JPidial |Jau!i. RETIREMENT. A. W. DeMedical Service, Surgeonthe Government of Madras.
Surgeon-Major-General
Fabeck,m.d., Indian General
to
JOINT SECRETARY TO THE INDIAN MEDICAL CONGRESS. Dr. Moir has accepted the office of Joint Secretary to the Indian Medical Congress in place of Dr. Caddy who has resigned. INSANITARY RANGOON. We regret to learn that no notice was taken by the Municipal Committee of Dr. Peilley's denouncement of the insanitary state of the China and other quarters of Rangoon, in consequence of which cholera has broken out, and much sickness, which might have been prevented, prevails. THE LADY AITCHESON HOSPITAL.
The Lady Aitcheson Hospital Association has renewed its agreement with Dr. Elizabeth Bielby, as Physician to the Lady Aitcheson Hospital, Lahore, for an indefinite period. After surmounting many difficulties, the institution under Dr. Bielby's charge has succeeded in establishing far more than a local reputation, and is now one of the best of its kind in India. VISITORS TO THE FORTHCOMING MEDICAL CONGRESS. We are glad to be able to announce that Dr. Ernest Hart and Mr. Lawson Tait have already signified their intention of being present at the Congress. It. is anticipated that delegates will be sent both from the Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Surgeons, London, and the encouragement and support already manifested by the profession both iu India and England is most gratifying. Subscription for memberships have already begun to coine in, and everything bespeaks success.
INDIAN MEDICAL CONGRESS. A public meeting of the medical profession was held in the lecture theatre of the Medical College on May the 12th to receive the report of the Provisional Committee, and to confirm The or modify the arrangement already made.
meeting medical
was very largely attended, fully 200 gentlemen being present. Dr. Robert
Surgeon-General of Bengal, presided. opening the proceedings he said that he was very much obliged to them for the honour they The had paid him in electing him to the chair. 'precis of the proceedings of the Provisional Committee gave them a good idea generally of Harvey,
In
what had been done, and he would call upon Dr. W. J. Simpson, the Secretary, to read to
224
INDIAN MEDICAL GAZETTE.
[June
1894.
them the names of the Presidents, Vice-Preai" dents, and members of the different CommitteesThe main idea was to include all classes of the profession in one common work, having one
an Indian and not a Calcutta affair, the Presidents of Sections should be selected, if possible, from different Provinces, aud that the Vice-President iu each section should be a local man, and that other prominent local memcommon object. bers of the profession should be asked to give Dr. Simpson then read the names of the Comtheir services on the different Committees, mittees to the meeting. and that a letter of invitation should be drafted The following is a precis of the proceedings of the Provisional Committee :?The idea of to invite the cordial co-operation of all classes holding an Indian Medical Congress came as a of practitioners, official and non-official, with suggestion from Madras in September 1893. It a view to rendering the Congress represenwas repeated in the October 1893 issue of the tative of the entire profession. The following is the draft, which has not yet been issued:? Indian Medical Gazette, and a number of en" Dear Sir,?We have the honour to invite letters Calcutta was The the result. couraging Medical Society took it up at their annual your co-operation with the Indian Medical Congeneral meeting on January 24th, 1894, and in gress to be held in Calcutta from the 24t.li to 29th December 1894. The objects of the Conview ot the possibility of a Congress being held, enlarged its Council from six to twelve members, gress are to bring together medical men from all bringing in representatives of all classes of parts of the Indian Empire to discuss medical connected with Indian diseases, and practitioners. With the enlarged Council it was subjects resolved that an Indian Medical Congress should to place on permanent record some of the work which is now lost to science for want of proper be held in Calcutta, of which His Excellency the It is proposed that the Congress should His be and asked to Patron be publication. Viceroy should consist of the following sections, viz. : Honor the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal Vice-Patron. A general plan was sketched out, 1. Medicine including Pathology, 2. Surgery, and the Secretaries asked to take preliminary 3. Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and steps in the matter. The following letter was, Children, 4. Public Health, and 5. Medicotherefore, addressed to various gentlemen, Euro- Legal Medicine, Insanity, and allied subpean and Native, in different parts of India, jects. Although the Congress is primarily them to become local secretaries :? an Indian one, an invitation has been sent to asking " Dear Sir,?We are directed by the Provisional medical men in other countries, some of whom Committee appointed for the purpose of carrying it is hoped will attend. A Special Committee the accommodaon the necessary arrangements for the proposed has been formed to arrange for tion of visitors and to provide for their comfort. Indian Medical Congress, which is to be held in Calcutta in December next