Missionaries

Medical Work Of

Little Official Help in New Hebrides

Letter to the Editor.

TN your issue of February, 1938, under A the heading “The Claims of T. H.

Harrisson”, there is a letter from E. H.

Corlette, of Bushman’s Bay, Malekula.

I am concerned only with the last few paragraphs, and with those only insofar as they state a misleading and in some points erroneous view of the medical work done by missionaries within the New Hebrides.

In his anxiety to prove Mr. Harrisson’s statements inaccurate, Mr. Corlette re fers to “the work of the much-maligned Condominium Government, which sup plies the materials with which the Mis sions inject the natives”, and also asks Mr. Harrisson to “count the number of times he saw missionaries using ars

phenamide injections, and how many times it was Rockefeller plus Condom- Mr. Corlette thus puts undue emphasis on the medical assistance given to the natives by the Condomin ium Government through the missionar ies. He says that the missionaries “would be the first to admit the truth”.

We would. But the Condominium Gov ernment’s part in the medical work of the missionaries begins and ends with small subsidies that are granted to Mis sion Hospitals.

It is simply not true that the Admin istration “supplies the materials”—this or any other kind—to the missionaries.

On the contrary, they decline to do so under any circumstances for the ordin ary missionary.

About two years ago, one Presbyter ian missionary obtained a supply of drugs for injections from a French Gov ernment Hospital, at a reasonable rate, but the British Resident Commissioner in Vila informed me that this was irre gular, and ought not to have happened!

It can be stated categorically that mis sionaries have no way of getting the drugs except such as are open to every other citizen within the Group at ex actly the same rates. I think that this has always been so.

It is true that the Rockefeller Insti tution did continue its own great cam paign by making supplies of the drug available at no cost in certain areas.

Malekula, I understand, is one of the islands that were not completely covered by their own representative, so that there, with the idea of giving all the na tives in the Group equal treatment, a Mission doctor (and perhaps others) later continued the work for the Rocke feller Institution with drugs supplied by them (possibly with the co-operation of the Administration).

When Mr. Corlette says that “many planters give medicine—including ars phenamides—free or at actual cost, and they have to pay for it out of their own pocket at full price”, he does by impli cation, but not in fact, make a compari son between planters and missionaries that is to the disparagement of the lat ter. But the latter also “pay for it out of their own pocket at full price”. When the cost price of N.A.B. was 3/- and up wards per dose missionaries, like plant ers, had to pay that price and get back what they could from the natives. Nat urally the natives at that time received far fewer injections than would have been good for them.

I think, too, that everyone would agree that the missionaries do, in fact, do a great deal more medical work than do planters. Taking the giving of in jections only as an example, there are very few planters who give hundreds of injections per year to the natives, as do most missionaries. Some missionaries have four-figure tallies for single years, in the ordinary course of their mission ary work. If desired, one could also make comparison between medical work done by the Administration and by mis sionaries, but that is unnecessary here.

I need only add that the medical work done by the Missions is done entirely

with their own resources, in both ma terial and manpower (except for the sub sidies already mentioned), and of their own freewill, because they believe this work to be in accord with the teachings of Jesus Christ. So we are not jealous of anything of a like nature that is done by others, in accordance with those feel ings of compassion that are to be found within their hearts also. We rather re joice when we hear of such. We only desire that others should not be jealous of us, either.

The whole position with regard to medical aid for the natives cries out for improvement. Missionaries, planters and others do what they can. A Japanese trader recently referred to me as a “Little bit half-doctor”. I am not ashamed of that title! But what can we “little bit half-doctors” do for the na tives, while we are full-time workers in other directions also, and while the na tives still are ignorant and superstiti ous, yet fated to contend with a host of diseases, both native and introduced ? We can only do our best.

A greatly increased staff of Native Medical Practitioners would be a fine ad vance, and probably the most sensible one. That staff could not be obtained in a day. In the meantime, we have yet to see a N.M.P. in some of the central islands of the Group, even for the brief est of visits.

One other point invites comment — and that is Mr. Corlette’s statement that Mr. Harrisson “was not liked by the missionaries”. It is surely out of place for anyone not officially authorised to do so to make such a statement on our behalf. We do not necessarily agree with it.

I am, etc.,

B. R. C. Nottage.

Tongoa, N.H.

April 23, 1938.