The Tuapeka Times. THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 1871. " Measures, not Men."

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 175, 15 June 1871, Page 4

The Tuapeka Times. THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 1871. " Measures, not Men."

In the Provincial Council on Monday last, Mr. Lumsden, Member for j Invereargill, moved "That the Dunedin Hospital be maintained and managed under the several Hospital Ordinances in force ; " which means that the Dunedin Hospital should be supported and managed in the same manner as the country hospitals. We regret to say the motion was lost on the voices. The division list showed ayes fifteen, all of whom were country members. At present the Dunedin Hospital is a purely Government institution, and like all Government institutions, no doubt its management is attended with a lavish expenditure. Regarding the management of the institution, however, we know very little further than what we have heard from some patients who have been obliged to take shelter under its roof, whose testimony is not of a flattering description. We believe it would be to the interest of the people of [ Dunedin if the hospital were placed on the same footing as the country hospitals. The people would be brought more into contact with the working of the institution. A committee of management, elected by subscribers, would keep a constant watch over the details of the insti- ! tution, and we have no doubt work it even more economically than at present. But it is not so much on the score of economy as on that of the public good that we would like to see the hospital worked under a different system. We were surprised to read such twaddle as the Hon. Mr. Bell is reported to have given expression to "If the Council attempted," Mr. Bell said, "to throw upon the citizens the maintenance of an institution like the Dunedin Hospital, such action might tend to sap the very foundation of public good, and cause a great deal of individual suffering in this part of the community." We are not aware that Mr. Lumsden's motion asked the Council to throw upon the citizens of Dunedin the maintenance of their institution. Certainly, it meant that the citizens of Dunedin thould make some direct contribution towards its maintenance, and it will not be till then fchat the people of Dunedin will place the same value on their institution as the country people do upon -theirs. The foundation of public good will be found in bringing the taxpayer face to face with.

only value their institutions in proportion to the amount they pay for their support. We are at a loss to know how the foundation of public good would be sapped, and individual suffering entailed, by the Dunedin citizens being made alive to the fact that they had a hospital in their midst, for at present they have nothing whatever to remind them of it-viSo yeaHylm"bseriptien~list to point theni to the relief of the sufferings of their fellows — no cases of carelessness on the part of any of the medical officers or warders of tho institution brought before a committee and inquired into ; in fact, the great bulk of the people of Dunedin know nothing at all about the institution. Place it, we say, under different management — appeal to the pockets of the residents, and a livelier interest will soon be manifested in its welfare. One argument brought forward in favour of the institution being maintained as a Government one is, that a large proportion of the inmates are from the country districts. No doubt there are many afflicted with chronic diseases who find their way to the Dunedin Hospital as a last resort ; but the same argument holds good with regard to the country hospitals. Patients are often brought from districts that do not contribute a single mite to the funds of the institution. This only goes to prove that the citizens of Dunedin should not be freed from supporting an institution which exists for their special benefit, while country districts are taxed for their own hospitals, and not only for their own, but for the support of the Dunedin one also. We suppose, when the question of subsidy comes on for discussion the Dunedin Members, with their usual liberality to the country hospitals, will support a motion to do away with the subsidies altogether. If that is the case, the country districts, we have no doubt, will hand over their hospitals to the care of the Government, when something like fair play will be given to the country as well as to the town.