BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION TRUSTEES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2203, 21 May 1896, Page 11

BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION TRUSTEES.

The weekly meetingoftheßenevolent Institution Trustee, held on the 13tb inst., was attended by Me^sis H. Chisholm (chairman), H. Gourley, C-hen, AlUn, W. Bridgman, A Solomon, W. Swan, C. Haynes, and James Green, M H.lt. ACCOUNTS. Accounts amounting to £317 18a 31 were passed for payment. TIIE YEAR'S EXPENDITURE. The following letter was receive \ from the sectary to the Charitable Aid Board :— " Referring to the eotiuiiitu for the maintenance of the ins ituturn for the current ye*r, as stated in your letterviz., £11,500, and overdraft £IIS 8a 3d, in all £11,7188 3d,— we havd the honour to 3tnte that the same was considered by the board at ito meeting on the 7th inst , when tbe following resolution was carried : ' Resolved, that the amount to be gr.iuted t be the Bame as last j ear s estimate— viz , The Chairman said tb.it h-3 did not think it was necessary they should spend much time iv diaousiing this matter. The question to hiui seomed to be this : Whether the trustees of the Benevolent Institution or the Charitable Aid j B iard were in the better position to say what money was required to narry on the operations of th*»~ institution during tlm year. ; It was a pity there should ba an> diff rence between two bodies having the same object in view, but at the same time it was necessary, wh.-n the Charitable Aid Board came to the deci-ion they j had at the last meeting that the tru9tce.s should take a linn stand iv the matter. The whole matter came before a full meeting of the Finance Committed of the trustees that morning, and they were unanimous in recommending that the following reply ba sent to the chairman of the Charitable Aid Board :— | " "Sir,— The attitude taken up by the Charitable Aid Bo%rd, of whic l ! you are chairman, towards us a-) Beuevolent Trustees in reducing our esti-jpiat-f of expenditure for ths current yrar by £100 1, without showiug any valid reaxou for Buuh action, demandn from us very .suriouß consideration. In the discussion that took place it was not sus^eitsd that we had been extravagant in the administration of the funds placed at our disposal, or that we bestowed relief without duo investigation iato the merits of eich c»&e: ou the contrary, it hai been frequently admitted that our aamiuLtration ban been careful aud judicious. It io the efore with very groat surprise that we learned from your omrouuication the action of your biavd in the matter of our esti- ! mati. We freely acknowledge the defects of the j present eyfctem, but as long a-) th* act remains on tho Statute Biok so long will it luve to be' administered as it requires. Wo ask you, as chairman of the Charitablrt Aid Board, to call a meeting of that body for the purpose of ivcouaiderin^ the estimate we submitted for their approval, with a view to reverse the decision come to last week. We would reapo*tf ully draw yoar attention to sections 69 and 60 of 'The Ho<p'ital9 and Charitable Institutions Act 1885,' a;, we cannot see our way to reduce our requisition for the current year." The whole matter was made perfectly clear in these two sections. S -ction 69 of the Ho«pitals and I Charitable Institutions ' Act of 1885 set fo-th , that " the trustees shall; on their tirst comihg into offije, and thereafter before the last da^of March in each year, ascertain the e*timated gross cost of tbe maintenance of the institutions vested in them together with the eatimatsd income from all sources of auch institutions for the 12 months next following, and shall transmit such estimates to tho District Board, together with a requisition to such board fora contribution from the hospital and charitable aid fund of the district to the amount of the difference between the estimated gross , co3t of maintenance and the estimated revenue, and the District Board shall make contributions oat of the hospital and charitable aid fund to the separate institutions according to their requisitions." Section 60 said : r< If the District Board shall de,m the amount of any requisition made to | them by the trustees of auy separate institution i for a grant to ba excessive or otherwise unveasonI able they may appeal therefrom by transmitting a | copy of auy resolution expressing their dissent to ! the Colonial Secretary, who thereupou shall direct an inquiry to bo mvl« in the same manner aa hereinbafore provided in section 44 in relation to inquiring into objections against incorporation. The said section shall apply mutatis mutandis, and the decision of the commissioners shall be final." Section 44, mentioned in the last clause, referred to the machinery to be put in motion with 'a view to settling what amount the institution should receive. The Colonial Secretary, on receiving a protest from the Charitable Aid Bmrd, was to instruct each institution to appoint a commissioner, and these, together with the resident magistrate, were to settle the difference between the two bodies. It was quite clear, therefore, that

the Charitable Aid Board overlooked the fact that their statutory right was not to dictate to the trustees, but their course of action was made perfectly clear if they thought the amount requisi*. tioned for was unreasonable? He perfectly eudorßad the terms of the letter recommended by the Fhiauce Oommittae, aid he was perfectly satisfied that the amount the trustees asked lot wan the leist amount with which they could carry on th* operations of the year. The board had overlooked tbe fact thwt the trustees bad spent £6000 over the amount requisitioned for last year in flading relief for the destitute and unemployed. He movad — "That the letter recommended by the Finance Committee ba sent to the board."

