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LIVERPOOL.(From our own Correspondent.)

DEATHS FROM CARBOLIC ACID POISONING.

MORE deaths from carbolic acid poisoning have occurred.In one case it was evidently taken with a suicidal intent,but it is very much to be lamented that so deadly a poisonshould be sold indiscriminately, in any sort of bottle andunlabelled, even to children of tender age. In another case(making the ninth), a woman died from carbolic acid, whichshe had taken with a suicidal intent. The poison had beendispensed by the chemist with every precaution, both sidesof the bottle being labelled poison," and a satisfactoryreason had been given for its purchase. The coroner, at theinquest, remarked on the singular fact that in all the ninecases the victims had been women. He trusted that somemeans might be discovered for reducing the number of thesefatalities.

THE USE OF THE CANE IN SCHOOLS.

Mr. Preston, the stipendiary magistrate of Birkenhead,had recently before him the case of a female teachercharged with assaulting a girl by caning her on the hand.The magistrate expressed himself very strongly against theuse of the cane for any except grave moral offences andagainst caning on the hands. The Birkenhead and DistrictTeachers’ Association, at a recent meeting, strongly resentedthe worthy magistrate’s remarks, and upheld the use of thecane. While showing every sympathy with teachers intheir difficult and responsible work, it cannot be deniedthat caning on the hands is a very cruel punishment, andas senseless as it is cruel. Its use too often means loss oftemper on the part of the master or mistress, while theeffects on the hands of a delicate child are often very serious.Mr. Preston’s remarks are deserving of every support.

MYSTERIOUS DEATH AT SOUTHPORT.

An adjourned inquest was concluded yesterday on thebody of a boy nine years of age which was found in adecomposed state in the attic of an unoccupied house inPark-avenue on the 13th ult., the attic door being lockedand the key missing. Death had evidently taken placeabout ten days before the discovery of the body, and therewas no apparent cause of death revealed at the post-mortemexamination. At the adjourned inquest Dr. McNichollstated that there was nothing inconsistent with death fromsuffocation or chloroform poisoning, traces of which wouldhave disappeared in the interval which had ensued betweendeath and the discovery of the body. It appeared that thedeceased, with some other children, went, on Aug. 1st, toplay on swings in Hesketh-park, and nothing more was seenor heard of him till the discovery of his body on the 13th.The jury returned an open verdict.Liverpool, Sept. 12th.

BIRMINGHAM.(From our own Correspondent.)

THE MUSICAL FESTIVAL.

THE musical festival recently held in this town wasattended by a large and fashionable audience, and, as usual,was productive of new compositions which attracted muchinterest. The results, from a musical point of view, withregard to talent and performance are said by trustworthycritics to have been eminently satisfactory. The financialstatement has not yet appeared, but it is known that thereis a deficiency of some £2000 odd in the proceeds; at thesame time, the working expenses have been considerablyreduced, so that it is not possible to draw any conclusion atpresent as to the net profits. It is to be hoped that therewill be a substantial balance to hand over to the GeneralHospital, on behalf of which the festival is held. The com-mittee found a zealous and generous patron in the president,his Grace the Duke of Norfolk, who not only attendedpunctually all the meetings, in which he took an activeinterest, but who also contributed largely to the funds.

SANITARY ADDITIONS TO THE GENERAL HOSPITAL.

By the liberality of Mr. J. C. Holder, one of the membersof the hospital committee, large and important additionshave been made for the better arrangement of the closets

and bath-rooms in connexion with a number of the wards.These consist of two blocks of buildings outside the mainbuilding, running as far as the top and entered from thewards themselves. Free ventilation is thus ensured andall smells done away with. A great advantage is gainedin convenience and sanitation, as well as in the comfort andhealth-condition of the inmates.

AN UNSOLVED MYSTERY.

Murder has of late been often surrounded by mysteriouscircumstances. In the history of crime in this town therehas been nothing known to baffle inquiry more seriouslythan the recent death of a child six months old by a strangeand exceptionally cruel mode of murder. It seems that thechild was left by its mother in a perambulator in the house,under the care of two children, a boy and a girl, the onlyother occupant being the grandfather of the infant. Thisman was in a state of semi-intoxication asleep upon a sofa.On the mother’s return she alleges that she found the childwith a deep cut above the ankle of one leg, and she at oncetook it to a doctor, who sewed up the wound. Whenshe returned home she discovered that the opposite footwas nearly severed from the leg. The child was takento the hospital, where it died in half an hour from loss.of blood, the foot having been cut off just above the’ankle, being attached only by a bit of skin. The twchildren were at first charged on suspicion, but weresubsequently liberated by the magistrates. A patientinquiry by the coroner resulted in an open verdict ofwilful murder against some person or persons unknown.At present therefore the crime is undiscovered, and the-murderer of the hapless infant is at large.

Sept. 12th, 1888. _________________

NORTHERN COUNTIES NOTES.(From our own Correspondent.)

CARLISLE.

THE Hospital Sunday Fund Committee of Carlisle had’a meeting on Aug. 29th for the purpose of distributing thepresent year’s collections. The total receipts of the Sundayand Saturday Funds amounted to JE1309 4s. 9d., being anincrease of JE27 15s. 10cl. on the amount raised last year.The Workington Infirmary is added to the list of recipientsthis year for the first time. The principle adopted in thedistribution has been pro rata as to the expenditure of eachinstitution, the Cumberland Infirmary at Carlisle getting£650 and the five other minor institutions in proportion totheir expenditure. The Whitehaven representative took-exception to the system of distribution, which includes a,special gift to some of the institutions, but the mayor, whopresided, said the allocation was only experimental. It is,pointed out by the local press that some of the charities,such as the Carlisle Dispensary, suffer under the new scheme.

THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION.

The British Association, after an interval of twentyyears, returns to Newcastle-on-Tyne next year, and good.progress is being made here with the preliminary work forits reception. The Mayor is to be chairman of the localcommittee, and, on the motion of Lord Armstrong, Professor-Philipson has been elected vice-chairman. Even at this earlyperiod matters augur well for a successful meeting in 1889.

THE NEWCASTLE COLLEGE OF MEDICINE.

The old College has been taken possession of by the-North Eastern Railway Company, but the new buildinghas made rapid strides during the last few weeks, and willbe quite ready to allow work in some of its departments to*commence with the opening of tile session in October-I hear that a very large number of candidates intend.

presenting themselves for the various medical degrees inconnexion with the University of Durham, at the examina-tions to be held this month in Newcastle. For the firstM.B. and the second M.B. there are over ninety entries,and these with other candidates for the licence in SanitaryScience will bring up the total to about a hundred.

MIDDLESBROUGH.

Mr. C. W. Currie, M.R.C.S., practising in Middles-brough, died on Tuesday, August 28th, after an illness offive days. The newspaper notice mentioned the cause ofdeath as pneumonia, but, in view of the late epidemic ofpneumonia in the borough, I have taken some pains to get