24 MAY 1873, Page 2

Mr. W. Fowler moved on Wedne&day for the repeal of

the Contagious Diseases' Acts, when a debate ensued, remarkable for the strength of the assertions on the opposite sides, and the apparent firmness of conviction with which these opposite asser- tions were made. For instance, Mr. Mundella, referring to a certain witness in favour of the Act, whom we will not name, spoke of him as a liar, Mr. Bruce declaring, in reply, that no assertion was ever more utterly unfounded, and that the man in question was quite as trustworthy a witness as Mr. Mundella. Equally blank contradictions were given of certain statistical statements on both sides of the question, and the impression left upon a careful reader of the debate is that the facts are still too doubtful to warrant anything but that kind of strong opinion for which previous bias is more than half responsible. The opponents of the Acts have the advantage in relation to the abstract questions of morality and justice ; their supporters appear to have the advantage on the question whether, in the particular localities affected by the Acts, the influence has been to diminish disease and the more offensive kinds of prostitution.