Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Rebuilding of the Medical Hospital of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
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![Royal Bank, and all its branches; and at all the banking companies m Scotland. The Lord Provost—In your name, I beg to offer our hearty thanks to Mr Boyd and the other gentlemen of the Acting Committee for their indefatigable labours in this matter. (Applause.) We are all indebted to them for their labour, and I am sure that never did a committee in this city bring before a meeting so gratifying a statement as Mr Boyd has done. Lord Polwarth moved the adoption of the following resolution :— “ That the following noblemen and gentlemen be constituted a Gene- ral Committee, with the Bight Hon. the Lord Provost as convener, to co-operate with the managers of the Infirmary, and the Acting Com- mittee and office-bearers already appointed, for the purpose of raising the amount required.” [Here follow names, vide page 29.] In supporting the motion, his Lordship said—We have all heard how great a work this is, and we all feel it is great, because it is one that comes home to our hearts, and carries with it our very warmest sympa- thies. There are many reasons why we should carry out this work in an earnest manner; and foremost among them is this, that the In- firmary we have at present is one which is unworthy of the city of Edinburgh in the present age. The work which it has done in the past is great, but it is not sufficient to meet the demands of the present day. We hear that such and such things are not in conformity with the spirit of the present age ; and it can be said that the Infirmary of Edinburgh is not in conformity with the spirit of the times. We need a new, a larger, and a more suitable building to meet the increased wants of the city and of the country. (Applause.) Then I think we are bound to make the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh the very best institution that we possibly can make it—we should endeavour to make it, in short, a model building, worthy of the city—an instrument in the hands of our noble and devoted physicians, which they should be able to work to the very best advantage. It has been truly said that at present it is not worthy of the noble army of physicians whose names adorn the city of Edinburgh. There are many reasons why it should be so ; and I think that there are some which will come home more than others to our hearts. How many of us have known the benefit of being nursed and tended and cared for in a time of sick- ness ! And surely we should have a fellow feeling for those whose](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21967635_0028.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)