I Wish that the advocacy of what I believe will be one of the most important developments in the history of our specialty had devolved on someone occupying a higher position in our branch of medicine, someone whose opinions and views would carry more weight and influence than mine can aspire to; at the same time thirty years' experience as a medical officer in London and provincial asylums, public and private, perhaps entitles me to open a discussion on a subject on which I have spent some thought, and I am proud of the privilege of doing so before this Association to-day.