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LIFE IN MONTREAL. [Chap. VII. 



He described the structure of the organ of smell, with the aid of 

 diagrams : and showed some of the uses of that sense, and how 

 it might be impaired or cultivated. " While the taste, the ear, 

 and the eye were highly educated, the nose was entirely neg- 

 lected, and, in fact, a great deal was done to destroy the sense 

 altogether." He then spoke warmly of the defective drainage, 

 etc., of the city, and recommended the establishment of a 

 new Sanitary Society : this was approved by Dr. Dawson and 

 others : and subsequently a requisition was sent to the Mayor, 

 who convened a Town's Meeting, at which a Citizens' Public 

 Health Association was formed, of which Philip was appointed 

 Corresponding Secretary. 



There was urgent need that some step should be taken, as 

 L' Association Sanitaire des Citoyens de la Cite de Montreal 

 had been set on foot by Dr. Coderre, Physician to the Hotel 

 Dieu, and other gentlemen of influence among the French 

 population, to resist vaccination. Small-pox had been fatal in 

 the city : and the Mayor (1875), Dr. Kingston, was elected by 

 an overwhelming majority of the citizens, specially to attend 

 to Sanitary Reform. The Provincial Legislature had passed a 

 Permissive Act, empowering municipalities to enforce vaccina- 

 tion : and the Mayor, as Chairman of the Board of Health, had 

 presided over the drafting of a law to give effect to the Act. 

 Dr. Coderre's party held mass meetings after vespers on Sun- 

 days, to rouse opposition to the proposed law. One of these 

 Philip attended (July 18), and wrote a candid account of it, in 

 consequence of some inaccurate reports : — " Being accustomed 

 to compare meetings of ouvriers and others, I was particularly 

 struck with their order, intelligence, sobriety, patience, deter- 

 mination, and keen relish of the witty dissection which the 

 speakers made of the proposed by-law. In England, a bad 

 cause often succeeds at a public meeting by free beer, passion, 

 or ignorance. It was clear to me that the East-end Canadians 

 had made up their minds calmly and deliberately to resist all 

 anti-small-pox measures. ... I am bound to say that the audience 

 listened very quietly to my French speech ; and at its close 

 Alderman Roy politely asked me also to speak in English, in 



