In consequence of instructions received from Government that all patients should be taken to the hospital only those who are able to pay are admitted while those who cannot [do not struck out] are refused admittance.
This letter was minuted by the Native Minister, E. Michelson: 'Inform Taipari that the Government regret that his request cannot be acceded to.' Less brusquely, the Under Secretary instructed: 'Mr Hadfield Please write in courteous terms accordingly'. So ended the services provided by a diligent and conscientious medical officer, in order to effect a saving of kz5 a year.
5.25 At Coromandel, Charles H. Horrell applied for the position of medical officer in 1878; he had, he said, been treating Maori for the past five or six years (for which he unsuccessfully applied for retrospective remuneration) and now sought a salary. He was appointed in May at £25 a year and for that sum was to treat only 'the indigent'—the rest were to pay. His reports, compared with those of Payne, are scrappy and irregular. He claimed (in 188o) to cover a wide district, including Paparoa, Manaia, Kopuatauiti, Cabbage Bay, Kennedy Bay, Tiki and Whangapoua, and that many he had treated were not listed on his quarterly reports. Nevertheless, from 188o to 1884 he reported treating only i8o people, an output that compares poorly with Payne's. He reported only 23 cases in his last three quarterly reports. The Native Minister was asked if at an average of eight cases a quarter his salary should be continued. He was characteristically abrupt: `Discontinue John Bryce 25/3/84'.
5.26 In July 1885 the Native Agent, Wilkinson, forwarded a letter from Hohepa Mataiana(?) seeking Horrell's re-appointment, and adding his own support. There were not many Maori at Coromandel, Wilkinson noted, but a good number at Manaia, Waiau and scattered down the coast to Cabbage Bay who would use his services. The Departmental response was softer than with Payne, but equally economical. The Under-Secretary, T.W. Lewis, recommended agreement if the request should be repeated but went on to minute: 'I think however the matter might stand over for the present.' It did, and another kz5 was saved.
5.27 Manaia had been covered by Horrell during his brief tenure. (It was also the place where the teacher, Charles Walter, made health a major concern, as will be described below.) It was the scene of another short-lived medical effort in the early zoth century. Wiremu Renata and 29 others applied to the Minister of Justice in 1899 for medical assistance. Walter supported the request, noting that there had been 19 deaths since 1897 (out of a population of zoo) and that only 2% were vaccinated. Dr S.A. Bull of Coromandel was asked to report. He set the death level at 23-25 over two years, noted the prevalence of pulmonary and enteric complaints, described the causes as poor diet and poor housing, and added that those who came to the Coromandel hospital did so too infrequently and usually too late. He was sure that Maori at Manaia would take advantage of a weekly visit. In 1899 Bull agreed to make a weekly visit for £30 a year. In
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