CHARITABLE AID CONFERENCE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 213, 2 June 1908, Page 10

CHARITABLE AID CONFERENCE.

BUSINESS TO BE CONSIDERED. A Cliaritablo Aid Conference will ibo held oil Tuesday next to discuss the Hospitals and Charitable Aid Amendment Bill, and suggest any alterations and modifications that may bo found necessary regarding tho administration of hospitals and cliaritablo aid throughout Now Zealand. Thoro aro eighty boards and separate institutions represented, and as each has one or moro delegates, it is oxpected that tho total number of delegates present will bo about 150. Remits have been received .from every Board on almost every coriceivablo subject for tho improvement in administration of the various institutions, and they aro being classified to make aii agonda' paper under different'headings. Last year tho sum of £280,000 was spent on hospitals and charitable aid, the amount is steadily increasing, and it is thought that the time has arrived for the expenditure to bo placed under moro adequate control. Tho conference will probably last a week or ten days. ■ ' ■ The following gives an indication of tho scopo and general trend of tho remits: — The great question is that'of representa-' tion. How are the boards to be constituted and how elected? This is tho riddle to be solved/ by tho delegates. The proposal is to centralise the administration, and the difficulties of, tho task will bo realised, to some extent when it is understood that in' Wellington, for instance, there are a Hospital Board, Hospital Trustees, Charitable Aid Board, and Benevolent Trustees —four difforent bodies, each having a secretary and a treasuror and office staff, etc. The money all comes from a regular source, .but there ,is awastojn.ad-, ministration, arid it is urged in a large number of rer/its that the 'wbrk should be under the control of ono administrative body, with committees to take the place of the oxistdng trustees. There will doubtless be a lengthy •discussion on this subject, for, .although there is considerable unanimity on tho desirableness of reform, tho difficulty; will l)e> to decide how tho new boards are to bo constituted. , A large number of the remits sont in aro in strong disapproval of th? proposal ,to reduce tho Government subsidy. ' ' The Bill proposes to enlarge the districts, and to facilitate the centralisation of- tho administration. _ Some of the remits from tho country v districts oppose this. Ono remit is to the effect that provision should be mado in tho Bill whereby. Harbour. Boards should be placed as a;medium for tho cost of all accidents occurring about shipping. The Bill provides that tho Board may pay' its chairman a sum not exceeding £200 per annum. There is a difference of opinion'on this question, and somo_ suggest that travelling allowances to chairman and members when away from thoir places of resideiico and on official duties. should take tho placo of tho annual allowance. , No doubt, an interesting discussion will tike place on a remit which affirms the principle that appointments such as those of medical superintendents and matrons of hospitals should bo made' only with tho approval of tho Minister. This Tomit will probably encounter strong opposition.