PUBLIC MEETING AT ST. JAMES HALL.

Patea Mail, Volume IX, Issue 1061, 18 July 1883, Page 2

PUBLIC MEETING AT ST. JAMES HALL.

The meeting to consider Hospital matters took place in St James’ Hall on Monday evening, and was attended by about 60 or 60 persons. His Worship the Mayor was voted to the chair. Chairman read the advertisement calling the meeting and said that he could give them very little information regarding the Hospital, but Mr R Horner who was presentVould .no doubt enlighten them. He (Mayor) had telegraphed to the Government on the matter, and he would read the message and reply ; “ Patea, July 14. “Hon Major Atkinson, Wellington;— Piease state conditions Government would favour the future management of Patea Hospital by local Board and amount of financial assistance.— John Mihboy.”

“ Wellington, July 14. “ John Milroy, Patea Government will give pound for pound subsidy to Hospital. Colonial Secretary would be glad to hear fully from you on subject if proposal acceptable.—H, A. Atkinson.

It would be seen that Government viewed'lhe matter favourably. A report had been circulated that Hawera was going in for a Hospital, but from the nature of above telegram he did not think it likely. He was in Hawera a few days ago and heard nothing about it. The question the meeting had to consider was whether they would keep the Hospital open. Mr B. Horner said that he was debarred by a resolution of the County Council from taking the initiative in calling the meeting, but he would be happy to render any assistance he could. He gave a brief resume bi Hospital affairs for the past few years. The County had had the management of the Hospital, and in 1879 the Government audited the accounts, and proposed to give subsidy of £ for £, which was continued till March, 1881. The Council then found that owing to the separation of Hawera and the formation of Patea Borough they were unable to continue to pay half the cost any longer, and communicated with the Government. They .were then asked to retain the management, the Government bearing the expense, and that had gone on up to the present time. There had been some muddle in County accounts, but the Hospital accounts were clear, and he was sure that the institution had been economically managed. When the Inspector was here he expressed his satisfaction and said that with the means at our command we had' done more than any other body. Government owed the Council £SOO, and he thought they had been labouring under some wrong impression. The cost of the Hospital from 1879 to March, 1881, had been £2836, out of which £654 had been spent in buildings and furniture, the annual cost being £635. For the last seven quarters during which time Government had found the whole of the money, the annual cost had been £540, £IOO less. He did not think it could be done for less than£soo or £550 per annum. It would be for us to say what we are prepared to give towards the support of the Hospital.

Mr W, Williams asked what were the principal items of expenditure. Mr Horner ; Food, medical attendance, steward, and so on. lie could not give the exact items. The medical officer got £l5O and the steward £IOO. Medicine was found by the medical officer. Mr By ton : Is there not some revenue from patients? Mr Horner : We have given the Government credit for that. Mr Byton : That is a set-off against the cost. Mr Horner: Yes. Mr : The gross cost then is £550. Mr Horner : Yes. .Chairman : , I understand that the ap? pfopriations are-—medical officer, £IOO ; medicine, £6O. ' Mr Herner ; Our contract with the surgeon is that he should take the Hospital and find medicine. Mr Donley: Not all ; codliver oil for instance.

Mr Horner : Yes, there are some exceptions. Mr Williams : You say Government owe you £SOO ; Government say they owe nothing. Mr Horner ; There had been a misapprehension. They have forgotten the terms upon which they were to keep the Hospital. I believe they understand the question now. When the Council said they could not keep open any longer, Government wrote saying they would pay all the expenses. Mr Williams : Have you the letter ? Do they repudiate it ? Mr Horner; Of course we have. Government had not repudiated it. Mr Taplin : What will become of the money if you get it ? Mr Horner : It will go to the funds of the Council. We found the money, and Government vyi.ll have to pa} 1, it back. There is no chance of the Hospital getting that. Mr Taplin : Would it not be fair to give the future management all monies received in the shape of revenue from patients ? Mr Horner : Government have got credit for that. We spent so much money, and Government will have to refund it. Mr Taplin : Then upon the strength of that letter from, the Government you wont on maintaining the Hospital, trustng to them to repay. ,

Mr Horner : Yes. There has been a quibble about it. They hare been running, away with the idea that the arrangement was £ for £, instead of considering the arrangement made in 1881. Mr Taplin : What has become of the letter? Mr Horner ; It was sent to the Government six months ago.

