HAWKE’S BAY.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 17, 20 May 1871, Page 3

HAWKE’S BAY.

We make the following extracts from the address of his Honor the Superintendent of Hawke’s Bay on opening the session of the Provincial Council for that province, on the 11 th inst. :

“ You will be glad to hear that this excess of receipts over estimate is not confined to one item of revenue ; for instance the item under the head of Ordinary was £4140, the receipts are £4264 ; under territorial, the estimate was £5116, the receipts are £7064 ; under miscellaneous, the estimate was £4275, the receipts are £4901 ; under special, the estimate was £2392, the receipts are £4386. But, with regard to the large increase under this head, I should explain that £I2OO is from the vote of the General Assembly in aid of road boards, whilst £694 is for the refund of immigrants’ promissory notes, for which no estimate was made last year.” ..... “ The next special expenditure to which I have to call your attention is that under the loan acts. When last year I explained the position of this account, I led you to believe that when liabilities then existing had been met, there would only remain sufficient to erect the light at Napier port, for which £l2O had been set aside. lam glad, however, to be able to inform you that the liabilities proved less than was estimated, whilst a refund on account of charges has been received ; so that after spending during the present year £1228, of which £IOOO has been devoted to immigration, there still remains a balance of £413, which will he fully absorbed in paying for the passages of immigrants shortly expected. 1 will lay the return in connection with this subject on the table. “ There is another important item of special expenditure which I have to explain about. At the last session of the General Assembly a sum of £50,000 was voted in aid of the Road Boards throughout the colony, and that the sum of £I2OO was allotted to Hawke’s Bay. As you are aware, no road Boards were in existence in this province, and the whole system had to be arranged and startep. To effect this, it was necessary that a scheme defining Road Board destricts, and distributing the money, should be devised and recommended for the approval of the Governor. Had it been possible, I should have asked your advice in the preparation of that scheme, but the buisy season of the year precluded any hope of getting the c®untry members of the Council to attend. I, therefore, myself, prepared a scheme, and obtained the approval of the Governor to it, and under that scheme Road Boards have come into existence throughout the province. I think, on the whole, the scheme I prepared has proved fairly suitable, and has been successfully carried out, I shall ask your assistance in devising a scheme for the coming year, and may add that now the system is working, this may be done more easily and more satisfactorily than when there was no ground to start from. The subject is an important one, and will be more fitly discussed when the scheme for the coming year comes before you. I may, however, say that I hope to see all the roads of the province, except main lines of road, handed over to the management of the Road Boards.

“ Before I leave the subject of finance as connected with the present year, I am glad to be able to inform you that the long pending question of the apportionment of the Wellington debt has been decided. The correspondence on this subject has been laid before you, and I shall ask you to examine and consider aa account, prepared on the basis of Mr Curtis’s award, by the assistant Treasurer in respect of the charge for interest and sinking fund, as between this province and the province of Wellington, from the date of separation to March 31st, 1871, which

shows a balance of £BB2 in favor of this province. The account in question was only received a few days ago, and I have not had time at my disposal since to give to the matter that consideration which it requires.

“ You will agree with me that it is a matter for congratulation that this long vexed question has at last been decided, and that all parties concerned were fortunate in having the settlement left to one so able and impartial as his Honor Mr Curtis.”