Stratford News.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 158, 3 January 1912, Page 3

Stratford News.

STKATFORD HOSPITAL BOARD. MONTHLY MEETING. ■ Stratford, Tuesday. The Stratford Hospital Board held its monthly meeting to-day (Tuesday). Present: Messrs E. Mavfell (chairman), S. Ward, W. Rogers, J. Christoffel, E. Bine and J. Smith. REPORTS. The medical superintendent (Dr. Steven) reported that during the month fourteen cases had been admitted, eighteen discharged, and ten remained in the institution. There had been five operations, and no deaths had occurred in the institution during the month. On December 29 Miss McLean paid the hospital a visit of inspection. The sanitary inspector reported that no infectious disease cases had been reported during the month. Disinfecting work after sacrlet fever had been carried out in premises in the Stratford borough and Stratford countj', and the insanitary state of drainage at premises in Juliet street had been reported on. Three cases of nuisance in the borough had been re-visited, and there was no abatement. Two visits had been paid to Toko in connection with a pig-stye, and on both occasions ho had found a baker's premises there being neglected, especi-' ally the stables, but on the second visit an improvement had been effected. At Whangamomona an old and dilapidated boardinghouse had been demolished.

AN EXPLANATION. The chairman reported that he had enquired into the complaint made at the previous meeting by Mr. Meredith that delay had taken place in admitting an accident case to the hospital. The complaint was that a lad who had had his hand badly injured was refused admission until an ordor had been obtained. The chairman now announced that Mr. Meredith had been misinformed. The patient had been admitted without delay, and without an order. But Dr. Carbery, acting medical superintendent, was of opinion that an order was necessary, and instructed the father to obtain one. This he did, but by the time he returned with the necessary order the lad wae under chloroform. ..It was only fair to the staff, said the chairman, that this explanation should be made, for the complaint had been .published. THE SANITARY INSPECTOR. Dr. Valintine, Inspector-General of Hospitals, wrote: "I have the honor to acknowledge your letter of the sth December, in which the question was raised as to the basis on which the Stratford and Hawera boards should contribute to the sanitary inspector's salary. Owing to absence' 1 frdm- headquarters, I have been unable to answer this ietter before]. Reference has been made to the meeting at Eltham, and I m«st say that I was under the impression that it was agreed that each board should pay one-half of the inspector's salary." Mr. Ward said he was present at the Eltham conference, distinctly remembered that it was" agreed that the inspector's salary should be contributed by the local bodies on a- valuation basis. The chairman said that every member of this Board who was present there was definite on this point, and he thought that the Board should withhold payment of its portion of the salary until the matter was properly settled. He didn't think the Board' should continue to employ the inspector for another year if the Hawera Board insisted on this Board paying half his salary; Mr. Hine said that if the representatives of the Hawera Board were of opinion that they were right, and the inspector backed them up, this Board would have little to rest on. Mr. Chrietoffel considered another conference should be held, and, failing a satisfactory arrangement, steps should be taken to terminate the existing engagement by giving three months' notice.

Mr. Ward raised the point that tile inspector's travelling expenses should be scheduled and charged to the Board in whose district the necessity for the journeys arose.

On the motion of Messrs Christoffel and Smith, it was decided to ask the Hawera Board to meet this Board in conference at Eltham,. and that, the Inspector-Gen-eral be invited to be present. , . ; MISCELLANEOUS, i

The offer of Mr. J. W. Boon, contractor for the isolation ward, to construct a concrete verandah floor with iron posts instead of the wooden verandah, for£&s, v.as'aecepted. Tlui Tn»peot6r-General of Hospitals forwarded tabulated information regarding the proposed'representation of local authorities on the Board, and asked the Board to confer with the County Council as to whether or not the county representatives should' be allocated among the ridings or- simply apportioned to the county as a whole. —Referred to the County Council. ,

THE FIRE BRIGADE CARNIVAL. [i A DAXCIXG TOUR OF THE WORLD."

The Fire Brigade is a most deserving institution. It is a very progressive one, too. At present the brigade, is desirous of possessing a motor fire-engine, 'because the area to be served by tho brigade is a large one, and the distance requiring to be covered sometimes is altogether too great for the brigade and its appliances to be of the greatest service when they reach the scene of a fire. The motor fire engine should reach any fire in a " brace >of shakes."' At any time this mny ntean the saving of furniture and belongings worth hundreds of pounds. It may mean that a fire will be extinguished in I its incipient stages instead of going on and demolishing all the clothing and personal effects of father, mother and children. It may mean the saving of human life. Men who band themselves together and give their time to training for fire extinction, and who are ready to turn out at any hour of the day or night to save public or private property from destruction, are entitled to be provided with the very best appliances. Tho Stratford public is being given an opportunity this week of helping the local brigade to purchase this motor engine, and. as ours is a very efficient fire brigade it is hoped the response will be liberal. The public are given something for their money, too, and something pretty good. The modest shilling, two shillings, or three shillings, all according to the seating required, entitled the con»tributor to witness a great exhibition of dancing by over two hundred performers trained by Professor Owen Cardston and led in most items by Miss Pattk ( Elliott. The professor must be a marve J of an instructor, for the children anc adults have been trained to a standan of excellence that is remarkable whei the short period of instruction is takei

