Hospitals and Charitable Aid.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 2912, 31 May 1888, Page 2

Hospitals and Charitable Aid.

Mr Beethaji, in speaking upon the Hospitals and Charitable Aids Bill said As far as the Wairarapa Counties are concerned, they have tried at the initiation of the Act to divido themselves, and keep as distinct bodies, both as to hospitals and as to charitable aid, Up to the time of the passing of the Act they had provided themselves with hospitals and charitable aid on the true voluntary system, and iu carrying out this desirable end the true principle of self-reliauce had been cultivated to a large extent; but Sir Robert Stout had come in with his Bill, and had apparently destroyed that principle of self-reliance as far, 'at any rate, as charitable aid was concerned. The unholy character of the Union between Wellington and Wairarapa had been recognised by the United District Board, and at the last meeting there was only one dissentient from the resolution passed by the Board, that Wairarapa should be separated from Wellington district. That resolution, he thought, was fully justified. As far as cbaritablo aid was concerned, the two counties of Wairarapa were very heavily taxed; but- the money was brought to Wellington, and expended in such a way that the United District Board had no control whatever over it. It was a recognised principle of taxation that where taxation was imposed the body taxed should liaye full control over the expenditure; but that was not the case with the expenditure of charitable aid. The position now was this: A short time ago a conference, held at the town of Masterton, of all the local bodies in tlid Wairarapa hitherto contributing to the United District of Wellington was held, and the result was that it was unanimously agreed to resist the tax. There was no doubt that, whether rightly or not, that was the determination of the local bodies, and that steps would have to be taken to force those districts to pay. The peculiarity of the position was this: that the County of Wairarapa JS T orth had taxed itself to the utmost the law would permit under the Local Governing Bodies Acts, the County and Boad Board Acts, to keep its roads fairly open—merely for the maintenance of works and he wished to know how it ivould be possible to tax that county to a larger extent. The Government could not do it, and there was no law to compel them to do it. The only thing the United District Board could do, so far as he could judge, was to sell the county offices and a few tools the county had. The Wairarapa South County had for two years past contributed very large sums —£s4o one year, and, ho thought, £6OO this year—and had never received a penny-piece for charitable aid, but the whole of it hod come down to Wellington, and been expended in such a way that they had not had the slightest control over it—it had been expended by an irresponsible Board, so far as they wore concerned. This sort of thing, ho maintained, should not exist, They had always endeavoured to govern according to the principles of self-reliance; and yet, by that abominable Act—for such lie considered it—districts had been wedded together that had no natural connection, and they had been forced to take courses which had dried up llio springs of benevolence, and they were now going into litigation to prove that they were right in refusing for the future to accede to an unjust demand. He should support with pleasure the Bill brought down by the honorable member for Waitotara, and any Bill brought down for the purpose of dividing districts that ought not to have been joined together; and assuming that that was the opinion of all the parties interested, he thought the matter should be very carefully considered by the House. He quite agrfed with what had been said about the disadvantage of tinkering in a piecemeal fashion with a Bill of this kind; but he considered it to be the duty of the Government to take this matter fairly in hand, and to weigh the question whether or not the districts now asking for severance should not be severed. Let the Government take the initiative and bring down a measure, and the House would fairly discuss it and vote upon it; but he objected to cumbering the statute-book with a number of amending Acts. The matter was a/i urgent one, and if the Government would take it up he was sure the House would give every consideration to any measure brought down by them, and lie believed the result would be a measure that would be fairly satisfactory to all,