THE MAYOR'S LUNCHEON.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10597, 18 February 1896, Page 3

THE MAYOR'S LUNCHEON.

His Worship the Mayor (Mr N. Y. A. Wales) invited the members of the congress to lnncheon at the Choral Hall on the 3rd inst. The chair was taken by his Worship, who was supported on bis right by his Excellency the Governor and on his left by Dr Batchelor (president of the conference), ' the Hon. the Premier, and Major Elliott, A.D.C. ,Among thosa present were his Honor Mr Justice Williams, the Hon. Dr. Grace, the Hon. the Colonial Treasurer, Bishop Nevill, the Rev. Mr Gibb, the Very Rev. Father Lynch, Mr W. Hutchison, M.H.R., Crs Dawson, Morrison, Haynes, Carroll. Hardy, Solomon, M'Gregor, the chairman (Mr H. Gourley) and members of the Harbour Board, tbe chairman (Mr J. Robin) and members of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Boards, the chairman (Mr F. Miller) and members of the Hospital Trustees, and representatives of other local bodies.

His Woiismp proposed the toast of "The Queen," which was drunk with much enthusiasm.

His Worship, in proposing the health of bis Excellency the Governor, said that this might be considered a fitting time and place for him to give expression to a few words of loyalty, though lie bad no intention of saying anything that savoured of Jingoism or partook of undue excitement, and then went on to say: But these .were perilous times, and rumours of :war . were afloat and war clouds were hovering over us. Though the masterful and manful diplomacy of Lord Salisbury and Mr Chamberlain—(loud cheers) —might fail to produce an amicable and honourable settlement of grave questions of Imperial policy it will be found that all parts of the Empire were prepared for the worst.—(Cheers.) I,feel as an old volunteer that I voice the sentiments of them all when I assure your Excellency that; every man is ready—that New Zealand will give the flower of her manhood and such means 03 are at her command to assist in maintaining the honour and prestige of the vast Empire of which we form a part. And while I make bold to proclaim our loyalty to her Majesty, I.feel also that that loyalty is extended to her representative, Lord Glasgow, who so worthily and faithfully fulfils the duties of his exalted and responsible office. We may congratulate ourselves in these perilous times that wo have at the head of our affairs a gentlemau whose intimate knowledge of, and training in naval matters, may, added to his other many valuable qualities, be at such a juncture of inestimable value to the colony..

Lord Glasgow was received with an enthusiastic round ot applause as he rose to respond. He said: Mr Mayor and Gentlemen, —Speaking, as I believe I do, to an assemblage composed to a very large extent of the medical men. who have come to this city to attend the congress, I- think I may be allowed to congratulate those gentlemen on their not having entirely neglected in the course of their - studies the science of music—(a. chorus of "Hear, hear" greeted this reference to the exceptionally hearty and singularly tuneful manner in which the "Jolly good fellow" had been given),—and upon the obvious fact that they have taken care that the strength of thoir lungs has not been impaired.—(Laughter). I beg to thank you, Mr Mayor, most gratefully, and you, gentlemen, for the manner in which you have reinondad to the toast proposed by his Worshic

(Applause.) And while thanking you for the cordial manner in whioh'.you hare responded, I m»y confess that it has given me very great pleasure indeed to be present on this occasion.—(Applause,) In fact, if I ra*y say so without anticipating the remarks I may have to mak<> in another place—no, not " another place " — (loud laughter) Well, lam glad of the opportunity of saying what pleasure it has given me to be here to meet tbe medical men of the different colonies.—(He»r, hear.) I have bad a good deal of acquaintance with medical men from my earlieit years—(laughter)—in fact I bolieve I may say it was a medical man who first introduced me to my parents—(renewed laughter),—and I may say I haveknown them ever since. From the early age of 12, when I went to sea, I have been messmates with them ; I have met them in every phase of life, and they have sat upon me on several occasions.— (Laughter.) Of course I was rather down in the mouth when they did that; but the result has been to mike me feel ever since a respect for the profession; and it seems to me that anything which promotes the interests of' medical science makes for ths general welfare of the community at large.—(Hear, hear.) Gentlemen, I thank you, and I shall not forget to inform Lady Glasgow of the strength of that cheer with which you responded to tbe mention of her name,—(Continued applause.) Mr Justice Williams said that he had just been asked to propose a double-barrelled toast —viz., that of "His Excellency's Ministers ni>d the Legisiatnre of New Zealand." H« was sure this toast would be received on its merits and apart altogether from politics.—(Cheers.) It was manifest that the Ministry, from whichever side of politics, they might be chosen, had in administering the' affairs of the colony a most difficult task to perform; and it must be admitted that the gentlemen who were at present occupying thst high and honourable position, although some present might not agree with all their political acts, had brought to bear on the administration of our affairs diligence, attention, and devotion to duty. As to the Legislature, he'had no doubt that a great many of our visitors had observed the wonderful vitality of the animal and plant life of this colony, and our Legislature followed the analogy of that animal and plant life, because every year it turned out a very large volume of statutes—in faot a very.large amount of legislation took place evfcry year, Hpwever, he supposed that was quite necessary. In New Zealand we hid every reason to be proud of our Legislature—not only on account of its activity, of which he had made mention, but on account of tbe ability,.■ great care, and assiduity with which it discussed every , topic that came before it. He would couple with the toast the name of a gentleman whom tbey were very proud to see among them—the Hon. Mr Seddon, the Premier of the colony.— (Cheers.) However much some of them might differ from him, they c?uld all respect hia energy and devotion to duty.—(Cheer"). Henry tbe Eighth used to say that he loved a man. Well he (tbe judge) could safely say that in Mr Seddon they had what his late Majesty would call a man—a very live man indeed.—(Cheers.)

