GOVERNMENT RESERVES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LIII, Issue 9304, 21 March 1907, Page 4

GOVERNMENT RESERVES.

At the discussion about technical school matters at Tuesday evening's meeting 'a question was raised as to the defiiiableneea cf getting a piece of the' Postal D^par'tment's reserve, and was met' WitK the decilaiatdpn— made, we have reason .to lfelieve, on fairly good cnthoiity— 4ha&' ©■ no account would the Postal Department ' agree to any of its land being 'taken from it. Without entering inU© the question of any of the land being needed for the' particular purpose mentioned at the meeting, we desire to protest against the dcetrins that because a department' happens to have bad a large piece of land reserved for' it in the early days of settlement it istp hang on to it in perpetuity. ■ Surely the correct view is that these reserves one held in trust for t!he general good, and that -if it is shown that they can be immediately utilised for the public benefit -there is no good reason for any particular department defending its possession oa tin* dog-in-^e-manger principle. It is ordinary prudence that Goverrment reserves' in any town should be carefully guarded. It would be unwise in the extreme to alienate them -by ■ way tof sailo or in any other way likely |to permanently dispose of them. But that is quite a different matter to ear-marking them for a pa_i_c_lair purpose for which there can be no possible demand in the immediate futureT" It is not too iruch to say that the, land held by the Postal Department in Princes street ia equal to all requirements fior another century, and \q say that th© land with, a frontage to High street alsj is for ever to be' sacred to postal purposes is srlmply absurd. Ie should ' be regarded as a general public reserve applicable to any purpose to which it can be properly or profitably put .in- the general public interest. We aire notnow advfooating'that part of it should be used for the technical school, though' it would be very suitable, but we do -arg^'itiat' in the' event of it being needed for some public purpose other than the accommodation of the Postal Department, which, obviously does not want it, tbo land sblould be immedi-

avaiilable.