532

employed last century to control the widespread addictionto gin which was then a serious social and medical prob-lem. One of the objects of the Duke of Wellington’s Actof 1830 was to encourage the consumption of beer in thehope of weaning the people from spirits. This policycontinued for over thirty years during which gin-drinkingdeclined and we became a nation of beer-drinkers. Thedifference between drinking beer and drinking gin is

beautifully illustrated by Hogarth in " Beer Street " and" Gin Lane ". The beer-drinkers are fat and jolly andobviously enjoying life to the full; but the gin-drinkerslive in the shadow of death.

We may need a modern Hogarth to help us to under-stand a state of affairs which has become a very seriousdanger to the public’s health. What we certainly need iscombined action for the good of the nation. At themoment Britain leads the world in her mortality fromsmoking cigarettes. Instead, she could lead in her

enlightened methods of dealing with the problem. Ourtobacco industry and present Government could bringfrom the future historians not blame for half a million

unnecessary deaths, but respect for having prevented them.REFERENCES

Bignall, R. J. (1958) (editor) Carcinoma of the Lung. London.Cartwright, A., Martin, F. M., Thomson, J. G. (1960) Lancet, i, 327.Central Council for Health Education (1961) Report for 1960-61, p. 33.Doll, R., Hill, A. B. (1956) Brit. med. J. ii, 1074.Economist (1957) July 6, p. 16.Gibberd, K. (1961) Sunday Times, Jan. 8.Hansard (1957) March 1, col. 1644.Joint Tuberculosis Council (1960) Tubercle, 41, 290.Joules, H. (1958) N.A.P.T. Bulletin, February.Lancet (1962) Jan. 13, p. 85.Medical Research Council (1957) Statement on Tobacco Smoking and

Cancer of the Lung. Lancet, 1957, i, 1345.Monopolies Commission (1961) Report on the Supply of Cigarettes and

Tobacco, and of Cigarettes and Tobacco Machinery. H.M. StationeryOffice.

Royal College of Physicians of London (1962) Smoking and Health. London:Pitman Medical Publishing Co.

Todd, G. F. (1959) (editor) Statistics of Smoking. Tobacco Manufacturers’Standing Committee research paper no. 1 (2nd ed.). London.

Medicine and the Law

Medical Evidence of Drunken DrivingWhere a person accused of drunken driving was at the

time of his arrest examined by a doctor on behalf of thepolice, it is the duty of the prosecution to call the doctoras a witness at the trial. So said the Recorder of Bedfordat the trial of a man charged with this offence. 1

When opening the case, counsel for the prosecution wasabout to say what was now the police practice, but the Recorderinterjected: "... I do not care what the practice is. If it be afact that this man was examined by a doctor and that doctoris not forthcoming as a witness I shall notify the jury to drawcertain inferences and I do not want to hear anything aboutpractices."

Later, counsel for the prosecution submitted that the objectof having the driver examined by a doctor was to protect thepolice from any suggestion of improper conduct on their part;it was to see whether the prisoner was fit to be detained incustody.

In his summing up, however, the Recorder said that it wasthe duty of the prosecution to lay before the jury all the materialevidence at their disposal:

" It is not for the prosecution to pickand choose." The Recorder added that the Court hadinherent power to call witnesses and, if the interests of justicehad so demanded, he would have called the doctor himself.The jury returned a verdict of not guilty, and the case was

dismissed with substantial costs against the police.1. Times, Feb. 28, 1962.

In England Now

A Running Commentary by Peripatetic CorrespondentsTHEY looked a little puzzled on their velvet cushions-

Charles II’s mace and the presidential caduceus given to thecollege by John Caius in 1556. Just behind them was anincongruous derrick, and behind that an elegant pavilion andthe chaos of the building site. But everything looks rightwhen a foundation stone is laid by Queen Elizabeth the QueenMother-even though she is expected to lay it nowadays with-out so much as a trowel-full of mortar.

All who saw this beginning of the new home of the RoyalCollege of Physicians of London will recall it as a happyoccasion in the cool winter sunshine, and one on which for-mality and reality blended as they are to blend in the collegeitself. Though the caduceus and mace will some day make aceremonial return, their memories will now include the crudeapparatus by which even the finest buildings are created.

*

Once upon a time, and it may well have been only once, aneditor let me write a leader for him. Inadequacy puffed me upand, from sheer joy in the improbable situation, I used theeditorial " we ". There is of course the " we " of an engagedperson, and again the word’s special use in the first days of beinga parent; but these are only different-tasting uses of the normal" we ". The editorial " we " was an aggrandisement, and at the

same time a small message to the editor inquiring whether hewould back me up that far (he did). Some decades rolled bywithout noticeable need for special " we’s ". I even used " I "

in a scientific article. It does feel rather solitary doing that atfirst. But then I found that teaching and lecturing on a smallspecialised subject produced a new need. One could not say" I did this, I put forward that " and being alone in some of thework there was no refuge in " Blank and his coworkers ". Sofor a long time now " we have done the work, and theteaching seems to slip by more easily that way, we find. It wastherefore with acute pleasure that I heard Colonel Glenn at hispress conference say

" We observed ". I would gladly acclaimhim as a host in himself and indeed a superman, but I am surehe was using merely the solitary’s defensive we. Dictionaries,please note.

*

Conversation with a five-year-old.-" Don’t argue."Well, don’t arg me."

<

I wooed my love with an earring-A delicate piece of boneFrom a gentleman hard of hearing-For I knew she wanted one;The pharmacy found me a tiny boxAnd the theatre some cotton-wool,So I wrapped the ossicle tenderlyAnd set off from the Medical School.

My love she wears a purple beltAnd my love is fair and tall,And I met her by the Nurses’ HomeAs the night began to fall.I handed her the tiny boxAnd watched with anxious eyesHer white, aseptic-looking handsUnwrap my small surprise.She took it from its woolly bedAnd clipped it to her ear:" It’s jolly decent of you, but" I’ll need another, dear."My love now wears a sister’s dressAnd goffered cap so fine-But till I get another boneI cannot make her mine.