FATHER GRUNDY

NZ Truth, Issue 1202, 13 December 1928, Page 6

FATHER GRUNDY

Who Took Nitrse Blackie's Note To Dp Maguire?

l^iiiiitiiiuiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifiiiiitiiiiuiiiiuniiiiiitiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii'itiiiuiii^ I There is sound reason jor Relieving that, but for the pub- | I licity which the treatment of I [urse Blackie, who was dismiss- 1 j ed from, the Auckland hospitE|L and reinstated, justice might 1 | not have been done. Consideijing the matter m retrospect, it I | looks as though the severe pijujiishment inflicted' upon her was 1 | not so much due to her failui)^ to observe the hospital regula- § | tions, as the offence she gave^Hhe matron's self-esteem. To I j have suggested that the matr-im was soft would seem to be a | | more serious offence than to sa|y that she was hard or ■" tough." 1

r<iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiuiiimiiiiiiiiiimmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimir| TJOWEVBR,, the nurse has been re 11 instated, and though,' on the face o ; things, the board will probably take the credit for her vindication tc themselves, they have,, as a mattei of fact, very little right to any con-f gratulation. . Had they not relegated their powei Js to a committee of three — the chairmai: L Dr. Maguire and Matron Taylor— in th<* first place, there might never have beeijf all the upheaval' there, was. ...'■'' There is an aspect of- the case, how* ever, which should be very thoroughl:| investigated, and that is how the let I ter got into the hands of Dr. Magulrc(, the hospital superintendent. ' . • The mere fact that Nurse Blackie' 8 letter was taken out of the gaol pre-i cincts and shown to anyone at all, m j dicated that someone who had th> jhandling of the prisoners' mail com r mitted an unpardonable breach .05 trust, and exceeded his duty. . ? The busybody who obtained possession of that letter and carried it ; to Dr. Maguire, deserves to be ;' treated with the utmost contempt. The whole matter was outside hifc jurisdiction and even if he had bee^ shown thfe letter by some prison official, who was himself guilty of a breach en! confidence, he . exceeded his duty in* conveying the knowledge to anotlitjri party no matter who that might be. •'■'■ Insofar as that prison official is co'ftcerned, it is enough to say that thq j-e are some men who are ever ready to g-o beyond the bounds of their duty to curry favor with those who may tt some time be useful to them. . ;!.' No good can be done now by giving the public the names of those; two persons, for the outcome of the'j whole case has been satisfactory, f but those who were guilty of this!" breach of confidence should know? % - ' '.

iimmmiiiiimiiimmiiiiittiiimmmiimmmiiiiiimiiiiim ntiiiiiiiinttiiif?. that "Truth" could give their names. There was some talk, at a recent meeting of the board, of an inquiry being: made as to how the contents of the letter came to be divulged, but this paper thinks that this talk is all moonehlne. For various reasons It is very improbable that anything: fresh will be disclosed. One thing this cane has don© -which may have far-reaching- results, and that is that m future it is very unlikely that the board will leave such matters to .the sole discretion of an autocratic and select committee, empowered to deal with any misdemeanor without' giving- a hearing, or without being able' to display evidence, m support of a charge. In Baying that he would like to Know the real reason for Nurse Blackle's dismissal, Harbutt probably gave voice to a pardonable: curiosity which, is shared by a considerable majority of the general public Nothing is easier than for those who have never served under rules and regulations to sit In judgment on thOße who do, and it is an irrefutable fact that the conditions under which nurses work, their poor pay; and long hours merit a far greater appreciation than haa so far been their lot. . Chairman Wallace, it m list bo noted, did not make good, his statement of the previous meeting thatj "There are other things which' hav© not been let out to the press," m regard to Nurse Blackie. Bearing that very significant Infer* enoe m mind, and alt it left to the imagination at the time, it somewhat belies his remark towards the eonclu* sion of the meeting- which re-instated her when he : said he was not prejudiced against the nurse.