L—l 4.

18

J. M. MASON.

111. Were they starved? —They were not properly cared for. 112. Was the inspection by the police satisfactory? —The cases I have come across were mostly at inquests. 113. Ought the child to have died if properly treated? —No, it was practically starved. 114. Should that have happened under proper treatment? —It should not. My idea is that we should have a parish doctor, the same as in the Old Country, and also, if possible, a woman to assist. 115. Perhaps you do not care to say whether they should come under the care of the Health Department?—l think not. 116. Can you make any statement about those places? —I would rather not, because it would be a policy matter. 117. The Chairman.] You said something about what took place at Home? —The conditions which they attempt to follow out here are excellent —that is, the sending of children up-country, and if more of that could be done, instead of keeping them about town, it would be better. The best are those I have seen in the country. 118. You said something about a parish doctor and women?— Yes. At the present time there are a number of poor people whose only chance of treatment is as out-patients. You cannot with safety take an ailing child and keep it sitting outside a hospital for any length of time. In Christchurch the Benevolent Society's doctor attends to these cases. In Auckland they also have one, and I think the)' should have one in each of the large centres. 119. Mr. J. Allen.] Do you know anything about what Dr. Truby King is doing in Dunedin? —Yes, I think he has done excellent work. I was with him for a little time recently. I have been preaching the establishment of a clearing-house for milk during the last four years. I think every town of over 4,000 should have a place where the milk could be gathered and sold in the borough, just the same as in the case of abattoirs. The advantage of that would be that the milk could be taken right away and pasteurised, and sent out in bottles as seen fit. Dr. Truby King has been doing his humanising work at his own cost. Pending the adoption of the scheme I proposed, I have suggested the formation of a company in Wellington to carry on the humanising of milk, as is done at the Taieri Peninsula. 120. Do you know what Dr. Truby King and his society have been doing with regard to the registered home and care of children ?—He has been sending out his nurses. He has two of them, and a nurse follows the milk into the homes and sees that the children are well looked after. He has also a scheme on foot for taking cases out to Wairakei. 121. Are you aware of what has been disclosed with regard to the condition o fsome of these homes?— No. 122. Mr. Hornsby.] With regard to herbalists, you are aware that when the chemists came under the law a number of them who had been in practice for a number of years were admitted without examination? —Yes. 123. But after that they had to pass an examination and become members of the Pharmaceutical Society. Could not the same thing be done with regard to the herbalists?— The only thing is that there must be some finality with regard to that sort of thing. For instance, the chemists and dentists were entitled to register within two years. You have the Pharmacy Act and the Dentistry Act, and if you are going to open the door now to a man who has passed no examination at all, it seems to me that you are doing what is unfair to the doctor and the chemist. 124. Supposing we take the opportunity of sajnng that every man who has been in practice fou* - years shall be admitted, and that afterwards only those shall be admitted who have been examined ?—I would submit that it would be unwise to set up a less standard than what you ask of the medical man or chemist, because the herbalist is treating sick people. It has been held that a five-years course is quite little enough in which a man may learn anatomy, physiology, and the other things. 125. The pharmaceutical man does not do that?—No, but he is not entitled to diagnose. I think the proper position would be for all medical men to cease dispensing, and then you would not have the chemists transgressing. 126. Sometimes in order to do right you have to do a little wrong, we are told. Therefore, supposing we could, seeing that the public do support these men, and believe in them to such an extent that when my Bill came down last year there was a storm on behalf of these men, do you not think it would be politic to make a concession so that we might have a measure like this on the statute-book?—lf I were a politician I would certainly try to square the circle, as you are trying to do it now. I can quite see that this Bill will not go through the eye of the needle, so to speak; but, speaking as a medical man, I see only the error. 127. Would yo\i not rather see the Bill on the statute-book even with that error?— Personally, if I got the whole on condition that I swallowed this, I would rather swallow it, but I would do it with a wry face. 128. Having gone that far, may I ask you this: If I were to tell you that it would not injure p country newspaper to the extent of a pound a week to be deprived of the whole of the advertisements, you would not think I was trying to minimise the effect it would have if the advertisements were taken out of the newspapers?—l know they get them at very low rates. It is only about 9d. an inch. 129. I am speaking as one who knows, and I am putting it to you, that if I assure you that that is the case you are not prepared to contradict it?— No. 130. Clause 7, you can easily understand, I attach as much importance to as to any part of the Bill, because we have in Dr. Fitchett's magazine, Life, a whole host of these quack advertisements? —I have seen some of them; but as a matter of fact it seems that Christianity and quackery go hand in hand. There used to be no offender like the Christian World. You find a number of advertisements stating that the Rev. So-and-so found great relief from so-and-so.