The Sun.
London, England, 1847-10-28 00:00:00

- MEETING OF ----.
POOR-LA W..........

A MEDICAL OFFICERS.
numerous and highly-respectable meet it 1g of
:saiWonr
wrgaseohnesidayneds
tothera yinaetmtbheer members
afnothyeerm.sql heal
poor-1)
Rood is, for the purpose of expressing their opii ion
with respect to the amelioration of the present sys tern
of go or-law medical relief; Dr Burton, of 'Walsall 1, in
the chair. Medical gentlemen*
from all parts of the
Itry attended.
7. [le CHAIRMAN having thanked the meeting for
esi
ap 'pointing him to 'pr 'd
th ey had assembled-e, said the object for wl lich
in .terest for the public
was one that possessed a g eat
der• to carry outP the as well as the profession. In
a. isembled, he recommendedpurpose for which they had
1' their observations, a A to them temperance in
ns, and the d 4.
a °Fawn of sup qi a
counNq as would not call forth
through, nut the kingclarn._qieaa en( my
The Ssog:RTARY (Mr.
T. P. Ilealear))
re-
quisition calling the meeting, andeya't readon .bi
length described the course which had aclre cons
v r e e
adopted for the purpose of ameliorating t a 1 en
he p, ient
system of poor-law medical re,. ief, which was injL z ious
to the public interests, as in fact it placed the intz, -est
of the pauper and of the medical officer in antagoni: m.
The CHAIRMAN read a letter from Dr
eygs te,
expressive of his desire to co-operate with the men
d-
ing, and regretting his inability to attend.
Mr. DAIIIEL, of Newport Pagnel, proposed 1 the
first resolution, which was—" That medical irb
charged with attendance on the poor, are required to
be thoroughly and practically acquainted with eve ry
branch of their profession ; that they are liable to be
called at the shortest notice, and without assistant
to treat the severest form of disease, and the rnt )st
formidable injuries which every species of accident
may produce, as well as to attend the most diffics sit
and appalling cases which obstetric practice can pr e-
sent. That in the discharge of these duties they ha ye
not' only to contend with the anxieties inseparal )le
from such weighty responsibility, but are broug ht
into situations the most trying and repulsive, not or ly
from the multiplied annoyances which attend the m,
but from concentrated contagion and other causes of
disease to which many of this valuable class of m en
have been victims; that the sacrifice of time, labs ar,
and rest which they are required to make is great a nd
unlimited; and that the pecuniary expenses necessaz ily
incurred in visiting their patients and supplying 7 the
means of relief are often unadvoidably heavy. That in I ad-
dition to these trials, inherent in their office, there are
others ofa moral character very liable to be concomi int
with them, and of a kind most painfully to all ect
minds of a highly honourable and sensitive class, to
which it is sufficient merely to allude. That the
mode in which these services are required to be p
formed, and the scanty remuneration awarded to
the medical men engaged in them, constitute a grit •v-
-ance which cannot be too strongly stated, and for
which redress should earnestly be sought. Thai; in
many instances the number of persons amongst wlnom
the casualties of disease and accident may occur, and
the area to be traversed in visiting the patierrts, are
so great as to render early, constant, and satisfactory
attendance physically impossible. That the pecu-
niary remuneration being granted on no fixed prin-
ciple or scale, varies greatly in different localities;
but that in almost all it is so disproportionately small,
and in very many of them falls so far short of the
expense incurred, as to render a large portion of the
medical relief bestowed on the sick poor a tax on
individual members of the medical profession, in-
stead of resting, like clothing, food, and other forms of
relief, upon the rate-paying parishioners in general."
It was their duty to call on the Legislature to inter-
fere, in order to put an end to a system which, whilst
it was unjust to the pauper, did not properly recog-
nise the interests or social position of the medical
officers.—(Hear, hear.) There was a very serious
difference between a griping parsimony and a proper
economy.—(Hear, hear.) It ought to be recollected
that the boards of guardians were composed of very
heterogeneous elements, and that they could not by
possibility be the best judges of the value of the ser-
vices of medical officers whom they might have to
employ, and that they rather sought for cheapnass
than other and more valuable qualities.—(Hear,
hear.) He had the greatest respect for the clergy,
and for the invaluable services they rendered, but he
could not help remarking upon the extraordinary
difference in some cases which existed between the
remuneration of clergymen and medical officers. He
had known a case recently in which a clergyrn3n
with an allowance of 50/. a rear refused to attend s
woman in fever lest he might catch the disease. How-
would it be if the worse paid medical man refused to
attend the woman because he might catch the fever ?
—(Laughter.) It was quite evident that the present
system of remuneration bore no relation to the ser-
vices which were required from, and afforded by,
medical men. He had great pleasure in proposing
the resolution.

