NEW QUESTIONS IN MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE. 459 



pairing their powers, and abandon its use, especially when they 

 are called to do any particular work. The musician, the actor, 

 the scientist, and the professional and business man very quickly 

 discover the impairments which follow from the use of alcohol, 

 not only over the senses, the volition, the nerve and muscle co- 

 ordination, but the power of clearly realizing the relation of events. 

 The Increased action of the heart from alcohol is of short duration, 

 and is surely followed by diminished sensibility and anaesthesia. 



The vigor and strength supposed to come from alcohol quickly 

 merge into weakness and debility. Hence, the man who is visibly 

 poisoned by alcohol, however slight the degree, has defective 

 senses, defective nerve impressions, defective co-ordination, and 

 defective reasoning. He is literally suffering from the first stages 

 of paralysis, which begins with the senses. He can neither see 

 nor discriminate accurately ; he is always open to the possibility 

 of false impressions and false conclusions, and is unable to correct 

 them. His senses may be but little impaired, but his power of 

 comparison, of analyzing events and their meaning, is faulty. 

 He has anaesthesia of the higher brain centers, which does not 

 appear except from close observation. 



From these general facts the study of the individual case 

 resolves itself into a question of how far the person used spirits, 

 and how much he had drank at or about a certain specified time ; 

 also the circumstances, conditions, and surroundings of the act 

 in question, and the statement of the man ; from this a medical 

 witness can draw accurate conclusions. 



In the two murder cases referred to, other testimony made 

 the statement of the drinking witness doubtful. In the third 

 case a clear alibi was established by the accused. In the other 

 cases, although the evidence of the witness was accepted, there 

 was a strong probability of mistake. The conclusion, which ap- 

 pears to be sustained by all the facts and scientific study of these 

 cases, is as follows : 



The testimony of persons while under the influence of spirits, 

 concerning matters observed by them, and their judgment as to 

 events and their meaning, are never accurate, but always open to 

 sources of error and unconsious self-deception which they are 

 unable to correct. 



The medical expert should have no hesitation in denying the 

 value and truthfulness of all such testimony. 



A second question which has come up recently along this same 

 line of research is more difficult and requires more accurate psy- 

 chological and physiological study. 



It is this : How far are the statements or confessions of per- 

 sons partially intoxicated, or under the influence of spirits, con- 

 cerning their personal acts to be accepted as true and veritable ? 



