ST. GEORGE'S HOSPITAL CHAPLAINCY.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20623, 12 August 1932, Page 18

ST. GEORGE'S HOSPITAL CHAPLAINCY.

TO THE EDITOR 0* THB PRESS. Sir, —While I am very glad that a sixth purso lias been filled for tho St. George's Hospital Chaplaincy Fund, J. aiu sorry to question tho published statements regarding Lord Richard Cavendish. A search of tho register of Christ Church, Oxford, does not disclose, the nam© of tho Hon. Richard Cavendish, as he then was, though or course he may have been at some other of the twelve Oxford Colleges. To say that he advanced thousands and tens of thousands to save Godley's lire woik is rather misleading. He certainly went security for the fourth part o £15,000, viz., £3750, but he did not advance tho money and was never called on to pay. In fact when ttie as&ociatiou got into difficulties Jul subscriptions were asked for, his nam was not among the subscribers. While on this subject, might I asis your readers if any one of them can tell me who has the account books 01 the Canterbury Association ? They were brought out by Mr Sewell, when he came out to transfer the undertaking of the association to tho Provincial Government. I have an abstract o these accounts, but I sincerely hope the originals have not been destroyed. lours, etc., JOHX BOOTH. August 10 th, 1932. TO THB EDITOR 0? TTIE I'RKSS. Sir, —At tho Tislc of making Canon Wilford feel just a little unhappier, I would ask him to he a trifle more explicit as to what the chaplain actually did do "yesterday." Briefly, he states that something was needed urgently for St. George's, and was done before 9 am. What was it? Was it part of the chaplain's duty? Or was it not perhaps work that could have been done by an ordinary layman? Again, the chaplain had to "run" out on an errand; chaplain's work again? He was at the hospital at 2 p.m. and got home only •> minutes late for his dinner, but he saw none of the patients. Surely the interval cannot have been wholly occupied with devotional services for the community. Surely, the management of the hospital does not fall on the chaplain s shoulders? Would not a business man ,be better? . '' Churchman'' in his letter states, inter alia: "The chaplain is the stand-by,the support, the comforter of the community and also (almost secondarily the chaplain to the hospital." Then let us be candid and say that the staff need tho full-time services of a priest to assist them in their devotions; then, if we aro to have a chaplain, let us get one belonging to a similar order to tlio nurses, i.e., one "who, like the members of the community, will be unpaid. Personally I am of the opinion that it would be much more in the interests of the patients, for whom, after all the hospital was built, to hare a resident medical officer. If the City cim find sufficient to keep a chaplain, surely it.can find sufficient to keep a doctor. — Tours, etc., ' LEVEL. August 11th, 1032.

TO THE EDITOR Ot TITB TRESS. Si r> —While reading the correspondence in Thk Press on the appeal to provide funds for a chaplain for St. George's Hospital, several questions spring to one's mind. (1) Is St. George's staffed entirely by a religious community vowed to "prayer, fasting, and thanksgiving ? (2) Should it not rather be staffed by a nursing order? (3) Are the other Anglican communities of women in Christchurch served by their own whole-time chaplain ? In any case, since we know the terrible struggle that all communities are having at this /time to keep going at all is it wise to make, tins appeal now? Rather, should not the hospital bend every effort towards lowering its" charges, which ab the present moment are exactly the samei as any ordinary private hospital staffed bv professional nurses, and, above all, undertake to nurse its poor for less (at least) than is charged in the Public Hospital?— Yours, etc., PUBLICAN AND SINNER. Morven,'August 10th, 1932. TO THE EDITOB OT THE PBSSB. Sir—Vision does not seem a strong point' with "The Dragon," in depicting the type of man described by Canon Wilford, since he quotes "Mens sana, etc." It would seem that St. George's Hospital, in striving to create a spiritual atmosphere of comfort and healing combined with skilled devotion, has issued a challenge to "The Dragon" i>nd "Churchman Also." Not content with denying their aid, they circulate confusing statements. With regard to the statement of "Churchman Also," I would ask him if he attended church last Good Friday, and if so, how he was impressed with the sympathy the Crucified One received at the Cross. He will not easily reconcile that scene with his suggestion that, as the community of Sisters lack the sympathy ot church people, they should be replaced by lay-workers. —Yours, etc., CHESTER CRESSWELL. August 11th, 1932.