Mr Williams: X call that repudiation, not a quibble. Mr Horner : They now say they won’t continue any longer. The question is now that Government will give £ for £. They are evidently waiting for a proposal from us.

Mr Lett: Quite right too. I think it would be to the taste of the meeting if you would tell us what had been spent last month. Last year the principal items were: Medical Officer, £l5O, Steward, £100.; and £IOO to myself. What about the other £l5O ; does that go in brandy, or what ? The fact is we are sick and tired of the way the Hospital has been conducted, and what is it after all ? A regular barn, enough to kill anybody who goes into it. There would be no difficulty in raising £3OO. Within a few pounds you can tell us what has been the expenditure during the last 12 months.

Mr Horner : The last seven quarters it was at the rate. of £547 6s 0d per annum. I could not tell how many ounces of meat had been got from the butcher, or how many loaves of bread from the baker, but I know that all the bills were subjected to strict scrutiny. They are open for the inspection of any ratepayer who wants to see them. There may have been a bottle or two of brandy used, and there may not; I cannot say. The Hospital had been economically managed, I am certain about that. Ido not wish to throw dust in the eyes of the meeting by saying they can manage with £3OO when the cost will be nearly £6OO.

Mr Lett: I throw no slurs at the present Council, but at previous slovenly management. There were people loaf-, ing about the Hospital. Why did they not go and work in the garden. The management was entirely rotten. Mr Horner; I agree that it is quite time it was out of the hands of the County Council. Councillors were scattered all over the County, and I was the first to get a committee of ladles and gentlemen round the town to look after the Hospital. We never had a single suggestion from that committee, and they became defunct in about three months.

Chairman : How is the Council likely to act with reference to the building ? I should like to know whether they will forego all claim, or whether they will demand a price. Mr Horner: I think the Council will consider it as a public institution, belonging to whoever has the management. It was built partly with County money, and Government paid half. The building was for the use of the County. Chairman: The building was upon a site Crown-granted to the borough, and was insured in the Borough Council’s name. It would have to be reconveyed. Mr Horner: There would be no difficulty about that. I think the Council would • re-convey subject to the consent of the Government.

Mr Lett ; I believe you are defaulters. Have you paid your rates for the building for the last two years ?

Mr Horner: I don’t know that we have.

Mr Lett: There 1 I said yon were defaulters. Now you can step in Mr Mayor. (Laughter.) Chairman asked Dr Keating to say how many patients were in the Hospital. ,

Dr Keating said that on-the 20th of last month orders came not to admit any more patients. One would leave to-morrow, one was going to New Plymouth, and three are to be boarded out. There is one sick, and he could be sent to Wanganui; so that there was nothing to prevent the Hospital being closed to-morrow. Mr Taplin thought it would be a good thing to have the Hospital cleared out, and then the Board could make a fresh start. He had a resolution, which he would read. It was—“ That this meeting views with regret the intention of the Government to close the County Hospital; and that it is the duty of everyone in the district to do his utmost toward meeting the Government in any reasonable demand they make on us to keep the Hospital open.” This resolution should be sent to the Government, to let them see that we were prepared to put our hands in our pockets. When the Government saw that, they would have no hesitation in confirming these to the Mayor. He had been .speaking to a gentleman from Melbourne about the way they manage their hospitals there. They had a private committee of twelve, and each member took tickets and sold them—not to well-to-do settlers, but to the travelling public, such as men working on contracts, &c. They charged a guinea, and then the holder of the ticket, if he got hurt, came to the Institution, and was treated as though he were a subscriber. As a rule, the working public were the people who required the Hospital.

