Hawke's Bay Herald. SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 1861.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 4, Issue 195, 15 June 1861, Page 4

Hawke's Bay Herald. SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 1861.

We lately published (in our issue of May 25) two important Council Papers ; one of which was -*• the Report of the Select Committee on Finance. " In that Report it was stated, that upwards of £9000 had been spent during^the year 1860 in excess of sums voted by the Council. And we have since heard, that this great and un-, authorised expenditure in so short a time for our small and young Province has called forth a pretty good share of remark. This is as it should be; just what we would have wished : as it is quite right and proper that such matters should be freely and fuHy ventilated. For nothing should be further from each and all of our Provincial Governments than any unvoted expenditure^ of the public money. It is our steady opinion, that Superintendents should ever strive to keep within bounds, as honest stewards for the public. . . V;_" In our .fdliawing^ issaej /(June ; Ist), , yve. also published v (copy ing- from jhe "Welling- 1 ' ton papers,) the astounding fact,- that, out of : £171,000, spent bY , the Govern - ; merit of We.ll|ngtpn ? ; ;d^rmg the past two or •■thr.fe/^ years,^ o4f^&o:'waV:..v»idiout:the.

sanction of: law ! " of which, we also find, somesportibn was in direct opposition to the l.votes of the- Wellington Provincial Pouncil ! ! No doubt the publication ; of this latter information has served to increase both, thought and free remark upon the important subject of unconstitutional expenditure. Ir> justice to our Province and I touts' late Government, as well as to our , numerous readers, we have sought and obtained ano-ther important Council Paper ; being, " A statement of Provincial Expendiiure for the, year 1860." This paper was drawn up by the late Provincial Auditor, and laid before the Council on the 6th February last. We had always intended to make full use of it, after the Finance Committee should have furnished their report. As, ho.wever, the whole statement is much too large for our pages, (containing as "it does four large columns of figures) we have extracted every item of expenditure on which there has been any excess over votes of Council. The sum total of which will be seen to amount to £9394, as stated by the Finance Committee. The items are as follows : — Harbour ... - £ 143 17 2 Sheriff's, &c 169 8 8 Printing and Advertising ... ... 206 6 4 Charitable Aid 27 13 2 Miscellaneous 75 7 6 Medical 301 16 5 Government Offices 272 2 6 Immigration Barracks 24 11 0 Addition to Hospital 11l 3 o Crown Land's. Department ... 69 10 9 Harbour Improvements 390 12 5 Milton Road ... 17 10 9£ Carlyle Street ... 17 6 1£ Waghorn Street 78 0 2 Provincial Engineer's ... 644-17 8 Waipureku Road ... 105 9 2 TeAufe ditto 2111 11 1 Middle ditto ... . 330 7 5 Waipaoa Gorge ditto 148 1.10 Porangahau ditto 550 13 10 Mohaka and Petane ... 746 17 11 Coroner 11 1 0 Provincial Solicitor ... 8 6 8 Receiver of Land Revenue ... 15 2 2 Native Hostelry 19 15 0 Pilot Station 38 0 0 Native's Expenses 15 14 6 Legal Expenses ... 89 19 9 Ferry Punt Waipureku 186 3 10 Census '.. 115 5 0 Look-up, Napier 1 1.9 3 Paid on acuouut of Wellington Provincial Grovernrnent 547 10 0 Agricultural Ittserve Hampden 1541 0 0 Interest to U. B. A., Napier ... 240 18 10 Iniaud Mails (1859; 20 0 0 £9394 O 11 . On further search, we find, that the last 14 items (a the above list, amounting to nearly a third of the w hole sums, or £2850 165., were not only "in excess of vote," but that no money whatever had been voted for any of them by the Council. But when it is fairly considered ; Ist, that some of those very items had been both due and paid before the Council sat {such as, " Provincial Solicitor, Inland Mails, and Wellington Government,") — 2nd, that others of them (such as, Census, Ferry Pant Waipureku, and Agricultural Reserve : had been separately and spe-cially-considered and agreed to by the Council (though, through omission, no sum for them was placed on the estimates); and 3rd, that not a few of the remaining items {i.e., of the last 14,) are highly necessary, and such as ought to have been duly placed on the estimates ; — when, we say, all these things are fairly considered, we shall be constrained to allow, that very nearly all those 14 items (being about a third of the whole sum of £9394) will have to be removed from the strict classification of " unauthorised and unconstitutional expenditure."

In further prosecuting our enquiry we also find, that there are still a few matters which ought lo be made known relative to this over expenditure. We speak now of the remaining two-thirds. ' Of the 2nd item on the list, ("Sheriff's &c.) we notice, that £155 12s. 9d. (or nearly the whole sum in excess,) is for back- charges on the part of the Waipukiirau bench; and which, not being known, could* not of course be estimated and voted. The 3rd item, (Printing and Advertising) could -never have been properly considered when the sum of £250 only was placed on the estimates. And then with regard to the items " Charitable Aid, 'Medical, and Hospital," much? could we think be fairly said conC§r,ning these items; while as to their necessity there can be no doubt. " The item, ,"s n g meer ' s Department," will be to be, greatly. iv excess, but we find, rtnat this amount includes several, heavy sums nols originally considered, such .as two pack-horses, a large- number of tents, a crab and monkey other heavy gear, and the salary of . '$Lr. Moikill as assistaiit for six months. • ' ;> "■■■ "■■"- ."'.-iV"" *. '".". ,".."'""..;','.

Now these which we have here enupoeri> ated, together with. some smaller Iffcms, such as, st Miscellaneous, Milton Road, and Carly le Street," — (the last two of which had' also been paid in 1859, but, owing, to the absence of the Director of Public Works at Sydney, could not then be carried to account,) — will. make up more than another £1000 — or, in round numbers, taken with the first third, about half of the whole sum. So that, the really unauthorised expendi-ture-will be found to have taken place in the matter of " Roads, Public Buildings, and Harbour Improvements ; " of which, " Roads " alone have swallowed up nearly £4000 in excess of the large sum which was originally voted for them.

We have felt it to be our duty, both as impartial journalists and as well-wishers to the Province, to give our careful- attention to this matter, and so to let the truth be known. For, while endorsing fully the words of the late Finance Committee, " that" it is both undesirable and unconstitutional that a sum like this, exceeding £19000, amounting almost to the one-fourtn of the whole revenue of the Province, should be expended without the consent and vote of the Council," — we believe we have pretty clearly shewn that a grand distinguishing difference exists between the Why arid the Wherefore of, at least, the one half of the sum of £9394, as contrasted •with the other half of the same.