147APPOINTMENTS

and he was president and stout supporter of the rugbyfootball and golf clubs. All through the football seasonhe and Dr. W. W. Woods could be seen every Saturdayafternoon, encouraging the hospital XV by their presence,and it must have been a great satisfaction to Donald thathe was able to be present at this year’s Inter-HospitalCup Final, when The London were victorious after somany years. I know the students felt that their victorywas in no small way due to his enthusiasm and encourage-ment over the past years.

" He was a first-class after-dinner speaker and his fundof stories was inexhaustible. At any social function hewas a favourite, for his ready wit made an excellent endingto a convivial evening. Golf was his favourite’recreation ;for many years he was a member of Sandy Lodge, but hisfavourite course was at Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset,and whenever he could, Charles would escape for a shorttime to get some relaxation on those lovely links whichoverlook the Bristol Channel and hills of Somerset."W. R. B. writes : "That Charles Donald was a

’character’ was delineated on his pale, thin, handsomeface with the humorous eyes overshadowed by a lock ofdark hair. The character originated in a Scottish ancestryto which an Aberdonian upbringing added independenceof mind, wide reading, and a life-long enjoyment not onlyof books, but also of words. He was both humorous andwitty and, having no illusions about human nature,enjoyed deflating pretension and puncturing what heheld to be incompetence with his verbal shafts. He wasa master of the debunking aside. His experience ofsurgery was wide and his good clinical judgment wasespecially valuable in dealing with thyroid diseases. Aquarter of his working life was absorbed by two worldwars in which he served with distinction. It is a sadirony that one who looked at life with so ironical an eyeshould have been robbed by persistent ill health of thefull measure of success he deserved."

In 1927 Mr. Donald married Amy Stewart Walker,who survives him with a son and a daughter.

HORATIO GEORGE ADAMSON M.D. Lond., F.R.C.P.

Dr. H. G. Adamson, consulting physician for diseasesof the skin to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, died at hishome at Bourne End on July 6 at the age of 89.He was born in London, the son of Horace John

Adamson, and was educated at University CollegeSchool. In 1883 he began his medical studies at St.Bartholomew’s Hospital with an entrance scholarship

in science. tie qualified in1888, and after a few yearsin general practice hedecided to study dermato-logy. He was fortunate tocome under the tuition ofDr. Colcott Fox and Dr.Pringle, by whom he wastaught that meticulous carefor detail in clinical studywhich afterwards character-ised his whole work. Hisfirst appointments were attwo children’s hospitals,Paddington Green and theNorth Eastern Hospital forChildren (now Queen Eliza-beth’s Hospital), and it wasin this field that much ofhis earlier work was done.His papers on napkin erup-tions, pemphigus neonat-

orum, ecthyma vacciniforme, and others are examples ofthe thoroughness with which he studied his cases. In1907 he first published his Skin Affections in Childhood, abook small in size but amazingly comprehensive, whichhas never really been equalled.

During these years he assisted Dr. Colcott Fox at theMetropolitan Asylums Board’s ringworm schools atWitham and Sutton, and it was in connection with thiswork that in 1895 he published his classical paper on theparasites of ringworm and anatomical relation of para-sites to hair. His description of the way in which themicrosporon fungus terminates in the hair is still knownby the name of " Adamson’s fringe." Later, in 1909, he

called attention to a new method of treating scalp ring-worm by X rays, an improvement on a method first usedby Kienbock, and which proved so successful that theAdamson-Kienbock method has been used almostuniversally ever since. -

About this time he was appointed to take charge of theskin department at his old school, St. Bartholomew’sHospital, the first dermatologist to be appointed to thepost. In 1911 he was elected F.R.C.P., and his Goulstonianlectures (1912) on the significance of skin eruptions were acomplete survey of contemporary dermatological know-ledge. They ended with a subject which always interestedhim greatly-" the significance of the patterns and distri-butions of skin eruptions."

His writings, which were numerous, cover a widefield of dermatology and he was constantly demonstratingcases, both at the old Dermatological Society of London,of which few members remain, and also at the RoyalSociety of Medicine. All his cases were carefully workedout before being shown. He was president of the dermato-logical section of the R.S.M. from 1921 to 1923 and ofthe British Association of Dermatology in 1924 andtreasurer from 1925 to 1934. He was also an honorarymember of many foreign dermatological societies, amongthem the New York Dermatological Society, the oldestdermatological society and one of the most exclusive, anhonour of which he was justly proud.

In many of his papers he deliberately raised contro-versial points, such as that which dealt with the relationof keratodermia blennorrhagica to psoriasis, and he wasalways a strong advocate of the identity of idiopathiceczema and its differentiation from dermatitis venenata.He was also an authority on the development of dermato-logy in the 19th century and was familiar with the worksof all dermatological authors from the days of Willanonwards. Even in his retirement he wrote a vigorousletter defending Tilbury Fox from some aspersions whichhad been cast on the value of his work.Adamson was a retiring person and worked steadily

away without attempting to attract attention, thoughhis work was so outstanding that it could not escapenotice. He went out of his way to help those who soughthis advice, and was a most inspiring teacher. He wasbeloved by his patients and by his colleagues. It isimpossible to imagine him making an enemy. He wasa skilled artist, and after his retirement spent much ofhis time gardening.

