■M^

THE LIBRARY
THE UNIVERSI-n* OF BRITISH COLUMBU

Bom 1871 in Wales, scncd in the Himalayas with the
British Transpon Corps and in the Boxer Rebellion,
helped construct the CPJl^ fought with the Canadian
Expeditionary Force 1914-17, a resident of Vancouver
for forty years, still a reader at 9^, donated his coUectton
of 4,000 books in 1965.

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2010 with funding from

University of British Columbia Library

http://www.archive.org/details/observationssuggOOcons

OBSERVATIO]S"S

STJaOESTED BY

THE CATTLE PLAGUE,

ABOUT

WITCHCRArT, CREDULITY,

SUPEESTITIOK,
PARLIAMENTARY REFORM,

AJND OTHER MATTERS.
BY

H. STEICKLAND CONSTABLE,

WASSAND, HULL.

" I have read your Pamphlet with much interest. People believe in
contagion -as they used to believe in witchcraft, and as fools now
believe in spu-it rapping."

Extract from a Letter written by Sir George Cholmlcij.

LONDON :

DALTON & LUCY, BOOKSELLEES TO THE QUEEN,
AND TO H.E.H. THE PEINCE OE WALES,

28. COCKSPUR STREET, CHARING CROSS.
18G6.

CONTENTS.

Chapter I. — Charms — "WiTCHCBArT — International
Veterinary Congress . . . .5

Chapter II. — Erroneous Popular Notions about

Disease . . . . . .31

Chapter III. — Illustratitb Anecdotes . . 37

Chapter IV. — Mr. G-amgee — Origin oe Cholera —
Third Eepoet oe the Commissioners — The Ana-
lyzing Faculty — " The Times" . - .41

Chapter V. — Our Legislation in the matter— Me.
J. S. Mill — Mr. Hughes — Utilitarianism — Ee-
roRM — Metaphysics — Mr. Gladstone . . 65

Conclusion .... .89

Notes . . . . . . .93

CHAPTER I.

CHARMS — WITCHCRAFT — INTERNATIONAL
VETERINARY CONGRESS.

During the last year we have all heard and read
of many valuable precautionary measures that have
])een made use of with great success ag*ainst the
Cattle Plag'ue^ such as hang-ing- camphor bag's or
string's of onions round the necks of all healthy ani-
mals, painting- their noses with tar, &c. ; but I have
been much surprised at the ignorance that has been
shown of measures that have been made use of in
former times for similar purposes. In fact, no men-
tion, as far as I have seen, has been made of any
one of them. For instance, there is the word
Abracadabra. Serenus Sammonicus tells us that
he found the use of this Avord of the very utmost
value in all cases of tertian fever. No doubt Rin-
derpest is not tertian fever. Still it is a fever. So
Abracadabra ought at least to have been tried. We
are told that the word has no influence unless it is
written in the followino- manner, and then either
attached to the patient or else fixed up in some
immediately contiguous locality : —

Abracadabra

Bracadabr

racadab

acada

cad

6

Then there is Camillus Leoiiardus. No more
notice has been taken of what he tells us^ than if he
had never existed. I suppose the fact is, we are all
so full ofi" our Reform bills, spirit rapping-s, railwa}^
schemes, Davenport Brothers, and other interests of
the day, that we have no time or attention left for
the valuable experiences and discoveries of bj'-g-one
times. JN^ow let us see what Camillus Leonardus
tells us. He says the real remedies for all diseases
are the precious stones. He sa^s that the emerald
prevents epilepsy, and unmasks the delusions of the
devil. He says the serpentine cures drops}^, because
if people stand with it in a \evf. hot sun for three
hours, the}^ break out into a profuse perspiration.
He sa3^s that red coral strengthens dig'estion, if
v.'orn about the person j that red cornelian cures
dysentery; that g'reen jasper prevents fever; and
that chrysolite held in the hand cures fever. Now
the cattle plag'ue is a fever. No doubt a cow can-
not hold a precious stone in its hand, but it can
wear one about its person , and what I sa}' is that
these thing's oug-ht at least to have been tried.

And now I will proceed to mention one or two
rather curious historical parallels.

In the " Hexenhammer," a book of witchcraft,
published first in 1489, we read that the devil
teaches witches how to make magic ointment for
the destruction of cattle, and that if the door posts
of cow-houses be smeared with this ointment, the
cows will immediately become diseased.

Ill the same book Ave read how a witcli o-ets inilk
from any cow however distant. She sticks a knife
into the wall, takes a pail between her knees, and
cries to the dcA'il to send the milk of any cow she
■\^■ishes ; upon this the milk immediately runs down
the handle of the knife into the pail.

In 1669 sixty- two women in Sweden were con-
demned to death for bewitchino- a m'eat number of
children. The}' confessed that they had been in the
habit of taking- children to a rock in the sea, called
Blokula, where they met the devil. He was usually
dressed in a g're}' coat, red breeches, and red stock-
ing's. They rode throug'h the air to the rock, with
the children on goats. The way was to run a long-
spit through the g*oat ; then the witch rode on the
o'oat, and the children rode on the spit behind.
When they g-ot to Blokula, the devil feasted them on
cabbag'e and oatmeal porridge. The 3'oung-er witches
were not admitted to the feast ; but were set to take
care of the toads, and keep them in order with long-
white sticks. The witch's husband, who all the time
has a piece of wood in bed with him, in the place of
his wife, knows nothing' of the affair. Then there
were dances. When the devil was in a cheerful
humour, his amusement was to make the witches ride
on long- poles, and then all at once he would pluck
away the poles, when down would tumble ihe witches,
to his very g'reat g-lee. All these sixty -two witches
were executed.

In 1803, an English Bishop was accused of evil

8

practices, and especially, '^ quod diobolo liomagium
fecerat et eum fuerit osciilatus in terg-o." The same
accusation was also often made ag'ainst witches.

Zimmerman tells us that there were in his day
devout persons who by earnestly transposing- their
self-consciousness to the pits of their stomachs, had
the power of merging- themselves into the abso-
lute divinity, which appeared to them as a pure white
lig-ht. For some days, they lived upon nothing- but
bread and water j sunk into deep silence, turned their
eyes in deep concentration of soul to the point of the
nose and then the white lig'ht appeared.

Khan Helmont tells us that some men have the
poAver of killing- animals by merely looking- at them.
Rousseau says of himself that he had often killed
toads in this way. But that one day when he was
trying- it, the toad, finding- he could not escape from
his eye, turned round, blew himself up and stared
at him so fiercely that he fainted, and was thoug-ht
for some time to be dead 3 but at last he was
broug-ht round by treacle and the powder of vipers.

In Spreng-el's ^^ History of Medicine/' we read
as follows : — ^^ Out of every body proceed indivisible
"substances and emanations, which diffuse them-
" selves throug-h infinite space. Therefore, bodies
" can operate on others at any distance, and a man
" can impart his thoug-hts to another who is hun-
" dreds of miles off. Also between all bodies there
" is either positive or neg-ative mag-netism. In the
" one case the emanations from each one pass

" onward to the other j in the other case they are
" broken and throAvn back, thus causing- antipathy.
^^ It is the same in the veg-etable world. Thus, for
^^ instance, the vine has a decided antipathy to the
" cabbag-e, &c."

In old medical works we have read that epide-
mics and plag'ues are caused b}^ poisonous vapours
arising- out of fissures in the crust of the earth.

In the newspapers printed in the winter of the
year 1866, we read of a vast destruction among'st
cattle, caused by poisonous influences which exist
without beo'innino- in and flow without cessation
from, some remote but unknown corner of the
Russian deserts. We read of m3^sterious emana-
tions that were carried by the winds for miles, and
left death wherever they lig-hted. We read that this
subtile power was conve^^ed by the birds of the air,
by insects, by mice, by cats, by dog-s, by rats ; and
that it was even carried and imparted by the very
men who were appointed by the Government of the
day to prevent its spreading*.

In the newspapers of the same 3'ear we read of a
respectable inn-keeper, v,ho wishing- to discover a
theft, suspended a Bible to a string-, and then set it
spinning-. The position of the book when it ceased
to revolve indicated the locality of the stolen pro-
perty, and the guilty person was discovered.

In the newspapers and other publications of
1866, and of many previous years, we read that
there Mere certain persons who had the power by

10

their mere presence of making- heavy tables stand
for a considerable time upon one leg-^ at an ang-le of
45°, and that without in the slig'htest deg-ree inter-
fering* with the equilibrium of the objects placed
upon it. Even hig'h lamps remained unmoved, and
tumblers full of water preserved their equilibrium
without overflowing".

The way the same class of ideas and beliefs take
different forms in different centuries, seems to me
very curious.

Ag*ain, here is another curious illustration of the
wa}^ history repeats itself.

In the introduction to the Hexenhammer, \^e
read : — " Even preachers of the Divine word were
^^ found who did not hesitate to assure the people
*' that there were no such thing's as witches, and
" that they had no arts by which the}^ could injure
" men and animals; by which imprudent lang'uag*e
" the secular arm was not unfrequently restrained
" from punishing' such sorceries, and thus they
" became amazingly increased, and heresy became
^' enormously strengthened."

So in 1866 we read in the newspapers of the
jieriod, that even magistrates w^ere found who did
not hesitate to assure the people that the prevailing-
ideas about the cattle plague were absurd, exag'-
g'erated, and superstitious; b}' Avhich imprudent
language the precautionary measures became in
those localities less stringent, and the plague rag'ed
with increased violence.

11

Mr. Gamg'ee has written a book which he enti-
tles, ^' The Cattle Plag-ue." The first part I shall
mention presently. The second part is devoted to
an account of the proceeding's of a Grand Inter-
national Veterinary Cong-ress, that seems to have
been held at Hamburg- and Vienna. It is exceed-
ino-lv entertainino'. Such a charmino' farrno-o of
antiquated ideas about contagion, infection, Govern-
ment interference, ofiicial inspections, police reg'u-
lations, veterinary supervision, restrictions of traffic,
quarantine, inoculation, &c. &c., I could not have
believed possible to find extant in any civilized
country in this the nineteenth centur}'. I laug"hed
a little at the report of our own Commissioners on
the Cattle Plag'ue, in consequence of its inconclu-
siveness, want of unanimity and strong' veterinary
flavour, but it was the wisdom of Solomon in com-
parison with these German enunciations. And j^et
I Avould not for the world say a word against the
Cong'ress. It seems to have been a very pleasant
festive o-atherino- if it was nothino* else, and the
members of it seem to have displa3'ed throughout
much heav}' German g'ood humour and geniality.
I can fanc}' I see them — hazy figures looming*
through the tobacco smoke, with their long 3'ellow
hair,long3'Gllow pipes and heavy rings on forefingers,
neatly finished oft' with artistically-executed Indian
ink sort of mouldings towards the extremities. The
difference of opinion upon every subject seems to
have been unbounded. But every now and then

12

the question was put whether the respective Govern-
ments should or should not be recommended to
appoint competent veterinary surg-eons to be paid
by the State for such and such a purpose^ and
whenever this was done the g'eneral unanimity and
harmony that immediately prevailed was such that
it must have been delightful to witness.

First, came the question of Quarantine.

Professor Roll thought eight days enough.

Professor Undritz said that cattle from the Steppes
sometimes transferred the disease after many months
without ever being" diseased themselves.

President Hering* thought that were the quaran-
tine period to be regulated according- to these ac-
t'ountsj its duration might be endless.

Professor Gerlach thought cattle ought to be ab-
solutely prohibited from coming from Russia into
Germany.

Professor Haubner thought there should be no
prohibition whatever.

Professor Miiller thoug-ht it no matter whether
there was prohibition or not. For that it was always
evaded. Sentries had been placed every fifty paces
along" a frontier^ and all to no use.

Professor Hering requested that a decision on the
question be arrived at.

Dr. Haubner thought it ought not to be settled by
vote, as the result of such a proceeding could not be
a definite one. He also said all restrictions were
evaded. For instance, Bavaria forbids the import

13

of swine fi'om Eiissian steppes ; but Saxony does not
do so j so all Bavaria has to do is to receive the
Russian swine throuo-h Saxon3\

Dr. Roll did not believe the cattle plag-ue was
communicated by swine, inasmuch as they (the
swine) were washed when they crossed the fi-on-
tier.

Dr. Herting- thoug-ht the air carries the contagium
of cattle plague.

Dr. Mliller thought not, or how could places in the
midst of infected districts escape as they do.

Professor Hering- thoug-ht that when scientific
veterinary surg-eons enunciated their experiences and
opinions, the results ought not to be met with incre-
dulity. (Cheers.)

Professor Gerlach acknowledg-ed g'ratefully the
debt due to those who devoted their time to these in-
vestig'ations ; but thoug-ht it unnecessary throug'h
mere gratitude to alter an already formed opinion.

Then came the question of Pleuro-pneumonia.

Professor Gamg*ee (from Eng-land) said, that
Pleuro-pneumonia was a disease never taken spon-
taneously; but introduced into Eng-land from the
Continent.

Professor Nichlas said, many competent judges
were of a different opinion.

Professor Gamg'ee said, inoculation in this disease
was of no use.

Mr. Wiith assured the meeting* that, on the con-
trary, inoculation was of infinite advantag'e.

14

M. Marcus thoug-ht the pole-axe the only means
of combatmo' the disease.

Professor Gerlach thoug'ht this measure barba-
rous.

Professor Nichlas was not for the axe; but for
inoculation.

Professor Schell was for recommending- to the
several Governments compulsory inoculation and
compulsory slaug'hter.

Dr. Haubner expressed doubts how compulsory
inoculation and compulsory slaug-hter could be si-
multaneousl}' recommended. He was ag'ainst inocu-
lation at all.

Professor Hertwig- ag-reed with Haubner^ partly
because he had known a whole herd destroyed by
inoculation^ which is in fact only intentional infec-
tion.

Dr. Fiirstenberg' stated, that when the Prussian
g'overnment had rendered inoculation compulsory;
he himself had carried it out, and the result was that
fifty out of sixty-five died. This fact tended^ he
thouo-ht, to show the non-success in some cases of
inoculation.

Herr Schell thouo-ht slauo-hterino- should be ex-
tended to all suspicious animals.

President Hering" thoug-ht not^ for in some cases
all the cattle in the countr}' are suspicious.

Professor Fuchs strong-ty advocated veterinary
surg-eons being* appointed in all districts, and paid by
the State. (Protracted cheers.)

15

Dr. Miiller wished the meeting- to come to a unani-
mous decision about pleuro-pneumonia.

Professor Gamgee said he had obtained o-real
success from the use of sulphate of iron^ and he asked
■whether this remedy had been tried in Germany.

Herr Kaltschmidt said he had been witness where
a proj)rietor had used this remedy perseverino'l}'^ but
he regTetted to say without success^ inasmuch as ou
of a hirg-e herd not one survived.

Professor Fuchs kncAv an exactly similar instance.

Fourth sitting-j 17th July.

Herr Falke thought er^'sipelas in pig*s should be
under Government supervision.

Professor Zano-o-er thouo-ht this disease did not
call for the interference of Government authorit}'.

Professor Gerlach said that in Hanover pig's often
had er3'sipelas.

Then came a discussion on scab. The result of
which was, that the whole meeting- agreed unani-
mousl}' that scab should be under State supervision.

