STRIKING FIGURES AT THE QUEEN VICTORIA HOME.

Observer, Volume XVIII, Issue 1023, 6 August 1898, Page 9

STRIKING FIGURES AT THE QUEEN VICTORIA HOME.

The Hon. Dr MacLaurin, in seconding .the adoption of the report and balance-' sheet at the annual meeting of the committee of the Qneen Victoria Homes for Consumptives Fund (says the Evening News, of June 28th), gave some interesting statistics with regard to the number of deaths in this colony from that dread disease, consumption. He said that up to ten years ago the number of deaths in N S.W. from consumption had been increasing considerably. In 1885 there were 1095 deaths due to this cause. For the years before 1885 consumption had been increasing much more rapidly than the population, while now; although the population has increased 50 per cent., the number of deaths was very much less. In 1885 there were 271 deaths of young children from consumption. The decrease of deaths from this disorder has attracted attention at home also. The Weeldy, Dispatch, of Lonaon, writing on the same matter, says that in 1853 the deaths from consumption in Great Britain were at the rate of 29*85 per thousand of the population. In 1892 the number had fallen to 10 % 82 per thousond, or about one- - third, and it has not risen since. Still, the insidious malady is far too prevalent, and he who can discover a cure for it will be hailed as a benefactor to the race, lt has lately been alleged that a remedy has been found in quite an unexpected quarter, and a Weelcly Dispatch Commissioner was deputed to make enquiry. ' Is it the case that you have a new cure for consumption, and that people have already been restored to health by it ?' asked the Weelcly Dispatch Commissioner, interviewing the head of a well-known establishment in London. ' It is quite true that Beveral persons discharged from variouß consumption hospitals have been cured lately, and that the fact has been noticed a good deal in the Press,' was the reply. 'But' (with a quiet smile) ' there is nothing new about the remedy. It is Dr. Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People The Dr. Williams' Medicine' Company has from time to time recieved intimations that consumptive people in allparts of the world have been cured by Dr. Williams' Pink Pills. But we never made a feature of the cases in our advertising until lately, for the reason that we were afraid lest there should be some mistake in the matter ; and it would be contrary to all our rules to recommend our Pills for any disorder unless we were absolutely sure that they had been proved suitable to it.' 'What do you mean by fearing some mistake ?' 'Well,' said the manger, 'a mistake could arise in one or two ways. People might suppose that they had been Affected by Consumption, whereas they had suffered from some other cause, such as blood-spitting from injury to the throat or stomach ; or they might really have been consumptive, and, having got a little better, imagined themselves cured when they were not really so. But recently, that is to say, within the last year or two — we have had under our observation cases in which consumption undoubtedly did exist, where the patients had been examined and certified as consumtive at various hospitals and in other official ways. Those people were led to ÜBe Dr William's Pink Pills, and as a result, after a time they were proved to be cured. This led us to make the facts public, and they have been taken up and reported upon by a number of neswpapers by our request. That is the whole story. You see there is nothing very striking about it.' ' Not very ; it is simnly an exceptional record of an honest hesitation successfully removed.' 'I don't know that there is anything exceptional about it, though it's very kind of you to say so. What has happened in the case of the disease consumption, or phthisis, is what has happened with a number of other diseases which are incurable by ordinary medicine, bnt which are cured, as published evidence shows, by Dr Williams' Pink Pills.'

' What diseases do you refer to ?' ' Oh, locomotor ataxy, and other forms of paralysis, for example ; spinal disease, cystitis (a disorder of the bladder), some forms of anaemia, and some disorders special to women. We were some yearß before we published our first case of locomotor ataxy, although we had reports of several cases cured in the interval. We wished to see if