TO THE EDITOR

Opotiki News, Volume I, Issue 70, 15 August 1938, Page 3

TO THE EDITOR

RAILWAY FROM TANEATUA TO OPOTIKI

Sir,—l recently read with considerable surprise that Mr W. Sullivan, Nationalist candidate for' the Bay of Plenty is in favour of the extension from Taneatua to Opotiki. That is excellent news because whether or not he becomes the representative of the ; Bay of Plenty (and it is extremely unlikely that he will) it is good to know that his assistance will be forthcoming in any efforts which may bo made to have the work on the line expedited. Of course, we know now that Mr Sullivan’s announcement that he is in favour of constructing the line has come just a little bit too late, as it has already been arranged to proceed with its construction and my only regret is that he did not spontaneously come to the assistance; of the Opotiki Railway League, the present member for the district, and others, during the last twelve to thirteen years. During all those years lie occupied the mayoral chair in Whakatane and surely his assistance in that capacity might have been a great help. Why has lie waited until now to so urgently advocate its completion ? Is it because of his desire to woo Opotiki electors? The average elector will think so. Looking up 1935 newspapers I find that Mr Hultquist was reported as making the following statement in public on several platforms: “The Labour Party guarantees to commence the Tancatua-Opotiki railway and to ultimately complete it if returned to power. Furthermore -lie Labour Party guarantees to pay standard wages to men on the work; thus we will be creating two assets —first will be in the retained manhood of the men who will be doing useful work. The second in the railway itself. The question as to whether the railway would ultimately pay does not enter into the matter. The deciding factor is that the railway is necessary to the development of the district. We do not ask whether the Education Department pays in actual cash, we know it is paying .because it is creating assets in the shape of educated young men and women. It is a social service which must be given to the people and the railway must be looked at from che same-point of view. Mr Sullivan never came to light with his opinions then, and by liis silence and inactivity in the matter be left Opotiki to fend for itself. Now Sir, we find Mir Sullivan saying this —“Tlie- fact that the railway might not pay its way should not be considered, if the railway is to be of benefit to the primary producer.” There is no doubt that Mr Hultquist lias consistently stated Labours’ policy in the matter. Have we any guarantee that Mr Sullivan stated the National Party’s policy, or his own opinion ? We do know that the National Party and its members, whether they have posed in 1 the name of Reform, Coalition, or United have consistently opposed the construction of railways which, as they have said, ‘won’t pay axle grease,’ and in fact that they stopped nearly every line in New Zealand at some stage of its construction. Sir we do not want the Taneatua-Opotiki railway stopped under any circumstances now that it lias been started.

It would be interesting to know how Mr Sullivan would finance the construction of the line anyway. I wonder whether ho would borrow money in London for the purpose and commit us to the payment of interest on the Loan for ever. Does lie believe in the use of the public credit to carry out such works? His Party certainly doesn’t. Does he consider that decent wages should be paid for the work to be done, or would he turn it into a relief job in the event of a fall in overseas. prices. or even agree to the work being stopped, as was tlie Gis-borne-Napier line. If ho ever was so fortunate as to be elected to represent the Day, and if his answer to the above questions tab lies at all with what I am sure Mr Hultquist’s answers would be, then I am positive he would be just ‘a voice crying in the wilderness’ among the otliqr Nationalist members in the House. Methinks we’ll be playing mighty safe by sending Mr Hultquist hack to represent us. ‘VERY INTER KSTED.’ OUR LEPER EXILES Sir, —I feel it is my duty to make known to your renders the sad condition of 577 lepers isolated and 'shut

up as if in prison, oil the lonely island oi Makogai, Fiji.

' If it wore only possible for you to see’ the photographs sent me by •the • Government Medical Superintendent also to read, soiiu! of the pathetic le.ttersjj.yyiitteiil'tb'ine by the patients I ;>Vni ishre-you would then agree Nvith lijie that these poor creatures are worth A of the kindest consideration. is. within lour days sailing IroXp Auckland. It is a little off the |.|he . Fiji group and acres. -Most of rugged and mountainous a cov^'Ml witfPbush. As it was from the other :ifti%'nds, was purchased by , European Nursing ' mi; and 11 Native ; Acting Medical Superintendent, Dr \V. G. McNaughton, and Sister M. Fidelis of the Nursing New Zealanders, while several New Zealand girls have commenced their training for this noble work. ~ King and Queen’s Interest: ThenMajesties King George and Queen Elizabeth are much interested in the great work being done by the Nursing Sisters and last year Mother Agnes, dhe Sister in. Charge, was honoured with tlie Order of the British Empire. When the decoration was received it was found that, contrary

to the usual practice, the Order had been signed by the Queen as well as by the King.

Admissions, Deaths and Discharges; 1936, 60 admissions, 54 deaths, 26 discharges, 555 total patients in hospital. 1837, SO, 27, 31, 577. 363 of the patients are men, 163 women, 16 girls and 35 boys. In addition to the above, 24 patients from one of our dependencies, the Cook Islands, are awaiting transfer to Makogai. New Zealand and its dependencies have now well over 100 patients at this station.

