Lyell Times. SATURDAY, JANUARY 16, 1886.

Lyell Times and Central Buller Gazette, Volume VI, Issue 256, 16 January 1886, Page 2

Lyell Times. SATURDAY, JANUARY 16, 1886.

The matter of having a gentleman of the medical profession resident in this district, together with the question of providing some means of securing a suitable building as an Hospital, and otherwise organising a proper system of general maintenance, have, very naturally, now that the " Hospitals and Charitable Institutions Act, 1885," is in force, attracted a good deal of interest and attention locally here of late, and, we might also add, no more than the vital and pressing importance of the whole topic deserves, concerning in a direct sense, as it undoubtedly does, the life, being, and safety from harm and suffering, of, it may be, a large section of the community. The difficulty which has so long existed in the way of obtaining medical aid, together with the absence of a dispensary, or even the most primitive means of.affording temporary relief— especially for accident cases, to which a mining district is so peculiarly liable, has been long felt, and it is thought that under the provisions of the Act referred to, and with the unanimous co-operation of all who should have a little feeling in the matter, that something tangible might eome of a public movement such as that now in course here, and to which we in another column refer. There are, perhaps, various reasons as to how it is Lyell is so unprovided for in the matter of possessing its resident doctor like any other settled district. In instances, those who came here, did not suit; but the chief cause, we think, as to why it is Lyell has been so long shunned by medicos, is that the place is looked upon as a sort, of Siberia—a rather unat tractive place, and members of that profession are said to appreciate ordinary comfort, and the social surroundings and adjuncts which the average town possesses, just as much as the members of any other. Again, the matter may be viewed by some in a more mercenary light, and, on this head, we would not be so bold as to say that the practice ot itself, in Lyell district, is enough to tempt anyone from a larger and more prosperous district. However, we must certainly say, that for a gentleman of moderate ambition, and one capable of making himself at home in a place which may have a few disadvantages, and perhaps lacks some of the conveniences and facilities such as the profession is used to have at its hand, in a professional sense, Lyell with the settled population which it has at present, does not hold out such a very bad prospect. The addition of a wellregulated Hospital ward, such as that for whieh the residents are now striving would, in a great measure, lessen some of the difficulties hinted at; whilst an organised system of maintenance, and an intelligent conception of the duty cast upon every individual, as an unit of the sustaining body, would remove lots of obstacles ; and chief amongst them, the old excuse that " the place cannot support a doctor." The matter only wants unanimity, and a little action as though people meant being honest to their convictions for on<?e. Apathy plays a big part in more than one direction here, and, we might add, in none with a likely worse result than in the matter no'v under notice. Elsewhere, we publish a brief report of a meeting lately held, and at which the preliminary steps to further action were initiated.