationed there makes tbe place mportant. Just reyond the station we cro.ssed Norvals Pont Bridge, a splendid i ron erection over the Orange RIver, and then were in the Orange Free State. Down below, we could see the remains of the a el bridge, which had been destroyed by the Boers, while above was the pontJon, which was constructed in a few hours after by the" Tommies." here was prettier than below Deilfontein, the vegetatIOn bell1g greener, whIle the cattle, sheep and horses are in much better condition. There was also more water about small rivers and akes, things almost unheard of before, being q u ite 'usual sights here and the farmhouses were nicely built and well kept, with cultivated !;"ardens scarCIty of trees, however, was very conspicio u s noth ing growll1g h.lgher than two or feet. We passed a great d ea of snow in th e mgh t b u t, a tho ugh It was very cold,

We reached Bloemfontein about 5 o'clock, in time to see a glorious sunset, which bathed everything in a warm crimson glow. However, even that failed to blind our eyes to the ugliness and squallor of the entry of the town, through the Kaffir quarters. The square, flat-: oofed mud houses were so ugly and dirty, and the whole place looked uncared for, and smelled unmistakably" Kaffiry." Further on, in the English quarters, it was much better, and the view from the station was very pretty, camps stretching out on all sides far as we could see, all bathed in the sunset glow. The station was a very fllle one (for South Africa), but there seemed to be no white porters about, Kaffirs or soldiers doing all the work. We found we had to spend the night at NO·9 Hospital, as we could not continue the journey till the following night, it not being safe for us to travel in an English saloon carriage, in case the Boers might think we were people of importance and attack it. So till they could get us an old Boer carriage we should have to wait. After having dinner :It the station an ambulance from the hospital came for us alld our luggage and we had a lovely drive of about a mile, behind 6 mules, out of the town to the camp, where we had a delightful time, the Matron giving us such a nice welcome and the Nursing Sisters bei!lg kindness itself to us. We slept in bell tents, and after a splendid night's rest, felt thoroughly fresh again. T he next morni n g we saw over the hospital, wbich was chiefly canvas; a small portion, only, being red brick, for the Boer prisoners. It was amusing to see how contented an d at home they looked, the convalescent ones being out on the balconies on lounges and easy chairs, smoking all day long The marquees for the English each containing 6 beds, were beautifully pitched in rows, about a dozen in a line. They were beautifully kept, too, both inside and out, with the sides of the tents hooked up for the patients to get all the fresh air possible without their being moved, while others were taken outside, into the open air, each having a huge green-lined white sunshade to protect them from the sun. In the afternoon we were invited to a concert given by the soldiers, which was capital, one of the sergeants accompanied the songs, and some of the voices were splendid. rt was intelesting to know, too, that they had all seen active service. After the concert we were invited to the Officers mess tent to tea, as soon as we had finished it was time to collect our traps as we had to be with them at the station just after 5 o'clock; so after thanking them all for their kindness to us, we said good-bye w th genuine regret and drove back in the ambulance ,vagon behind 4 mules into the town. After disposing of our luggage we were free till Ie o'clock, so we walked round the town to see any points cf interest there be. \Ve several fine buildings, Government House, the late house of PreSident Steyn, Government Offices and Parliament House (the latter now used as a hosp:tai), being among the largest. There is also a nice theatre and se 'eral good churches, both Dutch Reform ane! English, The roads are wide and well kept, so a re the squares, in whicb can be seen at almost any hour of the day bullock carts with from [our to a dozen oxen yoked in them, ready for hiring. The rickshaws, Loo, drawn by Kaffirs in most picturesque cloth es are a pretty Jeature of the place. There are some aood hotels and both their accommodation and that of the railway is The town is under manial law, so no civilian is allowed out after dark We were qUlle socry when, at 10 p.m., we had to get back to the station and the train more. We found we had been giYen;, Boer saloon carnage on a rrelg-ht train, behind trucks containing- 250 horses, remounls to ue takt"11 lO Kroonstadt, and after a great dea l of shunlillg, we slarted Ollce mOle at I a.m. on T h ursday morning.

(To be cont iu,uecl).

Fig.

FIRST FIRbT AID.

nECElJIBER 1, 1900

WE wish to address ourselves this OUR CLAD! O:-J month to the Members of the St. John FIRST-AlDERS Ambulance Brigade and other kindred ambulance bodies, for the purpose of bringing before them the claims of this journal to their more aCLive support

It is now six and a half years since this paper was launched forth into the ambulance world, and :luring that time we have consistently and persistently pre sse d on the public attention the merit s of the various ambulance bodies in general and of th e St. John Ambulance Brigade in particular, and by these means hase helped to some extent (whether it be great or s mall we leave others to judge) the progress of our cause It has been our duty at times to criticise and condemn, and if by so doing we have incurred tbe displeasure of individuals or associations we express our regret, but we strive to do our duty to the public fearlessly and witb out fa\'our.

It has been a matter of surpri se to many p eo ple that the Central Executive Committ ee of the St. John Ambulance Association has not seen fit to give any support to this journal. This fact. we know, ba s been a matter of r egret to many of the mo st ardent supporters of the St. John Ambulance cause. From many of these supporters we hav e received most encouraging letters urging us to cont inu e our little journal, but it mu s t be borne in mind tbat kindly commendations do not find the sinews of war. We must have the wherewithal to con'tinne our career of un biassed criticism vVill every ardent ambulance man, aye, and woman-we apologise to our lady reader s for including them, at pre sen t they are our best supporters, in th eir divisions each member we find taj, es a paper, retaining it as a book of referencewill every first-aider support u s by paying his subscription for one year. First-aiders would be sorry to mi ss thi s monthly record, but it must be borne in mind that we ca nnot altogether run it for pleasure. It is a pleasure, we admit, but we want to have the wherewithal to do so.