during the Christmas The Local Secretaries are [not yet elected] to week, to invite you to act as Local Secretary. In whom, or to the Honorary Central Secretaries, the event of your acceptance of this honorary application should be made for rooms. The of accommodation in Calcutta may be taken could Secreas Joint secure to aid price you post, you tary the services of some influential Indian at from Rs. 7 to 12 a day. The cost of tickets gentleman engaged in private practice ? Should of membership is Rs. 10, and may be obtained form either the Joint Secretaries in Calcutta or you be unable to undertake the duties of Local Secretary, we shall be glad if you can assist us from the Local Secretaries in the different parts by the suggestion of the names of any Euro- of the Indian Empire. An entertainment Comto objects of interpean and Native medical men who would be mittee will arrange for visits willing to act as joint local secretaries. The est in Calcutta and neighbourhood, and hope to favour of an early reply is particularly re- be able to provide some entertainments which quested. We have the honour to be, your will be announced hereafter. The Calcutta obedient servants,?W.J. Simpson, M.D., M.R.C.P, season culminates in Christmas week, which and Arnold Caddy, F.R.C.S., Honorary Secre- includes two days' racing and the race for the taries for the Central Provisional Committee." Viceroy's Cup. Members are requested to notify The invitation met with a most favourable res- us, or to the Local Secretaries of their districts, At a further meeting; on April 2nd, their intention to read papers and the titles ponse. 1894, it was announced that His Excellency the of the same, which should reach us on or about Viceroy had graciously consented to become the 1st of November 1894." The proceedings of the Provisional Committee Patron, and His Honor the Lieut-Governor the Vice-Patron of the Congress, and the names were confirmed, the Committee was enlarged, a section on Pharmacology was added and it was of the gentlemen who promised to act as Local decided to leave the settlement of details to the in and India of various parts Secretaries Burmah were reported. It was also unanimously Council so as to satisfy all sections and classes. The proceedings, which throughout were agreed that Surgeon-Colonel Harvey, D.S.O., It of President the should be very harmonious, then terminated with the cusCongress. was further resolved that as the Congress was tomary vote of thanks to the chair. ?
?
n
1
?
June
LONDON LETTER.
1894.] LONDON LETTER.
(Our
Special
Correspondent).
The I nternational Sanitary Conference of Paris has concluded its labours ; and the Convention resulting therefrom has been signed by the delegates of all the Powers represented at the Conference with the exception of those of Turkey and the United States. The text of the Convention has not as yet been made public; but it is understood that the practical effect of it will be to discountenance a senseless system of routine quarantine; to subject pilgrims and pilgrim ships to medical inspection and medical supervision; to improve the sanitary conditions of pilgrims on the voyage ; to promote the sanitation of Jeddah, Mecca, and other places visited and frequented by pilgrims, and to create a body which will be responsible for seeing that the recommendations of the Conference are properly and efficiently carried out. Public opinion is evidently tending towards the British view of cholera prevention, namely, sanitary improvement first and foremost; inspection and supervision by skilled and trustworthy agents ; detention of ships and parties only where they are found to be actually suffering from disease; humane and rational treatment of these including as early liberation from durance as is consistent with safety to thsmselves and others ; the least possible interference with the healthy and as little meddling with movements and practices depending on religious sentiment as is consistent with modern uotion concerning the prevention of cholera. Mr. Ernest Hart is entitled to credit and gratitude for the prominent and effective part he has taken in bringing about these results which cannot fail to be beneficial to the pilgrims His views and and to the public at large. writings have largely influenced public opinion on this subject?more especially the addresses which lie delivered at Chicago and Edinburgh last year on the circumstances of origin and propagation of cholera. I shall probably return to this subject when the articles of the ConvenMeantime it is satistion have been published. the of rendering that to note propriety factory religious gatherings safe by means of sanitary precautions is being fully acknowledged. Your excellent article on the recent Kumbh festival at Allahabad has created a deep impression in this country. The facts have been reproduced and the principles of action recommended warmly approved. Religious sentiment will no longer be permitted to justify the commission of sanitary suicide, or sanitary homicide, by the reckless multitudes who throng to sacred places on sacred occasions ; and while the stoppage of such assemblages is very properly discountenanced, the adoption of measures to jn'event the massing of human beings from causing sickness and death among themselves and the communities
brought into contact with them only justifiable but necessary.
