TRANSACTIONS Ol' Tilli SKCTIONS. TJU 



I'xpecL a bill favourable to physiologilijt.s when the facts were put before tiiem. 

 Home ol" our oppoueuts, led away by tlieir feelings, have put in print many erroneous 

 statements. Ilosts of pamphlets* have been circulated, many of them well meant, 

 biitutterly wrong both in form and matter. For a seasou these pamphlets pro- 

 duced eflects, and many people of good intentions were led astray. But a reaction 

 liegan, and when the leading members of the medical profession came forward 

 boldly and stated their opinions, it was soon completed. 



The only preventive for such casual excitements is the diflusion of Iniowledge. 

 I have no beUef whatever in the theory that most people are fools on questions of 

 this kind. The gi'eat majority of our people of both sexes are perfectly capable of 

 , reasoning and of forming sound opmions. What they require is knowledge, evi- 

 dence, and representations strong enough to overcome the bias of prejudice. I 

 therefore warn om- opponents that if the agitation be continued, we will appeal to 

 the bar of public opinion. We will instruct the public through the press, on the 

 ].)latform, and by the pamphlet, and I have no fear of wliat the issue will be. The 

 i'act that the members of the medical profession who, by Iniowledge and habits of 

 thought, are best competent to judge in this matter, acted as they did, indicates at 

 once the result. 



Importance of teaching Biology. 



This leads me to sav a word as to the diffusion of biological knowledge amon 



n 



the people. I regard this as one of the healthiest signs of our day. A general 

 knowledge of the structure and functions of the human body, of its necessities, of 

 those agencies which act prejudicially upon it, and of those conditions which favom' 

 long life, the relief of pain, the prevention of sickness, and the ti-ansmission of 

 healthy offspring, cannot fail in being of high practical importance. Furthermore, 

 tlie acquisition of knowledge of the general laws of life as seen in the various living 

 things about us, in addition to being an intellectual training of great value, will 

 probably engender a feeling of Idndness for every living thing, and thus even 

 animals will share in the benefit. At one time knowledge of this kind was almost 

 wholly reserved for the medical profession ; but now it is taiight in eveiy vUlage 

 school. The instruction of ladies in a knowledge of the general structure and 

 functions of the human body has recently been successfully carried on in various 

 parts of the country, more especially in Edinburgh and Cambridge ; and I can state, 

 from my own experience of this matter, that there is no diihculty whatever in so 

 treating the subject as to make it interesting and instructive v.-ithout giving it too 

 much of a professional character. The effect of education of this kind will be thnt, 

 within orie or tv\-o generations, many social questions will be viewed more from ti.e 

 physiological standpoint tlian at ])resent ; doctors will be able to give an ijitelligiblo 

 explanation to their patients of their condition, when it is deemed judicious to do 

 so — a feat not easy of performance at piresent; the management of the side will be 

 better attended to on more rational principles ; quackery will waste away by de- 

 grees, because it will have no ignorance and credidity on which to feed ; and legis- 

 lation will be prompted in many instances not by emotional agitations, but by 

 enlightened views of the physical nature of men. 



I cannot help mentioning the name of Professor Huxley in connexion with fjje 

 introduction of this gi-eat subject among our educational apphances, both as (o 

 what should be taught, and how to teach it; and it may not be considered prf- 

 sumptuous in me to predict that this alone will entitle himto a place in the thonghls 

 of posterity. 



rpACTiCAL Aspects of Anatomy and Phy.siology. 



There is an imprestsion in the minds of juariy regarding our scientific work whicli 

 T would like to remove; and here I direct my remarks, not to purely scientific men, 

 but to the public. Many stiU think that anatomy and physiology ha\e no practical 

 hide, and consequently they do not take that interest in their prosecution which 

 they otherwise would do. The results of the triumphs of physics, cheniistrv, and 