We mention the above in order La impress upon our readers the fact that thi s periodical is the only one existing for the benefit of ambulance wor kers, that it is the sale means of inter-communication bet ween different am bu· lance societies, and thal it is tbe unly m et hod by which the various corps and divisions of the St John Ambulance Brigade know the m e th od and S'...lccess of each otbers' work

It is .all the se grounds that we ask for the support of each Indnldual member oj the Brigade We are aware that these co lumns are r ead by most of the members, but that is n ot e nough, for it is not much benefit to us if a whole divi sio n or corps numbering fifty or a hundred ?r more m Clllber s take only one or LIVO copies-surely it IS not too much to ask each officer to su bscribe for a copy, those ?f the rank and file who can afford to do ; If the copy IS not wanted after being read it can be given to not well versed in ambulance matters, and by thIS means both the cause and the Joumal will be aided

To the members of the medical profession who have so kindly se nt us articles, correspondence, &c., we give our grateful thanks. As it is Ollr desire to make this journal ins trucLive to first-aiders) we venture to appeal to

AID. [J) ec ember, 1900.

our medical breth r en for a lit tl e more he l p . A t t his time of the year many doc t ors give inte r esting lectures on ambulance matters, and as t hese lectures are worthy of being listened to by a greater audience than the limited one to which they are addressed, we suggest that they be sent for publication in the se columns. We ha\-e always looked after the interests of the profession in ambulance work, and we plead for a little assistance in return.

BIRMINGHAM AND DrsTIucT AM13 ULAN CE BRIGADE - The monthly meeting of the :ommittee of this B r iga de was held at tbe Chief Fire Station, October 29th, Mr. A. R. To ter presiding One hundred and seventy·tbree cases of first aid were reported from the several divisions for the month o( O ctober In te resting letters were read frorr, two of the members who volunteered for service in Africa, and who are sti ll on duty ther e; aud Private H enry ::rani s, who has just returned from Africa, was present at the meeting by invitation o f the Chairman. Furtber arrangements w ere made for the holding of the competitions for the cha ll enge sbield. The place in wbich the competition will be held is the Friends' In stitute Mo se ley Road, and the da te Decembe r 1 2 Mr. Barrow Cadbury will be chairman on the occasion A Ml'3UI.A!"CE WORK AT SH EFFfE Ln.-Superintendent Frost, since his appoi ntment to the command of tbe Sheffield Fi re Bri gade hR S done a good deal in the way of extending the usefulness of the orga nisation. Not t he least successful in his efforts is the Brigade'S Ambulance Department. Every active member of the Fire B riga de is a "first· aider," and some idea of how this department is appreciated may be obtained from the fact that the ambula nce" ca lls" received by the Brigade during the last few years has averaged something like 25 0 • Thi s year the total bids fair to be much higher.

AUSTHAUAN AMBULANCE ASSOCIATION.-The Australian Ambula nce Association being in need of funds organised a bazaar on a novel system, and on Tuesday, Septemher 25th, the opening ceremony was performed at the Sydney T ow n Hall. [he idea of the promoters wa s to impart to the bazaar the atmosphere of a military camp, a nd in practice t he effect wa s found to be the transformation of the interior of the Town Hall into a collection of bell tents and a busy throng of ladies attired in tl le uniforms of severa l colonial and one Scottish r egiment. [n all twenty re gulation tents were pitched in the vast hall, and line of military poles and wires were placed in p os iti on, enclos ing the square. The tents and the uniforms and the attendants were sufficiently s uggestive o( affairs, despite the fact that the "camp" was roofed in, that on the canvas and about it were arranged the ordinary trifles on sale at a bazaar, and that hedgi ng the" military" quarters on all sides were advertisement stalls displaying the wares o( merchants and shopkeepers o( the city The opening ceremo ny was periormed by Mrs. G. A. French. The bazaar continued till Saturday, and en tertainmen ts were gi ven each evening.

MIDLAND RAILWAY AMBUI.ANCE: A\\'Alms.- The gold silver medals granted by the directors of the lidland Railway Company in r ecog niti o n of special skill s hown by ambulance men all ov er the system in rendering first aid to the injured, (or the year ending Sep tember 30th , were presented by Si r H e nry Wiggan, a t De rby o n 15th November.

Mr E. W. Well s , assistant general manager and chairman of the Ambuhnce Award Committee, presided. Eighteen gold and thirty-eight s ilver medals were awarded. The winners of the golrl med a ls included Arthur Wilkin s, Mansfield; W a lter Stainton, Rothwell Haigh; George 13t'ackner, B eeston; J oseph Cromack, Leed s; William Spence, [-lun sletj lIenry Martin, Skipton; George L or d, Sheffielcl; F. C. Lawrence, L eeds and Edwin Col:le Winners of the s ilver medal s included Samuel E. White, Percy A. Raynes, Chesterfield; John Smith, Masborough; George Elvidge, Henry Tomlinson, Sheffiield; John S. H a rris, Mansfield.

WHO FO UND THIS BAI:3Y?-" Did I go to see the C.l.V.'s last M onda y, Bill? Yus, a nd all ! seed was a bloomin' wom'ln loose a bloomin' baby."-A correspondent overheard the above.

ANSWERS TO COtWESPONDENTS -L.A.C.-Your ,. mo s recently developed idea" seems very good in its way, but we do not see any particular con nection between it and am bulance. I is a matter for the police to consider, it is doubtful whether they will from outsiders a s to the method of managing their business. Why don't you sen::!. it to the Chief Commissioner? Your sketch of the policeman on the ambulance is very good.- ED.

DEATHS.

AT 52, Victoria Road, St r oud Green, London, N., William J. Clark , late of the Royal Engineer Department, age d 80 year3, the dearly beloved father of Mrs Sleath Gent of St. John's Gate Nursing D ivision.