225
is considered not
The Eleventh International Medical Congress which has just been held at Rome has been a great success, in respect of the number and eminence of the medical meu who have attended it and taken part in its proceedings, the success of the arrangements made for receiving and entertainiug its members ; the dignity and importance of the addresses delivered; and the interesting character of the papers and discussions which constituted the proceedings of the meeting. Full reports of these, together with interesting descriptions of the ceremonies and agenda of the Congress, have been published in the Lancet I need therefore and British Medical Journal. make no further allusion to them. The next meeting of the Congress is to take place inRussia. The Annual M eeting of the British Medical Association is to be held this year in the town of Bristol. These gatherings are of great social and scientific interest and use to the medical profession, and I hopi that yo ur projected Medical Congress in Calcutta will be well attended and in every way pleasant and profitable. Being the first thing of the kind that has been attempted in India, it ought to constitute an era in Medical History and Progress in the East and a starting point for the organization and elevation of the medical profession throughout the Empire of Hindustan. I observe that an effort, is being made to lower the value and reputation of the Calcutta M. D., by abolishing the rule which requires the previous possession of the degree of B. A., as a condition for obtaining the highest mediThe cal honour conferred by the University. Calcutta M. D. has hitherto been held in high The paucity of aspirants for it has estimation. been due, I believe, not so much to any insuperable difficulty in qualifying for it as to the absence of ambition and effort to obtain an honourable token of literary and scientific culture. It is refreshing to see that a desire has arisen for a distinction which does not possess a rupee value, but the right way of securing the coveted prize is certainly not by diminishing its value and rendering its attainment easier; but rather by working up to the standard) by no means an arduous or prohibitive one, which has been deliberately laid down as a condition of success. It has been urged, I see, that only two Universities in this country, namely, Oxford and Dublin, require the possession of the B. A. degree in candidates for the M. D. degree. This is quite true; but the standard of literary culture among medical students in this country is much higher than in India, and considering the very different circumstances of the two countries it is not surprising that it should be so. Many students find it to their advantage to obtain literary degrees before proceeding to the study of medi-
226
INDIAN MEDICAL GAZETTE.
cine, whether that is required by the regulations of Corporations and Universities or not, and such men, as a rule, attain a higher status in the medical profession than those who have contented themselves, or been obliged to do so with a more limited preliminary training in the arts and It has also been contended that, the sciences. study of literary and scientific subjects for an art degree after commencing the medical curriculum is apt to divert the attention from the more important pursuits required by the latter. This is a most unfortunate and mistaken notion. The study of literary subjects is by no means inconsistent with the profitable pursuit of a scientific and technical education, rather the contrary. The mental grasp is rendered more powerful and mental capacity more far-reaching by such a combination, and if the course is selected the subjects of study for the B. A. degree are helpf ul to scientific and medical as well as to literary and general culture. The length of time refor for the M. D. examinations quired preparing has also been mentioned as a grievance ; but lookiug to the character of the coveted distinction and the practice of British Universities and the differeut circumstances of the two cases, the regulations of the Calcutta University are by no means harder in this respect than the occasion demauds. Viewing the question from the standpoint of culture and honour rather than of cramming and degradation, the propriety of maintaining the present status is unquestionI do hope that the sound and honourable able. M. D. of the Calcutta University will not be made to join the ranks of the great army of Oriental shams. The inevitable consequence of the lowering of the status of medical degrees in Indian Universities will be the withdrawal of the recognition which has been accorded to them under the Medical Registration Act. I am informed on the best possible authority that Mr. Ernest Hart intends paying a visit to India next cold weather and attending the meeting of the Medical Congress. I need hardly express a hope that he will meet with the welcome to which his eminent services to the medical profession at large and the keen interest which he has always displayed in India and the well-beiug of the medical services and peoples of India so richly entitle him. .