' The Premier, in reply, said he took this opportunity of saying that the Ministry of New Zealand, on behalf of the people ot this colooy, welcomed to New Zealand these men who made personal sacrifices and went to great expense in order to be present there that day, and whose sole object was to do good for suffering humanity.— (Loud cheers.) Now politics were just a little mixed up with this question, and in this way: Twelve months' ago Dr Batchelor and other medical gentlemen waited on him, and told him that they had enjoyed the hospitality of the other colonies, and that great .Benefits had been derived from the congresses that had been held in the other colonies ; that it had been, decided to hold a'medic*} congress in New Zealand: and they asked him if his Government would be prepared to assist the movement. As a rule Governments —and he took it that his Government formed no exception—seldom made any definite promises—(laughter),—but he went this far: he said that the Government would <io their best to assist the medical gentlemen—that if these gentlemen came, over here from Australia there would be extended to the visitors that hospitality for which New Zealand in the past had been noted, and for which he hoped it would ever be recognised iv the future. — (Cheers.) And he promised to (rive every encouragement to the deputation. He was very pleased to flad that the medical men of New Zealand had, by their presence there, removed any doubts in his mind on the subject, for he had told the deputation that the medical men of New Zealand must show that they were alive to the advantages of the gathering and were prepared to assist it. And by way of helping the movement he had placed himself in communication with the other colonies and asked them to send over their medical representatives. And be took; this opportunity of saying, although, of course, politics were not to be discussed at such a gathering, that the Governments of these colonies wore working together—federating, in fact—(applause)—for the purpose-of-having a successful Medical Congress in Dunedin. Now, Ministries might come and Ministries might go, but our Constitution—onr grand old Constitution, which we all recognised and loved so well—would stand yery much for humanity ss it bad .always done in every part of the world.—(Applause:) In that sense he, as the head of the Ministry, was heartily pleased at the reception which had that day been accorded to them. He would conclude by stating, on behalf of the Ministry of New Zealand, that he hoped th-.t his Ministry would ever do justice to the people of New Zealand, and at the same time do justice to the great natural advantage which this colony possessed—advantages which be felt sure all our visitors would enjoy before they left our shores. It was for the good of the country that our people should be con touted and intelligent, and whatever Ministry were in power they should strive to do justice both to the country and the people. He had only a la^t word to say—that he hoped that the lame good feeling that existed at the preterit moment might ever continue.—(Loud and prolonged applause). ' ■

The Hon. Dr Ghace responded on behalf of the Legislative Council.

His Worship proposed "The Medical Congress," coupling it with the name of its'worthy president, Dr Batchelor. The objects and aims of the congress were well known to all and' wete most laudable, and there could be no doubt that to a great, extent the aims and objects were achieved by these frequent gatherings of the profession to the advancement of medical science and the employment of the most skilful and up-to-date methods for tbe relief of suffering humanity. It was not easy for men actively engaged in the duties of their profession in these colonies to visit the European centres often or in large numbers, and the need of such an association as the congress was thereby rendered more nrgently necessary. . He had, on behalf of the lay community, to congratulate tbe association on the attendance at the congress, and to wish that light might : chine on, aad success attend, all.the deliberations withbenefit to the members and the community,'at'large. He desired alto, on' behalf of the citizens, to thank the congress for the honour it had done Dunedin in holding this its fourth meeting here. .

