9

H.—7

The value of the produce consumed is shown at wholesale prices ruling in the particular district. Compared with the previous year, the cash sales decreased by £251 15s. 10d., and the value of produce consumed increased by £94 19s. 6d., a total decrease of £156 15s. 4d. ; compared with 1909, the cash sales were less by £246 9s. 2d., and the value of produce consumed was greater by £664 2s. 3d., showing a total increase in 1911 of £417 13s. Id. I have in former reports indicated how local conditions affect individual results —for example, compact or scattered farm-la ids ; the area available for cropping, the extent to which it becomes necessary to employ paid labour, the cost of leasing land to supplement the resources, the cost of transport, &c. I need not therefore enlarge upon the subject now. The expenditure at the individual farms is given in the following table : —

In the following table is extended the statement of receipts : —

The net profit on the working of each of the farms was as follows: Auckland, £2,175 lis. 3d.; Christchurch, £1,881 lis. Id. ; Seacliff, £1,486 12s. lid. ; Hokitika, £227 7s. 3d. ; Nelson, £553 14s. Bd. ; and Porirua, £1,324 ss. ; making a total of £7,649 2s. 2d. Financial Results. The details of expenditure are given in Tables XX and XXI, and before summarizing these and making comparisons with the previous year there are two matters to which attention should be called —firstly, the fact that the expenditure in different institutions cannot be uniform, and secondly, the increased receipts for maintenance. With respect to the first, there must be a divergence according to local circumstances ; for example, Seacliff carries Waitati on its back, and the returns are accordingly weighted. Waitati, being an institution in the making, will necessarily cost more per head until the numbers provided for there largely increase. To this specific example may be added others with less limited application—variations in local prices, freight, climate (influencing fuel and clothing), water-supply, lighting, farming-conditions, repairs not charged to Public Works Consolidated Fund, and so forth. It will be noted how insignificant was the expenditure on alcoholic liquors, a matter of 3fd. a head. Regarding the second matter, I advocated in the report presented in 1910 the centralizing of the assessment and collection of maintenance, on the ground that by the addition of a Clerk-Receiver and possibly an assistant clerk to the Head Office staff, we would stave off for a considerable period the necessity of providing extra clerical assistance at the larger mental hospitals. Mr. Wells, who had been clerk at Mount View, was appointed Receiver, and later Mr. Lindsay, junior clerk at Seacliff, was appointed his assistant. The office was soon organized, and the first complete year of the new system was 1911, when we had the largest recoveries for maintenance we have ever had, amounting to an average of £9 10s. 2|d. per head at a cost for collection amounting to 1-21 per cent. The amount received for maintenance in the previous year averaged £7 9s. l|d. per head ; the increase per head was therefore £2 Is. Id. In the following table, the total g-oss and net cost per patient in 1911 and 1910 are compared

2—H. 7.

Mental Hospitals. Total. Auckland. Christchurch. Seacliff. Hokitika. Nelson. Porirua. Salaries and wages .. ?eed Seeds,&c,manures.. implements, harness, repairs, &o. Stock ilent, rates, &o. fencing, roading, &o. harvesting, threshing, &o. . . Railage Buildings Sundries £ s. d. 248 0 0 199 19 1 245 8 8 85 4 9 £ s. d. 622 10 0 284 11 10! 94 1 9 463 18 0 £ s. d. 1,120 0 0! 1,547 1 11 354 0 6 113 5 3 £ s. d. 69 9 6 20 14 11 18 16 9 3 15 0 £ s. d. 190 0 0 118 16 3 50 4 3 24 11 9 & a. d 307 0 0 1,261 5 11 250 6 5 49 3 8 £ s. d. 2,556 19 6 3,432 9 11 1,012 18 4 739 18 0 69 12 6 is's l 183 15 0 427 6 6 67 7 11 18 17 3 0 19 3 59 19 2 125 12 10 98 2 0 378 15 11 125 15 5 32 14 5 124 5 3 20 0 0 250 15 6 9 16 0 16 7 6 2 17 0 75 9 6 68" 11 6 3 15 0 436 15 0 806 2 5 274 17 11 71 14 2 138 6 9 79 19 2 446 15 4 10 5 3 4117 7 116 0 lo'io 6 16 2 11 Totals 913 10 11 2,448 19 6 4,164 16 2 114 12 2 423 3 3 2,031 14 6 9,996 16 6

Produce sold for Cash. Value of Produce consumed. Mental Hospital. Total. luckland ]hristchurch ieacliff lokitika Telson 'orirua £ s. a. 482 8 1 1,919 7 0 1,749 19 1 £ s. 2,606 14 2,311 3 3,901 10 341 19 775 9 2,265 0 d. 1 7 0 5 3 7 £ s. a. 3,089 2 2 4,230 10 7 5,651 9 1 341 19 5 976 17 11 3,355 19 6 201 8 8 1,090 18 11 Total ... 5,444 1 9 12,201 16 11 17,645 18 8