HC Deb 31 August 1893 vol 16 c1560
MR. A. C. MORTON (Peterborough)

I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether he can say who comprise the Governing Bodies of Bethlehem and St. Luke's Hospitals for the Insane, how they are elected, the annual amount of income, and from what source or sources the funds are derived; and whether he will consider the expediency of making these Asylums part of the general system of Lunatic Asylums for the Insane of the Metropolis?

*THE PRESIDENT OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD (Mr. H. H. FOWLER,) Wolverhampton, E.

I am informed that Bethlehem Hospital is the property of the Corporation of the City of London, by grant from King Henry VIII. in the year 1547. The Governing Body of the Hospital are a Committee elected by and from the Governors; and the Governors are the Aldermen of the City of Loudon, 12 Common Councilmen elected by the Court of Common Council of the City, and certain Donation Governors who have each given £50. The income of the Hospital in 1892 was £33,369, of which £24,606 was derived from rents, dividends, and interest, £7,767 from patients and boarders; £179 from donations, and £817 from other sources. St. Luke's Hospital originated in the benevolent designs of a few private persons in 1751. The Governing Body are a Committee elected by the subscribers to that Hospital of 30 guineas and upwards. The income of the hospital in 1892 was £14,697, of which £4,582 was derived from rents, dividends, and interest; £8,746 from patients; £73 from donations; £1,079 from legacies; £157 from annual subscriptions, and £60 from other receipts. These Hospitals form part of the general provision for the insane of the United Kingdom as Public Institutions, and for patients not of the pauper class. The Commissioners in Lunacy state that they think that both Hospitals deserve praise for their work, and are, under their present management, very useful Institutions.