1658 Commission and of the Ambulance Committee, and in the Children Act which came into force at the begin- ning of last April, is towards increasing medical responsibility for the health of what we know as the "masses." In that responsibility the hospitals will have to bear their share, probably rather more than their fair share, and the Metropolitan Hospital Sunday Fund presses its demand that they should be enabled to bear the burden. None will grudge the gift who think of the suffering children of London. In TABLE IV.-DISPENSARIES. health, their lot is not to be envied. In illness, or when accident befalls them, the hospital opens its doors to them as a haven in which they can find relief, and more than that can forget for a while the crowded street, their playground, and the reeking room, their only home. If all to whom the opportunity occurs to contribute to the Hospital Sunday Fund could only visit one or two hospital wards filled with children for half an hour before the plate or bag came before them, the resources of the Fund would be hugely raised. Another reason for a Liberal Contribution. Yet another reason may be added for the need for special effort in 1909 in order to keep the annual collection of the Metropolian Hospital Sunday Fund at its usual high level. We are at peace with the world. It is now several years since the country had to bear the stress of the South African war and its accompanying expenditure of the national resources. Nevertheless, the recent years of peace which we have enjoyed have not been markedly years of prosperity or of "good trade." Liabilities affecting the nation must be met by those having charge of its finances, and methods of taxation necessary in the eyes of a Chancellor of the Exchequer do not always secure the cheerful acquiescence of those upon whom the burden is cast. It is often threatened by those who consider that they have been hardly treated by the imposition of fresh or increased taxes that their economies occasioned thereby must take in the first place the shape of TABLE V.-NURSING ASSOCIATIONS. diminished contributions to charity. We hope that as a matter of fact so ignoble a threat is but rarely carried out, and that such diminution of almsgiving does not take place save only when necessity abso- lutely compels it. We hope also that in all such cases gifts, to the hospitals of London are the last to be withdrawn. Sometimes, however, charitable gifts must cease to flow from their accustomed sources for various reasons, and then the charity must put up . with the loss unless otherswill come forward and make it good. We call upon all, therefore, in the current year to see that neither bad trade nor the course of taxation shall affect to its loss the Metropolitan Hospital Sunday Fund. Whatever the condition of England’s commerce may be, the hospitals of London must carry on their business unflinchingly. Their commerce is one that brings them no profit in a financial sense, but they appeal to all to prevent them from carrying it on at a loss. They endeavour to frame their estimates for the financial year with
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1658
Commission and of the Ambulance Committee, and inthe Children Act which came into force at the begin-ning of last April, is towards increasing medicalresponsibility for the health of what we know asthe "masses." In that responsibility the hospitalswill have to bear their share, probably rather morethan their fair share, and the Metropolitan HospitalSunday Fund presses its demand that they should beenabled to bear the burden. None will grudge the giftwho think of the suffering children of London. In
TABLE IV.-DISPENSARIES.
health, their lot is not to be envied. In illness, or whenaccident befalls them, the hospital opens its doors tothem as a haven in which they can find relief, andmore than that can forget for a while the crowdedstreet, their playground, and the reeking room, theironly home. If all to whom the opportunity occursto contribute to the Hospital Sunday Fund couldonly visit one or two hospital wards filled withchildren for half an hour before the plate or bagcame before them, the resources of the Fund wouldbe hugely raised.
Another reason for a Liberal Contribution.
Yet another reason may be added for the need for
special effort in 1909 in order to keep the annualcollection of the Metropolian Hospital SundayFund at its usual high level. We are at peace withthe world. It is now several years since the countryhad to bear the stress of the South African warand its accompanying expenditure of the nationalresources. Nevertheless, the recent years of peacewhich we have enjoyed have not been markedlyyears of prosperity or of "good trade." Liabilitiesaffecting the nation must be met by those havingcharge of its finances, and methods of taxationnecessary in the eyes of a Chancellor of the Exchequerdo not always secure the cheerful acquiescence ofthose upon whom the burden is cast. It is oftenthreatened by those who consider that they havebeen hardly treated by the imposition of fresh orincreased taxes that their economies occasionedthereby must take in the first place the shape of
TABLE V.-NURSING ASSOCIATIONS.
