C offered to R: hay and that Your Excellency should be requested to bring his admirable work to the favourable notice of the Secretary of State.
7. The Committee consider that they owe Dr. Francis their best thanks and are due for all his exertions and the time he devoted to the trusts of the Colony for so many years.
As Chairman of the Permanent Committee, Dr. Francis had a heavy, troublesome, and laborious task to perform and throughout the duration of his service he was unremitting in his devotion to his duties. He gave up a great portion of time, no doubt to the detriment of extensive practice, to carry on the work which he had voluntarily undertaken. Your Excellency is too well acquainted with Dr. Francis' services for any further mention.
Our Committee decided that the best thanks of the Community be tendered to him, and that his valuable services and useful work should be brought through Your Excellency to the official notice of the Secretary of State.
8. The Committee also considered that Dr. Ayres's exertions both as a member of the Permanent Committee and as head of the Medical Department, are worthy of special mention and recognition, and they also resolved that he should receive the thanks of the Community together with a Gold Medal and that Your Excellency should be asked to lay his services before the Secretary of State for such reward or recognition as His Lordship should consider advisable.
9. The last name which we have been requested to submit to Your Excellency is that of Mr. J.R. Cook, Sanitary Surveyor, who from the early outbreak of the plague organised and had charge of the very necessary and responsible work of disinfecting and cleansing all the houses in which the plague had appeared. This work, which we have reason to believe was most satisfactorily performed, was undertaken in addition to Mr. Cook's ordinary duties and entailed not only exposure to the danger of contagion but also long hours of extra labour.
The zeal and energy which he showed are truly worthy of ample recognition, wherefore the Committee, besides conveying to him the thanks of the Community, will present a gold medal, and now ask that the name of Mr. Cook be brought to the favourable notice of His Lordship in recognition of his meritorious and deserving service.
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