763

TOTAL DIRECT TAXES (SOCIAL SECURITY, NATIONAL SECURITY,AND INCOME TAX) ON EARNED INCOME OF MARRIED

TAXPAYER WITH TWO CHILDREN

emphasised that the doctors’ incomes are among thehighest earned in New Zealand. Should the war-timeprosperity of the Dominion’ not be maintained during

peace doctors may find it difficult to justify theircontinued receipt of so large a subsidy from the publicpurse while retaining their right to charge private feesas well. The treasury, on its part, might well find intimes of greater financial stringency (especially if theycoincide with a greater availability of medical personnel)that it could not afford to carry, in perpetuity, theunlimited commitments placed upon it by a systempaid for on an item-of-service basis, and might verywell seek to extend the salaried or capitation- schemesat the expense of the refund system.The small number of doctors in the Dominion makes

the profession more vulnerable; for any situation thatbrought about the appearance of 200-300 doctorssimultaneously needing posts might alter the wholeoutlook. On the other hand, the small number ofdoctors and the relatively very high proportion of themenrolled in the New Zealand branch of the BritishMedical Association (said to be about 95%) makes for

more effective collective bargaining.Nevertheless, the medical profession can nowhere

afford to hold the community to ransom, and ultimatelythey must convince the public of the justice of theirdemands, if they are to retain the privileges and theemoluments to which they consider themselves entitled.It is hard to do this if any part of the accepted system isadmittedly open to abuse.

REBUILDING FAMILY LIFEA CONFERENCE arranged by the National Association

of Maternity and Child Welfare was held on Nov. 23 and24 at Friends House in London. Speakers drawn froma wide range of occupations and interests, among themMr. Willink, the Minister of Health, discussed therebuilding of family life after the war, under the headingsof housing ; social and health services ; population ; thehousewife and mother; the viewpoint of the ruralareas ; nursery schools ; education ; broken familylife ; illegitimate and delinquent children ; and substi-tute homes.

Mr. WILLINK, reviewing the advances made duringthe war, pointed out that nearly every low record ininfant and child mortality has been broken, and manynew schemes are under way. Prof. JAMES YOUNGinclined to think we have not done as much for childwelfare as other countries, especially Holland and NewZealand ; like the Minister, he felt that a lot of worklies ahead of us.

Miss ELIZABETH DENBY felt that rehousing must beaccomplished by providing homes for individual families,and that flats must be left to childless couples. Shebelieved in keeping housing schemes within city boun-daries ; new properties on the outskirts add to thesprawl and encroach on the countryside. The plansmade for Chelsea and other areas intended for the rich,she suggested, show that houses can be at least 26 to theacre-not 12 or 8, which the Ministry of Health haslaid down as the standard. The prefabricated two-bedroom’ bungalows were criticised by speakers on thegrounds that they would discourage people from havingchildren. Mr. Willink defended them ; it would not bedifficult, he said, to move into a larger house as the needarose. However, anxiety is perhaps misplaced sinceGroup-Captain J. A. C. WRIGHT, MP, left the meetingwith the impression that the extinction of the human

race is at hand : in 1990, he said, there will be 8 peopleover 60 to every child.

Miss F. HAWTREY, speaking of nurseries and nurseryschools, explained that they were not in conflict. Afterthe war, she said, there will still be a need for bothresidential and day nurseries even after nursery schoolshave been established for children down to the age of 2.Such residential nurseries, as other speakers pointedout, will be wanted for illegitimate children and for thosewhose mothers have nowhere to leave them while anotherchild is arriving. In this connexion many speakersmentioned the importance of providing home helps.Dr. C. FRASEB BROCKINGTON suggested that theseshould be recruited, trained, employed, and supervisedby the maternity and child’ welfare authority. Dr.HELEN STANDING suggested that applicants should be

interviewed by the superintendent health visitor beforebeing engaged, and that their work should be supervisedby the midwife, health visitor, or district nurse attendingthe case.

GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL

WINTER SESSION, NOV. 28-i)BC. 2

AT the conclusion of the President’s address, reportedin these columns last week, a vote of thanks was proposedby Prof. Sydney Smith. Lord Moran of Manton wasintroduced by Dr. Parsons as representative of the RoyalCollege of Physicians of London ; Professor W. J. Dillingby Dr. Clark as representative of the University ofLiverpool ; and Mr. James Lyons, LDS, by Dr. Fish as anadditional member under Section 16 of the DentistsAct. ’

Penal Cases

The council directed the. erasure of the name ofErnest Mathias Buckley, Dentists Act 1921, registered as,of 45, Little Horton Lane, Bradford.

After considering some adjourned cases withoutmaking any erasure, the council considered the case of :

Archibald Walker, registered as of The Manor House,Waxwell Lane, Pinner, 1VM GLASG. (1926), who had beensummoned on the following charge :That being a registered medical practitioner: (1) You committed

adultery with Mrs. Marie Lucy Francis-Hughes Boyes on numerousoccasions in May and/or June, 1942, and /or behaved improperlyto thesaid Mrs. Marie Lucy Francis-Hughes Boyes during the said period;(2) you wrote improper letters to the said Mrs. Marie Lucy Francis-Hughes Boyes on numerous occasions during the period from May,1942, to September, .194.2; (3) you stood in professional relation-ship with the said Mrs. Marie Lucy Francis-Hughes Boyes at allmaterial times. And that in relation to the facts so alleged youyou have been guilty of infamous conduct in a professional respect.

- The complainants were the Colonial Office, for whom Mr.Gerald Howard, instructed by Mr. Winterbotham, solici-tor to the council, opened the case. Respondent wasaccompanied by Mr. Carthew, KC, and Mr. H. Dickens,counsel, instructed by Messrs. Radcliffe and Co. Mr.Howard brought forward evidence of the professionalrelationship and read a long series of love-letters. Heread extracts from the report of the inquiry made in theGold Coast, in which Mr. Boyes described how he haddiscovered the relationship and obtained possession ofthe letters, which had been parcelled for return to

respondent. As a result of the inquiry Dr. Walker’sname had been removed from the register of doctorspractising in the Gold Coast. Mr. Howard pointed outthat much wholly inadmissible evidence had been givenat the inquiry, but that respondent had not been foundguilty of adultery. Mr. Carthew submitted that therewas no shadow of evidence to support charge (1), and thecouncil agreed to strike this charge out. - ,

Dr. Walker gave evidence and admitted in cross-examination that he had had a flirtation with Mrs. Boyeson the night of May 24, and kissed her for the first time,and that next day she had had blood taken for a test inthe hospital by a sister acting under his instructions.Mr. Howard : And next day you wrote this letter, beginning

" My darling-." Do you think that is a proper letterto write to a woman who is your patient ?

Dr. Walker : Probably not. I was the only doctor avail-able ; every woman in the place was potentially a patient ofmine.

Dr. Walker agreed that at the material time he hadbeen less than 18 months married to his second wife, whohad been the cause of the divorce from his first wife.