To the Editor of The Press, 1916 Sir, The dispute between the British Medical Association of Wellington and the Friendly Societies has given certain members of Parliament an opportunity to talk in the House in a foolish manner. At that I am not surprised, but when Mr. Russell talks of applying an Act of Parliament or Ministerial pressure to coerce medical men into a course of conduct of which they do not approve, I am surprised indeed. Both parties, the ordinary members and the Minister, are talking to the gallery; in other words, are bidding for political favour and support. It has always been a recognised rule that a doctor can decline to meet another medical man in consultation; this, instead of being a public disadvantage, has a contrary effect, and helps to maintain a proper standard of conduct. Mr. Russell would find that he is quite powerless to alter that rule, but there is not the slightest chance that he will try. The medical men of Wellington are trying to obtain a more reasonable remuneration for their services to the members of the lodges, and, having agreed amongst themselves, they will decline to act with any doctor who contracts for attendance at the old rate, which has not been increased for many years. The workers of New Zealand from whom the Friendly Societies derive their members, have converted the Dominion, industrially, into a battlefield on which war is continually waged between themselves and their employers. They hedge round their work with all sorts of conditions as to rates of pay, hours of work, preference to unionists, and many particulars too numerous to mention, and in the final event are prepared to go on strike, and put the whole Dominion to great loss and inconvenience, by not only working themselves but endeavouring to prevent anyone else doing the work they decline, and have not hesitated to break the law and act with violence. Now, the Wellington doctors are not going to molest any doctor who chooses to undertake the medical treatment of members of the lodges on their own terms: they will simply decline to act with him or consult with him; but if any member of such lodges prefers any other doctor in Wellington, that doctor will willingly attend him as a private patient. I think the conduct of the Wellington doctors compares favourably with that of the trade unionists, who wish to coerce them into accepting rates of pay they consider very inadequate. Yours, etc. A DOCTOR.

To the Editor of The Press, 1916 Sir, The dispute between the British Medical Association of Wellington and the Friendly Societies has given certain members of Parliament an opportunity to talk in the House in a foolish manner. At that I am not surprised, but when Mr. Russell talks of applying an Act of Parliament or Ministerial pressure to coerce medical men into a course of conduct of which they do not approve, I am surprised indeed. Both parties, the ordinary members and the Minister, are talking to the gallery; in other words, are bidding for political favour and support. It has always been a recognised rule that a doctor can decline to meet another medical man in consultation; this, instead of being a public disadvantage, has a contrary effect, and helps to maintain a proper standard of conduct. Mr. Russell would find that he is quite powerless to alter that rule, but there is not the slightest chance that he will try. The medical men of Wellington are trying to obtain a more reasonable remuneration for their services to the members of the lodges, and, having agreed amongst themselves, they will decline to act with any doctor who contracts for attendance at the old rate, which has not been increased for many years. The workers of New Zealand from whom the Friendly Societies derive their members, have converted the Dominion, industrially, into a battlefield on which war is continually waged between themselves and their employers. They hedge round their work with all sorts of conditions as to rates of pay, hours of work, preference to unionists, and many particulars too numerous to mention, and in the final event are prepared to go on strike, and put the whole Dominion to great loss and inconvenience, by not only working themselves but endeavouring to prevent anyone else doing the work they decline, and have not hesitated to break the law and act with violence. Now, the Wellington doctors are not going to molest any doctor who chooses to undertake the medical treatment of members of the lodges on their own terms: they will simply decline to act with him or consult with him; but if any member of such lodges prefers any other doctor in Wellington, that doctor will willingly attend him as a private patient. I think the conduct of the Wellington doctors compares favourably with that of the trade unionists, who wish to coerce them into accepting rates of pay they consider very inadequate. Yours, etc. A DOCTOR.