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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5476, 15 October 1878, Page 2

The ' House has pas»e 1 a, resolution' to, the, effect that dand for the endowment of boa-: pitals and charitable institution* shall be wet adde by the Government.;;.- Sir George Grey, after admitting that Redid not agree with the principle of the resolution, stated that'the Go-: voruinenfc did not feel equal to .the; task 61dealing with the-matter .during the' present session. Having once resolved to make the endowments referred to, the only thing necessary to decide seems to be a principle upon which the division of proceeds of the endowments shall be based. It is evident at the outset that endowment might be made within each hospital district, and we may assume that the existing provincial districts' will be chosen. In many cases the population within a county is so small as to preclude the - possibility of a general system of county hospitals being introduced. In order to show the remarkable difference in expenditure upon charitable relief and hospitals throughout the colony, we have prepared the following table, inasmuch as the details of the expenditure on hospitals are only made up to the last day of 1876, whereas the population is taken from. the census in March last, the amount per head will not bo strictly accurate, being a little bb-‘ low the true figure. It is yet sufficiently close for purposes oi comparison :

From the above table it would appear euner that some parts of the colony are much more liberal in their contributions for the sick and destitute than others, or else that in some parts of the colony charitable aid is greatly neglected. If there is any one lesson to be learnt from the above table more than another, it is that whatever fund may be created by endowments of land it should be distributed upon a basis of population ; because if sanitary legislation in any of the large towns of the colony ia neglected, the number of cases of sickness thereby is increased. It is net right that the whole of tho rest of the colony should be deprived of a large portion of the revenue they had a right to expect from the lauded endowment set apart for them by the State, simply because some of their neighbors have neglected their duties. Qn the other hand, any division of the lauded endowment now, eo that each district shall have a distinct share set apart, is certainly not to be recommended. The population of each district is increasing at a different ratio, and the value of landed estate is also constantly varying in different districts. The most thoroughly equitable division now, in two years’ time might have become altogether unfair. We might have the spectacle of a hospital with an average number of 20 inmates receiving double the revenue of another hospital, containing an average number of 50 or 100 inmates. The only practical suggestion that presents itself is that endowments may be set aside wherever most convenient within the colony. Any portion of such endowments that may be required for hospital or charitable purposes only might be handed over to the local Hospital Committee. Their suggestions as to the sale, lease, or use of the land might bo considered by the Government, and, when possible, acted upon, but any profits derived from the land ia the form of rents, proceeds of »ale, &c., should all be paid into the general hospital fund of the colony, to be redistributed throughout the colony in proportion to the population contained in each district. Inasmuch as it is exceedingly unlikely that sales w mid be x*ecommended under this regulation, except where very favorable terms were offered, theSQ endowments would probably be retained for the purpose for which they were intended. No one supposes that the endowments pro-* poseed will relieve the inhabitants of any district from the necessity of contributing to the relief of the sick and destitute. According to the terms of this proposal, the fewer the number of cases of sickness per 1000 of the population in the district, the less would •be the amount of local contributions required. If an increase of sickness meant’ an increase of hospital expenses, sanitary conditions would assume an importance in the eyes of the public that they cannot be said to have at present.

Jixpemii-* turo. Population. 1 cr iiciid about. Auckland.. Taranaki .. Wellington Hawke's Bay Nelson Marlborough Canterbury Westland .. Otago £ 15.500 1.750 10,200 3,200 8,000 050 32,800 7,SCO 22.500 82,600 9,400 51.000 15.000 25.000 7,T>00 01,900 17.000 102 r.oo s. cl, 3 O S 8 4 0 4 3 G 4 2 6. 7 0 0 0