Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1866-06-01
A Medical Opinion.

~ mGuICdi OpiIitOHs
At a Permissive Bill meeting held
at the Burdett Hall, Limehouse, the
chair was occupied by DR.. Edward
Moore, who said that at the last an
nual meeting of Psychological Society,
Of which he was a member, he had in
quired from various gentlemen familiar
with the statistics and treatment Of
insanity as to the proportion Of cases
of that frightful malady attributable to
the use of intoxicating liquors, and
all Of them gave very high percent
age-some fifty, seventy and even
ninety per cent. He had himself made
inquiries of the masters ofwork- houses,
casual wards, and night refugees, as to
the proportion of the inmates who
came there through drink, and the an
swer was, upwards of eight in every
ten" As medical practitioner, he
was sure that while alcoholic bevera-
geS were never necessary, they were
injurious In nine hundred and ninety
nine cases out Of a thousand: and
even as to their medicinal value he
was happy to say that the opinions
and practice of the faculty were under
going very important and salutary
change. Facts were compelling the
profession to renOunce the theory of
the late DR.. Todd, and with it the
stimulating treatment to which it
led. An experiment had beer made
in the treatment of 100 cases Of in
aammation of the lungs. Out of 30
patients treated with brandy 80 died;
of 35 supplied with milk and a light
diet, % recovered; and of 80 who
were treated on the old principle
with tartar emetic, caIOmel, &c, II
recovered and - died It was thus
seen that even the old lowering plan
was much superior to the stimulating
system. and that an absence Of alcohol
with light nutritious food was lar su-
perior to them both.-LonIon Record
/ ALCOHoLA POPULAR POIsON.-When
pure ardent spirits are taken into the
stomach, they cause irritation, which
is eyinced by warmth and pain expe-
rienced in that organ; and next in
Aammati0n Of the delicate coats of this
/ part. and sometimes gangrenes. They
act in the same manner as poisons.-
Besides the local injury they prodace,
they act on the nerves of the stomach
which run to the brain, and, if taken
in large quantities, cause insensibility
stupOr, irregular convulsive action,
difficulty Of breathing, profound sleep.
and often sudden death. The habitu-
al use Of ardent spirits causes slow
inflammation Of the stomach and liver,
which proceeds steadily, but is often
undiscovered, till too late for relief.
! A DUTCHMAN's TEMPERANCE Lee
/ |TURE.-We have listened to many eff
iective arguments in favor of total
abstinance, but we have never heard
one more exhaustive than that of the
German who was asked to speak at
a meeting of the friends of total absti-
nence. As to the precise locality of
this meeting. our readers are at liber-
ty to exercise their guessing faculties.
After some hesitation he arose and
said, Il shall tell you how it vas: |
put mine hand on my head, and there
vas Won pig pain. Then | put mine
+ hand on my pody, and there vos an
oder. There vas very much pains in
all mine pody. ThenI put mine hand
in my pocket, and there vas nothing
/ So I jined NIT de Temperance. Now
there vas no more pain in my head
The pains in mine pody vas all gone
away. put mine hand in my pocket,
and there vas twenty tollars. So I
shall shtay nit de Temperance. .
Aside from the moral aspect of the
question, the Dutchman' 5 experience"
tells the whole story.
No ALCOHOL IN GRAPES, FRUITS OR
GRAINs.-That there is no alcohol in
grapes, fruits or roots, has been shown
F. by celebrated men, and except that it
is often ignOrantly asserted, it needs
no proof. The manufacture of alco-
hol is produce of fermentation
f change taking place in the proportions
Of the vegetable compound, and that
. produce Of fermentation should no
, more be worthy Of the name Of grape
juice, etc, than the flesh of an animal
can be called grass, because it was
produced therefrom. All vegetable
! matter consists, of carbon, oxygen,
: nitrogen and hydrogen; and it is ac-
, cording to the various proportions of
;. these ingredients, and their manner of
o composition, that the properties Of
plants are bestowed. Ifthen we alter
. the chemical compound by fermenta-
ton, we destroy the fruit, grain ETC.,
: and the produce is no longer that fruit
+ or grain, but may be of quite different
:, qualities 1t is about as reasonable
z to call this produce the grape, as it
would be to call nitric acid atmosp-
! pheric air, and because they are both
mixtures of oxygen and nitrogen.
A lawyer and a doctor were dis