The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1860-10-25

/ dl~.nu1 any w4.c-ur u- frr-HE towards NuC or III. NCh!hpln,
A. charged in your tusr ia'tes go myself lr oe reason eytorS
given. oroids nv continuing th> crrr>rVus-rcy. sni yCu Will
Tsa respectfully yoe-,
Il. NJ wsrrSEr-
We should have allowed this correspondence to
pass without further comment than the remark
that the brief but explicit note Of Or. Ford set
ties the whole question. had not Mr.. Mantgome-
" attempted a defense Of the attack made by
DR.. Mchibbin 4 year and = half ago in the Poly
HssGR, on DR.. Baldwin Of Lahaina. which is re-
ally the origin Of the threatened libel suit. That
attack was srtuitouS and wholly uncalIed for.
if not an unwarrautei libel On 4 private citizen,
though il pUrpoTted % have beer made in order
10 set the Legislature right on the subject Of ply
sic and physicians. In that letter. speaking Of
Or. e.. he SAYS, in i connection in which the re
mark can only be applied 10 him, q that quacks
ought 70 be put down. and no exceptions made"
Now, We have been informed by those who ought
10 know. that DR.. +. studied medicine - q pro-
iesSion before he had any idea Of coming to the
Islands, and that il was only after he made up
his mind - come 70 these islands Is a missionary
that he studied for the Ministry. He has always
practiced At Lahaina as 4 physician. and been
known as such. He moreover has had the title
of M. D." conferred ON him by the institute
where he studied. Simply on the ground of his
acting at the same time IS a clergyman and q
physician, DR.. Mckibbin appears to have been
unable TO see in him anything but a quack.
Does the mere fact that a man breaches unfit him
to act as 4 physician ? Is Dr.. Smith of Koloa
any the less worthy as a physician, because ne is
settled rs pastor over the native church there?
Had DR.. Mex. taken the pains to learn the truth
before publishing his letter alluded to, he would
at least have appeared before the public with
more grace than he now does as a public officer,
unduly sensitive 10 the criticisms of the press.
1t was to this letter that allusion was made in the
article which has been considered worthy of so
much notice by Mr.. Montgomery.
On the subject a. 10 whether missionaries who
have never studied medicine. should be allowed TO
practice. where there are regular and competent
physicians, there can be but one opinion-that
they ought not to-which being conceded by all,
can therefore form no part Of the question under
consideration.
There are other points in the letter of Mr..
Montgomery in the PoIynesian. which might be
noticed, had We space. For instance, Mr.. Doiron's
on which 50 much reliance is placed,
will, if We mistake not. be found the most con-
elusive evidence that no cases Of small pox have
existed at Wa;alua. But we dismiss the subject,
we have been forced to place again before
our readers. by the uncalled-for communication of
VI. in the PolyHesian, and assure them that.
though both papers have had enough of - small
in them to infect the whole neighborhood,
the disease does not exist at Waialua, or any
else on these islands. and there need be no
uneasineSs in regard 10 it.