Mr Williams seconded the motion. He thought it would be a disgrace to the community if they allowed the Hospital to be closed. The Maoris, when one of them fell sick, put him under a flax bush to die. Wo were hardly-prepared to do that, but he should not be surprised if Government would even go that length with regard to the people of Patea. He approved of the suggestion of Mr Taplin, re tickets, but there were others who were not in a position to pay and the Hospital must be open to them. He thought that under the last management people had been admitted who ought not to hove been. Some other provision ought to have been made for them as the Hospital was too expensive for loafers. Considerable supervision and tact were required, to ascertain if a person was in need of medical assistance in order not to send people there to loaf year after year ns though the Hospital had been put up for them, (Hear, hoar).

, Mr Clover agreed with the resolution Working men were willing to give fair support, although they might not be able to go so far as to give a guinea. The amount the working man could give might appear small, yet it was quite in proportion compared with the donations of settlers. Each should give according to his means. There was one class which he did not like, and that was the broken down drunkard. The thrifty man did not like to give his mite to support that class. Government got the benefit from the revenue from driuk, and they ought to bear all the expense of those whose illness was caused through drink (applause). In case of accident it was different, and every person ought to come forward and help to support a public institution.

The motion was then put, and carried unanimously. Mr R, A. Adams said he had another resolution to propose. It was, “ That Hospital affairs be managed by a Board appointed in the following manner: One member by the Government, one by each of the contributing public bodies, and one by the general public, a guinea subscription qualifying a person to vote.” He was told that the practice was to send a list of names to the Government, and allow them to select, but he thought that the public in the district ought to be the best qualified persons to nominate the Board. He thought that if the public bodies contributed say £l5O, the public could easily raise the other £IOO necessary to carry , on. Persons who contributed £2 2s should have power to nominate, but he considered no one should vote on a less contribution than a guinea.

Chairman asked who were to be considered the general public. Mr Adams; The subscription should be open to the general public, and those who subscribed a guinea should be entitled to vote. Voting papers could be sent to them if they resided at a distance. Mr Lett seconded the motion. Mr H. F. Christie: Is it the intention of the resolution that the Hospital shall be managed by a committee of three.

Chairman : Every one of the contributing bodies would be entitled to elect a member of the Board. Mr Hawken would like to ask what authority there was for public bodies to vote money to the Hospital. There would only be two public bodies who could, the Borough Council and the County Council. The former had power to make by-laws and appropriate money as they thought fit, but in the Road Board Act there was no provision for that. The County Council had power to relieve the sick, and manage the Hospital, but Road Boards had no such power.

Chairman : There is a clause in the Act which gives power to municipal bodies to do so. Mr Horner informs me that the Road Boards have no power to give.

Mr Taplin : The next best thing to do would be to confine the resolution to the Patea Councils and Hawera County and Borough Council. In reply to Mr Nutsford, Mr Adams said that the difficulty was that they did not know the number of public bodies that would contribute. He would be in favour of the Board consisting of five or seven members. If they bad a dozen they might have a number of soft hearted people amongst them and that would not be advisable. Mr Williams did not see how the guinea qualification would work, and objected to make voting a monetary consideration. There might be men who although not able to give would act well, and others who would give but not act.

Mr Adams said Mr Williams was under a mis-apprehension. There was no money qualification to membership on the Board, only to electing. He thought the persons who paid the money ought to have the voice in electing. There were plenty of people who would give a guinea if they could get a vote; otherwise they, would only give half a guinea. Mr McComisky: Does the qualification extend to Oddfellows as a public body. Chairman: Ido not consider them a public body. Mr Taplin: The Government are to subscribe half and yet we propose to give them only one member. It will be as well to let them have a voice in the management, because if we agree upon a certain course, they may not. We may have ten contributing bodies giving £BSO and Government would have to give £350, and only have one member, therefore I think it would be as well to give them an opportunity of suggesting what the future management should be. There is more difficulty about forming this board than we imagine, and we ought to take the Government into our confidence and work the thing together. The Borough Council ought also to be consulted as the Hospital is built on their ground. Mr Lett suggested that one member should be appointed for each riding in the district, and one by the Government.