The meeting- then proceeded to discuss the ques-
tion, whether the mahg-nant disease of stallions should
be placed under Government supervision.

Dr. Roll thought decidedly that it should. The
disease had been fulty described in the Austrian Ve-
terinary Review. It attacked the nerves, and was
attended with dropsical appearances, &c.

Dr. Fiirstenberg entertained doubts about this
matter, inasmuch as he did not believe there was
such a disease.

16

Dr. Hertwig' entertained little doubts as to the
existence of the disease.

Finally, it was put to the vote, when it was de-
cided b}'- a larg-e majorit}^, that the disease* should
be added to the list of those which were to be placed
under State supervision.

Then came the question, whether Catarrhal fever,
also called Head disease (in common parlance, cold
in the head), oug-ht to be placed under Government
super-inspection, then hydatid disease of the brain in
sheep, then measles in pig's, &c. At last, the first
International Congress of Veterinary Surg-eons
finished up with a g-rand, and I reg-ret to say,
leng'thy discussion upon sheep pox.

In August, 1865, took place a second Congress at
Vienna.

The first question discussed was H3'drophobia and
the keeping- of dog's.

Dr. Von Helm said, that with regard to the keep-
ing* ofdogs, the Municipal Council had been engaged
during several years devising measures, and would
some time ago have come to a decision j but it was
anxious not to exact too much on the one hand, and
also from the g'reat importance of the subject not to
treat it even apparently superficially, &c.

Then came a long- discussion about doo-s.

The next question was Rinderpest.

The President proposed that Councillor of State
Unterberg, Land Veterinarian Werner and Medical

* 1 need hardly say tliui there is no such disease.

17

Councillor Haubner, be appointed to act on the Com-
mittee of Investig-ation. He then requested those
g'entlemen who had observed any mistake in the
writing' of their titles or the spelling* of their names^
to communicate it to the stenog'raphic officials — (how
like a set of ceremonious title-loving- Germans).

Dr. Bleiweis thoug'ht rinderpest^ sheep pest and
g'oat pest identical diseases.

Professor Reynal asserted that rinderpest is
developed in ships in consequence of pressing- to-
gether man^- animals.

Herr Rawitsch ag'reed with him, and also that it
is specially induced by long* marches and privations.

Prof. Haubner thoug'ht, judg'ing- from his experi-
ence, that if sentries were placed along' the frontier
so close that they could shake hands, it would be
no use. Disease cannot be kept back.

Mr. Ernes (from Eng'land) said the disease was
introduced into London by a carg'o from Revel.

Prof. Unterberg'er said that the disease was already
in London before the carg'o started from Revel.
That, furthermore, there was no rinderpest in or near
Revel.

Prof. Jessen said, ^' with reg'ard to the assertion
in England, that diseased animals were taken into
Revel from the interior by railway, I take the
liberty just to mention that there is no railway into
Revel."

Then the committee proposedj that it was desira-
ble that veterinary surg'eons be appointed and paid

18

b}^ the Governments for the frontier districts. (Cries
of very g-ood.)

After this came a long* discussion about the keep-
ino* railway wao-o-ons clean, at the end of which, the
President said; " the washing- of railway carriag-es
renders the supervision of veterinary surg-eons to be
paid b}^ the State necessary ) those who ag-ree to this
will rise from their seats."

All rise from their seats.

Then the President proposed that the}' should
hold a meeting" next Sunday morning-, in order to
discuss the questions of Hydrophobia and Police
reo'ulations relatino- to doo-s.

D So

Next Sunday morning* the meeting- is held ac-
cording-ly.

First, the reporter read the report of the Hydro-
phobia Committee, at the close of A\'hich, the Com-
mittee recommended :

(1.) An accurate dog- census.

(2.) That the identity of each dog- be determined
by a certain mark or token ; the manner of putting-
this into practice to be left to the local authorities.

(3.) That with a view to diminishing- the number
of dogs in the country a dog- tax be recommended.
And for the more effectual arriving- at this result,
that the tax on the female dog- be still hig-her than
that on the male dog".

(4.) That no dog- be permitted to g-o about without
supervision.

19

(o.) That the muzzling- of dog's be reg'ulated by
competent officers.

(6.) That all dog'S suspected of hydrophobia be
immediately reported to the authorities.

(7.) That dogs suspected of hydrophobia be kept
in secure custody till their state of health has been
determined. Those that prove rabid to be killed.
The others to be returned to their proprietors.

(8.) The Committee is of opinion that if these
measures are intended to be effectual, competent
veterinary surg-eous to be paid by the State^ should
co-operate in their execution. (Expressions of assent.)

Dr. Fuchs thought that every dog- as soon as it
g'ets a proprietor^ should be reported to the police.
He thauo'ht it ouo-ht to be known how doo's often
come into families. The\" are frequentl}' brought
home b}' children, especiall}' young' puppies. He
regretted that the country to which he belong-ed
(Baden) had made the mistake of taxing- the female
doo- less than the male doo*.

Dr. Hertwig" thoug-ht the equalization of tax upon
male and female dogs was of the first importance.

Dr. Deisinger said, that in Bavaria the g"overn-
ment had done all in its power for the prevention
of h^'drophobia, even the smallest dog's had been
muzzled, and all to no purpose. He thoug-ht that
when it is considered how often dog's excluded from
their homes at night disturb peaceable people j how
often children are knocked down by dogs, and how
dog's run about in public outraging* every feeling- of

20

propriety and g'ood order; when all these thing's
came to be considered, he thoug-ht that the strictest
code of g'overnment reg-ulation would be welcome to
the public.

Dr. Gerlach desired, on philanthropic gTounds, a
law of Draconic severity, the dog' being- a domestic
animal of limited usefulness, but g'reat dang-er.
Although echinococcees may be not common, still
the}^ occur, so that it becomes a question, whether
dog'S ought to be kept at all. Besides which, it is
proved that the dog' carries the seeds of giddiness in
sheep. If dog'S were done away with, sheep would
no longer be afflicted with giddiness. Dr. Gerlach
thought that canine madness should be considered
by Government as a purely contagious disease.

Dr. Rawitsch thought nobody would deny that
canine madness sometimes originates spontaneously.
(Loud cries of "^it never appears spontaneously.")*

The reporter thought ever}- dog should be ren-
dered recognizable. (A voice from the centre, ^^ could
it not be done by means of a collar.")

Dr. Hertwig' w^as in favour of a tax on dogs.
The most faithful dogs will run aAva}^ when they go
mad. In a few days perhaps they return. But
what have they been doing in the mean time ? How
many people have they been biting ?

Dr. De Souza (from Portugal) said, that in his

* I am astonished at Dr. Eawitsch's courage ; considering
whom he was addressing, I wonder he was not torn in pieces.

21

country there was no tax on dog-s j yet^ notwitli-
standing- that, dog's never g'o mad.

Dr. Zaug'g-er thoug-ht that mig-ht be, and yet
prove nothing". Madness mig-ht not exist in a
country for a long^ time, and then it mig-ht break
out. At least it was so with hailstorms. Some-
times there would be no hailstorms in a country for
a long- time, and then a g'reat many would take
place. Still he was ag'ainst a tax. A tax would
have little effect. If one man discontinued to keep
a dog", another mig'ht keep two, and then where
would be the g'ood of the tax.

M. Reynal (from France) condemned all muzzles
on principle.

Dr. Bleiweis was for rendering" it compulsory for
all dog's to be led in a cord or chain, for then they
could not run about and bite people.

The reporter thoug-ht this would lead to g-reat
dang-er to the public. If dog-s are led about with
cords, how often will children fall over them or
become entano'led in the strino*.

Dr. Gerlach thoug'ht that, as canine madness arises
fi'om bites of dog's, therefore if we prevent the bites
we prevent the canine madness. Therefore he was
in favour of muzzles.

Dr. Hertwig- ag-reed that the ^reat thing- was to
diminish the bites of dog'S. It is sometimes objected
that dog'S dishke being- muzzled. But if so it is only
for a few days. "I have two dog-s. When the
•^ muzzle was first put on, what scratching- and

c

22

'"' brushing' and whining-, l)ut noAV they are used to
^' it ; and I need only show them the muzzle and
" they come running* up to have it put on. I will
^^ not enter more deeply into the matter. I am in
" favour of muzzles."

Dr. Jessen said he had seen dog's led by a string-.
He had seen them led by a child. The dog's often
broke the line and threw the child down, and then
the biting" was not prevented.

M. Weber had seen several cases where a desire
to bite was created in dog's by the muzzle. " I m^^self
'^ have been bitten in the hand by a dog' that had
" on a muzzle. This I consider sufficient nroof that
" muzzles do not always prevent biting-. I, there-
" fore, am strongly ag^ainst muzzles."

Professor Hertwig* thought a suspected dog' should
be kept under police inspection for at least twelve
weeks, for he had known in Berlin a dog' discharg-ed
and still g'o mad.

Next came the question of Laws of Warranty.

M. Schall thoug'ht there was g'reat difficulty in the
question, in consequence of the endless difference of
opinion that prevailed.

M. Ee3'nal thoug-ht an international law of war-
ranty could not be framed, because diseases differ so
much in different countries.

Director Gerlach, on the contrary, thoug'ht stag'-
g'ers in France would be stag'g-ers in German}', like-
wise asthma. He also protested ag'ainst the con-
temptuous treatment of the veterinar^^ profession
that was so g*eneral.

'23

Then came the question of warranty for crib-biting-.

Dr. Zlamal said crib-biting- was very detrimental,
because all the other horses in the stable with a
crib-biter contract the same habit.*

Dr. Stichel said, that in Russia military horses
were fed by nose-bag-s, and still they were crib-biters.

Dr. Zlamal thought this observation deserved
g-reat consideration.

After this came the question of cataract.

Dr. Zlamal was decidedly in favour of warranty
for black cataract but not for g'rey. Of the g-reen
cataract he did not intend to speak.

Dr. Pillwax believed it to be an established fact,
that a horse which is half blind cannot altog-ether be
depended on.

Dr. Siefman ag-reed with Dr. Pillwax, that ob-
jects which a horse could not distinctly see mig-ht
frig'hten it.

Dr. Frank thought the law of Avarranty oug-ht to
extend to g-reen cataract.

Nothing- was said about cataract of any other
colour.

The next subject was ring-worm.

Dr. Gerlach protested ag-ainst the expression
" ring-worm.'^

* Contagion again. Of course this is tlie old delusion, as in
the case of almost all these supposed contagious diseases. The
same bad management produces in all the borses the same crib-
biting habits, and the first that began it gets the credit of giving
it to the others.

c 2

24

The reporter said it was the rig-ht one.

The President beg'g'ed the gentlemen in favour of
the word " ring"worm " to rise.

They rise.

The expression ring-worni is carried.

The next question was, whether there should be a
law of warranty about trichince in pigs ; that is,
wdiether there should not be a law that the purchaser
of a pig' mig'ht, on the discovery of trichinee, drive it
back to its former owner, and receive again his
money.

Dr. Zlamal thoug'ht there w^as a difficulty about
this question, inasmuch as it was impossible to detect
the presence of the disease till after the death of the
pig', and then only with a microscope : therefore it
seemed to him that a law of warranty would be
nug'atory.

Notwithstanding this objection, the question was
carried in favour of the law by a larg'e majority.

Finalty, the President wished statements to be
made respecting- the effect their deliberations at the
previous Congress had had upon the various Govern-
ments.

Dr. Hertwig was very sorry to say that they had
as yet borne no visible fruit in Prussia. The deci-
sions had had no visible influence whatever upon the
legislation.

Dr. Miiller said the same with regard to Austria.

Dr. Fuchs thought the eflicient organisation of
the veterinary practice of international importance.

Dr. Iwerson (from Holstein) regretted that in his

country no leg-islative measures had as yet been
enacted, but we live (he said) in hopes.

Dr. Straub (from Wiirteniberg-) was gratified to
say, that the Government of his country had issued
an order that railway cars should be kept clean.

I think, perhaps, I have extracted enough just to
g'ive an idea of what fills more than three hundred
mortal pag'es of Mr. Gamg'ee's book. And now
what are we to say about all these g'ood folks ?
There can be no doubt what we should call them in
England. It is some time since I set to work to
forg-et my German, and yet I fanc}^ I am right in
thinking the German equivalent of the English
idiomatic expression I am alluding to must be " Alte
Frauen." Still I may be mistaken.

Amongst such a mass of evidence and opinions,
twaddle as it must seem to most Englishmen, there
cannot but be something worth noting.

In the first place then, the prevailing idea is that
the Rinderpest comes only from Russian cattle.
But the only way they can get over the innumerable
cases that apparently contradict this, is by saying-,
which they mostly seem to do, that Russian cattle
will impart the disease in any country, at any
distance of time after leaving Russia, and without
ever having any disease themselves. Allowing this
as an argument, of course they can prove anything.

But Professor Jessen, the Russian veterinary
representative, denied that the disease does originate
in Russia ; and each representative denied that it

26

originates in his country. So we come to this, that
the orig-inal disease is only to be found, Uke Mr.
Grimes in " the Water Babies/' at the other end
of nowhere. Well, it is a very old story. Every
country wants to shift the balance on to its neig-h-
bour's shoulders, like a set of school boys, ^^ Please,
" sir, I didn't do it, sir j he did it, sir, please, sir."

Ag-ain, in Oliver Twist, " Yer did it, Charlotte,"
said Noah Claypole, when the}' were detected after
robbing- a till. ^^ Yer did it, Charlotte j yer know
*'yer did."

But after all, the best explanation of this ten-
dency" among'st half-cultivated people to deny spon-
taneous disease, is this. A. has the cholera. Doctor
B. comes and says, A. caught it from C. In this
way he escapes, having* to tell the truth, which is,
that he does not understand why A. has g'ot the
cholera j for to say, " I don't understand," is a
thing" the human soul as a rule abhors. But even
supposing' A. has caug-ht the malady from C, the
mystery is onty removed on to the next peg' ; there
it is yet. Still it is taken away from Doctor B.'s
eyes, and he is satisfied. But sending' a puzzle
into the next room does not solve it. It is the same
with some of the shallower men of science. They
remove the first cause a long- way back, and then
think they understand ever3'thing', when in fact they
understand no more than they did before j or not
so much, for probably before, they at any rate
understood that they understood nothing-. So ag-ain

J27

with their anxiety to deny the possibihty of spon-
taneous g-eneration. They think they understand
more about it if they shift it back a more or less
long- time^ but it is all a delusion. Besides^ what is
time ?

Does not Tennyson say : —

" Foi* was, and is, and has been, arc but is ;
And all creation is one act, at once
Tlie birth of light : but we that are not all.
As parts can see but parts, now this, now that,
And live perforce from thought to thought, and make
One act a phantom of succession ; thus
Our weakness somehow shapes the shadow time."

