526 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



4. Would the danger of deposit on the land, or of tear- 

 ing up, in times of heavy rainfall, be of no serious im- 

 portance ■? 



In conclusion, it must be admitted that the question of 

 disposal in Wellington is purely a matter of cost. From a 

 sanitary point of view either broad irrigation or direct dis- 

 charge into Cook Strait will abundantly satisfy the require- 

 ments of public health, and no sentimentalism such as is in- 

 dulged in by Victor Hugo, in deploring the sin of casting 

 human refuse into the sea, should be allowed to weigh in 

 favour of a sewage farm if it cannot show a reasonable prospect 

 of affording an adequate return. 



We have listened to this eloquent writer, who warns us 

 that nations are pouring their substances drop by drop into 

 the sea ; but we have also listened to Malthus, who warns us 

 that population is increasing so fast that we shall soon be packed 

 like sardines in a tin ; and to Sir James Hector, who main- 

 tains that we are exporting our wealth in the shape of flesh 

 and bones to other lands ; and to astronomers, who declare 

 that we are dropping inch by inch into the sun. We believe 

 that this is all quite true, but cherish in our souls the thought 

 that all these things are in the wisdom of creation so designed 

 that when all nature's storehouses are exhausted, and we are 

 struggling for foothold on some rocky shore, in a moment, in 

 the twinkling of an eye, we shall fizzle in the sun. 



Art. LXI. — Tuberculosis in Man and Animals. 

 By Dr. Ch apple. 



\_Bead before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 11th October, 



1893.] 



The most distinctive feature in the practice of modern medi- 

 cine is the public demand for, and the jDrofession's willingness 

 to impart, instruction in the nature and causes of disease. This 

 is the natural outcome of the rise and progress of preventive 

 medicine — a science pre-eminently the people's, for only when 

 its truths are understood and appreciated by the public will 

 the good fruits of this beneficent science be fully manifested. 

 The practice of one hundred years ago was almost exclusively 

 curative ; but more real good has accrued to humanity, more 

 disease has been controlled, and more happiness promoted by 

 preventive measures in State medicine, and prophylactic treat- 



