May 12, 1898] 



NATURE 



37 



McCurrich (Docks and Tides), J. Holman and H. J. 

 Spear (Economics). 



It is hoped that the representation from Canada will 

 be a feature of the meeting, and that many of those who 

 contributed so largely to the success of the Toronto 

 meeting will take this opportunity of paying a return 

 visit. Committees with a view to furthering this object 

 have been formed in Toronto under the presidency of 

 Prof Macallum, and in Montreal under the presidency 

 of Prof Bovey. It is hoped that the Mayor and the 

 President of the Board of Trade in Toronto, the Minister 

 of Education (Hon. G. W. Ross), the Secretary of the 

 Royal Society of Canada (Dr. J. G. Bourinot, C.M.G.), 

 the President of the Canadian Pacific Railway (Sir W. 

 \'an Home, K.C.M.G.), and other distinguished guests 

 will be present at the meeting. Among the names of 

 those who are coming from the United States we note 

 the names of Profs. Henry F. Osborn, J. W. Langley, 

 H. P. Bowditch, R. A. Fessenden, R. H. Thurston, and 

 J. Mark Baldwin. From the Continent among those of 

 other eminent visitors are the names of Profs. A. von 

 Kolliker, Ernest Hackel, Gustav Gilson, and Leo Errara, 

 Dr. Paul Topinet, Prof V. Dwelshauvers-Dery, Prof 

 Hugo Kronecker, and M. C. de Candolle. 



Arrangements are in progress for a biological exhibit 

 at the Clifton Zoological Gardens. Lord Llangattock 

 has, we understand, consented to be the president of a 

 representative honorary committee, and Dr. A. J.Harrison 

 is chairman of the working committee of management. 

 Tanks are being constructed, and arrangements made 

 for an exhibit from the Marine Biological Association's 

 station at Plymouth. 



The provisional arrangements for excursions are as 

 follows. Saturday, September 10: (i) Bath; (2) Aust 

 Cliff, with especial reference to geology ; (3) Severn 

 Tunnel ; (4) Stanton Drew, and Sutton Court, returning 

 over Dundry Hill ; (5) Cheddar, via Yatton, Wrington 

 and Burrington Combe ; (6) Avonmouth Docks, including 

 a steamer excursion past Clevedon, Weston, the Holmes, 

 Barry, and Cardiff ; (7) Raglan Castle and Tintern 

 Abbey ; and (8) Bradford-on-Avon. Thursday, Sep- 

 teijiber 15 : (i) the Bristol Waterworks ; (2) Tortworlh, 

 by special invitation of Lord Ducie, for geologists ; (3) 

 Wells and Glastonbury, including the Lake Village ; 

 (4) Nailsea and Stroud, including Stonehouse, the Stanley 

 Cloth .Mills and Dye Works, Dudbridge, Minchinhamp- 

 ton, and Frocester Court ; (5) Bowwood, including Ave- 

 bury and Silbury ; (6) Longleat and Sheerwater ; (7) 

 the Swindon Railway Works ; and (8) Salisbury, Stone- 

 henge and Amesbury. Offers of hospitality in connec- 

 tion with nearly all these excursions have been received 

 and gladly accepted. It is proposed to conclude with 

 a longer excursion, starting on Friday, September 16, 

 to Exeter, Torquay, Dartmouth and Plymouth, returning 

 over Dartmoor. 



CITY BANQUET TO THE MEDICAL 

 PROFESSION. 

 A T the Mansion House on Wednesday in last week, 

 ^^*- the Lord Mayor gave a banquet to the Presidents 

 of the Royal College of Surgeons and Royal College of 

 Physicians and leading members of the medical pro- 

 fession. This was the first occasion upon which the 

 hospitality of the Mansion House has been extended to 

 the medical profession as such, and a very large and 

 distinguished company was present in response to the 

 Lord Mayor's invitation. Lord Lansdowne, Secretary of 

 State for War, was one of the guests, and in responding 

 to a toast he announced that the Government proposed 

 to make several concessions with regard to the rank of 

 medical officers in the Army. It is proposed to form — 

 out of the Army Medical Staff" and the Medical, Staff" 



NO. 1489, VOL. 58] 



Corps— a Royal Army Medical Corps, the officers of 

 which will bear the same military titles as other officers 

 of the Army. These concessions have been received 

 with great satisfaction by the medical profession, and 

 they will doubtless lead to a marked increase in the 

 number of candidates for the Army medical service. We 

 give below a few extracts from some of the speeches 

 made at the banquet. 



