PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS.

BY THOS. C. OSBORN, M. D., of GREENSBORO’.

Irrespective of all other considerations, the happiness I enjoy in meeting the Association here to-day more than compensates me for all the sacrifices made at home, and for all the hazards of the journey towards this refined and beautiful city.

As the vine must cling to something of firmer texture and stronger growth to insure its attainment of vigor and maturity, so have I, these twelve months past, been engaged in reaching out the tendrils of my susceptible nature far and wide amongst the stout branches of this institution, and the increased vitality and strength which my devotion has thus imbibed is an ample assurance of my determination to cultivate greater assiduity in the interests of my profession.

Thirty years ago I adopted the State of Alabama as the place of my permanent abode. At that early period of my professional career I was intimately familiar with the hospitality and picturesque scenery of this immediate vicinity, and, in an adjoining neighborhood, first began to encourage those observations upon the effects of malaria, which have since grown with my growth, and impressed themselves upon all my footprints as the grand aims and objects of my life. I am now convinced that the poisonous agency of that subtle material is the only one of any consequence which seriously contests our claims to the possession of the healthiest part of the world, and which renders it forbidding as a residence to those who live in colder latitudes and higher elevations above the level of the sea.

Not satisfied, however, with the apparent virulence of malaria in this region, and having reason to believe that there were other places in the State where its intensity was much greater, I removed to the vicinity of those immense marl beds, which are freely intersected with switch cane marshes and river bottom lands, and in which I could have a constant supply of the poison to satisfy all my cravings for information upon the subject.

To-day I return for the first time during my prolonged absence,

and find that those faces and forms which so wonderfully attracted my youthful admiration are no longer seen in the habitations of living men. The Fearns, Erskine, Russell, Bassett, Newman, and many others constituting the splendid galaxy, which glittered brilliantly upon the stage of action in those days, are now reposing quietly in their graves, doomed at last to yield to the deadly shafts from which they had so often protected the community among whom they resided; but their names are still venerated by many yet living, with a feeling nearly akin to that of adoration.

All things seem changed but the mantle of nature, and I am inexpressibly saddened at the view which even that picture offers to my inspection. The wanton ruthlessness of hostile armies has fatally marred the beauty and symmetry of those artistic assemblages which riveted the admiration of the world upon this portion of the State, and but few of the memorials of the past are left untouched by the gothic violence of fraternal warfare.

But "there is life in the old land yet," and it is a source of indescribable pleasure to the remnant of us who are still able to revisit those scenes of former grandeur that we may turn our aged eyes fondly and hopefully to the stalwart manhood which ennobles the present generation, pleading with wistful glances that they may emulate the virtues of their fathers, and remember the lessons of the past, only that they can better avoid the temptations which will assuredly beset the future.

If there were any doubts as to the wisdom of the provision which makes this Association migratory in its sessions, it would seem to be only necessary to point attention to the many new faces annually assembled as a convincing proof of the utility and expediency of the measure, and the mutual benefit conferred by bringing into active coöperation all those talented members of the profession who are timidly averse to taking leading parts, disinclined to long jour neys from home, or, for various other reasons, are obliged, however repugnant it may be to their feelings, to remain away from the duties and enjoyments of our annual meetings. In moving from place to place in the State an acceptable service is performed to a large class of our medical brethren, and elicits in return all the ardor and congeniality with which each one is so abundantly endowed.

It is mainly to absence and isolation that is due the encouragement, if not the engendering, of the widespread apathy and indifference to the ethics and advancement of the profession which is so proverbial of the fraternity; whilst, on the other hand, frequent intercourse and mutual deference are promotive of respect and esteem, and is the sure means of fostering a taste for increased culture and familiarity with the duties we owe to the century in which we live.

You need not be told that it is the business of each century to scrutinize rigidly the inheritance it has received from preceding

centuries, and to reject everything which is unphilosophical, immature, and worthless. But I may insist that it is only in the actual performance of this obligation that we naturally come to despise pretension and ceremony, and learn to conform rather to the spirit than the letter of the law requiring the thorough investigation of all subjects confided to our care, for the benefit of centuries yet to follow in the train.

