THE SUBJECT CONSIDERED IN ITS IMMEDIATE CONNEXION WITH PHYSIOLOGY.
It now remains, after having spoken of the _desirability_ of obtaining
control over the instinct of reproduction, to speak of its
_practicability_.
As, in this world, the value of labour is too often estimated almost in
proportion to its inutility, so in physical science, contested questions
seem to have attracted attention and engaged research, almost in the
inverse ratio of their practical importance. We have a hundred learned
hypotheses for one decisive practical experiment. We have many thousands
of volumes written to explain fanciful theories, and scarcely as many
dozens to record ascertained facts.
It is not my intention, in discussing this branch of the subject, to
examine the hundred ingenious theories of generation which ancient and
modern physiologists have put forth. I shall not enquire whether the
future human being owes its first existence, as Hippocrates and Galen
asserted, and Buffon very ingeniously supports, to the union of two
life-giving fluids, each a sort of extract of the body of the parent,
and composed of organic particles similar to the future offspring; or
whether, as Harvey and Haller teach, the embryo reposes in the ovum
until vivified by the seminal fluid, or perhaps only by the _aura
seminalis_; or whether, according to the theories of Leuvenhoeck and
Boerhaave, the future man first exists as a spermatic animalcula, for
which the ovum becomes merely the nourishing receptacle; or whether, as
the ingenious Andry imagines, a vivifying worm be the more correct
hypothesis; or whether, finally, as Perault will have it,[25] the embryo
beings (too wonderfully organized to be supposed the production of any
mere physical phenomenon) must be imagined to come directly from the
hands of the Creator, who has filled the universe with these little
germs, too minute, indeed, to exercise all the animal functions, but
still self-existent, and awaiting only the insinuation of some subtle
essence into their microscopic pores, to come forth as human beings.
Still less am I inclined to follow Hippocrates and Tertullian in their
enquiries, whether the soul is merely introduced into the fœtus, or
preexists in the semen, and becomes, as it were, the architect of its
future residence, the body;[26] or to attempt a refutation of the
hypothesis of the metaphysical naturalist,[27] who asserts, (and adduces
the infinite indivisibility of matter in support of the assertion,) that
the actual germs of the whole human race, and of all that are yet to be
born, existed in the ovaria of our first mother, Eve. I leave these and
fifty other hypotheses as ingenious and as useless, to be discussed by
those who seem to make it a point of honour to leave no fact unexplained
by some imagined theory; and I descend at once to the _terra firma_ of
positive experience and actual observation.
All things having life, increase and multiply upon an analogous
principle, but the method of effecting that increase differs very
considerably. In the human race, nature has furnished the sexes parts,
which it is necessary for the purpose of reproduction, should
approximate and commingle their elements or rudiments of future
existence, and that, that intermixture should take place in the womb of
the female. In some of the lower order of animals and in the vegetable
world the sexes are combined in one object which object possesses the
power of increase. To enter into the physiological minutæ of
impregnation would be embarking more scientifically in these matters
than this little book professes to do, it being our intention more to
hold up a popular view than to discuss the various opinions upon any
given point.
It is exceedingly to be regretted that mankind did not spend some small
portion, at least, of the time and industry which has been wasted on
theoretical researches, in collecting and collating the _actual
experience_ of human beings. But this task, too difficult for the
ignorant, has generally been thought too simple and common-place for the
learned. To this circumstance, joined to the fact, that it is not
thought fitting or decent for human beings freely to communicate their
personal experience on the important subject now under consideration—to
these causes are attributable the great and otherwise unaccountable
ignorance which so strangely prevails, even sometimes among medical men,
as to the power which man may possess over the reproductive instinct.
Many physicians will positively deny that man possesses any such power.
And yet, if the thousandth part of the talent and research had been
employed to investigate this momentous fact, which has been turned to
the building up of idle theories, no commonly intelligent individual
could well be ignorant of the truth.
