THE COOK ISLANDS ADMINISTRATION.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1108, 22 April 1911, Page 6

THE COOK ISLANDS ADMINISTRATION.

[ FURTHER : CORRESPONDENCE. '; . ' '''■'• ■;'. [To the Editor.] i Sir, —Dr. Story insinuates in his , letter that Dr. Dawson's object in his disagreement with" the'; Commissioner, Mr. Smith, was to get an'increase of 1 salary. "I had been connected with Dr. 1 Dawson for a number of years before '• he went to tho Cook Islands, as chair- ' man of tho Tenui Doctor's Guarantee Committee, and he never thought-of tho money side of the question where he , thought his just rights were being im- ; posed Upon; Dr. Dawson requested . certain improvements to be made in his ! house, but tho Commissioner '.'replied . that ho could not sanction tho cxpencliture of any more public money, and refused to send in a requisition—too much public. money had recently been expended. As £600 had been expended oil this Commissioner's house, :Dr. Dawson would not remain unless the improvement "ho asked for (a chimney) was don© before the wet season. He left for New Zealand, and would not return unless his requests were complied with. Tho Government appointed another doctor, and erected the chimney. Tho money point of the question never entered into tho dispute so far as Dr. Dawson's salary was concerned. All who personally have boon brought iu contact with Dr. Dawson have great confidence in him as a doctor, and are not surprised that the white inhabitants of the Islands are only too willing to try and keep him there. £120 js not a very enormous guarantee, and ..can 'hardly bo sufficient' to. induce Jiim to remain ' without' privato' mean's!—l am, etc., HENRY S. KEVINS. i - . We received yesterday' the following telegram from Dr. B. S. 'Story, of •Hastings.:— '■ _ "No nursing staff, therefore impossible' to admit surgical cases. Oiily out-patients department at Nikau so •far." Dr. Story's telegram refers to the question of the admission to tho hospital at Nikau, Rarotonga, of the urgent surgical cases mentioned in the correspondence which passed between Dr. Dawson and tho Resident Commissioner., We believe that Dr. Story, is quite correct in stating, that there is no nursing staff at the hospital. The question, is: Who is responsible for this state of things? Thehospital has now been declared open for twelve months, and no nurses have yet been appointed. ,Why was the money spent in erecting a fine hospital building if it is not to bo used for the admission and treatment of patients? This Taises another question for tho Administration to answer.