Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. THURSDAY, JULY 18, 1872.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 19, Issue 1378, 18 July 1872, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. THURSDAY, JULY 18, 1872.

It is a fashion with some of our contemporaiies to boast of the rapid strides of progress made by the Colony, and we are not disposed to deny thai, in some respects, the boast may have a ba«is of truth. The Colony has of late been going ahead in a certain reckless way, which has enormously added to its indebtedness, and to the burden of taxation placed upon its inhabitants; but it is at least open to question whether any true advance has been made in the direction of its we 1 fare. In one respect, at least, the Colony is far behind the position it held some years ago, and that is in the matter of steam communication, between its several ports.

Whether ifc be owing to the fact of there being no competition between the companies owning; the several fleets of steamers trading on the coast of the islands, or whatever may be the cause, it is a fact that, the public are great sufferers, whether as dealers in, or as consumers of, merchandise. The trade is evidently beyond the capacity of the boats supposed to be engaged in it, and we hear on eveiy hand loud complaints of dealers waiting, not altogether patiently, trip after trip of the coasting steamers for goods that are waiting in Wellington for the convenience of the steamers to bring them on. But not only is it the mercantile interest that is suffering from this state of affairs : the administration of justice is alike retarded. The session of the Supreme Court in this town has been of necessity adjourned from time to time, and no certainty even now exists as to when it can be held. The same difficulty exists in other parts of the Colony, as recently pointed out by his Honor Mr. Justice Johnston in his charge to the Grand Jury at Wellington,—a sitting ot the Supreme Court at Wanganui having been put off on account of the deficiency of the means of communication with that port; and another sitting, which had been appointed to take place there when his Honor was in that town, was not held because his Honor was forced to take advantage of a chance for leaving that place by an outgoing boat, no other early opportunity of reaching Wellington being probable. Three other Justices of the Colony had been put to similar inconvenience when it wa* necessary for them to visit Wellington from other parts of the Colony to attend the Court of Appeal.

A great deal is ."aid about the advantage of leaving :ul such things to private enterprise, and the Government has been blamed for taking such things as the electric telegraph and life assurance under its control ; but when we find the interests of the community absolutely neglected by private companies, and much inconvenience resulting therefrom, the wisdom of the course adopted becomes apparent. Communication between the several parts of the Colony is but a nece&sary concomitant of the postal service, and if private companies fail to give satisfaction, it will not be matter of surprise or regret if the Government should step in and take the work out of their hands. We trust, however, that there is sufficient enterprise in the merchants of this port and Wellington to start a rival company, being assured that due attention to public requirements would gain for it a full measure of support. We give the extract from the address of Mr Justice Johnston, to which we have referred, in another column.