TUAPEKA HOSPITAL.

Tuapeka Times, Volume II, Issue 73, 3 July 1869, Page 3

TUAPEKA HOSPITAL.

The usual monthly meeting of the Hospital Committee was, held in the Commercial Hotel, 1 on" Tuesday evening, the 29th ult. The President, H. Bastings, Esq., occupied the chair, and the following members of Committee were present : — Messrs. Henderson, M'Nickle, Mears, Simpson, M'Clusky, Keen, Farrer, M'Beath, Hayes, Smith, M'Sweeny, Bussell, Meyer, Griffin, Harrop, Dr. Stewart, and Secretary. .

The minutes of previous meeting were confirmed. * - . , Tenders from the following gentlemen, received after five o'clock,- itfere declined according to rule :— Messrs. Herbert & Coy, and M'Donald & Cor,and the same was decided with regard. toatenderMr. M'Sweeney had received a few days before, and omitted to have put in the tender-box in time. 1 - The - Chairman ' then said the next business before the- -meeting was J , an order for payment -of an account ' of Mr. Mears, which the Treasurer had dishonoured. were nearly all acquainted with the circumstances of the case. The order was signed in the usual way, and presented, but Mr. Farrer refused ,to pay it, giving as his reason that there was no. proper authority for the work. The account placed before the ' Committee that evening amounted to £29 45., which included costs of Court, interest, &c, thereby adding £2 13s. to the original account, which stood at £26 lls. It was for the Committee to decide upon the matter. Mr. M'Clusky objected to the item costs of Court. Mr. Hayes asked "who, gave the order for the work, and Mr. Mears replied by stating that Mr. Griffin gave the order. Mr. Smith said he understood Mr. Mears merely went to,. Dr. Stewart to ascertain in what way Ke wished" the work done ; and if a member of Committee gave the order, he (Mr. Smith) considered that member liable to Mr. Mears for the amount. ' Mr. Simpson would like to know if the account was before the Committee to be received or objected to ; if so,he would like to see the particulars, as he thought there was a rule that all work exceeding £20 should be tendered for!. Mr. Henderson stated that the -job was not in one piece. The first order would not have amounted to £10. Mr. Meyer then asked- Mr. Griffin if he gave the order for the work, and was answered by Mr. -. Griffin in the negative. Mr. Meyer then stated that he knew little or nothing about the matteruntil Mr. Mears came with the order for payment to get his signature. He told Mr. Mears that he would prefer looking at the work before attaching his name to the order. Said order bore Mr. Griffin's signature.. He then went to Mr. and on asking him who gave the order for the work, received this reply, " I did ; 'and Dr. Stewart explained to Mr. Mears- how it should be done." He (Mr. Meyer) ■then examined the work at the Hospital, and found it correct. Mr. Mears then brought a second copy of the order, to which Mr. Griffin's name was again attached ; and Jie (Mr. Meyer), thought that if Mr. Griffin signed it a second time,' surely it must be ' right. He then signed it himself. In reply to a question, Mr. Meyer said one reason he had for signing it was that he was under the impression that the work was ordered two days before the rule was made. ',',''" ; Other questions were" asked* Mr. Meyer ; but Mr. Mears objected to the interruptions, and hoped- Mr: Meyer would be allowed to make his statenients. ' .' \ > T . Mr. Harrop suggested' 'that all questions' should go through the chair. - - Mr. Meyer continued by saying he thought the rule was passed in April, but he found that it was a weekpr two previous,. , *','•, The dates' of the' various items of the account were then enumerated,, when ; '' Mr. Mears. asked if it was competent for the Committee to deal "with the account. He considered it was the dishonoured order and not the account which was before the Committee. The Chairman ruled that the account was before the Committee. Mr. Mears then gave a full explanation of the way in which he got .the order. He did not get it all at once, but piece-meal. First, he^ had the order to erect the sheds ; then to line them ; and afterwards to supply fittings for tbein.. . Ail Ijhe> .order, Mr " Griffin gave was .'simply! "(See. the; Dr., and he ' Will instruct you." Dr. Stewart rose and said the only part he took in the affair was this : When Mr. Griffin asked' who he should' get to , do certain work required, he said that as Mr. Mears was' the contracter'fpr a job, it had better ,be:givjen to him. ,'', , , Mr. Sjmpgoiilspioke,"at/iconsidei;able length. It appeared, he ,thougls, thas the order for the work was'giveil'by Mr. ,Griffin once, and that was beyond the pWer of; the Visiting Committee, as it exceeded £20/ > If they 'were > so" stcirigent with regard, to , receiving tenders as they had been thatWening, I why -not be equally stringent inTaTcase i such. 1 as that before the; Oojumittee. ;. . Mr. *Meyer . was asked, if he considered the charges iri Mr. ' Meatrs* account fair j! and in reply said that, hg> ;

