, 1891-04-22

~ 1OI pUO1IC dCCOunO W
the Poor on Estates here in the Islands, when
we know that those people receive free
medical care from the doctors paid by the
Estates themselves nothing further was in
tended.
2rd Member for Frederiksted's Country Dis
trict (Bl0ckuood) would beg to second the
proposal made to-day by the honorable
Chairman. 1t is his (Blackwood's) opinion
that contracts with physicians should only be
made for l year, FIRST, because we have under
consideration, although it is not now before
the Council, the efecting of general retrench-
ments, which are absolutely necessary if tax
payers are to exist at all and secondly
because We need not the physicians for the
poor in the country, who receive medical care
from the Estates on which they are located
and employed as far as feasible and in this
respect he could fully endorse the remarks
that have hitherto fallen, particularly from
the honorable Chairman. He was perfectly
certain, that on all Estates under his iuris-
dlctlnn doctors are employed and bound to
attend all on the Estates, without exception,
including managers, overseers, engineers and
poor labourers or patients even where there
are pensioners, in receipt of public support,
the doctor Of the Estates has to attend them
too. Hence the 5000 are not necessary
moreover we can't afford to pay them and to
pdJ buCm GWACo. Even WucA O1u pGUp1o On
Estates receive no pension and do no work,
there is always charity extended to them
but whenever they can be employed at any
work be it ever so trifing, they are put to
work, get pay and medical assistance when
needed. No man of common sense can con-
scientiously say we can afford this expense;
when we look at the prospects of the crops of
this Island and see the keen competition in
regard to produce, which we must stand by
other sugar producing parts of the earth, it
seems evidently impossible for us here to CONT
nue. having Budgets showing fixed expenses far
above what is raised or can be raised by tax
alton, even when put at its highest point, as
it is here now already. We should not be
asked to vote without knowing or seeing where
wesare to get means to pay. But anyhow it is
not our intention to reduce the number of
physicians, on the contrary, we would like to
see more in the Island, but we know that this
expense as mentioned in the Governments letter
is unnecessary, and hold that we should not
bind the community for 4 years, but only for
one year, in which it could be ascertained
what is required to be done to get more ply
sicians to come, and without using more public
money than is requisite. We spend enough to
allow of more physicians here.
The Acting Vice Governor There are two
different matters mentioned in Governments
letter. The first is the proposal, that the
Council consents to renew the contracts with
the 2 communal doctors for a tenn of 4 years
on the same terms as hitherto, say for yearly
salary of $500, respectively to attend to the
poor in Christiansted and the Hospital at
Richmond and to attend to the poor and the
hospital Ill Frederiksted this proposal is
based on two former Ordinances and is subject
to the Councils vote to-day. and he would
earnestly recommend the Council to consent
to this proposal. The other matter is the grant
of $500 for attending to the poor in the coun-
try this matter is also subject to the Councils
vote, as an item on the Budget, and should
therefore not be discussed to-day, but when
the discussion on the Budget takes place. He
would however admit that Government by also
mentioning this matter in the letter to the
Council had given honorable Members cause
to discuss it to-day but such had not been the
intention of Governments letter; this last
mentioned matter belongs to the Budget, and it
may be that Government, before the Budget
is discussed again in the Council, can obtain
further information in how far the poor in the
country districts are included in the contracts,
which the Estates have with the doctors for
attending to the labourers, or whether it is
still necessary to make provisions for their
special medical attendance.
lst Member for Christiansted's Country
District (Neamanm) said it would seem as if
the hon orable End Member for Frederiksted's