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Medical

Mortality in Bombay.

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The Times of India commenting on debate in the Corporation on the high mortality in Bombay city, shows that though the death rate nominally stands at 88.29 this figure is calculated on the census of the population taken in 1911 and it is trustworthily estimated that the population now in the city is double of what it was then. Still the unusually high figures cnnnot wholly be attributed to the method of calculation, for the mortality is now nearly twice as high as it was at this time last year. The returns for plague, smallpox and cholera are unimportant and plague at any rate is much lower than last year. Dr. Viegas pointed out in the Corporation that a feature of the situation is the prevalence of pneumonia. The Times of India says:-In so far as this is a complication following influenza it may be caused by dust-borne germs, for dust is now very bad indeed in the city and to that extent must disappear when rains break, but pneumonia is also a complication of relapsing or famine fever and this is very prevalent. Germs are conveyed by vermin and so its spread is greatly encouraged by the terrible overcrowding of the city which is worse than ever.

Anti-Influenza Measures.

The following press communique has been issued by the Education Department :-The method and value of nasal douching as a preventative of influenza :

The Sanitary Commissioner with the Government of India recommends the douching of the nasal cavities and throat as preventative of influenza. The following description of the method of douching is published for general information:-(a) dissolve one teaspoonful salt in a pint of warm water, (b) gargle the throat with some of the solution; (c) place the remainder of the solution in a basin; (d) immerse the nostrils in the solution; (e) sniff slowly some of the solution up the nostrils until it is felt at the back of the throat; (f) raise the head from the basin and allow the solution to flow from the nostrils into a bucket; (g) repeat this process two or three times. The whole ritual should be carried out four or five times daily. The above procedure has been reported to have given very good results during the last epidemic in South Africa. For instance, out of 91 persons, mostly nurses, who were especially exposed to infection only three developed slight attacks,

Treatment of Rheumatism.

A new treatment described for joint affections, such as rheumatism, is being used very successfully at a foreign military hospital where it has been introduced. "Double nitro-peroxide" is employed, which actually "extracts" the inflammation. It is used mixed with a starchy substance which holds its action until it is placed on the skin over the deceased parts, from which, we are assured, it extracts the impurities, the germs and their poisons. The material is sprinkled on lint or gauze and placed on the skin. When the doctor removes the dressings, from six to twelve hours later, there will be seen blisters. If there is no infection the treatment will not affect the skin.

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Cures for Influenza.

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Doctors never differed more than they do today writes the Popular Science Siftings. They are not even in accord about the simple domestic remedies for preventing influenza. For instance, Dr. Robert A. Lyster recommends "a solution of permanganate of potash . . . for gargling and snuffing' up the nose. Sir Malcolm Morris says, "the solution of common salt and permanganate of potash for washing the nostrils and throat is a most horrible mixture." It is recommended by the Local Government Board. Sir St. Clair Thompson says, "No healthy nose should be douched... he is entirely opposed to the use of permanganate of potash." Others could be quoted to as varying an effect. Well may it be asked, what do the doctors know that they are agreed on?

Vitality of the Indian People.

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The annual report of King George V AntiTuberculosis League, Bombay, for 1918, records: "The vital resistance has been reduced during the last 50 years by various social, economic and industrial upheavals which have tended to change the life and habits of the Indian people. The great expansion of towns, the growth of modern industries and the continual migration from villages to towns have revolutionised our methods of living to a very great extent. have frequently given instances of cases coming under our observation of patients from Bombay going to upcountry and spreading infection there, and vice versa, people coming to Bombay from villages for work and contracting this disease in a few months. The outcome of this main cause has been to give rise to (a) overcrowding and insani tation, (b) poverty and want (c) high rents and dear food (d) intemperance, all of which tend to cause a vicious circle leading ultimately to the lowering of vital resistance."

Science

Indian Science Congress.

The seventh annual meeting of the Indian Science Congress will be held at Nagpur from January 13th to 18th, 1920. Sir Benjamin Robertson, Chief Commissioner, has consented to be the patron of the meeting, whilst Sir P. C. Ray will be the president. The following sectional presidents have been appointed :-Agriculture D. Glouster Esq; Physics and Mathematics : Dr. N. F. Moss Esq; Chemistry: B. K. Singh Esq; Botany P. F. Fyson Esq; Geology: P. Sampat Iyengar Esq; Medical Research: Lt.-Col. J. W. Cormwall, I.M.S. The Honorary local Secretaries are M. Osen Esq and V. Bose Esq. Further particulars can be obtained on application to the Honorary General Secretary, Dr. J. L. Simmonsen, Forest Research Institute and College, Dehra Dun.

