Charitable Aid Question.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume II, Issue 232, 8 December 1888, Page 3

Charitable Aid Question.

THE RESIDENTIAL QUESTION. Dunfdtn, Thursday. Mr Justice Williams yesterday gave a decision in an appeal case from the Resident Magistrate’s Court, in which Benevolent Trustees sued the Smith Canterbury Charitable Board for £2l 10s, the value of outdoor relief supplied to Maggie Sharp, who had formerly been an inmate of the Tirnaru institution. The point involved was the meaning of section 7 of the Hospitals and Charitable Aid Act, and especially of the words “ provided the persons have resided in the last-mentior ed district at least six month B * next before he entered the institution from which he obtained relief.” The Resident Magistrate decided that continuous residence was not necessary. Justice Williams said the section was an imperfect and artificial attempt to deal concisely with a very trouble* some question of settlement. It seemed to him that six months must have reference to the period of residence in the district which is to be charged. It seemed, apart from the English cases (which don’t afford any great assistance), that the natural meaning of the words was that the residence must be continuous. In the present case there was undoubtedly a break in the residence in Tirnaru ; during the months before she came down to Otago she had cea<*ed to reside in the Tirnaru district. I hold (the Judge said) that the Act requires, in order that the Benevolent Institution may recover, that it should appear during the whole of the six months b< fore she came down to the Otago district she had resided within the Tirnaru district. For these reasons, therefore, the appeal must be allowed with the usual costs.”

Invercargill, Thursday. After the arrival of the Ministerial party last night the Premier was interview >d hv a deputation frnm the Hospital and Charitab’e Aid B >ard. Mr J. W. Bain, chairman, stated that the Board hid been served with an ac com t for over £5O for the maintenance of nine children from the district in St. Mary’s Industrial School, Nelson. This was the fist knowledge the Board had of the fact that children for whom they were responsible had been pent to the industrial schools, and he thought it was only reasonible that the B iard pbou'd be consulted by th lB committing magistrate, so that the B >ard might have an op portunity of. saving whether th\v appro?- d -f the destination of the children. Th a re'igi ms question need not weigh in the mitter, for so fir as the Southland Board was c» ,! C-'rned care was always taken that the children wee b »arde i with people nf their respective denominations. The Premier sail that the Board’s proposal was reasonable, and would be considered. Mr Biin then urged the advi*ableness of restoring to the Board the power to differentially rate the subdivisions of the district fur hospital maintenance, instancing'he fact that in the Lake County there were two hospitals only eight miles apart, for the support, nf which the whole district was levied on. If the locality in which these hospitals were situated were specially rated for their support it would not be so likely to indulge in such a luxury as two institutions. Sir Harry Atkins »n said that the matter would he inquired into, and the Government would be glad if the Board would suggest an amendment of the Act. Mr Bain next mentioned that his Board had received a demand for the payment of €44 from the Dunedin Hospital Board for the medical treatment of people alleged to be chargeable to the Southland Board. His Board in this case also thought the Board on which such a demand was made should have the opportunity of c nsidering each case before the exoeen«e was incurred. The Board had four hospitals in the district to support, and it was thought ra’her hard that people could go away to another district for medical aid and incur charges against their own district. The Southland Board could not retaliate, as all their hospitals were separate This representation, the Premier said, would also be considered. Mr Bain then brought the case of the unemployed before the Premier, suggesting that they might he employed on the track to Milford from Te Anau. To this Sir Harry Atkinson made no reply.