CANTERBURY FIFTY YEARS AGO.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 10637, 23 April 1900, Page 3

CANTERBURY FIFTY YEARS AGO.

(By Mr .Wiuliam Gfiss Brittan.) The 23rd April should be a red-letter day in the history of the Canterbury settlement, for the first despatch writiSn in New Zealand from John Robert Godley is dated 23rd April, 185Q The record book containing copies of the Canterbury Association despatches is now before mc, and certainly does not look as though •written fifty years ago; the "writing shows no sign of fading, and the careful copperplate hand, stout paper, and substantial binding, offer a marked contrast -to the flimsy, and often undecipherable, press copies of the present day. •

MrGodley reports on thia day fifty years ago (surely a happy omen that it should also be St. George's Day, England's patron eaint): —"The Lady Nugent came to an anchor (in Wellington) yesterday morning, and the bags for the Woodstock, by which I intend to send this letter, are advertised to close on Thursday." In .these days of speedy steam communication and telegrams it is hard to realise that even under favourable circumstances a r*ply to a letter written in New Zealand could not be obtained under six months.

Mr Godky continues: —"Information ■which I received at Otago as to the actual state of affairs at Lyttelton determined mc to require that the Lady Nugent should call at Port Cooper, and after having ascertained "by personal observation ihow matters stood there, to proceed to this place. We anchored in Port Cooper on the 14th inst., and I immediately landed. The appearance of the harbour surpassed my expectation*, m "well as thoae of all on board. It

is pertips iardHy necessary to add to the testimonies on ttis subject which Lave been aheady sect Home, but as I uinlerstand that some difference of opialom "has been expressed upon it, I vnQ: observe that in the opinion of oar captairc, an i*rrr3l*nt. practical «eamazk, the harbour is perfectly safe in oil weathers. On tending I <vas astoinbed to find haw much had been effected by Mr Thomas towards mating preparations for settlers. He -has built ait excellent jetty, extenc&ttg to 12ft "water, four emigration houses, with cook house capable of accommodating from 250 to ZOO persons, two boateheds, an office for the Chief Surveyor, and a house for .the Chief Agent. All these buildings were either completed or on the point of being so. Adjoining and around them the site of the port town is laid off. Over part of it are scattered a considerable number (about twenty) houses, built by individuals who haro received from Mr Thomas permission to 'squat.' Two of these are inns, or public-houses, and" altogether they would afford, jn the event of a large body of settlers arriving, very useful temporary accommodation. From the jetty the main road, which is to connect the port with the plains, leads up the hill. Its Jength, as partially finished, is four'nnd a half miles. This brings us to the level plain, from whence the whole district is accessible. The en-tire distance to the intended chief town -will be ten and a half miles. The road crosses the Mil at the lowest point, where it has an elevation of rather more than 600 ft, and Mr Thomas informs mc that at the steepest part the rise is at the rate of lft in 20ft." (How about the zig-zag near the top, Mr Thomas?) "That part of the road which runs along the side of the hill facing the harbour is very difficult and expensive of construction, as it as necessary to remove a large quantity of solid rock by blasting. The other side of the hill presents no engineering difficulties. After inspecting the works at the Port, and in the immediate neighbourhood I rode with-Mr Thomas over the hill to Mr Deane's farm on the plain. The track which we were obliged to follow as exceedingly steep, so much so as to be only just practicable for horses, and no heavy baggage could be transported by it. I cannot better describe my impression of the country beyond the hill than by saying that it precisely corresponded to the idea which I had formed of it from the map which was sent Home last year. It may be said that ! to the eye there are but two features^ —a range of mountains, apparently thirty or forty miles distant, and a vast grassy plain (the colour of which as seen from a distance is not green, but rather that of hay), efcretching from the sea towards them as far as the eye can reach, without irregularity, and almost without any variety of surface, for the streams, though numerous, are net large, and they ore sunk between very steep banks, and the patches of wood , are unfortunately both rare and small. The grass on the plains is intermixed with, fern and flax; to an eye unaccustomed to new countries it does not appear luxuriant, but I am informed, on the most undoubted authority, that the district in question is equal, if mot superior, in this respect, to any part of New Zealand, and that the improvement of the grass after it has been grazed over for some time, will be almost incalculable. In Mr Deans's garden I caw excellent crops of fruit and vegetables, and he gives a very good account of his corn crops. I had not time to visit the intended site of the chief town, but understand that Mr Thomas has sent Home a map and description of it. It will possess the important advantage of excellent boat navigation. In conclusion, I will only repeat, that if the road be made before settlers come out, I trust that they will have j nothing deserving the name of difficulty to contend with." It is hardly necessary to cay that the settlers had a good many real difficulties to contend with, one of the greatest, perhaps, being caused by the extraordinary coincidence of the arrival of three out of the first four ships within twelve hours of each* other, and co completely overtaxing the housing accommodation. A further real difficulty may be mentioned in the labour involved in climbing the hill end walking through swamps and rough ground to the- plains, in order to gain some knowledge of the country, while there was no possibility of conveying building materials, provisions or goods, of any sort to the plains. Mr Godley, in a communication dated 17th December, 1850, to the Council of Colonists, makes the following remarks:—•

