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mucous membrane of the stomach and bowels, which it
reaches through the mouth; that while undoubtedly it may
be conveyed to the under ordinary circumstances
from saturated bed clothes, and direct contamination of
culinary utensils, food or fingers, larger outbreaks of the
disease are due to the infection of drinking water (well,
pond, or river), with Cholera poison derived from cess-pools,
sewers or other such sources; and lastly that the Cholera,
virus or contagium, is a living organism.
Since our last epidemic outbreak of 1866, Asiatic
Cholera has, on several occasions, found its way into Europe,
and prevailed in an epidemic form on the Continent. But
on all these occasions, excepting for an occasional case of
the disease imported into our sea-port towns, we have
escaped, and I see no good reason why we should not again
escape. We understand the nature of Cholera as well as,
if not better than, we understand the nature of any other
such disease, we know how it is spread, and we know how
to meet it. The measures which have been so promptly
and so wisely taken by the Local Government Board, and
the port Sanitary Authorities, to prevent the entrance of
Cholera into the country have been successful in the past,
and there is no good reason to believe that they will not
prove successful now. Since the early epidemics we have
learnt that the poison of the disease is contained mainly in
patients' stools and vomit, and it these are destroyed and
not allowed to contaminate drinking water or otherwise to
find their way into the stomach, the disease does not spread
beyond the sufferer. Our London waters are not, of course,
perfect waters, but they are fairly good and well-filtered,
and there is no substantial reason to fear that the Cholera