UNAUTHORISED EXPENDITURE.

Taihape Daily Times, 22 April 1918, Page 4

UNAUTHORISED EXPENDITURE.

The election of Mr. Lethbridge to the chairmanship of the Wanganui Hospital and Charitable Aitl Hoard will be acceptable to the whole of the over-large hospital district, excepting, perhaps, a few at Wanganui whose methods have evoked mordant comment and crticism inside and also out. side the Board’s jurisdiction. The late chairman of the Board recently took it into his head to have a joyride to Taihape, and at short notice he told Wanganui members there was to be a meeting at Taihape. Two ladies and three male members of the Board made the journey; but When they arrived at Taihape no one knew just why they came. The Wanganui Board had not authorised any such meeting nor did they know anything about it till they received the telephone notice from the chairman. They know all about it now, for at the last meeting a bill for about £4O was presented for motor car hire, £l6 of it being for the Taihape joy-ride. We think the Board is bent upon furnishing the Minister for Public Health food for thought that should satisfy any Ministerial mental gourmand. We do contend that the chairman of no local authority should usurp powers to use public monies with such profligacy. For one-third of the money first-class railway tickets .could havw been purchased. This Board publishes no annual report and balance sheet of a comprehensive' nature that is available for public perusal, and when money is spent for the mere pleasure' of members of the Board who care to ally themselves with the chairman in expenditure of the kind fn question, it is time new regulations compelled the publication of an annual Statement of Accounts as all other local bodies arc compelled to do. The conduct of hospital business has long been a sore point, and we sincerely hope the Minister for Health will see, to it that accounts are published so that , ( aU eontributors enjoy the right to .see how their money is spent.,,that one would think they., were inherently entitled to’. The chairman said it was a mistake to have,a hospital at Taihape, and this £l6 joy-ride has almost convinced us that he is right. We should like to know ;whether joy-rides are considered the correct thing by the Board, and if they are we~should liite to have the pleasure- of 'letting contributors know just how much of thenmoney goes in motor car hire. In fact, there seems to be occasion for an inquiry into unauthorised expenditure;'the contributor's'have a right to know who is Responsible for outrageous unauthorised expenditure—so outrageous that it is questionable

whether it is not'lllegal. It is gratifying to know that improper expenditure of the kind is not likely to continue, certainly not vTfth the knowledge or connivance of the newlyelected chairman of the Board, bur there is danger that the old regime may return. Therefore we ask, on behalf of contributors, that the new chairman will bring about the publication of a comprehensive annual statement of account's, similar to those that other administrative local bodies are compelled by law to issue. We are sure that Mr. Lethbridge will agree with us m stating that it is urgently in the public interests that this, at least, should be done.