Board of Control

Under the provisions of the Mental Treatment Act, 1930, the Board of Control was reconstituted as from January 1st, 1931, to consist of the Chair- man and four other senior Commissioners. Mr. L. G. Brock, C.B. (Chairman of the previous Board) is Chairman of the Board as reconstituted. The King approved the appointment of the following to be members of the Board: ? Mr. F. J. Fraser Macleod, K.C., on the recommendation of the Lord Chan- cellor, and Sir Hubert Bond, K.B.E., D.Sc., M.D., F.R.C.P., Mr. A. Rother- ham, M.B., and Mrs. Ellen Pinsent, C.B.E., on the recommendation of the Minister of Health.

British Medical Association Special Committee

The Council of the British Medical Association have set up a special Com- mittee ” to report on the various medical problems presented by mental deficiency, more especially with regard to methods which have been suggested to reduce its incidence and to the facilities for medical education on this subject.” The following have been invited to constitute the Committee: ? The Officers of the Association (ex-officio), Professor R. J. A. Berry, Dr. R. Langdon Down, Sir Ewan Maclean, Dr R. G. Gordon, Dr A. F. Tredgold, Dr W. Langdon-Brown, Dr R. M. Stewart, Dr E. O. Lewis (Board of Con- trol), Dr Letitia D. Fairfield, Dr H. P. T. Young (H.M. Prison, Wormwood Scrubbs), Dr H. C. Bristowe, Dr L. A. Parry, together with one representative appointed by each of the following:?the Society of Medical Officers of Health and the Royal Medico-Psychological Association,

Appointments Prison Commission Dr W. Norwood East, who is well known to members of the C.A.M.W. as a member of the Executive Council and Medical Committee of the Associa- tion, has been appointed one of His Majesty’s Commissioners of Prisons and a Director of Convict Prisons.

Royal Eastern Counties Institution, Colchester The following appointments have been made in connection with the vacancies of which notice was given in the October issue of ” Mental Welfare “: ?

Lionel S. Penrose, M.A., M.D.(Cantab.), M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., has been appointed by the Committee of the Institution in conjunction with the Medical Research Council and the Trustees of the Darwin Trust, as Research Medical Officer to the Institution.

Miss D. Newlyn, Assistant Secretary of the Devon Association for Mental Welfare, has been appointed as Social Investigator to assist Dr Penrose. The first piece of research is to be an enquiry into the physical and mental characteristics, the home environment and the family histories of the 1,400 patients in the Colchester Institution.

Special Classes in Southern Rhodesia The following teachers have been appointed to undertake the pioneer work of forming Special Classes for feeble-minded children at Salisbury and Buluwayo, Southern Rhodesia, and sailed in January, 1931: ? Miss B. T. Devany of Manchester, who took the C.A.M.W. Ten Weeks’ Course for Teachers of Retarded Children in 1929 and Miss S. T. Dalgleish of Dunfermline, who took the Special Course for Scottish Teachers in Glasgow in 1928.

C.A.M.W. Courses for 1931 Courses for Teachers of Retarded Children Refresher ” Course … … Maria Grey Training College, April 7th?13th Brondesbury, London, N.W.6. Ten Weeks’Course … … Murray House, Vandon Street, May nth?July 17th London, S.W.i. London Short Course … … King’s College Hostel, July 6th?31st Vincent Square, S.W.i. Birmingham Short Course … Westhill Training College, August 22nd?September 18th Selly Oak, Birmingham. *Board of Education Courses Course for Medical Practitioners May 4th?16th … … … The University of London. Imperial Institute, South Kensington, S.W.

Courses for Enquiry Officers, Supervisors of Occupation Centres and Staffs of Institutions August 29th?to September 19th … Notcutt House, Dorset Square, London, N.W.i. Course for Teachers of Manual and Domestic Subjects Autumn, 1931 … … … London. Course in Mental Health for Social Workers Probably April?September, 1931 … London. Dates not yet fixed.

Margaret Macdowall Memorial

The publication of the third edition of Margaret Macdowall’s book, ” Simple Beginnings in the Training of Mentally Defective Children,” has been completed and the book can be obtained from The Law and Local Government Publications, Ltd., 27, Furnival Street, E.C.4, price 3/6 net. It will be remembered that in our last issue we announced that this book was to be published as a memorial to the pioneer work of the late Author in the training of the mentally defective child.

The book has been out of print for some time but it is not likely that there are many readers of ” Mental Welfare ” who have not owned or borrowed the older edition. In fact it can be said to be a classic ” in the literature on the training of defective Children. The new edition contains a biographical note on the life of the Author, together with her portrait. An appendix which has been added to this edition contains lists of equipment for schools for iow-grade defectives, lists of suitable apparatus, suggested time- tables, lists of useful books, etc.