'
13th
April
1894.
[June
1894.
Surgeon-Major-General
Fabeck,m.d., Indian General
to
JOINT SECRETARY TO THE INDIAN MEDICAL CONGRESS. Dr. Moir has accepted the office of Joint Secretary to the Indian Medical Congress in place of Dr. Caddy who has resigned. INSANITARY RANGOON. We regret to learn that no notice was taken by the Municipal Committee of Dr. Peilley's denouncement of the insanitary state of the China and other quarters of Rangoon, in consequence of which cholera has broken out, and much sickness, which might have been prevented, prevails. THE LADY AITCHESON HOSPITAL.
The Lady Aitcheson Hospital Association has renewed its agreement with Dr. Elizabeth Bielby, as Physician to the Lady Aitcheson Hospital, Lahore, for an indefinite period. After surmounting many difficulties, the institution under Dr. Bielby's charge has succeeded in establishing far more than a local reputation, and is now one of the best of its kind in India. VISITORS TO THE FORTHCOMING MEDICAL CONGRESS. We are glad to be able to announce that Dr. Ernest Hart and Mr. Lawson Tait have already signified their intention of being present at the Congress. It. is anticipated that delegates will be sent both from the Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Surgeons, London, and the encouragement and support already manifested by the profession both iu India and England is most gratifying. Subscription for memberships have already begun to coine in, and everything bespeaks success.
INDIAN MEDICAL CONGRESS. A public meeting of the medical profession was held in the lecture theatre of the Medical College on May the 12th to receive the report of the Provisional Committee, and to confirm The or modify the arrangement already made.
meeting medical
was very largely attended, fully 200 gentlemen being present. Dr. Robert
Surgeon-General of Bengal, presided. opening the proceedings he said that he was very much obliged to them for the honour they The had paid him in electing him to the chair. 'precis of the proceedings of the Provisional Committee gave them a good idea generally of Harvey,
In
what had been done, and he would call upon Dr. W. J. Simpson, the Secretary, to read to
224
INDIAN MEDICAL GAZETTE.
[June
1894.
them the names of the Presidents, Vice-Preai" dents, and members of the different CommitteesThe main idea was to include all classes of the profession in one common work, having one
an Indian and not a Calcutta affair, the Presidents of Sections should be selected, if possible, from different Provinces, aud that the Vice-President iu each section should be a local man, and that other prominent local memcommon object. bers of the profession should be asked to give Dr. Simpson then read the names of the Comtheir services on the different Committees, mittees to the meeting. and that a letter of invitation should be drafted The following is a precis of the proceedings of the Provisional Committee :?The idea of to invite the cordial co-operation of all classes holding an Indian Medical Congress came as a of practitioners, official and non-official, with suggestion from Madras in September 1893. It a view to rendering the Congress represenwas repeated in the October 1893 issue of the tative of the entire profession. The following is the draft, which has not yet been issued:? Indian Medical Gazette, and a number of en" Dear Sir,?We have the honour to invite letters Calcutta was The the result. couraging Medical Society took it up at their annual your co-operation with the Indian Medical Congeneral meeting on January 24th, 1894, and in gress to be held in Calcutta from the 24t.li to 29th December 1894. The objects of the Conview ot the possibility of a Congress being held, enlarged its Council from six to twelve members, gress are to bring together medical men from all bringing in representatives of all classes of parts of the Indian Empire to discuss medical connected with Indian diseases, and practitioners. With the enlarged Council it was subjects resolved that an Indian Medical Congress should to place on permanent record some of the work which is now lost to science for want of proper be held in Calcutta, of which His Excellency the It is proposed that the Congress should His be and asked to Patron be publication. Viceroy should consist of the following sections, viz. : Honor the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal Vice-Patron. A general plan was sketched out, 1. Medicine including Pathology, 2. Surgery, and the Secretaries asked to take preliminary 3. Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and steps in the matter. The following letter was, Children, 4. Public Health, and 5. Medicotherefore, addressed to various gentlemen, Euro- Legal Medicine, Insanity, and allied subpean and Native, in different parts of India, jects. Although the Congress is primarily them to become local secretaries :? an Indian one, an invitation has been sent to asking " Dear Sir,?We are directed by the Provisional medical men in other countries, some of whom Committee appointed for the purpose of carrying it is hoped will attend. A Special Committee the accommodaon the necessary arrangements for the proposed has been formed to arrange for tion of visitors and to provide for their comfort. Indian Medical Congress, which is to be held in Calcutta in December next during the Christmas The Local