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maturity would depend on the nature of the questions and onthe source from which the required answers were obtainable.Three of the members of the court considered that it was theduty of the police to ask the child’s mother whether sheintended to withhold her consent, as mentioned, or not; andthat the question should have been raised in court only incase her consent had been withheld.

Public Health and Poor Law.LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD.

ANNUAL REPORTS OF MEDICAL OFFICERS OF HEALTH.

Hatfield Rural District.-Dr. Lovell Drage protests againstthe numerous advertisements of abortifacient medicines whichfind a place in so many papers and periodicals, and he alsocondemns the practices of those druggists who are in thehabit of selling medicines which may produce abortion. Inhis view no amount of legislation can effectually deal withthis evil so long as women continue to shirk the responsi-bilities of motherhood. The only remedy which can be ofservice is, Dr. Drage thinks, the growth of a wholesomepublic opinion which will stimulate pride in the developmentof a healthy stock. But if this production of a fine race ofchildren is to advance upon true scientific principles definiteselection upon a basis such as that foreshadowed in 1865 byGregor Mendel’s great discovery in heredity would seem tobe called for and parents chosen who would be likely to giverise to offspring with desirable physical attributes. There isno doubt that the application of the principles of cattle-breeding to the human species is a matter fraught with verygreat difficulties, more especially as they seem to take toolittle note of mental and moral qualities. Still, further studyof Mendelism may enable us to use without abusing someof the laws which apparently govern hereditary transmission.The Hatfield rural district council does not seem to viewwith much favour the Notification of Births Act of 1907,and while refusing to adopt the measure itself ithas protested against its adoption by the county council.It also protests against a resolution of the county councilin which the clerk was instructed to urge the Local Govern-ment Board to promote general legislation whereby mid-wives might be trained out of imperial funds. In theopinion of the district council there is no more reason for thetraining of midwives at the public expense than there is fordefraying the cost of medical education out of the samefunds. Apparently Dr. Drage shares, at least in some degree,these opinions, since he thinks that the Act in question wouldnot seriously diminish the infantile mortality in the district.The system governing the employment of midwives in

Germany has, according to Dr. Norman Walker, resulted ina species of " partnership between the worst class of medicalmen and midwives, for the midwives have practically thedirection of medical midwifery practice." We do not quitefollow Dr. Drage’s reasoning with regard to the Notificationof Births Act but it is clear that he holds decided opinionsupon the subject.Maldon Rural -District.-The fallacy of attaching import-

ance to local statistics for one year only is well brought outin Dr. J. C. Thresh’s current annual report for this district,the three sub-registration divisions of which yielded infantilemortalities of 28, 104, and 74 per 1000 births respectively.When, however, the average for the past ten years is takenthe infantile mortality-rates for the same divisions become 82,91, and 86 respectively. It would be well if more cautionwere exercised in generalising from the local rates for oneyear only. An outbreak of diphtheria which occurred in thisdistrict during 1907 was attributed to the cartage and depositof filth from the London outfall sewers, probably some of thesolid débris arrested by the screens, but Dr. Thresh does notregard the suspicion as well founded. It may be added thatLondon manure has been held responsible for several out-breaks of diphtheria in different parts of the country, but, sofar as we are aware, the evidence has never been of a veryconvincing character.

Chelmsford Rural Distriet.-In refering to the housing ofthe people in this district Dr. Thresh reminds his readers ofthe agitation which was raised a few years ago as to thealleged stringency of the building by-laws and of the mannerin which such by-laws operated in preventing the erection ofwooden or lath-and-plaster buildings. He points out that

although such houses can now be erected but few persons takeadvantage of the licence and he expresses the opinion thatnot improbably the whole movement was manipulated bypersons anxious for an excuse to avoid the erection ofcottages on their estates. This seems to be the conclusionat which other medical’officers of health in rural districtshave arrived and it is clear that the inhibitive influence ofreasonable by-laws has been rather over stated. The fact isthe people are becoming too educated in sanitary matters totake over cottages in the building of which the elementaryrules of hygiene have been disregarded.

VITAL STATISTICS.