And does not Archbishop Whately say that our
notions about time are delusive ; arising* as they do
only in consequence of the succession of our ideas.
There is an analogous propensity among-st critics j
namely, a perpetual striving- to den}^ orig-inality,
and to accuse of plag-iarism. The fact is^ they well
know that the few ideas that are in their own heads
were only g'ot there throug'h much tribulation from
other sources, so they cannot believe in ideas ever
coming* in any other way. For people proverbially
judg-e others by themselves. The melancholy nature
takes sombre views of people and thing's j the
cheerful take cheerful views. The poet who has a
sense of beaut}^ dwells on the beauty to be found in
all thing's, whilst the mind that is dead to beauty
sees none. Pythag'oras and Jedidiah Buxton had
preternatural souls for number, so the former

28

thoug-ht number the ultimate principle of the uni-
verse j and the latter liked g'oing- to a ]Aiiy, because
it amused him to count the words the actors
spoke^ and the number of steps of the dancers 3
but he did not like Garrick, because he spoke so
quick he could not count the words j and he
would answer in a second an arithmetical question,
that would take most people a quarter of an hour
to calculate. Analyzing- minds can onl}^ see distinc-
tions in thing's ', S3^nthesizing' minds can only see
resemblances. So, as I sa}^, the mere critical and
neg'ative mind can see nothing* in the universe but
imitation, repetition, and non-spontaneity.

It seems g'enerally thoug-ht that the question of
contagion or non-contagion in any case is very easy
of proof; but it is on the contrary almost impossible
to prove one way or the other.

A boy at a school has the measles. Now boys
at school live such similar lives, and are subject to
such similar influences, that I should naturally
expect that the same atmospheric and other condi-
tions that g-ave it to one boy would g'ive it to
many others. And yet when they do take it,
everybody concludes at once that they all caug-ht
the complaint from the first one that had it.

No doubt absolute proof is impossible one way or
another. Still there is one thing- quite certain, that
every disease has originated spontaneously at some-
time; so in the question whether a disease, say
small-pox, is or is not ever taken spontaneously j

29

the only absolute certainty is on the side of the
former.

Mr. Gamg-ee says, as we all know, that this cattle
plag-ue is never taken spontaneously. I say it is.
I say I know half-a-dozen instances within five
miles of my own house, some of them my own
tenants, where there had been no communication,
and therefore no contagion, and yet the plag'ue
broke out. Oh, but (our Professor would say) the
air carried it, or a dog, or a cat, or a bird, or a rat.
But if this is called an arg-ument, I will prove the
same about anj^thing* whatever. Broken knees in
horses, for instance. Suppose I choose to assert,
that broken knees can only be taken by contag'ion,
Mr. Gamg-ee would doubtless bring- several instances
to show the contrary. I say these instances prove
nothing- ; because the air will carry " tumbling-
down" in horses, any distance almost, and insects
carry it, and dog's are known by ever^^body to carry
it constantly. The proof is absolutely as complete
in the one case as the other.

In one place Mr. Gamg-ee tells us how forty cows
in Lancashire died of the plag-ue, and how they
^vere known to have caught it by contagion, because
a short time before it broke out, a box of butter had
arrived from an infected district at the farm where
they were.

The fact is, the only real arg-ument Mr. Gamo-ee
has that will bear looking- at, is the assertion, no
doubt true enough, that one beast will often catch

30

the complaint directly from another; but to call
this a proof that it is never taken spontaneously as
wellj is like showing- that it often rains on Wednes-
day, and then caUing- that a proof that it never
rains on Thursday.

What I say is, that as in innumerable cases the
disease seems to be taken spontaneously, the ojius
jjrohandi rests with those who assert that it cannot
be so taken.

Why one villag-e is attacked and the next escapes
no one in the present state of science can say, any
more than they can in the case of cholera, or any
other epidemic. Why will there be at any time
many cases of a common cold in one villag-e, and
none in the next ? From what differences in the
conditions of the atmosphere is it that colds will
take one form one season, another form another.
This last winter and spring' they have very much
taken the forms of ear-ache and swelled g'lands.
Why is all this ? The only answer is, we cannot
tell. But this is just the confession, human nature
in its ig-norance, pride, and vanity, hates to make.
So then come the idle theories, as for instance, in
former times that Jews poisoned the wells, which
accounted for the black death ; or that subterranean
vapours issuing- from clefts in the earth's surface,
caused epidemics ; whilst at the present time we all
talk about mysterious contagious emanations.

81

CHAPTER II.

ERRONEOUS POPULAR NOTIONS ABOUT DISEASE.

Last winter I published a pamphlet about the
Cattle Plag'ue. I -endeavoured in it to show that
most of the popular ideas about diseases and con-
tag-ion are either wrong- or exag-g-erated ; that Miss
Nig-hting*ale was rig-ht when she ridiculed the notion
of diseases being- so many separate positive entities^
only to be reproduced from themselves^ as if they
were org-anized being's like a cat or a dog* ; and that
dirt, vice, or the transgTession of nature's intentions
will produce any disease ; that every cause must have
its effect ; that every departure from rig-ht in this
world must have its consequence, and must be paid
for either in person or vicariously j that diseases can-
not be separated by hard decided Hnes as usually
supposed ; but that they dovetail into each other with
infinite and indefinite complications — like colours j
that althoug'h there are bay horses and brown horses
there are also many that are as much one as the
other, whilst sometimes a horse has to be described in
racing- entries as either g-rey or roan, or black or
chesnut or brown 5 that is to say, a complication of
all colours. I pointed out that the majority of farmers
in winter keep their cattle in an unhealthy manner :
those for the butcher overfed, the others underfed,

32

and all without natural air and exercise; that among-st
men such modes of life have always ended in de-
structive t3^phus diseases ; that malig'nant goal fevers
resulted formerly from the horrible state of prisons ;
but that filthy as they were, they cannot possibly
have been so filthy as the averag-e cow-shed of the
country ; that being' so kept, it was little wonder
that in most years pleuro-pneumonia and other forms
of internal inflammation should be so fatal as they
are, or that once or so in a hundred years when an
extraordinaril}^ unhealthy season occurs typhus in
its most maho-nant and contag-ious forms should
break out. I showed that cattle doctors of the pre-
sent day are in knowdedg'e w^here man doctors were
a hundred years ago ; that their treatment of sick
cattle does not give them a chance; and that if in
a bad case of low fever, such as Rinderpest, a beast
be shut up in the dark in a temperature above 40°, it
requires a miracle to save it ; and yet that this is the
universal mode of treatment by the whole profes-
sion; and I showed how, in the very few cases where
nature and oj^en field treatment had by some acci-
dent been resorted to, far the majority had reco-
vered. Furthermore, I mentioned my conviction,
that an animal that has been perfectly managed, that
is to say, an animal that is in the highest possible
state of health and vitality cannot take any disease
whatever whilst in the open air, and therefore that
the simple and certain way to prevent these diseases
in future, is good management^ that is to say, the

33

best of food, the purest of air, no matter how cold,
and natural exercise in the open fields, da}' and
nig-ht, winter and summer ; or, if they must be shut
up, that the}' should only be protected from wind and
Avet ; but not from one ray of lig'ht or one deg-ree of
cold. Animals kept in this way never catch a cold,
if they are well fed j and therefore never have any
of these internal diseases, for a cold is the beginning-
of them all. I have been told that the g-reatest suf-
ferer in Cheshire has been a nobleman whose cow-
houses were celebrated for their perfection j and this
is just what I should have expected. I have all
along- called the disease ^^ cow-house typhus," corres-
ponding- to jail fever among-st men. No doubt it may
also in innumerable cases be called '^ famine typhus f
but that only means that as among'st men so among'st
cattle, impure air, crowding tog-ether and insufficient
food will, any one of them, cause typhus diseases.

I said in the pamphlet I published that I doubted
whether the Commissioners who g-ave us such long-
reports knew much about the habits of animals, or
even such a simple fact as their never, unless forced,
g-oing- under cover for shelter from any weather
whatever, thoug-h they will do so to escape flies in
the heat of summer.

I have six Alderney cows, the most tender of all
kinds. Ever since last November they have been
out in a field day and nig-ht. It is now the end of
May. During' all this time they have been in
perfect condition, and giving- as much milk as ever.

They have a comfortal)le open slied to o-o into if
they like. My cowman told me the other day that
not one of them has ever g"one into it the whole
winter. It has been a remarkably M^et, stormy
winter, and the thermometer has some nig-hts been
at sixteen deg-rees below freezino- point. The Plag-ue
has been all round me. The way I do is this. I
g"0 and spend half an hour in the sheds of some
farmer whose beasts are dying- all round me. Then
I come home, and immediately visit my cows in the
field. They are very tame ; so I first look which
way the wind is blowing-, and then I g'o to the wind-
w^ard side of one of the cows, so that none of the
emanations may be lost, and stroke its head for a
considerable period. I have not succeeded hitherto
in imparting* the disease, and I am sadly afraid my
endeavours to do so would only lead to disappoint-
ment, however long* I mig-ht continue them, or how-
ever often I mig'ht repeat them. Now I know
perfectly well what Messrs. Gamg*ee and Co. would
say here, for they have said it before in similar
cases. They would say, " The cows are Alderney
cows, and therefore all this proves nothing-." It is
like the elder Mr. Weller, when his son consults
him how he should end his valentine. '^ 1 could
end with a werse,'' he says, "" what do you think ?"

" I don't hke it, Sam," answered Mr. Weller. " I
never know'd a respectable coachman as wrote
poetr}^ 'cept one, and he was only a Cambervell
man, so that proves nothin."

35

Furtliermorej I pointed ont how people are npt to
be deceived b}' words that nre only used for collo-
quial convenience, such as " disease/' " cholera,"
'^ enteritis/' '^ Einderpest/' &c. ; that the habit of
using' these and other terms lead many who do not
think immoderately to suppose the}- have positive
meaning's ; that different (so called) diseases, instead
of meaning' only different org'ans out of order in
different ways and places, mean so many different
entities ; that, for instance, ^^ enteritis" means an
actual something'^ when in fact it is not a something*,
but only an inflamed condition of a something*, that
is to sa}', of the duodenum, whatever the duodenum
may be, for I have not the least notion. Of course
this is plain enoug'h when pointed out, but still people
g'eneralty do not seem to reg'ard it in this light.
Probabl}" all these names have had for their orig-in
the endeavour to hide ig'norance, and this would
account for our g'iving* them in these cases, but not
to the different internal disorders of a watch or a
steam-engine, for these latter we can take to pieces,
understand, mend and put tog-ether ag*ain ; but if we
could not do so, and a watch went badly, I have no
doubt whatever that we should say, it had g-ot that
terrible disease, '^ horologiumpest." This would at
once satisfy us like children when told the mere name
of a thing', and prevent our having* to say we do not
understand what is wrong- ; and at the same time it
would (a thing- the human mind craves) set our ima-
g'inations, our credulity, and superstitions free to

30

theorise about it and say, that " horolog-iumpest "
was a fearful disorder to which watches are subject ;
that one watch never takes it except by con-
tag'ion from another 3 that the salubrity of the Eng*-
lish climate is such^ that the disease is never taken in
this country spontaneously^ but that it is alwaj^s im-
ported direct from Geneva. The proof of this being-
that watches in Geneva are notoriously known to be
often afflicted with the disease, and that larg-e numbers
are alwaj^s being' imported into England ; further-
more we should say, that keeping* the watch clean
and treating' it well, thoug'h desirable thing-s enough
in themselves can do nothing* towards preventing
this terrible complaint, and that the onl}'^ real measure
is, immediatel}^ a watch is observed to go wrong-, to
stamp upon it until it has ceased to tick, and then
bury the fragments in the ground, the chain and key
to be either buried with it or carefully disinfected with
carbolic acid.

" What is this funny little round thing, papa ?"
" It is a ^ pillula calomelanos et opii,' my dear."
And away the little boy runs perfectly satisfied ; his
fancy setting him to work with all sorts of credulous
imaginings about his newly- acquired ^^ knowledge."
Are we not all like children ?

3?
CHAPTER III.

ILLUSTRATIVE ANECDOTES.

The time for talking' about treatment of Rinder-
pest is no doubt past. The act for the prevention of
curnig" sick cattle has rendered all such discussion
useless. Still a time may come when it will not be
illeg*al for a man to cure his cow when she catches
a cold. So I will say a few words upon the subject.

Nature^ g-ood food, broad daylight as long- as it
InstSj open fields and open air, no matter how cold.
This is the only treatment for sick animals that is
worth two straws ; and this is the only treatment
that never has been practised except in a very few
accidental cases. And in those few cases far the
majorit}^ recovered.

The following* is an extract from a letter I received
from a relation of mine last January.

" There has been such a curious illustration of the wisdom
of keeping beasts cool in the plague, that I have been Avishing,
day after day, to tell you about it.

" John Farrow, of Alkbro', in Lincolnshire, after having lost
every one of a lot he had shut up and kept warm, found another
lot beginning to fall ill of the complaint. In moving them from
one field to another, one fell into a drain and got considerably
chilled, but was observed to go on better from that time. Ob-
serving this, and being forbidden by the Inspector to bring the
animals along the road up to his buildings, J. Farrow deter-
mined to try cool treatment, and with that view, made a sort
of slight cover for the beasts with a piece of old rick cloth, just

D

38

to keep off rain ; and then lie made a low heap of straw like a
wall, perhaps three feet high, but between the straw and the
rick cloth was a space of perhaps two feet all round, so that
the wind blew through in every direction. This was in one of
the bleakest fields on the whole estate. The result was that at
the end of six weeks, out of twenty that had fallen ill, only
three had died, though some had been so ill that they did not
seem able to stand, and as J. Farrow himself expressed it, were
worse than those which died. The last time I saw him was
after the bitter cold of the 11th and 12th of this month,* when
the frost, and snoM', and wind that came suddenly was enough
to try anything that was easily damaged by a low temperature.
I asked him particularly, how they had borne it ? and he said,
they were not a bit the worse and were getting well without
any check."

I have been told that some diseased beasts be-
longing* to Lord Petre in Essex were tied to trees in
the open field^ and that they all recovered.

Last December a farmer near Malton employed a
man to kill and bury two beasts that seemed in the
very last and worst stage. But the work was hard,
and the day was wet, so when half the task was done
the man went into a neig-hbouring- public house to
refresh himself. By a most happy chance he g-ot
very drunk, and remained so for four-and-twenty
hours 3 then when he returned to his work he found
the remaining" beast quietly g-razing- by the g-rave of
its companion, and the next day it was quite well.
The fact is, the two animals had all but been killed in
the orthodox manner by heat and darkness, and the
cold pure air of a frosty December nig*ht acted like
a charm.

* January.

39

In Januaiy, at a place called Wliitb}^ in Cheshire^
some diseased beasts were turned out in a field where
there was some water at the bottom of an old lime-
pit. They all recovered. Then there was a rare
to do. Some wise men posted off' to anatyse the
water. Some wrote to newspapers to say they had
been in the habit of using- Ume-water all their lives for
all sorts of diseases^ and never lost a sing-le patient.
Some wrote to say they were perfectly astonished
that such a well-known remedy had not been tried
before ; and so they went on for about a fortnight^
till at last the discovery v\'as made that lime-water
was not a bit more use than arsenicum, Turkish baths,
or ferruginous preparations. Of course^ the truth is,
the animals recovered because they were turned out
in the field and left to nature. In the most malig*-
nant cases there is no hope, nature herself can do
nothing, but such cases are exceptional.

Not long- ag-o I knew of a supposed hopeless case
of low fever. Dr. Baker Brown was sent for. He
came, opened all the windows, pulled the bed to them,
and let into the room all the lig-ht, air, and sun he
could, and the patient recovered. The neig'hbouring-
surg'eon, as I was told, said this was all very well
for a man with a great reputation, but that if he had
done it he must have lost his practice for ever, such
being the popular abhorrence of fresh air.

