Sessional_Paper_1896 — Page 718

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to the third storey. The late Mr. CH'AN SUI-NÁM, one of the promoters of the Tung Wa Hospital, who had his shoulder bone broken by falling from a horse, was also cured by one of the Chinese doctors without the necessity of amputation.

Mr. THOMSON-There was never any case of gangrene, that is, of mortification setting in, at the Tung Wa Hospital ?—No.

Then you have been very lucky. Supposing it was to set in, what would you do ?-Go to the surgical department and you will find plenty of people there, and I do not think you will find one out of one hundred who would be willing to go to the Government Civil Hospital.

The Commission adjourned till Thursday, 23rd April, at four o'clock.

Meeting held on Thursday, 23rd April, 1896.

Present: Honourable J. H. STEWART LOCKHART, Colonial Secretary (President).

Honourable A. M. THOMSON, Acting Colonial Treasurer.

Honourable Dr. Ho KAI.

Honourable T. H. WHITEHEAD.

Absent:--Honourable C. P. CHATER.

Dr. J. A. LowsON, Assistant Surgeon in the Government Medical Department.

THE PRESIDENT--Are you acquainted with the Tung Wa Hospital?--I am--to a considerable extent.

How long have you been acquainted with it ?--Up to 1894 my acquaintance with it was practically confined to visits out of curiosity, and to see patients there whom I had heard about. When the plague began in 1894 I visited the Hospital very frequently, probably every two days, sometimes two or three times a day. In 1895, after Dr AYRES and Dr. ATKINSON took up the visiting of the Hospital, I did not go there quite so often, but I have been very frequently from the beginning of the plague up to the present time.

Have

you noticed

any change in the Hospital since the time you first went there? -Yes; I consider that it is now in a better condition; it could not have been in a worse.

In what direction was it very bad?-From a purely professional point of view -medical and surgical-and also from a sanitary point of view. Apart from absolute sanitation, I consider the place was a danger to the public health.

I

You say from a purely professional point of view, medical and surgical; you mean, presume, that the patients were treated according to Chinese methods ?-I do not know if the way patients were treated before was quite in accordance with the proper Chinese methods, but taken in conjunction with the insanitary state of the place it was something awful. Chinese hospitals elsewhere that I have seen were very much better than the Tung Wa Hospital. From a medical and surgical point of view, the treatment of the patients was very bad indeed.

Mr. THOMSON-That is judged from a Western point of view?—Yes.

THE PRESIDENT-In what respects do you consider it insanitary ?-It was insanitary on account of overcrowding, filth, absolute want of all cleaning processes, and one might include the danger of spreading disease from patient to patient from the filthy condition of the patients in the place.

With regard to overcrowding, do you refer to overcrowding of the patients? I do.