CHAOS IN THE NORTH.

Northern Advocate, 26 August 1913, Page 4

CHAOS IN THE NORTH.

It is to be most sincerely hoped that since Mr. Vernon Reed has made himself acquainted with the position of affairs in his electorate he will on arrival at Wellington succeed in stirring the Minister for Public Health out of the fatal complacency with which he seems to be regarding the work of his Department. Mr. Rhodes has been talking far too long about " everything possible being done " when nothing is being done; has been too frequently asking the community to " support the efforts of the Department to stamp out the disease," while the Department sits in its armchair composing futile proclamations. The time for doing something in the Far North is as long overdue as it was in Whangarei County, where only within the last few days has an intelligent effort been made to evolve an ordered campaign of surveillance out of the long prevailing chaos. This epidemic is a serious business, and no less alarming than the presence of the disease is the inertness of constituted authority. Apparently the whole energy of the Department of Public Health appears to be devoted to Auckland City, while in respect to those northern counties where the disease is known to be rampant, j there seems to be a conspiracy of j suppression and evasion of duty. " There is no effective organisation to arrest the spread of the disease," says Mr. Reed. Of course there's not. We've been pointing this out for weeks and wee,ks. Where in this crisis is the Minister representing the native race, and where the Minister for Native Affairs, the Minister for Public Health? Perhaps when Mr. Reed returns to Wellington he may be able to induce them to take an interest in what is going on.