THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 1880.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, 25 August 1880, Page 2

THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 1880.

Hospital affairs in Westporfc appear to be in something tbe same difficulty that they are in Reefton The position bas, in fact, grown so critical that unless some exfcroardinarj aid is im* mediately forthcoming, the institution will probably have to be closed up. In view of this position a public meeting was held in Westport on the 17th instant, but from the News' report it does not appear that tbe call met with a very enthusiastic response, in fact, it met with no response at all, for as our contemporary puts it. "The public listened to it all, they stamped their feet when any speaker proposed to throw the burden upon the Govern' tnent, and they looked straight before them when any benevolent speaker suggested passing the plate round, and after an amusing sallie of words between members of the Committee, who, by the way all bold very decided, but very contrary opinions, Mr Harden moved in the direction of a subsubscription, and the public — moved towards the door.'" There can be no question whatever that a great change has come over the gratuity-giving public of not only Westport, but the West Coast generally. People can no longer afford to shell out charitable contributions with tbe same rollicking freedom that they were in tbe habit of doing in the halcyon days of the past ; and though all may be prepared to ad" mit the obligatiop to support such an institution, its fulfilment must be governed by the ability nf the peoplr. It; is due to the great public liberality of the past that very efficient hospital* have been established in every town on the "West Coast ; they have all along been substantially endowed, and generally raised to as high a s f ate of efficiency as money can do. But it cau hardly escape notice that the condition of things has altered very much since these institutions were brought to their present effectiveness. Population has fallen considerably, life has become more settled and regular, and the risks to it have been dimioisbed in proportion. For every hundred men on the West Coast seven or ten years ago, living a life of daily privation, we have now probably not more than seventy, and the bulk of thia number possess setlled and comfortable homes, which oualit to relieve rnueh of the strain upon the public institutions. Notwithstanding tlrs, however, the hospitals of tor 6' ay are even more f j x~ peusive'y managed instil ui ions \h»v they ever were. They have, in fuel,

grown, inversely with the ability of the communities to maintain them, and, we are tempted to believe, quite ont of proportion to what should be regarded as actual public need. Ibe obligation of etch community to care for and maintain itfl destitute B ick and iujured, is undeniable, but ho.p.tals Jthey are know on the West Coast, are luxurious refuges, whose portals are open to all comers; rich and poor alike hare an equal right of entry, and although the former ia nominally un* derstood or expected to pay his footing many escape doing so ; and it would be no bold guess to say that for every five patients treated, three are well able to pay for the attendance they re«ceive at the bouuty of a too indulgent public. A custom has also groA-n up in connection with our hospitals of permitting patients of acknowledged means to quarter themselves upon the institutions at the same rate as a pauper inraate is nominally expected to pay. This is an abuse of long standing, but none the lees indefensible on that ground. It is unfair to the public, to professional men, and to hospital attendants. Such cases are wholly without the scope of the functions of hospitals supported by chari- ; fable contributions, and their admiss sion is widely at variance with tbe spirit of benevolence upon which LosI pitals as public institutions are foun* ded and sustained. Tn spite, however, of all this the hospitals, so long as times were prosperous, thriv d in affluence, and theeost of keeping them up has grown in nice proportion with the beneficence of the people. But with the decline of the communities has not followed any diminution in this tax, and now it is becoming c.vi* dent that there is a prospect vf the boat being left high and dry. Reefton and Westport are not the only places where difficulties have arisen through a shrinkage of hospital sub" scriptions, for we observe that at Greymouth a similar trouble is feared It i* true that in some instance complaints against the management are urged as a reason for not subscribing, but it is well known that in dull times men will catch at any excuse likely to help them gracefully out of the obliation of " parting." The lesson to be learnt from all this is that our hospitals should be reduced to the actual needs of the communities ;* and we mean by th's that they should .be open to none but the destitute sick, for if their mission is carried beyond this, it will be raised beyond the capacity of voluntary aid. A hospital, let it be regarded in whatever light it may, is a purely local clnr:*y, and no charitable object can be popular that doubles too often or too heavily upon the public pockfct. The Hospital and Charitable Aid Bill now before Parliament throws the full onus of hospital maintenance upou the people, and there is no doubt that the introduction of that measure will fairly open the eyes of the people to this hospital question, and serve to bring home to them the necessity of seeing that their chanty is not abused.