The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 20, 1920. IDEALS IN MEDICINE.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 43, 20 February 1929, Page 6

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo.

WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 20, 1920. IDEALS IN MEDICINE.

For the cause that lacks assistance, For the wrong that needs resistance, For the future in the distance, And the good that tee can do.

Praise for the presidential addiv.-s. at the British Medical Association Coniorunc iu Wellington may be expressed by saying that \l reminds, us of the saying that the doctor ia the tine flower of our civilisation, and the Association in Xew Zealand may be congratulated on having for its head a man of so much understanding and such broad culture α-f Dr. J. S. Elliott. The wide range of the address;, the president's catalogue of the triumphs of medical science, his recognition of the profession's difficulties and of the existence of n dimension not to be found in text book*, am! his eloquent plea for idealism, direct attention to the infinite importance of the doctor , -, calling and to the fact that everv vear ;-

adding to the demands made upon him. Evivy decade adds grently to the knowledge he l< expected to pos«.s>, so that the field of histudy is very much wider than that of tin* practitioner thirty or iifty year- ago. Specialisation, therefore, has been μ-reatly develop",! in the profession, but in this., as in utlivr occupations, specialisation without a sound foundation of general knowledge i> apt to I).' dangerous. Moreover, it is often the ry>e llu-t the more capable a doctor is, the le>-= time luihe for professional study and the gein-i-; 1 .! improvement of his mind, for the coinmuuify makes a beaten track to his door. Ami Dr. Elliott's address is a proof of the value ■>!' .study beyond as well as within the world of text-books.

Unless we except that of, the clerjry, the , .■; is no calling so difficult as the doctor'.-. If this is doubted, estimate- fjiveu Ijy hiirh authoritie.--of the percentage of wrong diagnose-, may b. eited. The doctor applies .-eience to the huma'i body, and besides understanding its tVarful and wonderful mechanism, lie has to contend wit ; the infinite variety and unpredictable processes of the human mind. The doctor, and especially the phy.-ician, inu-t be something of a priest as well a- a physical healer. Like the priest, he imperil.- his c;iu-e if lie hickhumility. As Dr. Elliott says, doctors a: , -.- necessarily in a, >en>;> materialist-, but the physician can "peer into tin , cloudy place- u!' the soid and see a spiritual fourth dimension." Dr. Elliott appeals to the prof«>.--ii>n t-i strike a true balance between the freed.mi < l the will and the. determinism of tin- luiinan body. The temptation to be materialistic in the worldly sense of the term i- ofien stl'oiiv. and a doctor who makes mon< y his god :.-

almost as repulsive :m object. a.- ;: mercenary priest. Indeed, we niu.-t look to doctors for important help in savin" , the world from materialism. Dr. Elliott's i'.-iitli in science i> eloquently expressed. "Tin , (io'den i> hoc behind, but before us." Ho realise.-, however, the danger that lies, in a pursuit ot -•••:' ;:.•■;> that is not informed with spiritual ideals. Science, it must be borne in mind, is ile-tnwtive as wed as constructive, and there is beinjr forced oil the attention of the -world (he ipie.-tiou whether man will be able to control the many weapons that the conque.-t of Xulure has jrivci him. It i- conceivable that science may master man and turn the world into a madhouse or a shambles. It will matter a, great d< , ;:! which side the doctors take.

OUR VOLCANIC HILLS.

The Auckland Town Planning Association deserves the thanks of the city i\nd of ali sincerely interested in its scenic beauty for tho pamphlet entitled "Auckland's I'liiiiUi. , Heritage," protesting against the destruetini! or mutilation of our volcanic hills. TinAssociation has compiled a most interesting and instructive account of these hills, dealing with their scientific importance and value, explaining , their legal position, and supplying full details of their present state and their prospects of survival. This work was urgently needed, it has been admirably done, and we can only hope that it will assist to rouse public' opinion in support of the crusade that the Association has initiated to protect these picturesque relics of our prehistoric past before it is too late. !

THE LATE CHIEF JUSTICE.

The death of Sir Charles Skcrrett, though not unexpected, has come with the shock of ;i grievous personal loss to his many friends aw! admirers throughout the Dominion. He had faced the ordeal of a long and painful illness with such courage and endurance that it ; seemed as if the end might still bo averted for i some considerable time. But this was. not to J be, and his sudden passing has left in his | profession and in our Courts an empty place; i that will be indeed hard to till. It is almost ! superfluous to dwell on the many exceptional qualities which enabled Charles Skerrett, without wealth or social advantages or academic training, to rise in a few years from the i crowded ranks of our young legal practitioners to the post of highest dignity and authority that a member of the profession can attain. Great intellectual aeutoness, exceptional powers of concentration, and inexhaustible energy, combined with that indomitable courage which served him so well during the last sad stages of his life —all these things may help to explain his remarkable and almost meteoric rise to success and fame. Tiie career of Sir Charles Skerrett has been a striking illustration of the possibilities open here to a young man of exceptional natural gifts who sets himself resolutely to attain the object of his ambitions regardless of the obstacles that seem to impede his progress. Few men in our history, starting from the bottom of the ladder, have risen so rapidly and achieved so much, and it will be hard indeed to find a successor ab!" adequately to fill the place that lie made for himself on the Bench ur at the Bar.