PUBLIC MEETING AT LYTTELTON.

Lyttelton Times, Volume III, Issue 153, 10 December 1853, Page 7

PUBLIC MEETING AT LYTTELTON.

A Public Meeting was held on Thursday evening, in the School-room," to take into consideration," in the words of the notice convening the meeting, " the statements pet forth in a pamphlet recently published by certain Absentee land-purchasers." On the motion of Mr. Alporfc, seconded by Mr. White, Mr. Spowers was called to the chair. We are unable, for want of space this week, to give a full account of the speeches delivered; but we shall do so in our next impression. It is sufficient at present to state that the resolutions submitted met with the entire approval and concurrence of those assem-

bled, and were unanimously adopted. After an address from the Chairman, in which he stated the objects of the meeting, and the purpose for which it was convened, he called upon Mr. Thompson, who moved the following resolution :— "Resolved, that in the opinion of this Meet ingl, many of the statements contained in a Pamphletrecently published in England, entitled " The mutual relations between the Canterbury Association and the purchasers of Land in the Canterbury Settlement, briefly considered," are calculated to convey a very false impression of the Settlement." The resolution was seconded by Mr. Bayfield. Mr. Hart moved,and Mr. Alport seconded, the next resolution : " Resolved, that notwithstanding the Land purchasers may have reason to condemn many of" the Acts of the Canterbury Association, still this does not justify a body of absentee Land purchasers (necessarily ignorant of the actual condition of the Settlement) in publishing statements calculated seriously tojdeter intendingEmigrants from selecting- Canterbury as their future home." The 3rd resolution was moved by Mr. Rowland Davis, and seconded by Mr. Birch : " Resolved, that the progress hitherto made by this Settlement and its future prospects, are hig-hly satisfactory.1' After the resolutions had been adopted, the meeting was addressed by Mr. Waitt, of Wellington, and by Captain Chesney and Dr. Johnson from India, who bore testimony to the flourishing condition of the Province. We are unable to publish their remark's for the reasons above given. After a vote of thanks to the Chairman for his able conduct in the Chair, the Meeting broke up.