PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Colonist, Issue 52, 20 April 1858, Page 2

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Thursday, Apßiii 15. The Speaker took the chair at 5 o'cWck.. ; ... WEIGHTS AND MEASURES/ ".■.-;• Mr. Baigent brought up the reportooff f the Select Committee on Weights and Measures. ; BOARD OF WORKS. The Provincial Solicitor presented a petition from the Board of Works to the following effect:— To the Provincial Council of the Province of Nelson. Tire Memorial of the Nelson Board of Works, , ; V;lvespectfulty sheweth,'—- ■.;- ■ > r; •"■' ■■ ■• ■ That your Memorialist's have learned that, by tho Country lloads Amendment Act, recently passed by your honorable Council; power is »iven to the Country ■Roads Boards to erect toll-bars on the trunk lines of road. . • -■, , .-..-.,;■.. .■_,, -'

Thdt your-memorialists .also find, it-is the''expressed opinion of the chief promoters of that measure, as well as of the majority of members of,your, honorable house, • that the only spot1 in the country districts where a toll-bar :could at prosent be economically1 erected, is on the road nc4r Jenkins's hill, andclose to the outskirts of the town. ;

That your Memorialists conceive that the erection of a toll-bar in thdt position would be highly detrimental to the interests of ihe inhabitants, of the town, and that it would inflict on them a great injustice, inasmuch as, after having taxed themselves for ;the .'maintenance and repair of their own roads, fehisitoll would add an increased .price.to firewood and othjr ' luuds.of--produced consumed' iri: the, town ■ and that while-~the free usi.aof-the town roads and streets ;wa< allowed to the :country.'settlers, the inhabitants of the town would have to pay a toll every time they made use of the country roads. -:. . Your- Memorialists therefore respectfully pray: that your honorable house will take measurcs.toredressthe, grievance complained of, either by giving power to the iJoard-'of "Works toerect .'a toll-gate,, within the toll .bpunda;:y, 7 or by enacting that a proportionate amount of the' proceeds of toll-bars erected within a certain..distance ofr the town boundary should be handed over "tortile' said Board, for the repair of the, town roads and streets; or in such other manner as to your honorable House shall seem fit. And your Memorialists, as in duty bound will ever pray. Wm. JSTorghove, . .., •.., . Maxwell Bury, -...., . A. Eankin, • ■ ; Charles-HaßUir, \'i Johs Lu6k,. ;"' :"/) Joseph WebbJ i NATir. EDWARDS. Np.Lion, April 15, 1858. " - ""' i The Petition having beeh'read,'1 The Pbovincial; Solicitor moved that it do lie on the table. Mr; SaunderS' said ,-h.ei tliougKt thai the Board upon reconsidering the;subject would Soon be glad to have the petition taken offHhe table, f V ,' TOWN IMPROVEMENT BILL.y:Mr. Shaiip moved "that the Spealfer'-clo nd\v leave the chair, and that the Council resolve it3elf into committee on the Nelson Improvement Bill, with'Mr.'Vy.yyaivin.'this chair. - ; - j The motion having been adopted, the Council went into committee, and the following amendments were made iu'the bill :— ' ' • That before the word "elect "inline 8, clause 4, the words " proceed to " be insdi'ted. That after the word. '• quorum," in line 10, clause 4,' the following proviso be'inserted:-— " Provided that; if; there, rbe more "candidates proposed than .the number to be elected,,the'chairman shall call for a shew of hands separately; hi favor of each candidate, and after such shew;of hands, shall,declare the-person or,persons on whom the election has fallen.; if,'however, any candidate or three electors shall demand a poll, a, polling shall,take, place oii the day .following, arid, the Chairman^ oi: some person.appointed by him, shall preside, the. voting :to commence at noon, and close at four on the same, day ; and the iViode of .votingshall, in all other respects,. be conducted in the same manner as is provided for the election: of members of the Provincial Council.' .! ;

New clause to follow clause 4 r-^-jf at any time, by reason of^death, ■'nbsenco, "'resignation, .bankruptcy, , or, otherwise,, the number of : the Board shall be reduced bt-low five, the Bpard. shall forthwith appoint a meeting- of the voters of the district, at such hour so fixed as aforesaid, "and at such place as the Board shall' think expedient; and such voters shall at such meeting, after electing a chairman, elect from'a'fiiohgrft' the'personsqualified to vote at such meeting,' m mamier hereinbefore provided, a mttnbar of new members equal to the number of vacancies; and'the chairman shall report in writing to the Superintendent^ the name.3 of the members so elected ; aiid every riiember so elected; and every member so. el'ecteil';'shall hold office until the time at which the.peVson in room of whom he was,elected would regularly have gone out of office. ■ .... . (,_;'' . , That in clause 2iJiiie 12, the; figure '^9 "be inserted after the figure "7;"' and that after the word " repealed" in,the same clause, line 14, the following be inserted: —"Provided that nothing contained in this or the preceding clause shall extend, or be. deemed to extend, to prevent the collecting, suing for, and recover ing, any rates already imposed under the authority of the'above recited Acts." ' '.-'',. ': ■■■ : ' • ..

