The Hawke's Bay Herald. FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 1879.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5359, 18 April 1879, Page 2

The Hawke's Bay Herald. FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 1879.

There is now some prosj&ctthat the Hospital Committee will $c enabled to proceed with the erection'"' of the new building. At the meeting of the Hawke's Bay County Council yester^ day it was decided to raise the amount of the county's contribution in aid of the hospital building fund to £st)o, a donation which is as creditable to the ' donors as it is worthy of the object to which it is to be applied. We rejoice sincerely that the Council of the Hawke's Bay County has so just a recognition of its duties as a public body, and we would fain wish that the other local bodies were imbued with the same spirit. But, as we remarked the other day, it is scarcely fair that those who are willing to bear the burden should alone be weighted with it. We are glad enough to get what is required from those who cheerfully give it of their own accord, but we should be far better pleased — and it would be more satisfactory too — if the contributions were receivable as of right, and for this there needs legislation. Something in the way. of compulsion might, however, be done even now by means of the Government subsidies. What is required to put this engine of pressure in motion is to make a proper representation of the facts to the Government, and this is essentially a work within the province of the Hospital Committee. The committee should draw up a statement for the Colonial Secretary, setting forth the amount contributed by each local body, and also furnish him with copies of the replies received from those bodies that decline to contribute, either to the maintenance fund ,or in aid of the building fund. The Colonial Secretary will then have before him the means of ascertaining whether a local body fufils its duty in respect to charitable aid, and a guide whereby he may regulate the pressure to be put upon those that make default. If it should be found that a local body does not contribute as much as the Government used to deduct for charitable aid, then recourse must again be had to the old practice of deducting, to such amount as will square the account, regardless of any excuse about the funds of the local body not being in a flourishing state. It will not do to let any of the local bodies shirk their duty with impunity. Probably it is only natural that some of them should endeavor to shuffle out of what they regard as a burdensome tax upon their revenue, and therefore it is that such power as there is for coercing them into doing right should be exercised. There is a feeling, we know, that the expenditure for charitable aid arid the maintenance of hosj)itals should be defrayed out of the consolidated revenue, and so far as that means that the matter is one the State should look after, we think there is reason for the idea ; but it must be remembered that the consolidated revenue cannot suffice for everything, and if we draw upon it more than it can bear there must be increased taxation, so that, after all, it comes to the same thing as if the expenditure is defrayed out of local rates. A remark that was made yesterday at the County Council meeting by Mr J. K Williams seems to suggest the proper mode of providing ' funds for charitable institutions. He said that the contribution of .£SOO by the Hawke's Bay County Council woiild be about a penny in the pound on the rateable property, a tax which hardly anyone would object to. And that, we think, is what should be done under legislative sanction and authority. The local bodies should be compelled to levy a penny rate for hospitals and the maintenance of the aged and infirm poor, and then we should not hear the excuse given for not contributing, that the financial position of the local body is not in a flourishing condition.