TIMARU HOSPITAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1994, 14 January 1890, Page 2

TIMARU HOSPITAL.

on board any of Af, ,• * > Y ,sltors war mav nirt . AI "3eaty' 3 ships ef unravelling the ,u EtDal!est !ine - and colored thread ?„ n h - y WJ ? I discover & ' centre, andl . »nd strands whinh the ? arns Government property <L;if at U,S »• al-o ißarked" Sbly th 8 ?n rß 'h arrow. J QBr _„ '- { w * tn the broad

V'.i 19). So collectively there is moiling through the Church, made up of its many members, a golden thread which marks it as belonging to the King of Kings, J h ._„ mean the distinguishing mark of loving sympathy. "By this shall all men kn»w <nat ye are My disciples, if ye have iova one to another."—(John iiii., 35). Bound together by cammwn hopes and fears, common joys and Borrows, common sicknee* ond suffering, we have used for (he largest sympathy and the deepest tenderness one towards anothsr. It is strange that in nineteen centuries the graphic lesson so vividly taught by Him Who "came not to be ministered unto but to minister," is still but very imperfectly learned. Only the other day we read of Chief Justice Taillefoid in Cm charge to the jury, saying, " The greatest ev°il of the present age is the want of sympathy and brotherhood," a sentence rendered the mora remarkable as it proved to bo a dying utterance, Daily contact with crime aud suffering iu its kaliedoscopic forms probably convinced him (bat selfishness was the roal cause cf the breakiog of laws—human and Divine. God's earliest laws for man were written on tables of Btone, but now on the flashy tables of men's hearts, and (hey ceeed to be reprinted lest they fade. " Lord have mercy upon us and write all these Thy lawß in our heaite, we beseech Thee." The Ten Commandments originally given to the Israelites were not harsh injuuctiocp, but mercifully designed to produce nojin's welfare and happimes, demanding love to God, and as a ecquence love to all mankind because created in the iu;age of God. "How readest thou?" The first tab'e demands 'your heart, (2) thoughts, (3) words, (4)"*deed6 to be consecrated to God in the spirit of love, for - "love is the fulfilling of the law."— xiii., B—lo. To lovo God will be the best for yourself arid all the world. The second ruble is ulso the friend of humanity, shielding the poor, the weak, j and the defenceless—" Thou shalt not " injure thy neighbor in life or property or character. Back, selfish and unloving man ! Hands off, thou tyrant and txtortioDer ! Do hurra to none ! Do good to all. Christ came to fix these laws in our beartß by an epiphany of power, »nd wisdom, and goodness, manifesting in Himself the boundless mercy and holiness and lovo of the unseen Framer of tin S 3 righteous laws. He came in the age of the earth's manhood " not to destroy the law, but to fulfil," ihat is, to expand and " fill up fuller." He (the Incarnate Love) lived a life of ulter unselfishness and perfect obedience, "leaving us an ensample that we should follow His steps." Here was the grand life which gave to fill men the idea of trun life, a life Bpent in "doing good," living for the sick, the sorrowing, the suffering, and the sinning, and finally climbing the hill of Calvary to die for humanity, drawing the hearts of men after Him by the attraction of this wonderful love—-mpart-ing n new impulse to men, a new motive for deepening God's will and commandments; stimulating us by the example of the good Samaritan pouriog the oil and wine of sympathy and love into wounded humanity, to "go and do likewise." United Chiistendom has done, and is doing, thif. To Christianity we owe wonderful organisations and. splendid institutions for the aged, the poor, and the sick. Asylums, b almshouses, refuges, hospitals, have sprang r&p in countless numbers for the relief of suffering humanity. In this new country we are apt to forget the Christian principle wh"ch Bhouid underlie the erection . of such buildings, and establish them an economic view, as mere expedients saving life, when in reality they are ■tm- outcome of the Christian faith : that man's life is precious in the sight of God. An unfortunate creature is run over in the streets of a crowded city ; instantly the city—not this pitying man or that, but the pitying city—fetoops and gathers him up tenderly and carries him to the hospital which it has built. It lays him on the bed which it has spread for him ; it summonses the best skill to set the broken bone or soothe the fever ; it watches by his sleep, feeds him with dainties, finds out the potent medicines, cares for him tenderly until he goes out stroog, or until the weary frame finds rest in death, and the Almighty Father takes the sufferer wher* "God Himself shall wipe nwiiy all tears from their eye 6," and where there shall be «' no more pain." Is there no Christ in all this? Is not this Christian charity ? Does not the love of Chris* constrain all this devotion and seif-&M;nfice t Perfunctory and heartless troatinecit ofieu characterises the adiiiinistraiion of the public charity, and the spirit wlreb gave birth to it is often disowned, but the fact remains that these iusiituiions are supported by the people because of the Christiio love which pervades society. Tho closing of the doors of our own special institution, notably one of the bast in the southern Lemiepherc, to two pbtiei;'*, under veiy peculiar circumstances, naturally prompts the enquiry of the Press as to the reason. It seems only natural thut if an hospii&l i* specially fitted up at the pnbl c cos! with etc., for the use of oil who '•need it, it seems only reasouabie that com* should be turned a* ay v> ho seek the shelter of i!s walla; and yet stringers, coming from a distance, c.fter the ffttigu<> and excruciating agony of a long journey in the middle of summer, are told to «-j elsewhere. Are our poor to bo tbur turned away tu die like dogs in the street 1 The rich possibly may have all the ai.; which money pan procure brought to their own doors, but when the poor hiye expended their hard-earned savings, aod their sick lack comfort .nd aid, whereshall they seen it but at the doors of that institution, which Christian chari'y has provided ? In the cases under our notice