Mr Swan seconded the motion,

The Chairman observed that he mijrht point out further that a resolution was plisoel by tha Charitable Aid Board in April J892 which emphased very much the necessity for the trustees framing their estimates to meat nil their require« rnenta. The resolution was as • folio ws :— " That tha trusts of the Benevoleot Institution, having requisitioned the Ch*ri able Aid Board for a sum equal to. an average of j£7soper month for the current year, that amount be granted, and tha trustees be iafortned that they must keep their expenditure within their estiuiat-, or make tha necessary iinanc ; al arrangements to meet; any excesses the committee decline to racommen 1 the boird to finance beyond the trustees' own estimate of funds required." Mr Brown said that before and after 1892 thia question had always been cropping uu. Ie was an unfortunate thiqg tint the expenditure of the trustee 1 ) w.is yearly increasing, bus it was a moral certainty that all the cure was being exercised that reasonable m 'U could exercise.— {Hoar, hea*.) Ou au ftveruge therj must be 3000 cases adjudicated upon at that table during the coarse of the >e«r, and with increasing demands nude upon their resources ,how vvero they to manage with the decreased amount passed by the Charitable Aid Board?

The Chairmjot: £10,500 was asked for last year, but we exceeded- that amount by £290.

Mr Brown continued to add that it w*a no part of the functions of the .trustees to ask the bank to grant them An overdraft;, but it was tho busineeß of the" bwd to supply them with the requisite funds. He suggested" that n pira^raph should be added to the letter pointing this out, aud further pointing out tihvt the trustees had last rear spsut over and above their requisition .£^ooo ia relieving the de3Titut«. which amount, were it not for the g^nero^ity of the public, the board might have b«en called' upon to pay. Mr Bkidgman endorsed the letter recommended by the Pmance Committee, if *hft suggestion made at the meeting of the board, tint outdoor relief, should be abolished, were adopted, something would have to be djne to provide foi destitute families

Mr Gourley did not blame thn Charitable Aii\ Boird for passing the decreased amount. He did not think censure should be pvsed either upon tho chairman or upon the raem'iers. The meeting wa3 not a large one, and, although the proposition to decrease the requisition was moved by one and seconded by aDether, he, wan quite satisfied the full amount requisitioned for would have passed were it uot for tlw attitudo of some of the trustees themselves. Sseing the motion to desrease the requisition was backed up by two of their own trustee* — man who one would thiuk should know what the requirements of the trustees were. He did not thiuk there was any hostile spirit on the board, and the chairman particularly felt that they should have got the money for which they applied, but, as be said, before their own trustees up jet the whole thing by their advocacy of ths p-op'Bition moved by Mr Snow. He had. no doubt that when the Charitable Aid Board rerqasidared the matter th«y would alter their deci-don.

Tbe Chairman, just to supplament a portion of Mr Gourley's remarks, said that it was perfectly true as to the attitude of the chairman of the board on this- question. So far as the speaker could le>rn'he otrtaitily was not in favour of the course adopted by ths board.

Mr Solomon taid be should not have spoken about tbe matter wero it not for the remarks that had fallen from Mr Gourley regarding th« action tal«n by Mr Green and the- speaker himself ab the mooting of th« boar.'i. Either of them rould be charged with di-lnyalsy to the trustees, because the 'same courae they took at the hoard they pursued at the rneotiog of the trus'ees. They bad bojbh previously expressed tbe opinion that the*amount asked for,wa<i higher Ohau necessary, and they had as much right to express their opinion as had anyone el«e. He did not agree with Mr Gourley that tho remurks made by him (the speaker) and Mr Green influenced the meeting. Mr Snow moved and Mr H.irdy seconded a motion that the amou&t askei for be curtailed, and this was carried, whil« an amendment moved by Mr Gout-ley, that the full amount applied f >r be granted, did not find a seconder. Into the merits of tt l >c question b - declined to go. Tha motion for the approval of the lot er was then carried.

There are 50 o»ses of typbofd in the Anoklaud hospital fron town aud country. The hospital authorities intimate tb»tthey cannot take further cases as the accommodation is absorbed and the abnormal increase of typhoid is unexilained. '

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