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460. The Chairman.] Has that subsidy been promised?—l think it was some time ago. I may say that it was virtually promised at all events, though I do not know what is its position now. 461. Is it a special promise affecting this Hospital only, or is it a subsidy that is paid according to a general rule ?—Yes. There was supposed to be some difficulty in the Trustees accepting it, because the money was to be given for a special purpose, and we made inquiries whether that objection would hold, and we received reliable information that it would not hold, and that the Government subsidy would be given even though the money were given for the special purpose of building a ward. 462. Are there any other funds that you are aware of that would be available for building a hospital beyond this £1,270 and the Government subsidy of twenty-four shillings in the pound ?— Yes, there is the nurses' home fund, which has been accepted by the Trustees for the purpose of building a nurses' home. 463. How was that money got ? —lt was collected by voluntary subscription. 464. Got by whom?—By Mr. Henry Houghton and Mr. George Gray Eussell. 465. How much is it, do you know?—l think it is about the same as the other fund. 466. That is, about £1,270 then ?—I think so. 467. Are there any further moneys available ?—I believe there is a sum of £5,000 —a bequest that has been lately given to the Hospital under peculiar conditions—namely, providing extra comfort for the patients. I think that this money might by a special Act of Parliament be devoted to the purpose of building a new hospital. By-the-by, that £5,000 does not insure a Government subsidy on the whole of it. I think the Government only give £500 on any bequest. 468. Would the nurses' home fund carry the Government subsidy?—l should think so. Yes. I am pretty certain it will. Mr. Chapman : I may say that that £5,000 is not available under the terms of the will for this purpose. 469. The Chairman.] That is a total, without assuming that the nurses' home fund would get the Government subsidy, of about £9,000 ?—Yes. 470. And if the nurses' home fund got the subsidy it would add £1,630? —I am not quite sure about getting the subsidy for the nurses' home fund, but at any rate it was promised to us. 471. If you got a subsidy for the nurses' home that would make fully £10,000 available for a new hospital, would it not?— Yes. Mr. Chapman: But that cannot be assumed, because that would necessitate The Chairman : I am only taking the figures as stated by Dr. Batchelor. Mr. Chapman : But that would necessitate getting an Act of Parliament to totally alter the terms of the will. Ido not know whether Parliament would consider itself justified in passing such an Act. I know that in England it would be extremely difficult, but we are a little more accommodating in this country, and. reasonably so, because it is very often found necessary to make changes of the kind in a trust. So long as Parliament consents to it being done it cannot reasonably be objected to, but as a matter of fact it is very difficult to get such things done. The Chairman : All I have put down is the sums mentioned by the witness. It is more convenient to total them up now, but the evidence itself will show that the whole of the money is not available. 472. Mr. Solomon.] Of course this is merely by the way, but it may be useful to you gentlemen if you wish to make any suggestions. [To witness] : There is one question which I asked you yesterday which was left rather uncompleted : it had reference to the results of a number of cases that you performed in private and in the Hospital, having regard to the question of septic poisoning. I will take now the whole period of your connection with the Hospital, extending over the past twelve years, I think, and ask you how many abdominal operations you have performed in your private practice in Dunedin?—l have performed thirty-seven such operations in my private practice. 473. Have you had any deaths from septic poisoning in your private practice ?—I never had. 474. Out of these thirty-seven operations have you had one death from septic poisoning?—l have not, nor with septic symptoms. I have had deaths, but not from that cause. I should like to mention one death—l do not wish any reflections to be made when this case is cited by-and-by— which resulted from peritonitis. I suppose it was from septic poisoning in a way, but there is a very good reason for accounting for the death. The operation was an exceedingly severe one, and at the time I undertook it I was under the impression that it was a cancer growing in the fallopian tube, and that this growth formed a very intimate connection with the part and the surrounding peritoneum. It was a very difficult thing indeed to separate it, and in separating it I unfortunately injured the ureter. An extravasation of urine occurred in consequence into the peritoneal cavity and gave rise to peritonitis. You may call it septic peritonitis, but in my opinion septic poisoning had certainly nothing whatever to do with it. The injury to the ureter was the cause of what occurred. 475. You swear that in all your operations in Dunedin, extending over a period of twelve years, you have never met in your private practice with any abdominal operations but those you have just referred to, and that you had only one death from septic poisoning?—l swear that I never had one death from septic poisoning. I have accurate records of all these cases in my books. 476. Now we will take your Hospital practice. How many operations have you performed there ?—Fifty-six. I may have more, but I should like to have time to look up all my records. 477. Out of those, how many deaths arose from septicaemia?—l would not be quite sure, but I will answer your question in J;his way: I know of one death from pure septictemia. It was that of S— - M . This had been a severe case of septic peritonitis. This case I did not report at the time. It was a severe operation. I thought it quite likely to be, but I did not bring it forward, because I was not thoroughly convinced that it was due to the unhealthy condition of the Hospital,