I have taken great pains to ascertain the opinions of the most
enlightened physicians of Great Britain and France on this subject;
(opinions which popular prejudice will not permit them to offer publicly
in their works;) and they all concur in admitting, what the experience
of the French nation _positively proves_, that man may have a perfect
control over this instinct: and that men and women may, without any
injury to health, or the slightest violence done to the moral feelings,
and with but small diminution of the pleasure which accompanies the
gratification of the instinct, refrain at will from becoming parents. It
has chanced to me, also, to win the confidence of several individuals,
who have communicated to me, without reserve, their own experience: and
all this has been corroborative of the same opinion.
Thus, though I pretend not to speak positively of the details of a
subject, which will then only be fully understood when men acquire sense
enough simply and unreservedly to discuss it, I may venture to assure my
readers, that the main fact is incontrovertible. I shall adduce such
facts in proof of this as may occur to me in the course of this
investigation.
However various and contradictory the different theories of generation,
almost all physiologists are agreed, that the entrance of the sperm
itself (or of some volatile particles proceeding from it) into the
uterus, must precede conception. This it was that probably first
suggested the possibility of preventing conception at will.
The Author informs us, that among the modes of preventing conception
which may have prevailed in various countries, that which has been
adopted and practiced by the cultivated classes, on the continent of
Europe, by the French, the Italians, and to some extent by the Spaniards
and Germans, consists in a complete withdrawal, on the part of the man,
immediately previous to emission. This is undoubtedly effectual where it
can be done, but as our author remarks, that he can readily imagine,
that there are men who, in part from temperament, but much more from
their continued habits of unrestrained indulgence, may have so little
command over their passions as to find difficulty in practising it, and
some there may be who will declare it to be impossible. If there be any
to whom it is impossible, Mr. Owen tells us, that he is convinced that
the number is exceedingly small. In this, however, the Editor thinks the
Author is in error.
Numerous facts have come to the Editor’s knowledge which have
demonstrated the impracticability of this check, and have convinced him
that the number who are physically incapable of profiting by the
Author’s recommendation, is much greater than he imagined. It is not
unusual to see men, in a fit of anger, lose all self-control. Why, then,
should we suppose them capable at all times of exercising restraint over
the strongest passion of our nature? Mankind are endued with different
degrees of passion. Some never loose that perfect command of their
feelings which enables them to profit by the Author’s suggestions, while
others differently constituted cannot practice the same forbearance.
The Editor knows many affectionate husbands and kind fathers who would
most gladly practice the check before mentioned had they the ability to
do it.
It is but recent that the father of a very large family, consulted the
Editor on this subject, and in the course of conversation, he stated
that he had read Mr. Owen’s book, and had endeavoured to adopt the
course recommended by him, but found himself totally unable. Several
others have mentioned the same fact. The Author tells us that the
practice is attended with but trifling diminution of physical enjoyment;
but however trifling it may be to some, it is not so to all, for however
great their sense of duty, or however weighty the risk of incurring
sacred responsibilities, they are unable to exercise the necessary
restraint.
It is a commendable virtue in those who have the ability to practice it,
but for such as cannot or will not, and such as are regardless of
consequences, it is of the utmost moment to the mother that the power of
control should be placed in the right hands. How frequently do we hear
the mothers say, I have all the family I want, and am determined to have
no more children if I can prevent it; but alas: she has not the power,
when the partner of her bosom loses the self-control of his passions.
She who bears the burden and suffers the affliction, should be able to
protect herself and the fault is her own if she does not.
Mr. Owen was aware of the strong objection which would be urged against
the practicability of the preventive recommended by him, for in speaking
of it, he remarks, that it places the power in the hands of the man, and
not in those of the woman—she who is the sufferer is not secured against
the culpable carelessness, or perhaps the deliberate selfishness of him,
who goes free and unblamed whatever may happen.
