Report of Drs. Nelson and MacDonnell, and Zephirin Perrault, Esq., advocate, of the Quebec Marine and Emigrant Hospital / [Wolfred Nelson].

  • Nelson, Wolfred, 1846-1913.
Date:
1853
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of Drs. Nelson and MacDonnell, and Zephirin Perrault, Esq., advocate, of the Quebec Marine and Emigrant Hospital / [Wolfred Nelson]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    ‘* those which had reference to the well-known peculiarities of his temper and dispo- *€ sition, which were frequently the cause of bitter complaint.” The above extracts shew the cause of much of the disagreement that for years past has reigned in the Hospital; and the Commissioners would suggest that a great amount, if not all, of this bad feeling might have been averted, had Dr. Douglas’ duty in the Hospital been strictly confined to his medical care of the sick. But when we find the Chairman of the Commission speaking of the visiting Physician as ‘‘ ruling supreme,” and of his ‘‘ Dictatorship,” we must confess we can put no other construction upon these words, than that Dr. Douglas was allowed to use this authority because the Commissioners delegated it to him. It is too late to charge an officer with the abuse of power, which we have shifted from our own shoulders to his, It is too late for Dr, Morrin to complain of Dr. Douglas’ ‘‘ Dictator- “ ship,” when he himself placed him in a position to act the Dictator. If Dr. Douglas, from his known peculiarity of temper and. imperious conduct, abused the power entrusted to him, it was the fault of the Commissioners not to have kept him in check, and to have withdrawn the control of the establishment from his hands; but though these facts were well known to the Commissioners, and though their Chair- man was frequently made acquainted with the ‘ bitter complaints” they occasioned, no attempt was made to curb this. misrule—no effort was made to confine Dr. Douglas’ duty to its proper limits; he was allowed to act as Chief Medical Officer and Chief Commissioner, combined offices, for which his infirmity of temper, to use a mild phrase, evidently rendered him unsuited. The Commissioners of this Inquiry cannot refrain from expressing their opinion that, had there been a regular paid Board of Commissioners, Visitors or Inspectors of the Institution, who were responsible for the performance of their duty, who dared not to have delegated to the visiting Physician the onerous charge cf such an im- portant establishment, they should not now hear of the visiting Physician being called the “‘ heart and soul”’ of the establishment, to whom all complaints were to be referred, and by whom redress was to be granted ; nor should they hear of his “‘ reigning supreme,” of his being a “ Dictator ;’’ nor should they hear of “ bitter ‘““ complaints,” ‘‘ tyranny’ over inferior officers, and insulting and degrading treat- ment of the Medical Officers of the Hospital. Had such a Board been in existence, there would have been no necessity for the present investigation. We should have heard of no abuses, for they would have been arrested in their infancy ; no charges of dereliction. of duty, for such would have been instantly detected ; no acrimonious vituperation, for such would have been uncalled for, and unnecessary. The Commissioners have now brought down to the year 1847, the history of these misunderstandings and disagreements, and they respectfully direct Your Excellency’s attention to the documents contained in the Appendix, for the grounds upon which they base their statements. They are anxious to direct special attention to these documents, for in the course of their inquiry, it was endeavoured to date the origin of these misunder- standings from the appointment of the six visiting Physicians, in 1847. This attempt has heen made, both by Dr. Douglas and some of his present and former colleagues, but Your Commissioners feel satisfied that this unfortunate state of feeling existed before, ana had its origin in Dr. Douglas’ treatment of Dr. Painchaud’s son, in 1846, before which period perfect good feeling appears to have existed between the two visiting Physicians, indeed, between Dr. Douglas and the Commissioners, if that body can be said to have existed, or to have ever exercised its functions. In 1847, a new cause of discord came into operation, and now the bickerings and heart-burnings became more general and more universally known, not only to the officers of the Institution itself, but to the public; and the press of the City acted upon from different quarters and by different operations, dragged the alleged, as well as the real abuses before the public, and tended to {njure materially both the respectability and the utlility of the establishment in general estimation.
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