New Method of Detecting Flaws.

An X-rays photograph of the interior of the carburetter of an aeroplane engine, showing a block in the petrol feed was one of many interesting exhibits at the Royal Society, when a joint meeting of the Rontgen and Faraday Societies discussed radiometallography.

It is now possible to take photographs through two inches of hard steel, and to detect flaws in castings of turbine propeller shafts, aeroplane engines, and new alloys. A difference in thickness of a 200th part of an inch is revealed in a steel casting two or three inches in thickness by X-rays photography.

Professor Bragg, F.R.S., showed X-rays photographs of various mechanisms in which flaws were detected without taking the intricate parts to pieces. So perfect is the picture made by the rays that the most delicate structure of a fresh cherry blossom was shown.

Telephoning To Canada.

It is announced by the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company that they have succeeded in establishing wireless telephone communication between Ireland and Canada.

Mr. Godfrey Isaacs, at a conference lunch of the American Chamber of Commerce in London, referred to the matter, and prophesied that business men in New York would soon be able to converse clearly and easily with their equals in London by wireless telephone of any kind.

Indian Scientific Departments. A comprehensive programme of the work of the various scientific departments for 1919-20 has been issued. The important work of the Geological Survey will be continued in Bihar and Orissa, the Central Provinces and Burma. Economic enquiries in wolfram and tin in Tennassarim, in sulphur and chromite in Baluchistan and Seistan and in mica in Bihar and Orissa will be conducted.

The scientific research work of the Survey of India will consist of a gravimetre survey, atmospheric refraction, meteorology, a magnetic survey and solar photography. Seventy-five permanently marked repeat stations in India, Burma and Ceylon will be visited and observation will be taken at each to determine the annual charges in the magnetic elements for the period of 1915-20,

Beside this, work will be done in various other directions such as forest, botany, chemistry and zoology and agriculture.

Academy of Scientific Navigation,

A representation having been received by Government from some Indian seamen on the question of establishing a fully equipped institution or academy for training Indians in the art of scientific navigation, as no facilities at present exist for their obtaining competency certificates for higher posts in the mercantile marine, and as difficulty has been experienced of late in the manning of new vessels from 200 to 600 tons, which are being constructed in India, the Government of Bombay propose to establish a State-aided institution on the lines of training institutions in European countries. Government have accordingly appointed a committee of the following officers and gentlemen to consider the proposal and submit their conclusions :-Port officer and Shipping Master, Bombay. Mr. F. C. Annesley of the Bombay Steam Navigation Company, Mr. F. L. Barnell, Marine Superintendent, Moghul Line, Capt. H. J. Rouse of the B.I.S.N. The committee will decide where the nautical institute can be most suitably situated, its equipment and staff and its establishment and maintenance cost. Telephoning by Light

A searchlight telephone, in which conversation is transmitted by a beam of light, was exhibited at a Royal Society conversazione at Burlington House recently. Clear and distinct messages were received in the principal library some distance from the transmitter, and the inventor, Dr. A. O. Rankin, stated that the apparatus had been tested over a distance of 1 miles with success,

Personal

The Late Dr. Nair.

The death of Dr. T. M. Nair in London on July 17 removes from public life a vigorous and interesting personality. Though a a successful medical specialist, Dr. Nair has for long been associated with the public life of this Presidency. His interest in politics began in the early ninetees when he was yet a student at Edinburgh where he graduated M. B. & Ch. B. in 1894 and took his doctorate in 1896. He was Secretary and later President of the Edinburgh Indian Association, one of the editors of the University Magazine, and a member of the University Students' Association. Having apprenticed at Brighton he specialised in ear and throat for a time in Paris. And in 1897 he returned to Madras and set up a successful practice.

But he did not confine himself to medicine. He soon found his Metier in Municipal politics. His earnestness, his thorough mastery of details, his independence, and his eloquence soon won for him a commanding position in the Corporation of Madras. In fact, the way in which he led the opposition during the recent debate on the City Municipal Bill in the Madras Legislative Council is still fresh in the minds of all. And even those who could not see eye to eye with him in his recent political adventures found in him the sturdy champion of the people's rights.

It is unfortunate that all the energy, eloquence and courage of this indefatigable fighter should have been in recent years, misspent.