thought the time was rather long ; but nobody could make a man do more in a day than he had. the will to do. Chairman here gave his reason for ruling that the account and not the order should be discussed. He considered that every account should be- submitted and dealt with in equity; and it was only by discussing the account they should ascertain the merits of the case. Mr. Farrer knew the Committee were anxiously waiting to hear his statement, and he might as well say what he had to say at once. Two days before the order was sent to the bank, he heard gome whispers about what was going on with regard to this £26 raccount. .He was astonished it was .kept so quietjand so he called upon several members of Committee, but they knew nothing of it. He had asked Mr. Griffin, and he said he had not given Mr. Mears the order. He (Mr. Griffin) even gave a written

statement to that effect. On that account he considered he was quite justified in refusing payment of the order. -

Mr. Henderson then proposed that the account signed by the Committee be paid, viz., £26 lls. Mr. Keen moved as an amendment that the costs of Court should also be paid, for the reason that if the account was right before Mr. Mears tried to recover it, it still remained right afterwards. As regards interest, such a thing should not be entertained. Mr. M'Nickle seconded. Mr. M'Clusky did not seethe utility of a rule being made the one night and broken the next. Mr. Simpson said the question was simply this : Had Mr. Farrer a right to use the discretion he did ? if so, then Mr. Mears had no right to costs ; if on the contrary, then Mr. Mears may have a claim. Mr. Mears then rose, when The Chairman strongly advised him, as it was a matter in which he was personally concerned, it would show good taste on his part to refrain from

speaking.

Mr. Mears .would let good taste drop for the time being. He would not allow himself to be persecuted through private spleen. Mr. Keen rose to order. Such language was unparliamentary, to attribute unworthy motives to any one. " The Chairman said he knew Mr. Mears' disposition, and gave him good advice. Mr. Mears then related how Mr. Griffin came to him in his own simple way and told him to go to the Hospital — there was some work. for him to do. Was he to say no or yes ? or was he to send him somewhere else. He performed the work; and if he received a similar order tomorrow he would do the same as he had done. Why should he be made the victim ? He submitted that the order was quite in form, and that the Treasurer had no right to refuse payment. Who was Mr. Farrer that he should write on the back of the order, " Give me your authority for this work ? " Mr. Keen called the speaker to order. . .Mr. Mears continued. The work I .got the order for would not have exceeded , £20. If inclined, he could have evaded the matter by sending in two accounts ; but he deprecated such a course. He had received two or three orders for the work. He was first asked to put up two places, at which time nothing was said about fittings. He wished to know who were the responsible parties. The Chairman thought it would be better to pay the account, and then i enquire if the Treasurer had exceeded his duty. Mr. Hayes considered if Mr. Farrer thought there was anything wrong in the.account, he was quite justified in 'refusing payment. ( - Mr. Smith reminded the Committee that Mr. Earrer went to Mr. Griffin, who said he did not give Mr. Mears ■ an order for the work. j,Mr. M'Nickle said evidently Mr. { Farrer had been led astray by the Visiting -Committee. The • motion was then Avithdrawn, when the amendment became the motion, viz., " That the original account (£26 lls.), together with costs of Court (£1 35.), be paid to Mr. Mears," which was carried — only one hand being held up against it. ' Mr. Mears then moved, " That the Committee is of opinion that the Treasurer has exceeded his duty, as laid down in rule 24 of the Hospital Ordinance." Mr. Griffin seconded. Mr. Eai*rer said that although all the Committee had signed the order, if he thought they had done so in igno- , ranee, he would have refused payment. | Mr. Meyer thought Mr. Earrer should have paid the amount, and then come down upon the Visiting Committee. I Mr. M'Sweeney said it was evident j the bye-laws of the Hospital were incomplete. In many public bodies •there was not sufficient check uponthe transactions; and as Mr. Earrer had given a very good reason why he hesitated to cash the order, he would move as an amendment — "That the Committee approve of Mr. Farrer's action in the matter." ■ , Mr. Hayes seconded! Mr. Keen thought.it bad taste of Mr. Mears bringing forward a resolution qf this kind. Some intricate mis- { understanding existed. Surely - the Treasurer should, be allowed aame (life

