The first records of Homœopathy in this city are contained in a pamphlet by Dr. John Wanless, published in 1864, giving the substance of a series of letters which had appeared in attempted refutation of Homœopathy, and the doctor’s replies thereto as they were printed in the Montreal “Transcript” of the time.
In his pamphlet the author mentions Doctor Rosenstein as one of our first Homœopaths, and relates in detail the treatment which that practitioner received while trying to conduct an experimental case in the Montreal General Hospital. Dr. Arthur Fisher was a contemporary.
On the 28th of June, 1863, Messrs. Thomas McGinn, F.E. Grafton, James Baylis, James A. Mathewson, James Muir, E.L. Ransom, D.A. Ansell, Fleck, and McCready, met in the Mechanics’ Hall and made the first attempt to organize Homœopathy in Montreal.
A dispensary was established, which from unexplained causes was discontinued after two years of apparent prosperity.
New names of adherents appear from time to time, among them Hon. James Ferrier, G.A. Holland, Hon. L.S. Huntingdon, George Washington Stephens, James Stewart, John S. McLachlan, Charles Alexander, D. Drysdale, E. Lusher and Henry Lyman.
ROYAL VICTORIA HOSPITAL
MONTREAL GENERAL HOSPITAL
On March 18, 1865, Messrs. James A. Mathewson, James Baylis, George A. Holland, James Muir, Thomas McGinn, John Wanless, M.D., and Francis E. Grafton, obtained from the Legislative Council and Assembly of Canada a charter incorporating themselves and their successors under the name and title of “The Montreal Homœopathic Association,” with power to establish in Montreal a Dispensary and a Hospital, to establish a College and appoint professors to teach the principles and practice of medicine according to the doctrines of Homœopathy, and to grant licenses to practice medicine according to these doctrines within the Province of Lower Canada. This charter was further amended, and the powers amplified by the Legislative Council and Assembly of Canada, September 14, 1865, and the Quebec Legislature on March 30, 1883. Owing to a limited clientéle and paucity of resources, little was done for many years beyond the pro forma requirements of the charter, and the very important powers granted thereunder lay dormant, though carefully nursed and guarded by the old stalwarts of those pioneer days. In 1893 the Association took a new lease of life, and from that day on the story of Homœopathy has been one of brilliant achievement and ever-widening influence. The Association has recently established a public free dispensary at the corner of St. Antoine and Inspector streets, and its hoped-for career of usefulness will be watched with interest.