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Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 5, Issue 280, 10 May 1862, Page 4

The General Government Having, in its policy of concession to the natives, virtually annihilated the land revenue of the Northern Island, now seeks further to embarrass the Provinces that have thus been denuded of the means of carrying out public works of absolute necessity, by instructing the respective Superintendents to proceed with the erection of costly bnildings for which there is no occasion whatever. We refer to a communication which, it is said, has recently been received from head quarters by His Honor the Superintendent, in which it is intimated that the General Government is impressed with the necessity of provision being made with the least practicable delay for the erection of a Supreme Court, Gaol, Custom House, Post Office and Registrar's Office ; and that if the Province neglects to make such provision, the Government will feel itself called upon to propose to the General Assembly to sanction the necessary expenditure, in which case the amount expended will be brought to account as a local charge against the revenues of the Province. The writer of this communication adds that the Governor will be prepared to assent to a bill authorising a loan for the erection of these works — assuming what, under present circumstances, is questionable, that the province is in a position to enter the money market on favorable terms. Without entering into the question of the justice of requiring that buildings for General Government purposes should be erected at Provincial expense, — for we suppose that, where the Provinces are not charged directly with any expense of this nature, they are made to bear it somehow or other, — we think it may with propriety be asked whether in so small a province as { this is, some of the buildings referred to might not be dispensed with without prejudice to the public service. We may here observe that under the proposed new Act of the Attorney-General with reference to lunatics, a Lunatic Asylum for every Province — or, under mutual arrangement, one for every two Provinces — must be erected by the local authorities. Now, there may not, for years, be one lunatic within the boundaries of the province, yet the Provincial* funds must be squandered to build an asylum ! We have a visit only once a year from His Honor the Judge, (and even that is very doubtful), yet the province, forsooth, must erect a Court in; which His Honor may hold his solitary sitting ! And this too, in face of the fact that the Council Chamber was placed at the Judge's disposal during his first visit to Napier, and a sum of £40 expended in fitting it for his reception. The Registrar has already a good office ; although the want of a fire proof vault for the reception of deeds has long been obvious. A sum for this purpose, indeed, was placed on the first estimate, although afterwards withdrawn. A Goal, another of the buildings indicated, has just been erected at Provincial expense. Respecting the other two — the Custom House and Post Office — there can be no question that the present accommodation is wholly inadequate, and that, either by one Government or the other, something must be done towards increasing it. These are buildings of absolute necessity — not so a Supreme Court and Lunatic Asylum, of I which we trust, in the name of common sense, nothing more will he heard. ; . i