The Otago Witness. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY. (TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1929.) THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 3911, 26 February 1929, Page 47

The Otago Witness. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY. (TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1929.) THE WEEK.

“Nunquam allud natura, allud eapientia dixit.” —JUVKNAL. "Good nature and good sense must ever join.”— Pora.

The Passing the Chief Justice.

The regret felt by all members of society

at the death of the Chief of Justice, Sir Charles Skerrett, has found expression in an almost uui-

versal tribute of respect to his memory in the resolutions passed by public bodies of all descriptions, as well as the sympathetic references made by personal friends and public men. The late Chief Justice has earned the commendation of his fellows no less as a lawyer than as a man, possessing as he did qualities of head and heart which made him an ornament to the legal profession. He furnishes another example of the eminence -which it is possible for the humblest in the land to attain, given perseverance and hard work. Sir Charles Skerrett, without any external advantages, worked his way steadily upward, until he became the doyen of his chosen profession. When three years ago the Chief justiceship became vacant, there was no dispute as to Sir Charles Skerrett’s special fitness for the responsible position, and had his life been spared there is every probability that he would have adorned the high office. Unhappily, his tenure was not long enough to enable him to display on the Bench all those qualities which as a barrister had rendered him so conspicuous. Apart from his professional duties the late Chief Justice had a very human side which endeared him to his friends and associates. He. was interested in sport, and he played his part cheerfully and well in all the relationships of life. His decease is deeply mourned, and it leaves a gap in the ranks which it will not be easy to fill.

Medical Men in Council.

The annual session of the New Zealand

branch of the British Medical Association, held in Wellington last week,

afforded opportunity for the medical men of the Dominion to foregather and exchange ideas. It is a curious paradox that, while doctors are the most abused body of men in the world, the world is totally unable to get on without them. In his presidential address before the Wellington meeting Dr Elliott gave a masterly review, not unmixed with humour, of the strides made by science in the defeat of disease, in the course of which he made the notable comment: “The way of progress in medical science is marked by the whitened bones of martyrs, but is it any exaggeration to say that it is a romance of heroism and of high endeavour? ” The melancholy fact remains, however, that despite the advances of science and the work of men like Harvey, Pasteur, Lister, and Janies Y. Simpson, the ravages of disease continue to take their toll of poor humanity, and that such plagues as cancer and influenza are still without an antidote. On the other hand, the fact must be chronicled that but for the scientific knowledge of the day the life of his Majesty the King would, in all probability, have been forfeit. One of the most slashing attacks upon the medical profession ever delivered was made by Mr Bernard Shaw some 20 years ago in his play “ The Doctor’s Dilemma,” with its preface on doctors. That attack, extravagant almost to the point of absurdity in many respects, had a good effect in directing attention to the proneness of surgeons to resort to the knife rather than seek other means of alleviating disease. Today the trend has set in strongly in the direction of preventive medicine, in support of which all the resources of science are marshalled. Yet comparing medical knowledge to-day with what it was in ancient Egypt, the marvel is that so little progress has been made.

An Obstetric Hospital.

The need of a properly equipped obstet-

ric hospital in connection with the Dunedin Medical School is again being

urged upon the Government by the New Zealand graduates in medicine, and it may be hoped that the representations will not be in vain. An additional argument in support of this much-needed reform is found in the fact that the University Council has adopted a recommendation for the establishment of a chair of midwifery, thereby definitely organising a department of obstetrics in connection with the Medical School. Such a departure cannot be effectually carried on with the present clinical material available, for which purpose an obstetric hospital becomes a necessity. The Dunedin Medical School is now recognised as a national institution, which serves the entire Dominion. Obstetrics play an important part in the training of its medical students,-and the training cannot be as complete as it should be under existing conditions. This is a question in which the women of the Dominion are vitally interested; maternity so often resolves'itself into a question of life and death that no step should be lacking to safeguard the life of the expectant mother. Moreover, the experience which can only be gained in a scientifically equipped obstetric hospital will give the New Zealand graduate the confidence so essential to successful practice.

The Prince and Unemployment.

It is significant that the illness of the

King has turned the attention of the Prince of Wales from hunting and sport to more serious

issues. Following a personal inspection of the terrible distress in the coal mining areas of Great Britain, the Prince has endeavoured to grapple with the tremendous problem of unemployment. The Industries Fair, opened simultaneously in London and in Birmingham, gave the Prince the occasion and the audience he desired. The Industries Fair has been organised for the encouragement and development of British industries, which have been sadly languishing since the Great War. In a speech at the Fair dinner the Prince took as his text the affirmation that, given a fair chance, the British workmen can hold his own with anybody in the world, and that the decline in industry was chargeable not to the workmanship, but to inadequate salesmanship. Among other things, the Prince dwelt upon the need for scrapping obsolete material and the adoption of modern equipment and methods. In effect the Prince charged those responsible for the organising of the several industries with ignoring the needs of prospective customers and crippling their output by an innate conservatism. The thing has often been said before, but the plea of a Prince may prevail where other voices have gone unheeded.

The British Elections.

The general elections due in Great

Britain this year present many unusual features. Forecasting is proceeding in many directions,

and there is a consensus of opinion that the Conservative majority will be considerably reduced, if indeed it does not disappear altogether. It is confidently anticipated that the Labour Party wiil gain a number of seats, but scarcely sufficient to beget a Labour Government, while the prospects of Mr Lloyd George and the Liberals are wrapped in uncertainty. Whatever Government

conies into power the main task which confronts it is to find work for the unemployed; all else sinks into insignificance before this problem. Another element of uncertainty is the extension of the franchise to the women voters, the outcome of which it is impossible to discount, and also the number of parliamentary aspirants from what used to be known as the weaker sex. If events follow the example of New Zealand the advent of so many new women voters will not make a great deal of difference, whilst the women candidates selected will scarcely cause a ripple upon the political ocean.