HEALTH OF ENGLISH TOWNS.

IN 76 of the largest English towns 8022 births and 5726deaths were registered during the week ending Feb. 22nd.The mean annual rate of mortality in these towns, which hadbeen equal to 18’ 3 and 18’ 6 per 1000 in the two pre-ceding weeks, decreased again to 18 - 4 per 1000 in the weekunder notice. During the first eight weeks of the currentquarter the annual death-rate in these towns averaged 18’ 5per 1000; the rate in London during the same period didnot exceed 18’ 2 per 1000. The lowest annual death-rates inthe 76 towns last week were 8’4 in Hornsey, 11.5 inHastings, 11 6 in Willesden, and 12 3 in Cardiff ; among theother towns the rates ranged upwards to 25 ’ 1 in Sunderlandand in Newport (Mon.), 27 0 in Merthyr Tydfil, 28’ 8 inBurnley, and 29 ’4 in Great Yarmouth. The rate of mor-tality in London last week was 18-5 5 per 1000. The 5726deaths registered in the 76 towns during the week undernotice were 72 fewer than the number in the previousweek, and included 386 which were referred to theprincipal epidemic diseases, against 447 and 388 in thetwo preceding weeks ; of these, 170 resulted fromwhooping-cough, 84 from measles, 52 from diphtheria, 34from scarlet fever, 30 from diarrhoea, and 16 from " fever "

(principally enteric), but not one from small-pox. Thedeaths from these epidemic diseases in the 76 towns wereequal to an annual rate of 1 - 2 per 1000, the rate fromthe same diseases in London being 0 9. No deathfrom any of these epidemic diseases was registered lastweek in Derby, Tottenham, Huddersfield, Coventry,Grimsby, Bournemouth, or Bary ; the annual death-ratesfrom these diseases ranged upwards in the other townsto 3’ 0 in Burnley, 37 in Swansea, 38 in Hanley,3-9 in Rhondda, 4.1 in Merthyr Tydfil, and 4 - 6in Sunderland. The fatal cases of whooping-coughin the 76 towns, which had been 192 and 154 in thetwo preceding weeks, rose again to 170 in the weekunder notice ; the highest death-rates from this disease were2 0 in Sheffield, in Gateshead, and in Newport (Mon.), 2’1in Swansea, 2’9 in Warrington, 3’4 in Merthyr Tydfil,and 4’ 3 in Sunderland. The 84 deaths from measles were sixin excess of the number in the previous week, and causeddeath-rates ranging upwards to 1 - 1 in Hornsey, 1’ 2 in York,1 - 7 in Croydon, 1 - 8 in Preston, 2 0 in Stockton-on-Tees, and2’’7 in Rnondda. The deaths from diphtheria, which hadbeen 73 and 47 in the two rreceeing weeks, rose again to 52in the week under notice, the greatest proportional mortalityfrom this disease being 1 - 1 per 1000 in Hornsey and in EastHam. The 34 deaths from scarlet fever were slightlyfewer than those recorded in other recent weeks ; 14 ofthese occurred in London and its suburban districts and fourin Liverpool. The 16 fatal cases of "fever" " were consider-ably below the number in any previous week of thisyear; the two deaths in Hanley were equal to a rate of1’5 per 1000. The number of scarlet fever patientsunder treatment in the Metropolitan Asylums and LondonFever Hospitals, which had steadily declined in the 11preceding weeks from 5581 to 3806, had further fallento 3733 on Feb. 22nd; 420 new cases were admitted to thesehospitals last week, against 405, 433, and 473 in the threepreceding weeks. The deaths in London referred to pneu-monia and other diseases of the respiratory organs, whichhad been 395 and 451 in the two preceding weeks, declinedagain to 427 in the week under notice, but were 92 in excessof the corrected average number in the correspondingweek of the five years 1903-07; the deaths attributeddirectly to influenza numbered 126, against 32, 34, and 84 inthe three preceding weeks. The causes of 54, or 0.9 percent., of the deaths registered in the 76 towns last weekwere not certified either by a registered medical practi-tioner or by a coroner. All the causes of death were