Hon. Krishna Sahay

The Hon'ble Rai Bahadur Krishna Sahay (who has been appointed member of the Executive Council, Bihar) was born in October 1868 and graduated from the Presidency College in 1890. He was enrolled as a Vakil of the Calcutta High Court in July 1892 when he commenced his practice in the district courts at Patna where he soon rose to eminence. On the creation of the Patna High Court he joined the highest tribunal of the Province and was elected President of the Vakils' Association about two years ago. He was appointed Law Lecturer of the Patna College in 1894 and held that post till 1909. In 1909 he was first elected a member of the Bengal Legislative Council by the Bihar Landholders' Association. After Bihar and Orissa were converted into a separate province the Rai Bahadur was returned to the Provincial Legislative Council in

1913 to the Imperial Legislative Council in 1916. On the creation of the Patna University he was nominated a Fellow and a member of the Syndicate by Government.

The Rai Bahadur, says the Express, has always been a staunch Congressman with sober and moderate views. He was one of the nineteen members of the Imperial Legislative Council who signed the famous memorandum on the Reforms. At the last session of the Council he took a lively part in the debate on the Rowlatt Bills and strongly opposed the passing of the measure. The Rai Bahadur cast in his lot with the moderate party of the Congress in 1918 and was nominated a member of its deputation to England in the beginning of the current year. He visited England in 1914 and has always been a keen social and political reformer.

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The chief value of Mr. Asquith's speech, the public service which it rendered, was that it came as a sudden and vivid reminder of days not, after all, so long past, when personal loyalty and public decency had still a very important place in English political life. It is not a question of political opinions. In that matter it is quite possible in the future that for our own part we shall more often find ourselves supporting Mr. Lloyd-George than Mr. Asquith. But even Mr. Asquith's strongest political opponents cannot, and, in fact, do not, fail to recognise that quite apart from his extraordinary intellectual gifts, he is pre-eminently a man who honours the best traditions of British politics, and so exemplifies them in his own person that his disappearance from the political arena would leave a sense of more irreparable loss than even that of a Gladstone or a Disraeli.

The Late Mr. Ananda Row.

We regret to record the death on July 20 of Mr. T. Ananda Rao, c 1.E., late Dewan of Mysore at the advanced age sixty-seven. The late Mr. Ananda Rao, was the son of the great Indian statesman Sir T. Madhava Rao. Mr. Ananda Rao joined the Mysore service early in life and retired at the end of 1912 after two years of Dewanship. It was during his adminis tration that the Mysore Economic Conference, which has very recently been made permanent, was established.

Political

India Office Reform

The following is the official summary of the proposals made in the report of the Committee on the Home Administration of Indian affairs.

(1) Save in the case of absolute necessity, legislation should not be certified for enactment by the Council of State without the previous approval of its substance by the Secretary of State, on the ground that its enactment is essential in the interests of peace, order, and the good government of India.

(2) Where the Government of India are in agreement with a majority of non-official members of the Legislative Assembly either in regard to legislation, or in regard to resolutions on the budget, or on matters of general administration, assent to their joint decision should only be withheld in cases in which the Secretary of State feels that his responsibility to Parliament for peace, order, and good government of India, or paramount considerations of imperial policy, require him to secure reconsideration of the matter at issue by the Legislative Assembly.

(3) As a basis of delegations, the principle of previous consultation between the Secretary of State and the Government of India, would be substituted in all cases in which previous sanction of the Secretary of State in Council has hitherto been required.

(4) In the relations between the Secretary of State and the Local Governments the principle should, as far as possible, be applied that, where the Government are in agreement with a conclusion of the Legislature, their joint decision should ordinarily be allowed to prevail.

(5) Assent to or disallowance of Indian legislation by the Crown should be signified by His Majesty in Council.

(6) The powers and authority now vested in the Secretary of State for India in Council should be transferred to the Secretary of State.

(7) The Secretary of State should be assisted by an Advisory Committee, to which he shall refer such matters as he may determine and he may provide by regulations for the conduct of the business of the committee.

(8) The Advisory Committee should consist of not more than 12 and not less than six members, appointed by the Secretary of State.

(9) Not less than one-third of the members of the committee should be persons domiciled in India seleated by the Secretary of State from a

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panel of names submitted by non-official members of Indian Legislature.

(10) The tenure of office of a member of the committee should be five years.

(11) The members of either House of Parliament should be ineligible for appointment to the committee.

(12) The salary of the members of the committee should be £1,200 a year.

(13) The Indian members of the committee should receive a subsistence allowance of £600 a vear in addition to salary, in respect of their domicile.

(14) Statutory provision should be made for recommendations (6) to (13) inclusive.

(15) The Secretary of State should regulate, by executive orders the conduct of correspondence between the India Office and the Governments in India.

(16) Action should be taken with a view to the transfer of the agency work of the India Office to a High Commissioner for India, or some similar Indian Governmental representative in London.

(17) No formal system of interchange of appointments between a member of the India Office and India services can be recommended, but deputation between the two countries should be encouraged.

