im,
"This, indeed, is worth our effort;" and let us strive for it till the
battle is won.

THE PRESIDENT. I have been requested to state that the well-known
physician, Dr. EDWARD H. CLARKE, who is too ill to be present here
to-night, has written a long and interesting letter on the subject of
this meeting, which will be published in the morning papers; and I
desire that every citizen present will make a point of reading that
letter.

LETTER OF DR. EDWARD H. CLARKE.

HAMILTON A. HILL, ESQ., SECRETARY, &C.

_Dear Sir_,--I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of
the 2d inst., requesting me, in the name of the committee who have
called a public meeting on the park question, to address to them a
letter which shall contain my views upon "the necessity existing at the
present time for action on this subject, and upon the Report of the Park
Commissioners."

If my views are of any value to the community on this question, or if I
could exert any influence, however little, in bringing about a result so
necessary to the comfort, prosperity, and health of all the citizens of
Boston, as the establishment of a public park within the limits of the
city, I should esteem it not less a privilege than a duty to present
those views, and exert that influence.

Among the many and weighty considerations that might be appropriately
urged in favor of the establishment of a park in this city, three stand
out so prominently, that their importance can scarcely be overestimated.
These are, first, the sanitary, second, the educational, and, third, the
economic aspects of the question. Let me call your attention briefly to
these three points.

The first is the sanitary aspect of the park. The discussion of sewerage
and drainage, and of the ventilation of sewers, drains, and houses, with
which our community have latterly been made familiar, has impressed upon
our citizens, to some extent, the importance of introducing pure air
into our houses, and of keeping foul air out of them. The importance of
such ventilation cannot be overstated. But we are in danger of
forgetting that the importance of ventilating a city is as great as that
of ventilating all the houses in it, with this difference, that if a
city is not well ventilated, so as to bring fresh air into it, and to
keep foul air and poisonous gases out of it, the ventilation of
individual dwellings will be of little avail.

The foul air of the streets will not o