The Women's Jubilee Offering.

Evening Star, Issue 7484, 31 March 1888, Page 2 (Supplement)

The Women's Jubilee Offering.

The following appeared in a recent issue of' The Times': Sir, —The accompanying address to the Queen frcm the committee nominated by Her Majesty to consider and report upon the best means of effecting her wish to benefit nurses as well as the nursed by devoting to this object the surplus of the Women's Jubilee offering hasjbeen approved by the Queen, and, its publication tor general information having also been authorised, I beg to forwerd it to you for that purpose.—Your obedient servant, Rutherford Alcock. 14 Great Queen street, Westminster, S.W., January 6.—"Eaton, December 26, 1887. In obedience to the desire which your Majesty has graciously expressed to us, that we Bhould consider and report on the method by which the surplus of the Women's Jubilee offering may best be applied for the promotion of nursing, we have the honor to state to your Majesty our belief that the best method, and that which will be most gratifying to those who contributed to the fund, will be by the foundation of an institution for promoting the education and maintenance of nurses for the sick poor in their own homes. We believe that the institution should have its chief centre in London, but that similar central institutions should be in Edinbugh and Dublin, and , that withone or all of them should be affiliated any institutions desiring such affiliation, and satisfactorily fulfilling in any part of the kingdom the general purpose of the foundation. We would recommend that the nurses should be duly approved women of excellent personal character and of good education, similar to that of well-trained nurses in hospitals, and a special training in district nursing and in maternity hospitals, so that may be fit to attend poor women after childbirth. We hope that your Majesty will give to the institution a name indicating the occaoccasion of its foundation, and to the nurses authority to wear an appropriate badge or other decoration. We believe, also, that it would be very useful if, with your Majesty's authority, the nurses were classed in two or more rankp, the higher of which would indicate by name or decoration, length of service, or remarkable skill, or devotion to duty. Further, wo venture to suggest to your Majesty that it would add to the esteem and utility of the proposed institution if its official work could be done in St. Catherine's Hospital, or if it could be in some manner connected with that ancient foundation. For that hospital is one of the oldest benevolent institutions in the kingdom. Ever since its foufldation in 1148 the Queens of England have been its patrons ; and the charter granted in 1361 by Queen Philippa assigned to it, among its chief purposes, the visitation of the sick and poor. We are prepared, if it be your Majesty's pleasure, to consider, or to take part in considering and reporting in detail, on the means by which the institution which we commend to your Majesty's favor may best conduce to the end proposed.—Westminster, James Paget, Rutherford Alcock."