International Conference on Social Work

The Second International Conference on Social Work will be held at Frankfurt-on-Main in July, 1932. The general theme of the Conference will probably be ” Social Work and the Family ” to be discussed under the following headings.: ? 1. Public Health and the Family, 2. Economic Insecurity and the Family, 3. Broken Homes, 4. Social Insurance and Social Work in the Home, 5. Social Work for Alien Families. For further information about this Conference, application should be made to the British Institute of Social Service, 32, Gordon Square, London, W.C.i. The Nervous Temperament The Industrial Health Research Board have recently issued a Report under the above title. The Report is the result of an investigation made by Dr Millais Culpin and Miss May Smith, D.Sc., into the incidence of nervous symptoms in various groups of workers and their mode of expression in work. Over 1,000 people, including clerical workers in Government Depart- ments and commercial firms, factory workers, people in administrative posts and students, were interviewed personally at their work. In addition to being interviewed, each subject was tested with the McDougall-Schuster dotting machine for the testing of sustained voluntary attention and muscular control. It is difficult to summarise the findings but it is surprising to find such a high proportion as 50% of employees displaying nervous symptoms. The Report is interesting and the application of Research of this kind to industry is of great importance. The Report (No. 61) can be obtained from H.M. Stationery Office, price 1/- net.

Conference on Mental Welfare, December, 1930 The Conference on Mental Welfare organised by the C.A.M.W. and held in the British Medical Association House on December nth, 12th and 13th, was well attended and over 400 delegates, representative of Local Authorities, Local Education Authorities and other Statutory and Voluntary Bodies were appointed. In his opening address, the Rt. Hon. Arthur Greenwood, Minister of Health, emphasised most strongly the immense value of co-operation between statutory and voluntary bodies in the cause of mental health, and urged members of Local Authorities present to further such co-operation. Papers and discussion on questions dealing with the Mental Treatment Act, Mental Deficiency Acts, the Need for an Enquiry into Causation and Prevention of Mental Deficiency, and on School Re-organisation as it affects the Retarded Child were closely followed and the Conference was generally considered to have been of real practical value.

A full report, containing all papers read, and a verbatim account of the speeches and discussion is being published and may be obtained, price 3/6 post free, from the C.A.M.W., 24, Buckingham Palace Road, S.W.i. An order form is enclosed in this journal. It is hoped that the report will be ready by the middle of February.

In response to many requests the report of the Friday Afternoon Session, when the subject of Sterilisation was discussed, is also being published separately. Price 1/3 post free. Woodside Nerve Hospital The Woodside Nerve Hospital, Muswell Hill, London, N.io, has been recently opened by the Governors of St. Luke’s Hospital as an endeavour to establish a modern institution, free from official control, for the treatment of functional nervous and kindred disorders. The latest forms of scientific treat- ment, including hydrotherapy and electrotherapy of all kinds have been pro- Vlded and the hospital will be served by its own specially trained medical and nursing staff. All Capital expenditure in building and equipment has been borne by St. Luke’s but the current expenses will be borne largely by the patients themselves according to their means. The standard fee has been fixed provisionally at 5 ^ guineas a week but appropriate reductions will be granted at the discretion of the Governors to the less fortunate of the educated classes for whom it is primarily intended.

The hospital stands in grounds of some 6 acres on an elevated position rising to the north at Muswell Hill. The Physician-in-Charge is Dr R. Withers Gilmour, who has had the care of the St. Luke’s wards at the Middlesex Hospital. Eugenic Sterilization A Second Edition of the pamphlet ” Eugenic Sterilization ” has been issued by the Eugenics Society. This pamphlet contains the text of the pro- posed Bill which has been provisionally drawn up by the Eugenics Society as best satisfying what it considers are the eugenic requirements. Major A. G. Church, M.P., D.S.O., M.C., B.Sc., has consented, when a favourable opportunity occurs, to introduce the Bill in the House of Commons under the ten minutes rule. Copies of the pamphlet may be obtained from The Eugenics Society, 20, Grosvenor Gardens, London, S.W.i, price 6d.

Research Scholarship

The following notice of a Scholarship offered for Research in Mental Disease appeared in The Lancet of January 10th: ? The Joint Board of Research for Mental Diseases (University of Bir- mingham and City Mental Hospital Committee) invite applications for a Scholarship in Mental Disease of the value of ^250 per annum. The Scholarship is for one year but renewable for another year or more. The Scholar will be required to carry out Histological investiga- tions under the Director in the laboratories of the Board. No previous experience is essential beyond the Bacteriology and Histology of the Medical Curriculum.

Preference will be given to a recently qualified medical man or woman desirous of taking up this line of research. Applications endorsed ” Research Scholarship ” with copies of testi- monials must be received by the undersigned not later than January 24th, T93T- E. Eyles, Hon. Secretary, The Council House, Birmingham.

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