DISEASE AND POVERTY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1167, 30 June 1911, Page 6

DISEASE AND POVERTY.

HOSPITALS CONFERENCE, SOME 1 SOCIAL"-PKOEbEMSi ' The Hospitals Conference, resumed yesterday at 9.30 a.mi.'Jlr. Jr r G. Wilson presiding. Belegates continued their discussion upon the following motion proposed'by Mr. R.. C. Kirk (Wellington) :— "That it is desirable for Hospital Boards to delegate to tho medical faculty in their districts tho appointment of such honorary staff as may bo considered by .them., necessary .". Mr. Iriedlander.(Ashburton) contended Hint "as any "hoard' hail "lho f! option of delegating the selection of an honorary staff to the medical faculty, if it so desired, there was no reason why this courso should bo made mandatory upon other boards. - .■■'■■• ; -. ■ ••- - 'The Rev. W. A. Evans (Wellington) supiiorled this view. .■■-■".,■' ' Mr. Kirk stated that medical men we.ro better fitted tliau any-other'membew of the , community to select an honorary staff. An evil connected, with tho present system was that a certain] amount of canvassing' took place. . In . his personal experience persons connected with a certain church went round asking members of "a board that a.'certain person. should be. appointed to an honorary ' staff, lo his_ (the speaker's)-amazement, the prac-/ titioner. concerned was duly appointed, and/Mr. Kirk added, he was not.practis-iiig-in the city at all. It was not tho first' timo something , of 'tho" kind had occurred. .",.." : The motion was lost on the voices. . ; The following motions, proposed by Mr. Kirk, were earned:—' . "That it is desirable that the boards ■ . should combine for the purpose of. let-- , tilig a, contract for the supply of lead- . iiig lines of drugs and dressings to tho hospitals of the Dominion." : "That the Government be requested to supply sera to tho hospitals free of • duty.". • . ■ • : ■ • Mr. F. M. Mackay (Auckland) read a paper upon hospital-finance, in the course of which he urged , tho necessity of initiating a system in all matters relating to hospital expenditure, and advocated the adoption of tho most up-terdate commercial system-in order to secure tho confidence of business men. He moved—

f'That the committee of hospital secretaries and accountants set up. the ■previous evening -retire to consider tho new system for receiving uniformity. in' account-keeping as drafted by the • Department.". ....'••'-. 'The motion was seconded by Mr. KillickV. (tho conference secretary and an officer of the Department), who outlined the'system the Department had drafted, 5 and r carried. ' DEGRADED'POVERTY. REMEDY-ENFORCED LABOT/E. Opening a discussion on jthe treatment of undesirables, Mrs, Fell (Kelson) moved :- -. . r "That this conference considers it desirable that an Act of Parliament be, passed to provide Stato farms,.in-. • dii'strial homes or other suitablo places of healthy restraint for the detention and enforced labour of confirmed drunkards or other self-indulgents who, having wife and- family, incapacitate themselves from wageearning or spend an undue share of their earnings on themselves, thus leaving the maintenance of aforesaid wife and family to the Charitable Ajd . . Boards of : their districts; that tho time'spent in such homes, etc.,' bo in proportion to the number of convictions; and that the earnings of such . individuals bo handed to their respec"tive boards for the benefit of their families."... •. • It was undesirable (Mrs. Fell contended), that the. State should be taxed for the maintenance, of children who would probably provo of little benefit, morally or physically, to' tho country whilst under the present system tho parent was encouraged to increase the. number of such children .by being freed from; tho responsibility of their maintenance, or at least a considerable portion of it. ' If society was to cohere it must restrict and restrain those members whoso, behaviour was injurious to tho community at large. • Mr. Gillingham (South Canterbury) seconded the motion, saying that it was designed to aid in the settlement of one of the most difficult parts of social work. It was a great problem how best to deal with the rogues who deserted their wives and children.' If only, they could be controlled properly some good might be doHO. At present they could refuse ro obey nvaintenanco orders, and the only thing that could now be done was to put them in prison, where they had to bo supported by the Stato and their dependents had to bo maintained by tho general taxpayer. Mr. D. M'Lareu, Jf.P. (Wellington), said that the problem was a very complex one. There was, ! for instance, the possibility .of-tho products of men employed on tho State farms with the output of free labour. Jtt had ako to bo remembered that these men were often the victims of the nature of their occupations. Some occupations, for , instance, - predisposed men to heavy drinking. He believed that until '' the Stato had faced the question of providing work for the worldess man the pfgblem as a whole could not be tackled. ■'£ A delegate: How is it proposed to make these people work? Dr. Valintine said they might bo kept in Jabour colonies, as in Switzerland, nnlil they had done sufficient work to remunerate the boards for expense undergone on their behalf. The Community should divest itself of mushy sentimentality and.mete out to these undesirables the "treatment that they ought to have. The Eev. W. A. Kvans said he would bo very happily surprised if the Legislature'of Now Zealand were to take this matter up seriously. If a littlo common sense were brought to bear these evils of degraded poverty and degeneracy, if not altogether wiped off, might at least be so mitigated as to put our pebple on the up, instead of tho down, grade. The motion was carried. It was agreed, on tho motion of Mr. Horrell (North Canterbury) :+-

