The Sun.
London, England, 1822-12-05 00:00:00

SOUTHAMPTON DISPENSARY.

A most respectable Meeting WRS held on Thurs-
day last, at the Audit House, to take into con-
sideration the propriety.of establishing a Dispen-
sary, for the purpose of affording gratuitous ad-
vice and medicine to the sick Poor of Southamp-
ton and its vicinity. The MAyott took the Chair;
and the Requisition having been road,

Mr. MACKii..2.ION said, he had been applied to for the pur-
pose of bringing forward the business, which he felt great plea-
suie in doing; at the same time he regretted that another indi-
vidual of greater weight had not been able to lend his powerful
support on the occasion. Mr. M. previously to entering into the
business, wished it to be clearly and distinctly understood that
his sole object was to *mote the establishment of a Charitable
-Institution not to further the interest of any particular indi-
vidual. The establishment of Dispensaries for the purpose of
relieving the poor was now general throughout the principal
towns of Great Britain, and in few, if any instances, had
it not been attended by the most beneficial effects. There
was, perhaps, no other Charity where so much human
suffering was relieved at such a comparatively trifling eic-
pence. The benefits arising from such an establishment were so
obvious, that he felt it unnecessary to dwell longer on its
merits, particularly when he looked around him, and saw
amongst the persons of whoni that assembly was coniposed,
Gentlemen whose benevolence and plulanthropy were gene-
rally acknowledged. As far as Southampton was concerned,
Mr. M. thought that the establishment of a Dispensary was
advisable, froth the increased and increasing population--from
the great proportion of opulent inhabitants, and from a general
feeling on the subject: The population of the town and neigh-
bourhood around, within three miles, could not be less than
IA,OOO. Some objections, however, had been made to a Dis-
-pensary, which he thought it but candid to state to the Meet-
ing. One was, thgt a Infirmary was to be found at Winches-
ter; but he thought that place was too far to afford relief in
rserious
cases not of a nature ;,--of a labourer, fOr exaMple, who
was unwilling to leave his place ; or of a child, who was under
the care. of its parents, both of which descriptions of people
might be relieved without leaving hOme, were assistance at
hand. Another objection which' had been started, was,
that an attempt had been made some' years ago to form
a Dispensary in Southampton, which had failed. Mr. Mac-
kinnon however begged leave to remind the Meeting, that
since that time the population of the town and neighbourhood'

had much increased, and in no town and neighbourhood could 1
be found a more wealthy body of individuals than here, and con..
sequently sufficient funds might now be obtained. It had also
been asserted, that such an establishment was useless, for the
Medical Gentlemen were in the habit of attending the poor
gratis; but he thought that it was hardly fair to throw the
onus of relieving the sick poor entirely upon them, whose time
and attention was the public's, and who must feel the necessity
of relief from their arduous and delicate business. He thought
the burden ought to be borne by the more wealthy part of the
community. ,Mr. M. concluded by regretting that the Hon:
Gentleman (Mr. Chamberlayne) who had entered the room
since he began addressing the company, had not been present
to have opened the business with the weight of his eloquence
and abilities ; but lie now called upon hiin to second the reso-
lutions which he had the honour to propose. Mr. M. then read
his resolutions, one of which went to declare that a Subscriber
of ten guineas at once should be a Governor for life.
. . .

Mr. 'HAMBERLAYNE, in replying to the call which had
been made upon him to second the resolutions, said, that he
must decline it. No man, he said, more earnestly wished for
the establishment of an institution of this kind, which was ca-
pable, under proper management, of effecting so much good at
a trifling expence, than he did ' • but he could not second a reso-
lution which went to declare that a subscriber of a certain sum
should be a life governor, when you could not ensure the dura-
tion of the Society. In all institutions where this was one of the
laws, he considered it as an anomalous thing, and bore very
much of the appearance of a wish to trounce people out of their
money ; for it not unfrequently happened that you thus had go-
vernors for life to an institution which had no existence.

Mr. MACKINIsTON said that he had anticipated this objection
of the Hon. Gentlemen by stating that no money should be
taken of subscribers till there was a certainty of being able to
effect the object in view.
Captain ARGLES seconded the Resolution ;
_when it was sug-
gested by the Mayor that the better way would' be to pass the
Resolutions singly.
After passing the first Resolution,
Mr. MARETT made some forcible objections to the adoption
of the other Resolutions, particularly the one relating to the Go-
vernors, and urged the
,propriety of appointing a Committee to
draw up a set of rules for the government of the Institution.
Mr. CORFE now presented a paper signed by Drs. Hackett
and Middleton, Messrs. Maule, Corfe, Judd, Stace, Stewart,
and Twyam, offering their services gratuitously should the Dis-
pensary be established, to which the Mayor begged to add his
name.

The Thanks of the Meeting were unanimously voted for this
liberal offer.

A Select Committee was then appointed to frame Resolutions
for the government of the Institution, and the Meeting ad-
journed for three quarters of an hour, to afford the Committee
time. Upon re-assembling, the Committee informed the Meet-
ing that they had taken for their basis the rules of the Reading
Dispensary, which they conceived well adapted for the purpose.
—These were all unanimously agreed to, as was a Resolution
of Thanks to Dr. Watsans and Mr. Walmsley, for their ex-
ertions in promoting the establishment of so excellent an In-
stitution.

It was then agreed that personal application should be made
to the inhabitant householders, to know the amount of sub-
scriptions ; and that the Committee should meet again on
Thusday, the 12th of December.
The Thanks of the Meeting were voted to the Mayor, and
the company separated.