Dr. Adamson married Miss Mabel Draper, who surviveshim. A. M. H. G.

AppointmentsBRANDON, R. E., L.R.C.P.I., D.C.H.: senior asst. psychiatrist,

Pastures Hospital, Mickleover, near Derby.CALDERWOOD, R. W. L., F.R.C.S.: whole-time asst. orthopaedic

surgeon (S.H.M.O.), Pontefract and Castleford group.MAcMiCHAEL, NEIL, M.D. Edin., F.R.c.P.E.: physician (consultant),

Longmore Hospital.MANN, C. J. H., M.B. Lond. : asst. M.o., Cowdenbeath area, Fife.SHAW, ARNOLD, M.B. Durh. : school M.o., Birmingham.SUTHERLAND, 1. B., M.B. Edin., D.P.H. : deputy M.o.H., Inverness

county and town councils.THOMAS, J. W., M.B. Wales, F.F.A.R.C.S., D.A.: consultant ances-

thetist, Newport and East Monmouthshire H.M.c., based atRoyal Gwent Hospital, Newport.

Manchester Regional Hospital Board:BAUEROVA, OLGA, M.D. Bratislava, D.M.R. : whole-time consultant

radiologist, Bury and Rossendale, and Rochdale and districthospitals.

CuTHiLL, J. M., M.B. Glasg., D.P.M. : asst. psychiatrist (S.H.M.O.),Whittingham Hospital, near Preston.

JONES, P. H., M.v.o., F.R.C.S. : consultant thoracic surgeon withmain duties at Baguley Hospital, Manchester, and ParkHospital, Davyhulme.

POINTON, R. C. S., M.B. Camb., F.F.R., D.M.R.T. : asst. radio-therapist (s.H.M.o.), Christie Hospital and Holt RadiumInstitute, Manchester.

WILLIAMS, R. G., M.B. Lond. : whole-time medical director oftwo mass miniature radiography units, based on Salford andRochdale.

The Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, London:AIREY, D. M., M.B. N.z., D.c.x. : asst. resident M.o., Tadworth

Court.BARCLAY, JUNE, M.B.N.Z., D.C.H. : house-physician to the

neurological and neurosurgical departments.DALLIWALL, KENNETH, F.R.C.S.: part-time senior surgical

registrar.HALL, PETER, M.B. N.Z., F.F.A. R.C.S. : junior resident anaesthetist.MASON, SEYMOUR, M.D. Lond., D.C.H. : house-physician.MORGAN, ANN, M.R.c.s.: house-physician.O’SHAUGHNESSY, D. J., M.B. Melb. : house-surgeon.WALKER, C. H. M., M.D. Edin., M.R.c.r’., n.c.x. : medical registrar

and pathologist.

148 NOTES AND NEWS

Notes and News

ACCIDENT SERVICE AT STANMORE

AN accident service has been organised at the countrybranch of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital at BrockleyHill, Stanmore. A double ward of twenty-six beds, close tothe main operating-theatre, has been set aside for inpatients.Regular outpatient fracture clinics are to be held ; Mr. J. N.Wilson, director of the service, will conduct two clinics everyweek for orthopaedic cases referred by general practitioners.On July 8 the new department was inspected by general

practitioners and others interested. Mr. H. J. Seddon, thedirector of clinical studies, explained the need for experiencein traumatic work, not only for registrars and housemen intraining but also for the nursing staff. The hospital, he said,had acquired a wide reputation for the treatment of

" cold "

orthopædic cases, but had always been somewhat remotefrom practice in the immediate neighbourhood. He hopedthat it would now acquire a local reputation. He wantedthe local doctors to regard it as their hospital. Questions andcriticisms were then invited and a lively discussion followedin which those taking part included Mr. L. W. Plewes, Dr.J. N. Deacon, and Dr. H. M. C. Macaulay. Asked about the

acceptance of everyday conditions such as multiple con-

tusions, septic fingers, rheumatoid arthritis, and so on,Mr. Seddon replied in the affirmative. The lack of outpatientfacilities, he said, was bound to produce some temporaryconfusion, but the appropriate building programme was

being given high priority.HEROIN

THE Home Secretary, the Minister of Health, and thejoint parliamentary under-secretary of State for Scotlandreceived on July I a deputation from the council of the BritishMedical Association and heard representations against thedecision to cease authorising the manufacture of heroin at theend of this year except in respect of small quantities necessaryfor scientific purposes or the manufacture of nalorphine.lThe deputation, which consisted of Dr. E. A. Gregg, chair-

man of the association’s council, Mr. A. Lawrence Abel,Dr. A. H. Douthwaite, and Dr. R. Hale-White, referred tothree resolutions adopted last month at the annual repre-sentative meeting. These protested against the HomeSecretary’s decision to cease authorising the manufacture ofheroin and asked that the decision be reversed, or at anyrate modified, to permit manufacture of the drug in this

country for use by medical practitioners, even if its exportwere prohibited. The annual representative meeting hadapproved the resolutions by a large majority. They felt

strongly that medical practitioners should not be preventedfrom prescribing a drug which many of them thought indispen-sable in certain types of case, and they gave detailed evidencein support of the view that the retention of heroin was

necessary. They further asserted that the Government couldnot claim to have ascertained the views of the medical pro-fession before arriving at its decision, since they had notconsulted the association, which was the only body representingthe whole profession.