D ecemb er, 1900.J

FIRST ®ur lDortrait

M AJOR GORE LITTLE, CHIEF CONSTABLE, PRESTON CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT, PRESTON CORPS, ST. JOHN AMBULAl'\ CE B1U GADE

WE have great pl eas ure in pre se nting to our readers thi s mon th the portrait of :'vI aj or Little, Chief C onstable of Pre ston, who has striven earnestly to promo! e ambulance work in lhat part of Lancashire.

l'.'i..ajor Little is the seventh son of the late iVl1'. Little of Stewarts town, Co. Tyrone, and of Slough Buck s, and was born in 18+1. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School, Lanca s ter, and entered the Royal 1.1ilitary Acadamy, Woolwich, 111 18 55. Being destined for a military career, Major Little j oi ned the RoyalArtillery in ]85 9 and served in theW est Indie s from 1860 to 1864, and during that period h e was Adjutant, Royal Artillery, and Fort Lieutenant to His Exc ell e n cy the Governor of Jamaica and commanded a deta c hmen t of Royal Artillery in the Expeditionary Force against the hostile Indians of Yucatan. He was promoted to Captain in 1871, served at Gibraltar in I 872-3 , and was Adjutant to the Royal Glamorgan Artillery from 1873-8. 0n retiring from the army he was made District Sup eri ntendent of the Cheshire Con s tabulary, and in 1882 was appointed Chief Constable of Preston.

YLajor Little is a Mern ber of the Council of lbe ational for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and takes great intere st in ils work.

The Major joined the ambulance movement in 1887, and since then has been an active worker in it. He is the C;hief of the Pre ston Oorps, b ei ng appoll1ted 111 1894, and IS proud of the fact that this Corps ha s sent sixty men to the war in South Africa.

Major Little is such an enthusiastic belie\'er in the value of am bulallce work that he has authori sed the establishment of an ambulance system in Preston particulars of which appeared in this Journal a vear A.t th e ambulance. review at Pre s t o n in June ias t LIeut.-General Slr Charles Warren complimented the 1\,1ajor and acknowledged his great services in the am bulance movement.

Major Little is a member of a large family, one of his brothers being LIeut -General H. A. Little, C B., and another the well-known Rev. W. J. Knox Little, Canon of Worcester (at presen t serving as Acting Chaplain with the Guards Brigade in South Afl'ica).

Vvhi lst the ambulance movement numbers amongst its adherents sLlch a strong supporter as Major Little, there can be no doubt about its progress, and we congratulate Preston on having a Ohief Constable who, by the establishment of a public ambulance service, has shown a practica l sympathy with the injured and sick,and has thus exhibited to other towns what can be done by energy and perseverance. We trust that Preston will long retain hi s se r vices.

AID. 45

$t. 30bn Bnl bul anc e :f13 ri ga be.

-l'v1r., A. L. Garnett, of Burnley, Superintendent Di;tric: SecletalY of tbe. NO.4 North-Western DistTict, held the iirst Alleua l r[]spectlO[] of thIS newly formed division on October 25th. There was a very good muster of members, including the IrOD. Suraeon (;\11'. Douglas H. Anderson, .\1.0.), Supt. J. l\l c:"'arty R

H annan, First Officer P. Lushman, Inspector of Stores J. Craig, non: Treasurer C. lIon. Secretary R. D. Montgomery. Supt. addressl11g the men, congratulated them on the effic ent and cred,llable manner in which they had done their work, and tbe reprogress that had been made considering the short time the diVISion had been organised in Barrow, and he hoped the next time he VISited they have their uniform and be thoroughly equipped With ambUlance matenal.

BLACKPOOL..-The displayed in ambulance work since the war ou.t IS truly and the effect is being felt locally by a g:.eatly lllcreased membership of .the Corps. Tbis mllst be very I.n.g to Mr. Derbam, the Chief Constable; Dr. .\l o lloy, the lectUJel, i\lrs. lady supe.rllltendent; and other officers The lady mem?els of the Corps are.actlvely preparin?,' clothing for the poor children. The enthUSiasm dIsplayed III thiS sdf-illlposecl labour of love cannot be too highly commended or encouraged.

CHESTER.-The.Superintendent, Rev. A. E. Farrar, organized a at the MUSIC Hall, on .October 31st, to rai se fUll is for proviJing additIOnal stretchers for corps, and to bring its work more before the seneral public A large audience attended. AII.the "rtlstes were local and their respective efforts gave great satisfactl.on. The Mayor (Col: H. T. Brown) presented the prizes and certIficate.s 11dd been gall1ed: The Rev. A. E. Farrar, Superinteildent of the diVISIon,. repor;:s that the Impetus lately given to ambulance work and to the dIVISion has been considerable, for while in June there were only r6 rank and file, they now number 6[, with 2 officers and + honorary The i\layor expre3sed the pleasure it g.lve him, at the c1?se of h,s yeu, to be able to come there and presem those prtzes. He belIeved that the work undenaken by ladies and gentlemen who attended those cl:.tsses and fittinO' themselves for th e ofam.bula n ce work was wonhy of.all pr <lise. and a muter of the h ighest Importance to the public at large.

DERBy.-:-An ambulance demonEtration of a -"ery important character took place III :'Ia keney Park, the country seat of i\Ir. G. Herbert Strutt, the latter fia:t of October. The ambulance men present were fro 11 the DIVISIOn, the Belper Di\ ision, and tbe Derby \'olunteer By the kind permissi?n of Surgeon-Captain Luce, the olunteer ambulance wagon was uttllsed for the occasion and was in charge of Corporal BennIson and Driver Bates. The De;by Division was under the command of lIon. Surgeon Cassidi, 2nd Officer \\'right, and 1St class Supernumerary resen'e Lapel!. The Belper Division was under 1st class Supernumerary Jones, and t'le Volunteer ambulance company was in charge of Sergt-.\Iajor 2I]OrlOI1. Unfortunately Mr. G. H. :::'tru tt was unable to be present, but a very kind letter of exc use There were a r eceiving and dressing station. The supposed wounded men were scattered over the park, and twelve stretcher parties were sent out to pick them up. They were conveyed from the receiving statIOn. by the .ambulance wagon, and at the dre,sing station the bandagmg: was ll1spected by Surgeon Capt. Luce. Amongst those who took part JI1 the demonstration were a number of men in khaki who had only recently returned from South Afnca.