"That tho Government be, urged to take more active measures for arresting deserters of wives and . children, awl parents of illegitimate children, and sotting them to remunerative work, the balance of their, earnings (after defraying tho first charges for ;-maintenance)' to be applied towards .the- , support of those dependent on ] them -who may bo in receipt' of relief out of p'iblic funds." The following Otago remit was also passed:— "That the Government bo reriuested to forthwith gazette tho regulations provided for'in' tho Crimes Amendment Act, 1910. so that wages may be earned by criminals and so enable boards to take advantage .of the pro-, visions of this Act." WHO SHALL BE PATIENTS? QUESTION OP CLASS DISTINCTION". Tho paper read at the morning session by Air. Mackay on tho subject of hospital finance was discussed. A good deal of di-cussion took place as to the method af deciding whether -in applicant for . treatment at 11. hospital should be admitted or not. Mr. Kirk (Wellington) said tho custom here was for the board to issue the permission after due. investigation; and he. also said that tho princinlo was adopted that those who could pay for outside medical treatment wero not eligible for admission. In this Mr. Kirk was at variance with tho Dunedin delegates, nncl Mr. Bellringer (Taranaki) strongly condemned tho class distinction which Wellington's policy would engender. The hospitals were supported by the rates, and every member of the' community should be able to be trealed in them. Called upon for an opinion, Dr. Vntintiuo said that hospitals, in the first instance, wero ■ established for thos.o people who were not in a position to pay. But a hospital could not refuse to admit, if them was room, patients who were- in a position to pay Tov outside treatment. (Hear, hear.) 'What he could not understand,. however, was (hat patients who were ratepayers should object to nay the--hospital maintenance fees. A good many Oiticnta tuok jis. the attitudo that' the

payninut of hospital rates entitled them to free treatment. Xo action was taken. NURSES FOR THE BACK-BLOCKS. AX URGENT QUESTION. Mr. Stewart (tho Bay of Islands representative) introduced a discussion on tho Maternity Nurse and Midwives Act, 190-1. Ho said that-in his district there was urgent need for providing better facilities for nursing and medical attendance in maternity cases. lie was not one of those who thought that the disaster of a declining birthrate could be averted by providing special funds and so forth to encourage women to faco the inconvenience of maternity, but he did thiuk that they should do what they could in affording expectant mothers every reasonable assistance. The thirteen registered midwives in his district worn not trained in their art, but were admitted when tho Act of 1901 came into force. One wc#ian who employed a Maori woman Lo attend her said she would do so again , rathor than trust herself to the one registered, bnt untrained, midwife,'in her neighbourhood. Ho had nothing to say against these midwives, but he thought tho time had come when the hospital should see that their districts were supplied with sufficient trained women for tho needs of the settlers. How could this bo brought a «- Dul i ? A l ?,." 16 first P |aco they, had to allqrd additional facilities for the training of midwives. Secondly, they had to afford inducements to trained women to settle in tho country districts. Ho

lhat with a view to offering relief 1° , s .,J er t °f -r? t outl J" iD S (!ist ™'s and also to facilitate the training of <£& m -V" T- P \, this inference conf, d ? ?. dv, , s aWe that maternity pi als 3 " C nttached t0 tho countr r 1«»

th?noH?v nff sald , that I* had pursued took S • kis predecessor when ho first ben,, m . ob J ect " n S to maternity cases But lm ? n i lnt ° tho scneral hospitals. J d,dvl° ■V , / 13 "' in ,«"s- In mi (he nV«n, i, ,' referre 'l to alxive, was pawed, whereby unqualified women, could, <iUer a certain period of experience, registl,n,a\nUd,"n eS -,. But no,v thc£e ""trained though excellent women were dying out, and the numbers available were growing m? t SS Iv In c °nsequence it was necessary for them to find means of training women. St. Helens Hospital existed for that purpose, but, although St. Helens Hospital was started by Mr. Seddon for training midwives for the country districts, the nurses trained there did not go back to the places from which thev were brought to bo trained, but remained in the towns. Consequently they wished hospital boards to recommend likely women for the purpose, and they would bo_ trained frco at the St. Helens Hospital, provided the candidates would give mi undertaking io return lo the districts from which they were sent. ■

