NA rURE 



[JuLv 25, 1S95 



[The fee for these degrees, except at " general admissions," is 

 len guineas for students not admitted as " advanced students."] 



Advanced students shall ]iay to the University Chest tlie same 

 capitation tax as other members of the University, and under the 

 same conditions as to standing (Graces June I, 1S93, and 

 Februar)- 14, 1S95): provided that the quarterly payment to be 

 made by an advanced student, who has obtained a certificate of 

 research but has not been admitted to a degree, and who has 

 <easet1 to reside in the University, shall from and after the end 

 of the eighth quarter from the commencement of residence be 

 four shillings and threepence. 



[The ■■ capitation ta.\ " referred to is thus in general ten shil- 

 lings a quarter during the two years of residence, and four 

 shillings and threejience a quarter thereafter until the ad\-anced 

 student removes his name from the boards of his College. ] 



The outcome ofthesereg^ulations is this, that ajjraduate 

 of a British. .American, or other University, who can 

 show evidence of special qualifications for advanced study 

 in literature, law, histor\-, or other like subject, or for 

 scientific research, may be admitted under exceptionally 

 favourable conditions to the University of Cambridge, 

 He will not be required to pass the " previous examina- 

 tion " in Greek, Latin, elementarj- mathematics, and other 

 subjects of preliminary education. He may reside 

 two years instead of the three required of ordinary 

 undergraduates. He will probably be allowed special 

 privileges in respect of the University librar\-, the 

 museums, and the laboratories. He may become a 

 -candidate in the parts of certain of the Triposes con- 

 cerned with his particular subject, or he may engage from 

 the outset in independent research. If he approves 

 himself sufficiently in the Tripos examination, or 

 achieves results in relation to his research which may 

 fairly claim "distinction," he may proceed to the degree 

 ■of B.A. without further examination. Thereafter he 

 need not reside further, but after the ordinary period of 

 probation, pass to the higher degree of .M..-\. This 

 opens the way to the doctorate in science or in letters 

 for those whose after-work is of sufficient merit. .\ point 

 of importance is contained in the second clause of Regula- 

 tion 16, which provides that work published elsewhere may 

 be taken into account in deciding whether an advanced 

 student is qualified for his certificate or degree. 



The " Degree Committee '' of a .Special Hoard consists 

 of the professors and other elected members of the Board, 

 but not the examiners for Triposes, &c., who arc appointed 

 for a year at a time. The special Boards deal respec- 

 tively with theology, law, medicine, classics, oriental 

 studies, medi.eval and modern languages, mathe- 

 matics, physics and chemistry, biology and geolog)', 

 history and arch;eology, moral science, and inusic. The 

 Triposes are the mathematical, classical, moral sciences, 

 natural sciences, mechanical sciences, theological, law, 

 historical, oriental languages, and medi;eval and modern 

 languages. It has yet to be determined what parts of 

 these shall be specially opened to advanced students, but 

 as most of them are divided into two parts, it is likely that 

 the second or more advanced and specialised parts will 

 as a rule be made available. The University has m.ide 

 concessions as to the fees to be paid by advanced students, 

 and there is no doubt that as the scheme conies into 

 working order, the colleges will follow the lead of the 

 University in this respect. 



The ~rhcnie is one which should lead to important 

 d' '^ in the future. Graduates of other univer- 



si' they came from Oxford or Dublin, or were 



spti Lilly '.ifliliatcd," could share in the advantages 

 which Caniliri(li.'c has to offer, only on condition of 

 I" ' : .^:raduate students, and so beginning 



il' <■ over again. Now. if they are 



^' ■ 'i iiy previous study and attainments, 



ll 'It on a higher and definitely recognised 



fm.,,..^, .,,,.. ,i,..j at once enter on post-graduate work. 

 It Is to be ho|)cd that, at least in English-speaking 



NO. 1343. VOL. 52] 



countries, the opportunities thus offered for higher study 

 in Cambridge may soon be appreciated ; and that a 

 steadily increasing number of those who now from our 

 colonies and the United States proceed to continental 

 universities in pursuit of learning may find in one of the 

 old English universities a more natural and a more 

 interesting academic resort. 



THE HEALTH OF LONDON. 



T^HE immense strides which have been made in 

 ■*■ sanitary science, the well-nigh feverish eagerness 

 with which all questions relating to health are pursued, 

 causes the layman to turn with interest and, indeed, 

 curiosity to any reliable record he can obtain of statistics 

 relating to the public health. 



" What," he asks, " is the actual practical result of all 

 these efforts on the part of municipal authorities and 

 other responsible public bodies on the health of our great 

 cities?" 



It is thus that statistics become invested with an 

 interest even to the uninitiated, and there is no more 

 striking tendency in the hygienic crusade which prevails 

 than the sense of individual responsibility which it has 

 succeeded in arousing in the conduct of sanitary matters, 

 and the participation of the people theniseb es in measures 

 of sanitary reform. Hence the compilation and issue by 

 the London County Council of periodic reports on a 

 variety of hygienic subjects : and the appearance of 

 "County Council Orange Books" may now be regarded 

 as a familiar feature in the administration of that demo- 

 cratic body. 



One of the most recent of these is the annual report 

 of the London County Council's Medical Officer of 

 Health for the year 1893. 



This weighty document bristles with figures, and em- 

 braces a variety of subjects, but to only a few of the 

 more important of these can we briefly refer here. 



Perhaps the most appropriate point to start from, is 

 the consideration of some interesting data dealing with 

 the expectation of life, actuarily calculated, enjoyed by 

 Londoners from fixe years upwards in the period of 

 1881-90 and 1S61-70 respectively. 



These statistics go to show that the expectation of life 

 of males at five years of age has improved from 47'49 

 years to 5077 ; or, in other words, during the last period 

 there has been a gain of 3'28 years. As regards females, 

 we find the expectation of life has risen from 5087 to 

 54'43, or a gain of 3'55 years. \\ subsequent ages there 

 is also, in all cases, an improvement, though relatively 

 less than at age five, showing that the greater part of 

 the gain is in the periods of youth and early maturity. 



If we compare these tables with those of a similar 

 nature, wliich liaic been compiled for each sex in Man- 

 chester and Glasgow from i88T-<p, we find that tlie 

 expectation of life in London exceeds that enjoyed by 

 the inhabitants of both these large cities. 



Londoners may also congratulate themselves upon the 

 fact that the dcatli-rate in London was lower than that 

 of the m.ijoiity of the capitals of Europe and of New 

 York; thus, we can contrast a death-rate of 21 '3 per 

 1000, with 2V% in Paris, IT}, in Rome, 24'o in \'ienna, 

 and yyb in St. Petersburg, and in New York 239 per 

 1000. 



As compared with our five largest cities — Manchester, 

 Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds, and Sheffield -London 

 again can boast of the lowest death-rate ; whilst our 

 infant mortality, compared with that of other English 

 towns having more than 200,000 inhabitants, was also 

 lower in every case with the single exception of Bristol. 



If we look more closely into the particulars of the 

 death-rate, we find that, as regards the principal zymotic 



