altered circumstances and influences to which such a step will expose society. The present system of national education may, if not judiciously guided, tend to deteriorate the health of youth. Youth is the season of development, both of body and mind; and if this should be lost sight of in our attempts at instruction, sickness and misery, instead of vigour of the whole constitution, would be the consequences. It is of the greatest importance to open public walks in the vicinity of manufacturing towns, and teach the people the value of relaxation; of breathing an undeteriorated atmosphere; of exercises and gymnastic amusements; which will lead to their availing themselves of the advantages offered them.

All persons who have written on sanitary measures have been unanimous as to the injurious effects produced by exhalations from animal or vegetable matter in a state of decay; and they, too, agree that the existence of such causes have been sufficiently ascertained to require the interference of the Legislature. The general health is a matter of general importance, and therefore interesting to every class; and the best and most generally useful mode of teaching how to preserve health will be that of imparting to every man, in every class of society, those comprehensive ideas of its foundations in the structure and functions of his frame; and those general principles which will enable him to apply his knowledge to his own peculiar constitution, circumstances, and occupation in life. Let them be simple and clear, so as to avoid confusion. Draw out a correct delineation of the nature of man as an organised being-as a living being, as a social being-as a civilised being, so that by the use of plain and untechnical language all mny be capable of fitting their wants to the varied and shifting circumstances of civilised

man.

The Water Companies of the Metropolis are now brought under consideration; and the necessity of an ample supply of water to towns, as the basis of efficient sanitary measures, will shortly be placed before the Legislature. Sir William Clay, in a pamphlet entitled, "Remarks on the Water Supply of London," has undertaken to prove that the recent outcry raised against the Water

Companies is unjust, and that all the Companies, whether providing their customers with water from the Thames, the Wandle, the Colne, or the Lea, provide not alone a sufficient, but an abundant and wholesome supply. Sir William has brought to bear upon the subject a great amount of practical knowledge, has exhibited a thorough acquaintance with all its details, and he has treated the subject impartially. It is not our intention to enter into business matters, or to say whether the supply shall be a municipal enterprise, under control, or carried on by private companies. The questions which the public are called on to consider are, whether the smaller class of houses are properly supplied-those small houses in filthy courts and alleys where pestilence is bred.

Sir William Clay states, "A supply of water, abundant and of good quality, is so absolutely essential, not only to the public health, but even to public morals, that it would appear on this account alone, to fall within that class of functions which a Government is bound to take upon itself." We are glad to observe that when the question comes fairly before the Legislature, as come it must, the cause of public health will have his decided support.

In the miserable [houses occupied by the poorest of the people, very often as weekly tenants, it is not easy, under the existing system, to introduce a supply. The occupants cannot incur the expense of laying on the water, and the landlord will not. The Companies have no power to compel the owners of such property to incur this trifling and most needful expenditure; the consequences are, that the poor are unsupplied, that disease and pestilence are rife amongst them, and that periodically both disease and pestilence extend beyond the filthy nests in which they are generated to invade the dwellings of the rich and comfortable, proving, plainly and surely, that no class can neglect with impunity the health and safety of another. The remedy for this state of things, though difficult under the present system, "would," as Sir William Clay observes, "be easy under municipal management." "It cannot," he adds, "be too clearly understood that there is no other mode of remedying this insufferable social evil than by lodging somewhere,

in the hands of the Water Companies or of some municipal authority, a power to compel the proprietors of houses, below a certain class, to take a water supply at rates to be agreed upon." We believe that in Glasgow, and in some other towns, a clause in the local act enables the Water Companies to exercise this authority, and that the owners of house property have ceased to consider it an evil. Some such authority is imperatively needed in London, and all towns that have it not at present. We cannot doubt but sooner or later the Legislature will take it in hand along with the Water Question generally, and that the result will be beneficial and satisfactory, both to the Water Companies and to the public.

It has been observed, that the filthy condition which the abodes of the poorer classes so constantly exhibit has produced a very general impression that they are not capable of appreciating the advantages and comfort either of personal or domestic cleanliness; but this is a most erroneous view of the feelings and wants of those persons, as has been lately shown since the establishment of public baths and wash-houses. The general habits of the poor, their daily occupations, and the nature of their employments are such as frequently render personal cleanliness comparatively unattainable; and unless every possible facility is afforded for an ample supply of water, they soon become insensible to its importance. The difficulty and the labour, after a hard day's work, of obtaining water, has a very great effect on their habits and their health, which rapidly lower both the moral and physical condition of the whole population. Wherever, on the contrary, a better supply of water has been afforded by public baths and wash-houses, the poor have appreciated the boon, by readily paying for it, and using it to the manifest improvement of their health and comfort.

