RATS AT HOSPITAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 24825, 23 February 1944, Page 4

RATS AT HOSPITAL

QUESTION OF ORIGIN APPEAL BOARD DISCUSSION The prevalence of rats at the Auckland Hospital was regarded very seriously by the authorities, said a representative of the Hospital Board, Mr. R. J. Couper, before £he Auckland Manpower (Industrial) Committee yesterday, when an appeal by C. M. Hutchinson, a plumber's labourer, against the manpower officer's refusal to allow him to terminate his employment with the board was being heard. It was stated that appellant was employed mainly as a rat-catcher at the hospital. In saying that his efforts did not seem to have much effect on the number of rats, appellant added: "When I am dead and gone, the rats will still be there. They will never get rid of them. It is the City Council's fault."

"We will not go into that,'' remarked the chairman, Mr. J. (). Liddell. "Men will still be needed to keep down the ' A man had recently been employed to assist appellant, said Mr. Couper. "Appellant says that they aro not your rats," said a member of the committee. Mr. K. M. Simpson. "I think some of them are ours," replied Mr. Couper. The Chairman: We will not go into that either.

j Appellant said he wished to take fenci ing contracts on his own account. He ' had had military service in the Pacific. ! It was strange" if the rats were so bad, ! that appellant was working only a 40- ! hour week, observed Mr. Simpson. The appeal was dismissed. RATES PAID TWICE TWO HARBOUR BOARDS THE CASE OF A FARMER (0.C.) WANGANUI. Tuesday An unusual case of a farmer in the Waitotara County who for the past 14 years had been paying rates to the Wanganui Harbour Board and the Patea Harbour Board on the same section of land was referred to by Mr. W. Morrison at a meeting of the Wanganui Harbour Board. Harbour rating areas were different from caunty boundaries and from time to time alterations had been made, said Mr. Morrison The farmer in question, however, recently discovered that he had been paying double rates and advised the Waitotara County Council accordingly. "He obtained plans of the place and applied for a refund of rates, but the county pointed out that it acted only as a collecting authority for the harbour board," said Mr. Morrison. "As far as I can gather, it would be illegal to make any refund, but, although we cannot do anything in law. I would ask the board to consider doing something from a moral point of view." The secretary said the amount paid to the Wanganui Harbour Board during the past 14 years was £7O. It was hard to know who had made the mistake, said Mr. Morrison. The land was correctly described on the plans, but when the boundaries were changed the section lines were not marked. "I believe we have a moral duty in this matter," said the chairman, the Hon. W.'J. Rogers. "We have- no ! power to nuke the refund, but one way of overcoming the difficulty may be a clause in a Washing Up Bill." In the meantime Mr. Rogers was authorised to make inquiries and inter-: view the Auditor-General in Welling-j ton. FAMOUS TOURIST HOUSE PURCHASE BY HOSPITAL (0.C.) TAUMARUNUI. Tuesday Meredith House, so familiar to tourists on river trips when Hatricks' boats were plving the Wanganui River, has been purchased by the Taumarunui Hospital Board as a home for chronic cases and convalescent patients. The purchase was made to relievo congestion at the main hospital. The proposal was suggested hv the medical superintendent, Dr. Welby Fisher, who stated that some of the 9S patients in the hospital had been placed on mattresses on the floors. Meredith House, with 40 beds and sitting rooms, will give ample relief and stave off extensive additions to the main hospital. The visitors' book at Meredith House, which was established over 40 years ago, contains 10,000 names of tourists from many parts of England, America and Australia. COURAGE AND SKILL AUCKLAND PILOT'S AWARD The citation accompanying the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross to Flight-Lieutenant Olaf Patrick Olson, which was announced last month, has been received by his parents. Captain and Mrs. Frederick Olson, of 85 Dominion Road. "Flight-Lieutenant Olson has completed many sorties involving reconnaissances over ports, harbours and airfields," it states. "Two of these missions were undertaken in December, 1943, in very bad weather. In spite of this, Flight-Lieutenant Olson displayed great skill and persistence and reconnoitred a great variety of targets from a low level. In one area he was subjected to considerable anti-aircraft fire and was driven off, but he returned and completed his task successfully. H" has set a high standard of skill, courage and devotion to duty.,"