"There are one or two details which I understand have caused some discussion among the colonists and on which I wish to make a few observations. One is the limited amount of lodging accommodation available for the passengers of the ships chartered by the Association, the other is the difficulty of procuring means of conveyance to the plains. Now with respect to the first of these points, I submit with confidence to the consideration of the colonists whether it would have been wise or right to expend a very large portion of their funds in the ejection of buildings suitable to a purpose so essentially temporary as emigration barracks. Tbe chances are very .great that we should never be required to find accommodation for more than the passengers of two ! ships at a time. If the ships had arrived at intervals of a week or ten days there would 'have been no difficulty, and, very little j crowding. That such would be the case was infinitely more probable than the reverse, and we were bound to act on probabilities and to act as seemed most likely to give the at the least expense. If we had acted otherwise, and if, as might reasonably nave been expected, no occasion bad arisen for using- the whole accommodation provided, I cannot but think that much greater dissatisfaction would have been felt and with much more reason, at the extent of the outtay, which would have been utterly thrown away. The question being between a possible temporary inconvenience and a certain ultimate loss, it was preferred, as I think iudiciotisjy. to run the risk of the former, and though unforeseen circumstances have realised the contingency of inconvenience, I have no hesitation in appealing <to the good feeling and good judgment of the colonists upon the propriety of the course pursued. If a fire or en earthquake bad destroyed the barracks before your arrival no one winM have accused the Association of not ful6llin<? its promises of accommodation. Upon €he same principle I submit that they ought not to be blamed in the event of a contingency not at all less improbable than a fire or an earthquake, namely, the arrival of three ships within twelve hours, which actually occurred. Th* other point to which I refer is the d : fficultv of procnrinT I bave been repeatedly asked wbv the Association did not provide boats, and chare* freight for goods, so a* to prevent exorbitant charges. Now", the answer which I have been compelkd to make involves a general principle of ereat importance. I cannot attempt to enter into the carryine trads with ni>blic funds unless I am prepared to undertake tha whole of it No axiom is more certain than that private parties would never enter into ompe*ition with an amateur association dealing with public money. No exertion wotfd be irrmoVt to procure boats by anyhpdr else, if tbe Association were to undertake the work. I bnd therefore to c'etermioe whether I would leave the wEo'e matter to private speonlatinn or undertake to convey all the goods of the settlement between the port and tho plains. Now, I have calculated that within tb» next few months there will orobablv b» » demand for tbe freight of at lease 10.000 tone of jroods per month between this placi and tbe plain, and I cwt&inlv did not feel myself justified in embarking upon a speculation «o extensive, so costly and .«o hazardous. I had no means for it, I tad neither boat* per cnws, cor

