INSTITUTE FOR INDIGENT GENTLEWOMEN.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 448, 5 March 1909, Page 9

INSTITUTE FOR INDIGENT GENTLEWOMEN.

"CENTRALISATION RUN MAD." (CI TELEGUAI'U —Si'ECl AL COUUESrO?*DKNT ) Christchurch, March 4. Speaking to-day at a meeting of tho Board of Governors of tho M'Lean Institute for Indigent Gentlewonfen, Mr. Henry Cotterill made a spirited protest against tho deliberation of tho board's movements. He said ho felt very strongly that they had too much form and too little sub'stanco about their conduct of business. As a busy man, ho was quite prepared to give up him timo if ho saw that tliero was any result, but owing to tho way in which tho business of tho board had been conducted a great deal of his timo had been wasted during tho year. He was struck with wonder to see the machinery of tho board marching with elephantino grace. If this wero applied to tho ordinary business of. lifo, say, in his profession, his clients would soon sweep him away and got somo ono elso. He referred to tho meeting of tho Financo Committeo which had occupied somo three hours, though any business men would havo disposed of it in a quarter of an hour. They had solemnly discussed for a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes tho paper and binding of books of account. That seemed to him a serious wasto of timo. Somo criticisms of their proceedings had appeared in tho newspapers, and ho .was bound to say that tho newspapers had treated them with very great leniency. The mode of conducting the business of tho board was contralisation run mad. No momber of tho board could spend 2s. Cd. without referring it to a committeo to "report to tho board." At tho last meeting tho board, in shcor despair, actually lvero courageous enough to abrogate all their sanctions, and put the completion of an important matter in tho hands of three members of the board without further refereneo to that body. That was the right way to do business. Ho inovcd that, tho quorum of the Finance Committee be reduced to three. He was quite willing to make it apply to all tho committees. lie wanted to see the work of tlic board pushed forward with every celerity and not hampered by tho delays which had occurred in the past. Mr. Allison (Mayor of Cliristchurch), the chairman, thought tho motion was in the wrong direction. It was a most dangerous tiling to allow the work of public bodies to drift into the hands of two or three men. 110 „was quite willing that the quorum should bo 'three,, but ho wished to see a majority of the committee represented.

After further discussion the matter was hung up until the next mooting of the board.