CANTERBURY COLLEGE.

Globe, Volume V, Issue 531, 1 March 1876, Page 2

CANTERBURY COLLEGE.

A meeting of the Board of Governors of the Canterbury College was held yesterday, at 3 p.m., in the Public Library. Present— Mr W. Montgomery (chairman), the Primate, Ven Archdeacon Willock, Hon J. B. A. Acland, Rev C. Fraser, Dr Turnbull, Messrs H. B. Gresson, J. Colborne-Veel, J. N. Tosswill, T. H. Potts, H. R, Webb, W. J. W. Hamilton, W. P. Cowlishaw, B. 0. J. Stevens, J. Inglis. Twenty-seven applications were received for the office of Registrar, &c, enclosing testimonials, &c, which were read by the chairman.

A letter was read from the Hall Committee of the Oddfellows, stating that the small ball was open for the use of the college, at a rent of £2O per annum. The following letter from Dr Prins to the Government was read :

“ Christchurch, 23rd February, 1876, “ To W. Montgomery, Esq, “ Chairman, Board of Governors, “ Canterbury College.

“ Sir, —I have the honor to enclose a copy of report forwarded to his Honor the Superintendent and Provincial Government on the basis, &c, on which a medical school should be established in Canterbury. “ While doing this as an act of courtesy and respect to a body representing higher education in the province, and that has already accorded a favourable reception to us and our views, we would take the opportunity of expressing our fervent hope that the Governors will endorse our action, and encourage the undertaking by doing all in their power to assist and advance the establishment of such an institution, thus adding to the good they have already done, and are doing in the cause of education in the province,

<f I have the honor to be, sir, “ Your obedient servant, “ H, H, Prins, Chairman.”

“Christchurch, 14th February, 1876, “ To his Honor, W. Rolleston, Esq, “ Superintendent. «»sir, —We have the honor to lay before the Provincial Government the following report, containing our views of the basis on which a medical school should be established in Canterbury with suggestions on its practical development. “ Before entering into details we beg to call your attention to some of the reasons for the establishment of a medical school, in conjunction with the Provincial College and the Christchurch Hospital. “1. It must be a matter of almost vital importance to a colony which enjoys few of the advantages possessed by the ‘ old country’ of numerous and established technical schools, hospitals, &c, for education in the learned professions to provide, as far as it can, a means of training students for those professions. “2. A medical school would be a boon to the youth of Canterbury in making available a sound medical education within our own limits. “3. Not only would it be a boon to candidates for the medical profession, but it would raise the tone and advance the medical usefulness of the teachers, or lectures, who would naturally be, for the most part, the principal physicians and surgeons in practice. “ We, therefore, as representatives of the medical profession, would respectfully beg to put on record our earnest wishes for the establishment of this important branch of professional tuition, and of opening the portals of a useful and honorable profession to many, who, though fitted by ability, yet from want of the opportunity, or means to obtain the necessary education elsewhere, must often be placed in a position below that to which their intelligence may fairly entitle them to aspire. “In furtherance of a scheme for the establishment of such an institution, we have the honor to submit the following suggestions : “1. The school should be connected with a general hospital, affording sufficient accommodation for at least one hundred (100) patients. “2, There should be a staff of at least three (3) physicians and three (3) surgeons, attached to the hospital, exclusive of specialities. “B. That lectures on the following subjects should be delivered : “Winter Sessions. “ Anatomy and demonstrations “ General anatomy and physiology “ Chemistry “ Medicine “ Surgery “ Clinical medicine and surgery. “ Summer Sessions. “ Midwifery, including diseases of women and children “ Botany “ Materia Medica “ Forensic medicine “ Practical chemistry “ Pathological anatomy “ Ophthalmic medicine and surgery “ Operative surgery “ Clinical medicine and surgery. “4. Lectures on hygiene should likewise be delivered either in connection with medicine or forensic medicine and instructions given in vaccination. “ The Christchurch Hospital already contains one hundred and twenty (120) beds ; and as already a sum of three thousand seven hundred pounds (£3700) has been devoted to erecting a new ward, the number of beds will be augmented by thirty (30), thus giving the Hospital one hundred and ‘fifty (150) beds. “ Entrance into Medical School—We recommend only three conditions of entrance into the Medical School : “ 1. That the candidate have passed the Matriculation Examination at the Canterbury College, Christ’s College, or the Arts Examination at any College recognised by the Medical Councilor New Zealand University. “ 2. That he produce a certificate of birth showing that he has attained the age of seventeen (17) years. “ 3. That he produce a certificate of good moral character. “ To show that we take the representatives of higher education in the province with us, we may add that the chairman of the Canterbury College received us with courtesy, and viewed the establishment of a school of medicine with great interest. We append the resolution passed at a meeting of the Board of Governors, held on the 13th August, 1875 , “ ‘ That the Board of Governors regard with satisfaction the establishment of a Medical School in Christchurch, and are prepared to facilitate such arrangement as may make the classes of Physiology and Chemistry suitable for medical students, and will take early steps for having the examinations of the College recognised by the General Medical Council of Great Britain. (Signed) H. B. GRESSON, Chairman. August 13th, 1875.’ “ The school of medicine and the hospital will have to be recognised by the British examining bodies and the New Zealand University. This we respectfully submit ought to be done immediately after the Government have decided on appointing the hospital staff. If the Government will permit us, we will undertake to draw up the memorial to be forwarded to England. «Botany.—To assist the Lecturer on Botany, some arrangement will have to be made with the Domain authorities, in order that the students may visit the Botanical Gardens periodically. “ Endowments—Reserve of Land.—lt will be patent to the Government that, as the school enlarges and advances, it will require an endowment of land reserved from the waste lands of the province, in order to enable it to meet the necessary expenditure, offer scholarships, and maintain its importance and independence. We venture to add the hope as in the ‘ Old Country,’ there will in time be legacies and endowments left to the school by private donors. “Transfer to Canterbury College.—The Government should bear in mind that at any time they feel disposed, or think that the Canterbury College ought to take (over the medical school, they can, by mutual consent or agreement, come to terms, and transfer the medtcal school to the Canterbury College authorities, with the proviso that any endowments of land, &c, granted to the medical school be set apart solely for that department of the College. “Anatomy Bill.—The Government will doubtless join us in viewing with pleasure the introduction by the Premier of an Anatomy Bill, thus showing that the General Government are preparing, encouraging, and facilitating the establishment of medical pohoola.