money to hay or hire them. If I had them 1 should necessarily bave done the thing very badly, and 1 siiould havo squandered means on which there are plenty of more legitimate demands, I though* it far better to let it bo known that in the matter of freight, as in that of provisions, wood, and every other necessary for the settlement, I would not interfere, but leave prices to find their own level, confident that nothing but temporary difiiculty and consequent high price, will stimulate persons to use the exertion necessary to overcome the difficulty and lower the price. Having thus, however, given my own opinion on this subject, I am willing, in conformity to the rule which I have laid down, to yield to the clearly expressed wishes of the colonists and will undertake, if they require mc, to do my best towards conveying goods and passengers from hence to tJbe plain. I confess that I am exceedingly anxious that they should not require mc to do so, as I wish to devote the whole of my available means to the completion of the road to Sumner. If, in accordance with the wishes of the colonists, I were to embark on behalf of the association in the carrying trade, it would be obviously impossible for mc to proceed with the road." These wise and commonsense remarks appear to have completely satisfied the Council of Colonies, for I find , the following report from the Council, dated 31st December, 1850. After expressing entire confidence in Mr Godley's ability, integrity, and judgment, and passing a vote of thanks to Captain Thomas for the energy, skill and perseverance which be had shown under great difficulties, the report continues, "On the subject of the amount of lodging accommodation that had been prepared, and which was found available for the passengers on their arrival, your Council agree with Mr Godley as to the perfect propriety of the course pursued, and that it. would not have been wise or right to have expended any larger portion of their funds in the erection of buildings so essentially temporary as emigration barracks, and that any more extensive preparations in this department would have involved a needless outlay of money. The more so as the Council have ascertained from the Emigration Department that sufficient accommodation has actually been afforded to nearly 400 persons without including cabin passengers. On the last and most important subject of the best appropriation of the funds at present at Mr Godley's dispoeal, your Council are unanimously of opinion that the early completion of the road to Sumner, which will open up the readiest communication between Port Lyttelton and the plains, is the work beyond any other by which the permanent interests of the settlers, and the future development of the resources of the colony will be best promoted, and they, therefore, recommend that the work be completed with all the expedition that the , means at Mr Godley's disposal will admit of. ' They admit that the temporary accommodation which would be afforded to the present settlers by having the means of more readily transporting their goods by water to the plains would doubtless be a great present boon, and prove very accepetabk, but looking, as they consider they ought to do, more earnestly to the future well-being of the colony, and the readiest means of developing its nascent resources, they cannot but that any large outlay in this direction, which would have the effect of Stopping or retarding the great work of the road to Sumner would be greatly to be deplored. They, therefore, unanimously concur in recommending that the whole available funds at Mr Godley's disposal be at once devoted to the speedy completion of the road to Sumner. The Council believe that the difficulties which have hitherto stood in the way of transmitting luggage to the plains are temporary and unavoidable. Temporary, because as soon as the arrival of so many ships is made known in the neighbouring settlements boats will come which will supply the transport Irequired; unavoidable, •because until our actual arrival, no boats were likely to come, and even had the road been completed to Christchurch a delay must still have taken place until the demand had attracted horses from the neighbouring colonies. These and other difficulties are less than those which have stood in tfye way of all other settlers in. entirely new countries, and your Council have no fe&r'but "that they will be cheerfully and manfully overcome." This is signed W. G. Brittan, chairman, and dated December 31st. It is curious that the river to which it was, 1850, proposed to convey goods by boat is mentioned more than once as the "Shakespeare," Thus mMr Godley's despatch, dated January 6th, 1851, he writes: —"Immediately upon the arrival of the four vessels we made arrangements for the reception of the emigrants, and the disembarkation has proceeded incessantly ever since. We have had beautiful weather so far as warmth and brightness are concerned, but it was at first accompanied with strong and unchanging sea breeze from the N.E. The result of this was an unusual difficulty in getting boats round to the Shakespeare, and much inconvenience and dissatisfaction has been felt in consequence. That this is not a mere slip of the pen, or a confusing of the names of Shakespeare and* Avon in the mind of the writer is shown from the fact that a map in my possession, published with the Canterbury Association's papers, shows the river which we now call the Avon, but with ths name River Shakespeare. This is interesting, as undoubtedly proving which of the rivers Avon in England ours, ; is named from. A discussion took place in your correspondence columns some time ago, in which some of the writers sought to prove that the Avon was named after a river of that name in Scotland.

Among other difficulties -which the earlysettlers encountered was the breakdown' of banking arras semen ts, with reference to which Mr Godlej writes as follows: melancholy casualty occurred in the case of Mr Gale, the Manager of the bank, who was on board the Cressy, and who was landed in a state of apparently confirmed idiotcy. His papers, specie, and notes, have been taken possession of by Mr Brittan on behalf of the local directors, and the business of the bank will be carried on provisionally."