To obviate this defect, spoken of by the Author, and to provide a remedy
for the suffering mother by placing it in her own hands, is the object
of the Editor of the present edition of Mr. Owen’s work. The science of
medicine and surgery is indebted to galvanism for some of its most
important remedial agents. Physiological facts of great utility to the
medical profession, have through its agency been demonstrated, and
physicians have been enabled to turn the electrical influence to many
useful purposes, in the treatment of diseases, and in furnishing a
remedy for functional derangements. It is capable of exercising a
powerful influence over the nervous system, and in the hands of the
physician, is a most potent remedy.
The discovery which has enabled us to obtain such control over uterine
action or seminal influence, as to prevent conception,[28] was effected
through its aid.
In the present state of society, a great number of persons are compelled
to make an appearance and to live in a style, which consumes all their
incomes, leaving nothing, or next to nothing, as a provision for their
children. To such persons a great number of children, is a never failing
source of discomfort and apprehension; of a state of bodily, mental, and
pecuniary vexation and suffering, from which there is no escape. This
state of things pervades, to a very great extent, that respectable class
of society called genteel. To those whose incomes depend on some
particular exertion, which cannot be remitted, these distressing
circumstances are, from various causes, greatly increased. To those who
constitute the great mass of the community, whose daily bread is alone
procured by daily labour, a large family is almost always the cause of
ruin, both of parents and children: reducing the parents to cheerless,
hopeless, and irremediable poverty; depriving the children of those
physical, moral, and mental helps which are necessary to enable them to
live in comfort, and turning them out at an early age to prey upon the
world, or to become the world’s prey.
For these general reasons, cognizable by every body, it is of the
greatest possible importance that married people should be informed of a
method to prevent such tremendous evils.
If methods can be pointed out by which all the enjoyment of wedded life
may be partaken of without the apprehension of TOO LARGE _a family_, and
all its bitter consequences, he, surely, who points them out, must be a
benefactor of mankind.
The means of prevention are simple, and harmless, and might, but for the
false delicacy of the press, or, rather, of those for whom it caters,
have been more generally communicated.
A course of experiments instituted several years past, with a view to
test the efficacy of the galvanic power, as a check to reproduction, has
demonstrated and proved its perfect adaptation, to the accomplishment of
this important object. The Editor has a very simple and perfectly
harmless instrument, (so far as the health of the mother is concerned,)
and one which may be depended upon for this purpose.
The application requires to be immediate, and its effect is
instantaneous. Like many other operations, the effect of which is known,
it may be somewhat difficult satisfactorily to explain its _modus
operandi_; nevertheless, the certainty of its action has been clearly
proved. It is known to impart a slight momentary impetus to the parts,
so that the vivifying influence of the semen is destroyed or expelled.
It would be no difficult matter to devise a multitude of ingenious
theories of the manner in which this operation may be accomplished, but
inasmuch as no practically good effect could arise from it, we content
ourselves by simply quoting the concluding remarks of Dr. Maunsell upon
the theory of conception, as expressed in Dr. Gilman’s edition: “At
present it will be sufficient for our purpose to state simply the facts
known and indulge as little as possible in hypotheses which must be more
the product of fancy than of reason.”
In offering this instrument to the public, the Editor is aware that his
motives may be misconceived and misjudged, and that he may subject
himself to be censured by that class of persons who think this too
delicate a subject to be even mentioned, much less to be publicly
discussed, and a remedy offered in this publication. He will be told by
some that the operations of nature ought not to be interfered with, be
the consequences what they may. It is well known by every person who is
at all conversant with writers upon midwifery, that in consequence of
deformity of the pelvis, recourse must be had in many instances to the
use of instruments to destroy the child, that the life of the mother may
be saved; and where the deformity is very great, resort is had to that
most desperate of all remedies, the Cæsarean operation. Dr. Gilman, in
the work from which we have already quoted, tells us that this last
mentioned operation was performed five times upon the same woman, by
Michaelis, of Kiel. It has also been performed twice by Dr. Gibson, of
Philadelphia, and once by Dr. R. K. Hoffman, of New York, and by other
operators, on the continent of Europe, and in the United States. The
same Author tells us, that “A British writer suggest the propriety of
dividing the Fallopian tubes when this operation is performed, that thus
the women being rendered barren, might be guarded against the
possibility of requiring a repetition of this terrible Cæsarean
section.”