Secretaries are [not yet elected] to week, to invite you to act as Local Secretary. In whom, or to the Honorary Central Secretaries, the event of your acceptance of this honorary application should be made for rooms. The of accommodation in Calcutta may be taken could Secreas Joint secure to aid price you post, you tary the services of some influential Indian at from Rs. 7 to 12 a day. The cost of tickets gentleman engaged in private practice ? Should of membership is Rs. 10, and may be obtained form either the Joint Secretaries in Calcutta or you be unable to undertake the duties of Local Secretary, we shall be glad if you can assist us from the Local Secretaries in the different parts by the suggestion of the names of any Euro- of the Indian Empire. An entertainment Comto objects of interpean and Native medical men who would be mittee will arrange for visits willing to act as joint local secretaries. The est in Calcutta and neighbourhood, and hope to favour of an early reply is particularly re- be able to provide some entertainments which quested. We have the honour to be, your will be announced hereafter. The Calcutta obedient servants,?W.J. Simpson, M.D., M.R.C.P, season culminates in Christmas week, which and Arnold Caddy, F.R.C.S., Honorary Secre- includes two days' racing and the race for the taries for the Central Provisional Committee." Viceroy's Cup. Members are requested to notify The invitation met with a most favourable res- us, or to the Local Secretaries of their districts, At a further meeting; on April 2nd, their intention to read papers and the titles ponse. 1894, it was announced that His Excellency the of the same, which should reach us on or about Viceroy had graciously consented to become the 1st of November 1894." The proceedings of the Provisional Committee Patron, and His Honor the Lieut-Governor the Vice-Patron of the Congress, and the names were confirmed, the Committee was enlarged, a section on Pharmacology was added and it was of the gentlemen who promised to act as Local decided to leave the settlement of details to the in and India of various parts Secretaries Burmah were reported. It was also unanimously Council so as to satisfy all sections and classes. The proceedings, which throughout were agreed that Surgeon-Colonel Harvey, D.S.O., It of President the should be very harmonious, then terminated with the cusCongress. was further resolved that as the Congress was tomary vote of thanks to the chair. ?
?
n
1
?
June
LONDON LETTER.
1894.] LONDON LETTER.
(Our
Special
Correspondent).
The I nternational Sanitary Conference of Paris has concluded its labours ; and the Convention resulting therefrom has been signed by the delegates of all the Powers represented at the Conference with the exception of those of Turkey and the United States. The text of the Convention has not as yet been made public; but it is understood that the practical effect of it will be to discountenance a senseless system of routine quarantine; to subject pilgrims and pilgrim ships to medical inspection and medical supervision; to improve the sanitary conditions of pilgrims on the voyage ; to promote the sanitation of Jeddah, Mecca, and other places visited and frequented by pilgrims, and to create a body which will be responsible for seeing that the recommendations of the Conference are properly and efficiently carried out. Public opinion is evidently tending towards the British view of cholera prevention, namely, sanitary improvement first and foremost; inspection and supervision by skilled and trustworthy agents ; detention of ships and parties only where they are found to be actually suffering from disease; humane and rational treatment of these including as early liberation from durance as is consistent with safety to thsmselves and others ; the least possible interference with the healthy and as little meddling with movements and practices depending on religious sentiment as is consistent with modern uotion concerning the prevention of cholera. Mr. Ernest Hart is entitled to credit and gratitude for the prominent and effective part he has taken in bringing about these results which cannot fail to be beneficial to the pilgrims His views and and to the public at large. writings have largely influenced public opinion on this subject?more especially the addresses which lie delivered at Chicago and Edinburgh last year on the circumstances of origin and propagation of cholera. I shall probably return to this subject when the articles of the ConvenMeantime it is satistion have been published. the of rendering that to note propriety factory religious gatherings safe by means of sanitary precautions is being fully acknowledged. Your excellent article on the recent Kumbh festival at Allahabad has created a deep impression in this country. The facts have been reproduced and the principles of action recommended warmly approved. Religious sentiment will no longer be permitted to justify the commission of sanitary suicide, or sanitary homicide, by the reckless multitudes who throng to sacred places on sacred occasions ; and while the stoppage of such assemblages is very properly discountenanced, the adoption of measures to jn'event the massing of human beings from causing sickness and death among themselves and the communities
brought into contact with them only justifiable but necessary.
