ARBITRATION COURT.

Timaru Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 3747, 5 October 1886, Page 3

ARBITRATION COURT.

J. S. Beswick, Esq., R.M., and T. Tesehemaker and E. (J. Kerr, Esqs , J.P's., sat at the Courthonso yesterday as a- Court of Abitratora to abitrate m the matter m dispute between tho South Canterbury Hospitals and Charitablo Aid Board nnd the Waimate County Council with reference to tho Wainmte Hospital. Mr A. Perry appeared on behalf of tlie Hospital Board, nnd Mr .T. W. Wliilo on behalf of t.hn County Council. Mr White m opening tho case said lie hnd not much evidenco to call. After mentioning that tho Waimato County Council wns ;n---corpornted under the Counties Act 1876, ho gavo a summary of tho ovidoiioo he intended to lend nnd 3aid that all the Waimalo County was entiiled to contribute now that the Waimate Hospital was a Bepurate institution was £2f?6 5a fld. lie tlien called tho following evidence ; — DnnielJne-kson, clerk to UioWaimareCounly Council, said tho contributing local bodies to tho Wnimate Hospitul as a- separate institution were the Wnimate County Council and the Wuimate Borough Council. There is an hospital m the Waimato County, and was built at a cost of £3736 14s lOd, and repairs to it have cost £1196 17» Id. 'Ilia surgical instruments arc worth about £500 ; thoy an. insured for £100. Tho Wnimate Hospital is ample for tho requirements of the people m tho county and borough. Together with the subsidy the Waimate County and Borough hrtvo contributed £1000. £1000 for tho hospital anil £350 for administering charitable aid is all that is required. In tho statement there is nn item for £168, voluntary contributions to tho hospital. Tho Waimate Borough is rated to contribute £86 3s 4d. To Mr Perry witness said tho Waimale Council voted £3748 for tho construction of tho Wnimnte Hospital. Government have found altogether £7655 since its erection nnd till it was taken over by the trustees. £159 has been contributed by tho public. The total cost, of erection and maintenance of tho hospital has been £13,112 18s Bd. K. O. Baxter, clerk to tho Waimato Borough Council, said tho .South Canterbury Hospitals and Chautable Aid Board had asked the borough to pay £36 3s -Id for hospital and charitable aid purposes. J. Manchester, chairman to tho Waimate County Council, said bofore the hospital was taken over by the Government, it was manag-d solely by the ccunty. During the last threo or four years the hospital had been, witness!thought, wholly maintained by Government with the exception of voluntary contributions and patients' charges. The first cost, of the erection of the hospital wns not refunded by the Govei-nmeut. With what the county and borough would find tho separate institution could meet nil demand.'. Mr Whito said this would be all the cvidenco ho intended to call. Mr Perrvßnid the whole contention of the Waimate County Council was that having a hospital m their own district they did not consider thcmralves liaMe to contribute to tho Hospital Board. Ho then called, Kdward ITy. T.ough, .Secretary to the S.C. Hospitals and Clinritnble Aid Board, who said he wrote to each local body nskini; them to forward to the Board the nmount they would require for hospital anil charitable aid maintenance, for the year ending 31st March, 1837. Timaru nnd Waimate were the only places m the district th.it had hospitals. A reply was received from tho Wnimate County Council stating that they would require £1350 ; received ro reply from tho Borough Df Waimate. Tho total estimate for the who'o district was £8500. Mr Hayea, of the Waimate County Council, and Mr Clarke, of She Waimate Borough Council, were both present when the statement of receipts and ;xpenditure wns adopted. Witness thon wont through the minutes of the S.C. Hospitals and Charitable Aid Board, and showed the different stages of the proceedings re additions •o Timaru Hospital. Mr White did nnt. think it wns necessary 0 go into puch details. Mr Perry, however, pointed out that what 10 wanted to show wns that Messrs Hayes md Clark, tho Waimnto members, were vir.unlly the prime movers m getting the nddiions made to the Timnru Hospital till the enders w.-re called, when they J objected to inyt.hing being dono. ' Witness, continuing, said tenders were :nlled for additions, for the 20Lh July, and a ender w«s accepted on 20th August for E3Ufi. Witness got the notico from the SVaimalo County Council objecting to contri jute, on the 6th August, after tho tenders had )ccn called but before they had been accepted. So amount had been paid by tho Waimate bounty Council for this year, though the South Canterbury Board had paid tho Wninate Hospital Trustees the six months' mnin;enunce for the Hospital and for charitable lid purposes. Cross-examined by Mr White witness mid the £IGB was credited to tho Waimate County Council. '! ho sham of the Waimate County was one-third of tho total amount, rimnr'u and Waimato were tho only two places that found voluntary contributions. Timaru contributed about £170 m patients' fees nnd donations. Witness said ho rememhered being present when Mr Hayes objected to anything being dono to the Timaru Hospital until the Waimnte Hospital affair ivub settled. The Board had paid about £570 on Hospital and Charitable Aid purposes m the Waimate Council. Ke-examined by Mr White, witness said patients camo from tho Waimate Hospital to the Timaru Hospital. To the Board witness siid the nver.'go number of patients m the Waimato Hospital was 7. The daily cost of a patient m the Timaru Hospital was 5s Bid. Although the Waimato Hospital is v separate institution it is Btill m tho S.C. Hospitals nud Charitable Aid district. The court at 1 o'clock adjourned for lunch. On the court resuming at hnlf-pnst two o'clock, Mr Arthur Perry called Thomas Jowsey, steward of tho Hospital. Ho said : 1 produces tho Inspector General's report on the additions required to tho hospital. I have had much experience m hospitals, and m my opinion the additions now being carried out at the Timaru Hospital are very necesscry. To Mr Whito : I have claimed against patients from tho Waimate district who had attended tho Timaru Hospitul since the Act camo into force. Do not know for cortain if patients went to tho Wnimato Hospital from the Timaru district. Do not know if the claims against Wnimate bad ever been disputed or repudiated. To Mr Kerr : Tho South Canterbury Hospitals Bo "1 wore not aware that I had made the charges. Mr Jowsey, after stating tho average) cost of patients per day at the Timaru Hospital for the years 1881, 1882, 1883, and 1881, said that not knowing tho number of patients trented at tho Waimato Hospital, lie could not say whether it would be cheaper to treat them all at the Timaru Hospital than under the present arrangement of having twohospitals. He could not say whether there was any other district m the colony where two hospitals were so close to ono another as they were m South Canterbury. To Mr To3chemaker : I scarcely think if a surgeon wero at hand (and I understand there are two m Waimate), that a very Berious accident, occurring, say about Waimate, the sufferer would run a very great risk iv being conveyed into Timaru. But I know nothing of the extent of the Waimato County, and cannot, therefore, speak authoritatively on the point. Mr Kerr then said that ho desired to lead up to the point that the two hospitals were not required, but His Worship said they were going beyond their province m considering this question, Mr Perry having put m Dr Drew's report on tho hospital and its requirements, said that would be the caso for tho respondent. Addressing the court ho submitted that tho grounds of tho appeal had totaly failed, and that the S.C. Board m all they had dono had strictly complied with the requirements of the Act. Tho main objection by the other sido was, having a hospital m their district they declined to pay towards tho maintenance of tho whole of tho South Canterbury Hospital and Charitable Aid district. Mr Perry then gave a briof history of the proceedings of tho ' board from January to August of this yoar,