Improvements have been made in almost every department of the medical
profession, and many new and important remedies have been brought to
light through the aid of the science of chemistry; but none have
heretofore been discovered, which could afford relief in these cases;
therefore, it affords us a degree of satisfaction to be able to
announce, that a safe and sure preventive of these sufferings will be
found in the instrument before mentioned, which we are confident will be
acceptable to every father and husband, who regards the safety and
happiness of his wife. Perhaps it will be said that these cases seldom
occur. In answer, it will be sufficient to state, that this is but one
of a numerous class of cases, which imperiously demands the same
preventive aid. As the writer, from whom we have just quoted, further
remarks: “When an individual woman, has been frequently delivered by
perforation of the child’s head, it becomes an object to devise some
means for obviating these successive sacrifices, and accordingly it has
been proposed in such cases, to induce premature labour at a period of
gestation, when the child’s head is sufficiently small to pass through
the pelvis.” This, he remarks is a step by no means to be lightly
undertaken, as there must always be a certain degree of danger incurred
by the mother, and the act itself, even though it be justified by a
powerful necessity, is unwarrantable, and even criminal in the eye of
the law.
From these quotations it will be perceived that the best and only remedy
adapted to these cases, which has heretofore been devised by the
profession for the relief of such as cannot safely become mothers,
consists in destroying the child, that the life of the mother may be
saved, and where a powerful necessity exists, premature labour or
abortion at an early stage. Why not anticipate this stage, and prevent
the necessity spoken of, by preventing conception? Would not this be
more moral, and would it not save the mother from that degree of danger
spoken of? _Prevention_ is always to be preferred to _cure_, and where
the remedy is fraught with such dangerous consequences to the patient,
it is especially incumbent upon the medical attendant, to devise some
means that will supersede the necessity of resorting to these desperate
measures.
Since some publicity has been given to the article before mentioned,
numerous applications have been made, and much enquiry elicited, which
has brought a great variety of cases, under the Editor’s observation.
These cases were of such a nature as to demonstrate the necessity of
some preventive which should be placed in the right hands, and would
have been sufficient to remove any doubt (had any remained) as to the
propriety of giving publicity to this instrument. It was but yesterday
that the husband of a delicate woman, and the father of a family, in
conversation upon this subject, stated that his wife was the mother of
two children—that since the birth of the last, she had suffered from
five abortions, which had so impaired her health, that he had found it
necessary to abstain from all intercourse with her. Numerous cases of a
like nature come under his observation almost daily. Shall we be told
that it is immoral and unbecoming for the physician to provide a remedy
for cases of this description? Will any pretend that the delicacy of the
subject should prevent us from directing the proper course to be pursued
to insure health and happiness? Away with such mockery—let us speak
plainly upon all subjects that equally concern the health and happiness
of our fellow beings. It comes within the province of the physician, to
investigate this matter in a philosophical manner, and to let nothing
but a sense of duty to his patients, and to the public guide him in his
determination.
The only thing that is a matter of surprise to the Editor is, that this
subject should have been so long neglected by the profession. He is
convinced that this little book and the means of prevention herein
recommended, will do more to prevent that moral evil, abortion among
married females, than all the penal enactments of our legislators, and
the criminal courts which enforce them. Yes, it is his firm conviction
that a moral check to reproduction, will do what judges and juries have
in vain attempted. It will put an end to the occupation of the
abortionist by removing the cause and thus striking at the root of the
evil. The want of the means of prevention has lead to the commission of
a crime revolting to our feelings. How many lives of mothers would have
been spared, had the power of preventing conception been known to them!
