SOUTHLAND CHARITABLE AID BOARD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11782, 11 October 1901, Page 5

SOUTHLAND CHARITABLE AID BOARD.

A HOME FOR CHILDREN. [BY TELEGRAPH.— ASSOCIATION.] Invkrcargill, Thursday. The foundation stone of a wing for the accommodation of children, under the charge

of the Southland Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, was laid to-day, at Lome Farm, five miles from town, by the chairman, Mr. Andrew Bain. Shortly after the Board j was instituted in 1885 they built a home I for the aged in town at a cost of £1780. 1 It has since been enlarged, the cost of the i property being £4500. The building was ! badly designed, and as the inmates increased I the Board bought Lome Farm and built on ; it, and moved all the people capable of ' doing a little work to it. Now it is pro- , posed to close and sell the town home, and ! concentrate the wards of the Board at ; Lome, where the old people are bringing the place into cultivation. The first rate struck by the Board was a farthing in the £. I It has since gone up to od, and this year is : 2d. When the Board commenced to dispense outdoor relief the annual expenditure j was £1600. Now the income is £10,556, and the expenditure £9570- The cost of the Lome buildings is roughly £6000. The inmates of the home in 1887 numbered 7, now all told they number 93. The Board's credit balance now is £3128. Of the 57£ acres at Lome 15 are in oats and grass, 6 acres in garden and potatoes, and there are 240 fruit trees. The 1 surplus produce is now being sold.