Dr. PEARSON, of Prescott, seconded the resolution,
and in doing so took the opportunity of stating that
he received but 101. a year for attending several
parishes in his neighbourhood. During the progress
of fever recently he caught the infection, and was
obliged to employ an assistant, to whom he paid 501.
a year for attending to the duties which he was re-
quired to perform for 101. a year.—(Shame, shame.)
He was of opinion that they ought to call upon the
Government to interfere in effecting an alteration of
the present mode of paying poor-law medical officers.
The resolution was then put and agreed to.
Mr. TASKER, of Melbourne, proposed the second
resolution, which was—" That the medical relief at
present provided for the poor must be faulty and
inadequate as respects both the patients and the pub-
lic, is the necessary consequence of the errors which
have been pointed out as inherent in the system it-
self. That though an immense amount of unrequited
professional assistance is afforded, the limits of phy-
sical capability and of pecuniary resources preclude
medical officers from the possibility of giving prompt
professional
assistance in many instances. That it
results from these defects in the system that patients,
who might by early and efficient treatment be quickly
cured or relieved, and placed in a situation to support
themselves and their families, may become a charge
on their parishes for aggravated sickness and burial,
or for protracted relief to themselves and their fami-
lies. That the extra expense is not confined to that
which might be made apparent from the parish books,
but tends to swell the sums expended in hospitals,
dispensaries, orphan asylums, and other institutions,
besides an invaluable ateount of individual charity."
It was, in his opinion, most important to impress
upon the public the fact that the sick poor must
suffer from the existing inadequate payment to
medical officers. That was not only his opinion, but
the opinion of the Commissioners, who had stated in
the strongest terms their impression, that imperfect
remuneration would have the effect of causing the
appointment of needy and ill-qualified persons, and
that the neglect of the sick paupers must be the re-
suit of that system. It was indeed quite clear,
f f‘ deet
_
nothing but a proper salary could secure proper
scri
Rtion of medical men, and proper.
oubt medical
the time
anee Tor the pauper. lie had no d
ievances would be
. assist-
ance
would shortly come when their gr
.-;--(gear, hear.)
,:C of Wcs
worth, seconded the reso-
ir
end bore testimony to the injurious effects
which had been produced by the very low salaries
allowed to
the 'medical officers of the poor-law
unions-
esolution was supported by Mr. WHITE, of
olborn Union, who said that the union with
'ch he was connected contained 44,300 inhabitants,
and had three medical officers to attend it. The
clergy were paid a much larger sum than that which
was paid to the medical officers ; and the clerk, who
had comparatively little to do, was also well paid. He
was sure that it was not the desire of the people of
England that the medical men of the country, who
had so many lives committed to their charge, should
be worse paid than the veterinary surgeons who bad
the care of horses.
After a few words from Mr. EBSWORTH and Mr.
Mr. WEBSTER, this resolution was also unanimously
agreed to.
Mr. LORD, of Hampstead, proposed the third reso-
lution, pledging the meeting to memorialise the Se.
cretary of State and the Poor-law Commissioners, and
to communicate with the College of Physicians rand
Surgeons, and the Society of Apothecaries, requesting
their co-operation in carrying out the objects of the
meeting.
Mr. BOULGER, of Bletehingly, d
-econ ed the reso-
lution, which was agreed to.
_ _

Mr. LIVETT, a delegate from Wells, stated that in
Somersetshire a great number of medical officers had
co-operated in carrying out the objects for which they
had assembled, and concluded by moving a vote of
thanks to the press for the valuable assistance which
it had rendered in advocating their cause.
A committee was then appointed for carrying out
the objects of the meeting.
The thanks of the meeting were given to the chair-
man for the able manner in which he had discharged
his duties.
The meeting then broke up.

THE LATE INFRACTIONS OF THE QUARANTINE
LAWS AT MALTA.—We have much pleasure in an-
flouncing that the trial of Captain Tate, of the brig
Navy, and his wife, before the Criminal Court, has
ended favourably to the prisoners, both of whom were,
on the 17th of October, acquitted; as whilst the public
prosecutor failed in proving any wilful intent, his own
witnesses went the length of establishing much blame-
able negligence and want of due vigilance on the part
ofo
the quarantine officers. The trial of Captain Clark,
ltahwe,bwriags Efixcelidpsfeo,rwt,hitehnfothurofofoclatoisbcerre, wb,utunoudrerdtahtecssoanim.ye
I reach to the afternoon of the 18th.
patingT provisions,N
TreasuryiEthEel'Al4lD Anhtiacvi;
auanßoEthLecErscaCrcortymotsfsioxl
re-appointed twenty-threereind
otfetaihenlg th2oneavadisl atnridbumuilointaroyt
loaffincderlsaswthyoearse,rvined under the relief commission in Ire-
, provisions.