a.—l 9

18

medical comforts cost £12. The salaries are : Doctor, £250; steward, £150; matron, £78 ; temporary assistant to matron for two months, at 12s. a week. The water-supply is got from the roof. A force-pump attached to a well, and furnished with a hose 66ft. long, throws a jet of water over the roof. This is the best-arranged, best-furnished, and best-managed hospital on the West Coast, and it is a credit to the town, and particularly to its officers, each of whom is most efficient and conscientious. Ist November, 1886.

EIVEETON. This hospital stands on a res.erve about a mile out of tow 7n. It is a plain wooden building, originally built for an immigrants' barracks, and is now somewhat dilapidated. The main building has a verandah in front, which has been enclosed with glass and is filled with flowers. Off either end of this verandah there is a door, the one to the right leading to the waiting-room and dispensary. This room occupies the whole width of the building at the south end, and is large and commodious, containing a suitable table and sofa, a chest of drawers which serves as a linen-press, a weighingmachine, and a wash-hand-basin. There is an admirable press for instruments and surgical appliances, of which there is a good supply, and a book-shelf with a miscellaneous collection of literature. A portrait of Dr. Monckton adorns the room. The male ward, 24ft. by 24ft. by 9ft., occupies the northern end of the building. There are three small windows on one side, and one ordinary sash-window on the other. The walls are pasted over with pictures from the illustrated papers. The ceiling is strengthened by beams with wooden supports, round each of which is fixed a round table, which is very convenient. This ward contains six beds, four of which are stretchers and two plain wooden bedsteads. Five of the mattrasses are chaff and one flock. The bedding is good and clean. There are no proper lockers —old boxes are made to serve the purpose —and there are no bedhead cards. The ward-table is very roughly constructed of plain boards. Ventilation is provided for by a large zinc tube led up through the garret above to the roof, besides the draught secured by the open fireplace and windows. There are a few ordinary chairs and one very comfortable easy-chair. The female ward is separated from the male ward by a passage leading from the front door to the kitchen and the warders' rooms, which occupy a lean-to behind the main building. It is 21ft. by 13ft., lined, like the male ward, with newspaper-pictures. It has two ordinary sash-windows opening into the covered-in verandah. It contains three beds - all stretchers, with chaff mattrasses, except one, which is a feather bed. A box set on end serves as a dressing-table. There is an open fireplace, with a clock over it. Old, rather worn matting is laid along the floor. The window-blinds have no rollers, and there is no ventilation except what is provided by the windows and fireplace. The kitchen-fittings a-re a colonial oven, a plain deal table, and a plainer dresser. In the rear stands the fever ward, a neat brick-and-cement building, 17ft. by 15ft. by 15ft., with four windows, plastered walls, open fireplace, bare floor, and two beds, one of which is occupied at present by a man suffering from aneurism of the aorta. It has a neat kauri ceiling. The outbuildings are a mortuary and lumberroom under one roof. A woodhouse has recently been put up, which is a great convenience. The books kept are the register, day-book, prescription-took, and 1.0.1 J. book. The patients, notwithstanding the meagre appointments of the hospital, enjoy a rude comfort, and are evidently well attended in all respects. 6th January, 1887.

BOSS. This hospital stands in an acre of land facing the north, on an area levelled by cutting into the hill. It contains three wards, two male and one female, all furnished after the meagrest possible fashion. They are sufficiently well ighted by means of ordinary sash-windows, and ventilated by the large open fireplaces and ventilators in the roof. The beds and bedding are clean and sufficient, but the appearance of the whole is spoiled by the ragged, wretched-looking quilts. In all there is accommodation for about twelve patients, but at present there are only three. The steward and his wife are a kindly old couple, who evidently treat the patients well ; but T am afraid that Mrs. Markham finds the work too heavy from advancing years. Suitable accommodation is provided in detached outbuildings for washhouse, closets, mortuary, and bath-room. This last, however, I find is very seldom used, being at some distance from the wards. In the emergency ward I noticed one very objectionable arrangement : one of the corners is boarded off for the purpose of a closet, which, to all intents and purposes, is a part of the ward. I hope that this will be at once removed. The doctor's house is quite close to the hospital, and contains seven rooms, and is a comfortable residence. All the stores are of good quality and are got by contract. The doctor's salary is £200, besides an allowance of £20 for dispensing. The steward and his wife get £100. The general appearance of the interior of the institution is meagre and poverty-stricken. I had an interview with the Chairman, Mr. Grimmond, and pointed out the matters which required to be put right, and was assured they would be attended to at once. 29th October, 1886.

EOTOEUA. The marvels of Sulphur Point Eeserve, on which this hospital is situated, hate been so often reported on that I can confine myself at present to the simple statement that the marvellous advantages of this sanatorium have not been diminished in any way by the late volcanic outburst. No doubt the bed of the lake has been raised slightly by the quantities of mud which have been washed into it by the rains; but the only effect of this has been to cause the Priest's Bath to be slightly lowered in temperature, a difficulty which is now in process of being remedied by means of