certain iieks attended tbo reception of these patients, from the infectious or contßgioiiß nature of their complaints, risks which every clergyman, doctor, and nurss is careful about, for fe»r of conveying disease to others ; but why should the fcofcsp' l "' apthojiiies refuse to accept a risk jvbich is rim by those already in attendance ? At such an institution, if anywhare, the patient (should haye tbe best cha'nce in the struggle for life, the advanof tbe highest tki'l, the bast attendance, the needful medical comfqrts, and the j >=hf and ventilation unattainable in private dwel'ing?. it appears to ua that the gyßteui and its rules are nt fault. Blnme J cannot bo attached to the authorities wbo administer the laws, which the voice of the people must alter. What is reqniied j g this : Special accommodation must be provided to meet tbe esigeuciea of these specif casta ; resident doctors «nd nurs-s, , [specially appointed aod well paid (*o that' no private practice may| suffer) ; cost the country what it may, »o that the ohErgo of<

inhniiiai.it.** be not laid atom 1 doors. I must riot be inhunder-r ood as attaching blame to buy p'-renn. I know one of the dootor.l, and was present when he assisted at a ve.Ty grave operation conducted Ui:de. the mr-nfc trying circunutsree* bj oua of your own doctors red personally I can testify to the sympathy and kirdnens exhibited by him. The in teres*; shown by the people in the matter show that Christianity is not rffete. Tho publio conscience is ■"• roused, and wa owe a debt of gratitude to the editor of our paper for his promptneir: iu cal'ing attention to a matter ooucerrung the welfare of the people. In the Press wo have a power *shioh has ndrkd more force to man's intellect than the telefocpe to the eye, or the lev'-r to his arm. Even before the days of printing the pan was ft mighty fosco, Tho psreecuted scholar William of Ockham cculd say to the Emp9ror: "Tu me def?nde gladio; ego te defendam calacno." ('Defend me with the e*ffoid and I will defend you with the pen.") Many are tho victories thus won by moral suasion. Over fifty years ago a brave American reformer tried to convince twenty millions of his fellow-countrymen of the sinfulness and shara-'fulaes? of alavory, He etocd utterly alone—disowned, persecuted, preached against, starving on bread and water. In 1835 Williom Lloyd Garripou started a powspspe? to plead the God-given principles of emancipation, and ended, after 35 years of unrelenting labor, without g farthing. But in 1865 he took the hand of the nation, and wrote the statute which made it law. How waa the victory won ? In a mean garret of a poor hcues, by a man whoum bed was on the office floor—whose: only helper •was a negro b.;y. Won betuu*;?. the tight of Heaven which streamed thioujjb the dingy panes fell on the printing press. VusL its the powrr exerted by the Press in the oause of freedom, of truth, and righteousness. D&an Stanley has beautifully euid, "L»fc ua pray for a blemng on the labors cf countless myriads of workers (standing hehi-id lhe mountains of type, fthoße busy fiagers and close'attentive eyrs apply themselves to labors on behalf of the people's good, sending forth the light of knowledge in countless rays to ev*ry corner of our streets and houses." The Press has the first opportunity of calling attention to a great need. Let the Pulpit press it home upon the conscience of the people by calling out you* loyinpr sympathy, by exerting heart, hand, and voice in making alterations where needed in a system which is prsctioally ruled by the voice of the people. I am thankful personally to have had years of experience amongs*; you of Ohriitlike deeds do.'>e in the name of Christ in alleviating the sufferings and woes of your fellowmen. Verily " not even & oup of oold water " shall go unrewarded, for, " inasmuch as ye did it to the least of these My brethren ye did it to Me." May the great judgment day find that the law of sympathy bets ruled your livec, and that you may, with rapture, hear the gracious words " Come, ye blessed ohildren of My inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of tho world."