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DINNEH AT THE KING'S ARMS…

, SOIREE AT THE MEMORIAL HALL.

.. DENBIGHSHIRE INFIRMARY.

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DENBIGHSHIRE INFIRMARY. THE ADJOURNED MEETING OF THE GOVERNORS AND SUBSCRIBERS. THE adjourned meeting of the Governors and Subscribers of the above institution was held at Denbigh, on Thursday. Col. Mesham presided, there being also present Messrs. Thos. Williams (High Sheriff elect), T. Gold Edwards, R. Foulkes Roberts, W. L. Con- greve (Segrwyd); William James (North & South Wales Bank), E. J. Swayne, T. J. Williams, J. F. Preston, Lieutenant Col. Heaton, Captain Cole, Major Conran, the Rev. John Morgan (rector), the Rev. Basil Jones, Dr. J. R. Hughes, Dr. J. U. Roberts, and the secretary—Mr. W. Vaughan Jones. Apologies were received from Mr. Clough, Mr. J. P. Lewis, and Mrs. Mainwaring. The chairman said that the meeting had been called to consider the concluding paragraph of the committee report submitted to the last meeting, which, was as follows The Committee would earnestly ask whether, in thift, the 60th year of Her Most Gracious Mf>je-ty a Reign, when schemes of all kinds are started to commemorate this remarkable event, it would not be possible for a grand effort to be made over the wide area hich derivessnch large benefits from this Institution, and for all classes, to unite in freeing the.County Infirmary from debt, and placing it oo a securer financial basis in |uture.' Continuing, the Chairman said that the secre tary, hfid communicated with the mayors and town clerks of Denbigh, Ruthin, and Conway, and also with all the public bodies throughout the conrttv, such as Urban Councils, Boards of Guar- dians, &c, He (the chairman) had also communi- cated with the Lord Lieutenants of Denbighshire and Flintshire, and the Duke of Westminster, the latter of whom had sent a cheque for £ 10 (cheers). The Lord Lieutenant of Denbigh wrote statu g that he had decided nothing yet with regard to the mode of commemorating the Queen's long reign, and promieed to see the chairman at a future date on the matter. The Lord Lieutenant of Flintshire's letter was very much to the same effect. He favoured the id(a, and hoped it would be successful. Mr. Wezard, of Pool Park, wrote stating that he would be happy to contribute to the object of clearing off the debt when the time came (cheers). The Secretary, in reply to a. question, said he had not as yet received a reply from any of the public bodies. The Chairman, again referring to the objects of the meeting, said they hftid come together with a view of formulating some scheme or schemes for freeing the Institution from iebt, and place it on a secure financial basis for the future. He could not help thinking that the most deeireable' Memo ria,! of the Queen's Reign, so far as Denbighshire was concerned, would he to attain the above object. It was really distressing to himself, and other members of the Committee, and in fact, all interested in the Infirmary, to meet there, year after year, and find tha.t tiny were, not only in debt, but that the debt greatly increased. A great effort was made last year to wipe off the debt; and he mmt say that the response to that appeal was very generous indeed (hear, hear). But, a'thoulfh, during the year, jE600 had been secured in thi" way, they were still £500 in debt. Of course, there were many reasons why the expenditure of of an institution of that kind was higher thati the income now-a-days. One reason was t) the money invested brought in a less rate of jntcest than formerly. Then, aeaio. the modern idea on the subject of hospital and infirmaries had a ten- dency to increase the expenditure, because the I appliances now in use were of a more exper sive character. The nursing was also far superior than it used to be and speaking generally, what satisfied a former generation, did not satisfy the present one. Of course, the Committee were de- sirous of currying on. the Institution with every regard to economy but they did not want to see it more backward in efficiency than its kindred m-tirutiofis. They all were of opinion that 9-200 or £:-300 a year additional subscriptions should be collected in the large area now benefitted by the Infirmary but he was afraid that this could cot be done by to the class of people who had been in the habit of subscribing towards it. However, if they could, by any means, enlist the sympathy of another class, residing within the area, and who now contributed pext to nothing, he thought that the subscriptions might be greatly augmented (hear, hear). He thought that a goon plan to carry this out world be to form a sma l committee in every parish (hear, hear). Son# members of these committees should be working men, so that they might bring their influence to bea)" on their fellow-workmen, &c. Subscriptions of 5s., 2s., &c., from a large number of these people would go a long way to assist the Com- mittee in thfir object, and matfrially increase the income of the Institution. At any rate, a special effort should be made to free the Infirmary from debt, as the financial pressure was becoming al- most unbearable. He was happy to say that Mr. Thos. Williams, of Llewesog, vho was present with them that day, had acceded to the Commit- tee's request to become president of the Institu tion for the ensuing year (hear, hear). Mr. Thos. Williams, in his letter, expressed himself as will- ing to join in any scheme formulated to place the Institution on a sounder financial basis (applause). That was very satisfactory; and he had great plea- sure in thanking Mr. Thos. Williams, on behalf of the Committee, for so kindly coming forward to be their president. Dr. J. Lloyd Roberta then suggested that the discussion should take place on the following points:—firstly, the desirability of having a Jubi- lee Commemoration secondly, the freeing