We are quite prepared to admit, however, that the inhabitants of cold and damp countries are able to stand more alcohol than those of warmer regions. That is shown by the change which takes place in the character of the drinks taken at different seasons of the year in the same country. And that is a circumstance, too, which should not be lost sight of by those who draw inferences concerning the degrees of intemperance in any particular locality from the statistics of drink consumed. We have not taken the trouble to look closely into the matter, but it would not at all surprise us to find that in years where there had been severe cold, or a long continuance of “uncomfortable weather,” the consumption of alcohol will have materially increased. This is, however, an abnormal condition, and we believe that the argument will not hold good that a cold and damp climate constantly favours intemperance as compared with one that is warm and dry. At the present time, the Northern nations of Europe are actually becoming more sober, whilst the habits of some of those bordering on the south are tending in the opposite direction. Another explanation has been given of the prevalence of drunkenness, namely, the practice on the part of medical men of too freely prescribing alcohol as a remedy for bodily ailments. This sin was laid to their charge at a very early period, for Pliny, as we know, censured certain of them for seeking to please their patients by such prescriptions. Nor are they by any means free from blame in our time; indeed, we shall find presently that medical men of the higher order admit this to be the case. The downfall of many a man or woman has dated from the first dose prescribed by a heedless or mercenary physician; but all right-minded medical men now recognise this abuse in the profession, and none are so anxious as they to see it remedied. In this relation, however, it will be proper to say a few words on the necessary employment of alcohol in cases of disease, for we must be careful not to pronounce an opinion which shall cause unnecessary suffering to the innocent and afflicted, even whilst we are condemning a recognised abuse. The views of medical practitioners are somewhat divergent on this question, but the balance of opinion decidedly favours the use of alcohol in certain cases; and amongst those who hold that view are found to be some who have written vigorously in favour of total abstinence. In the United States, for example, we noticed that even the Maine Liquor Law provides for its sale for medicinal purposes; and in Scotland, Dr. James Miller, in his able work against alcoholic beverages, more than once approves of their use medicinally, and treats of the cases of disease in which they may be beneficially employed.[369]