THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1907. THE NEW HOSPITAL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 9003, 13 December 1907, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1907. THE NEW HOSPITAL.

The residents of Masterton are to be congratulated in having at last an up-to-date hospital, so far at least 'as equipment and appearance are concerned; In every respect it is a vast improvement upon the old institution, and the compliments which were paid to the trustees'at the opening ceremony yesterday were not unmerited, seeing that, costly as has been the structure, it has been opened free from debt. If there is anything to give cause for regret in connection with the action of the trustees it is that they have, in endeavouring to provide a model institution, overlooked the needs of the future. Masterton is a rapidly growing centre of population, and it seems to us that it would have been wiser had the trustees attended more to prospective requirements than to ornateness of architectural finish. There are those who believe, that the money spent upon the new building would have been sufficient to have added considerably to the accommodation for patients, had the natural ambition of the trustees to make the hospital a striking feature of the district been subdued, and ornamentation subordinated to utility. We have no desire to carp at the decision of the authorities, who have given the district an institution of which it may be proud; liut it is an undeniable fact that the cost of the building and equipment is greatly out of proportion to the

accommodation provided for patients. The first plans provided for 40 beds at a cost of £7,500, but ultimately the plans of the present structure were adopted at a cost of £9,000, the bedding accommodation being for 24 patients. The official figures show a total cost of £10,400, which amounts to £433 per bed. The cost per bed of the fever hospital was £193 15s. The disparity is very great, even allowing for additional cost for equipment of the surgical department, and it can only be assumed that the money that was meant for suffering humanity has mistakenly been spent to a large extent upon matters of lesser moment. That would not so much matter if th3rc was a certainty that the accotn mxlation would be adequate for, say, the next ten years, but this appears to be m >re than doubtful in the face O' the progressivenes? of the district. The question has also to be viewed from another aspect. The time is coming when hospitals of the ordinary kind will cease to exist in tlie smaller towns and when cottage hospitals will be substituted for emergency cases, leaving the central towns of the various districts to pro vide for cases of a more permanent character. Masterton.is, and is likely to remain, the capital of the Wairavapa. However, "what's done is i done," and the fact remains that we now have a very fine building, in which the sick of the community may rely upon being provided with every comfort that can reasonably be expected, and also upon receiving the best medical, and surgical attention that it is possible to give them.

The Premier told a press interviewer at Dunedin, this week, that the electorates next year would be for seats as fixed by the Representation Commission. There is not much news in this, but it is news to learn that Sir Joseph Ward had to bow to the Opposition party in the matter of adhering to that fixture. The South Island members at the time endeavoured to secure the retention of the three seats cut out by the Commission, and thus increase the total representation by three. This was considered by many memhp.rs to be quite an improper proceeding, and the recommendations of the Commission were unaltered. It now turns out on the admission of the Premier that "Mr Massey and his supporters had been 'sounded' cn the proposal, but their reception of it would not warrant action in that direction being taken by the Government." In this respect the Opposition has "clone the State some service."