(18) Occasion should be taken now and then to appoint an Indian to one of the posts intermediary between the Secretary of State and heads of departments.

(19) The charges on account of political and administrative work of the office should be placed on the estimates, those on account of agency work of the office being defraved from Indian revenues, the appointment to be determined by agreement between the India Office and the Treasury.

(20) The Committee are not in favour of the proposal to establish a Select Committee of the House of Commons on Indian affairs and Sir James Brunyate, Prof. Keith and Mr. Basu have stated their views in a separate memorandum.

The Joint Committee

In the House of Lords the following were appointed on the motion of Lord Sinha to serve on the Joint Committee of the Government of India Bill: Lords Crewe, Selborne, Middleton, the Duke of Northumberland, Lords Islington, Sinha and Sydenham. Among the members of the Commons appointed to serve on the Committee are Mr. Montagu, Sir Henry Craik, Mr. T. J. Bennett, Sir Donald Maclean, Mr. Ben Spoor and Commander Ormsby Glore:

General

Mr. Gandhi on Civil Disobedience

In the course of a letter to the press dated the 21st July, Mr. Gandhi writes :-The Government of India have given me, through His Excellency the Governor of Bombay, a grave warning that the resumption of civil disobedience is likely to be attended with serious consequences to public security. This warning has been enforced by His Excellency the Governor himself at the interviews to which I was summoned. In response to these warnings and to the urgent desire publicly expressed by Dewan Bahadur L. A. Govindaraghava Iyer, Sir Narayan Chandavarkar and several editors, I have, after deep consideration, decided not to resume civil resistance for the time being. I may add that several prominent friends belonging to what is called the extremist party have given me the same advice on the sole ground of their fear of a recrudescence of violence on part of those who might not have understood the doctrine of civil resistance.

The Calcutta Postmen.

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The Catholic Herald takes up the Calcutta postmen's case and comparing it with that of the railway employees who threatened a strike writes as follows:-"Some time ago, the Covenanted Officers of a big Railway Company respectfully represented to the authorities that they and their families were starving on Rs. 350 a month, and that unless they were given Rs. 500 they would go on strike, hold up all railway traffic, starve town and country, cut off troops and supplies necessary to carry on the Afghan War and suppress the revolt in the Punjab. A big gentleman went to Simla, and there other big gentlemen sat in conclave, with the result that the Covenanted Officers got the Rs. 500 they claimed, and were warmly congratulated on their patriotic restraint and law-abiding behaviour.

"A week later, the Calcutta postal peons respectfully represented to the authorities that they and their families were starving on Rs. 15 a month, and that unless they were given Rs. 20, they would go on strike. No big gentlemen took any notice of it, and on strike they did go, with the result that one man got 20 days' rigorous imprisonment for being the Treasurer of the Strike Funds, five others were condemned to three weeks' rigorous imprisonment for being the leaders, eight others were fined, others were sacked,

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2nd Clown: Will you ha'the truth on't? If these had been white gentlemen .... etc.

1st Clown: Why, there thou say'st: and the more pity that great folk should have countenance in this world to hang the public more than their even Christian. Come, my spade."

Child Welfare in India.

A Press Communique states: The unhappy condition of Indian women in child-birth and the high rate of infant mortality in India are so well known that the public will undoubtedly welcome the announcement that an exhibition in maternity and child welfare will be held in Delhi next February under the patronage of Her Excellency Lady Chelmsford.

The problem before the organisers is how to adapt exhibitions of a similar kind which had been held in other countries to the special needs of India and it is hoped that the educated public not in Delhi alone but in other parts of India also will co-operate as far as possible. There must be many people both Indian and European, who have thought on this subject and advice exhibits or gifts of money will be gratefully received by the organisers. Further information can be received by application to the Honorary Secretary, Infant Welfare Exhibition, Dufferin Fund Office, Simla.

The King-Emperor's Message

The following Royal Proclamation by the KingEmperor, dated 1st July, 1919, is published:

Whereas a definite Treaty of Peace between us and the Associated Governments and German Government was concluded at Versailles on the 28th June last, in conformity thereunto I have thought fit hereby to command that the same be published in due course throughout all Our dominions and we do declare to all Our loving subjects Our will and pleasure that upon the exchange of ratifications thereof, the said Treaty of Peace be observed inviolably as well by sea as by land in all places whatsoever, strictly charging and commanding all Our loving subjects to take notice hereof and to conform themselves thereunto accordingly.

Given at Our Court at Buckingham Palace, this first day of July in the year of Our Lord 1919 and in the 10th year of Our reign.

God save the King-Emperor..

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