THE CHRISTCHURCH HOSPITAL AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS.

Globe, Volume IX, Issue 1236, 19 February 1878, Page 3

THE CHRISTCHURCH HOSPITAL AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS.

The following correspondence, which has recently taken place between the Colonial Secretary and the City Corporation, on the suggestion of the former that the city should take over the hospital, has been placed at our disposal: — [No. 78-208.] Colonial Secretary’s Office, Wellington, 17th January, 1878. His Worship the Mayor, Christchurch.

Sir,—l have the honor to request yoxxr Worship to be so good as to inform me whether, in the name of fixe Municipality, yoxx will he willing to take charge of tho Christchurch Hospital until the end of tho present financial year on the same terms as those on which it has been maintained during the past year. The Government would feel obliged if your Woi’ship would undertake this charge, and feel assured it would be for the benefit of the institution and the city of Christchurch generally.

Yours, &c., G. S. Whitmore

Chrlstchxu'ch, January 24th, 1878. Tho Hon. the Colonial Secretary, Wellington. Sir, —I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of January 17th, 1878 No 78-208,—asking whether the Christchurch City Council wdl take charge of the hospital until the end of the present financial year, on the same terms as those on which it has been pr viously maintained. In reply thereto, I am directed to ask you to be good enough to furnish the Council with particulars of the terms to which you refer, as at the present time the Council is not aware what the cost of xuuintai- ing the hospital amounts to, or what contributions are receivable from other local ho lies. I have &c., F. T. Haskins, Town Clerk.

Colonial Secretary's Office, February 4th, 1878. [7B-403—55, January 24th.’J The Town Clerk, Chi-istchurch. Sir, —I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of yoxxr letter of the number and date quoted in the margin (55, January 24th), and in reply am directed to inform you that in the past the Government has paid tho whole expense of supporting the Chx-istchurch Hospital. The amount voted for its maintenance for the year ended tho 30th June, 1877, was deducted from the subsidies payable to the Borough Fund of the Borough of Christchurch and to the County Fund of the County of Seiwyn. I enclose a list showing the annual salaries paid to the permanent staff and rations, medical comforts, drugs and sundries, during the six months ended the 31st December, 1877. I have, &c., (Signed) G. S. Cooper. SALARIES OF PERMANENT STAFF OF CHRISTCHURCH HOSPITAL. £ W. Bx-own, M.B„ visiting surgeon, honorarium * 50 A. F. Ferguson, visiting surgeon, honorarium 50 F. Collins, snx-geon ... 300 J. W. Patkerson, house-steward 100 R. Pridgeon, dispenser 150 M. A. P/idgeon, nxati’on 60 D. £ dams, assistant dispenser 100 W. Hazard, storekeeper 100 Di’esser 80 Head nurse 70 Porter 50 Gatekeeper 50 Gardener 35 £1)95 In addition to the above thci-o are a number of servants paid by tho day, whose combined salaries amount to about £65 per month. Return showing 1 Expenditure on Christchurch Hospital from July Ist, 1877, to December 31st, 1877.

Fob. Bth, 1878. To the Colonial Secretary, Wellington. Sir, —I have the honor, by direction of the finance committee of the Conn til, to ask you to bo good enough to send a reply to its letter of the 24th Jammy, a copy of which is sent herewith, as the committee is unable to x-ecommend any course to be taken by the Council as to taking over the Hospital until the information asked for is supplied.

I have, Ac., (Signed) P. T. Haskins, Town Clerk,

In reply to a telegram asking for a final decision from the City Council, the following telegram was sent: — Christchurch, Fch 13th, 1878.

G S. Cooper, Wellington. No decision arrived at rc Hospital, pending reply to letters 21th January and February Bth (Signed) H. Thomson, Major.

Colonial Secretary’s Office, Wellington, Feb. 15th, 1878. His Worship the Mayor, Christchurch. [o7.] Sir, —The Government are very desirous of placing the local Hospitals on a more satisfactory footing, with the assistance and co-operation of the local bodies. At present, when the management and control are entirely vested in the General Government,

the Hospitals are maintained by means of payments from the Treasury, which are recouped from the subsidies of boroughs and counties. Practically, therefore, the locality pays _ the entire cost of its Hospital, but has no direct control over it.

ft is now proposed, wherever possible, and wherever the Municipality will accept the responsibility of the management of its own Hospital, to hand it over to that body, and to subsidise it from the consolidated fund to the extent of £i for <£l of the voluntary subscriptions actually paid towards its support There would thus be no deductions from subsidies on this account, and if the charitable institutions were similarly taken over by the municipalities the subsidies would be paid intact to the boroughs and counties.

