1.—14.

B. F. GARDINER.]

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of the people there, or must move. We are not here to-day and gone to-morrow, and if a man is from twenty to thirty years in one town the public, I think, have a keen idea as to his capabilities. 169. Would that give him the same knowledge and professional ability a.s if he had passed a proper standard examination: would it be a guarantee that he had the knowledge?—l think it would be a better guarantee. 170. If a person had been in business for a certain time, calling himself a doctor, a chemist, a lawyer, or a shorthand reporter, would you consider that to be a sufficient guarantee as regards his knowledge and ability to deal with the particular subject without his being called upon to pass an examination I —Take it in this way: When the Midwives Bill, the Dentists Bill, and the Chemists Bill were passed, those who had been in the business for a certain number of years were taken in. Afterwards the door was closed. 171. But do you not recognise this: that when herbalists are allowed to give medicines or drugs which may have a most injurious effect on the patient—particularly when prescribed by them—they should be required to have a true knowledge of the nature of the ailment or nature of the action of the drug or medicine on the system?—l have already said that I think they should have knowledge. I believe we have three of the highest men as examiners in the colony. 172. Will you kindly name them?— They are Mr. Niel, Mr. Ayres, and Mr. Hepworth. 173. Mr. Hornsby.] Where is Mr. Hepworth located? —I think he is at Wanganui, but until lately he was at Palmerston North. They are men who have seen twenty or thirty years' experience each.

Wednesday, 14th August, 1907. James Malcolm Mason, M.D, examined. (No. 4.) 1. The Chairman.'] You are Chief Health Officer of the colony? —Yes. 2. You have perused the Quackery Prevention Bill now before the Committee? —Yes. 3. Does it meet with your approval? If so, in what directions? —It certainly meets with my approval in most directions, but it goes further than I think it is probably politic to go in some ways. 4. Do you think the Bill is necessary ?—Oh, yes. 5. Why?— Probably if I were just to tell you a little of what I know about the matter it would be of assistance. Eoughly speaking, you may divide proprietary medicines into three classes — first, those that are the result of research on the part of the proprietor; second, those that are made up according to formulae which have been taken from some ordinary book on medicine and the whole energy of the proprietary expended in advertising them; third, a class which is absolutely bad. The number of the first class —that is, where the medicine or compound is the result of research on the part of the vendor —is very, very small. The vast majority of the patent medicines on the market, which are not absolutely harmful, are simply formulae which have been taken from some standard book of medicine, or the prescription of some medical man. A favourite source of the so-called herbal remedies is Nicholas Culpepper's "Herbal," published some two hundred years ago. Most of the modern herbalists are still copying the prescriptions which Culpepper set out in his old book, and I might say that many of the formulae advocated by him are excellent. The class of quacks I have been most interested in is not the man who is simply charging more money for the medicine than it is worth. Into such a class Pink Pills would probably come. Pink Pills are nothing more than Blaud's pill, which has been known for many years. Blaud was a London physician. The Pink Pills people have simply taken his formula and advertised it well. The pill is a very good pill. It is one that nearly every medical man prescribes at one time or another. The only objection that can be raised is that the Pink Pill people make extravagant claims for the medicine, and charge a great deal more for it than would the ordinary chemist. The'blass of people I am most interested in are {hose who pretend to cure sexual ailments. The large majority of these so-called treaters of sexual ailments are nothing more than blackmailers. I have numerous documents on my file connected with these cases, but many cases have come to me in the course of my professional work, and I cannot give the names of the parties. A very common practice with such men as Freeman and Wallace, and many others of that type, is to circulate books and pamphlets .on sexual ailments in schools. Many boys are guilty of masturbation, and in these little pamphlets the results of this habit are pictured in the most awful language. The result is that the boy guilty of the habit becomes for the time being practically unnerved. He is told that the only salvation for him is to send to the publisher of the book, and the boy scrapes up enough money to get some of the medicine. 6. You are quoting from actual cases within your knowledge? —Yes. The boy I refer to was the son of a clergyman who was very strict. The boy lived in the country, where he saw few women at all, and the result was that he naturally blushed a good deal when in the company of women, which is an indication, according to the class of men referred to, that he was suffering from nervous debility. This boy got into communication with one of these men (not Freeman and Wallace), with the result that he spent all his money. Several months afterwards, when he had ceased to send for the medicine, they kept on writing him letters, usually marked " Private " and in such a way as to keep them outside the law. The form of the letter was something like this : "We regret to see that you have not been getting your medicine lately." The boy replies that he is getting very much better, although he is practically worse mentally, but he has no money to forward. He reads the books by candle-light in his own room or in outhouses to escape observation. He receives another letter to the effect that they know by observation of such cases that he cannot possibly be cured in the time, and that they feel it to be their -duty in the interests of the boy to

2—l. 14.