New clause, SO. And whereasdoubts have arisen touching the validity'of ttoriMeilsiniShtmade and also the validity' of certain acts,done. by. the, said Board, under the authority of the said recited act: Be it'further enacted, that the said assessment shall be taken and deemed to all intents and purposes to. be, : and to have been, a valid assessment of the said-town ;of Npjson, and that all acts bona fide done by the said Board under the1 authority of .th,e.said act, and in pursuance of the said^ assessment,"shall be taken anddqeined to1 be aiid'to'have been.lawfully done by the said Board. New clause, 31. This act shall be termed and may be cited as the v Nelson linprovenient Amende mentAct, 1858."

Mr. Sharp proposed that the House do now resume, and/that'vthe.chairman report the bill as amended. >:. PROVINCIAL SURGEON. Mr. Doijson moved—"1 That the -petition 'of Joseph Foord Wilson, Esq-^Provincial Surgeon, be taken into consideration]^ and that -that gentleman be rio^y; heahlat tho>.bai> K Qf; £his House, in accoidance with the.prayef ftfrtlfjSlpetitipn." :■ Mr. Baigwnt seconded the motion, which was adopted, and :- Dr. Wilson wa3 introduced, who said he appeared- there that ..evening at tlie desire of friends. who were anxious that he should rebut the most serious charges which had been brought against him. He was firstly charged. with not having complied with the committee's request for his evidence, given in writing; Nuwfie would say that he did not regret tliat lie had omitted so doing, as it afforded him the present means of openly denying/the existence of any foundation for the" conclusions 'of the -Hospital Select-Gornmittee... What would hon. gentlemen around, him sivy were charges such'as these made against tliei'n, were the experi-. enccs of their whole life impugned-in this serious' way? What would be theh' thoughts were they so openly accused of wilful neglect of the patients committed to their charge? When he read the Colonist of Friday last he immediately sent in/his resignation to the Superintendent, feeling,that, hecould no longer continue in that office 'with such serious charges against him. This Council might • assume the possession-of certain powers, but he denied their validity. He disputed the prerogative, of the Council so.-fur as it coHeenjed 4ht>.;ho,spital, >aud• thought.that..it,s. member.3,vl};ui a posver which at least was yery'lmb'ecoming. .: The Speaker said Mr. must confine himself to the presumed facts, to rebut which he had petitioned to be heard.