A tenant of mine had forty animals attacked.
This ^^ as after the Act for the })reVention of recover^^
had come into force, so they were of course shot.

D 2

40

Otherwise the disease was in so mild a form, that no
one, the inspector included, doubted that they would
mostly have recovered.

In fact, in this degree of it, the complaint is
nothing* but a feverish influenza cold. One of the
beasts had it in the most mahg-nant form. I asked
the farmer if it were different at all from the others.
He told me it was in the lowest condition of any, and
had been shut up all the winter in a dark box.

I knew of a farmer who took every conceivable
precaution. He allowed no communication with his
cattle. He watched the dogs, he killed the cats, he
warned off inspectors, and on his return from market
every week he put spurs to his horse, and galloped
as hard as he could for a mile, when he got to where
an infected farm was situated about a hundred yards
from the road. Yet it was all to no purpose, the
malady reached his farm, and his loss was great.
Of course the explanation is, that though he could
warn off inspectors,* and watch the dogs, and tent
the birds, and kill the cats, he could take no measures
against the north-west wind- which blew from the
infected farm about ten miles off.

* The belief that drovers and veterinary surgeons carry the
disease is explainable in a very simple way. The plague is
perpetually breaking out at innumerable farm-houses all over
the country. Drovers and veterinary surgeons are perpetually
visiting farm-houses all over the country. One of these men
goes to one, and next day the plague breaks out. Everybody
says he brought it. But not a word is said about the ninety-
and nine cases where no disease followed the visit of a drover
or cattle-doctor.

41

CHAPTER IV.

MR. GAMGEE — ORIGIN OF CHOLERA— THIRD RE
PORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS — THE ANALYZ-
ING FACULTY — " THE TIMES.''

Dr. Pruner in his work on the diseases of the
East describes the cattle plag^ue in Egypt. Accord-
ing- to him the chief causes of it were the use of
improper and insufficient food, and animals being-
cooped up and crowded tog-ether. Mr. Gamg-ee's
proof of the fallacy of this opinion is charming-.
He says, " no weig-ht can be attached to Dr.
Pruner's theory as to the cause of the disease, from
the fact that similar views are constantly entertained
reg-arding- fresh outbreaks of the plague." I suppose
he would say that no weig-ht can be attached to the
idea that food allays hung-er, from the fact that
similar views are constantly entertained reg-arding-
fresh instances of accessions of hung-er,

Mr. Gamg-ee says Aberdeenshire is an instance
of the success of stamping- out. To be sure the
disease reappeared five times in that county, and had
to be stamped out five times ; still this only shows
how useless is any system limited to one county.
Now what a delicious muddle this is. The rapid
transition of arg-ument to account for the second fact,
Avhich contradicts the first, is like the school bo}^ and
his penknife.

42

" I say Dick^ lend me your knife."

^^ I can't^ I haven't g'ot one^ besides I want it my-
self."

Surely Mr. Gamg-ee must be the man Sydney
Smith talked about, whose understanding* was always
g'etting- between his leg's and tripping- him up. And
after all it is quite possible, for Sydney Smith has
not been dead so many 3'ears.

But this Aberdeenshire stamping- out is just like
all Mr. Gamg-ee says in his book about stamping- out
OH the Continent, only he evidently cannot see the
true conclusions from his own facts. Some of the
countries in the middle of Europe seem always to
be stamping- out the plag-ue ; and then the plag'ue
when it is stamped out seems always to be coming-
back ag-ain. The fact is, the whole thing- is a de-
lusion. Of course if every sick beast in a country is
killed on the 81st of March, the probability is there
ivill be no sick beasts in the country the 1st of
April. So it seems to all, who are not in the
habit of thinking*, immediately to be stamped out.
All such (and they are a g'ood man}^ on the Avhole)
are just now thinking* that the stamping* out that is
now g'oing- on accounts for the diminution of cases
that has undoubtedly taken place of late. The re-
maining- few remember that according- to all histor}',
and all accounts of Rinderpest, the disease alwa^'s
rag-es worst in winter and diminishes or dies away
as the summer approaches. This is speciall}^ men-
tioned in the first report of the Commissioners with

43

regard to the murrain in England a hundred years

ag-o.

I know that just now my ideas about these things
must seem to most people crotchets ; that is to say,
my ideas that stamping- out diseases is a delusion ;
that sick animals should be left to nature, open fresh
air and good food, and that the popular ideas about
contagion are parti}- much exaggerated, and partly
sheer nonsense. A hundred years ago denial of the
existence of witchcraft was considered by all right
thinking people, from Addison downwards, a wrong-
headed crotchet. Mr. J. S. Mill says, very truly,
the crotchet of one ao*e is the acknowledo*ed truth of
the next, and the truism of the third.

Between two and three hundred years ago
Oriental plague was common in London, breaking-
out violently at different intervals. I have never
read that it was stamped out. But I have read
that gradually peo})le adopted cleaner and healthier
habits, and as we all know, the plague gradually
ceased.

Even up to thirty years ago people used to talk
about Glanders in horses, just as they now do about
Rinderpest. Stable habits though still bad enough
became far less filthy than they were formerly, and
such a thing as glanders is never heard of in Eng-
land now.

Wrong and insufhcent feeding, bad air and bad
management, each and all get animals into such a
state, that the}^ are ready for some internal in-

44

flammation at the slig-htest chang'e of weather ; some-
times this inflammation flies to the lungs and its
neig-hbourhood^ and then comes pleuro-pneumonia in
its various forms j other seasons it will take typhus
forms. Once in a hundred years the unhealthiness
of the season is excessive, then we have cattle plag'ue
in its present malig-nant form ; and here is the whole
matter in a nutshell. By the b^-e, I do wish people
would make a little more use of these nutshells than
they do. Sir Cornwall Lewis said, ^' hfe would be
very enjo^^able if it were not for its pleasures." The
old port wine drinking* Scotch Laird who hated
everything* that interrupted his potations said, life
would be very enjoyable if it were not for that bane
of societ}", '^ conversation." I say, life would be
very enjoyable if we were not delug-ed with words as
we all are j and when the pomposity of pedantry is
added, the burden of them becomes intolerable, unless
one can treat the case after the manner of Arch-
bishop Whately. One day a medical gentleman was
iiidulg'ing- in rather longer words than the Arch-
bishop thought quite becoming ; so he all at once

said, " By the bye, Mr. , what causes death in

"hanging?" "The explanation, 3'our Grace, is
^' this : in hanging, inspiration is checked, the
" circulation is stopped, and blood suffuses and con-
" gests the brain." " Bosh !" said the Archbishop ;
" the reason is because the rope is not long enough
" for the man's feet to touch the ground."
Mr. Gamgee's book has 859 pages. ^

45

Mr. Gamg-ee sa3^Sj that the reason the disease is
still with us is that the stamping" out measures have
not been string-ent enoug'h. But we read that in
Italy, in 1713, the Pope made a law that all diseased
animals were to be immediately slaug-htered, and
that every body who in any way infring-ed or im-
peded the law was to be immediately slaug-htered
also. Surely that was string-ent enoug'h. And yet
the plag'ue was not stayed for a whole 3''ear, when
no doubt a healthy season came and stopped it.

What a strange thing" it is that after all our so-
called progTess we should return, as we are now
doing*, to the barbarities of the ig"norant and super-
stitious ag-es.

Mr. Gamg*ee says cattle plag'ue is absolutely
different from small pox. Dr. Murchison says they
are very closely allied. Now, with all my respect
for the veterinary profession as a body, I must say
I cannot feel so much confidence in the opinion of
one of its members, as I do in that of one of the
first physicians in Eng-land.

Oh, but (says Mr. Gamg-ee) vaccination was no
use, so the diseases must be different. He misfht
just as well say hung-er in a man is different from
hung-er in a cow, because roast beef cures one and
not the other.

A few months ag'o Baron Eothschild's cattle were
attacked with the Rinderpest. Some of them seemed
for a time to be recovering- under Mr. Worms'
treatment. Oh, but (said Prof. Simonds) it is not

46

Einderpest at all. It was very injudicious by the
bye, his being so precipitate, for they all died after
ail.

All the English veterinary surgeons said the
plague first came by railway from Eussia, through
Eevel to Hull. But Dr. Jessen (a Eussian) said
there was no plague in or near Eevel, and no rail-
way into Eevel. Oh, but (said Mr. Ernes), tlie
Eevel cargo did not come from Eevel, it came from
Eiga. In Aberdeenshire the disease was stamped
out, and re-appeared five times. Oh, but (said Mr.
Gamgee) this was onl}- because it was not stamped
out also in the neighbouring counties. Veril}', the
knowledge of these learned professors is so profound
and multifarious, that they have an answer ready
for every thing.

A s I have said above, it is quite true that we can-
not understand why one district is affected whilst
the next one escapes. There is always the same dif-
ficulty whether the question be of rinderpest in cattle,
or cholera, or an}^ other epidemic amongst men, or
even common colds. But because we cannot un-
derstand it, that is no reason why we should invent
what we call explanations, and talk about subtile
emanations carried by cats and dogs. Formerly
people often could not understand A\h3' a cow was
taken ill, but that Avas no reason why they should
burn a witch for being the cause of it. Surely if we
do not understand a thing, it Avould be much better
to say so at once. Luther, when he was once con-

47

suited about a sickl}^ child, said it was possessed by
a devil, and he recommended its parents to throw it
into the river and drown it. Physicians in a succeeding-
age, for a like case, exhibited rhubarb and mag*nesia,
and calomel. At last, in the present time, they have
come to open air and g'ood diet. But the veterinary
profession are still where Luther was, for when a cow
is ill they say she is possessed by a fearful influence,
and that she must be slaughtered forthwith, lest
other cattle should become similarly possessed.

Another folly is that of bur3^ing- and wasting- the
hides. The evidence at the Hamburg: Cono-ress was
that the hide of the most diseased animal completely
loses all power of infection after being* hung* up in
the air for tAventy-four hours.

Mr. Gamg-ee is a very clever man. His know-
ledg*e of facts connected with his profession is un-
doubtedty g-reat. He has evidently g'ot what Sydney
Smith calls that tremendous eng'ine of colloquial
oppression, ^' a g'ood memory." 0. W. Holmes, the
American, truly says, " The man to be depended
upon is not the man of facts, but the man who can
think correctly about facts."

The Chinese know facts. They knew the mere
facts about gunpowder many thousand years before
the Europeans did. But they knew nothing* more,
till we showed them its enormous value by shooting-
them with it. Thus Mr. Gamg*ee possesses g*reat
power of seeing* mere isolated facts and differences,
but none of seeing* resemblances, and of discovering*

48

unity of principle. He could distinc% see that a
cow has a straight back, and a camel a crooked one,
and he would conclude therefrom, that a cow and
a camel are two totally different animals. But he
could with difficulty be brought to see, that as a cow
and a camel have each of them seven neck bones
and four stomachs, there is a unity of principle
between them. Thus he cannot see the unity of
principle between typhus in a man and rinderpest in
a cow, because he has only an eye for the differences.
He says when you cut the cow open, you find an
inflamed membrane here, and an inflamed membrane
there, a disorganized appearance about the second
stomach, an unusual look about the third, and some-
thing or other else about the fourth, all of which, he
sa3^s, is totally different from typhus in a man. Of
course it is. How can a man possibly be disorga-
nized in his third stomach, when he hasn't got one.

I was told the other day of a little boy who had
got the mumps. He was hungry as an ogre, but
could not open his mouth to eat. So the country
apothecary was sent for, who immediately pro-
nounced it not mumps, nor an3'thing to do with
n^umps, because the swelling began half an inch or
so lower down in the jaw than is usual in mumps.
And no doubt, if he had been allowed, he would
have proceeded to treat it as some mysterious, awful
and unknown malad}^ And this is the way we
allow ourselves to be bamboozled by men, who have
senses like a dog* or a cat, to observe detached

49

objects, but no brains to compare and connect them
like a reasoning* being*.

Ruskin says, ^^ Analysis and seeing* only dif-
^^ferences, tends to vice and deformity, whereas
'^ synthesis and seeing- resemblances, tends to unity,
" virtue, and harmony." This may be true. Still
I should hesitate to say, that the man who can only
see that a cow and a camel have each four stomachs,
is necessarily a more virtuous character than the
man who can only see that one has a crooked back,
whilst the other has a straig'ht one.

I should rather say that each faculty is equally
valuable, and that neither should preponderate.

Mr. Gamg-ee and his class seem to be quite igno-
rant that " disease" is only a word used for con-
venience, to represent concisely the different dis-
org"anizations of animal machinery. When the
boiler of a steam-engine is cracked, we do not say
it is afflicted with that terrible and malig-nant disease,
'^ enteritis," but we acknowledg-e we have manag-ed
it badty, we mend it up and take better care of it
for the future. But these people seem to think
diseases to be so many actual positive entities, g"oing*
about the world hke so many ramping* and roaring
lions, seeking' whom they may devour. Still the
word disease is of course handy to use, if only
people would remember that there is no such thing-.

Mr. Gamg'ee seems to think that rinderpest is
perpetually bubbling- up out of the ground in some
remote corner of the Russian Steppes. Dr. Unter-

50

berg'er, one of the members of the International
Veterinary CongTess^ thoug-ht that the Siberian pest
is caused by subterranean waters. Man}- really
scientific medical men assert that cholera comes
from the mud of the Gang-es, and Oriental plag'ue
from the mud of the Nile. Now I don't believe
one word of all this. These theories really mean
nothing- but this : '^ I am too stupid to see that
men are so ignorant, dirty, covetous, vicious,
ambitious, luxurious, and indolent, that they pre-
pare themselves to contract these diseases ; and if
there is anything' in the matter besides this, I have
too much pride and vanit}" to confess, that I do not
understand what it is." Take g*out as another
instance. No doubt there is sometimes hereditary
predisposition; for the sins of the fathers, un-
doubtedly", visit the children unto the third and fourth
g'eneration. There is no escape from that law of
nature. Still in the majority of cases, the explana-
tion is more simple. But people are for some reason,
scrupulous about saying-, " I have been eating- and
drinking' too much j" or, " I have been indolent and
luxurious ;" so they say, ^^ I inherit the disease from
my poor dear g-reat grandfather, who was a
martyr," &c.

I sa}^ 1 do not believe that God manufactures
mud on the Nile and Gang'es, in order to send
forth emanations from it to decimate the creatures
he has made. Probably the question is incapable of
proof one way or another. Still the ing-enuit}" of

51

man is gTeat. Perhaps we shall hear one of these
da3's of experiments heing" made by some illustrious
Parisian surg-eon " in corpore vili." Perhaps we
shall be hearing* of a dog* behig- shut uj) in a box with a
table spoonful of Gang'es' mud and found dead in the
morning". Log'ic and ing'enuity will prove anything".
Does a question hold out ? Double the ingenuity.
Does it hold out still? Double it ag-ain, and the
thing- is done. Still as I say I shall not believe it.
On the contrary, I believe that God is a benig-nant
not a malignant being-. I know well that the evil
and misery there is in the world, from which there is
no escape, must not be ignored. A blind optimism
is as false and foolish as the opposite mistake. This
evil and misery no doubt can never be explained.
But it is only a small part of the whole. Still,
though it cannot be explained, some partially ex-
planatory observations can be made about it. For
instance, in the animal world, almost the only natural
evil is famine and its consequent diseases. But famine
could only be impossible by food being- so plentiful
that animals would no long-er have to work for their
living-, and the diseases consequent on this state of
things would, as thing-s are constituted, be so awful
and destructive, that animal life would shortly cease
to exist upon the g-lobe. So with men, if the}^ were
not kept in some degree of order by plagues and dis-
eases following vice, dirt and indolence, the race
would soon become extinct.

