k\2 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I^Ki I I.I 2.5 2.2 2.0 S.8 1-25 ||l.4 III 1.6 ^ ^ 6" ► Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ^ •s^ \ iV [V ». ^'^"- ^< (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol y (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Un des symboles sulvants apparattra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — ► signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too la. je to be entirely included In one exposure ara filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate tha method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmfo it des taux de rMuction diff Arents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reprodult en un seul cliche, il est film* A partir de I'engle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessalre. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mtthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 \n B )X r SCIENTIFIC ASPECT OF THE ALCOHOL QUESTION. THEEE PAPERS READ IN FAVOUR OF THE (Unifral ^^ction of tlje i^lrurclj of (Knglanb C^mp^ranw ^ortit^, BY PROF. C. (lORDON RICHARDSON, DR. COVERNTON, AND DR. T. F. McMAHON, AT THE GENERAL CONFERENCE livUl in i>t4 James' Sclioolhoiusc, May 1887. 1887. A. C. WINTON * CO. 2H, Adelaide Street (Winton Chambers), Touonto. r > '• >-. k •< m % ** r SCIENTIFIC ASPECT OF THE ALCOHOL QUESTION. V « w^ i .< 4 '^ BY G. GORDON RICHARDSON, PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY IN THE ONTARIO VETERi:'"Ry COLLEGE. My Lord Bishop : Ladies and Gentlemen : — I have been asked to speak at this Conference on behalf of the "moderate wing" of the Society. I accepted the proposal with pleasure ; first, because I deemed it right that we should give our reasons for temperately using, for dietetic and beverage pur- poses, alcoholic stimulants, more especially as it is a custom often questioned at the present day ; and, secondly, because I am convinced from long study of the question that medical and scientific opinion is overwhelmingly in favour of moderation. But, it may be objected, many doctors are in favour of total abstinence. Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes once said that " medicine, professedly founded upon observation, is as sensitive to outside influences, political, religious, philosophical, imaginative, as is the barometer to changes in atmospheric density." The majority of practitioners are often, it is to be feared, too easily swayed by popular public opinion, to be the true guides in this queston, their practice depending largely, as it does, from day to day, upon their standing in the 'shurch or in society. If then we would obtain an opinion luibiasea by the influences mentioned by Prof. Holmes, we must have recourse to the authorities inmedical and chemical science, the authors of the " text" worksr and the Professors in the leading universities of Europe and the States, though even these reflect in some degree the feelings, political and otherwise, of the times. To the opinions of such I shall confine myself this afternoon, fear- lessly challenging our opponents to produce a like array from the accepted exponents of medicine and chemistry. It has been stated that alcohol is not a food. On more than one occasion' I have had to point out the falsity of such an assertion, and to detail the reasons, chemical and medical, which decide against such an aftisumption. Let me refer you to Dr. B. Brudenell Carter, F.B.C.S., the eminent eonsult- ing surgeon of London (Eng.), who recently said i^i the Contemporary Review :• " If we come to inquire in what way this small dose (half a wine-glaBsfn] of' brandy or whiskey) exerts a beneflciqkl action, we are at once met on the part of many of the advocates of total abstinence by the assertion that alcohol is not a food. I have no inclination for a controversy about words ;. but if we may accept Johnson's definition of food as 'anything which nourishes,' I do not hesitate to say that the advocates of total'abstinenoe are mistaken. I have recorded a case in which an old gentleman took no other food for many months, and was kept not only alive but in moderate strength and comfort, and with no remarkable emaciation, upon alcoholic drinks alone. He liked variety, and rang the changes upon champagne, old port, brandy, the strongest Burton ale and other liquids, some of which contained a certain amount of saccharine matter, but not enough to maintain life as he maintained it. Cases of a similar kind are recorded by the late Dr. Anstie and others; and nothing is more certain than that people will live upon alcohol and water for long periods. The evidence by which this is proved^ seems to me altogether to outweigh the opinions of those who declare that al- cohol is not food, or no better grounds tnan that they are unable to discover 2 how it nourishes, or what transformation it nndergoes within the body." In the same well known publication we have the testimony of the famous physi- ologist, T. Lauder Brunton, M.D., F.R.C.P., F.R.S. "We will first consider what claims alcohol has to be reckoned as a food, and perhaps this can be best done by comparing it with a substance like sugar, whose claim to the title of food no one doubts. If we find that alcohol possesses those qualities which '.entitle sugar to rank as a food, we must admit that it also deserves the name. Sugar disappears in the bodv as the fuel does in the steam-engine; and although it will not support life, if given alone, yet along with other food it will supply energy for increased work, or p' ""vent the body from wasting. In these points alcohol resembles sugar. It disappears in the body; and although it will not of itself support life entirely, yet instances are on record of persons having lived for a considerable time with scarcely any other food. Hammond observed also, that when his diet was insufiicient, the addition of a little alcohol to it, not only prevented him from losing weight as he had previously done, but converted this loss into positive gain. The objection may be urged that some observers have found alcohol pass out unchanged from the body and that it therefore cannot be ranked as a food. But the same ob- jection applies to sugar, for the experiment*' just referred to were made with large quantities of alcohol, anu wuvr< m''.oti sugar is taken at once, it will also be excreted unchanged." ■ Bearing witness to the same we also have C. B. Badcliff, M.D., F.B.C.P. .