We do not know if readers upon your side of the water have watched with
any interest the present violent onslaught in both England and France upon
the use of tobacco. Sir Benjamin Brodie (of London) has declared strongly
against its use; and at a recent meeting at Edinburgh of the British
Anti-Tobacco Society, Professor Miller, moving the first resolution, as
follows: "That as the constituent principles which tobacco contains are
highly poisonous, the practices of smoking and snuffing tend in a variety
of ways to injure the physical and mental constitution," continued: "No man
who was a hard smoker had a steady hand. But not only had it a debilitating
and paralyzing effect; but he could tell of patients who were completely
paralyzed in their limbs by inveterate smoking. He might tell of a
patient of his who brought on an attack of paralysis by smoking; who was
cured, indeed, by simple means enough, accompanied with the complete
discontinuance of the practice; but who afterwards took to it again, and
got a new attack of paralysis; and who could now play with himself, as it
were, because when he wanted a day's paralysis or an approach to it, he
had nothing to do but to indulge more or less freely with the weed. Only
the other day, the French--among whom the practice was carried even to
a greater extent than with us--made an estimate of its effects in their
schools, and academies, and colleges. They took the young men attending
these institutions, classified them into those who smoked habitually and
those who did not, and estimated their physical and intellectual standing,
perhaps their moral standing too, but he could not say. The result was,
that they found that those who did not smoke were the stronger lads and
better scholars, were altogether more reputable people, and more useful
members of society than those who habitually used the drug. What was
the consequence? Louis Napoleon--one of the good things which he had
done--instantly issued an edict that no smoking should be permitted in any
school, college, or academy. In one day he put out about 30,000 pipes in
Paris alone. Let our young smokers put that in their pipe and smoke it."
The resolution was agreed to.
Is it possible to entertain the idea that Louis Napoleon has increased
the tax on tobacco, latterly, very largely, in the hope of discouraging
its use, and so contributing to the weal of the nation? If so, it would
illustrate one of the beautiful uses of despotic privilege.
(_February_, 1861)