CHARITABLE AID.

Evening Star, Issue 9387, 8 May 1894, Page 2

CHARITABLE AID.

; At the meeting of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Boards on Thursday the Committee of the latter will present their annual report, from which we make the following extracts :

During the year ended March 31.1894, the expenditure was £l4,6l6—the Benevolent Institution absorbing £9,946, the Caversham Industrial School £3,078, St. Mary's do (Nelson) £453, and the Dunedin Female Refuge £l3l. The local bodies contributed during that period £6,828,. and the Government subsidy, amounted to £6,947.. At the end of last.financial year there was» balance of £733175; this year it stands at £839185.

THE BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION drew £9,946 from the Charitable Aid Board and received £1,492 10s from other sources, totalling £11,439; and there was expended on outdoor relief £6,752, and in general maintenance £4,335. There was a credit balance on March 31 last of £ll3, against an overdraft of £237 18s at the beginning of the year, On the subject of

OUTDOOR RELIEF

the report says : ; ," Under this heading we find that the number of cases on the books of the Institution on the Ist of February was 397, of whom twenty-three are children boarded out from the Institution, as recommended by the Board last year. The number of cases on the books of the Institution at the corresponding date of last year was 355. thus showing that the cases have increased to the extent of forty-two, but if we deduct the twentychildren boarded out the net increase is nineteen. The amount. expended on. outdoor, relief is £6,752, as compared with £6,419 for the previous year, or an increase of expenditure under this head amounting to £333. The claims of the Institution on. the Board, for the year have exceeded the l amount, provided for to the extent of £446 lis 7d; but in considering this increase we must remember that the Trustees, at the request of the Board, reduced their last year's estimate from £IO,OOO to £9,500, whilst at the same time intimating that the boarding-out of the Institution children would involve extra expense. The children have been boarded out at an extra cost, roughly spesking, of about £250, and this sum, taken in. conjunction with £237 overdraft at the beginning of the year which has been paid off, will account for the excess of expenditure over the amount provided for. " Whilst admitting these facts, we .must express regret that circumstances have, compelled the Trustees to claim far more than the amount provided for by the Board." The Trustees without doubt have an arduous and difficult duty to perform in keeping expenditure down to the lowest point, whilst paying due regard to the principle that no ,one should be allowed to starve, and under such circumstances have done their best. The weakness of the system under which we work has been frequently pointed out in previous reports—viz., that those in receipt of charitable aid are not all through required (when able) to do something in, compensation, for the relief they receive. We, desire to offer no further comments on thjs subject, but leave the facts and figures stated for your consideration."

THE FEMALE REFUGE cost £443, maintenance (including repairs) being chargeable with £345 and salaries with £9O. The receipts were £446, comprising £314 from laundry work done by the inmates, of whom (17 women and 7 children) 24 were admitted during the year, but by reason of withdrawals that number had been reduced to 9 at the end of March. The report, lias this commendatory paragraph: The affairs of the institution continue to be managed, from a financial i>oint of view, in .every way satisfactory to the Board. Not only have the Ladies' Committee. of Management been enabled to carry on with £69 less than 1 heir estimate, but have out of the sum paid tq them by the Board (£131), along with earnings, been enabled to effect repairs to their otherwise unsatisfactory premises at a cost of about £50."

" In regard to the operations of the institution during the year, from a reclamation point of view, the follow ing information has been supplied to us :—' Of the twenty-two women discharged from the institution, four have gone to situations, live have been retored to their friends, three have gone to the Salvation Home, one has been sent to the lunatic asylum as an irresponsible person, whilst nine have fallen back into their old ways. With this information before us we have no hesitation in affirming that in respect to the all-round management of an institution extremely difficult to control under any circumstances, the ladies have again well earned the best thanks of the Board, and such we feel assured will, as in the past, be unanimously and gratefully rendered to them.'" m- INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS.

From the estimate for the incoming financial year it will be observed that during the year the Board's liability towards outside industrial schools has been extended by the inclusion of the Burnham School (Canterbury). This circumstance has been brought about by the removal of certain children from C'avershain to Burnhani by order of the Education Department. The Committee, when made aware of this fact, sought to obtain information as to the reasons for the removal of these children, beingnaturally surprised at the circumstance, but utterly failed to obtain the least satisfaction at the hands of the Educatiou Department. The Committee then placed the matter in the hands of the Caversham School Board of Advice, who have taken the question up, and been in communication with the department, but as yet no better result has attended their efforts. The Committee are of opinion that before removing children for whom the Board are responsible away from our local school there should exist good and valid reasons ; and if such reasons exist in the cases referred to, why should there be any reluctance in informing the Board of them. The number of children in the various schools chargeable against the Board, according to latest information, is 216, as compared with "212 last year, or a decrease of sixteen. Of the 216 children now chargeable to the Board, thirty-seven are at the rate of 7s 6d per week, twelve at the rate of 7s per week, and 167 at the rate of 6s 6d per week. It is pointed out that the Committee's efforts to get the reduction of 6s 6d per child, which the Education Board sanctioned in 1889, made applicable to the whole of the children, but without success. The Committee think it desirable to again agitate this question, and accordingly have appealed to the Industrial School Board of Advice on the subject, with what result remains to be seen. THE ESTIMATES for the present and past years are shown side by side for the sake of comparison: 1894-5. 1893-4. Benevolent Trustees £IO,OOO £9,500 Caversham Industrial School 3,016 3,330 St. Mary's Industrial School 3511 350 Auckland Industrial School... 95 10 Burnham Industrial School... 40 Duuedin Female Refuge ... 200 200 Board expenses ... ... 125 125 £13,826 £13,515 If this year's estimates are approved £6,913 will be required to be provided for by levy on local bodies against £6,757 for 1893-94. The Hospital Board state that the past year's expenditure was £6,124, the Dunedin Hospital absorbing £5,324 for maintenance. The receipts were: £2,857 from contributions and £2,830 from Government subsidy, the balance at the end of the year being £6BO, against £436 on March 31, 1893. The Campbell bequest earned £275 as interest, and that sum was paid over to the Trustees. The report goes on to say : " The amount claimed by the Hospital Trustees for maintenance during the year has bsen £5,324 4s sd, or £7515s 7d less than their estimate. The average number of in-patients daily during the year, wc are informed, is ninety-nine, as compared with eighty-five during the previous year, being an average daily increase of fourteen. Reviewing the information as a whole, we think that the Trustees and hospital staff are to be congratulated on the results of their work during the past year. There can be no doubt that the cost involved in an entire change in the system of nursing was not fully met by the end of March, 1893, and that considerable expenditure on that account has further been necessary. This, taken into account along with the facts that the number of patients, both out and in. has increased; that considerable repairs and improvements have been effected; and that the prestige of the institution in point of general efficiency has, from official reports and otherwise, been fully maintained, in our opinion fully justifies us in stating that the Trustees and staff are to be congratulated on their work, and this we have already done." The estimates for the current year are £6,210, the maintenance of the hospital figuring for £5,400, and £7OO being required for a muchneeded new laundry and drying room. The expenses of the Board are £llO. If these estimates are approved, £3,105 will have to be provided by local bodies, against £2,755 last year, being an increase of £350 in local taxation.