(formerly Lecturer on Materia Medica, Westminster Hospital) : " Alcohol, proper- ly used, is of great service, partly in|keeping up the animal heat by supplying easily kindled fuel to the respiratory fire, partly in producing nerve-power by furnishing easily assimilable /ood to nerve-tissue, and ^pskrtly in lessening the necessity for ordinary food by diminishing the waste of the system which has to be repaired by food. " Prof. James C. White testified before a joint committee X)f the Mass. Legislature in 1867, some years after the experiments and errone- .ous conclusions of the three French chemists, Messrs. Lallemand, Perrin and puroy had been published. In reference to their conclusions that alcohol should not be classed as a food, he said: " They offered no evidence whatever. " " There is evidence from their physiological action that under some circum- stances, they act as food, in the same way for instance, as beef-tea does; their effects are precisely the same as food judging by their effects alone." To the question, " Is, or is not the theory of alcohol being a food generally accept- ed by physiologists?" he answered, "I think that it is." Prof. E. N. Horsford, M.D., Ph.D., the well known chemist, testified before the same committee that, "alcohol comes under the head of respiratory food, which incUides starch and oil. Perhaps the most recent experiment that has been performed is an experiment going to show that all these classes of bodies .do actually fulfil the office of food, and that they do enable a man to perform feats of strength which he could not otherwise do. Dr. Edward H. Clark again. Professor of ^.ateria Medica in Harvard might be quoted to the same effect. Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Parkman Professor vof Anatomy And Physiology in Harvard, stated before the committee that al- coholic drinks had a proper use both dietetically and medicinally, and in answer to the question, "In what way do they act dietetically?" answered, ** They act .as food." Professor Henry J. Bigelow, M.D., said that he had " no doubt that they did perform the office of food, " and attributed their good effect to the " alcohol in .combination with the other ingredients." To the question, "Do you believe that the ordinary usages of society require the use of stimulants? " answered •"Undoubtedly, like all other habits, this habit is liable to excess. " "Is that the strongest remark you would make?" " I should say that exoess is not a good thing, but for a Uttle excess you will find a vast amount of wine drinking, .and the stimulus on the whole to the advantage of the individual. " " On ,the whole, you yrould say that the drinking usages of ihe community ;about us are to be reprob^tsd or deplored?" "Deplored? No, sir," was the ^decided reply. T .» f ♦ • * J.,. « I " I * T • In T »• 'If ♦. • * I '« *« » /w « . Professor C has. T. Jackson, M.D., formerly Prof, of Chemistry at Harvard, said that "alcohol and all alcoholic liquors act as foods" and in reply to the question whether the question of alcohol acting as food we s unresolved? an- swered, "I do not consider it unresolved. It is not so considered by scienti- fic men generally. There may be some doubts raised by some persons; but I think that the opinion of scientific men generally is the same on that point." Dr. Anstie, the celebrated physiologist and writer, and late Prof, of Toxico- logy at Westminster Hospital, in his classical work on "Stimulant Narcotics'' gives undoubted proof that alcohol should be classed as food. Dr. Pavy, in his recent work on "Food and Dietetics," afte^ lengthy references to A istie and Dupre, says, "From a review of the evidence as it at present stands, it may reasonably be inferred that there is sufficient before us to justify the conclu- sion that the main portion of alcohol ingested becomes destroyed within the system ; and, if this be the case, it may be fairly assumed that the destruc- tion is attended with oxidation, and a corresponding liberation of force." But, to close the question of the " food" value of alcohol, let me refer you to the " Manual of Dietetics " just issued from the pres.4, and from the pen of J. Milner Fothergill, M.D., of Edinburgh: "These last, and their names are both numerous and weighty, hold that alcohol is largely burnt in the body by oxidation, and is therefore a * fuel-food.' Personally, after very consider- able attention to the subject, I must say that I am among those who hold * that the chief portion of the alcohol ingested undergoes consumption in the body.' " It is therefore, according to the latest authority on dietetics, to be classed with the starches and fats. And here I would like to draw the attention of this audience to the fact that, from the time of Anstie down to the present, no authority on dietetics has questioned the above. So much for its being a food. Yet many of our opponents say, " It can not be food, for it is eliminated from the body unchanged." I need only say in reply, that the authorities just quoted are more recent than the three French chemists whose erroneous conclusion embraced in the foregoing has long since been repudiated. Even Dr. Bichardson has the common honesty to give that argument up. In his Cantor Lectures he admits the fact that alcohol is decomposed in the body ; nay, more, vhat it may be and is manu- factured in the body. " In plain words Dr. Dupre's discovery suggests that no man can be in strict scientific sense, a non-alcoholic, inasmuch as, will he n'ill he, he brews in his own economy, a ' wee drap.' It is an innocent brew certainly ; but it is brewecT, and the most ardent abstainer must excuse it, ' Argal, he ^hat is not guilty of his own death shorteneth not his own life.' The fault, if it be one, rests with Nature who, according to our poor estimates, is no more faultless than the rest of her sex." Another favourite assertion of the teetotallers is that " because alcohol is Soisouous in excessive quantities, it must of necessity be injurious in small OSes." It would fare ill with humanity if this logic were sound, for it can readily be shown that there is nothing in the nature of an alimentary princi- ple which is not injurious in excessive quantities. Salt, an article indispen- sable to the sustenance of life, is, when taken in excess a virulent poison. Orfila mentions several cases of death by its agency. Vinegar, mustard, pepper, tea, coffee, all ocmtain principles which, taken in excess, are poison- ous, and if the above