7

H.—9

with windows and gaslights, and provided with a good operating-table and a water-supply. In this room the surgical instruments are kept, amongst which I noticed a new " steam spray-producer." Here, also, the out-patients are seen daily, and their number would seem to indicate that all cannot be proper objects of charitable aid, although each has to bring a " recommendation " from a subscriber, unless suffering from an accident, when no " order "is necessary. Fourteen out-patients were dealt with on the 29th, and sometimes twenty are seen in one day. The hospital washing is now done at the refuge by a woman permanently employed for that purpose. Any spare time which she may have is filled up in mending clothes or assisting in the nursing. This change is a beneficial one, and more economical than the old plan of "putting out " the washing. The kitchen, offices, closets, and the gardens are beautifully kept, and I have no fault whatever to find with anything in the hospital. No fever cases are under treatment here ; and the fever hospital at Parawai has been empty for the last eighteen months. I have therefore not deemed it necessary to inspect it upon this occasion. 31st October, 1885.

TIMAEU. I have this day inspected the Timaru Hospital, which I found occupied by twenty-three in-patients, one or two of whom are old residents, of the " chronic " class. It 'is scarcely necessary to remark that everything was in the best possible order. Indeed, the ward occupied by males, in point of appearance, comfort, furnishing, decoration, and perfect ventilation, far surpasses any other in the colony. I much wish that those who are interested in other hospitals could see this ward, and take it as a model for imitation. The other wards of this hospital arc not less cared for, but their architectural arrangements are neither so cheerful nor so perfect. Articles of invalid furniture are in use which for excellence of workmanship and luxurious finish could not be surpassed. There are invalid-couches, wheeled chairs, reading-easels, bedside-tables, and walking-machines for the paralyzed ; also screens of modern design, and bath-chairs, upon which money has been lavished ; but the whole of that money, reaching the amount of £120, was collected by the unaided efforts of Mrs. Jowsey, the matron, who has thus conferred a great and lasting benefit upon the hospital; for the articles are so substantial that they will not readily wear out. Mr. Jowsey, the steward, is also the inventor of a mechanical bed which in a multiplicity of ways contributes to the comfort of the invalid, and should find an extended use in the colonial hospitals. I have no other alterations to remark upon as regards the hospital buildings; but extensive improvements have been effected in the ornamental grounds with the aid of prison-labour. Many wants remain to be supplied. The old mortuary has not been replaced. There is no operating-room, nor, in fact, any room in the hospital which is properly lighted for this use; which is a very serious drawback. No consultingroom exists other than the dispensary; while the out-patients must wait their turn in a cold passage with concrete floor. The nurses also badly need a common sitting-roonr. They have only the ward-kitchens for their use, and here fires are necessary for various purposes. With the thermometer approaching 100° in the shade, as was the case yesterday, these kitchens are not proper sitting-rooms. 7th January, 1886.

WAIPUKUEAU. The hospital was visited by me to-day, when I inspected every portion and made a number of inquiries. I also spoke to each of the patients, who now number sixteen, all being of the male sex. Many of them are sufferers from severe accidents, and three have recently undergone amputation of a limb. The largest number of patients—viz., nineteen—was reached about a fortnight since. It is necessary at present to place six of the more convalescent patients in the detached fever ward, which fortunately is not now, nor ever has been, required for its special use. Should an infectious case demand admission, the hospital would be placed in a serious difficulty for want of more accommodation. lam glad, therefore, to learn that the Committee will shortly consider the question of erecting an additional ward. With the increased work of nursing no corresponding change has been made in the staff, which must at times find difficulty in giving the patients all the attention demanded. Two chronic cases have recently been removed to the refuge at Napier. The only patient now belonging to this category is an aged and feeble man, not very long resident. As has always been the case with this hospital, I found everything in the best possible order. I must, however, draw attention to the walls of the wards, which are badly in want of paint or distemper. The kitchen, also, would be the better for a coat of varnish, which it has never yet had, and also for the removal of the partition which converts part of it into a store-room. In connection with the proposed additional ward, it is to be hoped that a more cheerful sitting-room for convalescents will be provided. The present one is gloomy in the extreme, and might well be converted into a store, thereby releasing a suitable room for a servants' bed-room. I noticed a number of new books and periodicals, supplied since my last visit. A supply of hand-grenades, for extinguishing incipient fires, has also lately been provided. The dry season has given trouble in the kitchen-garden here as elsewhere, and has caused a failure in the water-supply, which is entirely dependent on rainfall. Some additional tanks would prevent a recurrence of this latter difficulty. No one visiting this hospital can fail to see that it is under good management, and that the high reputation which it enjoys is well founded. 17th February, 1886.

WELLINGTON. The hospital is to-day very full. There are 68 male and 23 female patients under treatment: total, 91. My time being limited to-day, I have only visited the wards, leaving the remainder of the buildings and premises for inspection upon another occasion. The wards I found in their usual good order, but the staff of nurses short-handed. It appears that three of their number are incapacitated for duty by illness. The Lady Superintendent is also confined to her bed from the effects of a severe