The New Zealand Herald. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1860.

New Zealand Herald, Volume VII, Issue 1858, 30 December 1869, Page 4

The New Zealand Herald.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1860.

STi£<JTK.UUR AGKXDu •' Give every man chine ear, but few thy voice ; Take each man's censure, but reserve thy iudijtDtiru This above all, —To thine own self be true And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou cans't not then he false to any man."

With reference to tlie disposal of the Barracks in. New Zealand on the final removal of the Imperial troops, wc are glad to learn that His Excellency

Sir Greorge Bowen has not lost sight of this question, but has entitled himself to the cordial thanks of the colonists for the interest he has taken in their behalf in the matter. Some months ago, it seems, Sir Greorge pressed on the Imperial G-overnment the advisability of making over these properties to the colony free of charge, and after a considerable amount of correspondence, the Imperial authorities consented to do this. Accordingly on the departure of the 18th Hegiment, the Barracks ;vt Port Britomart and the Albert Barracks, including the lands enclosed and unenclosed, and all buildings on tliein, will be handed over, free of charge, to the Colonial G-overnment. Now, as we have before pointed out on more than one occasion, it is essentially necessary for the health and comfort of the people of Auckland, and will still more be so as the population increases, and the area of the city becomes extended, that the piece of ground including the Albert Barracks and the reserve around it should be kept, some part at least, unbuilt upon, and maintained as a public garden or park for the people's use. Just as the Imperial G-overnment waives its right for the benefit of the colony, is the colony bound in its turn to waive its proprietary right over this land for that of the province, and we trust that the Assembly will take this liberal view of the matter, and hand it over to the province, free of charge, as they will have received it from the Imperial Government. Some proviso should, perhaps, be made by the Colonial G-overnment as to the purpose to which the province should apply it The Domain, as we have said, lies too. far away as a place of public resort for children.and others, and, moreover, the Domain will not act as a lung, as it were, to the western side of the city, however useful it may some day be in that respect to the city, when it spreads eastward and includes Parnell and Kyber Pass within its boundary. The wall around the Albert Barracks should be removed, and the space within, and at least one-third down the brow of the hill ornamentally planted, aud maintained as a people's park. The land lying between this ring and the city might be let on long leases, aud in plots of not less than half an acre for each house, to persons willing to erect villa residences upon them. By this means a sufficient revenue might be derived from part of the ground to plant aud maintain the other portion, and, whilst numbers of persons would be glad of the opportunity of procuring such beautiful and commanding sites for villa residences, these being comparatively few and isolated, would interfere little with the preservation of as large an amount of pure air as possible within the city. There are, it seems, two allotments which have been specially paid for by the Ordnance Department within the Albert Barracks, and these will not be handed over to the colony with the remainder of the ground. We would recommend the Provincial Government to purchase these allotments, for to allow them to fall into the hands of' private individuals would mar the laying out of the remainder of the ground, as proposed for the public benefit. With regard to the Britomart Barracks we have a suggestion to make. Although we have a hospital site some little way out of town, we have no hospital as yet, or, at any rate, need a new building. The situation of Fort Britomart, while central and exceedingly convenient for the reception of patients coming, as many of them do, coastwise, is open and healthy, and if the permanent buildings at present erected there would not be suitable for the purpose without considerable alteration, the cost of rendering them so would be comparatively trifling, as the material would be found upon the spot, or at furthest could be procured from the Albert Barracks. The Imperial authorities, we learn, are about to deal with these reserves in the same manner as in Auckland throughout the North Island—at Taranaki, Wellington, Napier, and Wanganui. The Governor has also persuaded them to present to the colony all the guns, &e., at Port Britomart. with the gunpowder and other stores belonging to them. The only exception to this general gift will be the allotments mentioned above, within the Albert Barracks, and one or two small allotments at Wellington, which were specially purchased b}~ the old Board of Ordnance many years v.go, and which General Chute has been ordered to sell, but wliicli as regards those in Auckland, will, we trust, be purchased by the Provincial authorities, with the view of preventing the public interests from being interfered with when the property is handed over by t-he colony to the province.