DE\\,SBURY.-At the Drill Hall, on October 31st, AssisLnt Commissioner S. W. M alkin (StoKe-on-Trent) held his annual inspection of the loca l Corps, which is composed of the following divisions:l)ewsbury, Heckmondwil<e, Ossett, and ;\lorley. The Dewsbury men were in uniform, and induded ten who have recently returned from South Africa. They were in charge of First Officer H. Allott. The II eckmondwike Division were in charge of First Officer Wharton; Ossett, Supernumerary Officer F. Smith and ,\lorley, Superintendem Ainley. Thirty members of the .Nursing 0 ivision were also presen t in uniform, and were under the command of :'III'S. Walker (superintendent), After the inspection, the men were drawn up in ranks, and the Commissioner complimented them on the good and clean condition of their uniforms. IIe urged them to pay strict attention Lo drill and discipline, and expressed a hope that other divisions would make an effort to provide themse lves with uniforms as quickly as possible.

Captain 'iValker, Chief Superintendent of the Corps, wrote staling that he was not yeo sufficiently strong eno ugh to attend,and Superintendent Hemingway was also unable to be present Superintendent and three supern um erary officers flom the Leeds Corps were present to wat ch the proceedings.

HAVERHILL. -The annual inspection of this Division took place on Octoba 27th. Lieut.-Col. Elliston, Deputy Commissioner of NO.3 District, visi ted the Cor:: Exchange, \\ here the Division, under command of Dr. Goodman, the H an. Surgeon, Superintendent, and First Officer R. Potter, was drawn up to receive him. .At the conclusion, Col. Elliston expressed himself highly satisfied with what had been done by

FIRST

the Divisioll, and complimented Mr. Goodman on the smart body of men under his command. lIe congratulated tbe Division on aeing able to send three of their number to the war, and wished them a safe return.

HUDDERsFIELD.-The annual meeting of this corps was held on October 25th at the Drill Room in Byram Buildings. There was :1. large attendance. Mr. Geo T. Ravner presided. T:le report stated thata ne\Y division, with 16 members, had bee n started at Outlane, under the care of Mr. Garside. The Central Division numbered 33 membersas compared with 39 last year. There had been an average attendance of r at the drills. The nursint; division bad +3 members aO'ain s t 50 last year, and bad held q meetings, withan average attendof 19. There were r6 members in the Long-wood division; 14 drills bad been held, and the average attendance was II. Interesting and instructive lectures had been given during- the year by Drs Demetriadi, Hirst, Porritt, Rolfe and Sbaw. 11r. W. F. IIirst, in moying the adoption of the report, said that the work of the hrigade in South Africa had been somewhat overlooked, but noll' that the men are returning home, they would hear more of the valuable service that had been rendered. He hoped tbat the work done by the brigade at the front would bring home to them the importance of strict discipline and drill. Without the drill and discipline tbe magnificent service done by the St. John l\mbulance A;sociation \\ould have been impossihle. He hoped that we should never forget the noble done by members of tbe brigade in South Africa. They never knew when such occasio n might aga in rise, but let them prepare so that they might have a body of men ready and competent to render aid when necessary.

Bl11 bll lance.

RAILWAY AMBULAKCE TITION.-The annual competition for the Caledonian Railway Ambulance Shield took place on Saturday, :\ol'ember lOth, in St. Cuthbert s Hall, King's Stables Road, Edin b urgh, and tbe trophy, with four badges, was won by Pri,lces Street Station team, Edinburgh. Ardro ssaI. Station and B'lchanan Street Goods Station, Glasgow, were second and third respectively. The oIher competing teams were :-Greenock, St. Rollox 'VVorks, Carstairs, Stirling, Polmadie, Eglinton Street, Coatbridge, Bridgeton, Dundee West, L1.rbert, Leith, Perth, Hamilton West and Mo herwell.

SOUTHAc-IPTO:--l.-A meeting in connection with the L. & S.vV.R. Dock was held in the Dinner H all, Baggage vVarehouse, on N ov::mber 1st, and was largely attended, Mr. J. Dixon, Dock and Marine Superintendent, presided, and was supported by Drs. Elliot, Samson, and P ;lrker, Capt. Lewis, 1\1r. Johnson, Mr. Corben, the hon. sec., Mr. G. Lush, and manyofthe r ock and Steam Packet officials.-In opening the meeting, tbe Chairman said he was very pleased to preside. The results of the past two years had been exceedingly satisfactory. IIe hoped that not only would their efficiency continue, but that the number of members would be increased. There W:lS no one more liable to accidents than those engaged in a large port, and the subject was being considered at 'Vaterloo how best to deal with these cases of accidents.

A practical illustration of" first aid" wa5 given by various members, in which they demonstrated their efficiency in a m:;st praiseworthy manner.

