GENEROUS GIFT

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 8183, 26 July 1912, Page 1

GENEROUS GIFT

THE BUCHANAN HOME OFFICIAL OPENING CEREMONY. THREE MINISTERS PRESENT. The Buchanan Homo for Incurables, a gift made by Mr W. C. Buchanan, M.P., ro the people of Wairarapa, was officially opened yesterday afternoon by the Minister in Charge of Hospitals (the Hon.' R. H. Rhodes). Tho building, which is of brick, adjoins tho South Wairarapa Hospital buildings, situated at tho south end of tho Main street, near the railway station. The cost was JC5221, Mr Buchanan donating the major portion of the money—considerably over £ IOOO. The are sixteen beds in the homo. One ward—tho largest—contains nine beds, another five and another two. There is also sleeping accommodation for the nurses. The contractors’ for the building were Messrs Taj'lor and ilodgo, .of Masterton, while Messrs Atkins and Bacon, of Wellington, were the architects.

Amongst those present at tho ceremony were the Hon-.i. F. M. B. Fisher (Minister for Marine), Dr Pomare (Minister representing the native race), and tho following members of Parliament:—Messrs G. K. Sykes (Masterton). J. H. Bscott (Pahiatua), and W. Nosworthy (Ashburton). Prominent members of local bodies, including tho Mayors of Greytown (Mr D. P. Loasby), Carterton (Mr F. Feist), and Masterton (Mr J , M. Coradine) were present, in addition to a large gathering of tho public. Di" Valin tine, Inspector-Gen-eral of Hospitals, was also a guest. The weather was atrocious, heavy rain falling throughout the afternoon. 'The ceremony therefore had to : be performed indoors. The Ministerial party and a number of prominent residents, including Mr Buchanan, were entertained at luncheon at tho Greytown Hotel by the IVairarapa Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, Mi D. P. Loasby presiding. ■ SILVER .KEY PRESENTED.

On arrival at the Buchanan Home Mr E. G. Eton, 'cliairman of tho \Vairarapa Hospital and. Charitable. Aid Board, presented the Hon. Mr Rhodes with a silver key as a memento of tho occasion. He hoped the Minister would always cherish the gift, which would remind him of a lino gift by a noble gentleman. In extending A welcome to the. Minister Mr Loasby said he regretted the Prime Minister- was not able to be present. He read a telegram from Mr Massey 1 expressing appreciation of the munificent gift made to Wairarapa by Mr Buchanan. He .also road telegrams from Mr Hugh Bcetham, who ■ was unable to be present owing to land elides and the state of the, roods, from Mr John Bidwill, who stated "flooded in/* and ■ from' many others.- . Hp psid a tribute to the generosity of Mr Bdebafian, who." lie Said.'had always . worked- for the advancement of ' the ' district ; ij.nd foi the) ; comfort ! and benefit.of those who surrounded him, He had shown a noble example in dedicating such a splendid building to-the public. Mr -Buchanan's oiie condition, was' that the home should be placed ih. the centre of the, electorate which had returned him to Parliament on so many occasions. ’lt was a disappointment to the district that Mr Buchanan had not been appointed to the' Ministry, but with. Ms usual generosity' he had stood aside and allowed others to take the place to which ho.was so justly entitled and so worthy of filling. 'He moved that the meeting a'ccord by acclamation its appreciation of Mr Buchanan's magnificent gift, the gathering responding with hearty applausc.

