A VOICE PROM THE FIRESIDE.

Cromwell Argus, Volume IV, Issue 170, 11 February 1873, Page 5

A VOICE PROM THE FIRESIDE.

[We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondents.]

To the Editor of the Cromwell Argus. Sir, —The fatal casus of childbirth in this district are rapidly assuming an alarming aspect. No sooner has the excitement resulting from one case a little subsided, than another and still another startle us, and stir the wounded sympathies of our neighbourhood afresh, if these eases go on and increase, instead of Cromwell becoming the Kden of Otago, in the meaning of Mr Macandrew’s wild rant when here last, it wdl become the Moloch of wives, and the Colgotna of wedded life. And it is a subject, too, so painfully delicate, that an unpractised hand, though feeling much, can throw hut little light on xt. It is one, too, in which every maiden, every bachelor, every husband who has a wife Worth saving and a home worth keeping, has a personal 'aim-, profound interest. Matronal solicitude here, instead of taking the shape of cheerlul anticipation, is overcast with agonising apprehension. Mothers all around us, as the crisis approaches, are planning whither they shall betake themselves to escape this scene of harrowing memories, as the only alternative left them. And when some harbour of refuge is decided on, the husband submits to the sacrifice : the home tor a time is darkened by the absence of all that makes it a home. The extra expense is felt as a necessity. And the trembling matron is not reassured until she find a safe distance between herself and Cromwell. Hundreds of pounds are spent in this way every year out of the district, which should go to increase the profits of trade, and promote the comforts of the suffering households. Viewing the subject, however, in its cash consequences, is viewing it in its lowest and least-dreaded form. The gaunt mischief bestrides our fairest domestic circles, and, like Death upon the pale horse, crushes down under its hated hoof youth, beauty, vigour,—whatever is brightest in home life : a mother’s hopes, a father’s joy, and a husband’s future prospects. And if these disastrous results are not soon checked, the sad effects will take on the character of causes, ami the trembling apprehensions of mothers will multiply them indefinitely, eighteen hundred years ago. the mother was fortified against all fear by the assurance that [•" woman should be saved iu childbearing.” Our j recent experience is the exact antithesis to this. (It is to us as if it had been written, Mothers | shall be lout in childbearing.” Fur so it comes jto pass. And the impression is gaining ground j every day that preventable causes are at work : I causes that are under human control. Where, I then, is the bold heart and the fearless hand | equal to the emergency, and able to check the destroyer by bringing the fatal causes into pubj lie notice ? The man that would do this would prove himself a benefactor, and entitle himself | to the lasting gratitude of Cromwell and the adjacent townships. Our climate is not in fault: jit is famed for its unrivalled purffy. We have i no dearth of doctors : the profession is respectj ably represented by three or four practitioners. I Nor are they'ill paid, goodness knows! The fees here are as high or higher than hi any pait iof New Zealand ; and some of the recipients, at any rate, have not the appearance of stinted rations. We have several flourishing societies j here, which levy stated contributions upon their j members, to meet cases of the kind, and other ! kindred objects. And these societies are underj stood to be good for some hundreds every year, i We have no lack of nurses,--qualified, too, by [ long-tried and trusted experience. If sympathy j is any help on such occasions it comes in like a .spring-tide round the sufferer, ready for any | service or any sacrifice that may he suggested. : The victims, too, are among the best types of I womanhood in the Province : young, strong, | healthy, cheerful, happily settled, and able to 'command all needful appliances to anticipate 1 such cases, and avert the danger when it comes. There are certain classes of mothers among whom i a fatal issue in nature’s trial excites no surprise, I —where disease or dissipation has exhausted the strength, or where, tbeie has been a want of help ; or nourishment, an exposure to cold, nr other inconveniences of Colonial life. In such cases, the curses are known, and, however regretted, ! they are understood : there is no mystery im- ; pending over them. Cut lire instances to -which the writer invites the attention of your readers j arc of another kind altogether. And nothing 1 will restore confidence to the parturi nt mother till the clear light of day is poured upon the true i cause, and the ground of responsibility shall c me to'jlight without mistake. Ano‘ her embarrassing feature in the complexion of tins matter is, that iu the far-off up-country districts, sixty or eighty miles from all professional assistance, disastrous results are never expected, and they seldom or never happen. A plain woman is in attendance, with mailing to guide her but a mother’s expe- | rience ; and tie tender manipulation of a hand controllel W a loving heart, throws its broad sympathies into the helping forces of nature, and ; for ihe moment it is hardly known which suffers the most, the proxy or the ’-e.a l mother. And after all is over, it is never known which rejoices he most, the suffeier bv seu.-e or the suffeier by sympathy. If an unfortunate drink whisky | a id die in a shantv, or fall from a punt and perish, the mere hint of faulty treatment or | neglect soon forms itself into a public sentiment, and nothing can ’ay that- sentiment to lest hut a | coroner’s jury and a true verdict. —The writer his nothing to suggest. He writes only as a husband, a father, and a common citizen, with a j common encmv at Ids door, ami the door of 1 everyone in the same position, tie his no opinion !to advance: an nm'ducated onininn is w'orth j little anywhere, and is worth mailing here. He has written this much that others may write more and better. In conclusion,—ls the cause of all the heartrending mischief we are called to witness above the reach of human management? If so. let us S know it,—that we may reconcile ourselves as best we can to inexorable fate, and enjoy the virtue of submitting to what we have not the power of resisting. Biff if the evil is preventable by human agency, then let ns rise up in the strength of a. solemn purpose, and, by all that is sacred in unborn infancy and loving womanhood, I let us clear this foul blot from our bright sky, and the. steal thy destroyer from our hearths and I homes.—l am, Ac., i Paterfamilias.