laced in an inebriate asylum till he regain sufficient
self-control to enable him to overcome his love for drink. Numerous
"cures" have been started in recent years, which have often succeeded in
individual cases. An anti-alcoholic serum obtained from alcoholized
horses has been advocated by Dr Sapelier.

For the law concerning drunkenness the reader is referred to INEBRIETY,
LAW OF. Its prevalence as a vice has varied considerably according to
the state of education or comfort in different classes of society. In
considering the extent to which intemperance has prevailed, the
statistics of prosecutions upon which such comparisons are usually based
are far from being completely satisfactory, but, inasmuch as they
constitute the only possible data for such comparisons, we are compelled
to accept them. The following table gives the average number of persons
per 1000 of the population proceeded against for drunkenness in England
and Wales for quinquennial periods, dating from 1857, the first year of
the Judicial Statistics:--

1857-1861 4.28
1862-1866 4.78
1867-1871 5.47
1872-1876 7.83
1877-1881 7.25
1882-1886 6.90
1887-1891 6.19
1892-1896 5.84
1897-1901 6.42
1902-1906 6.51

The figures, it will be seen, show a steady decline from 1872-1876 (when
the consumption of alcohol was quite abnormal) to 1892-1896. After that
year, however, the figures again rose. The increase was especially
marked in 1899, when a tide of exceptional prosperity was again
accompanied by great drunkenness. It is also disquieting to discover
that the average number of prosecutions for drunkenness in the three
years 1897-1899 was 51% higher than the average for 1857-1861, and 35%
higher than the average for 1862-1866. That the increase was partly due
to more efficient police administration is probable, but that this is
not a complete explanation of the figures is made evident by an analysis
of the general statistics of crime during the same period, from which it
may be seen that, while crime generally (excluding drunkenness)
decreased 28% in England and Wales since 1857-1861, drunkenness
increased 51%. Speaking generally, it may be said that in the United
Kingdom drunkenness appears chiefly prevalent in the seaport and mining
districts. If a line be drawn from the mouth of the Severn to the Wash,
it will be