logic were sound their use would be highly reprehensible. But this is my opinion, you say. It is the opinion of the vas^ iaa|oritv of physiologists and chemists. It is the opinion of Brunton, Anstie, Dhpre, Thudiohum, Pavy, Moleschott, King Chambers, and the many other author- ities I have already quoted. Let us hear the Queen's physician on this Eoint, Sir James Paget, Bart., F.R.C.S., D.C.L., L.L.D., F.R.S. :— " Then we ave some deductions from physiological observations which are supposed to indicate a mischief in even habitual moderation. But some of these are really such that, if in the place of 'alcohol' we were to read ' common salt,' we should be led to conclude, if it were not for the experience to the contrary, that we are destroying ourselves by the daily excessive use of a material which, in ita excess, can alter the constitution of our blood or the permea- bility or other properties of our tissues." "But still," say our objectors, "if taken in moderation it may do no harm, still surely there can be no advan- tage in individual or even national indulgence." Surely our opponents are in a Carl lean humour, and take the people to be "mostly fools." What says Sir Jap.es Paget ? " The beliefs of reasonable people are doubtless by a large majority favourable to moderation rather than abstinence, and this should not be reg. rded as of no weight in the discussion." ..." Thus, then, from all the witnesses to the evils of intemperance, we fail to get any clear evidence that there is mischief io moderation. Looking further, we find in them certain indications that it is, on the whole, generally benei^cial." . . . " I have dealt with the question between temperance and abstinence entirely from the side from which my profession has enabled me to study it, so far as may justify my giving an opinion on it. My study makes nie sure as I would ever venture to be on any such question, that there is not yet any evidence nearly sufficient to make it probable that a moderatv^ use of alcoholic drinks is generally, or even to many persons, injurious; and that there are sufficient reasons for believing that such an habitual use is, on the whole and generally, beneficial. But as I have said, there are many, who, even fithey would admit this, would yet maintain that the mischiefs of intemperance are so much greater than any conceivable advantages of moderation, that we ought not to promote o|r defend moderation, because its promotion hinders the general adoption of total abstinence, which they i^ay, is the necessary and only sure ' remedy for intemperance. Here I can only doubt. I should think that in this, as in other things lawful yet tempting to excess, the discipline of modera- tion is better than the discipline of abstinence. As to working power, whether bodily or mental, there can be no question that the advantage is on the side of those whose who use alcoholic drinks. And it is advantage of this kind which is most to be desired. Longevity is not the only or the best test of the value of the things on which we live. It may only be a long old age, or a course of years of idleness or dullness, useless alike to the individual and the race. That to be most desired is national power and will for good working and good thinking and a long duration of life fittest for these ; and facts show that these are more nearly attained by the people that drink alcohol than by those who do not. " Then the well-known metropolitan surgeott, Alfred B. Garod, M.D., F.B. C.P., F.B.S. : — "The majority of adults can take a moderate quantity of alco- hol in some form or other, not only with impunity, but often yrJih advantage." Professor Albert J. Bemays, Ph.D., consulting chemist and anaiyal lo ilie city of London, say, that " If alcohol slay thousands, water has also its victims, and they are often the best of the race. The experience of mankind is better than individual experience, and so for every medical man of distinction who is in favor of total abstinence, I would find twenty who would be against it. And if a man is observant of himself and is temperate in all things, he is a better judge of what agrees with him, under ordinary circumstances than any physician can be. The principle I contend for is moderation rather than ab- V :'. > ., stinence." Even the scientist, so often quoted by total abstainers in favor of ^tiii>ik«^j'^^P'^'*' 'their particular shibboleth, is not by any means so "sound" on the subject as some of his followers might wish. What, then, does he say. Sir. W. W. Gull, Bart., M.D.,F.R.C.P., D.C.L.,F.R.S., says; — " In advising a young man of sound health as to whether he ought to give up alcohol I should consider his calling. I am not sure that I should not advise an out of -door man, doing a good deal of work, a carter for instance, to take some beer, as a good form of food. I do not think we should be prepared to say that speaking of the labour- ing classes, everybody could go without beer as a food of light kind. " Walter Moxon, M.D., another of the contributers to the Contemporary, stated that he believed that " to a large extent teetotalism lays foremost hold on those who are least likely to become drunkards, and are most likely to want at times the medicinal nse of alcohol, sensitive, good-natured people, of weak constitution, *4 ' ■• 'i V-" • > ■1 ♦ ■ t-4' to whom the sacred eccleaiaat directed hig strange sounding butnecdfal advice. 'B' '\ot righteous over-much, neither make thyself over wise: wny shonldst thou destroy thyself?' " To the great valao of light wines for dietetic purposes numberless chemists, doctors and physiologists have testified. Speaking of clarets. Dr. Pavy says, "They form an exceedingly valuable kind of stimu- lant, both for the healthy and and the sick. There is scarcely any condition in which *hey are likely to disagree. Prof. Radcliff, again, says: "I cannot help saying that he who chooses to urge the p )or to forego the proper use of alcoholic drinks for the simple reason that semi-druukenness and drunkenness are, what they are indubitably, evils of incal- culable magnitude, is no less than culpable — I cannot use a milder term — in a high degree. ... I know that these oersons are actur.'ied by the sincerest wish to do good to their fellow-creature*, and that the;^ are, at worst, no more than wrong- headed ; but I cannot allow that goodness in the advocate (or any particular cause is to be allowed to take the place of noundness in argument. Good wrong- headed people, you