222
THE CHAMBER'S REPRESENTATIVE ON THE
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL APR
Mr. Herbert Smith, who on the departure on leave of the Hon. T. H. Whit-head last April was appointed to fill the vacancy on the Legis- lative Council, having resigned the seat in June, the Chamber were then again invited by the Officer Administering the Government to select another member, and at a special general meet ing held on the 18th of that month nominated Mr. J. Thorburn, of the Mercantile Bank of India. Mr. Thurburn has since represented the Chamber in Council, and will continue to do se until the return of Mr. Whitehead.;
(1) That this meeting deems it essential that nurses available for the community should be procured from Jom?.
[March 10, 1901.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
stances, Mrs Dickson and myself took on our ment of approximate « expɔnditure and solres to call a small meeting, which consisted revenue inconnection with the private of most of the doctors in general practice and nursing staff was also forwarded by Dr. Bəllə of about a dozen representative. ladios in this Continuing, Dr. STEDMAN said :--Yon will oolony, to consider what had better be done. see with me that there is no definite answer to This meeting took place on the 13th February, our first question, so that we do not know if and after talking the matter over, the following they are going to get out more nurses or nɔ, resolutions were prepared and unanimously and I think I am correct in aying that they do carried:-
not know themselves till they receive advies from England about the matter. I can tell you, however, that the Government would magh rather give up providing those nurses, part-- (2) That Dr. Stedman be empowered to write ly on account of the large deficit there has to the Colonial Secretary and ask the following been in running them, and partly because. questions-() Do the Government intend to they think that a nursing instituts would be The changes in the personnel of the Com-replace the two nurses whose services w.ll short- much better and more economically managed by mittee have been fewer than usual. Mr. Herly cease to be available to the community P (b) the community, but I must add that His Excel- bert Smith resigned his seat on leaving the If not, will the Government let us know what loney personally asked me to say that he would Colony in June last, and Mr. D. R. Law was his been the expauditure per annum iu main-like to meet the wishes of the community in this invited to fill his place. Mr. H. M. Bevis, who taining these nurses since they have been here? matter, and that, if the community felt left here in October last, was replaced. by Sir (c) What has been the amount earned during strongly that the Government should provide Thomas Jackson, on his re、urn from Bugian 1. each year by the nurse, and for what periods nurses to replace those who are shortly leaving, during the yea have they been employed? (d) they would endeavour to do so. In fact, I Is there any money available from the Jubilee received yesterday the following letter from Hospital Fund for a nursing iustitute.
the Colonial Secretary:-
THE GENERAL COMMITTEE.
MEMBER 8.
During the year five resignations have ben received from Members, viz., The Yuen Fat Hong, Mr. W. F. Wenyon, Messrs. Hartigan, Stedman and Rennie, U. Nervegna & Co, and Mr. Jas. Mckie. The following have been admitted to membership, subject to confirma- tion at the annual meeting The Hongkong Rope Manufacturing Co. Limited, the Green Island Cement Co., Limited, Messrs. Watkins & Co., Limited.
FINANCE.
The accounts for the year ended 31st Decem- ber, 1900, have been audited by Messrs J. Y. V. Vernon and Murray Stewarf. The balance at credit of the Chamber, after transferring $2,000 to Reserve Fund, was $674.06. The Reserve Fund stood at $13,000, of which $11,000 is on deposit in the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, and $2,000 is vested in Debentures. The Pinnacle Rock Fund has again been further increased by the accruing interest, and now stands at $3,730.27.
PROPOSED PRIVATE NURSING INSTITUTION FOR THE COLONY.
(3) That a temporary committee be formed to collect information and draw up a working scheme for the formation of a nursing institut
1
(4) That the temporary committee consist of five. The following persons were elected and agreed to serve-Mrs. Dickson, Mrs. Slide, and Mrs. Gibbs, and Drs. Jordga and Stedman.
With regard to resolution 3, I think I ought to say it was the feeling of the original meeting that a nursing institution should be formed whether the Government get nurses out or no, because, even if the Government gets out two nurses, we should still have two less available than we have had for some years past, so that in any case there would, in all probability, be plenty of work for the nurses who were working under this proposed Hongkong Nursing Association. I will now read you the answers we have received from Government, through the Colonial Secreta y (Hoa. J. H. Stewart Lockhart. C.M.G.):
SIR-In reply to your letter of the 14th inst, I am directed by His Excellency the Governor to inform you that the Government is auxious to ascer am the wishes of medical gentlemen and those interested in the question of private nurs ng in this colony.
A movement that should command undivided interest and support assumed an important step on Saturday, 9th izst., when, shortly after noon,
. With regard to the first rasolation men- a representative and well-attended public meet-tioned in your letter, His Excellency is of ing was held in the City Hall to consider the opinion that the nursing institution would be advisability of forming a private nursing in-more satisfactorily carried out by a private stitution in the colony, the object of the pro- posed institution being to obtain from Home nurses whose services shall be available for this community. Amongst those who attended were Lady Blake, Mrs. Gascoigne, Sir Thomas Jack son, Hón. C. P. Chater, C.M.G., Hon. J. J. Keswick, Right Rev. Bishop Hoare, Mr. H. E. Pollock; KC., Mr. W. A. Cruickshank, and others.
