IMPERIAL SOCIAL HYGIENE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20268, 29 November 1927, Page 13

IMPERIAL SOCIAL HYGIENE.

CONGRESS IN LONDON. RESEARCH WORK URGENTLY NEEDED. (From Oto Owh CosaaepoHDXKS.) LONDON, October S. The Right Hon. Major J. B. B. Seely presided at the first meeting of the Imperial Hygiene Congress which has been organised by the British Social Hygiene Council at the Caxton Hall, Westminster. The first speaker was Lord Lovat, who represented the Right Hon. L. S. Amery, as Secretary of State for Dominion and Colonial Affairs, and expressed his regret that Mr Amery was not present to discuss this awful complaint. “ If,” he said, “ we are to build up a really great nation, and if we are to follow the remarkable lines of medical and social research, we must see the progress of social hygiene being fully maintained.” Lord Lovat' wished the Congress the greatest possible success. General Seely, in his presidential address, paid a special tribute to the research work done by the men of science o£ the various European nations which gave promise for an ultimate complete cure of syphilis. When he occupied the position now held by Lord Lovat he was concerned particularly with tropical diseases, but the scourge that they were considering to-day was even more deadly. It was unnecessary to quote figures, for the quotation of figures reminded him of the remark mad* by the chairman of an Irish Urban District Council, who quoted the death rat* at being 12.8. Challenged on the subject he replied that the figures meant that 12 were dead and 9 were on the point of death.— (Laughter.) The death rate* in some colonies and protectorates front venereal diseases were so high that it wa( only necessary to say that any effort made would constitute the doing of work mor* urgently needed than nearly any othet work that fell to. men or women who cared for the ’ Empire.. It was essential to teach people that it was their bounden duty to keep well} and help others to keep well. Money must be spent on continued research, and it was only necessary to consider what a mass of misery there would be to-day if money had not been spent for this purpose during the last twenty years. ,At present they were only at the beginning of what could be achieved. It was necessary to provide adequate medical staffs, and the work done in this direction needed to be carried further. The aim was to cure this and kindred complaints through the peoples themselves, but in backward racee education must precede mass information. He had been chairman of the National Savings Commission. Its object was to increase the capital of the country, but the object of Congress was higher still, fo.- it was to increase happiness and wellbeing by saving life. The death rate from venereal diseases was appalling especially amongst the very young who had nothing to do with disease. He Imped they would do all thev could to save life, and especially child life of the great Empire. WORK IN NEW ZEALAND.

Ur Bernard My ere_ represented the Higa Commissioner for New Zealand. After apologising for the absence of Sir James Parr, who was in Ireland, Dr Myers went on to say.— “ You were given a most excellent exposition on the subject at the, Wembley Conference bv my good friend Professor Colquhoun, whom we should like to have seen here to-day. We have gone ahead on the lines which he sketched out to you and have endeavoured to make tho treatment of these diseases still more efficient. We believe that God has been, good to New Zealand in giving us a beautiful country, a good climate, and good food. It is therefore up to us as men and women who wish to carry on the great, traditions of the British race to make New Zealand us clean, as can, and, if I may humbly say so, it is our desire that all things that may be done to this purpose shall be done, and, I might even add, we are attempting so to do.” Dr Myers then explained what was being done in the Dominion. “We have not come here, I can assure.you. to teach, but to learn. Everything that we know has come from the United Kingdom, arid, therefore, may I say with all due humility, we have not come here to give any message except to voice our thanks for the information which you, through this council, hav e been good enough to send to ns, and which we have used, and ws hope to get further information from vou and that also will be sent on to the New Zealand Government. I would add that wc learnt a great, deal during the war, and we determined to carry out the necessary measures in civil life.” '

During the conference medical representatives have delivered papers on many aspects of the subject, and from experience gained in all parts of the Empire. A verbatim report of the proceedings will be available at’ the offices of British Social Hygiene Council. Carteret House, Carteret street, Westminster, London, at an early date..