Dr Batoheloe, the president of the congress, in replying on behalf of the profession, said: —Mr Mayor,—l thank you most sincerely for the very hearty manner in which you have. proposed this toast, and also for the most hospitable manner in which you have entertained the members of .this congress. When it was first decided that this meeting should be held in Danedin there were • many, among us who bad considerable doubt whether we were not undertaking rattier too. ambitious a task, and whether it would be possible for a small community to carry out the congress on lines previously adopted. But, sir, for my part I felt well assured that this colony, and the people of this city, would recognise the | importance of this meetiug and iM relation to the public well-being aj has' been the case in connection with similar gatherings in all civilised centres throughout the world. The Dresenee to-day of his Excellency the Governor, the Hon. the Premier of this colosy, and of the Hon. the Colonial Treasurer, shows that we have received the support. I anticipated from those in authority, while you, Mr Mayor, as representing the citizens, by inviting us here to-day, have shown that we may safely depend upon the support and co operation of- oar fellow citizens. Pos»ibly it would be well before referring to some ; of, the advantages that accrne from these congresses to direct attention to what I consider to be a rather popular fallacy regarding them. It is this: The public naturally understand very little of the charactor of our work, bat they see and take a great interest in the social festivities at these meetings, »nd . are therefore readily inclined to believe that •these congresses are a kind of huge medical jollification, and that members meet here simply for their own enjoyment. Any such impression is entirely fallacious. But, sir, when we remember that many of our visitors have come here at very great loss and inopnveoience— that they have had to put up with' the discomforts and misery of a long sea voyage, travelling thousands of milei to attend this congrass,—it would be churlish, indeed, of us (their hosts) if we did not nse every means in our power to make what spare time they have at their disposal as enjoyable and as interesting to them as possible. Thia has been the spirit that has actuated congreiaea of this kind in the past. It is the spirit that is actuating us now, and I trust and hope it will actuate tboße conneoted with all future congresses. Of course it is excessively difficult to convey to the laymen any accurate impression of the character of the work transacted at these congresses. Possibly what would best appeal to them would be to refer them to our voluminous transactions, which at the last congress in Sydney and at the preceding one n Melbourne formed bulky volumes of 700 or 800 pages.each. Much of the work then done I have no hesitation in saying was of the very highest waolity. At oar present meetiojt we