In the course of his remarks, Lord Lansdowne spoke as 

 follows : — 



We are now about to deal with the large question in which I 

 know the profession takes a deep interest — the question of the 

 status and rank of the medical officers in the army. ' I have 

 heard it said, Is not the title of " Doctor " or "Surgeon " a title 

 by itself which any one might be proud to wear ? But in the 

 army rank means a great deal. It is the outward and visible 

 sign of that authority and consideration with which the place of 

 a man is clearly defined and designated, and it is necessary in 

 the military profession that a man should have a proper military 

 stamp. Let me say in half a dozen words how it is that we in- 

 tend to deal with this question. We have made in former years 

 various attempts to solve this question of titles by means of in- 

 genious expedients, but the results have not been very satisfac- 

 tory. In some cases we have, I think, invented titles which for 

 cumbrousness and cacophony would be hard to beat. We now 

 propose that the Army Medical Staff and the Army Medical 

 Corps should be formed into one corps. The titles used shall 

 be the simple, short, intelligilile titles to which we are all ac- 

 customed. We propose to give the corps mihtary titles up to and 

 inclusive of the rank of Colonel. I have received .some forcible 

 hints that our scheme will be unsuccessful unless we proceed to 

 the rank of General. But we in future intend to limit the rank 

 of General to a very restricted number of officers, all of whom 

 will be required to hold certain specific appointments carrying 

 with them general command in the army, and they will be re- 

 quired to command troops, if necessary, in the field. I feel 

 quite sure that it is not intended that any departmental officers 

 shall be given the rank of General under this scheme. Her 

 Majesty the Queen, whose good will towards the profession is 

 well known, has signified her pleasure that the new corps shall 

 be called the Royal Aimy Medical Corps. 



The Lord Mayor, in proposing the toast of " The Medical 

 Profession," remarked : I feel a peculiar pleasure in proposing 

 that toast, because I think that this is the first occasion on 

 which it has been proposed within these walls. I am delighted 

 to welcome you here to-night in the name of the citizens of 

 London. I welcome you for more reasons than one. In the 

 first place I welcome you because for many generations past you 

 have been intimately associated with the City of London. I 

 believe that the Royal College of Physicians commenced in the 

 City of London in 15 18. The Royal College of Surgeons was 

 intimately associated with one of our ancient City guilds— I 

 refer to the Barber Surgeons Company. There is another 

 company connected with your profession, also one of the livery 

 companies, which has its residence in the City of London at 

 the present time, and we members of the Corporation welcome 

 you heartily as having some connection with us both in times 

 past and at the present time. 



In replying to the toast. Sir Samuel Wilks (President of the 

 Royal College of Physicians of London) expressed the satis- 

 faction of the profession at Lord Lansdowne's statement. Re- 

 ferring to the historical connection touched upon by the Lord 

 Mayor, he said : There was a time when the two Colleges were 

 City companies, and at that time they were under the jurisdic- 

 tion of the City and of the Lord Mayor ; the same, I believe, 

 applied to the other cities of Dublin and Edinburgh. The 

 Physicians and Surgeons existed nearly 500 years ago as distinct 

 companies in the time of Henry VI. , and at that time they were 

 closely connected with the Corporation of London, and I believe 

 they had to get their licence from the Lord Mayor. The Lord 

 Mayor of that time had a supervision over the instruments of 

 the Surgeons and also over another class of persons connected 

 with the Surgeons whose names I will not mention, although 

 the Lord Mayor has done so. One reads in books how often 

 they had to fine these members of the College in sums of 6j. %d. 

 and y. 4^/. for shaving polls and trimming beards on a Sunday. 

 Subsequently came the charter of the College of Physicians 

 which we obey at the present time, and twenty years after that 

 came the charter given by Henry VIII. to the Surgeons. The 



