The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1883.

Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4649, 28 November 1883, Page 2

The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1883.

A special meeting of the Hospital Committee will be held this evening for the purpose of considering and adopting certain rules for the management of that institution. - Amongst - the rules to be considered are three for regulating, 1, the election of surgeon ; 2, the mode of electing the committee : and 3, the con • stitution of the committee. We have on a former occasion expressed ourselves as to the desirableness of the Hospital being managed by a resident surgeon, and have nothing further to add to what we have already written on the subject, but should our opinion not be concurred in by a majority of the committee, and should it be deemed that the present system of the medical office being held by a practising surgeon is a desirable one, it wi'l be - necessary in the interests of fair play and justice, and the welN being of the institution, that if a rule be made in connection with the question, it be not in confirmation of a resolution making the present holders of offices in the gift of the committee permanently appointed, without calling for applications for those offices, consulting the subscribers, or endeavoring to.have any number of fit persons to make a selection from. This proceeding, as we pointed out at the time it was being canvassed, was most improper* and injurious to the best interests 9f the Hospital. If the Committee »r«

sincere in their expressed desire to do away with any chance of a repetition of the very discreditable occurrences at the last an Dual meeting, they can easily carry out their views without perpetrating the most gross jobbery. Let them first of all make their rule that the officers shall, after the next appointment, be made permanencies, then vacancies will have to exist before the permanent appointments can be made ; if the officers do not resign, the new acd. permanent officers cannot be selected until after the expiration of the term of office for which the present holders were elected; should they resign, then applications for the various vacancies should be. called, so that the best men may be selected for the office. Such a straightforward and regular method of doing business would remove the impressions engendered by—since their election—the actions of the Committee in connection with these appointments. Regarding the mode of electing a committee, the present system is a most objectionable one for several reasons. In the first place the system should not be by a show of hands, as that not only trammels independent action on the part of subscribers who would conscientiously vote by ballot, but who from interested motives, coercion, or from a variety of other causes, vote by " holding up the right hand," as any one of those reasons dictates. In all elections at the present day—that is to say, all of any importance in connection with representative bodies — such things are done by ballot, which affords legitimate representation without fear of interested persons biassing their friends; therefore a rule to this effect should be included in those about to be adopted. The third innovation we would advocate is a reduction in the number of the committee. It seems unnecessary that so many should be elected to discharge the duties required of the governing body of the institution. About half the number would efficiently and more expeditiously do the business required of this committee. It would appear strange that a body consisting of ten members can manage the affairs of the Borough, and for the carrying out of the business of the very large district over which the County rules, a council of only nine members is elected ; while at present for the Hospital no less than a committee of twenty is deemed requisite f the result is very frequently, a babeUlike confusion at its meetings, and a grmt waste of time in the transaction of business. We will conclude by expressing the hope that measures will be taken this evening in the direction of the desirable reforms we refer to, and that the committee wilLearn for itself the reputation of having a desire to do their best for the government of the institution they have been elected to manage.