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Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXX, Issue 5484, 7 October 1929, Page 2

Hospital authorities are complaining that there is a distinct shortage of doctors, particularly house surgeons. This medical defect does not appear to be peculiar to New Zealand alone. The whole world is running short of doctors, or, rather, populations are increasing faster than doctors are being' turned out from the numerous medical schools. With a total population of very nearly one and a half millions and a total of just over a thousand doctors, we have in this country a proportion of one doctor to every 1500 persons. In the United States the proportion works out at one in 772 ; in France, one in 2824 ; in Great Britain, one in 1401 ; and in Australia one in 2020. Clearly we have not much to complain about, but the fact remains that in the United States, where the proportion is unduly high, something like one quarter of the total births occur without the attendance of a physician. A number of counterfeit florins have been in circulation in Christchurch recently, and several shopkeepers have been defrauded. In one establishment two coins were passed over the counter and accepted in the same day. The bad coins were not detected until the money was taken to the bank. Persons having a counterfeit coin in their possession are liable to a year’s imprisonment if, knowing it to be counterfeit, they attempt to uttei’ it. The penalty for the possession of three such coins is three years’ imprisonment with hard labour. The onus is on the possessor to show that he has no guilty knowledge. In the House of Representatives Mr J. O’Brien, reporting on behalf of the Privilege Committee, which heard the complaint of Mr A. M. Samuel, stated that it had decided that in its opinion the words complained of did not constitute a breach of privilege, inasmuch h's the Hon. H. Atmore’s words had been used in a jocular sense. Mr J. G. Coates said he desired to assure the House and his colleague Mr Samuel that the committee had completely satisfied itself that the words had, as the resolution stated, been used in a jocular sense.