Wellington Hospital and Charitable Aid Board.

NZ Truth, Issue 406, 5 April 1913, Page 4

Wellington Hospital and Charitable Aid Board.

The accounts for year ending March 31, 1913, are Just to hand. These accounts hay© to be audited by the Government auditor, and presumably that suggests a reason for their tardy appearance. The Audit Department does not bustle with Us work as commercial people ara accustomed to do. It is well In some cases to go about matters m leisurely fashion, especially when it Is backed up by a thorough investigation, as It appears to have been done In this Instance. This everwakeful journal has on many occasions had to criticise the doings of the wonderful Wellington Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, and In doing so saved the public from ■Bomo abuses. Quite a large sura of money posse* throunh tho hands of the Board, and the handling of money requires much watchfulness from tho public, Kor the year m question, vlss., ending March 31, 1912. the Board administered no less a num than £47,930 is lid, which includes the carry over from previous year of £4747 Is 3d. The sum carried forward to this year Is only £3313 19s 2d, or, say. £1430 less. But £1500 of loan was paid off, which helps to put things on a better footing than appears at a glance. Hpaco prevents a reprint of the accounts, and In truth this would be an infliction on our general readers, however profitable It might be to those who specialise m pubile finance. "Cambist." therefore, confines his comments to the outstanding features which immediately concern the results of the Board's finance. Tho principal items of receipts are from the following;— l«cvle« from local bodies £1.4.043 3" Sd. subsidies from Government on this amount £16,915 17s 2d. maintenance fees £4408 6s 6d. out-patients' fees £3SS 14s Sd. old ago pensions £SO6. These items make a total of £36.6(12 la Id, bo thai a sum of £11.56S 4s lOd remains to bo mentioned. This Is julckiy accounted for, i.e., £4717 Is 3d from year ending March, 1911. and £6651 ?» -,d made up of rents £3187. donations, etc., £1734. children* education £1159. The balance — numerous . smalt Items, kooktng at these various amounts, local and pencrnl Government provides £37,000 between them, including old «ro pensions, which of course evmes out of iho people'" pockets. Maintenance fop* from nil th«> jnsUiuilona under the Hoard i nty provide i:<*tt». Out-patient*' foe* a mere £3SS Ha Sd. The. return* fr«m Uia people beneflttlng from the Wellington Hospital. OtaUt Hospital, OiAkl SnnttiorUim. Ohtro Home .*«vl Charitable Aid. ar<\ of coura«. extremely small when compared with the amount coming from !oca! An<J <Jrtv«rnment taxes. "Cambist" rrf&rrin this na one of vh«> worflt features tn «ur vnunte-t Dominion life, vis., th« widespread [mv(»rty rtnu>nK*i th«« pr<?s>'«* whirh theso wmiwriwitf Itrinu to llp>it. It )« In flat «t«niftt of general prosperity- t^ find iho Krcnt amount e-f mi»o«Y which the Hoard ha* to collect and di«bur»o to iho numer-