Mr Hawken doubted if there was any probability of Hawera sending any of their patients here. It was much more convenient to send them to New Plymouth, as the railway offered better facilities for transport than a coach road. He did not think it at all likely that much support would be forthcoming from the Hawera end of the district. The thing . ought to be confined to the Borough and County, as far as resolutions were concerned. He would suggest a resolution something in this way : “ That in the opinion of this meeting the Chairmen of the Borough and County Councils should form part of the Board, and that Government should be requested to nominate two others to. act. ” He was not in favour of the voting business, as people would not take any interest. The Hospital was used principally by people not settled in the district, and it was necessary to make provision for them. Ho was willing to contribute

his share, although he never expected to make any use of it. Still he considered it his duty to contribute, but it should be done by general taxation in a systematic way; so that everyone of them would pay his share. Mr Cowern thought Government should be asked to appoint one of its officials here to manage the Hospital. Mr Williams would agree to that if it was Government money, but when the public were called upon to subscribe, they ought to have persons in whom they have confidence. He had an objection to the Government having a preponderance of power unless they gave more than we did.

Mr E. C. Horner: Government have absolutely stated that they intend to close the Hospital, and will not carry it on.

Mr Christie thought the Board should consist of seven members, one each from the Borough and County Councils, and five to be nominated by the Government from amongst gentlemen residing between Manutahi and Waverley. Mr R. Horner: Government do not wish, or intend to take the management. They wish a committee to be formed, and will appoint one or two members. In the first place we have to satisfy Government that we can collect the money, and then go to them and say, “ Now we want to form a committee,” and then they will give us a suggestion. We should know first whether we can get £250 out of the district. We cannot go to the Road Boards, but the County and Borough Councils have power to give: We want to know whether they are coming into the scheme or not. Hawera had sent patients here because it was cheaper than sending to New Plymouth, where in fact they bad been refused admission. He bad heard that Hawera was going to build a Hospital; but, although ours'was only a barn, it might be made into a comfortable stable by and by.

Mr Williams suggested that aprovisional Committee should be Mr Eyton had an amendment to pose. It was “ That a Committee be chosen at this meeting, whose duty it will be to make enquiries as to the mode usually adopted in forming Hospital Boards, with power to take action in forming such Board in the manner they think most advisable.”

Chairman could not agree with the resolution. It asked us to forth a board before we had the means to carry on work. The Board wonld have no rating power, and would be at the mercy of any one who chose to throw them a shilling. We ought to get a guarantee of subscription for three years from the public hud public bodies. There was no use in forming a board and then going outside and asking people what they would give, Mr Eyton remarked that in connection with his amendment the committee might also take steps to canvass the district.

Mr Williams seconded the amendment.

Mr Hawken: Would it not be well to empower the committee to collect; subscriptions ? Mr Eyton; That wonld follow in another resolution.

The amendment was then put and carried. After further discussion, Mr Taplin moved “ That all the words after Boards be struck out and the following added : That they report to a public meeting so soon as they have obtained the necessary information.” This was seconded by McKenna and carried. It was also put as a'wfti'* lution and adopted. / ” The following resolutions were also carried:—

“ That application be made to all the public bodies in the district, asking them what amount they would be willing to contribute toward the Hospital expenditure; also that a public subi scription be opened, and a copy of subscription list, with printed heading, be left at each of the banks, and copies also forwarded to every individual member of all governing bodies in the district, kindly soliciting their assistance as collectors in their immediate neighbourhood; and that the various churches be asked to set aside the collection of one Sunday in the year, to be called ‘ Hospital Sunday Collection.’ ”

“ That the number of Committee to be appointed to carry out the foregoing resolutions be five, the Committee to consist of His Worship the Mayor, Messrs T. Eylon, R. A. Adams, W. Williams, and Taplin.” Chairman; We have a small Government reserve !in the Borough, which yields a revenue of £4 15s. That will be a commencement for the Board.

Mr Adams : Mr Gower will give six months medicine free. (Applause). Mr Taplin : Dr Croft will give six months gratuitous service. ( Applause). The meeting then dispersed with a vote of thanka to the Chair and Mr Horner.