must allow, are very daneerous people." Dr. Cuter, again, already quoted :— " We may aisure ourselves by common observation that the moderate consumption of alcohol is useful to many persons, and that it does not produce at least necessarily, or in any but exceptional cases, the dire effects which have been ascribed to it." Dr. Bernays says, also, that the " demands of town life on the nervous system, in the mere struggle for existence, are sufficient reasons for recommending the moderate use of wine." "As to the ability of individuals to exist without the use of stimulants, it is idle to urge," says Dr. Anstie, " that the subject of a carefully prepared experiment can be made to live in apparent health without the use of tho«e substances vulgarly ealled .'nircoties,' if the practical fact be that nations cannot, and never nave been able to do, without them. There is absolutely no period in the history of the world — there is absolutely no nation upon the face of the earth — in which indisputable evidence of their use may not be found." The latest edition of " Chambers's Encyclopsedia," a work of unquestionable authority has the following: — "As life advances, and the circulation becomes languid, wine in moderation becomes an essential, or, at all events, a valuable article of food, and even in early life the physician meets large numbers of towns- people, especially women, engaged in sedentary occupations, who cannot digest the national drink, beer, which is admirably suited to our outdoor labouring {opulatioD, and to persons in higher life who indulge freely in open-air exercise, n such cases the beer is replaced by the more grateful beverage tea, which, how- ever, when t >ken too freely and without sufficient food, often i;ives rise to a form of dyspepsia, which too often impels the sufferer to uek refuge in spirits. In many such cases cheap wine, «»hich may be purchased under the new tariff at from is. 6 J. to 2s. a bottle, mixed with an equal quantity nf water, will be found an txcelltnt substitute for the beer or tea." Then, as to the assertion of a reaction following the taking of a dose of alcohol, and that a renewal and increase in 'he quantity becomes a necessity, there is no more reaction following the ingestion of a proper quantity than the analogous feeling of hunger which follows the full and complete dige^ionofan ordinary meal. What has been termed the "reaction" hat; been proved by Dr. Anstie to be the direct rffect of a narcotic quantity. As to the necessity of increasing the dose, this would be serious were th -re any foundation for the assertion ; but i)t. Anstie has also shown that it is only those who have habituated themselves to the narcotic effects of excessive quantities who are obliged to increase the quantity. Any one who is observant can verify this last for him- self. Do we not see every day men who enter a tavern for the purpose of quench ■ ing a natural' thirst, or to relieve the feeling of fatigue consequent on a hard day's work. To such, the first glass of beer is most grateful, and he turns away, the natural appetite satisfied ; hut he meets a friend, and, in accordance with the per* nicious habit of treating, is asked to have a second glass. He refuses, the other presses, until at last, not to offend a friend (?), he offends his palate and stomach by wriggling down the second glass There is not a man, under such circumstan- ces, but what will not tell you that force was necessary to get down t!' ~' 4 "■ t !:i?.it.~saS!S 9 * • »l4 <»a>» (* f « u p\ r *■■ iwP Drs. Percy, Chambers, Aitken, and many others consider that during the retention of alcohol in the system it exerts an influence for good or evil, and although, in the strict sense of the term, it may not be considered an aliment, it undoubtedly aids the appropriation of aliment under some circumstances, and so far may be regarded as an accessory food in feeble health, or in dis- ease as a medicine. Dr. Harley considers it may be given with advantage when the nervous system is exhausted by an activity in excess of the other bodily functions. As long as a person in ill health takes and digests food better with a small amount of alcohol than without, so long will alcohol be of service to him — in small amounts, aiding digestion ; in larger, checking it. A moderate use of beer ■or of the weaker wines, viz., of the pure unbrandied, well fermented wines may increase appetite and improve nutrition. On the other, hand the use of malt liquors, even when pure and* good, is injurious to persons of sedentarv habits, or unless much exercise is taken in the open air ; bui sound, well fer- mented beer is the best of all dinner drinks for persons of good digestion and working hard in the open air. At the Pennsylvania Sanitary Convention held at Philadelphia, in May, 1886, Prof. Wood read a practical paper on the Hygiene of Old Age, in which he said : " In the overfed American people, the habitual use of wine during youthful or middle age and rigorous health is, we think, an injury rather than a good, but when the powers of fife are failing, when digestion is weak, and the multitudinous small ills of feebleness perr- plex and annoy, one or two glasses of generous wine at dinner aids digestion, quiets for the time being much nervous irritation, and in no way does harm." The sum total of ruin wrought by alcohol in the world is appalling, but it is not lessened by our shutting our eyes to the good that wine pror ^rly used may achieve. When in the aged there is a distinct failure in the vital powers, and especially of digestive power, the call for the use of alcoholic stimulants is, in my opinion, imperative. In the treatment of many forms of disease, alcoholic stimulants, either in the form of brandy or strong wine, is indispen- sable, particularly in diphtheria, when the pulse is failing, and the redness of throat assumes a dusky hue. A child thrr:e years of age may have adminis- tered one or two drams of brandy every hour. In consumption the general •consensus of opinion is certainly not yet in accord with the expressed views of the staff of the London Temperance Hospital on the inutility of stimulants in the treatment of diseases. That for the young and healthy stynulants in any form are entirely unnecessary, and that if indulged in may lead to habitual drunkenness and crime — we have too good reason for knowing. We have also the experience of military and naval surgeons, and of large -employers of labour, that the greatest