S8 



NATURE 



[April 3, 19 19 



Ecivvard Stirling:. He was born in 1848, and his 

 early education was obtained at St. Peter's 

 College, Adelaide. Later he went to Trinity 

 College, Cambridge, where he took honours in 

 natural science. He completed his medical educa- 

 tion at St. George's Hospital, where he later 

 occupied the positions of house surgeon, assistant 

 surgeon, teacher of operative surgery, and lec- 

 turer in physiology. He became a F.R.C.S. in 

 1874. In 1877 he married the eldest daughter of 

 the late Joseph Gilbert, of Pewsey Vale, and four 

 years later returned to Australia. Sir Edward's 

 activities in Adelaide, where he spent the re- 

 mainder of his life, were manifold. For a time 

 he practised surgery, and became a surgeon at the 

 Adelaide Hospital and lecturer in surgery at the 

 University. From 1883 to 1886 he was member 

 for North Adelaide in the House of Assembly. 

 In 1887 he presided over the Section of Surgery at 

 the Second Intercolonial Medical Congress. In 

 1889 he was president of the South Australia 

 branch of the British Medical Association, and in 

 the following year held the presidency of the 

 Royal Society of South Australia. 



Most of Sir Edward's scientific work was pub- 

 lished in the period 1 888-1 902, during which time 

 he wrote several interesting articles for Nature. 

 His interests were many, and he made important 

 contributions to science in zoology, palaeontology, 

 and anthropology. His best-known work was on 

 the marsupial mole {Notoryctes typhlops) (1888), 

 on the anatomy of the female organs of genera- 

 tion of the kangaroo (i88g), and various important 

 observations on remains found at Lake Callabonna, 

 which were published between 1893 and 1902, and 

 concerned Diprotodon, Genyornis newtoni, and 

 Phascolonns gigas. In 1894 he accompanied as 

 ethnologist the Horn Scientific Exploration Expe- 

 dition to Central Australia. He was made a 

 fellow of the Royal Society in 1893, created 

 C.M.G. in the same year, and for his services to 

 science received a gold medal from the Queen of 

 Holland. He was knighted in 191 7. 



Among the numerous institutions in Adelaide 

 with which Sir Edward was associated there are 

 two that owe much to his energy and ability — the 

 LTnlversity, where he was lecturer, and afterwards 

 professor, of physiology, and the South Australian 

 Museum, of which he was for many years director. 

 His death will be deeply felt by a wide circle of 

 people who knew him as a vigorous and kindly 

 personalitv and as a staunch and loyal friend. 



C. H. K. 



NOTES. 



The Berliner TageUatt announces that Herr Hans 

 Bredow, an engineer who was formerly a director 

 of the Telefunken Co., has been appointed Director- 

 General of the Imperial Postal Department, and at 

 the same time it directs attention to the fact that this 

 is, so far as it knows, the first occasion on which a 

 position held in Germany, as a rule, by lawyers and 

 laureaucrats has been filled by the appointment of an 

 engineer. Whilst it is true that since the institution 

 of the Reichspostamt, on January i, 1880, as the j 



NO. 2579, ^^'^- 103] 



Imperial Department responsible for posts and tele- 

 graphs no engineer has occupied the chief adminis- 

 trative position of Secretary of State (the former title 

 of the pennanent head of the Department), on the 

 other hand it has to be borne in mind that technically 

 trained men have, from the earliest days of tele- 

 graphy in Germany, held important administrative 

 posts in the Telegraph Department. For instance, 

 the members of the Commission for the Administra- 

 tion of the State Telegraphs, appointed in Prussia in 

 March, 1849, to carry on the telegraph services, con- 

 sisted of an artillery colonel as chairman, and of an 

 engineer and a postal inspector. In later times many 

 of the important administrative posts in the Reichs- 

 postamt have always been held by technically trained 

 men. It can be said generally that on the continent 

 of Europe there has at all times existed a greater 

 appreciation of the technically trained man 'in the 

 public services than is the case in this country. Many 

 instances could be quoted of engineers holding, on 

 the Continent, the chief administrative positions in 

 the public Departments, such as railways, posts and 

 telegraphs, etc.. wherein the work is largely of a 

 technical nature. The example of foreign countries 

 could in this respect be followed with great advantage 

 to the public services in this country. 



The rumours for some time current that Sir Robert 

 Morant was to take the chief post at the new Ministry 

 of Health have proved to be correct. Taking advan- 

 tage of the approaching retirement of Sir Horace 

 Monro, Permanent Secretar)- to the Local Govern- 

 ment Board, Dr. Addison has appointed Sir Robert 

 Morant an additional Secretary to that Board, and 

 has designated him First Secretary of the Ministry of 

 Health, when formed. Secretar}' to the Board of 

 Education when the changes rendered necessary by 

 the introduction of school medical inspection were 

 made, and first chairman of the National Health Insur- 

 ance Commission, Sir Robert Morant seems fated to 

 be called upon to play a prominent part when organisa- 

 tion or reorganisation is needed. That he is well fitted 

 for the task is certain. There are, however, other 

 advantages than those arising from his own qualifica- 

 tions attending the appointment of Sir Rol>ert Morant. 

 Associated with him in his work he is to have Sir 

 George Newman as Chief Medical Officer and Mr. 

 John Anderson as Second Secretary. Both these 

 gentlemen have worked with Sir Robert Morant before, 

 Sir George Newman at the Board of Education, where 

 he was Medical Officer, and Mr. Anderson at the 

 Insurance Commission, where he acted as secretary. 

 It was inevitable, no doubt, that the chairman and 

 secretarv of the National Health Insurance Commis- 

 sion and the Medical Officer of the Board of Educa- 

 tion should be accommodated at the Ministry of 

 Health, but it is fortunate for Dr. Addison that the 

 holders of these positions should he such men as 

 those named. 



The number of clinical themometers tested at the 

 National Physical Laboratory since the introduction 

 of the Clinical Thermometer Order of October last 

 has this week reached the total of half a million. 

 The equipment for carrying out this work at Ted- 

 dington has been increased to such an extent that the 

 number of instruments tested per w^ek is consider- 

 ably in excess of those dealt with in any year under 

 the older conditions for the certification of clinical 

 thermometers. At the present time it is found that 

 the number of clinical thermometers which do not 

 comply with the provisions of the Order amounts to 

 about 4 per cent, of the total received. The propor- 

 tion, however, varies greatly for the different makers ; 

 •for one firm, the output of which Is large, the average 



