The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 1887.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2287, 8 March 1887, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatsoever state or persuasion, reli gious or political. TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 1887.

The suggestion made by our esteemed correspondent "Business" in another column, that the Waikato Hospital and Charitable Aid Board should send one of its members to "Wellington to urge its claims for assistance from the Government on Ministers, is one every way worthy of consideration. Perhaps, as our correspondent suggests, no better selection could, lie made than the chairman, if ho could be induced to undertake the duty; and if he succeeded only half as well for the Hospital Board as he did on a similar errand, as mayor, for the borough, the Hospital .Board would have no reason to complain of their venture. The matter is one, however, which can hardly be left over until the next meeting of the board, which does not take place until the 12th of April, and, therefore, if the suggestions strikes members with the same force as it does ourselves, it will be well if two or more of them will at once take the necessary steps to cause the chairman to convene a special meeting to consider the proposal. The first question that naturally arises is how far the board is legally justified in expending funds on such a purpose. A careful examination of the amended Act of last year, and of the old Act leaves, we think, no doubt upon this matter. There is nothing in the former opposed to it, and the latter distinctly provides that money may be expended for any purpose necessary for or towards administering the Act. Left as the district is to commence work without a hospital building, and without funds, but Avith claims upon certain trust funds Avhich have, we believe, been unjustly otherwise distributed in September last, Waikato having been constituted a hospital district in the preceding August, and again unjustly distributed because the hospital to which they were given was originally established, not by the City of Auckland, but by the province as a whole.—looking at all.this, we say that the expense of sending a member of the board to Wellington to look after these matters may fairly be considered " necessary towards the administering of the Act in Waikato." There are claims, too, upon reserves that have yet to bo adjudicated.

Apart, however, from these claims, there a,re others which we need not refer to here, but which are very well-known to the chairman, and the board, and which can only be urged with any chance of success personally upon Ministers. !For this office the chairman has shown himself pre-eminently qualified in the arrangements lie has m&da on behalf of the borough, which has good reason to congratulate itself on its enterprise in sending its mayor to Wellington. We all know how difficult, we might almost say how impossible, it is to conduct a matter of this kind by (Correspondence, to answer objections as they are raised, to combat arguments and push those, in favour cof our own case at the right moment and in the right manner, and we do not hesitate to say that while

little or no concession will be probably obtained from the Government by olKcial correspondence, a very groat deal may be done iti the case of the board by personal application at the fountain head.

It must not be forgotten, too, that at a personal interview held by the chairman of the Hospital Board at Hamilton with the Native Minister during that gentlemen's last visit to Waikato, Mr Bailsmen recognised the claim upon the Government for assistance in erecting hospital buildings in tho case of a new district such as this, and distinctly said that if the hospital board would provide a good site and would be content to start with an unpretentious building', puttiiigup for present purposes a buildingwhich might form tho wing , of a larger hospital at some future day, ho "thought tho Government might very fairly bo aslcod to contribute a sum of .i'ooo, and, added Mr Ballance, "Of course, tho hotter tho aito provided the more claim would you have for such a grant. The only difficulty I see is tho want of money available for such purposes, but this may, in such a case, be got over." As we have said, however, the chairman has certain other very strong claims to urge on behalf of the new district, which we could mention did wo think it right^to anticipate his interview with Ministers, and we quite agree with our correspondent that it has been an oversight, on the part of all of us in not having thought of so obviously desirable a course as sending the chairman to Wellington as our advocate.

For, be it understood, the case of the Waikato Hospital and Charitable Aid District is a peculiar one. In embryo at present, on the first of next month, like a new born babe, it comes naked into the world. Other districts, when the Act came into force, found themselves ready provided with well equipped hospitals and with the machinery necessary for carrying on a system of Charitable Aid distribution, found themselves endowed with old men's refuges and kindred institutions. Not" so Waikato. This district is cut off without even the proverbial shilling, and must look to provide for present necessities by discounting the future. Yet that other district from which it has been separated owes much of what it now possesses to the voluntary assistance of Waikato in the early past, and even more to what has been quite recently wrung from it, and therefore we say let no pains be spared, no effort be left untried in obtaining for Waikato some share of what it Is both morally and legally entitled to claim.