of the Comity Infirmary from debt; and thirdly, the placing of the Institution on a sounder financial. basis for the future. Mr. Congreve asked what would be the capital aura required to free the Institution from debt, and to secure its financial position in the future. The Chairman said that even after freeing it from its present debt, it would require £ 300 a year additional subscriptions to carry it on, and keep it in that desirable position. The Secretary said that the sum actually requi- red would be £ 250. The Chairman asked whether it was possible for them to wait without deciding this matter until the Lord Lieutenant called a county meeting to consider the question of Commemorating Her Majesty's Reign ? If they waited too long, it was possible that the ground might be cut from under their feet by the formulation of other schemes. He should like to hear the opinion of the meeting on this point. t Mr. Thos. Williams, after having thanked the Committee for the honour they had done him by electing him president of the Institution, said it was not for him to dictate in which form the Com- memoration of Her Majesty's Reign should take place, but it was highly desirable that something permanent should be the result (hea,r, hear). He was usre that nothing should be more consistent with Her Majesty's wishes than the putting of those institutions which alleviated the lot of the sick and needy on a secure financial basis, and in a thoroughly efficient state (hear, hear). He hoped that whatever form the Commemoration would assume in the county, that the Denbighshire In- firmary would be selected to derive some benefit from such a movement. From the report he found there were three things they were in need of; 1st, to remove the present debt, which was an incubus to the working of the Institution secondly, to enlarge the basis of the source from which their revenue was derived—or in other words, to secure a larger annual support, so that a similar deficiency could not again occur; and thirdly, to secure for the Institution as many free beds as possible (hear, hear). Such an effort should be made so that the free beds should not, as it were, become private property, but should be at the absolute disposal of the Committee (bear, hear). He would recommend that the Committee should lose no time in bringing this project be- fore the public; and the suggestion made by the chairman to form a Committee in every parish was, certainly, a good one, if it was feasible. He was rather afraid it would be difficult to get people to act in the parishes but he felt that the very way to popularise the Institution would be, to get such an amount of small contributors as would help to place it, for the future, on a secure financial position, and to make it of greater bene- fit to the people at large. He thought it discredi- table to the county that so many people should go to Liverpool, &c,, to obtain relief, when they could obtain good medical assistance in the county itself. He sincerely hoped that this year would see the Infirmary placed on a sound financial basis, aDd popularised by bringing it into a tho- roughly efficient state (applause). In reply to Mr. Congreve, Mr. T. Gold Edwards said that the average expenditure for the last three years was £ 1,480; average receipts, excluding the special receipts received as a result of the appeal to the public last year, 91,186. Therefore, there was an annual deficiency of £ 294. The Chairman: What were the annual subscrip- tions? Mr. T. Gold Edwards In 1894, they came to £ 814; in 1895, £ 365; in 1896, £ 274. It will be noticed that a considerable increase took place in 1895, but that was caused by the receipt 01 arrears, and the figure for that year cannot be taken as a fair test. Mr. Congreve said that upon this calculation a sam of about 98,500 would be required to invest as a special fund to secure against a deficiency in the future. Dr. Lloyd Roberts said that the question now before them was the selection of a sehen e or schemes to Commemorate the Queen'u Reign, or what was called her Diamond Jubilee. Nobody had so far proposed anything, although the High Sheriff touched upon one very desirable object viz,, the establishment of free beds. The five now in the infirmary bad been of incalculable benefit and the demand for money in connection with the "patients at the Institution really excluded the class which it was intended to relieve. He would give his heartiest support to any effort made to establish Jubilee or Victoria Free Beds. Another object he should like to bring forward was, the establishment of a Nursing Institute in connection with the Infirmary-an institute from which they could send nurses out into the country. They were, certainly, behind the times in not having a Nursing Institution attached to the Infirmary. He maintained that such an institution would be a great benefit to the country at large, and a source of handsome revenue (hear, hear). When a nurse was wanted now, they had to send to Chester and Liverpool for one and after due enquiry be had been told that they might reasonably expect to earn 9200 rjr 9300 a year by this means; and fa addition get the nursing done at the Infirmary free of charge. He put these two points before the meeting as suggestions be should like to see adopted, although he proposed no resolution on the subject. Mr. Congreve suggested that this special effort in aid of the Institution should be made through the village or Parish Councils. Meetings could be called in the different localities, and house to house collections made. I Lieut. Col. Heaton also suggested that District Free Beds be established, such as the Abergele Free Beds, &c.; and that the localities be asked to subscribe with this object in view. Dr. J. R. Hughes supported the suggestions made by the chairman-and the president elect. To form a committee in every parish was certainlv o suggestion worth carrying out. because he felt certain that by adopting that means they would secure a large sum of money. Bv bcving loca committees (It this kind to work for" the Iufirman it would popularise the Institution, aDd would probably secure to them a permanent annual sub- scription. Whether tht,) should be done through the Parish Oouuciis, or by to the clerorvmeo of the parishes and the leading men of the Nonconformu-t denominatiors, he could not sav. a'thfueb he believed that an appeal by circu- lar to trie e'e^ymfin and the deacons to co-operate 1Nnn Id !