ST. HELENS HOME INQUIRY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1710, 29 March 1913, Page 5

ST. HELENS HOME INQUIRY.

THE MINISTER'S TELEGRAM.'. 'At the St. Helen's Hbmo Inquiry ill Auckland ort Thursday, Mr. Sblwyii Mays, counsel for tho rublic. Health Department, produced the following telegram frriiti tho Hot. R. Healoli 'Itlipdes,■ •Minister.for Public Hbalth':—" '" ' ' "lii ahswer tb your .telegram addressed to the Itisncctor-Genfcriil. of Hospitals, I hm distinctly of opinion tljat it would 1m detrimental to the public infarcts if a precedent were establislifcd V that iWntld hllow liosnital case books containing family histories of patieiiW; which' ard often of nri cittomely privato nature, tb Im available for general inspection. However, the iliinortanco'bf, this queslibh is srtch that tho Judgo of the. Supreme Court will undoubtedly reebpisb, and I liavo -no doubt ho will not giVo a ruling, allotting lilspectibn of sucli books, unless iio is convinccd tliat such, inspecnbii is necessary for tho ' purposes ,of tho, inquiry," When the matter was mentioned to Mr. Rhodes yistcrdoy lib said that ho hail no wish to Withhold anything that a Judge of tlio Supreme Court cbnsidbred it desirable to, make public. "What I wished to guard against," ho added, "was tlio making publio of_ matters of-family history. I had tio desire to withhold any information regarding tho conduct of tho institution or information connected with (lib inquiry in any way at all, but lliero are confidential communications: made to doctors tuid referring only to the proplc io whom they rblato, which should not bo made nublio."