THE HOSPITAL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 108, 21 March 1862, Page 6

THE HOSPITAL.

To the Editor of the Otago Daily Times. Sir, —The public must, I am sure, feel indebted to you fVr the details, however painful they are, contained in your Journal of Tuesday, relative to this institutions.- Publicity of this kind will without doubt, soon, it is to be hoped, cause such an inhuman system of treatment of the unfortunate sick to be abandoned ; for, to use the mildest terms, it is utterly disgraceful and unwarrantable, and such as would not have been tolerated in the worst regulated Hospital in Europe ■ half a century ago. Manacles for the insane are, happily, things of the past. " Experience has long gone to prove that lunatics for their own safety, or that of others, need not be put in irons : but to have it stated in a public newspaper—a British Colonial newspaper— in this advanced era of civilization, that a fellow creature suffering from the effects of an accident " was lying on a stretcher, having each wrist handcuffed to the sides of his bed, his face besmeared with coagulated blood, and a tliin piece of cambric thrown over it to keep off the flies," is enough to arouse the most indifferent, ev;n in our busy moneyseeking community, to see that such cruelty be no more perpetrated in an institution supported out of the public revenue, and that those who may be obliged to seek relief in the Hospital shall be cared for and treated at least with ordinary humanity. To suppose for a moment that Dr. Hulme was cognisant of this horrifying treatment of the wretched and helpless,-is utterly impossible : but the fact—appalling as it is— remains to be explained, if that be possible. With. Government rests the responsibility, seeing that' ample means are at command, in this painful matter; and it is incumbent on them to see that the destitute sick, (stranger—it may be), be treated asa human being ; and that in such respect the contrast may not be favorable to the half-civilized Maori, or even the debased aborigines of Australia. , HUMANITAS. March 18, 1862." '

To the Editor of the Otago Dailt Times. Sir, —A large number of persons are desirous of having their names registered so as to enable them to vote at the coming election, but are unable to get their forms attested by a qualified person, as there is a doubt in their minds as to the; qualification of the storekeepers. Please to state whether the storekeepers are qualified'or not, and you will oblige many besides your obedient servant, Franchise. Wetherston's Gully, March 17, 1862. , [It is requisite that the signature of the" claimant be witnessed by a "freeholder" or "householder" of the_ colony. We see no reason why the resident proprietor of a store on . the diggings, or elsewhere, should not be considered a " householder.: —Ed. D.T.]