HOSPITAL LEVIES

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 200, 19 May 1920, Page 7

HOSPITAL LEVIES

By Telegraph—Special Correspondent. Masterton, May 18. At to-nighfs meeting of the Masterton Borough Council there came up for con- j sideration a letter from the Lawrence ; Borough Council advocating that the hos- ' pitals should be supported entirely out : of the Consolidated Fund, instead of by local bodies as at present. Councillor Candy moved that the letter I be "received." From whatever source tho money came it came from the pockets of ' the people. As they all knew, the Con- ; eolidated Fund depended mainly on Cus- j toms for revenue. In the speaker's opin- ! ion, direct taxation by local bodies was preferable to indirect taxation" : through ■ the Customs. In the first case they knew - ! how much they were paying and from ■ where it came. In tho case of Customs ; thpy had no knowledge at all what they j were paying. The Government already : i contributed a fair amount for the* up-' ! keep of hospitals by . way ,of subsidies.' ! The best way was a direct'payment by, ; the respective local'bodies, because the ! amounts paid were known definitely. , ■ Councillor Burriclfe moved as an 1 amendment: "That it ibe a recommenda- 1 tion to the Lawrence Borough Council to' j embody tho suggestion in a remit to the i next Municipal CoDfcrouce." There was 1 a large number of small landowners and i others who invested their savings in -i dwellings for their own use, and they j automatically; became ratepayers. 'It was , just a question whether the small pro-- j perty holder should pay or the general .! public through taxation,'and which waa { best able to bear the burden. As the -j hospital boards were at present consti- I tuted : it was hardly fair that the bor- j oughs, etc., had no direct representation , when it was a guestion of spending the j ratepayers' money." j Councillor Candy contended that the | small householders only paid.their share j —a small share in comparison with' l busi- ' ness people on the main streets—and they j would pay more through the Customs. Tho amendment was carried. ' A .letter from the Wairarapa Hospital and Charitable Aid Board intimated that this year's levy on the council would be , £175 'in excess of last year. Councillor Candy said the borough must congratulate itself on the increase being' only ,£173, as the value of the. sovereign had been steadily decreasing. The district j had benefited recently 'by a new matern- ] ity ward costing .811,000, of which _v£sooo j had come from the Patriotic Association. ] The Hospital Board had .done very well j indeed. ' i