SIR,-With reference to previous correspon dance, I have the honour by direction of the Governor to inform yon that His Excellency desires it to ba clearly understood, iu: considering the question of nursing, that whilst he is anxious that those who may require the services of private trained nurses shall decide whether they prefer to obtain and place them under the control of a committee, as suggested by the Colonial Nurs- ing Association, he is prepared, should they do. cline to obtain and place them under such con- trol, to recommand to the Secretary of State a proposal to engage two nurses to replace the nursing Sisters whose engagement is about to- expire
Ladies and gentlemen, continued DE. STED MAN, we, the temporary committee, think that it. would be much better to have our own nursing association and manage it ourselves, for the following reasons-(1) We shall take good care that there will not be a hiatus, as there thread: tens to be in June when the colony will be left nurseless. (2) We can get nurses of a class that we consider will be more suitable for nursing among the community. (3) We shall have the control of our nurses and shall not risk losing them by their being absorbed by the Civil Hospital. This, by the way, is a very real danger. One of the two Government nurses is to cease to be available for the com- committee and with the aid of a guarantee fund, munity in April and is to be taken into the as is done in other colonies with success. But, ivil Hospital two months before her contract) if the desire is that the Government shall ob- time is up as a private nurse, and I have been i tain a supply of nurses, it is hoped that a scheme told by His Excellency himself that the Civil of training European or Eurasian natives of this Hospital is always considered to have the first Colony, or of other Eastern ports, for private claim, and that, at any future time, -if) nursing, may ultimately result in furnishing a they were in want of a nurse, one or regular supply of nurses and in effecting a con-eren both those nominally at the service siderable saving of public funis. I attach a of the community might bɔ withdrawn. copy of a report of the Acting Principal Civil (4) We think that we can manage a✨ nurs- Medical Officer showing what work has already, ing institution much more economically, been done in this respect.
than the Government has done. The scheme formulated by the temporary committee is practically that adopted by the Colonial Nursing Association, viz: that a permanent committee bo appointed to manage the nursing institution and that they should receive all tho fees earned by the nurses, and pay them a fixed annual salary and provide for their board and lodging. In endeavouring to carry out this scheme, the greatest difficulty with which the Committee has had to contend has been tó: find a place of residence for the nurses. En- quiries had been made at several boarding houses, but in all cases the sum asked for: lodging the nurses and boarding them off duty has been almost prohibitiv.: Drs. Hartigan, Stedman and Ronnie have offered to allow them to have rooms at the new Peak Hospital, st what they estimate to be about the cost price of the same, and to make all arrangements for.. their board when they are not out on dufys: (Applause.) This certainly appears to be the cheapest way in which it can be managed. Of course the nurses would not be called on in any way to do any sort of duty at the Peak: Hospitel. The advantages of this scheme are many. It should be a healthy place for the
Dr. Stedman, on the motion of Mr. CRUICK- SHANK, was unanimously elected to the chair.
In his address Dr. STEDMAN said: -Ladies | and gentlemen, you know from the circulars 3. In reply to question (b) of your letter, I am that have been sent out what the object of this directed to inform you that the approxi- meeting is. It is to form an institute to pro-mate annual expendituro in maintaining the cure nurses from Home whose services shall be two nurses in question has ben $4.540.28. available for the community. For some years 4. The anunal receipts in foss erned by tho past four nurses have been available-Mrs. | two private nurses has been $1,423.18. Ewenson, Mrs. Macdonald and two nurses pro- 5. With regard to question (d) I am informed vided by Government. Mrs. Ewensen and Mrs. by the Jubilee Committee that the sum Macdonald have been entirely independent and available from Jubilee Hospital fund may per, have, we believe, been able to live on their earn-haps amaunt to $2,000. ings; the other two have been maintained by the The report by Dr. Bell, mentioned above, is Government at a loss of something over $3,000 a as follows:-A Portugues, a Chinese, and an year for the two. Mrs. Ewensen has left the colony and Mrs. Macdonald is shortly going to do so. One of the Government nurses is to be taken into the Civil Hospital staff in April, and the contract period of the other Government nurses terminates early in June, when she is going home, and, so far as we know, the Govern- ment has taken no steps to obtain others to replace these two. I believe that they have written Home asking whether they are to
Eurasian joined in 1896 and 1897, but noue of them proved satisfactory and they left after a very short stay. Nurss U I Kai (Eurasian) entered in September, 1898, and is still hore do- ing duty in the Maternity Hospital chiefly, where she is most useful. Her time is up in September of this year. She will not be much use in general nursing, Lut is quite capable 85 far as confinement cases go. Nurses McCarthy, Hogg, and Mannera (European) joined in April, maintain these nurses or no, 1899. The first named left on account of ill
· no înswer. Now health, and the two latter are still here working matters are becoming urgent, and unless narsus very well. At the end of their three years they are sent for immediately, by the beginning of both propose proceeding home to obtain full June, there will not be a single uurso available English certificates. Nurses Northa and Mag-uurses to live at. There is a telephone, so that to nurse in a private house in case of sickness, Gowan (European) joined in 1903, but they also and we think that this constitutes a distinct left after a short stay, as they did not danger to the community. Under these circuin prove suitable for nursery work. A stat
continue
but have had
they could be easily summoned. They could have the Peak Hospital nurses to associate with when not out nursing, and also, the new Peak