the feelings of the community would not be so often shocked by those
horrid tales, which are so frequently related in the daily papers, of
child murders: and the incensed feelings of the community, ready to
burst forth in mobs, and other demonstrations of popular indignation,
against those who commit such crimes. I here quote a paragraph which
recently appeared in one of the New York daily papers, for the purpose
of showing the feeling of the community on this subject: “The residence
of Madame Restell, in Greenwich street, was beset yesterday afternoon by
a vast concourse of people of all classes, many of them, doubtless,
drawn thither by curiosity, or a vague idea that something extraordinary
was about to be enacted in reference to this notorious woman, and not a
few who came apparently with the intention of being actors in some scene
of violence and popular outbreak. There were very many of our most
respectable citizens noticed among the mass—a result unlooked for, and
certainly ominous of a deep and abiding feeling of abhorrence and
detestation among the better classes, for the practices of this
miserable female, which may yet prove of fearful import to her, and to
those who countenance and support her in the vile and unholy occupation,
the known existence of which in our midst, in defiance of all law, and
outraging every sense of decency and morality, has been suffered so long
to rest, as a foul plague-spot upon our city. We learn that in
anticipation of some energetic demonstration in the course of the day,
Madame Restell early left her house, and secretly repaired to the
dwelling of some unknown friend, seeking a shelter from her fears in a
hiding-place, far from the scene of her iniquitous practices. Meanwhile
although the Chief of Police, aided by a strong body of officers, were
upon the ground of the disturbance, it seemed for some hours as though
the neighbourhood was slumbering upon a volcano, which a mere breath
would inflame into fierce and terrible action. Curses loud and deep upon
Restell and her coadjutors, were rife amid the crowd, and cries of ‘Haul
her out!’ ‘Where’s Mary Applegate’s child?’ ‘Where’s the _thousand
children_ murdered in this house!’ ‘Where is Miss Munson!’ ‘Throw her in
the dock!’ ‘Hanging is too good for the monster!’ ‘Who murdered Mary
Rodgers!’ and other inflammatory exclamations of a like nature, were
continually uprising from the excited multitude. Through the whole
vicinity, the windows on both sides of the street were upraised, and
filled with anxious faces, intently watching the movements of the mass
below; and there were not wanting those, among the inmates of the
neighbouring houses, and those inmates too, females of respectability
and refinement, who joined in the universal cry for vengence and
retribution. It did indeed seem as though the strong feeling of popular
indignation was about to be manifested in an outbreak of a serious
character, and that the unhappy object of their dislikes was about to
realize that there is in this land, a power above all law, whose
mandates would—when the arm of justice became paralysed and
insufficient, and was daringly sneered at by those who depend upon their
ill-earned wealth, _and certain peculiar influences_ for impunity from
the just reward of crime—be suddenly executed in violence and confusion.
Owing, however, to the prompt exertions of the Chief of Police, under
whose directions one or two arrests were made of the most active spirits
among the assembled mass, the threatened disturbance was finally put
down, and at this time, (late in the evening) order and quiet are
restored to the neighbourhood.
“We do not envy the feelings of the wretched woman during the existence
of the threatening outbreak, for although at some distance from the
scene yet she well knew what was going forward, being made acquainted at
short intervals with the position of affairs. We trust that from the
experience of yesterday, Madame Restell is now convinced of the
necessity of immediately closing her unlawful business; otherwise, there
seems to be a most fearful certainty that _the end is not yet_.”
See, what a mass of evil arises from bastard children, from
child-murder, from deserted children, from diseased children, and even
where the parents are most industrious and most virtuous, from a
half-starved, naked, and badly housed family, from families crowded into
one room, for whose health a house and garden is essential. All these
matters are a tax upon love, a perpetual tax upon human pleasure, and
upon health; a tax that turns beauty into shrivelled ugliness, defaces
the noble attitude of mankind, and makes their condition worse than that
of the cattle of the field.
Then comes the consideration—what a dreadful thing it is, that health
and beauty cannot be encouraged and extended, that love cannot be
enjoyed without the danger of a conception, when that conception is not
desired, when it is a positive injury to the parties and to society.