fatigues, both in hot and cold climates, have been well borne, indeed, best borne by men who took no alcohol in any shape. This has been satisfactorily demonstrated in the expedition to the Red River under the then Colonel Wolseley. One of the officers of the expe- dition has said : " The men were pictures of good health and soldier-like con- dition whilst stationed off Prince Arthur's Landing. The men had fresh beef and potatoes every day. No spirits were allowed throughout the journey to Fort Garry, but all ranks had a daily large ration of tea. This was one of the few military expeditions undertaken by British troops where intoxicating liquors formed no part of the daily rations. " Never had the soldiers of any nation been called on to perform more unceasingly hard work, and it may be confidently asserted without dread of •contradiction, that no men were more cheerful or better behaved in every respect, and, with the exception of slight cases of diarrhoea, sickness was unknown." In conclusion, I would say that it behooves the members of our profession to throw their influence into the scale of great moderation, that they should explain the limit of the useful power of alcoholic stimulants, and demonstrate how easily the line is passed from safety into danger, when it is taken daily as a common or accessory article of food. • ^ . « 10 A PAPER BY DR. MacMAHON. ' My Lord, Ladies and Gentlemen, — The subject under consideration is one in which I have taken a good deal of interest, and it affords me great pleasure to have an opportunity of taking part in this discussion. I am nrmly convince^ that scientific evidence goes to strengthen the contention that alcohol is one of the good gifts of God to \)e received with tnanksgiving ; I believe that its moderate and proper use has been beneficial to mankind, and that only the abuse of it has been productive of ill health, poverty, misery and crime. I must, before entering into this discussion, take exception to the title that has been given to it. "The Scientific* Aspect of Intemperance." The monthly debauch that used to be recommended by our ancestors finds no apologist among the scientists of to-day, and there need be no discussion about the awful evils of intemperance. It would have been more correct to have styled it " The Scientific Aspect of the Alcohol Question," because I, for one, object to speaking from a standpoint that may be represented by some persons as opposed to that of those who argue against intemperance. Probably n»ne of us has pursued any original research on the action of alcohol, and our views have been largely formed from what we have seen and what we have read. I have seen nothing to convince me that the moderate use of alcohol has been in anyway prejudicial to health, and the overwhelm- ing preponderance of the medical evidence I have consulted — and I have consulted a great many eminent authors — is in favour of the doctrine J mode- ration, as opposed to the doctrine of abstinence ; and even those who think it better to abstain under ordinary conditions think it will prove beneficial under a large number of conditions, some of which I shall enumerate in the course of my remarks. Only a few, and of those few only two or three of any eminence favour the extreme position of the teetotalers. The local action of alcohol on the living tissues depends, of course, on the strength of the spirit used. If pure, or only slightly diluted, they become blanched and corrugated, and the natural secretions are checked temporarily. But when properly diluted the flow of saliva is largely increased ; on reach- ing the stomach its vessels dilate— its mucous membrane assumes a rosy red colour, and 'its glands commence to secr?(:e copiously, and a desire for food is felt. So far all is well. Such an action is desirable and beneficial. But if the spirit be too strong, or tb". quantity taken be too great, so as to paralyze instead of stimulate, the whole condition is changed — the mucous mem- brane becomes pale, and a quantity of slimy mucus replaces the normal secretion of gastric juice— app«tiie disappears and nausea and vomiting may supervene. What is to blame for this unfortunate condition ? Is it the liquor ?' No, for we have seen on the authority of Prof. Lauder Brunton that the effect of a proper quantity, properly diluted, is favourable to digestion. We must rather blame either the ignorance of the drinker in using it in too concen- trated a form, or his gluttony in taking too much. The lesson to be derived is to use alcohol only in its diluted form under ordinary circumstances.. Alcohol is the active principle of spirituous beverages, just as theine is of tea, acetic acid of vinegar, or oil of mustard, of o ■ table mustard. To use it undiluted, or only slightly diluted, is about as rational as to use theine instead of tea, or acetic acid m the place of vinegar. Our own experience teaches us how injuriously one's digestion is affected by strong tea, and so great a phy- siologist as Lauder Brunton says that it has a far greater effect in retarding- digestion than even the stronger alcoholic beverages. But because strong tea completely stops the salivary digestion of starchy foods, and very much hin- , ders the gastric digestion of albuminoids, and is one of the greatest causes of indigestion, must we forbid the moderate use of tea properly diluted, and deprive thousands of a beverage which is to them a source of enjoyment andi • \ • il . ( «" Jt^ •V* '<. •■ ^ "• • it. « U • « • ^^ggS^sfSBSmammummmtiis^^ i|il-jg.ii]ll<-]ii 11 ' • • \ • l ** •< » v n,r-t .1. comfort ? And yet a very much stronger case can be made against tea drink-- ing with regard to its action on digestion than against the ordinary alcoholic table beverages. If the stomach is sluggish or temporarily below par from any cause, a glass of ale or wine will aid digestion by stimulating a supply of gastric juice, which ordinary food would not be powerful enough to cause. If you doubt this, try it, you exhausted brain worker, who think alcohol an unmitigated curse, some night when you come home weary and worn out by a long and arduous day's work ; if the result is not gratifying to you and you do alter some of your views, you are one of those whom experience can teach nothing. Alcohol properly used aids digestion in various ways. I quote Lauder Brunton — " It mcreases the appetite, stimulates the secretion of gastric juice, and quickens the movement of the stomach, thus bringing