This impassioned rhetoric formed part of an address delivered by Sir Andrew Clark (1826–1893) at a meeting of a parochial branch of the Church of England Temperance Society in 1881. Clark was a distinguished President of the Royal College of Physicians from 1888 until his death. He also became the president of the Medical Society of London in 1871 and was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society in 1885. According to his RCP obituary 'He was a man of serious turn of mind who never played a game and for relaxation turned to theology and speculative philosophy'.
Can I say to you any words stronger than these of the terrible effects of the abuse of alcohol?
Clark was a distinguished President of the Royal College of Physicians from 1888 until his death. He also became the president of the Medical Society of London in 1871 and was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society in 1885. According to his RCP obituary 'He was a man of serious turn of mind who never played a game and for relaxation turned to theology and speculative philosophy'.
The tract photographed here was reprinted from a 19th century newspaper, the Temperance Chronicle and is now in the RCP archives. It is part of a collection of papers compiled to help produce a biography of Andrew Clark. The planned biography was never completed and the materials were eventually donated to the RCP by the author, Sir William Allchin (1846–1912).
Temperance developed as a mass political and social movement during the 19th century. The Church of England formed its own society in 1862 and it was soon the largest such organisation in the UK. This society not only held regular meetings and events in parishes across the country, it also published a newspaper between 1873 and 1914. The Temperance Chronicle reported on alcohol related stories and treatment claims. As interest in alcohol use and abuse as a medical issue grew, so did the number of private, for-profit, treatments for addiction.
In 1894 the Chronicle reported on one particularly popular private treatment, the Keeley Remedy for Drunkenness, commonly known as the Anglo-American Gold cure. Something which distinguished this remedy from many of its contemporaries was that it was reported to contain gold. Leslie Keeley, an American surgeon pioneered this treatment in 1879. His system involved regular injections of a secret recipe which he claimed included gold chloride. Keeley’s remedy made him very rich with more than 200 Keeley centres operating at the height of this system’s popularity.
Many considered Keeley and his treatment to be a clear example of 19th century quackery and that his secret injections killed rather than cured his patients. However, his residential centres also included elements which are used today in addiction treatment. There was a requirement for a one month residential stay, an emphasis on group support and a holistic approach which included diet, exercise and lifestyle elements.
One of the letters printed on the correspondence page of the Temperance chronicle on 11 May 1894 was a report by Dr James Edmunds, medical officer of health and public analyst for St James's Hospital, confirming that the remedy tested did contain gold.
Under the RCP statutes, fellows and members were forbidden from advertising or lending their names to advertisements for commercial remedies and treatments. The use of Dr Edmunds’ name linked to advertisements for the Keeley remedy was reported to the disciplinary committee at the RCP. The newspaper article from the archives, pictured here, was part of the evidence used at the meeting to which Dr Edmunds was summoned. The unfortunate medical officer and public analyst was cautioned for allowing his name to appear in print in apparent endorsement of this ‘cure’.
Pamela Forde, archive manager
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