This circumstance has been a great bar to health, strength, and beauty.
What is to be done to remedy this evil? There is something to be done: a
means has been discovered, a simple means, criminal in the neglect, not
in the use. The destruction of conceptions have been sought by acts of
violence, by doses of poison, that injure, and sometimes destroy the
mother, to reach the fœtus in her womb. This is dreadful, truly
dreadful. Yet custom has made it a common matter. Every village has its
almost yearly cases of the kind. In this country, hundreds of infants
are yearly destroyed at birth: some cases are discovered, but many pass
undiscovered. We condemn and shudder at the infanticides of China and
other countries: yet it is a question, if infanticide ever prevailed in
any country to a greater extent than in our own. Here, then, as in every
other case of disease or other evil, _it is better to prevent than to
cure_, and here _prevention is most simply practicable, a means within
the reach of all_.
Those who have no means of arriving at a knowledge of the extent of this
evil, could scarce realize it; since the investigation of this subject
was commenced and since mention has been made publicly of the instrument
before alluded to, numerous facts have come to the Editor’s knowledge
which would be sufficient to convince every candid reflecting person,
that the utmost extent of the credulity of those who have taken but
little pains to inform themselves upon this part of the subject is not
half equal to the extent of this vice. He is inclined to believe that
his statement would be doubted were he to relate the number of calls he
has received from persons seeking this kind of medical service under a
misapprehension of his notice. The number is not confined to such as
cannot legitimately become mothers, but what is most surprising, parents
who move in what is called respectable society, appear to feel no
delicacy in asking relief, in these cases, at the hands of the
physician.
For the purpose of illustrating still more forcibly, the extent to which
the business of the abortionist is carried on in this city, and likewise
the dangers to which the victim is exposed, we propose to make some
extracts from a case reported by Dr. Bedford, the eminent Professor of
Midwifery in the University of the city of New York. Several physicians
had been called in, the patient had been in labour for twenty-four
hours, and they severally professed their ignorance of the nature of the
case. Dr. B. then goes on to say:—
“Mrs. M. had been taken in labour Monday, Dec. 18th, at seven o’clock,
P. M. and on Tuesday at seven o’clock, P. M., I first saw her. Her pains
were then almost constant, and such had been the severity of her
suffering that her cries for relief, as her medical attendants informed
me, had attracted crowds of persons about the door. As soon as I entered
her room, she exclaimed, ‘For God’s sake Doctor, cut me open or I shall
die: I never can be delivered without you cut me open.’ I was struck
with this language, especially as I had already been informed, that she
had previously borne two children. At the request of the medical
gentlemen, I proceeded to make an examination per vaginam, and I must
confess that I was startled at what I discovered, expecting every
instant, from the intensity of the contractions of the uterus, that this
organ would be ruptured in some portion of its extent. I could
distinctly feel a solid, resisting tumor at the superior strait, through
the walls of the uterus, _but could detect no opening in the womb_. In
carrying my finger upward and backward toward the cul-de-sac of the
vagina, I could trace two bridles, extending from this portion of the
vagina to a point of the uterus, which was quite rough and slightly
elevated; this roughness was transverse in shape, but with all the
caution and nicety of manipulation I could bring to bear, I found it
impossible to detect any opening in the womb. In passing my finger with
care, from the bridles to the rough surface, and exploring the condition
of the parts with an anxious desire to afford the distressed patient
prompt and effectual relief, I distinctly felt cicatrices, of which this
rough surface was one. Here, then, was a condition of things produced by
injury done to the soft parts, at some previous period, resulting in the
formation of cicatrices and bridles, and likewise in the closure of the
mouth of the womb. At this stage of the examination, I knew nothing of
the previous history of the patient more than I have already stated, and
the first question I addressed to her was this: ‘Have you ever had any
difficulty in your previous confinements? have you ever been delivered
with instruments?’ &c., &c. She distinctly replied, that her previous
labors had been of short duration, and that she had not been delivered
with instruments, nor had she ever sustained any injury in consequence
of her confinements. This information somewhat puzzled me, for it was
not in keeping with what any one might have conjectured, taking into
view her actual condition, which was undoubtedly the result of direct
injury done to the parts. On assuring her, that she was in a most
perilous situation, and at the same time, promising that we would do all
in our power to rescue her, she voluntarily made the following
confession:
“About six weeks after becoming pregnant, she called on the notorious
Madame Restell, who, on learning her situation, gave her some powders
with directions for use; these powders did not appear to produce the
desired effect. She returned again to this woman, and asked her if there
was no other way to make her miscarry. ‘Yes,’ says Madame Restell, ‘I
can probe you; but I must have my price for this operation.’ ‘What do
you probe with?’ ‘A piece of whalebone.’ ‘Well,’ thought the patient,
but without expressing it, ‘I cannot afford to pay your price, and I
will probe myself.’ She returned home, and used the whalebone several
times; it produced considerable pain, followed by a discharge of blood.