The objects anticipated by the founders and friends of this Association are in strict accordance with the principles here enunciated, and it is therefore a cause for congratulation to its earlier members that the present session has fallen upon this intellectual portion of the State. For, as the man who desires to build a durable and magnificent residence calls to his aid the best topographers, architects and artists within reach, that he may have the benefit of their advice and assistance in the selection of the site, the symmetry and comfort of the superstructure, the style and finish most appropriate to its surroundings, and every other matter pertaining to its completion and endowment, so have we, in like manner, chosen this occasion to confer with you on subjects of vital interest to the honor and perpetuity of the profession in the State.

"Come up now, and let us reason together."

Like the colors of the sunbeam in the spectrum, in which there are a few strong lines standing out distinctly and beautifully to the view, yet the keenest eye fails to detect any marked separation between them, owing to the delicate shadings which so perfectly merges them together in the group; so are we, in a similar way, completely identified and actuated in feelings and interests throughout all sections of the country. And to be thus identified in the pursuit of a common object, it is both becoming and requisite that we should be firmly cemented by a common bond of brotherhood.

Step by step we find it incumbent upon us to encounter and remove the obstructions which have been thrown across our highway, either by the negligence and incompetency of those who aspire to guide us, or by the ignorance and thoughtlessness of the people, who appear to be ever ready to pit against us any and all kinds of quackery in their power to commend.

It is necessary, therefore, that we should rally the wisdom and strength of our forces, restore order and harmony in our serried ranks, cast away every fear of ultimate failure, and present an unbroken front to all the hosts of opposition, threatening to delay our orderly progression.

There are, it is estimated, fifteen hundred physicians in the State of Alabama. To these the doors of this Association are always open, and for them our legislation is imperatively necessary for the purpose of securing harmony and concert of action. And when we have obtained the key to that desirable efficiency, it will be by no means difficult to press as one man upon any given point-whether

it be in reference to literary observations, the regulation of ethics, or as influential citizens desiring redress of grievances at the hands of government. Our collective strength will be more seriously felt in the undertaking, and the ends to be accomplished will be rendered far more easy than by any other method we can possibly adopt.

It is painfully true that we are living under a State government which was the first, and for a long time the only one, to legalize the most arrant quackery; and it is also distressingly evident that its legislation is now reposing in the hands of a venal and corrupt majority of representatives; but what of that! Are we destitute of those resources of which every honest citizen is known to be possessed? Are we deficient in the popular influence necessary to secure the election of upright and sensible men to the Legislature of the State? Assuredly we are not. It is rare indeed that, as a body, we solicit anything at the hands of government; and on that score, if on no other, it would seem but reasonable that our petitions should be readily granted. Instead of this, however, we are at this moment suffering from a cruel disappointment in reference to our petition to the House of Representatives asking protection to our interests against former unjust legislation. That petition was signed by several hundred names, as respectable as any others in the State.

Now, the only reasonable construction that can be legitimately placed upon such a failure is, however we may try to disguise the fact, that there is but little vitality in the spirit which ought to animate us in every enterprise we may feel called upon to engage. It is neither necessary nor proper that the rights we hold in common with other citizens should be purchased at the price of dishonor. The position we occupy in society peremptorily forbids a leaning to such a course of procedure; and, which is of still greater consequence, our individual conscientiousness inspires an utter abhorrence for it when practiced, as it often is, by others. Do you ask, "How, then, shall we proceed in obtaining the rights we claim before the law"? The answer is plain and unequivocal. It is only necessary that this institution, which is yet in its infancy, but auspiciously inaugurated, should be made to embrace every physician of reputable standing in the State, and animation enough to concentrate the power it is required to have impressed upon the objects we may have in pursuit. In other words, to use a popular expression, let us become a "ring," and place each member in the kind of harness best fitted to the duties he may be called upon to perform.

I do not mean that we should prostitute our Association to the level of those venal companies whose sole power consists in their monied ability to accomplish corruptly the ends they have in view, nor do I entertain a fear that such a miserable construction will be placed upon my language; but as I have naturally drifted upon the subject in illustration of the utility and efficiency of closely organized corporations, I will take the liberty of adding that we can very