Patientsfirstadmitted on the opening of the Hospital, March 15, 1848 :— I N - P A T I E N T S . — ( I . ) Brown, Charles, recommended by Major Davidson; (2.) Jones, William, recommended by the Rev. A. C. Thomson. O U T - P A T I E N T S . — ( 1 . ) Johnson, Henry, recommended by Dr. O'Mullane; (2.) Thetford, Henry, recommended by Mr. A. F Greeves; (3.) Jones, Michael, recommended by Mr. R. W . Pohlman ; (4.) Coward, John, recommended by Mr. E d m u n d Westby. O n March 22, 1848, thefirstw o m e n were admitted, viz.:—(1.) Codie, Bridget; (2.) Price, Eliza. In June the Hospital authoiities commenced the publication in the neyvspapers of the periodical state of the Charity, and annexed is a copy of thefirstBulletin -.—Weekly report, Wednesday, June 21, 1848. IN-PATIENTS.—Admitted, 2 ; discharged, 1. O U T - P A T I E N T S . — A d m i t t e d , 2 ; discharged, 2. M E D I C A L O F F I C E R S F O R T H E WEEK.—Physician, Dr. Wilmot; Surgeon, W . H . Campbell, Esq.;
Resident Apothecary, Mr. G. Wilson. T h e second weekly report announces the In-patients as having increased to 18, and the Outpatients to 30. For the week ending July 12th, there were 22 In and 33 Out-patients, and it yvas announced "that the whole of the beds are noyv occupied,"
The First Hospital Scandal.
The troubles for which the Melbourne Hospital has since been proverbial, soon set in, and a spicy morsel of scandal was forthcoming to whet the appetite of the censorious. A Mr. W . L. Quinan, had in his domestic service a Mrs. Ryan, w h o m one day he gave in custody to the police, but the case was dismissed by the magistrates. Mrs. Ryan was advised to bring an action at law against her late employer for yvrongful imprisonment on a frivolous charge, and she retained Mr. James Montgomery, a solicitor, to conduct the suit. Overtures were made towards a settlement, and Quinan offered to pay ^ 2 0 to the Hospital, which was agreed to. H e was dilatory in fulfilling the undertaking, and Montgomery yvithout further delay issued a writ, yvhich brought Quinan to the point, and he gave Montgomery a cheque for the amount. With the consent of Mrs. Ryan and her husband, the attorney deducted £o as his costs, and paid the balance to the Charity. Montgomery was the Honorary Secretary to the Hospital, and Quinan contended that none of the money ought to be kept back, that in the settlement he intended and understood that the whole ^ 2 0 yvas to go to the Hospital, and he complained to the Committee accordingly. T h e matter was investigated, and Montgomery exonerated from any blame. A n application of Quinan for the names of the Committeemen who conducted the inquiry, and hov they voted, was refused, yvhereupon the complainant waxing exceedingly irate, rushed into print, was folloyved by Montgomery and one or two others, and a voluminous journalistic warfare ensued. A n y person wading through the columns of verbiage, and dispassionately weighing the facts, cannot well resist the conclusion that the Committee was right in its decision. Fault-finding out of doors soon grew into vogue, and the eyes of the Committee slowly opened upon the fact that they enjoyed no bed of roses. T h e "rose-leaves" turned to thorns, and complaints in the newspapers were not infrequent. M u c h umbrage was taken because no contributor, except an annual one of £2 2s, could recommend an In-patient, and furthermore, that any person so recommending should guarantee either to remove a patient dying, or in default to defray the expense of burial in a sum not exceeding 40s.—and should also certify that the invalid on entering was possessed of " three shirts and three pairs of stockings." A n Act having been passed by the Legislature " For the better regulation of Colonial Hospitals," a meeting of contributors yvas held on the 21st August, with Mr. E. Curr as Chairman. Mr. E. Westby was appointed Treasurer, and Messrs. William Lonsdale, Edward Eyre Williams, and James Hunter Ross, Trustees. By this Act the Treasurer yvas constituted the proper party to sue and be sued, and the Trustees were rendered capable of taking and holding all lands, tenements, and hereditaments belonging to the Institution. Later in the year Mr. G. Wilson, the Resident Apothecary,
