MEDICAL CONGRESS

Gisborne Times, Volume LXI, Issue 9846, 27 October 1924, Page 5

MEDICAL CONGRESS

HONORS FOR NEW ZEALANDERS

SIR L. FERGUSON WARNS AGAINST EXCESSIVE READING

(Received Oct. 26, 11.5 p.m.) NEW YORK, Oct. 25

The College of Surgeons elected 536 new Fellows, among whom arc fourteen' from Australia and New Zealand. Honorary Fellowships were conferred upon Hr. Erick Robertson and Sir Lindo Ferguson (New Zealand), and Dr. Ralph Hamilton and Russell (Australia). During the clinic, Sir Lindo Ferguson sounded a warning against excessive reading. Ho said : “The eyes were not meant for reading but wore intended for rise in the jungles, looking out for wild animals and searching for food. It is only within the last two centuries that reading has become a matter of course for the general public, and it is largely responsible for the great number of eye trouble to-day. It has taken mankind millions of years to reach through evolution the present state of civilisation, and our eyes in a hundred years have not caught up with the changing demand made upon them.” The conferment of honorary Fellowships was impressively carried out in the Waldorf Hotel auditorium, Afterwards Dr. Mayo emphasised that the chief pUl'pece of the College is the idealism of the elevation professional standards of service. He Paid a tribute to the work of the trans-Pacifie surgeons. Dr. Royles’ principle was a great achievement. It was a bridge leading over to new valuable discoveries. The medical world had sufficient technique, but needed ideas, for which the world owed a debt of gratitude to the Australasians who had erected a milestone on the road of modern surgery. Those elected to membership of the College include Drs. Aicken and Neil (Auckland), Dr. Douglas (Hamilton), Dr. Collins, Elliot, Herbert, McGavin (Wellington) and Brs. Barnett and Rutherford Dunedin). —lteutcr.