Hawke's Bay Times. NAPIER, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1863.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume II, Issue 89, 13 February 1863, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times. NAPIER, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1863.

Oun friend the Herald lias for a long time past made, in his own quiet way, frequent reference to the necessity for studied economy in the public service of this Province, and with the peculiar shrewdness which has eminently distinguished that journal above all the journals on this side of Jordan, he has not given the most remote hint of what his opinions are as to the best way of accomplishing that most desirable object. We, not being gifted with the talent of hiding our candle under a bushel, shall at once proceed to lay before our readers what ought certainly to be the result of the Herald’s aspirations; and without further ado we shall take the bread out of that worthy creature’s mouth, and hand it over with our usual liberality to any one who chooses to take it.

The fact is, that if the columns of this paper, the people’s own, were to be desecrated with the name of, and amount of salary attached to, all the offices and officers connected with this Province, it is our belief that we should scarcely have done the publication of them much before the time allotted by Dr. Gumming to the arrival of the second deluge per express; therefore we shall merely note some 01 the most important and the most expensive, and leave the people to judge from them what are about the burdens we have to bear, and from what cause the revenue derived from the lands has been so entirely absorbed. We have first his Honor the Superintendent, wdth ,£SOO a year to back him. This happens to be an office without which this respectable state punt could hardly get along, therefore we let his Honor alone, and step on to another neat little piece of business, which, added to his respected Honors too light load, would just balance it nicely— l

that is the Civil Commissionership. There is fine pay attached to this office, and prop >rtionately little work, —in fact none at all that we ever heard of; so we knock off that small item, of say £IOOO a year one way and another, and put the work, such as it * is on to his Honor’s side, by which arrangement we can see at a' glance that we give the greatest satisfaction to both parties. Then again, to prevent the Chief Land Purchase Commissioner considering himself aggrieved by having so little notice taken of him, and for being expected to do the no duties attached to his important office, and for being paid for it* (which we are quite sure he does, though his natural modesty prevents his saying so,) we at once, to save his feelings, take off the pay altogether, giving the first year’s salary thus saved to the Lancashire Relief Fund, as a sort of peace offering for past extravagance under this heading; and we with equal facility put the duties, which we assure his Honor are as light as a feather, just neatly down between the other two little bundles which decorate that estimable dignitary’s back. And we have in less than no time a tidy little office, compact and firm, with just enough work to keep the honored holder out of mischief, and just enough pay to prevent the devil getting into his honored pocket; and we reduce matters, which under these three great divisions look very awkward and unbusinesslike, into the neatest and smallest possible compass conceivable, and at the least imaginable expense, and give, we are sure, the utmost satisfaction to all parties concerned.

By this arrangement, there would he actually one head in this Province, and we should find that the Natives, of whom we stand iu wholesome awe, would be much better satisfied and more easily managed when they saw that we had at the head of affairs one concentrated authority, instead of so many extremely weak authorities, each one a mighty man according to his own shewing, but in reality but a poor, puling creature, reflecting no great credit on himself or anybody else. And the European inhabitants, would feel that in that one undi\ ided authority we had something like a small attempt at concentration of strength, and that, too, at a very reduced figure. Amongst the minor offices there appears less scope for our clipping genius, but suppose we try the experiment of knocking the Provincial Solicitor, the Provincial Treasurer, the Inspector of Schools, and the Superintendent’s clerk all into one. We must not be misunderstood. We are not desirous of seeing those highly respectable and most worthy of men knocked into one in the flesh, but merely in the spirit—that is in the duties. Now we are sure that Mr. Colenso, being a public-spirited man, remarkable as much for his disinterestedness as for anything else, would Jump at the offer of this compact little office, which should be styled the “ Amalgamated Provincial,” and receive pay at the rate of .£IOO a year, and half the sum allotted to his Honor the Superintendent.

Of course, following these two excellent examples, the Crown Land Commissioner would at once volunteer to do duty as Surveyor of all sorts, Draughtsman, Clerk to himself, and Clerk to the Weather; so that here again we effect a most prodigious saving, and raise ourselves as a Province a f one masterly stroke to the highest pinnacle of fame.

Now, it is well-known that we entertain a high respect for our contemporary the Herald, and that we look upon him, next to ourselves, as really the only readable paper published in Napier, and we feel so sure, judging from the antecedents of that remarkable journal, that it will fully concur iu our remarks, that we fancy nothing now is wanted to complete the whole elegant design than to request that most worthy of creatures to act as Provincial trumpeter, and

if possible, to devote a little music to the sounding of Mr, M’Lean’s praises. This we feel sure he will do, merely as a public duty, and not for. any special liking for that particular line of business. We ourselves would volunteer immediately,' knowing the retiring disposition of our friend over the way, but having consulted our medical adviser upon the subject, that most skilful of doctors assures us that the thing is impossible.

Joking apart, it is much to be hoped that the consideration of the most economical plan for carrying on the public service will be amongst the doings of our new-born Provincial Council, and that that great object will be effected, without affecting its efficiency. Last year the spirit of economy moved our wise men into the most trival and unnecessary course, by which they cut at the most vital part of the business, and, being penny wise, were vastly more than pound foolish, and entirely defeated their object.