PERSONAL INTELLIGENCE.

The following gentlemen were called to the Bar on April 29th Mancherjee Merwanjee Bhownaggree, of Elphinstone College, Bombay (Lincoln's Inn); P. V. Ramasawmi Raju, B.A., Madras (Inner Temple); Ardeshir Kawasjee Settna, Bombay University (Middle Temple).

Philip S. Brito, M.B. Aber., of Ceylon, late Demonstrator of Anatomy in the Aberdeen University, has been admitted member of the Royal College of Surgeons, having undergone the necessary Examinations for the Diploma.

Mr. Judu Money Ghose has taken the B.Sc. degree of the University of Edinburgh in the department of Physical Science.

Kumar Bhabendra Narayan, of Cooch Behar, has passed the First Examination for the triple qualification of L.R.C.P. and L.R.C.S. of Edinburgh, and L.F.P. and S. of Glasgow. He obtained First Class certificates of Honours in (1) Anatomy, (2) Practical Anatomy, (3) Chemistry, (4) Practical Chemistry.

Mr. Bholanath Bose has taken the double qualification of L.R.C.P. and S. Edinburgh.

Mr. Merwanjee Nowrojee Gandevia, Bombay, has passed the Examination in the science and practice of Medicine of the Society of Apothecaries, London.

Mr. Arthur Chuckerbutty, in the First Periodical Examination of Selected Candidates of 1884 for the Indian Civil Service, has received the Prize in Hindustani, value £10.

Mr. Eusuf Ali Khundkar has joined the Middle Temple.

Arrivals. Mr. N. A. Moos, Professor in the College of Science, Poona; Mr. K. K. Panthaji, Mr. N. D. Allbless, from Bombay; Mr. Eusuf Ali Khundkar, from Bengal.

Departures. Mr. A. K. Settna, Barrister-at-Law, for Bombay; Mr. P. V. Ramasawmi Raju, Barrister-at-Law, for Madras; Mr. Bholanath Bose, for Calcutta.

Judicial Commissioner of British Burma, and late President of the Educational Syndicate.

The account given in the June number of this Journal of "Medicine among the Burmese," by Dr. Cullimore, must, as the learned writer hopes, be of great interest to all who care for the welfare of the agreeable and light-hearted Burmese people. The state of things described as existing about Mandalay when Dr. Cullimore was there, seems to have been almost as dismal as the medical experiences of the Barnabite Friar Sangermano (1792-1808), whose Description of the Burmese Empire has just been reprinted, under my editorship, at the Rangoon Government Press. In my Note on Italian Missions, appended to that work, it will be seen that about the year 1728 the Mission contained a Brother Capello, who was "a clever chemist, skilful in surgery and medicine;" while later on, in 1767, one Father Carpani was not only appointed judge over the Europeans at Rangoon by the native King, but also employed himself in teaching and practising medicine. When he left, a Christian Burman was found who had some skill in medicine. In Cardinal Wiseman's Preface to the first edition of Sangermano it is stated that in 1833 there was a young Burman practising as a surgeon in Rome.

At the present time there is one Burmese gentleman practising at Moulmain, who is indebted for his medical education to the American Baptist missionaries, who sent him to America for that purpose. The Syndicate, anxious to encourage native talent, has several times employed him as an Examiner.

While the above facts shew that the medical wants of the Burmese have not been wholly neglected, there is a good deal of evidence to prove that very little advance has been made in medical teaching under British Rule. A Rangoon correspondent, in the Medical Press of May 6th last, states that the ignorant treatments which Sangermano condemned are still used round about Rangoon. Women are still roasted for ten or fifteen days after childbirth: excessive drugging prevails, and the pseudo-science consists of empirical guess-work, mingled with a belief in astrology and charms. What Dr. Cullimore relates of Mandalay is substantially true of Rangoon and the country districts around. In a case which I tried at the Assizes a few years ago, it was proved that the native saya or doctor, with a view to render a patient safe from drowning, had tattooed a picture of a bird on his thigh, after which the patient, so embellished, was tied hand and foot, and kicked into the river for experiment, and so drowned. The correspondent of the Medical Press complains that, although the Judicial Commissioner has excluded ignorant persons from the practice of the law by imposing an examination in legal subjects conducted in the English language, any person, however ignorant, may practise as a doctor without examination, control, or even registration.