In support of tho resolution, -one or two delegates recounted instances of the dangers .and suffering incurred in the backblocks. The motion> was carried. •■ ■■■•■• OTHER MOTIONS! On the motion of Mr. J. G.-Wilson (Palmerston North) the following was carried:— "That the Health Act should be so amended as to define who is responsible for the burial in cases of death whero there is not sufficient money and no relations." .'Mr. Ewing (on. behalf of the Otago delegates)' moved: — "In regard to Section 85 of the Hospitals aiid Charitable Institutions Act, 1303, ro the maintenance of children in an industrialschool, that - the same bo amended to provide that boards may have more authority in regard to the committal of such children, by receiving notice of intention to bring such children before tho Court, so (hat evidence may be adduced, if possible, of ability . of 'near relatives,' as defined in tho Destitute Persons Act, 1910','to cpntriluta towards the cast "of .maintenance- of such children." •'.'•■ This was carried. Mr. G. MacMahon (Nelson) moved:— "That tho powers of Hospital and - Charitable Aid Boards be enlarged so as to enable them (on a certificate, being granted by a magistrate) to reclaim and educate children living in tho midst of ovil environments." The motion was carried. Mr. - Friedlander (Ashburton) moved :— "That it be recommended to tho Government that tho Old Age Pensions Act Iμ altered in the direction of providing that if a pensioner bo convicted a second time for drunkenness, . his certificate be handed-over to the Charitable Aid Board of the district wherein the pensioner resides." This was carried. Mr. J.' G. Wilson (Palmerston North) moved:— "That the Hospital and' Charitable Institutions Act and tho Hospital and Charitable Aid Act bo amended so that representatives shall be appointed by tho contributing local authorities." Several delegates urged that the old method'of election was better than the present one. Mr. It. C. Kirk (Wellington) moved as an amendment: "That the Government bo requested to consider the advisability of substituting tho Parliamentary franchise instead of tho localbody franchise." The amendment was lost. Tho original motion was lost. "That the Hospitals and "'Charitable Institutions Act, 1909, be further amended by the addition of a clauso in the following terms:—'Notwithstanding anything contained in Sections 19 and 20 of the principal Act, the chairman may be paid such annual allowance, at a rate not exceeding two hundred pounds (.£200), as the board from time to time determines.'" Otago Remit. The chairman of the Wellington Hospital Board (.Air. Evans) spoke against tho motion. Ho said tho position of chairman was an honourable one, and he would bo very sorry to see the motion carried. Tho motion was lost. Mr. Ewing, on behalf of the Otago Hospital Board, moved that the conference take into consideration the question of asking the Government to introduce legislation whereby the "Curfew Law" may lie introduced into the Dominion. Ho pointed to the crime among young children who were allowed out at night time, and ■ tho Rood that would come if the law were introduced. Tho motion was carried. The conference adjourned at 11.10 p.m. till 10 o'clock this morning. ACCIDENTS ; AND FATALITIES. DEATH OF A' YOrNG WOMAN. POISON PLACED IN,MOUTH AFTER DEATH. (j?y Tclcpraph—Press Association.! Auckland, June 29." The adjourned' inquest, relating to the sudden death of flu- young woman Elsm Hollaud. which look place at the residence of Jlrs. O'Shaiißhncsscy'in Kingslaud, iviif resumed to-dny. ' Dr. Milf-.oni, who. was associated with Dr. Bull in conducting the post mortem, gavo the dotailed result of. his examination. Ho waft of the opinion that the cause of death was septicaemia, arising from an attempt mads to perform ah illegal operation. Deceased's mouth contained perchlorido of mercury—a-'virulent voi=on—but thero was no trace 'of poison in "the stomach. He was, therefore, sure that death had not resulted from that a"oncy. He considered that the poison was placed in her mouth immediately before or after death, nnd was inclined to the opinion that it was put in after death.

INSTANTANEOUS DEATH. Dargavillc, June 2.0. A boy named Keith Stewart Grant, tlcvon yours <>!d, was killed |;j tlio wheel of a ilray pushing over his bead at. Man<;uVh!ir<l Hotel this morning. Tim boy was sittinK on the shaft, and was jolted oil'. Death was instantaneous. Messr?. JPDnnalil and Cochrane, land agpiitV. Te Kiiiti, advertise come freehold bust country for. sale.