Treatment: The treatment used today is based on derivatives of Cliaulmoogra Oil and is beneficial in nearly "all stages of leprosy. This oil has a most disagreeable taste. It is squirted into the mouth of the patients twice daily with a syringe and it is also deeply injected into the muscles once a week. A great deal of research is being carried on throughout the world and it is interesting to note that the most successful formula used at Molokai, -Hawaii, is the work of a. young negro chemist, Miss Alice Ball. The number of patients (31 last year) now being brought to a stage where they can be discharged is the best argument as to the value of this treatment. . Nationalities and Villages: The nationalities consist of Europeans, Half Castes, a Miaori, Samoans, Fijians, Toiigaus, Rotumau.s, Solomon Islanders, Chinese, Indians, Niue, Cook and Gilbert Islanders. The settlement is umleg:the control of, the British Co-

lonial Government of Fiji. Each nationality has its separate village along the sea coast. , ■ .

Daily Visits: Every morning lour sisters leave the compound on horse-: back to go to the dispensary in each, village there to receive the patients and dress their wounds. Well over; 90,000 dressings are carried out each year • and it is necessary for some of the sisters to change their clothes as many as :12 times in one day. ,

Advanced Cases: Most pitiablesights are witnessed- in the hospitals. Men, women and children have their faces tumefied ; their noses and lips are swollen and seem to weigh _ on their faces; their ears are excessively enlarged and sometimes touch their shoulders. Others, on the contrary, are minus ears, noses, hands and feet. Death conies up , little by little from the extremities to the centre of life. it sometimes happens -that these poor souls burn themselves without knowing it. They fall asleep near a fire and a hand or foot burns without waking them. Leper Mothers: Among the patients arriving at Makogai there are sometimes women who are about to become mothers. As soon a,s the children are born they are taken a way from their mothers and brought to the compound where one of the sisters takes care of them. Children horn of leper parents, if they are taken away from their mothers at birth, are iree iroumtho disease. There have been about a dozen such little ones horn, at Miakogai'. About once a month tiie mothers come to the gate of the Sisters’ quarters to see their.little ones. It is truly pathetic to sec these poor women just about devouring their children with their eyes and not able to take them into their arms and caress them.

Child Patients: One of the most pitiable sights at Makogai is to see the leper children who have been taken away from their families, from father and mother, sisters and brothers to live among strangers. Quite often we find the disease attacking the children through the.,,., mucous membrane of the nose, cavities, and the larynx. They -then have the voice and the features of old men and women. There was an Indian family on the island, every one of whom was a leper.

Happiness Aliclst Pain: Everything is not always sad and gloomy,,. The patients are encouraged in sports and games; the wonien make their own

dresses and do beautiful embroidery work ; tiie men anil boys are fond of model yacht racing and fishing. Through the kindness of New Zealand friends an endeavour is always made

at Christmas arid New Year to celebrate the joyous, season in order to show them what Christianity really means. Otherwise this festive season would be just one more painful week for them. .. * t Great Value of our Gifts; Or. C. j. Austin, the Medical Superintendent, lays great stress on the value of our gilts and says it is to the credit of New Zealand that many a patient has been helped back to complete recovery. He says: “If you could only see the good that is done by our gifts you rvould, I am sure, feel fully, rewarded.” Please help us to continue this work. T 0 many of us, it is not a very great sacrifice to give some small gift for the lepers, but this little act of love means a great deal to a poor suffering soul. He now knows that others are thinking of Ixim; this gives him new hope and drives away despair. God only knows that these poor afflicted people need our sympathy and help.' Letter from Makpgai : A young married woman of 28 years, writing to me, says: “Oh! this dead Island and these terrible injection's. lam separated from my husband and two children and life is so hard for me. Our lives would be almost unbearable without your help. Please don’t forget us. We watch for the steamer each Christmas.” Dear reader, can you or 1. turn a deaf ear to such an appeal ? Blind Man from New Zealand; Many of tiic patients are totally blind. The. blind man “Will” from Quail Island, Lyttelton, has passed peacefully away since my last appeal. He sent a request to me to continue to help Makogai after lie had gone. I feel almost forced' by such appeals to carry on this begging for the lepers. Appear for Help; My sincere hope is that my words may penetrate to the far corners of this fair land of ours, to bring to every heart some realisation of the distress of our friends. No material reward can ever repay these noble nursing sisters for their heroic self-sacrifice—this is their offering to Our Lord and Master. They have given, their all to help Christ’s afflicted ones, but from you i beg for the “cup of cold water in His name.” When the steamer arrives at Christmas time from New Zealand may your little gift be abroad to cheer some lonely soul. May God, our Common Father, bless you and yours lor your help. Gifts for Christmas may be sent to me, care of the < Christchurch Gas Company’s Office, Worcester Street, Christchurch, and will be acknowledged by personal letter. We should be pleased it; all donors would kindly send

• ■ at least their address (and if possible the names that jve may let them know their have arrived safely. From time' to time we hope , to publish in the newspapers the total amount of cash received. Dr T. Fletcher Telford, M.D., J.P., is associated with me in this appeal as joint trustee for the lepers. Donations of money will he most useful and no gift is too small, tor the need is great. The Postmaster-Gen-eral lias kindly reduced charges to half rates on all parcels addressed? to me for the lepers. With deep gratitude for the very encouraging help given to these appeals, and trusting again to your generosity, I remain, Dear Reader, Yours sincerely, P. J. TWOMKY, Hon. Collector.

PS. List of Most Suitable Gifts: Musical instruments, bats, tennis rackets, etc.; silks, light materials, embroidery cottons, etc. ■ sweets, soap, cigarettes and tobacco.