H.—22a

32

Mr. J. P. Luke said the other members of the Board were not put to the same expense as the Chairman. The enlargement of the districts would greatly increase the work of the Chairman, and they would have some difficulty in getting Chairmen unless they were paid some reasonable allowance when travelling. The Chairman quite concurred in that view. Mr. Darton (Gisborne) contended that unless some allowance was paid the institutions would lose the services of able and energetic men who were not in a position to find their own expenses. Mr. Tapper (Otago) moved and Mr. Logan (Manawatu) seconded an amendment, " That the words ' and one guinea per diem ' be deleted from the remit of the Wellington District Board." Amendment negatived. Mr. Milligan (Oamaru) moved, and Mr. Cooper (Christchurch) seconded, " That the Chairman when away from his place of residence be paid actual travelling-expenses and an allowance of 10s. per diem." Amendment negatived. Mr. Norris (North Canterbury) said it was laid down that the Board might pay actual cost of locomotion, but at the same time there was warrant under the Public Revenues Act for the payment of any necessary expenses in addition. Mr. Carson (AVanganui) moved the following: "That the actual cost of locomotion and 12s. 6d. a day be paid to the Chairman and members of the Boards when away from their homes on the business of the Boards." This amendment was agreed to. Remit from the Ashburton Hospital Board : " Clause 25, subclause (1), paragraph (c): " That the words ' or of its committees ' be inserted after the word ' Board ' in the fourth line." Agreed to Remit from the Ashburton Hospital Board: "That the word 'twenty' be inserted in place of the word ' ten ' in the first line of subclause (3) of clause 28." Agreed to. Mr. Bagnall (Auckland) said the Auckland Board wished to introduce certain appliances for a new ward in the hospital, and those particular things could only be obtained in England. He thought that in a case like that a Board, instead of being compelled to call for tenders, should have power to indent the articles and get them out at the actual cost of manufacture. The Chairman said he saw the point, and would recommend that provision be made for it. Power to sell Real Property. Remit from the Waitaki Hospital and Charitable Aid Board : " That, in the event of any small properties coming into the hands of the Board, power be given to sell." Agreed to. Power to Lease. Remit from the Nelson Hospital and Charitable Aid Board : " That it is desirable that some uniform system of leasing trust lands be introduced similar to the Nelson and Westland Native Reserves Act." Negatived. BoRROWiNG-powE.RS. Remit from the Ashburton and North Canterbury Charitable Aid Board : " Boards, as well as Trustees of separate institutions, should be empowered to borrow for certain purposes (vide section 32 of 1885 Act, and sections 2 and 3, 1907 Act)." Mr. Norris (North Canterbury) said that a provision such as this should certainly be incorporated in the Bill. The Chairman said it would be provided for. Agreed to. Apportionment of Expenditure among Contributing Local Authorities. Remit from the Patea District Hospital Board: "That section 37 is not considered sufficiently explicit to protect leaseholders from solely contributing towards the contribution assessed, as provision is only made for recovery from owners of half the rates levied for hospital purposes by the local bodies, so that where a separate rate for hospital purposes is not struck by local authorities the leaseholder would be solely liable for the full contribution as paid by local authority out of general funds without the possibility of recovery of any portion by the owner." Mr. Pearce (Patea) said, under the Bill, unless a separate rate for hospital purposes was not struck by the local authorities, this clause allowed of the rate being taken off the owner of the land. He thought the owner of the land ought to be made to pay instead of the leaseholder for charitableaid and hospital purposes. Mr. Brown (Masterton) said, if they released the leaseholder from payment of rates for charitable aid, why not release him from other rates as well? Negatived. Remit from the Nelson Hospital and Charitable Aid Board: "Section 37, subsection (2): Strike out all the words after ' shall be,' and in lieu thereof substitute the following: 'Collected by way of a rate struck by the Board over the whole district upon the rateable value of all the rateable property within the district, due notice of such rate having been struck (together with the amount due from each) shall be given to all the local authorities within the district. Each local authority shall collect the rate so struck upon the rateable property in the district represented by it "in the same manner and at the same time that it collects its own rates," Each local autho-