Dr. Wilson, continuing, said, he had been walking through the to mi with a feeling of shame at these most disparaging .charges made against him. He had been in his profession f0r.40 years, and did the: Council 'think"he had learned nothing in that time? Was there any thing so glaring in his professional conduct as to lead them to adopt this charge of incompetence which had been made against him ? He had duly served.his apprenticeship, had walked the London Jhosspitals, and after a severe examination, had taken up his degree. When in England, he had for years been Parish Surgeon at Christchurch, and on leaving-it had received the thanks of the Duke of Richmond-for the manner in which he had performed his'duties, as he had also previously, aye, almost annually, received thfe thanks of the parish authorities. He came to this settlement at its earliest foundation, bringing with him testimonials of his professional ability, which had procured for him the position of Provincial Surgeon, and from the date of that appointment until now, he had been in close attendance upon the sick and manned. He had had serious cases in his hand, such^as. no other medical man could have witnessed in this colony. He had successfully treated parties who had buffered severely from wounds received at the Wairau massacre, and he-felt proud in saying, that in Nelson there, had. been five amputations' of the thigh, three of which had been successfully performed by himself, while the other two were attended with fatal results. He Iliad amputated the thigh of Fergusson, and did he not live to testify as to/his success. His second case was that of a man named Mackenzie, who had from'damp and cold been /seized with disease of the bone; it: was necessary in this instance to remove, the thigh. To that operation, like the: Other,rhe had invited his medical brethren, and no comment was made either then or afterwards as t'6 his mode of perfoi'ming the operation. This case was also highly: successful. Here there were two. cases in which, he had made no such bungling errors as those of which he now stood accused. He now came to the third case, for: which he'haßreceivt-d such uncalled for usage at the han ; is ofhis irie iical brethren. He would say that he thojiiglit'it would have redounded much more to.the crefiit"bf Dr. Renwick. had he abstained "from'this puhiicinterference in that which , concerned the. charauter of avbrother practitioner./, '"' ."■' .'\ \ .; .';/,' . ...■.!' 's , -The SpKaK-'er again called Dir.'Wilsoii'to order.' He continued: The next 'case?'was tha 1 of a German boy aged 17, admitted to. the' hospital July 9, operated upon August 14, and. he was accused of performing this operation "without any of the most.usual precautions being taken." What did Mr. Saunders mean by this ? Again, " another piece of the sufferir.g lad's leg was taken off." Such tales as these might possibly be gratifyiiig to those of a depraved appetite,, who would gloat over so serious an injury threatening a professional man's character. ' Again^ "but the operation was performed so .badly .that/the^strong muscles and ligaments had "contorted,"- the flesh had drawn up, and loft the bone in that position that it would always be, impossible for the; patient to wear a wooden leg."j This he entirely denied;/ her felt proud of the success of ..his treatment.,in;tlus case, and was prepared to prove that there is quite sufficient covering of the bon,e to admit of his .using it. with a wooden leg. He invited members of the Council to visit the hospital during the remaining, few? days ~he would be there, arid to judge for themselves. He begged of them not to act rashly and heedlessly, to destroy the dearest thing of his heart^his professibnalrepritatiori ■~' In^performing the operation on that boy's tlii"h, lie\iiad invited the medical men of Nelson to /.Sttend,5 and Drs. Williams, Ren wick, and: Lakiri ' were present, together with Archdeacon -Paul. No remark was made during the performance of that operation: as to the mode in which it was done, why was he therefore now accused of gross incompetence ? The boy is a growing boy, he- had' grown; say two inches since the operation,"but he was' not in that state of (robust health in. Ivvhich he would have Jiked. to^ have seen him. Dr. Thebing in his evidence had stated that "sufficient care was not taken to make a good stump." Now, in answer her would; say, that in amputations; you should consider the pain to the patienfc'^ln^emoving the thigh he should say that it did -not oiccupy him more than lialf_a minute. Again, Dr. Thebing says 'lie, salvv;-i "-riothing in the boy's.state of health to lead him to believe the operation could notbe successfully