Again, with regard to the miseries caused b}^ wars

52

and fio'htiiio's amono-st men. These arise from hii-

DO D

man enthusiasms and warmth of interest and feel-
ing-. But strife could cease only by the substitution
for these thing-s of a cold utilitarianismj that is, of
death. I do not deny one ideal alternative ; that is,
the substitution of a real Christian enthusiasm. But
that, as applied to mankind in the mass, is Utopia-
nism in this world, whatever may be the case in
other planets, or at some very future day in this.

Thus we see, that thoug-h we cannot understand
why the world and its contents are constituted as
they are, still, being* so constituted, the present mise-
ries could only cease to be, by others infinitely worse
taking- their place, even to the annihilation of orga-
nized life upon the giobe.

Now I have been much struck with the fact, that
all through Mr. Gamg-ee's 859 pages, the truth that
men have any power whatever towards preventing*
disease either in themselves or animals, is altogether
ignored. I only observed one exception, where a
Dr. Bawitsch said, '^ the indolence of the Bussian
" peasant is such that though he overworks his
" horses, he does not trouble himself at all about
" their feeding. It often happens that they die of
" starvation and want of food. Their carcases lie
" unburied."

Vast numbers of evils are reall}^ under control of
men that are generally supposed not to be. For in-
stance, the destruction of life at Pompeii and Her-
culaneum. If men had used the intelligence God

53

gave theiiij instead of consulting* onl}^ their craving'
for riches* and luxury, these towns would never have
been built.

About contag"ion some say the question is of no
consequence ; that all we want is to g*et rid of the
plag"ue, and that the question of how it came is no
matter. I say it is of g-reat consequence. I say
that disease in cattle, if right notions prevailed,
mig-ht in future be almost entirely prevented. My
moral in all I have said, is, that good food, cleanli-
ness, light, and open field management, would save
us fi'om a repetition of this disease for all time. The
moral of Mr. Gamgee's book is, ^' They that are
filthy, let them be filthy still f for that all the dis-
eases mentioned therein are inevitable dispensations
of Providence. I preach food and air. Mr. Gamgee
preaches slaughter.

I recommend farmers to read the latter part of
Dr. Lyon Playfair's little book about the Plague. It
is most excellent. No doubt he adopts many of
the veterinary delusions. But he could hardly help
doing so, because all the evidence he had to go by-
came through the profession. And evidence always
means what the giver of it wishes or has been taught
to be true, and therefore what he really believes to
])e so. Dr. Playfair says, that the rapid growth of
the disease, is owing* to our gross neglect of sanitary-
laws 5 and that what is wanted, is by good manage-
ment to make our animals proof against it as we
have alread}- done with men in the case of Oriental
plague.

E

54

He also says that when well-manag-ed cattle (are
any well managed?) that when well-managed cattle
get the disease, it only means that when one man's
house is on fire, the next one is not safe. About
the Revel stor^^, he says it has not a leg to stand on.

In the preceding- pag"es I have endeavoured to
express my opinion about the doctrines of Mr.
Gamg"ee and his fraternity, clearly and decidedly.
But when I consider, that by their ignorant treat-
ment,* and blood-thirsty counsels, they have caused
a loss to the community of a very great many
thousand pounds^ I do not think I have spoken too
strongly.

About Mr. Gamgee himself, I can fancy that
some who may read what I have written, will
think I entertain little respect for him. But th^y
would think wrong. I feel much respect for him.
It is only his logical faculty^ I do not think much

* The most fatal part of this treatment is the depriving
diseased animals of light and cold fresh air. If a diseased
beast is shut up in a dark place in a temperature above 40°,
no power on earth can save it, unless the case has originally
been a very mild one. Then they sometimes scramble through.
The drugging, if tolerably mild, probably does little harm and
no good.

t At the end of Mr. Gramgee's book, he endeavours to
show that Rinderpest is probably caused by minute animal-
culse (entozoa) in the blood, because they can be discovered
by a microscope after the animal is dead. This I call as
good an illustration of " the cart before the horse" as one
often meets with. The presence of animalculae no doubt
always accompanies death and decomposition, and even disease,
which is often only partial death and decomposition.

56

of; and that is comparatively a very insig*nificant
part of a man. Mr. Gamg'ee has shown great
energy and great zeal, and he evidently works hard
to do his duty in that state of life unto which
it has pleased God to call him. Though much
opposed, and sometimes considerably ridiculed, he
has always treated his opponents with courteous
g'ood feeling'. In October the Times had a leading-
article, holding up the irrepressible Mr. Gamgee (as
it called him) to the ridicule of all its readers in all
quarters of the g'lobe. Two days afterwards ap-
peared a letter in the Times from Mr. Gamgee,
expressed with the utmost courtesy, and not show-
ing the smallest particle of irritation. The qualities
Mr. Gamgee thus shows himself to possess, are
worth all the "logical faculty" in the «'orld.
Therefore it is that I feel much respect for Mr.
Gamgee.

The article which I have just mentioned was
most true and excellent, but since then, the
Times, staunch to its principles, and true as steel
to its name, has turned round once or twice in
the matter. And not a word can be said against
this. All well-conducted weathercocks have done
just the same thing. We read in the article I
am alluding* to : — " The theory of importation from
*^ abroad is one which in former times was applied
" to all plagues whatever, but it has now in all
" other cases been deliberately exploded. What is
" said of Rinderpest was said in as many words of

E 2

56

" Egyptian plag'ue. The plag-ue used to visit us
" periodically, and was invariably ascribed to a
" shipload of infected substances. Yet we never
" g-et the plag'ue imported now. That the Einder-
" pest of a century ago should be traced to foreign
" importation was perfectly natural, for nobody
" then believed in any other origin of plag'ues.
" This view is so conformable to our prejudices and
" old notions ', so many matters are settled, so many
" oblig'ations dispensed with by looking at this
" plague as a spark thrown among us, to be stamped
" out with the foot, that it ought to be looked at
'^ with the greatest suspicion." Furthermore, we
read in the same article : — " This disease, noiwith-
" standing' its outlandish name, is simply ' typhus,'
" by which name indeed it is always called in
^' France."

The plague has appeared in Ireland. The regu-
lations to prevent intercourse with England have
been most stringent, so I am curious to see hoAV the
profession will account for it. Probably they will
say that the east wind that has prevailed lately has
carried the contagium. Or we shall be told of some
beast on the opposite coast, in the delirious stage of
rinderpest, and, therefore, not accountable for its
actions, plunging into the Irish Channel, and having
been last seen swimming' in the direction of the
sister island. We shall then be probably reminded
of the incredible distances animals have been known
to swim, and how stags have actuall}'- performed the

67

same feat in the very same place. Or, perhaps, we
shall be told how some drover was seen near this
newly infected spot in Ireland immediately previous
to the breaking- out of the disease, and how this very
man was known to have been only six months pre-
viously at a farm in Cheshire where the rinderpest
was raging-, he having during- all the time never
once chang-ed his clotheS;, partly from the pressure
of his professional duties, partly from the known
disinclination of the class to all processes of the sort,
and partly from having- none to change ', or, if none
of these will do, the}'^ will say it is not rinderpest at
all, like Professor Symonds about Baron Eothschild's
cattle 5 and I do not wish to hint a word against his
absolute honesty or theirs. I only mean to say that
" the wish is father to the thought," as we all know
or ought to know, it always is. However, these are
mere idle guesses. Most likely we shall be told
something far more absurd than any of them, for
the imagination of man is never powerful enough to
approach the wonders of reality.

I have no doubt that veterinary surgeons are
doing their duty to the best of their power and
knowledge ; but their opinions they take (and it is
quite right they should do so) from the heads of
their profession. In Oliver Twist, the butler, Mr.
Giles, is examined on the subject of a burglary.
Then comes the " boy Brittles," turn ; the " boy
Brittles," as we are told, not being actually a boy,
but only called so from long habit.

58

" Now, Brittles, I presume yon know the nature
of an oath ; pray, are you a Protestant ? "

" Yes, sir — no — that is," said Brittles, in terrible
trepidation — " God bless me — I'm the same as Mr.
Giles."

So it is I find with the veterinary profession.

" What is your opinion, Mr. , about the

eattle plague ? "

" I think, sir— that is, I believe — I mean to say,
my opinion — God bless me, it's the same as Mr.
Gamg-ee's."

Thus, if Mr. Gamgee's opinions are erroneous,
those of the whole profession must be erroneous
also. But my endeavour in these pages has been
to show that Mr. Gamgee's opinions are erroneous.
At any rate, I have tried to make it clear that 1
think them so ; and if I have failed in doing so, I
think it is not my fault.

It may be said that all the authorities, together
with public opinion, are on the other side. True ;
one hundred years ago a few, but very few, people
disbelieved in witchcraft. All the authorities, from
Addison downwards, tog'ether with public opinion,
were on the other side.*

* I need Hardly say tliat this reference to the old belief in
witchcraft is not an argument to prove the truth of what I
say, for it might equally well be used to prove any absurdity
whatever — that the moon is made of green cheese, or that
rinderpest comes only from Eussia, or anything. No ; I only
make it to show that an opinion, being an opinion of the pub-
lic, proves nothing whatever as to its truth.

69

The world^ according* to some, is many millions of
years old. At the veiy lowest computation ever made
(that of the learned Archbishop Usher) it is 5870
years old. For 5770 j'ears of this period almost
everybod}' belie^^d in witchcraft. Has the human
race all at once become so very wise, when, till so
lately, it was so ver}'- foolish. I must say I can see
no reason whatever to think it has. Forms of folly
and superstition chang-e. Human nature remains
much the same. Of course, I know that I must not
expect assent to this view. It is contrary to the
constitution of thing's for people to disbelieve in their
ag'e having' arrived at true knowledg'e, or to see that
the knowledg'e of one ag-e is the ig'norance of the
next. As Emerson sa^-s, before Napoleon's time
everybody believed that the art of war had been
carried to the utmost perfection to which it was
capable of reaching-. Probabty the delusion is a
valuable provision of nature. For upon most people
the truth would no doubt have a disheartening*
effect — the truth, namely, that knowledge is but the
knowledg-e of to-day, to be replaced by the know-
ledo-e of to-morrow.

The foreg-oing' pages I have written solely with a
view to the improvement of the veterinar}' profession.
My only object has been their good. I could not
bear to see such a laro-e class of well-meanino- and
otherwise respectable persons sunk so deep in ignor-
ance, so I determined to devote some of my time to
their instruction. Of course, I know there can be

60

no visible result. That is not the way thing's work
in this world. Words are spoken, and seem to fall
dead • still, if they are words of wisdom, they must
tell, and in fifty years ideas are not where they
would have been if they had not been spoken.
Disease in animals is principal^ a pocket affair, and
therefore, only of limited importance. For this
reason it cannot be wondered at that the g-enerality
of people having" something- better to do than to
think much about the matter, should take their no-
tions from those whose business it is, namety, the
veterinary surgeons. Neither can it be wondered
at that these men, to save themselves the futilit}^ of
trying" to think about the matter, should adopt the
notions entertained by the heads of their profession.
In fact, the}'- are quite right to do so ; but the result
of all this is the predicament our ideas upon these
subjects are now in.

I have perused the third and last Report of the
Commissioners appointed to investig-ate matters con-
nected with the Cattle Plague. Interesting' as it is,
I was rather disappointed to find the instruction
contained in it lessened to me by m}'' having' already
read it before ; first in various letters communicated
many months ag"o, by Professors Gamg'ee and
Symonds to the periodical press, and afterwards
in the published accounts (which I have lately had
the pleasure of perusing") of the proceeding's of the
Grand International Veterinary Cong'resses at Ham-
burg- and Vienna. The only thing in this third report

61

that I had not read before is the positive assertion
that no non-ruminant animal can take the disease.
'Now this assertion has no truth in it whatever.
Rabbits have been put into a close box where dis-
eased beasts have been, and every one of them has
caug'ht the complaint, and died. I know this to be
true, because it was a relation of my own who tried
the experiment. This third report repeats the old
assertion we have seen so often, that the disease
occurs most where there is g'reatest traffic, or that it
follows the line of traffic, as they phrase it. An old
riddle asks, " Why do white sheep eat more than
black ones ?" Then come the solemn g*uesses, such
as that " black absorbs caloric, and renders less
nutriment necessary," &c., &c. Then comes the
real answer, " Because there are more of them."
So we may put the above into the form of a riddle,
and ask, " Why is there more plague in those places
where traffic in cattle is g-reatest, than in others ?"
Then come the solemn g-uesses, such as, " That
the disease being- only produced by poisonous emana-
tions that bubble out of the ground in Russia, and
are carried west by steppe cattle, therefore," &c., &c.
Then comes the real answer, '^ Because there are
more of them."

In reading" these reports I have wondered a g'ood
deal how it is that Mr. Lowe, who is I believe on
the Commission, does not keep the log-ic in better
order ; but I suppose the answer is, " What is one
among' so many ?"

63

The Commissioners mention the decrease of the
disease since the slaug'htering- as a proof of the
advantag-es of it. They say nothing- about the
observations in their previous report^ that in spring*
these diseases always diminish and often completely
die away in the summer. Mr. Gamg-ee said that
two months of slaug-hter vrould annihilate the plag-ue.
There have been more than two months' slaug-hter^
and there are about two thousand fresh cases every
week^ notwithstanding" spring* to help. Then comes
what the Commissioners seem to think a g*rand con-
elusion, of the gi'eatest importance^ that they have
quite established, namely, that the plague is caused
by a specific poison. To be sure, as they allow,
chemical tests fail to discover the poison, and a
microscope so powerful as to make a child three feet
hig-h look as big* as Mont Blanc failed also. Now,
what is all this but saying* with much pomposity,
in many words, what none have ever doubted,
namely, that some diseases are catching-, but how or
why nobody knows. Then we have a long' story
about how a drop of diseased blood will infallibly
communicate the disease by inoculation. I wonder
whether the Commissioners really believe that this
is only true in the case of this Rinderpest, and not
equally true of every kind of malig-nant fevers, or,
as I think they used to be called, putrid fevers ;
that it is not equally true of famine fevers, jail
fevers, Oriental plag-ue, small pox, ship fevers, camp
fevers, and every form and variety of those typhus

63

diseases that have alwaj's been apt to follow over-
crowding-, under-feeding", foul air^ and unnatural
modes of living*.

Then comes the assertion, that the Avhole course
of the disease is seven days, which I am sorry to
say is nonsense. In one case it is two da^^s, in
another three, in another ten, and in fact there is no
rule whatever. All depends on the deg-ree of ma-
lignity. One case I knew where a beast had it one
day and was quite well the third. All the others in
the same yard had it and were shot. The one I
speak of shivered like the others for twenty-four
hours, but was well before they had time to fetch
the executioner. The fact is, there are all degrees,
from a slight shivering cold to most malignant
plague.