>? a verv effectual way of securing the de- I sirVo effect. There were a great mary ladies in the different localities that would gladly tinder- take a house to house collection fit the request of their rector or minister. He was positive that a handsome amount cdul ? he collected by means of 6d. and Id., if the people were on!y p^operlv ap- pealed to and aroused (hear, hear) He would propose that the. matter be referred to a, sub-com- mittee, to consider in which way this could be best carried out. The object they had in view should be stated clearly before the pf-,ople i,hat is, that the committee wanted to get rid of their financial difficulty first of all and then, that any balance that might be in hand would be devoted to the establishment of free beds. He would, therefore, move that a sub-committee be formed in every parish within the area in which the In- stitution operated, and that the above objects be definitely stated.| The Rev. Basil Jones proposed that a circular letter be addressed to the rector of each parish in the district, and the deacons of the different Nonconformist chapels, drawing their special attention to the scheme. Mr. Thomas Williams suggested that the circular should contain three definite statements, 1st, the amount necessary to clear the debt 2ndly, the amount of the increased annual sup- port required; and 3rdly, the amount required for making the beds of the institution entirely free. They ought to point out that £500 or so was required to free the institution from debt; that £ 200 a year in additional subscriptions was required beyound what was now contrib ted. and also that about £2,000 or -93,000, more or less, would be wanted to make the beds of the institution free. if a definite statement of that kind was made, the people would see that the object was a worthy one (hear, hear). Mr. Swayne. suggested that Mr. Thomas Wil liams' resolution or rather recommendation be carried out; and that it be an instruction to the committee to act in the way suggested in the motion of the Rev. Basil Jones. The village or Parish Councils should be also included in the list; and it would be very desirable to secure the co-operation of the local press in which bank order forms could be inserted, and forwarded by intending subscribers to their bankers. Mr. T. J, Williams said he endorsed the I' various suggestions already made by the differ- ent speakers. They were all very good sug- gestions, but he arose more particularly to supplement them with another suggestion. The movement in favour of aiding the com- mittee of the Infirmary was a most popular one as regards the feeling of the town, but he understood that at the Mayor's meeting on Monday night, they would be asked to support another movement which was very close to their hearts, viz., the Intermediate School. The townspeople would be obliged to raise a sum of f700 in order to avail themselves of the grant of £ 1,200 towards the establishment of that school, and it struck him that both objects might be worked together. He was confident that more money could be secured by amalga- mating both movements than if an appeal were made on behalf of the Infirmary itself. The country people felt a deep interest n the Intermediate School, as the place where their children would receive their education in. He would suggest that they should endeavour to raise sufficient money so as to establish a scholarship in connection with their intermed- iate school. 'l! Mr. Gold Edwards, on being appealed to by the chairman to give his opinion, said he had been thinking a great deal whilst the other gentlemen present were talking, but he had to confess that he did not see his way clear. He was disposed to think that the best plan would be to form a committee in the localities, and that a circular in English and Welsh be for- warded to all the parishes within the radius of the Institution (hear, hear). That circular could be sent to the clergymen and the repre- sentatives of the Dissenting denominations in each district of course. They could set forth the object they had in view in the circular, Mr. T. J. Williams had brought before them the subject of intermediate education, but that was nor, a matter for their consideration that day, and the introduction of it only showed the difficulty they would have to face. There were objects of interest all round. There was one object in particular which he should like to support, and that was the Jubilee Nursing Institute. It was doing excellent work, but was short of money. Mr. John Davies moved that the chairman and Mr. Gold Edwards be appointed, as a sub- committee to draw out the circular embodying the suggestions made by Mr. Thomas Williams, and that this circular be sent to the clergy, deacons, the parish councils, &c., and the stewards of the Infirmary in the different dis- tricts, &c., &c. Captain Cole seconded, and it was carried. On the motion of the chairman, the follow- ing members of the committee who had retired in rotation were re-elected-Mess-s. Clough, Thomas Gee, Wynne Edwards, R. Humphreys Roberts, and J. Harrison Jones. A vote of thanks to the chairman brought the meeting to a close.

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THE CHARGE AGAINST A FOOTBALL…

ECCLESIASTICAL INTELLIGENCE.

[No title]

DINNER AT THE CROWN HOTEL,