performed." ,In answer, to, .this he would .say that.the boy .had.been grossly neglected in the cburitry,'uay more, that he'ha'd actually consulted with Dr. Thebing as to his state of health. His. constitution was suffering frpm..a. wasting 'fever^ :whieh nothirig woiild abate, arid 'tp^she^Y the state in Which he was in, he (Dr.1 Wilson) would now "prbdube the boric" which had been amputated, audj'wo.uld. aslc theriiyicould any,.one, say:itiiat.;,bone was healthy? In performing that,ppevafcibn Dr.; Williams did not address to him any observations. A second amputation of about one inch becariie necessary, and Dr. Bush arid:'he performed that operation successfully;' Another case'was thai of a seamm, admitted to the hospital \vith a thigh arid" ■'■ '■ tlii'ee • s ribs broken.• Of ;'this case Mr. Saunders had said :-7~" The thigh, was set so badly that the muscles:contracted, whereupon Di\ Williams was called in^ who reset the thigh and put a long splint thereon ; but after this had been done for'sbine days, the assistant at?thel hospital cut the bandages which, held .the splintjsand owing to. no proper attention having been given to the case, no ossification took place; so that now when the unhappy patient moved - his leg the bone moved also at the parti where -it was,-fractured; he has been discharged a hopeless'miserable cripple." This was strong language, but he was able to rebut it. The man had fallen down the Jlold, and came across an iron keg of nails; he was about or 45 years of age, and : had" suffered from scurvy, and "was alsb r asthiriatic; by the fall his ribs were driven into the lungs, which they must have per-: forated, and..to shew, how bad had become these organs, his skin around the .b'ttKk'andlshbiilders became. '.; inflated, and . crackled ' beneath the touch like paper. -lie set. the . ribs successfully^' the lungs healed, v the':. air -, no longer escaped from them; arid he wag table at times to lie .on his back. /He (Dr. Wilson):applied to the man's thigh the'splints to vvhich-lie nad been accustomed, not liking the new tangled •notions ; he must confess that Jthe : leg embarrassed him : there : was a biirning. heat iarounduthe'part'; the bone would not unite. He; had. an iucliried plane made in which to enclose the man's leg;: he carefully examined1 it daily; he called in Drs.. Bush and Muller, and Mr. Butt. The}' said ho (Dr. Wilson) seemed unnecessarily uneasy,;that all

was going on right; and a suggestion had since been made to,him whether, the escape of air from the lungs had not militated against the bony secretion^ necessary to form a juncture at the fractured part. .A message from his Honor the Superintendent was here received, respecting the Waste Lands Bill. ■'■.: ■•■■.•;.:■■ {% ::,,:i'. - >.\ ■ .

.'.-.i Dr. Wilson, ia continuatioiiy^aid hef applied to the then acting Snperinteridferit.fpr' fiirfch'er assistance,- and Drs.-1 Williams arid Lakin were called • in. Dr. Williams suggested that the ends of the bone "should be rubbed together this was done freely ; some days after a long splint was put-on. He (Dr. Wilson) felt relieved at the assistance granted by the Government, and was anxious that Dr. Williams should have the full responsibility of the ease. During this time he had occasion to visit-t.he Wairau for a few .days, and he put his private, and public patients in the hands of Dr. Williams ; giving him full- power to alter medicines, and act as he thought best; he did alter the medicines, --of. his private., patients, .but; he: made no alteration at the hospital, lie left for the Wairau again in January, and on that occasion commissioned Di\ Bush ;to attend to His; practice. Now Dr. Wilson had scan the case of the German boy from beginning to end 5 and, how far the splint he introduced was conducive of ho juncture of bone he ponld ; not;,say. One hon. member of this' Council said that the case against Dr. Wilson was so clear that lie could have no hesitation; but- •. what Would he no\v say ■'(:■■ The1 whole of this case had been brought forward by two or three medical nien, \vhp_drevv attention to.tvhat they called the •glaring treatment of the ;caseiv The next was the case' of >. Maxwell Hutton— & lffiost: severe.One ; his. head had been regularly, roasted, .and seemed beyond the reach of medical skill;:but he would appeal to Mr. Kellingas;to what.Hutton had said of his treatment. ~ ~-,.. ' , ' The Speaker, said he supposed the House would have no objection to hear the testimony of Mr Kelling. ; , f . Mr. Killing said he saw Hutton in the hospital, who said he was kindly and Well treated ; and that if he had known the attention he would have received, lie would have gone into the