As Dr. Cullimore states, there are no medical schools in Burma; and although one or two Burmans have been sent by Government to study medicine in the Indian Colleges, no impression has yet been made on the general ignorance. It is true that there are Civil Surgeons with hospitals and dispensaries under their care, and no doubt the Burmans have means of seeing the superior efficacy of the European skill and method; but these surgeons are foreigners, and even the assistants and compounders are Bengalees and Madrasees. It is as if the London hospitals were supplied with dressers from Copenhagen and Lisbon.

The Indian books mentioned by Dr. Cullimore and by Dr. Forch-hammer, in his Jardine Prize Essay, are by no means sound manuals of medicine; they belong to ancient Brah

manic times, and there are no manuals of modern medicine in the Burmese language. The study of law is in the same deplorable condition: there are no Burmese treatises on contract, tort, or evidence; and I fear some years will elapse before any Burman will endow his native literature with any translation or original work on these subjects. The cause of this apathy is the general absence of any advanced education. No progress can be made except through the reading of English works; but very few Burmans know English well enough to understand properly any technical work in the English language. In a population of nearly four millions in the British territory, one person has taken the degree of B.A. There is no LL.B., and it is only in the last three or four years that a few have passed the first examination in Arts of the University of Calcutta. Among ninety-two who went up to an easy examination in surveying, not one passed; only one passed of eighteen who tried to be admitted as Advocates of the lower grade. The Examiners reported that most of them could hardly write English, the standard of general education being deplorably low.

These facts are the more remarkable because the state of primary education in Burma is far better, so far as the male population is concerned, than in the other provinces of the Indian Empire. The Census Report shows that fiftythree per cent. of the males are either able to read and write, or are at school. Ten per cent. of the males are under instruction. Burma is stated to be on a level with Western Europe, coming between Belgium and Austria. The Census Officer attributes this excellent result to the monastic system of the Buddhist religion. There are thousands of monasteries where the monks instruct the boys in the three Rs: out of 88,553 children in inspected schools, 65,320 belong to the schools of these monks. Under the wise policy of Sir Arthur Phayre, the indigenous system has been kept up; the State department is an auxiliary and regulative machine by its side. At the same time, there are many excellent schools belonging to the various Christian missions, whose energy in respect of education is beyond all praise. The question then arises, how advanced education should have made so little progress. Why should there be such difficulty in procuring candidates fit for such well-paying professions as the law, medicine, and the subordinate Civil Service?

My own opinion is, that Burma has suffered from the want of endowments and scholarships, and from the absence during the past of anything like a Local Board of Education, in which the heads of the Missionary Colleges, the members of the learned professions, and the leaders of the native world, could meet to discuss, and provide for the change of things which the British Government has brought in its train.

Till lately there were no scholarships for advanced students; and such as there are, are nearly all found by Government, and are charges on the Budget. Under a merely official system, the Burmans were not tempted to subscribe any money for such purposes; indeed, they were never asked to do so, while the idle sneers of the utilitarians, who ridiculed the donations for religious purposes, merely hurt the better feelings of the best of the people. Things are changing, however, and the credit for a very large reform is due to Mr. Bernard, the present Chief Commissioner.

On the 25th August, 1881, Mr. Bernard constituted a Local Board, called the Educational Syndicate, "for the purpose of directing and controlling the public examinations under the grant-in-aid rules, and for promoting the study of medicine, engineering, law, and technical arts." The Director of Instruction and some of his subordinates got seats, but so did the local Judges and the Civil Surgeon, while the missionary bodies got full representation, and a large proportion of the native element was also included. The Roman Catholic Bishop, Bigandet, a scholar of European reputation, consented to be Vice-President; and I gladly became President in hopes of smoothing the road the officials and non-officials were to travel together. We met for the first time at a public breakfast; and for some time, until Mr. Bernard handed over to us a splendid hall, our meetings were held in my drawingroom, which was convenient on hot afternoons, as it enabled my wife to supply us with tea and cakes. In a few months, the examination system was remodelled; the Karen language was included, and a Vernacular middle-school test established. In February, 1882, the Syndicate determined to establish a Public Library; at the formal opening many Buddhist monks attended in state. It now contains about 3,000 volumes, and my time in England has been utilised to expend above £300 given by the Government for other books. In this way the very best books of reference-the classics,