“ Operating Theatre and Dead House. — We wish respectfully to point out to the Government that an operating theatre and dead house are an immediate requisite to the Hospital, whether the medical school is established or not. The operating theatre will serve the purpose of a lecture room; and to facilitate the course of lectures and demonstrations on anatomy, and as a dissecting room, a dead house is needed. The room at present in use is quite inadequate even for the satisfactory performance of a common 'post mortem examination, the dimensions of the room being only 12 x 12. “ Management of School and Hospital.— The establishment of the school will further assist the Government in keeping the Hospital efficient. The staff, with his Honor the Superintendent and Executive, might form a Board of direction, with a registrar or secretary to give due notice of all meetings. Such a Board would enable the Government to have a watchful eye over expenditure, while the united influence of its two elements cannot but have an effect satisfactory to the general public. “ Remuneration of Lecturers and Staff— We approach this part of our report with some hesitation. But we have not the slightest hesitation in leaving the matter of remuneration in the hands of the Government, fully hoping they will bear in mind the labour and sacrifice of time involved in lecturing. We therefore respectfully submit, that the lecturers, including Professor Bickerton, if not the Hospital staff, should receive an honorarium, until such time as the fees of the students are sufficient to recompense them. “ We have now to call the attention of the Government to the fact that the first and second years there will be about five lecturers on six subjects; the third year, thirteen lecturers on thirteen subjects; the fourth year, thirteen lecturers on about sixteen subjects; the lecturer on General Anatomy and Physiology taking Opthalmic Medicine and Surgery; the lecturer on Medicine taking Hygiene; the physicians and surgeons taking Clinical Medicine and Surgery, and the public vaccinator giving instruction in vaccination.

“ The resident surgeon, we submit, will be the most suitable person to act as registrar and secretary for the present. This will involve a large amount of clerical work, and we suggest that an increase should be made to his salary. “ We would further respectfully suggest to the Government, that for the present, the honorarium given to the present staff be continued, and the fees accruing from the pupils be also given towards the remuneration of the lecturers. The Government will perceive that the expenditure will not be largely augmented, whilst the advantages will be more than doubled. They will further perceive that the increase of lecturers will be gradual. In course of years the students who shall have completed their course might take the place of the resident surgeon by becoming resident physicians and surgeons, having board and lodging without remuneration. The salary of a resident surgeon would thus be saved to the Government.

“ In conclusion, we have to thank the Government for the courteous reception given us; also for placing the sum of £3OO on the estimates as a preliminary step, and as a proof that they view the proposition with favor. In accordance with the report we have now the honor of forwarding, we venture to hope that the Government will have no difficulty in establishing this very worthy and desirable institution. We admit that during the first few years the students would probably be few, but it is needless to remark that all institutions must have a beginning. It requires, however, no further lengthened dissertation from us to show the important results that would accrue from the measures proposed, We, therefore, most respectfully urge upon the Government the necessity of deciding and establishing the school as soon as possible. Other advantages are worth enumerating, such as the prospect of young men from the Australian colonies seeking these schools to pursue their medical studies, from the climate being more congenial to their health, and the winter months more suitable for carrying on dissections, &c.; again, the benefit to the public at large by the training of nurses.

“ We bring this report to a close by stating that we are fully prepared to assist the Government by our advice at any time, and to meet them in any suggestions they may deem proper to offer. And finally, we venture to hope that the establishment of a medical school,* in itself an era in the progress of education in Canterbury, will soon be an accomplished fact. “ I have the honor to be, sir, “ Your most obedient servant, “ H. H. Prins, Chairman,” The report of the College committee was read by the chairman as follows “ The committee has had under consideration how the attendance at the lectures of the professors and lecturers could be increased, and having given due attention to communications, written and verbal, received from the professors, and after’ conferring with Dr Powell, lecturer on Biology, reports as follows That additional lecture rooms are urgently required, and that greater publicity should be given to the course of lectures. There is an additional room in the small Oddfellows’ flail, which can be obtained for £2O per annum. If this wore secured the Hall would be given up wholly to the professors, except on Monday evenings, from 7 o’clock. Dr Powell has arranged with Professor JBickerton that the lecture on Biology can be given in them. The committee recommend that this additional room be engaged. With the view of giving greater publicity a prospectus has been prepared by the professors which the committee recommend to the Board to be printed for distribution. Professor Bickerton and Dr Powell propose to give each three public lectures, in the Oddfellows’ Hall, during the term, and Professor Brown will give lectures also, if his regular class work will allow sufficient time. The committee recommends that the proposal be sanctioned by the Board.” Three tenders were received for the erection of the College buildings, and opened by the chairman.

Mr Hamilton moved, i( That the tenders, with the plans, be referred back to the building committee, to suggest modifications of the plan, so as to bring the coat within the sum at the disposal of the College; all the tenders being in excess thereof.” , , The Eev 0. Fraser seconded the motion, which was carried.

On the motion of Archdeacon Willock the Board adjourned until 3 p.m. on Friday next,