The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-07-08
LONDON NEWS AND GOSSIP.
u" Endeavor to Fix Responsibility
for HGsDituI Scandals.

for Hospital Scandals.
| LONDON, Jufs 7.-only under pressure
of strong public opinion have the Ministry
granted full,A authoritative. and UNI
biased enquiry into the hospital scandals
in South Africa. Mr.. BurdettCoutts may
or may not be correct in his specific ale
| cations of the deficiencies at Bloemfon-
tein' but such is IT,; painful impression
| created by those allegations and by the
long lists of deaths from enteric fever,
| published day pfter day in the papers, that
such an enquiry was imperative in any
| democratic country
1t is necessary. first, to examine into the
| facts; second to fix the responsibility Tor
any unnecessary sufferinss: third TO make
suggestions for the reform OF the army
medical service. which. as has often been
stated, is seriously undermanned and gem
orally neglected by the official War Office
element. No one doubts that the three
commissioners whom the Government have
selected to proceed to South Africa would
have enquired patiently into the facts.
and probably have declared that the con-
ditions of General Roberts rush upon
Bloemfcntein made the breakdown ineYi-
table, but the ordinary man in the street
has too much at stake to be content that
the matter should end there. He wants
to know who was responsible for the
breakdown, and what reforms in the medi-
cal service are to be its sequel. He wants
to know how Roberts came to allow
the Bloemfontein waterworks to be cut
OFF by the Beers. He wants to
know whether the War Office paid
proper heed to the thous and and one warn
ings at the opening OF the campaign. that
the concentration of huge bodies of men
in a waterless and sandy land without
natural sanitation must bring typhoid.
He knows that the War Office summarily
rejected the advice and personal services
rendered by Sir Waiter Foster. NJ. p. who.
though he is a Radical. is one OF the high
est living medical authorities on typhoid.
and he wants to know what reforms are TO
be made in the army medical department.
Now that two men. representative OF popu-
lar as distinct from professional views, are
to be added to the commission, possibly
two heads of large business firms Or rail-
way companies. there may be some hope
of an effectual enquiry.
Are licentiates of the Apothecaries' So
ciety entitled TO describe themselves as
physicians and surgeons? That Is the lat
est form in which the vexed question OF
medical titles Is troubling the world OF
medicine. An l.. S. A. may legally practice
medicine and surgery. but men to.ding the
usual medical degrees object to their de-
scribing themselves as physicians and sur
geons. When appealed 10 the General Med
ical Council refused to express an opinion.
and declined to defray the expenses of
test case, and now the Apothecaries' So
ciety intervenes with the announcement
that it will defend any such test case.
The Hoboken disaster has set LondoIers
to thinking how they would fare in SINH
Iarly terrible conflagation. LonCon has
daily average OF ten fires. ard the offic ais
of the metropolitan fire brigade say there
in no one in Lopdon whose house could no;
be reached by the. fire brigade within five
minutes after 40 alarm has bsen gwen. but
London has only one fire alarm for every
100 acres fact not very comforting.
This week has supplied another illustra-
ton of the potent influence of colonial
opinion upon British administration. Mr..
Chamberlain some time ago announced
with no small flourish of trunoets that
the Empire MUST shave a supreme legal
court TO which appeals could be brought
from every corner ,of the Queens domin-
ions in surroundings more dignified than
are provided hy the present Judicial Com
mittee OF the Privy Council. but the
leisurely law lords of the Judicial Com
mittee objected to any such summary dis
placement, and Mr. Chamberlain had to
white down. Mis- proposal to the creation
of four additional law lords to the Prlvy
Council paid by the imperial treasury and
respectively Australasia
Canada. South Africa. and. India. The
Australians. however. had quite other no.
lions. They declined to place their ulti-
mate constitutional appeal in the hands Of
a tribunal the renewal of whose members
ssnure of office would be at the discretion
Of the imperial Government, so Mr.. Cham |
berlain's scheme No. had to be aban-
ioned. and the Colonial Secretary now an
his intention of taking the earliest |
opportunity of consulting Canada and Aus |
tralasia upon the establishment of a new |
permanent supreme court Thus does the |
colonial tail wag the imperial dog in these |
iaYS