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100 Years Ago | 22 Aug 1918

On this day a century ago, these were some of the news items The Statesman readers got to read about India and the world.

100 Years Ago | 22 Aug 1918

OCCASIONAL NOTE

The old question of the attitude of the authorities to the native systems of medicine has been again brought up in the Madras Legislative Council. Surgeon- General Giffard, speaking for the Government, admitted that the 1,200 practitioners in the province could not supply the medical needs of its 42 million inhabitants.

He refused, however, to regard that as an argument for supplementing their effort by the use of the so-called native medicine “because he did not agree that there was such a system of medicine.”

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He was quite ready to join Indian politicians in pressing for a thorough scientific inquiry into the nature and uses of the drugs employed by Indian doctors.

That, however, was a different matter from endowing with Government money a so called system which admittedly dated from the age of Pericles and so far from becoming more scientific as time went on had become “more formal, more false and more wrapped up in some form of priestly mysticism”.

The Madras Government, it transpired, are now spending 18 lakhs annually on medical relief on scientific lines. Anything deducted from that sum for unscientific purposes must obviously retard the spread of real medical science which, as Surgeon-General Giffard suggested, is like engineering or mathematics, universal and not divided, as Indian politicians seem to imagine, into compartments labelled “Indian,” “Japanese,” “English,” etc.

THE STATE SCHOLARSHIP

The following Press note has been issued today. The Lieutenant-Governor has great pleasure in announcing that the Government of India have this year awarded the State scholarship tenable in Europe by domiciled European or Anglo- Indian girls or women to Miss May Millicent Kingsley, M.A., the candidate nominated by the Government of Burma.

Miss Kingsley has recently been appointed to act in the Indian Educational Service as Professor of English, Government College, Rangoon. Owing to the existing restrictions on the passage of women to England, the Government of India are holding the scholarship in abeyance till more normal conditions return.

Miss Kingsley will, accordingly, be able to retain her present appointment at Rangoon College until such time as it will be feasible for her to take up her scholarship in England.

The Lieutenant-Governor of Burma on Wednesday presented the Kaiser-i-Hind medal to Sister Margaret Mary, Superior of St. John’s Convent of the Good Shepherd. Lady Craddock was present, also the Chief Judge (Sir Daniel Twomey) and a number of clergy.

QUESTION OF CONGRESS POSTPONEMENT

With reference to the allegation in certain quarters that the reception committee of the special Congress refused to entertain the suggestion for a postponement of the Congress, the committee have issued the following statement:- “The reception committee was never approached either by the Moderates in Bombay or elsewhere for a postponement of the Congress session.

The committee, however, understand that a short postponement was asked for in a telegram by Mr. Surendranath Bannerjea addressed on August 7th to Mr. C.P. Ramaswami Iyer, general secretary, All- India Congress Committee, to which he replied on the 9th pointing out the difficulties in the way of postponement and trusting that three weeks was a sufficiently long time for a compromise if there was any to arrive at.

No further communication was received after that either by the general secretaries or the reception committee. They desire to point out that the Imperial Legislative Council will sit from September 4th and the Bark-id being on September 16 and all preparations for holding the Congress being in an advanced stage, it is not possible at this late hour to postpone the session.”

MEDICAL WOMEN AND WAR WORK

A unit of medical women commenced work at the Hyslon War Hospi tal , Secunderabad. This is the second women’s military unit to be formed, the first having started work at the Freeman Thomas Hospital, Bombay, on November 5th, 1917. The military authorities desire that medical women should volunteer for this work, even if only for a six months’ period of service, as freely as possible.

The Association of Medical Women in India, which is anxious to co-operate with the military authorities in every way, and which has already raised two units, is desirous of gaining further recruits and asks all medical women who can possible do so, to forward their names either to Dr. Houlton, Honorary Secretary, Association of Medical Women in India, Delhi, or to Dr. Balfour, Countess of Dufferin’s Fund, Simla.

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