diminished contributions to charity. We hope thatas a matter of fact so ignoble a threat is but rarelycarried out, and that such diminution of almsgivingdoes not take place save only when necessity abso-lutely compels it. We hope also that in all such casesgifts, to the hospitals of London are the last to bewithdrawn. Sometimes, however, charitable giftsmust cease to flow from their accustomed sourcesfor various reasons, and then the charity must put up .with the loss unless otherswill come forward and makeit good. We call upon all, therefore, in the currentyear to see that neither bad trade nor the courseof taxation shall affect to its loss the MetropolitanHospital Sunday Fund. Whatever the conditionof England’s commerce may be, the hospitals ofLondon must carry on their business unflinchingly.Their commerce is one that brings them no profit ina financial sense, but they appeal to all to preventthem from carrying it on at a loss. They endeavourto frame their estimates for the financial year with
1659
.all the care and skill that they can command.(Experience has taught them to be prudent; it hasalso taught them not to be over sanguine. Theypractise every economy that is consistent with the-efficient discharge of their duty. If they suffer losso-f income, if at the end of their financial year the
0
.TABLE SHOWING THE RESULTS OF COLLECTIONS -SINCE V
THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE FUND. VtYear. Totals. Donations. Year. Totals. Donations.1873 ....S27.700 ......... .. £ 1844 1891... £45,330 ......... £90191874 -29,936 ......... 1505 1892 ... 41,512 ......... 4429
1884. Including :.e45oo from the International Health Exhibition.1885, 1886, 1887. Including three donations of £1000 each from
Dr. James Wakley, Editor of THE .LANCET.1891. Including £5000 from the late Duke of Cleveland, &c.1894. Including a legacy of -e5000 (less duty) from the executors of
the late Mr. W. J. Whitaker.1895. Including -e1O.oo0 from Messrs. Barnato and friends; -e340C
from the Stock Exchange; £1000 from Lord Iveagh; and £1000 fromMr. J. B. Robinson.From 1891 to 1896 Sir Saville Crossley, Bart., P.C., M.P., gave an
-annual donation of -el000, and since has divided his contributionbetween this Fund and King Edward’s Fund.
1897. Jubilee year. H.R.H. the Prince of Wales started a SpecialFund for Hospitals.
1899. Including £10,000 from Mr. George Herring, and R1050 fromMr. J. Lane Densham.
1900. Including a further -el0,000 from Mr. George Herring, -el090from Mr. Thos. King, and " F. H." -el000.
1901. Including a further -el0,OOO from Mr. George Herring, andE4000 from Sir F. Cook, Bart., M,P.
1902. Including a further dEll.575 from Mr. George Herring, and:.el000 from Mr. Charles Morrison.
1903. Their Majesties the King and Queen, with most of the otherMembers of the Royal Family, attended at St. Paul’s Cathedral.
including a further £12,302 from Mr. George Herring.1904. Including a further B11.926 from Mr. George Herring.1905. Including a further £12,400 from Mr. George Herring, and
£12,500 from the executors of Mr. F. W. Cook.1906. Including a further -en,ooo from Mr. George Herring and
- E3000 on account of the legacy bequeathed by Mr. Herbert Lloyd.1907. Including £30,000 from the late Mr. George Herring’s estate,
and a second instalment of .E3000 on account of the bequest of the lateMr. Herbert Lloyd.
1908. Including .B35.000 from the late Mr. George Herring’s estate,and an instalment of B2000 on account of the bequest of the lateMr. Herbert Lloyd.
balance is against them, it is because their revenuehas fallen short of their expectations, and perhapsbecause some of those to,whom they have looked forsupport have failed them. Such failure will be due,no doubt, to necessity and not to any lack of goodwill; but it has as its result a deficit instead of themodest degree of solvency for which they hoped.They impose no tax except that which the generosityof their friends will enforce. They levy no duty uponwhich they can insist. They can only appeal to allwho "have" to assist in the name of charity in allayingthe sufferings of those who "have not." From thosewho have health they crave aid on behalf of thosewhose health has failed, and who have been renderedhelpless thereby ; who have been struck down byphysical injury or disease against which they havemade no provision while in health. They ask it ofthose who have wealth, and of those who have thatsufficiency which is wealth compared with the slenderresources of their humbler brethren, whom sicknessor accident must of necessity overwhelm unless helpis at hand. Prudence there may be on the part ofthe labourer and artisan, which will help to keephis family from want while he is in the hospital.Many a man, and very properly, makes an inroadupon his savings with this object in view, but letus remember that for many hundreds of thousandsof our countrymen it is not possible to makesuch provision for contingencies as will safeguardthem when serious illness or accident befalls. Theybelong to the class whose occupation renders themliable to accidental injury in a degree which theirneighbours in other walks of life may scarcelyrealise. They live in homes and under conditionswhich in the public interest as well as in theirswe hope to see ameliorated; but at present, at allevents, they so live that disease is likely to find inthem but little resistance to its attack; and theremedies which science places in the hands of thecommunity for serious physical conditions are of acostly nature, including suitable lodging and food,highly trained nursing, surgical and medical aid,costly drugs, and costly apparatus. No economiesthat even the better situated of the workingclasses are able to make, can enable them tomeet such a demand upon their resources, andif in the hospitals they accept charity no blame canattach to them in their misfortunes. But if timesbecome -better let them remember to contributetheir mite. Others who come to the hospitals arelower in the economic scale: men and women whoselabour is fortuitous, and who in casual work, oftenof the roughest kind, are even more liable to injuryand disease than the artisan or labourer in regularemployment. It is for such as these, too, that thegenerosity of the public is craved on Hospital Sunday.The alms of the charitable, which given promiscuouslymay mean the provision of a few meals or the
tiding over of a temporary crisis of a life of chronicmendicancy, have a different signification whenthey contribute to the building up of health ofthose who thus will at least have the chance of
SUMMARY OF TABLES.