There would still remain, however, the question as between the County and Borough, many of the patients admitted to the Hospital being really residents in t l e counties. The system in force in some localities is to charge the counties a pro rata sum per head for county patients and paupers, and if this or any other mode of removing what appears to be an unfair charge upon the borough funds, can ho arranged between the Councils, a more equitable system of contribution would bo established than the present one of deductions from the subsidies payable to each local body. The Government would be glad to learn whether your Worship and the Municipal Council are disposed to take over the Hospital upon the terms above described, and whether arrangements are practicable with the Counties concerned, in the direction of fixing their contribution towards the expense. Perhaps you would at the same time be disposed to consider also the question of taking over the benevolent institutions.

I have, &c., (Signed) G. S. Whitmore

The following letters have reference to the deductions made from the city subsidy on account of the maintenance of the Hospital and charitable institutions during the last six months of 1877 : The Treasury, Wellington, January I.sth, 1878. His Worship the Mayor of Christchurch.

Sir, —I have the honor to transmit for yoxxr information duplicate of a Treasury voucher, the original of which, together with a cheque for the amount thereof, has this day been pasted to the Manager of the Bank of New Zealand at Christchurch, for the credit of borough fund account. I have, &c., (Signed) W. A. Thomas, Pro. Secretary to Treasury. Treasury Voucher. No. 42,923. New Zealand Government, Dr. to the Borough, of Christchurch. Subsidy to the above local body for tho half-year ending December 31st, 1377, under the provisions of the Financial Arrangements Act, 1876: — Receipts by general rates during the year ending 31st March, 1877, as per the return of the Mayor, dated the 30th day of April, 1877 £8782 9 6

Limit of Is in the £ on the value of the rateable property 7385 11 0

Subsidy of 10s in tho £, payable thoreou for tho halfyear above stated 3692 15 6 Deduct — Borough’s contribution towards the maintenance of the hospitals aud charitable institutions of tho district for the period ended 31st December, 1877 ... 3457 17 10 Less— Amount deducted in excess for do., do., for the period ended 30th June, 1877 ...£584 13 0

£Bl9 10 8 (Signed) W. A. Thomas. (Signed) C. F. Batkin,

Christchurch, January 21th, 1878. Tho Hon. Colonial Treasurer, Wellington. Sir, —I have the honor, by dix-ection of the finance committee, to acknowledge I’oceipt of your circular bearing date Janxxary 18tn, and covering voucher No. 42,923, showing the amount of sub-idy payable to this Municipality for the half-year ending December 31st, 1877.

Tho amount of subsidy due to Chx-istchurch is slated as £3092 15s fid, from which sum a deduction of £3457 17s fid has been made, as the hoi’ough’s contributioxx towards the expenses of maintaining the Hospital and ch-u-itable institutions of the Provincial district of Canterbury. In the return for tho half-year ending June 80th, 1877, the sum of £2372 19s fid-was charged against the subsidy payable to Christchurch, of which axx admitted overcharge of £5Bl 13s has since been refunded, leaving the actual amount chargeable against the borough for that halfyear £1743 6s fid. The finance committee respectfxxlly request that you will have the kindness to state how the charge of £3457 17s fid for the last-year has been arrived at, it being so vex-y largely in excess of the amount deducted from the previous halfyear’s subsidy. I have, &c., F. T. Haskins, Town Clerk.

Medical Month. Nations. Comforts. Drugs. Sundries. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. •Inly 153 3 11 ’38 19 9 S 3 1 131 18 0 August 215 11 9 38 12 6 15 5 8 136 10 2 Scptcm. 161 0 3 43 13 6 11 4 3 132 12 5 October 148 15 10 34 3 6 11 11 0 65 2 4 No vein. 140 18 7 51 11 6 21 It 7 89 8 0 Decem. 1G1 8 4 42 0 6 26 5 9 59 0 6 Totals ... 983 18 8 252 1 3 91 4 4 614 11 4