Then comes the great discover}^, first announced
as we are told b}^ Professor Gamgee, that when the
complaint is coming on the temperature of the body
rises two or three degrees. Of course it does, as in
every other case and kind of violent fever under the
sun. Fever means internal inflammation, and in-
ternal inflammation means abnormal internal heat.

Aberdeenshire, they say proves the eflicacy of
stamping- out, because the number of cases in that
county have been only 0*2 7 per cent. But there
are other counties where the number of cases have
been as few without stamping- out ; nothing is said
about them. These people evidently think that one
swallow does make a summer. There is no doubt

64

that if Commissioners are appointed they must g-o
by the evidence and opinions they hear. Now,
when disease in animals is the question these opinions
must be the opinions of veterinary surg-eons. Few
people seem to know the uncertainty of all evidence
and of all opinion^ or how invariably the evidence
and opinion of men (even with absolutely honest
intentions) take their whole colouring* from their
wishes, feeling's and habits of thoug'ht, as modified
by education and circumstances ', so that Herbert
Spencer la3's it down as a law, that the world is
ruled not by intellectual processes, but by feeling's,
wishes, emotions, desires and character.

05

CHAPTER Y.

OUR LEGISLATION IN THE MATTER— MR. J. S,
MILL — MR. HUGHES — UTILITARIANISM — REFORM
— METAPHYSICS — ME. GLADSTONE.

I WONDER whether there ever was such a muddle
before. No doubt it was a puzzlmg* case ; for we
all know that in a free country those who g'overn
oug-ht to be governed by those who are g'overned j
but '^quot homines tot sententise;" so what were
the}^ to do ? There is one thing- very satisfactory,
and that is the way the practical working* of our
mode of g-overnment answers to the theory of it.
The theory sa3^s that the leg-islation should represent
and echo the opinion of the public. Now about
the cattle plag'ue the opinion of the public was
sim^^ly confusion ; and the legislation has been con-
fusion worse confounded.

By the bye, what a curious idea that is of
modern times, that the rulers of a nation should be
ruled b}^ the people they rule j that the legislators,
supposed to be elected for their superiority in wis-
dom and experience, should, instead of consulting-
that wisdom and experience, consult only the pre-
sumed inferior wisdom and experience of those who
selected them • that the educated should be g-o-
verned by the uneducated, and the wisdom and

06

reason of cultured men by the passion, folly, and
credulity of the uncultured. However, perhaps it is
all rig'ht. Perhaps we want a little moderate anarchy
to give us a lesson. To be sure there is a lesson on
the other side of the Atlantic. In the disunited
States, the wise, the civilised, and the cultivated,
are shut out fi-om all part in politics, and the
consequence is just what one would expect. How
the revolution that is now s*oino- on there will end no
one can say. Probably the disunited ma}^ become
for a time united again, and all things gradually
settled. But probabl}^ on the other hand, we shall
be hearing some day of the assassination of Presi-
dent Johnson ; at least he sa3's so himself. Still
America is hardly a lesson for us, for the circum-
stances are so different. The country is so vast that
there is room for ever}^ body, wise and foolish,
Mormons, Shakers, Philosophers, and Eowdies;
therefore, little government is wanted. Birds of a
feather flock too*ether without incommodino- the
communit}^ The Mormons at the Salt Lake, the
Shakers in some favourable spot for shaking-^ the
Philosophers at Boston, where they can transcen-
dentalise, with no one to disturb them; and the
Rowdies in the far West, where they can swear and
gamble, and bully, and murder in peace and
quietness.

Ecclesiasticus says — " The carpenter laboureth
^^ day and night, the smith worketh at the anvil, the
" potter fashioneth the clay. All these trust to

07

" their hands. Without these cannot a city be
^^ inhabited ; but they shall not be soug'ht for in
" public council, nor sit hig-h in the cong-reg'ation^
" the}^ shall not sit on the judg-es' seat, nor under-
" stand the judg-ment. They cannot declare justice
^^ and judg-ment." I Avonder which is rig'ht, this
old Hebrew or Mr. Brig-ht.* In theory it seems
desirable that the working* class, as well as every
other larg'e class, should elect a feAV of their number
to enunciate their little thoug'hts in Parliament.
For no doubt, in any country the opinions that
there are of ever}^ sort and size, had better be
known if possible. But how is it possible. How
is it possible to g-et five millions or so working--men
to elect suitable representatives. Take a navvy, for
instance, working' on a railway. Who can doubt
Avhat he would sa}'- if he were canvassed for his vote
for some fittino- man. Who can doubt that he

would say — " I don't care a , I'll vote for my

" mate Jem. He's the fust chap in Eng-land, and
" can sing* as g-ood a song* as any on 'em." And
quite rig'ht he would be to vote for the " fust" man
he knows. To arrive at correct opinions about
these subjects, the first requisite is knowledg-e of

■ * I found one day in Hazlitt's writings a curious catalogue
of the qualities lie considered necessary to make a first-rate
popular orator. These were "force," "self-confidence,"
"want of refinement," "shallowness of thought," "absence
of originality," "being neither superior nor inferior to his
audience," " passion" and " clearness."

68

human nature. That is to say^ knowledg'e of the
nature of the men it is proposed to enfranchise. I
m3'self have the hig-hest opinion of them as a class.
I suspect the uncultivated are as a rule better
hearted and more spontaneous!}^ unselfish than the
cultivated. But the question is as to their fitness for
leg-islation. The leaders of the radical party are some
of them men of veryg-reat talent, as every one knows.
But they often seem to me singailarly ignorant of
human nature. Take, for instance, Mr. J. S. Mill.
What can he know of human nature ? Human nature
means love and hate, and passion and violence, and
geniality and impulsiveness, and heartiness and jovia-
lity, and g'ood fellowship and illogical wrong'-headed-
ness. Now, what can an amiable metaphysician, who
disbelieves in the existence of matter, and thinks
women voting-, a likely sort of thing* to add to the
harmony and peace of families —what, I sa}^, can
such a man possibl}^ know about such things as
these ?* Most men who are at all addicted to
thinking, find themselves tempted occasionally to
disbelieve in the existence of matter, as in fact of
every thing, and any thing. They know by expe-

* Hazlitt says, one objection to metaphysics is, that the
study of them, tends to destroy geniality, warmth, and enthu-
siasm. One day in an argument his antagonist struck him.
A thii'd friend who was present immediately interfered to pre-
yent a fight, or retaliation in any way. But this was quite
unnecessary. Hazlitt had no notion of the kind, all he said
was, " I am a metaphysician, nothing but an idea hurts me."

G9

rieiice, that a man who kills his whole naturo,
except the log-ical and reasoning- faculty that is in
him, that is to say, who ceases to be a man, and
becomes instead only a piece of reasoning- machinery
— they know, I say, that such a thing* must in the
end come to unbelief more or less entire. Now, the
utmost possible extreme of the principle of want of
faith is disbelieving- in every thing* except what it is
absolutel}' impossible to disbelieve in j and the only
thing's it is absolutely impossible to disbelieve in,
are our own sensations. Now, I must say (thoug'h
I cannot prove it, for it is not capable of proof, it
is only a matter of faith) I must say^ I cannot
help thuiking'j that when I see a brick wall God
intended me to believe in the existence (apart from
m}" own or any one else's sensations) of that brick
wall, whatever that existence may be , and therefore
I do believe in its existence.

Eig'orous logical thoug-ht no doubt shows the con-
trary. So much the worse then for rigorous logical
thouo'ht, and for the machine that turns it out. The
real question is, what a man thinks about it. To
the colour-blind, red and blue are meaning-less.
To the man that has no music in his soul, harmony
is only a Avord. To the enthusiast, logic is nothing-.
To the logician, enthusiasm is folly. Yet all these
think their conclusions rig'ht. Now, I say none have
a chance of coming- to right conclusions who do not
possess all the faculties of the human, soul and body
in full perfection. If a mere logician says to me,

F

70

" I must be rig'ht, my arguments are so admirable.'^
I should say to him, ^^Your arguments depend
'^ upon the constitution of your mind : how do you
" know your constitution of mind is the right one j
" besides, bring me a greater logician than you
^^ and all your fine arguments will be knocked over
^' like ninepins. And so on, ad infinitum."

Any man who, by a life of abstract thought, has
killed his whole nature, except the logical faculty
that is in him, must necessarily disbelieve everything,
for he has left himself nothing- to believe with. The
logical faculty useful, and indeed indispensable as it
is when kept in its proper place and subordination
to the higher powers, is by itself merely critical,
negative, and destructive. The result of living wholly
and solely on the fruit of the tree of knowledge, is
death — or utilitarianism ; and that is in fact only
another name for the same thing*. I say, a life of
mere abstract thought is death, that is, spiritually ;
but it also is materially ; for abstract thought in its
perfection is trance, and trance is stoppage of the
breath and of the circulation, and stoppage of the
breath and of the circulation is death.

I say, there is no line to be drawn between ab-
stract thought by itself and trance, and the produc-
tions people worship as works of vast intellect are
often, wonderful as they may be, little else than the
fantastic and morbid dreams of a lifeless and soul-
less trance or semi-death. No doubt abstract
thought does good service sometimes. Some men

71

Sftem born for nothing- else ; besides, the world is
carried on by division of labour. Still, such men
oug'ht to know their place. Goethe says, " a man is
of importance not in proportion to the works he
leaves behind ; but in so far as he is actively happy
and leads others to be so." This is probably very
true. The g-reatest man is the man with most hap-
piness, not with most reasoning" powei*, still less with
most what he calls knowledge. But then the hap-
piness must be the real article, not mere pleasure
enjoying. " He that increaseth in knowledge in-
creaseth in sorrow." That means, he kills by think-
ing* and doing' nothing* else, all the loving* and hating*
and feeling* and enjoying* part of his nature. ^' Re-
joice alwa3'S, and again I say, rejoice." Ag*ain
Goethe says, ^' that man loses Paradise by striving*
after knoAvledge is true of all time j but perhaps
especially true of the present."

The author of " Ecce Homo" says, that no heart is
pure that is not warm ; and that no virtue is safe
that is not enthusiastic. He also says, that absorb-
ing* mental activity blunts those feelings in which the
life of virtue resides.

Frederick Robertson was told in Germany, that
all the metaphysicians in that country were men of
bad private character ; but this was I should think a
very considerable exag'geration. About disbelieving*
in matter, that is to say, in every thing* but one's
own sensations, which is what abstract thought
comes to at last, I will only say a few more words.

F 2

7S

The propounders of this philosophy say, that because
we cannot prove anj^thing- to exist except our own
sensations, therefore, nothing else does exist. But
this is no proof, it is onty a possibility or probability
at most. On the other hand men are so made, that
in spite of log-ic and reasoning-^ the}^ must believe in
something' else. This makes it probable that there
is something" else. So the question comes to this.
"Which of these probabilities is the g-reatest ? There
is no doubt, whatever, what every one in the world
would say about it, except an exceedingly small
minorit}^ Now this minority may of course be
ri^'ht and the majority wrong. But now let us con-
sider what kind of people these are, who form this
minority ; or rather let us state this, for their habits
and peculiarities are well known. In the first place
then, they pass a large part of their lives* doubled
up in a crooked and grotesque posture, by the edge
of a table with a goose's feather in their hands.
Sometimes however they walk. But when they do
it is not like other people. For they shamble with
their heads bent down, and their eyes fixed in a
strange vacant manner upon their own boots. And
this is the more extraordinary, inasmuch as their
boots are usually very ill made, and altogether with-
out beauty. Then they never laugh, they never
cry, and they very rarely smile. Their muscles are

* Gerinau philosopkers have been known to sit at their desk
for three days and three nights without moving.

73

of the consistency of batter pudding-^ their flesh, to
say the least of it, flabby j their complexion colour-
less, and their stomachs as a rule derang-ed.
Finall}', they are dead to the interests, amusements,
and occupations of their fellow creatures. They
delio'ht not in the thino-s men seem intended to
delig'ht in, and they mourn not at the thing's men
seem intended to mourn at. Now what must we
think of such people. Men with the savag-e qualities
of brutes are called inhuman. So these strang-e
being's without the human qualities of men, should
they not be called non-human. And if non-human,
what can be the value of their opinions about human
matters ?

Then about UtiHtarians. They think they
account for every thing* about rig-ht and wrong*, by
" greatest happiness to greatest numbers" as text,
and numerous, and I regret to say, dry sermons
upon it. But how about the passion for good and
rig'ht that all people ought to have, that many un-
doubtedly do have, and that great numbers have in a
more or less diluted form. Where did this come
from ? Why do they not tell us that. Perhaps,
because they do not know what it means ; because
they themselves have none of it. Now the accusa-
tion of not having a conscience is rather a serious
one. And yet an observer of human nature, cannot
doubt that many men have none to speak of. And
these are often very well behaved and reasoning-
clever people. They are much too passionless.

74

prudent, and calculating-, ever to do anj^thing-
tangibly wron^. And they g'O throug-h life generally
in a most exemplary manner. Sometimes, however,
a temptation comes in their way they are open to.
About money most likely. Then they murder a
little perhaps, or forge, or set a house on fire. It is
all one. But if murder, it is done with the utmost
kindness and good humour. And when they are
hanged a few weeks afterwards, they no doubt think
it a foolish and unreasonable penalty for the trans-
gression of a mere arbitrarily made law of society.
For if there are no such things as absolute and eternal
right and wrong, any laws about conduct must be
mere conventional contrivances for the convenience
of society. •

Of course all this that I have written above about
utilitarians and metaphysicians are only general
observations. The}^ cannot be intended for any
individual or individuals of either of these classes,
for I am happy to say I know none. Besides, if I
did, I should consider it most unjustifiable saying
such things of them. "Who am I that I should
judg*e another man's servant?"

Perhaps I ought to apologise for this digression
about metaphysics, but I shall notj for after all
we have still liberty in England to Avrite what we
think, however long this liberty may last. On the
one hand, we are not expatriated for doing so like
Victor Hugo ; and, on the other hand, we have not
yet come to lynching j

75

" aud then they send all roun'

To see if there's a feather bed that's borryable in the town."

So we read in " The Big-low Papers ; " the feathers
of course being" wanted to apply with the addition
of tar to the person of an utterer of unpopular
opinions. But^ as I say^ we have not come to this
yet. As to metaphysics; of course they are neither
popular nor unpopular^ most people being- much too
wise to waste their time about the matter. ^^ When
*^ the person who speaks/^ says Yoltaire, " does not
" understand what he is saying-, and the person who
^^ is spoken to does not understand what is said to
" hini; — voila la metaphysique."