In reply the Home Secretary recalled the circumstancesleading up to his decision. So far from acting hastily orwithout proper consultation, the Government had taken overfour years to consider the matter and had consulted bodies

representative of the medical profession., The associationhad had ample opportunity to make its views known. Itwas no secret that the prohibition of heroin was under con-sideration. Indeed in July, 1953, the association’s journalbad published an article which clearly contemplated thatprohibition might be imposed. It had evoked one solitaryletter of protest. When, therefore, he announced his decisionin February, 1955, he had no ground for thinking that it wouldbe unacceptable to the association ; their resolution of the

previous November had not at that date been communicatedto the Government. The Home Secretary thought that therehad been some misunderstanding as to the reasons for theproposal to prohibit the lawful manufacture of heroin. Itwas related, not to the domestic problem, but to the need foran international effort to mitigate the heroin problem. To

permit manufacture of heroin in this country but to prohibitexport would not comply with the Economic and SocialCouncil’s resolution. Moreover, if the manufacture of heroin

1. See Lancet, 1955, i, 1311.

were to be permitted in this country on the ground that itsuse was indispensable in the relief of’ suffering (which wascontrary to the advice’the Government had received) it wouldbe difficult to prohibit the export of the drug-e.g., to theColonies.The Minister of Health deprecated the attacks that had been

made on Ministers. They had taken on more than one

occasion the best advice available to them. The standingmedical advisory committees included in their membershipthe most eminent and responsible loaders of the profession,The joint parliamentary under-secretary of State for

Scotland said that consultation in Scotland had proceeded inparallel with that in England. Export opinion had agreedthat there was insufficient reason to stand out from inter.national action of the kind proposed. No complaints hadbeen received in Scotland.

Before giving a final reply to the deputation the HomeSecretary is to consider the representations most carefullyin consultation with the Minister of Health and the Secretaryof State for Scotland.

BRITISH EMPIRE SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND

A SURVEY made by the Colonial Office and the RoyalNational Institute for the Blind in 1946 showed that thereare over a million blind people within the Colonial Empire,It was decided to tackle the problem on a voluntary basiswith official backing, and five years ago the British EmpireSociety was set up, with the support of the Colonial Office, theColonial governments, and the Royal National Institute forthe Blind. In its fifth annual report the society recordsthe advances made by " this fruitful partnership betweengovernment and philanthropy."

In a score of Colonial territories the foundations of perma-nent systems of blind welfare have been laid, the number ofblind children at school has been doubled, and the numberof blind adults in training multiplied by ten. In the medicalfield the society has largely concentrated its work in WestAfrica, where an ophthalmic team under Dr. F. C. Rodgeris working in the Northern Gold Coast, Northern Nigeria, andthe Cameroons. An entomological team, under Dr. GeoffreyCrisp, is investigating the simulium fly. This scientific surveyhas already cost E40,000 and the society would welcomefurther help in its work. Donations should be sent to thedirector,. 121, Victoria Street, London, S.W.I.

OVER-THE-COUNTER SPECTACLES

AT a conference of the North Regional Association for theBlind (Times, July 1, 1955) it was resolved to draw theMinister of Health’s attention to the serious effects ofthe indiscriminate sale of glasses and to urge that they shouldnot be sold without a medical prescription and that theNational Health Service should make no charge. Dr. C. G.

Kay Sharp, a member of the ophthalmic services committeeof the Leeds executive council, said that when N.H.S. spec-tacles were free these over-the-counter sales had ceased. TheEl charge had been described as a contribution, but in factthe lenses and frames cost less than 20s. He thought that-thecharge should be cut to 5s.Another side of the problem was raised in the House of

Commons last month (Lancet, July 9, p. 96), when the Ministerof Health was asked to prepare a Bill for the statutoryregistration of opticians.

RABELAIS RETRANSLATED

MEDICINE can claim one figure among the giants of litera-ture, but Dr. Rabelais has suffered in English eyes becauseof weaknesses in translation.

Urquhart started the trouble ; his version, completed byMotteux, is most widely known and has always been acclaimedas a masterpiece-a transmutation rather than translation.But a mutation took place, for Urquhart laid emphasis onthe humour and its saltiness ; the satirical exposure of monks,priests, and religious abuses tended to be obscured. Notinfrequently, moreover, the original became expanded, for

Urquhart was a sensualist for words ; where Rabelais usedone, lie could not resist two or three more to roll his tongue.This does not make for ease of consecutive reading ; and sowe dip into some sections and disregard others. These faults,and a failure in recent centuries to understand the backgroundof the times of both Rabelais and Urquhart, has led to thespecial connotation inherent in the word Rabelaisian.At the end of the last century W. F. Smith tried his hand,

but without success. The times were prim, and Smith’s