The Lyttelton Times. Wedesday, November 22, 1854.

Lyttelton Times, Volume IV, Issue 215, 22 November 1854, Page 4

The Lyttelton Times. Wedesday, November 22, 1854.

Ultima Thui/e, or Thoughts suggested bt a Residence ik New Zealand. By Thos. CaoLiioNDELEX. London : John Chapman. 1854. Some Account of the Oanterbuky Settlement, New Zealand. By the Rev. R. B. Paul. M.A., Commissary of the Bishop of New Zealand, and late Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford. London: Rivingtons, 1854. "We [have received copies of the above publications by the " John Ashmore." They will be read in this colony with great interest, having been written by men well known in this Province on subjects of universal interest to ourselves. Mr.Paul's Canterbury Settlement is a pamphlet giving a short account of the progress of the settlement up to Oct. 1853, and containing advice to intending emigrants. The description of the settlement—its advantages and disadvantagesis fair and impartial. The following remarks upon the reports of the colony sent home by discontented people are very just.

*' I cannot help lamenting the great amount of mischief which, I am afraid, has been done by the hasty and ill-considered statements of persons, who, after a residence of a few months (in some instances of only a few weeks or days) in the colony, hare considered themselves qualified boldly and unhesitatingly to pronounce judgment on the Canterbury scheme and its results.

" The reports of most of these people have, 1 believe, been unfavourable. Their expectations had been unduly raised by the representations of interested persons in England, who poured into not unwilling ears the most exaggerated stories of the beauty of the scenery, the more than Italian brilliancy of the sky, the delicious mildness of the climate, and the ease with which fortunes were sure to be made. They landed — and found the vaunted Canterbury plains one of the most unpicturesque spots in the world; their welcome perhaps was sung by the terrible S.W. wind with its driving rain and sleet; the rickety sheds (V huts they are called here, from being in the form of an inverted V) in which they sought shelter, admitted the rain, which splashed ou their faces as they lay in bed—and worst of ail, some of them soon discovered that those who came out with little or no capital, either in the form of money, or of a pair of strong hands and a hopeful contented spirit, might be ruined in a colony even more rapidly than at home. Forgetting in their irritation and disappointment how unfair and unreasonable it is to compare a new with an old country, they sat down and wrote to their friends at home, that they had found (what they ought to have been prepared to find) no small* amount of discomfort and daily and hourly trials of their patience. Unfortunately their letters, coming as they did from the opposite side of the globe, received, like the report of the monkey that had i !i.-w iv'wl, much more attention at home than they <it'S':rved. " They had seen, and sure they pnyht t<> know." And so the colony gradually

gained a bad character, and many, whom we should have been delighted to welcome to the shores of our new home, were deterred from an undertaking, which could only end, they were told, in bitter disappointment. Now what is the real state of the case ? Listen to settlers from Wellington, from Nelson, from the Australian colonies: and they will tell you that our hardships are not worth mentioning in comparison with those endured by the founders of those settlements."

The chief difficulties we have to contend with at present are thus summed up : —

'• Our greatest, I may say our only real difficulties are, the scarcity of labour, the scarcity of fuel, and the difficulty of communication between the port and the plains. For insuring a better supply of labourers, many plans have been proposed. Some advise us to import Chinese ; others would establish an emigration fund for the purpose of bringing disappointed Englishmen from Port Philip; but the best plan of all, I think, would be to obtain assisted passages for the brothers, and cousins, and friends of those (and there are many such here) who, in their humble sphere, have gained the respect and esteem of their fellow colonists. Many persons of this description would gladly •we are told, come out to New Zealand it they possessed the means. The man's character (which could be easily ascertained by inquiries in his own neighbourhood) would be the best security for his repayment of any portion of the passage-money advanced on his promissory note by his future employer. "With regard to the scarcity of fuel, there are thousands and tens of thousands of acres covered with wood, but scarcely any at present within reach of the plains. When the small bushes at Riccartou and Papanui are exhausted, serious inconvenience will be felt, unless some plan be devised for working the coal fields (distant about 30 miles from Christchurch), or for rendering the communication between Banks' Peninsula and the plains less hazardous and expensive than it is at present. It is generally supposed that both these subjects will soon be taken into consideration by the Provincial Legislature."

After describing the changeableness of the climate, Mr. Paul arrives at the following conclusion : —

"The best account I can give of the climate (judging from two years' experience of it) is, that it is a mixture of tbe climates of the South of France and the Shetland Islands, the former predominating, probably in the proportion of ten to oi ( e."

This|is, we think, a very happy illustration of the rapid alternation of sunny skies and Sou-westers which have given rise to so many contradictory statements respecting our climate. Ceitainly the " South of France" of the Handbooks required qualification.

The description of the Settlement is thus concluded:—

" Such, then, is the Canterbury Settlement; certainly not the Arcadia of a youthful poet's dream, but, nevertheless, an excellent home for the practical settler, who comes out determined to look on the bright side of things. Hardships he will,,undoubtedly have to encounter; but I cannot learn that there is, or ever was, any young settlement to which exemption from these trials has been granted. All that can be said is, that they are not more severe here than elsewhere, and that he may reckon almost with certainty on such a measure of health and buoyancy of spirit as will enable him to sustain them manfully.1'

No two persons would exactly agree in giving advice to an. intending emigrant respecting his outfit. We are inclined to think that Mr. Paul recommends too many purchases. He says, "As a general rule, indeed, the emigrant may as well remember, that, whatever he thinks lie is likely to want, he must bring out with him, and not trust to being able to buy it here."

Mr. Cholmondeley's answer on this subject to an intending emigrant is—

"In conclusion let me caution you to be on your guard against falling into the common error of ma king heaps of little purchases in England, preparatory to setting out. You will find plenty of ware and goods stored in New Zealand. I here is often a great glut in the markets, and

I have seen ploughs, handmills, and gunssellinofor half their original value. * • * * -pj* great matter is to keep your money from being; dribbled away, without any thing substantial to show for it."

Now there is no doubt that an old colonist would be able to make a great'J&iany purchases in England which would prove very advantageous to him in the colony. But the closer a " new hand" adheres to Mr. Cholmondeley's advice the better for himself.

Mr. Cholmondeley's Ultima Thule is a book of quite a different stamp to that of Mr. Paul. Although entering at some length into the prospects of emigrants of different classes it is not exclusively devoted to this subject. It is the work of a'very able and philosophical mind. It treats of the science of colonization, and of the history, economy, general policy, and Church of New Zealand. The Maories, the Wild Lands, the Revenue, the state of Society, each have their separate chapter. The theories advanced are as interesting to the statesman as to the colonist. They are applicable to any colony at a time when the management of the colonies has become the most important subject of legislation in the British Parliament. Many of his theries we cannot help thinking untenable, but they are all argued with such evident care and research, that they are deserving of the most attentive consideration. The pleasure of the "reader is enhanced by the easy and original style of the writer, and the singular felicity of expression which he commands. We hope to be able on a future occasion to give some extracts .from Mr. Cholmokdeley's book, which we have no doubt will be acceptable to our readers.

We undei'stand on good authority that the Bishop of New Zealand is agitating in London for the appointment of Jour new Bishops, one for Christchurch, one for Porirua or Otaki, and two for the Islands. Archdeacon Hatfield is spoken of for Porirua or Otaki, by whichever name the see may be called.