The Wairarapa Daily. SATURDAY, JANUARY 20, 1883. THE MASTERTON HOSPITAL.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 5, Issue 1283, 20 January 1883, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. SATURDAY, JANUARY 20, 1883. THE MASTERTON HOSPITAL.

The financial position of the Maaterton Hospital is now a critical one. A sum of not less that ,£SOO per annum is necessary for its efficient maintenance, and of this amou.it one half, or £250, has to be raised locally, the other moiety being contributed by the Government. Afj the grant fyom the Treasury is.basp/1 on local sijbsci'ij).tions, the jatter constitute tjie basis 911 whig)) the financial prosperity of ffte institution depends, During tlfe tj.alfV year ended on December Slst last, tj)e subscriptions received in town and country only amounted to £SO, having fallen to about one half of the average rate. The Government subsidy, being given on the subscriptions, was conssquently reduced in proportion, the result being that the total income for the period to which we refer was lowered by 50 per cent. If this falling off of subscriptions continues during tho current half-year, the Hospital will have to be closed, and we need hardly point out that such a contingency would be a lasting disgrace arid discredit to the Wairarapa, In the Masterton Hospital district, there is a population of over 5000 souls, and it is absurd to suppose that such a wide and populous (j,vea find £250 per annun? to maintain /jn institution. It cannot bg s»id t|iat f}ie recent falling off in subreptions is due to any mismanagement of t)je Hospital or dereliction of duty on the part of its staff or managing committee. The re? port of the surpriso visit of Dr Grabbam, the Inspector, is conclusive on these points, indicating, as it did, that our local Hospital is, as a whole, better found and managed than any other institution of ft similar character which be had visited. But apart from Dr Grabbam's report, the Hospital speaks for itself to every visitor who takes notice of it, The neat and orderly appearance of its grounds is a faithful index of a well-appointed and cleanly interior, Of the scores of patients who have from time to time been treated in this establishment, one and all have spoken in unmistakable terms of commendation of the care and attention which they have received. The Hospital has done good work in the past, yi|l, should it be adequately supported, fiontinue |o do good work in the future, We trust country residents who are mainly responsible for the recent falling off in subscriptions will'not allow a valuable institution like this to succumb, but .will makea point of giving it year by year a reasonable &mo,unt of .support, Every working man wjjo pays five shillings per annum can, .-in the event of his being admitted, .to the hospital claim to have thej benefits of the institution free from all 1 costs .gorges. .Employers of. labor' •may, if they yjjf jtfko t)je trouble, do j the hpspitaj a good turn tyy briifgjflg this fact unfe tfrenfltice of tjjjeip. employees. T(io receipts % sje .current yeaiysmall though they be, inolude £j)ie napes of forty-seven five-shilling HubHoribers. Tho owners of larger amounts are' less numerous, consequently the small subscribers aro an important factor in tlie inflame.