ADc-ITRABLE Ai\1BL'LANCES.- The spectacle recently offered to those who wended their way toward the Municipal Velodrome at Vincennes was both novel and picturesque. The programme announced an international competition of aid to the wounded. According to L'Illllst?'ation, the various competing societies proceeded in turn to install relief stations, which the public were afterwards allowed to in s pect, and wbich comprised all thc usual material-carriages harness and various apparatus designed for the carriage of the Then the proceeded with exercises in lifting the patients and dressmg theIr wounds. Several obstacles had been set up upon the lawn of the velodrome, such as walls, hedges, and sloped embankments. Here an<.l. were men seated or lying flat upon the g:rou.nd - the VictIms of an ImagInary battll", and bearing placards that the r,ature of their wound, a fracture of the arm or leg, or the ab?omen, &c. Then came the relief corps with their litters, antiseptics III bags or bottles and rolls of linen waddina and lint, lifted .each w?u.nded person' ann bandaged leg, or neck With rapidity and delicacy. Then the patient was placed on a. lItter III a proper to spare the part affected. Then, more speedily than they had arnved upon the scene, tbe litter bearers carried away the patient to the ambulance or hospital. In coming as well as in it was necessary to surmount hedges, walls and slopes and pass theIr burden over them gently and without shock. It was wonderful to see the skill that had been acquired by these young volunteers grouped in leagues and societies in order to do useful work with disinterestedness. The success of all was the same. Nevertheth.ere may be particularly mentioned a corps of volunteer firemen wblc.h Improvised lItters, when the was inadcquate, by passing poles the of theIr Jackets or the legs of their and, laymg the patient tend.erly t?ereon, bore him away, while they themselves were clad only III their bare underc!othin aScience Siftings. °

A rD. [December, 1900.

jfirst Bib in tbe Mercbant Ser"ice.

The following -:!xtracts are taken from an article in the British li1"edi cal Journal:-

The Board of Trade has very: properly ?rawn the of ship_ owners and to the necessity of makmg some prOVIsIon ceyond that made obltgatory by law for the care and treatmen t of sick and seamen on ships that are not required to carry a surgeon. Shipmasters are compelled by law to carry the requisite means of medical and surgical treatment in the shape of drugs and vaIious stores and appliances, but they are compelled themselves to acquire the expe r ience and knowledge necessary for tbeir proper use, nor to see that some member of ship's company is qualified in this respect.

It has very naturally occurred to the commercial mind of the Board Trade that as persuasion has so far failed, compul sion might be tried WIth better success. It ha6 been suggested that candidates for masters' mates', or engir:eers' of competency might be required an ambulance exammatlon. It seems very doubtful, howe\'er, If be competent for the Bo.aTc;! of Trade, without unduly stm1l11ng ItS statutory powers, to make It Illcumbent on candidates for 0.£ c0mpetency as defined by statute to prove any degree of profiCIency m ambulance work or even of any such knowledO'e at all however such an arrangement. might be. NOT is itby any' means clear that If It were able to do so It would be the most judicious course to pursue. A story is sometimes told of a shipmaster who had run his vessel ashore excusing himself from blame on the around that at the time of the accident be was down in thc cabin a man who had broken vVhether the plea succeeded or istory does not say; but It IS no doubt true that anyone of the officers miO'ht in this way be seriously hindered from attending to his own partic:lar duty at some critical moment.

For these and sundry other reasons it would probably be far better policy to select the ship's stewald, or, in ships which have no special steward, the cook-steward, as the most suitable man. It would be far e ;lsier for them to attend the classes, and to get the requisite knowledge, and they would have less mducement to say a man was fit for when they knew he was not, or so far as quaran'ine and sanitary reguhttlOns ashore are concerned, to report the crew as beinO' all well when there was somenne grievously sick below. On the if compulsory powers are really required, the might now be usefdll y and advantageously amended so as to make It compulsory for certain ships to carry a man, master, mate, engineer or steward, who has been speCially tramed 111 ambulance work, and also in hygiene. This would appear to be a far more course to pursue than to compel all officers, whe t her they like It or not, to qualify in thinas that do not really pertain to their duties. Bu t it is to be feared that long as the Board of Trade is satisfied to continue in its present anomalous position of a body charged with tbe administration of regulations itself possessing any medical its efforts III these respects Will never prove very successful.

St. tlnbr ew's B111bul anc e :aS SOCiation.

The Glasgow and South-"Western Railway Ambulance Briaade held their conference, for this year, at Girvan, the meeting takinaO place in the Hamilton Arms Hotel. There was a good from the corps on the different districts of the line, no fewer than sixteen ofthe'U being represented .vrl". Guinea (Dumfries), president of the brig-ace, occupied the chair, and a number of matters pertaining to ambulance work were dealt .with. .T.he and Sout?-Western Railway Ambulance men, In combll1ll1g the different corps Il1to a brigade, ha;, done much to foster the ambulance spirit amongst the employees generally, and have set an example to the. other railwa'y which they would do ,,,:ell to follow. The brIgade has been in existence now for six years and has been in conference during that time at Kilmarnock, Dumfries, Carlisle, Ayr and Girvan, the practice being to chanO'e the place of meeting each year; and it need scarcely be said that the company gave every facility to the delegates attending these meetings. Next year the conference ""ill be held in Glasgow.

A lecture and display of ambulance work was recently given by Dr. MacDoug-all and members of the corps in the Mission llall at Girvan.

Provost M'Creath presided, and with him on the platform were Major Dunlop, William Kerr, ; Andrew Brown, agent, Comrl1erCial Bank, and Mr. Adam Stewart, Locomotive foreman. There was a large and interested attendance, of which a great proportion were ladies To illustrate the lecture several diagraIlls were exhibited. The chairman, in introducing the lecturer, referred to the importance of ambulance work in daily life, and to the splendid services of the ambl:lance corps in conflict in South Africa. Dr. MacDougall, who has been aSSOCIated WIth the ambulance corps for years, is intensely devoted to the work lIis lecture, from commencement, was clear interesting and instructive, and the demonstrations by the members of the corps, who are all connected with the ra il way, were adm rably performed.

Dec emb er, 1900.] FIRST St. 30bn Bmbulance :aSSOCiation.

