The Sun.
London, England, 1848-03-17 00:00:00

SIR J. FRANKLIN'S EXPEDITION.

Sir R. INGLIS wished to put a question to
the Hon. the Secretary for the Admiralty (Mr.
Ward), with respect to the expedition sent from this
country in the year 1845 to explore the north-west
passage, and in respect to which a great and natural
anxiety prevailed not only on the part of persons con-
nectedwith that branch of science which that expedition
was intended to improve, but also upon the part of
the wives and families of those engaged in that re •
marlrable expedition. Those gallant fellows had now
been absent for three years, and nothing had been heard
from them for about two years and ten months. Ile
wished to know what steps Government had adopted,
or were prepared to adopt, in respect to the means to
be employed to discover the expedition of Sir J.
Franklin; whether they were prepared to send out an
expedition in search of that officer and his crew, and
whether they were prepared to offer rewards to
any whaler or other mariner, who in the course
of his voyage, or in the course of an extra voyage,
might obtain any information upon the subject. He
believed that it• such an expedition had been sent
from any maritime country in Europe, he did not
think—and he hoped it would be found to be the case
in this country—there would be found the want
of any pecuniary means to attain the object he had
referred to.

Mr. WARD said, in answer to the question put
by his Hon. Friend, he felt bound to state to the
House that there was, he was afraid, toomuch cause for
anxiety for the fate of the expedition to which he had
referred, for although the expedition went out
fully equipped for the voyage, it had only taken out
provisions for three years, and such being the case,
there could be no doubt, unless something was heard
with respect to it in the course of the present year,
the situation of Sir John Franklin and his crew were
in the greatest peril. He thought he could satisfy
the House that the Government had not been want-
ing in caution on this subject, in order that
every means should be adopted to secure the lives of
Sir John Franklin and his crew. Three expeditions
had been sent out ; the Plover and the Herald were
directed to enter Behering Straits together, and the
boats of the Plover were directed to sweep
the coasts as far as the Makenzie River, and
every arrangement had been made to secure
proper researches after Sir J. Franklin and
his crew ; added to this, Sir John Ross
had been sent out in the Endeavour, accompanied by
the Enterprise, both of which vessels had provisions for
two years, and also an additional supply for Sir John
Franklin and his crew, should they be found to re-
quire it.—(Hear, hear.) He ought also to add that re-
wards had been offered to any whale ship that
would bring intelligence to her Majesty's Govern-
ment, and those rewards would be regulated according
to the information received.
Sir R. INGLIS wished to know whether his Hon.
Friend the Secretary for the Admiralty was prepared
to state the amount of the rewards.—(Cries of " Oh,
oh.") As the whalers would leave this
country by the 21st or 22d of this month,
he trusted the reward would be commensurate to
the amount of human life preserved.
Mr. WARD thought it would be unwise to
state the amount. The reward that would be
offered would be equivalent to the expense of fitting
out a ship for the purpose. 1001. would be given for
information of the ship and crew, and that would be
increased in proportion to the value of the information.
MEDICAL RELIEF.

