The New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY). THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1879.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5823, 27 November 1879, Page 2

The New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY). THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1879.

We have received a copy of a Bill relating to the maintenance of hospitals and charitable aid in Ne tv Zealand, of which we publish a short abstract in another column. It is a subject of infinitely more importance to the general public than all the much-vaunted series of measures of Electoral Reform, and wo trust that the Government will strain every nerve to try and get the Bill passed.

On the :25th of June last wo undertook to review a measui'e, introduced by Mr. Ballance, intended to accomplish the same object as the one before us, and we took grave exception to it, chiefly because the revenue of the Hospital Boards was made to depend mainly upon voluntary contributions, which are an unstable source of revenue, liable to fail the board of management most completely at times of scarcity, sickness, or distress, and to be least productive in the hour of greatest need. Mr. Hall’s measure, on the other hand, although it wisely avoids enforcing hospital rates until after private sources of benevolence have been tried and have failed, gives power to the local bodies to levy a hospital rate when required to do so by the Charitable Aid Board of the district.

The Bill makes provision for the division of the colony into hospital districts by the Governor in Council. These districts will be presided over by boards elected by the different local bodies having jurisdiction within the area of each hospital district. It is proposed to give to every local body voting power in the election of the board, in proportion to the amount to be contributed by each to the hospital fund. The hospital fund under this Bill will consist of grants in aid by the General Assembly, grants or contributions from local bodies, donations or annual subscriptions, and rents and profits of lands or money vested in the board. It is proposed that out of any moneys voted by the General Assembly, a subsidy shall be paid not exceeding one pound for each pound levied or granted by local bodies or collected as subscriptions or donations, but exclusive of all receipts from lands or endowments. In no case will the amount paid by the Consolidated Fund exceed one half the net cost of hospital maintenance! Tito net cost of maintenance is explained as the gross cost, loss the proceeds of lands and endowments. Probably this is as good a system as could be devised, A richly endowed hospital will hardly ever require to levy a hospital rate. If the inhabitants of a district, however, subscribe largely, the Government proposes

to recognise the benevolence o£ the donors by giving an equivalent amount of subsidy, whenever the money is required. On the other hand, in a poor district, where the hospitals are perhaps not endowed at all, or only with land of little value for the time being, tho local bodies within the hospital district, if they have an; ./lent funds at their disposal, may pay ovt ■■ the amount required from them by the B >ard out of their ordinary revenue. But if the funds at the disposal of tho local bodies within tho hospital district do not admit of their paying this sura out of ordinary revenue, and the voluntary subscriptions prove insufficient, they may levy a hospital rate in the same manner and upon the same basis as the ordinary local races. As a last resource, if the local body fail to make the required contribution, the Colonial Treasurer may deduct tho moneys due for hospital maintenance from their ordinary subsidies. The amount of the required contribution will be calculated by the Board in proportion to tho population of the district within the jurisdiction of each local body.

Upon a former occasion we advocated tho formation of a general hospital fund out of all moneys derived from separate landed or other endowments, but wo believe that the principle adopted in this Bill is upon the whole preferable to tho one wo proposed. If at any future date a district should happen to grow rich beyond its requirements, by moneys derived from its endowments, the Governor, under this Bill, has power to increase the area of the hospital district. Some months ago we wrote to tho effect that a dependance upon voluntary contributions alone was objectionable, because they are known to be chiefly derived from tho middle class. The poorer classes give next to nothing, and the rich very rarely subscribe in proportion to their wealth. Almost any subscription list for an every day charitable purpose will prove the correctness of this assertion. It follows, therefore, that if charitable aid and hospitals are made to depend upon voluntary subscriptions, neither the class requiring them most, nor the class best able to contribute largely to their support, will bear its fair share of the burden. We also asserted that any man who has mixed with, and has acquired a practical knowledge of the habits of life and thought among the working classes, knows that the majority are unthrifty and improvident. If an employer should remonstrate with a man for squandering his earnings in drink, or with a domestic servant for wasting her savings in extravagant dress, and should be rash enough to push his remonstrances to the uttermost, and to ask what such habits must lead up to, the answer must be in effect—charitable relief in old ago and the hospital in sickness. It is indisputable that the facts are as we have stated, and being so, it seems only fair that all classes should be called upon to contribute to this provision for sickness, old age, or misfortune.

Under Mr. Hall’s Bill all classes will be called upon to bear a share of the expense through the subsidies paid out of tho Consolidated Fund. The district or township which neglects sanitary provisions, and has its hospitals filled with patients suffering with zymotic diseases, may find itself compelled to levy additional direct taxation, in the form of a local hospital rate, to meet the extra sickness which has visited the district.

The necessity for some such measure as the one before us was generally admitted. Under the old regime numerous abuses had arisen. In fact, in 1876, before the abolition of the provinces, the cost of hospital relief given varied in each per head of population from 2a. 6d. in Marlborough to 4a. in Wellington, 7s. in Canterbury, and Bs. lOd. in Otago. The explanation given of this extraordinary variableness was that the provinces of Otago and Canterbury were comparatively rich and well-to-do. They had several good hospitals, blessed with considerable landed endowments and a fair amount of revenue. Patients from all parts of the colony were attracted to these establishments by the superior accommodation offered, and consequently the other provinces were in a great measure relieved of the burden of supporting their sick. In an article published in this paper on April 30, we recommended that while in hospital “ each patient should be charged “ with the cost of food and attendance.” This principle has been embodied in this Bill, as it was in Mr. Ballance’s, and we hail it with pleasure. The charge is limited to 20s. per week, which is certainly very moderate. On the Continent it is quite a common practice for single men of all classes to go at once to the hospital if accident or severe illness overtake them. Those who are rich enough secure and pay extra for a private room, but so far from its being considered infra, dig. to go to the hospital, it is commonly regarded as a sensible and meritorious proceeding even for a man with money and friends. Of course a reasonable payment is insisted upon, and in some cases, when the patient’s health admits of it, daily visitors are allowed. We sincerely trust that this measure may become law during the present session. It is, we believe, a thoroughly good, carefully thought out measure in its main principles, and we look upon it as a highly successful attempt to grapple with a very difficult but extremely important subject. In a future issue we hope to discuss the details of the Bill.