CANTERBURY.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XIV, Issue 1020, 7 April 1857, Page 4

CANTERBURY.

DEATH o¥ AH Old MAOiu.~We are informed of the >}eath of in old M«ori on Saturday last, at Ka-ftpos. Bey q a Christian, and belonging to the Church of England, \ tne funeral service was performed by the Rev. J. Raven, -«& k very large number of natives irid others attended tne ! ---.e-nony. He was believed lo be 102 years old. and may r f r.enibefed by visitor* to ftniapni as having a qmntity ->-' '.-.owkwhite haif> and especially as being reduced, by the •rfiraities of age, to crawl about only da hands and knees, he leaves behind him sons about 60 years of age. and large families of grandchildren. He must have Ukeu .1 part in i><.iny native #ars of which we have no record, and, if his a^-e be correct, perhaps Was cognizant of Captain Cook's .it rival. He was an experienced warrior, we are told, when Raur-eraha, and the -northern natives, invaded and conqu.'icd this territory —Lyttelton Times, February 4-. Robbery at A'kakoa.- On Saturday, the 24th inst., i sailor bc'ongirig to the French whaler, the Napoleon the Third, row lying in this harboUr, entered the house of one c* the French inhabitants of this place, M. Rosseldt, a-irinp- the absence of its inmates, and plundered it of sund\y articles of wearing apparel, a small sum of money, &c. The robbery was almost immediately discovered, and the thief commuted to the local prison. It is expected that he *ill be allowed lo rejoin his ship ; but will be taken before w Magistrate and tried for the crime on his arrival in France '-Ibid. Grinding. — The price of grinding wheat has been reduced during the past week, at the mills, from Is. to 9d. per bushel.— LyltxUon Times, Feb. 7. Th<r Bishop of Christchurch,— His Lordshipi and the Ve-«?r*ble Archdeacon Mathias, left Lyttelton on Thursday morning, on a tour round Banks' Peninsula. They purpose, we are informed, to go by Governor's Bay, Rhodes'* B.iy, Port Levy, and Pigeon Bay, to Akaroa. vndtheucp to "pay visits to the neighbouring small settlements ; after that to return by LitMe River and ihe Lake d-atrict on tne south cor.st of the peninsula. The journey, of course, mnst be performed on foot, and will involve, we are afraid, more fatigue and discomfort than is anticipated. Certainly, his Lordship and the Venerable Archdeacon will hare an opportunity of .seeing there some of the wildest and most beautiful of Middle Island sceneiy, an* we HJan promise them a most cordial reception from all those dwellers in the wilderness whom their missionary spirit prompts them to visit.— lbid. Harvest Operations.— Just at this time, when the price .prospect is so gloomy, the farmer is looking not so much to the productiveness of his crop of wheat as to the cheapness and facility of saving whatever 'here may be of it As to the first point, the crop, we do not tHnk it will turn out to be above the average, not so good as last year, at ar.y rate. In some places we find very good returns anticipated, while accounts *rom other quarters mention the crops as Wing somewhat thin. The last week has been peculiarly windy and a good deal of damage has been done all over the country by the shedding of grain from this cause. In fact, we have heard from some that so so much damage has been done that, taken in connection with the anticipated price? and the scaicity of labour, they *onld not be justified in cutting their grain at all. 1 nis, however, is a very exagerated statement. With reference to labour, it is a remarkable fact that in spite of the large immigration during the past year as great difficulty as ever -5 experienced in finding help for harvest work. Ihe employment of labour on the public works cannot now be brought as a reason for this. To account for it, it must be remembered that there is of course a considerable increase in the extent of this year's cultivation over that of last year ; and further, that the imported labour has been a good deal absorbed in the other departments of work in the country, in the towns, and on the sheep and cattle stations, where a great demand had previously existed and has been constantly increasing, and where permanent employment is given to families. These are natural and satisfactory causes for the absence of any direct result from the extensive immigration of the past eighteen months, j To supply the place of manual labour in these bad times, j 62veral reaping machines have been opportunely intro- i duced and set to work. When we last spoke of them, we j mentioned that some difficulty had been experienced in , their management. This has been fortunately got over, as j we anticipated, and the machines are everywhere doing their work right well. The best of them cut 10 acies per \ diem, or an acre per hour. The usual charge is 10s. per acre, but we hear that some charge higher. One man at- ] tends the machine ; the farmer has to find, besides, men to bind, &c. In every instance the machines are fully em- I ployed and are found most satisfactory. Their utility is | chiefly apparent on the smoothest land, and in some dis- | tricts, where the natural inequalities of the surface are particularly great, they cannot be used to advantage. No doubt, in a short time such lands w ; ll be ready to receive the machines, particularly those that are so constructed as ( to cut the straw a good height from the grouud. The reduction in the price of grinding, which we mentioned on Saturday, will be another help to the farmer. The potato crr-p doss not com any great extent of ground ; in most places it looks in very good condition ; in others it is much cut up by the late North-West winds ; and in others we are informed that it is attacked by an insect which de•iroys the leaf and is doing very great damage. This attack we believe to be very partial. There is not a very great extent of oats or barley; the price of both is likely to range high if the supply is deficient, for they are in considerable demand, as last year proved. We may say a i word here of fruit jnd vegetables. The former has been very abundant both from the extended cultivation and greater maturity of trees, and fro.n the splendid character Of the season. Vegetables also are luxuriant, though not in Lyttleton, where it has become a great favour to be supplied with even necessaries in this line. As a specimen of fine growth we may instance a purple-top Swede Turnip which was shown at the White Hart, Christchurch, on Saturday last, and which, though pulled two months before maturity, weighed the enormous weight of 2S lbs. It was grown by Mr. Taplin on the River Avon. —Ibid. ,