S.C. HOSPITAL AND CHARITABLE AID BOARD.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2543, 17 August 1893, Page 4

S.C. HOSPITAL AND CHARITABLE AID BOARD.

The monthly meeting of the South Canterbury Hospital and Charitable Aid Board was hold on Tuesday. Present— Messrs J. Jackson (chairman), W. H. Moore, Talbot, Gillingham, R. H. Rhodes, and Graham. The chairman in his usual statement commented on the success of an endeavor to make hospital patients pay who could do so, £ll3 12s 7d having been collected In the past four months—nearly as much as was collected in the previous year. The subsidy had been received from the Government, including full payments on the Russell Trust donation, these payments being made retrospective, the total coming to £ll6 on the retrospeetive account. For this the board must thank the member for Timaru, Mr U all Jones, who had explained tho matter to the inspector and pressed the board's claim. The board had now a credit balance of £1855, lo be reduced by the day's payments, £349. A resolution was passed thanking MiHall Jones for having successfully interested himself in obtaining full subsidy on the Russell Trust donation. A discussion took place on the long stay of one of the patients, a female, 637 days. Mr Gillingham said he had been spoken to about the board's inconsistency; they turned out the man Menzies, a man without means, and kept in this person so much longer. The house steward said there was a difference. Menzies had been declared discharged by the doctors, while this young woman was still under treatment. Dr Hogg was colled into consultation respecting three of the cases. The longest one, he stated, was a case of slow recovery from bone disease, and there was good hope of cure eventually.— The by-law leaves the discharge of patients entirely to the medical officer, and the board therefore said they could do nothing. A letter was read from an old man asking for 30 instead of 20 rations a month. He was getting a little help from some blacksmiths.—lt was explained that tho applicant's connection with the smiths included fetching beer for them in a billy from a public house. Finally it was agreed that the existing arrangement should be continued for the present. An old man, fast growing decrepit, who could get no work here, and had found that he could manage to rub along at Napier, asked the board to assist in transferring his family to Napier, to save keeping two homes. made before next meeting, and in the meantime rations to be supplied to the family if required. A woman, one of whose children had been boarded out at Geraldine, waited on the board to ask that the child—a girl of 13—be returned to her, as she could now provide for her. The person with whom the girl is boarded had made strong objection when asked to give her up. After hearing a long story the board decided that, subject to the consent of the other party, the child be returned to the mother.

The chairman stated that a girl named Cook deserted her child, which was sent to the barracks. Finding that Cook was at Ashburton he sent Mrs Sabiston with the child, with instructions to find the mother,, place the child on her knee, and leave it there. That was done, and the child was now out of the board's charge. Mrs Fifh, of the Ladies' Committee, p -vldine, wrote that she had quite lately „Wnri n iv the children who were placed ntrh'r care, with the exception of two who live rather «« away and she fonnd them all well looM » itev > m * kindly treated. Several of them wC re ) or had been, ill from measles, but were getting better. Some of them, of course, seemed better dressed than others, but that depends very much on the boy himself. The letter concluded : "On the whole I think the board may be satisfied with the condition of the children." The members of the board expressed their pleasure at the interest shown by Mrs Fish in the children. A claim for £7 from a medical practitioner in a country district, for attendance on a charitable aid recipient, was received. —It was resolved that the claim could not be entertained.

In consequence of the absence of two members, Messrs Sherratt and Barker, it was agreed to postpone till next meeting the further consideration of the report of the commiteee on the barracks and boarding-out system. Mr Moore then moved the following, of which he had given notice: — " That the present system of giving outdoor relief by means of orders for rations be discontinued. That in order to ensure uniformity of system a committee be appointed to draw up a scale, showing the money value of relief per month that should be fowarded to families according to their numbers, such scale to form a basis upon which the amount of relief can be calculated according to the peculiar necessities of such individual case, and the cost of provisions in the district to which the recipient belongs. The committee to consist of the chairman, Messrs Talbot, Gillingham, and the mover. That in future orders be given representing certain money values —the value of relief per month—which receipients can present to the storekeepers who have contracted with the board for supplies, iu return for the articles of food which have been tendered for, and that the recipients be allowed to «ake whatever articles they requiviif and in what quantities up to the money Yhlufi of the order. That the articles of food anppfed consist of, at per lb —bread, beef, mutton, potatoes, tea, sugar, cocoa, flour, oatmeui, barley, rise, arrowroot, sngo, cornil.mr, salt, pepper, butter, treacle, soda, candles,'and safety matehos at per box, milk at per quart, exgii at prcr dozen, and soap at per bar; ;i ?ul that the list of articles and the contract prco l,tJ l> r ' ,ito dou *&S back of each order, for the I ,'u.;: ,,xatio , B and P«?*f6^ u of the recipient. That if the above list are not already tenuu. for", contractors be asked at what price they will supply them." A lo 'g discussion then took place on this motion. Mr Moore explained that the " ration " which formed the basis of the contracts for supplies consists of a few principal necessaries, and besides the ration the contractors furnish a schedule of prices for other goods. In hardly any case did a recipient of charitable aid take the bare " ration " ; it was more or less traded off for other goods, in the schedule or out of it. This worked unfairly to the recipients, as the lower the price of the " ration," the less food could be got on exchanging it for other goods. For example, if the ration was tendered for at Gd and bread was scheduled at 1J per lb, the recipient could take 41b loaf instead of a ration ; but if the ration was tendered for at 4Jd thon only 31b of bread could be got instead of a ration. The contract price of a ration therforo did not show how much food a family would get if anything else than the ration was taken, and many a widow and family preferred to take more bread and less of, say, meat. He had written to Christchurcb, and found that in North Canterbury the system pursued was to give orders of a

certain money value, available at certain stores named, and a list of the goods to which supplies were limited was printed on the orders. He had inquired at Geraldine, and the contractor there said tho adoption of that system would make no difference to him, because practically it was followed now. He (Mr Mooro) thought the board should accept the system in use, and not nominally act upon another which is not followed. All the articles enumerated in his motion were now tendered for, except three or four which he found in the Christchurch list, and should be added —treacle, salt, soap, and matches. He attached a good deal of importance to the scale of requirements he wished to have drawn up, not for a hard and fast ruJe,but as a guide in making allowances.