about a more thorough and rapid admixture of the contents of the stomach with the diges' tive juices, and facilitating the expulsion of gases." It has been claimed that alcoholic beverages retard the action of the pep- sine of the gastric juice, and thus have an injurious effect on the digestion of albuminoids in the stomach. But recent investigations have proved conclu- sively, that when the strength of the beverage does not exceed 8o per cent, of alcohol, it has not the slightest retardmg effect, and that under 15 per cent, the effect is very slight. I might refer here to an experiment which is fre- quent'.y performed by so-called temperance lecturers to the wonder and con- sternation of gaping crowds of ignorant and credulous people, who swallow down every word they say. They add some brandy to the white of an egg, and when the albumen is coagulated they hold up the egg, and say — See what a dreadful thing this alcohol is ! it has cooked the egg i They are not honest enough to tell them that the normal gastric juice does precisely the same thing with albumen before digesting it ; thaf tea will coagulate it as surely as does alcohol ; or that we designedly cook our egg in boiling water before eating it. I wonder if these fellows take theirs raw ? I do not contend that healthy stomachs require any alcoholic stimulus, but I see no reason to doubt that a moderate quantity is quite harmless, and that as an adjunct to such foods as, for instance, cheese or lobster, its use will prove decidedly beneficial. An excessive quantity is certain to prove inju- rious. It is impossible to fix a definite quantity, as a moderate dose, which must not be exceeded. Each man's experience must teach him the quantity he may use with benefit and comfort. Garrod thinks that one ounce of alcohol daily may be considered an average daily allowance. This is equal to about eleven ounces of claret, or sixteen ounces of ale. If, then, healthy stomachs do not require it, why use it ? I know no reason except that, as its use in moderation is harmless, they have a right to do that which they find pleasant and agreeable. But it is different with persons with stomachs which are temporarily or permanently below par, e.g., convalescents, anaemic persons, feeble old persons or those exhausted by excessive mental or physical strain. In such cases the food does not sufficiently stimulate the stomach, and the secretion of digestive juices is so small that the food lies like a weight at the epigastrium, causing a feeling of heaviness and torpor, and pj^obably pain and eructations. The diminished sensibility of the stomach can here be beneficially compensated by an extra stimulus, and a glass of ale or wine will restore the normal equi- Ubrium, and quicken the otherwise slow and imperfect digestion. After absorption into the blood, alcohol lessens the power of the red corpuscles to give off oxygen, and therefore tends to lesssen the oxidation of the tissues. As the functional activity of organs and the production of heat in the body depend on the process -of oxidation, any interference with this process is not t likely to be beneficial so long as both are going on in a healthy manner, and not too rapidly. Apparently this constitutes an objection to the use of alcohol in health. But this tendency is counteracted by the acceleration of the circu- lation, and if the quantity taken is small and not too frequently repeated, ( • 12 Brunton says that no harm will result. If frequently taken, however, by persons in average health and with fair digestion, this propert^^ may cause imperfect combustion of fats and their accumulation in the tissues; and excessive drinking may even cause fatty degeneratioa of various organs. The moderate use never causes this fatty degeneration. This property of alcohol of lessening oxidation enormously increases its usefulness m fevers and severe inflammatory diseases, such as pneumonia, when oxidation is going on too rapidly ; it lessens oxidation of the tissues, checks waste, reduces fever, and serves as a readily combustible food requiring no digestion to meet the wants of the organism until the digestive organs are ready to resume their functions. Though it generally quickens the pulse in health, it is a remarkable fact that in fevers the quick pulse generally becomes slower and stronger under its influence, thus economizing the vital power of the heart, and preventing death from exhaustion. While speaking of the action of alcohol on the heart, I might refer to a very ridiculous objection to its use made by Dr. B. W. Richardson. He argues that because alcohol increases the number of beats of the heart, that organ must wear out sooner than if no alcohol were used. If he had extended the same reasoning to football and cricket, he would have seen how ridiculous it is. Alcohol dilates^the superficial capillaries of the body, thus causing a larger surface of blood to be exposed to the cooling influence of the air. It should, therefore, not be taken before prolonged exposure to cold ; but after the exposure is past, by stimulating the heart, and dilating the contracted vessels it equalizes the circulation, and may prevent a bronchitis or a pleurisy. You will, no doubt, in this discussion, hear great stress laid on the views of Dr. B. W. Richardson — not a very great authority, it is true, but one quoted ad nauseam by teetotalers. I do not wonder at this, for there are so extremely few scientific writers who^ views can be twisted into a condem- nation of moderate drinking that they must either quote him or remain silent. Dr. Carpenter, for whose opinions I have the highest respect, at one time largely supported the views of Dr. Richardson, but in his latter years, when ripe experience triumphed over prejudice, he veiy materially altered his views, and used alcoholic beverages for some years before his death. He recommended malt liquors very highly in cases where the stomach labours under permanent deficiency of digestive powers, and says that " an alcoholic stimulus affords the only means of procuring digestion of the amount of food the system really requires in such cases." Sir Henry Thompson is also a good deal quoted, but be not deceived ! He preached not against the moderate and proper use of wine, but against the sin of gluttony, whether in eating or drinking, and is responsible for the opinion that over eating does more harm than over drinking. It is he also and not Mr. Goldwin Smith, who has said that a meal of