HAWKE'S BAY.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 4, Issue 206, 30 August 1860, Page 1

HAWKE'S BAY.

Surprise ami inconvenience..have' both' been- , experienced during the past fortnight from the fact of the Provincial Chest having proved, unequal to the demands upon its contents;- : The Province, in short has suspended payment. Such a contingency should have been carefully guarded against, if only because of the exulting triumph it will afford to those who may envy the prosperity of the first new province. It is a state of things which says ; very little for our business habits; but it is : scarcely one to justify thefeeling of alarm which. ; seems generally to prevail. It is owing, we . imagine, to the efforts made, during the sum- . mer months to. push forward extensivepjblic • i works, which (rightly or wrongly) had been sanctioned by the Council; taken in connection with the dulness of the season and consequent paucity of land sales.. But the fact should; operate as a warning for the future—leading; to prudence and foresight iif the Government expenditure, and. retrenchment in some of the government departments. We have to note tlje prevalence of influenza ; —severely felt by, every .European in the district, but still more so by the natives. Our Superintendent lias sard lie is tor resign immediately on his return from Auckland* ’lf such is his determination, why,has he:not giveq the public or the members of his Council notice to that effect ? It is uufortunate that the public do not believe Mr. Fitz Gerald in anystatement where, his pecuniary or ambitious interests are No one can forget his - Acceptance of a cash salary after he - soidistinctly and publicly declared that lie would-, not accept emolument.. That all partiesshould be fully informed as to the failure or success of the works which have, been, undertaken, lest any unjust blame or praise should fall, on him. They ought to know that a, road was attempted to be carried through an undrainable swamp at Eperairaa,, and aJarge amount of public money wasted thereon—.. that any.native or European living in .that 1 locality could have told the Superintendent, and. probably did so, that the undertaking was impracticable: The public fought to., know that many thousands of pounds have*, been expended on Te AutQ road,, which pas- - ses entirely tlirough , native property, and opens no country that the Patangata line does not. It is neither so short nor half so con- . venient as the* latter,'which with all the settled districts and in which comparatively few improvements have been. effected. It should be known, also, ihat.. there has 1 been a vast amount of expenditure on other ; roads which lead to little or any available district—that; on the approach of„. winter a va .t number of roadmen were brought from Auckland and other places at the. pul 1a . expense—that they were' kept for a few weeks. employed, and then discharged, causing most of them to. leave the.province in'disgust, and the remainder to endure greatliardshipS:—that,, a locality for-small farmers has been selected at Puketitiri, 50 miles from port or any other outlet for produce—that the soil there is not suitable for i cultivation—that all. the active and competent assistant surveyors- have been dismissed for having pointed, out the defects of- their -department, and for hot having.a.,a. high opinion of their chief and of his Honor —that harbour improvements are to extend to bis Honor’s,flour mill, where he has public-expense, and that it ends at said 1 mill, and land—that the stones and earth-required’ for. filling up said: street will be taken from his Honor’s land and thereby form::exCellent building sites, and’ immensely, enhance the - Value of his property—rthat the public docu-. m ents of the province are or were very lately in a horrible state of confusion—that the chequer is empty and the province in debt—that his Honor’s-successor will require to exercise great ability and energy, to bring the, various departments fof government into itbat state of efficiency which they never should, have lost. These and many other makers tho public should be well acquainted with beforothe election of another Superintendent, so that the difficulties of hia position may be truly estimated. ffe learn that during tiie absence of Mr. Fitzgerald at Auckland, (lie duties of Deputy Supeiihtcndehthre likely to be performed by Captain Carter -“And that, during, Captain Curling’s Absence, the office of Resident Magistrate will lie filled by James Anderson, Esq., J.P., who, will . also, act os Receiver of Land, Rev cliuc‘ &c.— T e ra Id..