ABSTRACT
Mr. President and Gentlemen,—When asked to contribute a paper for the consideration of this Congress, it occurred to me that while others worthier and more able would probably choose their subject from the domain of surgery, medicine, or the allied sciences, it might not be amiss for some one to take up a small portion of your time in the discussion of one, perhaps the greatest, of the social questions of the day—a subject not exclusively belonging to the medical world, but certainly one in which we are, and ought to be, looked up to for guidance and instruction.