The whole secret was now disclosed. Injuries inflicted on the mouth of
the womb, by these violent attempts, had resulted in the circumstances
as detailed above.
“It was evident from the nature of this poor woman’s sufferings, and the
expulsive character of her pains, that prompt artificial delivery was
indicated. Accordingly, without loss of time, (she then having been in
labor twenty-nine hours,) I performed the operation. In a short time,
Mrs. M. was delivered of a vigorous, full grown child, whose boisterous
cries were heard with astonishment by the mother, and with sincere
gratification by her medical friends. The expression of that woman’s
gratitude, in thus being preserved from what she and her friends
supposed to be inevitable death, was an ample compensation for the
anxiety experienced by those, who were the humble instruments of
affording her relief. This patient recovered rapidly, and did not during
the whole of her convalescence, present one untoward symptom. It is now
ten weeks since the operation, and she and her infant are in the
enjoyment of excellent health.
“At my last visit to this patient, with Dr. Forry, she made some
additional revelations, which I think should be given not only to the
profession, but to the public, in order that it may be known that in our
very midst, there is a monster who speculates with human life with as
much coolness as if she were engaged in a game of chance. This patient,
with unaffected sincerity, and apparently ignorant of the moral
turpitude of the act, stated, most unequivocally, to both Dr. Forry and
myself that Mad. Restell, on previous occasions, had _caused her to
miscarry five times_, and that these miscarriages had, in every
instance, been brought about by drugs administered by this trafficker in
human life. The only instance in which medicines failed, was the last
pregnancy, when at the suggestion of Madame Restell, she probed herself,
and induced the condition of things described, and which most seriously
involved her own safety, as well as that of her child. In the course of
conversation, this patient mentioned that she knew a great number of
females, who were in the habit of applying to Madame Restell, for the
purpose of miscarrying, and that she scarcely ever failed in affording
the desired relief. Among others, she cited the case of a female
residing in Houston-street, who was five months pregnant; Madame Restell
probed her, and she was delivered of a child, which, to use her own
expression, ‘kicked several times after it was put into the bowl.’ It,
indeed, seems too monstrous for belief that such gross violations of the
laws, both of God and man, should be suffered in the very heart of a
community professing to be Christian, and to be governed by law and good
order. Yet these facts are known to all who read. This creature’s
advertisements are to be seen in our daily papers; there she invites the
base and the guilty, the innocent and the unwary, to apply to her. She
tells publicly what she can do, and without the slightest scruple, urges
all to call on her who may be anxious to avoid having children. Here,
then, is a premium offered for vice, to say nothing of the prodigal
destruction of human life, that must necessarily result from the
abominations of this mercenary and heartless woman.”
There is an erroneous impression upon the minds of a certain class of
the community. They make no distinction between the commission of crime,
and the means that are used to diffuse information, and remove the
inducement to commit moral offence. Ignorance and prejudice—the parents
of vice—have blinded or misguided those who have not or would not
properly investigate the subject matter of this discussion. However, we
are consoled by the reflection that the day is dawning which shall
dispel the mist and vapours which have heretofore clouded and benighted
the human understanding, upon matters that infinitely concern the
happiness of the great mass of the human family.