1660
helping themselves. Such gifts as these are surelyworth a little self-denial, the loss of a transitorypleasure, or the abnegation of a luxury which onceenjoyed will leave nothing behind worth possessing.The present season may be one at which the prospectof financial burdens presses heavily upon some whoin the past have been able to treat them more lightly;but we urge upon all that it would be unworthy ofthem to allow the hospitals and the poor whom theyrelieve to suffer thereby. The reward of satisfactionin a good deed done without ostentation will be tothose who give freely.
All can and should give.The Metropolitan Hospital Sunday Fund is not
only an organization for collecting the alms ofthe wealthy and well-to-do, who in places of
worship in prosperous neighbourhoods have helpedit before, and will, we feel confident, aid it againmost generously : it is also essentially the oppor-tunity for all to give in proportion to their means.There is a time honoured and possibly trite expres-sion, which has been used sometimes in jest andsometimes in earnest until its origin and its inventorhave alike been forgotton, if any one person can everhave originated it. A hackneyed phrase, however,may sometimes be justly and seriously applied, andif we now say with regard to the MetropolitanHospital Sunday Fund "All contributions thankfullyreceived," we do’ so with every hope that those who Iread will realise that it is addressed in all earnest-ness to themselves and to their neighbours withoutexception. The Fund welcomes the gifts of all, anddistributes them justly and evenly so that theytake their part in sustaining those great healinginstitutions which have set an example to thewhole of the charitable world. There must be
very few who attend religiou’s worship on HospitalSunday so poor that they cannot give their mite,perhaps in gratitude for that which the hospitalshave done for themselves or for their friends or
relatives. There can be few children who cannotbring contributions which will show that they toohave learnt something of the duty of self-denial andof thought for others. We have said above that allshould remember to give themselves, and to remindothers, so that none may be able to plead ignorance orforgetfulness. We refer not only to those Londonerswho on Hospital Sunday may not attend at anyplace of worship because they seek recreation or
for other causes. London at this season is filledto overflowing with strangers to whom it extends aready welcome; some are from foreign countries,and others from various parts of the British islandsor from distant portions of the Empire. Some arehere for business, others for pleasure; but whetherthey are here to make money or to spend it on theirown enjoyment, they should be reminded of thehospitals of the metropolis whose doors stand opento all who need their aid, and who bestow that aidwithout taking account of birthplace or of "settle-ment," of nationality or of creed. They should notbe allowed to forget that if the qualification foradmission to the hospitals of London is that of
physical suffering which the hospital can allay,combined with poverty, there is one cause andone only which may bring about the denialof help to those whose claim for assistance isbeyond question. That cause is in three simplewords : " want of money." Insolvency almost everyhospital risks each year, relying upon the repetitionof those kindly gifts which have helped it in the past,but beyond a certain point a hospital cannot go, andthe work has to be sadly curtailed and kept withinlimits which can only be made wider by the
generosity of the public.
To that public appeal is
made once more in 1909 on
behalf of the MetropolitanHospital Sunday Fund.
THE METROPOLITAN HOSPITAL SUNDAY FUND.Receipts and payments for the year ending 31st October, 1908.
Cr.1908. JE s. d. £ s. d.
By Awards to 150 Hospitals ............ 63,584 5 7Awards to 13 Institutions ............ 1,317 7 6" Awards to 60 Dispensaries .......... 2,764 0 11" Awards to 29 Nursing Associations...... 1,750 0 0
4,196 13 44,196 13 4Balance at Bank of England, 31st Oct.,1908 1,55713 0" " on Deposit................., 5,000 0 0" " Petty Cash ............... 28 14 9
6,586 7 9— 6,586 7 9
£84,270 0 2
Audited and found correct, this 26th day of November, 1908.
(Signed) W. H. PANNELL & Co., Chartered Accountants, 13, Basinghall-street, E.C.
*** In the preparation of the voluminous statistics of hospital work which have been here digested and exhibited in collected fornz (andwhich have been specially supplied to its in response to our applica.tions, and are quite independent of any returns made to the MetropolitanHospital Sunday Fund Committee), we have been greatly indebted to a large number of secretaries and other officers of the various medicalcharities of the metropolis. To them we desire, as on many previous occasions, to tender ozar sincere thanks.-ED. L.
Printed and Published by the REGISTERED PROPRIETORS of THE LANCET, at 423, Strand, W.C., and Nos. 1 and 2, Bedford-street, Strand, adjoining.
