The Manawatu Herald. Saturday, December 14, 1912. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 1039, 14 December 1912, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Saturday, December 14, 1912. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

- - AT Thursday’s meeting of the Palmerston District Hospital Board, delegates from the Horowhenua County Council (Crs. Venn and Stevenson) and Devin Borough Council (Mayor Gardner and Cr Lancaster), waited on the Board with a view to the inclusion of Levin borough and the Tokomaru riding of the Horowhenua County in the Palmerston Hospital District, instead of the Wellington Hospital District, Cr Venn, who has, for the past 20 years, unsuccessfully endeavoured to have the Tokomaru riding of the County added to the Palmerston district, pointed out to the Board the disabilities under which those people requiring medical attention suffered through being compelled to take a long railway journey to Wellington when there was a -hospital practically at their back door. He also dealt at length with the financial handicap imposed upon the relatives of those who were compelled to go to the Wellington institution, and further the grave risks incurred by the patients. He had a petition signed by practically every adult person in the riding urging upon the powers that be the alteration of the boundaries, but the matter had been shelved. The chairman of the Board explained that when the Palmerston Hospital District was formed he desired to include part of the Horowhenua County in the area, but that body objected. Speaking for the Board he said the delegates had their entire sympathy and would assist them to have the area included in the Pal-

merston district. He pointed out, however, that the InspectorGeneral was not in favour of small hospital district areas, implying that opposition may he expected irom this officer. Mr Gardener said that if a deputation waited upon the Wellington Board he felt sure that it would not raise any objection to the alteration in the boundaries. It was resolved that petitions from the Horowhenua County and Teviu Borough Council for inclusion in the Palmerston district be presented to the next meeting of the Board and that the Board will use its best endeavours to give effect to the request. It was further resolved : i “That in the opinion of this conference an amendment in the present Hospital and Charitable Aid Act is urgently needed on the lines of a resolution brought before the Hospital Committee of the late local bodies conference (and by that committee handed to the Inspector-General of Hospitals for favourable consideration), so that any borough or whole riding or ridings of any county at present suffering injustice or inconvenience by reason ot distance from, or inaccessiLility of, its base hospital, may by poll (if twothirds of the valid votes recorded are in favour) or by petition if such petition is signed by a majority of the adult inhabitants of such borough or ridings come part of a more accessible district. But in all cases such ridings must be a contiguous district.” It was explained that any part of the county which did not take action on these lines would not be forced to participate iu the change.