EDITORIAL OBSERVATIONS. 
41 
correspondents there. May peace be soon restored, and 
with it freedom given to the slave. “War,” says Dr. 
Brewster, “is the master crime of nations, and when in 
the ascendant, all the springs of society are broken loose. 
On the property of the nation, whether fixed or movable, 
war makes its first inroad. The financial pulse beats in 
feverish excitement. The plough ceases to travel over the 
heath and the morass; and the rich cargoes floating on the 
ocean become the prey of the pirates of civilisation. Art 
and science are summoned from their peaceful labours to 
fabricate new weapons of destruction. The institutions of 
charity and philanthropy are paralysed in the labours of 
love; and the missionary and the schoolmaster carry on 
their work with more limited means and within a narrower 
range. Thrice happy is the nation that has weathered the 
storm of war without agrarian or political convulsions.” 
We have already stated how much we approve of pro¬ 
vincial associations for the advancement of our common pro¬ 
fession. They were first suggested in the pages of this 
journal, we believe, by Mr. W. Raddall; and again and again 
have we advocated their formation. It was with pleasure, 
therefore, that we recorded the announcement of a meeting 
of “ The Yorkshire Veterinary Medical Association.” 
While writing this we have received reports of others being 
instituted. Thus when once the initiative is taken in a good 
cause many are always ready to follow. We augur great good 
to the profession as a body from these societies. They are 
steps taken in the right direction; and although there is a very 
useful association at Alma Mater for the students of vete¬ 
rinary medicine, we do sincerely hope that the practitioners 
in the metropolis will not be slow in forming one among 
themselves, as has been already proposed. “ A word to the 
wise is always sufficient.” In this day of competitive 
examinations, competitions of a higher and more useful 
kind may be desiderated. Each will find an ample field 
and scope enough, and the lesser or younger union will 
prove admirably preparatory to the older, more experienced, 
and, consequently, more practically useful association. 
Such is the nature of some men, and such their inordi- 
