HOSPITAL FOR WOUNDED SOLDIERS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2483, 9 June 1915, Page 6

HOSPITAL FOR WOUNDED SOLDIERS

THE CITY'S POSITION. Some three weeks ago the Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luko) offered on behalf of the City to provide a hospital for tho reception, of wounded soldiers, and obtained the consent of the Wellington Hospital and Charitable Aid Board to use a block of its land on Adelaide Road for the purpose. The Defenco Minister's reply was to the effect that whilst appreciating the City's offer it was not thought advisable to go any farther with the matter until more information as to what accommodation would be needed was received. It was therefore with no little surprise that the Mayor received the following letter from the Minister of Public Health (Hon. R. H. Rhodes), dated Mav 29:— | "Dear sir, —With regard to the generous offer of your council to provide la special hospital building for the accommodation of wounded troopers returning to Wellington from the front, I should be very grateful if .von inform mo specifically the intentions of your council on the matter. I need hardly say how much the Government appreciates the generous offer that your council lias made. I should bo very glad, therefore, if you would inform me the amount that your council is prepared to expend in the matter, so tHat the Department will be ablo to consider the accommodation to bo provided, in addition to the accommodation available for the sick and wounded in the institutions in the Wellington district." The Mayor was not in a position to atate specifically what amount the council proposed to expend on the erection of a hospital. The matter had been in abeyance since the letter was replied to by the Defence Minister. He could not but think that the authorities might have foreseen the need of a big temporary hospital to be erected somewhere in the Hutt Valley, which would have been able to cope with the sick from the camp, as well as Wellington's proportion of the wounded from the front. Wellington was quite sincere in its offer to do all that was possible to meet any need of tho kind, and now that there was a demand for specific information the matter would be gone into as soon as possible, probably at Thursday's meeting of the council.