fat pork and strong green tea is as apt to make a man beat his wife as an excess of alf'ohol. Per- mit me now to read a few quotations from recognized authorities, not quo- tations tortured out of their connection to secure a catch verdict, but full and candid e.xpressions of opinion from the most eminent authorities. Dr. Garod, the author of the great work on " Therapeutics," says : " Alco- hol when dilute helps digestion. The majority of adults can take a moderate quantity in some form or another,* not only with impunity but often with advantage. To many it is a source of much enjoyment, and as discomfort often springs from its discontinuance, it is difficult to say why it should be dirr^ontinued under ordinary circumstances. Among the nations who do not use alcohol drinks, the use of opium and Indian hemp is extremely common. There are no statistics to prove that abstinence from the moderate use of alco- hol is attended with unusual length of life or improvement of health. Many people are unable to abstain for any length of time on account of their health failing under the trial. They exhibit symptoms which indicate that the nutri- tion of the system is not fully kept up." Dr. James Risdon Bennett, a president of the Royal College of Physicians, • \ »l !•* <*•• .( r^. ^;7r^= — ie,r-ri ~Tairrr-taiT i «TOivii 13 • • ^ ■M-# f "W^ r>. .'*•« writes as follows : " The stomach of one man is offended and irritated by wine and his digestion impeded, whilst the appetite of another is improved and his digestion facilitated. The former is better without alcohol, and he comes into the category of fools if Im takes it ; but the latter has no claim to the character of physician if he abstailTs at the bidding of a mistaken fanatic or mere the- orist. I believe that alcohol has a special advantage over other articles of diet in restoring exhausted nervous power or repairing the waste that has taken place. I believe alcohol to be among the gifts of God accorded to man for therapeutic as well as other beneficial purposes- -to make glad his heart and strengthen his nerves. If every man is to forego his freedom of action because many make a licentious use of it, I know not what is the value of my freedom. If in the case of alcohol as of meat, or any other thing I am to abstain from what I conscientiously believe to be the lawful and beneficial use of it lest I make my brother to offend, my life would be an intolerable burden, worse than that of any ascetic monk that ever lived, and moreover I should be perpetually giving the lie to what I believe to be the truth, that every creature of God is good, and to be received with thanksgiving." Prof. Alfred |. Bernays says: " The experience of mankind is better than individual experience, and for every medical man of distmction in favour of total abstinence, I can produce twenty against it. We often meet a friend in bad health, and, on enquiry, find that it is due to an experiment in teetotalism. " Dr. Gustav Braun, of Moscow, who used to lose 45 per cent, of his opera- tions for cataract, the patients being badly nourished Russian peasants, and his colleague. Dr. Rosander, had the same experience. After trying many tonics, including quinine, without success. Dr. Braun gave a dose of brandy or sherry to every patient after operating, and repeated it two or three times a day for three days. The result was that the number of cases in which the eye was lost fell immediately from 45 per cent, to 6 per cent. Dr. R. Brudenell Carter, the London oculist, says: "I believe the die- tetic use of alcohol to be one which is simply indispensable for the whole of that large class of persons who, while they are subject to large expenditure of nervous force, are unable to digest more than a very moderate quantity of the dietetic equivalents of alcohol in the form of fats and sugar. I am myself among the most moderate drinkers of alcohol ; and, on three separate occa- sions, I have endeavoured to become a t. tal abstainer. Each time my health gave way in the attempt, which now, for some years past, I have *^ot ventured to repeat ; and my experience as a practitioner has taught me that many others are in a similar case." Dr. Pavy, in his great work on Food and Dietetics, bears testimony to the. value of light wines for dietetic purposes, and says that they constitute an exceedingly valuable form of stimulant both for the healthy and the sick. There is an entire absence of any evidence to prove that absti- nence is attended by either longer life or better health. The statistics of tfe Assurance are valueless, because they distinguish between the temperate and intemperate, not between the moderate drinker and the total abstainer. When we compare the longevity of brewers with other craftsmen, we find that they compare very well indeed. Recent European statistics place the average longevity of brewers, bakers and butchers at fifty-four years, and this is next to the highest among craftsmen, gardeners and fishermen, leading with an average longevity of fifty-eight years. United States statistics give a still higher average to brewers, placing it at fifty-seven years. It is well known that brewers are beer-drinkers to a man, and they drink it rather freely and con- stantly, and yet they live much longer and preserve their physical energies, better than the av«;rage workman of the United States. The peasantry of the wine-growing districts of France and Spain, where light, pure wine is drunk like water, are remarkably healthy, and dyspepsia among them is almost unknown. They will compare more than favourabty as regards health with the tea-drinking Americans. t • 14 There is no writer whose views on this subject have a greater claim to respectful consideration than Sir James Paget, and they have special value because he considers the subject from a very broad standpoint, and treats of the effects of the use of alcohol, not on individual^ but on nations. Deduc- tions drawn in this way are less apt to be erroneous than if drawn from a small number of cases. I need not, therefore, make any apology for quoting him at some length. He points out that the opinions of medical men are, by a vast majority, in favour of moderation, as opposed to abstinence, and expresses his conviction that the moderate use of alcoholic beverages is generally beneficial. "The beliefs of reasonable people are," he says, " by a large majority favourable to moderation, and this should be regarded as of weight in this