The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING, TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 1907.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 1985, 22 January 1907, Page 2

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING, TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 1907.

The Chairman of the Board of Hospital Trustees lias made a most injudicious statement, and one which, we venture to say he will have cause to regret before the matters to which it refers are finally settled. When be expressed the opinion that tile dissatisfaction expressed in regard to the management of the Hospital was the result of a conspiracy, or “cabal,’ ,a.s he put it (for they mean one and the same thing), in which only a few persons were participators, lie said deliberately what bo must liaye known to be untrue if lie knew as muoli about the circumstances as he. should have known by virtue of his position , and if he did not know what he ought -tc/ )igye known lie ought to hold his tongue. To arouse anyone of conspiracy in matters whofp the life or death of other persons are concerned is too serious a matter to pass by without emphatic protest, if nothing more, and the protest would have come from us sooner hut for the necessity, under tlio circumstances, to verify our facts, still more so that assurance may he made doubly sure. Not that we doubted our .ground in the least hut merely as a matter of prudence, and now we are prepared to say that the statement of the Cliaiimail is not the tiutli. There uas no conspiracy, and they were not a few who wanted a full, a complete, and a fair enquiry into the many alleg itions of mismanagement and worse that (wo say it advisedly) have' been permitted to go on in the Hospital if the stories that have been supplied ro us, not by one, but by inqre than twenty-one, are only in pert true, Oqr interest in the matter, we need hardly say, is pimply to get at the truth and to put a stop to alleged abuses for ever. We have conspired with no one, and as the channel through which the public became aware of what was going on, we. hurl back the accusation ill the face of our accuser with the contempt which such a base tiling deserves; for <liis attempt to brow-heat the Press, to undermine its independence, and to suborn its expressions to tbp desires of a few, is hut a base thing indeed. Had we taken the same de-

graded view of matters wo might hi.vo accused Ihe other side of conspiring to maintain the conditions ns they stood, for did the Chairman himself not pretend to have an open mind on the subject when ho expressed to us the emphatic opinion that tlioro should bo a fair, full, and impartial enquiry, and thou not as a partisan when tho enquiry was being held; but wo did not descend to that method. Wo might have acoused the other side of cabalistic piacticcs to retain a majority on the Board when one of their number paid five-shillings subscriptions to tho Secretary and placed names on the subset ibers’ list without tho kndwledgo of the owners, and u itli a view of getting their votes, blit wo did not do it. Wo might have suggested that when tho Chairman, before the enquiry took place, sought an interview with the girl Olson who gave evidence at tlio enquiry into her deceased sister’s case, li is purpose was to satisfy himself that she did not know anything of tho matter; hut we did not tlo it. We might liavo assorted that at least one member ol the Board know enough from direct ovidonco tendered to him that things were not as they should he, and yet he remains .in opposition to the public desire for a full and fair enquiry; hut wo did not do it-, and -wo do not do any of those-things now because such methods of personal attack are not our methods, and because of our wellgrounded conviction that the cause ~f justice, with truth on its side, can always afford to bo magnanimous and yet gain its ends. Those ends mav bo delayed by opposition, but they can never bo totally suppressed, and tho truth will yet conic out in the face of all opposition.. Wo have already stated that the facts have been suppressed, ami We repeat that statement in the fa’co af'furtlior attempts al intimidation in the shape of rumors of an impending libel action calculated to secure our silence; but it will not succeed, for wo.lcnov the libol law as well as the advisers .vim are alleged to have counselled it, mi l wi. invito them to proceed if for no other object than that that alone uciild enable the whole truth to bo told and substantiate our attitude indisputably. Throughout the wh-do regrettable business wo liavo ony allied for the truth, to bo revealed in the interests of an institution that, according to its management and tho skill and care exorcised in it, hr.ngs health or pain, happiness or grief, t„ thoso who arc treated within its walls or to their friends. Surely that is a reasonable,request, and why is it opposed? Lot our opponents answer as they liavo never yet attempted to answer, except in the form of thwarted informal enquiries. Are they afraid of the truth? If so, why not admit it manfully Arc they not afraid of tho'truth? If so, why not have the whole matter cleared up and the whole staff —doctor, matron and evorybody else concerned —cleared < f any suspicion ; of neglect or anything else that may he charged against them? It may be that our opponents in this matter believe that they are fighting a just cause; but if that is so, where is the necessity for opposition to the fullest enquiry into the whole facts? If they are convinced that there is nothing to be concealed that would justify a change in themanagement of the institution, why is it that there is so much trouble to get tho whole story told before a proper tribunal that could legally insist upon the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. To-day the Trustees meet again to deal with the question of management, and the suggestion has been made that two local doctors, including Dr. Morrison, should be appointed. Let us say at once that the public will not he satisfied with any arrangement of the kind, and that the appointment of a Resident Surgeon, with an honorary staff, is the only arrangement Fuat will satisfy public feeling or make the institution a success financially. Not more than £2OO a year need be offered for a competent. Resident Surgeon, and tlio honorary staff can be selected from the local practitioners in turn, two to attend to tho duties each month, and .an up-to-date certificated nurse placed in charge of the nursing staff. It is perfectly easy for the Tiustees to make those arrangements and so place the institution ill a position that will satisfy public opinion.