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Until the Chinese have been educated into a liking for Western medicine you consider the Tung Wa should remain ?-Or some institution such as the Chinese would not have an objection to go to.
Mr. THOMSON-It is preferable to have an institution like the Tung Wa to which the Chinese can go to and die, so that we may be able to ascertain the cause of death ?— Yes,
Mr. WHITEHEAD- What are the best means of educating the Chinese in favour of Western medicine and medical appliances ?-Utilize the students from the Alice Memorial Hospital.
At the Tung Wa Hospital?—I would be disposed to have them all over the city, subsidized by the Government and controlled to a certain extent by the Government.
Have any of the students from the Alice Memorial Hospital or any other hospital started practising Western medicine in the Colony up to the present?—I cannot answer that question.
Or any of the students that have passed at the Chinese College of Medicine ?— cannot tell you if any are in practice in the Colony.
THE PRESIDENT-Your idea is to establish dispensaries throughout the city under the control of these students for the treatment of out-patients ?—I should make it a rule that they should see the person before death or the body after death, and then give a certificate that in their opinion death resulted from such and such a disease.
Mr. THOMSON-Who is to be compelled to give the certificate ?--No person should be buried without a certificate as in our own country.
The majority of the people in Hongkong have nobody to look after them ?-Well, the keeper of the lodging-house would have to get the death certificate.
I suppose he would have to pay a fee for it ?-It would depend whether these students received such an allowance from the Government that they would have to give the certificate free.
Suppose it was free, how much would it cost the Colony ?-I believe these young men would be willing to receive $40 per month, and then they might get fees from the people they attend.
How many would be required for the Colony ?--About a dozen would do. That would cost from $4,000 to $5,000 a year.
Dr. Ho KAI-That question has been gone into before ?--I have written reports on the subject. I will send these reports to you if you consider it necessary.
Mr. WHITEHEAD-You have no personal knowledge as to the working of the Tung Wa Hospital ?--The inside administration of the Hospital, no. I do not know how the patients are treated there.
And the Sanitary Board have nothing to do with the Tung Wa in the matter of details of that description ?-So far as the Board is concerned, the Tung Wa is just the same as any house in the Colony.