cretionery power, connected as he had been with the financial affairs of the Hospital for so many years. Mr. Hayes insisted upon the motion and amendment being put to the meeting. On a show of hands for the. motion, " That the Treasurer had exceeded his duties," — 2 ; for amendment, " That L the Committee approve of the Treasurer's conduct," — 5. Mr. Henderson produced a letter from the mother of a man who died in the Hospital some nine months ago. The letter was making enquiries as to the effects of her son. Dr. Stewart mentioned that the Tratcb, the only property left hj deceased in the Hospital, was handed to the police, and Mr. Henderson had only to present the letter to recover it from them. The matter was considered a private one between Mr. Henderson and his correspondent, and that he should deal, with it personally, apart from the Hospital Committee. A conversation took plage regarding meat supplied to the Hospital by Mr. P. Lyng ; but we are compelled, on account of the stringency of the Libel Act, to refrain from reporting the remarks which were made on that subject. To prevent any misunderstanding with regard to accounts in future, it was proposed by Mr. Mears, seconded by Mr. Henderson, and carried — "That a Finance Committee be appointed, consisting of three members of the Visiting Committee and Secretary, to pass all accounts and draw up a balance sheet." The Secretary was instructed to write asking the Grovemment for a grant of books for the use of the inmates of the Hospital. The tenders were then opened. Eor meat there were the following tenderers — Messrs. Smith, Parsons, and M'Kimmie. Mr. M'Kimmie's tender being the lowest, was accepted," as follows : — Beef, fore-qr. brisket (boiling), 4d. per lb. ; chine of beef (boiling), 4d. per lb. ; prime ribs (roast), sd. per lb. ; hind-qr. rump beef, sd. per lb. ; sirloin, do., s|d. per lb. ; steak, 6d. per lb. ; buttock, sd. per lb. ; gravey beef from fore-qr. (without bone), 4|d. per lb. ; do. from hindqr. do., s^d. per lb. ; mutton, fore and hind qr., 2-j-d. ; shins of beef r according to size, as cut ; legs of beef, do. Groceries as per tender : — Mr. M'Nickle. Mr. Harris was also a tenderer.

Bread — Mr. Harris, Bd. per 41b. loaf — the only tenderer. Milk— Mr. M' Alpine, 8d per quart ; Mr. Robertson, sd. (accepted). Interments — AY. Mears, £3 ; J. B. M'Neill, £2 15s. (accepted). Firewood — Greeves, £2 18s. ; Overend, £2 7s. 6d. (accepted). Lignite — Liston, 16". per ton ; Overend, 16s. per ton (accepted on acconnt of having the contract last year, and also on account of his having the tender for firewood). The following notices of motion were then laid on the table by Mr. Mears : — 1. " That the Doctor be instructed to lay before the Committee every month, a statement, showing the number of patients, their names, the diseases they are suffering under, the names of the subscribers who gave the order for admission and if they are paying or destitute." 2. " That the Secretary be instructed to lay before this Committee the original invoices (or an inventory) of all furniture bought for their use, with a view to the same being offered for sale." 3. " That on and after the Ist day of November next, the salary of the Resident Surgeon stand at £400 per annum, with quarters."