shall devote some ZO hours to strictly professional work; but it must bo remsmbered tb.it those 20 hours' work represent the condensation of the labours and observations and the researches of individual members not to be calculated by hours or days, bat by months or years, or it may be even the experiences of a lifetime. These ore brought before us for professional criticism and review, and every new fact elicited, every error dispelled, is a direot advantage to onrselveß and indirectly again to those to whom we are called upou to minister. Then, sir, there is a section of our work which every medical man may speak of with pride. It is work of a charaoter which is done by no other public body of men and no other profession that lam aware of. I refer to the work done in our section of public hygiene, which forms one of the five^sectious into whioh our work h divided. Here our labour* and oar deliberations are to devise measures for the prevention aud arrest of disease. It is an attack upoa those very conditions on the existence of which we depend for our livelihood. This is work whioh I consider the very essence of philanthropy. Here, too, I might refer to the fact that at previous congresses it has been nsual to devote one morning to the discussion of some special subject of great and general interest to the whole body of the profession. I might perhaps refer to the congrsra hold in Melbourne in 1889, when the subject of hydatids, a disease very prevalent in these colonies, was under consideration. I venture to state that as a result of that discussion our knowledge of the subject has been most materially increased, and our methods of treatment enormously improved. On the present occasion we propose to take up the subject of tuberonloeis, the. most protean, many-faced, and geoerally , disseminated of diseases that inflict mankind. We have called to oar aid our veterinary confrircs, who we hops will aid us iv our deliberations. It must not be expected that auy startling results will immediately follow from the discussion, but what we might hope to do is so to. focus the knowledge we do possess as to have a surer basis from which to start, and thereby we may hope ultimately to devise such measures as will assist in mitigating this tho greatest curso of our modern civilisation. But, sir, there io still another factor at work which, I am not sure, is after all tha most powerful for good in connection with these meetings. It is a very subtle, very imponderable one. I mean that wonderful action and reaction of mind on mind, whence spring fresh zeal, new energies, and increased enthusiasm. Many a man comes to this meeting worn and jaded with the toil, tho drudgery, and monotony of practice, "and returns from it to his home with fresh energy and renewed vigour. Aud, sir, at thn risk of appearing a little egotistical, I cannot refrain from making reference to a result that accrued from a congress that some of my friends probably may remember; I refer to the congreis held in Melbourne in 1889 My colleagues and myself when we saw the work that was being done by our confreres in that city, when wo saw their hospitals and other appliances, we returned to this colony imbued with the idea that our hospitals in New Zealand were not in line as thej-Bhould ba with the Australian hospitals. This ' was particularly the c»«e respecting the hospital in this town, and we determined to make a vigorous effort to arouse some interest in the reforms we saw were so urgently needed. You will remember, Mr, the controversy that ensued.' That controversy, sir, wag bat the surf that marked the advancing wave of progress—a wave that has converted this hospital from an institution of which we were ashamed to one wbioh we can now ask our Australian colleagues to visit with the full assurance that they will find us well up to the times, and although possibly it will not compare with tueir magnificent buildings, still they will find the institution one in | whioh as good work oan be 'dona as anywhere .in the world. This has not been confined to Dunedin only, bnt I venture to say that during the last six veers every hospital in every large centre in the colony has j profited by th»t movement. I visited those j hospitals six years ago prior to my visit to AuHtrilia, and I visited them again on my return to this colony recently, and I do say that throngboufc the colony there bus been a wonderi ful change for the better. But clearly understand me upon this point: Ido not wish for one moment to claim more than we deserve. I s»y that the stimulus, or initial velocity if you will, for that reform originated in the Melbourne Congress, and the work has been subsequently carried ont by entirely other hands. Those gentlemen who have carried out this work have not, I oonsider, received from the citizens of this town the mead of praise they have merited. I Tha work has been done in the face of great difficulties, with much patient labour and persistent devotion, and if 1 might refer to one gentleman who I think is pre-eminently deserving of praise—although it may possibly seem a little invidious to single out one where bo many have been doing such good work,—l would wißh to name our worthy chairman of the Hospital Trustees, Mr Peter Miller, who, by his pluck, determination, and indomitable perseverance has carried these reforms to so successful an issue. lam afraid that I am trenching upon your valuable time, but Btill it is not often I get an opportunity of speaking from a position such as I hold here to-day, and I will ask your permission to refer to a matter of local interest. This City of Dunedin, some few years back, prided itself upon b3ing the centre of commercial activity and prosperity in New Zealand. I think we must confess we have of late years lost that position; but, sir, I am one who does not believa that commercial suocess is the only form of prosperity a community caa enjoy. I think there are other forma of prosperity that equally tend to the happiness and well-being of a community, and, sir, tha spirit that actuated the pi oncer fathers in this province whs, I believe, a desire to make this City of Dunedin a centra of intellectual and educational activity. I believe that spirit still survives amongst ns, and ai an evidence of it I would point to the existance of our Medical School. This school has not received the recognition that is due to it from this town, or this province, or this colony. Ido say that a medical school in our midst must prove of enormous benefit to our people. It is impassible in the time at my disposal to dwell long upon this subject; bat there are two points to which I will specially refer. One is the fact that it offers the means of entering a useful and honourable profession to a number of young men who otherwise would be entirely debarred from it. In the second place, and this I do not think is generally recognised, I say that the school in our midst must tend to raisa the general standard of excellence of the whole profession, not only in this imva but throughout the colony. To be a teacher one must know his work and know it thoroughly, and if ths medical men in this town know their work and the medical men of our neighbouring towns do not keep so well up to date, the fact will be very soon recognised by their patients, and they will coma to ua here in Dunedin for treatment; but, «ir, our medical colleagues iv Christohircn and in Wellington do not eire to have their patieats come to Da.ne.dia for treatment, and were I a resident of either of those cities I should, no doubt, very strongly object to my patients going elsewhere. The result must follow that our friends mu»t and do keep up their work, and that generally a higher standard of excellence is consequently maintained. Sir, it does seem to me a rather | anomalous condition of affairs that in a country like thi?, where such » lavish expenditure is devoted, and rightty devoted, to elementary education, no State assistance whatever is granted ta the development of au institution which is of the highest import to our whole community. In European cities a large- numbor of medical schools are entirely Stito supported, and I do think that here we might reasonably ask some aid from the Government to enable us to provide for the growth »nd development of our Medical School, which at present is in a state of extreme inanition, and urgently demands assistauce. Then, too, sir, I think, with regard to our local bodies, we may expsct from them tho exhibition of a more liberal spirit in their relations with our school. Very shortly, I believe, we m&y expect an alteration in our Municipal Act, and I do trust that our Ioc»l bodies will themselves urge upon the Government the necessity for making suoh proTision as may be necessary for the satisfactory conduct of onr school. I shall not detain you longer upon this topic, as I propose to refer to the matter again at greater length to-night, but will conclude by ssying that if the meeting of oar coogres* should arouse sufficient entbußi&Bm and public spirit to create a more liberal and enlightened policy, whereby our means of sustenance may be augmented and en extension may be secured of those privileges which are at present too strictly guarded by tho local bodies, then our present congress will have deserved well of this town and well of this country. —(Loud applause.) The gathering then terminated.