WAIHO COMMITTEE AND AIR RITCHIE.

Hokitika Guardian, 29 December 1921, Page 1

WAIHO COMMITTEE AND AIR RITCHIE.

(To the Editor). Sir.- In your issue ol tho 17th inst. a letter signed by J. Ritchie, stating the Wailio Committee was not treating tho Charitable Aid Board fair, appeared. Perhaps -Mr Ritchie will explain in" what manner the said Committee have disturbed him or the Charitable Aid Board, and at this juncture it would perhaps be ns well to recount the why aoid wherefore that this committee was form-

ed. It is now over two years since the then Board intimated Quit a residence lor a district nuroe would be erected iu a central position lor the proposed nursing district, namely at AVailm Gorge, ;,nd a. committee of Wailio residents was appointed to formulate proposals endeavour to collect a sum of £2OO towards the building, and when this was done, we understood tho Hoard would go on with the building, which we again understood was to he a residence only, and also that our shave towards the building was £2OO. Collection lilts were sent to every part of the nursing district divided as follows. Ok urn and TTaast. Mr TV. Noun collector; Bruce Bay. Karangnrua and W-heka. Air Roht. Ritchie: AT a ill o and Okavito. the Wailio Committee: Wataroa and AVnitnngi. Air R. TTvndman. Tn due course the lists were retitrwed to our Committee, -with the .exception of the Rn.ee Ray list, which after a long interval. Afr R. Ritchie informed our Committee that he was unable to obtain from the settlers sufficient financial support. Two members of the AVaiho Committee then visited Bruce Bay district, and T am pleased to State were not met with a single refusal, and in September of last year, all lists being in, almost the whole of the required sum £2OO was in th 1 bands ut the Committee. The Board intimated that it would he some time before the cottage and residence could be erected and in the meanwhile they would rent an available 6-roomed cottage and four acres of ground at a rental ol £1 per week, until such time as the new res kb mo was available, making a condition that the southern people find at portion ol the cost of furnishing A rooms of the temporary resident f. I'uls our Committee agreed to. and in order to find the neeessarv funds hall and entertainment was held which realized a sum of approximately £2O. This sum. at last meeting of our Committee in November last was offered to the Board as a voluntary contribution towards the lurniture. The Board has for some time been requesting our Committee to forward them the £2OO collected for the new residence and this we agreed to do, as soon as they, on their part, made a start with The building in earnest. ITntil then we refuse to hand over the funds, which are held in trust for the whole of the southern residents subscribing, and in tbis we have the support of almost, if not all of the subscribers. Now. T will ask Air Bitchie to explain bis charge of unfairness to the Wailio Committee. Thanking von in anticipation T am etc., T,. R. C.TRR. AVaiho Gorge, Doc. 23rd., 1921.