discussion. This readiness to fall in with custom goes far to prove that the evidence of the custom being a bad one is not clear. Its habitual use has been for centuries the custom of a large majority of civilized nations— there is a natural inclina- tion among civilized men to drink, iid in the absence of any clear evidence to the contrary, there must be a presumption that such a natural taste has a purpose for good, rather than for evil. Natural tastes of all creatures for foods and drinks is a guide for good rather than for evil. Doubtless some persons use alcoholic beverages to a mischievous excess ; doubtless many use them to whom even in moderation they are useless or mischievous. But the fact of nearly universal custom is very weighty, and gives a strong presump- tion to the belief that they are beneficially adjusted to natural necessities. This presumption is borne out by a comparison between the races that do not, and those that do use alcoholic beverages. Compare the Eastern races with the Western. The Easterns do not live longer, nor are they healthier, than the Westerns, and as to working power, there can be no question that the ad- vantage is on the side of those who use alcoholic drinks. And longevity is not the test of the value of the things on which we live. What is most desirable is a national power and will for good working and good thinking, and a long duration of the period of life fitted for these, and facts show that these are more nearly .attained by those who drink alcoholic liquors than by those who do not. Again, knowing, as we do, the force of heredity, it is hardly conceivable that if moderation were in any sense mischievous, its evils should not have become evident during a thousand years of the practice. The offspring of thirty genera- tions ought if injured thereby to be below th.e offspring of thirty generations of abstainers, such as the Mohammedans. But the result is the reverse of this. West against East, North against South, the heirs of the moderate drinkers are better men in mind and body then the heirs of the abstainers. In twenty jgenerations every man has, according to Blackstorie,overa million of ancestors, So we see the influence heredity ought to have on each individual. Now if ,the moderate use is to any degree mischievous, or the evil done to any extent transmissible, what should be the condition of every one of us if a measure of .evil had come along each of a million lines, with constantly accumulating and converging force. It would be difficult to find a healthy family born of three successive generations of drunkards. If then healthy families are born after thirty generations of moderate drinkers, how can we fairly charge its moderate u^ with doing mischief? Is it not fair rather to think it probable ^hat it has been beneficial, and one among the conditions to which we owe the ;Still gradually increasing healthiness and working power of our race ? It is a very bad argument to say that because a. large quantity of alcohol Coes a man harm, a smaller quanity will do him some harm though less. The same reasoning has only to be extended to such drugs as quinine, arsenic, strychnia or common salt to show its absurdity. Each of those is a deadly poison in large quantities, whilst properly used quinine cures our ague, arsenic our skin diseases, strychnia is one of our most valued tonics, and x:ommon salt is a necessary of life. " I think that in this, as in all other things lawful yet tempting, the discipline .of moderation i^ better than the discipline of abstinence. It seems un- • . i# .-* ♦ i r t « V 4 r^. ^rt .,. ♦•1 •v .-* 18 reasonable to urge the discontinuance of a custom which is certainly pleasant and probably useful ; and very unreasonable to require temperate persons who are an immense majority of the population, to cease to do that which is lawful, useful and agreeable, in order that the intemperate minority may be induced to cease to do that which is unlawful and mischievous. It would not be less unreasonable to urge that honest people should cease to gain money because there are some misers, thieves and swindlers." So much for Paget. With regard to the remedy for intemperance, apart from religious influ- ences, which must always occupy the first place, I believe that the encourage- ment of the use of the lighter alcoholic beverages, beer and pure unfortified and unadulterated wine will do more for the cause of true temperance than any thing else, certainly much more than all the prohibitory laws that ever disgraced the statute books. Dr. Rush, the father of the temperance movement in America, commended the habits of the Dutch inhabitants of Pennsylvania, saying, " Very few of them used distilled spirits in their families, the drinks being wine, beer and cider." The consumption of whiskey in the United States is only one-third as much per head to-day as in Rush's time — from A.D. i8o5-25, and drunkenness has greatly diminished, though enormously more beer is drunk. We can learn a lesson from the continental temperance societies, whose whole efforts are directed towards repressing the sale of ardent spirits, and encouraging the substitution of pure wine and beer. At the International Temperance Congress, held at Antwerp in Sept. 1885. this was very strongly brought out. The European delegates did not favour a system which makes virtue, not the triumph of self-mastery over vicious desires and inclinations, but the effect of moral tyranny. It was deemed the policy of the penitentiary, whose inmates are negatively virtuous, because the opportunity for vice are removed. In one instance, the Dutch temperance societies set the good example of brewing beer themselves, their chief aim being the production of good malt liquors so as to popularize them. At the Colonial Exposition of Amsterdam, the beer halls conducted by the temper- ance societies did the most thriving business. Superintendents of lunatic and inebriate asylums testified that they scarcely ever saw a cate of insanity or alcoholism due to the drinking of wine or beer. The victims whose ailment was traceable to alcoholic excess were almost invariably drinkers of ardent spirits. Dr. Lancereauxof Paris, said, The remedy for intemperance lies in the use of the fermented beverages. " Beer," said he, " is the best of all — an excel- lent drink." As my paper has already taken up too much time, I shall not trespass on you any longer. I thank you for the patient hearing you have given me. rs-. .-'•t