The New Birth of Medicine

-THoUoH tlle plans of tlhis special Cli-nical Meeting of the British Medical Association-held for the purpose of bringing to the minds of all of us by way of discussion and demonstration the lessons learnt in the war-do not include tlle delivery of acldresses I thinli it beconing that I, wlho have the fortune to be the Presidenit of the Association and of the meetinig, slhould presenit to tllose attendiing it some words of welcome and some thougghts that have lonig been dwelling in my mind. That we miieet together to-day at the greatest momnent in tlle History of Medicine seemis an audacious claim; how shiall it be justified? Not snerely because this is a gatlhering of tlle physicians of nationis, comnlmonwealths, dominions, colonies, and friendly nations, to consider the lessons of a great war, great as such an occasion is; not only because the medicine of modern peoples and em-pires las vindicated its ascendancy ia tlhe greatest war of -all time, but clhiefly becauso at this moent it is revealed to us that Medicine has come to a new birtlh, and' in this regeneration has fouglht on no unermpl termn with-y other arms in a glorious campaign. It might h1ave bee6 supposed tliat in war tlhere would be no time to think, only to di; but we axe surprised to reeoiva enormous gifts to mned-ical science from the great caavan of o-ur returniBng pilgrims. In former wars deaths by disease were many times more numerous than by battle; perhaps four or five timAes more. In S-Utb Africa the enteric fevers were more destruetive thaa batle; in tlisi Eurpean war this disease, owing-to scientifrmphylaxis, became almost a negligible fattor. Indeed in the West the average xealth in cmp was even higher tba at home; and in bad quarters such as Salonica or MRepotamia, principles of pathokgical bielogy were put in action-as they were in Pauamawhieh brought infeioas down as low an time and eeaeion eeuld permit.