We take pleasure in stating that since the publication of Mr. Owen’s
little work, (now ten years,) we have good reason for believing that the
public mind is better prepared for the reception of the Editor’s amended
edition of his book. As each revolving year passes over, and as truth
overcomes error, and as the diffusion of knowledge dispels ignorance, so
will the subject elicit additional inquiry, and the merits of the work
be more justly appreciated by the enlightened portion of the community.
A further discussion and investigation of the subject will cause it to
be better understood, and a public opinion favourable to the subject
will be formed, of immense moral utility.
As in the language of the author,—How mighty and how beneficent the
power which such an influence might exert, and how essentially and
rapidly it might conduce to the gradual, but thorough extirpation of
those selfish vices, legal and illegal, which now disgrace and brutify
our species, it is difficult even to imagine.
In the silent, but resistless progress of human improvement, such a
change is fortunately inevitable. We are gradually emerging from the
night of blind prejudice and of brutal force; and, day by day, rational
liberty and cultivated refinement, win an accession of power. Violence
yields to benevolence, compulsion to kindness, the letter of law to the
spirit of justice; and, day by day, men and women become more willing,
and better prepared, to entrust the most sacred duties (social as well
as political) more to good feeling and less to idle form—more to moral
and less to legal keeping.
It is no question whether such reform will come: no human power can
arrest its progress. How slowly or how rapidly it may come, _is_ a
question; and depends, in some degree, on adventitious circumstances.
Should this little book prove one among the number of circumstances to
accelerate, however slightly, that progress, its author will be repaid,
ten times over, for any trifling labour it may have cost him.
In conclusion, the author remarks, that a knowledge of the check to
population spoken of, and recommended by him, with other preventive
means was for many years extensively disseminated in most of the
populous towns in Great Britain; not only through the medium of “Every
Woman’s Book,” but, previously to its publication, by hundreds of
thousands of handbills, which were gratuitously distributed from
benevolent motives. The men who were first instrumental in making them
known in England, are all elderly men, fathers of families of children
grown up to be men and women; men of unimpeachable integrity, and of
first rate moral character; many of them men of science, and some of
them known as the first political economists and philanthropists of the
age. Besides the allusion to the subject already given from the
Encyclopædia Britannica, it is adverted to in Mill’s “Elements of
Political Economy;” in Place’s “Illustrations of the Principle of
Population;” in Thompson’s “Distribution of Wealth,” and probably in
other works with which I am unacquainted. It was also (disguisedly)
broached in several English newspapers, and was preached in lectures to
the labouring classes, by a most benevolent man, at Leeds. I do not
believe the subject has ever been touched upon, in one single instance,
except by men of irreproachable moral character, and generally of high
standing in society. The chief difference between this little treatise,
and the allusions made by the distinguished authors above mentioned, is,
that what public opinion would only permit them to insinuate, I venture
to say plainly.
My readers may implicitly depend on the accuracy of the facts I have
stated. Though in the present state of public opinion, I may not, for
obvious reasons, give _names_ in proof, yet it is evident that I cannot
have the shadow of a motive to mislead or deceive. I shall consider it a
favour if any individuals who can adduce, _from personal experience_,
facts connected with this subject, will communicate them to me.
_Note._ The enlightened Condorcet, in his well-known “_Esquisse des
progres de l’esprit human_,” very distinctly alludes to the safety and
facility with which population might be restrained, “If reason should
but keep pace with the arts and sciences, and if the idle prejudices of
superstition should cease to shed over human morals an austerity
corrupting and degrading, not purifying or elevated.” See his
_Esquisse_, _pages_ 285 to 288, _Paris_ Ed. 1822.
Malthus (See his “_Essays on Population_,” _Book_ 3, _chap._ 1)
“professes not to understand” the French philosopher. No Frenchman could
misunderstand him.