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Dr Marques would be absent.
On Sunday morning 7th November, I did not refuse to do the duty, but stated that with every desire to meet the wishes of His Excellency, I was unable to undertake further duties and responsibilities than I was already charged with the care of the sick in the Civil Hospital, and the charge of that Establishment taxing my powers, both mental and physical, to the utmost.
Mr Jordan forwarded this letter on to His Excellency, with the following statement.
"You will see from Dr Wharry's letter that he still refuses to do the work. Under the circumstances, I have at considerable sacrifice of time and tax on my physical endurance done this additional work so far, and will continue to do it at any cost to myself until the Government deputes some one else to do it."
This statement is remarkable because Mr Jordan could not have made more than one visit to the Mortuary before writing his letter of the 7th.
On Monday, 8th November, I was directed to do the Post Mortem work, and on the 18th November, the Coroner informed me that he had been instructed by the Government to call upon me to perform those duties. On the 20th November, my explanation of 19th November was pronounced unsatisfactory, and a further charge was made that I had not performed the duties while they were being considered in Council.
On 22nd and 25th November, I wrote further explanations, and on the 25th, Dr Bourke was appointed to report on Mr Jordan's letter to the Colonial Secretary.
November 4th 1886.
Enclosure to No. 8, November 1886.
I was charged with insubordination and disobedience of orders without sufficient reason or cause, and ordered to answer this charge on 19th November.
The Acting Governor and the Executive Council took 6 days to consider my answer, and while the matter was still under consideration, on the 12th November, I was notified to Government by Mr Clynes, Colonial Surgeon, who had returned from leave, that I had been ordered to appear before a Medical Board on the 29th November.
The Board consisted of Deputy Inspector General Fisher, Principal Naval Medical Officer on the China Station; Deputy Surgeon General Hungerford, Principal Military Medical Officer in China and Straits Settlements; and Dr Manson, the leading private practitioner in the Colony. They reported on 29 November:
"We have examined Dr Wharry, Superintendent of the Civil Hospital, as to his physical fitness to perform medico-legal post-mortem examinations in addition to his duties in connection with the Hospital.
We find that Dr Wharry suffers from latent heart disease and that he is physically debilitated. We therefore consider that he is unfit to carry on extra duties of a very temporary character.
Should the extra duties entail a prolonged attendance at Court, or much medico-legal work beyond the performance of an occasional post-mortem examination, we do not think Dr Wharry fit to do so."