THE NEW HOSPITAL

Nelson Evening Mail, 5 July 1916, Page 4

THE NEW HOSPITAL

ANOTHER LETTER FROM THE MINISTER. GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY STILL FORTH C 0 lil IS" G. [BUT ERECTTOX OF Bt ILDING TO BE DEE tTho following letter from the Hon. G. W. .Russell, Minister fox- Hospitals, addressed to the Cixairraa-n, came before the 'Hospital and Oharii-a-bk. Aid-' Board to-day : I have the- honour to acknowledge receipt fi'om the secretary of your Board by letter dated 25th -May, of a copy of a resolution passed l by t'he Board ill reply to >a letter from the InspectorGeneral of (Hospitals, cent with my a>pproval, suggesting that the Board should not proceed with the erection! of the new 'Hospital until after the close of the war. From this resolution I note thatyour Board asserts the urgent necessity for a new Hospital. In .reply to this I beg to draw your attention to the following extract from a letter forwarded to •' tfhe Inspector-'Gen'ca'al under date October 10, i 1.912, referring to the proposed erection of a children's ward and the extension of .the women's ward. In. that lettsr you madia the following statements : "As doubtless you tare aware the present Hospital buildings, although wooden structures, are remarK'a'bly sound, and in 'thtf opinion: of >the vßoard win',l serve their purposa for irca-ny years yet. to come: hence the proposed addition will- be ."constructed of -wood and lined throughout with Wander lick; sheathing." I think that the extract from your letter of four years ago completely answers, t.he present statement of your Board! that there is "u-rgsrot necessSty for a, new Hospital." The suggestion! of the Inspector-'General that 'the erection of a new Hospital should be postponed until after the war was macte : npon t : hei ground that the cost of all building material, equipment atid 'labour •♦■has en or-, mousl'y increased. in consequence of the war. The Government is d'jeeplj? interested in this, as it is providing the sum of £IB,OOO towards the; cos£, while your Board is not .providing one penny, the remainder of the money being provided bv the Cawthron gift. Under these .circumstances I cannot recognise ■the' right of you-r Board to force rrn expenditure which, HQiough; diesi'iia-hle 1 , is--certainly not absolutely necessary on vour own showing, while conditions are: such that tprobaMy the tost .•would be. ■from 20 to 30 psir; cent, above pre-war prices. I therefore desire'to state that I shall : be unable to consent under section 61 to the new 'Hospital at Nelson until conditions 'become normal. Jf yeni' Board- persists in going on the work in defiance of this . statement, I ishall feel it my :: . duty-to: 1 placethe. fact's before the: JESfc. ,'Hioni. the ■Xliri-Jstei* for Finance, and ask his direction under section 33 of the [Hospitals and Charitable Institutions Act, 19C9, as amended! by section 6*of the Amend'.nenii Act- of 1913. as to -whether the Government isto be regarded as still bound >by the promises of my predecessors to grant a suhsid-T of 24s in the £ oii the Oaiwthron bequest. I may add that in rny letter of 28th February, 1916, I fully set out the * position as 'b e>t ween: the Board and the Government. To. that flitter I received, no reply beyond the resolution -which your Board passed, in correction with it The letter was 'being, discussed when we. went to press.