ous beneficiaries under their care. Hero Is an institution dealing with the problems of disease, old age and poverty m quite* a rich portion of New Zealand, though m a very circumscribed area ot the whole Dominion, handling nearly £900 weekly, only £100 of which comes from the unfortunate people who directly receive the benefits. Theire is:no use protesting that this country is free of grinding poverty when we have such plain evidence as this before us. The same thing is found m every other province, and if the figures were tabulated they -would run into enormous totals. "Cambist" hopes these facts and this line of investigation into a serious phase of our j economic existence will attract attention from our people; and stir them to provide remedies for the artificial poverty which our conditions are responsible for. The results shown are part of the system on which this country Is run. The parties chiefly to blame are our Incompetent Parliaments, which have acted only In the interests of the land-grabber and speculator, a Bank combine or money trust which is bolstering up a lot ot useless merchants and middlemen, whose interests are to kill local industries, and so finally they drive our people to poverty, sickness and Charitable Aid. The Board expended exactly £44,616 6s 3d m the period under review. This expenditure is spread over the whole range of the institution's duties, viz., Wellington H<vspltal and Otakl Hospital and Sanatorium, the Ohiro Home, ajso Charitable Aid. Grouping. the items, some striking figures result; for instance, salaries total £8834, wages only £4363— the difference Is very marked. Drugs, dressings, wines, and Burgical Instruments cost £2269. "Domestic establishment" £8511, comprises light, fuel, furniture, bidding, etc "Provisions" £8452. These last s two | Items make about £17,000, and provide some trade for the grocer, butcher, fishmonger, and dairyman. The "maintenance of children" costs .£5017, nearly £100^ per week for the support of tho [ little ones born to misfortune. Let it b« | hoped their future will be brighter, j There is an item of £717 18s Id Interest ion loan m connection with the XVelling- | ton Hospital, which points to the fact that the Board is In debt Everything m this country appears to be covered with I debt, and so this Institution must be the Isame. This Is a widespread chronic disease which needs curing. In this case the "Wellington Hospital and Charitable Aid Board hks to carry the burden uf poverty, slejfthßss, etc. To cope with this I heavy toad our taxation revenues have lo provide thie'means. Why should sych an j institution; as this be forced to borrow j and provide interest for wealthy c* I jtates? Their whole reveliue shouM be free to rteet the needs of the sick and ! poor. The Government should see t«> this. ; Looking at the liabilities wo find the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board owes the bloated Rhodes estate £4700 and the ! Public Trustee £9500. These significant items tell us how clever th«» wealthy people are In taking a turn out of the poor. "Cambist" wishes he had the power to lash this aa it deserves. Tho whole rotten ' financial system that makes such anomalies possible, and, worst of all, the abominable social conditions' that enable smug rich people to fatten on tho poor via a Hospital ana Charitable Aid Board This requires the pen of a Bernard Shaw to do full Justice to the sordid miseries covered up by this proflt-huntlng trar.- ! aactlon. i The statement of assets and liabilities ] In dated March 31. 1913, which 'is surely j a slip of the pen— lt shnuliV.be.' of course, i for the year ending 1912. It can hardtv be that the "Doputv Controller and Auditor" whoso name la at the foot has ma«le a mistake. It must b« the poor printer who did this. .What tho auditor says Is of a very important nature, and writer would like to* hear what the Crown La»v Officers are going to do In the matter. Writer knows how auditors' tags w«re Injured by Seddon and Ward, but now wo havo tho pure Reform Government let v* sco if they will follow the example ot their bad predecessors. Here Is what the auditor says: "Examined and found correct, EXCEPT that the deposit of Board funds totalling £2351 with tho Wellington Truat. Loan and Investment Co.. and the New Zealand Investment, Sfortuaafl and Deposit Co.. contravenes section 49 of the Hospital anu Charltab'e Institutions Act. J9Q9." So it appears this Board of Bumbles la quite a iau-lcsn body, so to speak. They ijrnore the very pro- ! per and salutary provisions laid down for j their guidance In the Act referred to, and 1 | place with two privato enterprise, moneyi lending, loan, land and borrowing con- ' corns £2251 of money. Writer does not question the safety of this transaction, for nothing la known of the standing of j these companies. They may bo immense* i jly strong, even though they may be start enough to accept deposit* from the j>onr Charitable Aid Benrd. Our quarrel i» with the awful law-breaking Board, not those smart companies, and we call upr. n the Government to do lt« «luty. The mandatory Instructions In section 49 of the Hospital and Charitable Institution* Act, 1909, read as follows: — **AH moneys held In trust by ft Board SHALL, pending I the application thereof In accordance ! with the terms of the trust, be Invested 'at the discretion of the Board, either In ' mnnner directed or authorised by rj :0 (Trust, or (notwithstanding the termw cf tho Trust) In securities Issued by tho r;o- --! vernment of New Zealand, or by any I local authority under any Act, or on first ! mortgage of freehold land m New 7.<e%- --! land." It only remains to be asked, what rate of interest nre these companies pi^y inn for the money Improperly ilepoxjte l with them by this law-breakinj? Board of | Bumbles? 1