B OURNEMoUTH - In compliance with letters of invitation which had been. i ssued by C. E. Bridge, as hon. sec., a public meeting was helc;! III the on Tu.esday evening, 6th November, conSIder a. senes resol.utlOns which had been drawn up with a view to and ITIcreaslTIg the usefulness of the First Aid and Ambulance S.ervice of the town The Mayor (Councillor J. C. i\lebber) preSIded, and there were also present Dr. Vernon, Dr. VV T. Gardner, :VIr. W. P. Tankivill, Dr. McCall, Colonel and Mrs. Mainwaring, Police-Supi Foster, Mr. J. J Brazier, Mr. Robson, Mr. Peters, and a few others. The Mayor, in the course of a few remarks on the object of the meeting, said it was very important for a town like Bournemouth it have a ambulance service Referring to the recent aCCident durlTIg tbe fire bngade demonstration near the p.ier, he pointed to the need of prompt and intelligent aid in such Circumstances, and spoke warmly of the great interest which Supt. Foster had taken in ambulance and first aid work, and the zeal and success with which the men under him had entered into the work as shown by: the examinations passed them. He hoped the that evelllng would have a good practical result in the direction desired because he was sure that when once placed on a broader footina ,,"ould be no difficulty about maintenance. Mr. Bridge, in .the req'lest of the i\Tay?r, laid the meeting the present position of the aI?bulance serVice, and what It was now hoped to carry out. That meetll1g really arose out of the mee til1a held in connection with the Hospital Saturday anel Sunday Fund,"'on AuO'. 18th when the presided, a,nd On which occasion they had a in the publiC gardens. [here had been an ambulance service in Bournemouth for.:i. .long time; it was started some years ago by Dr. Nunn, and a committee was formed; but that committee was now practically ?efunct, and for a long time past the whole managemep.t of tbe service had really devolved upon himself. They managed to keep out of debt, and were in. a good financial condition. He Jelt, however, that some larger socle!y should now be formed, in which the property of the present service: could be vested, and which would embrace all the ambulance efforts of the town. Bournemouth havina beco;ne a county borough, it devolved upon it to undertake its technical instruction. Mr. Bridge then read the followinO' resolutions which bad been up r.or the consideration of the m:eting :--(a) That a committee be formed to carryon the present service, and so enlarge ItS usefulness as to embrace all the first aid and ambubnce effo:ts e:::isting the town. (b) That the new society shall work in conJ unctIOn With the parent St. John Ambulance Association.

(e) That a branch of the St. John Ambulance Brigade be formed. Dr. Vernon strongly recommended the value of briaade w:>rk, pointing out that of course all the knowledO'e which it "'was desirable to give could not possibly be given in a of eight or and that by giving practiral illustrations at various times, their knowledg.e was kept up and extended, and 1heir interest in ambulance ",nc;! first aId sustained. Various points arising out uf the sug-gestlons contall1ed 111 the resolutions were discussed by Dr. W. T. Gardner, Dr. W B. N;tnkivell, McCall, Supt. Foster. Mr. Robson, and Mr. Peters, and the above resolutions were taken seriatim, and all were carried unanimously. A committee was then formed, comprising the g-entlemen present at the meeting, with power to a.dd .to the number; and the Mayor consented to act as president until hiS successor was appointed (it baving been suauested that the for the year should. be invited to become of the assoCiatIOn). Dr. Vernon saId ?e was sure they could not possibly do than appomt 1\1r: Bndge as secretary, if be would take tbe pOSitIOn M:. Bndge said that nothing would please him more than to see thiS thll1g extended and put on a broader and more useful basis. He thought it would be well if the Press woul<.l make it better known than it now appeared to be that there was an ambulance service in the town, and that there was no reason therefore to convey invalids or persons who had been injured, away in cabs, as was often done. Im'mediate}y they :eceived call tbey got to the spot where they ,,,ere reqUIred WithIn five mmutes or less, accordinR to the distance-but often only to see the unfortunate person bundled into the bottom of a Mr. subse.quently stated that he would, before the next meetlllg, cOI?mul1lcate wltb the St. John Ambulance Association, the so that he might have some practical and definite to bnng the committee when they next met. rhe proceedmgs conclUded With a vote cf thanks to the Mayor and his Worship, in responding, expressed a strong hope that though' the bad weather had probably prevented a larO'er attendance that afternoon the outcome of their proceedings would be the formulation of a ,,:hich wou!d very much the scope of the ambulance and first work. Ill. the borough, and stimulate a larger amount of public mterest 1Il It than at present prevailed, but which it undoubtedly deserved.

Mayor (Mr. A 1. Tillyard, J.P.) recently presenteJ medalltons to a number of members of the BorouO'h Police Force at the Corn Exchange. The Mayor said that it had been a O'reat p leasure to him to distribute the awards was glad to learn"that

A I D. 4 7

many of them were already in possession of medallions. He hoped that. bef.ore long every member of the force would have re::eived that distInctIOn: He need .not enlarge upon the necessity for such good as thiS. The were called upon to do all kinds of work at bmes. He regarded them ;IS a kind of General Purposes Committee for t?ey performe.d a of useful functions, of which the publtc had very IILtle Idea. This ambulance ,vas one of tbe most useful forms of their work, but one wbich he hoped they were not "ery often called upon to exercise. The Chief Constable ( 1r. C. E. Holland) the on behalf of the force, and trusted that his interest m the work would stir up the men to take further put in it.

