CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 309, 24 May 1911, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

THE THREE GRACES. Xews comes of the death of Edward Grace, brother of the famous cricketer, The three Graces, including Dr. "K.M." (who served up a unique brand of underhand bowling) were medical men, but it is apparent that their chief claim to fame lies in their wonderful exposition of the national British game. Nobody worried much about "W.G." as the coroner of Bristol, but the people would turn out in myriads and climb the fence to .see the nigged tawny giant wielding the willow. "\V.G." in his palmy days was an uncompromising disciplinarian, and he had strenuous methods that would have appealed to primal man. Even twenty odd years ago be was a mountain of a man, about six feet three in his shoes, weighing about twenty stone, his blunt brown features peering out from a forest of black whiskers. No one took liberties with the giant. A bat looked like a teaspoon in his massive hand, and when he was angry liia voice would shake the pavilion. Once, it is recorded, an umpire gave an obviously wrong decision. The infuriated "W.G." (it is reported) snatched his smoek from him. drove him off the ground and withdrew his team. The story probably isn't true, but it sounds something like "W.G." His drives were mighty, like himself. Once he .smote a ball with such vigor that it smasued the Cheltenham College clock, far out of the playing field. On another occasion be smote the hide with such force that it bounced through a hospital far outside the great grounds and fell oil the bed of a patient. History does not say whether it cured the patient. The story is true, at any rate. On the same ground he stuck up one wicket, challenging all the men of his county to knock it down while he defended it. lie belted all the bowlilia' severely. A college boy aged twelve got the ball and lmd the insolence to bowl to the great man. His first, ball took the giant's wicket, greatly to the delight of "W.G." The college boy was Gilbert dessop. known to fame afterwards. not as the college professor he iccjime. but as the mighty smitcr in the cricket field. "KM.." never considered in the same streets as his huge brother, was probably the ifinest wicket-keeper Gloucestershire ever possessed, having, as the college coach used to say, "a heye like a. beagle." "W.G." plays oowls nowadavs.

VIVISECTION*. Most of us read with great satisfaction of the marvels of surgery, especially when devoted scientists have by extraordinary skill been able to patch up ail apparently hopeless human being. Even in those cases where living lower animals have been used, many have tacitly justified vivisection, because it has saved human life. Humane .societies have always opposed the dissection of the living subject, and we read that Lord Cromer has been called upon to resign the vicepresidency of the S.I'.C.A. because he is also vice-president of a research society which permits vivisection, ft is conceivable that the humanity of the adept vivisectionist is as great as the humanity of any other class of person, because his onlv object is to help his fellow man. There is nothing new undi'r the sun. and the practice of dissecting the living subject was begun by Herophilus three hundred years before the Christian era. the difference being, of course, that the sub-

jeets were human, and the use of anaesthetics unknown. In Europe, even up to the sixteenth century—still before the use of anaesthetics—surgeons commonly dissected living criminals. To-day, however, although vivisection seems an atrocity to the healthy person who cannot be benefited by it, it has been robbed of many of its horrors. In Britain a vivisector must be licensed by the Government. He must be a skilled anatomist. He must use anaesthetics to the largest possible extent, and he must not attempt experiments that have already been made and tnc repetition of which are useless to science. In one year for which figures are available the British Government issued only 381 licenses to vivisectionists. About half of these licensees did not avail themselves of the privileges. More than half of the total experiments were conducted without pain, the animals being anaesthetised perfectly and destroyed before the return of sensation. Only in a small number of cases are animals allowed to recover after vivisection. ]t may be a comfort that only the most eminent investigators and demonstrators use vivisection at all, and it is possible to believe, although one may hate the thought of the suffering of lower animals, that these great surgeons are animated by the purest motives. There is, at least, no doubt that suffering humanity has benefited largely bv the research of vivisectionists, and that they have been able through the knowledge acquired to save numberless human lives.