The Timaru Herald. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1910. THE NEW HOSPITAL BOARD.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 14142, 28 February 1910, Page 4

The Timaru Herald. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1910. THE NEW HOSPITAL BOARD.

Electors of County and Borough Councils of .South Canterbury must b 9 - Bin to think abnut the election of the new Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, winch takes place on March 10th. luturo elections will take place at the same times as the elections of those bodies, but ibis yea r they are extraordinary," and have to betaken separately. This will mean expense to the local bodies, who have to nay the cost of the elections on tho valuation basis. With a viewH-o saving tins expense in North Otago, the Oamaru Borough Council Bent a denutation to tho Waitaki County Council (their two districts being one hospital district) t© suggest that the outlay might bo save* tor both by the selection of gentlemen conversant with the work and willing to undertake it, arid so avoid a con° tested election. Tho County Council quite approved of the idea, and appointed a Committee to confer with the borough authorities in the selection of candidates. Both agreed that it will bo wise to have upon the now Board as many of the present members as possible, because they know the work to be done. This seems on the face of it an excellent idea—for saving trouble and expense to,the ratepayers; but it does not ,fit in with the design of the Legislature that the members of Hospital and Charitable Aid Boards shall be elected and not selected. Notwithstanding arty .eement that may become to' by contributing bodies, notwithstanding any selections they may make, tho forms of an election, calling for nominations, etc., must ba complied with, and it'is open to electors to nominate a field of candidates: The qualification necessary is the possession of the right to vote in local elections of the district for which the candidate proposes to stand, and a necessary condition of nomination is the deposit of £3 with the Returning Officer, to be forfeited if the candidate fails to gain one-eighth of tho votes received by the successful candidate. Female electors are eligible as well as male. An agreement was come to the other day between the present South Canterbury Board and the Inspector-General of Hospitals regarding the distribution of representation among tho electorates into which the Hospital district is divided, and an Order in Council was to have been gazetted last week fixing the representation, according to that agreement, aa follows:—Geraldine County, two members; Geraldine and Temuka Boroughs, combined (the Temuka Returning Officer to conduct the election), one member; Mackenzie County, one; Levels County and Pleasant Point Town Board, two; Timaru Borough, two; Waimate County, two; Waimate Borough, one member. Each elector has but one vote in this election in .any combined district., That is to say, a person who is an elector of Geraldine Borough, and also of Temuka Borough, for municipal purposes, can exercise only one vote in this election. Whatever the results of the election may be, it is to be hoped that one of them will be the return of at least a good proportion of the present . members, who "know the run of the ropes.''' This will be the case if there still has to be made under the election system the old complaint of the local authorities that their selection of representatives was limited by .the disinclination of men to accept the duties of mem« bers of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board. This has been the reason why the Board has seen but few, changes of membership, in the coursa of years. ■ The authorities no longer! have any duty in the appointment of members; but as representatives of the ratepayers who have to find half tha money for carrying on the institution, they, may legitimately, one would think, try to induce certain their present representatives for iiw stance, to become candidates for ele» tion. Such an agreement as that pro* posed by the two bodies in North Otago could not be applied in South Canterbury, except in the case of the' combined boroughs of Temuka and Geraldine, and as such an agreement' would only be binding upon •jihe few electors who, while sitting as borough! councils, undertake to make it, it had better be left unmade.