From Our Resident Reporter.

into account. Miss Elliott dances naturally, gracefully and delicately, and sings well, too. Miss Bernard and Messrs. East and Patterson took part in dancing duos, and acquitted themselves well. Then there were all the ballets. It was a, feast of dancing. The children were immense. Gaily attired little Jappy-Japs flitted like butterflies about, or squatted, or wagged their little heads below the spreading Japanese hats. Bright red bodices and emerald skirts, on about fifty little mites, bobbed and circled and' jigged to the tune of the "Irish Washerwoman." They had to come back, for the audience went nearly mad with delight. There were about fifteen items, in all, including a graceful gavotte, some "Lancashire Lasses," the Suffragettes' March on Stratford, and so on. Music was supplied by the orchestra, but' the members of it seemed unfamiliar with the music. This will be better to-night. The limelight effects are to be heightened, too; so the public are in for even a better performance on each night this week than we saw on Monday, and that one was very enjoyable.

BOWLING. Three rinks from the Waitara Bowling Club visited Stratford on New Y«ar's Day, and were beaten in the "Banner" contest by five points. The following were the scores:— S. W. Ward, King, Smart, Sangster.. 21 W. Nos worthy, Klenner, Andrew (s.) , 21 Masters, McMillan, Jackson, • Jackson (s.) 24 George, Fraser, Pulford, Beckbessinger (s.) 15 Currie, Penn, Curtis, Morrison 25 Rattenbury, Bent, Jack, Wyllie (s.) 29 Totals 70 65 ' GENERAL NEWS ' A son of Mr. Alec Stewart met with an accident on New Year's Day, breaking his leg above the ankle. The boy, who is 13 years of age, 'had been out tp catch a horse preparatory to driving his mother and Mrs. J. Stewart to the Stratford races. He rode the animal in harp-backed, and with a piece of rope for a bridle. The horse tripped on some rough ground and fell, and the boy's leg was broken. Dr. Paget was summoned, and he soon set the broken limb. This morning the lad was reported to be doing well. 1 The phenomenally'wet season is having its effect on brick work. Mr. Ward mentioned at the Hospital Board's meeting to-day that the hospital buildings were becoming coated with a green moss, and were unsightly. This, and the matter of improving .the surface drainage so as to. carry off storm water, were referred to the visiting committee for a report. They will also report upon the suggestion that one of the Board's sections should be leased to someone Svho would stump and crop it. The inmates of the local hospital were not forgotten during the festive season. There were gifts in kind and in cash, these. latter being expended by the Board for the patients. The cihildrai-who were spending their Christmas in the institution were regaled with all that was good for them, and had toys galore.

i The friends of Mr. K. MeK. Morison ' will be pleased to hear that the health of his daughter, -which was causing some concern, is now fast improving. But Mr Morison may find it impossible, in the circumstances, to attend the bowling tournament in Wellington, in which case ■the Stratford Club will be represented by only one rink instead of two. Miss Jean' Cameron has forwarded her resignation as probationer in the hos- , pita.l, ...as from January 16. Miss Cam'eron'i leaving is due to her desire to gain 'experience in one of the larger hospitals. : The -resignation was accepted at ; yesterday's meeting of the Board, and the secretary instructed to fill the vacancy. . The Ngaere Garaens presented a gladsome sight on New Year's Day. There were fully a thousand people about the gardens, on the water-chutes, in the boats, and in all the other pleasure-giv-ing spots"—and these gardens present hundreds of them. New Plymouth was ' ' largely and Inglewood, El-. tliain'anil Stratford 'all contributed their quota. The Ngaere Gardens are quite an institution now, and are daily increasing in popularity. ■: Our holiday crowds at New Year's time were orderly. Two men earned the displeasure of the police. One, named O/Brien, wa.s drunk and used bad language on the racecourse. Mr. Sole, J.P., gave him two months' gaol this morning, ahd served out a similar dose to a man named McKeown, who, as the result of a row in a fish shop, used some "tall" i language in Broadway. Both had been convicted i' of., similar offences before, hence 1 their imprisonment without, the option of a fine. ' ' .' =