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Meeting held on Thursday, 18th June, 1896.
Prescut:- Honourable J. H. STEWART LOCKHART, Colonial Secretary (President).
Honourable A. M. THOMSON, Acting Colonial Treasurer.
Honourable Dr. Ho KAI.
Absent: Honourable C. P. CHATER.
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Honourable T. H. WHITEHEAD,
Dr. P. B. C. AYRES, Colonial Surgeon.
THE PRESIDENT-How long have you been Colonial Surgeon in Hongkong ?- Since 1873.
You are acquainted with the Tung Wa Hospital?—I have been acquainted with it ever since the second year of its opening.
(THE PRESIDENT, on behalf of the Hon. T. H. WHITEHEAD, who was unavoidably absent, asked a series of questions.)
Can you refer to any one or more annual reports of yours in which your opinions about the Tung Wa have been more fully set out than in others ?--I made a report for 1873, but as I was only two months in the Colony during that year it did not amount to anything as I merely gave what was given to me, but in the Report of 1874 I drew the attention of Sir WYVILLE THOMPSON of H.M.S. Challenger, and he describes the Tung Wa in a minute he wrote in the book that it was beyond criticism as an hospital, and therefore, I alluded to it specially in my report for that year.
Does the Tung Wa serve any useful purpose in the Colony?—I have always said it serves a very great purpose as far as vaccination is concerned and a home for invalids who are incapable of working, and whose cases are utterly hopeless.
Is it in any proper sense a hospital?—Not according to European ideas.
Are sick Chinese medically attended to there with a view to their recovery?—Yes, according to Chinese ideas.
Have they any better chance of recovery there than in their own houses?---In at least half the cases, if not more, there are no chances of recovery anywhere. We would not keep them more than a certain time in the Civil Hospital, and would dismiss them as incurable.
With regard to the other half, have they a better chance of recovery in the Tung Wa than in their own houses?—Yes, but they would have a still better chance in a European hospital.
Is the Tung Wa simply a place for people to die in, if they are going to die, or to get well in if they have any chance of recovery ?--If they have a fair chance of recovery they get well. They get better food, better air and better attendance than in their own homes.
Is there any surgical treatment of any kind in the Tung Wa?—Not as recognised by European methods. The Chinese object strongly to surgical treatment of any kind, and as a matter of fact there is no English law that can compel any man to submit to surgical treatment if he does not desire to, or if it is the case of a child the father can refuse to have his child treated surgically.