225
is considered not
The Eleventh International Medical Congress which has just been held at Rome has been a great success, in respect of the number and eminence of the medical meu who have attended it and taken part in its proceedings, the success of the arrangements made for receiving and entertainiug its members ; the dignity and importance of the addresses delivered; and the interesting character of the papers and discussions which constituted the proceedings of the meeting. Full reports of these, together with interesting descriptions of the ceremonies and agenda of the Congress, have been published in the Lancet I need therefore and British Medical Journal. make no further allusion to them. The next meeting of the Congress is to take place inRussia. The Annual M eeting of the British Medical Association is to be held this year in the town of Bristol. These gatherings are of great social and scientific interest and use to the medical profession, and I hopi that yo ur projected Medical Congress in Calcutta will be well attended and in every way pleasant and profitable. Being the first thing of the kind that has been attempted in India, it ought to constitute an era in Medical History and Progress in the East and a starting point for the organization and elevation of the medical profession throughout the Empire of Hindustan. I observe that an effort, is being made to lower the value and reputation of the Calcutta M. D., by abolishing the rule which requires the previous possession of the degree of B. A., as a condition for obtaining the highest mediThe cal honour conferred by the University. Calcutta M. D. has hitherto been held in high The paucity of aspirants for it has estimation. been due, I believe, not so much to any insuperable difficulty in qualifying for it as to the absence of ambition and effort to obtain an honourable token of literary and scientific culture. It is refreshing to see that a desire has arisen for a distinction which does not possess a rupee value, but the right way of securing the coveted prize is certainly not by diminishing its value and rendering its attainment easier; but rather by working up to the standard) by no means an arduous or prohibitive one, which has been deliberately laid down as a condition of success. It has been urged, I see, that only two Universities in this country, namely, Oxford and Dublin, require the possession of the B. A. degree in candidates for the M. D. degree. This is quite true; but the standard of literary culture among medical students in this country is much higher than in India, and considering the very different circumstances of the two countries it is not surprising that it should be so. Many students find it to their advantage to obtain literary degrees before proceeding to the study of medi-
226
INDIAN MEDICAL GAZETTE.
cine, whether that is required by the regulations of Corporations and Universities or not, and such men, as a rule, attain a higher status in the medical profession than those who have contented themselves, or been obliged to do so with a more limited preliminary training in the arts and It has also been contended that, the sciences. study of literary and scientific subjects for an art degree after commencing the medical curriculum is apt to divert the attention from the more important pursuits required by the latter. This is a most unfortunate and mistaken notion. The study of literary subjects is by no means inconsistent with the profitable pursuit of a scientific and technical education, rather the contrary. The mental grasp is rendered more powerful and mental capacity more far-reaching by such a combination, and if the course is selected the subjects of study for the B. A. degree are helpf ul to scientific and medical as well as to literary and general culture. The length of time refor for the M. D. examinations quired preparing has also been mentioned as a grievance ; but lookiug to the character of the coveted distinction and the practice of British Universities and the differeut circumstances of the two cases, the regulations of the Calcutta University are by no means harder in this respect than the occasion demauds. Viewing the question from the standpoint of culture and honour rather than of cramming and degradation, the propriety of maintaining the present status is unquestionI do hope that the sound and honourable able. M. D. of the Calcutta University will not be made to join the ranks of the great army of Oriental shams. The inevitable consequence of the lowering of the status of medical degrees in Indian Universities will be the withdrawal of the recognition which has been accorded to them under the Medical Registration Act. I am informed on the best possible authority that Mr. Ernest Hart intends paying a visit to India next cold weather and attending the meeting of the Medical Congress. I need hardly express a hope that he will meet with the welcome to which his eminent services to the medical profession at large and the keen interest which he has always displayed in India and the well-beiug of the medical services and peoples of India so richly entitle him. .
'
13th
April
1894.
[June
1894.