Montaig-ne says he feels inclined to hate all po-
pular g-overnmentS; whenever he calls to mind their
tendency to g-ive way to cruel and childish super-
stitions ; and then he tells the stor}'^ of the Athenians^
in consequence of popular clamour^ putting to death
their captains^ because they followed up a battle by
pursuing- the Lacedemonians instead of stopping- be-
hind to bury the dead. To be sure they g-ained and
completed a g-reat victory ; but that was a trifle com-
pared to satisf3dng- the popular superstition by
performing- the customar}^ ceremonies over the bodies
of the slain. Now, uncultivated human nature is
the same in all ag-es ; of course, superstition in these
times takes different forms 3 but there it is just the
same. In the matter of the Cattle Plag-ue, as we
all remember, the Government held back as long- as
it could, but at last popular clamour was too loud,

76

credulity and superstition g*ot the better^ and slaug-h-
ter was proclaimed. This time only the pocket
has suifered. But curious thing's happen in America.
Why should they not in Eng'land some day? For
instance, suppose the case of a Chancellor of the
Exchequer, uttering- in an ungunrded moment some
sentiments unpopular araong-st the uncultivated
classes; in derision^ let us suppose by way of
example, of spirit rapping*. Are English and
American natures so absolutel}^ different that it is
impossible to imagine tarring* and feathering- ever
taking' place in this country ? I do not ag'ree with
Mr. Gladstone ; I am sadly afraid he is one of the
kind of men Archbishop Whately alluded to when
he saidj — " The cleverer a man is the more harm he
does, unless he has wisdom to match." I am afraid
he is one of those men who can prove to themselves
the truth of anything* whatever, of which some in-
fluence makes them wish to prove the truth. I am
afraid he is always liable to be subject to any
stronger mind than his own, under whose influence
he ma}^ at any time come. I sa}' stronger, not
more active, for that I should think must be im-
possible; I also say mind, meaning the whole mind,
not mere intellect. Then he has evidentl}' got the
strange idea that breathing smok}- air and propin-
quity to tall chimneys, and to numberless red-brick
houses, in some mysterious way flts a man to take
part in legislation. No doubt it is an involuntary
influence exercised over him by his parentage and

77

fiimil}'. He who is born of cotton^ will of course
have a leaiiiiip' to cotton. Human nature is human
nature. It is just the same in the countrj^ He
who is born of turnips, will of course have a leaning-
to turnips. Still one would think that a g-reat
statesman niig-ht be superior to these weaknesses.
On the other hand, I admire Mr. Gladstone's
talents, I appreciate the sort of elevated and eleva-
ting* tone of his mind compared with some other of
the leading' politicians, and I respect his earnestness
in what there can be no doubt he reall}^ and honestly
believes to be for the g'ood of the country. For
these reasons it is that I cannot say how I should
g'rieve to hear, at some future time, when our insti-
tutions have become more favourable for it than they
are at present, of his ever having* to underg'o the
humiliating", and if not actually painful, at any rate
distressing- process to which 1 have alhided above.

But to return to the workino- classes. I wish to
protest ag-ainst the aspersions on them, contained
in the speech in Parliament of Mr. Hug-hes, the
member for Lambeth. In this speech he g-ave us to
understand that the dominant feeling* among'st the
working- classes, is a selfish narrow-minded jealousy
of any member of their body (as, for instance, such
a man as Georg-e Stephenson) who shows any
superiority to, and therefore receives higher wag-es
than the majority j just like stupid tyrannical school
boys, who bully and thrash those who are cleverer
than themsehes, and \\ho g-et above them in the

78

school. NoAv I cannot believe so ill of them as this.
Still, Mr. HuD-hes knows his friends better than I
do. When Foote^ the actor and buffoon, was taken
by an aristocratic acquaintance to one of his parties,
where were collected a number of his friends, he
good naturedl}^ said, " Mr. Foote, jour handkerchief
is hanging- out of 3^our pocket." '^ Thank 3'ou, my
Lord," said Foote, looking- round suspiciously and
thrusting- his handkerchief down to the bottom of
his pocket, " Thank 3'ou, my Lord, 3'ou know your
friends better than I do." So Mr. Hug-hes oug'ht
to be right. jS'ow, I know very well, that the un-
cultivated classes are narrow-minded and short-
sig'hted, and therefore unmitigated protectionists.
I know they are pugnacious in disposition, and
therefore prone to war. I know that their views
about property are apt to be (to say the least of it)
different from the views generall}^ entertained by the
cultivated classes j and, I know that in connection
with their trade unions some terribl}' ugly stories of
tyrann}^, violence, and brutahty are told.* Still, as
I say, I cannot bring myself to beheve that working-
men are, as a class, governed by such utter selfish-
ness and narrow-minded jealousy as theu* friend
Mr. Hughes gives us to understand.

By the bye, I often wonder wh}^ a man who lives

in a large town should have a vote and a voice in

the representation of the countr}', whilst the man

who lives in a small village has none. From sta-

* See Appendix.

79

tisticSj the only difference bet\\'een them is^ that the
former has less health and vitality than the other,
and that he drinks more g-in and less beer. Now
I must say, I do not see why a small (for it is only
very small), why a small inferiority in health should
qualif}^ a man for having' a vote^ when his more vi-
g'orous fellow-countrjman is without one. But it
may be the gin. Still the question remains.

However^ perhaps it is all rig-ht and just ; but
there is one thing* very certain ; if it is not, the coun-
try must suffer. For wrong'^ injustice and unwisdom
must be paid for to a hair's breadth. I only repeat
this truism, because, in the House of Commons, every
thing* in the world almost seems to be considered,
except right and wrong*, justice and injustice. This
interest and that interest are evidently immensely
studied and cared for j but how about principle ?*
However, I suppose, if I were in Parliament myself,
> I should know more about these matters. I suppose
I should soon learn, that patriotism means pliability
to pressure from without : and that statesmanship
means subservience of the wisdom of the few to the
folly of the man}^

It is a very sad thing*, but there can be no doubt
whatever that there are in our large towns very
man}' drunken blackguards. Again, there can be
no doubt whatever, that of these men, if they can be

* " I dou't believe in princerple,
But oh I du in interest."

The pious Editor's Creed in the Bi(/low Fapcrs,

80

called so, a £7. franchise would include g-reat num-
bers. But if it does, the question I ask is this ; what
have the equally drunken blackg-uards who live in
villag-es done that the}' should not possess the same
privileg'es. Not that I see any particular advantagfe
that would accrue, only it seems manifestly just j and
if it is just, it 7mist be advantag-eous ; for a coimtry
must suffer for ever}' particle of injustice or wrong'
committed in it, however small, utterl}^ unable as we
usually are to trace the connection. Cause must
have its effect. All injustice and sins against pro-
portion are terribl}' paid for. If a ship is lopsided,
she g-oes to the bottom. If a man's mind is lopsided^,
he is a fool. If the brain of such a man is active,
he may be clever or talented to any degree^ but wise
he cannot be. And just b}' so much as he is not
wise, he is miserable. So, also, it is, if the mind of
a countr}' is lopsidedly represented. As to the dis-
tinction between skilled and unskilled labour, it is
mere folly. Georg'e Stephenson was an unskilled
labourer, so was Robert Burns. Besides, there is no
such thing- as unskilled labour. All kinds of labour
require skill.

Of course I know the reason why larg'e towns are
represented whilst villag'es are not, is that the inhabit-
ants of villag-es from being- scattered as they are^
cannot combine, and thus put pressure upon the Go-
vernment. But what an astounding- thing- this is to
say of a civilized countr}^

Voltaire in one of his " Romans" describes an in-

81

habitant of the planet Jupiter taking- a turn about
the solar system to see what he could see. At last
he came to our earth ', but concluding* it was not in-
habited, he departed again immediately. He said;
" Ce qui fait que je pense qu'il n'y a ici personne,
'^ c'est qu'il me parait que des g-ens de bons sens ne
" voudraient pns y demeurer." I wonder what such
a being- would say if he were told that the earth is
inhabited, and that there are in it peoples of whose
g'overnments the sole principle is ^' pressure." That
among-st these peoples the only power that is ac-
knowledg-ed is " combination." That the question,
"Who combine?" is never asked; but only the
question^ " How man}^ combine ?" That quantity
is all, quality nothing*. That wisdom is powerless,
because the wise are few ; and that foolishness rules,
because the foolish are man}^ ; so that, if amongst
these peoples the thieves and malefactors would only
combine in sufficient numbers, the thieves and male-
factors would be the rulers and g'overnors. If he
were told all this, I think our friend from Jupiter
would cut his visit even shorter than before, but
from different reasons.

I am afraid I have been rather digressing'^ so I
will return to my subject, which was our muddled
legislation about the cattle plag-ue. As I said, the
leg-islature must have been terribly confused by the
confusion of opinion that prevailed in the g'overning*
g'overned classes ; but no doubt as we advance to-
wards universal suffrage, matters will become sim-

82

pier. In fact, if, as Mr. Hug-hes says, that almost
the onl}^ idea generally prevalent among'st the
masses is to bring- every body to their level, both
from above and below, leg"islation will, of course, be
simplified. What can be simpler than to legislate
so as to please people who have only one idea
amono'st them ? But we have not arrived at that
state yet, as we all know to our cost, from recent
experience. Oh, how puzzled we have been. A
man came one day to ask me, as a magistrate, if he
mig'ht cany on his back a litter of pig's in a poke
from one part of his farm to another, because the
Inspector had told him he could not leg-ally do so.
Of course I immediately referred to the Act of
Parliament and Orders in Council, and looked out
for " little pig'S in pokes/' but it was in vain. The
possibility of such a case had evident^ not been
contemplated, so I told the man he mig'ht cany as
many little pig's as ever he liked about his farm.
But whether I was rig'ht, or whether the Inspector
was rig'ht nobody knows, and nobody will know to
the end of time.

Among'st the numerous funny thing's to be found
in the Acts of Parliament and Orders it is difficult
to decide which to select for mention.

One clause ordains that after a diseased beast has
been in any box or shed, no other beast is to be pu>
into it for thirty da3's. Thus, supposing- a farmei
has one hundred beasts and ten spare boxes ; the
first ten that catch the complaint are put into them.

88

They die of bullets, and are buried. Another takes
tlie disease. Where is the farmer to put it ? The
only thing" he can do is to build another box. All
the remainino* eio-hty-nine catch it, so the farmer
must build eig*hty-nine new boxes.

Here is another very rich Order, namely, that
when the complaint has broken out at any farmer's
place he is not to remove any of his cattle, even
about his own farm. But in so catching- a com-
plaint, isolation is the one sensible thing* that can be
done.

Verily, these Acts of Parliament should be de-
nominated " Acts for the effectual destruction of all
cattle on farms and tenements."

It seems, from a speech of Lord Derby's in the
House of Lords, that in some (so-called) " infected
districts " cattle were starving' to death for want of
food, none being* allowed by the Inspectors and local
authorities to be carried to them.

Then that wonderful reg'ulation about no manure
to be carried out of London. I wonder what the
framers of that clause intended should be done with
it. Perhaps they thoug"ht holes might be dug- in
the ground to bury it in. I dare say it would not
occur to them to consider what should be done with
the earth dug- out.

" Well, Paddy, what are you g'oing- to do with all
that rubbish ?"

" Faith, your honour, I'll just bury it in the
gTound."

84

" But what will 3'ou do with the earth you dig-
out r

^' Och, there'll be time enoug-h to think of that."

And no doubt that would be really the idea of
our legislators. For^ of course, the first principle of
g'overnmentj is to provide for the immediate emer-
g'ency as the expediency of the moment requires,
and leave the rest to Providence. Perhaps they
thoug-ht of Abraham Lincoln's story to the deputa-
tion, that came to him in the middle of the war, to
discuss the reconstruction ; how before a camp
meeting- in a distant part of the country, there was
a g-rand consultation as to how a certain river was
to be crossed ; and how " a cunning- old coon of a
minister" g'ot up and said, " My fi*iends, I have had
much experience in my life, and much wandering-,
and voyag-ing-, and I have come to the conclusion
never to trouble m3"self how to cross a river till I
g-et to it."

However, there have been Irish Acts of Pa- uu-
ment before this one. I think I have heard or read
of an Act that once ordained : —

(1.) That Greenwich hospital was to be rebuilt.

(2.) That the new building* was to be constructed
out of the materials of the old one.

(3.) That the old hospital was to be made use of,
and kept standing", until such time as the new one
should be completed.

" Quam parva sapientia mundus g-ubernatur," is
a very old and very hackneyed saying- ; but it is so

85

only because it is so true. Notliiuo- but truth will
stand hackino', '^A lie has no leg-s," says the
proverb.

I have not seen how the authorities g'ot over the
manure bung-le. They must have g-ot over it in
some way, for otherwise we should long- ag*o have
heard of a pestilence in London. Whereas I have
only seen the account of one death in consequence
of it. Most likely a new Order had to be issued,
somewhat to the following* effect.

Whereas doubts have arisen about the construc-
tion of the present Order, relative to the removal of
manure from London, the Lords of Her Majesty's
Priv}' Council do hereby order, that

" Whenever and wherever the accumulation of
" manure in any part of the Metropolis becomes such,
" that either the disposal of it is accompanied with
" inconvenience, or a pestilence becomes probable
" among'st the inhabitants of the said district^ in con-
"sequence of such accumulation, or (even thoug'h no
" such probability of pestilence should exist), the
" nuisance becomes intolerable to such inhabitants ;
" the local authorities shall have power to cause
"'iiolcs to be excavated in some contig'uous })ark, or
" square, or g'arden, or in such otherwise unoccupied
" piece of g-round as the local authorities shall con-
■^ sider most suitable for the effectual burial and
•^disposal of such manure j and into these holes the
'' local authorities shall cause all such manure to be
■' introduced either with spades or shovels^ or such

G

86

^^ other instruments as the local authorities shall
*^ consider to be best suited for the purpose.'^

By the bye, I wonder whether our legislators
know that manure is a thing- of any value or use.
It really seems as if they are not aware that ordain-
ing- that no manure be used^ is in fact ordaining' that
no corn be g-rown next season.

If the rulers of the country blunder in this way,
and fall into the confusion they have done^ what
chance is there for the subalterns. None whatever;
as far as my observation g'oes. Inspectors, ma-
gistrates, farmers, veterinar}^ surgeons, and police
authorities are all at cross purposes j and the number
of hard cases and unjust decisions, to judg'e by my
littla district, must throug'hout the whole country
have been innumerable. To beg-in with, no two
veterinary surg-eons can ag'ree what is rinderpest
and what is not; and no wonder, for there is no
absolute hue between it and some other forms of
internal inflammation. Not far from me a farmer
had several sick beasts. The cattle doctor came
and pronounced the disease pleuro-pneumonia, (the
veterinar}^ name for inflammation of the lung's, in its
various forms and consequences). Then the Inspector
came, said it was rinderpest, and ordered the animals
to be slaug'htered. The owner expostulated in vain,
and slaughtered they were. Then it was shown to
be inflammation of lung's sure enough. It was like
Doctor Keats, the flogging head master of Eton.
A lot of boys were sent up to him to be examined

87

for confirmation^ but by some mistake he thoiig-ht
they had been sent up to be flog'g'ed^ so he set to
work. The boys expostulated^ but the Doctor was
accustomed to boys expostulating- under the cu'cum-
stances, so he went on without believing- a word^ and
flog-g-ed every one of them. Then when the ceremony
was over the mistake was discovered.

A few weeks ag-o in a little town near the coast,
between Scarborouo-h and Hull, a man was taken
before the magistrates for driving- some beasts from an
infected district. Upon being- questioned, the man
more naturally than excusably said what I am
sorry to say was not true. He said he had told the
mag-istrate who had g-iven him the license, that the
farm the beasts came from was infected ; whereupon
these three wise men of Gotham decided it was the
magistrate's fault, and, that therefore they would not
fine him. The poor man got off, so in this case it was
all for the best, but still this story shows what toss
up sort of work these decisions are, and though this
man got off when he had done wrong, the next
would probably be heavily fined, when he had not
done wrong. In fact, I believe it was before the
same Justice Shallows, and about the same time
that a poor man was fined twenty pounds for not in-
forming the Inspector that his cow had rinderpest,
when a veterinar}^ surgeon he had consulted had
told him positively it was not rinderpest.