■ ' during which tho question of additions, etc., j to the Timaru Hospital was being discussed ; said that until tlie \'ery last moment of the tenders bring nw.'j.tcd the Waimate incuU'i-rs on the board hud supported ihe action of the other member*, si".l m conclusion submitted that the central hoinl had carried out the Act. m its inU'-jrity, and that tiui-o v.;ie no grounds for tho appeal whatever. Mr While said the position ho took up was that tho Waimale hospital was a fopr.'atc ' institution entirely apart- from the rest oC the di trict. He ([noted i-l ni=es of the Afl and ! amended Act m .-iipf.nt of his contention \ thai the institution wns :i separate one. Mr Kerr: Only ns to ihe management ; not as to the finding of f-=ii '?. Mr White : All that Waimato asks is that having an institution of their own, they should ba allowed lo munngc it. They do not want any aid from t!io district board, nor do thy expect to hive to contribute to hospital's nnd i-hantal-ile aid outside, of their own county. Tlio Wai i iif.o people nro well able to mniVise their own institution ; but ns things are now they do ii"t get jiictico. For instar.ee, the sum t hey receive from voluntary .subscriptions, instead of going into the institution fuml.asi'i strictjeistice ituhould do, waa taken by the cesilral board, and the whole distiii-t'got the benefit of it. Mr Ki-vi- : Ti-at is if intended by the Act. Mi- White submit (eel that such was not tlie intention of tlio Act. That such a course was entirely opposed tt> it. Mr Whito then went into figures and showed that- including Toliinr.irysithf.cri|itiona. grants from the Councils, anel subsidies from Government, Wnimalo altogether raised £517 8s Bd. Deducting this'suin from £l;S50, Ihe amount that Waimato wns asked to contribute by tho Board, left £532 110 Id, which rednreil l.y the subsidy of £ frr £, therefore only left £2C6 5s B<l for Wiiiinutc to, according to the whole wording of tin: Act, cntiibulc to the central Board. In conclusion, Mr Whito submitted that the Board's demanel was unjust, m tho highest degree, and that lie had shown what real course they should pursue. After Mr While had explained I) Mr Kerr his interpretation of sections 23, 24, £5 and 20 of the Acts, His Worship said he would like to have time to go carefully over the evidence adduced with his brother commissioners, would give counsel and all the parties interested tho decision come to, on Wednesday, and thon immediately forward il to the Hon. the Colonial Secretary. llj requested Messrs Perry and White to send m particulars of cort-i, under section 3-i of the Act, as soon ns possible. The court then adjourned.