hospi-, tal earlier. ;I \ Dr. Wilson, continuing, said that when Hutton was brought into the hospital he was in a most disgusting state. •■Dr. Williams said that the patient's head was dressed twice a day; but Mrs. Clark, the nurse, had said that the man's head was only dressed - once, daily. , When he came to the hospital his head was dressed twice daily, but to no purpose; for the wound ate into the face,* amf. caused hemorrhage, from which he died. This.concluded the list of cases cited against him ; but why had not the Committee called some of the. parties whom he had so successfully treated ? why did they select all black, and not look at one good case? The Doctor then made some few remarks thanking the Council' for liearirig;'.Him,1' and retired. ■ . ... ..,,.,' .'',;,-;': .'■ ',;.'. '' ' ■.■ Mr. Saundbbs then uiovedr^" That a copy of the Hospital Conwuttee Repori" be forwarded to his Honor the Superintendent, 'with a request that he will be. pleased to take such steps'as he may consider: necessary' to give effect to the recommendation contained in : that report," and said he did not intend taking any lengthened notjee of the statement of Dr. Wilson, which they all had heard. The Council had already adopted the report. "Dr. Wilson had said that the whole case had been got up by medical hostility ; if so, he presumed that he. was to be regarded1 as a mere puppet. Dr. Wilson made no remark as to liia having had every; opportunity of refuting the evidence,, and had v not done 50.... .; ..,.,.., ; ; Mr. Parker seconded the motion. ;Dr. Monro said, before" the Cduric.il divided he', would like to offer a few bbervaiions. The Council generally must have felt this to be a very painful case.;, but it, occurred to him that the Council, in instituting-the. inquiry, had not confined itself exactly-within its duty.;..certain things .had been paraded, before the pU:i>lie_which'■ might certainly have been .enquired ;into in a less offensive .ihanner ; he; thought that'the', enquiry should have' been, made by the v head.,(()f the province, whose placeVit was to' sde 1 that :a]l :phblic officers properly performed then- duty^Thkhe f had not done; and. therefore this 'CoiMcil," as Jury of the province, Had taken this matter up ; the evidence had proved that the hospital was not properly conducted, and had disclosed some want of skill on the part-of the Provincial Surgeon ;he hoped,, the hospital would for the ■■■future-be.' better conducted. It was painful, for .him as a medical man,, to criticise the professional conduct of another medical man; but he was also a representative of the people, and ■ therefore as such iclt it his duty . to say that he entirely concurred" ill the report. ; The Provincial SpMMTori said there were one or two remarks made by Dr. Monro to which he would reply. The hon. gentleman would seek to lead, the: Council to believe.that:no attention had had been given-,to the hospital; but he would, state that his Honor the Superintendent had heferi a constant visitor of the sick within the hospital; he 'lia'cl 'inquired Jf ithey had all the ; comfort they required. TheVSupeiintendent-had-used every exertion both to see that the patients: were properly attended, Vand that their comfort was looked after, - He,-of course could not know" that the Provincial Surgeon was lJprbperly treating .his patients;. but, he had. seento theircomfort in every degree, "".'*.;- '~; ' ■•'■';,'>';'. :(:'h^ "■■';■•■ '.. ■ : Mr. CIJRT.IS said no evidencehad been brought forward shewing any want of attention on the part of the Provincial Surgepn; but at the same time there had been i.evidence ; perfectly.clea^ that great. want of skill had been shewn; and that.he thought? -justified the?report of the Committee. Mr. Dodson i said he'quite agreed:" with Dr. Moriro, that thoCouncilwas in a painfnl position; for they were called upon to pass a? censure on an old; and respected settler^'and:-old friend of many of them ; be would at once say that his mind was not made up to find Dr.' Wilson guilty of the charges arrayed against him. Let them take Button's case; was he,not considered as a dying man before his accident? ;He'( Mr.' Dodson) Had had some experience in fractures, having had his thigh" broken; arid Drs. Wilson and Bush had successfully attended him. Medical men were ofttimes deceived by; their ipatients doing what' they had been ordered,not;to do; and it was quite possible ,that jthe seaman might have come to his present misfortune through his ovra negligence. Might not the. great and famous Sir Astley Cooper liave failed'in one of his operations? and would any one, therefore, say he knew nothing of surgery ? : Mr. > Saimders 'had said the report was