Untitled

Otago Witness, Issue 3030, 10 April 1912, Page 11

A Press Association telegram from Wellington states that a well-attended public meeting on the 2nd inst. set up a. strong representative committee to amnge fcTTe dietails for a public meeting at which an illuminated address will be presented to Sir Joseph Ward. Sir Joseph will come south after Easter, and will then probably go to Australia. The presentation will take place early, in May, after his return from Australia. A Press Association message states that Mr Ivlussoy (Leader of the Opposition) will journey south, having accepted an invitation to attend a banquet in honour of Mr C. A. C. Hardy, the former member for Helwyn, at Mcthvon, on April 10. Mr Massey expects to be away from Auckland for about a fortnight. The English mail which was despatched from Dunedin via Brindisi on February 22 arrived in London on the night of March 29, its duo date. The weather during the past week has been ideal, and good progress is being made with harvesting operations (writes our Lawrence correspondent). There is still a good deal of, crop to cut, but with a continuance < f the present conditions a week or 10 days should see the bulk of it in stook On some farms loading in has commenced, and it is reported that the grain has been t-aved in very good condition. Mr G. L. Denniston, who has for a good many years been Consul for Belgium in this district, received notice on the 2nd that King Albert' has been pleased to appoint him Chevalier of the Order of the Crown. The notice of the bestowal of this honour was conveyed to Mr Denniston in a letter in the following terms from the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs:—"lt has pleased'the King, my august Sovereign, to appoint you. at my representation, Chevalier of the Order" of the Crown. I have the honour to forward to you herein enclosed the in« sitrnia of this decoration, as well as an authentic copy of the decree of nomination, dated the Ist of February inst., which acts as letters patent " The sum of £3OO has been allotted to Hie Dunedin Hospital by the Hospital Saturday Association Cd its share of the collection made last year. This amount, is £25 less than the allocation received from the association for the previous year. The Government subsidy on the £3OO is £360, the total amount, received by the Hospital this vear, therefore, coming to £660. The sum includes the Poit Chalmers collection of £3B 3s. In forwarding a cheque for £303 the association's secretary intimates that. his executive would like to see a portion of the money devoted towards the expense of completing the open-air balconies at the Hospital, and that the balance be spent on tie! purchase of a piano for the Pleasant Valley Sanatorium. The estimated expenditure by the Ota go Hospital and Charitable Aid Board for the year 1912-13 is £33,800, or £4200 ie.->s than the expenditure of the previous year, which totalled £38,000. The expenditure during

the board's first year of office (1910-11) was £32.000. It is considered that the operation cf iho Widows' Pension Act has helped to some extent this year to reduce the expenditure. The allocation of expenses this year \H as follows: —Ordinary expenditure, £30,000; capital expenditure, £3BOO. It is not yet known what the Government contribution will be. Apart from the large amount

required for hospital and charitably aid purposes, tho biggest items in the estimated expenditure are £2500 for additions to tho Nurses' Home, and nearly £IOOO to complete and furnish the Tapanui Hospital, which is expected to be finished next month. The allocation for that hospital includes £SO for an ambulance waggon for the Tapanui district.