Mr Graham seconded the motion. Ho pointed out that the contract price of rations differod at the different centres of of supply, yet the board did not take this into account when making allowances.

Mr Talbot did not see much use in setting up a committee to draw up a scale; they had. bett-T have ono to go into the wlivlo question. He found that in some cases tho sclioduled prices were such that the recipient would gei- the ration by taking tho articles at tho scheduled rates, but in other cases for leas. He agreed that tho ration system is wrong altogether; it would be better to give orders for money values, and in some cases money grants would be useful, where people could buy things cheap from friends. Then there was the alternative of making the money orders open to be taken to any tradesman—wherever the holder could get best served, i'he absurd variations in the prices sent in for the same sort of article showed that the contract system is bad. It could not be carriage or profits that made the differences, but the quality of the articles to be supplied.

After some further debate Mr Moore's motion was withdrawn, in favor of one appointing the chairman, Messrs Talbot, Gillingham, and Moore, a committee to take into consideration the whole subject of orders and out-door relief.

The same committee was also requested to consider the advisableness of printing a statement of the board's accounts in the same form as is used by the North Canterbury board.

ACCOUNTS. Hospital accounts amounting to £169 4s lid, and charitable aid accounts, £l4B 4s 5d were passed for payment. The board then rose. A HOLOCAUST. A cold storage warehouse, one of the smallest buildings of the Chicago World's Fair, but a hich did not belong to it, being an exhibit of the Hercules Crown .Works, ice and . machine refrigerating machine manufacturers, caught fire on July 11th, and was the means of the death of forty firemen. The fire was not generally observed until 1.15 in the afternoon, and within thirty minutes thereafter great loss of life occurred. At the first signal firemen rushed up the huge shaft surrounding the smoke stack, and when at the summit began preparations to fight the flames which first appeared at this point. Before the hose could be coupled a cry 6f horror from the crowd caused the firemen to look down. They were encircled with flames. One after another jumped to the roof below, 90ft, only to meet death in another form. So terrible was the spectacle that the crowd stood transfixed with horror, all alike powerless to aid the unfortunate men. The fire did not extend to the other buildings. THE RIVER OF DEATH.

That is what that" big open sewer," the Chicago river, is called in a despatch dated July 10. It is stated that during the last f.ew days this river threatens to depopulate all tho adjacent districts on both sides of the sluggish stream. The foul current of the river under a torrid sun, has reached a condition never before touched within the remembrance of the oldest inhabitants. Luckily, the Fair grounds are some distance away. The foul strench from the river has forced scores of men to leave their positions in the warehouses aloDg the docks, and has placed dozens on the sick list. The odor has become s j terrible that even the stevedores are sickening under it. In the wholesale houses abutting ou the river almost a score of men have succumbed to the horrible streach, Great and constant complaints are made, and unless the authorities act promptly the public will be greatly jeopardised. A SENSATIONAL STORY. Nothing has been said publicly here (says a report of July Bth), that is, since the announcement of the betrothal of the Duket>f York and Princess May, about a painfully suppressed romance which underlies this latest and most pompous of Royal weddings. The Daily News of the 7th contained an obscure reference, in common with other London papers, to a nameless beautiful lady of Malta, and a State performance at the opera on the previous evening. Vague reports of this stovy reached London months ago, and it was kept within narrow circles for a time, it first began to spread because a rich tradesman received a hint from a Frenchman, who was in the secret, to insure his venture in wedding presents &c, against the marriage taking place. The following day the most authentic version of the story arrived. It rests upon the authority of one who has gathered the facts at first hand in Malta, upon his word of honour not to divulge tuo fajnijy involved. It was quite possible it to give the date < f the marriage at Valletta, and even the uame3 of the people who witnessed the ceremo .y.

FATAL EXPLOSION IN A COLLIERY.

• occurred in Ingram's An -*»ill. Yorkshire, on July Colliery, iStorni.. ' of 100 4th, which led to the enu,.. .■ « a miners. The day shift went to work .

usual in the morning, and all went well until noon, when the workers at the pit's mouth were startled by a muffled explosion, and clouds of dfiise smoke came rolling up the main shaft. The pit managers at once organised a party and descended slowly through the smoke. Thoy were driveu back repeatedly, and eventually gave up their purpose of penetrating to the workings before the foul gas should clear away an d the smoke. After taking up the bodies found at the bottom of the shaft the rescue party waited for several hours beforo making another descent. About the middle of the evening they went down again. Tho gas had cleared oil" near the shaft, and they were able to examino part of tho workings. The bodies of miners lay in heaps, and many were sent to the surface. About 110 miners were dead. Eight men and boys all told were rescued alive from the mine. All hope for the others in the pit is abandoned. The usual cause is assigned the casualty—carelessness in opening a lamp,