478 EASTERN COUNTIES VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
SO than the humble individual who now addresses you. Of course 
you are aware that I allude to the disappointment experienced at 
the non-appearance of our friend Mr. Low, as the essayist on this 
occasion ; and although we congratulate him on the cause, viz. the 
transfer of the late Mr. Layer’s extensive business to himself, we 
cannot but regret a result which has deprived us of the benefit of 
his interesting essay on “ Contagious Diseases in Cattle ” for the 
next three months, and necessitated the infliction upon you of my 
crude and imperfect remarks on tetanus. That Mr. Low’s place is 
not better supplied is, I assure you, no fault of mine, as efforts have 
been made both by our esteemed President and myself to provide 
an efficient substitute, butj owing to the limited time at our disposal, 
and the near approach of our meeting, those efforts were unsuc¬ 
cessful. It w^as in this emergency that Mr. Smith suggested that I 
should come to the rescue; and knowing the improbability of ob¬ 
taining the necessary aid from any other quarter, having a due 
regard to the claims of our Association upon the exertions of its 
members, and with a sincere desire to serve its best interests, I 
cheerfully responded to the call of duty, and now beg respectfully 
to present my paper on tetanus as the result. In doing so I feel 
that I may, under existing circumstances, reasonably claim your 
indulgence for the many imperfections in its composition, which 
the limited time at my disposal, and the daily engagements of a 
country practice, will, I trust, if not entirely justify, at least in 
some degree extenuate. For the errors it contains, either in theory 
or in practice, I ask not the smallest sympathy; on the contrary, as 
we are avowedly met for the purpose of obtaining correct informa¬ 
tion, disseminating sound views, and thus advancing our pro¬ 
fessional status, you must, to be consistent, search out and fear¬ 
lessly expose and correct all errors. As members of a liberal pro¬ 
fession, we seek truth, light, and knowledge, as opposed to the 
error, ignorance, and dogmatism of the charlatan, or the empty 
speculations and idealities of the mere theorist. In the endeavour 
to attain our object every obstacle must be overcome, preconceived 
opinions, if wrong, must be abandoned, and those only received 
which, having been thoroughly investigated, are found to rest on a 
sure foundation. Thus alone can w^e be true to ourselves, our pro¬ 
fession, and those whose interests we profess to serve. Science 
with practice require to be nicely adjusted, that each may have its 
due share of attention and each its proper place. If properly 
balanced, they will be found to work harmoniously and successfully 
together, but neither alone will offer either a rational explanation of 
the phenomena of disease or indicate the therapeutic agents best 
adapted for its removal and the restoration of morbid structures 
to their normal and healthy condition. The remarks which I have 
the honour to submit for your consideration this evening will be 
principally of a practical character, and brevity will be observed so 
far as is consistent with the requirements of so important a subject 
as tetanus, but probably they will not be less acceptable on that 
account, while a decided advantage will be gained by the additional 