LLhNIDLOES, CAMBRIAN RAILWAY.-On Nov. 1st at the Public Rooms, the memt.ers of the Moat Laro.e and Llanidloes classes were presented with the certificates and medallions which they have won as the result of the examinations on their year's work. The room (which had been appropriately decorated by the members of the classes assisted. by Mr. t"ay, of the Railways .'Vorks, Oswestry), filled 'wlth a large and representative audience, Illcluding :-l\lr. A. C. l\I.P. (chairman of the Cambrian Railways Company, Herbert Joncs (locomotive superintendent), Mr. (chIef engineer), Gough (superintendent of the line), i\1r. Flllchett (goods manager), ilIr. Brayne (company's secretary), ilIr. J. D. Andrew, 9s:vestry (secre ary of the Cambrian Railways Centre of the ASSOCtatlOn), Dr. Vaughan Owen, Dr. Raywood, the Mayor, 1\1r. Edward Davies. [n opening the meeting- the Chairman referred to the which. he regarded tbe fact that so many radwaymen took a keen Interest 111 t::e work of St. John !\mbulance Ass?ciation. He did not know that it was entirely a railwayman's no douht railway service did occasi o nally bring us more nearly m contact With aCCidents and their consequent s ufferina. But, besides this, the Association was a very wide-rea ching one-o;e that did great and philanthropic work in the world at large. They knew that the members of it had distinguished themse l ves in South Afl ica, in that unfortunate war which he hoped was now drawina to a close. But that night they were there as railwaymen and, as railwa yman himself, he thought he could take a pride in the fact that the servants of the Compauy had so readily undertaken the work of tbe Association There was an old saying lhH " peace h:l.th her victories no less renowned than war, " and he was St.ll'e that everyone in that room knew how much the genenl public owed to the COJraIYe and sel f-devoti o n of railwaymen. They all knew that constantly took their lives in their hands, an:! so me of the brigl1test passages in the heroism of peace migbt be found in the annals of the nl.ilway service. They heard of engine men sticking to tbeir engines, and of g-uards holding on to their brakes wben they knew tbat they were rushing to imminent destru c tion. In hundreds of serious accidents railwaymen had displayed those qualities of steadfastness and courage which we were proud to think marked the race. IIappilyall accidents were not serious; there were minor accid-:nts, and in these it was pleasant to be able to render first and immediate aid to th0se who suffered.

l\10 UNTSORREL.-The annual meeting of this branch was held in St. Peter',; School, on November 2nd. Mr. Robert Martin occupied the c1nir. The annual report was presented by Dr. Shipworth. On the motion of Mr. F. E. Saunders, the meeting resolved to send good WIshes to i\Jr. 'Yilliam i\lartin, a member of the association, now servina in South Africa with the Imperial Yeomanry, and after an address by'" Dr. Shipworth on t he importance and of ambulance instruction, a vote of thanks "vas accorded the chaIrman.

Po The an n ual presentation of medal! ions and certificates to the members of this Centre took place in tbe Grand Jury Room at the Town Hall on Tuesday evening, 6th ult., there being a crowded The Mayor ('\1r. H. R. Pink), wbo presided, was accompanied by the Mayoress and supported by Sir Herbert Perrott, SurgeonGeneral C. Me D. Cuffe, C. B., Honorary Assoc ia. :e of the Order of St. John, Dr. C Knott, Knight of Grace, Colonel A. R. Holbrook, Dr. H. W. Morley, l\Iessrs. E. S. l\lain, G. E. Couzens, T. C. and F. J. Coward (local hon. sec.). Mr. Coward presented the annual report. The l\layor moved the adoption of the report, and said he thought the society was of the best had in. the town, because there could be no better thJ11a than to assist those J11 trouble. There was nothll1g like first -aid, anct"'the quicker any person required assistance ,,:as attended to so much easier was it for tbe medical man to restore him to health afterwards. They must thank the committee for their efforts, and hope they would continue to do all they cou.ld for very excellent orO'anisation. Dr Knott seconded the motIOn, and said they had two distinauished visitors among them that night in Sir IIerbert whoowas a Kniaht of Grace of the Order,and SurgeonGeneral Cuffe.' Sir Herbert Perrott, who was received with much a pplause, spoke a.s to the formation of the association. From a meeting they held at Woolwich l\.rsenn.l was dated the St. John Association. To their surprise nearly the whole of the 300 men III room put down their names as ready to go out and assist III the nursmg in time of war. Then it occurred to them that there was a great deal of miseryaoina on in their midst, where the services of those men might be in mining districts, on the sea coasts, &c., where

FIRST

were constantly happening. Tbey later on formed the St· John Am bulance Brigade, who se "alue had been demonstrated on many occasions, the last only a few days ago, "hen the C.L\,.'s marched throug-h tbe streets of London, when some 1,600 recorded cases were treated by the men and the Tursing Sisters belonging to the Metropolitan Corps of the Brigade. They were able to provide the Army in South Africa with between 1,500 and r, 600 orderlies drawn from the Brigade, who had been enabled to render most "a lua'ble assistance to the sick and wounded of thei r 0\\ n Army. (Applause.) These men had performed a very great and patriotic duty at great personal trouble, at the sacrifice of their pleasure and leisure; and also of their means. The re solution having been carried, the :.\layoresc: then presented the medallions and certificates. The :,Iay oress said sbe congratulated the successful ones and felt quite envious. \Vhen she had more time she would join the classes, and she hoped the branch would go on well. (Applau se.) Surgeon-General Cuffe proposed a vote of thanks to the :'I1ayoress for di stributing the prizes, which was second ed by Colonel Holbrook who thanked Miss Sangste r and the members of the :'\ursing Division for attending the inspection of the regiment he commanded. Dr. Knott supported the resolution, whi ch was carried nem. can., and the :.\Iayor having replied, the meeting terminated.

SHEFFIELD.- The annnal meeting of this Centre was held at the Cutlers' Hall on Oct 26th. Th e Lord Mayo r (Mr. S. Rob e rts) was in the chair, and among those present were Dr R. Gord on, Dr. Jones (Walkley), Dr. J. W :'IIru·ti n (han. i\lessrs. H. Woodruff, H. C. Else, F. Ba t ty, A. Grattan, and A. VV. Warner (assistant secretary). The 18th :Jnnual report clalmed th at much good work had been done dUJ ing the year. The Lord M ayor, in proposing the adoption of the report, said that i t was imp ortant to urge on employers the hility in their own interests of encouraging classes in their works. The of first aid to an injured man would in some cases probably save the employer from liability und,!r the Wo rkmen's Compensation Act. He trusted that the instruction in first aid now giyen to some employes of the Corporation \\ould be extendtd to the men in other departments-those in the electric light department for example. He congratulated them upon the formation of the brigade, and hoped that it would be su ccessful. \\,ith regard to the contingent of ambulance workers who went to the front, i t was very sat isfa ctory tbat they were able to send 4 men out. There \yas some doubt whetber they would have bf'en able to do tbis but for the grant of £130 made from his (the Lord i\la yor s) Volunteer Equipment Fund. Dr. i\1artin seconded The report was adopted. On the proposal of ;,\J r. Else, seconded by i\lr. Grattan, the medi..:al gentlemen, also Dr. ;.'.lartin, the hon. were thanKed for their The re-election of the committee was proposed by :'Ilr. Woodruff, and the meeting ended wi th a vote of thanks to the Lord May or for presiding.

