The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE Published every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning. Saturday, February 21, 1891.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume IV, Issue 573, 21 February 1891, Page 2

The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE Published every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning.

Saturday, February 21, 1891.

Be just and fear not; Let all the ends thou aim’st at be thy country’s. Thy God’s, and truth’s.

A rather curious case came before the Hospital Trustees at their last meeting. The Charitable Aid Board applied to have Mrs Clark accepted as a patient in the institution, the Board undertaking to guarantee payment of the ordinary fee. The object of course was to lessen expense by taking advantage of the efficient arrangements at the Hospital. So far as the Board is concerned Mrs Clark has done her part in the matter, giving over all she has in the way of property. Her case is a pitiful one in any way from which it may be viewed, but the fact that she has been well-to-do, or anything of the kind, has been wrongly introduced into the subject. The guardians of a public institution would be false to their trust if they sought to make distinctions in a way that has been suggested. No one can do otherwise than feel compassion lor an unfortunate woman the evening of whose life has been clouded in this way, but when the question comes to be discussed from a public point of view it can only be deal with strictly on principle. Dealing with the individual case there can be no question that admission to the Hospital would be the most satisfactory arrangement, but the Hospital Trustees act rightly in looking further ahead. A great many reasons can be given against allowing the Hospital to be used by incurable patients not specially requiring medical treatment. In the one solitary case these reasons Blight not necessarily apply, but experience teaches lessons in the matter of charitable aid distribution that no wise body can overlook. If a woman were found “ragged and helpless in the street, without a sixpence,” of course the Hospital authorities would admit her if medical assistance were required. In the case of Mrs Clark the Charitable Aid Board has its duty to perform. As for the Hospital Trustees, a little consideration will show that they have acted properly in the matter. Though both bodies are supported by the public each has distinct duties to attend to, and when individual cases of an exceptional nature occur the members must be careful how they act. There is one phase of Mrs Blark'e unfortunate case that should not

be ignored now that it has come before the public in this way. We are informed that she has in Victoria rich connections upon whom no legal claim can be made, but who by other means may be brought to a sense of their duty in this matter. The Secretary of the Board, we believe, has made enquiries on the subject, but what he is powerless to effect may possibly be accomplished in other ways.