Lord ASHLEY then rose to move the following
resolutions, founded on the evidence taken before
the Medical Relief Committee in 1844 :—That
every woman claiming medical assistance from
the parish in consequence of being pregnant, shall be
entitled, in all cases, to the aid of the medical officer
with her first child, and also with the second or others
which may follow, provided she present a certificate
from the medical officer who attended in her
previous confinement, stating that circumstances had
occurred in it out of the ordinary and natural course
of events, which render it desirable that she should
have medical attendance on the next occasion of deli
very. That, in the event of its being considered
necessary to destroy the child in order to save the life
of the mother, the union surgeon shall be at liberty
to seek the assistance of another competent practi-
tioner, if he see fit, before the necessary operations
are performed, and who shall be paid for
the assistance rendered, on producing to the
union or proper officer the joint certificate of
the union surgeon and himself that such con-
sultation and aid were essential, previously to the
expected legal and necessary deprivation of life. That
it is expedient that medical inspectors be appointed
by the Poor-law Commissioners, or by the Secretary
of State, or with his sanction : one to each district to
which an Assistant Poor-law Commissioner or in-
spector is attached, at a salary not exceeding six
hundred pounds a year, exclusive of travelling ex-
penses, and exclusive of an allowance of a clerk, if the
duties should require one. That the duty of the me-
dical inspectors should be to inspect and report on the
medical treatment of the poor of the different unions,
and on the fitness of the medical men appointed by
the unions ; to inquire particularly into the treat-
ment of the sick poor in the union houses, and to
regulate such treatment; to inquire into and report
on the diets and healthful condition of the poor
within them generally, together with such other
sanitary duties of every kind as may be required
of them by the Secretary of State, or by
the Poor-law Comtniseioners ; and particularly
with respect to the number of medical officers
who ought to be employed in each union,
and, under the sanction of Poor-law Commissioners,
to fix the salaries which ought to be awarded to
them for their services in each particular union, or
part of a union, in the district. That, from and
after the month of March next, the appointment of
medical officers of unio::s shall be permanent during
good behaviour, they being removeable only by
the Poor-law Commissioners, whose decisions
shall he final. That no medical person be
appointed surgeon or medical officer to a union
unless he possess a diploma in surgery, and a degree,
diploma, or license in physic, from one or other of
the Universities or Colleges of Physicians or Surgeons,
or Societies of Apothecaries of the United Empire,
legally entitled to grant respectively such licenses,
diplomas, or degree; and that if, under any circum-
stances, it should be found necessary to employ unqua-
lified persons, such unqualified persons must have a
special permission granted by the Poor-law Commis-
sioners, under their handwriting, with the reasons for
such permission annexed: all such permissions to be
annually laid before Parliament at the commence-
ment of the session. That it is the opinion of this
House that the Poor-law Commissioners should cause
a list to be made out, by the proper officer in each
parish of a union, of the poor swho may be entitled
to attendance from the medical officer of the
union ; and that all such persons shall be at
liberty to ask the assistance, without pre-
viously obtaining an order to that effect from the
relieving officer, overseer, or other person, when so
seriously ill as to be unable to leave their homes.
That the poor thus applying shall not be entitled to
such medicel attendance beyond twenty-four hours,
unless they ohtain the signature of the relieving',
officer to the printed order usually issued by
him to the surgeon ; but which printed
order shall in such case be given by the surgeon to
the poor man in the first instance, to he carried by
him or his friends to the relieving officer for his in=
formation and counter. signature, as an acknowledg-
ment of the fact of such medical relief having been
asked for and obtained. That all casual
poor requiring medical attendance be treated
in a similar manner, the surgeon being at liberty
to refuse further attendance, if the counter-
signature of the relieving officer be not obtained.
In bringing these important resolutions before the
House, it would be his endeavour to spare as much
everyas p possible sri Itlhea
tshtohueldnetauksee
might discuss each on its own merits. He should
abstain from entering generally into the question of
ebsloeluthtieoatimseepaorfattheely,tuosred.er
mrelslul,v and
dy
refrain t the qfune from
the poor-laws, and confine himself strictly to the con-
sideration ofmedical relief referred to in the resolutions.
tiiioenssheomubldraced confineby hhiisse of exclusively
going into matters relating to the conduct of the
Commissioners, past or present. He had been met
by some Hon. Gentlemen with the objection that it
was not the duty of a poor law to provide medical
relief, but as the law had already made such pro-
visions, it was too late for Honourable Gentlemen
to raise that objection. In order to economise
the time of the House, he had placed the most impor-
tant resolution first, and, in the outset, he must be
allowed to protest that boards of guardians did not
pay that attention to the necessities of pregnant
paupers which their condition demanded. He
had, thereftre, proposed that the House should
entitle pregnant women to medical relief in
the first instance without having recourse to
the order of a board of guardians. Boards of