STOKE B ISHOP .-O n October 29th a corcert was given in the Village Hall. During the evening the vicar, Canon Alford, distributed medallions. On behalf of the members of the class the Rev. T. C. Clark presented i\lr. Saae with an addres" and a silve r cigarette case in recognition of hi s services as secretary to the class for three seasons, and expressed thanks to the le cturers, D r. J. O. Symes, Dr. Frank H. Rose, and Dr. Cuthbert Atchley.

STOIIRBRlD GE. -The annual meeting of this centre was held in the Corn Exchange on November 8th, Colonel Co chra ne presidin!!. The annual report was and in a brief spee ch the Chairman referred to the importan ce of ambulance work. Viscount Cvbham was re-elected president of the centre. A demonstration of ambulance work was given under the dire ct ion of Dr. Kirkpatrick.

TmsHELF.-On November 5th the annual concert in aid of the funds o[ this was held in the. Colliery Schools, senral hundreds of persons be11lg l?resent. A capItal programme was provided, the arrangements bell"g 111 the hands of Mr. R. Coupe, and left nothing to be desired.

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PL Y7IIOUTH -A very pleasan t gathering took place on 6th Novembe r at the waiting-rooms of Millbay Docks, P l ymouth, to we lcome back Printes W. Rich and A. Tincomb, of the Plymouth (Millbay) Division of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, after serving with the R A.M C. in South Africa. i\[r. T. H. Gibbons, divisional eng neer, president of the Millbay Company, was in the chair, and was supported by the :'ITayor of Plymouth the Mayoress (Mrs. Hann),

l\Tr. H. Y. Adye, dlvlSlOnal supenntendent, Mrs. Adye, the Misses Lucy, Barbara, Dollie and Bertie Adye, Mr. IV. H. :'I [aunder, centre secretary of the Great 'Yestern Ambulance Corps, and Dr. Web ber , hon. instructor' of the :'1iUbay Division. Afteracknowledging the cordial sympathy oflthe directors and leading official!> in tbe ambulance work, the Chairman said there were in their midst two members who had volunteered to serve Queen and country-(applause)-in the midst of perils and privations of this long and terrible war. They th a nked God they were safe back amongst them, and gave them the heartiest welcome. They felt, justly be thought a great pride that young Englishmen had gone forth and done their duty so well, anp that God had brought them safe back to them again. (Applause).

:'1r. A. Iloa, superintendent of the :\1iIlbay Division, read report from whicb are the following extracts. 'I This has been a red letter year for the St. John Ambulance Association-one that will ever live in the hi sto ry of our country-seeing that over I,500 ambulance men yolunteered for service in South Africa. Eight of these, I am proud to say, went from the Plymouth Division. Three, I am pleased to say have safely returned, to whom to-night we give a hearty welcome' l:<our are still in her Majesty's service in South Africa. One-Private F. Robertson - I regret to say, nobly gave up his life for Queen and country. One team only was entered this year for the district competition whi c h took place at Newton Abbott, in which the Plymouth learn was very successful, winning two first, one second and one thirJ prizes. The team also won the championship of the Great \I\'es tern Raihvay System for tbe third time in succession. I am also pleased to S"1}' that in tbe competition against all railways for the Grand Challenge Sbield, the Plymouth team came second, and he should say to tbem Try again.' One case of \'endering first-aid is that of H. H uahes, who, while passing through the Halfpenny Gate on September 1:>29 th heard a cry of" Boy overboard," scaled the wall, plunged into the water and succeeded in bringing the lad ashore in an uncomcious state. Hughes resuscitated th e lad and "aved bis life, [or which, r hope, he will re ceiv e the Royal lIumane Society's medal." The Mayor h en presented the medallions and I certificates. ;.Ir. l a under, who had a cordial reception, said they had 5,3+0 members of th e staff holding the first-aid certifica.te of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, 2,208 had passed two examinations and I,I14 had passed three examinations. During the past 12 months over I,OOO cases h'ld been treated by mem bers of the staff. Fi fty-eight members oi the staff had offered their in South Atrica, and he regretted to say that 5 had died, while 16 the. 58 were at present with the Imperial Yeomanry Hospital, one havmg dIed. He had had a letter from the Yeomanry Hospital stating that the work done by the men W:lS very efEcient indeed-such as the Great \Ye.tern Railway Ambu la nce Corps :rnight be proud of. He c?ulc1 not speak too highly of the great encouragement given by the dIrectors and general manager, the latter of whom had thrown his whole heart and soul into the work. He also could not speak too highly of the Plymouth team, whom tbey expected to win the Challenge Shield. The :\layorexpressed the delight it gave him to identify himself with such a usefullorganization, and also.to assist in ,\elcoming home tw o such fine fellows 3S theirs from the front. (Applause.) They were greatly indebted to the Great Western officials for the help they gave to this ambulance. As an employer of la bo ur, it was a great pleasure to him to see so many ambulance men, and the wives of the men on the line must be very gratified to know there were such men ready to render assistance in case of accident. Mr. Adye then presented Dr. Webber with a pair of silver c<l;ndlesticks from the men of the division as a small token of their appreciation.

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