it was believed, would be found in the freedom given to the Swiss Medical Officer in his dealings with the men, whose state of health formed so decisive a factor, whether regarded from the medical or the disciplinary point of view. This system had already been applied to the French and Belgian Interned, of whom a considerable number were already in the country when the first contingent of British arrived in May, 1916. I had not had time to ascertain whether it was working well or otherwise, but I quickly realized that, whatever the result may have been as regards our Allies, it would never have any success with our officers or men, neither of whom would willingly accept a divorce in their relations, now that they had once again been happily reunited after the long interval of separation as Ps. of W. in Germany. Moreover, there were difficulties inherent to the situation, which no amount of goodwill on the part of the Swiss would enable them to overcome unaided. The mentality of the British soldier, who, in the absence of his own officers, would probably prove refractory to the enforcement of a discipline to which he was unaccustomed, was a factor to which the Swiss had not given enough consideration. The language difficulty, too, although not insuperable—for the Staff were fairly well conversant with English—was still an obstacle to understanding, and there were many matters connected with the daily life of the British soldier, his customs and habits, which were outside the ken of the Swiss, and for which light and leading could only come from their own officers. The preliminary experience gained in the treatment of our Allied comrades, the French and Belgians, would doubtless prove of value, but that value had to be discounted, for in their case the language difficulty was entirely eliminated, French being the language both of themselves and of their hosts. In thought, customs and habits, likewise, there was no marked difference between our Allies and the inhabitants of that part of Switzerland in which they were located. The same applies to the Germans, for they also were located amongst a population speaking their own language. I seized the earliest opportunity of talking over these matters with Major Dr. Mercanton, the Directing Medical Officer of the region in which Château d'Oex was situated, and pointed out that a strict adherence to the letter of the regulations affecting the position of the British officer in his relations to the men would inevitably add to the perplexities of his Swiss colleagues. Further, that the men would not readily give their adherence to a system which subordinated them entirely to the Swiss, and prevented them from addressing themselves to their own officers when in difficulty.