ME BUCHANAN. Hr Buchanan, who was received with cheers and the singing of ‘Tor He's a Jolly Good Follow,"- said the Lower valley- district had been well catered for in the past as far as acts of humanity were concerned. No district had ‘ been.. better provided for in. that respect. Ho harked back to the year’ 1876, when the Erst hospital was built -in Greytown. at a cost of .£6OO. He had unearthed the record' the previous day and found that, the Provincial Government ha'd 1 found .£2OO of the cost. The settlers of the Wairarapa had found the balance. ' Hr Bey, the present medical officer of the hospital, was engaged in 1881 at a salary'of .£SO a year. . The total income then was •£2BO. of‘which,voluntary local contribu-. tlons amounted to £lB3, the Government share being £97 —just one-third. , The total cost of .hospiti.l administration from, the Manawatu river to Falliser Bay at that time was £769, local contributions producing ‘£4B7 and -Government subsidy £282. For ten years ending in 1897 the local -contributions to the- Greytown. Hospital were' '52 per cent, of the total income. The expenditure of the Wairarapa Hospital Board for the'year ending March ■ 31st, 1911, was £4955. He re-ferred-to the great liberality of, the old settlers, who had provided amongst other things'the, Carterton .Home and the Solway Home at', Masterton. (Applause.) A MINISTER’S' CONGRATULATIONS. The Hon. R. H. Rhodes' congratulated the people of Wairarapa on the excellent and much-needed addition to the hospital .institutions of the Dominion. . He was glad that -on • this the first occasion on which he had been called upon to act in an official capacity, he should find himself associated with the munificence of an old and tried friend, to .whom, the district was indebted for the magnificent institution he' was opening that day. By bis generosity Hr Buchanan had relieved the Wairarapa Board of a great deal of responsibility in providing such excellent accommodation for the. chronic and infirm of the district. Hitherto such cases had had to be accommodated in the public hospital or bad been- received into one of the Wellington homes for the reception of- the aged and' infirm. It had very, often happened that neither the hospital nor the) homes referred to', bad been able to accommodate the cases,-and it has gone hard with thoso who were not . considered eligible applicants for the in-' slitufions referred to. The difficulty had now been solved, and the Wairarapa possessed without doubt the-most-modern and best equipped institution for the reception of chronic and incurable cases in the Dominion. It was verr gratifying to notice that of late years especiaby Here had been an (appreciable increase in the amounts received bv hospital authorities under the head of “voluntary contributions." Every year the cost of hospital administration showed an increase. Those in authority were content to let it grow. There must be no halting. We must progress as far as funds would allow. They must do everything possible to help the expecting mother,'whether by extension of the St Helens hospitals or by providing competent midwives for work in the ' more remote parts of the Dominion. People in .the hackblocks must bo given all possible facilities for obtaining the liesf; medical and nursing assistance possible. It was necessary to prevent wastage in, infant life. There would be no departure from the. policy, hitherto adopted by the

department in regard to the prevention and treatment of disease. Economy in. •that direction would'"be; economy of the .worst kind, where tho.healthof the rising igjneration was concerned. He officially declared- the -institution open, stating in conclusion that he was sure it would prove a. great boon to the people of the district. " (Applausoi) Mr J. M.-Coradine (Mayor of Mastertoil) also paid a tribute to the generosity of Mr Buchanan.

. 'NEW 'ZEALAND BORN. The Hon. Mr Fisher said that for the first.time in the history of the country they had practically a New Zealand born Cabinet which was British to the core and would (encourage ••preference lor British above any other article in tha world." (Applause.) The Government had emerged from - one of the most marvellous fights any British Government had ever seen. They had reached the end of the furrow and turned the corner, and when Mr Massey announced his policy next week, it would be seen that they'had not only started a new furrow —but a long one. It would be found that the era of luinianitanau legislation had not passed. - Mr Buchanan had been accused of the awful crime ot holding land. His detractors had called him a stony-hearted- old Conservative; but his name would - bo remembered iu New Zealand vears the names of his detractors had been forgotten. Ihe Government had things to do; and determination to do them. .They were not oblivious, of the self-sacrifice or Mr Bucuanan in standing down in order to allow younger men to‘he included iu thu Cabinet. They realised fully what Mr Bucbanan had done in the interests of the party and the country. (Applause.) .It had been said that the Cabinet represented vested interests and monopolyWhen the present Government got to business and laid the "'nip over tue flanks of monopoly it would he the men on the other side of the House who would ouiver. (Anplause.) - In conclusion ha paid a high tribute to .the generosity md worth of Mr Buchanan, Dr Pomare also addeu n : ; meed ol praise to the member for Wairarapa. A TESTIMONIAL. Subsequently a testimonial in the fo.-m of an album, containing a short and appreciative address, was ■ presented to Mr Buchanan by Mr Feist (Mayor of Carterton) on behalf of the representatives- of local bodies of the district. Mr Buchanan was also presented with a life-sized oil painting of himself from the brush of Mr Fenton, a resident of Masterton. The painting is to be -placed iu the new institution.