Shanghai, @1st January, 1898, Dear Sie,—I have now to own receipt of your favour of 28th December, conveying a Proposal on the part of your Committee to place at the disposal of the Governors of the General Hospital the sum of Tls. 20,000: or thereabouts, such sum to be spent in the erection of a new wing, to be called the Victoria Wing. It is further stipulated by your Committee that this Wing in to be entirely under the managoment of certificated nurses who might educate number of probationers, and when necessity arose some portion of these nurses and probationers might be available for outside work.
The Governors at their last meeting gave this scheme a very: careful consideration and it is with regret that they unanimously impracticable on the score of i sufficient funds. 'The sum of Tls. 20,000, however respectable it may. be "as an evidence of the loyal and phi lanthropic rand rit of the memorial subscribers, is in the opinion utterly inadequate for the Present proposal. be all wanted; towards' the building This amount and probably more would and furnishing of the wing in question; th building when complete would-be bract ly a separate "hospital, built upon lines which from the-start-would: preclude all hope of its ever being worked to cover cost. in the foregoing estimate of cost, no account is taken of the value of the land, and in this connexion the fact should not be overlooked that the Hospital Property has still a mortgage on it costing an annual charge of Tls. 1,700.
The Governors therefore look upon the scheme as impracticable and regret very much that they are unable to avail themselves of the proposal.
Tam, dear Sir, Your faithfully, A. TronsvRy,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.