Now I do not for a moment mean to say that there
is ever any intentional injustice, but the fact is

(J 2

^^ wisdom" and "being- qualified to act as a magis-
trate/^ are not necessarily synon3'mous expressions^
and we are apt to g-et a little confused now and then
with all these interminable and contradictor}^ orders.
The following" is an extract of a letter from Sir
Georg-e Cholmley :— "The cattle plag'ue is not such
" a plag'ue as the laws about the cattle plag'ue. They
" are founded upon old superstitions. . . . One
" of my tenants lost many beasts before Christmas.
" His farm is only two fields distant from mine.
" There is always constant communication between
" the farms, I never tried to prevent it, but none
" of mine took it. In another situation I had others
" surrounded with cattle plag'ue ; ten oxen in a
" field where they were well fed, but had not the
" whole winter a shed to g'O into, and they are all
" alive and well. The laws are absurd. I have
" been most disg'usted by poor men and poor women
" having* to walk on foot for ten miles and back, in
" all weathers, to g'et an order for a pig* to be taken
" across a street, I had fourteen beasts removed
" ten miles inland, with an order which the district
" inspector said was quite correct. About two
" months afterwards I was fined for doing- this by
" the mag-istrates assembled at B — d — t — n. Upon
^' what g-rounds I do not know, as the}^ have not
" been stated to me ; but as one of these magistrates
" g-ave me an order immediately afterwards to re-
" move some beasts back again on the same road,
" their decision amounts to this : that it is lawful to

89

'^ remove cattle from east to west, but not from west
" to east."

Now I know well that our g-uardian angels who
issue to us their Orders in Council, have much work
to do, and therefore that it would be unreasonable
to expect them to sjiend time and attention upon the
ruin of only a few hundreds, or even thousands of
poor farmers and cowkeepers. More especially as
they are an uninfluential class, and one little able to
affect anyone's poHtical prospects one way or an-
other. Still for those who have the time it is a sad
thing- to see so much distress and hardship.

CONCLUSION.

And now what shall I say about our prayer
with our lips to God, that " He will save that pro-
vision He has in his g'oodness provided for our sus-
tenance," at the same time that we are destroying*
this provision and burying* it ten feet deep with our
hands. It is not impiet}^, for none is intended.
And it is not hypocrisy ; for it is done in perfect
sincerity. No. It is sheer want of intelligence in
our rulers, who order this prayer to be read under
such circumstances. Want of intelligence to see
the ludicrous incongruity of the whole thing, as
also to see the want of faith we show by our actions,
at the same time that we profess it with our hps.
These inconsistencies are very common, and the

90

mistake usually made is to attribute that to hypo-
crisy which really arises from stupidity. The
Indian Thug-, before he strang-les his victim, offers
up prayers to his deity for a blessing* on his work.
A relig'ious pirate, we read of, alwaj^s summoned
his crew on deck for prayers before committing" his
deeds of murder and plunder, and whenever there
was a woman among'st his captives, he always
compelled her immediately to walk the plank, for
fear any of his ship's company should be led into
sin.

"Mr. Stig-g'ins," said Sam Weller, "what is your
tapT

" Oh, m}^ young- friend," said the shepherd, " all
taps is vanities.^'

" Yes, yes, I know that," said Sam j " but what
is 3'our particular wanity?"

Before the evening- was over Mr. Stig'g-ins was
exceeding'ly drunk.

" Bo}'," said the country primitive, who was
lord of a villag-e g-rocery, ^'has thee sanded the
sug-ar?"

" Yes, sir."

" Has thee watered the rum ?"

"Yes, sir."

" Then coom to prayers."

Now, in all such cases the common way to ac-
count for the incongTuities and inconsistencies
displayed, is by accusations of hypocrisy ; ,but the
wise in human nature know that in g-eneral it all

91

has usually much more to do witli want of intelli-
g'ence. But in the present matter, besides this
want of intellig-ence, our slaug-htering-, as I sa}^,
arg'ues want of faith in God ; or rather, it means a
firm faith in the mahg-nit}^ of God, but none in his
benignity. It means a sincere belief that the air
God has given us to breathe is deleterious, until it
has been mixed by men with sulphurous, carbolic or
other foul vapours ;* that God has created animals
to spread poison and death ; that when He has made
his creatures, He does not know how to take care of
them ; and that his ways of doing" so are altogether
wrong' wa3^s. The lowest savag-es want intelli-
g'ence to notice the g'ood things the}^ ^^njoy, bat
they cannot help noticing* the exceptional evil things
they suffer. So they onty notice or are conscious
of evil. Thus they consciously believe in nothing-
else. That is to say, they only believe in the devil.
And only believing* in him, they very properly,
under the circumstances, address all their prayers to
him ; for otherwise, they of course could not pray at
all. An increase of intellig'ence makes men able to
understand, and therefore fit to be told that they are
sons of God, not of the devil. Have we g*ot this

* Of course I do not deny the effect of these things in
pLaces that pure air cannot reach. But there ought to be no
such places. For the rest, if carbolic vapours were good,
I believe God would have given them to us to breathe, instead
of the air he has given us. As He has not done so, I prefer
pure air.

92

increase 3'et ? I have lately been liaving- my doubts.
Ennemoser, in his book about Mag'ic and Witch-
craft, says ver}^ truW — " All these superstitions
" stood on the same basis, that is, the devilish.
" Protestants and Catholics alike believed that the
*^ devil possessed at least as g-reat power as God
*' himself." The popular ideas about diseases and
miseries seem to me even in the present day to be
founded upon exactly the same basis.

June 1st, 1866.

93

NOTE I.

THE WORKING MAN.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.

Sir, — A short time ago I gave you an illustration of the
liberty-loving tendencies of the Trades' Unions in the in-
stance of the Brickraakers' Union at Manchester, who,
fearing the competition of a machine brickmaking com-
pany then about to be established^ determined, if possible,
to prevent its ever having existence. Their plan of opera-
tions was very simple, but most effective.

The Committee of the Operative Brickmakers' Union
resolved that no bricks should be supplied to any con-
tractor or builder for any work he had in hand who
directly or indirectly rendered any aid to this brickmaking
company in the erection of their contemplated works.

Under this embargo the most eminent firm of builders
was compelled to withdraw from a contract with the Brick
Company into which they had inadvertently entered, and
such was the influence of this mandate that the Company
could not in all this free trading city find a builder who
would undertake to help them in the establishment of
their works. I related how the Company were driven to
substitute a wooden house for a brick one, and to get the
timber and the erection framed in Liv'erpool; how they
were compelled to have recourse to an iron funnel instead
of a brick chimney ; and how one builder more courageous
than the rest fell under the censure of the Union because
he procured for the Company the loan of a set of " shear

94

legs," whereby they raised their funnel to its destination,
and now that the Company is in a position to supply bricks
better and cheaper than the hand-made they are excluded
from consumption " by order of the Committee of the
Brickmakers' Union."

In fiirther illustration of that " organization of labour,"
which is the object of the leaders of these unions, I wish
to draw your attention to the proceedings of the stone-
masons.

A contest is now going on between the master masons
and their men in respect to a new code of rules and
regulations which came into operation on the 1st of May.
The masters in this district have, as I understand, after
some show of resistance, succumbed to these rules, but
object to sign them, and the strike is continued for the
purpose of compelling them to attach their signatures.

By far the most serious aspect of this " organization of
labour" is the attempt to shorten the hours of labour.
If it be true that the position of this country depends in
any degree upon the success of our manufacturing and
commercial operations, it appears to me that in shortening
the hours of labour we are striking at the very root of
that success which has hitherto attended us.

"We can only hope to maintain our position as a manu-
facturing nation so long as we are enabled to produce as
cheaply as our competitors abroad.

This is a question by no means confined in its conse-
quences to contractors and their men — the ordinary ope-
rations of manufacturing industry will soon be brought
under the same rule ; and although " British industry" is
-an enduring animal, its powers, after all, are limited.

The Legislature has done much to free the industry of
this country from the trammels of Protection, and from
much objectionable taxation; but if the whole labour

95

price of the country is to be " organized/' antl commanded
by a few recognized leaders, no individual trade can
defend itself against these encroachments upon the liberty
of the subject, for these regulations of labour are supple-
mented by a species of terrorism and persecution with
which the well-disposed working man is powerless to
compete ; nor can I see any reason why an organization
which is competent to control and direct the working
population as to the disposal of their labour will not be
equally effective for controlling and disposing of their
votes when they are put into possession of the political
franchise.

I am, Sir, yours, &c.,

AN EMPLOYER.

I cut the above letter out of the Times on the 28th of
May. Now, that intelligent men like the leaders of the
(so-called) liberal party should wish to put more power
into the hands of such men as are described in this
letter, is to me very curious ; but the most curious thing
of all is, that these politicians call themselves, and actually
get other people to call them, advanced libe7'als, in favour
of progy^ess, at the very time they are trying to make this
retrogressive step from liberty and freedom back towards
despotism. Verily, the Yorkshire saw is a true one,
" there's nowt so queer as fawks."

The truth is, this extreme party ought to be called " the
" retrogressionists." No doubt the extreme Tories might
be called so too, but this only means that Hegel's grand
doctrine of " the identity of contraries " is a true one.
The division of political men into two parties is absurd.
Every thing, even a stick, has two ends and a middle, that
is three parts. There are giants, dwarfs, and reasonable

96

sized people. There are soft good fools,* clever headed
devils, and men. There are raging fanatics, dead utili-
tarians, and living Christians. There are rabid ranters,
ridiculous ritualists, and " sober-minded.'^ So amongst
politicians there are mad conservatives, mad radicals, and
sensible men; extreme tories, extreme "retrogressionists,"
and reasonable beings.

NOTE II.

The following two letters I published in the Yorkshire
newspapers.

Sir, — Mr. Gamgee has written a book about the cattle
plague. He shows how true has turned out what he
always said, namely, that no specific cure for the complaint
would be discovered. He is quite right. But that very
small minority, the men of clear-seeing common sense,
always said exactly the same thing from analogy — from
the fact that there is no specific cure for the corresponding
diseases amongst men. But what an astonishing idea it
gives one of the power of human credulity to think that, in
spite of the experience of all ages that no specific cure has
ever been discovered for any malignant disease whatever
either in man or beast, that in spite I say of this, imme-
diately what we fancy a new- disease makes its appearance,
we all set to work with the utmost confidence to discover
its cure, and profess ourselves astonished and disappointed
when we do not succeed. In his book Mr. Gamgee repeats
his doctrine that the rinderpest is only taken by contagion
from Russian cattle, and that the management of cattle
has nothing to do with its origin. Iiast summer was the

* " Tanlo biiou chc val iiiente," says the Italian proverb.

97

warmest and longest ever known within the memory of
man. I wonder whether Mr. Gamgee ever heard that
history, from Homer downwards, is full of instances of epi-
demics following unusual heat. Last summer there was a
plague of flies. I wonder whether Mr. Gamgee ever heard
or read how history is full of instances of epidemics fol-
lowing plagues of insects. This winter has been the
wettest ever known. I wonder whether Mr. Gamgee ever
read how in London, in 1799, a malignant contagious
fever followed an extraordinarily wet season. Farmers
crowd cattle together in winter. I wonder whether
Mr. Gamgee ever heard or read how, in 1757^ Sir John
Pringle records that some soldiers, upon being seized Avitli
the common fever of the season, were confined in the holds
of crowded transports, and that the malady immediately
assumed the form of the most malignant jail fever. In
winter farmers half-starve vast numbers of their cattle. I
wonder whether Mr. Gamgee ever heard of the Greek pro-
verb, " the plague after famine/^ Those beasts farmers do
not starve, they overfeed for butchers. I wonder whether
Mr. Gamgee ever heard or read how Sir B. Brodie says,
that about the most unhealthy class in the community are
gentlemen's butlers who live ori the fat of the land in
regions flowing with ale and porter, and that for them to
catch even a trifling malady is a most serious thing. Then
about contagion. I wonder whether Mr. Gamgee ever
heard or read how Dr. Haygarth describes attempts whicli
were made without success in France at the end of the last
century to infect children with small-pox in the open air;
also how although cholera has been communicated by clothes
shut up in a box; and though in the year 1577^ in the
close air of a court of justice, two judges and sundry
lawyers caught jail fever from a prisoner, and died, innu-
merable medical writers have recorded their conviction of

98

the extreme rarity of infection in the open air. I say I
wonder whether Mr. Gamgee has read all these things,
but of course I know he has not ; nor is he for a moment
to be blamed for not knowing what his education and pro-
fessional duties must have prevented his having opportu-
nity of learning. Mr. Gamgee tells us in his book, that
pleuro-pneumonia (inflammation of the lungs in its various
forms and consequences) is never taken except by conta-
gion from some foreign animal. What shall we be told
next ?

I am, Sir,

&c. &c.

Sir, — The opinion prevails that the cattle plague is
carried by cats, and rats, and dogs, and birds, but there are
no facts to prove that this is so. The opinion is founded
solely on our fancies as to what we imagine likely to be the
case. Now this is exactly what Bacon came into the world
to teach mankind not to do. He came to show that opinions
should be founded upon facts, not upon fancies. Has his
teaching then been in vain? One is really inclined some-
times to think so. We profess not to believe in witchcraft
now, but perhaps our credulity and superstitions only
happen to take other forms. A great many years ago,
when the black death raged, people, in their ignorance and
credulity, believed, from consulting their imaginations in-
stead of facts, that wells were poisoned by the Jews ; and the
Jews were slaughtered accordingly. Now we are all be-
lieving, in the same way, by consulting our imaginations
instead of facts, that infection is carried by the winds, and
by birds and dogs, and we are slaughtering our cattle accord-
ingly. Where is the difference in the degree of superstition

99

between these two cases. I confess I cannot see any. It is be-
lieved also that men carry the disease. Now, supposed facts
have been brought forward to show this ; so the error, if it be
one, should be classed under the head of illogical reasoning,
not of superstition. Disease breaks out just after a drover
has arrived at a farm. "The drover brought it," says
everybody at once. Not a word is said about the ninety
and nine cases where no disease followed a drover's arrival
at a farm. These cases passed unnoticed. Drovers, in-
spectors, &c., innumerable, are always going from farm to
farm. Disease is always breaking out at farm-houses in-
numerable, so the coincidence of disease breaking out and
one of these men coming must continually take place.
Who is to say that this has happened oftener than the
doctrine of chances would lead one to expect ? Perhaps
some extraordinarily clear-seeing, logically- minded indi-
vidual might be able to do so, if he knew all the facts (which
nobody can know) certainly no body of men or committee,
for bodies of men are only very moderately logical, and
only very moderately clear-seeing. The truth is, all we
can say, with reason and without superstition, is that facts
show that one beast will often, but not certainly, catch the
disease directly from another, but that there are no facts
whatever to warrant belief in any further degree either of
infection or contagion.

I am, Sir,

&c. &c.

THE END.

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