GENERAL CABLES.

Gisborne Times, Volume VI, Issue 283, 9 December 1901, Page 1

GENERAL CABLES.

By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright LONDON, Dec. 6—The torpedo-boat destroyer Wizard has been in collision outside Portsmouth. Her bows were twisted. The Standard Oil Trust, of which Mr Rockefeller is the head, has purchased the Shell Transport Company for twelve million pounds sterling, thus acquiring a monopoly of the oil with Africa, Borneo, and the East Indies. In a libel action brought by the Werner Beit Company, a well-known South African mining company aeainst A. B. Markham, member for Mansfield, as the result of charges made by him in the House of Commons on March 19 last, the Judges struck out the hulk of Markham’s pleas of justification for libel on the grounds that allegations of political profligacy unfairly prejudice the plaintiffs. WASHINGTON, Dec. 6.—Senator Hoar advocates the setting aside of an international island, restricted to anarchists, where they may test their own theories. BERLIN, Dec. 6.—The Dresden Savings Bank has failed. The deposits amount to over seven million marks. BRISBANE, Dec. 7.—Mr J. Mills and his wife were passengers by the Moana. Mr Mills states that while in England lie arranged contracts for two new steamers for the Union Company, a 4500-ton vessel for the intercolonial trade and one of 8500 tons for the New Zealand-Calcutta trade. He arranged with the Canadian-Pacific Co. to send an experienced passenger as agent to' Australia. He would make Sydney his headquarters. SYDNEY, December 7.—The tailoresses’ strike has been officially declared off. MELBOURNE. December 7.—ln the House of Representatives the composite duties on hats, caps, umbrellas, and parasols was replaced by a 30 per cent duty. Tents, tarpaulins, and flags were placed on the free list. A deputation of Queensland members urged Mr Barton to reinstate the duty on timber used for butter-boxes, urging that suitable timber sufficient for all demands grew in Queensland. Mr Barton promised consideration o' the matter. Mr Deakin is of the opinion that the Commonwealth will have to take over the cable agreements made m the various States. I-Ie will decide next week The block 14 Mining Company las notiiied a reduction of wages similar to block 10. The Chillagoe Company directors have decided to suspend mining and smelting operations pending the procuring o' additional capital. PERTH, Dec. 7.—Two 'Nthc Ministers in the recently-forme i Cabinet— Mr Wilson, Minister for Railways, and Mr Moss, Colonial Secretary,—were defeated at the polls. Mr Morgan, the i Premier, is sa c e for his seat, though the figures are not complete. A fire at Kalgoorlie destroyed two hotels and two large business premises. The extent of the damage is not yet krown.

That which characterises modern surgery is its tendency to progressively invade the dominion of medicine. Every day surgery appropriates a little here, a little there, and where we expect to see the physician we now find the energetic surgeon. The druggists suffer therefrom, but the sick find it an excellent change. Take one by one the greater part of our organs and see the bistoury replace the prescription and tiie plaster in a great many cases. One or two examples will suffice. A few years ago, when one had a cancer in- the stomach tiie physician was powerless to help the sufferer, who gradually wasted away. To-day the physician diagnoses a cancer in the stomach, and calls to his assistance a surgeon, who opens the stomach and does not hesitate when necessary to cut away, the entire organ.

There is another affection called the round ulcer of the stomach, which often perforates the stomach, and is followed by acute peritonitis, frequently fatal. In this case the physician is again powerless, and it is necessary to rely entirely upon the surgeon. Leaving diseases of the stomach, the case of appendicitis is noteworthy. This has passed from the hands of physicians into those of surgeons exclusively. Physicians have not readily given place to surgeons in this matter, and the battle lias been savage, but notwithstanding these cases have become to-day the work for surgeons.

Other cases might he mentioned in which the surgeon has replaced the physician as in pulmonary gangrene, surgery of the heart, aud even surgery of tho nervous system. Thus sciatica is cured by the elongation of the sciatic nerve. This operation, however, is nothing compared to the extirpation of the ganglion of Gasser, which cures certain forms of neuralgia of the face, the sufferings from which are so intense as to irequentiy drive to suicide. To find the ganglion of Gasserlt is necessary to trepan the skull cuL into the meningen, raise the mass of the brain, and go deep into the box of the skull. Epilepsy is cured by the resection of the large sympathetic nerve, and microcephaly by a circular resection of tiie skull, which is too small for the progress of the developing Drain. Remark that the progress of the modern surgery does not date back further than twelve years, and already half of the field of the physician has passed to the surgeon.