NEW HOSPITAL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVIII, Issue XLVIII, 6 May 1914, Page 6

NEW HOSPITAL

[ MR CAWTHRON'S GIFT. | THE SUBSIDY QUESTION. At to-day's meeting of the 'Nelson JHtyspjjal and Charita-blo A'-d Board* the Minister for Hospitals and Charitable Aid (Hon. R. H. Rhodes) wrote as follows: — "Referring to your Board's request for the immediate payment of- a subsidy of £IB,OOO, on Mr Cawthron's gift of £15,000, or failing that, payment of current rate of interest on the subsidy, I have to inform you that, there being some doubt as to the intention of the Act in regard to the payment of subsidies by way of progress payments or otherwise, I consulted the Crown Law officers as to (1) Whether the subsidy should be paid at once to the Board, presumably for investment until such time as it may be required ; and (2) failing immediate payment, whether we could legally pay interest on the amount until it was remitted to the Board. "As a result I have to reply regarding the first question : That with respect to the time of payment it is provided, by sub-section 4 that the subsidy payable to a board shall be payable at such time or times and in such mariner as the Minifcter of Finance determines. He, therefore, has an asolute discretion whether he will pay the subsidy in a lump sum at once or whefner he will pay it in instalments spread over a period. In the present circumstances there would seem to be no sufficient reason to receive the sum at once. It is not at once required' for the purposes in hand; and as regards the second question : As to the proposal to pay interest on the* subsidy this cannot 'be carried into effect. There is no authority for the payment of any sum except the capital amount of the subsidy itself. From the above your Board; will see that it is in accordance with the spirit and wording of the Act that this subsidy should be given by way of progress payments to the contractor pro rata with payments from the original j donation."

The letter was being discussed when we went to press.