not strong enough ■:■; now die^^hought ;it was too strong :: what-, would he wan.t:HVitlv rfcr stronger? was it not now strong'enough to'cast a shade {upon the professional ipf "■ tlteir old friend, who by all his patients had', been .called a good, kind, attentive, and generous man. '.', ,ln conclusion he would implore the Cauncil.to ponder well before they adopted the potion, and to consider well what Dr. Wilson had urged in his defence. Mr. KeljLing said he -..thought jthe: assertion (if ■ Dr. Wilson entitled to grave consideration. He said there were but five cases of iamputation in the province; three of them he had successfully pjerformed; while; the; other two,, which came into other/parties' hands, had resulted in death.'- Now, if they -discharged their preseht /ProvincialSurgeon,where would'they•'.find-aIbetter? 1 ,■ ; '•>'■'■ Mr. Sinclair said he must bear testimony to ; , • Dr. Wilson's kind treatment of his patients, jfor when he was acting as Superintendent; he well remembered Dr. Wilson mentioning the case of the seaman,.and.he had recOiii.m'ended calling in further ruedical assistance^ arid lie believed that Dr. Muller v had expressed himself as perfectly satisfied with :■ the. treatment -pursued by Dr. Wilson. ' ;■ ■.-;•■■-■.,■ .■ ...^ ; ; ■::., •/■..: ■ ■)■"■{'■. ■MK-Wells moved that all: thq words after the. word Superintendent be struclc;*)ut, jlit-w6uld'then read—" That a copy'of' the hospital report be fbr-wardeclHd'-'fii's Hbjioi1 the SuperinMident." , - "Mr. Dodson seconded;the amendment ivliichi was adopted by 12 votes against 6. • ••■'■ ----- j _, ; : Mr. Saunders hayingrshortly replied, the mo-J tion as amended was unanimously adopted. <' - .. r '.'V^r., Saundbrs 1 mbvedM-";TriafDr.;; Monro and; D.' lEloughi Esq.^ :be; reqiilstei^tbact! as members ;of the'honorary committee for the" management of ; the : jibspitaV two of whifch members are; by the' Hospital Corr niittee1 Report, placed in the appointment of-the Provincial Council,"

and said he was glad the motion had continued on the paper so longi as gentlemen could now nominate- any one whom they.thought better fitted for the position.' Dr. Monro was a medical man yet not in practice, and Mr. Rough was well known as a kind hearted man, and had. been a constant visitor at-the hospital.. ■": , • ' - . Mr. Mackay seconded* the motion-, which was unanimously adopted. ESTIMATES. . - The Provincial Secretary moved that the House'do now go into committee on the "Estimates, and that Mr. Wells do take the 'chair. This motion having been adopted, the Council went into' committee, when the first vote proposed was, FOR LESSER PUBLIC WORKS £2pO. Mr. Kelling moved to strike but the i&CKTahd insert £100. Amendment lost. r REPAIR OF ROADS -£600. Mr. Kelling moved that the words "in aid of rates to meet equivalent Subscription" be added. Mr. Eban said he thought this sum should bo expended on the by-roads, because there was a general rate for the repair of trunk lines. . Dr. 'Monro said he thought it would, be better to • leave the amount as it was, because if it was divided among the districts in fair proportions, the sums given would be but small. Although he could not say that he. had unbounded confidence in the Government, yet he would - rather, leave the sum as they had proposed it. Air. Killing amended his motion" by making it to read "in aid of equivalent rates for by-roads." This on division waslost by 12 against 6. Mr. Sharp movecVAto be appropriated by each district in the same proportion a3 the for roads." This was adopted. PUBLIC WORKS NOT SPECIFIED IN THE DEBENTURE BILL. • Mr. Sinclair moved that the report of the committee on this item be read, which having been done, Mr. Sinclair moved, to insert that the apportionment of .£IOOO be expended in the districts and in the amounts set forth in the report of the select committee on the subject, and inserted in the estimates accordingly,.viz :— For the Town of Nelson ... £100 Suburban North 100 Waimea District - ... ... 325 Motueka ... >.. ... 150 Moutere ... • 75 Rivvaka Valley, Wairau ... SO Bridge over Omaka 50 Trunk Lines, Wairau ... 100 Trunk Lines, Awatere .... 50 £1000 Motion agreed to. The Provincial Secretary moved that the item Government Wharf' .£IOOO be struck out* Agreed to. '■ to-'-* ' ' • FERRY OVER THEWAIRAU RIVER. Mr. Sinclair asked if any designs had been yet obtained for this ferry which had now been before the Council for 2 years. The Provincial Secretary, said the ferry would be made. The amount for this ferry was .then agreed to. Mr. Sinclair moved that the chairman do report progress, and ask leave to sit again to-mor-row. • Some discussion ensued, and eventually'the House was counted out. : •