MCLEAN INSTITUTE.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 13359, 26 February 1909, Page 8

MCLEAN INSTITUTE.

MKKIING OF ItOAKD OF GOVEPNOKS A spiM-ial meeting <>t the Board «.•! ot the McLean In.-titnte .va.s held yc.ster.lay. I'rociit :—The Mayor ol (in tin- chair), lii.s!i(.p Julius. Hi mi op. Grimes, tho Uev. Jo!m -Mackenzu-, Me.vsrs 11. Cotterill, li. M. Molineaux. G. W. -M.l*., Me.,diiiiicd C. H. Merthuid and G. W. Wiij>oll. I lie meeting wa- called to receive fie rej»ort "f the Finance Committee- o;i tin- offor<-d to the Hoard :or the 01 the Institute. On t!i<> motion ot Mr G. W. I!u,ss--!!, the Boa i<l wont, into committ.-e to c.ll--iidcr the rt'iiort- <>i the Finance' Commit tee. On tho Hoard returning, the Chairman reported that the following r«-»o----lutions had be<'n carried:— ••That, tho offer of the property of Mr T. G. at Fendalton be -iccejited by the Hoard if arrangouKMit.s can be conio to lor it.s iiiiiuediate ]>uroha.v: and that th<, chuirnian :md .Mt-srs Cotrerill and Moliiieaux be authori-i'd to <-omplote the negotiations att>-r Ix'ing by any further .' nquiry they con-sid-er neeosisary as to the condition and durability of the building, and that the drainage for thirty inmates is made perfect; the co*t 'if the drainage to be borne by Mr I?-15----wll."

•That, Molinoaux, CV>tteriil. and Mrs lx> appointed as .in executive sub-committoo to go on at once with the furnishing and [>ri-jiar-i----tion of the building for the occupation th<> inmates -without further r.-ior-once to th<> Hoard.' , '•That, the committee Ik> in.«t ruft -•<! to obtain from Messrs Collins and Jbrimin sketch plans for the <'iilarge:i.orit <it tho building, and to submit th-rn to the Board." On tho motion :—"That tho resolutions. at: roportpd from the committee bo adopted by tho Hoard,' , The Chairman s-aid ho desired to express his thorough disapproval of resolution tho Hoard in committee had nrrived at -with regard to the inircha.-e of tho property referred to. He di!-.!l not think the policy pursued by tin: Boar<l was ono which should bo adopted, and ho desired that his di.ssont 110111 it should , ho recorded. They wereagreeing to pay X'lfJOO for a prnjx rtv which, according to thoir matron, inu too far away for tho purposes of tlie Institute. In addition to tho amount paid for the building, which would only accommodate eight inmates as it was now, they would havo to sjkmu some JL'tiOOO in alterations to fit it \<n the accommo<lation of twenty people. They had a site of their own far more suitable than the one they had dot-id- '1 to purchase, whero they "could erect a building which would be for more kmuahlo for tho purposes of tho Institute. UosidoK this, it would bo near i-lio Holly I»a property, and they could ■then have carried out tin- policy of supervision, which was so :<.< dealing with an institution such as ihev proposed to start. For theso rea.sonV. JlO d«,'irod to record lii.s vote against tho resolutions as reported from tl.c committee. The Rev. W. Mackenzie .said hethought that the statements made by tho Chairman should not be allowed to go forth to tho public uncontradieted, or tho position of tho Finance Committee unexplained. It was well known that in these matters the Mayor held opinions which were opposed to those of tho majority of the members of the Board. Ho thought Mr Cotterill, as tho chairman of tho Finance Committee should reply to the remarks made by the Chairman. Mr Cotterill said that the committee iiad boon forced, to accent ono of !:.o '"(houses out of the 1-10 offered to them— (though none of them «n> ideal tor their purpose—or to throw over every yrestige of work they had already done s«and begin, do novo. If they adopted the course proposed by the Mayor and carried out his plans, they would be stultifying overything they had done. In the past, as the members of the Board knew, they had adopted the proposal which iho Mayor now advocated. , That was, they had advertised for a rented house, and had failed miserably. Only some half-a-dozen offers of houses were made, and not one of theso. they unanimously agreed, was finally found to bo .suitable. Then they took steps to sec if it were possible to obtain a house by purchase. If it were possible for them t-_> build, tho committee felt it would be surely possible to obtain a house by purchase, with a much smaller expenditure of money than would be necessary to build. With tho view in thoir minds that in what they -were doing they were to a certain extent proceeding by way of experiment, the committee did not see their way to recommend the Board to incur the expenditure of a large sum in building till they had felt their way and arrived at :.:•«•- cisely what class of building they required. Thus the committee- were practically forced into the position which they had taken up of buying a house, and thero was no other rcHsojiablo cuurso open to them than the one ihey had taken that day. Bishop Grimes said that it should go forth that the committed had to choose two out of the 140 houses sul>mitted to them for sale, but practically, when matters enmo to bo looked into, it was found that there was really only ono which they could accept. That one was put before thorn as the best, and tho site belonging to tho Hoard to which reference was made by thoChairinnn was not mentioned. The motion for the adoption oi rl.<■ ! resolutions as reported from committee I was then nut and carried, the May-fir j ilonc dissenting. !