The quantity of water to be supplied has been estimated, where an ample supply can be procured, at not less than twelve gallons per diem for each individual, and in addition to the supply for domestic use, the watering and cleansing of the streets and drains call for the attention of all civic authorities. The advantages of a system of constant supply are so clear, and have become so generally

known that there can be little doubt that it will early engage the attention of Parliament, and that all Water-works will be subject to the control of the Crown; and it is greatly to be hoped that a more abundant supply may lead to the adoption of a system of flushing the sewers, washing the dirt from the foot pavements and other roads which are constructed of such materials as will admit of this mode of cleansing; in short, that it will be rendered imperative on the local bodies to procure a sufficient supply of water for these purposes.

The system of public baths and laundries, begun at Liverpool, has extended to London, and we anticipate we shall see these admirable establishments, so necessary for comfort and health, in every town in the kingdom, for the use of the poorer classes; but as we said of the supply of water, this should also be sanctioned by the Legislature, for we cannot conceal from ourselves, if left to selfelected and irresponsible Commissioners who may be swayed by political feelings, by property, and opposing interests in a variety of ways, sanitary reform, and the health of the poorer classes will be totally neglected, and the good intentions of the Legislature frustrated. Those who may be specially intrusted with the execution of the legislative powers should be qualified for the office, and should earnestly discharge their duties to accomplish this great good. We must look also for the hearty co-operation of the public, that they may give their important aid in furtherance of sanitary improvements, and the removal of those causes of disease to which the poorer classes are more peculiarly exposed.

THE EDITOR.

OBSERVATIONS ON HYDROPATHY.

The work which is more likely than any other to attack the prejudices of medical men, and induce them to investigate the subject of the "Water-cure," is "Erasmus Wilson on Healthy Skin," just published by Churchill. Mr. Wilson, from his position as Lecturer on Anatomy and Physiology in the Middlesex Hospital, and the joint author with Dr. Quain of those most interesting and

valuable plates, the great importance of which is universally admitted among the medical profession, must have a strong influence upon their minds, when he devotes a whole chapter (chapter 10) in his work to the merits of Hydropathy. With profound knowledge of his own art, he applies the lash unsparingly to the professional ignorance of the Silesian peasant, and the numerous difficulties and absurdities into which that ignorance betrays him, and under which his patients, no doubt, all more or less suffer; while he (Wilson), with a spirit of perfect candour and liberality, openly asserts the value of Hydropathy, and the real merit of Priessnitz's new mode of applying Water as a remedy for disease.

The 10th chapter of his book begins thus:

The advantages to health of a judicious and sound system of diet, clothing, exercise, and ablution, cannot be better illustrated than by reference to what has been termed the "Water-cure." The Water practice has effected important results in the treatment of disease, and will, I trust, be instrumental in restoring to Medicine one of her most valuable and important auxiliaries. Medical men may be jealous that these benefits have been "conjured from the vasty deep" by other hands than those of the high priests of Therapeia, but they have no just reason of complaint; the treatment of disease by Water had been in properly neglected; now, however, its merits may be tested, and the test aided by public encouragement; moreover, the remedy will revert to those alone qualified to employ it, and we may fairly hope that a correct system for its use will be established by their labours. Priessnitz, the peasant of Silesia, has done much, but he would have done infinitely more had he received a medical education; he weuld then have avoided many errors, and have entitled himself to the rank of a discoverer. At present, though armed with the experience of twenty years, he is little more than an experimentalist, and, in some instances, a rash and incautious one.

"To visit his want of knowledge charitably, we must admit that he sees with half an eye-a kind of inspection that I should think ill supplied by all the "tact" which the uneducated peasant can bring to bear on his treatment. But this does not invalidate the benefits of Water and Hydropathy; it only leads us to the conclusion that we should not prefer to seek them at the hands of the redoubtable Priessnitz, if we could obtain them at home, administered by those in whom we feel confidence, and whom we know to have deserved that confidenos by the nature of their education and qualifications.”