LOCAL BODIES

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 45, 21 August 1913, Page 3

LOCAL BODIES

HARBOUR AND HOSPITAL BOARDS ELECTION OF MEMBERS COUNTIES' CONFERENCE EXERCISED. A number of remits on the order paper of the Counties' Conference yesterday related to harbour and hospital boards. i Mr. J. H. Davison (Amuri) moved that the present system of the election of members of harbour boards be discontinued, and the previous system of election by the local bodies be reverted to. The present system was, he said, cumbersome, expensive, and unfair, especially to the country districts. It gave an undue advantage to the electors in the towns, the majority of whom contributed very little (directly) to the cost of harbour boards. In the opinion of the president (Mr. A. E. Jull) it was not desirable in some cases that the nominative system should be reverted to, a* the ratepayers should have the opportunity of voting. The remit was carried. Short shrift was accorded a remit from the Wairoa and Bruce Councils, which asked the conference to affirm : "That the present system in force of hospital and charitable aid boards levying on ihe other local bodies constituting its district for funds towards the maintenance of the respective institutions be discontinued and that cost of administering hospital and charitable institutions be made a charge on the consolidated revenue." Several speakers vigorously condemned the proposal. Was the conference, it was asked, going to become a Socialists' convention.? The State already contributed half of the cost referred to, and ratepayers generally were not opposed to paying their fair and just proportion of the cost of hospital and oharitable aid work. It was the fashion nowadays to ask the Government to pay everything out of the Consolidated revenue. ~" It was pointed out by Mr. G. V. Pearce, M.P. (Patea) that there was already a good deal of extravagance in administration of the boards, and, with the knowledge that the Government "would pay the piper," this would increase still more. The remit was rejected by a large majority. Was it humane, asked Mr. G. 'N. Stephenson in moving a Horowhehua remit, that sick or injured persons .persons should be dragged 70 odd miles to the hospital in their particular district when they lived within 19 miles of another hospital— outside their district! The remit was, ft That in the event of any county, with the consent of the two hospital boards interested in one or more ridings of a county, by legal subdivision, desiring a portion or the whole of a county to be transferred from one hospital district to another, such change to be carried out without special legislation." The County of Horowhenua was really, pointed out the mover, 76 miles from its own hospital, but within 19 miles of the institution m a neighbouring district. Other speakers quoted parallel cases, and the remit was agreed to. Two other remits were adopted, as follow :— "(i) That, for the purpose of representation on hospital and harbour boards and all other governing bodies where practicable, counties, boroughs, and town districts shall have separate representation; and where such representation is not practicable and united representation is necessary the franchise PJfcSfSfced by a borough or town district shall be the same as that exercised by a county. (2) That the former system of appointment of representatives to hospital and charitable aid boards be reverted to.' s