TO-DAY'S MEETING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 11366, 8 May 1900, Page 4

TO-DAY'S MEETING.

A meeting is to be held to-day at the Harbour Board rooms of merchants and shipowners " to consider the in jurious effects done tq this port by the action of the Sanitary Commissioners." We expect to see a large attendance, in "order to compel the Government to undo as far as possible the great harm that Auckland has suffered. We may enumerate a few of the incidents of this most calamitous affair. A boy developed symptoms of blood-poisoning from the bite of a rat. Dr. Dawson, who saw him several clays after the occur rence, carefully examined him, but saw no indication of plague ; he then, in the hospital, was for several clays under the care of Dr. Partes, who decided that the case was simple blood-poisoning, and that there was no symptoms of plague. Dr. Pa rices was quite astounded when he was informed by telephone one morning that his patient had been isolated without his having been consulted. The Commissioners say now that they never " officially" declared thai it was plague. But they stated their belieif freely enough that it was a case of plague, and without doubt the Premier made the repeated public statements he made on their authority. They are now proved to have been quite wrong. They say they "found undoubted cases in rats." Well, if they were wrong in regard to the symptoms shown by the boy, the chances are that they were wrong in their bacteriological researches on the blood of the rats. They have discredited themselves. They were not entitled to be believed as to the rats. Dr. Fyffe, of Wellington, who has rushed in to the aid of his fellow Government officials, says:—"To-day the whole of the staff of the Auckland Hospital say it is not plague, confirming Dr. Baldwin's last diagnosis, and yet Mr. Fowlds lays the blame on the bacteriologists, who declared the case not to be plague. Could any man take up a more illogical position i" Dr. Fyffe should have let the matter alone, if he had nothing more sensible to say than this. The bacteriologists did declare the case to be plague, and Mr. Seddon was led by tlrem to make the statements he did. They never declared the case " not to be plague." Dr. Fyffe also declares: "New Zealand is quite capable of holding her own in that branch of science without outside help." This is a conceited utterance. The Australian colonies who have, let us say, as good men as Dr. Fyffe or the Commissioners, have been endeavouring to import men of knowledge and experience. Meantime, we are in this position: The medical man who is appointed by the Government in charge of this district, pronounced officially that he had a case of plague. That was communicated by Ministers to the telegraphic agencies, and was" wired all over the world with serious results to Auckland. That pronouncement has never been officially withdrawn and contradicted. The Premier of the colony, addressing the City Council, and also addressing the Hospital Board, said that we had a case of plague in the city, and that "the Board might rest assured tl-.it that would not be the only case." That statement made by the Premier of the colony has been telegraphed over the whole world, to the great injury of Auckland. No step has been taken by tho Government to withdraw and contradict it. Auckland is still under a ban, and officials will not give a clean bill of health. Wo have no recollection of so great an injustice and injury having been done to any community. The meeting to-day ought to insist upon Dr. Mason and Mr. Gilruth proving their statements as to the rats. If they do not, their assertion in respect to that will be regarded as on the same level as their diagnosis of the case of the boy. • ' ' '*