, 1891-04-25

Doctor shall attend the Poor on the Estates
for the yearly amount paid by the Estate.
Yet it is natural that the poor and old require
more attention and are more frequently sick;
at least they can do but very little and are Of
course paid very little. Now, the Doctors do
not charge for this attendance, it is not for
this the public pays, but it is a compensation
for the wear and tear of the conveyances when
ever the Doctors are called to those people;
for that purpose the 5000 are to be applied;
the remaining $500 are for attendance to
pensioners in the Country, like as In town.
In that way those labourers who have got
old, and can no longer pay, as well as chill,
dren, get medical attendance on Estates.
End Member for Frederiksted's Country
District (BlGckUood) would ask the honorable
Member if he as Physician would be willing
to take what is collected from the lahourers
towards doctors pay and be satisfied with that ?
lst Member for Christiansted's Country
District (NeWmann): No
End Member for Frederiksted's Country
District (BlacksoOod) resumed: That offer
had been made before and was refused and he
was quite certain, it was understood by all
owners, that when making contracts with the
doctors, and they got their pay certain, those
contracts included attendance to all on the e-
tates right square through. The collections, it
is true, amount to something more at times but
the Doctor is guaranteed his stipulated pay.
and he has to do all the work ; the $500 are not
needed. They may be saved. Taxpayers
need some savings in the public expenditure,
the present taxation is much in excess of what
it should reasonably be, any attic mpt to increase
wo uld be tantamount to confscation of proper
ty. 1t is all right for you to tell US that the
State Treasury is going to take over the inanc-
es, but let them do it now it is impossible to
continue in the way hitherto done. We mean
no personalities but when you take away
taxpayers all to meet expenses, and expenses
that might be easily dispensed with, you touch
at his heart. No honest man could willingly
vote these items and some others, making up
about $3.50, 900 above the revenue just because
he can't pay 1t.
End Member for Frederiksted (BroWn) said,
when he came here to-day, it was his full il.
tention to vote against the contracts and the
$500; but as the matters have been so clearly
explained, particularly by His Excellency and
LIST Member for Christiansted's Country Dis
trict Neumann i, he saw that the two things
are quite apart from each other and he would
then now decidedly vote for the renewal of the
contract for l year, instead of 4 and at the
same time that $500 used for payments to the
physicians as compensation for certain work
done by them for the poor in the country, be
withdrawn from the emoluments of the
physicians.
list Member for Christiansted (Lemming) ::
After the long discussion and conversation that
has been given to this matter, it would seem as
if there is still some misunderstanding of the
two items. It is so that the proposal refers to
two engagements, the one belonging under the
Sanitary, the other under the Poor Department.
Under the Sanitary we have to deal with the
Contracts which the Government, subject to
the consent of the Colonial Council,
have a right to make with Physicians
for a term Of 4 years at a time to
discharge certain medical duties to the sick
poor in the towns and to the patients in tho
respective Hospitals. IT must be admitted
that it is rather late when the Government now
brings in that matter to the Council after
the one term had expired and a new had COM
commenced. At the time the contracts for the
last 4 years, which expired in February 1891,
were before the Council an address was intro
duoed from parties in the Island bringing to the
knowledge of the Council that it was the gene
raj opinion of the Public, that more physicians
were required in the Island; and it is
certainly so, that, it happens not so seldom
that parties who, not owing to any fault OF the
physicians but from the party's own liking
when sick to have a particular physician at
tending them, have had to wait because the
particular physician wanted was not tobe had
and it has been a want felt that moro physi-
o;oro waro- not in the Island. hence it was CON-